Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
09ANKARA1764
2009-12-11 19:25:00
CONFIDENTIAL
Embassy Ankara
Cable title:  

TURKEY: COURT CLOSES DTP, BANS TWO MPS FROM

Tags:  PGOV PTER TU 
pdf how-to read a cable
VZCZCXRO4098
OO RUEHDBU RUEHFL RUEHKW RUEHLA RUEHNP RUEHROV RUEHSL RUEHSR
DE RUEHAK #1764/01 3451925
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
O 111925Z DEC 09 ZDS
FM AMEMBASSY ANKARA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 1447
INFO RUEHZL/EUROPEAN POLITICAL COLLECTIVE IMMEDIATE
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHDC IMMEDIATE
C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 ANKARA 001764 

C O R R E C T E D C O P Y (ADDING CAPTION)

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/10/2034
TAGS: PGOV PTER TU
SUBJECT: TURKEY: COURT CLOSES DTP, BANS TWO MPS FROM
POLITICS

REF: A. ANKARA 1749

B. ANKARA 1743

C. ANKARA 1656

ANKARA 00001764 001.2 OF 002


Classified By: CDA Doug Silliman for reasons 1.5 (b) and (d)

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 ANKARA 001764

C O R R E C T E D C O P Y (ADDING CAPTION)

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/10/2034
TAGS: PGOV PTER TU
SUBJECT: TURKEY: COURT CLOSES DTP, BANS TWO MPS FROM
POLITICS

REF: A. ANKARA 1749

B. ANKARA 1743

C. ANKARA 1656

ANKARA 00001764 001.2 OF 002


Classified By: CDA Doug Silliman for reasons 1.5 (b) and (d)


1. (C) SUMMARY. The Constitutional Court ruled on December
11 to close the Democratic Society Party (DTP) because of
their organic connection with the terrorist Kurdistan
Worker's Party (PKK). In recent weeks, the DTP has been
progressively showing their close links with the PKK. Prior
to the Court's ruling, DTP officials believed closure to be
imminent. Pro-PKK DTP members have been making a strong
public effort to press the government to take jailed PKK
leader Abdullah Ocalan as an interlocutor for peace talks,
release him from jail, or at least improve his conditions.
The formal political wing of the PKK announced on December 10
that widespread violence would follow if the DTP were closed
by the Court. Meanwhile, coordinated protests across Turkey
by the DTP and PKK, along with protests outside Turkey, show
that the PKK still controls a vast organization. The closure
will complicate the ruling Justice and Development Party's
(AKP) National Unity Project. END SUMMARY.

Court Closes DTP
--------------


2. (SBU) The Constitutional Court ruled unanimously on
December 11 to close the DTP because it was a "center against
the unity of the state and the nation." President of the
Court, Hasim Kilic, stated in a press conference that the
closure was based on the provisions of the Turkish Political
Parties Law. The court also handed down five-year bans from
politics for DTP leader Ahmet Turk, MP Aysel Tugluk, and 35
other party members based on articles of the Turkish
Constitution. Kilic noted that the European Court of Human
Rights has agreed with the closure of political parties for
support and association with a terrorist organizations.
DTP Progressively More Extreme
--------------


3. (C) In the weeks preceding the Constitutional Court's
decision against the DTP, the party moved, in statement and
action, closer to the PKK. Both DTP co-chairs Ahmet Turk and
Emine Ayna stated that the number one priority for the DTP
was better prison conditions for PKK leader Abdullah Ocalan

and the government's engaging him as an interlocutor for the
Kurds. Ayna even stated that the DTP would have to "go back
to the mountains" if the party were closed -- a reference to
rejoining the violent activity of the PKK. DTP MP Sebahat
Tuncel told us on December 9 that DTP is not a political
representative of the PKK and in the same breath argued that
the PKK needs to be removed from the terrorist list because
its violence is justified. The PKK, she claimed, was forced
to resort to violence in order to accomplish its legitimate
goals.


