VZCZCXRO2324
PP RUEHAST
DE RUEHAK #5847 2791329
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 061329Z OCT 06
FM AMEMBASSY ANKARA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 9276
INFO RUEHZL/EUROPEAN POLITICAL COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RHEHAAA/NSC WASHDC PRIORITY
RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHDC PRIORITY

UNCLAS ANKARA 005847 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV PHUM TU
SUBJECT: TURKEY: DIYARBAKIR CIVIL SOCIETY REACTS 
COLLECTIVELY, CONSTRUCTIVELY TO BOMBING 
 
REF: ANKARA 5269 
 
¶1. (SBU) On September 12, a bomb exploded in a poor section 
of Diyarbakir, the heart of Turkey's heavily Kurdish 
southeast, killing 10 and injuring 17.  Initial speculation 
focused on two scenarios: that it was either a Kurdistan 
Workers Party (PKK) bomb that had gone off prematurely during 
transport, or a "provocation" along the lines of the November 
2005 bookstore bombing in Semdinli, Hakkari province. 
According to Diyarbakir Governor Elfan Ala, with whom Adana 
PO and Ankara PolCouns met on September 27, the investigation 
remains incomplete but may well end up pointing to the PKK. 
 
¶2. (SBU) Across the board, political and civil society 
leaders with whom we met described the city's reaction to the 
bombing.  According to pro-Kurdish Democratic Society Party 
(DTP) mayor Osman Baydemir, they may not know who perpetrated 
the bombing, but they knew they wanted -- at all costs -- to 
avoid a repetition of the violent rioting that occurred in 
March following the killing of a dozen PKK militants.  As a 
result, civil society organizations and parties across the 
political spectrum, bolstered in particular by the Diyarbakir 
Chambers of Commerce, banded together for a silent vigil 
against violence. 
 
¶3. (SBU) According to Chambers of Commerce President 
Sah-Ismail Bedirhanoglu, he had been working for 
approximately one year with other business and professional 
NGOs to build the foundations of a civic platform.  After the 
September bombing -- with the memory of March fresh in their 
minds -- they reached out to the mayor and other political 
party leaders.  Together, they organized the vigil. 
Unadvertised, since they feared that too much publicity 
risked attracting those who might want to provoke a different 
sort of reaction, 10,000 gathered to say "no" to violence. 
Every organization with which we met -- economic, human 
rights, bar association, political party -- confirmed their 
participation in this event. 
 
¶4. (SBU) Comment:  This was an extraordinary -- to our 
knowledge, unprecedented -- show of civil society 
organization in an area of Turkey known more for discord than 
broad-based agreement.  A number of factors made it possible. 
 At the top of the list is the business community, which 
boasts solid, smart leaders who are determined to continue to 
improve the local economy.  Another is the relative maturity 
of the Diyarbakir NGO community.  Good relations across the 
board with city hall and a smart state-appointed governor 
helped, too.  In addition, all knew a PKK ceasefire was in 
the works and did not want to risk derailing that.  Finally, 
had Diyarbakir not had its brush with violence in March, 
there may not have been the impetus for this effort.  The 
vigil received little press play, but its silence -- and 
positive significance for society -- speak louder than the 
bomb that triggered it. 
 
Visit Ankara's Classified Web Site at 
http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/eur/ankara/ 
 
WILSON