US embassy cable - 05ANKARA2394

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 ANKARA 002394 
 
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, APRIL 27, 2005 
 
 
THIS REPORT PRESENTS THE TURKISH PRESS SUMMARY UNDER THREE 
THEMES: 
 
HEADLINES 
BRIEFING 
EDITORIAL OPINION 
--------------------------------------------- ----- 
HEADLINES 
 
MASS APPEAL 
US to Modernize Turkish F-16 Jetfighters - Hurriyet 
Armenia Wants Political Dialogue With Turkey - Milliyet 
Syria Completes Pullout From Lebanon - Sabah 
Dervis Appointed as Head of UNDP - Sabah 
Dervis Becomes No. 3 Man at UN - Hurriyet 
Talabani Voices Support for Blair Before Polls in Britain - 
Aksam 
 
OPINION MAKERS 
Turkey Agrees With US on F-16 Modernization - Cumhuriyet 
FM Gul Lashes Out at EU Over Cyprus - Zaman 
Syria Ends 29-Year Military Presence in Lebanon - Cumhuriyet 
Damascus' Lebanon Venture Ends After 29 Years - Zaman 
Syrian Era Ends in Lebanon - Yeni Safak 
Iraq Survey Team: No WMD in Syria - Yeni Safak 
UNDP Chief Dervis to Work for Poor Nations - Radikal 
Damascus University to Open Turkish Desk - Radikal 
Weizman Laid to Rest - Cumhuriyet 
Morrison, Father of A-Bomb, Dies at 89 - Cumhuriyet 
 
 
BRIEFING 
 
US-Turkey Sign Military Modernization Deal:  Defense 
Minister Vecdi Gonul said on Tuesday that Turkey had signed 
a deal worth $1.1 billion with the United States for 
modernizing 117 Turkish F-16 fighter jets.  The main 
contractor will be the Lockheed Martin Corporation.  Gonul 
and US Ambassador Eric Edelman held a joint press conference 
yesterday to announce the agreement.  Gonul said the 
modernization work would begin in July and will be completed 
by 2012.  He added that Turkish firms would also participate 
in the project.  `We are strategic allies cooperating on 
many regional issues such as the Balkans, the Caucasus and 
the Middle East,' Gonul said.  Ambassador Edelman hailed the 
accord as a great example of defense industrial cooperation 
between the two allies.  Edelman noted that the project will 
benefit both countries, improve military ties, and increase 
the capacity of Turkey's F-16 fleet. 
 
Gul Attends EU-Turkey Association Council Meetings:  The 
European Union told Turkey on Tuesday to speed up reforms 
before entry talks start in October, papers report.  Foreign 
Minister Abdullah Gul, in Luxembourg to attend the Turkey-EU 
Association Council meetings, held a joint press conference 
with EU term president Luxembourg Minister Jean Asselborn. 
Asselborn stressed the need for Turkey to implement EU- 
driven reforms, normalize ties with the Greek Cypriot 
administration, and protect religious freedom for non-Muslim 
minorities in Turkey.  Asselborn, during an earlier meeting 
with Gul, voiced concern about the human rights situation in 
Turkey, citing the beating of protesters when police cracked 
down on a women's rights rally in Istanbul in March.  Gul 
told the press that Turkey is making progress on the 
sweeping reforms demanded by EU.  He had earlier told EU 
officials that Turkey expects equal treatment with other 
candidate countries from the EU.  Gul also criticized the EU 
for not taking steps to end the international isolation of 
Turkish Cypriots.  Meanwhile Prime Minister Erdogan, 
speaking at a public event in Istanbul, criticized the EU 
for `sheltering terrorists' from the PKK and failing to cut 
off financial support from the PKK coming from European 
countries.  Erdogan also warned the EU against `creating 
conflict' through its approach to the Armenia `genocide' 
issue.  The PM denied that Turkey's EU reform process had 
stagnated, charging that `any stagnation in the process has 
been caused by the other side.' 
 
Yerevan Calls for the Establishment of Relations with 
Turkey:  Armenian President Robert Kocharyan has responded 
to a letter from Prime Minister Erdogan calling for a joint 
committee to study the issue of `genocide' claims by 
Armenians.  The letter said that Armenia is ready to 
establish relations with Ankara without any preconditions. 
`We can later discuss various issues in an intergovernmental 
committee,' Kocharyan suggested.  However, the Turkish 
Foreign Ministry (MFA) said that Kocharyan's letter is full 
of tricky terminology and that Ankara is cautious over 
establishing relations without having settled the issue of 
`genocide' claims. 
 
