DESIGNATING TAK AND PJAK TERRORIST GROUPS: NEED

S E C R E T ANKARA 002918 SIPDIS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/07/2017 TAGS: PREL PTER CBIS TU SUBJECT: DESIGNATING TAK AND PJAK TERRORIST GROUPS: NEED FOR NEAR-TERM ACTION REF: A. STATE 112624 ¶B. ANKARA 2195 Classified By: AMBASSADOR ROSS WILSON FOR REASONS 1.4 B AND D ¶1. (S) Summary: The USG should move quickly to formally designate TAK (Kurdish Freedom Falcons) and PJAK (Party of Free Life of Kurdistan),two terrorist groups that work in close collaboration with the northern Iraq-based PKK. Designation would help efforts to cut off financing to these well-known terrorist groups, and rebut false accusations that we are employing PJAK to undermine the Iranian regime. At the same time, we need a more coherent approach to our visa revocation policies. We need to extract ourselves from the current untenable position of revoking the visas of democratically-elected politicians because they belong to the pro-Kurdish DTP party (a legal entity in Turkey) while we are granting visas to the head of PJAK. End Summary. ¶2. (S) There is extensive sensitive reporting indicating close collaboration between TAK and PKK, as well as evidence suggesting that TAK undertakes terrorist operations in Turkey as a subordinate unit under the instruction of the PKK. TAK is believed to be responsible for the 2006 bombing of Kusasahi that killed a British and an Irish citizen, and has publicly claimed responsibility for numerous urban attacks. TAK's designation will assist our work with the Turks and other European governments to cut off terrorist financing to the PKK and its allies. ¶3. (S) PJAK (Party of Free Life of Kurdistan) acts as the PKK's affiliate in Iran. The PKK established PJAK in 2003. Sensitive reporting indicates that present and former PKK members serve in PJAK, and that the PKK provides logistics support to PJAK. There is extensive evidence concerning PJAK's involvement in terrorist activity. ¶4. (S) As the United States, Turkey and Iraq expand efforts to counter PKK terrorism in northern Iraq, we cannot allow the PKK's affiliates to become alternate funding and supply routes. Sensitive reporting indicates PJAK already has discussed sharing external aid with the PKK. Failure to designate PJAK has exposed us to charges here that the USG is using or hopes to use the PJAK to undermine the Iranian regime. ¶5. (S) At the same time, we must also address inconsistencies in our visa revocation policy. In August, the head of PJAK was granted a visa to visit the United States, while we revoked the visa of a Turkish politician because he is a member of a pro-Kurdish political party in Turkey. Ref A informed post that the visitor visa of Diyarbakir mayor Osman Baydemir had been prudentially revoked. We later learned that the decision was based on information from the Terrorism Screening Center that Baydemir "is reportedly a member of the Kongra-Gel-affiliated (KGK) Democratic Society Party (DTP)." DTP now has over 20 seats in the Turkish parliament and DTP members are elected mayors in over 50 Turkish cities. Baydemir has not been charged with advocating violence or separatism, and he remains the legally-elected mayor of the largest city in Turkey's southeast. Three months ago, Post requested additional review of the Baydemir visa revocation (ref B) and we have yet to receive a response. Visit Ankara's Classified Web Site at http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/eur/ankara/ WILSON