US embassy cable - 03ANKARA4384

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 ANKARA 004384 
 
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, JULY 11, 2003 
 
 
THIS REPORT WILL PRESENT A TURKISH PRESS SUMMARY UNDER 
THREE THEMES: 
 
 
HEADLINES 
BRIEFING 
EDITORIAL OPINION 
--------------------------------------------- - 
HEADLINES 
 
 
MASS APPEAL 
Gen. Sylvester admits Suleymaniye incident was 
unpleasant - Hurriyet 
Talabani scared, cancels Ankara visit - Milliyet 
Dervis: Suleymaniye arrests a gross mistake - Milliyet 
Ankara to review its 7-year military presence in N. 
Iraq - Sabah 
Cheney kept his promise on Armenian bill - Sabah 
Cheney, Wolfowitz team-up against Armenian bill - Aksam 
Bush intervenes, Armenian genocide bill suspended - 
Turkiye 
Yerevan ready for dialog with Turkey - Turkiye 
Barzani, Talabani write joint op-ed on `Kurdistan' - 
Hurriyet 
Bush: Uranium information was false - Sabah 
 
 
OPINION MAKERS 
Gul: Evidence shown by U.S. not convincing - Cumhuriyet 
Monthly cost of Iraq invasion to U.S.: $4 billion - 
Yeni Safak 
10,000 civilians missing in Iraq - Yeni Safak 
Blair in Iraq swamp - Radikal 
Jewish lobby intervenes against Armenian bill - Zaman 
7th EU package will clear Turkey's path - Yeni Safak 
Bush meets Africa - Cumhuriyet 
Israel detains Palestinian children - Cumhuriyet 
 
 
 
 
BRIEFING 
 
 
Detention crisis: Foreign Minister Gul said the 
evidence presented by the American side at the joint 
fact-finding commission investigating the Suleymaniye 
crisis was `not convincing.'  The Americans told the 
commission that Turkish troops in Northern Iraq had 
been involved in activities going beyond the scope of 
their mission.  The Turks criticized the mistreatment 
of their troops.  The head of the American team, 
Lieutenant-General John Sylvester, admitted that 
Turkish soldiers were badly treated, but said he was 
not authorized to apologize over the incident.  General 
Sylvester went to Northern Iraq Thursday evening and, 
after his return on Saturday, the commission is 
expected to issue a joint statement regarding the 
future nature of Turkish military activities in the 
region.  The U.S. has agreed that Turkey's military 
presence in Northern Iraq should continue until the 
PKK/KADEK threat is eliminated, according to "Radikal." 
"Sabah" says that Americans want the estimated 10,000 
Turkish troops in Northern Iraq to leave the region. 
Meanwhile, PUK leader Talabani, who was scheduled to be 
in Ankara for talks on Thursday, cancelled his visit to 
avoid a possible clash over the his alleged role in the 
Suleymaniye incident. 
 
 
Armenian genocide bill: Vice President Cheney, upset by 
the recent strain in U.S., Turkey ties, lobbied hard 
against a controversial Armenian genocide draft from 
being discussed in the U.S. Congress. "Sabah" reports. 
Deputy Secretary of Defense Wolfowitz and Assistant 
Secretary of State Armitage also urged Congressmen to 
 
SIPDIS 
block the motion.  The American Jewish Committee (AJC) 
also sent a letter to Congress opposing the bill. 
Reports quote the Armenian parliamentary speaker as 
saying that Yerevan is open to dialog for normalization 
of ties with Turkey. 
EU reforms package: A parliamentary commission approved 
the amendments to the anti-terror law in the 6th EU 
harmonization package.  The amendments had previously 
been vetoed by President Sezer.  Justice Minister and 
government spokesman Cemil Cicek also said that the 7th 
reform package would be submitted to parliament next 
week for enactment before the summer recess.  The 
package would bring changes to the structure of the 
National Security Council (NSC), the penal code, the 
military penal code, and the law of associations. 
 
 
Cyprus: "Cumhuriyet" cites a report in the Greek 
Cypriot daily "Politis" that the U.S. has a `new 
formula' to re-start the Cyprus peace negotiations. 
"Politis" claims that U.S. Special Cyprus Coordinator 
Tom Weston will discuss the formula with Turkish 
officials in Ankara next week. 
 
 
 
 
EDITORIAL OPINION: US-Turkish Relations/N. Iraq 
 
 
"The Suleymaniye Aftermath" 
Yilmaz Oztuna wrote in the mass appeal-conservative 
Turkiye (7/11): "From our perspective, we should be 
able to see the big picture and realize our mistakes 
during the Iraq war.  Turkey's position in northern 
Iraq has already been weakened because of these 
mistakes.  Certain other countries also defied the US 
and stood against the military operation.  Yet the 
Europeans will make it up with Washington sooner or 
later.  At this point, Turkey should be very careful to 
take the necessary steps in order not to fall back into 
the Third World.  This issue should be considered as a 
national cause.  From the US perspective, the `Pax 
Americana' cannot possibly be achieved if Turkey is 
alienated.  Originally, the US wanted to achieve its 
goals with Turkey's help, but the parliament's 
rejection of the motion gave Washington serious doubts 
about Turkey.  In its long-term planning, Ankara should 
formulate a policy that embraces the US rather than 
standing against it." 
 
 
"The Turkish military, CENTCOM and EUCOM" 
Sedat Ergin observed in the mass appeal Hurriyet 
(7/11): "Washington has sent a General to conduct the 
negotiations with Turkey over the Suleymaniye crisis. 
General Sylvester is part of US EUCOM, which is 
headquartered in Stuttgart, Germany.  However, those 
responsible for the incident in northern Iraq are part 
of CENTCOM, based in Tampa, FL. . This interesting 
situation brings up once again one of the major sources 
of tension between the Turkish and American militaries. 
The Turkish military established a healthy working 
relationship with the US military over the last 50 
years within the framework of NATO. . The cooperative 
military relationship with the US did not face any 
serious issues until the current structural change. 
Today, the military relationship has moved from NATO to 
the Middle East (i.e. from EUCOM to CENTCOM), and this 
new relationship has not yet been well defined." 
PEARSON