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.

051347Z May 05

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 04 ANKARA 002588

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
THURSDAY, MAY 5, 2005

THIS REPORT PRESENTS THE TURKISH PRESS SUMMARY UNDER THREE
THEMES:

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

MASS APPEAL
Schroeder Urges Turkey to Continue Moving on EU Road -Vatan
Schroeder: EU Must Keep Aid Pledge to North Cyprus -
Milliyet
Suicide Attack in Erbil: 60 Killed - Hurriyet
Massacre in Erbil: 60 Killed, 150 Injured - Milliyet
Blair Asks British Voters to Leave Behind Iraq Issue - Vatan
Al-Qaeda's No. 3 Man Caught - Hurriyet
Bin-Ladin's `Plotter,' al-Libbi, Arrested - Sabah

OPINION MAKERS
Schroeder Wants Economic Cooperation With North Cyprus -
Zaman
Bloodbath in Erbil: 60 Killed - Radikal
Gul Offers Condolences to Barzani On Erbil Bombing - Zaman
General Myers: New War Would Be Difficult for US -
Cumhuriyet
IMF's Krueger: Turkey a Successful Reformer - Yeni Safak
Muslims Key in British Elections - Yeni Safak
Britain Moves Toward Third Term With Blair - Cumhuriyet
Labor Runs to Third Victory, Tories Face Historic Defeat -
Radikal
Ivanov: Russia Working on New Weapons Systems - Yeni Safak

BRIEFING

Gul on Incirlik Airbase, Iraq: Foreign Minister Abdullah
Gul Wednesday briefed members of the parliament's foreign
affairs, EU adaptation, and human rights committees on a
number of recent current policy issues. The AKP
government's decision on expanded US access to Incirlik
Airbase for logistical support operations in Iraq and
Afghanistan `is in Turkey's interest,' Gul said. He
expressed concern about the negative depiction of Turkey's
relations with the US. Gul denied there had been a `secret
agreement' with the US on Incirlik. `The US was not given a
blank check,' he added. Gul repeated that the base will be
used within the framework of UN and NATO decisions. He
stressed that there will be no transfer of weapons,
ammunition, or combat troops through Incirlik as a result of
this decision. Gul said that `chaos' was likely in the
event of a US pullout from Iraq. `Such a withdrawal would
bring the partition of Iraq, and would jeopardize Turkey's
security,' Gul said. FM Gul also noted that Prime Minister
Erdogan's visit to Israel and Palestine had been timely and
important.

Gul Calls Barzani Over Suicide Attack in Erbil: Ankara on
Wednesday strongly condemned the suicide attack against the
KDP office in Erbil, Northern Iraq. The attack claimed 60
lives. Foreign Minister Gul called KDP leader Barzani to
extend condolences for the victims. He offered to send
medical help for those who were injured in the blast.
Barzani thanked Gul for his `brotherly attitude.' The
Turkish Foreign Ministry (MFA) released a written statement
condemning the bombing.

Schroeder Visits Turkey: German Chancellor Gerhard
Schroeder told the Turkish-German Economic Congress on
Wednesday that Turkey should maintain the political will to
continue sweeping EU reforms. Economic reforms facilitated
the implementation of political reforms in Turkey, Schroeder
told the bilateral forum meetings held in Istanbul. He
suggested the inclusion of northern Cyprus in tourism and
agriculture exchanges between Turkey and Germany. `Germany
and Turkey should work together to bring prosperity to
Turkish Cyprus,' Schroeder emphasized. The German
Chancellor voiced support for PM Erdogan's proposal to form
a joint committee of Turkish and Armenian historians to
examine `genocide' claims, and urged Turkey to open its
border crossing with Armenia. Prime Minister Erdogan vowed
that Turkey would expand its Customs Union agreement with
the EU to include new member states, including Cyprus,
before entry talks in early October. Erdogan stressed that
EU membership continues to be Turkey's foreign policy
priority. Erdogan praised the level of economic cooperation
between Ankara and Berlin, saying that 60,000 Turkish
entrepreneurs in Germany had made investments of over 4
billion Euro and created jobs for 300,000 people there. The
PM noted that Germany is Turkey's leading trade partner and
foreign investor, adding that trade between the two
countries exceeded 21 billion USD in 2004. Erdogan also
urged Schroeder to encourage German companies to join
Turkish entrepreneurs working in third countries, including
in Iraq. Earlier Wednesday, Chancellor Schroeder was
awarded an honorary doctorate by Istanbul's Marmara
University. He also called on Patriarch Bartholomew.
Schroeder said after visiting the Patriarchate that the
`Ecumenical' Patriarch Bartholomew is hopeful for Turkey's
reform process. `The situation of non-Muslims in Turkey is
very important for us,' Schroeder said. Responding to a
question on the reopening of Halki Seminary, Schroeder said
the issue had not been raised during his official meetings,
and that it required `further patience.'

Police Arrest Terrorists Preparing for Bomb Attacks in
Cities: Turkish police detained two suspects with alleged
ties to the outlawed PKK in coordinated operations in
Istanbul and the Mediterranean city of Antalya, papers
report. Police seized 7.5 kg of plastic explosives
belonging to the suspects. A statement by Istanbul police
said the two detainees had received military training in
rural parts of the country and had been planning to carry
out bomb attacks in urban areas. Police also seized
electrical fuses, fake identity cards, and diagrams on bomb
manufacturing.

