US embassy cable - 04ANKARA1644

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 ANKARA 001644 
 
SIPDIS 
 
 
ANKARA PASS IZMIR 
 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREL, PTER, ASEC, TU 
SUBJECT: Adana Governor, Jandarma and Air Force leadership 
urge U.S. action versus KHK 
 
 
THIS CABLE IS FROM CONSULATE ADANA. 
 
 
1. (SBU) Summary:  On the margins of the 39th Air Base 
Wing March 12 change of command, Adana governor Kemal 
Onal, as well as area Jandarma and Air Force generals, 
approached PO to urge the U.S. to take near-term action 
against KHK/Kongra Gel in northern Iraq.  Adana 
Jandarma Major General Abdulkadir Eryilmaz said that 
the March 8 Batman province explosion had been caused 
by a mine placed under an asphalt road with an 
excavated underground channel leading to a remote site 
for a detonator a short distance from the mine 
explosion area.  Adana Governor Onal also observed that 
the community situated immediately behind the new 
consulate building is a pro-Kurdish Democratic People's 
Party (DEHAP) stronghold and offered that our existing 
rear wall was inadequate for perimeter security. End 
summary. 
 
 
It is time to go after KHK/Kongra Gel in Iraq 
--------------------------------------------- 
 
 
2. (SBU) On the margins of the 39th Air Base Wing March 
12 change of command, Adana governor and former Turkish 
National Police Director Onal, as well as Adana 
Jandarma Major General Abdulkadir Eryilmaz and Air 
Force Brigadier General Levent Turkmen approached PO to 
urge the U.S. to take near-term action against 
KHK/Kongra Gel in northern Iraq.  Onal, after 
discussing his learning of the March 8 Batman possible 
landmine attack on a Jandarma unit, asked when the U.S. 
planned to "tackle the terrorist elements in northern 
Iraq and end the threat to the southeast Turkey 
region?"  When PO observed that the U.S. long had 
deemed the PKK - and now KHK - a terrorist 
organization, that the President had committed the U.S. 
to ridding Iraq of all terrorist groups and that CPA 
Ambassador Bremer had stated clearly that KHK is a 
terrorist element in Iraq that would be treated as 
such, Onal acknowledged the U.S. position, but noted 
that more was now necessary.  Turkmen urged the U.S. to 
give U.S. troops in northern Iraq clear rules of 
engagement to specify the need to attack the KHK and to 
conduct offensive operations against KHK soonest. 
Major General Eryilmaz recalled the landmine attack, 
said it reminded him of PKK attacks "from the old 
days," and noted that the "weather is getting nice here 
now," suggesting that seasonal weather was bringing 
favorable conditions for offensive military campaigning 
in the region. 
 
 
3.(SBU)  PO stressed that a multi-disciplinary 
counterterrorism effort in consultation with Turkey was 
necessary to deal with all aspects of the KHK 
challenge, noting that the U.S. had been in a dialogue 
with Ankara authorities about the issue for some time. 
Onal acknowledged this ongoing discussion, noted Turkey 
had passed the reform package law, but added that the 
time for U.S. action had come.  Turkmen said that the 
"reintegration law had failed to attract (KHK) cadres 
from the hills."  Onal continued, however, by noting 
that "a general amnesty is not an option; it will not 
happen."  PO urged consideration of a wide range of 
complementary tools to accomplish our common 
counterterrorist agenda, with Onal and Turkmen 
generally agreeing and Jandarma Major General Eryilmaz 
generally quiet. 
 
 
Batman attack was a landmine, Jandarma says 
------------------------------------------- 
 
 
4.(SBU)  Jandarma Major General Eryilmaz said that the 
March 8 Batman province explosion had been caused by a 
mine placed under an asphalt road with an excavated 
underground channel leading to a remote site for a 
detonator a short distance from the mine explosion 
area.  He said that he had spoken with the Jandarma 
commander in the area at an unspecified time soon after 
the attack and had heard the specifics directly from 
him.  PO conveyed U.S. condolences to the Jandarma for 
their loss.  Major General Eryilmaz said that the 
attack bore the hallmark of PKK attacks "from the old 
days" and noted that Jandarma in the deep southeast 
(Mardin, Sirnak, Batman, Siirt, and Hakkari) were 
anxious about the possibility of significant KHK 
attacks in the coming spring season. 
 
 
 
 
New consulate in bad neighborhood 
--------------------------------- 
 
 
5.(SBU)  Adana governor - and former Turkish National 
Police Director - also observed that the community 
situated immediately behind the new consulate building 
is a pro-Kurdish Democratic People's Party (DEHAP) 
stronghold and offered that our existing rear wall was 
inadequate for perimeter security.  He suggested that 
the U.S. should strengthen the rear perimeter wall and 
add more lighting and maybe a different gate. "My 
special operations police (posted in the rear of the 
new consulate compound) are good, but they do not need 
a weak defensive wall to make a possible rear attack on 
your compound attractive," he noted.  While noting that 
the new front and corner wall are higher and have good 
anti-vehicle features, he said that he wished it had an 
outward canting screen to prevent hand grenades from 
being lobbed into the consulate compound.  Both 
Governor Onal and Brigadier General Turkmen said the 
entire compound could use more perimeter lighting as 
well.  Governor Onal said that he would be glad when 
consulate construction is complete in late spring. 
 
 
6. (SBU) Comment:  We value the governor's insight into 
the political affiliation of the neighborhood behind 
the new consulate site.  However, we tend to discount 
the comments about the perimeter security since 
government figures have not been apprised of our 
continuing security construction program. End comment. 
 
 
EDELMAN