US embassy cable - 05ANKARA7138

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 06 ANKARA 007138 
 
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 
MONDAY, DECEMBER 5, 2005 
 
 
THIS REPORT PRESENTS THE TURKISH PRESS SUMMARY UNDER THREE 
THEMES: 
 
HEADLINES 
BRIEFING 
EDITORIAL OPINION 
--------------------------------------------- -- 
 
HEADLINES 
 
MASS APPEAL 
Gul Brings Together Iraqi Sunnis, Khalilzad in Istanbul - 
Sabah 
Barzani Offers to Mediate between Ankara-Turkey's Kurds - 
Milliyet 
Turkey Persuades Sunnis to Enter Iraqi Elections - Hurriyet 
Haaretz: Syria Improves Scud Missiles - Milliyet 
Nazarbayev Elected President for the Third Time in 
Kazakhstan - Hurriyet 
Kazakh `Sultan' Nazarbayev - Milliyet 
Ambassador Wilson: I Came Here to Improve Turkey-US Ties - 
Milliyet 12/4 
Ambassador Wilson Arrives in Ankara 6 Months Later - Aksam 
12/4 
Wilson, Former Musician Turned Diplomat - Sabah 12/4 
Mehlis to Quit Hariri Investigation Over Threats - Sabah 
12/4 
Abbas Gives Palestine Passport to Pope Benedict XVI - Sabah 
12/4 
 EU Warns US against Capital Punishment - Milliyet 12/4 
New US Ankara Ambassador Speaks Turkish - Aksam 12/3 
Bob Deutsch Warns Iraq to Block PKK from Entering elections 
- Hurriyet 12/3 
 10 US Troops Killed in Fallujah - Sabah 12/3 
 
OPINION MAKERS 
Iraqi Sunnis, Khalilzad Expect Active Turkish Role on Iraq - 
Yeni Safak 
Iraqis Want US Troops Out of Iraq - Cumhuriyet 
CIA Planes Have Used British Military Airports 210 Times - 
Yeni Safak 
The Economist: Turkey Has an Image Problem - Radikal 
Third Round in the `Saddam Show' - Radikal 
Israel Strikes Gaza Again - Radikal 
Bush Protested for Climate Change Policy in 32 Countries - 
Yeni Safak 
Chavez: Venezuelan Opposition a `Puppet' of US - Cumhuriyet 
Amb. Wilson Arrives in Turkey 6 Months After Edelman Leaves 
- Yeni Safak 12/4 
Athens Urges Turkey to Recognize Ecumenical Status of 
Patriarchate - Radikal 12/4 
CIA Planes Flew Over Germany 437 Times - Zaman 12/4 
Rice in Europe to Counter Charges on CIA Planes - Cumhuriyet 
12/4 
Egypt Debates How to Coexist with Muslim Brotherhood - Zaman 
12/4 
Al-Qaida Commander Rabia Killed on Pakistan-Afghan Border - 
Zaman 12/4 
Russia Wins Chechnya Elections - Yeni Safak 12/4 
Pentagon Acknowledges Bribing Iraqi Press for Positive 
Coverage - Cumhuriyet 12/3 
Israel Successfully Tests Defense Missiles - Yeni Safak 12/3 
 
 
BRIEFING 
 
Ambassador Wilson Arrives in Ankara:  Newly appointed US 
Ambassador to Turkey, Ross Wilson, arrived in Ankara on 
Saturday, Turkish papers reported over the weekend.  Wilson 
 
ANKARA 00007138  002 OF 006 
 
 
said in his arrival statement after a brief introduction in 
Turkish that he is very pleased to be in Turkey.  `I've 
waited a long time for this.  And I believe Turkey has 
waited a little while as well for a new American ambassador. 
I look forward to exploring Turkey, getting to know the 
people of this wonderful country, and working with the 
citizens of Turkey, and the leaders of this country to 
further develop US-Turkish relations and cooperation on the 
many common interests that we share, and the many areas in 
which we need to work as allies, friends, and partners 
together in the coming years,' Wilson said.  Wilson is 
expected to present his credentials to President Sezer in 
the coming days. 
 
Deutsch on Iraq, Upcoming Elections:  Weekend papers report 
US Deputy Coordinator for Iraq, Robert Deutsch as telling 
the press after meeting with Turkish Foreign Ministry (MFA) 
Undersecretary Ali Tuygan that 2006 will be an important 
year for Iraq to become a pluralist, federal and democratic 
country.  `Turkey contributes positively to this process,' 
Deutsch said.  The constitution written by the Iraqis will 
cover issues such as the status of Kirkuk, Deutsch said.  On 
recent attempts by the PKK-linked parties to take part in 
Iraqi election, Deutsch expressed determination that the 
Iraqi electoral commission will not allow groups that pursue 
violence to run in the polls.  Deutsch added that he 
believed the Iraqi elections would be fair, legitimate and 
in line with international standards, adding that Turkey and 
the international community continued supporting Iraq. 
 
