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DE RUEHAK #1149 1341456
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 141456Z MAY 07
FM AMEMBASSY ANKARA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 2097
INFO RUEHZL/EUROPEAN POLITICAL COLLECTIVE
RHMFIUU/HQ USEUCOM VAIHINGEN GE
RUEHAK/USDAO ANKARA TU
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UNCLAS ANKARA 001149 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV PREL TU
SUBJECT: TURKEY: INTELLECTUALS OPPOSE MILITARY'S 
ANTI-DEMOCRATIC METHODS 
 
REF: ANKARA 1094 
 
¶1. (U)  SUMMARY AND COMMENT. A group of 500 intellectuals 
issued a declaration May 13 against the Turkish military's 
April 27 e-memorandum.  Echoing the message of a May 7 
statement by 205 intellectuals (reftel), the signatories 
rejected the e-memorandum: "We openly declare that we have 
the right to resist all kinds of interference directed 
towards the destruction of democracy."  The statement blames 
the military for the current political crisis, charging that 
the current constitution and electoral law, adopted after the 
September 12, 1980 military coup, are the root of the 
conflict.  The statement underscores signatories' faith in 
democratic processes to protect the secular republic and 
Turkey's democracy, but notes that new parliamentary 
elections alone will not resolve the impasse.  A new 
constitution based on international values and a truly 
representative election system are the only way forward. 
¶2. (U) SUMMARY AND COMMENT, cont'd.  Signatories to this 
"counter-memorandum" include prominent intellectual leaders 
like writer Ahmet Altan, columnists Ali Bayramoglu, Murat 
Belge, and Etyen Mahcupyen, and Mazlum-Der General Director 
Ayhan Bilgen.  Like the leftists behind the May 7 statement, 
the 500 people supporting this declaration have taken a brave 
step, forcefully rejecting those who would threaten 
democracy, including the guardians of the Kemalist state. 
END SUMMARY AND COMMENT. 
¶3. (U) An informal embassy translation of the "Citizens' 
Declaration" follows: 
The TGS memorandum published at midnight April 27, 2007, 
seriously wounded our already-limited democracy.  The 
military bureaucracy's interference in the political sphere, 
by which we conduct politics under the shadow of weapons, is 
naturally unacceptable, as is political life being hostage to 
the military.  The TGS memorandum is an open threat to 
democracy and it is a crime.  We, the undersigned citizens, 
openly reject the memorandum. 
Today, the crisis that we are experiencing in political, 
economic, and social fields is so deep that it cannot be 
overcome by the president's popular election.  In a system 
where about half of the political preferences of the people 
would not be reflected in parliament due to existing election 
laws, the crisis will continue.  A new general election 
cannot solve the crisis; it will only delay it for a short 
time. 
The September 12 regime is totally clogged. The problems that 
we encounter today have their roots in the products of the 
September 12 coup: the 1982 constitution and the regime it 
outlines.  If Turkey wants to come out of this crisis 
permanently, it must be relieved of this constitution as soon 
as possible.  Unless our country has a new pro-freedom, 
pluralist, peaceful, democratic and secular constitution 
based on international values and principles of law, and also 
adopts an election law that would enable political 
representation of all sectors of the society, it is not 
possible to render ineffective these crisis-fueled circles 
and this crisis-producing structure. 
However, the things that we have lived through recently show 
that, contrary to what should happen, "there are efforts to 
find pretexts to convert guardianship democracy into open 
coup."  We believe that the secular republic cannot be 
realized by relying on memorandums but by having more 
democracy.  Our response to those who say that "those who do 
not say 'happy is he who calls himself a Turk' are our 
enemies" is clear: We are responsible and sensitive citizens 
of this Republic and we are not happy with the medium that 
was created.  As citizens who are determined to protect free, 
democratic, secular Turkey, we openly declare that we have 
the right to resist all kinds of interference directed toward 
the destruction of democracy. END TRANSLATION. 
 
Visit Ankara's Classified Web Site at 
http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/eur/ankara/ 
 
WILSON