IZMIR VIEWS ON APP CLOSURE, OVACIK MINE RESTART,

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 ISTANBUL 000267

SIPDIS

SENSITIVE

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV PREL TU PHUM EINV
SUBJECT: IZMIR VIEWS ON APP CLOSURE, OVACIK MINE RESTART,
CHP AND AKP DYNAMICS

REF: 04 ANKARA 6206


1. (SBU) Summary: In meetings in Izmir February 2-4, Izmir
liaison officer informed municipal, business and academic
officials of the Congressional decision to close the Izmir
American Presence Post and the U.S. plan to reopen a consular
agency. Regarding U.S. efforts to reopen the Ovacik Gold
mine operated by Newmont, Deputy Governor Gures asserted that
the decision on the mine would not be made by the Izmir
governor's office, but by the relevant ministries in Ankara.
Mayor Kocaoglu and local CHP officials smarted at the
sparring at the recent CHP Congress and hoped that the
negative elements in the party's factions could be purged.
The deeply religious Gaziemir AKP district chairman noted
that admiration for Erdogan had spurred wide interest in
participation in local politics -- while the CHP Gaziemir
head accused local AKP officials of corruption and switching
from DYP just before the mayoral election to assure victory.
End Summary.


2. (SBU) On February 2-4, Izmir liaison officer met with
Izmir Mayor Aziz Kocaoglu, Deputy Governor Gunes, Chamber of
Commerce President Demirtas, the President of Izmir Economic
University, and political party representatives to inform
them of Congress' approval of the State Department's
recommendation to close the American Presence Post in Izmir
as of January 21. Liaisonoff assured the contacts that, as
Ambassador Edelman had underlined in his 10/25/04 visit to
Izmir (reftel),while a U.S. diplomat would not be
permanently assigned to Izmir, representatives of the U.S.
mission in Turkey would visit Izmir on a regular basis to
follow regional political and economic developments.
Moreover, the U.S. would continue to provide consular
services to Izmir residents by reopening a consular agency in
Izmir in the near future. Although disappointed to learn of
the change in status of the U.S. presence in Izmir,
particularly given the transfer of U.S. NATO personnel to
Izmir, Mayor Kocaoglu and Chamber President Demirtas were
pleased to learn of U.S. plans to reopen a consular agency.

Ovacik Gold Mine Restart: Ankara to make the Decision


3. (SBU) Raising with Deputy Governor Fevzi Gunes the
continuing closure of Newmont Mining Corporation's Ovacik
Gold Mine in Bergama, liaisonoff stressed that the U.S. is
following Newmont's problems closely, and that Newmont
asserts it is following high standards of environmental
protection at the mine. Noting losses to both the company
and to the regional economy, liaisonoff encouraged Gunes to
look favorably on restarting mine operations, and added that
contrary to press reports, Ambassador Edelman had not visited
the mine. Deputy Governor Gunes said that the decision on the
mine permit problem would not be made in Izmir, but would be
made by relevant ministries -- Health, Environment, and
Agriculture) in Ankara. (Comment: Newmont insists that a
special commission within the Governorate is charged with the
permit decision, not Ministries in Ankara. End Comment.)


4. (SBU) Chamber of Commerce President Demirtas commented in
a separate meeting with liaisonoff that environmental groups
are becoming increasingly more influential in Turkey -- and
implied that although Newmont was now environmentally
vigilant, Newmont had not been sufficiently careful in
monitoring seepage of minerals into ground water at the
beginning of the project.

Concerns and Opportunities in the Commercial Field


5. (SBU) Demirtas shared his concerns about prospects for
Izmir textile company revenues in 2005 given the lifting of
quotas in the textile industry. He looked forward to the
Coast Guard visit to Izmir in mid-February to discuss port
security, and hoped for a reciprocal visit of Turkish
officials to U.S. ports. Demirtas was pleased with the
expansion of the Vestel computer facility based in nearby
Manisa, and he expected that a U.S. company would place a bid
on a new port development in Izmir.

Mayor Kocaoglu: Now Confident in his Position


6. (SBU) Mayor Kocaoglu of the CHP, who was elected in
spring 2004 following the death of popular CHP Mayor
Pristina, was eloquent and clearly comfortable with the
responsibilities of his new office. (Izmir university
professors and CHP party representatives sang his praises in
separate meetings with liaisonoff.) Kocaoglu discussed his
ambitious plans for expanding transportation and industry in
Izmir, including development of a 5-kilometer metro system up
to the new free industrial zone. Kocaoglu claimed that
tourism to the city had increased by 40 per cent over the
past year. Noting the immigrants to Izmir hail from all over
Turkey, not just the east, he said one of his chief goals was
to assist the city's poor. Kocaoglu downplayed the problems
connected with trafficking in persons in Izmir, contending
that TIP was present in Istanbul or Antalya, not Izmir. In a
separate meeting, the CHP women's branch leader, Guler
Tuncoku, and former women's branch leader and bar association
member Pelin Erda also discounted TIP as an issue of concern
in Izmir.

Izmir Reflections on CHP Party Congress


7. (C) Kocaoglu, who had attended the January 29 CHP Party
Congress, conceded that it was not a pretty sight -- and not
representative of Ataturk's Republican People's Party. He
noted that while there were unpleasant elements in the
factions of both Sarigul and Baykal which had to be purged,
there were also healthy aspects of each faction, and he hoped
the party would be able to focus on positive achievements
following the tension of the Congress. Erda, who had
attended the Congress as a delegate from Izmir, reflected
similar dismay with the developments at the Congress, but
noted that the women's branches in Izmir had supported
Zivaneli as a candidate -- and commented that Baykal rarely
visited Izmir. Both Erda and the CHP Gaziemir district
chairman were interested in the U.S. response to Baykal's
accusation in the Congress that the U.S. should be blamed for
the weakening of CHP following the March 1, 2003, decision in
Turkish parliament.

Gaziemir: Erdogan Enthusiasts turn to Politics


8. (SBU) Izmir liaisonoff visited the AKP and CHP district
party leaders on February 4 in Gaziemir, a growing district
near Izmir's airport, where an AKP mayor won in the 2004
local election. PM Erdogan, on an official visit to Izmir
February 3-4, was due to stop in Gaziemir later the same day.
AKP district leader Ismail Akdag, a young, energetic
chairman who owns a local spare parts business, said that
Erdogan's leadership and charisma convinced Akdag and many
other AKP supporters in Gaziemir to actively participate in
political life. After another AKP Gaziemir council member --
a retired security official from Erzurum -- joined the
meeting, Akdag launched into a mini-sermon, avowing that
establishing positive relations between people is the most
important activity in life -- not temporal matters such as
real estate or wealth. He predicted even greater gains for
AKP in Gaziemir in the next local election.


9. (SBU) The CHP Gaziemir chairman, Yuksel Demirsoy, and a
contingent of CHP local representives, clearly Baykal
supporters, defended CHP's role in Turkish history, and were
sensitive about AKP's growing power in Gaziemir. Demirsoy
and his colleagues accused AKP of corruption, of obtaining
supporters by distributing money and gifts, and noted that
the new AKP Gaziemir mayor had switched parties from DYP
shortly before the election to assure victory. CHP Gaziemir
women's branch representatives were engaged in charitable
campaigns to win voters, funding and operating associations
for handicapped citizens.
ARNETT