US embassy cable - 05ANKARA5636

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 04 ANKARA 005636 
 
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 
SUBJECT: ANKARA MEDIA REACTION REPORT 
TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 27, 2005 
 
THIS REPORT PRESENTS THE TURKISH PRESS SUMMARY UNDER THREE 
THEMES: 
 
HEADLINES 
BRIEFING 
EDITORIAL OPINION 
--------------------------------------------- -- 
 
HEADLINES 
 
MASS APPEAL 
Hughes: Turkey `Democratic,' Egypt `Crowded' - Hurriyet 
Hughes Voices Support for Turkey's EU Bid - Hurriyet 
Hughes: Turks are Proud to Say `We are All Turks' - Milliyet 
Pope Benedict XVI: Peace Requires Cooperation by All - 
Hurriyet 
Wolfowitz: Turkey's EU Drive Positive for Europe, Region - 
Vatan 
Buyukanit Warns on Fundamentalism, Terror - Sabah 
Istanbul Conference Breaks Turkish Taboos on Armenians - 
Vatan 
British Labor Party Pressures Blair to Step Down - Aksam 
US Releases 1,000 Abu-Ghraib Inmates for Ramadan - Vatan 
Israeli Missiles Kill Islamic Jihad Leader - Hurriyet 
Al-Qaida Leader in Spain Sentenced to 27 Years - Sabah 
PKK Militants Kill 2 Village Guards in Sirnak - Sabah 
 
OPINION MAKERS 
Hughes: Turkey is Like the United States - Radikal 
Rehn: Turkey-EU Ties Worsening - Cumhuriyet 
Talat: Greek Cypriots Turned Me into Another Denktas - Zaman 
Nicosia Determined to Hold `Nikiforos' Exercise - Radikal 
US Releases 1,000 Iraqi Prisoners - Cumhuriyet 
British Want to Pull Out of Iraq - Zaman 
UN Steps Up International Pressure on Lebanon - Yeni Safak 
HAMAS Stops, Israel Strikes - Zaman 
Sheehan Detained Briefly During Rally at White House - 
Radikal 
 
 
BRIEFING 
 
Hadley and Turkey:  Stephen Hadley had visited Turkey on his 
first foreign trip as Assistant Secretary of Defense in the 
administration of George Bush Sr.  He called on Turkey again 
on his first trip abroad as President's National Security 
Advisor, "Sabah" reports.  Ties between Turkey and the US 
have gradually improved following the visit of Prime 
Minister Erdogan to the US in June.  Both sides have 
accepted that Iraq's stabilization will not be possible 
without Turkey's support.  Key officials in the Bush 
Administration know that the US will not be able to achieve 
its vital interests in the region without Turkish backing. 
The Americans have taken into consideration Turkish concerns 
with regard to the PKK, and are working on formulas to solve 
the problem, according to "Sabah."  The paper also claims on 
its front-page that Hadley discussed a possible `regime 
change' in Syria with Turkish officials during his weekend 
visit to Ankara. 
 
Hughes on Turkey en Route to Cairo:  Undersecretary of State 
for Public Diplomacy Karen Hughes is on a regional tour that 
will take her to Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and Turkey in an 
effort to `restore' the image of the United States abroad, 
Turkish papers report.  Hughes responded to journalists' 
questions en route to Cairo.  She said that Turkey is an 
`important democratic country' and a `key ally that bridges 
Europe and Asia.'  `Turkey's EU accession is something that 
we strongly support.  We believe in support for Turkey. 
Turkey has been a key coalition partner in the global war 
against terror, and of course it is a key NATO ally.  When I 
landed in Afghanistan, I was greeted at the airport by a 
Turkish general, because the Turkish army was securing the 
airport in Kabul.  So they are a key ally that has been a 
great partner of ours,' Hughes said.  She added that Turkey 
is a country that encompasses `people of many different 
backgrounds and beliefs,' yet is proud of the saying that 
`all are Turks.'  `Much as the US has assimilated people of 
many different backgrounds and from many different places, 
Turkey is very proud of its identity, under which all of its 
citizens consider themselves to be Turks.' 
 
