Sunday, 13/01/2013, 12:00
VZCZCXRO6474
PP RUEHAG RUEHBC RUEHDE RUEHIHL RUEHKUK RUEHKW RUEHROV
DE RUEHAK #2917/01 3411448
ZNY SSSSS ZZH
P 071448Z DEC 07
FM AMEMBASSY ANKARA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 4583
INFO RUCNMUC/EU CANDIDATE STATES COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RUCNMEM/EU MEMBER STATES COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RUCNRAQ/IRAQ COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
S E C R E T SECTION 01 OF 02 ANKARA 002917
SIPDIS
E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/27/2027 TAGS: KTFN EFIN PTER PREL TU IZ
SUBJECT: BLOCKING MONEY FLOWS TO THE PKK IN NORTHERN IRAQ:
EXPANDING OUR STRATEGY
REF: A. STATE 134271
B. BAGHDAD 3934
C. BAGHDAD 3808
D. ANKARA 661
E. 2006 ANKARA 4450
F. 2006 ANKARA 4290
Classified By: Ambassador Ross Wilson for reasons 1.4(b) and (d)
1. (S) Summary. As the United States works together with
Turkey to implement the President's directive for effective
action against PKK terror, we must also redouble our efforts
to shut down the financial support that flows from Europe
into PKK headquarters located in northern Iraq. While
previous work, primarily in the form of demarches to European
governments, has shown some limited progress, the overall
credibility of this effort was badly undermined by the recent
release in Vienna of PKK financier Riza Altun by Austrian
authorities. To overcome these setbacks and register
tangible progress in the near and medium term, the USG will
need to work intensively on three simultaneous efforts:
-- First, we need to identify and interdict PKK money that is
flowing into northern Iraq. This will require U.S., Iraqi,
and European authorities to collaborate in a targeted effort
that includes enhanced airport screening, more extensive
customs procedures, and aggressive disruption of illicit cash
transfers into northern Iraq and between northern Iraqi
entities and PKK terrorists.
-- Second, we will push the Turks to work more effectively to
identify and interdict financial flows. MASAK, Turkey's
Financial Crimes Investigation Board, is the GOT's sole money
laundering and terrorist financing investigative body. It
needs to streamline its investigations and work more
effectively with financial police, prosecutors, and judges to
effectuate successful prosecutions.
-- Third, we should more sharply focus our work with the
Europeans. Previous demarches sensitized the EU to PKK
criminal activities. Now we need to narrow our focus by
identifying and going after the two top targets of Riza Altun
and Sakine Cansiz. Given their previous arrests, cases
against them have been started. We can help by providing the
most extensive dossiers possible and coordinating with law
enforcement and intelligence counterparts in Europe to ensure
these two terrorists are incarcerated. End Summary.
----------
Background
----------
2. (S) The PKK raises upwards of USD 50-100 million annually
through fundraising activities to sustain operations in
Turkey and northern Iraq. Sensitive reporting shows the top
four countries for fundraising are Germany, France,
Switzerland, and the United Kingdom. Other regions important
to PKK/KGK fundraising include Austria, the Balkans, Belgium,
and the Netherlands. Sensitive reporting has identified PKK
fundraising leaders in Europe, but we have limited actionable
intelligence on how the money flows to the PKK. Available
reporting indicates the use of hawala networks (informal
multi-country remittance system), cash couriers, narcotics,
and gold to move money.
3. (S) Funding of PKK activities is done through a wide
variety of methods. These include fundraising, cultural,
social, and sporting event sponsorship, membership fees, and
commercial business ventures. PKK financiers also
traffic in
narcotics, smuggle both people and goods, and charge
extortion and protection fees. While the latter activities
can be prosecuted as criminal offenses, the former activities
can only be prosecuted under terror finance laws when clear
ties to PKK activities can be proven.
---------------------------
Legwork is Already Underway
---------------------------
4. (S) Over the last year, S/CT has been active in driving
political-level demarches to all European capitals on
terrorist financing. S/CT Deputy Counterterrorism
Coordinator Frank Urbancic has traveled widely in Europe to
raise awareness and to bring together prosecutors, judges,
financial police, financial intelligence unit personnel, and
Justice and Interior Ministry officials to discuss ways to
investigate and prosecute money laundering and terrorist
finance cases related to the PKK. The Regional Legal Advisor
has hosted workshops for relevant officials in Turkey and
arranged meetings and seminars for European and Turkish
ANKARA 00002917 002 OF 002
counterparts to facilitate a task-force mentality to work
together to fight the PKK. At the November U.S./EU Troika on
Terrorist Financing, the new EU Terrorism Czar appeared
committed to ensuring EU cooperation. Turkey has recently
finalized a terrorism extradition with Switzerland (on hold
pending an administrative hearing) and last week two PKK
members were successfully extradited to Turkey from Germany.
Pressure should be maintained on all EU member states to
prosecute or extradite.
