Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
05ANKARA5209
2005-09-07 15:25:00
CONFIDENTIAL
Embassy Ankara
Cable title:  

TURKS AND TALAFAR: CONTINUING CONCERN, MOUNTING

Tags:  PREL PGOV MOPS EAID TU IZ 
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C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 05 ANKARA 005209 

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 09/06/2015
TAGS: PREL PGOV MOPS EAID TU IZ
SUBJECT: TURKS AND TALAFAR: CONTINUING CONCERN, MOUNTING
NEGATIVE PRESS COVERAGE

REF: A. ANKARA 5165

B. BETTS-BULLOCK ET AL EMAILS 9/6/05

Classified By: A/DCM James R. Moore for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d).

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 05 ANKARA 005209

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 09/06/2015
TAGS: PREL PGOV MOPS EAID TU IZ
SUBJECT: TURKS AND TALAFAR: CONTINUING CONCERN, MOUNTING
NEGATIVE PRESS COVERAGE

REF: A. ANKARA 5165

B. BETTS-BULLOCK ET AL EMAILS 9/6/05

Classified By: A/DCM James R. Moore for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d).


1. (U) This is an action request--please see para. 4.


2. (C) Summary: The GOT continues to express deep concern
about the situation in Talafar, a predominantly Turkmen city
in northwest Ninewah province. MFA officials have peppered
us with questions about the latest situation there and have
made several official requests over the course of the past
four days, enumerated below. Negative Turkish press coverage
of the Talafar operation is mounting, including claims that
CF have killed 500 Turkmen and used chemical weapons. The
GOT wants to send humanitarian assistance to Talafar and
seeks coordination with us and the Iraqis. MFA officials
have made it clear to us that they want to work with us to
manage Turkish public opinion, implying that Turkish
politicians may soon feel compelled to speak out against the
United States if the negative press coverage keeps piling up.
End summary.


3. (C) Turkish officials and emboffs have been in constant
touch since Sept. 1 regarding the situation in Talafar.
Specifically, as reported ref a, MFA Director General for the
Middle East phoned Charge Sept. 1 to express Turkey's concern
about CF/IA operations in Talafar. On Sept. 2, Celikkol
called in A/DCM to provide a fuller readout of the Aug. 17
meeting in Ankara of Turkmen tribal leaders and FonMin Gul.
Celikkol handed over the internal MFA report on the meeting,
which differed little from the readout the GOT's Deputy
Special Envoy for Iraq provided us Sept. 1 (also reftel--for
full text, see para. 12 below). Celikkol added that there
are still hard feelings among some Turkmen tribes from what
they perceive was harsh treatment by CF during the major
September 2004 operation there.

Humanitarian Aid Offers
--------------


4. (C) Action Request: Celikkol reported that--based on the
request by the Turkmen tribes--Turkey is ready to provide the
following humanitarian assistance (HA) for Talafar:


--food, water, and medical supplies, to be trucked from
Turkey to meet immediate needs,

--Turkish experts to work on the water supply project in
Talafar, and

--equipment and "some staff" to renovate Talafar's only
hospital.

Celikkol said that the tribal leaders told Gul that they can
provide security within Talafar city for Turks supplying HA,
but that outside the city "peshmerga" (former peshmerga now
enlisted in the Iraqi Army) control the situation. Embassy
requests immediate guidance from the Department and Embassy
Baghdad on coordinating the Turks' aid offer. (Comment: We
are already in touch with Embassy Baghdad on this issue. End
Comment.)

Turkish Concerns re Kurds
--------------


5. (C) Late on Sept. 3, PolMilOff provided the latest
releasable sitreps on both political and operational
developments in Talafar to MFA Head of Department H. Avni
Botsali. Botsali subsequently called and--on instructions,
presumably from Celikkol--asked us to pass on Turkey's
concern about the composition of IA forces in and around
Talafar. The GOT is concerned that former peshmerga in the
IA are intimidating the local Turkmen population.


