This record is a partial extract of the original cable. The full text of the original cable is not available.

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 ANKARA 002094 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPARTMENT FOR G/TIP, G, INL, DRL, EUR/PGI, EUR/SE 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREL KCRM PHUM KWMN SMIG KFRD PREF TU TIP IN TURKEY
SUBJECT: TIP IN TURKEY: TURKISH MEDIA ATTENTION, March 1-15, 
2005 
 
 
¶1. (U) In response to G/TIP inquiries, national and 
  international media sources published the following news 
  articles about TIP in Turkey.  Text of articles 
  originally published in Turkish is provided through 
  unofficial local FSN translation. 
 
¶2. (U) Published in the weekly journal Tempo, dated March 2- 
8.: 
 
    TITLE: The Purple Roof of Sex Slaves; by Berrin 
    Karakas. 
 
    BEGIN TEXT: The HRDF has worked on the issue of human 
    trafficking issue since 2003 and continues to develop 
    new projects.  The latest project is a shelter that has 
    been active for four months.  When we heard that the 
    Foundation opened a shelter, we wanted to go there and 
    listen to their story from themselves.  But the 
    Foundation keeps the address of the shelter like a 
    state secret.  Even the police that they work with do 
    not know where this shelter is located.  The reason is 
    of course security.  A recent example was a person 
    calling the shelter and claiming that he was the 
    attorney of the girls but actually he was the lawyer of 
    the person who was marketing the girls.  Under such 
    circumstances the names of the girls and the address of 
    the shelter are kept as a secret.  The situation must 
    be quite serious because even the HRDF employees are 
    worried that something might happen to them. 
 
    Even if we could enter the shelter, the residents won't 
    have the strength to talk and tell us what had 
    happened.  Some already committed suicide and others 
    are going through severe trauma.  Naturally they don't 
    what to remember what had happened. 
 
    Although there are many such victims, the HRDF shelter 
    is a tiny place where only ten people can stay.  The 
    HRDF officials said that they have not yet received a 
    victim younger than 18.  They added that the 
    approximate age was around 20-25.  The main goal of the 
    shelter is to provide a home environment to victims who 
    would have normally stayed at a police detention center 
    and to ensure their safe return home.  There is also 
    the physical and mental treatment of these women and 
    this is not easy task because of bureaucratic issues. 
 
    Victims can stay at the shelter for 4-5 weeks.  They, 
    along with the police, are also implementing a new 
    regulation that allows these women to stay up to six 
    months in Turkey on a humanitarian visa. The HRDF works 
    along with the local NGOs in the other country for 
    ensuring a safe return home for these women.  They 
    accompany these women to the airport and in their own 
    country they are met by the NGOs there and taken under 
    protection. 
 
    The program on the protection of human trafficking 
    victims, conducted jointly by the Interior, Health and 
    Foreign Affairs Ministries and the police, is brand new 
    and needs support.  The biggest problem of the 
    foundation is the necessary funds for a larger shelter. 
    Accordingly, they want support from other NGOs and 
    associations. 
 
    In the shelter the women learn about a standard 
    domestic life.  They watch TV a lot and in particular 
    the Russian stations.  They cook.  They do the laundry. 
    But it is important that they don't consider this place 
    home and they should make their future plans 
    accordingly.  So they have to regard this place not as 
    a home but as a shelter. 
 
    Most of the residents of the shelter are women from the 
    Ukraine and Moldova.  The HRDF encountered only a 
    single Iranian who was forced into prostitution. 
 
    Speaking of Iran, we asked the Foundation officials 
    whether they also deal with other fugitives.  They said 
    that one should differentiate between human trafficking 
    and human smuggling.  They noted that most of the 
    Iranians were those who got hurt because of human 
    smuggling.  Meanwhile, human trafficking means that one 
    makes another person stay by force.  The HRDF wants to 
    realize other projects in the future, including 
    establishing a special telephone line.  This will be a 
    simple, three-digit hotline that will be hung on the 
    walls at the airports and ports for the girls who were 
    deceived to see.  Thus the victims will know where to 
    call for help.  Most of the women in the shelter are 
    women who were released after police raids.  There are 
    also those who came to the shelter with the help of 
    their "client." 
 
