REGIONAL DYNAMISM SPURRING HOPE IN TURKEY'S KURDS

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 ANKARA 004933 SIPDIS ISTANBUL PLS PASS TO ADANA SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 08/21/2021 TAGS: PREL PTER PGOV PHUM TU SUBJECT: REGIONAL DYNAMISM SPURRING HOPE IN TURKEY'S KURDS Classified By: Principal Officer Eric Green for reasons 1.4(b),(d) ¶1. (U) This is an AmCon Adana message. ¶2. (C) Summary: Turkey's Kurdish political and business leaders believe that progress in Northern Iraq could produce positive ripple effects in Turkey's troubled southeast: economic benefits have already affected local businesses and they hope the shared EU/American goal of greater democracy in the region will result in more liberalization by the GOT. While political leaders with whom we met during an August trip welcome recent progress in attaining more linguistic and cultural rights, they still believe the GOT has not acknowledged the legitimacy of the Kurdish identity. Pro-Kurdish Democracy Society Party (DTP) leaders all called for a political process to resolve the Kurdish issue and said that there is too little trust in the GOT -- as shown by the current controversy over changes to the election law -- to expect unilateral moves from their side. End summary. -------------- Positive Synergy with Northern Iraq -------------- ¶3. (C) During an inaugural visit to Mardin, Sirnak and Diyarbakir provinces August 15-18, Adana PO met with a range of Kurdish political leaders as well as several business leaders and human rights advocates. Our interlocutors were unanimous in praising American efforts to promote democracy in the region, saying that they hoped that this campaign would result in greater cultural, linguistic and political freedoms for their community in Turkey. Fahri Karakoyunlu, a lawyer active in the Diyarbakir Bar Association, related how impressed he was with the American commitment -- in terms of resources and human talent -- to Iraq during a recent visit he paid to the Iraqi Kurdish region. ¶4. (C) A number of other local Kurdish business leaders also stated that developments in Northern Iraq have created new business opportunities for SE Turkey as the gateway between Iraq and the west. Adnan Elci, President of the Cizre Chamber of Commerce, noted that many large Turkish companies (including some connected with the Turkish military) are active in the construction sector of Iraq and they often rely on Turkish Kurds to serve as intermediaries or representatives in-country. -------------- Civil Society Calls for Cease-fire -------------- ¶5. (C) The sense of opportunity generated by events in Northern Iraq has infused local Kurdish leaders with hope that their own conflict with the GOT can be transformed. As an example, Sahismail Bedirhanoglu, President of GUNSIAD (SE Businessmen,s and Industrialists, Association) briefed us on a statement his organization released on August 16 calling for: --the PKK and the GOT to declare an unconditional cease-fire; --the GOT to expand cultural/linguistic/religious rights consistent with EU norms; --a renewed focus by the GOT on economic development in the SE region. Bedirhanoglu also mentioned to us that the GOT should introduce a new amnesty law for PKK militants (not to include freedom for Ocalan, according to Bedirhanoglu). He said that, although some of his members felt that such a political statement posed risks, they wanted to publicly voice what they regard to be the sentiments of most of their community. He noted that, because the March riots in Diyarbakir had caused damage to many businesses and shaken the confidence of foreign investors, he wanted GUNSIAD to send a message to the PKK and to the government that they should seek a political solution rather than continue the cycle of violence. -------------- DTP Leaders Want Dialogue and Respect -------------- ¶6. (C) The elected DTP mayors from Mardin, Sirnak and Diyarkbakir all said they want the PKK violence to end, but added that there is very little trust in the GOT now. As a result, they cannot be expected to undertake any unilateral action, such as calling for a cease-fire. (Note: Diyarbakir Mayor Baydemir, see septel, may be more willing than most to move in this direction. DTP co-chairman, Ahmet Turk, told Embassy Ankara in a recent conversation that he needs ANKARA 00004933 002 OF 002 something tangible from the GOT -- such as 24-hour Kurdish broadcasting -- before he could take such a step. End Note.) They cited PM Erdogan's acknowledgement of a "Kurdish Problem" in 2005 as a major step, but have been disappointed by the lack of a political process since then. ¶7. (C) Dialogue is the key to such a process, they said and, not surprisingly, the DTP mayors all stated that their party should be recognized by the government as the legitimate representative of Kurds and the appropriate interlocutor for negotiations on ending the conflict. Asked about Ocalan's role, Sirnak mayor Ahmet Ertak said that Ocalan is comfortable having the DTP take the lead in dealing with the GOT. Ertak was unwilling to accept that Ocalan's association with terrorism made him an unacceptable personality to serve as the Kurds' leader, saying that -- like Mandela -- Ocalan will eventually be vindicated. ¶8. (C) The DTP leaders all raised the question of Turkey's party election threshold as a sore point, noting that their party is excluded because, despite its strength in the SE, it cannot capture ten percent of the national vote required to pass the threshold. They also reacted against reports that a new minimum vote threshold may be introduced for independent candidates, noting that in the less-populated SE even if a candidate got 100 percent of the votes he would still not pass the threshold. ¶9. (C) Discussing the substance of Kurdish demands, Ertak and other DTP mayors focused on language and cultural rights. They were pleased that the Kurdish-language newspaper Azadiya Welat is being published daily as of mid-August, but they stressed that much more remains to be done. The DTP mayors voiced a lingering resentment about second-class treatment of Kurdish language and culture and the fact that the GOT has not made an open declaration recognizing their unique identity. Ertak, for example, stated that Kurdish aspirations could be accommodated without changing the Turkish constitution -- it merely needs to be implemented and interpreted in a more tolerant and liberal fashion. ¶10. (C) Comment. To the extent that it exists, Kurdish civil society is being fortified by its contact with counterparts in northern Iraq, as well as by the prospect of more democracy resulting from the EU process and US policy in the region. Optimally, this dynamic could erode the Ocalan-dominated PKK's grip on Kurdish politics in Turkey and promote change within the framework of the Turkish Constitution. Fostering more political pluralism within the Kurdish community will require the GOT to broaden the scope for a linguistic/cultural expression and make gestures acknowledging the legitimacy of Kurdish identity. DTP leaders appear to be coordinating their message fairly effectively: let us be the interlocutor, but to make progress we need something tangible. However, they handicap themselves by their continued atatchment to Ocalan and unwillingness to really reject the PKK -- including out of justifiable fear of reprisals. End comment. Visit Ankara's Classified Web Site at http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/eur/ankara/ WILSON