EXBS: TURKEY ADVISORS MONTHLY REPORT- (MAY 2008)

UNCLAS ANKARA 001068 SIPDIS SENSITIVE DEPT FOR NP/ECC- YWONG, ACHURCH, BGOLDEN DEPT FOR EUR/ACE- DSILLIMAN, BHUNT, PMALIK DOE/NNSA- TPERRY, LPARKER, EDESCHLER CBP/INA- BWATTS, BPICKETT DOC FOR DCREED E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: ETTC KNNP KSTC MNUC PARM PREL TU SUBJECT: EXBS: TURKEY ADVISORS MONTHLY REPORT- (MAY 2008) REF: A. ANKARA 950 ¶B. ANKARA 908 ¶1. (U) Summary: Turkey continues to progress with proposed enhancements to their existing export controls and has submitted new proposed legislation to combine export control lists, form a Export Control Board (ECB),and improve licensing processes for dual-use and other sensitive items (ref a). MFA has indicated that with the ratification of the PUNE agreement by the US this month, they will begin preparations to implement the long awaited EXBS/NP Agreement. EXBS Program continues to meet with GOT agencies to discuss proposed restructuring of Turkey's border management system under the Ministry of the Interior. MFA is receptive to holding a joint EXBS Nonproliferation Seminar in Ankara at a mutually agreed date, once the EXBS NP Agreement is implemented. End Summary. ¶2. (U) Completed Actions for the Reporting Period: ¶A. Meetings During Recent Reporting Period by EXBS Advisor and Coordinator: 1) (U) May 1 - Delivered the CTP, Inc. letter granting the GOT usage rights for ICP software on the UFT on-line servers for access by Turkish industry to MFA Head of Department for Nonproliferation and Disarmament Elif Ulgen and Undersecretariat of Foreign Trade (UFT) Head of Department Halit Akcaglayan. Advisor advised Akcaglayan that EXBS is available to support further ICP development as needed. UFT confirmed that the CTP letter is sufficient for them to use the ICP software on their official website and no other support is requested for ICP at this time. Ulgen and Akcalayan disclosed the general content of the new Export Control Legislation (ref a),which is pending final review by the Prime Minister,s office and is expected to be submitted to Parliament in June for approval. 2) (U) May 6 - EXBS Advisor raised the need to move ahead with the SLD hand-held and pager radiation detection training program as soon as possible with TNP Criminal Police Laboratory Bomb Disposal Unit Head of Section Cengiz Ozdemir. Ozdemir agreed that the last two weeks of August would be the best time to hold this training and we agreed to move ahead with planning for Aug 18th - 29th, 2008 classes at the Golbasi training facility. The hand-held radiation detectors, pagers, and radioactive training sources for this training are currently stored at the Golbasi site. 3) (U) May 7 - Discussed Turkey's new Border Management Strategy and the National Action Plan for implementation (ref b) and TNP's role in developing the border management training programs with Turkish National Police (TNP) Deputy Director of Training Ahmet Karagoz. Karagoz, who is in charge of training for all TNP officers, said the Ministry of Interior will be responsible for a new border management force of approximately 54,000 officers and that TNP will have the lead for establishing and managing a new Border Management Academy. The current plan is to build a state-of-the-art Border Management Academy on the grounds of Ataturk's Farm, which is located just west of downtown Ankara. This new facility will have a training capacity of 500 students at a time and will provide specialized training to the expected 40,000 new border management officers who will serve within TNP, Customs, Coast Guard and other agencies with border security responsibilities. TNP expects the new academy to be completed sometime in CY2010. Advisor offered to work closely with the new border management program to provide access to US border training facilities and border experts, as agreed to by GOT and US agencies, which could provide training on border management related programs in the U.S. Advisor asked about funding and legal authorities for this new border management organization. Karagoz noted that a Prime Minister,s decree signed in April 2006 established this organization under the Ministry of Interior; he believed funding was still being coordinated between the GOT and EU. We agreed to continue to meet as the GOT moves forward on this initiative. 4) (SBU) May 13 - Reviewed the success of Z-Backscatter van training in April with Undersecretariat of Customs, Enforcement Head of Department Ender Gurleyik. Gurleyik confirmed that the van would be moved to the Western border area sometime this month to begin covert scanning operations for the next 6-12 months while the Customs Port of Entry with Bulgaria is being modernized. He agreed that late June would be a good time for his staff and EXBS team to visit this border area to see existing border operations and witness the van in an operational setting. During this meeting, we agreed that the next equipment order from EXBS should contain one IONSCAN400 unit, 5 SABRE 4000 trace detectors, and 15 or more K910 Buster density testing units. He expressed Turkish Customs appreciation for US assistance. 5) (U) May 20 - Met again with MFA's Ulgen to discuss the status of the NP Agreement. Ulgen said the Embassy will be notified by diplomatic note shortly after the 123/PUNE agreement enters into force. She agreed it would be desirable to re-introduce the EXBS program and other nonproliferation programs again to GOT agencies. Advisor discussed the possibility of holding a 2-3 day EXBS Nonproliferation Seminar in Ankara in late July 2008 to allow both US and GOT agencies to showcase program goals and capacities and provide an opportunity for US and Turkish officials to get reacquainted with each other. She agreed that this would be valuable for both countries and would allow Turkey to "remove the old soil" and start with a fresh approach to nonproliferation cooperation between Turkey and US. She agreed to proceed with notifying the relevant agencies in Ankara to see if the last week of July would be achievable for this conference. She is amenable to using MFA conference facilities or a conference facility at the hotel where the US delegation will stay for this seminar (Note: Ulgen subsequently told us it would be difficult to ensure that the right people attend the seminar in late July, and suggested the US consider a date in the fall. Ramadan begins September 1 and ends September 30. We recommend exploring dates after Ramadan to maximize the effectiveness and productivity of the proposed conference. End Note). ¶B. (U) Training Conducted During this Reporting Period: - None this period. ¶C. (U) Equipment Delivered During this Reporting Period: None this period. ¶D. (U) Imminent Training or Equipment Status Update: EXBS funded a three person delegation (two Customs officials and one UFT official) to attend this year's EXBS transshipment Conference which was held in Tangier, Morocco from May 20 - 22, 2008. ¶E. (U) Significant Developments in Export Controls, Nonproliferation, or Related Border Security: (U) Ref a contains a detailed description of the proposed new Export Control legislation noted in last months report. It is anticipated that this proposal will be submitted to Parliament in June 2008. ¶3. (U) Future Activities: Advisor will be on annual leave and in Washington for EXBS Advisor conference from May 26th - June 18th, 2008. EXBS Coordinator will be in Washington to attend EXBS Advisor conference June 9-13th, 2008. ¶4. (U) Red Flag Issues: None. ¶5. (U) Contact information for EXBS Program Ankara is: Robert Cieslinski, EXBS Advisor, Email: CieslinskiRL@state.gov, Office (90) (312) 457-7210, Cell (90) (533) 716-4808 and Erhan Mert, EXBS Coordinator, Email: MertE2@state.gov, Office(90)312 457-7059, Cell (90) (533) 264-8407. EXBS Program Office Fax (90) (312) 468-4775. Visit Ankara's Classified Web Site at http://www.intelink.sgov.gov/wiki/Portal:Turk ey WILSON Visit Ankara's Classified Web Site at http://www.intelink.sgov.gov/wiki/Portal:Turk ey WILSON