PROSECUTOR'S ARREST REIGNITES BITTER CLASH BETWEEN

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 ANKARA 000290 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 00000290 001.2 OF 002 Classified By: POL Counselor Daniel O'Grady, for reasons 1.4(b,d) ZFR.....ZFR......ZFR PLEASE CANCEL ALL SECTIONS WAS PREVIOUSLY SENT AS ANKARA 288 ANKARA 00000290 002 OF 002 be transferred to himself, claiming it fell under his jurisdiction as a Special Prosecutor investigating violent crimes involving weapons. Sanal claimed that Cihaner was investigating the Ismailaga brotherhood under instructions from the Ergenekon criminal organization. Citing a now public document allegedly signed by Col. Dursun Cicek, Sanal claimed that Ergenekon members were attempting to link the Is=QQSF|ADy~Qarly 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 another closure case may result "because everyone knows the judiciary is eager to open a case even if it's bad for the country." But Safi did not appear worried. "Our approval ratings are around 40-42 percent right now, so we are not afraid of elections," he said. "We always poll lower than our election results." ¶7. (C) COMMENT: Opening a new closure case would be an unwise move by hard-line secularist critics of the AKP in the judiciary, since it would allow the AKP to portray itself, again, as the victim of an undemocratic "deep state" which is disinterested in the aspirations of non-elite Turks. Still, it remains a possibility, not least because the AKP's opponents find themselves on the defensive 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 politi#QOn5o~QTQ jmk "Visit Ankara's Classified Web Site at http://www.intelink.s gov.gov/wiki/Portal:Turkey"