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Viewing cable 03ANKARA3675, ANKARA MEDIA REACTION REPORT

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Reference ID Created Released Classification Origin
03ANKARA3675 2003-06-06 13:02 2011-08-24 01:00 UNCLASSIFIED Embassy Ankara
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 003675 
 
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 
FRIDAY, JUNE 6, 2003 
 
THIS REPORT WILL PRESENT A TURKISH PRESS SUMMARY UNDER THREE 
THEMES: 
 
 
HEADLINES 
BRIEFING 
EDITORIAL OPINION 
----------------- 
HEADLINES 
 
 
MASS APPEAL 
Pentagon wants to use `Mujehadin' against Tehran- - Aksam 
Washington now targets Iran - Sabah 
Bush a `shepherd' for Mideast - Milliyet 
Bush flew over Baghdad en route home - Turkiye 
Cheney put pressure on CIA for Iraqi WMD - Vatan 
Signals for trade between Ankara, Yerevan - Hurriyet 
EU report urges Turkey to normalize ties with Yerevan - 
Sabah 
`Repentance Law' last hope for terrorists - Aksam 
 
 
OPINION MAKERS 
MFA preparing moderate messages to Washington - Radikal 
Turkey wants a `clean slate' with U.S. - Zaman 
U.S. meeting with `terrorist' Mujehadin on Iran - Zaman 
U.S. to use terror organization against Iran - Yeni Safak 
Bush: We'll find Iraqi WMD - Radikal 
EU wants a transparent Turkey - Cumhuriyet 
European Parliament gives green light to Turkey - Yeni Safak 
10,000 Jewish settlers protest against Sharon - Cumhuriyet 
 
 
FINANCIAL JOURNALS 
Russia wants to sell natural gas to Europe via Turkey - 
Dunya 
Steven Mann: Iraqi developments won't affect BTC - Finansal 
Forum 
 
 
 
 
BRIEFING 
 
 
MFA U/S Ziyal to U.S.: In an effort to repair the strain in 
bilateral ties with the U.S., an MFA delegation headed by 
U/S Amb. Ugur Ziyal will pay a three-day visit to the U.S. 
beginning June 15, papers report.  The Turkish delegation 
will try to convince the American side that Turkey's 
democratic structure and close ties with regional ethnic 
groups can influence developments positively in Iraq. Ziyal 
will also make clear that Ankara is willing to repair 
misunderstandings resulting from the Iraq crisis.  Ankara 
also plans to confirm that it will recognize a Kurdish 
administration set up in Baghdad, and is ready to support a 
structure which reflects the common interests of all Iraqi 
groups. 
 
 
U.S. `cornering' Iran: Dailies report that the Pentagon, in 
an effort to use the Iranian opposition group `People's 
Mujehadin' against Tehran, is trying to convince the White 
House to change the status of the organization, which is 
currently on the U.S. list of terrorist groups.  Assistant 
Secretary of State John Bolton accused Iran of trying to 
 
SIPDIS 
acquire nuclear weapons, and noted that Turkey is within the 
range of Iranian and Syrian missiles. 
 
 
Amb. Pearson plants tree on World Environment Day: 
Ambassador Robert Pearson planted a tree at a high school in 
Ankara on World Environment Day, papers report. Ambassador 
Pearson said after planting a Storax tree, a rare species 
seen only in California and southwest Turkey, that the tree 
could be seen as a symbol of close ties between the U.S. and 
Turkey. 
 
 
European Parliament approves Turkey report: The European 
Parliament (EP) approved on Thursday a report on Turkey 
drafted by the Dutch Christian Democrat Arie Oostlander. 
The report said that if reforms are enacted, Turkey would 
become eligible for full EU membership talks.  The report 
notes that the military's influence has slowed Turkey's 
development into a pluralistic democracy, and urged that 
military representatives be withdrawn from civilian bodies 
concerned with education and the media.  The report called 
for the release of jailed former pro-Kurdish Democracy Party 
(DEP) parliamentarians, and for more efficient measures to 
be taken against torture.  It urged changes to the Law on 
the Struggle Against Terrorism and a more determined effort 
to fight against corruption.  The EP called on Turkey to end 
discrimination against religious minorities, to take bold 
steps to achieve a workable solution to the Cyprus problem, 
and to develop good neighborly relations with Armenia.  Most 
mainstream papers evaluate the report as giving a `green 
light' to Turkey's EU drive.  "Milliyet" and "Cumhuriyet" 
interpret the report as a signal that Turkey is not ready 
for the EU due to the military's role in politics and the 
deadlock on Cyprus. 
 
 
Turkey, Armenia warming ties: Turkish foreign minister Gul 
and Armenian foreign minister Oskanyan agreed on some moves 
toward a rapprochement at the NATO summit in Madrid earlier 
this week.  Dailies expect border trade to begin among 
Turkey, Armenia, and Azerbaijan, a move that could boost the 
welfare and security of people in the region. 
 
 
EDITORIAL OPINION:  Post-war US policies/Middle East 
 
 
"The US and the Middle East" 
Kamuran Ozbir wrote in nationalist Ortadogu (6/6): "The 
psychological atmosphere in the Middle East changed 
dramatically after the Iraq war and following Secretary 
Powell's meeting with the leaders of Syria and Lebanon.  The 
US is determined to change the regional equilibrium and to 
implement its policies. . US policies for the Middle East 
are a challenge to the Syrian and Lebanese administrations, 
because they will be forced to decide between the demands of 
their people and the insistence of the US to act in favor of 
privileges for Israel.  Syria cannot afford to ignore the US 
demands, especially after America has become, in effect, the 
immediate neighbor of the Damascus regime. . It remains to 
be seen to what extent the Middle East regimes will be able 
to cooperate with US demands in the region.  Yet the fact of 
the matter is that the US retains a very privileged status 
in the region due to the fall of Saddam's regime like a 
house of cards." 
 
 
"Bush's footsteps" 
Erdal Guven opined in the liberal-intellectual Radikal 
(6/6): "President Bush's tour, which began in Poland and 
ended in Qatar, is giving some clues for the new Europe as 
well as the new Middle East. . In the coming years, US- 
Polish relations will progress further, and Poland is about 
to become a `second United Kingdom' in the eyes of 
Washington.  Warsaw-Washington relations seem to be very 
much like the special bonds between the US and the UK, which 
were established after WWII.  This is the first lesson to be 
taken from the seven-day tour by President Bush.  The fact 
that one of Iraq's three regions has been placed under 
Polish control is a concrete indication that these special 
bonds have already been formed." 
 
 
PEARSON