TURKISH PARLIAMENT PASSES "RE-INTEGRATION" LAW FOR

S E C R E T SECTION 01 OF 02 ANKARA 004787

SIPDIS


E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/29/2013
TAGS: PREL PGOV TU
SUBJECT: TURKISH PARLIAMENT PASSES "RE-INTEGRATION" LAW FOR
PKK/KADEK


REF: A. ANKARA 4499

B. ANKARA 4682


(U) Classified by Charge d'Affaires a.i. Robert S. Deutsch.
Reason: 1.5 (b)(d).



1. (U) Baghdad minimize considered.



2. (U) This is an action request. See paras 9 and 10.



3. (U) Parliament by a vote of 356 to 71 (there were 123
no-shows) passed the GOT's "re-integration" law for PKK/KADEK
militants. During the debate, AK M.P. Ahmet Isik stated that
the law comes in the context of the AK Government's wider
emphasis on democratization and human rights generally. On
behalf of the opposition CHP, Antalya deputy Tuncay Ercenk
argued that "it is impossible" for CHP to vote for the law,
which he criticized as disrupting social peace; he also
stressed that the USG had "ordered" what was in effect an
outright "amnesty" for terrorists. CHP M.P. Onur Oymen, a
retired senior Ambassador and former MFA Undersecretary, went
further in claiming that to support the law would be to
succumb to U.S. pressure. Oymen accused the USG of a double
standard on terrorism and indifference to Turkish interests,
implying that the U.S. is tough on al-Qaida but soft on
PKK/KADEK.



4. (C) Privately, just before the vote July 29, AK Erzurum
M.P. Ibrahim Ozdogan, an ethnic Turk, offered to us that the
law would be a welcome sign of intent to heal social
divisions in Turkey, though he expressed skepticism that the
law would be applied in a way sufficiently liberal to work.
Moreover, he added that President Sezer's view of the law
could be key. The President, Ozdogan noted, has long been
extremely sensitive to anything that in his view could
threaten the national or territorial integrity of Turkey
(note: presumably, in Sezer's view, by letting the PKK/KADEK
off the hook. end note). It remains an open question whether
Sezer will veto the law, Ozdogan said.



5. (C) In a private conversation with us July 29, Sami
Selcuk, former President of the High Court of Appeals and a
leading reformist voice, characterized the law as a positive
and long-overdue step. However, he was guarded about the
prospects that it would actually induce PKK/KADEK militants
to give up their arms, emphasizing that as with other reforms
implementation will be crucial to any success.



6. (C) In a separate pre-vote meeting at Embassy, Veli
Buyuksahin, Vice Chairman of DEHAP (Sinn Fein to PKK/KADEK)
reiterated to us the view shared by Kurdish contacts across
the political spectrum: the law will not bring significant
numbers of militants down from the mountains (reftel). He
noted that a senior DEHAP delegation -- including Chairman
Tuncer Bakirhan and Diyarbakir mayor Feridun Celik -- would
like to travel to N. Iraq to meet with PKK/KADEK
representatives and others there. According to Buyuksahin,
DEHAP has run the idea by AK officials, including Interior
Minister Abdulkadir Aksu (an ethnic Kurd) and Justice
Minister/Government Spokesman Cemil Cicek. Buyuksahin said
that the AK officials were non-committal: "They were neither
positive nor negative" regarding the plan. He noted,
however, that the Turkish State Establishment likely would
have a decidedly more hostile view, but asserted nevertheless
that the PKK/KADEK must be considered an interlocutor in the
interests of social peace. He allowed that there is an
element of domestic political theater in DEHAP's initiative.
We told Buyuksahin that we would not facilitate permission or
security for travel to Iraq and reiterated the U.S. view of
the PKK/KADEK as a terrorist organization.


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Comment
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7. (C) We note that the law appears to reinstate full
political rights to those who turn themselves in -- and do
not in the final analysis wind up behind bars; as always the
key lies in precisely how the law will be given practical
effect by the judicial system. In this context, it is worth
noting the possibility that the law could apply to other,
non-PKK/KADEK terrorists -- again depending on interpretation
and implementation.



8. (C) The law now goes to President Sezer for consideration.
Sezer has 15 days to deliberate, after which he must either
sign or veto the legislation. In the event of a veto, it
returns to Parliament for further action. Under normal
circumstances, if Parliament passes and re-submits to Sezer
an unchanged law, the President must sign. There is a
wrinkle, however. As reported ref B, Parliament by-laws
dictate that laws "in the nature of an amnesty" require a
qualified majority (330 of 550 seats),which was achieved
July 29 but may not be easy to duplicate given: 1) that a
legislative recess begins the end of this week; 2) Sezer's
notorious penchant for using vetoes and other slow-ball
tactics to obstruct AK legislative and other actions; and 3)
the ever-present possibility of emerging "provocations" that
could color the political atmosphere.


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Action Requests
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9. (U) While the law is not perfect, it provides a overture
to PKK/KADEK members interested in abandoning the armed
struggle and returning to normal Turkish society. It
represents an opportunity to move ahead on the problem both
in northern Iraq and Turkey. We therefore offer the
following press guidance for use by Washington officials.


Begin press guidance:


-- The Turkish Parliament today passed legislation to
encourage members of the PKK/KADEK to lay down their arms,
return to Turkey, and reintegrate themselves into a Turkish
society in the midst of a wide-ranging and comprehensive
reform process.


-- The United States welcomes the Parliament's action as an
important step forward toward ending the threat posed to
Turkey by the PKK/KADEK, and we encourage members of those
organizations to take advantage of Turkey's offer.


-- The United States remains committed to working with Turkey
to eliminate the PKK/KADEK presence in Iraq, and to ensure
that a free Iraq does not serve as a sanctuary for terrorists.


End press guidance.



10. (S) Action requests, continued: now that the long
anticipated "re-integration" law has been enacted, we need to
proceed with our commitments on ending the terrorist safe
haven in Iraq. We recommend immediate consultations with the
Turks on coordinating info operations that will convince as
many PKK/KADEK members as possible to take advantage of the
new law. In addition, we need to exchange intel on PKK/KADEK
presence in Iraq in order to prepare our activities. Embassy
recommends that CENTCOM send a team to Ankara as soon as
possible to conduct these consultations. We stand ready to
provide all possible assistance.
DEUTSCH