US embassy cable - 05ANKARA2690

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 ANKARA 002690 
 
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 
TUESDAY, MAY 10, 2005 
 
THIS REPORT PRESENTS THE TURKISH PRESS SUMMARY UNDER THREE 
THEMES: 
 
HEADLINES 
BRIEFING 
EDITORIAL OPINION 
--------------------------------------------- ----- 
HEADLINES 
 
MASS APPEAL 
VE Day Ceremonies Mark 60 Years of Freedom - Sabah 
Bush `Expects' Erdogan in Washington - Milliyet 
Erdogan Meets Annan, Papadopoulos in Moscow - Hurriyet 
EU Ambassadors Urge Gul Not to Fan Nationalism - Sabah 
US Forces Chase Foreign Fighters in Iraq - Aksam 
Sharon Postpones Gaza Withdrawal to Mid-August - Aksam 
 
OPINION MAKERS 
World Celebrates WW II Victory - Cumhuriyet 
Grand Meeting in Moscow - Radikal 
Bush Renews Invitation for Erdogan to Washington - Yeni 
Safak 
Georgia Gives Bush a Joyous Welcome - Zaman 
Jafari Government Takes `Federal' Oath - Radikal 
Iran to Partially Relaunch Nuclear Program - Yeni Safak 
 
 
BRIEFING 
 
Bush-Erdogan to Meet in June:  Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan 
joined more than 50 world leaders in Moscow on Monday to 
commemorate the 60th anniversary of the defeat of Nazi 
Germany in World War II.  Erdogan had a brief chance to meet 
President Bush following the ceremonies at Red Square.  The 
US President said he expected Erdogan in Washington soon, 
papers report.  On his return home, Erdogan said he will 
meet President Bush in Washington during the first half of 
June.  The private news channel NTV reported from Washington 
this morning that the meeting will take place at the White 
House on June 8. 
 
Commentary Sees Ongoing Tension in Turkey-US Ties:  A 
commentary in the mass-appeal "Hurriyet" claims that the 
strain in Turkey-US ties has not yet been relieved.  The 
columnist Fatih Altayli writes that Washington has not yet 
forgotten the strong criticism of US policies by Prime 
Minister Erdogan, and the fact that Erdogan kept Ambassador 
Edelman waiting for six weeks before granting him a meeting. 
The commentary expects that Erdogan will be given a meeting 
with Bush in mid-June, so that Erdogan will have to travel 
to the US twice - once to attend the graduation ceremony of 
his daughter at California University, and a second time to 
meet with the President.  Altayli writes that Ukrainian 
President Yushchenko is due to visit Turkey in mid-June, 
which may conflict with a Bush-Erdogan meeting in 
Washington.  He asserts that Washington, in a deliberate 
effort to `show Turkey that it is not the center of the 
world,' will delay sending a new Ambassador to replace 
Ambassador Edelman until the fall. 
 
Gul Meets EU Ambassadors:  On Monday, Foreign Minister 
Abdullah Gul hosted a luncheon for the ambassadors of 
European Union countries in Turkey.  Gul told the EU envoys 
that a negative outcome of the French referendum on the EU 
Constitution should not affect Turkey's EU membership 
process.  He noted that Turkey is ready to expand its 
customs agreement with the EU in a way that will include new 
member states, including Cyprus.  The EU ambassadors 
conveyed to Gul their concerns about the Turkish 
government's anti-EU statements.  They noted especially a 
statement by PM Erdogan that some in the EU are trying to 
`divide' Turkey.  The EU deems such remarks as 
`unacceptable.'  The envoys also expressed concern about 
rising nationalism in Turkey. 
 
CESS Report Recommends That TGS Be Under Defense Ministry: 
The Center for European Security Studies (CESS) and Turkey's 
Center for Eurasian Strategic Studies (ASAM) have formed a 
working group to prepare a report on military-civilian ties 
in Turkey.  The report will be used as a reference point for 
discussions between Turkey and the EU, "Milliyet" reports. 
On April 28, ASAM withdrew from the working group in protest 
after CESS recommended in the report to put the Turkish 
General Staff (TGS) under the control of the Turkish Defense 
Ministry.  Such an arrangement is commonplace in EU member 
countries.  CESS noted that Turkey must abide by EU rules 
and practices if it hopes to join the European Union. 
PUK: Turkey Supports a Federal Iraq:  The Iraqi Patriotic 
Union of Kurdistan (PUK) Washington Representative Kubad 
Talabani told the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) May 5 
that Prime Minister Erdogan, in a letter to the Iraqi 
President Jalal Talabani, expressed Turkey's support for a 
federal structure in Iraq.  Kubad, who is the son of Iraqi 
President Jalal Talabani, said the Kurds have done all they 
can to ease Turkey's concerns about possible Kurdish 
independence.  Kubad said Ankara realized that Iraq could 
remain unstable in coming years, and that a `buffer zone' 
between the two countries would be to Turkey's benefit. 
 
