THE ISTANBUL BAR AND ITS DETRACTORS

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 ISTANBUL 001384

SIPDIS


E.O. 12958: DECL: 08/05/2013
TAGS: PGOV PHUM TU
SUBJECT: THE ISTANBUL BAR AND ITS DETRACTORS


Classified By: Acting Consul General Stuart Smith for reasons 1.5 (b) a


nd (d).



1. (C) Summary and Comment: The Istanbul Bar is at once a
defender of the legal profession and historically a leader in
promoting respect for human rights and rule of law in Turkey.
With a broad and ambivalent membership and a new
nationalist/statist administration, however, the Bar
currently appears unlikely to be a catalyst for change. On
the other hand, the Bar was quick to raise the anti-war
banner to oppose U.S. intervention in Iraq and continues to
seek opportunities to criticize and attack the U.S. and U.K.
for their actions there. End Summary and Comment.


Current Bar Leadership
--------------



2. (C) The Istanbul Bar, the oldest such association in
Turkey and the third largest in the world (after Tokyo and
Cairo),elects a new President and slate of board members
every two years by a simple vote of all its members (i.e.,
dues-paying, registered lawyers). The previous Bar
President, Yucel Sayman, was a well-regarded professor of law
widely known for his pro-human rights views. Often openly
critical of the security apparatus, Sayman once told poloff
he believed that there would never be another military coup
in Turkey, as the current constitution represents a permanent
state of military control. At a recent "robing" ceremony in
which young lawyers are raised to the bar, one new lawyer
spoke at length of the high regard in which all lawyers held
the previous Bar Administration, conspicuously making no
mention of his feelings toward the current one.



3. (C) Poloff spoke September 16 with Ayse Celikel, former
Minister of Justice and herself a lawyer. Celikel noted
significant differences in philosophy between Sayman and
current Bar President Kazim Kolcuoglu. While Sayman was
strongly pro-human rights, he also was well-known for his
liberal and internationalist point of view. Kolcuoglu, by
contrast, tends to be more pro-establishment Ataturkist.
Celikel noted that Bar administrations have significant
impact upon the legal profession, even though their two-year
terms of office are fairly short.



4. (C) "Principles First," a broad nationalist, statist
coalition led by Kazim Kolcuoglu beat out two other
candidates in last fall's election. Sayman's group, a wide
assortment of broadly democratic-minded lawyers competed
under the banner of "Contemporary (Lawyers)," while Hasan
Mollaoglu led the slate for "Calling," a democratic,
religious-leaning group. Although the structure and
functions of the Bar are not normally subject to change,
lawyers with whom poloff spoke indicated Kolcuoglu's
administration has a reputation for: administrative
mismanagement, weak support for human rights and EU reforms,
and a nationalistic/statist attitude. Following complaints
about inadequate reimbursement and general mismanagement, the
current Bar has brought back one of Sayman's key staff
members to rescue the critical "public defender" duty system
which provides legal representation for those who cannot
afford it.



5. (C) Human rights and EU reform themes have been notably
absent from the Bar's regular conferences and seminars,
replaced instead with an emphasis on civil code and labor
law. Kolcuoglu, upon taking office, dissolved all standing
committees of the Bar. Though some lawyers have alleged that
this was a direct attack on the Bar's human rights agenda,
others (even more liberal Bar members) attribute it to a
simple desire to clean house as a new administration.
Additionally, the fact that the current administration has
begun to fly the Turkish flag and play the national anthem at
Bar meetings has not gone unnoticed.


Iraq: Istanbul Bar's Active Anti-War Stance
--------------



6. (U) The Istanbul Bar, throughout the build-up and during
the actual war in Iraq, took a strong, vocal anti-war stance.
Regular meetings and marches down Istiklal Street, a major
pedestrian area in European Istanbul, were sponsored by the
bar Association. Based on various conversations and
observation of such rallies, it is clear that the anti-war
stance was generally popular with Bar members. Shortly
before the election of the current Bar administration last
November, moreover, all three candidates came together and
issued a joint statement opposing U.S. intervention in Iraq.
Lawyers typically attended rallies in large numbers, wearing
robes to identify their profession. More recent events in
Iraq, notably the July 4 detention of Turkish Special Forces
by U.S. troops, elicited sharp criticism from the Bar, both
on their web site and in press releases.



7. (U) In August, the Istanbul Bar filed a case with the
newly-established International Criminal Court against the
British government and senior British officials for their
actions in Iraq. "We want them to be brought to justice,"
Kolcuoglu said in the announcement, "...the invasion of Iraq
is a clear infringement of the universal principles of
legitimacy and justice... the killing and mistreatment of
civilians and the looting in this country should be
considered war crimes and crimes against humanity."


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



8. (C) Previously, the Istanbul Bar's human rights work
provided an important prop to development of the rule of law
in Turkey. Though the current Bar administration maintains
high standards of training and professional development for
lawyers, their political focus has shifted from encouraging
lawyers to work as human rights advocates to support for a
firmly Ataturkist, anti-war agenda. This is, on balance, a
loss for Turkish civil society advocates. End comment.
ARNETT