Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
07ANKARA1652
2007-06-27 13:17:00
CONFIDENTIAL
Embassy Ankara
Cable title:
TURKEY: ANGER TOWARD THE US IN SMALL-TOWN ANATOLIA
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C O N F I D E N T I A L ANKARA 001652
SIPDIS
SIPDIS
E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/21/2017
TAGS: PGOV PREL TU
SUBJECT: TURKEY: ANGER TOWARD THE US IN SMALL-TOWN ANATOLIA
Classified By: Political Counselor Janice G. Weiner, for Reasons 1.4 (b
,d)
C O N F I D E N T I A L ANKARA 001652
SIPDIS
SIPDIS
E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/21/2017
TAGS: PGOV PREL TU
SUBJECT: TURKEY: ANGER TOWARD THE US IN SMALL-TOWN ANATOLIA
Classified By: Political Counselor Janice G. Weiner, for Reasons 1.4 (b
,d)
1. (U) SUMMARY. A visit to an Anatolian village and its
nearby subprovincial capital provided a window into the deep
anger many small-town citizens currently feel toward the
United States. Preoccupied by daily reports of "our sons"
being killed by Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) terrorists in
the southeast and media accusations of US perfidy, the
villagers passionately protested that the United States has
abandoned its friendship with Turkey in favor of the Iraqi
Kurds and even the PKK itself. END SUMMARY.
Taslica Village: Steeped in Myth...
--------------
2. (U) Taslica village consists of roughly twenty houses
clustered amid the hills of Central Anatolia and is the site
of minor religious tourism. Legends are commonplace, with
the villagers believing their town to be the source of
Anatolia's namesake. They claim a local woman invited a
group of Seljuk (pre-Ottoman) soldiers to fill their canteens
with ayran (a salty yogurt-like drink) from her stone bowl.
Miraculously, she produced enough ayran to fill the canteens
of the whole army, prompting each soldier to say, "Ana, dolu
(Mother, it's full)." The villagers maintain a shrine to
this woman, and various subsidiary legends have arisen around
the central myth, which the villagers earnestly recount as
fact.
... Tradition
--------------
3. (U) The villagers traditionally subsisted by cultivating
wheat and barley. Economic changes prompted the village's
younger inhabitants to move to nearby Kizilcahamam, Ankara,
and Istanbul. As a result, the village fields lie fallow and
the remaining inhabitants are quite poor. Government
authorities have attempted to persuade the villagers to
capitalize on the steady stream of visitors to the Anadolu
shrine, but villagers deem this incompatible with their duty
to receive guests. Indeed, they were courteous, warm and
generous with us, even though the message they conveyed was
bitter.
... And Media
--------------
4. (C) Despite their hospitality, they were unvarnished in
accusing the US of jettisoning Turkey in favor of the Kurds
and charged that we would not support the Iraqi Kurds if we
were Turkey's true friend. With pained disappointment, they
reminded us of our shared struggles in the Korean War and the
Cold War. The current fight against the PKK is clearly of
great importance to them; every "martyr" killed by the
terrorist PKK is a personal loss for their own families.
They accused the United States of supporting "tribal leaders"
Barzani and Talabani and of opposing Turkish efforts to root
out the PKK in northern Iraq.
5. (C) As the villagers built up steam, they moved on to
blame the US for forcing Turkey to abolish capital
punishment, and specifically for forcing them to "keep
feeding (PKK leader Abdullah) Ocalan," who they believe
currently directs PKK attacks from prison -- with US support.
They also were convinced that the US seeks to divide Turkey
among Greece, Armenia and Iraq. While the villagers support
different political parties, their feelings on these issues
were unanimous. A daily fare of factual inaccuracies and
hostility toward the US in the media and political rhetoric
has contributed to deep anger toward US policies. Visceral in
its vehemence, this anger plays a central role in Turkish
political debate, even in rural Anatolia.
Visit Ankara's Classified Web Site at
http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/eur/ankara/
WILSON
SIPDIS
SIPDIS
E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/21/2017
TAGS: PGOV PREL TU
SUBJECT: TURKEY: ANGER TOWARD THE US IN SMALL-TOWN ANATOLIA
Classified By: Political Counselor Janice G. Weiner, for Reasons 1.4 (b
,d)
1. (U) SUMMARY. A visit to an Anatolian village and its
nearby subprovincial capital provided a window into the deep
anger many small-town citizens currently feel toward the
United States. Preoccupied by daily reports of "our sons"
being killed by Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) terrorists in
the southeast and media accusations of US perfidy, the
villagers passionately protested that the United States has
abandoned its friendship with Turkey in favor of the Iraqi
Kurds and even the PKK itself. END SUMMARY.
Taslica Village: Steeped in Myth...
--------------
2. (U) Taslica village consists of roughly twenty houses
clustered amid the hills of Central Anatolia and is the site
of minor religious tourism. Legends are commonplace, with
the villagers believing their town to be the source of
Anatolia's namesake. They claim a local woman invited a
group of Seljuk (pre-Ottoman) soldiers to fill their canteens
with ayran (a salty yogurt-like drink) from her stone bowl.
Miraculously, she produced enough ayran to fill the canteens
of the whole army, prompting each soldier to say, "Ana, dolu
(Mother, it's full)." The villagers maintain a shrine to
this woman, and various subsidiary legends have arisen around
the central myth, which the villagers earnestly recount as
fact.
... Tradition
--------------
3. (U) The villagers traditionally subsisted by cultivating
wheat and barley. Economic changes prompted the village's
younger inhabitants to move to nearby Kizilcahamam, Ankara,
and Istanbul. As a result, the village fields lie fallow and
the remaining inhabitants are quite poor. Government
authorities have attempted to persuade the villagers to
capitalize on the steady stream of visitors to the Anadolu
shrine, but villagers deem this incompatible with their duty
to receive guests. Indeed, they were courteous, warm and
generous with us, even though the message they conveyed was
bitter.
... And Media
--------------
4. (C) Despite their hospitality, they were unvarnished in
accusing the US of jettisoning Turkey in favor of the Kurds
and charged that we would not support the Iraqi Kurds if we
were Turkey's true friend. With pained disappointment, they
reminded us of our shared struggles in the Korean War and the
Cold War. The current fight against the PKK is clearly of
great importance to them; every "martyr" killed by the
terrorist PKK is a personal loss for their own families.
They accused the United States of supporting "tribal leaders"
Barzani and Talabani and of opposing Turkish efforts to root
out the PKK in northern Iraq.
5. (C) As the villagers built up steam, they moved on to
blame the US for forcing Turkey to abolish capital
punishment, and specifically for forcing them to "keep
feeding (PKK leader Abdullah) Ocalan," who they believe
currently directs PKK attacks from prison -- with US support.
They also were convinced that the US seeks to divide Turkey
among Greece, Armenia and Iraq. While the villagers support
different political parties, their feelings on these issues
were unanimous. A daily fare of factual inaccuracies and
hostility toward the US in the media and political rhetoric
has contributed to deep anger toward US policies. Visceral in
its vehemence, this anger plays a central role in Turkish
political debate, even in rural Anatolia.
Visit Ankara's Classified Web Site at
http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/eur/ankara/
WILSON