TURKS BITTER, RESIGNED AS EU DELIBERATES - "IT'S

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 ANKARA 005932

SIPDIS

DEPARTMENT FOR EUR/SE

E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/03/2015
TAGS: PGOV PREL PHUM EU TU EU
SUBJECT: TURKS BITTER, RESIGNED AS EU DELIBERATES - "IT'S
UP TO EUROPE"

Classified by CDA Nancy McEldowney; reasons 1.4 b and d.


1. (U) Summary: Turkish leaders across the political
spectrum displayed wounded pride and bitter resignation on
the eve of the planned October 3 start of EU accession talks.
Turkey has done its part, PM Erdogan and FM Gul stressed;
the decision now rests with the EU. The public mood has
turned sour and pessimistic. Tens of thousands of
Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) supporters attended an
anti-EU rally in Ankara; opposition leaders accused the GOT
of mishandling the EU process. Domestic pressure is mounting
on the government and Turkish patience has run out. End
Summary.

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Turkey Has Met Its Obligations; Now It Is Europe's Turn
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2. (U) Across official circles, the mood is one of defiance,
pride and resignation:

--PM Erdogan asserted to an AKP gathering on October 2 that
Turkey has met all its obligations as an EU candidate. The
EU is now "taking a test." The EU's handling of Turkey's
candidacy, per Erdogan, will determine whether the
organization "will become a global actor or remain a
Christian club." Turkey's future, the PM stated, does not
depend on the EU -- Turkey will not deviate from the path of
democracy, human rights, and freedom regardless of decisions
taken by the EU -- it will "turn the Copenhagen criteria into
the Ankara criteria". FM Gul, too, emphasized that the GOT
has met its obligations; Turkey, he said would not accept any
proposed outcome other than full membership.

--Speaker of Parliament Arinc told MPs at the October 1
official opening of Parliament that Turkey will not sacrifice
its pride for EU membership. "An agreement or a condition
that would stain the honorable history of this nation would
never be approved by this Parliament," he intoned. Arinc
averred that the Turkish public has a hard time understanding
the "double standard" the EU applies to Turkey. He also
harshly criticized the European Parliament for calling on
Turkey to recognize the Armenian "genocide," a crime that
Turkey "did not commit."

--President Sezer, also speaking at Parliament's opening
session, averred that the EU contains "walls of prejudice"
and maintained that any delay in Turkey's accession
negotiations would be a loss more for the EU than for Turkey.
"The Turkish nation will not accept introduction of
additional conditions or discrimination," Sezer said. "The
process has reached an irreversible stage. Turkey is
determined to become an EU member and it will do so by
protecting its national interests and national pride."

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Two Anti-EU Rallies Held, Pro-EU Rally Postponed
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3. (U) A different face of defiance showed itself at an
October 2 MHP anti-EU rally in Ankara, attended by tens of
thousands -- the press estimated attendance at 70,000. MHP
President Bahceli bitterly criticized the AKP government's EU
policy, labeling it "treason." He asserted that the opening
of EU accession talks would mark the "consequence of the AKP
policy of surrender." Approximately 3,000 supporters
attended an October 2 anti-EU rally in Istanbul organized by
the Turkish Communist Party.


4. (SBU) Meanwhile, authorities postponed a pro-EU rally
scheduled for October 2 in Diyarbakir, the largest city in
Turkey's predominantly Kurdish and overwhelmingly EU-friendly
southeast, reportedly because of a scheduling conflict with
an industrial fair. AMCON Adana contacts, worried that
nationalist, anti-EU sentiment is on the rise, were
suspicious of the governor's decision, noting that the MHP
was permitted to hold its anti-EU event in Ankara.

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Opposition Points Finger at AKP
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5. (C) Egemen Bagis, MP from the ruling AK Party (AKP) and
translator for Erdogan, told us October 2 that he is
concerned about the mounting domestic pressure on AKP for its
EU policy, not just from MHP. He pointed to increasingly
strident criticism from both the left-center Republican
People's Party (CHP) and the center-right True Path Party
(DYP). DYP leader Agar accused the GOT publicly of
mishandling the EU process; Turkey, he said, cannot begin
negotiations under unfair conditions. CHP Vice Chairman
Oymen emphasized that Turkey will neither accept "privileged
partnership" as an alternative to full membership nor "make
concessions" to the EU.

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Markets React Nervously
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6. (U) Turkish financial markets fell October 3 amidst
uncertainties about the EU process. At 10:30 a.m. Ankara
time, after an hour of trading, the stock exchange had fallen
1.75 percent, the yield on the benchmark May 9, 2007 bond was
up from 15.05 percent at the close September 30 to 15.20
percent, and the Turkish lira had fallen from 1.3487 to the
dollar to 1.3635. The initial take of some market analysts
was that they expect the EU to work out a solution,
suggesting the sell-off will accelerate if the EU news
worsens.

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Comment: Turkish Patience Has Run Out
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7. (C) Turkish pride, which always runs high, has been a
complicating factor in Turkey's EU candidacy. Turks tend to
view EU-mandated reforms as "concessions", especially in
these last, emotion-laden weeks. The Turks have reached the
limits of their patience, and are in no mood to accept any
new conditions.




MCELDOWNEY