US embassy cable - 05ANKARA4227

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 04 ANKARA 004227 
 
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 21, 2005 
 
THIS REPORT PRESENTS THE TURKISH PRESS SUMMARY UNDER THREE 
THEMES: 
 
HEADLINES 
BRIEFING 
EDITORIAL OPINION 
--------------------------------------------- ----- 
 
HEADLINES 
 
MASS APPEAL 
Sunnis Pull Out of Iraqi Constitution Process - Milliyet 
Iraq Body Count: An Iraqi Dies Every 40 Minutes - Hurriyet 
3 UK Troops to be Tried of War Crimes in Iraq - Sabah 
`Sharia' for Iraqi Women - Hurriyet 
Rightist Judge Roberts Draws Criticism - Hurriyet 
Bush Assigns Political Appointee Timken to Germany - Sabah 
Turkey's Population to be 96.5 Million in 2050 - Vatan 
 
OPINION MAKERS 
Osman Ocalan: PKK on a Dead End Street - Cumhuriyet 
IHT: US the New Enemy for PKK - Cumhuriyet 
Livingstone: West's Policy Caused London Attacks - Zaman 
Muslims Will Be Watched in Britain - Radikal 
Rice Due in Israel Today - Yeni Safak 
`Sharia' for `Democratic' Iraq - Cumhuriyet 
Hizbullah Member in Lebanese Government - Radikal 
Conservative Candidate for US Supreme Court - Yeni Safak 
Pentagon: China May Pose Military Threat - Cumhuriyet 
150,000 Children in Niger Face Death From Hunger - Yeni 
Safak 
 
 
BRIEFING 
 
PKK Summit Due in Washington:  Turkey's special Iraq envoy 
Osman Koruturk conveyed to US officials Turkish demands with 
regard to the PKK during a visit to Washington last week, 
"Aksam" reports.  Koruturk told American officials about 
Turkey's uneasiness over the PKK presence in northern Iraq 
and infiltrations into Turkey by PKK militants.  He 
complained that no PKK leaders have been handed over thus 
far despite the fact that a list of 150 PKK members sought 
by Turkey had been given to the US.  The US is opposed to a 
possible Turkish cross-border incursion into Iraq, and 
offered to host the second Iraq-Turkey-US tripartite 
meetings in Washington.  The Turkish Foreign Ministry (MFA) 
initially saw no sense in holding new talks, since the first 
meeting held in January produced no results.  In the end, 
however, Ankara accepted the US offer.  Turkey plans send a 
low-level delegation to the meeting, "Aksam" reports. 
 
Osman Ocalan on His Brother, Dissident Killing, Kurdish 
Party:  Osman Ocalan, brother of imprisoned PKK leader 
Abdullah Ocalan, said that a political party established by 
former Kurdish MP Leyla Zana was set up with the approval of 
Abdullah Ocalan., "Milliyet" reports.  Commenting on claims 
by Deputy Chief of General Staff (TGS) General Ilker Basbug 
that the US had ordered the capture of PKK leaders, Ocalan 
said that political circumstances `are not suitable' for 
this.  `The Kurds are friends of the US.  90 percent of the 
Kurds support the US, while 80-90 percent of the Turks 
oppose the Americans.  The US has to protect its interests,' 
Ocalan said.  He said that his brother Abdullah had control 
over the Democratic Society Movement (DTH) that was founded 
by Leyla Zana and her colleagues from the former pro-Kurdish 
DEP.  Ocalan blamed a violent group inside the PKK - but not 
his brother Abdullah --  for the killing of dissident 
Kurdish leader Hikmet Fidan.  The DTH is undergoing a power 
struggle between socialist and democratic fractions within 
the party, Ocalan said, adding that Fidan was supporting the 
establishment of an independent party.  Ocalan argued that 
Abdullah Ocalan should be included in a possible amnesty to 
be declared by the Turkish government, "Milliyet" writes. 
Papers also quote Osman Ocalan as telling Lebanon's daily 
`al-Mustakbal" that he has left the PKK because he opposes 
the killing of innocent people.  Ocalan said the PKK had no 
chance to accomplish anything for the Kurds, adding that the 
time has come to approach issues with democracy and common 
sense.  Ocalan said he did not approve of terrorist actions 
by the `Kurdish Freedom Hawks' (TAK), a new organization 
which claimed responsibility for bomb attacks against two 
Turkish resorts.  Ocalan added that the number of PKK 
terrorists in northern Iraq was not as high as estimates by 
Turkish authorities suggest. 
 
