US embassy cable - 05ANKARA2810

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 04 ANKARA 002810 
 
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, MAY 16, 2005 
 
THIS REPORT PRESENTS THE TURKISH PRESS SUMMARY UNDER THREE 
THEMES: 
 
HEADLINES 
BRIEFING 
EDITORIAL OPINION 
--------------------------------------------- ----- 
 
HEADLINES 
 
MASS APPEAL 
Armenian FM: Turkey-Armenia Border Must Be Opened - Milliyet 
Condi Goes to Iraq - Sabah 
Condi in Erbil - Hurriyet 
Barzani: No Concessions on Kirkuk - Hurriyet 
Uzbek Troops Hunt for Insurgents in Andijan - Aksam 
9 PKK Terrorists Killed in Tunceli - Sabah 5/15 
Saddam Writes Memoirs in Jail - Hurriyet 5/15 
Reaction to Koran Desecration Grows - Milliyet 5/15 
 
OPINION MAKERS 
Rice Pays Kurds a Surprise Visit - Yeni Safak 
Bush to Meet Palestine's Abbas May 26 - Cumhuriyet 5/15 
25 US Casualties in Iraq Over Past Week - Cumhuriyet 5/15 
Iran Parliament's `Nuclear Approval' - Radikal 
Newsweek: Koran Desecration Report May Be Inaccurate - Yeni 
Safak 
Afghan Clergy Threatens US With `Jihad' - Cumhuriyet 
Mubarek's Son to Run for Egypt Presidency - Zaman 5/15 
 
 
BRIEFING 
 
US C-17s to Arrive in Incirlik in June:  C-17 US military 
cargo planes are to be deployed at Incirlik Airbase 
beginning in the first week in June to transport logistical 
cargo to Iraq and Afghanistan, Sunday's "Hurriyet" reports. 
The US and Britain may also request the use of Incirlik for 
the rotation of their troops, according to the report. 
Diplomatic sources said that for the time being, the Turkish 
government decree allows only the transportation of 
logistical material like food, clothing, tents, and spare 
parts, as there has been no request for troop rotations. 
All flight and cargo details will be notified to Turkish 
authorities, "Hurriyet" writes. 
 
Erdogan Attends COE Summit in Warsaw:  Prime Minister Tayyip 
Erdogan traveled to Warsaw Sunday to attend the two-day 
`Summit of European Unity' meetings held by the Council of 
Europe (COE), papers report.  "Milliyet" expects Turkey to 
urge the COE to adopt a decision to fight anti-Islamist 
sentiment in Europe.  Reports also expect Erdogan to meet 
with Armenian President Kocharian on the margins of the 
summit.  On Sunday, Kocharian met with Azerbaijani President 
Ilham Aliyev to discuss the Nagorno-Karabakh issue.  Aliyev 
later briefed PM Erdogan about the content of his discussion 
with Kocharian.  Armenian Foreign Minister Vardan Oskanyan 
told "Milliyet" in Warsaw that an Armenian-Turkish 
intergovernmental commission can be set up to work toward 
the normalization of ties.  Oksanyan added that a joint 
committee of historians to examine genocide claims, as 
proposed by PM Erdogan, could be also be established within 
the framework of the intergovernmental commission.  Oksanyan 
said that the first prioity for both sides should be the 
opening of the border between Turkey and Armenia. 
 
Alpogan Due in Israel:  Yigit Alpogan, Secretary General of 
Turkey's National Security Council (NSC), will visit Israel 
on Tuesday as the guest of Giora Eiland, Director of the 
Israeli National Security Council, the semi-official 
Anatolian Agency reported on Monday.  Alpogan and Eiland 
will discuss ways to enhance cooperation between the two 
councils and exchange views on regional and international 
developments.  Alpogan will also meet with Amos Yaron, 
Director General of the Israeli Ministry of Defense, and 
General Amos Gilad, head of the Political-Military Office of 
the Ministry of Defense. 
 
