US embassy cable - 05ANKARA6479

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 06 ANKARA 006479 
 
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, Press Summaries 
SUBJECT: ANKARA MEDIA REACTION REPORT 
WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 26, 2005 
 
THIS REPORT PRESENTS THE TURKISH PRESS SUMMARY UNDER THREE 
THEMES: 
 
HEADLINES 
BRIEFING 
EDITORIAL OPINION 
--------------------------------------------- -- 
 
HEADLINES 
 
 
MASS APPEAL 
`Peshmerge' at the White House - Hurriyet 
Bush Gives Barzani a Warm Greeting - Milliyet 
Barzani Given Presidential Treatment at White House - Aksam 
Iraq Constitution Approved by 78.59 Percent - Milliyet 
Iraq Becoming Federalized - Sabah 
Al-Qaida Claims Hotel Bombings in Baghdad - Aksam 
Another Blow against Bush: US Casualties Reach 2,000 - Sabah 
Russia, China Block Sanctions against Syria - Aksam 
Hurricane Wilma Kills 6 in Florida - Turkiye 
Wilma's Bill: 9 Billion USD, 8 Casualties - Sabah 
BBC to Launch Arabic Language TV - Milliyet 
 
OPINION MAKERS 
Bush Calls Barzani `Mr. President' - Yeni Safak 
Barzani Gets Presidential Welcome at White House - 
Cumhuriyet 
Bush Welcomes `President' Barzani - Zaman 
Talabani: The US is Our Protector - Zaman 
Talabani: Iraq Needs Turkey - Yeni Safak 
Iraq Constitution Approved by a Narrow Margin - Radikal 
Iraq Body count: 30,000 Civilians Killed in Iraq - Yeni 
Safak 
Basrans Support Insurgency - Yeni Safak 
Talat to Push Annan For New Cyprus Initiative - Radikal 
UN Convenes on Syria - Yeni Safak 
Bush: Military Operation against Syria a Last Option - 
Cumhuriyet 
Mehlis Report: Hariri Assassin Hiding in Turkey - Yeni Safak 
 
 
BRIEFING 
 
Barzani at the White House:  All papers report that KDP 
leader and Iraqi Kurdistan President Mesud Barzani met with 
President Bush yesterday aty the White House.  Under the 
headline "Peshmerge at the White House," "Hurriyet" stresses 
the President's praise for Barzani's `courage' and `vision.' 
Papers note that Barzani was afforded `presidential 
treatment' in Washington.  All papers note that President 
Bush repeatedly addressed Barzani as `president,' and said 
`it is an honor to host Barzani, President of the Kurdistan 
Regional Government in Iraq, at the White House.' 
 
Kurdistan Flag at Habur Border Gate:  "Sabah" reports that 
Turkey has been angered by a Kurdish flag hoisted on the 
Iraqi side of Habur border gate.  Officials in northern Iraq 
refused to take the flag down, saying that they were 
replacing old Iraqi flags from the Saddam Hussein regime era 
with Kurdish flags.  The paper claims that the flag switch 
is a sign that Iraq has now been `federalized.' 
 
Talabani Interview with "Zaman":  Commenting to "Zaman" on 
Massoud Barzani's Washington visit as the president of the 
Kurdish region, Iraqi President Talabani said he expected 
issues such as border security and security problems in 
northern Iraq to be discussed.  `The PUK and KDP have made a 
reality their goal to establish a parliament, and a 
government will be formed in the very near future' Talabani 
said.  On Turkish Prime Minister Erdogan's recent statement 
that Turkey was `running out of patience' because Iraq was 
not taking steps to eliminate the presence of the PKK in the 
north of the country, Talabani said it was impossible for 
them to remove the PKK by using force, and urged that the 
issue be solved through political means.  `An operation 
against the terrorist PKK cannot be carried out given the 
condition the Iraqi forces are in, and any military 
operation against this terrorist network might push its 
militants towards other insurgency groups,' he noted. 
Talabani said that Iraqi-Turkish relations have always been 
good, and expressed hope for developing these ties further, 
adding that he planned to visit Turkey in the near future. 
Talabani complained that it is not easy to establish 
channels of communication with some `marginal' Turkmen 
parties.  Although there was widespread speculation during 
the pre-election period that the Turkmen in Iraq number five 
million, Talabani said that the election outcome proved this 
argument to be incorrect.  Talabani believes that the 
Turkmen are wrong to object to the return of Kurds to 
Kirkuk, as the Kurds had been forced to leave the city 
during Saddam's era.  Talabani pledged that the Iraqi 
administration will make every effort to make Kirkuk part of 
the `Kurdistan Federation,' and that this clause will be put 
into effect as soon as the normalization of Kirkuk is 
completed.  `It was the Kurds who made great sacrifices for 
the constitution,' Talabani stated, adding that although 
Sunni Arabs are opposed to the establishment of a Shiite 
federation, they do not have a problem with the 
establishment of a Kurdish federal entity in the north of 
Iraq.  The Iraqi president guaranteed that the constitution 
will secure the basic rights and freedoms that everyone is 
entitled to.  `The referendum marks the greatest fight 
against terrorist groups in Iraq, and its outcome represents 
a grand victory that the nation has won over them,' Talabani 
concluded. 
 
