US embassy cable - 05ANKARA2322

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 ANKARA 002322 
 
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 
MONDAY, APRIL 25, 2005 
 
THIS REPORT PRESENTS THE TURKISH PRESS SUMMARY UNDER THREE 
THEMES: 
 
HEADLINES 
BRIEFING 
EDITORIAL OPINION 
--------------------------------------------- ----- 
HEADLINES 
 
MASS APPEAL 
US Embassy Says Incirlik Not To Be Used Against Iran, Syria 
- Sabah 4/24 
President Bush Omits `Genocide' in Commemoration Statement - 
Milliyet 
54 Percent of Germans Now Oppose Turkey's EU entry - Sabah 
Bombs Never Cease in Baghdad: 23 Dead - Sabah 
Mossaoui Admits Plan to Strike White House - Aksam 4/24 
`Terminator' Schwarzenegger Recognizes `Genocide' - Aksam 
Pope Excludes Muslims in Inauguration Speech - Hurriyet 
Israel Loses Legendary Leader Weizman - Milliyet 
 
OPINION MAKERS 
Thousands Commemorate Armenian `Genocide' in Yerevan - 
Cumhuriyet 
Gallipoli Participants Hold Emotional Gathering in Canakkale 
- Yeni Safak 
Pentagon Clears Commanders of Abu-Ghraib Charges - Zaman 
4/24 
Human Rights Watch: Rumsfeld a War Criminal - Radikal 
Benedict XVI Assumes Papacy - Radikal 
Islam Under Pressure in Europe - Yeni Safak 4/24 
Syria to Complete Lebanon Pullout Today - Radikal 
North Korea Threatens US With Nuclear Retaliation - 
Cumhuriyet 
 
 
BRIEFING 
 
US Request for Using Incirlik Airbase as a Logistics Hub: 
Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul said on Sunday that the US 
will not be given a `blank check' on the use of Incirlik 
Airbase as a logistical cargo hub.  Gul added that the 
Turkish government will instead offer `blanket permission' 
that will allow flights and cargo to move in and out of 
Incirlik if detailed cargo information is provided by the 
Americans beforehand.  A decree on the issue was submitted 
to the Council of Ministers for approval last week. 
 
US Denies Incirlik Will Be Used Against Iran, Syria: 
Sunday's "Sabah" reports a statement posted on the US Ankara 
Embassy webpage with regard to the US request for using 
Incirlik Airbase as a logistical hub.  The statement says 
that the US request for the cargo transit hub includes 
blanket diplomatic clearance for cargo planes landing at and 
taking off from Incirlik, but that cargo flights will not 
carry troops, ammunition, or personnel.  The statement 
denies plans to use Incirlik to carry out operations against 
Iran or Syria, and notes that the US proposal is 
specifically linked to operations in Afghanistan and Iraq 
only.  `The United States will respect Turkey's decision on 
the issue,' the statement concludes.  Most other papers 
carried parts or all of the embassy statement on Saturday. 
 
Ozkok Remarks Worry EU Envoys in Ankara:  Ambassadors of 
European Union (EU) countries believe the speech delivered 
last week by TGS chief General Hilmi Ozkok was `unfortunate' 
in that it created the impression that the Turkish military 
is filling a political `vacuum,' Sunday's "Milliyet" 
reports.  Unidentified EU sources voiced concerns that the 
relationship between the civilian government and the Turkish 
military could `return to the past.'  EU envoys charged the 
Dutch Ambassador to Ankara with the task of learning the 
views of the Turkish government through unofficial talks 
with the foreign ministry (MFA), the report claimed. 
 
Erdogan on Turkey-Greece Ties:  Prime Minister Tayyip 
Erdogan warned Turkish and Greek media on Sunday not to blow 
minor incidents `out of proportion,' and urged them to 
contribute positively to the rapprochement between the two 
countries.  `Karamanlis and I will lay the cornerstone of 
the Karacabey-Gumulcine (Komotini) natural gas pipeline in a 
few months,' Erdogan said, adding that incidents like the 
confrontation near the Kardak (Imia) islet are not 
`appropriate' at such a time.  `We should raise our next 
generations on peace and friendship and not on enmity and 
hatred,' Erdogan said.  Meanwhile, Chief of the Turkish 
General Staff (TGS) General Hilmi Ozkok confirmed on Sunday 
that the Greek military has sent a written apology for the 
desecration of the Turkish flag at a military academy in 
Athens, where Turkish military students were being hosted as 
part of a bilateral exchange program. 
Gul Visits `TRNC' for Talat's Inauguration:  Visiting north 
Cyprus on Sunday to attend the inauguration of the new 
`president' of the `TRNC,' Mehmet Ali Talat, Foreign 
Minister Abdullah Gul said that promises given to the 
Turkish Cypriots have not been kept since the twin referenda 
held in the divided island in April 2004.  `The Annan Plan 
has shown that the Turkish Cypriots are not the ones who do 
not want a solution on the island,' he said.  Gul wished 
Talat success, and stressed that Turkey will support all UN 
initiatives to bring lasting peace to Cyprus. 
 
