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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 03 ANKARA 002719

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
WEDNESDAY, MAY 11, 2005

THIS REPORT PRESENTS THE TURKISH PRESS SUMMARY UNDER THREE
THEMES:

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

MASS APPEAL
Erdogan to Meet Bush June 8 - Vatan
Bush Conquers Georgia - Aksam
Bush Greeted Like a Rock Star in Georgia - Hurriyet
150,000 Georgians Greet Bush Waving US Flags - Vatan
Bush Calls for Continuation of `Democratic Revolutions' -
Milliyet
EU Expansion Chief Rehn to Visit Cyprus - Sabah

OPINION MAKERS
Bush Finally Grants Appointment to Erdogan - Radikal
Bush-Erdogan Summit on June 8 - Zaman
Georgians Rally for `Revolutionary' Bush - Zaman
US President in the Caucasus - Cumhuriyet
Rafsanjani to Seek Iran Presidency - Radikal
US Warns Iran Against Relaunching Nuclear Activities - Yeni
Safak
US `Matador Operation' on Iraq's Syria Border - Cumhuriyet
US Military Can't Find New Recruits - Yeni Safak
Arab-Latin Summit to Say `No' to US Hegemony - Yeni Safak


BRIEFING

Bush-Erdogan to Meet June 8: Prime Minister Recep Tayyip
Erdogan is expected to meet with US President George W. Bush
on 8 June in Washington, papers report. Erdogan is
scheduled to visit Washington to attend a session of the
American Turkish Council from June 5-7. Erdogan is to be
accompanied by Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul, who will be
meeting Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice. The Gul-Rice
meeting is also scheduled for June 8, according to reports.

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Opposition CHP Demands Clarification on Incirlik Decree:
Opposition CHP's deputy chairman Onur Oymen said that
despite an earlier statement by Foreign Minister Gul ruling
out the transfer of military personnel through Incirlik
Airbase, the April 18 cabinet decree provides for US access
to Turkish bases for logistical support operations,
`including the transfer of military equipment and
personnel,' "Cumhuriyet" reports. The decree does not
mention Incirlik, Oymen noted, and he questioned whether
there was a separate agreement regarding use of the airbase.
`The decree includes the transfer of personnel, and those
personnel are surely not gardeners or cooks,' Oymen said.
Oymen demanded an explanation from the government on the
issue. "Cumhuriyet" also reports that several leading
Turkish NGOs asked the AK Party government at a press
conference in Istanbul yesterday to reveal the `secret'
cabinet decree on the use of Incirlik Airbase.

Papadopoulos Said Erdogan `Exaggerated' Conversation in
Moscow: Cyprus President Papadopoulos said that PM Erdogan
had `exaggerated' the contents of a conversation the two men
held with UN Secretary General Kofi Annan in Moscow earlier
this week. Papadopoulos reportedly told the media that the
brief conversation did not result in an agreement to restart
Cyprus negotiations as Erdogan had implied.

Turkey's NSC Chief to Visit Israel: Turkish National
Security Council (NSC) Secretary General Yigit Alpogan is to
visit Israel May 17-19 as the guest of Israeli National
Security Council chief Giora Eliant, Turkish papers report.
Alpogan will discuss with the Israelis regional issues and
increased sharing of intelligence on terrorist
organizations. Alpogan will also address some Israeli think-
tanks during his visit. Reports claim that Alpogan will
visit the United States for a meeting with newly appointed
NSC Chairman Stephen Hadley following his trip Tel Aviv.

Jafari to Visit Turkey: Iraqi Prime Minister Ibrahim Jafari
will be in Ankara May 19 on a two-day official visit, papers
report. During his stay in Ankara, Jafari will reportedly
meet with President s Sezer, PM Erdogan, and FM Gul to
discuss recent developments in Iraq, particularly the Kirkuk
issue and the drafting of the new Iraqi constitution.

Arinc Due in US: Turkish Parliament Speaker Bulent Arinc
will be visiting the United States at the end of May at the
invitation of Speaker of the House of Representatives Dennis
Hastert, the official Anatolian News Agency (AA) reported on
Tuesday.

