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 04 ANKARA 005984
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
MONDAY, OCTOBER 3, 2005
THIS REPORT PRESENTS THE TURKISH PRESS SUMMARY UNDER THREE
THEMES:
HEADLINES
BRIEFING
EDITORIAL OPINION
--------------------------------------------- --
HEADLINES
MASS APPEAL
Ankara to EU: Privileged Partnership Not Acceptable - Sabah
Erdogan: EU to Be Global Actor or Christian Club - Milliyet
Edelman: Rejecting Turkey for EU Will be a `Disaster' -
Hurriyet 10/2
Arab Specialists: Turkey's EU Membership a Model for Arabs -
Hurriyet
Solana: EU-Turkey Talks Will Begin on Time - Milliyet 10/2
New York Times: Turkey is EU's Future - Vatan 10/2
Rice to EU: US Opposes Nicosia's NATO Membership - Sabah
France to Declare 2006 `Year of Armenia' - Hurriyet 10/2
US Military Launches `Iron Fist' Operation in Iraq -
Hurriyet
Israel Suspends Operations in Gaza - Tercuman
OPINION MAKERS
East, West Agree: Excluding Turkey Would be a Mistake -
Zaman 10/2
Erdogan: Turkey Won't Change Path to Democracy - Zaman
Karamanlis: European Turkey is in Interest of Europeans -
Radikal
EU Member Turkey Will be Way Out for Middle East - Zaman
10/2
Bryza: US Determined to Rebuild Partnership with Turkey -
Zaman
Le Monde: CIA Met with PKK in Kandil Mountains - Cumhuriyet
Rice: We Will Stay in Iraq - Yeni Safak
Talabani Asks Jafari to Step down - Radikal
US Forces Target Sunni Cities in Iraq - Yeni Safak 10/2
HRW: Iraqi Insurgents Commit War Crimes - Cumhuriyet
Israeli MPs to US: Strike Iran, or We Will Do It - Yeni
Safak 10/2
Iran Threatens to Halt Oil Sales - Cumhuriyet 10/2
New Terror Attacks in Bali: 32 Killed - Radikal 10/2
BRIEFING
Last Ditch Efforts to Break EU-Turkey Deadlock: Turkish
media report that the European Union failed last night to
resolve the deadlock blocking the start of membership talks
with Turkey. EU leaders in Luxembourg stressed, however,
that a last-minute deal was still possible. `It's a
frustrating situation,' EU term president Britain's foreign
secretary Jack Straw said late Sunday night, `but I hope and
SIPDIS
pray that we may be able to reach an agreement.' `We need
to see Turkey in the EU and not pushed the other way,' Straw
stressed. Austria is demanding that the EU consider
offering a `privileged partnership,' something less than
full EU membership, for Turkey. `The EU will either become
a global actor, or limit itself to being a Christian club,'
Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan warned the EU on Sunday
evening. International wires report that Secretary Rice
`stepped in' on Monday to save Turkey's EU bid. The call
came after Turkey objected to a clause stipulating that it
could not block EU members joining international
organizations and treaties. The Turks interpreted this as
an effort to prevent Ankara from blocking a divided Cyprus
from joining NATO. `Rice called Erdogan this morning to
give the Turks guarantees that paragraph 5 is not binding
for NATO,' one European diplomat said. Erdogan reportedly
told Secretary Rice on the phone that Turkey will not take
further steps to secure the opening of accession talks with
the EU. Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul said that he may not
travel to Luxembourg if Austria gets its way. Monday's
"Yeni Safak" reported that FM Gul told ruling AKP lawmakers
at a party meeting over the weekend that if rejected by the
EU, Turkey will `dock at another port -- any other port.'
On Monday, news agencies reported that Ankara received the
final version of the EU framework agreement and was studying
the document. An official told the press that FM Gul
brought the document to AK Party headquarters for a final
evaluation.
Edelman Warns the EU against Excluding Turkey: Turkish
papers over the weekend and on Monday reported that former
US Ambassador to Ankara, Eric Edelman, warned the EU that
turning down Turkey would destabilize a country `on the
borders of Europe,' and that such a rejection would
jeopardize democratic reforms in other Islamic countries.
