TURKEY: FRIENDSHIP AND FEAR IN RURAL ANKARA

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 ANKARA 002903

SIPDIS


E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/01/2013
TAGS: PREL PGOV TU
SUBJECT: TURKEY: FRIENDSHIP AND FEAR IN RURAL ANKARA


(U) Classified by PolCouns John Kunstadter. Reason: 1.5
(b,d).



1. (C) Summary: In conversations at all levels during April
visits to Ankara sub-provinces, poloffs encountered Turks
eager to get U.S.-Turkish relations back on track.
Nevertheless, we also noted the kind of suspicion and doubt
from State authorities about the purpose of our trips that we
normally encounter in the more sensitive Southeast. Although
we expect a certain level of natural curiosity, the extent of
official wariness seems especially noteworthy given that
these trips occurred so close to cosmopolitan Ankara. End
summary.



2. (C) Poloffs have recently made trips to Ankara
sub-provinces to engage local officials in open discussions
about U.S.-Turkish relations and Turkish domestic politics.
Visits included: sub-provinces in the Ankara conurbation;
Kazan, a town of some 15,000 people, who rely on primarily
agriculture to sustain the local economy; and Kizilcahamam, a
poor, insular, conservative community capitalizing on nearby
natural springs to grow its tourism.


--------------
Eager to reaffirm U.S.-Turkey ties
--------------



3. (C) In our visits to Kazan and Kizilcahamam, Turks at all
levels -- from police chiefs and village leaders to
sub-provincial governors (kaymakam) and teachers -- displayed
a genuine affinity toward the U.S. and a desire to get
U.S.-Turkish relations back on track. We had lively, open
discussions across the board with the mayors, both of whom
are members of the ultranationalist MHP, normally suspicious
of the U.S. They blamed the media for creating and
perpetuating any anti-U.S. sentiment in Turkey during the war
in Iraq. Both regretted that Turkey had not been part of the
coalition. During lunch in a small Kazan village, the local
muhtar (village leader),imam, and the leader of the village
elders all spoke positively of Turkey's long friendship with
the U.S.



4. (C) In a chance meeting, the Kazan police chief, who had
spent 3 years in the U.S. as bodyguard to then-ambassador and
current MFA Deputy U/S Baki Ilkin, was eager to praise the
U.S., noting that he had seen real democracy in America. He
also praised the law enforcement system in the U.S., which,
he said, demonstrates a level of politeness and flexibility
alien to the Turkish system. We witnessed his influence
first hand. While speaking with vendors at a vegetable
market, we ran into a uniformed police officer, doing his own
shopping, who then invited us for tea and arranged the
meeting with the police chief.


--------------
Old Habits Die Hard
--------------



5. (C) Although we encountered an overwhelmingly pro-U.S.
attitude from the man on the street, we were struck by the
high level of State suspicion concerning the purpose of our
visits and our planned agenda. The Kazan kaymakam, for
example, claimed he had to notify the Interior Ministry,
Foreign Ministry, and the Turkish National Intelligence
Organization before agreeing to meet with us.



6. (C) Our conversation with the garrulous Kazan mayor was
quickly interrupted by an Interior Ministry inspector, who
happened to be in town. After seizing control of the
meeting, he took the opportunity to deride U.S. Iraq policy.
In a subsequent conversation, the mayor apologized for having
to defer to the inspector and, using a very crude phrase,
explained that his hands had been tied.



7. (C) In Kizilcahamam, the kaymakam was alternately helpful
in terms of arranging meetings and extremely nervous about
our agenda -- to the point of visibly shaking in our meeting
with him. He questioned our motives in meeting with local
political party offices and made sure that the sub-provincial
police chief accompanied us to every location.



8. (C) In planning an upcoming trip to Haymana, a
sub-province south of Ankara proper, the local kaymakam tried
to dictate which villages we could visit. Wanting some
insight into villages which have long been inhabited by
Kurds, we indicated to the kaymakam that we intended to visit
two Kurdish villages. He angrily claimed that they are
"centers of separatist activities" -- 50 kilometers from
Ankara -- and tried to suggest another village that would be
"safer."


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



9. (C) Our trips served to reaffirm that even close to Ankara
there is a fundamental gap in Turkey. On the one hand are
ordinary citizens who, although pious and conservative, are
very warm toward Americans. On the other hand are the
representatives of the Turkish State (sub-provincial
governors),who continue to be stiff and wary toward
outsiders.
PEARSON