DART: DISCUSSIONS WITH NATO/EADRCC ON HUMANITARIAN

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 ANKARA 001805

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E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/14/2013
TAGS: AA EAID EFIN IZ MOPS PHUM PREF PREL TU WFP
SUBJECT: DART: DISCUSSIONS WITH NATO/EADRCC ON HUMANITARIAN
ASSISTANCE TO TURKEY

Classified by Deputy Chief of Mission Robert Deutsch for
Reasons 1.5(B) and (D).


This cable was draft by Disaster Assistance Response Team
(DART) Field Office/North and cleared by Embassy Ankara.


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SUMMARY OF DISCUSSIONS BETWEEN DART AND NATO/EADRCC
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1. (C) On March 13, Dart Field Office/North and Embassy
PMA Scott Oudkirk met with Col. Bernie Hunstad and Tom
Nett from NATO,s Euro-Atlantic Response Coordination
Center (EADRCC). The one-hour meeting covered an overview
of NATO,s role in providing humanitarian supplies to the
Government of Turkey (GOT),as well as the role of the
DART and USG humanitarian contingency plans in Turkey.
NATO/EADRCC representatives were in Ankara to discuss
GOT,s request for assistance for humanitarian supplies,
as well as the potential need to place a NATO/EADRCC
Liaison Officer within the GOT,s Ministry of Foreign
Affairs or Crisis Management Center.



2. (C) GOT requested humanitarian relief supplies from
NATO/EADRCC included tents, sleeping bags, and kitchen
sets for 276,000 people, as well as 552,000 blankets
and 30 vehicles. NATO/EADRCC is in the process of
trying to fulfill GOT's request for humanitarian
assistance. As of March 15, four nations (Croatia,
Hungary, Norway, and Canada) have informed NATO/EADRCC
of their intent to provide humanitarian assistance.
The pledged assistance includes tents for 800 people,
15,000 blankets, and 1,000 kitchen sets.



3. (C) DART Field Office/North stressed to NATO/EADRCC
that the number of humanitarian supplies requested by
GOT may support, to some extent, the 12 planned
Turkish Red Crescent (Kizilay) Internally Displaced
Persons (IDP) camps in northern Iraq. Hunstad and
Nett indicated that NATO/EADRCC humanitarian supplies
would not be used for GOT/Kizilay humanitarian
operations in northern Iraq but for humanitarian needs
within Turkey.



4. (C) DART Field Office/North is concerned that
NATO/EADRCC humanitarian supplies would encourage and
support Kizilay IDP camps in northern Iraq by offering
a mechanism for Kizilay to restock its humanitarian
cache in Turkey, while conducting humanitarian operations
in northern Iraq. DART members indicated to NATO/EADRCC
that senior USG officials, as well as ICRC and IFRC,
have reminded Kizilay and GOT officials as recently as
March 12 that Kizilay has no jurisdiction to establish
displaced camps in northern Iraq.



5. (C) NATO/EADRCC representatives in Ankara and DART
Field Office/North will continue to discuss humanitarian
contingency planning issues in the near future. DART
Field Office/North will report additional information
as it becomes available.
PEARSON