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.

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EU and UK
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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.

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Belgium, Intelligence and Law Enforcement
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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.


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Designating TAK
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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.

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Luxembourg PKK case
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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.

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Definition of Terrorism
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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.

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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.

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Trilaterals with Iraq
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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.

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Interagency Meetings on PKK in Washington and Ankara
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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