TURKISH PM TAKES CRITICS TO COURT

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 ANKARA 001115

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

DEPARTMENT FOR EUR/SE

E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/06/2026
TAGS: PGOV PREL PHUM OSCE PINR TU
SUBJECT: TURKISH PM TAKES CRITICS TO COURT


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


1. (C) Summary: PM Erdogan has opened numerous legal cases
against writers, politicians, cartoonists, and others whose
criticism he found personally offensive. Contacts say
Erdogan's aggressive response to criticism reflects a
combative nature honed during his childhood in an
impoverished district of Istanbul. Journalists say the
lawsuits have little impact on the press, but raise doubts
about the GOT's commitment to freedom of expression. Many
GOT leaders see Turkey as already consistent with Western
standards on free speech, and therefore do not perceive a
contradiction between the PM's pursuit of his critics and GOT
political reforms. While the steady stream of lawsuits is
clearly at odds with the GOT's stated commitment to political
reform, the PM's litigiousness, primarily a consequence of
his thin skin, has not resulted in any final court rulings in
his favor. End Summary.

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Thin-Skinned PM Takes Critics to Court
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2. (U) Since coming to power in 2003, PM Erdogan has
continued a course of action he began during his tenure as
Istanbul mayor: pursuing his critics in court. The PM
appears unfazed by commentary at home and abroad arguing that
his actions reflect a lack of commitment to freedom of
expression. Nor has he been deterred by a series of rulings
against him. Most of the cases he has launched are civil
suits, but at least one is a criminal case in which a
conviction could lead to a jail term. A range of contacts
tell us that Erdogan's thin-skinned reaction to criticism
reflects his aggressive personality, noting that previous
Turkish PMs had a more tolerant approach.


3. (U) In May 2005, Justice Minister Cicek reported that
Erdogan had opened 57 speech-related cases, and that courts
had awarded him USD 85,000 in damages. Cicek issued the
report in response to a formal inquiry by Haluk Koc, an MP
from the opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) whom
Erdogan has sued twice.


4. (U) Some of Erdogan's recent legal cases include:

-- In February 2005, an Ankara court convicted Musa Kart of
the daily Cumhuriyet for a cartoon portraying Erdogan as a
cat. The court ordered Kart to pay USD 3,800. The ruling is
under appeal.

-- The satirical magazine Penguen poked fun at Erdogan's
lawsuits against cartoonists by publishing a front page
filled with drawings by different artists depicting Erdogan
as various animals. In March 2005, Erdogan opened a case
against Penguen seeking USD 28,000 in damages. In February
2006, an Ankara court ruled against Erdogan, dismissing the
case. It is not clear whether Erdogan will appeal.

-- In March 2005, Erdogan opened a lawsuit against author
Yalcin Kucuk for insulting him in his book "The Rebellion,"
in which Kucuk refers to Erdogan as "one of the most ignorant
leaders in Turkish history." In April 2005, an Ankara court
rejected Erdogan's request to stop publication of the book
and confiscate copies. In January 2006, the court ruled
against Erdogan's request for compensation.

-- In April 2005, a court convicted writer Fikret Otyam for
an article he wrote in Aydinlik magazine mocking Erdogan for
supporting legislation outlawing adultery. The court ordered
Otyam to pay the PM USD 3,434 in damages. The ruling is
under appeal.

-- In October 2005, Erdogan filed a legal complaint against
Aynur Saydam for insulting him by holding up a banner during
an appearance at Bahcesehir University. The banner featured
the question, "Whose Prime Minister Are You?" -- a criticism
of Erdogan's support for a conference on the fate of the
Armenians in the final days of the Ottoman Empire. If
convicted, Saydam could face a prison term of up to 2 years.
The case is ongoing.

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-- In December 2005, the High Court of Appeals overturned the
2004 conviction of political cartoonist Sefer Selvi for
"publicly humiliating" Erdogan by depicting him as a horse.
A lower court had ordered Selvi, a cartoonist for the daily
Evrensel, to pay USD 7,361 in damages.

