Cablegate: Ankara Media Reaction Report
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UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 04 ANKARA 007099
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TAGS: OPRC KMDR TU
SUBJECT: ANKARA MEDIA REACTION REPORT
FRIDAY, DECEMBER 2, 2005
THIS REPORT PRESENTS THE TURKISH PRESS SUMMARY UNDER THREE
THEMES:
HEADLINES
BRIEFING
EDITORIAL OPINION
--------------------------------------------- --
HEADLINES
MASS APPEAL
Rice: Turkey is of Critical Importance for the US - Sabah
Rice: Turkey among Countries with which US Has Strategic
Ties - Vatan
Ambassador Wilson Chooses Turkey, an `Interesting,
Difficult' Post - Milliyet
Barzani: Kirkuk Will be Annexed to Kurdistan in 2007 -
Milliyet
Israeli Troops Train Northern Iraqi Peshmerge - Aksam
NYT: CIA Planes Landed in Turkey Twice - Sabah
55 Percent of Americans Believe Bush Has No Policy for
`Victory in Iraq' - Sabah
Peres: Sharon Will Bring Peace - Sabah
Sharon: For Iran, All Options are on the Table - Sabah
OPINION MAKERS
Ambassador Wilson Sworn in After Approval by US Senate -
Zaman
Rice: Turkey, US Have Strategic Ties - Yeni Safak
Mottaki: Tehran, Ankara, Baghdad Can Prevent Iraq's
Partition - Zaman
US Urges All Countries to Pressure, Sanction Iran - Radikal
Northern Iraq Becomes a Base for MOSSAD - Yeni Safak
EU Agrees on Strategy to Combat Terror - Radikal
Sharon: We Won't Give Up West Bank for Peace - Radikal
Livni: Security Fence Will be the Border Between Israel,
Palestine - Cumhuriyet
Al-Qaida Recruits `White' Militants for Attacks in Europe -
Cumhuriyet
BRIEFING
Ambassador Wilson Sworn In: The new US Ambassador to
Ankara, Ross Wilson, was sworn in during a ceremony at the
State Department after being approved by the US Senate
earlier this week, Turkish papers report. Secretary Rice
said during the swearing-in that Turkey was among the few
countries with which the US had a `strategic relationship.'
`That's why we send to Turkey our most experienced
diplomats,' Rice said, and stressed the importance of ties
with Turkey. Wilson said in response to a question that he
chose Turkey and believes it will be an `interesting and
tough post.' Papers report that Ambassador Wilson will
arrive in Ankara on Saturday.
Mottaki Visits Ankara: Visiting Iranian Foreign Minister
Manouchehr Mottaki said on Thursday that Iran, Turkey and
the central government in Iraq should cooperate to prevent
the partition of Iraq, papers report. Mottaki said there
was a small chance that an independent Kurdish state would
be established in Iraq. During a call on Parliament Speaker
Bulent Arinc Mottaki discussed the expansion of Tehran-
Ankara ties. Arinc described as positive Mottaki's visit to
Turkey, and invited the speaker of the Iranian parliament to
Turkey in early 2006. The Iranian FM was also received by
PM Erdogan, and met with the main opposition CHP leader
Deniz Baykal, and former PMs Bulent Ecevit and Necmetin
Erbakan. During the Mottaki-Erbakan meeting, women
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correspondents were kept outside of Erbakan's house where
Turkey's banned Islamist leader hosted the Iranian FM. CHP
leader Baykal and Mottaki discussed the situation in Iraq,
Syria, and Lebanon. Baykal reportedly told Mottaki that all
countries in the world should abide by international law,
particularly UN resolutions. Mottaki told Baykal about
Iran's dialogue with the International Atomic Energy Agency
(IAEA), adding that Tehran expected an experts' meeting
would be held soon on the issue. "Radikal" comments that
Turkey, parallel to its ties with Russia, will create mutual
dependency in ties with Iran. Iran has been given the
message that Turkey and Iran ought to respect each other's
different regimes. The two countries share common regional
interests and they need each other, the paper says.
