TIP IN TURKEY: VISITING ARMENIAN DELEGATION TRIES

UNCLAS ANKARA 004544

SIPDIS

DEPARTMENT FOR G/TIP, G, INL, DRL, EUR/PGI, EUR/SE

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: KCRM PHUM PGOV SMIG PREF KWMN TU AM TIP IN TURKEY
SUBJECT: TIP IN TURKEY: VISITING ARMENIAN DELEGATION TRIES
TO WORK TOWARD CROSSBORDER TIP NGO COOPERATION


1. Summary: Visiting Armenian TIP-NGO Hope and Help and IOM
Armenia Program Officer have briefed us on meetings with reps
from Turkish NGOs, Armenian religious and media
organizations, and Georgia's diplomatic mission in Turkey.
Hope and Help rep described her meetings as "the first steps"
in establishing a cross-border network of government and
non-government agencies in Turkey, Armenia, Georgia, and
Azerbaijan to coordinate repatriation efforts and social
services for victims of trafficking. Though upbeat about
opportunities for cooperation among NGOs, she asserted that
meetings with Turkish MFA officials, the main reason for her
visit to Ankara, were canceled without any explanation from
MFA contacts. End summary.


2. Hope and help project coordinator Mnatsakanyan held
meetings with Turkey's lead TIP assistance NGO Human
Resources Development Foundation (HRDF); representatives from
Flying Broom, an NGO coordinating council for various women's
assistance groups; International Organization on Migration
(IOM) project coordinators in Istanbul and Ankara; Armenia's
delegate to the Black Sea Economic Cooperative (BSEC); the
Armenian Patriarchate; and law enforcement officials in
Istanbul, Ankara, and Trabzon.


3. According to Mnatsakanyan, Dr. Demet Gural, HRDF Executive
Director "agreed to work with us" to counsel Armenian victims
of trafficking about services available through Armenian Hope
and Help, and to coordinate victim repatriations through the
network of assistance channels Mnatsakanyan hopes to develop.
Emboff separately confirmed with Dr. Gural that the two NGOs
have reached an informal agreement. Gural noted that HRDF
accepted Armenian and Russian language brochures, which she
says HRDF will distribute to potential TIP victims from
Armenia. According to Gural, the meeting included pledges by
both NGOs to coordinate the NGOs' public information
campaigns.


4. Mnatsakanyan said discussions also focused on initial
plans to organize a conference, possibly in Istanbul or
Tblisi, where NGOs, border guards and national police
agencies from each of the participating countries can
exchange contact information and compare notes on best
practices. HRDF, IOM, Flying Broom, and a Georgian NGO also
traveling with the delegation expressed interest in
participating.


5. The Armenian delegation relied on Georgian Embassy and
Consulate officials in Istanbul, Ankara and Trabzon to
schedule meetings. Mnatsakanyan commented that her Georgian
colleagues were shocked when the group arrived at the Turkish
MFA only to be told that the MFA had no knowledge of an
appointment. MFA Consular Affairs anti-TIP officer
Hacisendoglu subsequently asserted to Emboff that, to the
contrary, the MFA was "instrumental" in helping the Georgian
Embassy schedule Mnatsakanyan's meetings with GOT prosecutors
and law enforcement officers. Hacisendoglu claimed
Mnatsakanyan's delegation didn't request a meeting with the
MFA.
EDELMAN