US embassy cable - 05ISTANBUL267

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 ISTANBUL 000267 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV, PREL, TU, PHUM, EINV, Istanbul 
SUBJECT: IZMIR VIEWS ON APP CLOSURE, OVACIK MINE RESTART, 
CHP AND AKP DYNAMICS 
 
REF: 04 ANKARA 6206 
 
1. (SBU)  Summary: In meetings in Izmir February 2-4, Izmir 
liaison officer informed municipal, business and academic 
officials of the Congressional decision to close the Izmir 
American Presence Post and the U.S. plan to reopen a consular 
agency.  Regarding U.S. efforts to reopen the Ovacik Gold 
mine operated by Newmont, Deputy Governor Gures asserted that 
the decision on the mine would not be made by the Izmir 
governor's office, but by the relevant ministries in Ankara. 
Mayor Kocaoglu and local CHP officials smarted at the 
sparring at the recent CHP Congress and hoped that the 
negative elements in the party's factions could be purged. 
The deeply religious Gaziemir AKP district chairman noted 
that admiration for Erdogan had spurred wide interest in 
participation in local politics -- while the CHP Gaziemir 
head accused local AKP officials of corruption and switching 
from DYP just before the mayoral election to assure victory. 
End Summary. 
 
2. (SBU) On February 2-4, Izmir liaison officer met with 
Izmir Mayor Aziz Kocaoglu, Deputy Governor Gunes, Chamber of 
Commerce President Demirtas, the President of Izmir Economic 
University, and political party representatives to inform 
them of Congress' approval of the State Department's 
recommendation to close the American Presence Post in Izmir 
as of January 21.  Liaisonoff assured the contacts that, as 
Ambassador Edelman had underlined in his 10/25/04 visit to 
Izmir (reftel), while a U.S. diplomat would not be 
permanently assigned to Izmir, representatives of the U.S. 
mission in Turkey would visit Izmir on a regular basis to 
follow regional political and economic developments. 
Moreover, the U.S. would continue to provide consular 
services to Izmir residents by reopening a consular agency in 
Izmir in the near future.  Although disappointed to learn of 
the change in status of the U.S. presence in Izmir, 
particularly given the transfer of U.S. NATO personnel to 
Izmir, Mayor Kocaoglu and Chamber President Demirtas were 
pleased to learn of U.S. plans to reopen a consular agency. 
 
Ovacik Gold Mine Restart: Ankara to make the Decision 
 
3. (SBU)  Raising with Deputy Governor Fevzi Gunes the 
continuing closure of Newmont Mining Corporation's Ovacik 
Gold Mine in Bergama, liaisonoff stressed that the U.S. is 
following Newmont's problems closely, and that Newmont 
asserts it is following high standards of environmental 
protection at the mine.  Noting losses to both the company 
and to the regional economy, liaisonoff encouraged Gunes to 
look favorably on restarting mine operations, and added that 
contrary to press reports, Ambassador Edelman had not visited 
the mine. Deputy Governor Gunes said that the decision on the 
mine permit problem would not be made in Izmir, but would be 
made by relevant ministries -- Health, Environment, and 
Agriculture) in Ankara.  (Comment: Newmont insists that a 
special commission within the Governorate is charged with the 
permit decision, not Ministries in Ankara.  End Comment.) 
 
4. (SBU) Chamber of Commerce President Demirtas commented in 
a separate meeting with liaisonoff that environmental groups 
are becoming increasingly more influential in Turkey -- and 
implied that although Newmont was now environmentally 
vigilant, Newmont had not been sufficiently careful in 
monitoring seepage of minerals into ground water at the 
beginning of the project. 
 
Concerns and Opportunities in the Commercial Field 
 
5.  (SBU) Demirtas shared his concerns about prospects for 
Izmir textile company revenues in 2005 given the lifting of 
quotas in the textile industry.  He looked forward to the 
Coast Guard visit to Izmir in mid-February to discuss port 
security, and hoped for a reciprocal visit of Turkish 
officials to U.S. ports.  Demirtas was pleased with the 
expansion of the Vestel computer facility based in nearby 
Manisa, and he expected that a U.S. company would place a bid 
on a new port development in Izmir. 
 
