US embassy cable - 03ANKARA4682

C O N F I D E N T I A L ANKARA 004682 
 
SIPDIS 
 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/24/2013 
TAGS: PREL, PGOV, TU 
SUBJECT: TURKEY: RE-INTEGRATION LAW FOR PKK/KADEK ON HOLD 
FOR NOW 
 
 
REF: ANKARA 4499 
 
 
(U) Classified by Charges d'Affaires Robert S. Deutsch. 
Reason: 1.5 (b)(d). 
 
 
1. (U) Ruling AK Party July 23 withdrew from the floor of 
Parliament a "reintegration" law that would have reduced 
sentences for PKK/KADEK combatants and members of other 
terrorist organizations who agree to lay down their arms and 
provide information to authorities. 
 
 
2. (U) During Parliamentary debate on the bill, opposition 
CHP M.P.s called for qualified majority voting (i.e., the 
motion would need a 3/5 majority to pass or 330 votes), 
because, they argued, the draft amounted to an amnesty. 
(note: according to Parliament by-laws, all amnesties require 
qualified majority voting in Parliament. end note)  Deputy 
speaker of Parliament and CHP M.P. Yilmaz Ates, who was 
chairing the session, agreed to the CHP request.  In the 
event, of the 392 deputies in attendance, 313 voted in favor, 
while 77 voted against and two abstained.  The M.P.s largely 
voted along party lines; relatively few crossed the aisle. 
 
 
3. (U) The press reports that AK will send the draft back to 
Parliament committees for review.  Justice Minister and 
government spokesman Cemil Cicek told reporters after the 
vote that the government is likely to submit the proposal to 
Parliament again on July 25. 
 
 
4. (C) Reftel noted: 1) the proposed draft's apparent 
weaknesses as they are seen by human rights and other Kurdish 
groups; and 2) opposition from CHP, which is against the idea 
in general.  In a July 23 meeting with poloff, Mesut Deger -- 
a CHP Central Administrative board member and Kurdish M.P. -- 
offered a more thoughtful critique from his party's 
perspective.  Deger explained that while he is in favor of 
reintegrating PKK/KADEK members into Turkish society, the 
current draft would also reduce the sentences, or even set 
free, members of Turkish Hizbullah and the perpetrators of a 
1993 Sivas incident, in which a number leftist activists and 
Alevis were killed.  Deger offered that if the bill is 
changed to exclude these groups, CHP may change its stance. 
 
 
5. (U) We will continue to monitor closely the legislative 
process on this issue. 
DEUTSCH