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Cablegate: Turkey's Leaders, Press React to London Attacks

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

111443Z Jul 05

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 ANKARA 004036

SIPDIS

DEPARTMENT FOR EUR/SE, PA

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: KPAO PTER TU
SUBJECT: TURKEY'S LEADERS, PRESS REACT TO LONDON ATTACKS


-------
SUMMARY
-------

1. Senior Turkish officials were quick to condemn last
week's terrorist bombings in London. Most press
commentators also condemned the attack, though many blamed
the US-led war in Iraq for accelerating the spread of
terrorism. Some journalists also pointed to an alleged
double standard by Western (principally EU) countries, in
which PKK terrorism is taken less seriously than acts
carried out by al-Qaeda. Several fringe commentators in the
Islamist and nationalist press blamed the United States, the
CIA, or "secret forces" for the attack. End Summary.

-----------------------------
TURKISH MFA CONDEMNS BOMBINGS
-----------------------------

2. On the afternoon of the bombings, the Turkish Foreign
Ministry issued the following written statement:

Begin text. We learned with great sadness of the loss of
life, injuries, and material damage resulting from the
simultaneous terrorist attacks at 6 metro stations in London
today (July 7). Turkey, which has paid the price of
terrorism for many years and has lost tens of thousands of
its citizens to terrorism, strongly opposes all kinds of
terrorism, no matter what its aim or who carries it out, and
strongly condemns these acts. These attacks have once again
highlighted the need for effective cooperation and struggle
against terrorism within a determined international plan.
Our hope is that those who committed these inhuman acts will
be speedily apprehended and brought to justice. We share as
a nation the pain of our ally, the British people. We
express our condolences to the families of those who lost
their lives in these attacks, and wish a rapid recovery for
those who were wounded. End text.

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---------------------
ERDOGAN, GUL COMMENTS
---------------------

3. FM Gul was visiting his home province of Kayseri when the
attacks took place. He made the following statements during
the course of the day: "Turkey is in continuous cooperation
against all kinds of terrorism, because Turkey is one of the
countries that has suffered the most from terrorism. When
in the past we tried to explain the magnitude of the threat
of terrorism, the world did not show sufficient interest.
But after the events of September 11, the world understood
how dangerous terrorism can be. Now there is great
cooperation on this issue all around the world. We hope
that in cooperating in the struggle against terrorism,
differentiation will not be shown. Because when a
distinction is made between `my terrorist' and `their
terrorist,' it is not possible for the struggle against
terrorism to be successful. From this standpoint, everyone
must cooperate in the struggle against terrorism without any
discrimination. We are following closely the events in
Great Britain. We strongly condemn all forms of terrorism."

4. PM Erdogan was in the United States at the Sun Valley
Conference on July 7. The Prime Minister made the following
statement concerning the bombings: "British authorities say
the bomb attacks were against the whole of humanity and all
civilizations, and they show a calm determination against
terrorism. This is our common problem. We cannot target one
religion or one country and accuse them. It would be wrong
to say that this or that terrorist organization is
responsible for this attack before getting clear evidence.
This is the aim of terrorism, to be able to spread
propaganda. As politicians, we should not be a tool of this
effort."

5. Speaking the following day at the World Affairs Council
in San Francisco, Erdogan expanded on his previous remarks:
"This is not something I am saying only now. I began to talk
about terrorism when our party was first established. We had
been experiencing terrorism well before September 11. Since
1978, we have lost over 40,000 lives to terror. I believe
there is no other such example in the world. Terror has no
religion, nationality, ethnicity, or homeland. We do not
know when, why, and where terror may strike. Just last
week, Turkey lost six soldiers in a mine attack on a train
in eastern Turkey. The same terror hit London after New
York, Istanbul, and Madrid. As Turks, we condemn the vicious
bombing incidents in London. Terror has no boundaries. The
United States or Spain or Turkey cannot deal with terrorism
alone. There must be serious cooperation in the fight
against terror. If we use a portion of the 900 billion USD
spent each year in buying weapons on the elimination of
poverty and ignorance, would we not be able to end
terrorism? The U.S. must be the leading country in helping
the poor and the uneducated."