Cicek on General Amnesty:  Papers report that Justice 
Minister and government spokesman Cemil Cicek said on 
Wednesday that the AK Party government had no plans to 
declare an amnesty for members of the outlawed PKK. 
`Amnesty laws enacted thus far have not yielded positive 
results for Turkey.  Amnesty bills have undermined the power 
of the judiciary,' Cicek said.  Cicek complained that it 
took Turkey 20 years to have the PKK put on the European 
terror list, but that the terrorist group still manages to 
secure financial resources in Europe.  Some commentaries 
expect the issue of an amnesty for terrorists to be 
discussed at a Turkish security summit in September.  `The 
TGS favors a limited amnesty for terrorists,' "Cumhuriyet" 
claims, recalling the press briefing by General Ilker Basbug 
in which the Deputy TGS Chief explored the possibility of a 
targeted amnesty for PKK members who have not participated 
in terrorist actions. 
 
Turks Planning `Homeland Security' Department:  "Vatan" 
reports that the Turkish government and the Turkish General 
Staff (TGS) are reviewing the structure of the US Department 
of Homeland Security.  Deputy PM Mehmet Ali Sahin recently 
visited the US twice, and met with Homeland Security 
Secretary Michael Chertoff.  Deputy Chief of the TGS, 
 
SIPDIS 
General Ilker Basbug, also gathered information on the work 
of the Homeland Security Department during PM Erdogan's 
visit to the US in early June.  Sahin said yesterday, 
however, that a special institution for the coordination of 
the fight against terrorism would be `anti-democratic,' and 
give the impression that Turkey faced a high terror threat. 
 
Iraqi Interior Minister on the PKK:  On Wednesday, Iraq's 
Interior Minister al-Zubayda acknowledged to the press in 
Istanbul that Iraqi security forces lacked the capacity to 
drive PKK terrorists out of Iraq.  `Only the US military is 
capable of such an operation.  The Iraqi government would be 
pleased if the US were to eliminate the presence in Iraq of 
militants from the People's Mujahidin, the Muslim 
Brotherhood, and the PKK,' al-Zubayda emphasized.  He voiced 
hope that the upcoming tripartite security meetings among 
Iraq, Turkey, and the US will take decisions that will 
please the Turkish people. 
 
Kan'an: Syria, Turkey Working Together Against the PKK: 
Syrian Interior Minister Ghazi Kan'an told the Turkish press 
on Wednesday that Syria is working together with Turkey in 
the struggle against the PKK.  Kan'an said that neither the 
PKK in Turkey nor Kurdish separatist efforts in Syria will 
be successful.  Kan'an stressed that Syria is taking all 
possible measure to control the border with Iraq.  Kan'an 
noted that Syrian troops previously pulled back from Lebanon 
have been dispatched to the Iraqi border, and claimed that a 
total of 550 control points had been set up there.  He added 
that Syrian security forces have captured 1,217 infiltrators 
and sent them back to their countries, and asserted that 
both the Iraqis and the Americans knew of these efforts. 
`The Iraqi side, however, has not taken any measures at all. 
I find claims of terrorist infiltration into Iraq from 
Syrian territory to be deliberate,' Kan'an said.  The Syrian 
Interior Minister was in Istanbul, where he participated in 
a summit meeting of Iraq's neighbors on Tuesday. 
 
US Getting Stationed in the Balkans:  The US is conducting 
joint military exercises with Romanian and Bulgarian troops 
in the Balkans in a sign of a growing US military presence 
in the region, "Yeni Safak" reports.  Following the 
disagreements with west European countries before the war 
with Iraq, the US has decided to move its bases in Europe to 
Romania and Bulgaria.  US Commander James Jones said joint 
military exercises in Romania and Bulgaria were indicative 
of a `gravity shift' of US military policies to the east. 
The US Defense Department plans to transfer at least one- 
third of the 75,000 US troops stationed in western Europe to 
US bases established in Eastern Europe,  the report claims. 
Anniversary of `TRNC':  `TRNC President' Mehmet Ali Talat 
said on the occasion of the 31st anniversary of the Turkish 
intervention in Cyprus that his government is waiting for 
the Greek Cypriots to shake the hand of peace offered by the 
Turks.  `The Greek Cypriots need a new and mature leadership 
that will respect the Turkish Cypriots' will to have a 
common future in the European Union,' Talat said.  Foreign 
Minister Abdullah Gul, in Lefkosa to participate in the 
ceremonies on Wednesday, called for an end to the 
international isolation of Turkish Cyprus.  `Turkey and 
northern Cyprus will do whatever it takes to find a 
solution.  The security of the Turkish Cypriots will be 
strengthened, and their welfare will be increased,' Gul 
said. 
 
