US embassy cable - 04ANKARA4544

UNCLAS ANKARA 004544 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPARTMENT FOR G/TIP, G, INL, DRL, EUR/PGI, EUR/SE 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: KCRM, PHUM, PGOV, SMIG, PREF, KWMN, TU, AM, TIP IN TURKEY 
SUBJECT: TIP IN TURKEY: VISITING ARMENIAN DELEGATION TRIES 
TO WORK TOWARD CROSSBORDER TIP NGO COOPERATION 
 
1. Summary: Visiting Armenian TIP-NGO Hope and Help and IOM 
Armenia Program Officer have briefed us on meetings with reps 
from Turkish NGOs, Armenian religious and media 
organizations, and Georgia's diplomatic mission in Turkey. 
Hope and Help rep described her meetings as "the first steps" 
in establishing a cross-border network of government and 
non-government agencies in Turkey, Armenia, Georgia, and 
Azerbaijan to coordinate repatriation efforts and social 
services for victims of trafficking.  Though upbeat about 
opportunities for cooperation among NGOs, she asserted that 
meetings with Turkish MFA officials, the main reason for her 
visit to Ankara, were canceled without any explanation from 
MFA contacts.  End summary. 
 
2. Hope and help project coordinator Mnatsakanyan held 
meetings with Turkey's lead TIP assistance NGO Human 
Resources Development Foundation (HRDF); representatives from 
Flying Broom, an NGO coordinating council for various women's 
assistance groups; International Organization on Migration 
(IOM) project coordinators in Istanbul and Ankara; Armenia's 
delegate to the Black Sea Economic Cooperative (BSEC); the 
Armenian Patriarchate; and law enforcement officials in 
Istanbul, Ankara, and Trabzon. 
 
3. According to Mnatsakanyan, Dr. Demet Gural, HRDF Executive 
Director "agreed to work with us" to counsel Armenian victims 
of trafficking about services available through Armenian Hope 
and Help, and to coordinate victim repatriations through the 
network of assistance channels Mnatsakanyan hopes to develop. 
 Emboff separately confirmed with Dr. Gural that the two NGOs 
have reached an informal agreement.  Gural noted that HRDF 
accepted Armenian and Russian language brochures, which she 
says HRDF will distribute to potential TIP victims from 
Armenia.  According to Gural, the meeting included pledges by 
both NGOs to coordinate the NGOs' public information 
campaigns. 
 
4. Mnatsakanyan said discussions also focused on initial 
plans to organize a conference, possibly in Istanbul or 
Tblisi, where NGOs, border guards and national police 
agencies from each of the participating countries can 
exchange contact information and compare notes on best 
practices. HRDF, IOM, Flying Broom, and a Georgian NGO also 
traveling with the delegation expressed interest in 
participating. 
 
5. The Armenian delegation relied on Georgian Embassy and 
Consulate officials in Istanbul, Ankara and Trabzon to 
schedule meetings.  Mnatsakanyan commented that her Georgian 
colleagues were shocked when the group arrived at the Turkish 
MFA only to be told that the MFA had no knowledge of an 
appointment.  MFA Consular Affairs anti-TIP officer 
Hacisendoglu subsequently asserted to Emboff that, to the 
contrary, the MFA was "instrumental" in helping the Georgian 
Embassy schedule Mnatsakanyan's meetings with GOT prosecutors 
and law enforcement officers.  Hacisendoglu claimed 
Mnatsakanyan's delegation didn't request a meeting with the 
MFA. 
EDELMAN