US embassy cable - 03ISTANBUL752

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 ISTANBUL 000752 
 
SIPDIS 
 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV, PREL, TU, Istanbul 
SUBJECT: CEM UZAN STUMPS YOUTH IN ISTANBUL 
 
1. (SBU) SUMMARY: Genc Party leader Cem Uzan's recent speech 
to a gathering of university student leaders in Istanbul 
provided insight into both his political skills and 
shortcomings as he seeks to build on his surprisingly strong 
showing in last year's election.  While charismatic in some 
ways, Uzan failed significantly to address key student 
concerns about employment and education reform in the Q and A 
session.  Uzan also seems to have changed targets of 
criticism, saying nothing about the United States and taking 
only a brief swipe at the IMF.  Instead, Uzan railed at 
length against the European Customs Union (though not the EU, 
interestingly).  If Uzan is to burnish his up-and-coming 
image and appear to voters as a serious candidate, he will 
have to understand the feelings of Turkish voters on more 
issues than just the pain of international integration.  END 
SUMMARY. 
 
 
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Heeeeeere's Cemmy! 
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2. (U) A youthful politician bounds onto stage.  The applause 
of the 1,400-person crowd rise to a near roar as he takes off 
his blazer, and puts on the youth conference's t-shirt.  Live 
Star TV (owned by Uzan) cameras zoom in on the podium, while 
a boom camera pans through the crowd.  As a media 
opportunity, Cem Uzan's recent speech at a "GencNet" 
conference at Istanbul's Yeditepe University began very well. 
 
 
3. (U) GencNet, a web site devoted to civic action by youth, 
is supported by both the International Republican Institute 
(IRI) and the ARI Movement, a local NGO which works to 
develop civil society in Turkey.  GencNet's basic message to 
Turkish youth is "get involved," and this year's conference 
allowed youth to vote on who they wanted for the keynote 
speaker.  Answer: Cem Uzan, leader of Genc (Youth) Party. 
 
 
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Proud Entry for Turkey 
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4. (U) Uzan's speech touched on all the major "hot topics" of 
Turkish politics: war in Iraq, economic crisis, relations 
with the EU and the US, and the Cyprus question. 
Interestingly, though Uzan made passing reference to his 
dislike for Turkey's "subservience" to IMF demands, he 
refrained from further comment.  Instead, he blamed a host of 
Turkish economic woes  (including joblessness, and drops in 
agricultural and industrial exports) on the European Customs 
Union, of which Turkey is a member. 
 
 
5. (U) Stating he believed Turkey to have lost USD 70 billion 
in customs revenues in the last seven years as a result of 
the customs union membership, Uzan said that the EU was 
charging Turkey "the price for EU membership" without 
providing "the product" (i.e. full membership).  In a further 
political contortion, Uzan claimed to be pro-EU, but said 
that Turkey must enter the European Union "proudly, not 
begging to be accepted."  However, he said he believed that 
in the future, the EU would be a superpower, and if Turkey 
were to join, it would be "part of that superpower." 
 
 
6. (U) Twice in the course of the Q and A session, Uzan 
visibly failed to address the questions posed to him 
(questions for Uzan were submitted to the GencNet web site 
and did not seem to have been given in advance to Uzan).  In 
both cases, the concerns were specific to Turkish university 
students, and resulted effectively in meandering non-answers 
from Uzan.  In response to a roundly-applauded question on 
what he would do as a future Prime Minister to encourage 
post-university job prospects, especially in light of his 
pledge to quadruple the number of Turkish universities, and 
(as the questioner pointed out) the difficulty graduates 
already face in the job market, Uzan blamed customs union 
membership as the cause of lost jobs.  He added that his 
focus is on raising the number of universities; the question 
of employment is unrelated.  His answer was not applauded. 
 
 
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I said "no," but AK should have said "yes" 
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7. (U) When asked about his position on the war in Iraq, Uzan 
made reference to several full-page adds he took out in his 
family's newspapers and elsewhere.  "As you all know, I was 
against this war in Iraq, remembering the losses Turkey 
suffered in the first Gulf War.  However, the AK government 
was inexperienced, and started bargaining, rather than 
looking after Turkey's strategic interests.  If the motion 
(to allow the US bases and transit through Turkey) had been 
approved, Turkey would have gotten a seat at the table to 
decide the future of Iraq.  The problem is not US-Turkish 
relations, but Turkey's bargaining approach to the issue." 
 
 
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Comment 
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8. (SBU) Uzan benefited from slick public relations advice, 
lumpenproletariat glee at his ability to swindle Motorola out 
of USD 2 billion, and his widespread ownership of television 
and press outlets in the Fall 2002 general election campaign, 
and again in his early-2003 anti-US/anti-war media campaign. 
However, his performance at the GencNet Conference suggests a 
lack of knowledge on a variety of significant issues, 
including higher education, employment, national security, 
and Cyprus.  Additionally, Uzan's schizophrenic positions on 
the EU and war in Iraq serve to muddle his message.  The 
run-up to November's election was a sprint for Uzan.  Any 
future aspirations for parliament will be more of a political 
"marathon," and require a broader and more persuasive message 
than he has heretofore displayed.  We will continue to press 
Genc Party contacts as well on Uzan's defrauding of Motorola. 
 END COMMENT. 
ARNETT