US embassy cable - 03ANKARA3480

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 ANKARA 003480 
 
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, MAY 28, 2003 
 
 
THIS REPORT WILL PRESENT A TURKISH PRESS SUMMARY UNDER THREE 
THEMES: 
 
 
HEADLINES 
BRIEFING 
EDITORIAL OPINION 
----------------- 
 
 
HEADLINES 
 
 
MASS APPEALS 
Gul urges Arabs to support Mideast peace, Iraq - Milliyet 
Simitis: We've tamed Turkey - Hurriyet 
Gul: Road map huge opportunity for Mideast - Aksam 
Sharon admits Israeli `occupation' - Milliyet 
Turkey continues gas, diesel sale to Iraq - Turkiye 
Pentagon reshapes its global strategy - Aksam 
EU extends Euro12 million aid to Turkish Cypriots - Vatan 
EU won't concede Britain - Vatan 
 
 
OPINION MAKERS 
Simitis: Athens' Aegean policy won't change - Cumhuriyet 
Rumsfeld: Iraq won't become Iran - Cumhuriyet 
Arabs, Turkomans worried of Kirkuk polls - Zaman 
Iraqi attacks against U.S. troops on the rise - Yeni Safak 
Governor crisis in Kirkuk - Radikal 
`Genocide' comes to life at U.S. Senate - Zaman 
Damascus: Road map won't succeed - Yeni Safak 
 
 
FINANCIAL JOURNALS 
Euro sets historical record against Dollar - Dunya 
Kahkonen: Turkey won't need IMF after 2004 - Finansal Forum 
 
 
 
 
BRIEFING 
 
 
Foreign Minister Gul at OIC: Mainstream papers expect 
Foreign Minister Gul to issue radical messages for the 
Muslim world at the Organization for Islamic Conference 
(OIC) meetings in Tehran on Wednesday.  Bringing to focus 
the changing regional scales after the U.S. campaign against 
Iraq, Gul will call for democratization, transparency, fair 
distribution of natural resources, equality between the 
sexes, and enhanced education, papers say.  Gul will 
underline the problems caused by the current political rule 
in Islamic countries, and will urge his Iranian and Syrian 
counterparts to support the process of change and attempt 
democratization, reports note. 
 
 
Greece, Turkey disagree on Aegean: Dailies point to the 
`fresh' tiff between Ankara and Athens over the Aegean. 
Papers believe Greece wanted a new phase by carrying the 
Aegean problems to the EU.  "Cumhuriyet" reports about some 
messages by TGS Chief General Ozkok the other day: Turkey 
prefers betterment of ties with Greece, but provocative 
policies pursued by Athens harmed bilateral ties, Ozkok has 
said, adding that the Greek effort to expand its airspace 
and territorial waters was provocation.  Dailies report the 
Greek Prime Minister Simitis blaming Turkey on Tuesday for 
following aggressive policies.  `We have shown the world 
that Turkey has been ignoring international regulation.  Our 
pressure made Ankara see that it had no option but abide by 
international rules,' Simitis reportedly said.  Greek 
Foreign Minister Papandreou has also criticized Turkey for 
violations in the Aegean.  Responding to a question, 
Papandreou said that in democracies, the military had to be 
subject to political power, not vice versa. 
 
 
NSC meeting: The National Security Council (NSC) will 
convene today to discuss the partisan bureaucratic 
appointments by AKP, the threat of fundamentalism, Cyprus, 
and EU reforms package.  The council is expected to finalize 
the controversial `Repentance Law' as well, papers say.  The 
law envisages reduction in penalties for terror group 
defectors. 
 
 
Iraq: U.S. intervention to get a Kurd elected as the 
governor of Kirkuk caused Arabs to boycott the local polls 
in the oil-rich Northern Iraqi town, papers say.  The 
Turkoman candidate has a narrow chance of winning the 
election because of the `unbalanced' structure of the town 
council, reports note.  The American intervention has cast a 
shadow on the polls, diminishing chances for ethnic peace in 
the region, papers add.  Dailies also report that Secretary 
of Defense Rumsfeld stressed that Iraq's neighbors would not 
let Iraq turn into an Islamic republic, and that Iraq would 
not become another Iran. 
 
 
AIPAC at Istanbul panel: AIPAC representative Keith Wiessman 
said at a business panel meeting in Istanbul on Tuesday that 
henceforth, Washington expected from Turkey `action, not 
words,' reports "Zaman."  To repair ties, Wiessman advised 
Turkey to `seek constructive cooperation with U.S. in Iraq, 
improve relations with Israel, end interest in Arafat, and 
support U.S. policy targeting Iranian WMD.'  Turkey will be 
supported to the extent it acted in line with U.S. 
interests, Wiessman said according to Zaman. 
 
 
IMF Review: IMF Turkey Desk Chief Juha Kahkonen, who is in 
Turkey for the latest IMF review, said that if economic 
indicators continue appearing positive, Turkey might not 
need the Fund's support after 2004.  Kahkonen has voiced 
confidence that Turkey would reach macro economic targets, 
papers report.  IMF's fifth review is to be concluded on 
Friday. 
 
 
 
 
EDITORIAL OPINION 
 
 
The new target 
Sami Kohen noted in mass appeal "Milliyet" (5/28): "Even the 
`hawks' in Washington are not planning to hit Iran. .  The 
hawks, including Secretary Rumsfeld are getting tougher on 
Iran because of allegations about Tehran's backing of the 
last month's al Qaida suicide attack in Saudi Arabia. . 
Another reason is the concern that Iran was attempting to 
exert influence on the Iraqi Shiites via their leader Al- 
Haqim, who came back to Karbala from his long exile in Iran. 
.  The Bush Administration might see the Iranian problem as 
an opportunity to `test' Turkey's closeness to the U.S. 
After Iraq, this will be a tough test for Turkish diplomacy, 
for Ankara would not want tension with Iran and Syria.  If 
the Bush Administration chooses to compromise, instead of 
fighting with Tehran, Ankara's good dialogue with both 
countries might help U.S. to that end." 
 
 
PEARSON