US embassy cable - 05ANKARA5209

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 05 ANKARA 005209 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 09/06/2015 
TAGS: PREL, PGOV, MOPS, EAID, TU, IZ, Iraq 
SUBJECT: TURKS AND TALAFAR: CONTINUING CONCERN, MOUNTING 
NEGATIVE PRESS COVERAGE 
 
REF: A. ANKARA 5165 
     B. BETTS-BULLOCK ET AL EMAILS 9/6/05 
 
Classified By: A/DCM James R. Moore for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d). 
 
1. (U) This is an action request--please see para. 4. 
 
2. (C) Summary: The GOT continues to express deep concern 
about the situation in Talafar, a predominantly Turkmen city 
in northwest Ninewah province.   MFA officials have peppered 
us with questions about the latest situation there and have 
made several official requests over the course of the past 
four days, enumerated below.  Negative Turkish press coverage 
of the Talafar operation is mounting, including claims that 
CF have killed 500 Turkmen and used chemical weapons.  The 
GOT wants to send humanitarian assistance to Talafar and 
seeks coordination with us and the Iraqis.  MFA officials 
have made it clear to us that they want to work with us to 
manage Turkish public opinion, implying that Turkish 
politicians may soon feel compelled to speak out against the 
United States if the negative press coverage keeps piling up. 
 End summary. 
 
3. (C) Turkish officials and emboffs have been in constant 
touch since Sept. 1 regarding the situation in Talafar. 
Specifically, as reported ref a, MFA Director General for the 
Middle East phoned Charge Sept. 1 to express Turkey's concern 
about CF/IA operations in Talafar.  On Sept. 2, Celikkol 
called in A/DCM to provide a fuller readout of the Aug. 17 
meeting in Ankara of Turkmen tribal leaders and FonMin Gul. 
Celikkol handed over the internal MFA report on the meeting, 
which differed little from the readout the GOT's Deputy 
Special Envoy for Iraq provided us Sept. 1 (also reftel--for 
full text, see para. 12 below).  Celikkol added that there 
are still hard feelings among some Turkmen tribes from what 
they perceive was harsh treatment by CF during the major 
September 2004 operation there. 
 
Humanitarian Aid Offers 
----------------------- 
 
4. (C) Action Request: Celikkol reported that--based on the 
request by the Turkmen tribes--Turkey is ready to provide the 
following humanitarian assistance (HA) for Talafar: 
 
--food, water, and medical supplies, to be trucked from 
Turkey to meet immediate needs, 
 
--Turkish experts to work on the water supply project in 
Talafar, and 
 
--equipment and "some staff" to renovate Talafar's only 
hospital. 
 
Celikkol said that the tribal leaders told Gul that they can 
provide security within Talafar city for Turks supplying HA, 
but that outside the city "peshmerga" (former peshmerga now 
enlisted in the Iraqi Army) control the situation.  Embassy 
requests immediate guidance from the Department and Embassy 
Baghdad on coordinating the Turks' aid offer.  (Comment: We 
are already in touch with Embassy Baghdad on this issue.  End 
Comment.) 
 
Turkish Concerns re Kurds 
------------------------- 
 
5. (C) Late on Sept. 3, PolMilOff provided the latest 
releasable sitreps on both political and operational 
developments in Talafar to MFA Head of Department H. Avni 
Botsali.  Botsali subsequently called and--on instructions, 
presumably from Celikkol--asked us to pass on Turkey's 
concern about the composition of IA forces in and around 
Talafar.  The GOT is concerned that former peshmerga in the 
IA are intimidating the local Turkmen population. 
 
6. (C) Late on Sept. 5, Celikkol--on instructions from FonMin 
Gul--called PolMilCouns to request that the Embassy issue a 
press release in order to counter what he described as "small 
but growing public interest" in the operation there. 
Specifically, Celikkol asked that we make three points: 
 
--Our operations are only targeting terrorists and Baathists, 
--We are not targeting civilians, and 
--Our forces are taking all precautions to avoid civilian 
casualties. 
Embassies Baghdad and Ankara coordinated on a statement we 
released to the press on Sept. 7 (see ref b).  Full text in 
para. 11 below. 
Sunni Turkmen Afraid to Pass Through Shia Neighborhoods? 
--------------------------------------------- ----------- 
 
7. (C) Celikkol discussed additional Turkish concerns on 
Talafar with PolMilOff on Sept. 6.  The Turks had learned 
that CF and IA had issued an evacuation order for Sarai, a 
heavily Sunni Turkmen neighborhood (and apparently the 
insurgents' main base in the city).  Celikkol said he had 
heard reports that the route prescribed in the evacuation 
order required that Sarai's inhabitants pass through Shia 
neighborhoods, and that the residents were concerned that 
they would face intimidation or attack from "Badr Brigade 
forces" on this route.  He also cited reports that a "tent 
city" being constructed outside Talafar is already short of 
tents, and reiterated Turkey's offer to provide humanitarian 
supplies for Talafar, including tents. 
 
