US embassy cable - 05ANKARA6062

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 04 ANKARA 006062 
 
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, OCTOBER 6, 2005 
 
THIS REPORT PRESENTS THE TURKISH PRESS SUMMARY UNDER THREE 
THEMES: 
 
HEADLINES 
BRIEFING 
EDITORIAL OPINION 
--------------------------------------------- -- 
 
HEADLINES 
 
MASS APPEAL 
Gul Calls Rice to Thank for US Support in Luxembourg - 
Milliyet 
Turkey to Receive 10 Billion Euro in EU Aid Over 10 Years - 
Vatan 
UK Threatened Nicosia During Luxembourg Talks - Turkiye 
Schroeder to Visit Turkey October 12 - Hurriyet 
Borrell: Annan Plan the Best Solution to Cyprus Problem - 
Milliyet 
Amr Moussa: Turkey a Bridge between Christian, Muslim Worlds 
- Hurriyet 
37 Million Americans Live Under Poverty Line - Aksam 
US Kills 42 Insurgents in al-Anbar - Milliyet 
Suicide Attack Kills 22 in Iraq - Star 
 
OPINION MAKERS 
Gul Thanks Rice for Her EU Support - Radikal 
Borrell Invites Talat, Papadopoulos to Negotiating Table - 
Radikal 
Cyprus to be Main Problem in EU-Turkey Talks - Zaman 
Arab League: Turkey will be a Bridge among Religions - Yeni 
Safak 
Yerevan Hopeful on EU-Turkey Negotiations - Yeni Safak 
Putin Congratulates Turkey on EU - Cumhuriyet 
Rice to Tour Central Asia October 10-13 - Cumhuriyet 
Riyadh Uneasy with Iran's Interest in Iraq - Cumhuriyet 
Hurricane Katrina Reveals the Poor in the US - Yeni Safak 
 
 
BRIEFING 
 
UK, US Pressed Greek Cypriots to Support Turkey:  Strong 
messages by the UK and US forced the Greek Cypriots to end 
their objections to Turkey's EU accession process during 
meetings in Luxembourg earlier this week, Turkish papers 
claim.  Secretary Rice called Greek Cypriot Foreign Minister 
George Iacovou to warn him against blocking Turkey's bid, 
and British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw threatened that if 
accession talks with Turkey were to collapse, Turkish troops 
would never leave Cyprus, and events would soon lead to 
recognition of the `Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus.' 
 
Gul Thanks Rice for Support at EU:  Turkish Foreign Ministry 
Spokesman Namik Tan said at a weekly news briefing on 
Wednesday that US support for the opening of entry talks 
between Turkey and the EU was `clear, natural, and correct. 
We are pleased with it.'  Tan said that FM Gul called 
Secretary Rice Tuesday night to thank her for the 
 
SIPDIS 
contributions made by the Secretary and other high level US 
Government officials.  `Secretary Rice said that relations 
will be further developed, and that she was pleased to have 
contributed to the process,' Tan emphasized, adding that 
`the US has supported this project because considers it 
important to support initiatives based on common values such 
as democracy, the rule of law, and a free-market economy. 
The fact that a European Turkey will further contribute to 
regional stability is another reason for US support.  Within 
this framework, the United States has provided Turkey with 
strong support,' Tan noted. 
 
