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.

121411Z Apr 05

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 ANKARA 002096

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, APRIL 12, 2005

THIS REPORT PRESENTS THE TURKISH PRESS SUMMARY UNDER THREE
THEMES:

HEADLINES
BRIEFING
EDITORIAL OPINION
--------------------------------------------- -----
HEADLINES

MASS APPEAL
Yakovu: Nicosia Won't Block Turkey's EU Drive - Hurriyet
Pentagon Sources: US to Pull Back 37,000 Troops From Iraq
Next Year - Sabah
Iraqi Insurgents Bargain With US Over Life of Saddam - Sabah
Sharon Sees a `First' Opportunity for Peace - Sabah
Palestine to Follow Gandhi's `Civil Disobedience' - Milliyet
Graham Fuller Sees Turkey on Right Track, US Erroneous -
Vatan

OPINION MAKERS
Molyviatis Calls for Removal of Barriers Between Greece,
Turkey - Yeni Safak
Bush, Sharon Discuss Jewish Settlements in Texas - Radikal
Sharon Asks Bush for Support for Withdrawal Plan -
Cumhuriyet
Another Turkish Truck Driver Killed in Iraq - Radikal
LA Times: Do Not Write Off the Turks - Cumhuriyet
Fuller: Turkey Not Anti-American, Only Sovereign - Zaman
Fight for Power in Kyrgyzstan - Cumhuriyet
Bush, Zarkawi Among TIME's `100 Most Influential People' -
Yeni Safak
Former Arch-Enemies China, India Now Strategic Partners -
Zaman

BRIEFING

Erdogan Visits Norway: Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan, in
Oslo on an official visit, addressed Monday Turks living in
Norway on the Armenian and Kurdish issues and the situation
of human rights in Turkey, papers report. `The PKK is a
terrorist organization,' Erdogan said, emphasizing: `It is a
mistake to characterize all Kurds, citizens of Turkey, as
members of the PKK.' `There is no Kurdish minority in
Turkey,' Erdogan said: `The Kurdish people are a main
element of our country.' `We have allowed language courses
in Kurdish and broadcasts in Kurdish. However, no one
should expect us to allow a terrorist organization's banners
to be carried in the country,' he added. Erdogan warned
that Turkey had three `red lines' -- ethnic nationalism,
regional nationalism and religious nationalism, and blamed
some Western `circles' for attempting to divide Turkey.
`The EU is not a Christian club,' Erdogan noted, `it is the
outcome of compromise among civilizations.' Erdogan
`regretted' recently seeing negative attitudes toward Turks
and Muslims living in European countries: `It's impossible
to understand such attitudes against Turks and Muslims in a
time when the world focuses on dialogue among civilizations
and cultures,' he said. On the Armenian `genocide' claims,
Erdogan said the Turkish parliament will hold a special
session on the issue on April 13. He said a declaration to
be signed by the 550 lawmakers in the parliament will be
sent to the parliaments of several countries.

Ankara Calls On Baku for a Fast Solution to the Nagorno-
Karabakh Problem: Ankara conveyed to Baku a message urging
a fast resolution of the Nagorno-Karabakh problem on the eve
of a general assembly discussion on Wednesday in the Turkish
parliament of the Armenian `genocide' claims, "Radikal"
reports. Turkish Foreign Ministry (MFA) Deputy U/S Ahmet
Uzumcu called on the Azerbaijani foreign ministry last month
to not `delay' opportunities for a solution. Unidentified
MFA officials told "Radikal" that a resolution of the
problem in line with the interests of all parties would
`relieve' Ankara as well. "Radikal" regards the message as
part of the Turkish action plan for countering efforts by
the Armenian diaspora on the 90th anniversary of the
`genocide.' Ankara believes that if the Nagorno-Karabakh
question is settled, it may take a `flexible' position in
dealing with both `genocide' claims and Yerevan, the paper
comments.

Kocharyan: Armenia Has No Territorial Claims Against Turkey:
Armenian President Robert Kocharyan told students at Yerevan
State University that they should be `realistic' in dealing
with the Armenian `genocide' issue, "Milliyet" reports.
`Armenia has never raised territorial claims against
Turkey,' Kocharyan said, adding that international
recognition of Armenian genocide claims is on their agenda.
`Future Armenian leaders and politicians will decide what
legal consequences this may have. We need to be realistic,'
Kocharyan said.

