ASSESSMENT OF TURKISH OSCE MEDIA REPRESENTATIVE

C O N F I D E N T I A L ANKARA 004013 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/19/2013 TAGS: PHUM PREL TU SUBJECT: ASSESSMENT OF TURKISH OSCE MEDIA REPRESENTATIVE CANDIDATE: AHMET TAN REF: SECSTATE 163479 (U) Classified by Ambassador W. Robert Pearson for reasons 1.5 (b)(d). ¶1. (U) Bio: Ahmet Tan, currently the head of the Turkish Delegation to the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly, is a journalist, former member of Parliament for Bulent Ecevit's left-of-center DSP, and former Minister of Tourism. He graduated from Ankara University's Faculty of Political Science, and received his graduate education in media studies from London City University. He speaks fluent English. As a journalist, he has written for more than twenty-five years for leftist-statist "Cumhuriyet", center-left/Kemalist "Sabah", center-left "Vatan", and center-left "Aksam", all daily newspapers. As a member of parliament, Tan was elected on the DSP ticket in 1995 and re-elected in 1999, serving until DSP bombed in the 2002 national elections. He served as the Chairman of the Ad Hoc Parliamentary Committee studying traffic safety. Tan's first wife died. His second wife, Aylin, is a leading Turkish archeologist and expert on the Hittites; they have one daughter. ¶2. (C) Assessment: Tan has been a close contact of the Embassy for many years and has proved a valuable ally in many USG efforts. Tan is known as social democrat and has a friendly, amiable personality. Our contacts' views of Tan range from dismissive to very positive. Two of our contacts call him an unquestioning supporter of DSP party chairman and former Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit, an "Ecevit clone"; leading national security analyst Faruk Demir characterized him the equivalent of an "empty suit" ("hiyar", literally "cucumber") and a man with no political vision of his own. However, others dispute how close Tan is to either Ecevit or the DSP inner core. Some of our contacts describe him as "very intelligent." In our experience, as an MP Tan hewed to the party line and served in politically insignificant positions. His journalistic career, combined with his status as a Turkish MP, has provided him a comfortable position in the Turkish secular establishment. ¶3. (C) Recommendation. Tan's credentials are sufficient for the OSCE job. Moreover, his candidacy presents an opportunity to ensure there is a friendly voice in an important OSCE position. We believe the political impact of such an appointment would lend credence to a more geographically diverse OSCE leadership. The US would be fully justified in supporting Tan given many of the alternatives -- including candidates from countries, such as Russia, with problematic records on free press. ¶4. (U) Ahmet Tan's Curriculum Vitae will be sent via fax. PEARSON