6. (C) Late on Sept. 5, Celikkol--on instructions from FonMin
Gul--called PolMilCouns to request that the Embassy issue a
press release in order to counter what he described as "small
but growing public interest" in the operation there.
Specifically, Celikkol asked that we make three points:

--Our operations are only targeting terrorists and Baathists,
--We are not targeting civilians, and
--Our forces are taking all precautions to avoid civilian
casualties.
Embassies Baghdad and Ankara coordinated on a statement we
released to the press on Sept. 7 (see ref b). Full text in
para. 11 below.
Sunni Turkmen Afraid to Pass Through Shia Neighborhoods?
-------------- --------------


7. (C) Celikkol discussed additional Turkish concerns on
Talafar with PolMilOff on Sept. 6. The Turks had learned
that CF and IA had issued an evacuation order for Sarai, a
heavily Sunni Turkmen neighborhood (and apparently the
insurgents' main base in the city). Celikkol said he had
heard reports that the route prescribed in the evacuation
order required that Sarai's inhabitants pass through Shia
neighborhoods, and that the residents were concerned that
they would face intimidation or attack from "Badr Brigade
forces" on this route. He also cited reports that a "tent
city" being constructed outside Talafar is already short of
tents, and reiterated Turkey's offer to provide humanitarian
supplies for Talafar, including tents.

We're Getting Hammered in the Press
--------------


8. (C) Celikkol repeated his minister's request for a U.S.
statement on Talafar, noting increasingly negative coverage
of the operation in the Turkish press. Numerous press
reports claim we are targeting civilians. Yeni Safak, an
Islamist paper hypercritical of the U.S.--and PM Erdogan's
newspaper of choice--claimed Sept. 7 that CF are using
chemical weapons in Talafar, adding that CF have killed 500
Turkmen there.


9. (C) Following up with MFA's Botsali late on Sept. 6,
PolMilOff passed on guidance from TFF that we know of no
"tent city" outside of Talafar, and that of the over 700
residents who passed through the CF/IA screening area, only a
small handful had chosen to stay in the Displaced Civilian
Rest Area now established. Additionally, TFF does not
evaluate that Sunnis passing through the current evacuation
route from Sarai face any danger from Shias.


10. (C) We have done our best to work with the GOT to provide
real-time information on the situation in Talafar, and deeply
appreciate the efforts of our colleagues in Talafar, Mosul,
and Baghdad to assist us in this effort. The Turks claim
deep historical links with the Turkmen of Talafar and are
also concerned with what they perceive as Kurdish designs in
Ninewah province and elsewhere in Iraq; therefore we should
not be surprised that public and press sentiments are already
on the rise. We believe the MFA is pressing us hard in order
to prevent the near-crisis in our relations that occurred
almost exactly one year ago, when FonMin Gul threatened to
cut all assistance to Iraq and our efforts there over a major
operation in Talafar at that time. With two-thirds of
humanitarian fuel for the Iraqi people coming through Turkey
as well as one-quarter of CF sustainment fuel plus other
supplies, the stakes are high. We are working with the Turks
to correct the misinformation they receive from ill-informed
or malicious Turkmen sources, as well as to persuade the
Turkish public that we are not targeting Turkmen civilians.
END COMMENT.


11. (U) Text of Embassy press release on Talafar.

BEGIN TEXT

Ankara, September 7, 2005. A number of claims appearing in
the Turkish media concerning military operations in the Iraqi
city of Tal Afar contain significant distortions and
inaccuracies. The current operations in Tal Afar are being
conducted to provide a safe and secure environment for the
people who live there. These operations are aimed at
removing the terrorists and foreign fighters who are using
Tal Afar as a base of operations. The units conducting the
operations are going to great lengths to reduce the effects
on the civilian population and infrastructure. Evacuation
efforts are underway to provide safe passage for families
desiring to leave the area where these operations are
focused. Evacuation messages are being sent through various
channels, including radio broadcasts, and through discussion
with local tribal leaders from each of the elements living in
Tal Afar. These operations are in no way targeted at any
ethnic group - the sole focus of these operations is on the
terrorists and foreign fighters trying to control the city.
Coalition forces do not possess chemical weapons, so any
accusation that suggests their employment is categorically
false.

END TEXT


12. (C) Text of internal MFA readout of Aug. 17 Talafar
Turkmen meeting with FonMin Gul (informal embassy
translation, note internal paragraph numbering):

BEGIN TEXT

CONFIDENTIAL (Turkish MFA Classification)

SIPDIS

Middle East Directorate
August 19, 2005

1) The Talafar delegation, whom were received by the
Minister on August 17th 2005, pointed out the following
issues:


1. Population of Talafar is 350,000 in the city, and reaches
500,000 including the population of villages on the
outskirts. There are very few Arabs and Kurds in these
villages; all of Talafar's population (inside the city) is
Turkmen.


2. From the collapse of the Baath Regime in April 2003 until
September 2004, Talafar was at peace and was pointed out as a
model Iraqi town in that period.