Turkish Popular Support for EU Diminishes:  A monthly 
opinion poll conducted by the ANAR research company for the 
ruling AK Party shows that Turkish popular support for EU 
membership has dropped to 63 percent from the previous level 
of 70 percent,  "Sabah" reports.  The poll was conducted 
among 3,300 Turks in major Turkish provinces during the 
first week in April.  While rising nationalism in Turkey has 
apparently diminished support for the EU, it has also 
boosted the potential votes for pro-Kurdish DEHAP and the 
extreme nationalist MHP, the report claims.  The 
distribution of votes among political parties in a 
hypothetical general election is as follows: AKP 46.6 
percent, CHP 14.3, MHP 9.6, DYP 9.2, DEHAP 6.3, and ANAP 
4.5.  22 percent of respondents view Erdogan as the most 
trusted political leader in Turkey, followed by President 
Sezer at 6.3 percent, according to the poll. 
 
Gul to Visit Romania, Ukraine, Crimea:  Foreign Minister 
Abdullah Gul left for Bucharest, Romania on Monday to attend 
the 8th Summit of the Heads of State and Government of the 
South-East European Cooperation Process (SEECP).  Following 
the summit, Gul will proceed to Ukraine on May 11 to lay the 
groundwork for the upcoming meeting of President Sezer with 
his Ukrainian counterpart in Kiev in June. 
 
Dervis Resigns to Take Over UNDP Post:  Former Turkish 
economy minister Kemal Dervis resigned from his post in 
parliament as a deputy from the opposition Republican 
People's Party (CHP) in order to take up his new position as 
head of the UN Development Program (UNDP).  Dervis will 
begin his UN posting in August 2005. 
 
Baghdad-Istanbul Flights to Resume:  Turkey has decided to 
allow Iraqi flights into Istanbul after a 15-year hiatus, 
"Yeni Safak" reports.  Iraqi Airlines will reportedly fly 
from Baghdad to Istanbul five times a week. 
 
 
EDITORIAL OPINION: VE Day; President Bush in Georgia 
 
"Democracy is the New Weapon" 
Emin Pazarci wrote in the conservative "DB Tercuman" (5/10): 
"The US has adopted democracy as a weapon and has started 
using it in every international circumstance.  NGOs will be 
the tool for achieving this goal.  The US plans to support 
and finance NGOs and allow them to manipulate public 
opinion.  The US hopes and believes that its interests will 
be served by using the `democracy weapon.'  Cyprus has been 
one example of this process.  The non-governmental 
organizations played a determining role in the outcome of 
the Turkish Cypriot elections.  A similar process took place 
in Ukraine and Georgia.  . The US is now preoccupied with 
Russia.  Growing Russian control over Eurasian energy 
resources is a matter of immediate concern for Washington. 
So Bush has launched a campaign against Moscow by 
questioning the nature of Russian democracy.  The Russian 
leader is very aware of the next step, and is therefore 
reacting harshly to Bush's remarks. . But there is one thing 
that is odd about all of this: nobody is questioning 
American democracy or raising the obvious contradictions 
such as the continued use of the death penalty in the United 
States and the Americans' propensity to collaborate with 
dictators." 
 
"The Debate On Freedom" 
Smi Kohen commented in the mainstream "Milliyet" (5/10): 
"The VE Day celebrations demonstrated friendship between the 
old winners and losers, but they also highlighted 
differences between friends of today.   The celebrations 
included a debate about facing up to history, which 
predictably led to tension between Russia, Europe, and the 
US over the Baltic states.  Russia wants to distance itself 
from the historical responsibilities of the Soviet Union. 
Putin thinks that a one-time apology is good enough.  But 
the current debate is more about the future than the past. 
The differences stem from policies for the future.  In fact, 
the architect of this debate is President Bush.  His 
speeches, both in Latvia and the Netherlands, set forth a 
doctrine of democracy and freedom.  Bush not only expressed 
support for democracy, but also named a number of countries 
that need to go through the democratization process.  Bush 
believes that the time has now come for countries like 
Belarus and Moldova.  The US is urging Moscow not to be 
afraid of democratization in neighboring countries.  But the 
Russian leadership is expressing its discontent, effectively 
telling the United States to mind its own business.  This 
debate looks like it could be a source for new conflicts 
around the world.  It may not lead to the development of new 
and opposing `blocs,' but it certainly has the potential to 
create new tensions and disputes." 
 
"Bush in Georgia" 
Fikret Ertan commented in the Islamist-intellectual "Zaman" 
(5/10):  "Georgia's capital Tbilisi is going to host a very 
important and special guest today.  Of course, this guest is 
US President George W. Bush.  This is the first-ever visit 
by a US President to Tbilisi.  The people of that city have 
been preparing for this important visit for a long time. 
They will no doubt crowd the `Independence Center' today to 
listen to Bush's speech on democracy and freedom with great 
excitement.  With this visit, President Bush will try to 
improve and strengthen relations between two countries that 
have been moving closer together for the past ten years. 
Bilateral relations between the US and Georgia have been 
growing in three areas: military, economic, and politics. 
Bilateral military relations are definitely ahead of the 
political and economic dimensions, but President Bush's 
historic visit highlights Georgia's growing importance for 
the US, and its position as the Americans' closest friend 
and ally in the Caucasus." 
 
EDELMAN