DINK ASSASSINATION LEADS TO NATIONAL SOUL-SEARCHING

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 ANKARA 000144 SIPDIS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 01/24/2017 TAGS: PGOV PHUM PREL OSCE AM TU SUBJECT: DINK ASSASSINATION LEADS TO NATIONAL SOUL-SEARCHING REF: A. ANKARA 0112 ¶B. ISTANBUL 0038 ¶C. ISTANBUL 0042 ¶D. 06 ANKARA 6567 Classified By: Ambassador Ross Wilson, reasons 1.4 (b),(d) 1.(C) Summary: The soul-searching by Turks following the murder of Turkish-Armenian journalist and human rights activist Hrant Dink has focused on what sort of country Turkey wants to be; possible openings for reconciliation among Turks and Armenians; the threat nationalism poses to open debate and democracy; government complicity in failing to speak out against extremists; and the need to reform controversial laws that limit speech and religious minorities, rights. Many have called on the government to turn this tragedy into an opportunity for reconciliation with Armenia and accommodation of freer discussion of historically sensitive issues. Dink's death also has altered, at least temporarily, the rhetoric on nationalism, spotlighting the militant tone that has become the norm, rather than just the purview of a marginal few. The GOT now has a fleeting chance to use the funeral's unifying effect as a catalyst for concrete action before election pressures again paralyze the political scene. End summary. -------------- -------------- Critics Say GOT Inaction Fueled Environment of Intolerance -------------- -------------- 2.(C) Many print commentators and several of our contacts blamed the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) and the main opposition People's Republican Party (CHP) for tacitly helping sow seeds of intolerance and xenophobia that created fertile ground for the Dink murder. Justice Minister Cemil Cicek's comments last fall that those charged under Turkish Penal Code Article 301 with "insulting Turkishness" (such as Dink) were "stabbing the nation in the back" illustrated the government's failure to tamp down spiraling nationalist sentiment. According to one contact, the government contributed to a "lynch-mob atmosphere" by failing to prevent such prosecutions of Dink and others, including Nobel prize laureate Orhan Pamuk, for writing about Turkish-Armenian history. Dink himself noted in an interview prior to his death that until the GOT treated Turks of Armenian descent as "normal citizens" - allowing them to serve in the police and the bureaucracy and use Armenian as well as Turkish names in textbooks - society would always be divided. -------------- Assassination Tied to Rising Nationalism -------------- 3.(C) Human Rights Association President Yusuf Alatas, a pillar of Turkey's human rights' community, told us that the assassination appears to have emanated from Trabzon, which he described as a new "hotbed of nationalistic and anti-Western feeling." He highlighted several recent events connected to the city: the murder of an Italian priest in February 2006 in Trabzon by a 17-year old; Dink's assassination by a 17 year-old from Trabzon; and the October 2004 bombing of a Trabzon McDonald's by Yasin Hayal, the man who allegedly recruited and trained Dink's murderer. Each perpetrator, once apprehended, openly admitted to the act and expressed nationalistic pride for what he had done. Ogun Samast, Dink's alleged killer, reportedly said during his interrogation, "I don't regret it. I would do it again. (Dink) said Turkish blood was dirty blood." Alatas alleged that although the AKP leadership recognized that Trabzon was a dangerous, growing center of nationalistic vitriol, it ignored the problem. Critics also blamed the press for inciting violent reactions and inaccurately reporting on national events, pointing as well as extremist websites that allegedly inflamed subscribers such as Samast and Hayal. ¶4. (C) More broadly, both AKP and CHP have unabashedly played the nationalism card in an effort to pry votes from the traditional nationalist party, the National Movement Party (MHP),in upcoming parliamentary elections (see ref D). Both parties have stirred nationalist sentiment on combating the PKK, Cyprus negotiations, the EU accession process and other issues, including anti-Americanism, to strengthen their image ANKARA 00000144 002 OF 003 as the true defender of Turkey's national interests. In the wake of the Dink murder, some AKP MPs have begun to question the party's tactics. At a January 20 AKP retreat, AKP Central Administration Board Member Ayse Bohruler criticized PM Erdogan's nationalist tone and called for more emphasis on democracy and freedoms. Human rights activist Alatas predicted that fallout from the murder would cause AKP and CHP to "put the brakes" on their nationalistic rhetoric in the presidential and parliamentary election campaigns this year, and could lead to a renewed discussion of freedom of expression reforms. Recent statements by CHP leader Deniz Baykal that the CHP will resist Article 301 reform despite Dink's murder indicate, however, that the opposition plans to continue to whip up nationalist emotions to keep the pressure on AKP. -------------- Will Light Emerge From the Darkness? -------------- 5.