-----------------------------------------
COMMENTATORS CONDEMN ACTS -- WITH CAVEATS
-----------------------------------------

6. Commentators in the mainstream Turkish press roundly
condemned the London attacks, though many were quick to
claim that the US-led actions in Iraq had contributed to an
atmosphere in which terrorism is spreading. Others accused
the West - and especially the Europeans - of ignoring (or
even supporting) PKK terrorism while seeking international
support against Islamist extremism. Several examples
follow:

-- Taha Akyol, in the mainstream daily "Milliyet" (July 9):
"Terrorism is a contagious insanity of our age, and it is
therefore difficult to wage war against it. Nobody can
guess where the next attack will be carried out. Police and
intelligence services must remain vigilant at all times.
Democracy must be allowed to flourish to dispel the feeling
of being oppressed. Economies must grow to eliminate the
feeling of being exploited. Education must be improved to
broaden people's horizons. Terrorist attacks in London and
the terror campaign of the PKK must be condemned with the
same vigor. Terrorism must be crushed wherever it appears."
-- Ismet Berkan, in the liberal daily "Radikal" (July 8):
"Unfortunately, we saw yesterday that terrorism silences or
suppresses all other voices when it starts to speak its
barbaric language. This is the primary objective, and we
should admit that al-Qaeda has been successful in achieving
that goal. What really matters now is not to yield to
terror. We should not compromise our freedoms and our
lifestyle. We must continue to make efforts to eliminate
the social conditions that give rise to organizations like
al-Qaeda."
-- Melih Asik, in the mainstream daily "Milliyet" (July 8):
"The civilians killed in London can be regarded as victims
of the war on terror. In fact, they are victims of a
campaign of horror and exploitation being carried out in the
name of the struggle against terror. I hope that before
condemning terrorism the British will remember what their
own government has done in Iraq."

-- Oktay Eksi, in the mainstream daily "Hurriyet" (July 8):
"I don't know whether there is any lesson to be taken from
the London events for a country like Turkey, which has a
long experience of terrorism. But we have the right to
expect that the selfish ones in Europe who think that
`another person's terrorism is his problem' will learn
something here. I am especially thinking of countries that
are protecting people they know are terrorists - Belgium,
Greece, France, and Germany."

----------------------------------------
EXTREMISTS JUSTIFY, HINT AT OTHER FORCES
----------------------------------------

7. A relatively small number of Turkish commentators in
Islamist-oriented and extreme nationalist press outlets
hinted that other forces were behind the London attacks.
Selected excerpts follow:

-- Ibrahim Karagul in the Islamist-oriented, pro-Government
"Yeni Safak" (July 8): "Will somebody claim responsibility?
Al-Qaeda will, of course, or else some organization we have
never heard of before. Maybe some people involved in the
attacks will even be caught. But then we will learn nothing
further. We will never find out what was learned in the
investigation. We will never learn who it was that was
directing these people. Isn't that what happened in
Indonesia and in Spain? Al-Qaeda claims responsibility, and
the issue drops off the agenda. But it is not realistic to
blame all terror attacks on al-Qaeda or similar groups. In
fact, there is no such thing as al-Qaeda. There is an al-
Qaeda philosophy, and certain forces are putting their own
al-Qaedas into play."

-- Mahir Kaynak in the Islamist-oriented "Zaman" (July 11):
"Who is the power that is lighting the fuse of clashes that
will reshape the world and establish a new world order? You
can believe that it is al-Qaeda. You can believe that the
most exaggerated myths about this organization are true. Or
you can think that this is all quite insulting, and look for
yourself for what the truth might be. It is impossible to
find supporters of al-Qaeda anywhere in the world. But
there are leaders of globalization and their opponents, and
this is the model that explains the incidents in London.
The UK, which had become the base of operations for global
capital, had succeeded in maintaining a low profile despite
being the second most significant power in Iraq and playing
an active role in the Islamic world, which has been chosen
as a vehicle for conflict. The attacks in London have
served to lift the veil on the UK position in this
conflict."

-- Seyfi Sahin in the nationalist daily "Ortadogu" (July
11): "There is no organization that aids the United States,
which wants to lay claim to resources around the world, more
than al-Qaeda. The United States has come upon a very
effective tactic for silencing Islam and invading Islamic
countries. Al-Qaeda has opened the way for the United
States. I have no doubt that the CIA, which trained Osama
Bin-Laden, has been getting excellent service from him. The
CIA should be congratulated."

MCELDOWNEY

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