US embassy cable - 03ISTANBUL1384

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 ISTANBUL 001384 
 
SIPDIS 
 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 08/05/2013 
TAGS: PGOV, PHUM, TU, Istanbul 
SUBJECT: THE ISTANBUL BAR AND ITS DETRACTORS 
 
 
Classified By: Acting Consul General Stuart Smith for reasons 1.5 (b) a 
 
 
nd (d). 
 
 
1. (C) Summary and Comment: The Istanbul Bar is at once a 
defender of the legal profession and historically a leader in 
promoting respect for human rights and rule of law in Turkey. 
 With a broad and ambivalent membership and a new 
nationalist/statist administration, however, the Bar 
currently appears unlikely to be a catalyst for change.  On 
the other hand, the Bar was quick to raise the anti-war 
banner to oppose U.S. intervention in Iraq and continues to 
seek opportunities to criticize and attack the U.S. and U.K. 
for their actions there.  End Summary and Comment. 
 
 
Current Bar Leadership 
---------------------- 
 
 
2. (C) The Istanbul Bar, the oldest such association in 
Turkey and the third largest in the world (after Tokyo and 
Cairo), elects a new President and slate of board members 
every two years by a simple vote of all its members (i.e., 
dues-paying, registered lawyers).  The previous Bar 
President, Yucel Sayman, was a well-regarded professor of law 
widely known for his pro-human rights views.  Often openly 
critical of the security apparatus, Sayman once told poloff 
he believed that there would never be another military coup 
in Turkey, as the current constitution represents a permanent 
state of military control.  At a recent "robing" ceremony in 
which young lawyers are raised to the bar, one new lawyer 
spoke at length of the high regard in which all lawyers held 
the previous Bar Administration, conspicuously making no 
mention of his feelings toward the current one. 
 
 
3. (C) Poloff spoke September 16 with Ayse Celikel, former 
Minister of Justice and herself a lawyer.  Celikel noted 
significant differences in philosophy between Sayman and 
current Bar President Kazim Kolcuoglu.  While Sayman was 
strongly pro-human rights, he also was well-known for his 
liberal and internationalist point of view.  Kolcuoglu, by 
contrast, tends to be more pro-establishment Ataturkist. 
Celikel noted that Bar administrations have significant 
impact upon the legal profession, even though their two-year 
terms of office are fairly short. 
 
 
4. (C) "Principles First," a broad nationalist, statist 
coalition led by Kazim Kolcuoglu beat out two other 
candidates in last fall's election.  Sayman's group, a wide 
assortment of broadly democratic-minded lawyers competed 
under the banner of "Contemporary (Lawyers)," while Hasan 
Mollaoglu led the slate for "Calling," a democratic, 
religious-leaning group.  Although the structure and 
functions of the Bar are not normally subject to change, 
lawyers with whom poloff spoke indicated Kolcuoglu's 
administration has a reputation for: administrative 
mismanagement, weak support for human rights and EU reforms, 
and a nationalistic/statist attitude.  Following complaints 
about inadequate reimbursement and general mismanagement, the 
current Bar has brought back one of Sayman's key staff 
members to rescue the critical "public defender" duty system 
which provides legal representation for those who cannot 
afford it. 
 
 
5. (C) Human rights and EU reform themes have been notably 
absent from the Bar's regular conferences and seminars, 
replaced instead with an emphasis on civil code and labor 
law.  Kolcuoglu, upon taking office, dissolved all standing 
committees of the Bar.  Though some lawyers have alleged that 
this was a direct attack on the Bar's human rights agenda, 
others (even more liberal Bar members) attribute it to a 
simple desire to clean house as a new administration. 
Additionally, the fact that the current administration has 
begun to fly the Turkish flag and play the national anthem at 
Bar meetings has not gone unnoticed. 
 
 
Iraq: Istanbul Bar's Active Anti-War Stance 
------------------------------------------- 
 
 
6. (U) The Istanbul Bar, throughout the build-up and during 
the actual war in Iraq, took a strong, vocal anti-war stance. 
 Regular meetings and marches down Istiklal Street, a major 
pedestrian area in European Istanbul, were sponsored by the 
bar Association.  Based on various conversations and 
observation of such rallies, it is clear that the anti-war 
stance was generally popular with Bar members.  Shortly 
before the election of the current Bar administration last 
November, moreover, all three candidates came together and 
issued a joint statement opposing U.S. intervention in Iraq. 
Lawyers typically attended rallies in large numbers, wearing 
robes to identify their profession.  More recent events in 
Iraq, notably the July 4 detention of Turkish Special Forces 
by U.S. troops, elicited sharp criticism from the Bar, both 
on their web site and in press releases. 
 
 
7. (U) In August, the Istanbul Bar filed a case with the 
newly-established International Criminal Court against the 
British government and senior British officials for their 
actions in Iraq.  "We want them to be brought to justice," 
Kolcuoglu said in the announcement, "...the invasion of Iraq 
is a clear infringement of the universal principles of 
legitimacy and justice... the killing and mistreatment of 
civilians and the looting in this country should be 
considered war crimes and crimes against humanity." 
 
 
Comment 
------- 
 
 
8. (C) Previously, the Istanbul Bar's human rights work 
provided an important prop to development of the rule of law 
in Turkey.  Though the current Bar administration maintains 
high standards of training and professional development for 
lawyers, their political focus has shifted from encouraging 
lawyers to work as human rights advocates to support for a 
firmly Ataturkist, anti-war agenda.  This is, on balance, a 
loss for Turkish civil society advocates.  End comment. 
ARNETT