C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 ANKARA 003922

SIPDIS


STATE FOR D, P, E, EUR A/S JONES, NEA A/S BURNS, AND
EUR/SE; DOD FOR DEPSEC AND ASD CROUCH; NSC FOR DEPUTY NSA
HADLEY AND FRIED. JCS FOR J5


E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/19/2013
TAGS: PREL MARR MOPS TU IZ PTER ASEC
SUBJECT: UNILATERAL ACTIONS BY KURDISH GROUPS CONTINUE TO
HAMPER FLOW OF HUMANITARIAN AND RECONSTRUCTION ASSISTANCE
TO IRAQ; TIME FOR A PLAN


REF: ANKARA 3794


(U) Classified by A/DCM Stuart V. Brown. Reasons: 1.5 (B
and D).



1. (U) This is an action request. See para 3.


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SUMMARY
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2. (C) The KDP's June 17 refusal to allow a 40-person
delegation of Iraqi businessmen to cross into Turkey to meet
with Turkish businessmen, together with the KDP's continued
practice of charging taxes/fees for goods crossing the
Turkish-Iraqi border (reftel), is disrupting the flow of
assistance to Iraq and is restricting our overall
reconstruction efforts. The Turks responded to the KDP's
refusal to allow the businessmen to cross into Turkey by
temporarily shutting down Habur Gate and thus halting the
flow of all goods (humanitarian and commercial, including
trucks carrying LPG fuel via the Ground Line of
Communication) into Iraq. While the KDP has since allowed
the Iraqis to enter Turkey and the Turks have re-opened Habur
Gate, this latest KDP action and Turkey's reaction is a
reminder that as along as the Kurdish groups continue to
"run" the border on their own, reconstruction and
humanitarian assistance through Turkey will not flow smoothly
to Iraq. The KDP's unilateral, uncoordinated actions will
also continue to restrict our ability to press the Turks to
implement the steps they need to take to open up their side
of the border. End summary.


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ACTION
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3. (C) We need a plan now that removes the existing obstacles
to the free flow of assistance and commerce (including
people) to and from Iraq. Such a plan must be satisfactory
to all parties involved and address existing problems on both
sides of the Turkish-Iraqi border. For the Turkish side, we
recommend that the US contin

ue to press the GOT hard to open
its border fully to two-way trade. On the Iraqi side, the
USG needs to devise (with the KDP if necessary) a more
equitable, transparent system for processing the movement of
goods and people into/from Iraq. After we have developed a
plan and secured a commitment from the KDP to implement it,
we should brief the Turks on its details and ensure them the
USG intends to enforce it. If the KDP resists the plan or
does not implement it, Washington should instruct US
officials in Iraq to immediately assume greater
administrative and security control of the border crossings
to ensure proper implementation. End action request.


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IRAQI BUSINESS DELEGATION TURNED AWAY AT BORDER
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4. (C) MFA Iraq Department Head Kerim Uras informed us June
17 that KDP forces had denied a delegation of 40 Iraqi
businessmen entry into Turkey to meet with Turkish
businessmen earlier that same day. Uras said the KDP had
told the Iraqis (most of whom are Turkmen from Mosul and
Kirkuk) that they first must travel to Irbil to obtain
"proper documentation and permission" from KPD officials
there before they would be permitted to travel to Turkey.
Uras said that while only half of the individuals possessed
passports, the GOT was willing to let them enter Turkey using
Iraqi identification cards given Turkey's interest in
facilitating stronger business ties between the Turkey and
Iraq. Uras said that the GOT had complied with past
practices regarding travel by Iraqis to Turkey by informing
the KDP at least three days in advance (June 13) of the
delegation's visit and said that the KDP had not objected to
the visit. Uras said that some of the Iraqis were being told
they would have to pay $1,000 to KDP officials in Irbil as
part of the process of obtaining permission to travel to
Turkey. Uras said that when he called the local KDP rep,
Safeen Dizayee, to complain about the delegation not being
allowed to travel to Turkey, Dizayee reportedly said the
delegation was most likely turned away because it had not
followed the proper procedures and first would need to travel
to Irbil. TGS also sent ODC Chief a letter complaining about
KDP discrimination against Turkmen at the border.



