US embassy cable - 05ANKARA3014

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 04 ANKARA 003014 
 
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 
THURSDAY, MAY 26, 2005 
 
THIS REPORT PRESENTS THE TURKISH PRESS SUMMARY UNDER THREE 
THEMES: 
 
HEADLINES 
BRIEFING 
EDITORIAL OPINION 
--------------------------------------------- ----- 
HEADLINES 
 
MASS APPEAL 
Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan: A Dream Come True - Hurriyet 
Turkey to Earn $250 Million Annually From BTC Pipeline - 
Sabah 
BTC Oil Flow to Reach Ceyhan Port in September - Milliyet 
Analysts Find Reports of Wounded Zarkawi `Unreliable' - 
Vatan 
Bush Threatens to Veto Bill for Stem Cell Research - 
Hurriyet 
Website: Zarkawi Flees Iraq - Aksam 
EU Warns China Against Textile Exports - Milliyet 
 
OPINION MAKERS 
US Energy Secretary: BTC Will Change the World - Yeni Safak 
US Congressmen to Fly to North Cyprus from Turkey - Zaman 
AKP Government Has No Tolerance for Freedom: Armenian 
Conference Canceled, Union Closed for Defending Education in 
Kurdish - Radikal 
Talabani to be Given `Red Carpet' Treatment During Ankara 
Visit - Cumhuriyet 
Amnesty International Annual Report Targets US - Yeni Safak 
Amnesty International: Human Rights Violated in Iraq - Zaman 
Amnesty International: Torture Continues in Turkey - Radikal 
FBI Wants Wider Investigative Authority Against Terror - 
Cumhuriyet 
 
 
BRIEFING 
 
Speaker Arinc in US:  Turkish Parliament Speaker Bulent 
Arinc, in the United States as the official guest of House 
Speaker Dennis Hastert, met representatives of the Jewish 
community and the Assembly of Turkish-American Associations 
(ATAA) on Wednesday, Turkish media report.  Arinc is 
scheduled to meet Speaker Hastert on Thursday, before 
holding talks with Vice President Dick Cheney and National 
Security Advisor Stephen Hadley.  Arinc will also meet 
members of the US-Turkey Friendship Caucus on Friday before 
moving on to Chicago for meetings with Turkish and American 
businessmen. 
 
Upcoming Conferences on Turkey-US Ties:  The US-Turkish 
Business Council will organize two conferences in June to 
mark the 20th anniversary of its founding, Council Chjairman 
Dr. Yilmaz Arguden told the semi-official Anatolian News 
Agency (AA) on Wednesday.  Arguden said that the first 
conference will be held at Istanbul's Bosphorus University 
(BU) on June 2, with the participation of US Ambassador Eric 
Edelman.  The second conference will be held in Washington 
DC June 5-7.  Economy Minister Ali Babacan, AK Party 
lawmaker Egemen Bagis, former members of the US House of 
Representatives Jack Buechner and Larry LaRocco, the 
American Jewish Committee's Barry Jacobs, German Marshall 
Fund Director Ronald Asmus, and Washington Post columnist 
David Ignatius are among the speakers who will come to 
Istanbul.  Some 20 US Congressmen will travel to Turkey to 
attend the conference, according to AA.  Prime Minister 
Tayyip Erdogan, Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul, Defense 
Minister Vecdi Gonul, Energy Minister Hilmi Guler, Deputy 
Chief of General Staff General Ilker Basbug, and National 
Security Council (NSC) Secretary General Yigit Alpogan are 
to attend the conference in Washington, DC. 
 
Rubin on the Shape of the US-Turkish Relationship:  Michael 
Rubin, an American Enterprise Institute (AEI) expert on the 
Middle East, told "Zaman" that Prime Minister Erdogan's 
upcoming visit to Washington could be a `starting point' for 
putting relations back on track.  Rubin noted that although 
Erdogan's US visit could be helpful, it should not be 
expected to sort out all of the issues between Ankara and 
Washington.  He noted that Ankara should change its negative 
attitude toward Washington.  Rubin advised Erdogan to ask 
Secretary Rice why US promises with regard to the PKK have 
 
SIPDIS 
not been kept.  `A majority of the Iraqis see the insurgents 
as terrorists,' said Rubin, and he called on Turkish 
officials not to regard attacks by insurgents in Iraq there 
as `legitimate.'  Rubin also noted that he fully supported 
Turkey's policy on Cyprus, and voiced hope that Ankara will 
get `guarantees' from Washington on this issue.  Rubin 
claimed that the attitude of the AK Party and anti-Jewish 
sentiments in the Turkish press have weakened the support of 
the Jewish lobby for Turkey.  `Maybe Ankara can depend on 
Paris, Berlin, and Brussels from now on -- after all, aren't 
they Turkey's new friends?' Rubin asked. 
 
