TURKEY: POSSIBLE ESCALATION OF PKK VIOLENCE IN

UNCLAS ANKARA 004587 SIPDIS SENSITIVE SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PREL PTER IZ TU SUBJECT: TURKEY: POSSIBLE ESCALATION OF PKK VIOLENCE IN ADVANCE OF AUGUST 15 ANNIVERSARY REF: ANKARA 4408 AND PREVIOUS ¶1. (U) This is an action request. Please see para. 4. ¶2. (SBU) On August 15, 1984, PKK militants killed two police officers in Eruh and Semdinli, launching the armed phase of the PKK's campaign for Kurdish autonomy in Turkey. The anniversary of the PKK's first attack against Turkish government installations has historically provided an excuse for an escalation of violence. Increased PKK activity linked to the anniversary compelled Turkish police to increase security measures in August 2005 and we expect this year to be no exception. Similar increases in PKK violence have been observed around November 27, the anniversary of the PKK's founding in 1978 by Abdullah Ocalan, who has been in a Turkish prison since 1999. ¶3. (SBU) Since mid-July, PKK-related violence has continued unabated. During this period, in addition to the deaths of twenty-seven members of the Turkish security forces, the killings of two civilians (including a child),five bomb blasts, and the seizure of weapons caches (including 16.5 kg of plastic explosives),the PKK appears to have become more confrontational. It claimed responsibility for an August 7 raid in which two masked gunmen killed a Turkish army NCO and seriously injured his eight-year-old son at their home in southeastern Sirnak province. One journalist who closely follows the issue has suggested that the home invasion may indicate a change in PKK tactics from the use of landmines, remotely-detonated IEDs, and hit-and-run attacks to more daring and direct confrontation. It is also possible that an August 6 attack on a Jandarma patrol in Gumushane portends the extension of PKK violence to the previously quiet northeastern region of Turkey. ¶4. (SBU) Action Request. Recognizing the significance of the August 15 anniversary to the PKK, we recommend that the Department issue a statement condemning PKK terrorist violence and calling for an end to its armed activities against Turkey. The following is a suggested draft statement: Begin Text: The United States government wishes to mark the August 15 anniversary of the beginning of terrorism by the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) against our ally, the Republic of Turkey, by calling upon the PKK to cease its violent terrorist actions and lay down its arms. PKK violence has led to the deaths of over 30,000 Turkish security forces and civilians over the past 22 years. After a lull in violence for several years following the capture of the terrorist Abdullah Ocalan in 1999, PKK terrorism resumed in 2004-06 and has claimed over 500 civilian and security services victims so far this year. This violence has undermined Turkey,s prospects and significantly set back the aspirations of Turkey,s ethnic Kurdish population that the PKK purports to represent. End Text. Visit Ankara's Classified Web Site at http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/eur/ankara/ WILSON