US embassy cable - 03ANKARA1273

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 ANKARA 001273 
 
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 
WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 26, 2003 
 
 
THIS REPORT WILL PRESENT A TURKISH PRESS SUMMARY UNDER THREE 
THEMES: 
 
 
HEADLINES 
BRIEFING 
EDITORIAL OPINION 
                         ------- 
 
 
HEADLINES 
 
 
MASS APPEALS 
This will be an historic decree-Hurriyet 
40,000 US troops to Turkey, 22,000 to the front-Sabah 
Turkish Military Disturbed-Milliyet 
AKP Disturbed with Council of Ministers' Decision-Turkiye 
US troops arrived before the Parliament Decision-Tercuman 
Americans Do Not Trust AKP-Posta 
Government Decree Says that Turkey's Security in Danger- 
Vatan 
 
 
OPINION MAKERS 
 
 
Iraq issue causes trouble for AKP Government-Cumhuriyet 
62,000 US troops are coming-Radikal 
Iskenderun harbour is like an American Barracks-Zaman 
US Arms are for the Kurdish State -Yeni Safak 
Kurdish Groups Meet in Northern Iraq: They don't want 
Turkish troops-Cumhuriyet 
Kurdish Parliament to US: Don't let Turkish Troops in - 
Radikal 
 
 
 
 
BRIEFING 
 
 
Iraq:  Turkish papers predominantly focus on the upcoming, 
yet not scheduled, parliamentary voting which will provide 
permission for the stationing of US troops in Turkey.  The 
overall situation, however, is being characterized as "very 
uneasy" for the AKP government.  Some ministers, even though 
they signed the decree that will be presented to parliament, 
have already voiced their opposition by disclosing their 
intent to cast "no" votes.  Papers also emphasize the 
declaration of the Kurdish National Parliament meeting, 
which denounced a possible Turkish military presence in 
northern Iraq.  This is not going to help the AKP government 
calm the opposition in parliament.  Mass appeal "Milliyet" 
quotes military sources as saying that it might not be the 
right time for the Turkish parliament to accept an American 
military deployment because of the obvious anti-Turkish 
sentiment of the Kurdish groups.  Islamic "Yeni Safak" 
carries a banner headline: "The US will arm the Kurds," and 
claims that heavily-armed Kurdish groups will use these 
weapons against the Turkish military following a US 
operation.  This is "part of the US plan" for an independent 
Kurdish state, Yeni Safak argues. 
 
 
"Hurriyet" says that the three agreements, i.e. political, 
military and economic, are virtually concluded and waiting 
to be signed.  They will be signed right after the 
parliamentary session, in other words, if the decision for 
deployment is passed.  There are still some details to be 
worked out, but Foreign Minister Yakis and Ambassador 
Pearson said that significant progress had been achieved. 
Reports say the remaining two issues involve the question of 
IMF conditionality on the economic package and the status of 
Turkomen in Northern Iraq. 
 
 
Commentaries on the unfolding developments are split.  Even 
in the same paper, writers argued different sides of the 
issue.  Hurriyet's Emin Colasan accused the government and 
AKP leader Erdogan of complicating the situation and 
creating confusion in the country.  He blamed the AKP 
leadership for accepting US terms which he described as 
"unacceptable."  Fatih Altayli, in the same paper, argued 
that the rejection of the motion should be seen as a no- 
confidence vote for the administration.  Cuneyt Ulsever 
joined the debate by reminding, though 94 percent of the 
Turkish people are opposed to war, the  deputies who are to 
vote on the government's motion in the parliament will have 
to decide what will be in Turkey's best interests. 
 
 
Cyprus:  The visit of UNSG Annan to Ankara is the center of 
attention in the Cyprus reporting.  Papers speculate that 
Annan discussed his newly-revised Cyprus plan with the 
Turkish leadership and received positive signals from 
Ankara.  Annan is expected to make his new plan public after 
presenting it to the Turkish and Greek Cypriot leaders as he 
visits the island today. 
 
 
 
 
EDITORIAL OPINION:  Iraq 
"The fireball" 
Fehmi Koru argued in Islamic-intellectual Yeni Safak (2/26): 
"The voting at the Turkish parliament, if it passes, will be 
used by the war-mongering lobby as a pressuring tool against 
members of the UN Security Council.  The lobby is in a 
serious rush, because the chances for a peaceful settlement 
are increasing every day. . The government obviously has put 
the ball in the parliament's court.  Yet the Turkish 
parliament must insist on international legitimacy, and wait 
for a second UNSC resolution.  The war-mongering lobby in 
Washington should be ignored, and Turkey is capable of 
stopping this war from happening." 
 
 
"The post-Saddam situation" 
Yilmaz Oztuna wrote in mass appeal-conservative Turkiye 
(2/26): "The war is not going to take very long.  It will be 
a short war, yet the aftermath will be very long.  Turkey 
will have to maintain its military presence as long as US 
soldiers remain there, which could be up to 5 years. 
American soldiers to be stationed in Turkey could also 
remain for years.  Turkey should be prepared for the worst, 
such as Operation Provide Comfort, which requires 
parliamentary authorization every three months. . The US 
will not easily pull out of Iraq after the war.  Iraq will 
be a main base for US activities, will ensure a safe flow of 
oil, and permit the holding of `show' elections.  Once 
things are made stable in the eyes of the US, the 
administration will be turned over to Iraqis, but definitely 
not to the Baath Party.  That means that, in the meantime, 
Turkey's immediate neighbor will be the US, not Iraq.  The 
US plans will not end there.  The US will work to change the 
administrations in Iran and Afghanistan as well as in 
Central Asia, Syria and Saudi Arabia, a task which will 
practically fill President Bush's 4-year agenda." 
 
 
PEARSON