US embassy cable - 05ANKARA6749

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 04 ANKARA 006749 
 
SIPDIS 
 
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, NOVEMBER 15, 2005 
 
 
THIS REPORT PRESENTS THE TURKISH PRESS SUMMARY UNDER THREE 
THEMES: 
 
HEADLINES 
BRIEFING 
EDITORIAL OPINION 
--------------------------------------------- -- 
 
HEADLINES 
 
MASS APPEAL 
France Extends Emergency Rule for 3 Months - Milliyet 
France Deports Rioters - Star 
`Islamophobia' Spreads in Britain - Aksam 
Support for Le Pen Soars in France - Sabah 
Barzani Continues World Tour, Meets Pope - Star 
Hillary Clinton Defends Security Wall in Israel - Aksam 
Dervis: Kashmir Needs Several Million USD Before Winter - 
Vatan 
Dissident Kazakh Leader Nurkadilov's Mystery Death - Sabah 
Latin America Shifts to Left - Hurriyet 
New Weapon for US Military: Chewing Gum - Milliyet 
 
OPINION MAKERS 
EU: PKK Obstructs Development in Southeast - Cumhuriyet 
Attacks on Rise Before December Polls in Iraq - Yeni Safak 
Blair: Britain May Pull Out of Iraq in 2006 - Cumhuriyet 
Rice Works on Middle East Peace - Zaman 
Rice Congratulates Sharon On Gaza Pullout - Cumhuriyet 
Rice Seeks Agreement on Gaza - Radikal 
Talat: Greek Cypriot Nationalism at `Alarming' Level - 
Cumhuriyet 
Erdogan, Putin, Berlusconi to Open `Blue Stream' in Turkey - 
Yeni Safak 
Annan: Islam Suffered Most from Religious Extremism - Zaman 
Merkel: We Will Improve Trans-Atlantic Ties - Radikal 
Two Suicide Attacks against ISAF in Kabul - Cumhuriyet 
CIA Uses Mallorca for Transfer of Terror Suspects - Radikal 
Defense Minister Ivanov to Replace Putin in 2008 - Radikal 
Mexico Expects an Apology from Chavez - Yeni Safak 
 
 
BRIEFING 
 
Investigations into Semdinli Bombings:  Turkey's ruling AK 
Party is set to propose a parliamentary inquiry into the 
bombing of a bookshop in the southeastern town of Semdinli 
in which members of the security forces have been 
implicated, papers report.  There are claims that local 
security forces were behind last Wednesday's blast in the 
town, which resulted in the two deaths and several other 
injuries.  The bomb went off in front of a bookshop owned by 
a convicted member of the outlawed PKK.  The AKP wants to 
speed up the investigation and hand it over to the 
judiciary.  Party representatives who are touring the area 
in an effort to learn the full truth will prepare a report 
for Prime Minister Erdogan.  AKP lawmakers from southeastern 
Turkey believe that the bookstore bombing in Semdinli must 
be investigated along with other recent incidents in 
Hakkari, Cukurca and Semdinli.  On Monday, the main 
opposition CHP and the Motherland Party (ANAP) submitted 
separate motions to parliament demanding an investigation. 
Late Tuesday afternoon, three demonstrators were reported 
killed and more than twenty wounded in clashes with Turkish 
security forces in the town of Yuksekova, not far from 
Semdinli.  Demonstrators reportedly set fire to a police 
car. 
 
Kalkan Calls on KDP, PUK to Mediate Between Turkey-PKK: 
 
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Duran Kalkan, a member of the PKK-affiliated Democratic 
Confederation of Kurdistan (KKK) and chairman of the 
People's Defense Committee (HPG), called on the Iraqi 
Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) and the Patriotic Union of 
Kurdistan (PUK) to mediate between Turkey and the PKK to 
seek a solution to the Kurdish problem, Copenhagen-based Roj 
TV reported.  Kalkan claimed that pressure is being applied 
against Abdullah Ocalan as part of a scheme developed by the 
United States, the EU, and Turkey.  Kalkan lashed out at the 
US for attempting to use the Kurds in line with American 
policies.  He claimed that many violent incidents in the 
region have been perpetrated at the direction of the Turkish 
General Staff (TGS.)  `It is not the choice of the Kurds to 
break away from Turkey, but racist, aggressive, and 
chauvinistic policies are tearing Kurds and Turks apart.  If 
this continues, the Kurds cannot be integrated,' Kalkan 
said.  Kalkan blamed the AKP government for being afraid to 
take firm steps toward a solution of the Kurdish problem, 
and characterized PM Erdogan's initiative on the issue as a 
`failure.' 
 
