US embassy cable - 05ANKARA4827

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 05 ANKARA 004827 
 
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 
TUESDAY, AUGUST 16, 2005 
 
THIS REPORT PRESENTS THE TURKISH PRESS SUMMARY UNDER THREE 
THEMES: 
 
HEADLINES 
BRIEFING 
EDITORIAL OPINION 
--------------------------------------------- -- 
 
HEADLINES 
 
MASS APPEAL 
Constitution Deadlocked over Federalism Debate in Iraq - 
Sabah 
Iraqi Constitution at Impasse - Milliyet 
Women's Organizations Fear a Setback of Rights in Iraq - 
Hurriyet 
Jewish `Intifada' in Gaza: Settlers Resist Israeli Police - 
Milliyet 
Joy in Palestine, Fury in Gaza over Withdrawal - Aksam 
Turkey Lauds Israel, Palestine over Gaza Pullout - Milliyet 
Chavez Threatens US with Halting Oil Exports - Aksam 
30-Year Civil War Ends in Indonesia - Sabah 
 
OPINION MAKERS 
Bush Letter Calls on Erdogan for Joint Fight Against Terror 
- Zaman 
No Compromise over Iraqi Constitution - Radikal 
Iraqi Constitutional Deadline Extended One Month - Zaman 
Iraq: Federation or Partition - Yeni Safak 
Nicosia Pressures EU to Get Access to Turkish Ports - Zaman 
Israel Pulling Out of Gaza - Cumhuriyet 
End of Gaza Occupation - Yeni Safak 
Abbas: West Bank Pullout Next - Cumhuriyet 
Radical Jews Lock Doors, Resist Pullout - Zaman 
Reluctant Evacuation of Gaza - Radikal 
Another Turkish Truck Driver Killed in Iraq - Yeni Safak 
 
 
BRIEFING 
 
Turkey Welcomes Gaza Pullout Process:  The Turkish Foreign 
Ministry (MFA) welcomed on Monday Israel's determination to 
implement its plan to pullout of the Gaza Strip and the 
Palestinian government's `constructive attitude.'  `Israel 
has initiated its unilateral withdrawal from the Gaza Strip 
and partial withdrawal from West Bank, as of today.  We 
expect the withdrawal to create a peace dynamic that could 
prompt the parties to resume talks aimed at finding a 
solution on the basis of the road map,' MFA said in a 
statement, adding that Turkey was ready to provide the 
parties with the necessary support following the pullout. 
MFA voiced concern that radical circles opposed to the 
vision of a two-state solution could shift to violence once 
again to block the pullout process, and called for common 
sense on both sides.  `The international community should 
take all measures to improve the living standards of 
Palestinian people and rebuild Palestinian housings, 
including those in the Gaza Strip, as soon as possible. 
Israel should facilitate this process and Palestine should 
maintain security in the region,' MFA said.  It added that 
Turkey has been supporting efforts to rebuild Palestine 
after the pullout is completed under the leadership of James 
Wolfensohn.  The Turkish private sector has been supporting 
those efforts by creating new opportunities of cooperation 
under the Ankara Forum established by the Union of Turkish 
Chambers (TOBB), MFA noted, adding that the government of 
Turkey will encourage the Turkish private sector to develop 
economic ties with Palestine. 
 
US to Invite `TRNC' Leader Talat to Washington:  Washington 
has responded positively to a request from Prime Minister 
Erdogan that the Turkish Cypriot leader Talat be invited to 
the United States, "Yeni Safak" reports.  Erdogan told the 
US Embassy Ankara Charge d'Affaires Nancy McEldowney at a 
meeting last week that such an invitation would be important 
in making the Greek Cypriots `pull themselves together' and 
adopt a compromising attitude.  The paper expects the US to 
invite Talat to Washington before the end of this year. 
Erdogan also reiterated to the Charge Turkey's request that 
a US plane be flown directly to north Cyprus.  McEldowney 
did not respond to the request, but said that the US has 
given USD 30 million to support the economy of Turkish 
Cyprus, and that it will grant more US loans and 
scholarships for Turkish Cypriot students, says "Yeni 
Safak." 
 