US Soldiers Kidnap Girls from Baghdad Orphanage:  The 
Islamist-oriented "Yeni Safak" and fundamentalist "Vakit" 
carry a story first reported by the Ihlas News Agency (IHA) 
from Baghdad that two Iraqi girls staying at an orphanage in 
the ar-Reshad district of the Iraqi capital claimed they had 
been kidnapped by US soldiers along with six other girls 
last week.  Orphanage director Suad Mahdi al-Hafaji 
confirmed that eight girls, aged 15 to 22, had been 
kidnapped last week by US soldiers, and that six are still 
missing.  One of the girls who claims to have been 
kidnapped, Vijdan Kazem, said that US soldiers forced the 
girls out of the orphanage and into Humvee vehicles.  `They 
hit me on the neck with the butt of a gun.  I started 
screaming and then they threw me from the vehicle in an area 
I did not know, but I managed to find my way back to the 
orphanage.  They also told us on the road that we should say 
we had been kept in the orphanage against our will if asked 
by the police,' Kazem said.  Falah, the other girl who says 
she was kidnapped but managed to return, said she had been 
released in the Alawi al-Hilla district, and added that the 
soldiers had given her 2,000 dinars for a taxi back to the 
orphanage.  Falah said they had asked Iraqi officials about 
their friends but had not received an answer.  The orphanage 
said the names of the other kidnapped girls were Zaman 
Jabbar, Dumu Maan, Zainab Hamood, Fatima Askoori, and Ahlam 
Abdullah, who is mute. 
 
Cindy Sheehan Interviewed on CNN-Turk:  US anti-war activist 
Cindy Sheehan, whose son was killed while serving with US 
forces in Iraq, was interviewed on CNN-Turk yesterday. 
Portions of the interview appeared in several papers this 
morning.  Sheehan harshly criticized President Bush, saying 
that the President `and all those supporters who have 
cooperated with him in these lies' should be tried for war 
crimes. 
 
Iranian Ambassador on Ties with Turkey, Iraq:  In an 
interview with Turkish TV channel "Kanal-D," Iranian 
Ambassador to Ankara Firouz Dowlatabadi said that Iran 
supports Iraq's territorial integrity.  Dowlatabadi said 
that Iraqi Kurdish leaders, aware of the fact that the Kurds 
will not manage to establish an independent government, have 
chosen to cooperate with the central government in Baghdad. 
`As a matter of fact, the desire for an independent 
Kurdistan is being provoked by the occupying forces, and 
such a scenario is supported by the US, Britain, and 
Israel,' he claimed.  Asked about the PKK, Dowlatabadi said 
that Iran and Turkey have a security cooperation agreement 
onh that issue.  `Iran does not allow terrorist groups to 
take action against Turkey from Iranian territory,' he 
stressed.  Dowlatabadi also pointed to strong trade and 
economic ties between Iran, and Turkey and praised the 
political consensus the two countries reached on regional 
and international issues. 
 
Talat Visits Ankara before Traveling to US:  Turkish Cypriot 
leader Mehmet Ali Talat met with Foreign Minister Abdullah 
Gul in Ankara on the eve of his visit to the United States. 
At a joint press conference with Talat following their 
meeting, Gul voiced the hope that `important developments' 
would unfold during the Turkish Cypriot leader's calls in 
the US.  `The time has come to take new steps for a 
comprehensive solution in Cyprus,' Gul said, inviting the UN 
to get involved in efforts for a settlement.  Gul said that 
UN Secretary General's efforts should be supported by the UN 
and the EU.  `Otherwise, this issue will continue to be a 
chronic problem, and overshadow many other strategic 
issues,' Gul warned.  Talat said that while in New York, he 
will ask UNSYG Annan to resume the Cyprus talks.  `I believe 
this visit will help end the isolation of the Turkish 
Cypriots,' Talat said.  Diplomatic sources expect Talat to 
draw attention to Gul's proposal to lift restrictions 
simultaneously on all sides in Cyprus during his meetings 
with US officials.  Talat is also expected to ask Rice to 
approve direct US flights to northern Cyprus and to open a 
US representation in the north.  Meanwhile, "Hurriyet" 
Washington correspondent Kasim Cindemir wrote that Talat's 
visit would have only `symbolic' value, and predicted that 
no significant steps toward ending the isolation of Turkish 
Cypriots are expected.  Cindemir argued that although 
Washington has repeatedly promised to reduce the isolation 
of northern Cyprus, US officials now say that such setps 
`remain under review.' 
 
