PRESIDENT GUL UPS THE ANTE ON CIV-MIL DEBATE

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 ANKARA 000977 SIPDIS DEPARTMENT ALSO FOR EUR/SE E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/09/2019 TAGS: PGOV PINR PTER TU SUBJECT: PRESIDENT GUL UPS THE ANTE ON CIV-MIL DEBATE REF: ANKARA 0940 Classified By: POL Counselor Daniel O'Grady, for reasons 1.4 (b,d) ¶1. (C) Summary: President Abdullah Gul has upped the ante in the civilian-military debate by approving a law that would give civilian courts the authority to try military personnel. Though he argues that his decision was made with EU accession and the rule of law in mind, Gul's decision further challenges the military's basic understanding of its own role in society. The future of the law also proposes no downside for the Justice and Development Party (AKP) government -- either it will continue the process of increasing civilian control of the military, or it will strengthen its hand in arguing that the military-drafted constitution must be rewritten for Turkey to become an entrenched democracy. The military is enraged over this legislation and will continue to seethe, an unhealthy consequence of the AKP's handling of this "reform." End Summary. ¶2. (C) After long consideration and a series of consultations with high-ranking members of the government and military, President Abdullah Gul signed a controversial bill into law, allowing military personnel to be tried in civilian courts when accused of coup plotting (REFTEL). Gul underscored Turkey's EU Accession Partnership Accord in making his decision, and in the end, cited the need to bring Turkey closer to meeting EU standards for the judiciary and civilian control of the military as his reasons for approving the law. He nonetheless noted that Parliament will have to pass follow-on legislation to clarify parts of the law that have caused angst amongst the military and secular elite. Following the announcement, Deputy Prime Minister Cemil Cicek announced that, in accordance with Gul's suggestion, the government would consider legislation to clarify the circumstances under which military officials could be brought before civilian courts and to require permission of military authorities to transfer a case to a civilian court. Such legislation cannot be addressed until after Parliament reconvenes in early August. Critics have noted that similar demands made by Gul following an amendment allowing women to wear headscarves in universities were ignored. In the meantime, the law will go into effect upon its publication in the Official Gazette. CUTTING TO THE QUICK -------------- ¶3. (C) Chief of the Turkish General Staff Ilker Basbug had protested before Gul's decision that the new law was passed with neither consultation with the military nor sufficient public debate, and will lead to a politicization of the armed forces. There are two other unspoken concerns behind this objection. Firstly, although President Gul stressed that his decision was not connected to recent events, the new law theoretically empowers civilian courts to try military personnel indicted in the ongoing Ergenekon investigation. The decision also comes at a time when politicians across the political spectrum have begun discussions of amending the constitution -- drafted by the military in the wake of the 1980 coup -- including to allow for the prosecution of the organizers of that coup, such as former President Kenan Evren. Secondly, members of the military see the law as a threat to its ability to keep its own house in order. Although the law applies only to a limited number of crimes and only of the most serious sort, it further undercuts the jealously-guarded concept that the military is the ultimate defender of the very essence of Turkey -- not just its territory and its citizenry, but also its constitution and its secular, unitary, "modern" identity. Although nominally supportive of Turkey's EU accession process, the military is uncomfortable with any legal reform that would subordinate its authority to civilians without a guarantee of EU membership. That the AKP -- with its leadership rooted in a culture of political Islam -- should be the party to enact such reforms only adds to the generals' discomfort. COMMENT: NOT OVER YET -------------- ANKARA 00000977 002 OF 002 ¶4. (C) The opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) and Nationalist Action Party (MHP) have declared they will apply to send the law to the Constitutional Court. In previous cases of this kind, such as the headscarf amendment, the Court had annulled the laws on constitutional grounds. The Court is also allowed to suspend the implementation of a law pending its decision on the law's constitutionality. The Constitutional Court will once again find itself as the final arbiter of an existential political dispute and, given its track record of siding with the Kemalists and the fact that the constitution provides a clear mandate for military courts, it will probably annul the law. Yet, the more the Constitutional Court blocks laws crafted to deepen democracy and rule of law in the name of EU accession, the stronger the AKP government's argument that the only way to fully entrench Turkish democracy is to thoroughly amend or entirely replace Turkey's constitution. Meanwhile, a furious military will continue to seethe, complicating further future civil-military relations. 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