Ten Kilos of C-4 Seized in Marmaris:  Police captured four 
suspects, two of them women, and 10 kg of C-4 plastic 
explosives in Turkey's Aegean coastal town of Marmaris, 
papers report.  Authorities declined to elaborate on the 
operation. 
 
Oger Completes Historic Privatization Deal:  The Lebanon- 
based Oger Gorup paid 6.5 billion USD to Turkey yesterday to 
finalize the purchase of a 55 percent ownership stake in 
Turk-Telekom.  The deal marks the largest and most important 
privatization in the history of Turkey. 
 
TGS Blocks Shipment of Military Equipment to Iraq:  The 
Turkish General Staff (TGS) has refused to allow the 
delivery to Iraq of 74 MT-72 tanks through the Mediterranean 
port of Iskenderun after learning that the port is being 
used as a transfer point for large amounts of military 
supplies destined for Iraq, "Cumhuriyet" reports.  A request 
to send the tanks to Iraq by the Mersin-based Okura and 
Iskenderun-based Tempo transport companies has been rejected 
by the TGS.  A prosecutor in Iskenderun had been 
investigating claims that the port has been used for 
shipment of military explosives to Incirlik and military 
vehicles to Iraq. 
 
Alpogan Warns against Iraq's Partition:  Yigit Alpogan, 
secretary-general of the Turkish National Security Council 
 
SIPDIS 
(NSC), said that if stability is not achieved in Iraq, the 
alternatives are `very bad and risky.'  Alpogan told a 
conference at the European Policy Centre think-tank in 
Brussels on Monday that Kurdish autonomy in northern Iraq 
would not be a `tenable situation.'  `If Iraq disintegrates 
with one group looking for a greater Kurdistan, Shiites in 
the south aspiring to embrace other Shiite elements in the 
region, and Sunnis open to Arab nationalism and 
fundamentalism, then Pandora's box will have been opened. 
Nobody will be safe from the effects of such a scenario,' 
Alpogan said.  Alpogan declined to discuss whether Turkey 
may feel obliged to take military action under such 
circumstances.  He added that last month's constitutional 
referendum had been `good for Iraq's future' despite the 
continuing violence there. 
 
Report on Civilian-Military Ties in Turkey:  A report 
drafted by the Center for European Security Studies (CESS) 
and the Istanbul Policy Center (IPM) on civilian-military 
ties in Turkey says that the National Security Council (NSC) 
has been `domesticated,' Turkish papers report.  `The Chief 
 
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of the Turkish General Staff (TGS), Hilmi Ozkok, believes 
that the military must stay out of everyday politics. He 
prefers to sort out disagreements on matters directly 
related to the TGS through persuasion, and believes that 
democratically-elected politicians must have the final say. 
The report notes that Prime Minister Erdogan has been 
careful not to push policies that would generate opposition 
from the military.  The CESS/IPM report will constitute a 
reference point for the EU Commission's progress report on 
Turkey. 
 
Talat Complains about Greek Cypriot Nationalism:  Turkish 
Cypriot leader Mehmet Ali Talat complained on Monday that 
rising Greek Cypriot nationalism directed against Turkish 
Cypriots has reached a `dangerous level,' "Cumhuriyet" 
reports.  Talat claimed that the Greek side has been 
pursuing discriminatory policies and a systematic campaign 
to fuel nationalism against Turkish Cypriots.  Talat claimed 
that Greek Cypriot courts discriminate against the Turkish 
Cypriots.  In a recent move, the Greek Cypriots banned the 
publication of Turkish Cypriot dailies on the Greek part of 
the island.  Talat warned that nationalism had been 
responsible for past atrocities on the island. 
 