Aydin: Halki Seminary May Be Opened: State Minister Mehmet
Aydin said the Greek Orthodox Halki Seminary in Istanbul
could be reopened, but only if it abides by domestic laws
and regulations on education in Turkey. `We cannot grant a
privileged status to a single school,' Aydin said. He
stressed that the Turkish government does not object to the
reopening of the seminary, noting that Turkey will not
interfere with the beliefs of its Greek Orthodox nationals.

Erdogan, Kocharian to Meet in Warsaw: Armenian President
Kocharian and Turkish Prime Minister Erdogan are to meet in
Warsaw May 17, "Vatan" reports, based on contacts with
Armenian foreign ministry officials.

Turkey-Israel Overcome Tank Modernization Disagreement:
Turkey and Israel have resolved a crisis on the
modernization of the Turkish military's M-60 tanks by
Israel's IAI company, "Yeni Safak" reports. IAI was
scheduled to finish modernization of 180 tanks first, but
failed to complete the necessary tests within the time
limits set by the project agreement. Shortly before
Erdogan's visit to Israel, the two sides agreed to rearrange
the periods for testing of tanks. The modernization project
will cost Turkey 600 million USD.

Gul Due in Kyrgyzstan: Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul will
leave for Kyrgyzstan on Thursday to meet prime minister
Bakiyev, parliament speaker Tekebayev and foreign minister
Otunbayeva, the Turkish Foreign Ministry (MFA) said in a
statement yesterday. Gul will reportedly take 2.5 ton of
humanitarian aid to Kyrgyzstan.

EDITORIAL OPINION: Turkish Foreign Policy; Turkey's Role in
the Middle East

"An Unstable Policy"
Cuneyt Ulsever observed in the mass appeal "Hurriyet" (5/5):
"The biggest mistake any administrator can make is to bring
his organizationo to the point where it becomes
unpredictable. Administrators with unpredictable behavior
cause stress for those around them. When people do not see
the next step that is coming, they react angrily. The
mismanagement of the Erdogan government has created this
kind of stress and anger in both domestic and international
circles. Even when they give very warm messages to various
parties, they are still viewed with suspicion. So when
Erdogan presented the most pro-American speech of his
administration at his party group meeting on April 27, he
was unable to reduce the skepticism among US officials. The
confusion is the result of the government's effort to follow
two contradictory roadmaps at the same time. Like every
other government in the world, the Turkish government is
pushed by the views of its grassroots as well as the need to
engage in realistic policies. But the AKP's grass-roots
are centered around the `national view' (`milli gorus')
mentality. This world view inevitably comes into conflict
with the need for a realistic foreign policy. For example,
the US was one of the factors that helped bring the AKP to
power. But the grassroots of the party dislike the US. The
government's `solution' lay in the idea of `strategic
depth' in foreign policy. But when a multi-faceted foreign
policy tries to solve each issue independently of the
others, it becomes nothing more than a cacophony that no one
can understand. While the Prime Minister's office was
trying to follow this kind of foreign policy, experts at the
Foreign Ministry have been completely left out. Turkish
Ambassadors in the most important countries are very upset
about this. Let us look for a moment at the results of this
policy: `The US is upset with PM Erdogan. This has to be
resolved. Turkey cannot manage without the US. Israel is
annoyed with the PM as well. What to do? As a start,
Erdogan gives a speech praising the US. Then he arranges a
visit to Israel. But, how can he explain all of this to the
anti-Israeli group that forms a large part of his political
base? He says that it is all about an effort to mediate
between Israel and Palestine. Israel hosted Erdogan very
kindly, but the Israelis openly rejected his offer to play
the role of mediator. Erdogan was also late for his
appointment with the Palestinian PM, so the Palestinians
were also very upset. The result? Neither Israel, nor the
Palestinians, nor the rest of the Arab world could
understand the purpose of this visit."

"Turkey is Beating A Dead Horse in the Middle East"
Semih Idiz commented in the mainstream-opposition "Milliyet"
(5/5): "When the Israeli Foreign Minister kindly rejected
Turkey's offer of mediation, some of us felt hurt, as if
this was an action against Turkey. Yet the situation in the
region should be viewed carefully. There is already a very
important mediator between Israel and Palestine -- the
United States. Although many Arab countries and some
Palestinians - including the late Yasser Arafat -- consider
Washington a supporter of Israel, no Palestinian officials
have ever given up on Washington's mediating role.
Moreover, whatever progress has been made over the years in
Israeli-Palestinian relations was made as the result of US
initiatives. At some point, Norway acted as a mediator.
But there is a lesson for Turkey from that period as well.
Norway did not announce its role until some results came out
of the process. But Turkey is announcing its offer to the
world by beating drums. When the offer is rejected kindly,
it is then considered an insult for Turkey. As former
Foreign Minister Ismail Cem has suggested, why couldn't
Turkey act as a kind of facilitator instead of a mediator?
In fact, Turkey is already playing the role of a
facilitator. Last week's meeting of Turkish, Israeli, and
Palestinian businessmen sponsored by Turkey's Union of
Chambers (TOBB) in Ankara was an example of what Turkey can
do. But if there are still some in Turkey who are thinking
that it would look better in the media if Turkey were a true
mediator in the Middle East, then I'm afraid they are doing
nothing more than beating a dead horse."
EDELMAN

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