TURKEY: HAK-PAR POLITICIANS CONVICTED FOR USING

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 ANKARA 000470

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/02/2017
TAGS: PGOV PHUM PREL OSCE TU
SUBJECT: TURKEY: HAK-PAR POLITICIANS CONVICTED FOR USING
KURDISH LANGUAGE

REF: A. ADANA 28


B. 06 ANKARA 6521

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Classified By: A/Political Counselor Kelly Degnan for reasons 1.4(b),(d
)

1.(C) Summary: An Ankara court convicted 13 officials of the
pro-Kurdish Hak-Par Party under the "Political Parties Law"
for speaking Kurdish at their 2004 party convention. The
judge found the speech at issue to be non-violent but
concluded that he was bound by the law to convict. Sentences
ranged from a fine of approximately 1,000 USD to one year in
prison. Hak-Par President Sevket Bucak told us the
defendants would appeal the decision, which contravenes the
European Convention on Human Rights. Bucak attributed a
recent rise in similar cases to an increasing lack of
tolerance from "state forces" within the military, judiciary,
and main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP). While
Bucak expected several Kurdish parties to find common ground
in the lead up to parliamentary elections in the fall, he
feared a backlash from ultranationalist groups. The Hak-Par
ruling is an indication that pressure on Kurdish politicians
and activists from a variety of sources, including the
judiciary, may increase as elections approach. Rulings in
other Kurdish language cases in the coming months are likely
to attract international attention and increase resistance to
change among some of the more nationalistic segments of
Turkish society. End summary.

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Kurdish Politicians Convicted for Speaking Kurdish
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2.(U) On February 14, an Ankara court sentenced 13 officials
of the pro-Kurdish Hak-Par Party for violating the Political
Parties Law for delivering speeches in Kurdish at a 2004
party convention and distributing Kurdish-language
invitations to the convention. The court sentenced five
defendants to a one-year prison term, but reduced the
sentence of one of those five to a 29,200 lira fine (USD
20,619) due to his advanced age. The court sentenced the
remaining eight defendants to six months in prison but
reduced one to a 1980 lira (USD 1,398) fine. The court also
stated it would instruct the Chief Prosecutor to begin a case
to close down the party if the Court of Cassation approved
the verdict.

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Party to Appeal Verdict That "Defies Common Sense"
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3.(C) Hak-Par President Sevket Bucak told us thatrt
uphoQHak-Par will take the case to the
European Court of Human Rights (ECHR).

4.(C) Bucak added that the court's reasoning contradicts
common sense. In its verdict, the court stated that the
speeches at issue "did not encourage violence and revolt"
because they merely stated a desire to solve the Kurdish
problem, improve Kurdish cultural rights, and remove the ten
percent election threshold. The judge reasoned,
nevertheless, that he had to apply the clear language of the
Political Parties law, which forbids broadcasting or speaking
in a language other than Turkish during political party
meetings. The judge added that the defendants had also
violated the law because it failed to hang the Turkish flag
and Ataturk's picture at the convention, and failed to sing
the Turkish National Anthem.

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Pressure on Kurdish Politicians Mounting
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5.(C) Bucak told us that "state forces" within the military,

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judiciary, and the CHP were stepping up pressure on Kurdish
politicians. He cited the case of Democratic Society Party
(DTP) co-chairs Ahmet Turk and Ayse Tugluk, who had recently
been sentenced to 1.5 years imprisonment for speaking in
Kurdish on International Women's Day in March, 2006 (ref A).
He attributed this to the state's increasing lack of
tolerance for voices encouraging peaceful, democratic
solutions to conflicts in southeastern Turkey. Bucak
excluded the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) from
these "state forces." AKP had demonstrated a desire to
pursue democratic political solutions upon taking office, but
had "lost political courage" under pressure from traditional
state elites.

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Kurdish Parties To Attempt Reconciliation
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6.(C) Bucak said several Kurdish parties are attempting to
put aside past differences (see ref B) and find common ground
in the lead up to parliamentary elections this fall. While
Hak-Par has good relations with Serefettin Elci's newly
established Participatory Democracy Party (KADEP),it has had
a rocky relationship with the main Kurdish DTP Party, which
it believes too close to the outlawed PKK terrorist
organization. Bucak hoped that the DTP would decide in its
February 28 extraordinary convention to have its candidates
run as independents in order to avoid the 10 percent
parliamentary threshold. This move would signal DTP's
distancing itself from incarcerated PKK leader Ocalan, Bucak
said. (Note: At its convention, the DTP voted to run its
candidates as independents.) Bucak favored increased unity
but worried that ultranationalist groups in the southeast
would react violently if they perceived that Kurds' political
power was increasing.

7.(C) Comment: The conviction of 13 Hak-Par members is
another sign, along with the recent DTP sentencings, that
pressure on Kurdish politicians and activists is ratcheting
up as parliamentary elections approach. The judge's refusal
to refer the issue to the Constitutional Court also
highlights the Turkish judiciary's resistance to allowing a
more permissive atmosphere for free speech. As the Hak-Par
and other pending Kurdish language cases make their way to
the ECHR, they will attract international attention that is
likely to cause some of the more nationalistic segments of
Turkish society to dig in their heels against further change.
End comment.

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

WILSON