Bartholomew I Calls for Reopening of Halki Seminary:  The 
head of the Greek Orthodox Church, Ecumenical Patriarch 
Bartholomew I, criticized Turkey's policies toward non- 
Muslim minorities in the country, especially with regard to 
property rights.  In Vienna to address a conference on Islam 
on Wednesday, Bartholomew I called on the Turkish government 
to reopen Halki Seminary in Istanbul, which he said would be 
in the interests of a Turkey that is oriented toward the EU. 
The Vienna conference will be attended by the presidents of 
Iraq and Afghanistan, Jalal Talabani and Hamid Karzai, and 
the Turkish secretary-general of the Organization of the 
Islamic Conference (OIC), Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu. 
 
Prosecutor Charges Human Rights Board Members:  An Ankara 
prosecutor has filed charges against the Professor Ibrahim 
Kaboglu, former head of the prime ministry Human Rights 
Advisory Board, and board member Professor Baskyn Oran for 
`inciting separatism' and `insulting the judiciary' in a 
report they drafted on the situation faced by minorities in 
Turkey.  The report, which was released by the board in 
October 2004, accused Turkey of discriminating against its 
minorities.  Professor Oran said that the charges would give 
him a chance to better explain, but added that the trial 
would harm Turkey's EU entry bid. 
 
Erdogan, Sezer to Open Bluestream:  Prime Minister Erdogan 
and President Sezer will travel to the Black Sea city of 
Samsun on Thursday to participate in ceremonies marking the 
opening of the Bluestream natural gas pipeline.  Russian 
President Vladimir Putin and Italian Prime Minister Silvio 
Berlusconi will also attend. 
 
Barzani Meets the Pope:  Massoud Barzani, regional President 
of Iraqi Kurdistan, was received by Pope Benedict XVI in the 
Vatican yesterday.  Barzani told the press after the meeting 
that he had asked the Pontiff to continue his support for 
stability and peace in Iraq.  The two men also rportedly 
discussed the Pope's concerns about religious freedom in 
Iraq.  Iraqi President Talabani had an audience with the 
Pope last week. 
 
Dervis: Pakistan Needs Urgent Help:  The Turkish head of the 
UN Development Program (UNDP), Kemal Dervis, said that 
Turkish students set an example to the world by collecting 
10 million USD within a few days for victims of the Pakistan 
 
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earthquake, Turkish papers report.  Dervis said that oil- 
rich Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, and the United Arab Emirates have 
donated 330 million USD, and that Turkey has pledged 150 
million USD to earthquake-stricken Pakistan.  Dervis 
stressed that Pakistan urgently needs several billion 
dollars if a looming humanitarian crisis is to be averted. 
 
EDITORIAL OPINION:  ITU Summit in Tunisia; France/EU 
 
"The Tunisia Summit" 
Fikret Ertan wrote in the Islamist-intellectual "Zaman" 
(11/15):  "There is going to be an important summit in 
Tunisia tomorrow: the World Summit of the Information 
Society.  It will be held under the sponsorship of the 
International Telecommunications Union.  It seems that the 
summit will focus on two issues -- the internet address 
system, and the problems faced by underdeveloped countries 
in achieving full access to the information society.   In 
fact, the US controls the internet system.  This brings a 
political dimension to the issue, which will likely be the 
most controversial question taken up at the summit. .  The 
US government has control over global websites.  Many 
countries are bothered by tis, and are asking that the UN 
take this responsibility away from the US and pass it to an 
independent organization.  Since no public statement is 
available yet, we have no idea about Turkey's views on this 
issue.  We need to wait and see what will come out of the 
summit in Tunisia" 
 
"Incidents in Paris and Turkey" 
Haluk Ulman commented in the economic-political "Dunya" 
(11/15):  "Most people in Turkey wonder whether the 
incidents in Paris are going to affect Turkey.  In my 
opinion, even if there is no direct effect, there will be 
indirect consequences that bear on efforts to establish a 
coexistence between two very different cultures. 
Unfortunately, it seems likely that these incidents will 
contribute to the Islamophobia that has surfaced in Europe, 
and will further call into question Turkey's prospects for 
EU accession.  No matter how many times we emphasize that 
Turkey's accession to the EU will encourage peace between 
civilizations (meaning the Islam and Christian worlds), 
there are countless people in Europe who just don't believe 
that.  In the eyes of the Europeans, there is only one 
civilization, and that is a Judeo-Christian one.  In this 
view, those who do not belong to this civilization have no 
place in Europe.  It is no coincidence that a German who 
claims that Europe is based on Christian beliefs and values 
is now heading the Catholic Church." 
 
MCELDOWNEY