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C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 ISTANBUL 000358 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/26/2018 
TAGS: PREL PGOC PREL TU
SUBJECT: THE AKP TURNS UP THE HEAT 
 
Classified By: CONSUL GENERAL SHARON A. WIENER FOR REASONS (B) AND (D) 
 
¶1. (C) Summary.  As the decision by the Constitutional Court 
in the closure case looms nearer, AKP (Justice and 
Development Party) party officials and sympathizers in 
Istanbul have begun to press us more forcefully for visible 
USG support for the party.    We have been careful in our 
responses to these entreaties, explaining that the U.S. is 
following a careful line, designed to demonstrate our support 
for democracy while avoiding being drawn into Turkish 
domestic politics.   This argument, which had been sufficient 
until early June, no longer appears to resonate and seems to 
be viewed, by both the pro- and anti-AKP camps, as a lack of 
support for the party.  End Summary. 
 
¶2. (C) Ibrahim Yildirim, member of the Istanbul AKP 
administrative board and one of our closest AKP contacts, 
approached the CG in mid June to make a direct appeal for 
support.  He reiterated this plea, contrasting U.S statements 
unfavorably with EU comments, at an event hosted by the CG on 
June 20.  In this discussion, he - accompanied by several 
other influential AKP operatives - expressed their concern 
about the outcome of the closure case and called for more 
vocal support by senior US officials for the AKP.  One member 
of the group specifically asked whether we had been 
approached by retired judges or generals seeking our support 
against the AKP.  We explained that in our view the ruling 
party is clearly the democratically elected government and 
noted that we were not plotting with Kemalists to remove the 
party from government.  Comment:  This would have seemed like 
an over-wrought conspiracy theory had ANAP (Motherland) party 
founder and former Istanbul mayor Bedrettin  Dalan not, at 
the same event, made a special point of telling the CG that 
US policy on the closure case was correct and had been "noted 
favorably."  End Comment. 
 
¶3. (C) On June 22, AKP MP Cuneyd Zapsu told the CG the US, by 
adopting a "neutral" stance, is in effect supporting the AK 
Party's enemies.  The CG explained our relations with the 
ruling party should not be interpreted as "neutrality," and 
noted that in addition to our words, people should be 
watching our actions.  According to Zapsu, it doesn't matter 
that the USG is continuing to have close relations with the 
government, has received FM Babacan at senior levels in 
Washington, and is talking about democracy and the will of 
the voters.  "They" (meaning anti-AKP elements in the 
military and judiciary) don't pay any attention to that.  The 
Europeans have spoken, but they don't have any influence on 
the people who are trying to shut the AKP down.  EU 
opposition to the closure case is viewed as a convenient 
excuse to keep Turkey out of the EU by criticizing Turkish 
democracy.  This discounts the impact of criticism emanating 
from Brussels.  According to Zapsu, only the United States 
has influence with those trying to close the party and the 
message needs to come from the U.S. military. 
 
¶4. (C) As for reassuring the opposition here about AKP's true 
intentions, Zapsu passionately asked "Have you listened to 
what the Prime Minister has been saying the last month?"  He 
added that Erdogan asks him "What more can I do?"  Zapsu 
said he knows that the PM is not someone who wants Turkey to 
be Iran, that the PM has tried to make that clear and they're 
at a loss for what else they can do.  Zapsu argued the rest 
of the country is not like Istanbul; in Anatolia Erdogan is 
viewed as a hero and people are very, very upset about the 
closure case. 
 
¶5. (C) Religiously-oriented civil society leaders without 
formal roles in the AKP have also made a point of noting 
their concerns with regard to the closure case.  TUSKON 
Secretary General Mustafa Gunay complained bitterly about the 
US failure to show unequivocal support for the ruling party. 
He said that in an effort to deal with the closure case 
crisis, the AKP and its supporters, in particular TUSKON, 
were trying to initiate dialogue with major industrialists 
and business leaders to seek their support, but they had been 
rebuffed by many.  TUSKON's efforts appear to be bearing 
fruit with some members of the business community, as TUSIAD 
Board member Aldo Kaslowski told the CG "We all feel 
responsible for this. We voted for them."   Comment:  The 
AKP's success in reforming the economy during its first term 
in office combined with the lack of a secular center right 
alternative in the 2007 elections made the AKP the party of 
choice for many voters who placed more importance on economic 
than social issues.  End Comment. 
 
¶6. (C) Comment:  In addition to profound differences between 
the ardent secularist and AKP worldview there is also a 
significant failure to communicate - both literally in terms 
of the dialog TUSKON is attempting to start and figuratively. 
 
ISTANBUL 00000358  002 OF 002 
 
 
 For example, on June 25 PM Erdogan in what was most likely 
an attempt to reassure not alarm, told a group of senior 
local and expat business figures that Turkey had changed 
significantly during the past five years and that under 
continued AKP leadership "even more significant changes" 
would be made over the next three to five years.  Despite 
Zapsu's assurance that the PM is doing everything he can to 
assure his opponents of his commitment to a secular state, 
this type of remark feeds into conspiracy theories and does 
nothing to reassure secularists that the AKP isn't planning 
profound changes to the Turkish state and society. 
Similarly, when the CG asked Zapsu whether there wasn't a 
chance that the result would be just the opposite of his goal 
if the military and judiciary felt they were being forced to 
cater to US wishes, he really didn't have an answer.    End 
Comment. 
WIENER