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RUEUITH/TLO ANKARA TU
RUEHAK/TSR ANKARA TU
RUEHAK/USDAO ANKARA TU

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 ANKARA 001676 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV PHUM PREL OSCE TU
SUBJECT: TURKEY:  PRO-KURDISH DTP DEFENDS ITSELF BEFORE 
CONSTITUTIONAL COURT 
 
REF: ANAKRA 1651 
 
¶1. (SBU) Summary:  In a two-hour verbal defense presented to 
the Constitutional Court September 16, Pro-Kurdish Democratic 
Society Party (DTP) Co-Chairman Ahmet Turk urged the Court 
not to close DTP and ban 220 of its members from politics. 
Turk claimed DTP has been working diligently to find a 
peaceful solution to the Kurdish issue and that closing the 
party would "make millions who voted for DTP lose hope in the 
democratic system."  He denied any organizational link 
between DTP and the terrorist Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), 
and argued that PKK leader Abdullah Ocalan had focused on 
finding a peaceful solution since his imprisonment in 1999. 
Turk encouraged the Court to review the party closure 
standards set by the European Court of Human Rights and the 
Council of Europe's Venice Commission, which he said militate 
against closure.  Turkish media, focused on the Deniz Feneri 
(Lighthouse) corruption case and realizing most of the public 
is apathetic to the plight of pro-Kurdish parties, has given 
the case little attention, in contrast to its prominent 
coverage of the AKP closure case.  Upon completion of a Court 
rapporteur's recommended ruling, the Court's President will 
determine a schedule for the judges to convene and issue a 
ruling.  Closure requires the vote of seven of eleven Court 
members.  End summary. 
 
-------------------------------------- 
Ahmet Turk Presents DTP's Oral Defense 
-------------------------------------- 
¶2. (U) DTP Co-Chairman Ahmet Turk delivered the September 16 
verbal defense in the Constitutional Court case filed by 
Court of Appeals Chief Prosecutor Yalcinkaya's indictment to 
close DTP and ban 220 of its members from politics.  Arguing 
that Court of Appeals Chief Prosecutor Abdurrahman's 
Yalcinkaya's November 2007 indictment was "political, not 
legal," Turk presented numerous political reasons for why the 
Court should allow DTP to remain open.  Turk opened by 
emphasizing that DTP has been "working to find a peaceful and 
democratic solution to the Kurdish issue."  Closing the party 
would quash this effort and make millions who voted for and 
trusted DTP lose hope in the democratic system. 
 
¶3. (U) Turk said the current Turkish Constitution fails to 
accept the ethnic identity of Kurds.  While the 1921 
Constitution gave autonomy to provinces, the 1924 
Constitution introduced a form of nationalism that rejected 
the presence of Kurds.  The 1960 and 1982 Constitutions 
continued this unfair practice.  DTP, per Turk, believes 
Turkish should remain the official language of the country 
but there should be government initiatives to allow Kurds to 
speak Kurdish and freely express their culture. 
 
¶4. (U) Turk denied an organizational link between DTP and the 
PKK.  Turk argued that the PKK developed as a reaction to the 
Turkish state's policy of assimilation and blossomed under 
the oppressive atmosphere that followed the 1980 military 
coup.  Turk criticized the Chief Prosecutor for failing to 
mention the "state violence" in the 1990's, including the 
evacuating and burning of over 3000 villages.  The PKK was a 
result, not a cause, of the Kurdish issue.  A solution 
requires dialogue and cooperation.  Military operations would 
never work.  Turk complained about the insistence by many 
state and government officials that DTP declare the PKK a 
terrorist organization.  Though DTP opposes violence, Turk 
explained, labeling the PKK a terrorist organization would 
ignore the need for dialogue and promote a military solution. 
 
 
¶5. (U) Turk argued that the statements of imprisoned PKK 
leader Abdullah Ocalan should not be a reason to close the 
party.  Since he was imprisoned in 1999, Ocalan had focused 
on finding a peaceful political solution.  Most recently he 
had espoused a policy of granting more regional autonomy to 
the heavily Kurdish provinces of southeastern Turkey.  DTP's 
adoption of this approach "does not contradict universal 
legal norms and democracy, and should be considered normal." 
 
¶6. (U) Turk urged the Court to review the European Court of 
Human Rights' rulings on party closures.  The ECHR rulings 
made clear neither Ocalan's remarks nor the statements of DTP 
 
ANKARA 00001676  002 OF 002 
 
 
politicians necessitated the closure of DTP.  Turk praised 
the Constitutional Court's recent rulings to not close the 
ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) and pro-Kurdish 
Rights and Freedoms Party (HAKPAR).  Turk also said the Court 
should heed the Council of Europe's Venice Commission's 
standards for party closure, which state that a political 
party should only be disbanded if it advocates violence. 
 
-------------------- 
Media Coverage Scant 
-------------------- 
¶7. (U) Turkish press gave little mention to DTP's oral 
defense.  In one of the few columns covering the issue, 
"Turkish Daily News" columnist Yusuf Kanli struggled with the 
issue of whether DTP should be closed.  Kanli found the DTP's 
actions of "praising the PKK in public" and "blaming 
terrorism-related violence on security forces" to be in 
violation of Turkey's laws and "totally unacceptable." 
However, closing the party would "mean punishing the electors 
who voted for DTP deputies and expelling their will from 
Parliament."  Kanli asserted that the best solution would be 
to amend existing laws to make party closure an exceptional 
penalty that could be ordered only under very limited 
conditions, "such as concrete evidence that a party is 
involved in violence, engaged in treachery, or received 
financial contribution from foreign individuals, corporate 
bodies or foreign states." 
 
---------- 
Next Steps 
---------- 
¶8. (U) Constitutional Court President Hasim Kilic will now 
assign a Court rapporteur to review the case file and prepare 
a recommended ruling.  When the rapporteur completes his 
recommendation, Kilic will distribute it to the judges and 
establish a date for the judges to convene and rule on the 
case.  There is no legal time requirement for the judges to 
decide.  Closure requires the affirmative vote of seven of 
the Court's eleven members. 
 
Visit Ankara's Classified Web Site at 
http://www.intelink.sgov.gov/wiki/Portal:Turk ey 
 
WILSON