`What will saying `no' to a democratic and open society such
as Turkey mean for all other countries that we call on to
separate state and mosque?' Edelman asked. Edelman further
warned that an EU message telling Turkey that no matter what
it does it will not be admitted into the union of democratic
states and open economies would bring significant, long-
term, negative consequences.
DAS Bryza on US-Turkey: DAS Matt Bryza told "Zaman" in an
exclusive interview in Washington that the US has decided to
`do everything' to rebuild the `spirit of partnership'
between the US and Turkey. Bryza said that the US was
pleased to see the Turkish government expressing strong
support for the relationship between the US and Turkey.
`The White House National Security Advisor Stephen Hadley
discussed with the Turks during his visit to Ankara the need
to work together to remove the PKK threat from northern Iraq
and to exert joint efforts to keep Turkey inside the
European family,' Bryza noted. On Syria, he said: `I have
no doubt that the US and Turkey share the same goals with
regard to Syria. But in order to be at the same point
regarding tactics, we need a continuous recalibration and
coordination.' Bryza also noted that Undersecretary Karen
Hughes `listened' and `watched' during her recent meetings
in Turkey. `It was good that a Turkish women's NGO, Ka-der,
voiced strong views about Iraq. Such expressions help us to
understand how the policies of the United States are
perceived in Turkey,' Bryza stressed. Bryza ruled out US
support for a military intervention against either Islamic
fundamentalism or Kurdish separatism in Turkey: `What makes
Turkey strategically very important for us is its secular
democracy in a country with a Muslim majority. We want to
do everything necessary to strengthen democracy and the
democratic institutions in Turkey. Everything that works
against secular democracy is negative for us.'
Embassy Statement on US Operations against Tal Afar:
Saturday papers carried a press statement by the US Embassy
rejecting claims by the Chairman of the Iraqi Turkmen
Democratic Party last week with regard to coalition military
operations in Tal Afar. The embassy said that military
operations in Tal Afar had been undertaken to eliminate
insurgents who were terrorizing the people of the city, and
were not directed against any ethnic group. It also said
that humanitarian assistance sent by both the Turkish Red
Crescent and the Iraqi transitional government had reached
the civilians in Tal Afar. `People who were displaced by
the operations are returning to their homes. Reconstruction
and projects to improve the city's infrastructure are
already underway,' the statement said.
Iraqi Minister: Turkey a Model for Iraq: Iraqi Planning and
Development Minister, Barham Salih, attended the `Middle
East Countries Economic Cooperation Forum' in Turkey's
mainly Kurdish southeastern province of Diyarbakir yesterday
after wrapping up official talks in Ankara last week. Salih
said that Turkey, a democratic, secular and moderate country
with a Muslim majority, is a good model for Iraq. Salih
called on European and Turkish businessmen to invest in
Iraq.
Embassy Statement on Washington Times Article: The US
Embassy issued a statement on Friday with regard to an
article by Frank Gaffney Jr. in the September 27 "Washington
Times" which caused uproar among Turkish government and the
conservative/Islamist media. The statement said that the
ideas expressed in the column `did not reflect the views of
the United States Government.' `We view Turkey as an
important friend, a reliable partner, and a strong ally.
Relations between Turkey and the United States are strong,'
the US statement said.
Poll: Majority of Turks Want Full EU Membership: A public
opinion survey conducted by "TNS Piar" for the daily "Sabah"
shows that 60 percent of Turks want full EU membership for
Turkey, while only 13.3 percent oppose it. 71.8 percent
said that Ankara should not make concessions on Turkey's
`red lines' such as Armenian `genocide' and recognition of
Cyprus. However, they also believe that Turkey's full
membership to the European bloc will bring new opportunities
on health, education, employment, and human rights issues.
15.7 percent of respondents said that Turkey must seek a
compromise regarding its `red lines.' The survey was
conducted on September 30-October 1 among 1,420 Turks over
the age of 18 in towns and urban centers of 10 provinces.