Turkey's New National Security Document:  Turkey's revised 
National Security Policy Document has been now been 
completed, "Radikal" reported on Sunday.  The new draft 
describes separatist terrorism, religious fundamentalism, 
and extreme leftist activities as the primary threats to 
domestic security, and global terrorism and nuclear danger 
as the leading foreign threats.  The draft is to be 
submitted to the National Security Council (NSC) in June 
and, if adopted, will become official as of July.  The 
`nuclear axis' of North Korea, China, India, Pakistan, and 
Iran tops the threat list, "Radikal" claims.  The document 
cites Al-Qaeda and the PKK as transnational terrorist 
groups.  Greece, for the first time, has been removed from 
the list of foreign military threats, according to 
"Radikal." 
 
Turkish Foreign Policy Meeting at UNA-NY:  Turkey's Consul- 
General in New York, Omer Onhon, told a meeting on Turkish 
foreign policy at the United Nations Association of New York 
(UNA-NY) that positive aspects of Turkey-US relations should 
be taken into consideration when analyzing the relationship, 
the semi-official Anatolian News Agency reported over the 
weekend.  Onhon said that `multidimensional and rooted' 
Turkey-US ties ensured positive cooperation in places like 
Somalia, Bosnia, Afghanistan, and during both Gulf wars. 
Orhon reminded that Turkey recently took over the ISAF 
command in Afghanistan for the second time, and emphasized 
that Turkish-US relations had a brilliant future. 
 
`TRNC' Warns Free Passage May End in Cyprus:  Turkish Cyprus 
`president' Mehmet Ali Talat warned over the weekend that 
Turkish Cypriots may stop traveling to southern Cyprus due 
to lawsuits filed by Nicosia against Turks for `illegal use' 
of property in northern Cyprus.  Talat said that the `TRNC' 
has no intention of banning free passage between the two 
sides, but added that the Greek Cypriot lawsuits may 
discourage Turkish Cypriots from traveling to the south. 
The Greek Cypriot administration is demanding compensation 
from Turkish Cypriots using properties that belonged to 
Greek Cypriots before Turkey occupied the northern part of 
the island in 1974. 
 
Turkey Offers Help to Uzbekistan:  Turkey is closely 
monitoring developments in Uzbekistan, and expressed a 
readiness to provide assistance, the Turkish Foreign 
Ministry (MFA) said on Sunday.  An MFA statement said that 
if the Uzbek government acts moderately against the 
protestors and civilian Uzbeks, this could prevent more 
bloodshed in the region. 
 
Turkey-Greece Natural Gas Pipeline Project:  A 300 km 
natural gas pipeline will be laid between Karacabey near the 
Turkish city of Bursa and Komotini in Greece, the semi- 
official Anatolian News Agency reported on Friday.  The 
pipeline, which will transport Caspian and Central Asian 
natural gas to Europe via Turkey and Greece, is to become 
operational in 2006.  Turkish officials said that 250 
million cubic meters of natural gas will be carried through 
the pipeline annually.  When connected to Italy in the 
coming years, the pipeline will have the capacity to carry 
11-12 billion cubic meters of natural gas. 
 
Saddam's C-4 in PKK Hands:  According to an investigation by 
Turkish police, 190 kg of plastic C-4 and A-4 explosives 
seized in Turkey over the past year was produced in Portugal 
and sold to Saddam Hussein during the Iran-Iraq War, 
"Milliyet" reported on Saturday.  After the war, the 
explosives were seized by terrorist organizations.  The PKK 
has reportedly brought some of these explosives into Turkey 
from northern Iraq to carry out terrorist actions.  The 
paper notes Turkish Land Forces Commander General Yasar 
Buyukanit's warning last week that C-4 has become `standard 
equipment' in the `backpacks' of terrorists infiltrating 
into Turkey from northern Iraq. 
 
Turkish Troops' Operation Against PKK:  Turkish security 
forces killed nine PKK militants, two of them women, in an 
operation involving some 10,000 troops in Tunceli province 
in eastern Turkey, military officials said on Saturday.  On 
Friday, three soldiers were killed and four were wounded in 
the nearby province of Bingol in an ambush by PKK fighters. 
Military officials said PKK members have been preparing for 
various actions in the area. 
Agar Reelected Chairman of DYP:  Mehmet Agar was reelected 
as chairman of the center-right True Path Party (DYP) with 
1,071 of 1,081votes cast during the eighth congress of the 
party held in Ankara on Saturday.  Agar was the only 
candidate for the party leadership.  On Sunday, DYP 
lawmakers Reyhan Balandi, Ummet Kandogan, Dursun Akdemir and 
Ibrahim Ozdogan resigned from their party when Agar failed 
to include their names on the party's new executive board. 
As a result of the resignations, the number of DYP seats in 
parliament dropped from 7 to 3. 
 
