CODEL SHAYS GOES TO SOUTHEASTERN TURKEY

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 ANKARA 002885

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

DEPT. FOR EUR/SE AND NEA/I

E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/03/2017
TAGS: PREL PGOV PTER TU IZ
SUBJECT: CODEL SHAYS GOES TO SOUTHEASTERN TURKEY

REF: ANKARA 2863

Classified By: Ambassador Ross Wilson for reasons 1.4(b) and (d)


1. (U) This is a Consulate Adana cable.


2. (C) SUMMARY: Representative Christopher Shays obtained
first-hand insight into the Kurdish issue and efforts to
counter the PKK during a November 27-28 visit to southeastern
Turkey. He also toured the Habur border gate and was briefed
on Turkish-Iraqi trade relations and supply operations for
coalition forces in Iraq. While most interlocutors praised
the AKP government's attempts to improve economic conditions,
NGO representatives criticized the Turkish establishment's
historic inability to deal effectively with the Kurdish
issue. END SUMMARY.

DIYARBAKIR GOVERNOR
--------------


3. (C) In Diyarbakir, governor Avni Mutlu discussed the links
between economic conditions and terrorism, noting that the
government's efforts to address urgent needs such as health
care, provision of safe drinking water, and improved roads
have helped reduce support for the PKK. The private sector
has also grown in recent years; production of marble from
local deposits has developed into a business generating over
$100 million annually and 80 percent of the local organized
industrial zone's 150 sites are now occupied after only five
years. But Mutlu noted that unemployment remains a serious
problem and that, under the rubric of the Southeastern
Anatolian Project (GAP),more land needs to be put under
irrigation to spur employment.


4. (C) PKK violence has also cost the region, the governor
said, noting that the group's attacks on innocent civilians
cannot possibly be justified as a legitimate defense of
Kurdish rights. He welcomed Shays, firm condemnation of the
PKK and the recent deepening of U.S.-Turkish cooperation in
efforts to counter the organization. He said that "the
children in the mountains are our children -- we are not
happy with anyone's death or pleased with anyone's tears."
Mutlu hopes the U.S. can play a role in disarming the PKK and
having them express themselves through politics. Many Turks,
who were accustomed to America's staunch support during the
Cold War, are disappointed that the U.S. has not done more
against the PKK. Shays reiterated the USG's commitment to
work with Turkey against the PKK, including through
intelligence sharing.

CIVIL SOCIETY: GOOD NEWS, BAD NEWS
--------------


5. (C) Sezgin Tanrikulu, President of the Diyarbakir Bar
Association, Sahismail Bedirhanoglu, head of a local business
association, and development worker Nurcan Baysal painted a
mixed picture of current developments. They briefed Shays on
the legacy of the conflict in the 1990,s, when PKK violence
stunted economic growth and the GOT forced about 1.5 million
people to evacuate their villages in the region, causing
serious damage to the agricultural economy and creating
massive problems as people relocated to larger cities such as
Diyarbakir. Per capital income in the southeast is about
one-third the level of the Turkish average, unemployment is
about 40% and half the population is less than 18 years old.


6. (C) Tanrikulu reported that since the PKK resumed violence
in 2004 human rights violations by the government, including
cases of death in custody and limitations on speech and
assembly, have increased. He noted that the PKK was created
and is perpetuated because the Kurdish issue has not been
addressed and that, if the GOT had met the minimum demands of
the Kurds, the PKK issue would be resolved.


7. (C) Bedirhanoglu was upbeat about recent political
developments. "We want democratization and to reduce
regional disparities and lower unemployment," he said. The
AK Party government, which he noted was the first mainstream
party to win support across the Kurdish region, has been
constructive in dealing with these issues. But the Turkish
military and the judiciary are in conflict with the
government and block its progress. Baaysal was less
optimistic, accusing the government of trying to improve
living standards through programs that treat people as
recipients of charity rather than as citizens who should be
empowered to develop their own talents. She also expressed
skepticism about the rosy plans for GAP-related expansion of
employment, noting that the government had been making such
promises for 20 years. Tanrikulu said that the PKK is losing
popularity, but continued poverty could increase support for

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fundamentalists who could organize the way Hamas did in the
Palestinian territories.

EPICENTER OF TURKISH-IRAQI TRADE
--------------


8. (C) Shays met with Aydin Abak, the Sirnak sub-governor in
charge of the Habur Gate, which handles virtually all freight
going from Turkey to Iraq, including fuel and supplies
destined for coalition forces. Abak briefed on the recent
$40m upgrade in the gate's infrastructure, a joint
build-operate-transfer project between the GOT and TOBB, a
national business association. The new facility has 24
vehicle lanes which currently process about 600-900 trucks
per day in each direction and 300-400 cars and passenger
vans. The head of the local customs office, Mehmet Ulusoy,
explained that weapons, explosives, drugs, and cigarettes are
the most common forms of contraband his officers intercept
from Iraq. During a tour of the area, he showed Shays a
state-of-the art x-ray machine that will be on line in a few
weeks and will be able to scan trucks suspected of hauling
illicit cargo. Operating at full capacity, the gate could
process up to 5,000 trucks per day, according to Ulusoy.


9. (C) In a subsequent meeting, Adnan Elci and Halil Balkan,
Presidents of the Cizre and Sirnak Chambers of Commerce,
talked about the deepening economic ties between Turkey and
Northern Iraq. Elci noted that, although Turkish exports
have declined from $8b/year to $2.5/year due to tensions at
the border and increases in Iraq's trade with Iran and Syria,
he and other Turkish businessmen continue to pursue a variety
of projects in northern Iraq's Kurdish region, including a
major hotel development in Erbil. Balkan urged the U.S. to
play an active role in encouraging an improvement in
political relations and cooperation on the PKK issue between
Ankara and the KRG. He said that commercial relations can
also play a role in improving the atmosphere.

ASSYRIAN CHRISTIANS IN MARDIN
--------------


10. (C) At the St. Gabriel Monastery in Mardin province,
Shays met with Bishop Samuel Aktas, who voiced concern about
continuing difficulties his community faces because the GOT
does not accord Assyrian Christians the privileges associated
with officially recognized "minorities." As a result, the
church is not allowed to have a seminary inside Turkey, which
forces all of its clergy to train abroad. Aktas said that he
and his colleagues fully support Turkey's efforts to
integrate with the EU and want Turkey to develop the levels
of tolerance found in European countries.


11. (U) While violence against his church members is rare,
during Shays, visit to the monastery, Aktas learned that an
Assyrian priest from a neighboring town had been kidnapped by
unknown assailants who demanded EURO 300,000 in ransom. (The
priest was released the following day.)

INTENSE MEDIA SCRUTINY
--------------


12. (U) Shays visit to the southeast received extensive
coverage in the national media; he gave a brief impromptu
press conference for about two dozen reporters in Cizre, near
the Habur Gate. In his remarks, Shays stated his interest in
visiting the region of Turkey that borders Iraq and
reaffirmed President Bush's formulation that the PKK is an
enemy of Turkey, Iraq and the U.S. He added that the U.S.
wants Iraq to succeed as an independent, unified country and
needs Turkey's help to achieve that goal.


13. (U) Codel Shays did not clear this message.

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

WILSON