US embassy cable - 03ANKARA1805

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 ANKARA 001805 
 
SIPDIS 
 
 
DEPT FOR PRM/ANE, EUR/SE, NEA/NGA, IO AND SA/PAB 
NSC FOR DWORKEN, MANN, KHALILZAD, QUANRUD AND BRYZA 
DEPT PASS USAID FOR NATSIOS; DCHA/OFDA FOR GARVELINK, 
MCCONNELL, MARX, AND FARNSWORTH; ANE/AA FOR CHAMBERLAIN; 
USAID/A, DCHA/AA, 
DCHA/RMT, DCHA/OFDA, DCHA/FFP, DCHA/OTI, DCHA/DG, ANE/AA 
AND USAID/AA 
ROME FOR FODOG; GENEVA FOR RMA AND KYLOH 
EUCOM FOR J3, J5, SOJ7 AND POLAD 
CENTCOM FOR J3, J5 AND POLAD 
PACOM FOR POLAD 
GENEVA FOR RMA 
 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/14/2013 
TAGS: AA, EAID, EFIN, IZ, MOPS, PHUM, PREF, PREL, TU, WFP 
SUBJECT: DART: DISCUSSIONS WITH NATO/EADRCC ON HUMANITARIAN 
ASSISTANCE TO TURKEY 
 
Classified by Deputy Chief of Mission Robert Deutsch for 
Reasons 1.5(B) and (D). 
 
 
This cable was draft by Disaster Assistance Response Team 
(DART) Field Office/North and cleared by Embassy Ankara. 
 
 
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SUMMARY OF DISCUSSIONS BETWEEN DART AND NATO/EADRCC 
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1. (C) On March 13, Dart Field Office/North and Embassy 
PMA Scott Oudkirk met with Col. Bernie Hunstad and Tom 
Nett from NATO,s Euro-Atlantic Response Coordination 
Center (EADRCC).  The one-hour meeting covered an overview 
of NATO,s role in providing humanitarian supplies to the 
Government of Turkey (GOT), as well as the role of the 
DART and USG humanitarian contingency plans in Turkey. 
NATO/EADRCC representatives were in Ankara to discuss 
GOT,s request for assistance for humanitarian supplies, 
as well as the potential need to place a NATO/EADRCC 
Liaison Officer within the GOT,s Ministry of Foreign 
Affairs or Crisis Management Center. 
 
 
2. (C) GOT requested humanitarian relief supplies from 
NATO/EADRCC included tents, sleeping bags, and kitchen 
sets for 276,000 people, as well as 552,000 blankets 
and 30 vehicles.  NATO/EADRCC is in the process of 
trying to fulfill GOT's request for humanitarian 
assistance.  As of March 15, four nations (Croatia, 
Hungary, Norway, and Canada) have informed NATO/EADRCC 
of their intent to provide humanitarian assistance. 
The pledged assistance includes tents for 800 people, 
15,000 blankets, and 1,000 kitchen sets. 
 
 
3. (C) DART Field Office/North stressed to NATO/EADRCC 
that the number of humanitarian supplies requested by 
GOT may support, to some extent, the 12 planned 
Turkish Red Crescent (Kizilay) Internally Displaced 
Persons (IDP) camps in northern Iraq.  Hunstad and 
Nett indicated that NATO/EADRCC humanitarian supplies 
would not be used for GOT/Kizilay humanitarian 
operations in northern Iraq but for humanitarian needs 
within Turkey. 
 
 
4. (C) DART Field Office/North is concerned that 
NATO/EADRCC humanitarian supplies would encourage and 
support Kizilay IDP camps in northern Iraq by offering 
a mechanism for Kizilay to restock its humanitarian 
cache in Turkey, while conducting humanitarian operations 
in northern Iraq.  DART members indicated to NATO/EADRCC 
that senior USG officials, as well as ICRC and IFRC, 
have reminded Kizilay and GOT officials as recently as 
 March 12 that Kizilay has no jurisdiction to establish 
displaced camps in northern Iraq. 
 
 
5. (C) NATO/EADRCC representatives in Ankara and DART 
Field Office/North will continue to discuss humanitarian 
contingency planning issues in the near future.  DART 
Field Office/North will report additional information 
as it becomes available. 
PEARSON