CHIEF EDITOR SPEAKS CANDIDLY AMIDST NEWSPAPER'S OWNERSHIP CONTROVERSY

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 ISTANBUL 000225 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/06/2018 TAGS: PGOV EFIN PREL TU SUBJECT: CHIEF EDITOR SPEAKS CANDIDLY AMIDST NEWSPAPER'S OWNERSHIP CONTROVERSY REF: A. 07 ANKARA 1006 ¶B. ANKARA 0513 ¶C. 07 ANKARA 0778 Classified By: Consul General Sharon A. Wiener for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d) ¶1. (C) Summary and comment. Turkish daily Sabah's editor in chief Ergun Babahan conducted a surprisingly candid tour d'horizon with the Consul General a day after the controversial financing of his new parent company Calik Holding's purchase of Turkey's third most circulated newspaper came to light. Babahan spoke frankly about the change in ownership, US-Turkey relations and Turkish domestic political issues, speculating AKP would ultimately lose the closure case against it but would live on as a fragmented movement whose followers would ultimately press the country's democratization agenda forward after a likely two-year delay. Claiming to be close friends with President Gul, Babahan predicted that should PM Erdogan be forced to step down, Gul would use his presidential powers to appoint current FM Babacan as the new Prime Minister. Perhaps most strikingly, he asserted Turkey would break up over the Kurdish issue unless the government began to pay attention to the claims of a significant portion of its citizens. End summary and comment. -------------- In the Eye of the Storm -------------- ¶2. (C) Sabah's editor-in-chief Ergun Babahan appeared un-fazed as he spoke candidly on April 24 about the controversial purchase of his newspaper by Calik Holding (see paras. 9-11 for background) and the state of Turkish domestic politics with the Consul General, whose call on him coincidentally occurred the day after the acquisition's financing details came to light. Babahan expects problems in the short term, acknowledging the public perception challenges the Calik Group's ties to the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) create for the paper. The "ownership's base doesn't match with the readership base," he explained, describing the latter as mostly urban, middle class, secular and afraid of AKP and its policies. Still, Babahan believes business interests would trump political ties in the long run and doesn't expect the new ownership to make changes to the newspaper's staff or editorial policies. He was not surprised to learn about Qatar's role in the financing, pointing out the Gulf State had expressed interest in the Sabah/ATV investment long before Calik Holding won the bid. ¶3. (C) Dismissing reported allegations that the paper had already begun demonstrating a pro-government bias while under the control of the Turkish Savings Deposit Insurance Fund (SDIF),Babahan asserted he had not felt any pressure on his editorial policies. He noted his record as a columnist shows he has always supported headscarf liberties and that he is not necessarily pro-AKP but rather pro-democracy and against military supremacy. Brandishing Sabah's mainstream credentials, Babahan proudly pointed out it had dared to say "no" to a military coup following the April 2007 "e-memorandum" (ref A). Acknowledging it was true the newspaper doesn't criticize the government much, he proffered that neither do its competitors. Hinting at the extreme and often bitter competition that characterizes Sabah's relationship with its Dogan Group rivals, Babahan argued the Dogan media took a largely anti-headscarf stance because it "knew what was coming," referring to the AKP closure case (ref B). ¶4. (C) Asked what would happen if the Calik Group tried to impose its government ties on Sabah's editorial policy, Babahan responded he would try to direct the ownership in the right direction. Pondering the challenge of such a scenario, Babahan explained AKP is not very democratic; in Turkey, it is not easy to run a party democratically since politicians too frequently incur obligations to different organizations to support their own interests. AKP does not know the media and feels threatened by it, concluded Babahan. "In three to four months, we'll see if we can make it together (with Calik Holding) or not." Citing the current, volatile, domestic political circumstances, he stressed the importance of resisting attempts by owners to engage in a press war, as has happened in the past, because, "in the end everyone loses." -------------- Democracy on Hold? ISTANBUL 00000225 002 OF 003 -------------- ¶5. (C) Regarding the AKP closure case, Babahan believes the Constitutional Court has likely already decided against the ruling party. He expects PM Erdogan and 25 or so other party members to be banned from politics but AKP followers would succeed in the end, though probably not as a single entity. Without Erdogan, AKP's successor would become more democratic - and as a result, more populist/nationalistic - but also more difficult to keep together. Other center-right alternatives