Large Numbers of Theology Teachers Appointed to High 
Schools:  The ruling AK Party has appointed some 3,022 
theology teachers to high schools from 2003 to 2005.  The 
number of such teachers appointed between 1999-2002 was only 
200, "Milliyet" reported on Sunday.  The Turkish Teachers' 
Union slammed AKP for making appointments in a `partisan' 
way, adding that the data indicates discriminatory staffing 
of teaching positions. 
 
 
EDITORIAL OPINION: Uzbekistan; US-Turkey Relations 
 
"A Flower That Did not Bloom" 
Erdal Safak commented in the mass appeal "Sabah" (5/15): 
"Recent events in Uzbekistan cannot be viewed as another 
democratic revolution.  This is mainly due to the lack of 
organized opposition and the ban imposed in Uzbekistan on 
the Soros Foundation.  Moreover, Uzbekistan is not having an 
election, and President Kerimov is able to control the army 
and police force.  . Nevertheless the uprising in Andijan 
came as no surprise.  It had been expected, so Kerimov had 
taken certain measures to counter the demonstrations before 
they even started.  For instance, he ordered the security 
forces to respond as harshly as possible.  He also ensured 
Russian support against the possibility of another `velvet 
revolution.' . The US reacted immediately by taking the side 
of protesters in Georgia, Ukraine, and Kyrgyzstan.  But the 
US was silent about the incidents in Andijan.  First of all, 
Uzbekistan has strategic importance for the US by virtue of 
the two US military bases established there.  In addition, 
the rioting groups are radical Islamists of a kind that the 
US opposes.  Given the circumstances, Kerimov is secure, at 
least for the time being.  But we had better keep an eye on 
the other `candidates' for `velvet revolutions' -- Belarus, 
Armenia, and Azerbaijan." 
 
"Social Unrest in Uzbekistan" 
Yilmaz Oztuna observed in the conservative-mass appeal 
"Turkiye" (5/16):  "Although the Tashkent government 
presented the riots in Andijan as a revolt by religious 
fundamentalists, the issue goes much deeper than that. 
Andijan is the capital of the Fergana Valley, which is the 
area of the world (after Istanbul) most densely populated by 
Turks.  Turkey is not against Uzbek leader Kerimov's efforts 
to bring all of the Turkic republics together under one 
umbrella.  Turkey also understands Kerimov's efforts to 
protect his country against a Sharia regime.  But it is not 
right for a person who has a communist background to have 
such deep concerns about religious fundamentalists.  Steps 
he has taken  -- closing Fethullah Gulen's schools, limiting 
the number of the Uzbek students being educated in Turkey -- 
are unnecessary measures created by an unjustified 
suspicion.  Kerimov realized the problems in Afghanistan at 
an early stage, and he even allowed the US to establish 
military bases in his country.  Washington did not approve 
of the incidents in Andijan.  In short, all of the Turkic 
republics - including Uzbekistan -- need more democracy." 
 
"Relations Cannot be Put on Auto-Pilot" 
Yasemin Congar wrote from Washington in the mass appeal 
"Milliyet" (5/16): "Auto- pilot has become the operative 
phrase in Washington for analyzing the current stage of 
Turkish-American relations.  American experts note that 
bilateral relationships cannot be pursued on auto-pilot. 
They believe that Ankara's political leadership should take 
some steps to overcome the turbulence. . A recent meeting on 
Turkish-American relations in Washington resulted in a 
number of messages being passed to Ankara.  Turkey and the 
United States should engage in a more effective political 
partnership.  Turkish political leaders should be able to 
concentrate on this by realizing the two countries' shared 
interests in the Middle East and the Islamic world.  If the 
Erdogan-Bush meeting on June 8 ends with progress on that 
issue, then diplomats in both countries will be working on a 
better, more productive cooperation between the two 
countries in the period ahead." 
 
EDELMAN