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

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 09 ANKARA 005708 
 
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: MEDIA ATTENTION, SEPTEMBER 15-30, 
2004 
 
 
¶1.   (U) In response to G/TIP inquiries about anti-TIP 
   public information campaigns, post provides as examples the 
   following TIP press reports.  Text of articles originally 
   published in Turkish is provided through unofficial local 
   FSN translation. 
 
¶2. (U) Published September 27, 2004 by the Anatolian News 
Agency: 
 
     TITLE: Turkish Parliament Passes Major Reform Sought By 
     EU 
 
     BEGIN TEXT: ANKARA - Turkish lawmakers adopted a far- 
     reaching penal code reform, clearing a major obstacle 
     to the country's bid to start accession talks with the 
     European Union. 
 
     Parliament speaker Bulent Arinc said the bill was 
     adopted after a show of hands, at the end of an 
     emergency debate called by the government just days 
     before the European Commission issues a crucial report 
     on Turkey`s democratization progress on October 6. 
 
     The law, which amends Turkey`s 78-year-old penal code, 
     is widely seen as the last legal reform required to 
     align Turkish legislation with basic EU political 
     norms, set as a condition for the opening of membership 
     talks with candidate nations. 
 
     Lawmakers were recalled from summer recess for Sunday`s 
     session after Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan 
     agreed to drop plans to criminalize adultery in talks 
     with EU officials in Brussels on Thursday, ending a 
     week of crisis with the EU. 
 
     The government had shelved the bill last week amid a 
     row with Brussels on whether adultery should be made a 
     jailable offence. 
 
     The new penal code expands freedom of expression, 
     grants greater individual freedoms and increases 
     penalties for rights abusers and torturers. 
 
     In another major step, it introduces life terms for 
     perpetrators of "honor killings," the feudal practice 
     of killing women perceived as unvirtous, which still 
     persists mainly in the rural southeast. 
 
     Other amendments bring jail terms for the sexual 
     molestation of children, the trafficking of human 
     organs and the pollution of the environment. 
 
     Even though the legislation has generallly been 
     welcomed as a step forward towards gender equality, 
     women`s groups have slammed several amendments on 
     grounds that they are still discriminatory. 
 
     Critics say the draft fails to totally ban virginity 
     tests, maintains an article that could be used to 
     reduce the sentences of perpetrators of "honor 
     killings" and punishes consensual sex between minors. 
 
     The president now has to ratify the law. 
 
     It will take effect on April 1, 2005, barring a few 
     provisions, which will come into force earlier or 
     later. 
 
     The lawmakers also adopted two other bills related to 
     the penal code. 
 
¶3. (U) Published September 26, 2004 by the Turkish language 
Anatolian News Agency: 
 
     TITLE: Turkish parliament votes for new penal code 
 
     BEGIN TEXT: ANKARA - Turkey's parliament has approved 
     legal reforms that could strengthen Ankara's case for 
     joining the European Union. 
 
     The passing of a new penal code brings to a close two 
     years of criminal and civil law reform. The package 
     includes sweeping reforms to improve women1s rights, 
     tougher penalties for torture, as well as greater 
     minority and religious rights. 
 
     Turkey's human rights record has been a major stumbling 
     block to its EU aspirations. 
     Some of the most heated debates over this reform 
     package centered on a proposal to make adultery a 
     crime; there's no such law in any of the 25 EU member 
     countries. 
 
     The controversial plan was dropped following intense 
     pressure from Europe. 
 
     The European Commission had advised the UE not to renew 
     membership talks with Turkey until it overhauls its 78- 
     year-old penal code. 
 
     The commission is due to present a report on Oct. 6 on 
     whether Turkey has met the criteria set by the EU. 
     Reforms to the mostly Muslim country's penal code 
     include: 
 
          - Clauses on genocide, crimes against humanity and 
          people-trafficking. 
 
          - Stronger laws against rape and so-called 
          "honour" crimes against women deemed to have 
          disgraced their families. 
 
          - More severe punishments for rapists, pedophiles, 
          human traffickers and women who kill children born 
          out of wedlock. 
 
