TURKEY: EVALUATING ADDITIONAL POLICE/GENDARMERIE

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 ANKARA 000417 SIPDIS DEPARTMENT FOR EUR/SE, EUR/RPM, PM E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/17/2019 TAGS: PREL MOPS NATO AF TU SUBJECT: TURKEY: EVALUATING ADDITIONAL POLICE/GENDARMERIE TRAINING REF: A. ANKARA 405 ¶B. TURKEY HUMAN RIGHTS REPORT 2008 Classified By: Pol-Mil Counselor Anthony Godfrey, Reasons 1.4 (b,d) ¶1. (C) During a discussion about upcoming international conferences related to Afghanistan and Pakistan (ref a) MFA Afghanistan Department Head Babur Girgin told us on March 18 that Turkey is considering a number of steps to enhance its security contributions in support of ISAF. He noted that a Turkish General Staff (TGS) delegation was in Kabul this week and is due to return on March 19. The MFA is anticipating military recommendations on possible additional Turkish contributions soon, but Girgin warned against expectations of significant additional contribution from Turkey. He said any additional contributions pledged by Turkey will likely be "limited but meaningful." (Note: The Office of Defense Cooperation - Turkey has already heard informally from TGS in February that Turkey intends to contribute one additional Operational Mentoring Liaison Team and sponsor the Afghan Defense University or Staff College. We do not anticipate significant additional contributions beyond these offers. End Note). ¶2. (C) While he chose not to name specific contributions Turkey might announce at the upcoming NATO Summit, Girgin did note that Turkey was actively evaluating the possibility of providing additional support to the Afghan National Police, including the following: -- Mid-Level Management Training: Turkey is planning to convert the existing Turkish-operated Police Training Center in Wardak Province into a national-level management training facility for mid-level Afghan National Police officers. Girgin said Turkey is already sending experienced officers to the training center in Wardak and wants to put the experience of these Turkish trainers to better use. Instead of running courses for "beat cops," the Turkish trainers would provide management training for mid-level Afghan police officers, including anti-corruption training. Girgin said he has held discussions with Embassy Kabul's INL representatives and believes the U.S. supports this initiative. -- Gendarmerie Training: While stressing that Turkey is only beginning to evaluate the question of providing gendarmerie-type training in Afghanistan, Girgin said gendarmerie capabilities are needed in Afghanistan and that Turkey is among the few countries capable of providing this type of training. Based on his experience working in the Turkish PRT in Wardak, Girgin said the Afghan National Civil Order Police (ANCOP) is a much more effective and successful force than the regular Afghan uniformed police and additional training could help the force provide an even more important contribution to the overall security situation. -- Counter-Narcotics Training: Turkey is already contributing actively to training Afghan counternarcotics police and are working to enhance this effort through bilateral and trilateral (Turkey-Afghanistan-Pakistan) efforts, as well as through the NATO-Russia Council's (NRC) counternarcotics initiative. Turkey has provided training in Turkey for both Afghan and Pakistani counternarcotics police officers (at the Turkish Academy on Drugs and Organized Crime) and has deployed training teams to Central Asia in support of the NRC initiative. ¶3. (C) Comment: We are encouraged that the MFA is evaluating the possibility of providing gendarmerie training to Afghanistan. The Turkish Jandarma is effective in managing security in rural areas, including the challenging security environment in Turkey's southeast. Its substantial field experience combined with the "cultural affinity" Turks believe they enjoy with Afghans could make Turkish Jandarma effective trainers. We should note, however, that the Jandarma has been reluctant to participate in overseas missions and it has had a checkered HUMAN RIGHTS record in the past. While the force has made notable improvement in this regard, we continue to receive isolated reports of abuse, some of which are noted in the 2008 HUMAN RIGHTS Report (ref b). If plans to provide gendarmerie training in Afghanistan proceeds, it would be useful to ask potential contributing nations to ensure that trainers offered for this ANKARA 00000417 002 OF 002 mission come from units with a clean HUMAN RIGHTS record. Regarding the issue of institutional lead for gendarmerie training, it would be much easier for Turkey to contribute to a NATO-led effort. Turkey could, however, also potentially contribute to an EU-led effort, as it has done for many other ESDP missions, including ongoing operations (Althea in Bosnia and EULEX in Kosovo). Visit Ankara's Classified Web Site at http://www.intelink.sgov.gov/wiki/Portal:Turk ey Jeffrey