Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
07ANKARA144
2007-01-24 15:46:00
CONFIDENTIAL
Embassy Ankara
Cable title:  

DINK ASSASSINATION LEADS TO NATIONAL SOUL-SEARCHING

Tags:  PGOV PHUM PREL OSCE AM TU 
pdf how-to read a cable
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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)
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