Sezer Participates in Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan Inauguration 
Ceremony:  Turkish President Sezer joined leaders from 
Azerbaijan, Georgia, and Kazakhstan in the Azerbaijani 
capital Baku yesterday for the opening of the Baku-Tbilisi- 
Ceyhan (BTC) oil pipeline, papers report.  Sezer said at the 
inauguration ceremony that BTC would assure the security of 
energy distribution and reduce the burden on the Turkish 
Straits.  He noted that Turkey aimed to become a reliable 
energy corridor, and outlined plans for turning the Ceyhan 
Terminal into a trade and export center for energy.  Sezer 
added that the pipeline will become more profitable when 
Kazakhstan joins the project.  President Sezer also 
expressed hope that the Shah Deniz natural gas pipeline 
project from Baku to Erzurum via Tbilisi would be activated 
by the end of 2006.  Sezer said that the Turkey-Greece-Italy 
natural gas pipeline continued to transport Caspian basin 
resources to European markets.  `Together with Russia, 
Norway and Algeria, Turkey is one of the four main routes 
for transportation of natural gas to the European Union. 
Turkey also seeks to transport these natural gas resources 
to the United States via a liquefied natural gas terminal it 
plans to build at Ceyhan Terminal.'  Sezer emphasized that 
another important project was the construction of a railway 
between Kars-Tbilisi-Baku.  Aliyev, Saakashvili and Sezer 
signed a joint declaration on the Kars-Akhalkalaki-Tbilisi- 
Baku international railway transport corridor, a project 
with an estimated cost of 450 million USD.  "Yeni Safak" 
quotes US Energy Secretary Samuel Bodman as saying that the 
BTC inauguration marked `a day that will change the world.' 
Meanwhile, the United States on Wednesday hailed the opening 
of the four billion USD BTC pipeline as an `historic 
project' that will also strengthen the independence of 
Azerbaijan and Georgia.  Secretary Bodman read a letter from 
President Bush at the opening ceremony, in which the 
American President hailed the project as a `monumental 
achievement.' 
 
Reactions to Cancellation of Controversial Armenian 
Conference:  Several Turkish academics sharply criticized 
Justice Minister Cemil Cicek's harsh statements that forced 
the cancellation of a conference that was to be held at 
Bosphorus University (BU) to discuss claims regarding the 
mass killings of Armenians at the hand of Ottoman forces in 
1915-17.  Following the strong criticism by Cicek, who 
described the conference as a `stab in the back of the 
Turkish people,' the university decided to postpone the 
conference.  Professor Murat Belge pointed to the 
contradiction between Turkey's official position inviting 
relevant parties to examine the Turkish archives, and the 
Cicek remarks that led to the cancellation of the 
conference.  Belge speculated in "Radikal" that Cicek had 
probably called the university and pressed for the 
cancellation.  He added that the Istanbul governor had said 
he could not guarantee the security of the conference 
participants, and that a prosecutor had demanded to see all 
papers to be read at the conference.  `Cicek's remarks 
amount to a lynching, just like the one we recently 
witnessed in Trabzon.  The Justice Minister's provocation 
means that efforts for democratization in Turkey have been 
officially called off until further notice,' Belge noted. 
Hrant Dink, editor of the Armenian weekly "Agos" and a 
conference participant, said Cicek's remarks strengthened 
the hand of those who say Turkey is not democratic enough to 
discuss the Armenian issue.  `It also shows there is a 
difference between what the government says and its real 
intentions,' Dink noted.  `Cicek's remarks are 
unbelievable,' said an unidentified EU diplomat: `It not 
only kills the government's policy on the Armenian issue, 
but also the support for Turkey's EU drive,' the diplomat 
said.  Cem Ozdemir, a Turkish-German Green lawmaker in the 
European Parliament said that Turkey had missed an 
opportunity to show the world a transparent and tolerant 
face: `Turkey has shot itself in the foot,' Ozdemir said, 
speculating that Ankara had fallen into the trap of anti-EU 
circles in the country. 
 
Teachers' Union Banned for Demanding Education in Mother 
Tongues:  The Court of Cassation (Yargitay) voted 
unanimously to overturn a lower court decision to close the 
teachers' union Egitim-Sen for arguing the case for 
providing education in langauges other than Turkish.  An 
Ankara court had earlier ruled that, under the European 
Convention on Human Rights, the union could not be closed. 
Following the Yargitay decision yesterday, the case will now 
be sent back to the local court.  The decision of the 
Yargitay is binding, so the local court is expected to 
decide for closure of the union. 
 
