TURKS CONCERNED ABOUT NATIONALS WORKING FOR US

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 04 KUWAIT 003374 SIPDIS STATE FOR NEA/ARP, NEA/NGA SA/INS, DRL/PHD, DRL/ILA, G/TIP STATE FOR CA/OCS/ACS/NESA, M/P FOR JAY ANANIA MANILA FOR PAUL O'FRIEL NEW DELHI FOR LAUREN HOLT DOL FOR ILAB E.O. 12958: DECL: 09/26/2014 TAGS: ELAB MOPS PREL PHUM ETRD EAID KU IZ TU SUBJECT: TURKS CONCERNED ABOUT NATIONALS WORKING FOR US MILITARY CONTRACTORS IN KUWAIT/IRAQ REF: A. ANKARA 5379 ¶B. KUWAIT 2496 ¶C. KUWAIT 3033 Classified By: DCM Matthew H. Tueller, Reasons 1.4(a) and (b) ¶1. (C) SUMMARY. In a September 21 meeting with DCM and a September 25 follow-up with US military officials, Turkish diplomats raised concerns about the treatment of Turkish drivers working for US military contractors and sub-contractors in Kuwait and Iraq. They said that the Turkish Embassy in Kuwait has received an increasing number of complaints from Turkish truckers about insufficient security and alleged mistreatment at the US military and its contractors' hands. The US military provided the diplomats with a briefing on security and driver welfare provisions and, stressing that abuse would never be acceptable, promised to investigate further. The military will also look into US military contractors' and subcontractors' alleged failure to implement mandatory contract provisions. The Turkish DCM said that Turkey is not contemplating a ban on its nationals entering Iraq because the GOT was committed to supporting stability in and the reconstruction of Iraq. END SUMMARY. ¶2. (C) Turkish DCM A. Derya Dingiltepe called on DCM September 21 to discuss the effect of the security situation in Iraq on Turkish drivers working for US military contractors and sub-contractors, an issue she said the Turkish Foreign Minister had also raised with various US officials. According to Dingiltepe, the Turkish Embassy in Kuwait has received an increasing number of complaints from Turkish truckers involved in supplying Iraq from Kuwait, including some public protests and written letters of complaint, about alleged mistreatment at the US military and its contractors' hands. The truckers' main allegations are: -- 20-truck convoys travel with only 3 military escorts (in the beginning, middle and end of the convoy). -- Recent convoy security upgrades are not in place for all convoys. When drivers complain about security problems, only short-term, temporary improvements are made. -- When a convoy comes under attack, military escorts sometimes leave the scene. Other times, military escorts use the trucks as shields, or use the trucks to protect the escorts. -- Convoy trucks are used as shields at the military camps and checkpoints in Iraq. -- When leaving Iraq with empty trucks, the convoys often increase to 40-50 trucks but the number of military escorts remains at three. -- When driving at night, the trucks are expected to drive with their lights off. -- Most attacks occur within a 50 kilometer unpaved stretch of road that begins about 35 km north of Nasiriya. Although the security situation is the worst there, according to the truckers, there is inadequate US military protection. ¶3. (C) Dingiltepe said that the truckers have told her that because they are financially responsible for their trucks and loads, they do not want to leave their trucks when their convoys are attacked. According to her, when truckers refuse to leave, military escorts have forcibly removed drivers from their trucks and beaten others, resulting in broken arms and hands. When drivers are obliged to leave a truck behind, she continued, the load is often stolen. In other cases, drivers allege that US military escorts burn the truck and load to keep it from being stolen by Iraqis, without providing documentation that the driver could use to prove he did not illegally sell his load. The Turkish companies are then forced to take the financial loss for the truck and cargo. Dingiltepe said that the Turkish Embassy has unsuccessfully attempted to obtain copies of Turkish drivers' contracts from KBR. However, they had gotten a copy of a Public Warehousing Corporation (PWC) contract, which imposes conditions on the drivers that Dingiltepe characterized as "pretty harsh," with neither PWC nor its sub-contractors taking any responsibility for damage to the truck or injury to the driver. (Note. PWC is the prime food and water contractor for US military deliveries into Iraq; 641 of PWC's 2211 drivers are Turkish. End Note.) ¶4. (C) DCM told Dingiltepe that any allegations of abuse or mistreatment would be taken very seriously. He asked for specific details of any and all incidents described by Ms. Dingiltepe, and suggested that the Turkish Embassy be briefed by the Coalition Land Forces Component Command (CFLCC),as the Indian, Filipino and Nepalese Embassies have previously been (Refs B and C). When asked if the Turkish Embassy were aware of US military provisions for drivers' welfare, Dingiltepe confirmed that the Turkish Ambassador had received a letter from CFLCC Deputy Commander Major General Speer outlining these provisions (Ref C). -------------- (U) FOLLOW-ON MEETING WITH US MILITARY -------------- ¶5. (C) On September 25, Dingiltepe, Labor Counselor Suleyman Yazir, and Commercial Counselor Kadir Yazihan met with a CFLCC/Embassy team for a briefing on convoy security provisions. CFLCC Brigadier General William Johnson stressed