Barzani: Kirkuk Will be Annexed to Kurdistan in 2007: The
president of the regional administration of Kurdistan,
Massoud Barzani has infuriated Ankara by saying that in
2007, the Kurdish administration of northern Iraq would
acquire the control of Kirkuk, papers report. Foreign
Minister Abdullah Gul reacted strongly to the KDP leader's
statement, saying that Barzani was not entitled to make
decisions with regard to Kirkuk. "Cumhuriyet" says in a
news-commentary that the president of the regional
administration of Kurdistan, Massoud Barzani, is seen as
source of encouragement for Kurds in Turkey as well as in
Syria and Iran. Receptions at the highest levels given by
Western statesmen to Barzani are seen as serious
developments regarding the establishment of a Kurdish state
in Iraq. The wide interest seen in Turkey in Barzani is due
to social, political and economic factors, and at the same
time, was influenced by the moves of legal and illegal
organizations in the region. People in southeast Turkey are
scared by the violent actions of the PKK, and are pleased to
see that the reputation of the Kurdish phenomenon is
improving, thanks to the maneuvers of Barzani, says
"Cumhuriyet."
CIA Planes Land in Turkey Twice: CIA planes have landed at
Turkish airports not once but twice, the Transportation
Minister Binali Yildirim revealed on Friday. Yildirim
confirmed that CIA planes had landed twice at Sabiha Gokcen
Airport in Istanbul. On Saturday last week, Yildirim had
admitted that a CIA plane had landed on November 15 at
Sabiha Gokcen `due to technical reasons.' The plane had
remained on the ground in Istanbul for 27 hours. The plane
had arrived at the Istanbul airport from Baku on November
15, left for Amsterdam's Schipol Airport on November 16, and
later traveled on to Iceland. Suspicions are now growing in
Turkey that Incirlik Air base in southern Turkey could have
been used by US forces for illegal transportation of terror
suspects, dailies comment.
Patriarch Bartholomew I on Halki Seminary, Mosque in Athens:
Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I, the spiritual head of
300 million Orthodox Christians around the world, said in an
interview with "Milliyet" that he wanted Turkey to reopen
Halki Seminary in Istanbul. Bartolomew I also urged Greece
to allow a mosque to open in Athens.
Private Israeli Military Firms Train the Kurds in Northern
Iraq: Private Israeli military firms have been training
Kurdish peshmerge forces in northern Iraq, Turkish papers
citing the leading Israeli daily "Yedioth Ahronot" report on
Thursday.
The Israeli daily claimed that dozens of Israelis
specialized in elite military combat training were employed
by private Israeli companies in northern Iraq to train Kurds
in the establishment of elite anti-terror units. Last year,
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Turkey issued a strong warning to the Israeli authorities on
the subject. Israel later denied the reports. "Yedioth
Ahronot" named Motorola Israel and Magalcom Communications
and Computers as two companies contracting with the local
the Kurdish government to train Kurdish security forces and
provide them with advanced equipment. The paper said that
tons of Israeli made equipment, including motorcycles,
tractors, sniffer dogs, systems to upgrade Kalashnikov
rifles, and bulletproof vests, have been shipped to a secret
training camp in Iraq's northern region. The Israeli
instructors entered Iraq through Turkey using their Israeli
passports, undercover as agriculture experts and
infrastructure engineers, the Israeli daily added.
YAS Expels Four Turkish Officers from Military: Turkey's
Supreme Military Council (YAS) expelled four officers from
the military for `reactionary activities and lack of
discipline' -- a reference to Islamist tendencies seen by
the Turkish General Staff (TGS) as a threat to Turkey's
secular regime, papers report. Prime Minister Erdogan, who
chaired the YAS meeting, and Defense Minister Vecdi Gonul,
expressed `reservations' to show that they do not
necessarily endorse the decision.
Erdogan Due in Australia, New Zealand: Prime Minister
Tayyip Erdogan, accompanied by a large delegation of Turkish
businessmen, kicks off his December 2-11 visit to Australia
and New Zealand on Friday. Erdogan will be the first
Turkish prime minister to pay a visit to Oceania countries.