Iran's New FM Declared Persona Non Grata in 1989:  Manuchehr 
Mottaki, the new Iranian foreign minister-designate, had to 
leave his position as ambassador to Ankara after being 
declared `persona non grata' in 1989, papers report. 
Mottaki's term of office between 1986-1989 was a period in 
which Iran continued efforts to export its Islamic 
revolution.  Some of Mottaki's statements during that period 
have strained tensions between Ankara and Tehran.  Mottaki 
was also accused of providing support to `backwards' groups 
in Turkey.  But the Turgut Ozal government at the time did 
not declare Mottaki `persona non grata' so as not to damage 
further the ties between the two countries.  Shortly before 
Mottaki's term in Turkey was due to end, Ankara recalled its 
Tehran Ambassador, Omer Akbel, in protest, and Mottaki was 
recalled by Iran in response.  On Tuesday, the Turkish 
Foreign Ministry (MFA) denied press reports that Mottaki was 
declared persona non grata during his term in Ankara.  MFA 
officials told the semi-official "Anadolu Ajansi" that 
despite the problems experienced at that time, Mottaki was 
not declared persona non grata.  The Ozal government during 
Mottaki's term in Ankara had strongly reacted to the Iranian 
ambassador's participation in a Welfare Party (RP) supported 
`solidarity meeting' with the Palestinian people organized 
in Konya.  Tehran, in turn, criticized the ban on Islamic 
headgear in Turkish universities.  Turkey had recalled its 
ambassador in Tehran, which prompted Iran to withdraw 
Mottaki from Turkey, MFA officials said. 
 
TGS Drafts Report Regarding Southeast Turkey:  The Turkish 
General Staff (TGS) is to submit problems in southeast 
Turkey for discussion at the National Security Council (NSC) 
meeting on August 23 in a report which says that terror was 
an issue in Turkey, but that the country did not have a 
Kurdish problem, "Hurriyet" reports.  The paper regards the 
TGS report as being drafted to be a response to Prime 
Minister Erdogan who had acknowledged the existence of a 
`Kurdish problem' during a visit to Diyarbakir last Friday. 
Military officials told the paper that the main problem in 
southeast Turkey was underdevelopment.  Officials warned 
against linking the PKK to a certain ethnic group, attempts 
which may encourage other ethnic groups to form 
organizations in the style of the terrorist Kurdish 
grouping.  They also stressed that the military was not 
pressing to restore the emergency rule in the region. 
Military officials also noted that new changes were needed 
in the penal code and the law for combating terrorism, says 
"Hurriyet." 
 
PKK Defector Details Police on Camps in Northern Iraq:  A 
PKK defector, Ibrahim Vural told the police that the terror 
organization aimed at `crushing' Turkey's economy via 
attacks against economic and tourist targets in an effort to 
force Ankara to hold negotiations with them, "Milliyet" 
reports.  Vural turned himself in to police in Istanbul in 
early June.  Vural said that the PKK had 3 tons of C-4 
explosives, 21 IGLA-1 missiles, anti-aircraft batteries and 
large amounts of ammunition at the Zap camp on Turkey's 
border with Iraq.  He claimed that the missiles arrived in 
the Zap camp through Iran and the Kandil region from 
Armenia.  Several 12-strong PKK teams have infiltrated into 
Turkey to attack targets in major Turkish cities, he said. 
 
MI5 Warns Turkish Intelligence of Plot Against Minister 
Aksu:  The British secret service MI5 warned the Turkish 
intelligence service MIT that a bomb would be planted in a 
plane carrying interior minister Abdulkadir Aksu to Turkey 
from a meeting of the interior ministers of Iraq's neighbors 
in Riyadh last month, "Aksam" reports.  The Saudi police 
examined thoroughly all luggage aboard and searched 
passengers boarding the plane, but no explosives were found. 
On Monday, Aksu confirmed the report and said that the MI5 
warning had been a good example of cooperation and 
information sharing among intelligence organizations against 
global terror. 
 
Fractions in AKP Uneasy with Erdogan Referral to Kurdish 
Problem:  Nationalist and Islamist wings in the ruling AK 
Party are uneasy with Prime Minister Erdogan's 
acknowledgment of a `Kurdish problem' in Turkey during a 
visit to the mainly Kurdish city of Diyarbakir last Friday, 
saying that other ethnic groups may demand a similar 
approach to their problems which could undermine Turkey's 
unity, papers report.  The main opposition CHP lashed out at 
the intellectuals who held a meeting with Erdogan last week 
for being `manipulated' to set the grounds for a favorable 
atmosphere before the PM's call on Diyarbakir.  However, CHP 
lawmakers from the southeast supported Erdogan.  Erdogan 
responded to criticism that he was in contact with the PKK 
by saying that this is political rudeness:  `I did not talk 
with the PKK, and I would not do so,' Erdogan said.  The PM 
noted that the term `Kurdish problem' was used by other 
politicians such as Ozal, Demirel and Erbakan as well as CHP 
leader Baykal. 
 
`TRNC' Flags at Half-Mast over Victims of Greek Plane Crash: 
Flags will fly at half-mast in Turkish Cyprus on Wednesday 
for the victims who lost their lives aboard a Greek Cypriot 
jetliner which crashed near Athens over the weekend, papers 
report.  The crash killed all 121 passengers on board. 
 
