US embassy cable - 03ANKARA2353

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 ANKARA 002353 
 
SIPDIS 
 
 
DEPARTMENT FOR EUR/SE 
 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/11/2008 
TAGS: PGOV, PREL, PHUM, TU, OSCE 
SUBJECT: TURKEY: DIFFICULTIES FROM PARLIAMENT'S HUMAN 
RIGHTS COMMITTEE CHAIRMAN 
 
REF: A. ANKARA 549 
     B. ANKARA 808 
 
 
Classified by Polcouns John Kunstadter; reasons 1.5 (b, d). 
 
 
1. (C) Summary: Trouble continues with ruling AK party 
parliamentary Human Rights Committee Chairman Elkatmis 
regarding Iraq-related anti-American statements he persists 
in making to the press, statements which (1) are at odds with 
the AK government line; (2) reflect the committee's refusal 
to tackle domestic human rights issues; and (3) demonstrate 
strains within AK party.  End Summary. 
 
 
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Charges of "Massacre" 
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2. (C) April 4 we called on Mehmet Elkatmis, an AK Party M.P. 
and Chairman of Parliament's Human Rights Committee, to 
discuss recent articles attributing anti-American statements 
to him.  Elkatmis confirmed he had responded to reporters' 
questions by saying U.S. and UK leaders "could be" brought 
before a war crimes court for their role in Operation Iraqi 
Freedom, and the conflict in Iraq is not war but "savagery" 
and a "massacre."  Defending his comments at length but in an 
unfocused fashion, Elkatmis charged that Iraqi civilians have 
been killed and missiles had landed on Turkish soil during 
the conflict. "One bombing of a marketplace might be a 
mistake," he said, "but four or five?" 
 
 
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Post Rebuttal 
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3. (C) We emphasized the considerable lengths Coalition 
forces have gone to in order to avoid civilian casualties. 
Did Elkatmis, by using the word "massacre" (katliam), mean to 
charge Coalition forces with having deliberately targeted 
civilians?  Elkatmis refused to give a straight answer.  In 
noting that the U.S. respects the right of anyone freely to 
express his views, we then underscored that (1) we take words 
seriously, particularly when they come from a senior M.P.; 
and (2) such statements -- which Elkatmis volunteered were 
based in part on regional TV reporting -- do a disservice to 
USG-GOT and USG-AK relations. 
 
 
4. (C) We noted that on the same day Elkatmis' comments 
appeared in the press, FM Gul was quoted as saying Turkey is 
"part of the Coalition."  PM Erdogan also recently placed a 
column in the Wall Street Journal emphasizing the importance 
of Turkey's alliance with the U.S.  Elkatmis' comments thus 
appeared to contradict the policies of the AK party and 
government.  Moreover, Elkatmis is not the head of an 
independent NGO but rather a prominent M.P.  His public 
statements consistently focus on supposed human rights 
problems in other countries, rather than in Turkey.  How 
should the USG interpret this approach?  In a meandering 
response, Elkatmis claimed to support Turkey's alliance with 
the U.S., but argued that as Human Rights Committee Chairman 
he speaks in defense of human rights around the world, not as 
an AK or GOT representative. 
 
 
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Unhappy Camper 
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5. (C) April 9 "Sabah" daily published an account of the 
meeting in which Elkatmis distorted both the spirit and 
content of the exchange.  In response to our subsequent 
expressions of regret that Elkatmis had misrepresented the 
meeting, senior AK officials observed to us that Elkatmis has 
been a growing problem for the party and that he would be 
"warned."  AK Deputy Chairman for Public Relations Mercan 
called April 10 to offer apologies, and said the party has 
asked Elkatmis to make his own personal apology. 
 
 
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Comment 
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6. (C) Elkatmis, an Embassy contact since 1996 and member of 
the more hard-core Islamist tendency in AK, has been a useful 
interlocutor in the past.  However, this misstep, and a 
previous attempt by him to contribute to a smear campaign 
alleging USG support for the PKK (ref A), reflect the 
generally low quality and still embryonic understanding of 
democratic institutions shared by Elkatmis and other members 
of the Human Rights Committee.  In this context, we note that 
Elkatmis and other Committee members: (1) profess to believe 
that the Committee's work is somehow unconnected to the wider 
traffic of parliamentary activity and USG-GOT relations -- 
despite their own sensitivities about U.S. Congressional 
attitudes towards Turkey; and (2) appear to derive 
considerable inspiration from fiery Speaker of Parliament 
Bulent Arinc, who has made no secret of his ambitions to 
challenge Erdogan for leadership of AK (ref B). 
PEARSON