(C) Feelings are split on whether the massive public outcry in the wake of the murder will ultimately lead to the reforms and reconciliation for which a broad array of newspaper columnists have appealed. They have called on parliament, the president, the prime minister, and the military to consider what sort of country they want Turkey to be, and to take immediate, bold steps to encourage tolerance, quell nationalistic sentiment and reach out to Armenia. Several called on the GOT to re-open the Turkish-Armenian border (closed by Turkey in 1993) and name the new border gate after Dink; immediately amend controversial Penal Code Article 301; re-open Halki Seminary; and pass the Law on Foundations (vetoed by President Sezer in December). Parliament Speaker Bulent Arinc reportedly said he would support efforts in parliament to abolish Article 301 and FM Gul publicly acknowledged the need to revise the provision. In his eulogy, Armenian Patriarch Mesrob II urged changes to the negative portrayal of Armenians in Turkish textbooks, noting that until that happened there would be no change in popular attitudes in Turkey. 6.(C) Others have commented that the government has shown signs that it may fail to capitalize on this unique, if tragic, opportunity to initiate needed reform. Commentators were scathing on the failure of President Sezer, Prime Minister Erdogan, Foreign Minister Gul, and CHP Chairman Baykal to attend Dink's funeral, terming it a sign that countering extremist nationalists and making bold political moves appears to remains politically dangerous in a country where nationalism has always been a fundamental aspect of Turkish identity. PM Erdogan's condolence visit to Dink's family and subsequent meeting with Mesrob II the evening of January 24, and FM Gul's call to Armenian Deputy FM Kirakossian following yesterday's funeral may help offset this some of the critical press. Despite the GOT's efforts to meet separately with Kirakossian in Istanbul today and work constructively with the Armenian Patriarchate on funeral logistics, some commentators claimed that Turkey's leaders have already missed a chance to lead the nation down a new path of reconciliation and reform. -------------- EU: GOT's Next Steps Important -------------- 7.(C) Several EU contacts praised the GOT's immediate condemnation of the assassination but said that the government's follow-on will affect European public opinion and Turkey's EU accession progress. One contact stated that the GOT's response to quell such sentiment and, at the same time, to ease restrictions on freedom of expression such as Article 301 would directly affect the EU's perception of Turkey. The Danish DCM told us that the GOT's quick denunciation of the murder as well as the suspect's successful apprehension 36 hours later would help to minimize negative repercussions, but added that Europe would be closely watching the GOT's response to the tragedy over the next several months. 8.(C) Comment: The Prime Minister's immediate condemnation of Dink's assassination and the quick police operation to locate and detain the suspect were encouraging signs. In the ANKARA 00000144 003 OF 003 face of persecution and prosecution, courageous activists such as Dink continued their calls for greater tolerance and freedom of expression. Dink was silenced by an extremist but his death creates an imperative for democratic reforms, especially of Article 301, and an opportunity to drive nationalism -- at least temporarily -- out of mainstream politics. We will continue to press the GOT to turn this tragedy, and the impressive groundswell of public sorrow and shame, into meaningful action on several of Turkey's toughest issues: progress on relations with Armenia and discussion of the darker parts of Ottoman/Turkish history, reform of Article 301, passage of legislation relating to minorities, and a healthy debate of nationalism's role in democratic Turkey. The window for concrete action is narrow. On these sensitive issues, the decisions rest with Prime Minister Erdogan, and it is not yet clear if he will seize the initiative. Visit Ankara's Classified Web Site at http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/eur/ankara/ WILSON