US embassy cable - 05ANKARA2938

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 04 ANKARA 002938 
 
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 23, 2005 
 
 
THIS REPORT PRESENTS THE TURKISH PRESS SUMMARY UNDER THREE 
THEMES: 
 
HEADLINES 
BRIEFING 
EDITORIAL OPINION 
--------------------------------------------- ----- 
HEADLINES 
 
MASS APPEAL 
`Double' Protest Against First Lady Bush in Jerusalem - 
Hurriyet 
`Cold Shower' for Laura Bush in Jerusalem - Milliyet 
Jafari: Coalition Withdrawal Depends on Iraq Security - 
Hurriyet 5/22 
Turkey to Train Iraqi Policemen - Sabah 5/22 
Erdogan to "Le Figaro": Turkey Wants to be Loyal EU Partner 
- Sabah 5/22 
Shiite-Sunni Alliance in Iraq - Aksam 
Gaza Withdrawal in August - Aksam 
Huntington: Turkey Has Leadership Position in Islamic World 
- Hurriyet 5/22 
 
OPINION MAKERS 
Repairing Relations With Iraq - Cumhuriyet 
Turkish Day Euphoria in US - Zaman 
Shiites, Sunnis Call for Unity of Iraq - Yeni Safak 
7,000 Indonesians Protest Alleged Koran Abuse - Radikal 
US Pressures Karimov - Yeni Safak 
Andijon Heals Wounds, Tension High in Karasu - Zaman 
Early Polls Looming in Germany - Zaman 
Rice Highlights Damascus' Support for Iraqi Resisters - Yeni 
Safak 5/22 
Syrian Government Hunts for Islamists - Yeni Safak 
Amr Moussa: Democracy Only Way for Arab Nations - Cumhuriyet 
Karzai Condemns US Torture, Killing of 2 Afghans - Zaman 
5/22 
Saudi Women Have No Rights - Cumhuriyet 
BBC Employees on Strike - Cumhuriyet 
 
 
BRIEFING 
 
Iraq's PM Jafari Visits Turkey:  Iraqi Prime Minister 
Ibrahim al-Jafari assured Ankara during his state visit to 
Turkey that the PKK in northern Iraq would not be allowed to 
attack Turkey.  Jafari said after meeting PM Tayyip Erdogan 
on Friday that those countries that have supported Iraq 
`would never be forgotten.'  At a larger bilateral meeting 
chaired by Jafari, the Turks handed the Iraqi side a list of 
150 PKK  members, including Osman Ocalan, for arrest and 
extradition.  On Kirkuk, Jafari said the oil-rich northern 
Iraqi city's diverse demographic makeup should be preserved. 
Erdogan said that no ethnic group should be allowed to 
dominate Kirkuk, and stressed that `appropriate' grounds 
should be formed for a constitution that will ensure the 
broadest possible participation.  Jafari responded 
positively to Ankara's suggestion for opening a second 
border crossing in Ovakoy due to heavy traffic through the 
Habur border gate.  A trilateral meeting between Turkey, 
Iraq, and the US is to be held in Turkey in July to discuss 
the trucker security isue.  It was agreed that Turkey will 
continue training Iraqi security forces under a NATO 
program, and will carry out diplomatic training for Iraqi 
diplomats.  The two sides also agreed to open consulates in 
Mosul and Istanbul, and to simplify visa procedures for 
travel between the two countries.  The Iraqi Prime Minister 
was also received by parliamentary speaker Bulent Arinc, who 
pledged Turkey's help in drafting the Iraqi constitution. 
On Friday evening, Jafari visited 14 Iraqis receiving 
medical treatment in an Ankara hospital.  The Iraqis had 
been wounded in a bomb attack against the Kurdistan 
Democratic Party (KDP) office in Erbil May 4.  Jafari said 
before departing from Ankara on Saturday that a pullback of 
coalition forces from Iraq would only take place after 
Iraq's security forces are fully in place and prepared to 
handle the security threat. 
 
Sezer, Erdogan Issue Messages on Turkey-US Ties:  Turkish 
President Ahmet Necdet Sezer issued a message Saturday 
highlighting the `special' relationship between Turkey and 
the United States on the occasion of the 24th annual Turkish 
parade held in New York.  `We want to further strengthen 
cooperation with the US, and we are happy that the US shares 
the same desire,' Sezer said.  He praised the activities 
held in the US that are aimed at improving bilateral ties 
and balancing `the negative effects of anti-Turkey lobbies' 
there.  Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan said that Turkey's 
`friend and ally, the United States' is `our main partner' 
in dealing with regional and global issues.  `Our relations 
with the United States are different from our relations with 
any other country,' Erdogan said.  He added that Turkey is 
the only secular and democratic country in the region that 
believes in the free market economy.  `We support our 
nationals as they acquire US citizenship and become involved 
in US political life,' the Turkish prime minister 
emphasized. 
 
