GERMAN DIPLOMATS OPTIMISTIC, BUT STILL CONCERNED

C O N F I D E N T I A L ANKARA 000855

SIPDIS


DEPARTMENT FOR EUR/SE


E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/04/2008
TAGS: PGOV PREL PHUM TU
SUBJECT: GERMAN DIPLOMATS OPTIMISTIC, BUT STILL CONCERNED
ABOUT CASE AGAINST DEMOCRACY FOUNDATIONS


REF: 02 ANKARA 7680


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



1. (C) Summary: PM Gul told German FM Fischer be believes
five German foundations facing charges in Turkey will be
acquitted. German diplomats agree the judge appears to be
preparing to acquit, but consider the indictment a form of
harassment and warn a conviction could weaken German support
for Turkey's EU bid. End Summary.



2. (C) During a January 23 meeting in Istanbul, German FM
Fischer told PM Gul he respected the independence of the
Turkish judiciary, but hoped the case against the five German
foundations (reftel) would quickly end in acquittal. Fischer
asked the GOT to provide political support to the foundations
-- the Friedrich Ebert, Konrad Adenauer, Heinrich Boll, and
Friedrich Naumann foundations, as well as the Orient
Institute. Gul agreed the charges against the foundations
are "ridiculous." He predicted the case will end in
acquittal, but said he cannot interfere in the judicial
process.



3. (C) The second hearing of the case, held January 30,
featured defense testimony from a former employee of the
Normandy mining company. He accused the company of paying
for the publication of a book claiming the foundations
organized a campaign to prevent Normandy from mining for gold
near Bergama in Turkey's Aegean region. The book constitutes
the bulk of the evidence for the prosecution. Two German
diplomats told poloff prosecutors did not cross examine the
witness, giving the impression they believe they have a weak
case. They said the judge called on the prosecution to
conclude its case, at which point prosecuting attorneys asked
for another hearing to prepare. According to the diplomats,
attorneys for the foundations believe the judge wants to rule
for acquittal soon, and may do so at the next hearing
February 27.



4. (C) Fugen Ugur, of the Heinrich Boll Foundation, noted in
a meeting with poloffs that judges in Turkey cannot dismiss
an indictment without holding at least one hearing. She said
the judge might have ruled for acquittal at the first
hearing, on December 26, if not for the December 18 murder of
Necip Hablemitoglu, the conspiracy theory-obsessed author of
the book accusing the foundations. Ugur opined that, given
the circumstances, the judge may have feared that closing the
case after one hearing would have raised suspicions of a
coverup.



5. (C) Despite the positive signals, the German diplomats
said their Government is highly concerned about what it
considers harassment of the foundations. They said the court
is hounding the foundations with constant requests for
documents, including birth certificates of foundation staff.
The official line of the German Government is that the case
has no bearing on Turkey's EU candidacy; however, one of the
diplomats said, a conviction would likely cause GERMANY to
seek to delay accession talks.






PEARSON