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.

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Positive Synergy with Northern Iraq
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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.

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Civil Society Calls for Cease-fire
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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.

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DTP Leaders Want Dialogue and Respect
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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

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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