PKK IN EUROPE: LEGATT DISCUSSIONS WITH EUROPEAN

S E C R E T ANKARA 005399 SIPDIS SIPDIS TREASURY FOR OTI - JSERAFINI AND RLOEFFLER E.O. 12958: DECL: 09/15/2016 TAGS: PTER KTFN TU SUBJECT: PKK IN EUROPE: LEGATT DISCUSSIONS WITH EUROPEAN COUNTERPARTS REF: A. ANKARA 5269 ¶B. ANKARA 4450 Classified By: Economic Counselor Thomas Goldberger for reasons 1.4(b) and (d). ¶1. (S) Summary: Following up on the DCM's recent meeting with French, German and UK counterparts (ref A),LEGATT discussed PKK issues with law enforcement counterparts at these Embassies to increase collaboration on PKK issues. Separately, the Turkish National Police (TNP) called two meetings of foreign embassies' law enforcement officials to discuss PKK attacks inside Turkey. Boh sets of meetings reinforce the openness of urkish and western European law enforcement t enhanced cooperation against the PKK, reinforcing our conviction that trilateral working groups in western European capitals could be established and would result in additional law enforcement actions that would disrupt PKK support in Europe. End Summary. -------------- Legatt Discussions with Counterparts -------------- ¶2. (S) Following up on the DCM's meeting with German, French and UK counterparts in July, Legatt met with law enforcement/security officials assigned to Ankara. Legatt expressed U.S. interest in PKK as an important terrorist group even though the PKK has not conducted attacks on America or Americans. The Europeans were receptive and described their own cooperation with Turkey against PKK. They agreed to regular consultations with Legatt on PKK. ¶3. (S) The German BKA official who has been in Ankara for many years outlined Germany's robust cooperation with Turkey against PKK. The two countries have a law enforcement cooperation agreement ratified by both parliaments which mandates information-sharing -- it goes well beyond a Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty. The agreement requires that twice a year a group of German police come to Ankara's TADOC training center for training and that once a year a group of Turkish police go to Germany for a training. The BKA official tends to deal primarily with the Turkish National Police, not other law enforcement or intelligence agencies. ¶4. (S) The French security official distinguished between Germany, with its roughly 2 million Kurds and France, which has only 300,000. He said it was inappropriate to compare the extent of cooperation against the PKK with such different circumstances. He agreed to provide additional information on the recent arrests in France of suspected PKK operatives. ¶5. (S) The Legatt office continues its ongoing discussions with UK counterparts on PKK matters. The UK Embassy here has taken an increasing interest in the PKK in recent months. -------------- -------------- Turkish Police Convoke Foreign Embassy Law Enforcement Officials re PKK Attacks -------------- -------------- ¶6. (S) Separately, the TNP has called two meetings in recent weeks regarding PKK attacks in Turkey. Following the wave of bombings in tourist areas in late August and again following the September 12 bombing in Diyarbarkir, the TNP invited all law enforcement officials at foreign embassies in Ankara to share information and request help. This represents a new tack by TNP which has tended in the past to prefer to deal with other countries on a strictly bilateral basis. On the Turkish side, only he TNP has been present at the two meetings--tere have been no representatives of the Jandarma or the Turkish National Intelligence Organization. -------------- Comment -------------- ¶7. (S) Both sets of meetings show the openness of Turkish and foreign lw enforcement to enhanced cooperation against the PKK. On PKK-in-Europe, the receptivity of the European law enforcement officials is yet another indication of openness to working with us and Turkey on PKK. This is particularly true of law enforcement agencies, who are less prone to harbor romantic illusions about the PKK and its front organizations than other European officials sometimes seem. The receptivity of the European law enforcement agencies in Ankara reinforces our conviction that trilateral working groups in western European capitals would enable all sides to not only share information but also to identify targets resulting in additional law enforcement actions. The recent arrests in Europe are only the tip of the iceberg: much more could be accomplished through intensified cooperation in western European capitals. Visit Ankara's Classified Web Site at http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/eur/ankara/ WILSON