          - It also recognises rape in marriage and sexual 
          harassment as crimes. 
 
     EU leaders are expected to make a final decision at a 
     summit in December on whether to start membership talks 
     with Turkey. END TEXT. 
 
¶4. (U) Published September 23, 2004 by Swissinfo, Francoise 
Gehring: 
 
     TITLE: Europol accord sparks data protection fears 
 
     BEGIN TEXT: The Swiss government is hailing this 
     Friday's signing of a cooperation agreement with 
     Europol as an important step forward in the fight 
     against organised crime. 
 
     But concerns have been raised in Switzerland over the 
     effectiveness of the body and its ability to ensure 
     data protection. 
 
     Under its European Union mandate, Europol assists 
     member states in preventing and fighting serious crimes 
     including human trafficking, drug trafficking, 
     terrorism and money laundering. 
 
     Its tasks are to facilitate the exchange of information 
     between countries, to perform operational and strategic 
     analyses, and to provide expertise and technical 
     support for investigations. 
 
     The Europol Computer System, based in The Hague in the 
     Netherlands, is vast. 
 
     A centralised information system stores data on persons 
     already convicted of a crime or thought likely to 
     commit crimes in the future, while a second system 
     processes data. 
 
     There is a third system for exchanging Europol 
     information with police forces in non-EU countries, 
     such as Canada, Switzerland and Turkey. 
 
     According to Jean-Philippe Walter, the federal officer 
     responsible for data protection, the Europol Convention 
     covers provisions regulating the processing of 
     information and data protection. 
 
     "Europol is regulated by a convention which contains a 
     whole series of measures to ensure data protection," he 
     told swissinfo. 
 
     "Having myself had the opportunity to meet top Europol 
     officials, I can state that the data protection 
     requirements often go beyond those enshrined in Swiss 
     law." 
 
     Not convinced 
 
     But Heinrich Busch, a political scientist and expert on 
     policing issues, is far from convinced. 
 
     "I have no doubt about it: where data protection is 
     concerned, Europol is a real danger," he told 
     swissinfo. 
 
     "Europol's record-keeping capacity is impressive, but 
     in my opinion it openly contradicts the principle of 
     people's fundamental right to privacy," he added. 
 
     "And faced with this information factory, the citizen 
     is virtually defenceless. On paper, for instance, 
     Europol guarantees a right of consultation, but in 
     reality this is an impossibility." 
 
     A person wanting to consult his or her personal file 
     must first approach the police in their country of 
     origin, which in turn has to ask all the other Europol 
     police forces for authorisation to access the 
     information they hold. 
 
     Busch says the sheer size of the Europol's information 
     gathering operation is also a problem. 
 
     "The number of persons on whom it keeps records is so 
     high that effective investigation seems unlikely," he 
     said. 
 
 
     No FBI 
 
     Aside from fears over data protection, there are also 
     concerns that Europol could become a kind of European 
     FBI. 
 
     The agency denies this, insisting it is a "support 
     service" rather than a front-line crime-fighting unit. 
 
     "From what I know of the matter, talk of a European FBI 
     is an exaggeration," said Walter. "It is true that 
     Europol has certain ambitions, but the structures are 
     not comparable. 
 
     "First of all, the FBI is an organisation belonging to 
     a single country, while Europol is a multilateral body, 
     in which each member state jealously safeguards its own 
     prerogatives. This is why Europol has fewer powers than 
     was originally envisaged." 
 
 
     Schengen 
 
     Europol is not, however, the only EU information 
     system. The Schengen agreement on cross-border crime 
     also plays a monitoring role which is of interest to 
     Switzerland. 
 
     However, the agreement governing Swiss participation, 
     though already signed, still has to be ratified by 
     parliament. 
 
     The rightwing Swiss People's Party has threatened a 
     referendum over Schengen, fearing the loss of Swiss 
     independence and seeing it as another step towards EU 
     membership. 
 
     "The Swiss People's Party has nothing against 
     Switzerland signing the Europol agreement," explained 
     spokesman Roman J gi. 
 
