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