| ID: 06ANKARA1723 Dokument dato: 2006-03-31 12:33:00 Release dato: 2011-01-30 05:20:00 Kilde: Embassy Ankara header: CONFIDENTIAL This record is a partial extract of the original cable. The full text of the original cable is not available. C O N F I D E N T I A L ANKARA 001723 SIPDIS NSC FOR DAVID MERKEL E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/31/2016 TAGS: PTER, PGOV, TU, DA SUBJECT: TURKEY REQUESTS U.S. DEMARCHE TO DENMARK ON ROJTV Classified By: Charge Nancy McEldowney. Reasons 1.4 (b) and (d). Hovedtekst: 1. (C) MFA DG for Intelligence and Research Hayati Guven asked to see the Charge March 31 to raise the GOT's ongoing concerns about Roj TV's broadcasts from Denmark. Guven said the GOT believes that Roj TV's broadcasts have been intentionally used by the PKK to incite the current civil unrest in Diyarbakir that has led to the loss of four lives and many serious injuries. He provided a document citing some of the most egregious statements recorded by Turkish monitors (emailed to EUR/SE), including calls to attend funerals in mass, to close shops, and not go to school or work. He said another sign of Roj TV's links to the PKK was that Roj TV had broadcast the names of the 14 terrorists killed in the military operation that ignited the initial wave of protests before those names were even known to the GOT. 2. (C) Guven said that the Turkish Ambassador in Copenhagen demarched the Danish MFA Under Secretary on March 30 to "take a political decision" to shut Roj TV, as the UK and France had done with Roj TV,s predecessor media outlets. FM Gul will make a similar request in a March 31 call to the Danish foreign minister. Guven said top Turkish officials are deeply frustrated by the Danish government's refusal to respond to Turkey's concerns over the past months about Roj TV. Clearly on edge, Guven said that the situation had become very serious, and that Roj TV had been discussed at the March 30 meeting of the High Council on Terrorism, chaired by Gul, where all had agreed that it played a major role in igniting the Diyarbakir events. 3. (C) Recognizing and appreciating past U.S. support with the Danish government, he asked that the United States make another urgent, parallel demarche to the Danish government in support of Turkey's request. Repeating that the atmosphere in Ankara was nervous and tense, he also said that making U.S. support for Turkey on this subject known to the Turkish press would be very important for Turkish public opinion. 4. (C) Comment: We have supported the GOT in its prior efforts to shut down Roj TV, which we agree has links to the PKK. Some of its programming is, indeed, supportive of the PKK. In this instance, however, we should be very careful that, while continuing to work for Roj TV,s closure, we do not send the message to the Turks that we believe Roj TV was the main catalyst behind the unrest in Diyarbakir. Many factors are at work. The problems in Turkey,s southeast run deep and are of longstanding. Visit Ankara's Classified Web Site at http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/eur/ankara/ MCELDOWNEY 2006-03-31 12:33 |