US embassy cable - 04ANKARA792

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 ANKARA 000792 
 
SIPDIS 
 
 
DEPARTMENT FOR S/CT 
 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: ASEC, PREL, PTER, TU 
SUBJECT: MEETING OF THE COUNTERTERRORISM ACTION GROUP IN 
TURKEY 
 
 
REF: SECSTATE 14279 
 
 
1. (SBU) In response to reftel, on Jan. 29 DCM convened a 
meeting of the Counterterrorism Action Group (CTAG) to 
discuss anti-terrorism programs in Turkey.  Reps from all G-8 
countries and from Australia, Spain and Switzerland attended. 
 A representative from the EU Commission could not attend but 
informed poloff a rep will participate in future CTAG 
meetings in Turkey.  The following is a country-by-country 
breakdown of assistance programs, assessments of Turkey's 
counterterrorism capabilities, and analysis of areas for 
improvement. 
 
 
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Japan 
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2. (SBU) Japan concentrates most of its anti-terrorism 
assistance programs in Asia but has provided training to 
Turkish law enforcement officials.  In 2003, two Turkish 
police officers attended a seminar on International Terrorism 
Investigation.  Currently, there are no plans for Turkish 
participation in 2004. 
 
 
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France 
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3. (SBU) The French representative noted that until very 
recently, anti-terrorism cooperation with Turkey was 
extremely limited, possibly due to an Armenian genocide 
resolution passed in France.  In 2004, however, two members 
of the Turkish police will travel to France for a week-long 
training course on international terrorism.  France also 
cooperates with Turkish law enforcement to combat illegal 
migration and drug trafficking.  France has permanent links 
with Turkish National Police (TNP) units involved with 
counter terrorism and internal intelligence. 
 
 
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Italy 
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4. (SBU) Italy is leading a program that is funded by the 
European Commission to strengthen MASAK, Turkey's financial 
crimes investigations organization.  The 2-million Euro 
"twinning" program will begin in March and has a 24-month 
implementation period.  An Italian expert is expected to 
arrive in Turkey soon to assist MASAK officials but the 
arrival is pending the completion of an MOU with the GOT. 
The goals of the program are: 1) to improve the legal basis 
for combating terrorist finance; 2) to provide specialized 
training to Turkish officials; 3) to provide a way for 
Turkish officials to have direct contact with European Union 
counterparts; and 4) to evaluate the role of and to 
strengthen MASAK.  The overall goal of the program is to 
bring Turkey into compliance with the EU's Acquis. 
 
 
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Russia 
------ 
 
 
5. (SBU) Russian anti-terrorism cooperation with Turkey 
centers around several agreements signed at various levels of 
the Turkish and Russian governments since 1992.  Russia and 
Turkey also cooperate within the context of the Black Sea 
Economic Cooperation organization in the fields of border 
security and maritime issues.  Beyond these broad agreements 
at the government-to-government level, there is little to no 
cooperation at the working level. The Russian representative 
asserted that the most important area for improvement in 
Turkish anti-terrorism activities is terrorist finance. 
 
 
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Canada 
------ 
 
 
6. (SBU) Canada has been working for several years with the 
TNP in training Turkish police instructors in forensics, 
document examination, cyber crime, and major case management. 
 Canada has also sponsored exchange-of-visitor programs in 
the law enforcement area. 
 
 
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United Kingdom 
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7. (SBU) Following the Nov. 2003 bombings in Istanbul, the 
U.K. has been trying to improve information sharing among 
Turkish security organizations and the U.K., an area the U.K. 
rep noted that needs substantial improvement.  U.K. is 
currently trying to arrange a multi-agency visit of Turkish 
counterterrorism experts to the U.K. to meet their 
counterparts as well as agree on an MOU on future 
counterterrorism cooperation.  The U.K. has a full-time 
officer assigned to assist the Turkish government on money 
laundering issues, but U.K. assistance has primarily taken 
the form of English-language training for Turkish police 
officers through the British Council in Ankara.  The head of 
the TNP intelligence department has been to the U.K. to 
discuss technical capabilities against terrorists. 
 
 
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Germany 
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8. (SBU) Overall, German programs support TNP efforts against 
organized crime and money laundering.  German cooperation 
with Turkish intelligence began in 2000.  Cooperation with 
Turkish law enforcement against terrorism improved after 
September 11 and again following bombings in Istanbul. 
Currently, Germany has four EU-tied "twinning" project 
proposals related to counterterrorism assistance.  The 
projects will total around 10 million Euros and probably will 
not begin until summer 2004.  The proposed initiatives are in 
the following fields: 1) forensic science (crime scene and 
crime labs) with TNP; 2) money laundering; 3) organized 
crime; and 4) human smuggling.  There is also a proposal for 
some 20-30 Turkish intelligence officers to work in 
counterterrorism offices in Germany for several months. 
Germany also currently provides language training to 
intelligence officers. 
 
 
9. (SBU) Echoing his British counterpart, the German rep 
averred that a major problem in Turkey is the lack of 
effective coordination among Turkish security organizations. 
The mandate to fight terrorism, in particular, is split among 
too many government entities, the rep noted.  Cooperation 
among the various organizations needs to be better. 
 
 
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Spain, Australia, Switzerland 
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10. (SBU) Spain has no bilateral assistance anti-terrorism 
assistance programs in Turkey but, like Italy and Germany, is 
pursuing a broad project within the context of the EU's 
"twinning" program to re-organize TNP to make the police more 
efficient, effective and in line with the EU Acquis. 
Australia and Switzerland do not have assistance programs in 
Turkey. 
 
 
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Future Participation 
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11. (SBU) Participants unanimously agreed that future CTAG 
meetings should include representatives from the GOT, 
particularly from TNP and MFA. 
EDELMAN