PCDK Rejects Ties with the PKK:  Kurdistan Democratic 
Solution Party (PCDK) chief in Kirkuk, Semsettin Hidir said 
his party has engaged in good dialogue with all the Kurdish 
parties, and rejected claims that the PCDK was established 
by the PKK, Turkey's state-owned broadcaster TRT reported 
Friday.  Hidir noted that Kirkuk must be annexed to 
Kurdistan, and blamed the Arabs and Turkey for 
`exaggerating' the problem.  Monday "Zaman" says that the 
PCDK is set to run for Iraqi elections, with a target to win 
at least 15 seats in 10 Iraqi cities, including Kirkuk. 
 
Gul, Khalilzad, Hashemi Meet in Istanbul on Iraq Elections: 
Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul, US Ambassador to Iraq Zalmay 
Khalilzad, and Tareq al-Hashemi of a leading Iraqi Sunni 
party met in Istanbul over the weekend as part of Turkey's 
efforts to persuade the Sunnis to take part in the upcoming 
Iraqi elections, Monday papers report.  Khalilzad assured 
Iraqi Sunnis that the US was determined to help maximize the 
participation of Sunnis in December 15 elections.  `Iraq is 
going through a difficult transition process.  For Iraq to 
succeed, it needs the participation of all communities in 
Iraq in upcoming elections,' Khalilzad told the press. 
Khalilzad stressed that the US did not plan to have 
permanent bases in Iraq, and that the country's natural 
resources belonged to all Iraqis.  Khalilzad also thanked 
Turkey for helping Iraq.  Tareq Al-Hashimi, the number two 
in the Iraqi Islamic Party which was representing Sunni 
groups in the Istanbul talks, underlined his community's 
desire to participate in the elections and have a say in the 
political process, but also voiced a number of concerns. 
`We demand that massive military operations be ceased 
immediately,' Hashemi said in reference to a series of joint 
US-Iraqi operations against the insurgents in the western 
province of Al-Anbar over the last several weeks.  Hashemi 
also asked for a timetable for withdrawal from Iraq. 
Minister Gul said that Turkey has been in touch with `all 
Iraqi elements.'  `All elements of the Iraqi society must 
join the elections.  All we want is to end the pain in Iraq 
and for a peaceful Iraq to replace it,' Gul said. 
 
ANKARA 00007138  003 OF 006 
 
 
 
Al-Mahdi Visits Ankara:  Iraqi Deputy President Adil Abd al- 
Mahdi told Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul in Ankara on Friday 
following his visits to the US and Iran that everything will 
be settled following the December 15 elections in Iraq, 
weekend papers report.  The Shiite politician told Gul that 
changes will be made to the Iraqi Constitution.  He added 
that Iraq realizes the importance of the struggle against 
terrorism and of Kirkuk.  Al-Mahdi noted that all the groups 
in Iraq were oppressed during the Saddam regime, and said 
that Baghdad expects Turkey to display understanding towards 
the groups in Iraq.  Gul said that Turkey attaches great 
importance to the political process in Iraq.  Al-Mahdi is 
seen as likely to assume the post of prime minister in the 
wake of Iraqi polls. 
 
Kurdistan Applies for IMO Membership:  The president of 
regional Kurdistan, Massoud Barzani, in an effort to 
strengthen the autonomy of Kurdistan, has applied for 
membership in the International Maritime Organization (IMO) 
despite the fact that Kurdistan has no shores, Monday 
"Aksam" reports.  The Norwegian oil company DNO was helping 
Barzani to buy ten tankers with Greek Cypriot and Panama 
flags.  Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari asked for a 
seat in IMO for Kurdistan, drawing attention to the examples 
of Hong Kong and Faroe Islands to back his application. 
Kurdistan may participate as an observer at the IMO meeting 
to be held in Turkey next year, says "Aksam." 
 
