Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
06ANKARA5723
2006-10-02 11:29:00
CONFIDENTIAL
Embassy Ankara
Cable title:  

PRESIDENT SEZER TO PARLIAMENT: SECULARISM IS BASIS

Tags:  PGOV PREL PTER TU 
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TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 9126
INFO RUEHZL/EUROPEAN POLITICAL COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHDC PRIORITY
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RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHINGTON DC PRIORITY
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C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 ANKARA 005723 

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 09/30/2016
TAGS: PGOV PREL PTER TU
SUBJECT: PRESIDENT SEZER TO PARLIAMENT: SECULARISM IS BASIS
OF TURKEY'S DEMOCRACY


Classified By: CDA Nancy McEldowney for reasons 1.4(b),(d)

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 ANKARA 005723

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 09/30/2016
TAGS: PGOV PREL PTER TU
SUBJECT: PRESIDENT SEZER TO PARLIAMENT: SECULARISM IS BASIS
OF TURKEY'S DEMOCRACY


Classified By: CDA Nancy McEldowney for reasons 1.4(b),(d)


1. (C) Summary. Turkey's President stressed secularism and
democracy as antidotes to increasing fundamentalism in his
October 1 speech at parliament's official opening. Coming as
it did on the day before PM Erdogan's meeting with President
Bush in Washington and a much anticipated address on October
2 by Chief of Defense General Buyukanit (septel),President
Sezer's speech contained no surprises but a few clear jabs at
religious extremism and the Islamist ruling Justice and
Development Party (AKP). He interspersed frequent references
to Ataturk's legacy of a secular democratic Turkey,
constitutional and judicial integrity, and separation of
powers with calls for transparency, responsible free press,
and continued modernization. Sezer acknowledged some recent
"developments" on the PKK but reiterated Turkey's right of
self defense and charged that Turkey is not getting enough
support for its terrorism fight. Results from cooperation on
terrorism and northern Iraq will be a litmus test for
Turkish-US relations, he said. More lawyerly discourse than
impassioned speech, Sezer's message included the veiled
warning that Turkey's balance of power is at risk if PM
Erdogan's AKP moves into the presidency in May. End summary.


2. (C) In his last speech to parliament before leaving office
next spring, President Sezer focused on secularism and
modernization and warned against the misuse of religion in
politics. Echoing several recent muscular speeches by
Turkish military officials, Sezer raised increasing
fundamentalism in Turkey as a dangerous internal threat -- a
threat PM Erdogan had dismissed as overstated in September 30
comments to the press. Sezer charged that the "reactionary
threat" has remained intent on changing the basic
characteristics of the state. Sezer touted the military's
dedication to preserving Turkey's secular system and defended
the military's right to comment on nationalism and
secularism. The armed forces should be strengthened as a
guarantee of Turkey's democractic existence, he stated. His

comments contrasted with PM Erdogan's veiled advice to Gen.
Buyukanit before departing for the US (which Erdogan later
revealed to the press) to stop focusing on fundamentalism and
refrain from statements that might cause tensio in Turkey
and harm the economy.


3. (U) A ormer head of the Constitutional Court, Sezerreferenced constitutional provisions that enshrine separation
of powers, judicial integrity and the overarching priority of
secularism. Some freedoms, including a free press, can be
limited in the interest of protecting the state, Sezer
declared. Others -- territorial integrity, nationalism,
multiculturalism under a single flag and language -- are
sacrosanct and cannot be infringed. While a free press will
have a pioneering role in protecting a free society, Sezer
added that professional ethics must be followed and the media
must be protected against misuse for commercial interests.


4. (U) Secularism is Turkey's path to modernization, Sezer
stated, and modernization must be Turkey's goal. He flagged
Turkey's rapid population growth as a risk to social and
cultural development and called for a coordinated family
planning program. A modern economy that learns from the past
as it looks to the future will help combat poverty and
equalize regional development, he added. Where the private
sector is not keen to invest, the state must make up the
difference. He stressed the need for transparency and urged
the judicial, executive and legislative branches to join
forces in the fight against rampant corruption. He called
for compulsory education to be increased to 12 years, noting
that information is the key to sustainability of development.
In a swipe at religious schools, Sezer stated that dogmas
should be eliminated from Turkey's education system.



5. (U) Addressing foreign policy issues, Sezer said Turkey's
influence in international affairs is growing. Given the
many threats in Turkey's neighborhood, the nation's security
depends on regional and global cooperation. These conditions
increase the importance of Turkish-US relations, which rest
of mutual friendship and trust. The outcome of cooperation
on terrorism and northern Iraq will be a litmus test for the
relationship that will be closely watched by Turkish public
opinion, he noted. While Turkey is doing its part in the war
on terrorism, is not getting enough support in return to

ANKARA 00005723 002 OF 002


fight its own terrorist threat, Sezer charged. Turkey will
do what it needs to within the law to defend iself. He
acknowledged that Turkey needs to eliminate the economic
problems in the southeast and noted obliquely recent
"developments" that hold the promise for progress.


6. (U) Sezer touched on several regional hotspots. He urged
Iran to counter the lack of trust by increasing transparency
with international organizations, adding that Turkey is
following developments regarding its nuclear program with
concern. The conflicts in Iraq, Georgia and Azerbajian
should be solved by preserving territorial integrity and
political unity. Labeling the Palestinian problem the key to
stability in the Middle East, Sezer said the Turkey can
contribute to building peace and economic cooperation in the
region. Eu stressed that EU membership must remain a goal
because it is in Turkey's and the EU's interest, and said it
is the EU's duty to craft a solution to the Cyprus standoff
that is politically equitable.


7. (C) Comment. While PM Erdogan is clearly trying to tamp
down talk of increasing extremism in Turkey, Sezer's speech,
along with recent military comments, keep the focus on AKP's
Islamist underpinnings rather than the stable government AKP
has managed to provide since 2002. President Sezer's speech
packed no real suprises; it set the stage for PM Erdogan's
meeting with President Bush and General Buyukanit's speech by
reminding parliament and the public that secularism and
democracy are the basis for Turkey's continued modernization.
It also delivered a warning that Turkey's constitutional
balance of power is at risk if PM Erdogan's AKP takes the
presidency when he leaves office in May. By joining the
military's chorus on the increasing threat of fundamentalism,
Sezer is feeding into conspiracy theories that the AKP's
"true" agenda is to turn Turkey into an Islamist state, with
control of the presidency the final step. These dire
warnings may resonate with some, and are bound to escalate in
the election fray. But the majority of Turks continue to
define themselves and the country by Ataturk's principles of
secularism, democracy and modernization, even as they support
AKP's agenda for greater freedom of religious expression as
part of this society's struggle to craft a coherent answer to
the question of what it meas to be Turkish and Muslim in
today's world. We expect Gen. Buyukanit will echo Sezer's
message later today in a speech that will likely also
emphasize the military's role in maintaining stability as
Turkey wrestles with the conflicts that modernization brings.
End comment.

Visit Ankara's Classified Web Site at
http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/eur/ankara/

MCELDOWNEY