Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
09ANKARA1508
2009-10-20 04:19:00
CONFIDENTIAL
Embassy Ankara
Cable title:  

TURKEY: PKK COMING FROM IRAQ AS "PEACE DELEGATION"

Tags:  PGOV PTER PHUM IZ TU 
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C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 ANKARA 001508 

SIPDIS

DEPARTMENT ALSO FOR EUR/SE
.
BAGHDAD PLEASE PASS TO RRT ERBIL AND PRT NINEWA

E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/19/2019
TAGS: PGOV PTER PHUM IZ TU
SUBJECT: TURKEY: PKK COMING FROM IRAQ AS "PEACE DELEGATION"

REF: A. ANKARA 1475

B. ANKARA 1468

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

Summary
-------

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 ANKARA 001508

SIPDIS

DEPARTMENT ALSO FOR EUR/SE
.
BAGHDAD PLEASE PASS TO RRT ERBIL AND PRT NINEWA

E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/19/2019
TAGS: PGOV PTER PHUM IZ TU
SUBJECT: TURKEY: PKK COMING FROM IRAQ AS "PEACE DELEGATION"

REF: A. ANKARA 1475

B. ANKARA 1468

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

Summary
--------------


1. (C) SUMMARY: On October 19 a group of 26 refugees from
the Makhmour camp in Northern Iraq and eight reported members
of the PKK from Kandil Mountain began returning to Turkey via
the Habur Border Gate. PM Erdogan described the returnees as
"surrendering" to Turkish authorities while the PKK said the
group was a "peace delegation." The Ministry of Interior and
the Democratic Society Party (DTP) confirmed they had been
working together, along with other GOT agencies, to
facilitate a clean and quick return for the group using a
creative interpretation of Turkish Penal Code Section 221
("repentance"). More than 100,000 people, organized by the
DTP, were waiting at the border to welcome the returnees.
Security at the border was high, and the border remained
closed for most of the day to normal traffic. The group
began to cross at around 5 p.m. local time. UNHCR said they
had not been involved in the return process. Many Kurds will
see today's returns as a validation of Ocalan's role in the
"Democratic Opening" process, a perception the GOT will not
welcome. The government itself has taken a huge step forward
by orchestrating a very public return of a self-proclaimed
"peace mission" from Iraq. Both sides now need to deliver on
maintaining an atmosphere of peace. END SUMMARY.

Arrival of PKK "Peace Delegation"
--------------


2. (C) After a delay due to a traffic accident in Northern
Iraq, a group of 26 refugees from the Makhmour camp in
Northern Iraq and eight reported members of the PKK from
Kandil Mountain returned to Turkey via the Habur Border Gate
at around 5 p.m. October 19. Press reports claimed none of
the returnees had participated in armed actions against
Turkey in the past, and that there were pending
investigations on five of the returnees for "terrorist
propaganda." PM Erdogan described the returnees as
"surrendering" to Turkish authorities while the PKK said the
group was a "peace delegation." The group was reportedly met

by 40 attorneys, four special prosecutors, and a specially
assigned judge to check their identities and expedite their
entrance into Turkey. Yusuf Alatas, President of the Human
Rights Association, told us he expected the entire group to
be detained while they are questioned by prosecutors and
their identities are confirmed. He believed this detention
would be minimal. The DTP had massed more than 100,000
people at the border to welcome the returnees in what was
described by one witness as a "celebration feast." Hasim
Hasimi, former Mayor of Cizre and informal advisor to
President Gul on Kurdish issues, told us he feared
provocations from security forces at the welcoming
celebration. Hasimi worried that demonstrators might carry
pro-PKK signs or slogans, which would arouse the anger of the
security forces. Press reports indicated that demonstrators
were indeed carrying such signs, but that the security forces
were not reacting.


3. (C) We met October 19 with MoI Secretary General Eyup
Tepe, who told us that during a meeting this past weekend,
Interior Minister Besir Atalay and Minister of Justice
Sadullah Ergin had developed a still notional concept of
constructive repentance which, they hoped, would allow a
returnee process to take root, while enabling the government
to assert its continued adherence to section 221 of the
Turkish penal code, "repentance." (Note: Article 221

ANKARA 00001508 002 OF 003


specifies that no penalty will be imposed on someone who
"effectively repents" of their crimes, and provides
information to authorities that "is likely to lead to the
dissolution of the organization or apprehension of its
members." End Note.) Both ministers proposed that, by
merely crossing the border, a returnee could be legally
interpreted as being sufficiently repentant. As such,
according to Tepe, returnees would not be required to make
formal or public declarations of their repentance. Tepe
noted that the ministers' constructive interpretation of
"repentance" would likely be subject to National Security
Council (MGK) review at its October 20 meeting.


