FORMER DTP MEMBERS HEAR PKK RHETORIC IN MAKHMOUR

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 ANKARA 001832 SIPDIS EMBASSY BAGHDAD PLEASE PASS TO RRT ERBIL AND PRT NINEWA E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/22/2019 TAGS: PGOV PREL PTER PHUM TU SUBJECT: FORMER DTP MEMBERS HEAR PKK RHETORIC IN MAKHMOUR REF: A. ANKARA 1792 ¶B. ANKARA 1755 Classified By: POL Counselor Daniel O'Grady for reasons 1.4(b,d) ¶1. (C) SUMMARY: Six officials who will soon join the Peace and Democracy Party (BDP),including three MPs from the former Democratic Society Party (DTP),traveled overland to Iraq on December 22 to visit the Makhmour refugee camp and hold meetings with officials from the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG). The visit was conducted just one day after trilateral meetings (U.S., Iraq, Turkey) including GOT Interior Minister Atalay, took place in Baghdad. While Ibrahim Binici, BDP MP from Sanliurfa, said that the delegation's goal was to assess what the residents of the camp wanted for the future, the political wing of the terrorist Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) said that Atalay's efforts to close the camp and eliminate the PKK were futile. The Mahkmour trip was not coordinated with the Government of Turkey (GOT). Binici stressed that there should be no future returns from Makhmour unless the GOT moved forward on democratization. The residents of the camp passed a list of demands to the MPs to deliver back to Turkey, parroting a list brought by PKK returnees in October. END SUMMARY. BDP Delegation Heads to Iraq -------------- ¶2. (C) Six officials who will soon join the BDP, including three MPs from the former DTP, traveled overland to Iraq on December 22 to visit and assess the Makhmour refugee camp and hold meetings with officials from the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG),just one day after the trilateral meetings (U.S., Iraq, Turkey) which included Minister of Interior Besir Atalay. They were reportedly met by thousands of people upon their arrival. Hatice Coban, former DTP central executive board member, said that they were going to Makhmour to listen to the people, ask why they went to Makhmour, and find out their expectations if they were to return to Turkey. Ibrahim Binici, BDP MP from Sanliurfa, told us before the trip that no further camp members should return to Turkey until democratization efforts moved forward, including changing the Constitution. Binici stressed that the delegation had not coordinated their trip with the GOT in advance and that they did not support the government's National Unity Project -- they were simply going to talk to the residents and report back. ¶3. (SBU) The KCK, the political wing of the PKK, issued a statement stressing that Minister of Interior Atalay's attempts to close the camp and eliminate the PKK were futile. The KCK complained that the GOT was conducting the trilateral meetings to eliminate the "Kurdistan Freedom Movement" and would not be successful. It is noteworthy that the KCK remained silent about the DTP/BDP delegation's visit. Camp Residents Echo PKK Demands -------------- ¶4. (SBU) According to press reports, the Makhmour Camp "Democratic People's Assembly" presented a list of ten prerequisites to return to Turkey to the delegation, parroting the demands brought by the PKK returnees in October. They were: (Begin Embassy translation) -- The isolation of the Kurdish People's Leader (Abdullah) Ocalan should end. His path must be cleared and his road map must be made public for achieving genuine democratization and lasting social peace. -- Military operations must end and clashes must cease. -- The path for finding a peaceful and democratic solution to the Kurdish issue should ne cleared. -- Dialogue and negotiation must be undertaken by taking the free will of the Kurdish people into account. (Note: The term "the free will of the Kurdish people" is a well-known reference to Abdullah Ocalan, and this wording means he should be used as an interlocutor with the Kurds. End note.) ANKARA 00001832 002 OF 002 -- The Kurdish identity must be taken under Constitutional guarantees and the Kurds must be free and equal citizens. -- Kurdish should be used and taught. -- We should be able to give our children Kurdish names and educate them in Kurdish. -- We should freely develop and protect our Kurdish history, culture, arts and literature. -- The village guard system must be abolished so that towns and villages in Kurdistan can live without the oppression of special teams, village guards, and the police. -- A Kurdish Citizens of the Republic of Turkey, we have been settled in eight camps. Following the resolution of the Kurdish issue in a democratic and peaceful way, we should be able to live freely in the Kurdish regions of Turkey in the mass settlements that will be built and we should be able to provide our own security. Our return should be under the control of the UN. (End Embassy Translation). Comment -------------- ¶5. (C) While a trip by GOT officials to Makhmour (even if only by officials from a banned party) is a step forward toward closing the camp, it is clear that the camp leadership is working hand-in-hand with the PKK, at least rhetorically. This will only bolster the government's position that Makhmour is a fertile training ground for PKK members. One of the ruling Justice and Democracy Party's (AKP) main goals in the National Unity Project is to close Makhmour and return the residents to Turkey but this will be difficult without some concrete steps to guarantee their security and their rights upon return. The tentative steps taken by the AKP thus far do not seem to have assuaged the residents' fears. SILLIMAN "Visit Ankara's Classified Web Site at http://www.intelink.s gov.gov/wiki/Portal:Turkey"