TURKEY: OPPOSITION CHP UNDER ATTACK ON TWO FRONTS

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 ANKARA 001206 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/01/2018 TAGS: PGOV PREL TU SUBJECT: TURKEY: OPPOSITION CHP UNDER ATTACK ON TWO FRONTS Classified By: Political Counselor Daniel O'Grady, for Reasons 1.4 (b,d ) ¶1. (C) SUMMARY AND COMMENT. Opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) is under scrutiny both within Socialist International (SI) and by Turkey's Constitutional Court in unrelated developments that highlight the party's feckless leadership and the lack of meaningful alternatives on the left. CHP declined to send a representative to SI's June 30 General Congress in Athens, where it was decided that a delegation will visit Turkey to investigate whether CHP is adhering to SI principles. The party also came under fire for accounting discrepancies of $800,000 over several years; the Constitutional Court, charged with monitoring party financing, ordered a prosecutor to look into the case after reviewing CHP's books. The violations are relatively minor compared with the initial accusations, leading some to suggest a judiciary sympathetic to CHP's Kemalist views may not be investigating too strenuously. The Court appears to have passed up the opportunity to hold CHP Chairman Deniz Baykal responsible for financial wrongdoing, though criminal charges may be filed against other party officials. END SUMMARY AND COMMENT. Socialist International Takes a Closer Look -------------- ¶2. (SBU) CHP Chairman Deniz Baykal, one of SI's 30 vice presidents, declined to attend the organization's 23rd General Assembly in Athens this week, amid criticism from some SI members over CHP's socialist credentials. Vice Chairman Onur Oymen, meeting with SI President Papandreou days before the Congress, was tasked to convince him, but apparently failed to persuade anyone that CHP is a standard bearer of social democracy and therefore not in need of closer scrutiny. The SI Council approved the ethics board recommendation that a delegation travel to Turkey to talk with CHP officials; an SI spokesperson reportedly said the General Assembly's approval is not necessary. Ethics Committee member Marije Laffeber told the press SI is particularly concerned about CHP policies on minority rights, adding a decision on CHP's SI membership was not before the Congress. Other SI members reportedly voiced concern about CHP's nationalist tendencies and resistance to reforms. Baykal announced June 29 he would not attend the Congress, emphasizing CHP has been protecting the Turkish Republic and secularism and has done nothing wrong. (The Kurdish Democratic Society Party (DTP) is attending the SI meeting as an observer.) ¶3. (SBU) Oymen claimed ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) supporters were plotting against CHP in Europe, referring to a letter sent to SI by former CHP member/now AKP MP Haluk Ozdalga. Ozdalga, a prominent part of AKP's social democratic facelift before the 2007 general elections, sent an open letter to SI decrying the party as "brazen opponents of democracy and freedom" and "outspoken provocateurs of military intervention." Baykal defensively told mainstream daily Milliyet that if SI takes seriously attempts to ridicule CHP, the party will review its relations with the institution. Denying SI harbors any negative attitude toward CHP, Baykal at the same time claimed SI is being used as a platform against "CHP and Turkey" and warned that CHP would react strongly to any provisions "against Turkey." ¶4. (SBU) Media pundits, particularly on the left, were quick to contrast CHP's record of Kemalist ultranationalism with social democracy. Mahmut Ovur in Sabah daily noted CHP's ties with SI weakened in 2000 when CHP adopted an anti-EU stance; relations deteriorated further with CHP's positions on Penal Code Article 301 (outlawing "insulting Turkishness"),the Foundations Law, and the military's April 27 (2007) "coup by memorandum." Zaman's Ihsan Dagi noted CHP preferred the (Kemalist elites of) military, judiciary, and university rectors to democracy. Ali Bayramoglu, a leftist writer in Yeni Safak, described CHP as "pathetic" and compared Baykal with Idi Amin and Qaddafi for trying to equate his party with Turkey. Former CHP MP Zulfu Livaneli, writing in Vatan, rhetorically asked what CHP had to do with ANKARA 00001206 002 OF 002 the left. He accused Baykal of guiding the party by riding a rising wave of nationalism, labeling CHP a nationalist center-right party. Star's Mehmet Altan expressed the hope that a warning from SI might clear the path for a genuine leftist understanding in Turkey. ...As Does the Constitutional Court -------------- ¶5. (SBU) At the Finance Ministry's request, the Constitutional Court examined CHP's account books and called for criminal charges to be brought against the party's bookkeepers. The Court scrutinized CHP financial records based on government allegations that the party had, undocumented, provided $3.5 million assistance to ultranationalist CHP vanity station, Kanalturk, headed by Tuncay Ozkan. The station is famous for promoting CHP "experts" on every talk show and repeatedly broadcasting documentaries featuring military coups. The Court concluded that the receipts of the "missing millions" are within CHP files, but referred other irregularities from 1998, 2004, 2005, and 2006 totaling YTL 930,000 (about $760,000) to the public prosecutor's office for further investigation. The Court authorized the Treasury to confiscate nearly $29,000 worth of CHP property and required CHP to transfer funds amounting to the missing total to the Treasury, but did not specify a due date. ¶6. (SBU) A few commentators have compared the CHP financial irregularities with those that brought down the now-defunct Refah Party, whose former chairman, Prime Minister Necmettin Erbakan, remains under house arrest in connection with the "missing trillions" case. Constitutional Court President Hasim Kilic stated, however, that there is nothing in the evidence that could lead to CHP's closure. Hopeful CHP-opponents suggest the discovered receipts accounting for the funds were fraudulent, adding that CHP's questionable dealings with Kanalturk may violate the Political Parties Law or constitutional prohibitions against parties engaging in commercial activities. Former Supreme Court of Appeals prosecutor Ahmet Gundel argues that CHP's Kanalturk dealings may violate Turkey's Radio and Television Supreme Council (RTUK) regulations on party broadcasts during election campaigns. Visit Ankara's Classified Web Site at http://www.intelink.sgov.gov/wiki/Portal:Turk ey WILSON