TIP IN TURKEY: TGNA PASSES, PRESIDENT APPROVES IOM

C O N F I D E N T I A L ANKARA 006690 SIPDIS DEPARTMENT FOR G/TIP, G. INL, INL/CTR, DRL, EUR/PGI, EUR/SE DEPARTMENT FOR VALERIE KWOK USAID E&E/ECA E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/01/2014 TAGS: KCRM PHUM PGOV SMIG PREF KWMN TU TIP IN TURKEY SUBJECT: TIP IN TURKEY: TGNA PASSES, PRESIDENT APPROVES IOM DUES BILL, MAD RUSH TO MEET DEADLINE PAYS OFF REF: A. ANK 6687 ¶B. ANK 6688 (U) Classified by Polcounselor John Kunstadter; reasons: E.O. 12958 1.4 (b,d). ¶1. (U) Turkish Grand National Assembly (TGNA) Foreign Affairs Committee Advisor Osman Ulukan confirmed press reports that the TGNA, on November 25, 2004, unanimously approved legislation appropriating the 154,000 Swiss Franc equivalent fee for Turkey's membership in the International Office on Migration (IOM). The bill was immediately forwarded to Turkish President Ahmet Necdet Sezer for his final approval. Minutes before the annual application deadline and the start of the 88th Session of the IOM governing body in Geneva, IOM received the completed application, including the required funding authorization from Sezer's office. ¶2. (U) According to press accounts issued by IOM spokesman Jean Philippe Chauzy and confirmed by IOM Ankara Chief of Mission Marielle Lindstrom, Turkey was admitted by unanimous vote November 30, 2004. ¶3. (C) Turkey's last-minute scramble for new member nation status marks a major turnaround in the GOT's checkered, 30-year relationship with IOM. In the early 1970s, Turkey's first application was reportedly blocked by IOM member-nation Greece, a move that fueled past-TGNA Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Kamran Inan's effective opposition to Turkish membership in the IOM until he left the TGNA in 2002. EDELMAN