DRAFT EU PARLIAMENT REPORT CALLS FOR RADICAL

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 ANKARA 002186

SIPDIS


DEPARTMENT FOR EUR/SE


E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/03/2008
TAGS: PGOV PREL PHUM EU TU OSCE
SUBJECT: DRAFT EU PARLIAMENT REPORT CALLS FOR RADICAL
REFORMS IN TURKISH GOVERNANCE

REF: A. EMBASSY (KAPLAN)-EUR/SE (SILVERMAN

B. GOLLNER-SWEET

C. KERO) 3/27 EMAIL


Classified by Polcouns John Kunstadter; reasons 1.5 b and d.



1. (C) Summary: A clear-sighted but controversial European
Parliament draft report calls on the GOT to make fundamental
changes to the Kemalist State in order to meet EU membership
criteria. MFA and reportedly a few members of the European
parliament reject the report as biased; several European
Embassy contacts praise its content, but say it will not
impact Turkey's EU candidacy. The report provides an
incisive, accurate depiction of the basic flaws in Turkey's
democracy. End Summary.


--------------
Dutch Christian Democrat Submits Draft
--------------



2. (U) Arie Oostlander, a Dutch Christian Democrat, submitted
a controversial draft report on Turkey's EU candidacy March
25 to the European Parliament's Committee on Foreign Affairs,
Human Rights, Common Security and Defense Policy. Oostlander
serves as the committee's Turkey rapporteur. The report
calls for fundamental changes to the Kemalist State --
including a new Constitution and the elimination of the
military-dominated National Security Council in its current
form -- and urges the EU actively to engage the GOT in
achieving such change.


--------------
Report Draws Strong Reactions Pro and Con
--------------



3. (C) Very few people have seen the draft, which has not
been approved by the full Foreign Affairs Committee.
However, Oostlander provided a copy to the MFA, which quickly
released a statement calling it "subjective" and
"unconstructive." Kaan Esener, head of the MFA Council of
Europe Department, asserted to us that the report goes too
far in criticizing the Turkish State. "It attacks the basic
tenets of the Republic," he said. "I understand what they are
trying to say, but why be so aggressive?" Esener claimed
that the substance and tone of the report reflect what he
avers is Oostlander's "anti-Turkey bias." Agreeing, Luigi
Narbone, deputy head of the EU office in Ankara (widely
considered sluggish and out of touch with reality beyond the
bureaucratic beltway),dismissed Oostlander as having
"extreme Christian" views and opposing the idea of a Muslim
nation in the EU.



4. (C) Other European diplomats, however, privately praise
the report, even though they don't expect it to influence
Turkey's EU candidacy. An Ankara-based Dutch diplomat told
us his only complaint about the report is that it comes too
late. The EU accepted Turkey as a candidate in 1999, so why
did the Parliament wait until 2003 to advocate fundamental
change, he griped. A visiting Dutch diplomat noted that the
EU has agreed to review Turkey's candidacy at the Summit in
December 2004, far too soon to expect the kind of reform
Oostlander is calling for. A Danish diplomat called the
report "excellent," but noted that parliamentary reports
carry far less weight than reports endorsed by the
EU-member-state governments. The Dutch diplomats said they
have heard that several members of the Foreign Affairs
Committee are planning significantly to tone down the report.


--------------
Kemalism An Obstacle to Reform
--------------



5. (C) Unlike other EU reports on Turkey, Oostlander's draft,
e-mailed to EUR/SE March 27, takes direct aim at several
fundamental flaws in Turkey's Kemalist system that serve to
undermine democratic reform. Highlights include:


-- Turkey's authoritarian Constitution, drafted in 1982 under
a military regime, does not form an appropriate legal basis
to guarantee the rule of law and fundamental freedoms. The
GOT cannot fix the Constitution by amending various articles;
it must adopt a new Constitution based on European democratic
principles.


-- Kemalism, the underlying philosophy of the Turkish State,
implies: 1) an exaggerated fear of the undermining of the
integrity of the State; 2) an emphasis on the homogeneity of
Turkish culture; 3) an important role for the military in
governance; and 4) a very rigid attitude toward religion.
Kemalism, therefore, constitutes a barrier to EU membership.
-- Turkish citizens attribute greater importance to the
military than to other state institutions, including
Parliament. It will be necessary in the long term to abolish
the military-dominated National Security Council in its
current form.


-- Military representatives should be withdrawn from civilian
bodies, such as the high councils on education and media, to
ensure these bodies' independence. Parliament should
establish control over the military budget as part of the
national budget.


-- In order to make Turkish society more democratic, the GOT
should pass legislation to encourage the establishment of
social organizations in the economic, social, and cultural
fields.


-- Turkey must decentralize certain elements of government to
allow citizens more input into decision-making.


-- While the Central and Eastern European EU candidate
countries enthusiastically dismantled their totalitarian
structures, Turkey has vacillated.


--------------
EU Should Actively Engage GOT
--------------



6. (U) The report also calls on the EU to adopt "an immediate
and radical approach" actively to assist Turkey in making the
necessary reforms to meet EU membership criteria. Rather
than observing passively and overlooking fundamental issues,
Oostlander argues, the EU should state clearly where the
problems lie and work with the GOT to address them. The
report further states: "It cannot be ruled out that Turkey
will ultimately regard such a thorough-going reform as
unsustainable in itself, or as not in its interests. The
slow rate of implementation of the reforms seems to point in
this direction. However, if we assume that Turkey can in
fact become a full member of the EU, we must not leave any
scope in the pre-accession process for attempts to evade
central political decisions."


--------------
Comment
--------------



7. (C) This report is controversial not because it is off the
mark, but because it is dead on. Oostlander is bluntly
telling the GOT what many Turks and Turkey watchers know but
don't want to say publicly: that while Kemalism gave
republican Turkey a start, it has long impeded further
progress toward Western democracy. In encouraging active EU
participation in helping Turkey make breakthrough reforms,
the report underscores the importance of not losing sight of
the true nature of Turkish "democracy." In addition, many of
the Turkish characteristics illustrated here -- exaggerated
fear of outsiders and internal "minorities", conflicts over
religion, military interference in governance -- bedevil U.S.
and EU negotiations with the GOT across the board.
PEARSON