Erdogan on Turkey's October 3 Process:  Prime Minister 
Tayyip Erdogan told the all-news channel NTV yesterday that 
Turkey will open its ports and airports to the Greek 
Cypriots only if the isolation of the Turkish Cypriots is 
ended.  Erdogan accused the opposition parties in Turkey of 
seeing only the `half-empty glass' regarding development son 
October 3.  `It is impossible to take something without 
giving something in return.  We should look at our economic 
and social gains in this process, as seen in the continuing 
rise in the domestic stock market, and the decrease in 
interest rates and inflation figures,' Erdogan said.  He 
added that Turkey has maintained its veto right in NATO and 
other international organizations.  Erdogan said that during 
his half-hour phone conversation with Secretary Rice early 
Monday, he explained that the EU deal would not go through 
if Turkish demands were not met.  Erdogan said that he had 
ater talked to British PM Tony Blair, and that the Turkish 
delegation decided to go to Luxembourg after receiving a 
written guarantee from the British PM.  Responding to a 
question, Erdogan said that Turkey will not go to general 
elections before 2007.  `Foreign investors are looking for 
stability in Turkey,' Erdogan said.  Asked when the 
parliament would ratify a protocol extending Turkey's 
customs union to new EU members including Cyprus, Erdogan 
said that his government was `looking into' the matter, but 
added that `there is no need to hurry.' 
 
AKP Defends October 3 against Domestic Critics:  Turkish 
opposition parties and some analysts say that the ruling AK 
Party made too many concessions in signing on to a 
negotiating mandate with the 25-member EU on Monday evening. 
The framework agreement reached in Luxembourg will allow the 
long-anticipated accession talks to begin.  On Wednesday, 
Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul told the parliament that the 
EU deal is in Turkey's interests because `for the past 50 
years, Turkey has had its face turned toward Europe.  The 
reform process in Turkey has now become institutionalized.' 
Gul said the government had studied the framework accord 
carefully before deciding that it fully met Turkish concerns 
and that it was appropriate for the FM to go to Luxembourg 
for the EU ceremony launching the talks on Monday.  But Onur 
Oymen, speaking on behalf of the main opposition Republican 
People's Party (CHP), said the deal was a `dilution' of what 
the EU had offered to Turkey last December, when the 
decision to open entry talks with Ankara was taken.  Oymen 
said the new deal called on Turkey to open its ports and 
airports to the Greek Cypriots.  Gul shrugged off 
accusations by the opposition that the AKP government had 
failed to inform the parliament of the talks on the 
framework agreement.  `We are not a coalition government,' 
he said.  EU Enlargement Commissioner Olli Rehn will hold 
talks in Ankara on Thursday and Friday.  Government 
Spokesman Cemil Cicek said the `EU screening process' will 
begin on October 20 in the areas of science and research, 
followed on October 26 by education and culture, papers 
report.  European experts told "Zaman" that Cyprus will be 
the largest obstacle for Ankara in the accession 
negotiations with Brussels.  Experts predicted that other 
issues such as freedom for religious minorities, military- 
civilian relations, and Armenian `genocide' claims would not 
prove to be `insurmountable.' 
US Seeks Ankara's Support on Iran's Nuclear Program:  Robert 
Joseph, Undersecretary of State for Arms Control and 
International Security, recently visited Ankara to discuss 
Iranian nuclear aspirations, according to a special defense 
report in the English-language "Turkish Daily News" (TDN.) 
Joseph said that a nuclear Iran would be a major threat for 
its neighbors, including Turkey, and the entiree Middle 
East, a concern Turkey shares with the US.  `We definitely 
do not want an Iran that has atomic weapons.  We do not want 
nuclear weapons in our region,' said one senior Turkish 
diplomat.  Analysts in Ankara and Washington believe that 
Turkey's position on this matter was closer to that of the 
US than on the issue of Iraq.  Turkey has officially backed 
EU efforts to dissuade Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons, 
the diplomat said.  During Joseph's Ankara talks, Turkish 
officials declined to give the US a pledge of blanket 
support, mainly because Washington's `end-game' remains 
unclear.  On October 3, the US called on governments to 
freeze all transfers of nuclear technology to Iran, charging 
that it had violated the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. 
Last week, Stephen Rademaker, US Assistant Secretary of 
State for International Security and Non-Proliferation, made 
the plea at a UN panel on disarmament.  But Russia, which 
has a contract to build a nuclear reactor in the Iranian 
city of Bushehr, flatly rejected the US call.  Russia's UN 
Spokesman, Sergei Trepelkov, said Rademaker's remarks were 
`nothing new' and insisted that Russia would not end its 
cooperation with Iran.  `Certainly we are not interested in 
Iran getting nuclear weapons, but as for Bushehr, it is a 
purely peaceful project that fully meets the demands of the 
International Atomic Energy Agency,' Trepelkov said.  `I 
don't think there is any ground for ending this 
cooperation.' 
 
