TURKEY: POL-MIL ROUND-UP, DECEMBER 2005

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 ANKARA 000141 SIPDIS SENSITIVE SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: MARR MASS PREL PGOV TU SUBJECT: TURKEY: POL-MIL ROUND-UP, DECEMBER 2005 (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 -------------- -- Supreme Military Council Convenes -- National Security Council Convenes -- MFA Denies Land Force Commander of Received Instructions from Washington -- Turkey's Security Relations with Other Countries -- Defense Industry Activity -- Corruption Arrests at Border Crossings Supreme Military Council Convenes -------------- ¶1. (U) Turkey's Supreme Military Council (YAS) - convened under PM Tayyip Erdogan on December 1 - assessed war readiness of the TAF (Turkish Armed Forces) and major modernization projects, discussed recent developments in the Middle East, assessed fight against separatism, reactionism and separatist terrorism, according to press reports. The YAS generally meets twice a year and consists of all of Turkey,s four-star officers plus the PM and Defense Minister. At this meeting, the YAS also expelled four officers (1 captain and 3 non-commissioned officers) from the military for "reactionary activities and lack of discipline" -- a reference to Islamist tendencies seen by the Turkish General Staff (TGS) as a threat to Turkey,s secular regime. Prime Minister Erdogan and Defense Minister Vecdi Gonul expressed "reservations" to show they did not endorse the decision, a practice that has become routine with the AKP government. National Security Council Convenes -------------- ¶2. (U) Turkey's National Security Council held its last meeting of 2005 on December 29. Countering terrorism and the Southeast Action Plan (proposing actions in economic, social and cultural fields to find solution for the Kurdish issue) were reportedly on the top of the Council's agenda. In an official statement released after the meeting, the NSC stressed the importance of Iraqi territorial integrity and added that the "status of Kirkuk" should be accepted by all groups in the region, repeating the GOT's policy of opposing the incorporation of Kirkuk into the Kurdish autonomous region. MFA Denies Land Force Commander Received Instructions from Washington -------------- -------------- ¶3. (U) Turkish media speculated about the reason of Land Forces Commander GEN Yasar Buyukanit's (who is to take over as the Chief of TGS in August) visit to Washington on December 10 at the invitation of US Army Chief of Staff GEN Peter Schoomaker. Underlining the importance of the first Turkish Land Forces Commander's visit to Washington after an eight-year hiatus, Turkish media accused GEN Buyukanit of receiving instructions from the US. Defining his visit as "extremely positive," GEN Buyukanit responded to the speculations by saying that Turkish military got its authorization only from Ataturk and from law. (See USDAO Ankara septel for a readout of the visit.) Turkey's Security Relations with Other Countries -------------- --- ¶4. (U) According to the semi-official Anatolian News Agency (ANA),the Turkish Armed Forces (TAF) has signed Technical and Scientific Cooperation Agreements (framework agreements) with 47 countries and Military Training Cooperation Agreements with 43 countries. To date, TAF has trained 20,307 military personnel from 94 countries in Turkey and another 93,792 personnel via mobile training teams in 16 countries. ANKARA 00000141 002 OF 003 ¶5. (U) Italy: Turkish General Staff (TGS) signed an agreement with the Italian Defense Ministry to give health monitoring, G-LAB, simulator, F16 flight (23 hours) and F16 aircraft technical training to pilots from Italian Air Forces. The Italian Defense Ministry will pay $637,173 for each pilot trained. ¶6. (U) Israel: Israeli CHOD Dan Halutz visited his Turkish counterpart on December 22 at the invitation of TGS Chief GEN Hilmi Ozkok. No information on the subject of their meeting was made public, although MFA officially denied media allegations that Israel requested the use of a military base in Hakkari, a city near the Turkey-Iran border. ¶7. (U) France: French Defense Minister Alliot Marie met Turkish Defense Minister Vecdi Gonul, TGS CHOD General Hilmi Ozkok and PM Erdogan on December 19 in Ankara. Prior to the meeting, MOD Vecdi Gonul told reporters, "Turkey and France have cooperation in defense industry worth of 2 billion USD." Marie said that Turkey and France had a "strategic partnership," underscoring that TAF used French-made military equipment, according to ANA. ¶8. (U) Albania: Albanian CHOD Lieutenant General Pellumb Qazimi visited CHOD GEN Ozkok on December 13 in Ankara. No information on the subject of their meeting was released. Defense Industry Activity -------------- ¶9. (U) Turkish missiles: On the floor of the TGNA (Turkish Grand National Assembly) on December 19, Gonul said, "Iran is building missiles. We build missiles too, but I can give no details about the range of our missiles," according to ANA. In his speech he further indicated that the Ministry of National Defense has sponsored 24,241 tenders in the past 3 years. ¶10. (U) NATO E-3A Upgrade: ANA reported that TUSAS Aerospace Industries (TAI) signed an agreement with the NATO for the modernization of 16 E-3A jets. TAI will perform repair and modification work on the external wings of E-3As in the NATO fleet and the modernization work is expected to be completed by 2012. ¶11. (U) UAVs: Vestel Defense Industries announced that the company was developing a new UAV. Reportedly the project is designed by Turkish engineers for both civilian and military usage (the centrist daily Milliyet). ¶12. (U) Maritime Patrol Aircraft: TAI signed an agreement for Maritime Policing Aircraft with Naval Observation Capabilities (Meltem III) with the Italian Alenia Aeronatica Co, according to ANA. ¶13. (SBU) Attack Helicopter: The Italian Agusta Westland, French Eurocopter, Russian Rosoboronexport and South African Denel Company submitted bids for the attack helicopter tender on December 5. No American company participated in the tender. Rumors abound in defense industry circles about the bids. An SSM source confirmed to us that both Agusta and Eurocopter submitted two bids each -- one compliant with SSM's (Turkish Undersecretariat for Defense Industries) standard terms and conditions and one not. However, SSM has yet to release any information about the proposals. ¶14. (U) Milgem Ship Project: SSM extended the deadline in its RFP (Request for Proposal) for procurement of the main propulsion system for Milgem (Patrol and Anti-Submarine Warfare Ship) Project. The RFP was extended to January 20 from December 14. Corruption Arrests at Border Crossings -------------- ¶15. (SBU) AKP government launched a corruption operation at Kapikule Border Gate (Turkish-Bulgarian border) that resulted in the arrest of 86 customs and police officers in December. Within the context of general effort to crack down corruption ANKARA 00000141 003 OF 003 at the border areas, 10 "officers" were arrested at the Habur Border Gate (Turkish-Iraq border). Only the centrist daily Milliyet reported on the Habur arrests. However, unlike at Kapikule, a contact close to the investigation told us that those arrested at the Habur Border Gate were all Jandarma personnel. WILSON