US embassy cable - 05ANKARA5540

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 04 ANKARA 005540 
 
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 
FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 23, 2005 
 
THIS REPORT PRESENTS THE TURKISH PRESS SUMMARY UNDER THREE 
THEMES: 
 
HEADLINES 
BRIEFING 
EDITORIAL OPINION 
--------------------------------------------- -- 
 
HEADLINES 
 
 
MASS APPEAL 
Ankara to Give Hadley Report on PKK Finances - Sabah 
Hughes Due in Turkey to Restore Bush Image - Aksam 
Erdogan: EU Counter-Declaration Full of Contradictions - 
Hurriyet 
Erdogan: Armenian Conference Ban Not Consistent with 
Democracy - Milliyet 
EU Sees Armenian Conference Ban as `New Provocation' - Vatan 
US Gives 6 Million USD for Education of Turkish Children - 
Sabah 
3 PKK Terrorists Killed in Van - Milliyet 
Rita Fear Evacuates Houston - Vatan 
 
OPINION MAKERS 
Hadley, Hughes to Visit Ankara - Radikal 
Zebari Lashes Out at Syria for Lack of Cooperation - 
Cumhuriyet 
Bush: I Won't Pull Troops Out of Iraq - Yeni Safak 
Shiites in Saudi Arabia Revolt against Riyadh - Yeni Safak 
2 Turkmen Officials Killed in Mosul - Cumhuriyet 
`Grand Coalition' Talks Continue in Germany - Zaman 
EU Backpedals on Tehran's Nuclear Program - Cumhuriyet 
1.3 Million Americans Flee Hurricane Rita - Radikal 
Rita Stronger than Katrina - Zaman 
US Rejects Cuban Aid Offer for Katrina Victims - Yeni Safak 
 
 
BRIEFING 
 
Hadley Due in Ankara for Talks:  Stephen Hadley, the 
National Security Advisor to President Bush, will be in 
Ankara today for a two-day visit to hold talks at the 
Turkish Foreign Ministry (MFA) and the National Security 
Council (NSC), papers report.  Hadley will also meet Prime 
Minister Erdogan and Chief of the Turkish General Staff 
(TGS), General Hilmi Ozkok.  Hadley will discuss the PKK, 
Iraq, Iran, and Cyprus, according to press reports.  "Sabah" 
reports that Ankara has prepared an intelligence report 
detailing financial sources and front groups of the PKK in 
several countries, including the United States.  The PKK has 
an annual income of 150 million Euro, of which 50 million 
Euro comes from drug and human trafficking, the report 
claims.  The report also suggests that financial flows to 
the PKK are being handled by the Kurdish Employees 
Organization (KARSAZ) in Germany, and the Kurdish Democratic 
People's Forces (ERNK). 
 
Hughes to Visit Turkey:  US Undersecretary of State for 
Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs, Karen Hughes, will 
visit Turkey September 27-29 on the last leg of her regional 
tour.  Her stops in Ankara and Istanbul will follow visits 
to Egypt and Saudi Arabia early next week.  Hughes will meet 
with senior government officials, university students, and 
leaders of religious and non-governmental organizations in 
Ankara and Istanbul.  Hughes, a longtime advisor to 
President Bush, will try to counter negative attitudes about 
US policies in the Middle East on her first official trip 
overseas.  "Zaman" asserts that Hughes has been assigned by 
President Bush to `polish' the image of the United States 
around the world. 
 