Turkey Wants National Afghan Army, Police Force Established:
Turkey's Permanent Representative to UN Baki Ilkin said on
Thursday Turkey believes that it was essential in assuring
the long-term security and unity of Afghanistan to form a
national Afghan army and police force, the semi-official
"Anatolian News Agency" (AA) reported Thursday. Ilkin
reminded the UN General Assembly in a debate on Afghanistan
that Turkey assumed the command of ISAF for 14 months, and
that it was determined to assist Afghanistan to achieve
permanent peace and stability. A draft resolution submitted
to the UN calls on the international community to support
war-ravaged Afghanistan to complete its political transition
within the framework of the Bonn Process. The draft also
wants the international community to encourage the Afghan
government to prepare a temporary national development
strategy. The strategy will be debated at a London
conference in January.
AKP Wants to Open 15 New Universities in Turkey: A motion
by the ruling AK Party on the establishment of 15 new
universities in 15 provinces across Turkey was discussed and
accepted at the parliamentary education commission on
Thursday, papers report. Rebuffing the AKP's motion on new
universities, the Higher Education Board (YOK) decided on
Wednesday that only four cities out of a list of 15 meet the
criteria for hosting a new university. New universities are
to be established in the provinces of Kirsehir, Kastamonu,
Duzce, Burdur, Usak, Rize, Tekirdag, Erzincan, Aksaray,
Giresun, Corum, Yozgat, Adiyaman, Ordu and Amasya, according
to the bill. 2,000 new academic staff and 15 rectors will
be needed at the new universities. Only 250,000 out of 1.7
million of students have a chance to enter Turkish
universities through an exam held every year. There are 53
state and 24 private universities in Turkey.
EDITORIAL OPINION: US-Turkey; GWOT; Iraq
"The Growing Importance of Turkey"
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Hasan Mesut Hazar commented in the conservative "Turkiye"
(12/2): "During Ambassador Ross Wilson's swearing-in
ceremony, Secretary Rice made a strong statement about the
strategic importance of Turkish-American ties. She referred
to Turkey as one of the most important countries for the US.
Her remarks serve as a rebuttal to conspiracy theorists who
continuously claim that the strategic partnership between
Turkey and the US has died. The new American Ambassador to
Turkey is a senior diplomat who put a great deal of effort
into the realization of the Baku-Ceyhan pipeline project.
US support for the project -- especially when oil companies
characterized it as nothing but a dream -- has now been
justified. It is equally important for Turkey that the US
is sending an experienced diplomat like Ross Wilson to
Ankara."
"Who Cares?"
Haluk Ulman commented in the economic-politic "Dunya"
(12/2): "In the absence of a counter-power, it seems the
Bush administration has been acting as if there are no
binding rules. The global war against terrorism has become
a pretext for the violation of international law. According
to global opinion, torture is a crime against humanity.
There are numerous international conventions to prevent it,
but that does not seem to bother the Bush administration.
Torture camps in East European countries are clear examples
of this behavior. And let's not forget the other ones in
Guantanamo, Iraq, and Afghanistan. The US seems to be
engaging in piracy as well, abducting terror suspects from
the Middle East and holding them in torture camps. The use
of white phosphorus against Iraqi civilians also proves that
the Bush administration not only ignores international rules
on torture, but also violates every international convention
regarding the laws of war."
"Barzani Is Comfortable About Kirkuk"
Fikret Bila wrote in the mainstream "Milliyet" (12/2):
"Developments in Iraq also impact regional relations. Iran
is under threat from the US due to its nuclear program, as
is Syria due to the Hariri assassination. Turkey, on the
other hand, is working with both the US and KDP leader
Barzani to uproot the PKK in the Kandil mountains. Iran, as
it moves closer to Turkey while the US threat grows, has
offered to cooperate with Turkey in the struggle against the
PKK in Iranian territory. The Iranian Foreign Minister said
to Turkish authorities in Ankara that Iran will not allow
the establishment of an independent Kurdistan in northern
Iraq. He signaled that both Iran and Syria will stand with
Turkey against such a development. Content with this
approach, Ankara still warned Iran about its nuclear
program. Meanwhile, it seems that KDP leader Barzani has
focused on Kirkuk and its status. In a recent speech, he
said that Kirkuk will belong to the Kurdish region in 2007,
citing article 136 in Iraq's new constitution. The status of
Kirkuk used to be an alarming issue for Ankara. Turkey
still wants to see Kirkuk remain as part of Iraq. But such
efforts seem doomed, because Barzani appears to have gotten
a promise on Kirkuk from the US."
MCELDOWNEY