PROSECUTOR'S ARREST REIGNITES BITTER CLASH BETWEEN

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 ANKARA 000289 SIPDIS DEPARTMENT ALSO FOR EUR/SE E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/22/2020 TAGS: PGOV TU SUBJECT: PROSECUTOR'S ARREST REIGNITES BITTER CLASH BETWEEN AKP AND JUDICIARY REF: A. 09 ANKARA 834 ¶B. 09 ANKARA 721 ANKARA 00000289 001.2 OF 002 Classified By: POL Counselor Daniel O'Grady, for reasons 1.4(b,d) ZFR.....ZFR.....ZFR PLEASE CANCEL ANKARA 289, ALL SECTIONS. HAS BEEN SENT AS ANKARA 288 ANKARA 00000289 002 OF 002 ¶6. (C) Rumors abound that allegations of politicization of the judiciary will be the cornerstone of a new closure case against the AKP. Television crews are camped out in front of the Yargitay offices (conveniently across the street from the Embassy) apparently awaiting such an announcement. Murat Yektkin, a regular columnist for the daily Radikal newspaper, wrote that a high-level AKP official told him, "if a closure case is opened against the AKP we will immediately go to an early election." AKP Deputy Secretary General Safi told us last week that both the Erzincan and Erzurum prosecutors may have exceeded their authority, but that HSYK itself is aligned with opposition CHP leader Deniz Baykal. Safi noted that ano>}aQQ0xM;VpQqoQ4CQm6Qive on so many other fronts. The judiciary is widely seen as the last bastion of protection against the AKP's relentless advance. It is also, according to our contacts, a far more formidable opponent for the AKP than, say, the Turkish military, because the judiciary can claim the mantle of "the law" -- even though all Turkish laws are subject to widely varying and often political interpretations. The AKP's fixation on the Ergenekon organization -- whether the organization is real or fictitious -- has turned into a double-edged political sword and may start to damage the AKP's own interests. We sense a growing public fatigue at the endless stream of Ergenekon plots leaked to the press and a deepening skepticism about the ever-broadening arrests and detentions. The detention of Prosecutor Cihaner will add to this skepticism, and will also underscore the perception that probes or legal actions against religious sects entails a high price. Jeffrey "Visit Ankara's Classified Web Site at http://www.intelink.s gov.gov/wiki/Portal:Turkey"