US embassy cable - 05ANKARA5354

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 04 ANKARA 005354 
 
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, SEPTEMBER 13, 2005 
 
THIS REPORT PRESENTS THE TURKISH PRESS SUMMARY UNDER THREE 
THEMES: 
 
HEADLINES 
BRIEFING 
EDITORIAL OPINION 
--------------------------------------------- -- 
 
HEADLINES 
 
 
MASS APPEAL 
Erdogan: Turkey-US Alliance Strong - Hurriyet 
Rehn: The Sooner Turkey Recognizes Cyprus, the Better - 
Hurriyet 
Scowcroft: Armenian `Genocide' Bills Will Harm US-Turkey 
Ties - Hurriyet 
A `Grand Coalition' Possible in Germany - Aksam 
A Second Schroeder-Fischer Coalition in Germany - Sabah 
US Forces Take Control of Tal Afar - Aksam 
Talabani: No Timetable for US Iraq Pullout - Sabah 
Talabani Thanks to Bush for Liberating Iraq - Vatan 
Iraq Raises Tensions with Syria - Aksam 
Ahmedinajad: Nuclear Energy God's Gift to Iran - Vatan 
 
OPINION MAKERS 
Erdogan Issues PKK, Kirkuk Warnings in US - Yeni Safak 
Erdogan: Iraq Must Not Turn into a Training Field for 
Terrorists - Zaman 
US to Bring Back the Annan Plan - Yeni Safak 
Armenian `Genocide' Bills to be Taken to US Congress - Zaman 
Schroeder: Turkey Will Make it to the EU - Radikal 
Talabani: Bush Is The Man Who Saved Iraq - Cumhuriyet 
Rehn: Pamuk Court Case a `Road Accident' for Turkey - 
Radikal 
Tide Turns in German Elections - Cumhuriyet 
Schroeder, Merkel Reject a `Grand Coalition' - Zaman 
Syria on Target Again - Cumhuriyet 
Reform Summit Kicked Off at UN - Radikal 
Black Americans Fume at Bush - Yeni Safak 
Death Toll Rises in Katrina-Stricken Zones - Cumhuriyet 
 
 
BRIEFING 
 
Erdogan in New York:  Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan, in New 
York to attend the UN summit, addressed the Foreign 
Relations Council on Turkish foreign policy on Tuesday, 
papers report.  Erdogan said that Turkey cannot remain 
indifferent to the developments concerning Kirkuk, warning 
against attempts by `one ethnic group' to dominate the city, 
which is sure to draw reactions from the Turkmen and other 
ethnic groups.  He pointed to the PKK presence in northern 
Iraq as posing a serious threat against Turkey and stressed 
the need to fight against the terror organization.  Erdogan 
underlined developments that he called `dramatic' in Cyprus 
and criticized the Greek Cypriots' `uncompromising' attitude 
after being `rewarded' by the EU.  `No one should expect 
anything from us unless the international isolation of the 
Turkish Cypriots is brought to an end,' he emphasized. 
Erdogan also said that integration with the EU, one of the 
priorities of Turkish foreign policy, did not constitute an 
alternate to Turkey's special ties with the United States. 
`Our relations with the United States and the EU complement 
each other,' he stressed.  Erdogan stated that Turkey has 
voiced readiness to Baghdad to train Iraqi security forces. 
`Turkey is providing humanitarian assistance to Iraq, 
including medicines and energy.  We have close kinship 
relations with Iraq, but the presence of PKK/Kongra-Gel in 
the north makes us uneasy,' said Erdogan.  The PM will 
reportedly meet the presidents of Pakistan, Bosnia- 
Herzegovina, Albania, Kyrgyzstan and Austria, and the prime 
ministers of Israel, Spain and some EU countries during his 
stay in New York.  Papers expect Erdogan to seek support for 
a temporary seat for Turkey at the UN Security Council for 
2009-2010 on the sidelines of the summit. 
 
Erdogan on US-Turkey:  Prime Minister Erdogan told the 
representatives of the Turkish media aboard his plane en 
route to New York to participate in the 60th UN Summit 
meetings that `if an opportunity arises,' he wanted to talk 
with President Bush about `important issues' such as Iraq 
and Cyprus.  Erdogan noted that he will also discuss the 
`Alliance of Civilizations' project with Secretary-General 
Annan and the Spanish PM Zapatero.  As regards the US 
attitude toward the PKK, Erdogan said that the Charge 
d'Affaires in Ankara, Nancy McEldowney, was honest when she 
stressed at a 9/11 ceremony on Sunday that the US sees no 
difference between bin Ladin and Ocalan.  He recalled that 
SACEUR General James Jones came to Turkey, and that he made 
statements to the press.  `There are some positive 
developments in terms of both countries.  We see new and 
positive steps with regard to developments in Iraq every 
day, and we hope that these steps will become more concrete. 
If I have a chance to meet Talabani in New York, I will ask 
what he meant in some of his statements,' the PM said. 
 
Erdogan Meets Jewish Representatives in New York:  Prime 
Minister Erdogan participated in a reception hosted by 
President Bush in honor of the heads of state and government 
attending the UN Summit in New York yesterday.  Erdogan 
earlier received representatives of the American Jewish 
Committee (AJC), Anti-Defamation League (ADL), B'nai Brith 
and other Jewish associations.  The Jewish representatives 
said after the meeting that Erdogan had very positive ideas 
and was open to suggestions.  They thanked Erdogan for the 
role Turkey played in the rapprochement between Israel and 
Pakistan. 
 