Court Suspends Bogazici University Armenian Conference: 
Papers report that a Turkish court blocked on Thursday a 
conference that was to have questioned Ankara's official 
line on the controversial mass deportation and killings of 
Armenians during the last years of the Ottoman Empire.  An 
administrative court in Istanbul accepted a complaint by a 
group of lawyers who opposed the gathering.  The conference, 
entitled `Ottoman Armenians of an Empire in Decline,' was to 
have opened on Friday at the prestigious Bogazici University 
in Istanbul.  The meeting was to have brought together about 
60 researchers to examine the alleged atrocities committed 
in eastern Anatolia between 1915 and 1918, as well as the 
denial of genocide by the Turkish state.  The conference had 
already been canceled earlier this year after Justice 
Minister Cemil Cicek characterized such a discussion as a 
`stab in the back' to the Turkish nation.  Bogazici 
University had been asked to supply the court with 
information on the case within 30 days.  `It is not possible 
for me to approve of this decision,' Prime Minister Erdogan 
told the press:  `I think that it is against democracy, 
freedom, and modernity to obstruct such a platform when it 
is not even known what will be discussed.'  Foreign Minister 
Gul reacted strongly to the court ruling as well, saying 
that `there is no other country that harms its own interests 
as much as we do.'  Gul noted that he would `not be 
surprised' to see other moves intended to damage Turkey's EU 
drive on the eve of October 3, the opening date for talks on 
Turkey's membership in the European bloc.  The EU Commission 
described the suspension of the conference as `a new 
provocation,' expressing regret over the ruling that blocks 
an `attempt to debate Turkish history freely.'  The EU's 
Joost Lagendijk said that the ruling showed that reforms in 
Turkey must continue, and that the new Turkish penal code is 
inadequate.  "Milliyet" reported from Washington that the 
suspension of the conference will deal a blow to Turkish 
lobbying activities in the United States.  Turkish diplomats 
in the US had been citing the conference as an example of 
tolerance in Turkey.  US officials were disappointed with 
the court ruling, which came amid attempts to block two 
Armenian `genocide' bills in the US Congress, "Milliyet" 
reports. 
 
Ankara: EU Turkey Declaration One-Sided, Politically 
Motivated:  On Thursday, Turkish Foreign Ministry (MFA) 
Spokesman Namik Tan said that the EU declaration criticizing 
Ankara's refusal to recognize Cyprus was `unjust, one-sided 
and politically motivated.'  The EU declaration said that 
Ankara will have to recognize Cyprus before it can join the 
EU.  `We regret this counter-declaration. It has a style 
which does not accord with the traditional spirit of 
cooperation that has existed between Turkey and the EU over 
a period of 40 years,' Tan said.  He said the declaration 
ignored the rights and expectations of the Turkish Cypriots, 
describing this as a `serious injustice.'  Tan called on the 
EU to keep its promises to lift economic sanctions on 
Turkish Cypriots, and to provide financial aid to the north 
of the divided island.  Prime Minister Erdogan said on 
Wednesday that the EU counter-declaration contained 
`contradictory' elements.  `The negotiation framework 
document matters more to us, and therefore we are following 
that very closely,' Erdogan said.  The EU declaration came 
in response to an earlier declaration by Turkey in July, 
which said that the extension of Turkey's customs protocol 
with the EU to all new member states did not imply 
recognition of Cyprus.  Ankara then continued to block Greek 
Cypriot vessels and aircraft from calling at Turkish ports 
and airports.  The EU declaration said that the EU expected 
Turkey to fully implement the customs union and remove 
`restrictions on means of transport,' noting that the EU 
will `evaluate' full implementation of the customs union in 
2006. 
 
US Gives 6 Million USD for Education of Turkish Children: 
US Charge d'Affaires Nancy McEldowney said that the United 
States has apportioned 6 million USD in an effort to 
encourage school enrollment for 10,000 Turkish children who 
stay at home or are sent to work.  `In this year alone, the 
United States Government has contributed 15 million USD for 
programs dedicated to helping the children of Turkey get the 
education that they want and so richly deserve.  A few 
months ago we gave 9 million USD to help poor families keep 
their children in school.  Today, we are launching a 6 
million USD program to help families working in agriculture 
get their children out of the fields and into school,' 
McEldowney said at a signing ceremony for the US grant, at 
which Turkey's Education Minister Huseyin Celik and Labor 
Minister Murat Basesgioglu joined the Charge on Thursday. 
`The project will give Turkish children what we want to give 
to our children - a helping hand and a chance to make their 
lives better,' McEldowney said.  The project will end in 
September 2008, and will include school-age children in 
Turkey's southeastern and eastern provinces of Gaziantep, 
Sanliurfa, Mardin, and Elazig, and the capital Ankara. 
 