First Lady on Middle East Tour:  First Lady Laura Bush 
arrived from Jordan to Israel on the last leg of her tour of 
the Middle East in an effort to support democracy and 
women's rights, Turkish papers reported on Monday.  Mrs. 
Bush met with Israeli President Moshe Katzav and his wife in 
Jerusalem, and visited holy places in the city.  The First 
Lady also visited the Yad Vashem Holocaust memorial in 
Jerusalem, and traveled to Jericho in the West Bank to meet 
with Palestinian officials. She later flew to Egypt.  On the 
first stop of her tour in Jordan, Laura Bush told the World 
Economic Forum that women should be granted the rights to 
free speech, worship and vote, and she welcomed Kuwait's new 
law granting women the right to vote as a `happy' 
development.  Papers also cite international wire reports 
that `fanatical' Jews protested against the First Lady to 
urge the release of Jonathan Pollard, who was sentenced to 
life in prison for spying for Israel.  A group of Muslims 
also yelled at Mrs. Bush over the alleged desecration of the 
Koran in Guantanamo Bay prison. 
 
Emine Erdogan Joins International Women's Forum in Damascus: 
Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan's wife Emine told the 
International Businesswomen Forum in Damascus that women 
from around the world should take more active roles in 
politics, culture, arts and sports, Monday's papers report. 
`Truth and justice should be universalized, not terror,' 
Mrs. Erdogan said.  She claimed that women could find 
solutions to problems around the world if they are allowed 
to do so.  Papers note that Mrs. Erdogan returned to Ankara 
from Damascus last night on President Assad's official 
airplane. 
 
Anti-US Protest in Istanbul:  A rally was held in Istanbul 
to protest the `unrestricted' US access to Incirlik Airbase, 
weekend papers report.  The small group of demonstraters 
demanded the closure of Incirlik Airbase and a US pullout 
from the Middle East.  They also blamed the ruling AK Party 
government for becoming a partner in the US `occupation and 
savagery' in the region. 
 
Syria Imprisons PKK Members:  A Syrian court ordered the 
imprisonment of three alleged members of the outlawed PKK 
for 30 months for carrying out separatist activities, Sunday 
papers report.  Reports suggest that the convictions are 
furtehr evidence of the thaw in Turkish-Syrian relations and 
the positive tone generated by recent reciprocal high-level 
visits. 
 
Turkey's Trade With Iraq Increases:  State Minister Kursad 
Tuzmen said on Saturday that Turkey's trade with Iraq could 
amount to 2.5 billion USD at the end of the year, weekend 
papers report.  On Friday, Iraqi Trade Minister Abd al-Basit 
Karim Mawlud and Tuzmen met with businessmen from both 
countries.  Tuzmen said that Turkey aimed to reach 10 
billion USD of business with Iraq in trade, investment, 
transportation and contracting services within two years. 
He noted that Ankara wanted to sign a free trade agreement 
with Iraq.  Tuzmen said that the Habur border gate with Iraq 
will be modernized, but added that a second and a third 
crossing should also be opened.  He also pushed for the 
opening of a Turkey-Syria-Iraq railway line.  Tuzmen urged 
Iraq to take effective security measures, especially on the 
road to Mosul, and to lower the fees taken from Turkish 
companies at the Halil Ibrahim customs gate. 
 
Turkey to Increase Electricity Exports to Iraq:  The Turkish 
power companies EUAS and Kartet will increase their 
electricity exports to Iraq to 1,200 MW before the end of 
this year, a Turkish official told papers on Friday.  The 
official said during an official visit to Ankara by Iraqi 
Prime Minister Ibrahim Jafari that with 350 MW electricity 
sent to Iraq in late May, Turkey's exports to its neighbor 
would amount to 1,200 MW at the end of the year. 
 
Baykal Joins Socialist International Summit in Jerusalem: 
Opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) leader Deniz 
Baykal arrived in Israel on Saturday to attend the May 22-24 
meeting of the Socialist International (SI) in Jerusalem, 
weekend papers report.  Baykal met on the margins of the 
summit with Israeli Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom and Labor 
Party leader Shimon Peres.  Women journalists accompanying 
Baykal and CHP lawmaker Petek Gurbuz came under verbal 
attack by a group of radicals for not covering their heads 
during Baykal's visit to the al-Aqsa Mosque, Monday papers 
report.  On Monday, Baykal will move on to Ramallah to 
attend a welcoming reception hosted by Palestinian President 
Mahmoud Abbas. 
 
