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.

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Kurds View Reforms as Ineffectual
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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
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."

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Prosecution of Political Speech Continues
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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.

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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.

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Locals Deny Progress in Assisting Displaced Villagers
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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.

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AKP Optimistic on Reforms and Organized for Elections
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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."

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Comment

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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