TURKEY: PKK VIOLENCE CONTINUES, CASUALTIES RISE,

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 ANKARA 001897 SIPDIS SENSITIVE SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PREL PGOV MARR MASS TU IZ SUBJECT: TURKEY: PKK VIOLENCE CONTINUES, CASUALTIES RISE, BUT GOVERNMENT REMAINS RESOLVED REF: A. ANKARA 1821 ¶B. ANKARA 1723 ¶1. (U) SUMMARY: PKK-related attacks continue both inside and outside of Turkey. The Turkish Freedom Falcons (TAK) have taken credit for several Istanbul attacks and warned of further violence against the government. In the face of escalating casualites, the government has publicly stated its resolve to fight the latest wave of terrorism with further democratic and security measure. END SUMMARY. NO END TO THE VIOLENCE -------------- ¶2. (SBU) Sixteen civilians and 6 security officials died and over 300 civilians and 11 soldiers were wounded in bomb attacks, civil unrest and military operations in Turkey during the past 1.5 weeks. The TAK claimed responsibility for a March 31 bomb blast in an Istanbul garbage can and an April 5 attack against an AKP office in the Esenyurt district of Istanbul which shattered windows and injured at least two people. In its statement, TAK blamed the attacks on AKP government policies; singled out the Prime Minister and his party as targets; and warned of further attacks against government workers and facilities. Police in the Buyuk Cekmece district of Istanbul found 10 kilograms of the A-4 plastic explosives typically used by the PKK. ¶3. (SBU) In the southeast, the cities are tense but calm as fighting continues in the countryside. Clashes between security officials and the PKK in the Bingol and Sirnak provinces on April 5 resulted in the death of six police and Jandarma. Meanwhile, bomb attacks that same day against Turkish banks in France and England, as well as recent attacks in Germany, have been attributed to PKK-related groups. Comments by Kurdish residents in the southeast reveal mixed feelings on the latest civil unrest. Some state that violence is the only way to get the government's attention while others lament the likely economic loss as tourists and potential investors are scared away. GOVERNMENT STANDS FIRM -------------- ¶4. (SBU) Maintaining its resolve to combat the current Kurdish unrest and PKK violence by democratic means, Prime Minister Erdogan and FM Gul separately stated on April 5 that: the government would not relax its resolve to combat terrorism; security forces will undertake every possible measure in the fight against terrorism; and the government is determined to foil the plot of the "terrorist gang" and to remain anchored to further reforms and wider democracy. Even nationalistic Justice Minister Cemil Cicek vowed that the GOT would not roll back democratic reforms. ¶5. (SBU) However, the government has not provided any details of its plan. FM Gul's statements have highlighted the strengthened anti-terrorism measures the government will take, but provided no specifics on democratization measures. While saying the GOT will not declare a State of Emergency at this time, Gul allowed that military forces could be deployed, and dismissed the idea of an amnesty for PKK militants. He announced the establishment of a Security Affairs Directorate within the Prime Ministry which would function as the Secretariat of an Anti-Terrorism High Council, presumably in accordance with the government's proposed bill to strengthen anti-terrorism legislation. According to press reports, Istanbul police have arrested 13 people in connection with the April 2 attack in which a group of PKK supporters attacked a bus with molotov cocktails and three people died (ref a). ¶6. (SBU) In a sharp rebuke to a chairman of the Kurdish DTP (Democratic Society Party) who questioned the government's definition of terrorism, PM Erdogan told journalists there is no ambiguity about the definition of terrorism and noted that ANKARA 00001897 002 OF 002 the EU and the US both consider the PKK a terrorist organization. He added that those who want to participate in the democratic process should "come to the table for discussions unarmed." A prominent Diyarbakir businessman told us on April 7 that in the wake of the riots, police were conducting raids to arrest people in Diyarbakir,s slums. According to newspaper reports, 27 suspects, most of them DTP activists, have been arrested in connection with the civil unrest in the southeast. The Turkish media, as expected, is ramping up the rhetoric about US inaction against -- or complicity with -- the PKK, in punishment for the Turkish Parliament's March 1, 2003 decision not to allow the US 4th ID to enter Iraq from Turkey, but government statements remain positive. Visit Ankara's Classified Web Site at http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/eur/ankara/ WILSON