TURKISH MFA ON COOPERATION AGAINST PKK

S E C R E T SECTION 01 OF 03 ANKARA 006233 SIPDIS TREASURY FOR OTI - RLEBENSON NSC FOR MCKIBBEN E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/12/2015 TAGS: PTER KTFN PREL PREF IZ PKK SUBJECT: TURKISH MFA ON COOPERATION AGAINST PKK REF: A. SECSTATE 186669 ¶B. ANKARA 5448 Classified By: Charge d'Affaires Nancy McEldowney for reasons 1.4(b) an d (d). This is an action request. See para 12. This cable was cleared by Office Director Silliman. ¶1. (S) Summary: In a meeting with visiting EUR/SE Director Doug Silliman, Turkish MFA Director General for Security Affairs Hayati Guven provided a list of seven PKK names that the GOT recommends we jointly target in Western Europe, all of which are the subject of Interpol red notices. Three of the seven names on the GOT list were also on the U.S. list passed to the GOT on September 15. Silliman agreed the U.S. would evaluate and propose joint demarches to appropriate European capitals. The U.S. will have to work hand-in-hand with the Turks to develop files sufficiently compelling to prompt action by European law enforcement; this could include a need for further consultations. End Summary. -------------- PKK Individuals -------------- ¶2. (S) Silliman, accompanied by Acting DCM and Acting EconCouns, met with Ambassador Guven October 12. Silliman shared ref a talking points with Guven, and said Washington had instructed U.S. Embassies to deliver them to European governments. Referring to the GOT response to the Bryza non-paper on enhanced cooperation against PKK and to the list of names provided to MASAK September 15, Guven provided a list of seven PKK names which the GOT recommends be the of our efforts to secure enhanced cooperation in Western Europe: Riza Altun, Zubeyir Aydar, Sakine Cansiz, Remzi Kartal, Nuriye Kesbir, Ali Matur, and Hikmet Tabak. Guven did not go into individual names except to emphasize the importance to Turkey of action against Riza Altun, the PKK's "central banker," who lives in Paris. He said it if the U.S. could help convince the French to take action against Altun, it would be a major coup against the PKK. Guven made the general comment that Turkish "authorities" believed that many of the U.S. names were secondary operatives, action against whom would not be a significant blow to the PKK. Silliman responded that the names we had proposed were the result of a vetting process with a focus on names the U.S. thought the Europeans might realistically act against, on the basis of these individuals' criminal activity. Guven claimed that the GOT-provided names could be pursued on the basis of their criminal activity, using the information in the Interpol Red Notices (the list, which Post will fax to EUR/SE, includes some basic biodata and the red notice reference numbers for each name). Silliman undertook that the U.S. would evaluate the Turkish list and propose joint demarches on specific cases Embassy Ankara. If necessary there could be further bilateral discussions to refine the list. -------------- PKK Organizations -------------- ¶3. (C) With regard to the PKK-linked organizations cited in the GOT reply to the Bryza non-paper, Silliman differentiated between the two U.S.-based organizations and those in Europe. Guven agreed to Silliman's request to seek additional information that would assist U.S. law enforcement in evaluating whether these organizations had violated U.S. law. Even if they had not, Guven requested that U.S. authorities monitor them. -------------- Media Outlets -------------- ¶4. (C) With regard to media outlets in Western Europe that support PKK, Guven said the GOT's priority remains Denmark-based Roj TV. He explained that the Danish MFA had referred the Turkish Ambassador to the independent media regulatory body, which in turn said it could only act against Roj TV if the Copenhagen Police Chief agreed that the TV station was supporting terrorism. Guven said the GOT had provided the Danish police with extensive translations of Roj broadcasts supporting terrorism and had also provided information on Roj TV executives' links to the PKK organization. Guven asked that the U.S. Ambassador to Denmark consult with his Turkish counterpart before making a demarche to the Danish government. Silliman said he would need to discuss this in Washington. ¶5. (C) Silliman asked if Turkey knew the legal basis on which German law enforcement had closed Ozgur Politika, noting that knowing the legal basis might help the U.S. and Turkey in our joint approach to other Western European governments. Guven said an independent German body that monitors extremist groups had included Ozgur Politika and other PKK-linked groups in its annual report, and Foreign Minister Gul had written German Foreign Minister Fischer to point this out and request German action. Guven was not sure whether the Gul letter had played a role in the German action. -------------- U.S.-Iraq-Turkey Trilaterals -------------- ¶6. (C) Guven said Turkey would like to have another trilateral meeting at his level in which an "action plan" against the PKK in northern Iraq could be hammered out, covering not only extraditions but also actions against PKK finance in Iraq, and other law enforcement actions. Only then would technical-level experts continue the work. Silliman explained U.S. thinking that it would be desirable to do further work with the Iraqi bureaucracy to get them to better understand international legal obligations and processes. Silliman also pointed out how difficult it will be for senior Iraqi officials to take action on these issues until after the elections and the formation of an Iraqi Government. Guven took both points, saying Turkey could wait until after the elections and he strongly endorsed U.S. efforts to sensitize Iraqi officials to their international legal obligations. Guven was discouraged by Iraqi officials' comments at the trilaterals about Interpol red notices being mere "pieces of paper." ¶7. (C) Silliman encouraged the GOT to engage the Iraqi leadership--including Iraqi Kurds--and Ministry of Justice to take action against PKK operatives. Guven said at all high-level meetings the GOT makes this point "bluntly." He said they would instruct their Ambassador in Baghdad to be active on this issue with a broader array of Iraqis. -------------- Makhmour Refugee Camp: -------------- ¶8. (C) Silliman briefed Guven on recent deliberations within the USG on Makhmour. Though the U.S. had not reached a decision on possible courses of action, Silliman described the possibility of local integration of the refugee population in Iraq in order to impede PKK activity in the camp. As for UNHCR recognition that Makhmour no longer fulfilled a humanitarian mission, Guven said UNHCR had already reported this finding to the UN Secretariat. Silliman also discussed Makhmour with Deputy Turkish Special Envoy for Iraq Ethem Tokdemir on October 11, but Tokdemir did not respond substantively. -------------- U.S. Image Improving -------------- ¶9. (C) Guven concluded the meeting by confirming that the recent visits and efforts of Secretary Rice and NSC Chairman Hadley as well as continued USG efforts on PKK were having an impact on the U.S. image in Turkey. A clearly pleased Guven said additional steps will be "very, very helpful." -------------- Comment and Action Requests -------------- ¶10. (C) The positive momentum continues in the bilateral discussions of enhanced cooperation agains the PKK in Europe. We will need to work hard to keep things moving forward and are now approaching the most difficult stage: putting together meaningful case files with the Turks that will work in Europe. This may require further in-country consultations to refine information and presentations. Post urges Washington's close attention to keep things moving with a quick U.S. response on the names. Follow-up actions are: --Evaluating the Turkish-proposed list of names and proposing demarche language to the GOT; --Considering instructing the U.S. Ambassador in Copenhagen to consult closely with the Turkish Embassy regarding Roj TV; --U.S. law enforcement analysis of Turkish information on U.S.-based PKK-linked organizations (once the GOT provides further information); --Requesting Embassy Berlin look into legal basis of recent German anti-PKK actions; --Reponding to the GOT's list of Europe-based PKK-linked organizations. MCELDOWNEY