     "It is an agreement between European police forces 
     which, in our opinion, is bound to help improve 
     security in Switzerland and in Europe generally. 
 
     "Schengen, though, is quite a different matter." 
     Swissinfo / Neue Zrcher Zeitung END TEXT. 
¶5. (U) Published September 23, 2004 by the Turkish language 
Sabah News: 
 
     BEGIN TEXT: Fourteen out of 18 "slave villagers" who 
     were mostly minors and were subject to forced labor in 
     Arslanli village of Kozan town of Adana, were handed 
     over to their families.  Four farmers who were placed 
     in a "house for elders" wanted compensation from their 
     enslavers.  Saban Sezer, who started working as a 
     teaman in the house for elders, said his enslavers owe 
     him 2 billion Turkish Lira and that he will not go 
     without getting his money.  Hasan Tatar, Ali Sag and 
     Omer (last name not known) also said that they would 
     not leave without getting their money.  END TEXT. 
 
¶6. (U) Published September 22, 2004 by the Turkish language 
Anatolian News Agency: 
 
     Turkish Jandarma reports that in an operation conducted 
     after a tipoff, four villagers in Imamoglu and Kozan 
     near Adana were detained for forcing four minors (two 
     from Arslanli village of Kozan, one from Ayvali and one 
     from Sokutasi villages of Imamoglu town) into labor. 
     Officials said that detainees were interrogated and 
     four other villagers also testified.  The officials 
     also noted that after last week's operation in Kozan 
     town of Adana which involved forced labor of 18 people 
     (including 3 minors), they have been receiving 
     information about additional forced labor operations. 
     Investigations are underway.  The court arrested eleven 
     people who were detained in the September 16 operation 
     in Kozan. 
 
¶7. (U) Published September 22, 2004 by the Athens 
Elevtherotipia in Greek: 
 
     TITLE: Greek Ship-owners Indicted for Engaging in Human 
     Trafficking Ring; [Report by Th. Lambropoulos: 
     "Prosecution of Two Ship-owners Transporting Illegal 
     Immigrants to Italy"] 
 
     BEGIN FBIS TRANSLATED TEXT: The Pireaivs Attorney 
     General's Offices criminally prosecuted for "illegal 
     transport of illegal immigrants," "formation and 
     participation in a gang," and "repeated forgery" ship- 
     owners Anastasios and Konstandinos Mavromattis and 
     their attorney Anna Gouma, who, according to the 
     Italian judicial authorities, are the "brains" of an 
     illegal ring trafficking illegal immigrants to the 
     neighboring country. 
 
     The procedure for the immediate intervention of the 
     Greek justice began a few days ago after Genoa Attorney 
     General Francesca Nani issued an arrest warrant for the 
     two Greek ship-owners and their attorney, for 
     "trafficking with their nine commercial ships more than 
     10,000 illegal immigrants." 
 
     According to reports in the Italian press, Anastasios 
     Mavrommatis and his son Konstandinos were taking the 
     illegal immigrants from the Turkish shores, receiving 
     _1,200-2,000 and upon the immigrants' disembarkation 
     from the vessels they were supplying them with forged 
     naval documents to avoid customs controls.   The 
     illegal immigrants would then take a train to Holland 
     or Germany. 
 
     Moreover, the Italian authorities claim that possibly 
     other Greek ship-owners participated in the illegal 
     ring, in addition to the two Greeks who appear to be 
     owners of the naval company "Lord Marine" and of a 
     small fleet of vessels. 
 
     Currently, the Pireaivs Attorney General's office is 
     examining this version of the Italian authorities (they 
     had requested the cooperation of the Port Corps since 
     the beginning of 2004 after the Sentinel vessel was 
     spotted and stopped).   The file of proceedings was 
     conveyed to the magistrates who are expected to ask the 
     defendants for interrogation soon. 
 
     According to information, the Port Security officers 
     have been investigating the files of many cases 
     connected with illegal trafficking, since 2002. END 
     TEXT. 
 
