US embassy cable - 05ANKARA1832

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 ANKARA 001832 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPARTMENT FOR INR/R/MR, EUR/SE, EUR/PD, NEA/PD, DRL 
JCS PASS J-5/CDR S. WRIGHT 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: OPRC, KMDR, TU, Press Summaries 
SUBJECT: ANKARA MEDIA REACTION REPORT 
WEDNESDAY, MARCH 30, 2005 
 
 
THIS REPORT PRESENTS THE TURKISH PRESS SUMMARY UNDER THREE 
THEMES: 
 
HEADLINES 
BRIEFING 
EDITORIAL OPINION 
--------------------------------------------- ----- 
 
HEADLINES 
 
MASS APPEAL 
Ankara Approves EU Protocol, No Recognition of Cyprus - 
Aksam 
90 US Congressmen Send Armenian `Genocide' Letter to Bush - 
Milliyet 
Erdogan Lobbies for Cyprus in Tunisia - Hurriyet 
Moliviatis: Cyprus Talks to Begin After April 17 Elections - 
Milliyet 
US Says it Will Not Overthrow Assad in Syria - Cumhuriyet 
Extremist Jews Oppose Sharon's Gaza Withdrawal Plan - Sabah 
UN Investigative Committee Clears Annan, Blames Son - Sabah 
 
OPINION MAKERS 
FM Gul: Turkish Ports Closed to Greek Cypriots - Cumhuriyet 
Armenian `Genocide' Lobby Launches Attack in US - Yeni Safak 
Leading retired US Diplomats Challenge Bolton's Assignment 
to UN - Radikal 
The Soros Network: `Open Society' and `Dark' Funds - 
Cumhuriyet 
Iraqi Democracy `Stumbles' at Second Parliament Meeting - 
Zaman 
Barzani Opposes Dissolving Peshmerge Forces - Yeni Safak 
US: Meeting Syrian Opponents Not an Attempt to Topple Assad 
- Yeni Safak 
Sarkozy: If Turkey is European, Why Not Morocco? - Zaman 
Washington's Favorite Takes Power in Kyrgyzstan - Cumhuriyet 
Lebanese PM Kerami to Resign Again - Radikal 
 
 
BRIEFING 
 
US Human Rights and Democracy Report:  Turkish papers cover 
the US State Department report on `Supporting Human Rights 
and Democracy: The US Record 2004-2005.' Under its `Turkey' 
chapter, the United States noted considerable progress but 
urged the Turkish government to expand religious freedom, 
prevent of torture, and work to combat human trafficking in 
Turkey.  The report also mentioned limitations on religious 
expression in Turkey, and called for the government to 
reopen Halki Seminary and acknowledge the `Ecumenical' 
nature of the Patriarchate.  Islamist-oriented "Zaman" 
complains that the report did not touch on the issue of 
headscarves, which affects tens of thousands in Turkey. 
 
Ankara Extends EU Protocol to Include Cyprus:  Turkish media 
report that Ankara has sent a letter to the European 
Commission confirming it is ready to sign an additional 
protocol extending its customs union with the EU to 10 new 
members, including Cyprus.  Ankara and Brussels exchanged 
letters Tuesday to agree on the wording of the protocol, 
which must be approved by the European Parliament before 
being signed by Turkey and the EU term president.  The 
additional protocol needs to be approved by the Turkish 
Parliament before taking effect.  The protocol does not 
include a reservation with regard to Ankara's recognition of 
Cyprus.  On Tuesday, FM Gul told AKP lawmakers at a group 
meeting that the Customs Union agreement between Turkey and 
the EU was related to the free circulation of goods, and 
that the opening of Turkey's ports and airports to trade 
with Greek Cyprus was out of the question.  Gul stressed 
once more that Turkey will not recognize Nicosia before a 
lasting solution is found for the divided island.  Turkish 
papers comment that the final obstacle to membership talks 
with the EU in October has now been removed, and the ball 
has now been passed to the Europeans.  Leftist-nationalist 
"Cumhuriyet" claims that, although the signing of the 
protocol does not technically constitute political 
recognition of Cyprus, it is a `de facto' recognition within 
the EU framework.  "Milliyet" believes that Ankara will give 
the Greek Cypriots access to Turkish ports and airports in 
exchange for the lifting of economic sanctions on the 
Turkish Cypriots. 
 
Paper Evaluates Soros' `Interest' in Turkey:  George Soros' 
`Open Society Institute' has spent $5 million in Turkey 
since 2001, largely to support civil society projects to 
encourage domestic reform, the leftist-nationalist 
"Cumhuriyet" reports.  The Institute has granted $200 
thousand to needy people in Turkey through the Turkish `Food 
Bank Project,' which covers many underdeveloped provinces. 
The Soros Institute's Turkey branch is founded and run by 
prominent local journalists, academics, and NGO 
representatives.  The "Cumhuriyet" report says that the 
`Open Society Institute' has been instrumental in political 
uprisings in the former Yugoslavia, Ukraine, Georgia, and 
Kyrgyzstan. 
 