-- In January 2006, Erdogan filed charges against CHP MP Koc
for asserting in a press conference that Erdogan was "trying
to wriggle out of" his responsibilities by refusing to
divulge his financial wealth. Erdogan also opened separate
cases against the dailies Radikal and Cumhuriyet for
reporting Koc's comments.


5. (C) Radikal columnist Murat Yetkin told us Erdoga is
"making a fool out of himself" with these lawsuits. Yetkin
said Erdogan is "100 percent guaranteed" to lose the cases
against Radikal and Cumhuriyet for reporting Koc's comments
-- what could be more routine than reporting the public
comments of a parliamentarian? Yetkin attributed Erdogan's
aggressiveness to his broad sense of what constitutes an
"insult." Under recent legal reforms, speech aimed at
criticizing the government and state is protected, but
insults are not. Yetkin said Erdogan cannot distinguish
between criticism and insults, at least not when he is the
target.

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Combative Nature Stems from Upbringing
--------------


6. (C) Both supporters and critics of Erdogan agree that
previous PMs were more tolerant of criticism, even when faced
with commentary more blunt than what Erdogan has confronted.
Ersonmez Yarbay, an MP with Erdogan's ruling Justice and
Development Party (AKP),acknowledged that he disagrees with
Erdogan's frequent legal actions, but noted the PM "loses his
temper easily." Like a number of our contacts, Yarbay
attributed Erdogan's uncompromising approach to his
upbringing in the hardscrabble Istanbul district of
Kasimpasa. Hurriyet columnist Sukru Kucuksahin sees the PM's
thin skin as due in part to a quasi-religious belief in his
"mission" to lead Turkey.


7. (C) The lawsuits are not the only evidence of the PM's
thin skin and combative nature. He has had testy relations
with the Turkish press almost since he took office. Yetkin
and Kucuksahin told us the PM frequently calls editors to
complain about stories he does not like. Many reporters no
longer ask him tough questions because of his tendency to
give insulting responses. Erdogan has also rankled a number
of AKP MPs with his often blunt, dismissive responses to
queries at party meetings. The PM recently drew criticism
for his angry rebuke of a farmer during a trip to Mersin
Province. The farmer, shouting at Erdogan, complained about
economic conditions and said, "You made our mothers cry."
Erdogan replied "You cannot shout at a Prime Minister like
that," and rudely told the farmer to "take your mother and
get lost."


8. (C) Erdogan maintains that he is trying to protect the
"dignity" of the office of Prime Minister. "If you do not
protect the leaders, you will destroy the society," he told
reporters. Koksal Toptan, chairman of the parliamentary
Justice Committee, defended the PM's lawsuits in a meeting
with us. Toptan averred that Erdogan only goes to court when
someone insults him personally, not when someone criticizes
his policies. He said that even in Western democracies,
freedom of speech must have limits, and claimed that every
Turkish law restricting speech is mirrored by an identical
law in at least one EU country. If European leaders are not
similarly taking their critics to court, Toptan mused, it may
be because European writers and politicians are more
respectful than their Turkish counterparts.


9. (SBU) Erdogan's aggressive approach may be influencing
other cabinet members who have also taken their critics to
court. Nimet Cubukcu, State Minister for Women's Affairs,
has an ongoing case against six women's rights advocates for
criticizing her stance on a proposed constitutional amendment

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on gender equality. Health Minister Akdag pressed charges
against two members of the Turkish Medical Association in
2004 for criticizing his response to a work-stop action by
physicians.


10. (C) Yetkin said the PM's "ridiculous" lawsuits do not
have a chilling effect on the press, but do undermine the
credibility of the GOT on freedom of expression, and on
political reform in general. Asli Aydintasbas, Ankara bureau
chief for the daily Sabah, told us the lawsuits do not affect
established journalists who can count on backing from their
employers, but do intimidate smaller media outlets. A number
of journalists have criticized Erdogan for failing to support
a broad Western-style concept of freedom of expression,
despite the fact that he served jail time in 1999 for
reciting an Islamic poem in public.
WILSON