BDP CONVENTION SHOWS NEW PARTY, SAME FACE FOR KURDS

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 ANKARA 000164

SIPDIS

DEPARTMENT ALSO FOR EUR/SE

E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/02/2020
TAGS: PGOV PINR TU
SUBJECT: BDP CONVENTION SHOWS NEW PARTY, SAME FACE FOR KURDS

REF: ANKARA 148

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


1. (C) SUMMARY: The Peace and Democracy Party (BDP),which
took over the reins from the now-banned Democratic Society
Party (DTP) in December, held its first party convention on
February 1 in Ankara. Although PKK demonstrators were fewer
than at the DTP convention in October 2008, it was clear that
the BDP will become an extension of the DTP, following most
of the same policies and practices, and aligning themselves
closely with the PKK terrorist group. Demir Celik, former
chairman of BDP, opened the convention with an
uncharacteristically strong speech condemning attempts to
eliminate the Kurds and the PKK. The two newly elected
co-chairs, Selahattin Demirtas and Gultan Kisanak, addressed
the convention with similarly strong speeches against the
ruling Justice and Democracy Party (AKP) and in support of
jailed PKK leader Abdullah Ocalan. END SUMMARY.

Party Convention Highlights
--------------


2. (C) Around 2,500 supporters attended the Peace and
Democracy Party's first party convention on February 1 in
Ankara. Sevandir Bayindir, BDP MP from Sirnak, opened the
convention with a ten minute speech entirely in Kurdish that
garnered great applause from the audience. (Note: Speaking
in Kurdish while making political speeches is against
Turkey's Political Parties Law, and it is likely that charges
will be pressed against Bayindir, although prosecution will
be postponed due to her immunity as an active
parliamentarian. End note.) After her speech in Kurdish,
she switched to calling upon the government to prove its
sincerity to solve the Kurdish issue by engaging with jailed
PKK leader Abdullah Ocalan as an interlocutor. Among the
attendees at the convention were banned DTP politicians Ahmet
Turk and Aysel Tugluk and the October returnees from Makhmour
and Kandil. Throughout the convention, the largest cheers
and applause followed any mention of Ocalan's name or the
struggle carried out by the PKK. After Bayindir spoke, a
moment of silence was held for those who had been killed in
"the struggle for freedom." The remainder of the convention
was oddly subdued with applause whenever Ocalan was
mentioned, and spatters of applause at other points. There
was not the tone of excitement or change -- let alone the
potential fisticuffs -- that were present at the October DTP
convention.

Celik's Speech Resounds... But Not with the Audience
-------------- --------------


3. (SBU) Demir Celik, BDP chairman since May 2008, opened the
convention by accusing the AKP of attempting to eliminate the
Kurds and their "organized power." He called for a
democratic confederation of Kurds residing in four countries
(Turkey, Syria, Iran, and Iraq) to work together to solve the
Kurdish issue. He then stressed that the BDP was a party for
all oppressed people in Turkey: Kurds, Alevis, Greek
Orthodox, Roma, etc. Although Celik's speech was
impassioned, it was obvious that he had been a figurehead for
the party that was now run by the former DTP. During his
speech, people milled around on the convention floor, talked
openly among themselves, and welcomed new attendees with
applause. When Ahmet Turk entered during Celik's speech, all
the cameras ran to cover Turk's entrance and the crowd broke
into a huge round of applause; Celik did not even pause his
speech.

Co-Chair Speeches
--------------


4. (SBU) The speeches by the newly elected co-chairs
Selahattin Demirtas and Gultan Kisanak strongly condemned the
AKP government for its "anti-Kurd" policies. The AKP, they
contended, was the state: there was no difference between it
and the military, police, judiciary, or prosecutors. They
pointedly blamed the AKP for ongoing operations against the
KCK (the political wing of the PKK),following which 15 of
their local mayors remain in prison. At one point, Kisanak

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claimed that more than 1,500 BDP members had been detained in
the ongoing operations. The operations were designed to
eliminate opposition to the AKP, and dissolve the "Kurdish
democratic political struggle." Demirtas stressed that if
the AKP was sincere and determined to solve the Kurdish
issue, then the BDP was ready to work with it. However, as
long as their cadre remained imprisoned, the BDP could never
trust the AKP. Kisanak lamented that the PKK had called a
unilateral ceasefire with the government, but the government
had taken no steps to match it, instead stepping up their
anti-PKK operations. She called on the AKP to end operations
against the PKK and take a step toward peace.


5. (SBU) Uncharacteristic for the BDP, Kisanak also took a
anti-U.S. stance in her speech. One of the biggest foreign
policy mistakes made by the AKP, she claimed, was defending
U.S. interests without question. She also said that the
government, by accepting the support of foreign powers such
as the U.S., was trying to oppress the democratic opposition
of the Kurds. She called on the AKP to end its support for
"capitalist imperialists" like the U.S.


6. (C) In a private dinner with the international diplomatic
community on the evening of February 1, the new co-chairs
struck a more neutral and moderate tone. Both they and other
leaders of the party expressed their interest in obtaining
the support of the US for their "struggle for democracy."
There was no mention of Ocalan or the PKK, and although they
were all hard on the AKP and what they see as a direct attack
on their party members, there was much discussion of moving
forward inclusively on the Kurdish issue.

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


7. (C) The BDP seems not only to be following in the
footsteps of the DTP, but pushing further than before in
insisting that Ocalan be taken as the interlocutor for a
peaceful resolution to the Kurdish issue. It was clear that
the BDP is already engaging in party politics in the run-up
to the elections scheduled for summer 2011. Their clear and
strong anti-AKP rhetoric coupled with a strengthened sense of
Kurdish nationalism seemed targeted at those supporters of
the former DTP who might be leaning toward supporting the
AKP. Moreover, their spoken outreach to other communities in
Turkey like the Alevis, Greek Orthodox, Laz, Roma, youth, and
women, shows their desire to become a party that can be
competitive in the entire country, not just in the Southeast.
(Note: The press reported that some of the songs played
during the BDP convention were sung in Laz. End note.) As
long as the BDP can continue to function as a party without
being closed before the elections, it could potentially ride
the wave of dissatisfaction with the government's National
Unity Project over the electoral threshold of ten percent.
However, the party will have to survive for another 15 or 16
months to accomplish that goal. The party's continued
closeness with the PKK and insistence on focusing on Ocalan's
role in any movement forward on the Kurdish issue will land
them in trouble. The Ankara Chief Public Prosecutor has
already opened an investigation into the convention alleging
acts in praise of crime and criminals, to alienate the public
from fulfilling military duties, and in violation of the
political parties law.


8. (C) Comment (cont.): The BDP's harsh rhetoric also does
not bode well for the AKP and its democratization agenda.
That the BDP is unrepentant in its focus on Abdullah Ocalan
and the PKK strengthens opposition parties' claims that the
AKP is dividing, rather than unifying, the nation. The BDP's
rhetoric is souring the opinions of Kurds in the Southeast
against the AKP, and their disenchantment may spread to
communities of migrant Kurds in the suburbs of cities such as
Mersin, Izmir, and Antalya, where nationalism is running
high. With the AKP standing alone, its reform agenda -- now
likely to take the form of constitutional amendments -- is in
danger of stalling.
Jeffrey

"Visit Ankara's Classified Web Site at http://www.intelink.s
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