US embassy cable - 03ANKARA2186

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 ANKARA 002186 
 
SIPDIS 
 
 
DEPARTMENT FOR EUR/SE 
 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/03/2008 
TAGS: PGOV, PREL, PHUM, EU, TU, OSCE 
SUBJECT: DRAFT EU PARLIAMENT REPORT CALLS FOR RADICAL 
REFORMS IN TURKISH GOVERNANCE 
 
REF: A. EMBASSY (KAPLAN)-EUR/SE (SILVERMAN 
     B. GOLLNER-SWEET 
     C. KERO) 3/27 EMAIL 
 
 
Classified by Polcouns John Kunstadter; reasons 1.5 b and d. 
 
 
1. (C) Summary: A clear-sighted but controversial European 
Parliament draft report calls on the GOT to make fundamental 
changes to the Kemalist State in order to meet EU membership 
criteria.  MFA and reportedly a few members of the European 
parliament reject the report as biased; several European 
Embassy contacts praise its content, but say it will not 
impact Turkey's EU candidacy.  The report provides an 
incisive, accurate depiction of the basic flaws in Turkey's 
democracy.  End Summary. 
 
 
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Dutch Christian Democrat Submits Draft 
-------------------------------------- 
 
 
2. (U) Arie Oostlander, a Dutch Christian Democrat, submitted 
a controversial draft report on Turkey's EU candidacy March 
25 to the European Parliament's Committee on Foreign Affairs, 
Human Rights, Common Security and Defense Policy.  Oostlander 
serves as the committee's Turkey rapporteur.  The report 
calls for fundamental changes to the Kemalist State -- 
including a new Constitution and the elimination of the 
military-dominated National Security Council in its current 
form -- and urges the EU actively to engage the GOT in 
achieving such change. 
 
 
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Report Draws Strong Reactions Pro and Con 
----------------------------------------- 
 
 
3. (C) Very few people have seen the draft, which has not 
been approved by the full Foreign Affairs Committee. 
However, Oostlander provided a copy to the MFA, which quickly 
released a statement calling it "subjective" and 
"unconstructive."  Kaan Esener, head of the MFA Council of 
Europe Department, asserted to us that the report goes too 
far in criticizing the Turkish State.  "It attacks the basic 
tenets of the Republic," he said. "I understand what they are 
trying to say, but why be so aggressive?"  Esener claimed 
that the substance and tone of the report reflect what he 
avers is Oostlander's "anti-Turkey bias."  Agreeing, Luigi 
Narbone, deputy head of the EU office in Ankara (widely 
considered sluggish and out of touch with reality beyond the 
bureaucratic beltway), dismissed Oostlander as having 
"extreme Christian" views and opposing the idea of a Muslim 
nation in the EU. 
 
 
4. (C) Other European diplomats, however, privately praise 
the report, even though they don't expect it to influence 
Turkey's EU candidacy.  An Ankara-based Dutch diplomat told 
us his only complaint about the report is that it comes too 
late.  The EU accepted Turkey as a candidate in 1999, so why 
did the Parliament wait until 2003 to advocate fundamental 
change, he griped.  A visiting Dutch diplomat noted that the 
EU has agreed to review Turkey's candidacy at the Summit in 
December 2004, far too soon to expect the kind of reform 
Oostlander is calling for.  A Danish diplomat called the 
report "excellent," but noted that parliamentary reports 
carry far less weight than reports endorsed by the 
EU-member-state governments.  The Dutch diplomats said they 
have heard that several members of the Foreign Affairs 
Committee are planning significantly to tone down the report. 
 
 
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Kemalism An Obstacle to Reform 
------------------------------ 
 
 
5. (C) Unlike other EU reports on Turkey, Oostlander's draft, 
e-mailed to EUR/SE March 27, takes direct aim at several 
fundamental flaws in Turkey's Kemalist system that serve to 
undermine democratic reform.  Highlights include: 
 
 
-- Turkey's authoritarian Constitution, drafted in 1982 under 
a military regime, does not form an appropriate legal basis 
to guarantee the rule of law and fundamental freedoms.  The 
GOT cannot fix the Constitution by amending various articles; 
it must adopt a new Constitution based on European democratic 
principles. 
 
 
-- Kemalism, the underlying philosophy of the Turkish State, 
implies: 1) an exaggerated fear of the undermining of the 
integrity of the State; 2) an emphasis on the homogeneity of 
Turkish culture; 3) an important role for the military in 
governance; and 4) a very rigid attitude toward religion. 
Kemalism, therefore, constitutes a barrier to EU membership. 
-- Turkish citizens attribute greater importance to the 
military than to other state institutions, including 
Parliament.  It will be necessary in the long term to abolish 
the military-dominated National Security Council in its 
current form. 
 
 
-- Military representatives should be withdrawn from civilian 
bodies, such as the high councils on education and media, to 
ensure these bodies' independence.  Parliament should 
establish control over the military budget as part of the 
national budget. 
 
 
-- In order to make Turkish society more democratic, the GOT 
should pass legislation to encourage the establishment of 
social organizations in the economic, social, and cultural 
fields. 
 
 
-- Turkey must decentralize certain elements of government to 
allow citizens more input into decision-making. 
 
 
-- While the Central and Eastern European EU candidate 
countries enthusiastically dismantled their totalitarian 
structures, Turkey has vacillated. 
 
 
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EU Should Actively Engage GOT 
----------------------------- 
 
 
6. (U) The report also calls on the EU to adopt "an immediate 
and radical approach" actively to assist Turkey in making the 
necessary reforms to meet EU membership criteria.  Rather 
than observing passively and overlooking fundamental issues, 
Oostlander argues, the EU should state clearly where the 
problems lie and work with the GOT to address them.  The 
report further states: "It cannot be ruled out that Turkey 
will ultimately regard such a thorough-going reform as 
unsustainable in itself, or as not in its interests.  The 
slow rate of implementation of the reforms seems to point in 
this direction.  However, if we assume that Turkey can in 
fact become a full member of the EU, we must not leave any 
scope in the pre-accession process for attempts to evade 
central political decisions." 
 
 
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Comment 
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7. (C) This report is controversial not because it is off the 
mark, but because it is dead on.  Oostlander is bluntly 
telling the GOT what many Turks and Turkey watchers know but 
don't want to say publicly: that while Kemalism gave 
republican Turkey a start, it has long impeded further 
progress toward Western democracy.  In encouraging active EU 
participation in helping Turkey make breakthrough reforms, 
the report underscores the importance of not losing sight of 
the true nature of Turkish "democracy."  In addition, many of 
the Turkish characteristics illustrated here -- exaggerated 
fear of outsiders and internal "minorities", conflicts over 
religion, military interference in governance -- bedevil U.S. 
and EU negotiations with the GOT across the board. 
PEARSON