Cablegate: Ankara Media Reaction Report

This record is a partial extract of the original cable. The full text of the original cable is not available.

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 ANKARA 008798

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
SUBJECT: ANKARA MEDIA REACTION REPORT
TUESDAY, DECEMBER 3, 2002

THIS REPORT WILL PRESENT A TURKISH PRESS SUMMARY UNDER THREE
THEMES:

HEADLINES
BRIEFING
EDITORIAL OPINION

-------
HEADLINES

MASS APPEAL
US wants troops, land, and bases - Hurriyet
US asked for 40,000 thousand Turkish troops - Milliyet
AKP Siirt deputy Mervan will go, Erdogan will come -
Hurriyet
Siirt becomes Erdogan's destiny - Sabah
Heavy diplomatic traffic in Ankara for Cyprus - Milliyet

OPINION MAKERS
Turkey is the logistical base - Cumhuriyet
US delegation arrives in Ankara today - Radikal
Electoral Board clears the way for Erdogan's premiership -
Radikal
Siirt Elections cancelled - Cumhuriyet
Another 48 hours from the UN - Cumhuriyet
Tension on Cyprus issue - Radikal

BRIEFING

U/S Grossman and DepSecDef.Wolfowitz visit: "Hurriyet" gives
front-page coverage to the Grossman-Wolfowitz visit. The
story reports that the US had earlier conveyed a list of
requests from Turkey for a possible operation in Iraq
through a letter to the Turkish Ambassador in Washington.
The letter reportedly included a request for 35,000 Turkish
troops to be held in reserve for possible intervention in
Northern Iraq, the use of Turkish air bases, the use of
Turkish territory for US ground troops, and the use of
several ports. The letter also reportedly included a
December 8 deadline for response, and Grossman and Wolfowitz
will attempt to learn Ankara's initial reaction today.
Papers listed the predominant issues for the visit as Iraq,
the EU, and Cyprus.

Erdogan to Parliament: Turkey's Supreme Election Board (YSK)
ruled on Monday that the elections in the southeastern city
of Siirt will be canceled. The decision came after the AKP
applied to the YSK to cancel the elections in Siirt because
of irregularities in three ballot boxes. According to YSK
procedures, the elections in Siirt will be repeated 60 days
following the cancellation decision, i.e. in February 2003.
All papers highlight this development as the opportunity for
AKP leader Erdogan to be elected to parliament.

Cyprus: Papers note the increasing number of diplomatic
visitors, and comment that the pressure on the Cyprus issue
is mounting. Greek FM Papandreou reportedly changed his
program to come to Ankara a day early in order to meet U/S
Grossman to discuss the Cyprus issue. The visits of UN
Representative De Soto, the Danish Foreign Minister, and
British FM Straw are portrayed as efforts to `increase
pressure on the Cyprus issue prior to the EU summit.'
EDITORIAL OPINION: Grossman and Wolfowitz visit

"Cards Uncovered on Iraq"
Chief columnist of mass appeal Hurriyet, Oktay Eksi wrote
(12/3): "It seems that the US has finally expressed its
demands and expectations from Turkey on the Iraq issue and
presented them formally to the Turkish side. . All of the
reported demands obviously serve US interests both in the
short and long term. They require, however, careful
evaluation by Turkey based on Turkish interests. . Let's not
forget the fact that once the Iraq operation takes place,
the US will leave the region. It will be Turkey that will
be faced with the reality of Iraq as its immediate neighbor.
This reality alone invalidates the possibility of `Turkish
soldiers in combat against Iraq.' After all, why do we have
to get involved in the US operation against Iraq? Clearly
this is going to happen largely because of US oil
interests."

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