HRW: Insurgents Commit War Crimes in Iraq: Human Rights
Watch (HRW) said in a 140-page report entitled `Civilian
Victims of Insurgent Groups in Iraq' issued on Monday that
civilians are intimidated or killed intentionally in attacks
by insurgent groups in Iraq, "Cumhuriyet" reported. The
report said that the intentional targeting of civilians
during armed clashes constitutes a war crime. HRW called on
the political and religious authorities supporting the
insurgency from inside and outside Iraq to denounce such
illegal attacks.
OIC: Islam is against Radicalism: The Organization of the
Islamic Conference (OIC) Turkish Secretary-General
Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu told the semi-official Anatolian News
Agency (AA) that it will be difficult to bring the chaos in
Iraq under control. `It is necessary to eliminate the
conditions that set the basis for terrorism. It is
necessary to explain to the world that the motives and
causes of terrorists are not related to religion,' Ihsanoglu
told AA in Jeddah on Saturday. Ihsanoglu noted that the OIC
was the only organization that includes the entire Islamic
world. `We are a security valve against radicalism,'
Ihsanoglu said, and added: `We stress that Islam is in line
with democracy and development. Islam is against all
radicalism. We also emphasize that anti-Islamism fuels
tensions between East and West.'
Former CHP Lawmaker Joins AKP: Former main opposition CHP
lawmaker Sevket Gursoy from the southeastern province of
Adiyaman joined the ruling AK Party on Sunday, raising the
number of AKP seats in parliament to 356. Gursoy had
resigned from CHP last week.
EDITORIAL OPINION: EU/Turkey
"EU Chooses the Lose-Lose Theory"
Murat Yetkin commented in the liberal-intellectual "Radikal"
(10/3): "Actually, the European countries will be deciding
their own future with today's decision on the framework
document for Turkey. PM Erdogan has said there is no
guarantee that the EU will become a global power if Turkey
becomes a full member of the EU, but that there is sucgh a
possibility. If EU leaders cannot reach a compromise on the
framework document by noon today, the result will be a loss
for both Turkey and the EU. The new rules of international
relations theory don't support policies based on absolute
winners or losers. Instead, the theory suggests that a `win-
win' outcome is the most desireable. If Turkey's membership
is rejected, the EU will have contributed the `lose-lose'
scenario to political theory. But I really wonder who could
benefit from such a contribution?"
"Everyone Has A Problem Digesting This"
Ergun Babahan wrote in the mass appeal "Sabah" (10/3): "At
a time when some circles are trying to bring people of
different beliefs and different cultures against one
another, it became clear late last night that Europe has a
problem `digesting' a Muslim-majority country. In fact,
when we look at history we see that this problem is not a
new one. No matter how tolerant the Ottomans were toward
other religions, Christian Europe remained just as rigid
toward Islam. There is no question that the EU is a
civilization project for us. But we shouldn't forget that
Turkey didn't come into existence with the EU. If we cannot
sit at the negotiating table, this won't be the end of the
world. An EU that cannot digest other cultures will never
become a world power or a power center. Turkey has
fulfilled all of its responsibilities in the EU process. It
has stood behind its commitments. If the EU fails to stand
behind its word today, the historic responsibility will rest
on their shoulders. Despite everything, we want to maintain
our optimism and think that a last-minute agreement can be
reached, because the entire region, and especially Turkey,
deserve a better life."
"Forced Marriage"
Gazi Ercel opined in the mass appeal "Sabah" (10/3):
"Turkey has continued its struggle for many years for
membership in the EU. It is obvious that we are preparing
for a forced marriage. Of course, Turkey has other
alternatives -- Muslim countries in the south, Russia, or
the US-Israel partnership are always possible. But none of
these alternatives would ensure the high standards of living
that Turkey could attain as part of the EU. The EU remains
the best choice, because it can provide quality of life
standards to 90 million Turks by the year 2025. That is
why we have been pushing ourselves so hard. There have been
some countries who have supported us in this struggle. One
of them is the United States. The US has supported Turkey
since the beginning of the 1990s. More recently, the US has
been continuing its efforts on behalf of Turkey's EU
accession through the UK. There is no doubt that there will
be problems occur in the future. But Turkey really has no
other choice but to walk on the EU path with calm and
determined steps."
MCELDOWNEY