    Before we go on telling you the story of M., a resident 
    of the shelter, who came to the HRDF to talk to us, 
    lets refer to "Lilya 4 Ever," a Swiss-Danish joint 
    movie that was released last year.  M. watched this 
    movie three times at the shelter.  She said that all 
    women were covered with tears as they watched it.  The 
    residents of the shelter lived through things very 
    similar to Lilya's story.  In the movie Lilya's mother 
    deserted her and left for the U.S. with her lover. 
    Lilya, like all young girls had nice dreams.  After she 
    was forced into prostitution, Lilya committed suicide. 
 
    The Turkey adventure of M., too, is very similar to 
    Lilya's story.  A classmate recommended that she work 
    as a waitress or barmaid in Turkey.  They got a 
    passport and a plane ticket for M., and as soon as she 
    arrived, she was taken to Silivri (Istanbul), where she 
    was given two options: "You will either serve as a 
    caretaker or a bar escort."  Since she did not speak a 
    foreign language it was impossible for her to work as a 
    caretaker.  When M. objected, those at the house said, 
    "You will be forced to do it.  We will beat you to do 
    it."  Then they said, "Take a shower.  Eat something 
    and sleep.  You will go to work tomorrow."  While M., 
    told us all this, sometimes she bowed her head (in 
    embarrassment) but she smiles almost all the time. 
 
    ¶M. worked for a month at a house in Silivri and when 
    the police raided the house she was first taken into 
    police custody and later put in the shelter.  We asked 
    her whether she did not go out (of the house) at all 
    for one month.  She did not and said that the girls who 
    got along well with the bosses went out all the time 
    and did shopping at the market.  They also were paid 
    but those who resisted were treated badly. 
 
    When asked whether she did not think of calling her 
    family, M. said that she did not have the means.  She 
    also added that her family thought that she was serving 
    as a servant here.  It is highly unlikely that girls 
    would run away even when they went out because the 
    bosses tell the clients to make sure that they do not 
    flee.  Those who manage to escape are brought back by 
    taxi drivers who are in agreement with bosses. 
 
    The greatest hope of M. is her lover C., whom she met 
    at the house in Silivri.  She said, "C. was supposed to 
    take me out of there on January 5 and send me home but 
    the police raided the house on January 6."  M. does not 
    want to go back to the Ukraine.  She dreams of marrying 
    C., working and having a nice home in Istanbul.  M. has 
    been in Turkey for three months.  When we asked her 
    about Turkey, she said that she liked it a lot.  Her 
    eyes sparkle when she says these words.  Then with the 
    help of her interpreter she asked HRDF officials how 
    they can find C., after she shared his telephone number 
    with them.  She does not want to return to the Ukraine 
    because she said, "If I do, they will sell me again or 
    I'll be unemployed.  I won't have a calm life there." 
    When we asked, "Why Turkey?" she said, "I never left 
    the Ukraine before.  If my friend had suggested another 
    place, I would have gone there." END TEXT. 
 
¶3.  Published on Saturday, March 12, 2005 by Turkish Daily 
News, http://www.tdn.com.tr: 
 
     TITLE: 157 Hotline for Human Trafficking Victims 
     BEGIN TEXT:  ANK - Turkish Daily News 
     A hotline "157" that has been allocated for the victims 
     of human trafficking in Turkey will be operational 
     nationwide as of April 15, the Foreign Ministry said 
     yesterday in a statement. 
     "Turkey attaches great importance to combating human 
     trafficking," said the Foreign Ministry describing 
     human trafficking as "modern day slavery." 
    The statement reminded of Ankara's earlier efforts 
    against human trafficking as a "National Task Force" 
    has been established under the chairmanship of the 
    Foreign Ministry and an "Action Plan" prepared by the 
    Task Force and approved by the Prime Ministry has been 
    implemented. 
    The hotline that has been allocated within the 
    framework of these efforts will be staffed by Russian, 
    Romanian and Turkish speaking personnel. "The emergency 
    calls from victims or third persons received will be 
    conveyed to the security authorities for their 
    immediate action," the statement said. END TEXT. 
 
 
EDELMAN