Vorkink Praises Turkish Economy, Points to Inequalities: 
World Bank Turkey Director Andrew Vorkink said on Tuesday 
that Turkey has shown remarkable macroeconomic progress in 
recent years.  Vorkink noted that whjile there are still 
some risks, the banking sector has improved drastically. 
Vorkink was speaking to a seminar held by the World Bank 
Turkey and sponsored by the Turkish Industrialists and 
Businessmen Association (TUSIAD) and the International 
Finance Corporation.  According to Vorkink, the Turkish 
economy remains fragile due to high budget deficits, high 
unemployment, a large unregistered economy, and insufficient 
privatization.  He urged Turkey to bring down the inflation 
rate to 5 percent in the near future.  Vorkink underlined 
that 27 percent of Turks earn less than $2.15 per day and 
live under the poverty line.  Vorkink urged the Turkish 
Government to accelerate steps to improve conditions for 
foreign investors in Turkey. 
 
Official Orders Pamuk's Books Destroyed:  A district sub- 
governor in Isparta province (western Anatolia) issued a 
directive ordering that novels written by the world-famous 
Turkish writer Orhan Pamuk be removed from libraries in his 
district and destroyed.  The sub-governor said his decision 
was in reaction to Pamuk's comments on claims that 1 million 
Armenians were killed by Ottoman forces in World War One. 
According to some press reports, the sub-governor's 
directive had no practical effect, because none of Pamuk's 
novels could be found in the Isparta district. 
 
 
EDITORIAL OPINION: Kyrgyzstan; Transatlantic Relations; 
Incirlik 
 
"Krygyzstan" 
Abdulhamit Bilici wrote in the Islamist-intellectual "Zaman" 
(3/30): "It came as no surprise to see a revolutionary 
process take place in Kyrgyzstan, especially after similar 
events in Georgia and Ukraine.  There are parallels to be 
drawn from all three cases, and it is clear that the current 
international current of events has helped to create another 
`velvet revolution.'  All three countries had systems that 
were liberal enough to allow for some kind of opposition, 
even though political conditions were far from meeting 
international standards.  All three witnessed enormous 
efforts on the part of non-governmental organizations to 
influence the outcome. . A fast-paced market economy 
characterized by corruption and endemic poverty among the 
ordinary people was also a factor in Kyrgyzstan, Ukraine and 
Georgia. . The only unexpected thing was was the timing of 
revolution in Kyrgyzstan.  Nobody expected it to happen less 
than a month after the general elections." 
 
"It is a Virtue to Be Capable of Admitting a Mistake" 
Fehmi Koru argued in the Islamist-opinion maker "Yeni Safak" 
(3/30): "The US has always been a powerful country, and 
everybody used to regard its norms as a benchmark.  There 
is, however, a big difference between the US in the past and 
the US as it is today.  American power used to be based on 
US values that played a significant role in giving the 
United States moral authority to act in the world.  Current 
US values can be summed up in one phrase - the use of force. 
With the exception of Israel, the US does not care what 
other nations think of its policies.  Joining the US used to 
have a very positive meaning.  Today, it has come to mean 
just the opposite. . Every opinion leader has an historic 
responsibility -- mistake should be called mistakes, and 
positive developments should  be portrayed in an objective 
way." 
 
"Turkey, the US and Iraq" 
Taha Akyol opined in the mass appeal "Milliyet" (3/30):  "Up 
to now, US military activity at Incirlik has fallen within 
the Defense And Economic Cooperation Agreement (DECA) or 
under UN resolutions.  No one is talking about making 
changes to the DECA.  But the United States has proposed 
that Incirlik be used as a `cargo hub.'  This is not as 
simple a concept as the name implies.  The US wants to bring 
large cargo planes full of military equipment, heavy 
weapons, ammunition, and troops to Incirlik airbase.  The 
troops, weapons, and equipment would be massed at Incirlik 
for a certain period of time, then transferred to smaller 
planes for delivery to Iraq and afghanistan.  When this 
happens, Incirlik will become a `logistical control center' 
as well as a military base.  There is no truth to reports 
that the US wants to use the cargo hub for operations beyond 
Iraq and Afghanistan.  In principal, Ankara views the US 
request positively.  But Turkey is also concerned about the 
political angle of this issue.  The Government does not want 
to be seen as a US staging area for the Middle East.   In 
order to balance these worries, the US should eliminate 
Turkey's concerns about Iraq.  The United States should also 
relent in its objections to Turkey's efforts to maintain 
`neighborly relations' with countries in the Middle East. 
But it seems that the US cannot accept this.  The US stance 
in Iraq contains lots of lessons for Turkey.  By stopping 
the US troop deployment on March 1, Turkey managed to stay 
out of the war, but at the same time lost the chance to play 
a significant role in the future of Iraq.  Since the 
rejection of a US troop deployment through Turkey on March 
1, the US has turned a blind eye and even supported a change 
in ethnic balances in Kirkuk.  As a result of some other 
mistakes by the US, there are now many obstacles to 
establishing a legitimate Iraqi government.  If the US had 
listened to Turkey's warnings, Iraq's reconstruction would 
be moving ahead on a sounder basis.  In order to establish 
stability in the region and to improve US-Turkey relations, 
a more general political agreement is necessary.  Incirlik 
would be a very important element of such an agreement." 
 
EDELMAN