TIP IN TURKEY: TURKISH MEDIA ATTENTION, April 1-15,

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 ANKARA 002242 SIPDIS DEPARTMENT FOR G/TIP, G, INL, DRL, EUR/PGI, EUR/SE E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PREL KCRM PHUM KWMN SMIG KFRD PREF TU TIP IN TURKEY SUBJECT: TIP IN TURKEY: TURKISH MEDIA ATTENTION, April 1-15, 2005 ¶1. (U) In response to G/TIP inquiries, national and international media sources published the following news articles about TIP in Turkey. Text of articles originally published in Turkish is provided through unofficial local FSN translation. ¶2. (U) Published on Friday, April 1 by Hurriyet: BEGIN TEXT: Cavit Alan, who has a dockyard of yachts in Turkbuku, Bodrum, was killed probably by human traffickers the other day. Alan was driving (his car license plated 48 UK 940) to Kizilagac village and some people stopped his car. They shot him four times in the abdominal area. He was found in his car and hospitalized, but could not be saved because of loss of blood. He might have been killed by human traffickers over a money issue because Alan, in the past, stayed in jail for some time for human trafficking. His wife, Arzu Alan (34),said that he did not share with her many things and added, "But lately he was nervous about some phone threats. Some people went to the dockyard and threatened him. I'm in a state of shock. I don't know what to say. It will be a great consolation if my husband's murderers are captured as soon as possible." END TEXT. ¶3. (U) Published Monday, April 4 by Baku Baki Xaber, Azerbaijan: TITLE: Azerbaijan: Around 4,500 Women Trafficked to Dubai, Turkey Every Month BEGIN FBIS TRANSLATED TEXT: Up to 500 Azerbaijani women are taken away to Turkey and about 4,000 to the United Arab Emirates every month. The State Committee for Women's Problems has provided this information to APA news agency. The committee said that women are also brought to Baku from the districts for prostitution. Investigations revealed that 82 per cent of the victims of human trafficking accept this proposal because of poverty and in order to improve their living conditions. END TEXT. ¶4. (U) Published Tuesday, April 12 by Turkish Press; www.turkishpress.com: TITLE: Erdogan: No Religion allows Killing of People BEGIN TEXT: OSLO - Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Tuesday that no religion tolerate the killing of people or terrorist actions. Delivering a speech on "Search for Global Peace and Turkey's Contributions" at the Nobel Institute, Erdogan said that countries should try to reach peace without use of force. Noting that "terrorism, proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, human trafficking and drug smuggling, racism, xenophobia, and environmental problems were the biggest threats on security and freedom in today's world", Erdogan said that "particularly terrorism was an international scourge as terror could hit anybody and any country without distinction". Erdogan stressed that Turkey was a country which has the highest number of deaths due to terrorism in the world, adding that Turkey always felt itself alone in its fight against terrorism. "International cooperation against terrorism is a must", Erdogan indicated. He also said that he didn't approve attributions of 'terrorism or terrorists' concepts to a certain religion, condemning such efforts in his speech. Referring to the globalism, Erdogan said that the dependency of all countries on each other increased significantly and pointed out to the prominent role of the United Nations (UN),NATO, European Union and Organization of Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) to safeguard peace in the world. "Turkey which is located at the intersection of different cultures and potential threats, actively launches efforts to encourage peace, stability and compromise in its region," Erdogan said. END TEXT. ¶5. (U) Reported on Friday, April 1 by Anadolu Ajansi: BEGIN TEXT: H.O. was detained in Eminonu, Istanbul, for bringing women from abroad by offering them jobs and later forcing them into prostitution. H.O. already had a criminal record with the police. He was forcing four women from Russia and the Ukraine into prostitution in a house in Fatih district. The police seized his telephone book in which names and numbers of many foreigners were listed. H.O. will be sent to the prosecutor. Meanwhile the four foreign women were deported. END TEXT. EDELMAN