US Forces Take Control of Tal Afar:  US forces took full 
control over the northern Iraqi city of Tal Afar following a 
large-scale operation being carried out by 5,000 troops 
since September 2, reports "Aksam."  Suspects captured in 
the city were sent to the Badus prison after being 
interrogated at the Tomarat base.  A hundred and fifty-seven 
insurgents were killed during the operation, says the 
report. 
 
US to Bring Back the Annan Plan:  "Yeni Safak" cites the 
Greek Cypriot "Fileleftheros" daily as claiming that the US 
was preparing to bring back the Annan Plan.  "Fileleftheros" 
quoted DAS Matt Bryza as asserting that the US will continue 
to `strengthen' north Cyprus because of the support the 
Turkish Cypriots gave to the UN-sponsored plan for 
reunification in the divided island, says "Yeni Safak." 
 
Scowcroft Urges Hastert to Oppose Armenian `Genocide' Bills: 
The American-Turkish Council (ATC) Chairman Brent Scowcroft 
urged the Speaker of the US House of Representatives, Denis 
Hastert, in a letter to oppose two bills claiming the 
`genocide' of Armenians by Ottoman forces early in the 20th 
century, papers report.  Observers expect the bills to be 
approved at the House Foreign Relations Committee on 
Thursday.  US-Turkey ties will be damaged if the bills are 
submitted to the Congress, Scowcroft warned.  Scowcroft 
called on Armenian President Kocharian to give a positive 
response to the olive branch extended by Prime Minister 
Erdogan.  He noted that Washington must help Turkey on the 
eve of October 3, the date set for opening EU entry 
negotiations with Ankara. 
 
Turkey Sends US Humanitarian Aid of 2.5 Million USD:  Turkey 
gave the US Red Crescent 1.5 million USD of financial aid 
for the victims of Hurricane Katrina and is to send 1 
million USD of humanitarian aid to the disaster area, 
reports "Yeni Safak." 
 
Sensoy to Replace Ambassador Logoglu in Washington:  Turkish 
Foreign Ministry (MFA) Deputy U/S Nabi Sensoy, formerly the 
Turkish Ambassador to Moscow, will replace Faruk Logoglu in 
Washington, papers report.  Deputy U/S for EU Volkan Bozkir 
will be appointed to Brussels as Turkey's permanent 
representative, and special Iraq envoy Osman Koruturk will 
be the new Turkish Ambassador in Paris.  President Sezer 
approved the new diplomatic assignments. 
 
Lawsuit against Pamuk Can Be Dropped:  The lawsuit filed 
against renowned Turkish author Orhan Pamuk can be dropped 
the same day of its first hearing on grounds that the suit 
was filed after the end of the legal four-month period for 
taking legal action, "Hurriyet" says.  Pamuk was charged 
with denigrating Turkey when he said in an interview with a 
Swiss magazine that one million Armenians and 30,000 Kurds 
were killed by Turks.  The paper stresses that PEN writers 
and the "Washington Post" had described the court case as a 
blow to freedom of expression on the eve of the opening of 
EU entry talks with Turkey, and that the EU was closely 
monitoring developments regarding the issue. 
 
Iraq Ankara Embassy Rejects Accusations against Hamdi:  On 
Tuesday, the Iraq Embassy in Ankara rejected in a statement 
press reports against Tarik Hamdi, the embassy press officer 
saying that he was `clean.'  Hamdi, a US national of Iraqi 
heritage, was accused of taking satellite phone batteries to 
bin Ladin in Afghanistan in 1998.  Hamdi was working for ABC 
TV when he met bin Ladin in Afghanistan for an interview, 
the Iraq embassy said, adding that he was also `cleared' by 
the FBI. 
 
 
EDITORIAL OPINION:  Middle East; UN 
 
"The Chance for Regional Role" 
Sami Kohen commented in the mass appeal "Milliyet" (9/14): 
"The Israeli pull-out from the Gaza strip has provided some 
hopes about the future of peace process.  Sharon made a 
courageous step by implementing the withdrawal plan.  If all 
goes well, we can hope for some positive developments in the 
near future in the peace process.  For instance, if Israel 
pulls out from controlling the Gaza strip, it may lead to 
the revival of negotiations regarding the West Bank.  There 
are two conditions to meet in order to see that things are 
going in the right direction.  First of all, the Abbas 
administration should gain full authority in Palestine as 
well as ensure full security.  As for the Israeli side, the 
Sharon administration should express determination about 
transferring authority of the West Bank to the Palestinian 
administration and should take some steps on this regard. 
It goes without saying that to meet such conditions is going 
to be very tough for both sides.  But it is very important 
to have the currently achieved momentum continue.  All of 
this also brings new opportunities for Turkey to play a 
regional role." 
 
"Corruption in the UN" 
Yilmaz Oztuna wrote in the mass appeal-conservative 
"Turkiye" (9/14): "President Bush's accusing UNSG Kofi Annan 
of corruption [sic] is a serious development which can be 
considered among the biggest corruption accusations in 
history.  It is funny that Kofi Annan was elected to this 
position with the support of the US.  But now he is accused 
by the US of a severe case of corruption.  It is for sure 
that the US will stop its financial aid to the United 
Nations.  Twenty-five percent of the enormous UN budget is 
provided by the US, and cutting that portion means very bad 
news for the organization.  This budget figure shows that 
the US, in fact, is in charge of the United Nations as well. 
. The new UN session starts now in the shadow of a scandal. 
There seems some difficult days ahead for the UNSG Annan." 
 
MCELDOWNEY