3. From April 2003 until September 2004, Talafar inhabitants
supported the government. For instance the Central Bank
Branch, which was occupied at that time, was moved to a house
and continued its activities in the house. Economic
activities were being conducted normally during that period.


4. Talafar inhabitants were trying to solve the training
problem in the city before the U.S. operations of September

2004. (NFI)


5. Talafar is located on the Iraqi road connecting Turkey to
Syria which also has a link to Mosul.


6. There are vast and fertile cultivation lands surrounding
the city. Before the war, Talafar and Mosul were called
"Iraq's bread basket."


7. Talafar is also rich in water resources.


8. Tensions and incidents in Talafar started after the
military operation which was launched in September 2004.


9. Since that operation about 100,000 persons left the city.
Most of these people have not come back to the city yet.
Many of the women, whom were obliged to leave the city, had
to even deliver their babies in the desert under extremely
difficult conditions.


10. The city has serious infrastructure problems. Its
electricity and water supplies are very restricted. No water
has been supplied to Talafar within the last 5 months.
Electricity is only provided for a few hours a day. The
condition of the roads in the city is quite bad.


11. Before the war, a construction project was launched for
pipelines to supply water from Mosul to Talafar. However,
the construction could not be completed due to financial
considerations. This construction was restarted very slowly
after the fall of the regime. However, after construction
materials were stolen from the site, the slow construction
activities were stopped again.


12. The only hospital in the city, which is not sufficient in
terms of medical facilities, is under the occupation of the
Peshmerga Kurds wearing (the Iraqi) national police uniform.
For this reason, most of Talafar's inhabitants - who are
conservative - don't use the hospital, while most women and
children are sent to clinics. Those Talafar inhabitants who
are obliged to go to the hospital are subjected to
mistreatment and the degrading attitude of the soldiers.


13. Talafar's bazaar has been closed for 6 months. No
economic and trade activities have been carried out there
since then.


14. In fact inhabitants of Talafar would not normally have
left their city under any conditions. However, economic
conditions have forced them to migrate out of the city.


15. There are no employment opportunities in the city.


16. 140 Talafar inhabitants are currently under detention by
Kurds. Traveling to Turkey by land through Zakho is not safe
for Turkmen.


17. Kurdish groups aim at capturing Mosul by creating
Shiite-Sunni conflict among Turkmen in Talafar, forcing
Turkmen to move out of the city, and by changing the
demographic structure of Talafar.
2) After discussing the above mentioned issues, the
delegation members indicated that the current disagreement in
Talafar was not between the Talafar tribes or Sunni-Shiite
groups, but was between the Talafar inhabitants and the Iraqi
government. They further noted that insurgents in the city
were gaining power from the current situation. The delegation
members also stated that the Iraqi government must become
aware of this fact and do the following in order to solve
problems in Talafar:

--hand over the security of Talafar to a security group
consisting of the Shiites and Sunnis of Talafar

--open the Talafar bazaar and reactivate the city's economy

--free the hospital and other government offices from Iraqi
National Police control

--accelerate infrastructure activities in the city including
construction of a water project.

The delegation also noted that when these actions are taken,
the insurgency would be deterred and Talafar's inhabitants,
who are living in an environment of conflict and disagreement
which originates from being low-spirited due to the
above-mentioned issues, would be able to return back to their
work.

3) Talafar delegation requested the following actions be
taken by the Turkish authorities:

--To negotiate the above-mentioned issues and suggestions
with the high level U.S. authorities and to convince them of
the importance of these steps,

--To discuss and follow up the mentioned issues with the
Iraqi administration and the government, as well as the Iraqi
Prime Minister and other ministers,

--To assist in providing economic and employment
opportunities in the city.

The Talafar delegation also noted that all the listed
activities could be carried out in cooperation with the
Talafar Subgovernor.

4) The Minister stated that the following during the visit
of the Talafar delegation:

a. All Turkmen from Talafar, Sunnis and Shiites, are to
act with each other in full unity and cooperation and get
over any disagreements.
b. Talafar inhabitants should participate in the political
process in Iraq. They should not support the insurgency and
others acting in that way and should cooperate with the
government and coalition forces.
c. Turkey will provide the necessary humanitarian
assistance to Talafar as soon as possible.
d. Turkey will hold meetings with the U.S. and Iraqi
authorities on the situation and required efforts in Talafar.

END TEXT
MCELDOWNEY