Ereli on Talat Visit to US:  State Spokesman Adam Ereli 
answered a question yesterday on the visit of Turkish 
Cypriot leader Mehmet Ali Talat to the US, and his comments 
were picked up on the all-news channel NTV.  `We have 
periodically met with leaders of the Turkish Cypriot 
community,' Ereli said: `This is an opportunity to hear from 
him the views of that community and discuss our mutual 
interest and mutual goal of achieving a peaceful settlement 
of the Cyprus issue based on the Annan plan.'  Ereli said 
that US policy on Cyprus has not changed, and called on the 
leaders of both communities to engage in `serious and 
sincere discussions' based on the UN-sponsored peace plan. 
 
Merve Kavakci's Headscarf on Display in US Senate:  All 
papers report that the headscarf of former Turkish 
parliamentarian Merve Kavakci, who was ejected from the 
parliament in the 1990s for wearing a headscarf, is now 
being displayed in the United States Senate building as part 
of an exhibit called "Body of Belief."  Secular papers claim 
that some of the information in the display is incorrect. 
They argue that Kavakci was not stripped of her Turkish 
citizenship because of the headscarf issue, but because she 
`attained US citizenship without permission.'  Islamist- 
oriented "Yeni Safak" traks a different tack, arguing that 
Turkey's `shame' on the headscarf issue is now `on display' 
ni the United States. 
 
Gul Calls on OIC to Help Pakistan, Palestine, Iraq and 
Afghanistan:  Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul called on the 
Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC) ambassadors at 
a Ramadan fast-breaking dinner on Tuesday to support 
earthquake victims in Pakistan.  Gul also urged the OIC to 
continue economic and political support to the Palestinian 
people.  Gul noted that Israel's pullout from the Gaza Strip 
had been a `step forward' with regard to the implementation 
of the road map, adding that efforts of the Palestinian 
administration for reforms should be supproted.  Gul also 
said that political processes in Iraq and Afghanistan should 
be strongly supported, underlining the need in both 
countries for humanitarian aid and reconstruction.  Gul 
noted that the opening of EU accession talks with Turkey had 
been welcomed in the Islamic world. 
`Turkey's new position in Europe will be a positive element 
with respect to the Islamic world's relations with Europe,' 
Gul said. 
 
Baykal Claims Secret Agreement on Incirlik Airbase:  Main 
opposition CHP leader Deniz Baykal told his party group 
yesterday that he had heard news claiming there is a new 
`secret' legal arrangement for operations at Incirlik 
Airbase, "Milliyet" reports.  `The agreement is being kept 
secret.  If it envisages foreign troops entering Turkey, 
 
SIPDIS 
then a parliamentary decision is needed.  Use of Incirlik 
Airbase is being demanded through agreements that violate 
the Turkish Constitution.  The government has to inform the 
nation and the opposition on this matter.  It cannot by-pass 
the authority of the parliament,' Baykal said. 
 
Mesrob II Criticizes `Racist' Remarks by AKP Lawmaker: 
"Hurriyet" reports that Armenian Patriarch Mesrob II said 
yesterday that AK Party lawmaker Ramazan Toprak had spoken 
as `racist' when he said that Yucel Askin, the rector of 
Yuzunci Yil University in Van, was `of Armenian heritage.' 
Askin was arrested on corruption charges in a controversial 
move allegedly manipulated by the AKP government in an 
effort to rid the university of `secularist elements.' 
Mesrob II said Toprak's remarks aimed at humiliating 
Armenians, and that such an attitude cannot be accepted in 
modern, pluralistic, and democratic countries. 
 