Molyviatis Due in Ankara: Greek Foreign Minister Petros
Molyviatis is due in Ankara Tuesday to discuss improvement
of bilateral ties, Cyprus, and Turkey's EU drive, papers
report. Molyviatis' visit is expected to enhance ongoing
dialogue and cooperation between Turkey and Greece,
unidentified diplomatic sources told the Anatolian Nes
Agency on Tuesday. Bilateral relations between Turkey and
Greece are developing toward `partnership,' the sources
said. They recalled that 11 confidence-building measures
had been adopted in the Aegean and that new confidence-
building measures were under discussion. Papers recall
Parliament Speaker Bulent Arinc's suggestions over the
weekend that Turkey revise a 1995 parliamentary declaration
which stipulates that a Greek extension of territorial
waters to 12 miles would be a `cause for war.' Foreign
Minister Abdullah Gul dismissed any revision in Turkey's
position the following day, and papers expect the Turkish
side to play down the Arinc suggestion during talks with
Moliviatis.

US Embassy Dragged Into `Cola Wars': Economic/political
daily "Referans" reports that Ambassador Edelman conveyed to
PM Erdogan and some cabinet ministers complaints by Coca-
Cola and Pepsi over unfair competition in the Turkish
market. Coca-Cola and Pepsi released a joint statement last
week protesting that Turkey's "Ulker" food group was being
allowed into the sector without getting a license for
production of sugar syrup for its "Cola Turca." Turkish
government shrugged off the complaint, and Ambassador
Edelman had to repeat it to authorities several times, says
the report. "Referans" has earlier reported on March 8 that
Ulker became a partner to the US firm Cargill in the
production of starch-based sugar. The Turkish government
has not promised a solution, but is working on a new sugar
law, says "Referans."

ECHR Expected to Ask for Retrial of Ocalan: The European
Court of Human Rights (ECHR) is to announce its decision
next week calling for a retrial of Abdullah Ocalan, the
imprisoned leader of the separatist PKK organization,
reports "Vatan." The AK Party government had been denied by
the powerful National Security Council (NSC) and the
opposition CHP in its efforts to remove legal barriers to
the retrial of Ocalan through legal adjustments, according
to "Vatan."

Turkish Truck Driver Killed in Iraq: Turkish truck driver
Cevat Bahtiyar was killed in Bayji, north of Baghdad, early
Monday by a roadside bomb aimed at Bahtiyar's convoy that
was ferrying goods to the US military, papers report. Some
90 Turkish truck drivers have been killed in Iraq since the
occupation of the country by US forces, say reports.

EDITORIAL OPINION: Middle East/Turkish Foreign Policy
"The Middle East Lessons"
Cengiz Candar observed in the conservative-sensational DB
Tercuman (4/11): "My recent trip to Beirut provided a
remarkable experience to observe how strongly the winds of
democracy are blowing in the Middle East. The current
situation in Iraq is another good example of that. . I am
now attending an international conference in Qatar where a
vast variety of speakers from different nations have met,
including former politicians from the regional countries, as
well as Americans and Turks. In the course of debates one
thing becomes very clear to me. Turkey's argument that it
is a pivotal country for Middle East issues is totally
unrealistic and nothing but `Turks making propaganda for
Turks.' . Turkey should realize sooner, not later, that
moving enthusiastically toward the EU accession target would
provide us a meaningful place with the US and the Islamic
World. Derailing from the EU track can only take Turkey
completely out of the loop in both the US and the Middle
East. . The current meeting between PM Sharon and President
Bush is very important and its results will directly affect
the future course of the Israel-Palestine dispute. If the
US administration fails to be convincingly tough with
Sharon, the Middle East could experience a very violent
period again. . Meanwhile, our president's upcoming visit to
Damascus seems nothing but sailing in the open seas without
a compass."

"Foreign Policy Agenda"
Ilter Turkmen warned in the mass appeal Hurriyet (4/11):
"The Turkish president's upcoming visit to Syria is without
doubt an untimely and unfortunate policy decision. The
argument that the visit was on the agenda long before the
current international debate is not helping to correct the
error. If it had been, Turkey should have postponed the
visit right after UNSC Resolution 1559. This visit will not
only upset the people of Lebanon but also all western and
Arab countries which are supportive of the UNSC resolution.
Let's be realistic. How convincing is it to say that the
Turkish president will convey certain messages to Damascus
when there is already a UNSC resolution that has been
supported by the US, the EU and Arab World? One way or the
other, the Turkish president's visit to Damascus will be
interpreted as Turkey's support for Syria. It is very
difficult to understand Turkish foreign policy priorities in
the Middle East."

EDELMAN

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