TURKEY: POL-MIL ROUND-UP, OCTOBER & NOVEMBER 2005

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 ANKARA 007289 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: MARR MOPS PREL PTER TU SUBJECT: TURKEY: POL-MIL ROUND-UP, OCTOBER & NOVEMBER 2005 REFERENCE: A) ANKARA 3892, B) 2004 ANKARA 6000 (Note: This is one of the regular series of unclassified reports on significant Turkish defense and national security issues in the press and other open sources. We welcome feedback on whether these reports are useful. End note) Contents -------------- -- New National Security Policy Approval -- EU Progress Report on Turkish Civil-Military Relations -- Turkey's Security Relations with Other Countries -- Defense Industry Activity -- Turkish NGO Seminar on Iran's Nuclear Program New National Security Policy Approval -------------- ¶1. After months of delay, at the bi-monthly National Security Council (NSC) meeting on Oct. 24, a revised National Security Policy Document (NSPD) was approved. The policy document outlines the Government of Turkey (GOT) priorities with regard to threats to Turkey's internal and external security, and is based on input from all Council member agencies (MFA, TGS, Prime Ministry, MND and MOI). The NSC made no official announcement on the content or length of the NSPD, but the Turkish press reported that fundamentalism, separatist terrorism and radical leftist ideology were noted as equal internal threats while radical rightist ideology, which was included in the previous document, had been eliminated. According to press reports, the document distinguishes between terrorists with a religious motivation (Al Qaeda) and other terrorist organization (PKK and Hezbollah). Iran's nuclear activities, Iran's Shahab 3 missiles and territorial integrity of Iraq were included among the external threats facing Turkey and the situation in Cyprus is of primary importance to Turkey's security (The center-right Hurriyet daily). The NSC also discussed Turkey's EU drive and stressed in the statement issued after the meeting the importance of protecting Turkey's national interests during the accession process and the need for effective use of the country's water resources. EU Progress Report on Turkish Civil-Military Relations -------------- -------------- ¶2. The European Commission's Turkey 2005 Progress Report, released on November 9, includes tougher language on civil- military relations than previous reports. According to the report, "the armed forces continue to exercise significant political influence" through public statements made by high- ranking military members on domestic and foreign policy issues. Noting that Turkey has made good progress in reforming civil-military relations since 2002, the report calls on Turkey to work towards greater accountability and transparency in the conduct of security affairs in line with EU Member States' best practice. The report advises that civilian authorities should fully exercise their supervisory function over the military, in particular with respect to parliamentary control of defense expenditures and the formulation of the national security strategy and its implementation. While the Turkish press gave broad coverage to other aspects of the report, it made no mention of the issue of civil-military relations. ¶3. The GOT Reform Monitoring Group (formed at the initiative of the MFA to oversee EU reforms and comprised of the Foreign Minister, Interior Minister, Minister of Justice and State Minister and Ali Babacan, State Minister/Chief Negotiator) convened its 9th meeting on November 22 to determine what actions to take in response to the Progress Report. On civil-military relations, the Group decided to speed up review of the amended law on Military Code of Conduct -- which in the past was used as the basis for military intervention in the government -- specifically with an eye to the abolishment of provisions allowing trial of civilians at military courts. Turkey's Security Relations with Other Countries -------------- --- ¶4. Azerbaijan: TGS CHOD General Hilmi Ozkok visited Azerbaijani Defense Minister Safar Abiyev on October 6 in Baku to discuss enhancing military ties. ¶5. China: President Ahmet Necdet Sezer and TGS CHOD GEN Ozkok received Xu Caihou, China's Vice Chairman of Central Military Commission, respectively on October 16 and 17. The GOT did not discuss publicly the topics of the meeting. However, the monthly military magazine Aerospace and Defense Update reported that discussions were held regarding existing military cooperation between the two armies and developing new ways to boost bilateral military cooperation. ¶6. Romania: Romanian CHOD Eugen Badalan visited his Turkish counterpart on October 20 at the