EU DELEGATION OBSERVES DANGEROUS TENSIONS IN

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 ANKARA 007671

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

DEPARTMENT FOR EUR/SE

E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/30/2015
TAGS: PGOV PREL PHUM OSCE TU
SUBJECT: EU DELEGATION OBSERVES DANGEROUS TENSIONS IN
HAKKARI


Classified By: ADANA 222
ADANA 216
ADANA 207
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Classified by DCM Nancy McEldowney; reasons 1.4 b and d.


1. (C) Summary: A delegation of Ankara-based EU
representatives recently observed what one member described
to us as dangerously high tensions in the southeastern
province of Hakkari following the November bombing of a
bookstore, allegedly by Jandarma officers. Local residents
resent what they view as insufficient EU interest in their
plight, are critical of the U.S. and EU for labeling the PKK
a terrorist organization, and fear that an imminent
U.S.-Turkish operation against the PKK in northern Iraq will
add to their problems. They are also upset over GOT efforts
to shut down Roj TV, broadcasting in Kurdish from Denmark.
Civilian authorities in Hakkari, our EU contact reported,
appear to have ceded full control to security forces. End
Summary.

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Delegation Observes Tensions
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2. (C) We met December 28 with Sema Kilicer, political
officer at the European Commission Representation to Turkey,
to discuss her December 19-21 visit to Van and Hakkari
provinces in the heavily Kurdish southeast. Kilicer traveled
with diplomats from the UK and German embassies to evaluate
the political climate in the region following the November
bombing of a bookstore in the Hakkari town of Semdinli
(reftels). The incident, suspected of being a Jandarma
operation, sparked a series of protests, resulting in violent
clashes between security forces and local residents that left
five protestors dead.


3. (C) Kilicer told us tensions are running dangerously high
in Hakkari Province, where a series of violent incidents over
the past six months have caused security forces and local
residents to eye each other with increased suspicion. Over
the summer, the province suffered more than 15 bomb attacks
related to the PKK conflict. Then, on November 1, assailants
detonated a bomb near the Jandarma barracks in Semdinli,
destroying a row of shops. Residents claim the barracks
coffee house was mysteriously empty at the time, despite the
fact that a soccer match was being broadcast, prompting
speculation that the Jandarma staged the attack to look like
a PKK operation. Eight days later, bystanders severely beat
three suspects who appeared to have been caught red-handed at
the scene of the subsequent, November 9 Semdinli bombing --
two Jandarma officers and an informant.


4. (SBU) Local NGO, trade union, and political party
representatives told the EU delegation that the problems
began long before the November bombings. In February,
business owners in Semdinli and Yuksekova closed their shops
in protest to mark the anniversary of the capture of PKK
leader Abdullah Ocalan. The local army commander responded
by ordering his troops to boycott local stores across Hakkari
Province, a policy that remains in place. Residents are also
furious over the killing of Yusuf Yasar in August. They say
security forces abducted Yasar on the streets of Hakkari and
summarily executed him; they reject the statement from the
Governor's office that officers shot Yasar as he was planting
landmines for the PKK. The mayors of Semdinli and Yuksekova
both told the delegation they are having difficulty
counseling patience to their constituents, who are losing
hope that their situation will improve. Jandarma commanders
appear to share this view -- they recently built a new,
higher wall around their Hakkari barracks.

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Bitter Disappointment With EU, U.S.
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5. (C) Kilicer told us a wide range of civil society contacts
expressed bitter disappointment with the EU for failing to

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pay more attention to the Semdinli bombing, and the broader
problems of the Kurdish southeast. They noted that
Ambassador Kretschmer, head of the European Commission
Representation in Ankara, did not comment publicly on
Semdinli until 20 days after the incident. They chided
members of the delegation over the fact that European
Parliamentarians came to Turkey for the Orhan Pamuk trial,
but appear uninterested in the problems of Hakkari (Note:
Travel to the area is difficult and security concerns are
high. End Note). They resent the decision by the EU, and the
U.S., to label the PKK a terrorist organization, questioning
why the EU made the decision recently, after not doing so
during the height of the PKK conflict in the 1980s and 90s.
They suspect that recent visits by CIA Director Goss and FBI
Director Mueller signal an imminent U.S.-Turkish operation
against the PKK in northern Iraq, which they fear will
compound their troubles.

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Upset By Efforts to Close Roj TV
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6. (U) Kilicer said many of her contacts during the visit
were upset by GOT efforts, backed by the U.S., to try to
persuade Denmark to close Roj TV, which broadcasts in Kurdish
from Copenhagen. Residents have access to other Kurdish
stations broadcasting from Europe or Iraq, but she was told
that only Roj TV, which covered the EU delegation's visit,
provides reporting in Kurdish on events in Turkey. Kilicer
said Roj TV apparently has informal agreements that allow it
to use footage shot by Turkish media outlets, such as the
Dicle News Agency.

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Civilians Have Ceded Control
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7. (C) Kilicer said it was clear during her visit that
civilian authorities in Hakkari have turned responsibility
for governance over to the Jandarma and military. Both the
provincial governor and the Semdinli sub-governor failed to
attend their scheduled meetings with the delegation. The
governor sent a deputy, who appeared to be uninformed on the
latest developments. Yusuf Alatas, president of the Human
Rights Association in Ankara, told us he also observed during
a recent visit to Hakkari that security forces were in
complete control. Alatas did meet with the governor, but
every time he raised the issue of the Semdinli bombing, the
governor insisted the issue was not his responsibility.

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Comment: A Province in Regression
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8. (C) Hakkari Province appears to be gradually reverting to
the bad old days of the 1980s and 90s, at the height of the
PKK, when the southeast was under military control and
subject to state of emergency regulations. Turkish
government authorities and the judiciary need to follow
through expeditiously on promises of a thorough investigation
of the Semdinli bombing, as a first step toward rebuilding
trust with Hakkari residents.



WILSON