TURKEY: AHMET TURK RAISES THE PROFILE OF DTP'S

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 ANKARA 001564

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 08/29/2018
TAGS: PGOV PHUM PREL OSCE TU
SUBJECT: TURKEY: AHMET TURK RAISES THE PROFILE OF DTP'S
MODERATE WING

REF: A. ANKARA 964 B. 1404

Classified By: Political Counselor Daniel O'Grady, reasons 1.4 (b,d)


1. (C) Summary and comment: Recent statements by pro-Kurdish
Democratic Society Party (DTP) leader Ahmet Turk have raised
the profile of DTP's more moderate wing. Turk, re-elected as
party co-chairman at DTP's July convention, called for
peaceful resolution through dialogue of Turkey's intractable
Kurdish problem. Turk deplored recent bombings in Izmir and
Istanbul, attributed to the PKK-affiliated Kurdistan Freedom
Falcons (TAK),as "a blow to peace." In an August 25 meeting
with PolCouns, Poloff, and Pol FSN, Turk reiterated DTP's
demands for Kurdish linguistic, educational, political and
cultural rights, adding that despite pressure, DTP is ready
to talk to all actors about improving conditions for Turkey's
Kurds. After a brief resurgence by DTP hardliners sent the
moderate Turk to the sidelines last year, Turk's return to
the helm is a positive development. As one of DTP's most
experienced political leaders, Turk may yet salvage something
from DTP's lackluster performance since entering parliament
in 2007. Still, between reining in his hardline co-chair,
Emine Ayna, and countering the ruling party's aggressive
local elections campaign strategy in the southeast, Turk may
have a hard time getting his message of peaceful dialogue
heard. End summary and comment.

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Turk's Election Signifies "Momentary" DTP Reconciliation
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2. (C) DTP members restored Turk as party co-chairman (along
with hardliner Emine Ayna) at the July convention, after
forcing Turk and Aysel Tugluk, both considered moderates, out
of the party leadership last November to make room for Ayna
and her fellow firebrand Nurettin Demirtas. Support for
Turk's more moderate approach plummeted following DTP's
dismal showing on its home turf in July 2007 parliamentary
elections and the GOT's cross-border operations against the
PKK in Northern Iraq. Demirtas's grab for the helm was
derailed by his conviction for evading military service using
faked medical reports; Ayna filled the void until the party
congress vote. At the convention, widely viewed as a brief
reconciliation between DTP hawks and doves, both Turk and
Ayna focused their speeches on the state's need to establish
dialogue with Kurds in order to strengthen Turkey. As Turk
said, "We do not have ideological differences within the
party but in politics there may be different attitudes."

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Turk Reiterates DTP's Core Demands, Condemns Violence
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3. (C) Meeting with PolCouns August 25, Turk reiterated DTP's
demands for constitutional protection for expressing cultural
and ethnic identity, Kurdish-language education, and
"democratic autonomy" that allows each province or region to
assume an increased role in decision-making. Turk stressed
that increased dialogue among all actors, supported by
state-sponsored social projects for the Southeast, is the
only way to solve the decades-old conflict. He emphasized
the need to abolish Turkey's ten percent election threshold,
which limits DTP representation in parliament. The party
circumvented the threshold by running candidates as
independents in 2007 general elections, but would have been
more successful had it been able to run as a party, Turk
said.


4. (C) The key to solving the Kurdish problem is the state's
attitude toward Kurds, according to Turk; the state must show
it intends to resolve the conflict through democratic means.
"We openly tell the PKK to disregard arms as a means to
obtain rights. But there is a societal reality. Kurds will
react to policies based on a denial of their identity and
their cultural demands," he said, adding, "As long as the
state does not change those policies, it cannot reduce the
influence of the PKK on people." Turk reiterated his firm
opposition to violence. In an August interview with daily
Yeni Safak, Turk had acknowledged armed conflict is not the
answer. "No matter how right you may be, it is no longer
possible to support armed struggle," he said. "I'm giving a
message to both sides: resorting to guns should no longer be
a means for looking for one's rights and the state must stop
silencing the Kurds with a stick." Turk said he has urged
his colleagues to be realistic: "Unless we conduct politics
by considering social sensitivities, we will be disappointed."

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AKP's Kurdish Policies Lacking
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5. (C) The ruling Justice and Development Party's (AKP's)
efforts have been ineffective in resolving the Kurdish
problem, Turk claimed. In 2007, AKP won considerable credit
among Kurds in the Southeast for resisting demands by Turkish
nationalists and the military to strike the PKK inside Iraq
and for showing sympathy for Kurdish demands for expanded
culture and language rights. Many believed AKP was not part
of the status quo and could contribute to a solution but they
have been disappointed, Turk said. Kurds interpreted the
February cross-border operation and AKP's focus on lifting
the headscarf ban at universities instead of tackling broader
constitutional reform as indifference toward their interests,
Turk explained. PM Erdogan followed-up his campaign speeches
recognizing the Kurdish problem by "ignoring" DTP.


6. (C) Turk viewed AKP's recent green-lighting of Kurdish
language broadcasts on state television as important, but
predicted the measure would be ineffective absent AKP
"internalizing" the need to recognize Kurds' right to express
their culture. The state's previous 30-minute weekly Kurdish
language broadcasts were insulting to Kurds, he said, because
they favored boring documentaries about ants and mice instead
of quality programming about meaningful, topics of interest
to Kurds.

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Ergenekon Could Create Sympathy for Kurds
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7. (C) Turk described Ergenekon, the alleged crime
organization, as an important development that could help
Turks understand how much Kurds have suffered at the hands of
hardline police and Jandarma officials. Several of the
suspects being investigated were allegedly responsible for
orchestrating murders and burning down villages while serving
as military commanders in the Southeast, Turk said. By
shedding light on incidents like Susurluk and Semdinli, where
military and state officials were caught red-handed but never
punished, the investigation may create sympathy for Kurds
among Turks, and reduce Kurdish antipathy toward Turks.

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Closing DTP Will Harm All Turkey
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8. (C) Though DTP welcomed the Constitutional Court's July 30
decision to fine but not close AKP, Turk noted the closure
case against his party continues. "AKP is not pro-Sharia and
we are not pro-separatism," Turk said. If DTP is closed,
Kurds will feel unwanted and Turkey would be stuck at the
current impasse, he predicted. AKP should fulfill its pledge
to amend the Political Parties Law to make party closure more
difficult, Turk said, adding, "AKP cannot ignore others after
it is saved." Despite the pressure on DTP, Turk emphasized
the party is ready to talk to all actors, including political
leaders and the military, about the Kurdish issue. He denied
any "organic tie" between DTP and the PKK, noting, "People
mistakenly think taking DTP as an interlocutor would be seen
as a compromise to the PKK but this is not true." Until the
Kurdish problem is resolved, Turkey will not undergo the
transformation it needs, he said.

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WILSON