TFLE01: TURKEY: ISRAELI ACTIONS TRANSLATE INTO

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 ANKARA 004236

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

DEPARTMENT FOR TASK FORCE ONE

E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/20/2026
TAGS: IS IZ PGOV PREL PTER TU
SUBJECT: TFLE01: TURKEY: ISRAELI ACTIONS TRANSLATE INTO
WIDESPREAD PUBLIC PRESSURE FOR EARLY ACTION AGAINST THE PKK

REF: ANKARA 04162

Classified By: DCM Nancy McEldowney, reasons 1.4 (b) and (d).


1. (C) Summary. The combination of Israel,s actions in
Lebanon, USG support for Israeli,s right to self defense,
increased PKK-related violence in Turkey, and USG opposition
to a Turkish cross-border action (CBO) against the PKK in
northern Iraq has created a public opinion pressure cooker in
Turkey. As a result, the PM Erdogan,s Justice and
Development Party (AKP) government is under enormous pressure
from all sides to take concrete steps to counter PKK-related
violence. End summary.


2. (C) AKP whip and Ankara MP Salih Kapusuz, a reliable and
longtime Embassy contact, reflected both party and public
opinion in a July 19 conversation with us. Currently,
Kapusuz said, Israel is killing peace and chances for peace.
It was wrong for Hizbullah to kidnap the two soldiers, but
Israel,s attacks on infrastructure and civilians are the
biggest blow to the peace process. The Turkish public, he
stated, did not welcome President Bush,s remarks on the
Israeli attacks because they appeared one-sided. Although
the public generally has little sympathy for Russia, people
were attracted to Putin,s words. The U.S. must, he said,
exert more pressure for peace.


3. (C) He offered one anecdote to illustrate that for Turks
--- even at the village level --- the Israeli-Lebanese
conflict has direct meaning at home. At a recent meeting
with muhtars (elected village leaders) and local citizens, a
forum that normally focus on local infrastructure issues, a
muhtar stood up and told Kapusuz, "Our problems can wait. We
will deal with them eventually. Right now we see what Israel
has done for two kidnapped soldiers and we draw our lesson.
We are willing to go hungry, but do something about
terrorism."


4. (C) Kapusuz said that as a result of the combination of
the Israeli incursion, the 18 Turkish security personnel
killed by PKK terrorists in recent days, and pressure from
all segments of the population, the GOT had to issue strong
statements. It became a political imperative. He offered
further context: large amounts of explosives are coming into
Turkey via Iraq. In just the past week, he related, Turkish
authorities have confiscated 207 kg of plastic explosives, 28
kg of TNT, and 83 hand grenades.


5. (C) AKP leaders have talked to all political paries,
Kapusuz added, especially the main opposition Republican
People,s Party (CHP). All agree this is a national issue
and they are with the government to the end.


6. (C) As if to illustrate the point, True Path Party (DYP)
chairman Mehmet Agar, Motherland Party (ANAP) chairman Erkan
Mumcu, and CHP parliamentary group leader Ali Topuz all
called this week for the government to consider a military
operation in northern Iraq against the PKK. Agar asserted,
"If Turkey,s diplomatic initiatives do not produce the
desired results," the GOT should have the courage to exercise
its right to a cross border operation under international
law. Agar also emphasized that political opposition stops at
the nation,s borders. ANAP,s Mumcu said that Turkey should
take measures to show that its patience has run out and it
will prevent the PKK from using northern Iraq as a base for
operations against Turkey. He added that Turkey should not
wait for other countries to provide for its security. CHP,s
Topuz stated, "Terrorism is not based on domestic problems.
It is supported by certain foreign countries that seem
friendly to us."


7. (C) Bahdir Koc, an analyst with the ASAM think thank, told
us that Turkey has been waiting for 40 months for the U.S. or
Iraq to do something about the PKK; nothing concrete has
happened. AKP,s Kapusuz emphasized to us several times that

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the Turkish public seeks a "serious gesture" from the U.S.
regarding PKK safe havens in northern Iraq, but that it would
not take more than that to satisfy them that the US is a
serious partner and ally. National Security Council staffer
Kenan Ipek told us that the U.S. needs to do something
concrete and visible on the PKK in northern Iraq. The
Turkish state understands our constraints, but rhetoric is no
longer sufficient, he stated.


8. (C) Turkish MFA First Secretary Aziz Sevi, German Marshall
Fund director in Turkey Suat Kiniklioglu, and a number of
other interlocutors shared with us similar explanations
regarding mounting Turkish frustration. Sevi and Kiniklioglu
reminded us that every week Turks watch TV coverage of
funerals for Turkish soldiers who died fighting the PKK.
They see images of crying mothers and fatherless children.
Turkish families with young men of military age are worried
that their sons will be sent to the southeast and die
fighting against the PKK.


9. (C) Everyone with whom we spoke sees a direct link between
American involvement in Iraq and a rise in PKK violence in
Turkey. This, they said, combined with the lack of concrete
U.S. actions against the PKK in northern Iraq and U.S.
opposition to a CBO contributes to the rise in
anti-Americanism in Turkey.

Visit Ankara's Classified Web Site at
http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/eur/ankara/

WILSON