US embassy cable - 05ANKARA253

UNCLAS ANKARA 000253 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT FOR EUR/SE 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: EAID, PREL, TU 
SUBJECT: TURKEY INCREASES AID FOR TSUNAMI RELIEF 
 
REF: State 8943 
 
1.  Summary:  The Turkish government announced that it 
will increase its tsunami assistance from $1.25 million 
to $5 million, bringing total donations public and 
private to about $9 million.  One government official 
estimated that total donations would reach $30 million 
by the end of January.  Prime Minister Erdogan is 
planning to travel to the region February 2-3.  End 
Summary. 
 
2.  Turkey was one of the first countries to announce 
aid to Tsunami-affected countries, disbursing $1.28 
million to the governments of Indonesia ($ 600,000), Sri 
Lanka ($ 350,000), Maldives ($ 100,000), Thailand ($ 
125,000) and Malaysia ($ 75,000), and $30,000 to UN-OCHA 
for Somalia and the Seychelles.  On January 12, Foreign 
Minister Gul announced that the Turkish government will 
increase its aid to $5 million, and that public 
donations from Turkey have reached about $4 million. 
However, he expressed disappointment with donations from 
the public, and urged the press and other organizations 
to raise public awareness and encourage donations. 
Prime Minister Erdogan's AK Party is leading a fund- 
raising campaign; Erdogan donated a month's salary. 
 
3.  Turkey's Red Crescent has received donations of $2.4 
million, and the Presidency of Religious Affairs is 
hoping to collect donations during the January 21 Friday 
pray services.  A number of municipalities, NGOs and 
business groups have organized fund-raising campaigns. 
The Turkish Exporters Assembly pledged $1 million of 
assistance; an air freight firm, TNT Express, announced 
that it would provide free-of-charge shipment of aid 
materials to the region in addition to pledging EUR 1.5 
million to the campaign; and the Ankara Cloth Industry 
Association announced that it would donate $360,000 
worth of clothes to the survivors. 
 
4.  Prime Minister Erdogan assigned Turkey's Emergency 
Management Authority (TEMA) to coordinate Turkish aid, 
including the coordination of a number of Turkish relief 
teams in the region.  TEMA Deputy Director General 
Alparslan Kavaklioglu told Econ Specialist that they 
were anticipating that Turkish donations will reach $30 
million by the end of this month.  Kavaklioglu said two 
military cargo planes carrying medical materials, 
medicine, water treatment chemicals and clothes will 
depart Turkey for Indonesia and Sri Lanka on January 
16th and will be joined by a 37-man joint Ministry of 
Health/Turkish Red Crescent team.  He added that Prime 
Minister Erdogan was planning to travel to six of the 
South Asian countries around February 2-3. 
 
5.  A number of Turkish relief teams are already at work 
in the region.  Turkish Red Crescent has set up offices 
in Thailand, Indonesia and Sri Lanka.  The Turkish 
special search and rescue team GEA joined search and 
rescue efforts in Sri Lanka and has now formed a formed 
a mobile medical service team in northeast Sri Lanka. 
The Lions-Turkey Natural Disaster Action Group (LIDAM) 
sent a group of four people to Trincomalee region of Sri 
Lanka and is helping provide safe drinking water.  The 
Association of Social and Economic Solidarity with 
Pacific Countries established an aid camp in Aceh and is 
providing food for around 1,000 people daily.  Konya 
Municipality sent a team of three doctors and two 
employees to Sumatra to provide medical aid and serve 
food. 
 
6.  Embassy passed reftel information on the U.S. 
proposal for a Tsunami warning system to MFA.  Alp 
Atakcan of the MFA International Organizations Section 
told us MFA was unsure at this point what involvement 
Turkey would have in upcoming meetings of the World 
Conference on Disaster Reduction and the Group on Earth 
Observation. 
EDELMAN