General Buyukanit on EU, Terror, Fundamentalism:  Turkish 
Land Forces Commander General Yasar Buyukanit told the 
opening of the new academic year at the War Academy in 
Ankara yesterday that the country faced the threat of 
fundamentalism and the activities of the terrorist PKK that 
targets `ethnic partition' of the nation.  Buyukanit claimed 
that groups with fundamentalist aspirations long for a 
caliphate or sharia-oriented regime for Turkey, and warned 
that such groups should be prepared for their `inevitable 
end.'  `Destructive and separatist activities, supported 
from inside and outside Turkey, will be eliminated by the 
dynamic forces obliged to protect the Republic,' Buyukanit 
stressed.  The land forces commander also `condemned' the 
characterization of Turkey's fight against terrorism by the 
EU Parliament as `aggressive military operations.'  `I 
regard such expressions as a wake-up call for the Turkish 
Republic,' Buyukanit said. 
 
Wolfowitz Welcomes Turkish Progress Toward EU:  Turkish 
dailies report that World Bank President Paul Wolfowitz told 
a joint press availability with IMF Managing Director 
Rodrigo de Rato that Turkey's progress toward the EU is `a 
positive development for both Turkey and Europe, as well as 
the whole region.'  Rato, who met with State Minister Ali 
Babacan over the weekend, said that the IMF had always 
supported the opening of EU accession negotiations with 
Turkey. 
 
Hatay Interfaith Conference Ends:  Leaders of Turkey's non- 
Muslim communities told an interfaith conference on 
erligious tolerance on Monday that they face constant 
prejudice from the Muslim majority in Turkey.  Greek 
Orthodox Patriarch Bartholomew I complained that his 
community had difficulty understanding the mentality which 
sees their religious activities as a `show of force' and 
their visits around Turkey as `missionary activities.' 
Bartholomew addressed the conference in Turkish, claiming 
that he had not been allowed to perform religious services 
during the past two years at the church of Saint Nicholas in 
the Mediterranean town of Demre.  Bartholomew noted that the 
presence of the Greek Orthodox Church in Turkey makes the 
country an `important bridge between religions and 
civilizations, as well as between east and west.'  The 
spiritual leader of the Turkish Armenian community, 
Patriarch Mesrob II, voiced similar complaints, appealing 
for `greater understanding and empathy' from the Turks.  The 
leader of the Jewish minority, Rabbi Ishak Haleva, said that 
many indications showed that civilization is inclined to 
destroy itself today: `Every year, some six million children 
around the world die of malnutrition before they reach the 
age of five.  Theft, robbery, rape, and other criminal and 
immoral activities have become widespread.  Drug traffickers 
are looking for young customers among primary school 
children.  And what are civilized countries doing?  They are 
spending 100 million dollars on tanks, artillery units, 
rifles and ammunition every hour.  If this is civilization, 
we can do without it.  Civilization is committing suicide.' 
The head of the Turkish Religious Affairs Directorate, 
Professor Ali Bardakoglu, said that religions play an 
important role in establishing peace, love, and friendship. 
`Love, tolerance, and peace are the essence of Islam.  Islam 
never permits terror,' Bardakoglu said. 
Armenian Conference Ends in Istanbul:  A conference on the 
suffering of Armenians during the last days of the Ottoman 
Empire wrapped up yesterday.  On its second day, the 
conference was protested by a small group of nationalists 
who threw eggs and tomatoes at the university building, some 
of them protesting against an EU flag hoisted beside the 
Turkish flag in front of the conference venue.  A total of 
786 guests were invited to the conference, and about 300 
participants attended the 12 sessions held during the two- 
day gathering.  The talks were covered by scores of domestic 
and foreign reporters, including two journalists coming from 
Armenia.  Professor Tosun Terzioglu, President of Sabanci 
University, said that the Armenian conference had been an 
important event in showing that universities in Turkey were 
independent and that academics and thinkers could freely 
debate diverse opinions. 
 