¶8. (U) Published September 20, 2004 by the Anatolian News 
Agency: 
 
     Security Forces Arrest 36 Illegal Migrants In Mus 
     MUS - Security forces detained in eastern city of Mus 
     36 foreigners who had entered Turkey illegally. 
     During a routine check on the Malazgirt-Patnos highway, 
     security forces arrested the migrants of Iraqi, 
     Moroccan and Afghan origin in a van. 
 
     They were taken into custody for violating Turkish 
     borders and passport law. 
 
     The migrants will be deported once the legal 
     proceedings are completed.  END TEXT. 
 
¶9. (U) Published September 17, 2004 by the Turkish Language 
Anatolian News Agency: 
 
     TITLE: Turkish Police Arrest 579 Illegal Migrants In 
     Istanbul 
 
     BEGIN TEXT: ISTANBUL - Turkish police arrested 579 
     illegal migrants in Istanbul in the last one week, 
     sources said on Friday. 
 
     Sources told A.A correspondent that the captured 
     illegal migrants were of Pakistani, Afghan, Indian, 
     Bangladeshi, Iraqi and Palestinian origins who entered 
     Turkey illegally. 
 
     The same sources said that 379 of the illegal migrants 
     were deported, and work was under way to deport the 
     other 200. END TEXT. 
 
¶10. (U) Published September 17, 2004 by the Turkish language 
Hurriyet News: 
 
     BEGIN TEXT: Police found 19 handicapped people working 
     as slaves for landlords in a southern province of 
     Adana. Each of the handicapped people was taken from 
     the streets and sold to landlords for just $330. END 
     TEXT. 
 
¶11. (U) Published September 16, 2004 by the Turkish language 
Anatolian News Agency: 
 
     TITLE: 5TH REGIONAL CONFERENCE ON MIGRATION TO BE HELD 
     IN ISTANBUL 
 
     BEGIN TEXT: ANKARA (A.A) - The 5th Regional Conference 
     on Migration organized by the Council of Europe (COE) 
     will be held in Istanbul between September 30th and 
     October 1st. 
 
     Sources said on Wednesday that the venue of the 
     conference would be Conrad Hotel, and gave the 
     following information regarding the participating 
     countries: 
 
 
          -10 transition countries: Albania, Bosnia- 
          Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Hungary, Moldova, Poland, 
          Romania, Russian Federation, Slovakia and Ukraine, 
 
          -Six target countries: Norway, France, Germany, 
          Britain, Greece and Spain, 
 
          -Nine countries, not members of COE: Afghanistan, 
          Belarus, Bangladesh, China, Libya, India, 
          Pakistan, Egypt and Morocco, 
 
          -Three countries from which people migrate: 
          Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia. 
 
     Nearly 60 participants from international 
     organizations, universities, nongovernmental 
     organizations and COE Parliamentary Assembly are 
     expected to attend the conference. 
 
     Turkish Interior Minister Abdulkadir Aksu and COE 
     Deputy Secretary General Maud de Boer-Buquicchio will 
     jointly open the conference. 
     Turkey, which is located in a region with a high flow 
     of migrants, has earlier offered to host the 5th 
     Regional Conference on Migration, sources added. END 
     TEXT. 
¶12. (U) Published September 16, 2004 by the Turkish language 
Anatolian News Agency: 
 
     TITLE: TURKISH POLICE DETAIN 24 ILLEGAL MIGRANTS IN 
     CALDIRAN 
 
     BEGIN TEXT: CALDIRAN (A.A) - Turkish police arrested 24 
     illegal migrants in eastern city of Van, sources said 
     on Thursday. 
 
     Acting on a tip-off, police launched an operation in 
     Beyazit neighborhood of Caldiran township and detained 
     24 illegal migrants of Afghan and Pakistani origin who 
     entered Turkey clandestinely. 
 
     Illegal migrants will be deported after legal 
     procedures. END TEXT. 
 
