US embassy cable - 03ANKARA1533

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 ANKARA 001533 
 
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 
TUESDAY, MARCH 11, 2003 
 
 
THIS REPORT WILL PRESENT A TURKISH PRESS SUMMARY UNDER THREE 
THEMES: 
 
 
HEADLINES 
BRIEFING 
EDITORIAL OPINION 
                         ------- 
 
 
HEADLINES 
 
 
MASS APPEAL 
Bush congratulates Erdogan, asks him to hurry - Hurriyet 
Bush could not get decree guarantee from Erdogan - Sabah 
Protocol for bases opens door to U.S. troops - Hurriyet 
9 more bases for U.S. troops - Vatan 
Erdogan puts forth Turkomen condition - Turkiye 
9 new U.S. bases will `shield' southeast Turkey - Milliyet 
New Annan calendar for Cyprus - Aksam 
 
 
OPINION MAKERS 
Americans speed up military equipment  transfer to border - 
Radikal 
UNHCR: War will bring humanitarian catastrophe to Turkey, 
Iran - Yeni Safak 
Pentagon signs Iraq reconstruction deal with Cheney- 
affiliated Brown&Root - Cumhuriyet 
World at crossroads: Russia, France insist on veto - 
Cumhuriyet 
Iraq war hits Blair first - Yeni Safak 
5,000 Turkish troops inside northern Iraq - Cumhuriyet 
Erdogan will form new government quickly - Zaman 
 
 
FINANCIAL JOURNALS 
U.S. reserves $900 million for Iraq's post-war 
infrastructure - Dunya 
WB says 2003 budget will negatively affect growth - Finansal 
Forum 
 
 
 
 
BRIEFING 
 
 
Iraq: President Bush phoned AKP leader Erdogan to 
congratulate him on his election victory in Siirt, and urged 
him to hurry up with the decree for accepting foreign troops 
on Turkish soil.  Erdogan declined to give a specific date 
for a parliamentary discussion of the decree, saying that 
the motion was of significance for the political future of 
the AKP.  He voiced Turks' concern about remarks of U/S of 
State Grossman warning Ankara to avoid unilateral 
intervention in northern Iraq.  Erdogan also complained that 
the Turkomen have been left out of the Iraqi opposition 
council.  He stressed that leaving northern Iraq's 
administration to a KDP-PUK coalition was unacceptable for 
Turkey.  Dailies claim that Ankara has given the U.S. 
permission to set up nine bases for logistics and 
maintenance within the framework of the deal on 
modernization of Turkish bases that was approved by the 
parliament last month.  American personnel will be subject 
to Turkish law and will carry ID cards approved by Turkish 
commanders when they leave the bases.  Americans will be 
allowed to carry light weaponry for security and protection 
of their equipment, according to the papers. 
 
 
Cyprus: UN Secretary General Annan has offered a new 
timetable to Cypriot leaders Papadopoulos and Denktas during 
their meeting yesterday at The Hague.  According to the new 
calendar, negotiations would continue until March 28, and 
Greece, Turkey and UK will have to compromise on the UN plan 
by March 31.  A referendum would then be held on both sides 
of the island on April 6.  Meanwhile, Erdogan's criticism of 
Annan for allegedly `deceiving'Ankara rocked The Hague, 
especially the Greeks and Greek Cypriots.  Erdogan has said 
that the UN should not expect concessions only from the 
Turkish side, and noted that there was no change in the 
third plan regarding the sovereignty rights of Turkish 
Cypriots.  Meanwhile, opposition parties in the Turkish 
Cypriot sector have announced plans to organize a referendum 
on the Annan plan on March 30. 
 
 
 
 
EDITORIAL OPINION:  Iraq/US-Turkey 
 
 
 "The clash of two calendars" 
Sami Kohen notes the nuances between Turkish and American 
agenda priorities in the mass appeal Milliyet (3/11): "The 
special election in Siirt province has paved the way for 
Erdogan's premiership.  The reason for the huge 
international press interest is simply because of the two 
urgent and pending issues -- Iraq and Cyprus.  The world is 
anxious to see the policies that the new AKP government will 
pursue. . The general observation about the Iraq policy can 
be summarized as follows: The Erdogan government will 
present a second resolution to the parliament, but it will 
not hurry.  Ankara likely will wait for a second UNSC 
resolution, which is due by March 17.  According to a story 
in the Washington Post, Turkey's final decision will be made 
on March 19.  Yet it remains unclear whether the Bush 
administration will be patient enough to wait until that 
date.  There is a contradiction between Turkey's calendar 
and the US's hurry.  A similar contradiction is also valid 
on the Cyprus issue." 
 
 
"End of story" 
Fehmi Koru argued in the Islamic-intellectual Yeni Safak 
(3/11): "This is the most critical week which will shape the 
future of the Iraq issue.  Washington imposed a deadline of 
March 17 to Iraq, and is exerting pressure on Ankara to 
bring a second authorization to the parliament before that 
date.  However, the war-mongering lobby in Washington is not 
as strong as it used to be.  First of all, the Turkish 
parliament did not take Washington's bluff seriously. 
Evidently, Washington did not have a `plan B.' . Moreover, 
the war-mongering lobby has received another serious blow. 
Father Bush, according to a story in the British `The 
Times,' advised President Bush `not to act unilaterally and 
try to make things up with the European countries.' . In the 
meantime, what we see is not only President Bush and the war- 
mongerers are facing problems, but also British PM Blair's 
political career is at stake.  It looks as if we are close 
to the end of the story, as long as Turkey continues to 
resist." 
PEARSON