Dogan Media Group Buys Star-TV:  On Monday, Turkey's first 
private TV channel established in 1990, "Star TV," was 
auctioned.  "Star TV," in state receivership since last year 
after the authorities seized dozens of companies from the 
now-defunct Uzan business conglomerate following a bank 
scandal and corruption charges, was sold to the Dogan media 
group for 306.5 million USD.  "Yeni Safak" says on its front 
page that the transaction increased the Dogan Group's viewer 
ratings as well as its share in the advertisement market.  A 
commentary in the paper warns that the Dogan Media Group has 
taken a major step toward dominating the media by purchasing 
"Star-TV," adding that the tender will have implications for 
Turkish politics.  It calls on the Parliament to take 
measures to prevent the monopolization of Turkish media by 
the Dogan Group.  The sale of the state-seized companies of 
the Uzan family kicked off last week with "Super FM" and 
"Metro FM" radio stations to the Canadian CGS Group 
(CanWest.) 
 
Iraq-Turkey Oil Pipeline Bombed:  Insurgents bombed a 
junction on Iraq's crude oil export pipeline near Kirkuk and 
briefly detained nine employees of the facility over the 
weekend, wire services reported Monday.  The sabotage is 
expected to delay efforts to resume Iraqi oil exports to 
Turkey, which had been brought to a standstill by the 
bombing attacks. 
 
PKK Trains 400 Bombers in the Kandil Mountains:  "Zaman" 
reports on an intelligence report by Turkish security which 
claims that the PKK is training some 400 militants in the 
Kandil Mountains to carry out bomb attacks in the 
southeastern provinces in an effort to block Turkey from 
joining the European Union.  The report says that the 
terrorist organization is planning to send some 150 
militants to Turkey from northern Iraq. 
 
Police Arrest PKK Members, Seize Weapons:  Police arrested 
three members of the outlawed PKK in the town of Nusaybin in 
southeast Turkey, seizing arms and munitions.  Security 
forces seized 4,500 AK-47 rifle (Kalashnikov) bullets during 
a separate operation in Siverek near the southeastern city 
of Sanliurfa.  Two village guards were killed in an armed 
attack by PKK rebels against a military unit checking road 
security on the Sirnak-Hakkari motorway.  The terrorists 
escaped after the attack.  Meanwhile, police arrested 
yesterday a female PKK terrorist on charges of planning a 
bomb attack against security forces in Diyarbakir, and 
seized 2.2 kilograms of explosives, revolvers, mobile phones 
and bullet cartridges. 
 
 
EDITORIAL OPINION:  US/Turkey/Middle East 
 
"Regime Change Scenarios for Syria" 
Asli Aydintasbas noted in the mass appeal "Sabah" (9/27): 
"The expectation in Washington, as well as in international 
circles, is that as the result of the ongoing Hariri 
investigation, regime change in Syria is an increasingly 
likely possibility.  The Bush administration views Assad as 
a weak leader, and does not see any progress by the regime 
regarding security and democratization issues.  Ankara and 
other Western capitals have started discussing possible 
names to replace Assad.  This issue was brought up during 
National Security Advisor Stephan Hadley's recent visit to 
Ankara as well. . Ankara worries about possible chaos in the 
event of a regime change in Syria, even if it comes about 
through the UN investigation.  On the other hand, the 
Turkish government does not intend to continue to play a 
`big brother' role for the Assad administration any longer. 
But Ankara does not want to see instability in Syria similar 
to what we have seen in Iraq.  Moreover, Ankara wants to see 
tangible evidence from the UN investigation if it points to 
Syrian complicity.  This message was also conveyed to 
Hadley." 
 
"Strategic Partnership?" 
Uluc Gurkan argued in the tabloid "Star" (9/27): "Given the 
fact that National Security Advisor Hadley made his first 
tour abroad to Turkey, the Hadley visit was a very important 
event.  During the visit, Hadley conveyed President Bush's 
message about forgetting the past and reestablishing the 
strategic partnership.  When Turkish authorities asked about 
the PKK, Hadley confirmed that the issue is covered by the 
strategic partnership as well.  The meaning of this message 
is very clear.  The US wants Turkey to accept and assume the 
role designed for it within the Broader Middle East 
Initiative.  The message also indicates that meeting this 
expectation is the only way to eliminate the PKK threat in 
northern Iraq. . Turkey is now being dragged into an 
adventure that will result in a redesign of the Middle East 
map.  It is vitally important that Turkey stand on its own 
feet instead of fooling itself with carrots, such as 
possible US action on the PKK issue.  Any adventure taken 
with the US will bring nothing but lost lives, blood, and a 
threat to our territorial integrity." 
 
MCELDOWNEY