We're Getting Hammered in the Press 
----------------------------------- 
 
8. (C) Celikkol repeated his minister's request for a U.S. 
statement on Talafar, noting increasingly negative coverage 
of the operation in the Turkish press.  Numerous press 
reports claim we are targeting civilians.  Yeni Safak, an 
Islamist paper hypercritical of the U.S.--and PM Erdogan's 
newspaper of choice--claimed Sept. 7 that CF are using 
chemical weapons in Talafar, adding that CF have killed 500 
Turkmen there. 
 
9. (C) Following up with MFA's Botsali late on Sept. 6, 
PolMilOff passed on guidance from TFF that we know of no 
"tent city" outside of Talafar, and that of the over 700 
residents who passed through the CF/IA screening area, only a 
small handful had chosen to stay in the Displaced Civilian 
Rest Area now established.  Additionally, TFF does not 
evaluate that Sunnis passing through the current evacuation 
route from Sarai face any danger from Shias. 
 
10. (C) We have done our best to work with the GOT to provide 
real-time information on the situation in Talafar, and deeply 
appreciate the efforts of our colleagues in Talafar, Mosul, 
and Baghdad to assist us in this effort.  The Turks claim 
deep historical links with the Turkmen of Talafar and are 
also concerned with what they perceive as Kurdish designs in 
Ninewah province and elsewhere in Iraq; therefore we should 
not be surprised that public and press sentiments are already 
on the rise.  We believe the MFA is pressing us hard in order 
to prevent the near-crisis in our relations that occurred 
almost exactly one year ago, when FonMin Gul threatened to 
cut all assistance to Iraq and our efforts there over a major 
operation in Talafar at that time.  With two-thirds of 
humanitarian fuel for the Iraqi people coming through Turkey 
as well as one-quarter of CF sustainment fuel plus other 
supplies, the stakes are high.  We are working with the Turks 
to correct the misinformation they receive from ill-informed 
or malicious Turkmen sources, as well as to persuade the 
Turkish public that we are not targeting Turkmen civilians. 
END COMMENT. 
 
11. (U) Text of Embassy press release on Talafar. 
 
BEGIN TEXT 
 
Ankara, September 7, 2005.   A number of claims appearing in 
the Turkish media concerning military operations in the Iraqi 
city of Tal Afar contain significant distortions and 
inaccuracies.  The current operations in Tal Afar are being 
conducted to provide a safe and secure environment for the 
people who live there.  These operations are aimed at 
removing the terrorists and foreign fighters who are using 
Tal Afar as a base of operations. The units conducting the 
operations are going to great lengths to reduce the effects 
on the civilian population and infrastructure.  Evacuation 
efforts are underway to provide safe passage for families 
desiring to leave the area where these operations are 
focused.  Evacuation messages are being sent through various 
channels, including radio broadcasts, and through discussion 
with local tribal leaders from each of the elements living in 
Tal Afar.  These operations are in no way targeted at any 
ethnic group - the sole focus of these operations is on the 
terrorists and foreign fighters trying to control the city. 
Coalition forces do not possess chemical weapons, so any 
accusation that suggests their employment is categorically 
false. 
 
END TEXT 
 
12. (C) Text of internal MFA readout of Aug. 17 Talafar 
Turkmen meeting with FonMin Gul (informal embassy 
translation, note internal paragraph numbering): 
 
BEGIN TEXT 
 
CONFIDENTIAL (Turkish MFA Classification) 
 
SIPDIS 
 
Middle East Directorate 
August 19, 2005 
 
1)    The Talafar delegation, whom were received by the 
Minister on August 17th 2005, pointed out the following 
issues: 
 
1. Population of Talafar is 350,000 in the city, and reaches 
500,000 including the population of villages on the 
outskirts.  There are very few Arabs and Kurds in these 
villages; all of Talafar's population (inside the city) is 
Turkmen. 
 
2. From the collapse of the Baath Regime in April 2003 until 
September 2004, Talafar was at peace and was pointed out as a 
model Iraqi town in that period. 
 
3. From April 2003 until September 2004, Talafar inhabitants 
supported the government. For instance the Central Bank 
Branch, which was occupied at that time, was moved to a house 
and continued its activities in the house.  Economic 
activities were being conducted normally during that period. 
 
