US embassy cable - 03ANKARA7363

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 ANKARA 007363 
 
SIPDIS 
 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: KISL, PGOV, PTER, TU 
SUBJECT: PM ERDOGAN STIRS CONTROVERSY BY REJECTING "ISLAMIC 
TERRORISM" 
 
 
1.  (SBU) Summary:  PM Erdogan has ignited controversy by 
rejecting the phrase "Islamic terrorism" to describe the 
November 15 and 20 Istanbul bombings.  Secular critics of 
Erdogan and his AK Party government worried that the 
government was soft on terrorism because of its Islamic 
roots.  There is no evidence to support this insinuation, but 
the controversy reflects the continued rift and mutual 
suspicion between the AK government and its secular critics. 
End Summary. 
 
 
Erdogan: "Islamic Terrorism" Phrase "Makes My Blood Boil" 
 
 
2.  (U) The controversy started after Erdogan's November 24 
address to the nation about the bombings.  Erdogan rejected 
the term "Islamic terror," stating "we should show special 
care not to offend the integrity of beliefs and views that 
have nothing to do with these deviations...no act of terror 
can be attributed to any divine religion or groups of 
beliefs.  These two concepts can never go together."  Erdogan 
was more pointed in remarks to the press the next day, saying 
the term "Islamic terrorism...makes my blood boil.  When I 
hear the expression 'Islamic terrorism,' I cannot put up with 
it, I cannot stand it." 
 
 
3.  (U) The day before, in an interview with UK journalist 
David Frost, Erdogan said "terrorism has no race, no 
religion, no ethnicity."  He added that there was no definite 
link between the bombings and al-Qaeda, but "it is obvious 
this incident has been motivated by religious sentiments." 
This last remark went virtually unnoticed in the public 
debate, which focused instead on Erdogan's rejection of the 
term "Islamic terrorism." 
 
 
Remarks Ignite Criticism 
 
 
4. (U) The remarks immediately ignited controversy. 
Islamists praised Erdogan's stand, while many secularists 
worried that failure to correctly identify the source of the 
attacks would hamper efforts to solve them and to prevent 
future attacks.  Opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) 
Deniz Baykal said Erdogan should "stop involving himself with 
the adjective to go with terrorism and call it by its name." 
Baykal linked the events to Turkish Hizbullah, adding the PM 
was "unable to say Hizbullah in terms of terrorism."  CHP 
Vice Chairman Onur Oymen responded to Erdogan comments by 
saying "the government must accept that certain political or 
religious believers can commit crimes and must take a 
determined attitude against them."  Even before Erdogan's 
remarks, in the immediate aftermath of the bombings, AK 
critics, particularly the CHP, had openly accused the AK 
government of lax security.  Much of the criticism insinuated 
that AK's Islamist roots made it soft on Islamist terrorism. 
 
 
Government Stresses Opposition to Terrorism 
 
 
5.  (U) While rejecting the phrase "Islamic terrorism," 
Erdogan has made clear his opposition to terrorism, and 
commitment to the democratic reform process and Turkey's 
Western orientation.  Asked by Frost if the bombings would 
change Turkey's policy toward the U.S. and the UK, Erdogan 
replied "never," adding "the importance of Turkey's 
membership in the European Union has become more important 
than ever before."  In a November 25 London Times interview, 
Erdogan reiterated that "it is of prime importance that 
Turkey has turned to face the West and fosters the harmonious 
co-existence of Islamic culture and democracy."  The 
attackers, he said, would be "damned forever in this world 
and the next." 
 
 
6.  (U) As Erdogan had with Frost, in a November 27 newspaper 
interview, Justice Minister and Government spokesman Cicek 
remarked that "groups were resorting to violence and terror 
in the name of Islam."  Cicek went on to call on the Islamic 
countries, intellectuals and scholars world to condemn 
terrorism, and he appealed to Muslim governments to cooperate 
against terrorists.  Cicek noted that the attackers had an 
organizational structure similar to Turkish Hizbullah and had 
met with al-Qaeda militants. 
 
 
7.  (SBU) Comment:  There is no evidence to support 
insinuations that either Erdogan or the AK government is soft 
on terrorism.  However, the controversy over "Islamic 
terrorism" reflects the continued ideological rift and mutual 
suspicion between AK Party supporters and its secular 
detractors.  Turkey's pious sectors have uniformly condemned 
the bombings and are genuinely offended by attempts to link 
them with Islam.  Many AK supporters, including some media, 
refuse to accept that terrorist acts are carried out in the 
name of Islam, preferring instead to concoct conspiracy 
theories blaming the CIA or Mossad.  AK supporters worry that 
secularists will seize on the bombings to restrict religion 
and roll back human rights reforms.  For AK's detractors, 
Erdogan's comments furnish more "proof" of AK's supposed 
Islamist agenda and fuel worries that AK is linked to 
religious radicals.  End Comment. 
DEUTSCH