US embassy cable - 03ANKARA4178

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 ANKARA 004178 
 
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, JULY 1, 2003 
 
THIS REPORT WILL PRESENT A TURKISH PRESS SUMMARY UNDER THREE 
THEMES: 
 
 
HEADLINES 
BRIEFING 
EDITORIAL OPINION 
 
 
--------------------------------------------- ------ 
HEADLINES 
 
 
MASS APPEAL 
Congressman Biden: Turkish troops to Iraq - Hurriyet 
U.S. treats Iraqi prisoners brutally - Hurriyet 
Iraqi prisoners were denied water, toilet - Sabah 
U.S. tortures Iraqi prisoners - Aksam 
Straw: No reason to attack Iran - Aksam 
Sezer delays EU adjustment - Sabah 
Gul asks for Powell's support for Cyprus solution - Milliyet 
Saddam rumored to wander through Baghdad streets - Vatan 
 
 
OPINION MAKERS 
Call intensifying for Turkish troops to Iraq - Zaman 
Amnesty International: U.S. violates international law in 
Iraq - Cumhuriyet 
Iraq: USA's new Guantanamo - Yeni Safak 
U.S. launches `Operation Rattlesnake' to get Saddam - 
Radikal 
Iran to extradite Al-Qaida members - Yeni Safak 
Israel withdraws from Gaza - Yeni Safak 
Israel's `secret prisons' unveiled - Zaman 
Israel boycotts BBC - Radikal 
Italian minister: Turkey's military guarantor of regime - 
Cumhuriyet 
 
 
 
 
BRIEFING 
 
 
U.S. Congressmen ask for Turkish troops: U.S. Congressmen 
have urged the American Administration to seek the support 
of NATO members like Turkey, Germany and France who did not 
cooperate fully with the U.S. in the war with Iraq.  These 
countries could help the U.S. solve the security problem in 
Iraq.  `This might be a way to convince the Iraqis that the 
U.S. is not an occupier,' Joseph Biden said over the 
weekend. 
 
 
President vetoes EU adjustment laws: President Sezer has 
vetoed sections of a package of reform laws designed to 
bring Turkey into compliance with EU membership standards. 
Sezer voiced concern that the amendments to the anti-terror 
law would leave acts of terrorism unpunished.  Mainstream 
and liberal papers criticize Sezer for creating an obstacle 
on Turkey's road to the EU.  AKP officials were disappointed 
by the veto, and said the parliament will send the package 
back to the President without changes. 
 
 
Gul to U.S. in late July: "Hurriyet" claims that the U.S. 
and Turkey have started preparations for a visit to the U.S. 
by Foreign Minister Gul in the last week of July.  Hurriyet 
believes the Gul visit will pave the way for an official 
visit to Washington by Prime Minister Erdogan. 
 
 
Gul gives Powell Cyprus message: Foreign Minister Gul told 
Secretary Powell at WEF meetings in Amman last month that 
 
SIPDIS 
the Cyprus problem could be resolved if some modifications 
are made to the UN-sponsored peace plan.  Gul also asserted 
to Greek Foreign Minister Papandreou and UN Secretary 
General Annan that Turkey was exerting considerable effort 
for a reaching a Cyprus solution. 
 
 
Turkish Cypriot opposition unites against Denktas: The 
Social Liberation Party (TKP), the most prominent opposition 
group in Northern Cyprus, has established the `Peace and 
Democracy Movement' in alliance with two leftist parties and 
16 NGOs.  The coalition is also backed by businessmen, 
academics, and artists.  The leading leftist party, the 
Republican Turkish Party (CTP) has not joined the block. 
Commentaries expect pro-Denktas parties in North Cyprus to 
form an alliance as well. 
 
 
Ambassador Signs Agreement for Beef Cattle Feasibility 
Study:  Papers report that Ambassador Pearson and 
representatives of Run Agra, a U.S. company, signed a letter 
of intent with Yasar Holding's Camli Livestock Company for a 
feasibility study for the use of U.S. cattle production 
techniques in Turkey.  The $460,000 agreement is being 
financed by the U.S. Trade Development Agency, and is part 
of an effort to increase Turkish beef production. 
 
 
Amnesty International: U.S. mistreats Iraqi prisoners: 
Amnesty International (AI) announced that it has collected 
evidence showing American mistreatment of Iraqi prisoners. 
In a report submitted to the UN-sponsored human rights 
conference in Baghdad, AI noted that hundreds of Iraqis 
affiliated with Saddam's regime are being held in tent 
camps, and have been denied the chance to meet with their 
families or lawyers.  The prisoners include not only high- 
level officials of the former regime, but also looters and 
petty criminals, the AI report noted. 
 
 
 
 
EDITORIAL OPINION: US-Turkish relations in the post Iraq war 
 
 
"Washington's view of the Turkish military" 
Sedat Ergin observed in mass appeal Hurriyet (7/1): "The 
atmosphere in Washington leads me to conclude that the 
effects of Turkey's rejection of the parliamentary motion 
during the Iraq crisis will not be easily eliminated.  It 
will really take time to cure the bilateral relationship.  . 
In Washington there is a strong antipathy toward the Turkish 
military, which is blamed for the rejection of the US troop 
deployment in Turkey.  There are many on Washington scene 
who put the blame directly on the military, and do not 
consider the matter as an outcome of the democratic process. 
.. It seems AKP propaganda about the issue (pinning the 
blame on the military) has been influential in Washington as 
well.  The Pentagon in particular remains very upset with 
the Turkish military, because it took the military for 
granted from the beginning.  There is also a failure to 
appreciate the psychological effect among the public of the 
spectre of the deployment of 60,000 US soldiers in Turkey. 
By blaming the Turkish military for the entire affair, 
decision-makers in Washington are avoiding admitting their 
own mistakes." 
 
 
"Formulating a foreign policy without Washington's support" 
Murat Yetkin shared his observations in the liberal- 
intellectual Radikal (7/1): "Washington blames the Turkish 
military for the rejection of the motion to allow US troops 
in Turkey during the Iraq crisis. The American military 
shares this conviction. . The Pentagon and State Department 
are more calm than the US military hierarchy, as 
demonstrated by Secretary Powell's visit to Turkey and the 
decision to provide $1 billion in aid to Turkey. . The whole 
issue provides a lesson for both sides.  From now on, 
neither Turkey nor the US can take each other for granted. 
In this way, bilateral ties will likely be carried to a new 
level.  Ties between Turkey and the US can be divided into 
two periods: the first 40 years marked by a policy of 
containment against Russia, and the last 10 years by a 
policy of containment against Iraq. Instability in the 
Balkans can be added to the factors shaping relations in 
recent times. Turkey has always considered itself 
indispensable for the US because of Incirlik airbase. 
Whenever the Cyprus or Armenian issues were brought to the 
agenda, Turkey's strategic importance was sufficient to 
persuade the White House as well as Congress. . Now Ankara 
will have to cope with these problems for itself. By 
approving the March 1 motion, Turkey might have ensured the 
backing of the US for a while, but US support would still 
have diminished in the end. The rejection has caught Turkey 
unprepared for this inevitability.  There is, however, a 
positive side as well. As a result of the rupture with the 
United States, Turkey has gained a chance to shape its 
foreign policy without relying on US support. Turkey now 
might be able to develop healthier and stronger ties both 
with the US and the EU." 
 
 
PEARSON