Mayor Kocaoglu: Now Confident in his Position 
 
6. (SBU)  Mayor Kocaoglu of the CHP, who was elected in 
spring 2004 following the death of popular CHP Mayor 
Pristina, was eloquent and clearly comfortable with the 
responsibilities of his new office.  (Izmir university 
professors and CHP party representatives sang his praises in 
separate meetings with liaisonoff.)  Kocaoglu discussed his 
ambitious plans for expanding transportation and industry in 
Izmir, including development of a 5-kilometer metro system up 
to the new free industrial zone.  Kocaoglu claimed that 
tourism to the city had increased by 40 per cent over the 
past year.  Noting the immigrants to Izmir hail from all over 
Turkey, not just the east, he said one of his chief goals was 
to assist the city's poor.  Kocaoglu downplayed the problems 
connected with trafficking in persons in Izmir, contending 
that TIP was present in Istanbul or Antalya, not Izmir.  In a 
separate meeting, the CHP women's branch leader, Guler 
Tuncoku, and former women's branch leader and bar association 
member Pelin Erda also discounted TIP as an issue of concern 
in Izmir. 
 
Izmir Reflections on CHP Party Congress 
 
7. (C) Kocaoglu, who had attended the January 29 CHP Party 
Congress, conceded that it was not a pretty sight -- and not 
representative of Ataturk's Republican People's Party.  He 
noted that while there were unpleasant elements in the 
factions of both Sarigul and Baykal which had to be purged, 
there were also healthy aspects of each faction, and he hoped 
the party would be able to focus on positive achievements 
following the tension of the Congress.  Erda, who had 
attended the Congress as a delegate from Izmir, reflected 
similar dismay with the developments at the Congress, but 
noted that the women's branches in Izmir had supported 
Zivaneli as a candidate -- and commented that Baykal rarely 
visited Izmir.   Both Erda and the CHP Gaziemir district 
chairman were interested in the U.S. response to Baykal's 
accusation in the Congress that the U.S. should be blamed for 
the weakening of CHP following the March 1, 2003, decision in 
Turkish parliament. 
 
Gaziemir: Erdogan Enthusiasts turn to Politics 
 
8. (SBU)  Izmir liaisonoff visited the AKP and CHP district 
party leaders on February 4 in Gaziemir, a growing district 
near Izmir's airport, where an AKP mayor won in the 2004 
local election.  PM Erdogan, on an official visit to Izmir 
February 3-4, was due to stop in Gaziemir later the same day. 
 AKP district leader Ismail Akdag, a young, energetic 
chairman who owns a local spare parts business, said that 
Erdogan's leadership and charisma convinced Akdag and many 
other AKP supporters in Gaziemir to actively participate in 
political life.  After another AKP Gaziemir council member -- 
a retired security official from Erzurum -- joined the 
meeting, Akdag launched into a mini-sermon, avowing that 
establishing positive relations between people is the most 
important activity in life -- not temporal matters such as 
real estate or wealth.  He predicted even greater gains for 
AKP in Gaziemir in the next local election. 
 
9. (SBU) The CHP Gaziemir chairman, Yuksel Demirsoy, and a 
contingent of CHP local representives, clearly Baykal 
supporters, defended CHP's role in Turkish history, and were 
sensitive about AKP's growing power in Gaziemir.  Demirsoy 
and his colleagues accused AKP of corruption, of obtaining 
supporters by distributing money and gifts, and noted that 
the new AKP Gaziemir mayor had switched parties from DYP 
shortly before the election to assure victory.  CHP Gaziemir 
women's branch representatives were engaged in charitable 
campaigns to win voters, funding and operating associations 
for handicapped citizens. 
ARNETT