Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
08ANKARA720
2008-04-17 12:27:00
CONFIDENTIAL
Embassy Ankara
Cable title:  

TURKEY: 53 KURDISH MAYORS CONVICTED IN FREE SPEECH

Tags:  PGOV PHUM PREL OSCE DE TU 
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C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 ANKARA 000720 

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/17/2017
TAGS: PGOV PHUM PREL OSCE DE TU
SUBJECT: TURKEY: 53 KURDISH MAYORS CONVICTED IN FREE SPEECH
CASE

REF: A. ANKARA 719

B. 06 ANKARA 5698

Classified By: ADANA PRINCIPAL OFFICER ERIC GREEN FOR REASONS 1.4(b),(d
)

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 ANKARA 000720

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/17/2017
TAGS: PGOV PHUM PREL OSCE DE TU
SUBJECT: TURKEY: 53 KURDISH MAYORS CONVICTED IN FREE SPEECH
CASE

REF: A. ANKARA 719

B. 06 ANKARA 5698

Classified By: ADANA PRINCIPAL OFFICER ERIC GREEN FOR REASONS 1.4(b),(d
)


1. (U) Summary and Comment. The Diyarbakir Heavy Criminal
Court convicted 53 mayors from the pro-Kurdish Democratic
Society Party (DTP) April 15 of "praising criminal activity"
and fined them USD 1500, a much-reduced penalty than the hard
prison time originally sought by the prosecution. The
convictions, pursued with GOT approval, stemmed from an open
letter the mayors wrote to Danish PM Anders Fogh Rasmussen
objecting to the GOT's request that the Danish government
close down Roj-TV, a satellite station linked to the
terrorist PKK.


2. (C) In recent months, the prosecutor reduced the charges
against the mayors and the final verdict contains nominal
punishment. Given the tradition of deference to prosecutors
and the government, acquittal was highly unlikely; such an
outcome would have shown elected officials can oppose GOT
policy with impunity and been portrayed as a PKK victory.
The guilty verdict, however, will be seen by many Europeans
as another example of Turkey's failure to observe fundamental
human rights. Many Kurds in Turkey will see the outcome as
further proof the GOT regards Kurdish political leaders as
subversives who can be legitimately hounded through the legal
system. This perception, in turn, could reinforce hard-line
elements in the Kurdish community who argue the Turkish state
cannot be reformed. End summary and comment.

The Letter
--------------

3. (U) The 56 mayors wrote to Rasmussen in December, 2005
because the Danish government was considering a GOT request
to suspend Roj-TV's broadcasting. The letter expressed
concern about these developments and noted ROJ has a large
audience in Turkey in part because of the GOT's restrictions
on Kurdish-language broadcasting (reftel). Linking the issue
to Turkey's EU aspirations and its need to adhere to the
Copenhagen criteria, they noted the "voice of ROJ TV
represents a constructive and positive contribution towards

the progress of freedom of expression, that is, one of the
essential foundations of European democratic civilization
that cannot yet be fully guaranteed within Turkey." The
letter does not mention the PKK or endorse the content of ROJ
broadcasts. Cagaylan Ayhan, an aide to Diyarbakir Mayor
Osman Baydemir, told us prosecutors all but admitted the
letter's content did not constitute a crime, but said the
indictment was about the "intentions" of the accused. (Full
text at paragraph 11.)


4. (U) The letter's signatories include virtually all of
DTP's locally elected mayors, led by Diyarbakir Mayor
Baydemir and mayors of other large cities such as Batman,
Hakkari, Sirnak and Cizre. Charges against three of the
mayors were dropped because they persuaded the court they had
not consented to having their names on the letter.

The Trial
--------------

5. (SBU) As is typical in the Turkish legal system, this case
has been prolonged and convoluted. In September 2006,
Turkish authorities launched the case on charges of
"deliberately aiding and abetting an illegal organization"
under Turkish Penal Code (TPC) Articles 220/7 and 314/2-3 as
well as provisions of the Anti-Terrorism Law. The prosecutor
initially demanded imprisonment for 7.5 to 15 years, a
suspension of political rights and a ban on holding office.


6. (SBU) During a March 2008 court hearing, the prosecutor
amended the charge to "praising a crime or a person who
committed a crime" under TPC Article 215/1 and requested
prison terms of two years. The court's final decision was to
convict them and sentence them to 75 days or a fine of 1875
YTL (about $1500). The court decided not to suspend the
mayors' political rights or remove them from office.
According to several experts following the trial, the case
hinged on the legal opinion of the Interior Ministry (MOI),
which must consent to any prosecution of an elected mayor.
In this case, the MOI sent a team of inspectors to

ANKARA 00000720 002 OF 003


investigate and the team's report was apparently a key
element guiding the prosecution.


