TURKISH USG CONTRACTOR WITHDRAWING EMPLOYEES FROM

C O N F I D E N T I A L ANKARA 004435

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 08/05/2014
TAGS: PREL MOPS TU IZ
SUBJECT: TURKISH USG CONTRACTOR WITHDRAWING EMPLOYEES FROM
IRAQ

REF: ANKARA 4340

Classified By: CDA Robert S. Deutsch for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d)


1. (C) In an Aug. 5 meeting on another topic (septel),MFA
Deputy Under Secretary for Economic Affairs Alev Kilic handed
the Charge a list of 31 Turkish employees of Tepe
Construction Company and its subsidiary, Bilintur, who are
working under contract at a U.S. Marine base near Fallujah.
Kilic said that the company had requested the Marines to
assist in the withdrawal of these employees from Iraq to
Turkey. (Note: Bilintur was the employer of Murat Yuce, who
was murdered by terrorists in Iraq on Aug. 2. His murder was
shown on the Internet, and, along with the recent murder and
kidnapping of Turkish truckers in Iraq, prompted Turkey's
largest trucking company association, the International
Transporters Association, to call for a ban on Turkish
trucking to Iraq in support of the coalition (reftel).)


2. (C) We followed up Aug. 6 with MFA Iraq Department Chief
Mehmet Kemal Bozay. Bozay reported that the company has
directly discussed the withdrawal with the U.S. Marines at
Fallujah and requested assistance. He believes the process
is in train, and maintained that the company and the GOT
wanted it to be "low-key and discrete." Bozay noted that the
company had requested that the "proper U.S. authorities" be
informed.


3. (U) Baghdad minimize considered.
DEUTSCH