-------------------
Three-Part Strategy
-------------------
-------------------
Working with Europe
-------------------
5. (S) As we have learned from efforts to shut down al-Qaeda
financing since September 11, joint law enforcement and
intelligence sharing is essential. Numerous European
countries have asked for our assistance in providing
actionable intelligence, and S/CT continues to work on this
issue. Continued networking with prosecutors and
investigative judges is paramount. Investigative judges
carry out the investigations and direct law enforcement in
Europe.
6. (S) Our immediate goal is to deny the PKK use of the
European financial and air transport systems to move money
from Europe into northern Iraq for their operations. We can
accomplish this via enhanced intelligence sharing, more
careful airport screening and strict enforcement of cash
declaration requirements. We also should press the Europeans
to take action against the two most notorious PKK/KGK
financiers in Europe, Riza Altun and Sakine Cansiz. Riza
Altun is known to be a top PKK financier. He fled judicial
arrest in France in July and Austrian authorities allowed him
to fly to Iraq on July 13, but he recently has been seen
traveling again in Europe. Sakine Cansiz is a PKK/KGK
financier and weapons and tactical strategist. She was
arrested in Germany but released by a Hamburg court on April
27 after 40 days of detention and remains in Europe. Their
re-arrest and prosecution would limit PKK/KGK activities and
signal that Europe is not a free zone for PKK/KGK
fundraising.
-----------------
Working with Iraq
-----------------
7. (S) Inside Iraq, as reported ref B, we face a cash economy
that will make disrupting money flows inside Iraq difficult.
The upcoming S/CT-led assessment team to Erbil should provide
recommendations on the most effective ways to stop money
flowing to the PKK once it reaches Iraq. The apparent lack
of legal authority for the government to seize assets prior
to conviction might be a major roadblock. Sensitive
reporting indicates that the KRG has infiltrated the PKK in
northern Iraq. If so, we should press the KRG to help
identify illicit money flows so we can interdict them before
they reach the PKK.
-------------------
Working with Turkey
-------------------
8. (S) The PKK also raises money in Turkey. The Turkish
financial intelligence unit (MASAK) lacks the technical and
analytical capability to identify or interdict terrorism
finance activity. Post will continue its efforts to get
Turkish law enforcement and intelligence agencies to share
information and cooperate to make interdiction possible. We
also need to ensure that if we get Europeans to clamp down on
cash couriers and transfers, Turkey similarly needs to make
undeclared bulk cash transfers illegal, seize bulk cash
assets, and identify cash transfers through the banking
system that are headed to the PKK.
Visit Ankara's Classified Web Site at
http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/eur/ankara/
WILSON
12 January 2013 Last updated at 21:25
Share this page Email Print
379
Share
Facebook
Twitter
Turkey questions Hollande contacts with dead Kurdish activist
Members of the Kurdish community in Paris demonstrated against the killings of
three Kurdish women
Continue reading the main story
Related Stories Turkey blames Kurd deaths on feud Profile: The PKK Jailed Kurds
end hunger strike
Turkish PM Recep Tayyip Erdogan has called on French President Francois Hollande
to explain why he previously met one of the Kurdish activists shot dead in Paris
on Thursday.
One of the three women killed was Sakine Cansiz - a co-founder of the Kurdistan
Workers' Party (PKK) - a group proscribed by the European Union.
Mr Hollande has said that he and other politicians had regularly met one of the
women, without saying which one.
Turkey has fought the PKK for 25 years.
Some 40,000 people have died, but the Paris shootings came as Ankara sought
peace talks with the group.
Thousands demonstrated in central Paris on Saturday to demand action over the
deaths of the activists who were found shot dead at the Kurdish information
centre in Paris on Thursday. According to French media they had been shot in the
head or neck.
'Immediate' answers
At a meeting in Istanbul, Mr Erdogan said Mr Hollande should "immediately
disclose" why he met members of "this terrorist organisation, what was
discussed, to what end he was in communication with these terrorists".
Sakine Cansiz was a close aide to Abdullah Ocalan
"How can you routinely meet with members of an organisation labelled a terrorist
group by the European Union and being sought by Interpol? What kind of politics
is this?" he added.
He said Turkey notified France as recently as November that Sakine Cansiz was in
Paris, but French authorities had taken no action.
Turkey has frequently complained that European countries have failed to
co-operate in its fight against the PKK.
It is regarded by Turkey, the US and European Union as a terrorist organisation,
because of its attacks on Turkish security forces and civilians.
Ms Cansiz, who was detained and tortured in Turkey in the 1980s, is said to be
close to jailed PKK leader Abdullah Ocalan.
A second woman has been named as Fidan Dogan, 32, who worked in the information
centre. She was also the Paris representative of the Brussels-based Kurdistan
National Congress.
The third, named as Leyla Soylemez, was a young activist.
The PKK took up arms in 1984, demanding greater autonomy for Turkey's
Kurds, who are thought to comprise up to 20% of the population.
In 2012 it stepped up its attacks, leading to the fiercest fighting in decades,
but violence has subsided in recent months.
Mr Erdogan has suggested the killings had been designed to sabotage peace talks
between Turkey and the PKK.
نووسەرەکان خۆیان بەرپرسیارێتی وتارەکانی خۆیان هەڵدەگرن، نەک کوردستانپۆست