Minister Celik Calls for Reopening of Halki Seminary: 
Education Minister Huseyin Celik said that it is `wrong' 
that the Halki Seminary in Istanbul has remained closed up 
to now.  Celik said that the facility could be opened 
`within 24 hours.'  `People coming from different religions 
have the right to express their beliefs.  This has nothing 
to do with the EU criteria.  My religion orders and my 
culture requires' that the seminary be opened, Celik 
reportedly said.  The Minister pointed out that there are 
`5,000 mosques in Europe, and 500 students study Islamic 
theology at a university in Rotterdam that has a Turkish 
rector.' 
 
New Border Crossing between Turkey and Iraq:  Turkish 
Foreign Ministry Spokesman Namik Tan said at a weekly press 
briefing Wednesday that the issue of opening a new border 
crossing between Turkey and Iraq was discussed during the 
visit of Iraqi Planning and Development Minister Bahram 
Salih to Ankara last week.  Tan said that the Iraqi 
government had proposed some time ago the opening of a new 
border-gate five kilometers west of the Habur crossing.  The 
border post would include a motorway and railway 
connections.  He noted that the Turkish side had proposed an 
alternative site at Ovakoy.  Tan said that the two sides 
were `evaluating the various proposals,' and predicted that 
the `assessment process' would continue for some time. 
 
 
EDITORIAL OPINION:  Turkey and the EU 
 
"EU's Red Lines and the Issue of Turkish Ports" 
Erdal Safak wrote in the mass appeal "Sabah" (10/6): 
"Turkey managed to cross the October 3 threshold without 
wiping out its `red lines.'  But, the EU has its red lines 
as well.  EU enlargement commissioner Olli Rehn has come to 
Turkey prior to the start of screening process, in part to 
remind the Turkish sid of these red lines.  During this 
process, there will be heated debate about the access of 
Greek Cypriots to Turkish ports and airports.  The Turkish 
government is planning to delay this issue for as long as 
possible, despite the fact that it is specifically mentioned 
in the sixth paragraph of the EU framework document.  But 
the EU Commission has neither the patience nor the desire to 
see this issue dragged out indefinitely.  The European 
Parliament, Greece, and the Greek Cypriots raise this issue 
in Brussels almost every day.  Rehn, unable to resist these 
pressures any longer, has come to Turkey.  He wants the 
Turkish parliament to approve the additional customs union 
protocol as soon as possible.  Most people don't know that 
Turkey closed its ports to  Greek Cypriot vessels not after 
the Cyprus operation of 1974, but only in 1987.  The ban was 
put into effect as retaliation for the refusal of the Greek 
Cypriots to accept a Turkish vessel that had stopped in 
northern Cyprus before going to the South.  The Turkish 
government should solve this issue as soon as possible so 
that it does not cause tension in relations with the EU. 
Moreover, there is also the danger for the issue to be 
carried to the International Court in the Hague or to the 
World Trade Organization (WTO).  If it comes to that, Turkey 
is bound to face more trouble." 
 
"To be Able to Live as a European" 
Sami Kohen opined in the mainstream daily "Milliyet" (10/6): 
"For Turkey, every phase on the way to EU membership has its 
own difficulties.  In the phase that Turkey has reached 
today, the most important issue is to bring Turkey to a 
European standard of living.  That is why the public's 
active support and participation is every bit as important 
as efforts that will be made within the bureaucracy.  At 
this very challenging phase, everyone needs to understand 
that we need to start thinking and acting like Europeans if 
we are ever to reach these standards.  This is a difficult 
task, but not an impossible one if our effort is sincere." 
 
MCELDOWNEY