5. (C) Dizayee told us later June 17 that the KDP did not
have advance notice of the visit. He said he first learned
of the visit that same day when the MFA called to complain
about the treatment of the delegation at the border. Noting
that many of the Iraqis did not possess Iraqi passports,
Dizayee said "how can Turks demand during the past 12 years
that all travelers from northern Iraq have passports in order
to enter Turkey and then, all of a sudden, demand that we let
anyone cross into Turkey with just an identification card?"
He defended the requirement that all Iraqis in the north
travel to Irbil ("the central processing center for the
north") and argued that all Iraqis are required to pay a fee
to travel to Turkey. Dizayee also said that the KDP
continued to limit the number of visas issued to Iraqis to
travel to Turkey (five/day), but that if an Iraqi wanted to
get around this restriction they could pay the Iraqi Turkmen
Front approximately $650 and "go to the front of the line."
(Note: if the KDP is running the border, it is unclear to us
how the ITF is able to circumvent KDP quotas. End note.)



6. (C) Uras called us late June 17 to report that the KDP had
changed its position and allowed 20 members of the delegation
to cross into Turkey. Uras did not know the reason, but
suspected that the KDP's reversal of position was a result of
the Embassy's earlier inquiry to the KDP and the fact that
these 20 individuals possessed Iraqi passports.


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TURKEY RETALIATES BY TEMPORARILY SHUTTING DOWN HABUR GATE
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7. (C) The US contractor VBR notified US military officials
at Incirlik early June 18 that the Turks had closed Habur
Gate. In response to the Embassy's query, the MFA's initial
response was that it was unaware that the border had been
closed. The MFA later called back to confirm that Habur Gate
had indeed been closed temporarily in "retaliation" for the
KDP's discriminatory practices of not allowing the Turkmen to
enter Turkey, and that the Gate would be open to all commerce
around 1200 local time. Uras from the MFA's Iraq desk called
one hour later to report that Gate was open and that priority
would be given to trucks transporting humanitarian assistance
and LPG through the GLOC. At around 1400 (local time),
trucks carrying UN humanitarian assistance and the LPG via
the GLOC began to cross the Habur Gate into Iraq.


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KDP ALLOWS THE REMAINING BUSINESSMEN TO CROSS
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8. (C) Uras called us at 1300 local June 18 to report that
the KDP had agreed to allow the remaining 20 Iraqi
businessmen to cross into Turkey. Uras said the decision as
made by KDP leader Nechirvan Barzani following a request (via
the Ankara KDP rep) by a senior TGS official. According to
Uras, Barzani agreed to allow the remaining 20 to cross, but
said it was "the last time." From here on out, all travelers
to Turkey would have to follow the procedures and apply for
permission from the KDP office in Irbil. The KDP's Dizayee
separately told us that eight of the remaining 20 had shown
up at the Iraqi side of the Gate and were being allowed to
cross. He did not know the whereabouts of the remaining 12,
but assured us they would be permitted to cross if/when they
appeared at the border crossing.



9. (C) Dizayee also said there were approximately 70 Iraqi
citizens "stranded" at the Habur Gate on the Turkish side of
the border who were not being allowed to travel to Iraq. He
said that the Turkish military officials were only allowing
those Iraqis who were born in Turkmen-dominated areas of the
north to cross, and sending back to Turkey those Iraqis from
KDP and PUK-controlled areas. Dizayee said that when the
Iraqis asked why they were not being permitted to cross, the
Turkish military authorities at Habur reportedly told them
that "as soon as the 12 remaining Turkmen businessmen cross
into Turkey, you can cross into Iraq." Dizayee said that if
the Iraqis were not permitted to cross by 1700 local (when
Habur closes), the KDP would be forced to issue a public
statement criticizing the Turks for not allowing innocent
civilians to return home.



10. (C) The MFA's Uras told us the GOT is aware of the
presence of the Iraqi civilians on the Turkish side of the
border waiting to return to Iraq. He said the MFA is working
with other GOT agencies to defuse the situation and expressed
hoped the problem would be solved by "this evening."
PEARSON