US embassy cable - 03ANKARA3524

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 ANKARA 003524 
 
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 
FRIDAY, MAY 30, 2003 
 
THIS REPORT WILL PRESENT A TURKISH PRESS SUMMARY UNDER THREE 
THEMES: 
 
 
HEADLINES 
BRIEFING 
EDITORIAL OPINION 
----------------- 
 
 
 
 
HEADLINES 
 
 
MASS APPEAL 
Gen. Buyukanit: Terror impediment to mother tongue broadcast 
- Milliyet 
Gen. Buyukanit: Turkey will definitely enter EU - Hurriyet 
Safire: AKP government `amateurs' - Milliyet 
Wolfowitz: Iraqi WMD was a pretext - Aksam 
Blair warns Iran, Syria: Don't support terror - Turkiye 
Ahmad Chalabi: Saddam alive, behind terror attacks in Iraq - 
Turkiye 
IMF's Kahkonen: Everything's going well - Sabah 
 
 
OPINION MAKERS 
Bremer complains of Iranian destabilization activity in Iraq 
- Radikal 
U.S. bans diplomats' access to Iraq - Cumhuriyet 
Safire: U.S. might forgive Turkey, but won't forget - Yeni 
Safak 
Blair inspects his Basra colony - Yeni Safak 
Iraqi public servants fear losing jobs - Zaman 
Russian press: U.S. will hit Iran from Baku - Radikal 
 
 
FINANCIAL JOURNALS 
Government hopeful to reach growth target - Finansal Forum 
Cenbank buys $30 million daily - Dunya 
 
 
 
 
BRIEFING 
 
 
Military on EU: Deputy Chief of Staff, General Buyukanit 
said at a symposium in Istanbul on Thursday that EU 
membership was a geo-strategic necessity for Turkey.  `TGS 
believes Turkey must join the EU if it wants to modernize,' 
Gen. Buyukanit said. He warned against using the EU as a 
domestic policy tool, papers note.  "Cumhuriyet" comments 
that Gen. Buyukanit has issued a warning to the 
fundamentalists attempting to exploit EU norms and values in 
order to make their goal a reality.  Gen. Buyukanit is 
against broadcast in mother tongues, particularly in Kurdish 
until the terror threat is brought to an end, papers say. 
`It's impossible to control broadcasts in Kurdish, even on 
state TV,' Buyukanit stressed.  Meanwhile, objections from 
the military wing of the National Security Council (NSC) 
obliged the government to delay the EU adjustment package 
until July, dailies say.  The government was planning to 
enact the reforms just before the June 21 EU summit in 
Thessalonica, Greece reports underline.  Foreign Minister 
Gul and some cabinet members are reported as voicing the 
government determination to pass the reforms as soon as 
possible. 
 
 
TUSIAD in U.S.; Gul: All papers report the visiting TUSIAD 
delegation's call on NYT's William Safire in New York on 
Thursday.  TUSIAD Chairman Ozilhan told Safire that some 
minor disagreements should not disrupt relations between 
U.S. and Turkey, according to papers.  Safire, as appeared 
in an op-ed, reportedly told the delegation that the GOT 
should do something to eliminate the senseless Kurdish 
phobia in Turkey, adding that Ankara should put an end to 
domestic pressure on Kurdish culture and language.  Foreign 
Minister Gul, on his way back from the OIC meetings in 
Tehran, criticized Ozilhan's notice to the government that 
time was not yet appropriate for a high-level official 
Turkish visit to the U.S. Gul reportedly said that `Turkey 
has an ambassador in Washington.  Channels between U.S. and 
Turkey are not blocked.  People in Turkey should cease 
taking initiative for the sake of their own PR.' 
 
 
Iraq: Foreign Minister Gul said on Thursday that he might 
have the opportunity of meeting with Secretary Powell at the 
NATO summit in Madrid.  Responding to a question about 
Poland's invitation for Turkey to the international 
peacekeeping mission around the Iraqi towns Najaf and 
Karbala, Gul said (although not very enthusiastically) that 
Turkey would consider contribution for the sake of stability 
in Iraq.  Meanwhile, "Yeni Safak" reports the Northern Iraqi 
KDP leader Barzani as welcoming the election of a Kurd mayor 
for Kirkuk, and as stressing that he would support the 
return of exiled Kurds to Kirkuk. 
 
 
U.S. warns against immunity of diplomats in Iraq: Papers 
report on a U.S. Administration announcement that the U.S. 
would not recognize the diplomatic status of foreigners in 
Iraq.  State Spokesman Boucher said the U.S. reserved the 
right to deport `unwanted persons' from Iraq, and advised 
diplomats not to go there until a new administration is set 
up.  Turkey's Baghdad embassy might be closed, papers think. 
"Zaman" predicts a new `diplomatic crisis' between 
Washington and Ankara. 
 
 
Iraqi rebuilding: "Milliyet" reports a Bechtel Corp. 
announcement saying its subcontractors would be given Iraqi 
reconstruction jobs between $300,000 - $1 million.  Turkey's 
Constructors' Association said current conditions in Iraq 
are discouraging, and that the best business with the war 
ravaged country would be exports. 
 
 
 
 
EDITORIAL OPINION 
 
 
A general view 
Cengiz Candar wrote in mass appeal DB-Tercuman (5/30): 
"There are signals that the damaged relationship between 
U.S. and Turkey can be repaired.  For instance, Turkish 
troops might take part in an international peacekeeping 
force for Iraq. .  However, Ankara must stay away from 
meaningless and dangerous formulations such as offering to 
police the holy Iraqi Shiite towns Najaf and Karbala, which 
have the potential to draw Turkey into a regional blood 
feud.  Foreign Minister Gul's OIC speech in Tehran, in which 
he urged the Islamic world for reforms regarding human 
rights and democracy, and his call for a search to explore 
the origins of violence, can be read as an effort to repair 
the strain in ties with the U.S.  Apparently, the addressee 
was Washington rather than Muslims." 
 
 
Changing alliances 
Zeynep Gurcanli commented in the tabloid Star (5/30): 
"Foreign Minister Gul has supported democracy and 
transparency in messages  for the Muslims at the OIC 
meetings.  American sources say that lately, AKP has been 
sending `back-channel' messages to Washington, to the effect 
that the U.S. can trust Turkey on Iran. .  During the 
Israeli Defense Minister's call on Ankara earlier this week, 
the AKP government and Israel have decided to carry out 
`espionage cooperation' against the Iranian threat and 
terror. .  The  cold winds between Turkey's military and EU 
seemingly affected our army's relationship with the U.S. as 
well.  The U.S. wants a `reliable ally' in the fragile Iraqi 
geography, which is totally at odds with the Turkish army's 
Kurdish policy.  NSC Secretary Gen. Kilinc said a year ago 
that Turkey could form an alliance with Russia and Iran. 
Washington, believing it was said on behalf of the Turkish 
military, carefully noted that statement.  TGS Chief Ozkok's 
latest assertion highlighting the significance that Turkey 
attributes to the strategic partnership with U.S. might not 
be enough to change the picture in the short term." 
 
 
PEARSON