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Dianne Wampler  07/23/2007 06:11:22 PM  From  DB/Inbox:  Dianne Wampler

Cable 
Text:                                                                      
                                                                           
      
UNCLAS    SENSITIVE     ISTANBUL 00653

SIPDIS
CX:
    ACTION: POL
    INFO:   CONS TSR PMA ECON DCM AMB RAO FCS PA MGT DAO

DISSEMINATION: POL /1
CHARGE: PROG

VZCZCAYO293
PP RUEHAK
DE RUEHIT #0653/01 2011141
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 201141Z JUL 07
FM AMCONSUL ISTANBUL
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 7309
INFO RUEHZL/EUROPEAN POLITICAL COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHDC PRIORITY
RUEKJCS/DIA WASHDC PRIORITY
RHEHNSC/NSC WASHDC PRIORITY
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHDC PRIORITY

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 ISTANBUL 000653 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPARTMENT FOR EUR/SE 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV PREL TU
SUBJECT: BURSA:  RESERVED FORMER OTTOMAN CAPITAL 
 
REF: ISTANBUL 631 
 
¶1.  (SBU) Summary.  Consulate Istanbul's final pre-election 
campaign visit was to Bursa, traveling aboard a new 75-minute 
car ferry from Istanbul to a dock just 25 miles from the town 
center, cutting the four-hour car trip to under two hours. 
Businessmen in their Mercedes joined vacationers to fill the 
available space.  Bursa itself is experiencing rapid growth 
as Anatolians rush from the Black Sea mountains to find work 
in the automotive industry or commercial center.  Our 
experience in the town presented a contrast to our visit 10 
days before to laid back Tekirdag (Reftel).  The Genc Party 
reps we met in Bursa were a generation younger than the GP 
officials we met in Tekirdag, informed and energized, but the 
Justice and Development Party (AKP) Acting Mayor's formality 
seemed more accurately to reflect the town's reserved 
character.  End summary. 
 
¶2.  (SBU) Early in the day, we checked in with Deputy 
Governor Ali Kemil Basar who related that only 18% of the 
population was historically from Bursa.  Many current 
residents' families hail from Bulgaria, Greece (as a result 
of population exchanges) and from Turkey's northeast. 
Employment and security so far have not been problematic, 
with the city's large automobile plants and growing tourist 
industry providing jobs for newcomers as well as long-time 
residents.  Maintaining and expanding infrastructure and 
services, particularly transportation, have presented the 
greatest challenges. 
 
¶3.  (SBU) Our meeting with municipal leadership was held at 
the 19th century (now ceremonial) city hall immediately 
recognizable by its unusual open wood beam and brick 
construction.  Acting Mayor Recai Ekmekci presented a more 
reserved persona than his counterparts in Tekirdag or in 
Istanbul.  Ekmekci came to Bursa as a student - and stayed. 
The town, he said, was just over 100,000 people in the early 
1970s; today it boasts 1.5 million people, growing by an 
estimated 30,000 to 40,000 people a year.  He counted area 
transportation the city's greatest challenge and AKP's best 
contribution to date, with a series of new highways 
facilitating traffic to, through and around town.  A new 
subway/above ground light-rail system (built by U.S. company 
YapiKaiser) is still adding stations.  He noted there is 
still much work to be done.  Fortunately, he said, 
unemployment so far has not been a problem.  Bursa's 
atmosphere of allows immigrants from various points on the 
compass to interact socially, intermarry and form business 
partnerships, he said. 
 
¶4.  (SBU) Ekmekci matter-of-factly related that the AKP 
received 41% of Bursa's vote in the 2002 national election in 
2002, and 55% in 2004 local elections.  AKP currently holds 
12 of 16 district seats in parliament - main opposition 
Repbulican People's Party (CHP) has the balance.  He 
predicted that if two parties cross the threshold in the July 
22 elections, AKP would hold 13 of 16 seats but if three 
parties crossed the threshold, AKP would drop to 10 seats, 
CHP would get 4 and the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) 2 
seats.  He soberly noted that "nationalist rhetoric and 
terrorism" were the oppositions' strongest cards against the 
ruling party and "unfortunately, I have to say that we are 
not getting enough support from our allies on terrorism." 
 
¶5.  (SBU) The two Genc Party (GP) reps, Ceyhun Erturk, the 
local chairman in his early 40s, and Bulent Gokgoz, retired 
from the Justice Ministry, a 1990s IV grantee and number four 
on their candidate list, were alert and armed with facile 
answers to questions like, "If you cut the gasoline price by 
two-thirds as promised, how will you raise sufficent revenues 
for the state?"  Answer:  Cutting the price will diminish the 
gasoline black market and the revenues will be made up by 
actually collecting the tax on legitimate gasoline that is 
sold.  Their enthusiastic and overtly friendly presentation 
proved the exception in our day of fairly formal and 
sometimes stiff meetings.  They presented their local 
campaign, at least, as the anti-campaign in Turkey.  For 
instance, when GP leader Cem Uzan campaigned in Bursa the 
week before, organizers did not prepare a giant rally of 
bussed-in faithful to fill television screens.  Instead, Uzan 
rode a bus on a publicized route.  Supporters and the 
interested lined the route.  At points, Uzan jumped out to 
have "personal contact with the crowds," and answer 
questions.  Erturk and Gokgoz said GP expected to do very 
well in the district, particularly among less well-off 
villagers in the more rural areas. 
 
¶6.  (SBU)  At our last political party stop, we met with the 
local DP party chairman and a number of board members.  Mumin 
Ekici repeated DP points about unemployment and AKP-created 
tension, and poured out charge after charge of purported 
perfidious behavior on the part of the U.S. toward its NATO 
ally Turkey.  We managed to respond to a few questions 
regarding U.S.-Turkey relations before having to depart for 
our ferry.  We were unable to meet with local CHP 
representatives, who were busy preparing for Deniz Baykal's 
rally that evening. 
OUDKIRK