¶13. (U) Published September 16, 2004 by the Turkish language 
Anatolian News Agency: 
 
     TITLE: TURKISH GENDARMERY DETAINS 20 ILLEGAL MIGRANTS 
     IN HATAY 
 
     BEGIN TEXT: ANTAKYA (A.A) - 15.09.2004 - Turkish 
     gendarmery detained 20 illegal migrants in southern 
     city of Hatay, sources said on Wednesday. 
 
     Gendarmery launched an operation in Asagi Pulluyazi 
     village of Yayladag township and arrested 20 illegal 
     migrants of Somali, Egyptian and Sudanese origin who 
     entered Turkey clandestinely. 
 
     Illegal migrants will be deported after legal 
     procedures. END TEXT. 
 
¶14. (U) Published September 16, 2004 by Reuters News 
Service: 
 
     TITLE: Turkish women look to EU for better lives. 
 
     BEGIN TEXT: SANLIURFA, Turkey, Sept 16 (Reuters) - The 
     girls labouring in the cotton fields on the outskirts 
     of the southeast Turkish city of Sanliurfa cannot read 
     a newspaper, but they are pinning their hopes of a 
     better life on Turkey's EU membership drive. 
 
     Her face weathered by a scorching sun, her hands 
     calloused, 16-year-old Zahide says she is old before 
     her time. She never went to school and had given up 
     dreams of learning a trade. 
 
     "The European Union would not permit us to work like 
     this. We would study," she says, toiling from sunrise 
     to sunset during the two-month harvest with four of her 
     sisters. 
 
     EU leaders will decide in December whether to open 
     accession talks with this populous Muslim nation, and 
     diplomats say women's rights will be one issue the 
     European Commission pays attention to in an Oct. 6 
     report on Turkey's entry bid. 
 
     "For the EU, gender inequality in Turkey is a concern," 
     one EU diplomat said. "While it's very difficult to 
     change, since it is a question of mentality and 
     tradition ... the government has not taken full 
     responsibility for promoting change." 
 
     Turkish women do enjoy greater freedoms than those in 
     many other Muslim nations. For decades they have had 
     the right to vote, access to education and the right to 
     divorce. Turks even elected a female prime minister in 
     ¶1993. 
     Some are corporate executives, university rectors and 
     heads of bar associations and many in wealthier western 
     Turkey emulate their European counterparts in dress and 
     choice of profession. 
 
     Yet the constitution does not enshrine gender equality, 
     and poverty and entrenched values mean equal treatment 
     is elusive. 
 
     Religious tradition, especially in conservative cities 
     like Sanliurfa, often means girls as young as 12 are 
     married off. Amnesty International says up to half of 
     women face domestic abuse in a "culture of violence". 
 
     The U.N. children's agency UNICEF says 600,000 fewer 
     girls than boys attend school and a third of women are 
     illiterate. 
 
     REFORM DRIVE 
 
     The ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP), a 
     conservative movement with Islamist roots, has enacted 
     political and human rights reforms aimed at winning a 
     date for EU talks. 
 
     The last major piece of the reform jigsaw is an 
     overhaul of the penal code designed to bring it into 
     line with EU norms. The reforms, which include a number 
     of measures aimed specifically at improving women's 
     rights, are being debated in parliament this week and 
     are likely to be approved at the weekend. 
 
     They include stiffer penalties for rape, including rape 
     within marriage, and for so-called honour killings - 
     the murder of women by male relatives to protect the 
     family name. 
 
     The package has been overshadowed by a government plan 
     to outlaw adultery. The AKP says the proposal, which 
     was shelved but could return to parliament, would 
     protect women, but it enraged women's groups and 
     prompted EU disapproval. 
 
     Some activists have also said the current reforms do 
     not go far enough. They accuse the government of 
     lacking full commitment to equality and acting only 
     under EU pressure. 
 
     "The EU process has had an enormous effect on us. Women 
     are waking up. But there is a long way to go before 
     women in Sanliurfa understand they have rights," said 
     Devran Melik, a lawyer and head of a local women's 
     rights group. 
 
     Still, girls like Zahide working in the country's 
     fields believe it could change their fathers' minds and 
     even convince them to send their daughters to school. 
     END TEXT. 
 