4. (C) Tepe said that negotiation of today's returns of
Kurdish-Turks from northern Iraq had been conducted on a very
close-hold basis. Though Tepe works closely with Atalay, the
minister had not briefed him on the returns until Friday,
October 16. Once notified, Tepe and senior civil servants
from several ministries and representatives from the Turkish
General Staff had worked through the weekend preparing for
the returns. Tepe acknowledged that the bureaucracy had a
lot of catching up to do to ensure that its political
masters' ambitions did not outrun the ability of the Turkish
social support infrastructure to absorb returnees
successfully.

DTP: Now it's the Government's Turn
--------------


5. (U) DTP Chairman Ahmet Turk told journalists at a press
conference on October 19 that the PKK had taken a big step by
sending "peace ambassadors" to Turkey and that now it was the
government's turn to reciprocate. He stressed that the
groups were coming at the behest of PKK leader Abdullah
Ocalan, and that the government needed to accept Ocalan as an
interlocutor. Turk stated that, "if the state takes one
step, the PKK will take ten." Turk warned of problems for
the government and its "Democratic Opening" Initiative if the
returnees were treated like the 1999 group of PKK-affiliated
Kurdish-Turks, which returned to Turkey and was promptly
arrested and imprisoned for terrorist offenses. PKK
Operations Chief Karayilan, meanwhile, announced that the
group was not coming to surrender but to convey a message of
peace. He stressed that the PKK had declared a unilateral
cease-fire for the past six months to show they were serious
about finding a democratic solution to the problem, but that
the government needed to take steps to show its seriousness
as well.


6. (C) Republican People's Party (CHP) Deputy Atilla Kart
told us October 19 his party viewed the return of the group
as a positive development in the continuing democratization
process. He said he believes that CHP Chairman Deniz Baykal
would display a positive attitude toward the returns, "as
long as the group acts with common sense." (Comment: We
interpret this to mean the returnees should avoid provoking
Turks' enmity over the long years of struggle against the
PKK. End Comment.) In contrast, however, Mesut Deger,
ethnic Kurd CHP Deputy Secretary General, stressed that the
CHP would not take a stance on the returns and would continue
to underline the importance of the struggle against
terrorism. Still, he stated that if this first group of PKK
were released by the government after interrogations, the
dissolution of the PKK would begin and many others would
come. Both leaders stressed that the CHP was going to take a
"wait and see" approach to the returnees.

UNHCR Surprised, Worried
--------------


7. (C) Brenda Goddard, Protection Officer at the United

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Nations High Commission on Refugees (UNHCR) office in Ankara,
told us that the returnees from Makhmour camp were a surprise
to the UNHCR. She said that UNHCR's Erbil office, after
being alerted by press reports October 18, had met with
prospective returnees' representatives, who requested UNHCR's
assistance. UNHCR had registered its willingness to assist
to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, but had not received a
request for assistance yet from the government. Goddard
stressed that the UNHCR could not become involved with the
returns without an official request from the Government of
Turkey. MoI Secretary General Tepe said the Iraqi government
had engaged UNHCR on Mahkmour and that the Government of
Turkey planned to use that organization's interviews of
Mahkmour inhabitants to develop its own profile on likely
returnees.

Comment
--------------


8. (C) In the eyes of many Kurds, today's returns could be
seen as a validation of Ocalan's role in the process and a
step towards negotiation with the PKK to find a solution to
the Kurdish issue in Turkey. This is not an interpretation
that the GOT would welcome. Still, whatever the impetus for
this development, the government has taken a huge step
forward by orchestrating a very public return of a
self-proclaimed "peace mission" from Iraq. Now the group
will need to deliver on maintaining an atmosphere of peace.
However, the lack of coordination between the political level
and bureaucracy could lead to embarrassing oversights in the
days ahead. Many of our contacts have pointed out the
potential pitfalls that could derail the process -- not least
that any prosecutor or judge (given their independent roles
in the judicial system) could attempt to open cases under
Article 301 of the Turkish Constitution ("anti-Turkishness").

JEFFREY

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