ARMY CHIEF WARNS SYRIA ABOUT SUPPORT FOR PKK

S E C R E T ANKARA 009055 E.O. 12958: DECL: 09/18/09 TAGS: PTER MOPS PINR PREL TU SY IR SUBJECT: ARMY CHIEF WARNS SYRIA ABOUT SUPPORT FOR PKK REF: (A) ANKARA 8898, (B) ANKARA 8522 (U) CLASSIFIED BY AMBASSADOR MARK R. PARRIS, EMBASSY ANKARA. REASON: 1.5 (A),(B) AND (D). ¶1. (U) TURKISH LAND FORCES COMMAND (TLFC) COMMANDER GENERAL ATILLA ATES WAS QUOTED IN THE LOCAL PRESS SEPTEMBER 16 AS SAYING THAT TURKEY WAS "RUNNING OUT OF PATIENCE" WITH SYRIA'S ALLEGED SUPPORT OF THE SEPARATIST/TERRORIST KURDISTAN WORKERS PARTY (PKK). THE CONSERVATIVE "TURKIYE" NEWSPAPER'S IHA NEWS AGENCY REPORTED ATES AS ASSERTING THAT BY "SUPPORTING THE `BANDIT' APO (PKK LEADER ABDULLAH OCALAN)," SYRIA HAD "CONTAMINATED TURKEY WITH THE CALAMITY OF TERRORISM." HE WARNED THAT TURKEY "HAD NO MORE PATIENCE LEFT." ¶2. (C) ATES'S COMMENTS WERE ALL THE MORE POINTED BECAUSE THEY WERE DELIVERED DURING A VISIT TO TROOPS IN HATAY PROVINCE, SOVEREIGNTY OVER WHICH SYRIA CLAIMS AND WHICH IS THEREFORE A MAJOR IRRITANT IN RELATIONS BETWEEN ANKARA AND DAMASCUS. ACCORDING TO AN OFFICIAL OF THE TURKISH GENERAL STAFF (TGS),WHO SPOKE WITH EMBASSY CONTACTS SEPTEMBER 18, TGS' SENIOR LEADERSHIP DECIDED THAT A PUBLIC WARNING TO SYRIA ABOUT THE PKK WAS LONG OVERDUE. THE FACT THAT IT WAS DELIVERED BY ARMY CHIEF ATES IN HATAY UNDERSCORED THE SERIOUSNESS OF THE MESSAGE BEHIND IT. ¶3. (C) IN THREE SEPARATE CONTACTS SEPTEMBER 17, MFA U/S HAKTANIR AND TWO OTHER SENIOR MFA OFFICIALS LIKEWISE REITERATED THAT TURKEY IS "OUT OF PATIENCE" WITH SYRIA, AND THAT THE DIPLOMATIC INITIATIVES OF EARLIER THIS YEAR HAD "COME TO A STOP." ¶4. (S) COMMENT: IT IS CONCEIVABLE THAT THE TURKS ARE LAYING OUT A GROUNDWORK OF DIPLOMATIC AND PUBLIC WARNINGS TO DAMASCUS TO PROVIDE A RATIONALE FOR AN EVENTUAL DECISION ON A MILITARY RESPONSE TO PKK ACTIVITY IN SYRIA. SOME OF THE LANGUAGE THEY HAVE USED RECALLS OUR POST FACTO JUSTIFICATION OF OUR CRUISE MISSILE ATTACKS ON OSAMA BIN LADEN FACILITIES LAST MONTH. WE HAVE NO INDICATION A DECISION TO ACTUALLY CARRY OUT AN ATTACK HAS BEEN REACHED. WE RECOMMEND U.S.INTELLIGENCE ATTENTION TO INDICATIONS OF TURKISH MILITARY AND PKK ACTIVITY IN THE SYRIAN-TURKISH BORDER REGION, AS WELL AS THE BEKAA. PARRIS