TURKEY: PARLIAMENT OVERWHELMINGLY APPROVES MOTION

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 ANKARA 002573 SIPDIS SENSITIVE SIPDIS DEPT. FOR EUR/SE AND NEA/I E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PTER PGOV PREL TU IZ US SUBJECT: TURKEY: PARLIAMENT OVERWHELMINGLY APPROVES MOTION TO AUTHORIZE CROSS BORDER ACTION AGAINST PKK REF: ANKARA 2566 AND PREVIOUS ANKARA 00002573 001.2 OF 002 ¶1. (SBU) SUMMARY: On October 17, the Turkish parliament, as expected, approved by an overwhelming margin a government-sponsored motion authorizing a cross border operation (CBO) against Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) terrorists in northern Iraq. It gives the government authority for one year to approve a CBO. END SUMMARY ¶2. (SBU) The vote for the motion was overwhelming: 507 in favor, 19 against. All parties except the Kurdish nationalist Democratic Society Party (DTP) voted in favor of the motion. ¶3. (SBU) On behalf of the government, Deputy PM and government spokesman Cemil Cicek emphasized that the motion represented a coordinated effort among all relevant state actors, including government and military. Noting that Turkey has suffered tens of thousands of casualties in its struggle against PKK terror, he stressed the current government had demonstrated great patience in pursuing a solution through diplomatic means. With no results to show for this effort, the GOT had decided that it must consider the possibility of countering the threat through military means. Cicek accused the PKK of causing the suffering of Turkish citizens throughout the Southeast, noting that terrorist violence had hindered the GOT's ability to complete its massive GAP development project there. ¶4. (SBU) Speaking on behalf of the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP),Nihat Ergun stressed that the economic, political and social development of the heavily Kurdish Southeast had been long neglected. This had changed when AKP entered the scene; gradually, they won the hearts of the people. He urged other parties to emulate AKP by knocking on all doors in the region. He stressed Turkey's patient wait for the international community to act and noted the responsibility of northern Iraqis to support the central Iraqi government in the fight against the PKK. The northern Iraqi administration should recognize just how determined Turkey is. Turkey's diplomats would, he stressed, make effective use of the motion before the military. ¶5. (SBU) Sukru Elekdag spoke for the Republican People's Party (CHP). He underscored CHP's support for the motion, accusing both the US and the Iraqi Kurds of using the PKK as a trump card. He alleged that the US wanted to remain in a divided Iraq for the oil, and termed US policies there "two-faced" and a "fiasco". He stated that the Iraqi Kurds needed to choose between Turkey and the PKK, and concluded by asking whether the US would support Turkey or those who shelter the PKK. ¶6. (SBU) Expressing the views of the Nationalist Action Party (MHP),Deniz Bolukbasi offered full MHP support for the motion, accused the government of foot-dragging on this matter, and hoped the AKP would demonstrate the necessary will to use the mandate. He complained about the unhelpful stance of the US, Iraqi President Talabani and KRG President Barzani. Bolukbasi argued that it would be difficult to target only PKKers, as they might blend into the peshmerga. He also pushed for a deterrent policy toward Iraq that could include such measures as shutting down the Habur customs gate, not allowing Turkish airspace to be used, and cutting logistical supply shipments. ¶7. (SBU) The DTP's Selahattin Demirtas, representing the only party to vote "no" on the motion, stated that people everywhere want the bloodshed to stop: "Every drop of blood shed makes it harder to dress the wound." He warned that in the event of a CBO, Turkey could get stuck in a quagmire. He ANKARA 00002573 002.2 OF 002 called for a solution within the framework of democracy and stressed that the DTP had turned its face to Ankara to resolve these problems. He expressed the hope that if the motion were adopted, Turkey would not have to use it. He offered to contribute to a solution; that is why, he said, voters had sent DTPers to parliament. He asked that parliament work harder on economic and social measures for the region. ¶8. (SBU) Comment: Throughout the debate, AKP stuck to its relatively moderate line, both to keep the GOT's options open, and to ensure that AKP MPs from the Southeast (who were treated to a four-hour presentation/dinner the night before by Education Minister and Van MP Huseyin Celik) voted "yes". CHP and MHP, as expected, were the most demanding, but ultimately supportive of the motion. MPs listened to DTP's Demirtas in stony silence, but they did listen. The question now will be how much pressure PM Erdogan will find himself under; absent a major PKK strike, he has bought some time. Visit Ankara's Classified Web Site at http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/eur/ankara/ WILSON