Syrian Illegal Money Transferred to Turkey:  Monday's 
"Hurriyet" reports a claim by the Syrian opposition `Syrian 
Reform Party' (RPS) that large amounts of money have been 
transferred from Syria to banks in Turkey, France, and 
Cyprus in recent weeks.  The RPS claims that Rami Mahluf, 
President Assad's cousin and business partner, as well as 
leading Syrian intelligence officers have transferred abroad 
millions of dollars gained from the illicit arms and drug 
trade. 
 
Turkish Military Disbands Eastern Division:  Within the 
framework of a reorganization of its forces, the Turkish 
military will disband its Ninth Division, based in Sarikamis 
of Turkey's eastern province of Kars, Sunday's "Milliyet" 
reports.  A brigade will replace the division, which was 
formed to protect Turkey's border crossing with the former 
Soviet Union. 
 
Kazakhstan to Join Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan Pipeline:  Kazakh oil 
will flow to Turkey's Mediterranean port of Ceyhan through 
the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan (BTC) pipeline, Monday's "Radikal" 
reports in a front-page story.  Despite pressure from Russia 
and China, Kazakhstan has decided to join the BTC pipeline 
project in order to carry oil from the Kashagan area to 
world markets.  Kazakhstan will transport 7.5 million tons 
of crude oil from Kashagan to Baku every year.  The report 
sees the move as an important step forward in transforming 
Turkey's Ceyhan port into an energy hub. 
 
Anniversary of Gallipoli Campaign:  Some 25,000 people came 
from Australia and New Zealand to mark the 90th anniversary 
of the Gallipoli campaign in northwest Turkey during World 
War I, papers report.  At dawn on Monday, a large gathering 
of Australians, New Zealanders, and Turks commemorated the 
Anzac landing at Gallipoli.  Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan 
said on Sunday that the hatred of war had long ago given way 
to a bond between the sides in the campaign.  New Zealand 
Prime Minister Helen Clark said that for New Zealand, as for 
Australia, it was at Gallipoli that their young nations 
`came of age.' 
 
EDITORIAL OPINION: US-China; Turkey-Armenia 
 
"America's Fear of China" 
Kamuran Ozbir wrote in the nationalist "Ortadogu" (4/25): 
"Nobody seems to care about China's attempts to gain 
military supremacy - except for the United States.  In fact, 
China does not have significant nuclear capabilities yet. 
The number of long-range Chinese missiles with the potential 
of hitting US territory is only around 25-30.  China does 
not have any overseas bases, and the Chinese naval fleet 
very rarely goes far from Chinese waters.  Nevertheless the 
US, both the White House and a majority in the Congress, 
believes there is a need to keep a close eye on China's 
military capabilities.  Secretary Rice's remarks in Tokyo 
laid out the case for keeping US forces in Okinawa in order 
to maintain deterrence against Chinese forces.  Some 
influential American scientists, including John Mearshimer, 
does not believe in the peaceful growth of Chinese military 
capacity.  His belief is based on the argument that China 
will turn its economic power into a military threat.  The US 
fear of China seems rooted in paranoia more than anything 
else.  . In fact, Washington should abandon its anti-China 
policy and should instead offer a helping hand.  If China 
manages to go through an economic development process like 
India, it will be beneficial for everyone." 
 
"The Armenian Genocide and the US" 
Yasemin Congar wrote in the mass appeal "Milliyet" (4/25): 
"President Bush did not use the genocide word in his annual 
White House April 24 statement concerning the events of 
1915.  Avoiding the use of the phrase `Armenian genocide' 
was motivated by two factors.  First, the White House did 
not want to provoke new tension in the relationship and 
stoke anti-Americanism among the Turkish public.  Second, 
Washington believes that using the genocide expression would 
not serve to encourage the normalization of Turkish-Armenian 
ties.  . However, the fact that the term was not used does 
not necessarily mean that President Bush rejects the 
Armenian claims.  It only shows that the President believed 
that using the term would not bring any benefit at this 
time.  But the situation in the US Congress is just the 
opposite.  The majority there accepts the genocide claims 
and, unlike the White House, the majority of the Congress 
sees considerable political benefit in using this term.  . 
In sum, if the Armenian resolution comes to a vote in 
Congress, it will likely be adopted. . Washington officials 
are uneasy about Ankara's efforts to establish a link 
between the Incirlik cargo hub request and the Armenian 
issue.  A US official expressed concern in this way: `I do 
not believe it is useful to reduce the Turkish-American 
partnership to carrot-and-stick diplomacy.'  There is, 
however, one move that might have a real effect in 
Washington - an opening of real dialogue between Ankara and 
Yerevan." 
 
EDELMAN