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C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 ANKARA 002014 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 08/03/2017 
TAGS: PBIO PGOV PREL TU
SUBJECT: TURKEY'S NATIONALIST ACTION PARTY DEPUTIES: FRESH SOPHISTICATES COVER UP OLD-LINE BRUISERS 
 
 
Classified By: A/POLITICAL COUNSELOR KELLY DEGNAN FOR REASONS 1.4(b),(d) 
 
¶1.  (C) Summary and Comment.  The far-right Nationalist 
Action Party (MHP) is returning to parliament after five 
years on the sidelines, having carried 14.4 percent of the 
vote in Turkey's July 22 elections (septel).  Since its 
coalition government with the Motherland Party (ANAP) and 
Democratic Left Party (DSP) failed in 2002, MHP has 
capitalized on rising nationalism stemming from terrorist PKK 
violence and bumps in Turkey's EU accession process.  The 
party owes much of its success to its leader, Devlet Bahceli, 
who carefully selected a slew of urbane, intellectual 
candidates to compensate for the party,s more thuggish 
members.  MHP MPs include former diplomats, long-time 
political activists, and several experienced former 
ministers, as well as a couple of murderers -- all of whom 
will potentially play important roles as the new parliament 
grapples with controversial reforms and new approaches to 
Turkey's Kurdish question.  End Summary and Comment. 
 
Ministers and Intellectuals: 
============================ 
 
¶2.  (C) AHMET DENIZ BOLUKBASI. Son of the famous nationalist 
politician Osman Bolukbasi, Ahmet Deniz Bolukbasi is a former 
ambassador turned politician.  After a diplomatic career 
focused on Europe, he is a supporter, albeit a skeptical one, 
of Turkey's EU accession.  He was an especially tough MFA 
negotiator during the talks leading up to the March 1, 2003 
petition on Iraq.  The public considers him one of the 
strongest defenders of Turkey,s interests, especially 
against the United States.  He speaks fluent English. 
 
¶3.  (C) GUNDUZ AKTAN. Aktan, a former diplomat, editorialist, 
and advisor to the late PM Turgut Ozal, is a nationalist 
known for isolationism, hawkish views on Cyprus, and strong 
criticism of the EU accession process -- he does not believe 
Turkey should seek EU membership on Brussels' terms.  He sees 
Turkey,s interests as more closely aligned with China and 
Russia.  Described as intelligent and articulate, many expect 
him to be one of MHP,s most effective MPs, particularly on 
foreign policy issues such as the Armenian genocide 
resolution.  He previously served as president of the 
think-tank ASAM and foreign policy advisor to Turkish Chamber 
of Commerce and Commodity Exchanges (TOBB) Chairman 
Hisarciklioglu.  Although he was a leftist advisor to former 
PM Ozal, his views have shifted; we can expect his foreign 
policy positions to be hard-line nationalistic. 
 
¶4. (C) MERAL AKSENER.  Affectionately labeled one of the 
"asenas" -- legendary female wolves that led the Turks west 
from Siberia -- Meral Aksener formerly headed the women's 
branch of the True Path Party (DYP) before joining MHP.  As 
Interior Minister during the 1997 DYP-Refah Party coalition 
government under Tansu Ciller, she was accused of creating a 
secret domestic spy service, tapping reporters, phone lines, 
 
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and terrorizing Kurdish businessmen to undermine the PKK,s 
finances.  Many PKK-related disappearances occurred during 
her tenure, although no accusations were officially 
substantiated.  Aksener abandoned DYP and joined MHP after 
allegedly attempting to join AKP when the party was founded. 
Considered highly intelligent, she is a former professor of 
sociology. 
 
¶5. (C) SABAHATTIN CAKMAKOGLU.  Nearly 80 years old, 
Sabahattin Cakmakoglu returns to parliament after a long 
career in the Interior Ministry, where he served as 
sub-governer, deputy governor and then governor of four 
regions.  First elected in 1999 on the MHP ticket, he served 
as Defense Minister as well as Interior Minister, and remains 
on good terms with the military.  He was quoted in early 
August as agreeing with TGS CHOD General Buyukanit that 
Turkey's president must be devoted not in rhetoric but "in 
essence" to the secular principles of the Republic. 
 
¶6. (C) MITHAT MELEN originates from Van but serves as an MP 
from Antalya.  He comes from a political family, his father 
having served in the senate and as Minister of Defense.  He 
was previously involved in ANAP and has run for parliament 
 
ANKARA 00002014  002 OF 003 
 
 
four times before 2007.  He is also currently an economics 
professor at Istanbul University and emphasized to EmbOffs 
that he loves teaching.  He is a frequent columnist, even 
writing for the English language publication, Turkey Daily 
News.  He claims to have advised Bahceli to propose an MHP 
candidate for president so they would have grounds to attend 
the voting session and meet the 367 quorum requirement. 
 
