US embassy cable - 03ANKARA549

S E C R E T SECTION 01 OF 02 ANKARA 000549 
 
SIPDIS 
 
 
CENTCOM AND EUCOM: PLEASE PASS TO POLADS AND J-5 
 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 01/10/2013 
TAGS: PGOV, PREL, ECON, TU 
SUBJECT: TURKEY: PRESS ALLEGATIONS OF USG SUPPORT FOR PKK: 
OUR RESPONSE 
 
 
(U) Classified by Ambassador W.R. Pearson.  Reason: 
1.5(b)(c)(d) 
 
 
1. (C) Summary: Amid strong anxiety in Turkey about a 
possible war with Iraq, recent reports in the Turkish media 
alleging that the USG and specific members of the Mission 
staff are in contact with and supporting the Kurdistan 
Workers' Party (PKK, aka KADEK) have been brought to our 
attention at senior levels of the MFA and other GOT 
bureaucracies. We have categorically denied the allegations 
to senior GOT officials and to the press.  End Summary. 
 
 
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Accusations in the Press 
------------------------ 
 
 
2. (U) Beginning in January, the weekly "Aydinlik" magazine, 
which espouses a militant leftist-Kemalist ideological line, 
began to run stories alleging that USG officials (including 
CIA) are in contact with, and supplying millions of dollars 
to, the terrorist PKK/KADEK.  Worker's Party leader Dogu 
Perincek, for whom both "Aydinlik" and the new "Ulusal" TV 
Station serve as vehicles, also claimed that the State 
Security Court Prosecutor's Office began an official 
investigation Jan. 6, specifically into "reports" that CIA 
had provided the PKK with USD 125 million to begin 
preparations for a renewed terror campaign in Turkey. 
 
 
3. (U) The stories are surfacing in the mainstream press. 
The Jan. 18 and Jan. 21 editions of the daily "Milliyet" 
carried two articles claiming that: 1) USG officials met with 
PKK/KADEK members in a Middle Eastern country in January 
2002; and 2) Davut Bagistani, a notorious suspected PKK 
figure, had arranged six such meetings, the most recent in 
early December 2002.  Other papers followed suit on Jan. 22, 
adding the assertion that the Turkish National Intelligence 
Organization (MIT) had "confirmed" the meetings, and that 
Gen. Ozkok, Chief of the Turkish General Staff (TGS), had 
raised the issue with Gen. Myers during their Jan. 20 meeting 
in Ankara.  In a subsequent press conference, Perincek 
alleged that DCM, D/Polcouns, and Embassy Press Officer -- 
all of whom he had earlier accused of various allegedly 
nefarious pro-Islam and pro-Kurdish activities -- are 
"managing" the USG-PKK relationship and should be PNG'd 
forthwith.  The Jan 23 "Milliyet" again reported Perincek's 
line. 
 
 
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MFA Raises the Issue 
-------------------- 
 
 
4. (S) MFA U/S Ziyal raised the matter with Ambassador Jan 
22, presenting him with a copy of an article in the daily 
"Aksam."   Ziyal said that "we know Bagistani -- he is a 
shady character."  He also stated that he "knows" from his 
time at the Turkish Mission in Damascus that CIA had contact 
with PKK years ago -- "not with Ocalan, but others." 
Ambassador replied that its conceivable the PKK may well be 
trying to create the impression that they are in contact with 
the USG. Nevertheless, there is nothing to these stories. 
Ambassador further noted that Embassy went on public record 
to deny the allegations. 
 
 
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Comment 
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5. (C) Based on all information available to us, we have 
categorically denied the allegations to senior GOT officials 
and to the press.  Perincek and his media organs appear to 
have been the first to generate the stories.  A noted 
leftist-nationalist gadfly, Perincek made headlines last year 
by exposing to public view reports, highly critical of 
Turkey, by the EU's Ambassador to Turkey -- which she had 
sent to Brussels via unclassified e-mail.  Perincek claimed 
he had obtained the reports from friends in "the security 
apparatus"; politicians and others in Ankara take it as 
gospel that Perincek has connections to elements of the 
military/intelligence.  Aydinlik's distribution is small, as 
is support for Perincek's Worker's Party.  Nevertheless, as 
reflected in both Ziyal's evident suspicions and in the 
willingness of mainstream press to pick up on these 
allegations, the ideas espoused by Perincek/Aydinlik have 
considerable currency among the Establishment and the 
intelligentsia. 
PEARSON