OFFICIAL RECEPTION IN SE TURKEY: WARM AND

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 ANKARA 001174

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/07/2015
TAGS: PREL PGOV TU
SUBJECT: OFFICIAL RECEPTION IN SE TURKEY: WARM AND
FRIENDLY PARANOIA

REF: ADANA 0030

This cable is from Amconsul Adana.

Classified by John W. Kunstadter, POL Counselor, for reasons
1.4(b) & (d).


1. (C) Summary: While traveling through the region February
22-25, poloff was greeted warmly by government officials who
all brought up, in one way or another, the recent media
scrutiny of the bilateral relationship. Underlining that
allies with fifty years of partnership under their collective
belt could certainly weather a few differences in opinion,
they each sought to create a friendly atmosphere. The warmth
of reception, however, did not translate into great openness
in all cases. Asked about a recent altercation in the
streets of Siirt, for example, the public prosecutor there
said it was an "internal matter" and an "inappropriate
question." Batman's Deputy Security Director was very
affable, but glossed over questions about security issues in
the region. Finally, security officials following poloff's
movements in the region (both literally and figuratively)
demonstrated that, despite our alliance, Turkey still harbors
deep suspicions about what we're up to when traveling in the
region. End summary.


2. (C) Politicians and government officials in southeast
Turkey were clearly following last week's back-and-forth in
the national media about U.S.-Turkish relations and the
utility or futility of anti-Americanism. While traveling
through the region February 22-25, poloff was greeted warmly
by officials ranging from the Diyarbakir Governor to the
Batman Deputy Security Director to the Siirt Public
Prosecutor, each of whom brought up, in one way or another,
the recent media scrutiny of the bilateral relationship.
Underlining that allies with fifty years of partnership under
their collective belt could certainly weather a few
differences in opinion, they each sought to create a friendly
atmosphere, and -- for a change -- did not bring up topics
such as the lack of U.S. action against the PKK in northern
Iraq. It was as if word from Ankara had instructed them to
be on their most polite behavior.


3. (C) The warmth of reception, however, did not translate
into great openness in all cases. Well into a friendly
discussion with Alattin Soylu, Siirt's public prosecutor,
poloff inquired into recent events that reportedly brought
1000 people into Siirt's streets in support of two families
who wanted to bury their daughters, allegedly slain PKK
militants, in town, but were prevented from doing so
(reftel). Asked about the size and nature of the altercation
in the streets, rather than about the operation that resulted
in the death of the two alleged militants, Soylu replied that
this is "an internal matter." Even coming from the
representative of an ally, he said, he did not consider it an
"appropriate" question. Outside of completely shutting down
this factual question about an issue of law and order, Soylu
was otherwise very moderate in the tone and content of his
discourse.


4. (C) As for the Batman Deputy Security Director,
accompanied by two "note-takers," he gave poloff a rosy view
of security in the province. In response to a question about
press reports of some 22 Hizbullah militants being arrested
around Turkey, some of them in Batman, he replied that this
was not big news nor a sign of the group attempting to
reorganize. These arrests orders were issued for "past
activities," he said without elaborating, not for any current
planning efforts. Petty crime is down by 10 percent, and the
province is free of organized crime, outside of a "little
heroin" coming through. There is no PKK terrorism to speak
of, he said, though he acknowledged that the approaching
spring weather might change that as militants "crawl out of
their caves." (Bio Note: After the meeting, one of the
notetakers accompanied us to the door and identified himself
as having served as a liaison with Legatt in Ankara. --note:
I need to add name here, don't have it with me --
Additionally, he has served in United Nations missions to
Liberia and Bosnia, where he had had a good experience and
spoke enthusiastically about cooperating with U.S. police
officers. For future reference, he could perhaps serve as a
useful liaison for law enforcement issues in Batman, if
needed. End note.)

5. (C) Security officials following poloff's movements in the
region (both literally and figuratively) demonstrated that,
despite our alliance, Turkey still harbors deep suspicions
about what we're up to when traveling in the region. All
might be quiet on the Batman front, but the Security
Directorate still felt compelled to stage six policemen in a
large and conspicuous van parked in front of the women's NGO
we visited there; this in addition to the police escorting
our Consulate vehicle through town. Police, serving as
"protection," followed us to our meetings in Diyarbakir and
took great pains to get the exact name of the director of a
pre-kindergarten and women's center we visited. Just as the
Deputy Security Director in Batman had one unidentified
"note-taker" along with the policeman mentioned above, the
Deputy Governor in Diyarbakir is routinely accompanied by an
English-speaking police official in meetings with poloff.
After a visit with the DYP Mayor in Hasankeyf - where one day
earlier local mayors had staged a press event protesting the
proposed Ilisu Dam Project that threatens to submerge the
town and the story its ancient artifacts and architectural
structures have preserved - poloff visited the ruins of an
ancient castle overlooking the town and the Tigris? River.
Two "guides" accompanying us up the mountain later identified
themselves as Jandarma, and one of them had been snapping
shots of us as we made our way around the ruins.


6. (C) Comment: The generally friendly reception was welcome
and indicated that government officials are perhaps
internalizing the costs of the excessively anti-American
attitudes that had surfaced recently. Nevertheless, our
friends in the southeast would be just as happy to keep their
friends from Adana at arm's length when it comes to sharing
information about current events in the region. The
atmosphere created by the close police "protection" can be
heavy for Consulate officers, let alone for local contacts.
As Turkey gets closer to EU membership, it may realize that
there will be fewer and fewer events they will be able to
characterize as solely "internal matters."
EDELMAN