that all foreign national drivers receive the same level of protection as US military forces. He said that military equipment and supply convoys travel with one military cargo truck for every three civilian cargo trucks, and are accompanied by one military gun truck for every ten cargo trucks. For civilian sustainment convoys, there is one military gun truck for every 10 cargo trucks in a thirty truck convoy. Drawing on information he had obtained from his counterparts responsible for movements from Turkey south into Iraq, BG Johnson said that the ratio of gun trucks to cargo/fuel trucks increases from 1:10 in the Habur Gate-Mosul run to 1:5 over the more dangerous stretches between Mosul and Bayji (aka "Speicher"),and between Bayji (Speicher) and Samarra (aka "Anaconda"). In conclusion, BG Johnson emphasized that all convoys travel with at least one security vehicle (US military or contract security) for each 10 cargo vehicles and, if security assets are available, a greater number of security vehicles. Dingiltepe replied that according to the truckers' union, the 1:10 ratio is insufficient; they are also demanding that there be no more than twenty trucks per convoy. BG Johnson added that there is additional airborne security that the drivers might not be aware of, which can be called in for aerial support as necessary. ¶6. (C) BG Johnson next addressed some of the allegations presented in the Turks earlier meeting with emboffs. BG Johnson said that he had instructed that the same level of protection must be given to empty trucks as to full ones, and therefore increasing the number of trucks in convoys leaving Iraq is unacceptable. Regarding allegations that military escorts leave the scene or use cargo trucks as shields when a convoy is attacked, BG Johnson explained that the escorts position themselves between the convoy and the attackers so that the convoy can keep moving; they do not, however, physically leave the convoy. With regard to drivers' complaints about having to drive without headlights at night, BG Johnson said that the military has found it safest to travel at night over some of these stretches. (COMMENT. Although BG Johnson did not address the headlights issue directly, the implication was that driving without lights further reduces the convoy's profile. END COMMENT.) ¶7. (C) The discussion then turned to contracting issues. CFLCC Contracting Officer Captain Kirk Dailey explained that unlike other US military contracts, PWC is paid by the pound for delivery of food and water, not by the truck. But because this is clearly so costly to the drivers, he said, the military might need to refine the contract. Dailey added that the military does not know how the various subcontracts are structured, but would need to become more involved to ensure adherence to the minimum contract requirements set forth in General Speer's driver welfare letter. The commercial counselor agreed that there needs to be some kind of inspection of the subcontracts to ensure that these provisions are in place. He also alleged that PWC is making drivers sign a paper saying that they will not seek compensation from their employers. The truckers, who are usually not fluent in Arabic or English, have signed the documents, thinking that they are routine paperwork. ¶8. (C) Labor Counselor Yazir said that the truckers often have no contract, in contravention of ILO labor standards. DCM replied that it is unacceptable to the USG that US contractors are employing workers without contracts, and BG Johnson added that if PWC is not adhering to this, the military would address it. Yazir praised General Speer's driver welfare letter for conformance to international labor provisions, and suggested that a model labor contract could be drafted and given to all contractors and their subcontractors. However, he added, there should be some provision for disability benefits in addition to death benefits. He stressed that a written contract becomes doubly important in cases of disability, since the Government of Turkey offers some benefits if there is proof that the person became disabled while working in Iraq or Kuwait. ¶9. (C) Concerning the allegations that truckers had been abused by US forces, BG Johnson stressed that the military would never condone the mistreatment of drivers, and promised to pass that message on. DCM asked the Turks to let the embassy know as they encountered problems, and suggested they notify the Government of Kuwait if abuses were occurring at the hands of Kuwaiti companies. BG Johnson said that he personally would address these issues with PWC and KBR. Dingiltepe concluded by stating that Turkey fully understood the important role its nationals were playing in assisting the reconstruction of Iraq and that the GOT was not contemplating a ban on travel of its citizens to Iraq as other countries had done. The purpose of raising drivers' concerns was to ensure that the rights and interests of Turkish nationals was safeguarded. ¶10. (C) COMMENT. Post will work with the Turkish Embassy to follow up on specific contracting complaints, which they are compiling at present. We will also try to obtain a copy of the PWC document that prohibits drivers from seeking compensation. At the same time, we will work with CFLCC to investigate contractors' compliance with the measures already put into place. END COMMENT. ¶11. (U) Baghdad minimize considered. LeBaron