`Torture' Seminar Cancelled:  "Aksam" reports that an EU- 
sponsored seminar on torture to be held in Istanbul 
Wednesday with the participation of doctors, members of the 
judiciary, and international organizations was cancelled by 
the Turkish Ministry of Justice over fears that the 
gathering may have resulted in `anti-Turkish propaganda' 
claiming that torture is prevalent in the country.  Medical 
Foundation Director Sherman Carroll urged the Justice 
Ministry to provide an explanation for the decision. 
 
Talabani to Visit Turkey:  Iraq's President Jalal Talabani 
plans to visit Turkey in June as the official guest of 
Turkish President Sezer, "Cumhuriyet" reports.  Talabani 
will be given a top-level state reception, including a call 
on Sezer at the Presidential Palace in Ankara.  Turkish 
Foreign Ministry (MFA) sources see the visit as the 
beginning of a new period between Iraq and Turkey, and 
expect to discuss with Talabani the status of Kirkuk, the 
removal of the PKK presence in northern Iraq, and the 
process of writing Iraq's constitution. 
 
Church in US Joins Koran Abuse:  The Danieltown Baptist 
church in Rutherfold, North Carolina put up a neon sign on 
its front lawn that reads reads `The Koran needs to be 
flushed,' Turkish dailies report.  The story, including a 
photo, was featured on the front page of the Islamist- 
oriented "Yeni Safak."  Pastor Creighton Lovelace reportedly 
refused to rake the sign down, saying that it reflected the 
`word of God.' The church's attitude drew the fury of 
Muslims living in the region, the paper noted, recalling 
growing protest demonstrations around the world over alleged 
abuse of the Holy Koran in Guantanamo Bay prison. 
 
Ankara: No Policy Change in Status of Istanbul Patriarchate: 
Turkish Foreign Ministry (MFA) Spokesman Namik Tan said on 
Wednesday that the Orthodox Synod meeting in Istanbul 
concerning alleged fraud by Jerusalem Patriarch Irineos I 
should not be regarded as a change in Turkey's position on 
the `ecumenical' status of the Patriarchate.  `Turkey cannot 
be a party to internal matters of the Orthodox world, so the 
meeting held in Istanbul yesterday cannot have any impact on 
Turkey,' Tan  said.  Tan noted that the Greek Orthodox 
Patriarchate in Istanbul continued spiritual service to 
`Turkey's Greek Orthodox nationals' without any interference 
or discrimination. 
 
 
EDITORIAL OPINION: Russia; The EU; Caspian Energy 
 
"Russian Bases in Georgia" 
Fikret Ertan wrote in the Islamist-intellectual "Zaman" 
(5/26): "The fate of the two Russian bases in Georgia is 
still a matter of contention between the two sides.  This 
debate has continued for years, but the two sides have 
failed to come up with a clear solution.  But there are some 
new developments in this regard.  First, Russia and Georgia 
have restarted the negotiation process in Tbilisi.  It seems 
that the Russian military staff and heavy weapons deployed 
on those bases will likely be transferred to Armenia. . This 
second development is a cause for worry, particularly in 
Azerbaijan.  The Baku administration has gone as far as to 
deliver a diplomatic note to Moscow on this issue.  As for 
Russia, it has about 19 military bases and installations of 
various sizes.  When the Russian military personnel move 
from Georgia to Armenia, the Russian military presence in 
that country will be stronger than ever before." 
 
"The Privileged Partnership Trap" 
Zafer Atay wrote in the economic-political "Dunya" (5/26): 
"Privileged partnership has emerged as a new formula for 
Turkey-EU relations invented by Germany and France.  Both 
countries came up with this idea in order to keep Turkey 
from being a full member of the EU.  French President 
Chirac, his party rival Sarkozy, and Germany's CDU leader 
Angela Merkel believe that a privileged partnership for 
Turkey is the magic formula that will resolve the problems 
between EU and Turkey as part of the membership 
negotiations.  They are acting based on prejudice, as they 
all consider Turkey to be non-European. . The privileged 
partnership idea is an obvious trap for Turkey.  We must be 
very careful not to fall into it." 
 
"Turkey to Become Energy Transit Center" 
Hakan Celik commented in the mass appeal-sensational "Posta" 
(5/26):  "After reports about deteriorating relations with 
the US, unresolved relations with the EU, and chaos in Iraq, 
at last we have some positive developments.  Moreover, this 
development has been achieved despite many countries efforts 
to derail it by lobbying against Turkey.  The first flow of 
oil started on its way through the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan (BTC) 
pipeline yesterday.  Turkey has been dreaming about this 
`project of the century' for years.  Azeri and Kazakh oil 
will be transferred to world markets through the BTC 
pipeline.  This pipeline will open the way for Turkey to 
become one of the most important energy transit points in 
the world.  The BTC project will benefit Turkey not only 
strategically, but economically as well." 
 
EDELMAN