Barzani Attracts Kurds in Southeast Turkey:  The president 
of Iraqi Kurdistan Massoud Barzani's rising popularity on 
the international arena attracts the Kurds in southeast 
Turkey to northern Iraq, Sunday "Cumhuriyet" says in a news 
commentary.  Pictures of Barzani hang on the walls of 
businesses and homes in Turkey's mainly Kurdish southeast. 
Barzani's book, `Barzani and the Kurdish National Freedom 
Movement' is being distributed in region.  Barzani is giving 
scholarships of 100 USD per month to 250 Turkish students 
admitted into the Selahaddin University.  It is claimed that 
young Kurdish Turks in the region are given Kurdish 
passports, with the hope of using them someday.  The PKK is 
not pleased with the gradual rise in the support for 
Barzani.  The non-violent policies of Barzani have a 
positive impact on the people in southeast Turkey.  The 
Iraqi KDP is emerging as a serious, and perhaps the only, 
alternative here.  The turmoil within the PKK is also 
contributing to `Barzanism.'  The executions inside KONGRA- 
GEL, the murder of Kurdish dissident Hikmet Fidan, the 
efforts of the terrorist organization to exert influence 
over the other Kurdish movements in Iran and Syria, and the 
killings of prominent figures from these movements, such as 
Kemale Sor and Shapur Badoshiva, have given rise to serious 
campaigns against the PKK.  Following the murder of Fidan, 
rumors of a 250-person death list have sped up the shift 
toward Barzani.  The PKK is now being referred to in the 
region as a `one-man movement.'  Every Kurdish step toward 
becoming a state in northern Iraq brings the people of 
southeast Turkey closer to Barzani.  Barzanists charge that 
the PKK has moved away from its initial ambitions, that it 
now rests on empty words, and that it has reduced its 
struggle merely to freeing Ocalan, says news commentary in 
"Cumhuriyet."  The co-chairman of the newly-founded pro- 
Kurdish party, Ahmet Turk told "Radikal" on Monday that the 
PKK factor cannot be ignored in Turkey.  The Kurdish problem 
can be solved by preserving Turkey's unitary structure, Turk 
said, adding that Ankara had to pass constitutional 
amendments to recognize Kurdish identity. 
 
Turkish Airliner to Launch Flights to Northern Iraq: 
 
ANKARA 00007138  004 OF 006 
 
 
"Zaman" reported on Sunday that a private Turkish airliner 
Fly Air said they have turned down a request to transport US 
troops on the flights to Erbil and Suleymaniye in northern 
Iraq, slated to be launched in December.  Fly Air said that 
they only considered transportation of civilians to other 
countries via Istanbul.  However, according to unconfirmed 
reports, US troops will be sent to the United Arab Emirates 
and the Netherlands for short vacations.  According to its 
schedule, Fly Air planes will fly from Istanbul to Erbil and 
Suleymaniye via Dubai, while departures from Dubai will end 
in Amsterdam via Erbil, Suleymaniye, and Istanbul. 
 
Israel Denies Activities in Northern Iraq:  Israeli Foreign 
Ministry has sent `soothing' messages to Turkey over press 
reports claiming that retired Israeli military officers have 
been training the northern Iraqi Kurdish peshmerge, Monday 
papers cite the leading Israeli daily "Yedioth Ahronot." 
The Israeli Foreign Ministry said that some Israeli 
companies had acted on their own initiative, and that the 
Israeli government did not operate in the mentioned regions. 
 
KDP Commander a Former PKK Member:  Aziz Veysi, the 
commander of Kurdistan Special Forces in northern Iraq is a 
former member of the outlawed PKK, "Hurriyet" reports on 
Monday.  Veysi has joined the Iraqi Kurdistan Democratic 
Party (KDP) after being charged with treason by the PKK.  He 
was later promoted to command the Kurdistan Special Forces 
in the region. 
 
Nicosia Blocks EU Support to Turkish Cyprus:  Monday 
"Milliyet" reports on its front page that the European Union 
is punishing Turkish Cypriots for approving a 2004 
referendum on a UN-backed plan to reunite the divided 
island, shelving a project to establish direct trade with 
the Turkish enclave in the north of the island because of 
Greek Cypriot objections.  Nicosia blocks the EU project, 
demanding that Maras (Varosha) be given to Greek Cypriots. 
 
Turkish Columnists Sued for Insulting Judiciary:  A 
prosecutor filed charges against five journalists for 
comments they made on a conference about the World War I 
mass killings of Armenians by Ottoman forces, weekend papers 
report.  The five respected columnists -- Murat Belge, Hasan 
Cemal, Ismet Berkan, Erol Katircioglu and Haluk Sahin -- 
face between six months and 10 years in jail if found guilty 
of the charges of `insulting state judicial organs.'  The 
trial of the columnists is scheduled to begin on February 7. 
Four of them write for the liberal "Radikal," and the fifth, 
Sahin, for the centrist "Milliyet" daily.  The journalists 
had criticized efforts by prosecutors and nationalist 
lawyers to ban a September academic conference in Istanbul 
dedicated to the massacre of Armenians by Ottomans.  The 
five columnists had branded the court ruling as an attack 
against academic freedom, and a travesty of justice. 
 
