GOT FIRMLY PLACES BLAME ON GREECE FOR MIGRANT

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 ANKARA 005866

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/10/2026
TAGS: PREF PREL PGOV TU GR
SUBJECT: GOT FIRMLY PLACES BLAME ON GREECE FOR MIGRANT
DUMPING; UNHCR MORE CIRCUMSPECT

REF: ATHENS 2620

Classified By: Acting Political Counselor Kelly Degnan. Reason: 1.4 (b
) and (d)


1. (C) SUMMARY: Turkish MFA officials continue to place the
blame for the deaths of at least six illegal migrants thrown
into Turkish territorial waters on September 26 off the coast
of Karaburun, Turkey on Greek coast guard officials. The GOT
pointed to Greece's lack of cooperation with Turkey on
discussing the return of illegal migrants as a continuing
problem, though a meeting of the countries' coast guard
commanders planned for December holds out some hope.
Meanwhile, UNHCR Ankara officials (protect) who interviewed
many of the survivors of the September 26 incident said it is
clear a crime was committed in the dumping of people
overboard, however, it remains unclear exactly who may have
perpetrated the crime. END SUMMARY

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GOT Places Blame for Deaths on Greek Officials
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2. (C) Poloff met with Turkish MFA Deputy Directorate
General for Expatriate Turks, Migration, Asylum, and Property
Issues Department Head Melih Ulueren October 10 to discuss
the extensive press reporting and subsequent public statement
issued by GOT MFA concerning the September 26 deaths of at
least six, and perhaps up to nine, illegal migrants. These
deaths were connected to the alleged dumping of a group of up
to 42 migrants into Turkish territorial waters by Greek coast
guard officials near Karaburun, Turkey. In response to
poloff questions regarding the veracity of Turkish press
reporting on the incident, Ulueren said it was accurate. In
response, Turkish MFA had issued a statement of protest both
publicly and through diplomatic channels to Greek authorities
on September 27.


3. (C) Noting the Greek government's denial of its
officials' involvement, Ulueren pointed to the obvious trauma
suffered by the survivors and their first-hand accounts of
what transpired as proof. Ulueren said the event was just
another in a long line of similar instances in which Greek
officials have pushed illegal migrants into Turkey, whether
they had entered Greece from Turkey or not, though this
particular event had had unfortunately dire repercussions.
Ulueren indicated Greek officials have consistently abrogated
the Greece-Turkey bilateral protocol on re-entry in such
instances and refused to respond to Turkish requests to
convene a bilateral coordination committee called for under
the protocol to discuss these issues.


4. (C) Ulueren admitted that a large number of illegal
migrants indeed do travel into Greece from Turkey and
lamented the difficulty in controlling the flow of such
migration throughout the world. However, he claimed that a
fair number of such migrants also travel directly from North
Africa via boat to Greece, just as they do to Italy and
Spain, but GOG authorities attempt to pass them onto Turkey
regardless. Ulueren expressed regret that the Greek and
Turkish governments have been unable to cooperate more fully
on this issue but again pointed to Greek officials for their
lack of response to Turkish efforts to consult. He also
scoffed at Greek attempts to point a finger at Turkey's
inability to control its borders, saying Greek officials have
at times been unable to produce illegal migrants for
deportation to Turkey after Turkey has agreed to accept them
back upon demonstration of proof that they had traveled to
Greece via Turkey.


5. (C) Ulueren said the GOT had pressed for a bilateral
meeting of the two countries' coast guard commanders to
discuss operational issues related to the return of illegal
migrants at sea and it appears this meeting will happen,
probably in December.

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UNHCR: Crime Committed but Who's to Blame?
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6. (C) Poloff met October 10 with UNHCR Ankara XXXXXXXXXXXX.
XXXXXXXXXXXX had just returned from Izmir where XXXXXXXXXXXX had done joint interviews with a Turkish police official of 26 of the surviving migrants, including Tunisians, Lebanese, Iraqis, and Palestinians. XXXXXXXXXXXX said according to information gathered from those interviews, the facts surrounding the September 26 incident largely occurred along the lines reported in the Turkish press. The survivors reported boarding a smugglers' boat near Izmir late in the evening of September 25. They were left on a largely
undeveloped island in the middle of the night at which point

ANKARA 00005866 002 OF 002


they began to yell for assistance. The survivors all claimed
that four armed men in dark uniforms then arrived, arrested
them and handcuffed them with plastic handcuffs. About an
hour later, they boarded a boat and shortly thereafter were
dumped into the sea, one-half to one kilometer off the
Turkish coast. Some of the migrants were unable to swim and
drowned. XXXXXXXXXXXX said all of the survivors XXXXXXXXXXXX interviewed were grateful for the treatment afforded them by Turkish
officials after their rescue. According to XXXXXXXXXXXX, the GOT
indicated most of the migrants had been found to have entered
Turkey legally before setting off for Greece.


7. (C) XXXXXXXXXXXX noted that while the stories of all the
survivors varied greatly regarding how they came to meet the
smugglers, from where the smugglers boat departed, etc., they
were all remarkably similar concerning the details of the
encounter with Greek officials and being dumped overboard.
When XXXXXXXXXXXX asked survivors how they knew the officers they had encountered were Greek, some initially said they had seen
the Greek flag. When then asked how they could see, having
earlier claimed how dark the survivors said it had been, they
indicated they had heard the officers speaking Greek. How
these Tunisians, Lebanese, Iraqi, and others knew it was
Greek is unclear. XXXXXXXXXXXX both said it is clear a
crime was committed, but how conclusively to identify the
perpetrators is very difficult.


8. (C) COMMENT: Despite direct questioning of many of the
survivors by a neutral third party, it remains impossible to
say with any certainty that Greek officials indeed were
involved in dumping illegal migrants into the sea to fend for
themselves or to drown. It is equally unclear whether this
was some sort of elaborate ruse by Turkish officials to
enable them to lay blame on Greece. The truth may never be
learned, though UNHCR staff in Ankara is considering
referring the case to the UN Committee Against Torture or the
International Maritime Organization for further
investigation. We will continue to monitor such reports as
they arise and press the GOT for continued efforts at
coordination and cooperation with Greece on this issue.

Visit Ankara's Classified Web Site at
http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/eur/ankara/

WILSON