invitation of GEN Ozkok. No information on the subject of their meeting was made public. ¶7. Finland: Finnish Defense Minister Seppo Kaariainen met Turkish Defense Minister Gonul On November 5 in Ankara. Stating that it was early to talk about concrete bilateral projects, MOD Gonul indicated that the visit would create an opportunity to develop bilateral military relations within the context of NATO. ¶8. Cyprus: Toros-2005, a military exercise held by Turkish and Turkish-Cypriot forces in Cyprus -- which was suspended for 3 years based on an agreement with the Greek Cypriot administration in parallel to efforts to solve the Cyprus problem -- was conducted on November 23-25 in response to Nikiforos-2005, a Greek Cypriot exercise(The semi- governmental Anatolian News Agency). ¶9. Kazakhstan: The Turkish Armed Forces (TAF) signed an agreement in late November in Almaty to provide $900K in military aid to the Kazakh Army. A high ranking Turkish military official stated that Turkey would provide military vehicles, wireless communication and night vision systems as well as training to the Anti-Terrorism Unit of the Kazakh Armed Forces. According to the press report, Turkey's technical military aid to Kazakhstan exceeded $5 million (Anatolian News Agency). ¶10. Qatar: Qatar's CHOD General Hamad Bin Ali Al Attiyah visited CHOD GEN Ozkok on November 7 in Ankara. No information on the subject of their meeting was made public. Defense Industry Activity -------------- ¶11. TUSAS Aerospace Industries (TAI) signed an agreement with the Jordanian Air Force for the modernization of 17 F- 16s by applying Falcon-Up, Falcon Star and Mid Life upgrades. Delivery of the upgraded F16s to Jordan is expected by October 2009 (The semi-governmental Anatolian News Agency). ¶12. SSM (Turkish Undersecretariat for Defense Industries) Undersecretary Murad Bayar visited Italian Deputy Defense Minister Filippo Berselli on November 29 in Rome. Berselli confirmed reports that Turkey was highly interested in the Eurofighter jets (Note: as an alternative to the Joint Strike Fighter. End Note.) (The semi-governmental Anatolian News Agency). ¶13. The Italian Agusta Westland, French Eurofighter, Russian Rosoboronexport and South African Denel are expected to submit bids for the attack helicopter tender. SSM extended the deadline for the second time to December 5 upon request of the Italian bidder Agusta Westland. ¶14. TUSAS-TAI launched production on November 24 of 360 ailerons (wing components) and 1800 spoilers for 180 airplanes within the context of A400M Cargo Plane Program (Liberal pro-Islamic daily Yeni Safak). ¶15. SSM held its annual 2005 International Defense Industry Conference on November 14-15 in Ankara. In the symposium, held in honor of the 20th anniversary of SSM and with participation of more than 500 military and civilian officials, significant attention was given to development of local R&D capacity and the role of techno-parks and universities in developing Turkey's defense capabilities. ¶16. SSM issued an RFI - Request for Information) on October 24 for FCA (Turkish Future Combat Aircraft) covering 120 aircraft with a submission date of January 20, 2006. The RFI was sent to Lockheed Martin, Alenia Aeronautica and Boeing (The Turkish Defense and Aerospace Update monthly). ¶17. SSM extended the proposal deadline for the TAF (Turkish Armed Forces) and Forestry Service helicopter program, covering procurement of 52 medium-class twin-engine helicopters, to March 15, 2006 from the previous deadline of December 5. ¶18. Turkish Land Forces signed a contract valued at 300 million Euros with the German Army on November 8 for the purchase of 298 Leopard 2A4 Main Battle Tanks. ¶19. Boeing, SSM and Turkish Air Forces completed the CDR (Critical Design Review) of Turkey's first B737-700 AEW&C aircraft (Airborne Early Warning and Control) on October 15 under the Peace Eagle Program. Turkish NGO Seminar on Iran's Nuclear Program -------------- -------------- ¶20. The International Security Strategic Research Institution, a Turkish think tank with a nationalist bent, organized a forum to discuss Iran's nuclear program on October 16 in Ankara. Thirty Turkish and Iranian officials participated, including: 7 Iranian diplomats, 1 Turkish Foreign Ministry representative, 1 MIT (Turkish intelligence) representative, 7 academics, 3 MPs, 2 PM advisors, 3 NGO representatives, 2 security experts, and 4 journalists from IRNA (Iranian News Agency),Zaman (A moderate pro-Islamic daily supportive of Nurcu sect leader Fethullah Gulen),IRIB (Islamic republic of Iran Broadcasting),and Turkish Daily News (English-language centrist daily). There was no participation from any European country, nor from any other mission. WILSON