Gitmo Captives Go on Hunger Strike: Two Afghan captives who 
were released from the Guantanamo Bay detention center, 
Habir Russul and Muhep Ulla Burekzai, told the press in 
Kabul that 180 detainees have gone on a hunger strike in an 
act of protest against the mistreatment of prisoners, 
Turkish papers report.  The two former prisoners said that 
Wednesday marked the 15th day of the hunger strike.  Russul 
claimed that some of the hunger strikers are being denied 
medical treatment despite the deterioration in their health. 
Burekzai confirmed allegations that the Holy Koran had been 
desecrated by some Americans in Gitmo. 
 
 
EDITORIAL OPINION:  Iraq 
 
"Cross Border Operation" 
Okay Gonensin wrote in the mass appeal "Vatan" (7/21): 
"Ankara is eager to conduct a cross-border operation in an 
effort to prevent the full reemergence of PKK terrorism. 
This kind of action might be justified under UN resolutions 
as well as international law.  But the issue has also become 
a major conflict between Ankara and Washington.  It is not 
even clear yet whether American forces in Iraq were really 
given an order to capture the PKK leadership.  . It is 
unlikely that the current Iraqi administration will give 
approval for a Turkish cross-border operation.  The American 
administration has also expressed its disapproval 
repeatedly.  Given the current position of the PKK in 
northern Iraq, a single operation might not be the way to 
solve the problem either.  . There are possible consequences 
in the event of a Turkish cross-border operation.  The most 
critical one is the possibility that Turkey will find itself 
in a military clash with the Kurdish administration in 
northern Iraq.   If that happens, worldwide attention will 
shift from the terrorist threat to Turkey's intervention in 
the autonomous Kurdistan in northern Iraq.   Ankara is now 
fully focused on the terrorist haven in northern Iraq.  Yet 
Turkey's Kurdish issue lies within Turkey and could be 
settled domestically.  Utmost attention must be paid in 
order not to serve the interest of the PKK by treating the 
issue only through military measures." 
 
"Kandil and Asos" 
Erdal Safak wrote in the mass appeal "Sabah" (7/21): 
"Talabani wears two hats.  He is at once the president of 
Iraq and the leader of the PUK.  In his PUK capacity, he 
controls the area in the north near the Iranian border. 
Most agree that nothing happens in this area without 
Talabani knowing about.  Turkey's concern is about the 
terrorist groups stationed in the Kandil mountains, where 
Talabani's armed militia force has full control.  The Kandil 
mountains run up against the Asos mountains along the Iran- 
Iraq border.  Turkey is discussing the possibility of a 
cross-border operation in the Kandil area.  Iran is 
targeting the Asos area for the same reasons. . Talabani has 
so far made evasive statements about PKK terrorism, and he 
has yet to name the PKK as a terrorist group.  He has 
preferred to avoid taking action against the armed PKK 
presence in Kandil.  He thinks those PKK militants can be a 
tool for pressuring Turkey toward a political solution of 
the Kurdish issue.  He probably even thinks of using the PKK 
as a trump card in bargaining over Kirkuk. . Talabani is the 
main figure who can address this issue, and he should be 
invited to Ankara as soon as possible." 
 
"General Basbug's Messages to the US" 
Sukru Kucuksahin commented in the mass appeal "Hurriyet" 
(7/21): "Turkey presented a list of the PKK leadership to 
the US and to Iraq three months ago.  Those names are also 
on Interpol lists.  Iraqi PM Jaferi promised to do whatever 
is required, and the US passed out the list through its 
command in Iraq.  Three months have passed, and not a single 
PKK has been captured.  More interestingly, some of those on 
the wanted list have made public appearances when they were 
invited to the inauguration of the Kurdish parliament.  . 
PKK figures are comfortable enough despite the tight 
security established by the US.  Turkish experts interpret 
the situation from two perspectives.  Some believe the PKK 
wants Turkey to launch a cross-border operation so that the 
PKK can get closer to the US as Turkey comes into conflict 
with local militias and US forces.  Others say the US now 
considers the PKK as a part of the northern Iraq 
equilibrium, and hopes to use the PKK against Syria and Iran 
in the future.  Experts believe this is the reason that 
Washington has advised Turkey not to conduct a cross-border 
operation.  But Turkey is not helpless in either scenario. 
As General Basbug pointed out, both Syria and Iran have 
started taking effective measures against the PKK.  The PKK 
has now become a headache for both of them.  Isn't it 
possible for Turkey to carry out the operation using Iranian 
airspace and territory? . Turkey is telling the US that it 
has some options.  The message is that when Turkey uses its 
options over US objections, the consequences will be serious 
enough to change the regional equilibrium." 
 
MCELDOWNEY