Afghans Protest US for Koran Desecration: Afghan
protesters, infuriated by a "Newsweek" report that US
interrogators in Guantanamo Bay had desecrated the Koran,
set fire to the governor's office in Jalalabad on Wednesday,
Turkish papers report based on international wires.
"Newsweek" said that investigators probing abuses at the
military prison in Guantanamo Bay had discovered that
interrogators had placed pages of the Koran on toilet paper
rolls. About 2,000 students protested the US in Jalalabad
on Tuesday and demanded an apology.

US Military Postal Service Subject to Turkish Customs
Declaration: The US military will now have to file customs
declarations to receive their private mail, "Hurriyet"
reports in a front-page story. The new practice has been
implemented since March 9, and marks the termination of a
protocol that had been signed between the Turkish Foreign
Ministry (MFA) and the US State Department on this issue 20
years ago. The report asserts that for the past 20 years,
private parcels delivered to US soldiers in Turkey came
through Istanbul Ataturk Airport without being checked at
customs. US soldiers will pay no taxes on the delivery, and
the mail will not be subject to inspection, according to the
Istanbul Deputy Governor. But processing of the mail will
now require notification to Turkish authorities about the
content of the pouches coming in from abroad. "Hurriyet"
quotes a US official in Istanbul as saying that there are
military postal services at airports in many countries that
receive mail sent to US troops on commercial flights.

ECHR to Announce Verdict on Ocalan May 12: The European
Court of Human Rights (ECHR) will deliver its final verdict
in an appeal filed by PKK leader Abdullah Ocalan on
Thursday. The ruling could lead to Ocalan's retrial in
Turkey, where he is serving a life sentence. Ocalan was
sentenced to death for treason, but his sentence was changed
to life in prison on October 3, 2002 after Turkey scrapped
capital punishment in a bid to ease its membership into the
European Union. The Council of Europe has asked Turkey in a
letter to change legislation that blocks the retrial of
suspects, "Radikal" reports. The issue may be raised during
Prime Minister Erdogan's May 15 visit to Warsaw, where he
will attend a summit meeting of Council of Europe leaders.

AKP Lawmaker Resigns: Ismail Ericekli, a Cankiri
parliamentary deputy from the ruling AK Party, resigned from
his party on Tuesday and announced his intention to join the
True Path Party (DYP). The breakdown of seats in the
parliament following Ericekli's resignation is as follows:
AKP 355, CHP 162, ANAP 10, DYP 7, SHP 5, HYP 1, Independent
8. Two seats remain vacant.

EDITORIAL OPINION: VE Day

"After the Moscow Summit"
Yilmaz Oztuna commented in the conservative "Turkiye"
(5/11): "The VE Day celebrations were marked by some some
very important messages from world leaders, including on the
value of peace and human rights. Even President Bush's
criticism about Russian democracy and Putin's harsh response
did not harm the overall positive atmosphere. Yet the most
important message in Bush's speech was about the `Pax
Americana,' which he explained at some length. The `Pax
Americana' refers to the process of democratization in Asia
and North Africa. Bush expressed in a very determined way
the US commitment on the democratization issue. This
determination also stems from US desire to control oil
supplies in those areas. But Washington should realize that
democracy cannot be easily applied in every society. Recent
developments in Egypt are just one recent example. Egypt is
discussing the method for electing a parliamentary speaker.
At US insistence, the single-candidate system is about to be
changed. The Egyptian `democratic' will now allow more than
one candidate to run, but under one condition -- all
candidates must come from the ruling party!"

"Imperial Conflict"
Ergun Goze wrote in the conservative-sensational "Halka ve
Olaylara Tercuman" (5/11): "Presidents Bush and Putin
engaged in a war of words during the 60th anniversary
celebrations of VE Day. Bush criticized the Russians for
occupying Europe after World War II. In return, Putin
claimed that Russia had freed Europe from the Nazis. Bush
continued urging Russia to become a democratic state. Putin
questioned democracy in America by reminding Bush that he
had to come to power through a court decision. Both sides
voiced their differences in an open manner. We need to
thing about where Turkey fits in to this picture. Before
WWI, Turkey was often depicted between a bear and a whale -
the bear symbolizing Russia and the whale representing the
West. Except for the fact that the West is now dominated by
the United States rather than Europe, not much has really
changed. Turkey's fate is the same as before, squeezed
between the whale and the bear."


EDELMAN

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