Court Fines 20 for Using Kurdish Alphabet Characters:  A 
court in the mainly Kurdish southeastern city of Siirt fined 
20 people for using the letters Q and W on posters at a 
Kurdish new year (Nevruz) celebration last year, under a law 
banning characters not used in the Turkish alphabet.  The 
court fined each of the 20 people 100 YTL (76 USD) for 
carrying the placards, written in Kurdish, at the event last 
year.  The letters Q and W do not exist in the Turkish 
alphabet, but are used in Kurdish.  At the urging of the EU, 
Turkey lifted bans on Kurdish education and broadcasting in 
2002, but strong resistance from the bureaucracy has delayed 
implementation of the reforms.  Many shops and companies in 
Turkey have names and signs using the letters Q, W and X, 
but they have not been prosecuted. 
 
DIE: 2.317 Million Unemployed in Turkey:  Turkey's average 
unemployment rate from June to August stood at 9.1 percent, 
the same as in the three months from May-July 2005, 
according to the Household Labor Force Survey results 
announced by the State Statistics Institute (DIE) on 
Tuesday.  The number of unemployed during the June-August 
period was 2.317 million, up slightly from 2.305 million in 
the May-July period.  The unemployment rate stood at 9.1 
percent as of July 2005.  Unemployment has remained high in 
Turkey despite significant economic growth in the last few 
years, partly due to austerity measures taken by businesses 
after the 2001 financial crisis.  Unemployment was 10.3 
percent in 2004, and 10.5 percent in 2003. 
 
BBC to Launch Arabic TV:  The BBC is planning to launch a 
new television channel that will broadcast in Arabic to 
compete with channels such as Al-Jazeerah, papers report. 
The BBC radio will end broadcasts in 10 other languages in 
order to finance the new channel, but the BBC Turkish 
service is not among the broadcasts to be terminated.  BBC 
services for Bulgaria, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Greece, 
Kazakhstan, Poland, Slovakia, and Thailand will be ended. 
 
Turkish Airliner Makes Emergency Landing in Budapest after 
Bomb Threat:  A An Airbus A-321 passenger plane belonging to 
the Turkish Fly Air Company with 80 passengers aboard had to 
make an emergency landing in Budapest, Hungary after 
receiving a bomb threat yesterday.  Emergency checks showed 
that the threat had been a hoax. 
 
 
EDITORIAL OPINION:  Iraq 
 
"Democracy and Stability: Having Both is Best" 
Sami Kohen commented in the mass appeal "Milliyet" (10/26): 
"The connection between stability and democracy continues to 
be a major topic for political discussion, which has become 
even more important in light of George Bush's democracy 
initiative in the Broader Middle East.  The drive for the US 
leader's initiative undoubtedly comes from national interest 
calculations rather than from some commitment to high-minded 
ideals.  Iraq is the most telling piece of evidence in this 
regard.  The Bush administration began the occupation by 
giving different pretexts, but now the theme of the 
occupation is presented as `establishing democracy.'  But 
the chaos and disorder that has followed the toppling of 
Saddam has led to enormous bloodshed and a process of 
democracy imposed from outside.  The immediate choice for 
the man on the street in Iraq on the `democracy or 
stability' question would be stability." 
 
"Iraqi Kurdistan" 
Okay Gonensin wrote in the mass appeal "Vatan" (10/26): 
"First, Talabani was invited to the White House by President 
Bush as a president.  Following that, Barzani went to 
Washington as the `President of Iraqi Kurdistan.'  These two 
invitations show that the US Administration accepts Iraqi 
Kurdistan as a federally independent structure.   The 
integrity of Iraq has come up frequently the American 
occupation of the country.  Each relevant party has talked 
about support for Iraq's territorial integrity, but each 
phase of developments in Iraq has brought the country closer 
to disintegration.  Turkish official policy for Iraq has 
been based on Iraq's territorial integrity.  This means that 
Turkey opposes an independent Kurdish state in Iraq.  Turkey 
has also expressed its concerns about the problems faced by 
the Turkmen community in Iraq.  Despite Turkey's 
expectations on this issue, none of these sensitivities 
about the Turkmen have been eliminated.  On the contrary, 
every necessary measure has been taken to enhance the de 
facto Kurdish state in Iraq.  . Given the current 
circumstances, the only option for Turkey is to establish 
peaceful, neighborly relations with Iraq.  The Turkish 
border is the only outlet through which Iraqi Kurdistan can 
breathe normally.  Turkey has all the elements to assist in 
Iraq's economic development.  If Iraqi Kurdistan chooses to 
cooperate with Turkey and the Turkish people, it will be an 
important step for the improvement of regional peace." 
 
MCELDOWNEY