4. Talafar inhabitants were trying to solve the training 
problem in the city before the U.S. operations of September 
2004. (NFI) 
 
5. Talafar is located on the Iraqi road connecting Turkey to 
Syria which also has a link to Mosul. 
 
6. There are vast and fertile cultivation lands surrounding 
the city. Before the war, Talafar and Mosul were called 
"Iraq's bread basket." 
 
7. Talafar is also rich in water resources. 
 
8. Tensions and incidents in Talafar started after the 
military operation which was launched in September 2004. 
 
9. Since that operation about 100,000 persons left the city. 
Most of these people have not come back to the city yet. 
Many of the women, whom were obliged to leave the city, had 
to even deliver their babies in the desert under extremely 
difficult conditions. 
 
10. The city has serious infrastructure problems.  Its 
electricity and water supplies are very restricted.  No water 
has been supplied to Talafar within the last 5 months. 
Electricity is only provided for a few hours a day.  The 
condition of the roads in the city is quite bad. 
 
11. Before the war, a construction project was launched for 
pipelines to supply water from Mosul to Talafar.  However, 
the construction could not be completed due to financial 
considerations.  This construction was restarted very slowly 
after the fall of the regime.  However, after construction 
materials were stolen from the site, the slow construction 
activities were stopped again. 
 
12. The only hospital in the city, which is not sufficient in 
terms of medical facilities, is under the occupation of the 
Peshmerga Kurds wearing (the Iraqi) national police uniform. 
For this reason, most of Talafar's inhabitants - who are 
conservative - don't use the hospital, while most women and 
children are sent to clinics. Those Talafar inhabitants who 
are obliged to go to the hospital are subjected to 
mistreatment and the degrading attitude of the soldiers. 
 
13. Talafar's bazaar has been closed for 6 months.  No 
economic and trade activities have been carried out there 
since then. 
 
14. In fact inhabitants of Talafar would not normally have 
left their city under any conditions.  However, economic 
conditions have forced them to migrate out of the city. 
 
15. There are no employment opportunities in the city. 
 
16. 140 Talafar inhabitants are currently under detention by 
Kurds.  Traveling to Turkey by land through Zakho is not safe 
for Turkmen. 
 
17. Kurdish groups aim at capturing Mosul by creating 
Shiite-Sunni conflict among Turkmen in Talafar, forcing 
Turkmen to move out of the city, and by changing the 
demographic structure of Talafar. 
2) After discussing the above mentioned issues, the 
delegation members indicated that the current disagreement in 
Talafar was not between the Talafar tribes or Sunni-Shiite 
groups, but was between the Talafar inhabitants and the Iraqi 
government. They further noted that insurgents in the city 
were gaining power from the current situation. The delegation 
members also stated that the Iraqi government must become 
aware of this fact and do the following in order to solve 
problems in Talafar: 
 
--hand over the security of Talafar to a security group 
consisting of the Shiites and Sunnis of Talafar 
 
--open the Talafar bazaar and reactivate the city's economy 
 
--free the hospital and other government offices from Iraqi 
National Police control 
 
--accelerate infrastructure activities in the city including 
construction of a water project. 
 
The delegation also noted that when these actions are taken, 
the insurgency would be deterred and Talafar's inhabitants, 
who are living in an environment of conflict and disagreement 
which originates from being low-spirited due to the 
above-mentioned issues, would be able to return back to their 
work. 
 
3) Talafar delegation requested the following actions be 
taken by the Turkish authorities: 
 
--To negotiate the above-mentioned issues and suggestions 
with the high level U.S. authorities and to convince them of 
the importance of these steps, 
 
--To discuss and follow up the mentioned issues with the 
Iraqi administration and the government, as well as the Iraqi 
Prime Minister and other ministers, 
 
--To assist in providing economic and employment 
opportunities in the city. 
 
The Talafar delegation also noted that all the listed 
activities could be carried out in cooperation with the 
Talafar Subgovernor. 
 
4)    The Minister stated that the following during the visit 
of the Talafar delegation: 
 
a.    All Turkmen from Talafar, Sunnis and Shiites, are to 
act with each other in full unity and cooperation and get 
over any disagreements. 
b.    Talafar inhabitants should participate in the political 
process in Iraq. They should not support the insurgency and 
others acting in that way and should cooperate with the 
government and coalition forces. 
c.    Turkey will provide the necessary humanitarian 
assistance to Talafar as soon as possible. 
d.    Turkey will hold meetings with the U.S. and Iraqi 
authorities on the situation and required efforts in Talafar. 
 
END TEXT 
MCELDOWNEY