7. (U) The mayors immediately announced they will appeal the
decision to the Turkish Supreme Court and, if necessary, to
the European Court of Human Rights. The appeal process is
expected to last at least another year, which means it will
not be concluded prior to Turkey's March 2009 municipal
elections.

Reactions: It could Have Been Worse
--------------

8. (U) Danish PM Rasmussen released a statement condemning
the guilty verdict as "incomprehensible" and asserting,
"Turkey wished to join the European Union, and we therefore
expect that it adopts the same norms (with regard to freedom
of expression) as the EU." Alluding to the mayors' plans to
appeal, Rasmussen noted, "This is a case that Denmark and the
EU are watching closely and we have emphasized this to
Turkey."


9. (C) Soren Jacobsen, the Danish DCM who attended ten
hearings related to the case during the last two years, told
us his government views the case as one of freedom of
expression, not about links between Roj and the PKK. In any
case, he said the prosecutor's attempts to establish a link
between the station and Roj were unconvincing. Jacobsen said
the final sentence was "mild" and probably the best that the
mayors could have hoped for; the court had to find the mayors
guilty lest it embarrass the prosecutor and be seen to take
the side of Roj and the PKK.


10. (U) Responding to the result, Baydemir told a press
conference that, regardless of how minor the penalty, he and
his colleagues will appeal the conviction because of the
free-speech principles at stake. He said the government was
behind the case since the Interior Minister must consent to
indictments of mayors. Baydemir also likened the "collective
punishment" against the DTP mayors to tactics employed during
the period of military rule in Turkey.


11. (U) Text of the letter:

Diyarbakyr, December 27, 2005

Dear Mr. Anders Fogh Rasmussen:

This letter is to express our concerns about the ongoing
debates and developments around the situation of ROJ TV. As
the members of Democratic Society Party (DTP) who are mayors
of 56 municipalities located predominantly in the
Kurdish-populated regions of Turkey, we are worried about the
anti-democratic approaches through which the case of ROJ TV
is being handled by Turkish government in the international
arena. Unfortunately, we observe that there still exists a
fundamental difference between Turkey and the European
civilization in matters of freedom of press and expression.

That the ROJ TV broadcasts are aired from Europe is a
disturbing fact for us, too. This has been a direct
consequence of the constitutional and legal regulations that
do not allow for free Kurdish broadcasting in Turkey. It was
only thanks to the pressures in the process of Turkey's
integration with the EU that Turkey has granted limited
rights for Kurdish language broadcasts, with state television
airing 45-minute programs on a weekly basis. Privately-owned
local television stations wanting to broadcast in Kurdish, on
the other hand, are still faced with legal and often
arbitrary administrative obstacles. As is also well-known by
the international community, restrictions on freedom of
expression are situated at the heart of the authoritarian
political tradition that has repressed any kind of difference
in terms of culture, language and identity in Turkey. We
expect the Turkish government to abide by and fulfill the
political criteria stated in the Copenhagen Document. So,
rather than banning the ROJ TV, we hope that Turkey will
eventually legalize, embrace and become a constituent of the
voice of ROJ TV. We wish that one day ROJ TV will be able to
broadcast from nowhere else but from Istanbul, Ankara or
Diyarbakir, and will be only one among many other Kurdish TV
stations that will be launched also with the support of
Turkish government.

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It is a well-known fact that ROJ TV has millions of audiences
within and outside Turkey. Whether one agrees or not with the
broadcasting policy of the TV station, the content and
arguments of its programs, is something to be discussed, and
should always be discussed given the fact that free flow of
information and ideas is the lifeblood of political debates.
But the banning of ROJ TV would not contribute to our efforts
to create a truly pluralistic and democratic life in Turkey.
We believe that, within the current state of politics, voice
of ROJ TV represents a constructive and positive contribution
towards the progress of freedom of expression, that is, one
of the essential foundations of European democratic
civilization that cannot yet be fully guaranteed within
Turkey.

For a truly democratic life to flourish in Turkey, ROJ TV
should not be silenced. This is the sincere and common demand
of the people we represent at the level of local governments.
The elimination of the voice of ROJ TV would mean the loss of
an important vehicle in the struggle for democracy, human
rights and fundamental freedoms of democratic civilization.

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