US embassy cable - 05ANKARA3962

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 ANKARA 003962 
 
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, JULY 7, 2005 
 
THIS REPORT PRESENTS THE TURKISH PRESS SUMMARY UNDER THREE 
THEMES: 
 
HEADLINES 
BRIEFING 
EDITORIAL OPINION 
--------------------------------------------- ----- 
HEADLINES 
 
MASS APPEAL 
Erdogan: Religion-Based Politics a Plot Against Democracy - 
Milliyet 
Erdogan Explains `Turkish Model' at Sun Valley Conference - 
Aksam 
Denmark: Happy Birthday, President Bush - Hurriyet 
Iran, Iraq Defense Ministers Meet in Tehran - Sabah 
London Olympic Winner: Blair Beats France Again - Aksam 
 
OPINION MAKERS 
Erdogan: Turning Religion Into Ideology is a Mistake - 
Cumhuriyet 
Bush Urges African Leaders for Good Government - Yeni Safak 
Sharon Warns Palestinians - Yeni Safak 
Zarkawi Founds `Omar Brigade' Against Shiites' Badr Brigades 
- Yeni Safak 
Killings in Los Angeles Worse Than Iraq - Cumhuriyet 
Former Criminals Now Cabinet Ministers in Afghanistan - 
Cumhuriyet 
Bob Geldof A Candidate For Nobel Peace Prize - Radikal 
 
 
BRIEFING 
 
Erdogan Visits US:  Addressing the Sun Valley Conference in 
Idaho yesterday, Prime Minister Erdogan said that creating 
politics out of religion is detrimental to social peace and 
political pluralism.  `The motto of Islam is a pluralist and 
free way of life,' Erdogan said, emphasizing that it would 
be wrong to attribute the failure of most Muslims nations in 
creating democracies to Islam.  Erdogan claimed that Turkey 
is the best example to demonstrate that an overwhelmingly 
Muslim nation can establish a secular democracy.   Turkey 
has become a key actor for regional and global peace, with 
its membership in western organizations as well as its 
respected place among Islamic countries, according to 
Erdogan.  The PM noted that Turkey's EU membership will show 
the world, and particularly Islamic countries, that East and 
West, Islam and other religions can coexist and survive in 
peace through the pursuit of common goals.  Erdogan said 
that a contrary development in the EU would fan prejudices 
between the West and the Islamic world, give Islamic 
countries the feeling that they are being excluded, and harm 
transformation efforts in Muslim countries.  Erdogan stated 
that the United States is aware of this reality, and for 
this reason is giving full support to Turkey's EU 
membership.  Erdogan concluded by saying that Turkey, in 
cooperation with regional countries, the United States, the 
EU, and the international community, will continue its 
efforts to contribute to positive change in the region. 
 
Parliamentary Report on Fuel Smuggling from Iraq:  A Turkish 
parliamentary committee investigating fuel smuggling from 
northern Iraq said in a report that the outlawed PKK was 
siphoning off significant revenues from the illicit oil 
trade between the two countries, "Sabah" reports.  The 
report says that PKK militants have been infiltrating into 
Turkey from Iran, Iraq, and Syria by accompanying local 
smugglers on horseback.  The report underlines that `an 
ethnic group' in northern Iraq earns 500 million USD 
annually fees collected from people entering Iraq through 
the Habur border crossing.  KDP leader Barzani's brother and 
Saddam Hussein's son Uday were among the partners of `Asya 
Co.' in northern Iraq, through which 11 million barrels of 
diesel have been sold to Turks, the committee reported. 
 
Interior Ministers' Conference of Iraq's Neighbors Due in 
Istanbul:  A conference of interior ministers of Iraq's 
neighbors and Egypt will be held on July 18-19 in Istanbul, 
the Egyptian government news agency MENA reported on 
Wednesday.  The interior ministers are expected to discuss 
the security situation in Iraq and its effects on their 
countries. 
 
European Parliament Adopts Report on Women in Turkey:  The 
European Parliament (EP) general assembly on Wednesday 
approved a report on women's participation in social, 
economic, and political activities in Turkey, papers report. 
The report was submitted by the social democratic Turkish 
lawmaker Emine Bozkurt.  The report calls on the Turkish 
government to cooperate with women's associations and give 
them financial assistance, provide education to all women, 
and shelter women who suffer from domestic violence.  It 
welcomed legal reforms in Turkey bringing life imprisonment 
for those who commit honor killings and accepting that rape 
within marriage is a crime.  The report also requested that 
the European Commission issue an annual report on the 
protection of women's rights in Turkey. 
 
Former Kurdish Politician Killed in Diyarbakir:  Hikmet 
Fidan, a former politician from the pro-Kurdish party DEHAP, 
was shot to death in Turkey's mainly Kurdish southeastern 
city Diyarbakir on Wednesday.  It was not immediately clear 
whether the killing was politically motivated.  Fidan was 
the vice-chairman of the People's Democracy Party (HADEP, a 
forerunner of DEHAP), which was banned in 2003 for alleged 
links to the separatist PKK. 
 