Denmark Rejects Closure of Pro-Kurdish ROJ TV:  Papers 
report that Denmark has rejected Ankara's demands for the 
closure of the television channel ROJ-TV, known to be close 
to the PKK and the Kurdish cause.  Danish authorities 
considered an application by the Turkish embassy in 
Copenhagen, but decided not to ban ROJ-TV, saying that the 
station's broadcasts do not violate Danish law.  In New York 
last week for the United Nations summit, Prime Minister 
Erdogan had complained about ROJ-TV to his Danish 
counterpart.  Meanwhile, the Turkish Embassy in Riyadh has 
asked Saudi Arabia to suspend broadcasts of the `PKK 
mouthpiece' ROJ-TV, which uses Saudi-based "Arabsat" to 
reach the Middle East. 
 
Farmers Demonstrate against Rising Costs:  Turkish farmers 
rallied in the western province of Manisa on Thursday to 
protest against high oil prices and input costs, papers 
report.  About 80,000 angry farmers flocked to Manisa for 
the rally, claiming that state incentives were not 
sufficient to counteract increasing costs.  The farmers 
called on the ruling AK Party to honor its promises to 
farmers and agricultural workers. 
 
Five PKK Militants Surrender:  Five members of the outlawed 
PKK turned themselves in to Turkish jandarma at the Habur 
border gate, sources told the press on Thursday.  Meanwhile, 
security forces seized 2 kg of C-4 explosives and 600 grams 
of TNT at a house raid in Turkey's eastern province of Van. 
The house belonged to two PKK terrorists arrested early 
yesterday morning following a clash with security forces in 
which three militants were killed. 
 
Turkmen Killed in Attack in Mosul:  Two Iraqi Turkmen Front 
(ITF) officials were killed by armed assailants in front of 
the ITF office in Mosul on Thursday morning, Turkish papers 
report.  A Turkmen guard was seriously wounded in the 
attack.  The Turkish Foreign Ministry (MFA) strongly 
condemned the attack in an official statement. 
 
110 Turks Killed in Iraq Since March 2003:  "Yeni Safak" 
reports that 110 Turkish businessmen, workers, and truck 
drivers were killed, and 87 others abducted in Iraq since 
March 1, 2003.  The report cites statistical data provided 
by the Habur border crossing. 
 
 
EDITORIAL OPINION:  German Elections; EU/Turkey 
 
"The German Elections and the US" 
Haluk Ulman wrote in the economic-political "Dunya" (9/23): 
"There are many uncertainties in the aftermath of German 
elections.  Angela Merkel hopes to lead the coalition, but 
it remains to be seen if she will succeed in keeping her 
party leadership.  Schroeder's position at the head of the 
SPD is also shaky.  Unless these two leaders agree on a 
grand coalition formula, Germany will go through a period of 
political uncertainty.  Among the losers of the German 
elections, we should also mention the US -- particularly in 
connection with the Bush administration's Iraq policy.  From 
the beginning, Schroeder has stood against the US policy in 
Iraq, and has not collaborated with President Bush.  It is 
no secret that President Bush does not like him.  Merkel, on 
the other hand, pursued a very pro-American stance. 
Merkel's unsuccessful performance in the election is bad 
news for Washington. . The EU should also be seen as a 
loser.  The uncertainty in Germany will bring more trouble 
for the EU, especially following the rejection of the EU 
Constitution by France and the Netherlands." 
 
"The EU's Trouble Maker" 
Sami Kohen wrote in the mass appeal "Milliyet" (9/23): "The 
tactical games played by the Greek Cypriots during the 
COREPER talks are only the beginning.  Once the EU starts 
negotiations with Turkey on October 3, we are sure to see 
more tricks from the Papadopoulos government.  Following the 
COREPER talks, EU circles in Brussels have started grumbling 
about the intransigence of the Greek Cypriots.  But who is 
to blame in this?  Those very same circles last year 
defended the inclusion of the Greek Cypriots in the EU, and 
did not want to accept that they were importing trouble into 
the Union. . It is certain that the accession of Greek 
Cyprus to the EU has made the settlement of Cyprus problem 
more difficult than ever before.  The EU now must deal with 
Papadopoulos' efforts to impose its own terms on the entire 
European Union. . Given the current situation, it looks as 
if Papadopoulos has chosen the EU as his battlefield. 
Unfortunately, it was the EU that allowed this to happen." 
 
MCELDOWNEY