EUR/SE DIRECTOR SILLIMAN'S MEETING WITH TURKISH

C O N F I D E N T I A L ANKARA 002971 SIPDIS SIPDIS TREASURY FOR OTI - RLOEFFLER/JSERAFINI NSC FOR BROOKS E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/22/2011 TAGS: KTFN PTER TU SUBJECT: EUR/SE DIRECTOR SILLIMAN'S MEETING WITH TURKISH MFA ON PKK REF: ANKARA AND PREVIOUS Classified By: Economic Counselor Thomas Goldberger for reasons 1.4(b) and (d). ¶1. (C) Summary: In a meeting with MFA Security Affairs DDG Bicakli, EUR/SE Director Silliman briefed on his meetings in Brussels and London and discussed deepening cooperation with European countries to fight criminal activity there. Silliman also raised possible U.S. designation of the Turkish Freedom Hawks (TAK) as an alias for the PKK, the UNHCR plan for Makhmour Camp, trilaterals with Iraq, and the definition of terrorism under Turkish law. Bicakli said he needed to consult on the TAK designation, appreciated U.S. efforts in western Europe, said the MFA agreed with us on the definition of terrorism, suggested Ankara as a venue for trilaterals, and requested a follow-on interagency meeting on PKK in Ankara. End Summary. -------------- EU and UK -------------- ¶2. (C) In a meeting May 18 with MFA Deputy Director General for Security Affairs Huseyin Bicakli, EUR/SE Director Doug Silliman briefed on his meetings with the European Commission in Brussels and with the UK on PKK issues. Emboffs Snow and Burger also attended the meeting. Silliman said he thought UK officials were very sympathetic on the PKK issue and could be helpful within the EU. With regard to the EU, he pointed out that in countries with weak national systems for designation, EU mechanisms will be key to engineering tougher action against the PKK. He suggested Turkey and the U.S. think further about how best to follow up with the EU. With the EU in general and with EU member states bilaterally, he expressed the need to address the issue of political asylum granted to PKK operatives. -------------- Belgium, Intelligence and Law Enforcement -------------- ¶3. (C) Silliman pointed out that he had raised PKK with the Belgians back in October. Since then, he noted that Embassy Brussels had pushed further. Now, Silliman thought it would be a good time to go back with more information targeting a single name, much as we did in France and Germany. Bicakli mentioned Zubeyir Aydar, saying Turkey had transmitted several files on Aydar and that Aydar has refugee status yet openly participated in a conference in Belgium. Snow said that our experts were still debating the issue but the preliminary thinking was to propose targeting Ahmet Bayik because he might be vulnerable to money-laundering charges. Silliman noted that under Belgian law and practice it would be imperative to find evidence of acts defined as crimes, and hopefully convey evidence of crimes committed in Belgium. Bicakli said this was difficult for Turkey because these PKK operatives live in western European countries and the evidence needs to be collected locally. ¶4. (C) This led to a more general discussion: Silliman believed western European law enforcement agencies had better information on PKK criminal activities than their diplomatic or intelligence colleagues. Bicakli disagreed, saying that Turkey has intelligence-sharing agreements with most European countries and has shared "concrete files" about the PKK. -------------- Designating TAK -------------- ¶5. (C) Silliman said the U.S. was looking at what would be required to designate the TAK as an alias of the PKK, and asked whether Turkey still had reservations about such a designation. At first, Bicakli objected, saying the Turkish strategy had been to ignore TAK and not to dignify it with recognition. Eventually, he seemed to understand that such a designation would tie the TAK and PKK under U.S. law. Nevertheless, he said he would need to consult with his superiors before Turkey reconsidered its earlier hesitation. -------------- Luxembourg PKK case -------------- ¶6. (C) Silliman inquired whether Turkey would like the U.S. to weigh in on the Zubeyde Ersoz case in Luxembourg. If so, he requested that Turkey provide additional information so the U.S. could determine the facts of the case and Ersoz's relation to the PKK. Bicakli expressed his appreciation and said that Turkey would provide full information. -------------- Definition of Terrorism -------------- ¶7. (C) Silliman raised U.S. concerns about the definition of terrorism in draft Turkish legislation, asking that Turkey change its definition to match international best practices. He specifically expressed concern that the law does not appear to cover foreign terrorists in Turkey who are not targeting Turks. Bicakli heartily agreed, and said that the Foreign Ministry had made the same points but, after "serious" discussion in the Council of Ministers, the Government had decided otherwise. He was aware of the Ambassador's letter to the Justice Minister and noted that the bill is still in sub-committee. Silliman asked that the MFA again convey its and U.S. objections to the law as currently drafted. -------------- Makhmour Camp -------------- ¶8. (C) Bicakli confirmed that Turkey had received the UNHCR plan for Makhmour. He said there would be an interagency GOT meeting on the topic on May 24 and that Ambassador Guven would go to Geneva June 1 and/or 2. -------------- Trilaterals with Iraq -------------- ¶9. (C) Silliman reiterated the U.S. commitment to work with Turkey and Iraq against PKK terrorism. Once the new Government in Baghdad is established the three countries can work on setting up another trilateral meeting. Silliman expressed a preference for logistical reasons to hold the meeting in the region rather than in the U.S. Bicakli said Turkey really wanted to have another meeting and said his personal view was that it would be desirable to hold it in Ankara. Silliman said it should cover the same issues as before, with an emphasis on the unresolved law enforcement cooperation issues of the earlier meetings. -------------- -------------- Interagency Meetings on PKK in Washington and Ankara -------------- -------------- ¶10. (C) Silliman told Bicakli that the U.S. interagency group working on PKK has begun meeting with the Turkish Embassy on a regular basis. Bicakli was aware of the Washington meetings and said the U.S. interagency group meeting that had taken place in Ankara in December had been extremely useful. He said the Turkish General Staff, in particular, had been enthusiastic, and urged us to bring the group back to hold another such meeting. Visit Ankara's Classified Web Site at http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/eur/ankara/ WILSON