¶6. (C) TUNCA TOSKAY.  A former academic elected with MHP in 
1999, Tunca Toskay served as State Minister in the 
DSP-MHP-ANAP coalition.  A good Embassy contact before the 
MHP defeat in 2002, Toskay returned to his hometown, Antalya, 
and taught at Antalya University after AKP came to power in 
¶2002. 
 
The Loyalists: 
============== 
 
¶7. (C) KENAN TANRIKULU.  Young and personally loyal to MHP 
leader Devlet Bahceli, Kenan Tanrikulu served as Minister of 
Industry from 1999 to 2002.  He attended schools in Britain 
and the United States and is seen by some as a rising star 
within the party.  The press has dubbed him Bahceli's 
"promising prince".  Tanrikulu earned a PhD in economics from 
the University of Western Illinois. 
 
¶8. (C) OKTAY VURAL.  Also personally loyal to Bahceli, former 
Transportation Minister (1999-2002) Oktay Vural is now a 
deputy party leader.  He is known for transcending 
intra-party feuds and will likely provide his boss with 
balanced council.  He is pro-West but very skeptical of the 
EU.  He was a member of the NATO Parliamentary Assembly and 
chairman of the TGNA Industry, Trade, Energy, Natural 
Resources, Information and Technology Committee.  Vural has 
been a useful Embassy contact.  He is intelligent and speaks 
English, though he prefers not to. 
 
¶9. (C) FARUK BAL.  Bal entered Parliament in 1999 and headed 
the Interior Affairs Committee during the trial of former 
Kurdistan Worker,s Party (PKK) leader Abdullah Ocalan.  He 
worked on good terms with the Embassy during this period and 
remains an important contact.  Following MHP's 2002 defeat, 
Bal remained loyal to the party, serving as a vice chairman. 
 
 
The Aristocrats: 
================ 
 
¶10. (C) TUGRUL TURKES, son of the nationalist movement legend 
Alparslan Turkes and self-styled scion of the movement, 
served previously as deputy party leader.  After his father's 
death in 1997, Turkes ran for election as head of MHP but 
lost to Bahceli, in part because the party rejected the 
notion of a dynasty.  After heading the failed Aydinlik 
Turkiye Partisi, Turkes spent several years running his 
insurance business and only rejoined the MHP on Bahceli's 
invitation shortly before the July election.  He took MHP's 
top slot in Ankara's first district. Although his nationalist 
heritage is indisputable, most MHP members consider his 
blue-blooded background and patrician manners a turnoff and a 
sharp contrast to their humbler backgrounds.  Many 
nevertheless recognize that his presence and excellent 
English are good for MHP,s image. 
 
¶11. (C) HAMIT HOMRIS.  Referred to as "the groom" for gaining 
political popularity by marrying Alparslan Turkes's daughter, 
Hamit Homris has been a member of MHP for many years.  MHP 
officials showed their confidence in his abilities and future 
by selecting him to run for the important post of Ankara 
mayor. 
 
The Thugs 
========= 
 
¶12. (C) OSMAN DURMUS, a lifelong radical, was accused of 
murdering a military doctor but escaped punishment under a 
1974 amnesty.  As Health Minister during the 2000 earthquake 
that claimed over 30,000 lives, Durmus gained notoriety for 
rejecting foreign aid in a series of nationalistic 
pronouncements -- most famously he refused to accept Greek 
 
ANKARA 00002014  003 OF 003 
 
 
blood donations for fear of contamination.  He also tried to 
force the US to return the blood samples of a Turk with 
cancer who sought treatment in the US, deeming it 
strategically inadvisable to allow foreigners to unlock the 
secrets of the Turkish genome. 
 
SIPDIS 
 
¶13. (C) ATILLA KAYA formerly managed ultranationalist camps 
during the strive-ridden 1980s.  He served ten years in 
prison for murdering a leftist construction engineer.  After 
his release, Kaya served as an advisor to Bahceli and 
recently wo.#CQBQ;y% 
Society and served as president of the Syrian Bayir Bucak 
Turks Cultural and Solidarity Association.  Embassy officials 
who have met him describe him as difficult and unpredictable, 
regularly disclosing private discussions to the press. 
 
Visit Ankara's Classified Web Site at 
http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/eur/ankara/ 
 
MCELDOWNEY