TURKEY: KURDISH LAWYER CLAIMS PKK BEING WEAKENED

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 ANKARA 001770

SIPDIS

DEPT. FOR EUR/SE

E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/10/2028
TAGS: PREL PTER PGOV TU IZ
SUBJECT: TURKEY: KURDISH LAWYER CLAIMS PKK BEING WEAKENED
BY MISGUIDED LEADERSHIP

REF: A. ANKARA 1404

B. ANKARA 1449

Classified By: Adana Principal Officer Eric Green for reasons 1.4 (b, d
)


1. (C) SUMMARY AND COMMENT: Hamza Yilmaz, a former lawyer
for Abdullah Ocalan, told us he believes the PKK is losing
the battle for the hearts and minds of the Kurdish community
as the AKP has used religion to appeal to rural Kurds and the
PKK/DTP's violent tactics and internal confusion have turned
off the intellectuals and even rank and file fighters.
Ocalan and the DTP's reaction to the Ergenekon case has
raised further questions. Instead of supporting efforts to
expose the activities of the deep state, Ocalan has told his
followers to avoid involvement, fueling speculation that he
is cooperating with or being used by the conspirators. The
confusion at the top level of the DTP, he said, results in
dysfunction at the local level. Meanwhile, the continued
dominance of the PKK suffocates any rival parties that want
to pursue the Kurdish struggle through non-violent means.
Yilmaz probably overestimates the level of grassroots
discontent with the PKK, but he accurately depicts Kurdish
intellectuals' frustration with the counterproductive
prolongation of violence and the sense that Kurds are missing
an opportunity to advance Turkey's democratization by sitting
on the sidelines of the Ergenekon case. End summary and
comment.

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PKK LOSING POPULARITY?
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2. (C) Adana PO and PolOff met in late September with human
rights attorney Hamza Yilmaz, who has been involved with
Kurdish politics for decades and served for 2-3 years as PKK
leader Abdullah Ocalan,s attorney starting in 1999. Yilmaz
said he believes the PKK is becoming less popular as members
of three groups are now losing sympathy:
--Kurdish peasants. This group was always turned off by the
PKK's hostility toward religion (which is now being revised)
and was therefore easily attracted to AKP's piety. (AKP's
focus on rural development, health and education has also
likely helped with this constituency.)
--Intellectuals. Whereas in the past many intellectuals
offered unquestioning support for the PKK regardless of its
methods, many are now blunt in rejecting armed struggle and
are openly calling on the organization to lay down its arms.
--Disillusioned rank and file. The mixed messages from the
PKK leadership and the absence of easily articulated goals
for the movement is starting to take its toll on the loyalty
of many of those in the front lines. Yilmaz cited Ocalan's
strange tap-dance on federalism as emblematic of the
leadership's confusion. "Ocalan's various conflicting
statements have made PKK brains murky." (Note: Kurdish
intellectuals frequently exaggerate the degree of
dissatisfaction among PKK foot soldiers. Other sources
report that PKK recruiting continues apace (ref b). End Note)


3. (C) The PKK/DTP attitude towards the ongoing Ergenekon
case, according to Yilmaz, is another major source of
disquiet in the Kurdish community. Many Kurdish human rights
activists regard the case as a chance for vindication since
many of those accused of plotting against the Turkish state
have also been suspected of involvement in "mysterious"
killings of Kurdish leaders in the 1990s. Many Kurds would
like to step forward and offer evidence to the prosecutors of
the Ergenekon case or piggy-back on the case to file
additional charges. (Note: Some have complained that the
prosecution is paying too little attention to crimes against
Kurdish leaders (ref a). End Note) But shortly after the
case was made public, according to Yilmaz, Ocalan issued an
order to Kurds not to get involved in any way and the DTP has
not been proactive in encouraging the prosecution. This has

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opened up fault lines among Kurds and even within the DTP.
He said recently a group of DTP politicians approached him to
discuss filing a parallel case against Ergenekon suspects for
crimes committed against Kurdish politicians. Yilmaz said
the fact that some are daring to disobey Ocalan's direct
order for the first time is significant in that it reveals
fractures in the organization and among supporters.

4. (C) Yilmaz suggested there was enough evidence to be
suspicious about whether Ocalan was involved with Ergenekon.
Ocalan himself fueled suspicion that he was negotiating with
the "deep state" by boasting that he met in prison with some
Ergenekon suspects. Yilmaz did not explicitly endorse the
idea that Ocalan cooperated with Ergenekon, but said it was
plausible since in his dealings with Ocalan it was clear the
PKK leader was principally concerned with his own survival.
He recounted a time when Ocalan,s attorneys discussed with
him an amnesty deal for low level PKK members. Ocalan was
uninterested in any proposals that didn't provide freedom for
himself, saying that it was now "every man for himself."
Yilmaz added that Ocalan's erratic leadership of the
movement, photographic evidence linking Ocalan to military
officials, and other machinations that defy political logic
also suggest that Ocalan had made deals with the deep state
to sabotage the Kurdish political movement.

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SIGNS OF DTP MALAISE IN MERSIN
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5. (C) With hundreds of thousands of Kurdish immigrants,
Mersin should be a natural stronghold for the DTP and indeed
in 2000 the party almost captured the city's mayoralty.
Yilmaz said that divisions at the top levels of the DTP have
weakened the local party. For example, after the DTP
provincial chairperson resigned, it took four months to find
a replacement. The confusion, thoughtlessness, and a lack of
logic in the appointment of DTP candidates for elected
positions, Yilmaz indicated, suggest that the DTP almost
wants to lose these contests. The party itself is divided
between those who espouse violence, and those who don't. As
Yilmaz put it, "As long as the armed struggle continues, the
people who support peaceful politics are not able to get
grassroots support." He complained that attempts by those
advocating non-violent politics, such as Seraffetin Elci
(leader of a tiny Kurdish party),continue to be blocked by
the PKK. Yilmaz stated that, while there are numerous PKK
sympathizers in Mersin, there have not been active cells of
militants ("they would have called my colleagues for legal
advice," he said) for the last 6-7 years. He speculated that
a bomber captured in the city in August was dispatched from
far eastern Turkey.

Visit Ankara's Classified Web Site at
http://www.intelink.sgov.gov/wiki/Portal:Turk ey

WILSON