Bagis Attends New York Panel on Turkey-US Ties:  AK Party 
lawmaker Egemen Bagis told a panel meeting in New York that 
any step that is taken by US forces in Iraq against PKK 
militants would dispel the negative atmosphere in US-Turkish 
relations and reduce anti-American sentiment in Turkey 
`overnight.'  `It is our right to expect our closest ally, 
the United States, to hand over PKK terrorists to Turkey,' 
Bagis said.  He added that Prime Minister Erdogan's visit to 
the United States in June will demonstrate the friendly 
relations between the two countries.  Bagis also criticized 
"Wall Street Journal" columnist Robert Pollock for raising 
only the negative aspects of Turkey-US ties in his paper 
after a visitng the country for just 36 hours.  Bagis 
slammed Pollock for not writing anything the Turks had said 
in favor of the United States. 
 
Dervis Appointed Head of UNDP:  Turkey's former economic 
minister Kemal Dervis has been appointed as head of the UN 
Development Program.  Papers say that Dervis, who was chosen 
over five other candidates, will be the first UNDP chief who 
does not come from a donor country but rather from a country 
where the UNDP has an active program.  Dervis is expected to 
resign his seat in parliament to take up his UN position in 
coming days. 
 
US Releases Another Turk from Guantanamo:  The repatriated 
two Belgian nationals, one of whom is also a Turkish 
citizen, to Brussels from Guantanamo Bay, where they had 
been held for three years.  The dual national, Mesut Sen, 
was arrested in Pakistan in December 2001 based on suspected 
links to Al-Qaeda. 
 
 
EDITORIAL OPINION: EU Enlargement; Pope Benedict XVI 
 
"I Hope It Happens to Turkey As Well" 
Sami Kohen observed in the mass appeal "Milliyet" (4/27): 
"Both Bulgaria and Romania had a speedy transition from 
communism to democracy, so they did not find it very 
difficult to meet EU standards.  Their challenge was more on 
the economic side, and the EU commission had to provide 
certain privileges on agricultural issues.  Although 
Bulgaria and Romania are now at the point of integration 
into the EU, there are certain conditions being imposed on 
them before they can become full members.  The agreement 
between the two countries and the EU has a special provision 
which provides for the postponement of full membership to at 
least 2008 unless the reforms, particularly on the judicial 
side, are fully implemented.  It seems that Bulgaria is not 
so concerned about such a condition.  The Bulgarian Foreign 
Minister has already expressed his satisfaction with the 
decision, saying that `such a condition will help us to 
implement the reforms with a certain discipline.'   This 
approach should present a lesson for others.  These two 
neighbors of Turkey, although they are less developed 
economically, have reached a significant point in their EU 
accession process.  Let's hope that Turkey reaches the same 
point eventually.  Yet in the meantime, we better look for 
the secret of their success." 
"Pope Benedict XVI and Turkey" 
Zafer Atay opined in the economic-political "Dunya" (4/27): 
"The new Pope is 78 years old.  He has an interesting past. 
He was a member of the Nazi Youth Organization.  He joined 
the army toward the end of the Second World War.  He worked 
at an antiaircraft battery.  After all this, it is difficult 
to understand his claims that he never fought in the war. 
Benedict XVI disapproves of many things.  He opposes 
feminism, for example.  He says that popular music is the 
`expression of primitive passions.'  He doesn't want female 
priests.  He rejects abortion and euthanasia.  He harshly 
criticizes priests who favor homosexual marriage in the 
church.  There are already many nicknames for him, such as 
`the bogeyman', `the Panzer Cardinal', `The Rothweiler of 
the Vatican', and `the Black Pope.'   The new Pope is also 
against Turkey's EU accession.  Moreover, circles close to 
the Vatican believe that Ratzinger's anti-Turkish remarks 
will have a negative impact on some member countries.  The 
same circles urge Turkey to convince the Pope on the 
accession issue in order to avoid problems in the future. 
We will have to see how Ratzinger, now that he has become 
Pope, will act on issues he has commented on in the past." 
 
EDELMAN