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UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 ANKARA 006300 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PTER PREL PGOV TU IZ
SUBJECT: PKK Issue: Update on Violence and Political Developments 
(October 16-31, 2006) 
 
REF: ANKARA 6140 and previous 
 
¶1. (SBU) This is another in a series of unclassified, periodic 
reports on the PKK issue in Turkey.  Our primary sources for 
casualty statistics are mainstream Turkish press services, such as 
the Anatolian News Agency, and international wire services.  While 
these are more reliable than most Turkish press sources, they are 
not necessarily unimpeachable.  Another source is the Turkish Armed 
Forces General Staff (TGS) website which documents contacts/clashes 
with the PKK.  Press services sympathetic to the PKK, such as 
Neu-Isenburg People's Defense Forces and Firat News Agency, tend to 
report higher numbers of the Turkish Security Forces casualties and 
are often otherwise unreliable. 
 
¶2. (U) During the October 16-31 period, three Turkish security 
members were killed and nine were wounded.   During the same period, 
Turkish security forces killed eight PKK terrorists in clashes in 
Mardin, Sirnak, Siirt and Batman provinces.  During this period a 
total of 28 PKK members were arrested, including 14 who surrendered, 
10 who were turned over to security officers by the Iraqi KDP, and 
four who were captured.  Security forces detonated or seized 
landmines, hand-grenades, RPGs, rifles and C4 and A4 plastic 
explosives in different locations. 
 
¶3. (SBU) Kurdish sources on October 30 wrote that during his meeting 
with his lawyers, Abdullah Ocalan said the ceasefire would expire 
May 16, 2007 unless the GOT took significant political action to 
solve the Kurdish issue.  (May 16 is the 80th anniversary of the 
first Kurdish rebellion in Agri Province, and also the day after the 
Turkish Parliament must approve the new President of Turkey.) 
Meanwhile, Mesut Deger, CHP MP from Diyarbakir, told embassy 
officers on October 30 that PKK official Murat Karayilan on Roj TV 
had demanded that both Deger and Esat Canan (CHP - Hakkari) resign 
from their party. 
¶4.  (U) Following are political comments by Turkish and Kurdish 
officials: 
-- TURKISH OFFICIALS: 
- "Sabah" on October 26, quoted PM Erdogan as saying that the U.S. 
was not successful in the fight against terrorism in Iraq. 
 
- FM Gul told October 27 "Hurriyet" that its neighbors won't let 
Iraq turn into a Yugoslavia.  He warned that a division of Iraq 
would create worse chaos.  In an exclusive in "Hurriyet" on October 
24, when asked whether he expected concrete results from GEN 
Ralston's visit, FM Gul said, "The Americans really are trying 
(hard) to do something.  I told them the following, 'Can you explain 
to me the presence of PKK leadership in a country which is an ally 
of Turkey?'  Indeed they feel themselves compelled to do something 
in a determined fashion.  I'm observing that they have this will but 
from our point of view we are not at a position to leave (trust) 
everything to them."  Gul stressed that the U.S. had a thousand 
issues to deal with including the PKK. 
 
- "Hurriyet" and "Sabah" on October 31 quoted Jandarma Commander GEN 
Kosaner as saying that the number of PKKers who turned themselves in 
has increased.   "We are talking to the families of those who are in 
the mountains (for them to convince their children to come down)," 
he added. 
 
- Turkish Special Envoy Edip Baser at an ASAM conference in which he 
participated along with GEN Ralston in Istanbul on October 19, 
stressed that ending the PKK existence in northern Iraq as soon as 
possible was a necessity for Turkey's security that could not be 
postponed.  Baser said, "If this new cooperation that we began does 
not produce satisfactory results, we might reach the point of asking 
for permission from the TGNA to use armed force."  At the conference 
Baser also said that he personally believed that those mayors in the 
Southeast who supported the PKK must be sacked immediately. 
 
- In an exclusive in "Sabah" on October 24, GEN Baser said that GEN 
Ralston was a soldier whom he trusted and quoted Ralston as saying, 
"He promised that there won't be any negotiations with the PKK."  He 
added that there won't even be an implication of such a thing.  "The 
door definitely cannot be opened to the politicization of the PKK," 
Baser said. 
 
 
ANKARA 00006300  002 OF 002 
 
 
Baser said, "If those in the camps return, Turkey, without U.S. 
help, will take them (in) and let them settle.  The Republic of 
Turkey will take care of its citizens.  Only those among them whose 
crimes are definite will be punished.  Turkey made serious mistakes 
in (the fight against) separatist activities.  This country is 
governed by politicians.  One should introduce programs for Turkey 
to develop in a balanced way.  This is not the job of the military. 
We neglected the psychological dimension in particular." 
 
 
 
 
KURDISH POLITICIANS: 
 
- Speaking at a meeting for DTP representatives in the Marmara 
region on October 30, DTP Chairman Ahmet Turk said, "We have never 
asked for the military to lay down arms."  Turk said that his party 
is seeking a solution that did not require violence.  He added that 
the Kurdish issue was a problem for Turkey and that one could not 
resolve this problem by sub-contracting it to others, such as the 
U.S.  Turk noted the DTP was asking the PKK not to carry out any 
attacks and asked the military to show sensitivity to the beginning 
of a democratic process for the future. 
 
¶5. (U) Following are selected columns on the topic: 
 
- Murat Yetkin in October 26 "Radikal" referred to GEN Ralston's 
recent visit to Turkey and wrote that GEN Baser and other Turkish 
officials told him that reaching a result in the short run on the 
PKK would put Turkish-American relations back on a new track since 
they were derailed on March 1, 2003. 
 
- Fehmi Koru in October 26 "Yeni Safak" wrote that Turkey had 
reached a point where the government could adopt the right decisions 
to get rid of PKK terrorism.  Koru stressed that DYP leader Agar's 
recent appeal provided such an opportunity for the GOT.  He noted 
that if evaluated well then Agar's suggestion was in the AKP's 
interests.  He suggestd that the GOT encourage Agar to take an 
initiative in order to implement his remarks. 
 
WILSON