40,000 Turks greet Bush with anti-war protests

US PRESIDENT George W Bush's bid to bolster relations with key Middle East ally Turkey was greeted by 40,000 demonstrators chanting anti-American slogans.

There was also a terrorist threat to behead three Turks unless companies stop aiding US forces in Iraq.

Mr Bush hoped to use a NATO summit here to nail down details of the alliance's tentative plan to assist with the training of Iraqi security forces. But he also was getting a reminder of widespread opposition in Turkey to the war in Iraq, its southern neighbour.

More than 40,000 demonstrators, some chanting "USA get out of the Middle East", gathered in Istanbul to protest his visit.

Mr Bush held up Turkey as a model for the Middle East as he met with Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan before the summit in Istanbul of the 26-member NATO alliance.

"I appreciate so very much the example your country has set on how to be a Muslim country and at the same time a country which embraces democracy and rule of law and freedom," Mr Bush said.

There was no mention of the Turkish parliament's rejection last year of a US request to let US troops use Turkish bases as a staging point to invade Iraq from the north.

Instead, Mr Bush emphasised his support for Turkey's bid for admission to the EU.

"I believe you ought to be given a date by the EU for your eventual acceptance into the EU," he said.

Mr Bush's first trip to Turkey followed the capture in Iraq of three Turkish workers by supporters of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, a Jordanian-born terrorist believed to have ties to al-Qaida. The kidnappers threatened to behead their hostages within 72 hours.

The extremist group released a videotape threatening the same treatment for three captured Turkish nationals as for South Korean hostage Kim Sun-Il, whom they beheaded last week.

The footage carried by the Qatar-based Al-Jazeera showed the three seated on the ground in front of two gunmen, against the backdrop of a black banner bearing the yellow emblem of the Tawhid wal Jihad (Unity and Holy War) group of fugitive Jordanian Islamist Abu Mussab al-Zarqawi.

An accompanying statement read by the Al-Jazeera correspondent said the group was "holding three Turkish hostages whom we will behead in 72 hours unless Turkey withdraws all firms working with occupation forces in Iraq".

Tawhid wal Jihad also claimed responsibility for beheading American Nicolas Berg last month.

Asked at a photo opportunity in Istanbul with NATO Secretary-General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer if the hostage situation had cast a pall on the summit, Mr Bush said: "No".

A White House spokesman said: "We're in close contact with the Turkish government on the issue. It is an awful reminder of the barbaric nature of these terrorists, but their acts will not shake the will of free people everywhere."

Turkish Defence Minister, Vecdi Gonul said Turkey would not negotiate for the hostages' release.

The kidnappers say they will behead the hostages if Turkish companies continue to do business with American occupation forces. They also call for large demonstrations in Turkey against the war and Mr Bush.

Yesterday, more than 40,000 people protested Mr Bush and the NATO summit but the protest was planned long before the hostage-taking.