Patriarch Bartholomew Due in Brussels:  Ecumenical Patriarch 
Bartholomew I will visit Brussels June 12 for meetings with 
European Commission officials, including EU expansion chief 
Olli Rehn, "Radikal" reports.  Bartholomew is expected to 
reiterate his support for Turkey's EU drive, and discuss 
with EU officials Turkey's draft bill on minority 
foundations, the situation of minorities, and the reopening 
of Halki Seminary. 
 
Pope Benedict to Visit Turkey:  Pope Benedict may visit 
Turkey later this year to meet his Orthodox counterpart, 
Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, in a bid to strengthen 
Christian unity, the Istanbul-based Greek Orthodox 
Patriarchate said on Wednesday.  A Patriarchate spokesman 
told the press that Bartholomew has invited Pope Benedict to 
attend the St. Andrew's Feast Day on November 30, but that 
no official response has been received. 
 
Security Forces-PKK Fighting Continues in Southeast Turkey: 
One PKK militant was killed and two were wounded in a clash 
with Turkish troops in Mardin province in southeast Turkey, 
military officials said on Wednesday.  In separate fighting 
in Siirt province, two jandarma officers were wounded in an 
attack by PKK members against a police station on Tuesday 
evening.  Meanwhile, a sixth Turkish railway security 
official died in hospital as the result of wounds he 
received during last Saturday's PKK attack on a train in the 
mountains near Bingol. 
 
 
EDITORIAL OPINION: The G-8 Summit 
 
"Is Protesting Enough?" 
Akif Emre argued in the pro-government/Islamist-oriented 
"Yeni Safak" (7/7): "The G-8 summit is an attempt to 
implement the economic side of the BMENAI project.  It would 
be too naive to expect that the G-8 summit will focus on the 
elimination of the gap between rich and poor.  This is all 
about sharing the pie between 7 countries, not even 8. 
Thus, seeking for more aid to Africa without understanding 
the motivations of the G-8 is doomed to fail.  Western 
states have demonstrated their unwillingness to compromise 
their standards of living and habits of consumption.  The 
current G-8 summit is proving what is already well known: 
capitalist countries will not engage in any sacrifice for 
the sake of humanity." 
 
"The Deep Impact of the US" 
Sirri Yuksel Cebeci wrote in the conservatively-sensational 
"Halka ve Olaylara Tercuman" (7/7): "The G-8 summit once 
again failed to bring even a small light of hope for the 
people of famine-stricken Africa because of President Bush's 
opposition to providing more aid.  President Bush does his 
best to facilitate the killing of innocent Iraqi children, 
and he does not care about the African children that die 
from hunger every day.  There is a reason for this.  As he 
said, he cares for American interests first.  Of course, 
Africans don't have a vote in the US presidential elections. 
The plans to provide more aid to Africa were scrapped when 
Bush refused to give his support, and the rest of the G-8 
members helplessly followed the US lead.  By declining to 
sign the Kyoto Protocol to cope with global warming, 
President Bush demonstrated that he doesn't care about the 
environment either.  The US has willingly spent billions of 
dollars for the `Deep Impact' project, but has not given 
even a pound of rice for Africa." 
 
"The G-8 in Scotland" 
Yilmaz Oztuna commented in the conservative "Turkiye" (7/7): 
"The GNP for the entire world in 2003 was $36.46 trillion. 
$12.3 trillion of this amount belongs to the US.  The G-8 
countries plus others like Spain, the Netherlands, and 
Australia account for three quarters of the world's wealth. 
The rest suffer from poverty.  In an effort to develop these 
poor countries, the wealthy ones could do many things.  But 
they choose to ignore certain very clear standards.  While 
the US is the biggest polluter of the atmosphere with carbon 
dioxide, it refuses to sign the Kyoto Protocol that would 
limit pollution.  On the other hand, the G-8 is expected to 
eliminate the $25 billion debt of the African countries. 
The US cares for the poor and developing South and Central 
American countries as well.  The US claims that by 
implementing the Greater Middle East Project, it will bring 
both prosperity and democracy to South Asia and North 
Africa.  But we have seen no evidence for this claim up to 
now.  We don't think that more prosperity can be brought to 
this region.  We also have doubts about the possibility of 
establishing democracy in the region.  But the US could come 
to dominate the two-thirds of the world's oil and gas 
resources that are found there.  They might also be able to 
guarantee the security of Israel.  Even though the US cannot 
eliminate the terror in the region, it can definitely keep 
it under control.  That is what we think about the US.  We 
believe the future of the G-8 depends on its success in the 
fields of human rights, poverty elimination, and the 
protection of the environment." 
 
MCELDOWNEY