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 �A;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. -------------- Comment -------------- ¶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. -------------- Action Requests -------------- ¶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