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 003305 
 
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 21, 2003 
 
 
THIS REPORT WILL PRESENT A TURKISH PRESS SUMMARY UNDER THREE 
THEMES: 
 
 
HEADLINES 
BRIEFING 
EDITORIAL OPINION 
                    -------------------- 
 
 
HEADLINES 
 
 
MASS APPEALS 
Talabani: U.S. determined to eliminate all terror groups in 
Iraq - Turkiye 
Talabani: I know whereabouts of Saddam's family - Hurriyet 
Barney Frank (D): Turkey a model country - Turkiye 
ABC TV: Al-Qaida militants in Turkey - Sabah 
Wolfowitz visits Turkish peacekeeping troops in Tuzla - 
Aksam 
U.S. to change Iraqi currency - Sabah 
U.S. considering fingerprint, iris scan for visitors - Aksam 
Parliament to do overtime for EU - Milliyet 
Gen. Ozkok: TGS not against EU - Vatan 
 
 
OPINION MAKERS 
Human bomb in the heart of the capital: 1 dead - Cumhuriyet 
PKK militia moves toward Turkish border - Cumhuriyet 
Britain's Sawers: Kurdish zone must be expanded - Zaman 
Heavy diplomatic traffic between Turkey, Israel - Zaman 
Gul: We won't miss EU opportunity - Yeni Safak 
20,000 Turkish Cypriots apply for Greek Cypriot passport - 
Radikal 
Amnesty International: BTC project a humanitarian 
catastrophe - Radikal 
 
 
FINANCIAL JOURNALS 
JP Morgan: If adheres to IMF program, Turkey can break debt 
cycle - Dunya 
Dollar keeps diving - Dunya 
 
 
 
 
BRIEFING 
 
 
Bomb blast in Ankara: Dailies give extensive coverage to a 
bomb blast in a caf in downtown Ankara Tuesday morning. 
Extreme leftist DHKP-C (Dev-Sol) member Songul Alpyurt was 
killed when the bomb accidentally went off while she was 
trying to set the mechanism in the caf toilet frequently 
visited by students.  Investigation continues to find out 
the real target of the suspected suicide attack, papers say. 
 
 
IMF: An IMF team begins the fifth review of Turkey's package 
on Wednesday. Ankara has made key pledges to the fund to 
revise a public procurement law, pass legislation 
encouraging foreign investment and reduce public sector 
employees.  The U.S. Treasury's John Taylor has announced 
last week that the $1 billion American grant for Turkey 
depended on Ankara's commitment to the IMF program. 
"Cumhuriyet" claims that the AKP government was hiding from 
m 
the public an IMF staff report drawing attention to troubles 
in implementation of the economic program, saying Turkey has 
missed a chance for stabilization.  The report stressed that 
the AKP government has made a gross mistake by trying to 
abandon the  IMF-backed program in the bargain with the U.S. 
during the Iraq campaign, according to Cumhuriyet. 
Meanwhile, "Milliyet" reports that a parliamentary 
commission was drafting a report to investigate corruption 
charges against former center right ANAP and DYP leaders, 
Mesut Yilmaz and Tansu Ciller, and former ministers Cumhur 
Ersumer, Koray Aydin and Recep Onal.  The former politicians 
might be taken to the Supreme Court for irregularities in 
the Blue Stream project for transport of Russian natural gas 
to Turkey, and for several other corruption charges as well. 
 
 
Iraq: A MFA delegation was sent to Baghdad to meet with 
regional leaders, papers report.  The team met with the PUK 
leader Talabani, who said in the face of Turkish warning on 
Northern Iraq that Kurds would not allow terror actions on 
Iraqi soil.  Talabani also claimed he knew whereabouts of 
Saddam Hussein's family.  Saddam has written a letter to me 
urging protection for his family, and they are being 
sheltered somewhere in the Kurdish controlled area, Talabani 
said.  Meanwhile, in an attempt to become the third 
significant actor in Northern Iraq and thus gain an 
advantageous hand in bargaining with the U.S., the PKK/KADEK 
has moved about 300 of its militia to the Iraqi border with 
Turkey, papers report. 
 