Morgan Stanley Sees Positive Indications in Turkish Economy: 
The leading global investment bank Morgan-Stanley said in a 
report Monday that far-reaching structural reforms had 
better integrated Turkey with the global economy, papers 
cite in a report by the semi-official "Anatolian Agency." 
Morgan-Stanley predicts the year-end inflation rate will be 
6.2 percent, remaining below the Turkish Central Bank's 
target of 8 percent this year.  `As the Turkish economy 
approaches the final stage of macroeconomic normalization, 
policy coordination becomes more important,' the Morgan- 
Stanley report said, adding that deregulating product and 
labor markets are vital to overcoming `tacky' inflation 
rates in certain sectors of the economy. 
 
Another Turkish Truck Driver Killed in Iraq:  A Turkish 
truck driver was killed 40 km north of Baghdad yesterday 
when he hit a dead cow put on a motorway by insurgents, a 
spokesman for the Iraqi military said.  The identity of the 
driver was not immediately available. 
 
 
EDITORIAL OPINION:  Iraq; Israel/Gazza Withdrawal 
 
"Iraq and Religious Fundamentalism" 
Erdal Safak commented in the mass appeal "Sabah" (8/16): "It 
seems that Bush and Blair's pledge about freedom and 
equality for Iraq will remain as rhetoric, particularly for 
the country's women.  The 50-year history of a secular Iraq 
is about to be replaced by a religious fundamentalist 
structure.  Northern Iraq is the only region that can save 
itself from this fate.  . Unless the US intervenes at the 
very last minute, the Iraqi constitution draft denies the 
rights of women and treats them as second class citizens. . 
In fact fundamentalist practices against women have already 
started in both Shiite and Sunni areas even before the 
constitution is approved. . It is worth asking the question: 
Do we prefer northern Iraq to be an integral part of a 
fundamentalist state, or do we prefer an autonomous but 
secular northern Iraq?" 
 
"August 15 for Iraq" 
Cengiz Candar observed in the conservative-sensational 
"Dunden Bugune Tercuman" (8/16): "History tells us that 
efforts launched with good intentions do not necessarily 
bring positive results in the end.  Those who have the power 
of facilitating a historical process do not always have the 
capability to control the results. . When Americans toppled 
the cruel regime of Saddam Hussein and started the process 
of democratization in Iraq, none of them could foresee the 
point that has been reached today.  As a result of the 
ongoing democratic process initiated by the US, Iraq is 
turning into another version of the Islamic Republic of 
Iran.  A Shiiteland has emerged in the south, a Kurdistan in 
the north, and Iraq's Sunni-controlled central region has 
turned into a source of violence and terror. This was not 
the idea the US had in mind when it started this process. 
But it is the reality in Iraq, at least for the foreseeable 
future." 
 
"Pandora's Box Has Been Opened" 
Hakan Deniz commented in the economic-political "Referans" 
(8/16):  "The operation in Iraq has opened Pandora's box and 
ruined the balances that had held for 70 years.   The Kurds 
and Shiites are seeking a federation in the short run, and 
aiming independence in the longer term.  These two ethnic 
groups are demanding a share of revenues from oil resources 
located in their territory.  The Sunnis are disappointed by 
what they view as a betrayal by western countries.   One 
would have to be very optimistic to expect that the sides 
will be able to reach a workable agreement.  On the 
contrary, there are strong signs that there will be a period 
of clashes between Iraqi groups.  This is of direct concern 
for Turkey.  While making its economic and political plans, 
Ankara should consider that a new era, and one that could be 
very bloody, has started in the Middle East.  Who is going 
to benefit from all this chaos?  Putting aside the 
insurgency and the military casualties, the US operation in 
Iraq has been very successful.  The US is no longer facing a 
regime that withholds its oil from the US market.  Instead, 
it faces three Muslim ethnic groups fighting with each other 
over control of the country's natural resources." 
 
"First Gaza, and Then?" 
Sami Kohen wrote in the mass appeal "Milliyet" (8/16): "The 
Israeli withdrawal plan from Gaza is being implemented by PM 
Sharon in a surprisingly timely fashion.  The impact of 
Israeli public opinion is undeniable on the implementation 
of this decision. It is equally true that the armed struggle 
in Gazza led by Hamas was a significant factor.  Other 
international factors, particularly the US effort, should 
also be mentioned.  Given the current situation, further 
steps in the Israeli-Palestinian dialogue and a 
reexamination of the Middle East road map can only take 
place through the push of internal and external dynamics. 
Vision and courage are needed on both sides to make that 
happen.  Sharon must not block progress toward a Palestinian 
state, and Palestinians must follow through on expectations 
that they will stop the violence and seek a consensus.  Gaza 
has brought a chance for peace.  Let us hope that further 
steps will follow." 
MCELDOWNEY