Turkey May Pay 1 Billion USD to Displaced Kurds:  Turkey 
could face fines amounting to 1 billion USD in compensation 
for local Kurds forced out of their villages amid fighting 
with the outlawed PKK in southeastern Turkey in the 1980s 
and 1990s, Monday's "Radikal" reports.  69,832 villagers 
have applied to a special commission set up by the Turkish 
government to investigate displacement cases.  The 
commission has decided to pay compensation fees to only 342 
applicants so far.  The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) 
advised the government that the July 2005 deadline for 
applications should be extended.  If not, the MFA argued, 
the number of applications to the European Court of Human 
Rights (ECHR) will increase. 
 
Turkish Army Planning Massive Operation Against PKK:  The 
"Mesopotamian News Agency" (MNA), which is known to be close 
to the PKK, claimed on Saturday that the Turkish military is 
preparing to launch a large operation against Kurdish 
insurgents in rural areas of the southeastern provinces 
Sirnak, Siirt, and Hakkari in late May.  Village guards in 
the area have been ordered to report to their locations by 
May 28 May, and a groups of informants from Diyarbakir, 
Midyat, and Van prisons have been sent to the region in 
advance of the operation, which is expected to last for two 
weeks.  Meanwhile, jandarma teams are continuing operations 
against the PKK in rural areas of Cukurca of Hakkari 
province, weekend papers report.  A lieutenant was killed 
when he stepped on a landmine during a mine-sweeping 
operation on Sunday. 
 
EDITORIAL OPINION: Uzbekistan; US-Turkey 
 
"Uzbekistan A Test for President Bush" 
Yasemin Congar wrote in the mass appeal "Milliyet" (5/23): 
"President Bush has said that the US will no longer tolerate 
anti-democratic regimes in the name of stability.  After his 
election victory in November, Bush has repeatedly 
highlighted this policy.  This principle is going through a 
critical test in Uzbekistan.  Although Bush has said many 
times that even if a despot presents himself as a friend of 
the US he cannot be tolerated, it remains to be seen if he 
is going to apply this policy to the Kerimov regime.  The 
Uzbek dictator is certainly not the only one Washington's 
`friends' with a bad record on democracy and freedom.  There 
are others, ranging from the Saudi regime to the government 
of Hosni Mubarak in Egypt.  In fact, such `friends' are 
currently facing growing US pressure for reforms. . 
Washington has adopted a cautious approach in the face of 
the brutal repression in Andijon.  But over the past week, 
Washington has stepped up its rhetoric against the Kerimov 
regime's brutality, and initiated a multi-faceted effort to 
push for an international investigation of the Uzbekistan 
events. . It seems that even though the Bush administration 
would like to keep its military options there, it has 
finally realized that pursuing a pro-Kerimov policy is not 
only dangerous but also works against US interests." 
 
"Greece is the New Strategic Partner for the US" 
Cuneyt Ulsever commented in the mass appeal "Hurriyet" 
(5/23):  "There are reports that the US is searching for 
alternatives to replace the strategic partnership with 
Turkey.  The US has military bases in the Middle East and in 
Central Asia.  The establishment of additional bases in 
Romania, Bulgaria, and Azerbaijan is under consideration. 
Had Turkey rejected the use of Incirlik airbase as a cargo 
hub for US operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, the US was 
going to go for another option - the British Aquatiri base 
in Cyprus.  In fact, US officials are increasingly speaking 
about Greece as a `strategic partner.'  Greek PM Karamanlis 
was given treatment appropriate to a strategic partner at 
the White House last week.  The Turkish government's 
unpredictable policies have forced the US to find an 
alternative to Turkey.  Prime Minister Erdogan has realized 
this at the last minute, and is making every effort to 
improve relations with the US.  But the White House, unlike 
in past years, is not very enthusiastic about hosting 
Erdogan this time.  The answer to Erdogan's appointment 
request came after a long delay, and the date given was 
later than what had been requested.  Now, prior to the 
visit, the US is trying to give the message to Erdogan that 
the US is working on a `plan B' in the Middle East, the 
Balkans, and Afghanistan.  Let's hope our Prime Minister 
reads these messages correctly." 
 
EDELMAN