 
Legislators to work overtime: Prime Minister Erdogan has 
announced on Tuesday that the parliament would work in 
summer to pass EU adjustment laws, dailies say.  AKP has 
submitted a proposal to the parliament for reducing the 
summer recess from three months to one month.  Justice 
Minister Cicek said on Tuesday the EU reforms package would 
be sent to the cabinet for approval on Thursday.  Cicek 
noted that despite objection from the military, the Article 
8 of the Law on Struggle Against Terrorism, banning 
propaganda and demonstrations against the integrity of the 
state, would be scrapped soon.  In a meeting with Prime 
Minister Erdogan on Tuesday, TGS Chief General Ozkok has 
voiced the military's sensitivity regarding EU adjustment 
reforms while stressing that the TGS was not against the EU. 
Opposition party CHP and Turkey's powerful businessmen's 
group TUSIAD have announced support to the government's EU 
initiative, all papers report. 
 
 
Jewish lobby in U.S. upset with Turkey: All-news broadcaster 
NTV reported on Wednesday that the Jewish lobby groups in 
the U.S. were reconsidering their relationship with Turkey. 
The Jewish lobby is expected to withdraw for a while its 
support from Turkey in the U.S. Congress, NTV claimed. 
Israel, too might reevaluate strategic ties with Turkey, NTV 
commented, saying that after the war with Iraq, concern was 
raised in U.S. and Israel that Ankara was moving toward Iran 
and Syria.  NTV believes that particularly JINSA, the 
powerful Jewish group with close ties to the hawks of the 
Pentagon, was upset about Turkey. 
 
 
 
 
EDITORIAL OPINION:  Iraq in the post war era 
 
 
"The US should make a self criticism as well" 
Cuneyt Ulsever commented in mass appeal Hurriyet (5/21): 
"The US should go through a process of self criticism in 
order to fix up its image.  There are certain points about 
Iraq and Middle East policies that put the US into a 
deadlock.  The Iraq operation was basically designed to 
bring order in Iraq.  Yet so far a functioning social order 
to meet the basic needs of Iraqi people could not be 
established, not to even mention the lack of political 
order. . In spite the official statements from the US side, 
terrorism is not yet under control, and it seems the 
terrorist organizations, including Al Qaida are more active 
than before. . The US failed to comprehend the sociologic 
structure of Iraq and the region.  Any measures for the 
region only is shaped from a military perspective.  The US 
plan for social re-structuring of Iraqi identities, 
including Shiite, Kurd, Arab and Turkoman is still unknown. 
There is also no indication of a settlement on the Palestine 
issue.  US efforts are likely to fail if that issue is not 
resolved.  If not the US will have to dictate its authority 
via forceful means, and that will only aggravate terrorism. 
. The US is the winner militarily speaking, but the 
political struggle already contains many mistakes." 
 
 
"Issues and more" 
Gunduz Aktan wrote in liberal-intellectual Radikal (5/21): 
"The Shiite factor is emerging as a colossal problem in 
Iraq.  This issue can be resolved by shaping an overall 
policy against the Shiite influence.  Iran on one hand is 
trying to influence the Iraqi Shiites, and on the other hand 
supporting Shiite-led Hizbullah in Lebanon.  By doing that, 
the Iranian regime hopes to ensure its legitimacy vis--vis 
the Iranian people.  It seems the Syrian regime tends to 
pursue a similar policy as Iran.  In the eyes of Damascus, 
this is the only way to survive both politically and 
militarily - not only in-country, but in Lebanon as well. 
That brings a chain of issues for US policy in the region, 
not only for Iraq-related policy, but also US policy related 
to Shiites in Iran and Lebanon, and the Alowites in Syria." 
 
 
PEARSON