 
EDITORIAL OPINION:  US-Turkey; Iraq; Iran 
 
"Ambassador Wilson's Difficult Task" 
Washington-based Ali Aslan wrote in the Islamist- 
intellectual "Zaman" (12/5):  "Recently, two important 
changes in Ankara and Washington happened almost 
concurrently.  The US assigned a new Ambassador to Ankara, 
and Turkey is sending Ambassador Nabi Sensoy to Washington 
in the near future.  There is no doubt that, as highly 
experienced diplomats, both Ambassadors will establish a 
good working relationship.  Even though full agreement on 
every issue might not be achieved, a dialogue will be 
possible on the most critical issues.  Evidently, such a 
 
ANKARA 00007138  005 OF 006 
 
 
communication link has already been established in both 
capitals on the issue of Iraq.  Turkey and the US have 
realized that they cannot be successful in the region 
without each other's support.  The major test on this issue 
will come if a civil war or a process of division begins in 
Iraq in the aftermath of a gradual US pullout.  At this 
point, Ankara should see the Kurdish political reality in 
Iraq, while Washington should be taking more responsibility 
in dealing with the separatist terrorism issue in Turkey. 
Reducing differences on Syria and Iran will be another 
challenging task for the two ambassadors.  Despite Turkish 
efforts to paint a rosy picture, the US doesn't approve of 
Turkey's policy of engagement with the Syrian regime. 
Foreign Minister Gul's recent visit to Syria caused a 
serious disturbance in US policy circles.  The US doesn't 
want to interfere with Turkey-Syria cooperation on economic 
and terrorism issues.  But the US does not want Turkey to be 
politically engaged with the Asad regime while Washington is 
trying to isolate Syria.  In other words, Turkey should not 
act like the weak link in the global lockout of Damascus. 
On the Iran issue, the recent radical rhetoric from Tehran 
and the Iranian nuclear program have helped the US to 
establish an international consensus.  This has reduced the 
risk of a major disagreement between Turkey and the US in 
the near future.  Regarding Cyprus, it seems there is no 
political or bureaucratic will in Washington to force a 
restart of the UN peace process.  It appears that the US 
will continue to chip away at the isolation of the Turkish 
Cypriots and then will pass the ball to Europe.  These are 
the main tasks ahead of Ambassadors Sensoy and Wilson.  May 
God help them both." 
 
"Iraq Messages From Bush" 
Washington-based Yasemin Congar wrote in the mainstream 
"Milliyet" (12/5): "President Bush's recent speech outlining 
his `Victory Plan' did not provide anything new for those 
who are following developments related to the Iraq war.  The 
new element in the speech was that for the first time Bush 
acknowledged differences between planning in Washington and 
implementation on the ground in Iraq.  President Bush 
responded to his critics by saying that the administration 
is not reluctant to learn from its mistakes, but is 
constantly revising its plans.  Some commentators have 
interpreted the remarks as a recognition that there will be 
more blood and wasted resources.  But still, it was 
refreshing to hear some facts about the Iraq war from 
President Bush.  As "The New York Times" pointed out, for 
the first time in two years the description of the war by 
President Bush matched those of his generals on the 
frontline." 
 
"The US, Iran and Turkey" 
Yilmaz Oztuna opined in the conservative "Turkiye" (12/5): 
"In the aftermath of Undersecretary Nick Burns's strong 
accusations against Iran, the Iranian Foreign Minister 
visited Turkey.  Some senior Turkish officials who met 
Foreign Minister Mottaki provided him with valuable advice, 
but he seems unlikely to pay much attention to it.  It is 
interesting to see the change of rhetoric in regimes such as 
Iran and Syria when they feel strong pressure from the 
outside world.  The Syrian effort to butter up Turkey is 
almost comical.  The similar attitude we have seen from Iran 
only indicates that there are some serious dangers ahead.  . 
Iran has the intention to produce nuclear weapons - 
something that Tehran has not denied in a clear way.  Iran 
claims that it is acting in `self-defense,' but the Iranian 
President has also talked about wiping Israel from the world 
map.  Washington considers military intervention as a last 
option, but it is also aware of the fact that diplomatic 
 
ANKARA 00007138  006 OF 006 
 
 
pressure is unlikely to produce a tangible result.  An Iraq- 
style invasion is unlikely.  The US intention is to divide 
Iran, just as it has divided Iraq.  As for Iran, there is no 
sign of goodwill or intention to return to good terms with 
the US.  For Iran, Turkey is seen as a rival and a 
collaborator with imperialist powers.  Both the Syria and 
Iran issues are part of US national policy.  Turkey should 
not make the mistake of seeing these as the personal 
policies of President Bush.  If such a mistake is made, the 
consequences could harm Turkey as well." 
 
MCELDOWNEY