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 ANKARA 6772 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. -------------- Delegation Observes Tensions -------------- ¶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. -------------- Bitter Disappointment With EU, U.S. -------------- ¶5. (C) Kilicer told us a wide range of civil society contacts expressed bitter disappointment with the EU for failing to ANKARA 00007671 002 OF 002 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. -------------- Upset By Efforts to Close Roj TV -------------- ¶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. -------------- Civilians Have Ceded Control -------------- ¶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. -------------- Comment: A Province in Regression -------------- ¶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