US embassy cable - 03ANKARA1835

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 ANKARA 001835 
 
SIPDIS 
 
 
DEPT FOR PRM/ANE, EUR/SE AND NEA/NGA 
DEPT PASS USAID FOR BHA/OFDA - WGARVELINK AND FFP 
EUCOM FOR JE, JR, J5, SOJ7 AND POLAD 
GENEVA FOR RMA 
CENTCOM FOR J3, J5 AND POLAD 
 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/20/2013 
TAGS: EAID, IZ, MOPS, PREF, PREL, TU, WFP 
SUBJECT: UPDATE ON HUMANITARIAN ASSISTANCE:  MFA, UN AND 
TURKISH RED CRESCENT 
 
REF: ANKARA 1799 
 
 
(U) Classified by Deputy Chief of Mission Robert Deutsch 
for reasons 1.5 (B) and (D). 
 
 
Summary: 
 
 
1. (C) Emboffs met with MFA, Turkish Red Crescent and UN 
officials just before and after the start of military 
operations in Iraq to gauge preparedness and review 
humanitarian assistance issues.  MFA told us it is willing 
to host a coordination mechanism involving the USG and UN 
agencies, pending final GOT interagency approval of PRM A/S 
Dewey's March 12 proposal.  UN agencies noted a range of 
bureaucratic and other difficulties in channeling 
assistance, but said that it was slowly working through 
these problems with the GOT.  However, UN Turkey is 
concerned about Turkish intentions to set up camps in 
northern Iraq, and told us it would not provide any 
assistance to the Turkish Red Crescent (TRC) if it crossed 
the border in violation of international mandates on 
relief.  TRC's General Director told us the organization 
was prepared to deal with flows of displaced persons and 
would like to act in accordance with international- 
recognized mandates in providing relief.  End Summary. 
 
 
MFA on Coordination and NGO Registration 
---------------------------------------- 
 
 
2. (C) Econ Counselor and Mission Disaster Relief Officer 
(MDRO) met with Tunc Ugdul, MFA Deputy Director General for 
International Political Organizations, and Feza Ozturk, 
Head of Department and manager of the MFA Iraq Crisis 
Center on March 20.  Ugdul told us that MFA is interested 
in hosting an ad hoc coordination mechanism for 
humanitarian assistance which would include USG civilian 
and UN agency representatives, but that a final, 
interagency-cleared decision is still pending.  MFA's does 
not plan to include NGOs in the initial meetings.  Econ 
Counselor clarified that the USG has not/not set up a 
Humanitarian Assistance Coordination Center (HACC) in 
Diyarbakir and has not taken a decision to request GOT 
permission to do so.  On siting of Humanitarian Daily 
Rations (HDRs), MFA expects to have a final, positive 
answer for the USG shortly.  However, he asked that, in the 
future, we consider purchasing locally-produced HDRs. 
 
 
3. (SBU) Ozturk confirmed that the GOT is now looking at 
NGO applications for registration to work in Turkey and for 
transit to Iraq on an expedited basis.  He said that MFA 
has received 14 applications from NGOs seeking to provide 
aid in Turkey, but none from NGOs seeking to transport aid 
to Iraq through Turkey.  He clarified that the latter group 
would need to submit a detailed request to MFA for the 
first shipment of aid to be transported.  The first 
application would be reviewed carefully, but subsequent 
ones could be handled quickly.  Note:  Per reftel, several 
international NGOs told us they plan to apply for transit 
permits, but as we understand, they have not submitted 
specific requests as yet.  End Note.  In response to a 
question from Econ Counselor, Ugdul stated that MFA in 
principle had no problems in allowing AID DART members to 
cross the Turkish - Iraqi border, but that MFA would need a 
request in writing to authorize this. 
 
 
UN Agencies on Cooperation with the GOT 
--------------------------------------- 
 
 
4. (SBU) Econ Counselor, MDRO, and DART member meet with UN 
Resident Coordinator Alfredo Witschi-Cestari and 
representatives of UNICEF, WFP and UNHCR on March 20. 
Witschi-Cestari opined that the Turkish Red Crescent (TRC) 
would like to cross the border, and warned that UN agencies 
would have to freeze cooperation with TRC, in a very public 
way, if TRC were to set up camps in Iraq.  Under a new 
agreement worth USD 150,000, UNHCR is providing relief 
goods to TRC. 
 
 
5. (SBU) Security Concerns:  Witschi-Cestari indicated that 
all UN international staff have been evacuated from Iraq. 
Witschi-Cestari said a decision to return staff would be 
based in part on USG views on the security situation and 
asked Embassy personnel to share as much information as 
possible. 
 
 
6. (C) Coordination with Turkish Officials:  Witschi- 
Cestari and his team said that the GOT was cooperating with 
UN activities, but not very efficiently.  In particular, UN 
staff indicated customs and other difficulties at the port 
of Mersin, at warehouses, and along the road to Silopi. 
Current indications from UN staff in Silopi are that 20 to 
30 trucks are crossing the border per day.  Trucks are 
being completely unloaded, taking an average of 30 minutes 
per truck.   UN contingency plans call for 150 to 200 WFP 
trucks to cross per day, and the UN is very concerned 
about the reluctance of the GOT to facilitate the customs 
process at the border.  UNHCR indicated that, as recently 
as March 19, UNHCR staff were unable to reach Silopi due to 
Turkish checkpoints refusing to allow access to the area. 
UN staff were able to cross the checkpoint several hours 
later, but the situation seems to be hit or miss. 
Additionally, 
the UN stated that they have had difficulty in coordinating 
with Turkish military officials.  Note:  In a subsequent 
conversation, Witschi-Cestari told Econ Counselor that 
several of these issues had been addressed by MFA.  End 
Note. 
 
 
7. (SBU) NGO Coordination:  UN remains reluctant to 
coordinate NGO meetings in Turkey, because of concerns that 
it may be taking responsibility for the activities of 
unregistered NGOs in the country, but it is still 
considering this issue.  UNHCR stated that it is willing to 
help NGOs which will be implementing partners in the 
registration process for work in Turkey. 
 
 
8. (SBU) Coordination Mechanism:  Econ Counselor raised the 
tripartite aid coordination mechanism raised by A/S Dewey 
on March 12.  UN officials were receptive to the concept, 
provided that the GOT were to host these meetings 
and provided they did not a priori exclude other donors. 
 
 
Turkish Red Crescent Says It Wants to Work Within 
International Mandates 
---------------------- 
 
 
9. (SBU) Econ Counselor, Mission Disaster Relief Officer 
(MDRO) and Disaster Assistance Response Team (DART) 
Leader discussed contingency planning and preparedness with 
Turkish Red Crescent (TRC) Director General Fatih Evren 
on March 19.  Evren told us that contrary to some press 
reports, TRC had not moved into northern Iraq, nor had it 
set up displaced person (DP) camps.  TRC wanted to act in 
accordance with internationally-recognized mandates and 
principles in providing relief, and TRC, MFA and the ICRC 
are discussing the issue of mandates.  Evren added that 
there had been no significant population movements toward 
Turkey's border thus far.  He maintained that TRC had 
asked for supplies from NATO, EU and UN agencies, but had 
not received any assistance thus far.  Nonetheless, he 
said TRC was ready to cope with a crisis.  Evren stated 
that the possible use of chemical or biological weapons 
in Iraq was his principal concern. 
PEARSON