4. (C) Moderate DTP MPs Bengi Yildiz and Sirri Sakik,
however, told us on December 10 that the more extreme wing of
the party was saying things that are "ridiculous." Still,
when asked why they were not publicly speaking out and
distancing themselves from the PKK, Sakik responded that it
was impossible to "put distance between yourself and your
father or son," explaining that so many DTP supporters had
children or family members in the PKK that moderation is a
difficult prospect. Yildiz explained that the DTP (at least
the more moderate wing) wants to be a major actor in finding
a solution to the Kurdish issue but neither the state nor the
PKK want them to succeed.

DTP Believed Closure Imminent
--------------


5. (C) All DTP members that we spoke with thought that party
closure was imminent. Yildiz, a former lawyer, said that if
he were a judge, he would "probably" decide to close the
party based on the law. However, he suggested that in order
to prevent widespread demonstrations he would probably permit
party members to remain in politics. This, according to
Yildiz, would allow the DTP to form another party, permit DTP
MPs to stay in parliament, and give the Kurds in the
Southeast the feeling that their voices were still
represented. All DTP contacts stressed, however, that if the
court banned any DTP members from politics, all DTP MPs would
immediately resign. (Note: For that to happen, the
Parliamentary Speaker must accept the resignations, which
many of our contacts view as unlikely. End Note)


6. (C) The formal political wing of the PKK, the KCK,
promised that if the DTP was closed they would spread the
demonstrations from the Southeast to major cities across
Turkey, attack rival political parties in the Southeast, and
pressure all Kurdish MPs from other parties to resign.

ANKARA 00001764 002.2 OF 002


(Note: There are 79 Kurdish MPs from the AKP, one from the
CHP, one from the MHP, and one independent Kurdish MP. End
Note) However, DTP Leader Ahmet Turk issued a statesmanlike
announcement soon after the closure, asking everyone to
"rethink and work for people to embrace each other." He
added that "democracy and peace would prevail." He said the
DTP would announce its roadmap for the future December 12.

Protests and Clashes Had Been Growing
--------------


7. (SBU) Protests by DTP and PKK members in support of Ocalan
have increased in recent days, as have attacks on DTP offices
across the country. Turkish security forces have been
restrained in recent protests. Demonstrations demanding the
release of Ocalan have also spread in the last week to cities
abroad including Strasbourg, Marseilles, Cape Town, and
London. The Turkish National Police (TNP) Director who
handles PKK terrorist activities reported to RSO December 11
that, faced with the possibility of a DTP closure, the TNP
has been rounding up known PKK organizers in an attempt to
reduce the possibility of violent protests.


8. (SBU) In a December 11 statement issued through his
lawyers before the announcement of the closure, Ocalan was
considerably more restrained than his supporters, indicating
that he did not oppose the National Unity Project, but that
the method for implementing reforms is wrong. He also stated
that if the Court closed the DTP, it would not be the "end of
the world." Members of the party would continue their
struggle. Ocalan further stressed that he does not insist
that he be an interlocutor for the government, but instead
indicated that the DTP could play such a role. However, he
stated that he was the only one who could control and disarm
the PKK.

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


9. (C) The closure of the DTP will put the AKP government in
an even more difficult position as they attempt to proceed
with their National Unity Project. The nationalist CHP and
MHP parties, rather than reaching out to moderate Kurds to
isolate the advocates of violence, have lumped all overtures
to the Kurds as concessions to the PKK, further polarizing
the issue. PKK's claim of responsibility for the December 7
attack in Tokat which killed seven soldiers only aggravates
the situation.


10. (C) We expect the main actors of the DTP to reorganize
into a new political party. However, with the moderate wing
of the DTP largely sidelined, it is quite unlikely that any
new Kurdish party will be more supportive of the GOT's
outreach efforts to Kurds, at least in the short run.
Silliman

"Visit Ankara's Classified Web Site at http://www.intelink.s
gov.gov/wiki/Portal:Turkey"