TURKEY: SOUTHEASTERN KURDS SEE LITTLE PROGRESS ON

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 ANKARA 005608 SIPDIS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 09/26/2016 TAGS: PGOV PHUM OSCE EU TU SUBJECT: TURKEY: SOUTHEASTERN KURDS SEE LITTLE PROGRESS ON HUMAN RIGHTS; GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS LOOKING THROUGH A DIFFERENT PRISM Classiied By: Political Counselor Janice G. Weiner fo Reasons 1.4 (b) and (d) ¶1. (C) Summary. During a week-long trip to Turkey's Southeast, government officials and local Kurds expressed diametrically opposed views to us regarding the progress of human rights in the region. Centrally appointed government officials praised the GOT's progress on improving rule of law, free speech, and the lives of villagers displaced by violence, while local Kurds reported few positive changes in their daily lives. The chasm between negative local views and the government's considerably more positive perceptions demonstrates the need for the USG to continue to emphasize the strategic importance of human rights reform and economic development in bringing stability to the region. End summary. ¶2. (C) During the week of September 18-22, we traveled to Van, Hakkari, Semdinli, and Yuksekova in Turkey's far Southeast to gauge progress on human rights as well as the mood of the people. Centrally appointed government officials, as well as the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) members, on the one hand, unanimously praised advances in the rule of law and freedom of speech, and told us that the government is making rapid progress restoring villages and financially compensating villagers adversely affected by PKK-related violence. Local citizens and elected officials, on the other hand, insisted that new laws passed by the parliament have failed to improve their lives. -------------- Kurds View Reforms as Ineffectual -------------- ¶3. (C) With respect to implementation of rule of law reforms, in Hakkari, three public prosecutors and a family court judge told us that access to a defense attorney is in all cases "immediate," and that human rights organizations can easily access and monitor detention facilities and prisons. These officials dismissed European Union criticism regarding the interconnectedness of prosecutors and judges in Turkey. Although the friendly relationship between the prosecutors and judge during our meeting suggested the potential for judicial bias, they fervently defended judicial independence. The governor of Hakkari, as well as his subgovernors in Semdinli and Yuksekova, echoed these views on the state of �00A;rule of law in the Southeast. ¶4. (C) Local citizens and representatives painted a much different picture: Despite an overhaul of criminal law and procedure, subsequent implementation of legislative reforms has been practically nonexistent, they stated. Van defense attorney Abdulmenaf Kiran told us that even though there has been a decrease in cases of outright torture, the government continues to harass defendants. Kiran typically receives a call 8 to 10 hours after a client has been detained, well after the police or Jandarma have interrogated the suspect, even though Turkish law requires that a lawyer be present during questioning. Kirin maintains that the police and Jandarma continue to intimidate detainees and procedurally obstruct their lawyers in cases relating to security or political issues. Kiran is often refused access to case files and in one case was "slapped" by the police in a court room when he tried to look at a defendant's case file. Local Democratic Society Party (DTP) members are more critical. The DTP Provincial Chairman in Van told us, "The Assembly has passed many bills but there has been no democratic development in our lives. Those affiliated with the DTP or perceived as politically active are treated by the judicial system as enemies and not citizens of the Turkish Republic." -------------- Prosecution of Political Speech Continues -------------- ¶5. (C) Government officials and local Kurds also express dissimilar views regarding the state of freedom of speech. Ugur Kalkar, the Subgovernor of Yuksekova, told us that there are few restrictions on a person's ability to make a press release or express his views. "Only statements praising terrorists or terrorist acts are prosecuted," said Kalkar. ANKARA 00005608 002 OF 003 Local Kurdish contacts expressed a diametrically opposed viewpoint. In contrast, Yuksekova Mayor and DTP member Salih Yildiz told us that the Anti-Terror law is routinely used as a tool to suppress speech. Since taking office in 2004, he has been charged in over 20 cases for speaking or printing his views on topics such as how the 10 percent electoral threshold stifles democracy in the region, and the need for increased broadcasting in Kurdish. ¶6. (C) Professor Yucel Askin, the Rector of Centennial University in Van, noted a less visible, but just as insidious, form of government opposition to free speech. After he spoke out in favor of the headscarf ban and in support of secularism last year, the government not only harassed him personally but also penalized the university. Askin said he could cope with the baseless corruption charges and the three days he spent in jail before the case was dropped. But what disturbed him far more, he told us, was that the government, and in particular the Minister of Education, slashed the school's funding and thereby contributed to a severe budget crisis. -------------- -------------- Locals Deny Progress in Assisting Displaced Villagers -------------- -------------- ¶7. (C) Regional officials praised the government's efforts to resettle and financially compensate villagers displaced by PKK-related violence. Hakkari Governor Ayhan Nasuhbeyoglu said he and his subgovernors are overseeing active efforts to build infrastructure such as roads, bridges, and sewage systems for the villages. A recent study he commissioned of 5000 displaced villagers showed that all applicants for compensation for economic losses, such as destroyed crops, have been paid. He also noted progress on efforts to build 2900 new homes for returnees, and said there are numerous communal centers to help give women marketable skills. (Comment: We visited one of these centers -- a large three-story pink house in a rundown neighborhood -- where approximately 50 single women participate in a 3-month program to learn carpet weaving, computer, and literacy skills. End comment.) The governor downplayed reports of low return numbers. He told us that most villagers who had not returned had adapted to cosmopolitan life and did not wish to return. ¶8. (C) Local Kurdish officials, in contrast, see many words but few actions. The mayors of Yuksekova and Semdinli, as well as DTP members in Van, believe that few villagers have returned home and that a compensation program mired in red-tape has proved woefully inadequate. Yuksekova Mayor Salih Yildiz told us about an acquaintance who had lost both his house and a herd of 500 sheep, only to be paid $1000 USD and given 500 bricks to construct a new home. Local defense attorneys concurred. In reality, they say, villagers may return for a few months to tend their sheep, but then leave due to ongoing violence and a lack of basic infrastructure and schools. -------------- -------------- AKP Optimistic on Reforms and Organized for Elections -------------- -------------- ¶9. (C) Van AKP chair Mustafa Bilici told us that the GOT's steady progress on human rights issues in his province will help the party improve on its 2002 election results: 6 of 7 seats in parliament; 28 of 40 city council seats, and 8 of 11 municipal government positions. Government programs to provide village infrastructure, compensate displaced villagers, advance the rule of law, and improve women's rights will strengthen the AKP's already strong position, said Bilici. Although we saw no female participation in the office staffed with approximately 15 men, Bilici said the party is working hard to increase female participation and meet an AKP requirement that slates in all provinces be 30 percent female. The determination of Bilici and his staff was best summed up by his motto, "we will leave no village unvisited and no hand unshaken." -------------- Comment ANKARA 00005608 003 OF 003 -------------- ¶9. (C) The disconnect between the people we met with and government officials in the region has existed for years. Mistrust of the central government - no matter the party in power - runs deep, and does not bode well for building the credible, constructive relationships needed to pull the region successfully out of economic and social neglect. It will take substantial effort and persistent confidence building on the part of GOT officials to overcome this divide. It is hard to imagine that even a stepped-up GOT program to hasten implementation of rule of law reforms and village reconstruction/compensation could quickly overcome the people's perception of neglect. The rosy outlook of centrally appointed officials, however, suggests that the government's priorities lie elsewhere, that they are under orders to present a certain picture to visitors, or that they are seriously out of touch. Visit Ankara's Classified Web Site at http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/eur/ankara/ WILSON