US embassy cable - 03ANKARA5159

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 ANKARA 005159 
 
SIPDIS 
 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
 
DEPARTMENT FOR EUR/SE 
 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV, PHUM, PREL, TU, TIP IN TURKEY 
SUBJECT: GOT ACTIONS SINCE MARCH TO COMBAT TRAFFICKING IN 
PERSONS 
 
 
REF: SECSTATE 171293 
 
 
1. Summary: Emboffs met August 12-13 with MFA officials and 
contacted the director of the Ankara office of the 
International Organization for Migration (IOM) to discuss 
actions taken by the GOT to combat trafficking in persons 
(TIP) subsequent to March 30, the end of the period covered 
in the 2003 TIP Report.  The following report is a 
compilation of those actions. End Summary. 
 
 
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Prevention 
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2. The GOT July 8 sent a diplomatic note to the embassies of 
eight countries that constitute the primary source countries 
for TIP in Turkey -- Ukraine, Georgia, Bulgaria, 
Romania, Moldova, Russia, Azerbaijan, and Belarus.  In the 
note, the GOT seeks bilateral cooperation on combating TIP 
(Note: dipnote faxed to EUR/SE.  End Note).  As of August 12, 
none of the countries had responded. 
 
 
3. The GOT has developed a new questionnaire for visa 
applicants to better screen for potential TIP victims.  The 
questionnaire is designed to determine whether applicants are 
submitting false documents relating to their employment 
status in their home country.  The GOT will also require that 
the MFA of the applicant's country verify the validity of 
employment documents.  The GOT has coordinated with the IOM 
office in Kiev on screening procedures for visa applicants. 
Turkish consular officers in Moldova helped break up a 
trafficking operation when they notified local authorities of 
falsified documents for "dancers." 
 
 
4. The Interior Ministry has developed a new set of 
guidelines for the issuance of work permits to foreigners in 
the entertainment sector.  Under the guidelines: work 
contracts must be prepared in Turkish and Russian (contracts 
in Turkish and French will no longer be accepted); contracts 
must specify that the employer will pay for the return ticket 
of the foreign worker; contracts must meet the minimum wage; 
and contracts must specify that the worker has the right to 
contact the police or Labor Ministry. 
 
 
5. GOT officials continue to participate in TIP-related 
Stability Pact meetings -- MFA DG for Consular Affairs 
Apaydin attended a June 24 Stability Pact meeting in 
Bucharest as the GOT national coordinator for TIP.  Turkish 
judges participated in the Program for the Development of an 
Anti-Trafficking Module for Judges and Prosecutors, held 
April 10-13 in Sofia and organized by the Stability Pact and 
the International Center for Migration Policy Development. 
Turkish representatives also participated in the April 30 
Council of Europe meeting in Strasbourg aimed at preparing a 
TIP convention and the May 16 EU Experts Group meeting on TIP 
in Brussels. 
 
 
6. According to Greek and Turkish officials, the two 
governments have agreed to exchange anti-TIP liaison officers 
to coordinate efforts. 
 
 
7. FM and Deputy PM Gul August 12 issued a press statement on 
TIP, which was widely distributed to media outlets (Note: 
Text faxed to EUR/SE. End Note).  The statement was covered 
by the Anatolia News Agency as well as a number of dailies, 
including the Turkish Daily News and mass circulation 
Hurriyet and Milliyet. 
 
 
8. Parliament in June approved amendments to the Citizenship 
Law establishing a three-year probationary period before 
foreigners marrying Turkish citizens can attain citizenship. 
The purpose of the amendments is to prevent bogus marriages 
that can lead to human trafficking.  In an example of such a 
case, Russian citizen Elvira Salmanova filed a complaint June 
30 accusing her Turkish citizen husband of forcing her into 
prostitution.  Working with IOM, the GOT returned Salmanova 
to Russia at her request and opened a trafficking case 
against her husband. 
 
 
9. The Ministry of Tourism in July distributed nationwide a 
guide for use by all elements of the tourism sector.  The 
guide, based on language developed by the World Tourism 
Organization and approved by UNGA, requires countries to 
cooperate to prevent all forms of exploitation (Note: Text 
faxed to EUR/SE. End Note). 
 
 
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Protection 
---------- 
 
 
10. Two GOT offices -- the General Directorate on the Status 
and Problems of Women, and the Social Services and Child 
Protection Unit -- met with IOM officials July 30 to discuss 
the establishment of a project that would include: TIP 
shelters, a voluntary return program, awareness raising 
workshops, referral services, and reintegration assistance. 
 
 
11. The Ministry of Interior distributed a TIP guide for law 
enforcement officials.  The guide establishes proper 
procedures for investigating TIP as well as identifying and 
assisting potential TIP victims (Note: Text faxed to EUR/SE. 
End Note). 
 
 
12. The GOT has submitted to the Cabinet a decree to provide 
free medical care to TIP victims.  According to MFA, most 
Cabinet members have signed the decree, which could be ready 
for the President's signature by the end of August. 
 
 
13. The GOT plans to dispatch 20 "expert" police units to 
cities where TIP is most common.  Plans call for a database 
linking 80 cities to monitor and combat TIP. 
 
 
14. The Interior Ministry has included a TIP lesson in the 
Police Academy curriculum in the human rights program. 
 
 
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Prosecution 
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15. Police in Erzurum arrested 11 people July 10 on TIP 
charges.  Nine of these have been taken to court, three of 
whom are police officers.  In addition, a related case has 
been opened against 13 police officers for alleged 
involvement in the crime. 
 
 
16. A Turkish woman and an Azerbaijani woman filed a 
complaint July 27 accusing three Turkish men of forcing them 
into prostitution.  The accused have been arrested and are 
being investigated under the anti-trafficking law. 
 
 
17. Trabzon police August 10 conducted a sweep of hotels, 
cafeterias and tea houses and detained 310 foreign women, 
including women from Russia, Ukraine and Georgia.  Police 
also detained 190 men, including hotel and cafeteria 
managers.  All of the detained women have been screened to 
determine whether they are potential TIP victims. 
Authorities deported 69  of the women who said they were 
voluntarily working as prostitutes.  Some of the others 
claimed they were trafficked; their cases are under 
investigation.  Authorities are also investigating 17 alleged 
traffickers in the case, including Turkish, Russian, and 
Azerbaijani citizens.  Eleven of the detained women are ill 
and receiving medical treatment.  All of the women remaining 
in Turkey have been released from detention, but are not yet 
free to leave the country. 
 
 
DEUTSCH