US embassy cable - 05ANKARA1340

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 ANKARA 001340 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPARTMENT FOR EUR/SE 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/11/2015 
TAGS: PGOV, PREL, PHUM, TU 
SUBJECT: EU FURIOUS OVER GOT HANDLING OF POLICE VIOLENCE 
 
REF: A. ISTANBUL 383 
 
     B. ANKARA 1074 
     C. ANKARA 1231 
 
Classified By: Classified by Polcouns John Kunstadter; reasons 1.4 b an 
d d. 
 
1. (C) Summary: Ankara-based EU diplomats say EU leaders are 
furious over the GOT's continued poor handling of the violent 
March 6 police crackdown on International Women's Day 
demonstrators in Istanbul.  FM Gul promised an investigation; 
however PM Erdogan, Justice Minister Cicek, and other GOT 
leaders have undermined the integrity of the investigation by 
repeatedly asserting that the demonstration was unauthorized, 
that police were provoked, and that Turkey is being unfairly 
criticized.  GOT officials have not returned calls from EU 
leaders on the issue.  European contacts say the EU will 
insist on a thorough investigation.  They also told us the 
GOT's obtuse response has seriously damaged Turkey's image, 
and called into question the sincerity of GOT reforms. End 
Summary. 
 
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Under EU Prodding, Investigation Promised 
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2. (U) Ankara-based EU contacts say EU officials are furious 
over the GOT's continued obtuse, politically tone-deaf 
handling of the fallout from the violent March 6 crackdown by 
Istanbul police of International Women's Day demonstrators 
(reftel A).  European diplomats told us Luxembourgian FM 
Asselborn, who arrived in Ankara March 6 as a member of the 
visiting EU Troika, wanted to cancel the planned GOT-Troika 
meetings in protest when the GOT failed to address the 
violence.  Asselborn raised the issue March 7 with FM Gul, 
who promptly issued a statement promising to investigate the 
incident.  Gul also told Troika officials that he had 
discussed the matter with Minister Cicek, who agreed to 
investigate thoroughly and punish police if they are found 
culpable. 
 
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PM, Other Leaders Defensive 
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3. (U) Troika officials were satisfied with Gul's comments, 
though disappointed they were made only after the Troika 
insisted.  However, Gul's promise of an investigation has 
been buried in an avalanche of defensive and squalid 
statements from a range of GOT officials, including PM 
Erdogan, Cicek, and Istanbul Governor Guler.  Instead of 
emphasizing their dismay over the brutal police actions and 
promising to punish those responsible, the officials have 
repeatedly asserted that the demonstration was unauthorized 
and that police were "provoked."  They have also complained 
that similar incidents occur in other countries and that 
Turkey is being unfairly criticized.  Cicek sarcastically 
quipped that when police in EU countries confront 
demonstrators, "they do not greet them with flowers." 
Erdogan responded to reporters' questions on the incident by 
saying "freedom has limits."  The tone had not changed as of 
March 11, when Erdogan for the second day in a row publicly 
accused the Turkish media of provoking the controversy by 
covering the incident, and asked why Turkish reporters did 
not also cover "similar events" in other countries. 
 
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EU To Press for Punishment 
-------------------------- 
 
4. (C) To make matters worse, our contacts say GOT officials 
throughout the week failed to return phone calls from 
Asselborn and other EU leaders on the issue.  The Dutch 
Embassy spent all day March 8 trying to put Dutch Ambassador 
Gosses in touch with Gul.  The MFA called back at 10 p.m., 
only to offer a March 9 meeting with MFA Deputy U/S Bozkir. 
When the two met, Bozkir gave weak responses when Gosses 
urged the GOT to condemn the police violence and ensure a 
proper investigation.  A contact from the Dutch Embassy 
(representing EU term president Luxembourg in Ankara) said 
Asselborn was "about to explode" over the GOT's handling of 
the issue.  The diplomats say the EU is determined to ensure 
the GOT conducts a thorough investigation, and that it metes 
out appropriate punishments. 
 
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MFA Official Concedes Incident Mishandled 
----------------------------------------- 
5. (C) We raised the Istanbul incident, and the GOT's poor 
response, with Ali Kemal Aydin, department head at the MFA 
Deputy Directorate General for EU Affairs.  Aydin said he and 
his colleagues were "disgusted" with the police actions, 
which, he asserted, violated "our cultural values."  He 
conceded that the GOT has mishandled the matter, and said the 
MFA has unsuccessfully lobbied for a more forthright 
approach.  MFA officials were in meetings with the Troika 
when the violence occurred.  Later the same day, as soon as 
they saw the press coverage, they urged Gul to respond.  Gul 
immediately contacted Governor Guler's office, but Guler did 
not reply until the following day.  "Looking back, we should 
have insisted that Gul make a statement the same day, even 
without speaking to Guler," he said. 
6. (C) Aydin added that Turkish leaders traditionally respond 
defensively to criticism, an "unfortunate" approach he claims 
MFA officials have long advised against.  While it is true 
that police in other countries commit similar abuses, he 
continued, the GOT has to accept that Turkey will draw more 
criticism because of its "poor track record" on human rights. 
 Aydin said he had no information on the investigation, but 
stressed that police must be held to the standards set in the 
latest laws and regulations intended to curb abuses. 
 
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Diplomats: Turkey's Image Seriously Damaged 
------------------------------------------- 
 
7. (C) EU diplomats noted that some European MPs have called 
for a postponement of the planned October start of Turkey's 
accession talks.  While our contacts consider such a move 
highly unlikely, they say the Istanbul violence overshadowed 
the substance of the Troika visit and seriously damaged 
Turkey's standing in Europe.  A German diplomat averred that 
the incident is the latest in a series of recent GOT moves 
that have undermined Turkey's candidacy.  Since the December 
Summit, he said, the GOT has failed to prepare for accession 
talks (reftel B), and Gul publicly demeaned Ambassador 
Kretschmer, head of the European Commission Representation to 
Turkey, after Kretschmer called attention to the lack of 
progress (reftel C).  Our German colleague said the media 
images of police beating women were "the worst thing that 
could have happened for Turkey," because many Europeans 
consider women's rights the key test of the sincerity of 
Turkish reforms. 
 
8. (C) Martin Dawson, head of the Political Section at the 
European Commission Representation, said Erdogan's 
performance during the Troika visit indicates that he has "no 
genuine interest in human rights."  Not only has Erdogan 
failed to handle the police violence properly, but he also 
failed to present the Troika with any plan for further EU 
reforms (septel).  "This is not a guy who stays awake at 
night thinking about how to improve human rights in Turkey," 
Dawson declared. "It does not occupy his mind." 
 
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Comment 
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9. (C) The images of police officers kicking women in the 
face and beating them repeatedly with nightsticks bluntly 
illustrated the gap between amending authoritarian laws and 
transforming authoritarian mentalities.  GOT leaders passed 
up the opportunity to use the incident to demonstrate that 
the days of Turkish police impunity are over.  Their actions 
instead reveal that Turkey is still a country where the State 
is protected from the individual, not the other way around. 
Moreover, the GOT leadership's defensive response further 
highlights the aimlessness and anti-foreign attitude the 
government has displayed since December. 
 
10. (C) While it is true that similar incidents occur in 
other countries, it is difficult to believe the GOT will 
conduct an honest investigation when Erdogan, Cicek and 
others have all but declared the police innocent.  According 
to one press report, investigators examining videotape of the 
events have determined that eight officers used 
disproportionate force, but they cannot be identified because 
they were wearing gas masks.  We will discuss the 
investigation with officials in the Ministry of Justice. 
 
 
EDELMAN