TURKEY: OPPOSITION CHP CAUSING STIR OVER INCIRLIK

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 ANKARA 000224

SIPDIS


E.O. 12958: DECL: 01/14/2014
TAGS: PREL PGOV TU
SUBJECT: TURKEY: OPPOSITION CHP CAUSING STIR OVER INCIRLIK
TROOP ROTATIONS


(U) Classified by Political Counselor John Kunstadter.
Reason: 1.5 (b,d).



1. (C) Summary: Opposition CHP is trying to make hay over the
public disclosure of the arrangement to allow U.S. troops to
rotate out of and to Iraq using Incirlik air base. CHP M.P.s
argue that the decision is against the constitution and
complain that the AK Party Government still refuses to share
information with them. CHP's objections have spurred
Parliament Speaker Arinc to act, which could drag the issue
into a legal morass. End Summary.



2. (U) Main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) is
seizing on U.S. troop rotations at Incirlik air base to
attack the ruling AK Party Government for allegedly violating
the Turkish constitution, which according to art. 92 requires
Parliament's approval for the presence of foreign troops on
Turkish soil. In a speech to the CHP Parliamentary Group
Jan. 13, party chairman Baykal dismissed the GOT's
explanation that the understanding with the USG was based on
a June decree that envisioned Turkish assistance in Iraq.
Decrying GOT "secrecy," Baykal said that AK Party has been
trying to make "dangerous" decisions on Iraq and claimed that
the decision to allow the U.S. to rotate troops at Incirlik
lacks any constitutional or UN basis. "The Government should
ask for permission from Parliament," he averred, adding that
CHP is waiting for an explanation from the GOT before
pursuing other legal avenues.



3. (U) Adding fuel to the fire, former Ambassador to the U.S.
and current CHP M.P. Sukru Elekdag, a consistently harsh
critic of the U.S., said publicly Jan. 13 that "Turkey should
not become an inn for trespassers." He further complained
that Turkey is assisting the U.S. in ways that are
"constitutionally controversial, while the USG does nothing
about the PKK in Iraq."


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GOT Not Sharing
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4. (C) In recent private conversations, CHP M.P.s claimed
that the real issue is not with troop rotations themselves
but with the AK Government for not sharing information.
Picking up on a CHP complaint we heard often in the run-up to
the failed March 1, 2003 vote on U.S. troop deployment,
Istanbul deputy Bulent Tanla, Baykal's chief advisor, told
poloff that the GOT never consults with CHP on key issues,
including on troop rotations. As a result, Tanla said, CHP
had no idea what AK had agreed to do. "We have a right to
know before the issue shows up in the press," he said. Tanla
added that CHP has not decided whether or how to challenge
AK's decision legally. "If the U.S. is using Incirlik for
humanitarian missions, that's fine, but if it's something
else, there may be a problem."



5. (C) As if from talking points, CHP Vice Chairman Sinan
Yerlikaya echoed his colleagues' complaints, even though he
phoned poloff while campaigning in Turkey's remote Tunceli
province. Yerlikaya half-heartedly tried to convince poloff
that CHP's stance has nothing to do with the party's policies
vis-a-vis the U.S. "The U.S. is still our friend and ally,"
but the GOT should share information with CHP, he said.
Yerlikaya claimed that previous governments often met with
opposition parties to avoid public flaps; AK does not do
that, he said.



6. (C) Istanbul businessman and senior CHP deputy Ersin
Arioglu, who sits on the International Crisis Group's Board
of Directors and calls himself a "party intellectual,"
lamented insincerely that the controversy could have been
avoided if P.M. Erdogan had met with Baykal before the issue
became public knowledge. Arioglu claimed that AK M.P.s had
recently refused to answer CHP questions on Incirlik in
Parliament committee meetings. When asked in which
committees, Arioglu shrugged, saying "Defense,
Constitutional, Foreign Affairs, one of those." Arioglu
asserted that this is entirely a legal issue vice a political
one. As evidence, he pointed out that Parliament Speaker and
AK M.P. Bulent Arinc had even agreed to look into the
legalities of the agreement.


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Comment
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7. (C) CHP M.P. Necdet Budak, a frequent critic of his
party's leadership, told poloff Jan. 14 that the CHP campaign
us likely to go nowhere. "We won't win points with the
public over this," he said. Nevertheless, it is worth noting
Arinc's potentially key role in this issue. The prickly
Arinc -- together with Baykal and President Sezer -- worked
to sabotage the March 1, 2003 vote and on occasion has been
eager to assert Parliament's authority vis-a-vis the State
and Government. However, we expect that AK -- given the
upcoming visit of Erdogan to Washington -- is likely to keep
Arinc under control for the near future.
EDELMAN