to AKP are in the works, he argued asserting that Turkish Chamber of Commerce Chairman Rifat Hisarciklioglu and former Prime Minister (now independent parliamentarian) Mesut Yilmaz are trying to start new parties. AKP will still control the presidency, and with PM Erdogan out of the picture President Gul becomes the most powerful figure in Turkey, with the power to appoint a new prime minister. If it comes to this, Babahan believes Gul would appoint current Foreign Minister Ali Babacan as PM because he would listen to the president, is not corrupt and would continue to pursue Turkey's EU membership. ¶6. (C) Babahan does not expect the AKP to hold early Elections in response to the closure case, as some columnists have speculated. If that were their plan, they would hold elections immediately but they know they are losing their (Fetullah) Gulenist base, which likely blames AKP for antagonizing secularists by prematurely pushing through headscarf reform. Babahan wasn't sure who Gulenists would support if not AKP, but knew Fetullah Gulen and PM Erdogan do not like each other. Gulen may find it easier to exert his influence through different, smaller parties than through a Prime Minister who "wants to monopolize power." Characterizing Erdogan as no longer Islamist but rather a "conservative believer," Babahan thought the two would also differ over policy, with Gulen hoping for a more Islamic society. "If you believe in (the literal interpretation of) the Koran, you want as a final goal, an Islamic state," concluded Babahan. ¶7. (C) Asked whether the president was more sympathetic to Gulen's Islamist views than the Prime Minister, Babahan listed his "good friend" Gul's secular credentials: he is the most "anti-Iran" political figure in Turkey; he has pushed for EU and IMF policies; and he is known to be against the madrassa education system. At the same time, he is a product of the Islamic "milli gurus" youth movement, Babahan noted, and "sometimes what you believe in youth influences what you believe in later." ¶8. (C) Babahan asserted US-Turkish relations have improved since Turkey's cross-border operation in February, which demonstrated U.S. support for Turkey's top priority of fighting the terrorist PKK. The man on the street previously believed Washington supported the establishment of a Kurdish state, Babahan explained, a perception largely resulting from Turks mixed feelings toward the Ottoman Empire; they hate it for its backwardness but love it for its greatness. Many still believe western powers are trying to fragment Turkey. Turkey will eventually break up, Babahan surmised. "We can't continue to ignore a large chunk of the country that has a different culture and language." -------------- Background -------------- ¶9. (SBU) Turkish media is largely controlled by a few, competing conglomerates with a reputation for interfering in their outlets' editorial policies. While the Dogan Group controls the greatest share of readership, it is Sabah newspaper and its new owner the Calik Group which has monopolized headlines of late. The current controversy concerning Sabah's (and television affiliate ATV's) ownership dates back to 2002 when the SDIF seized the assets of the newspaper's then owner Dinc Bilgin following the collapse of Bilgin's Etibank and sold them at auction to the Ciner Group (ref C). ¶10. (SBU) With a circulation exceeding 440,000, Sabah grew to be the Dogan Group's most significant secular-oriented rival under Ciner. Then, on April 1, 2007 the SDIF again took control of Sabah and ATV along with the Ciner Group's other media assets, claiming it had discovered a secret agreement between the Ciner Group and Bilgin which illegally permitted the latter a degree of control and ownership over his previously seized assets. The SDIF operated Sabah and ATV until the Calik Group purchased them at auction for $1.1 ISTANBUL 00000225 003 OF 003 billion in December 2007 in an eyebrow raising deal due to Calik Holding's ties to AKP - its twenty-something General Manager is married to one of PM Erdogan's daughters and Chairman Ahmet Calik is said to be close to AKP and the Prime Minister, himself. ¶11. (SBU) The Sabah/ATV sale captured headlines again on April 23 when the Calik Group secured a combined $750 million loan in an 11th hour deal with two public banks - Halkbank and Vakifbank - and attracted $350 million from a little known subsidiary of the Qatar Investment Authority to complete the purchase just days before payment was due to SDIF. Columnists speculated about the unusual nature of the loan by the two public banks - its size and purpose is reportedly unprecedented - and questioned whether Calik's close ties to the government were at play. The Qatari investment also fomented conspiracy theories as PM Erdogan had just visited Qatar the week before. The Radio and Television Administrative Board (RTUK),which had earlier approved of the Calik Group's purchase of Sabah/ATV, reportedly intends to challenge the purchase in light of the new information concerning foreign financing. WIENER