¶15. (U) Published September 16, 2004 by the Washington 
Times: 
 
     TITLE: Turkey and the EU 
 
     BEGIN TEXT:  Turkey has denied Islamo-phobic Europeans 
     an excuse to deny or delay its European Union entry 
     talks. On Tuesday, Ankara decided to shelve a proposed 
     law criminalizing adultery - a move which will make it 
     more difficult for the EU to turn down Turkey. This is 
     fortunate, since Turkey's admission is central to 
     American and European interests. 
 
     Turkey has proposed a slew of laws to reform its 78- 
     year-old penal code. The package includes stiffer 
     punishment for crimes such as rape, sexual assault, 
     human trafficking, torture and pedophilia. The 
     legislation also recognizes rape in marriage and sexual 
     harassment as crimes, and will make it easier to 
     prosecute so-called honor killings. Before the 
     government dropped the proposal, the package also 
     included legislation criminalizing adultery - which 
     caused a furor in Europe. That furor comes at a very 
     bad time for Turkey. On Oct. 6, the European Commission 
     is to decide whether to recommend a date for Turkey's 
     EU accession. 
     That date, therefore, is broadly significant to the 
     international community. Inasmuch as Turkey is a 
     cultural and geographic bridge between East and West, 
     it can serve as a bulwark against a potential clash of 
     civilizations. Turkey's eventual entry into the 
     European Union would mark a merger of predominantly 
     Christian and Muslim worlds. This would help counter 
     the growing concern that a large-scale clash between 
     Christian and Muslim nations is inevitable. Also, 
     Turkey, long a force for moderation in the Muslim 
     world, would rise in prominence - a welcome prospect. 
 
     There is, however, widespread apprehension in Europe 
     about Turkey eventually becoming an EU member - much of 
     which is unadulterated ethnic bigotry. Much of the 
     uproar over the Turkish adultery legislation appeared 
     to have an ulterior motive: delaying the start of 
     formal EU-accession talks with Turkey. Some of Europe's 
     objections over Turkey, however, are clearly cultural. 
     Many European countries are becoming fairly dogmatic 
     about establishing sweeping secularism, even when it 
     infringes on freedom of religious expression. But 
     Europe is divided on the question of secularism, with 
     more traditional countries keen on maintaining a 
     Christian identity. 
 
          Much of Europe's criticism of the adultery law was 
     heavy-handed, in particular charges it would lead to so- 
     called honor killings. All the same, Ankara was wise to 
     scrap the legislation. But given the fact that Turkey 
     has been kept waiting at the EU altar for some time, 
     Europe is obliged to go the extra mile to play fair. 
     END TEXT. 
 
¶16. (U) Published September 10, 2004 by the Anatolian News 
Agency: 
 
     TITLE: Turkish Police Arrest 100 Illegal Migrants In 
     Istanbul 
 
     BEGIN TEXT: ISTANBUL - Turkish police arrested 100 
     illegal migrants in Istanbul, sources said on Thursday. 
 
     Sources said that police, acting on a tip-off, raided 
     on a building in Istanbul`s Kagithane neighborhood, and 
     detained about 100 illegal migrants who entered Turkey 
     clandestinely. 
 
     Among the captured, there were Pakistanis, Afghans and 
     Bangladeshis, the sources noted. 
 
     The sources said that efforts were under way to capture 
     people who aided the illegal migrants, adding that the 
     illegal migrants would be deported once the legal 
     proceedings were completed.  END TEXT. 
 
¶17. (U) Published September 5, 2004 by the Anatolian News 
Agency: 
 
     TITLE: Turkey says stopped half million migrants in 
     last five years 
 
     BEGIN TEXT: Nearly half a million illegal migrants, 
     many seeking a better life in the European Union, have 
     been intercepted in Turkey in the past five years, 
     Anatolia news agency quoted Turkish Interior Minister 
     Abdulkadir Aksu as saying on Sunday. 
 
     About 3,000 traffickers have also been rounded during 
     the several hundred operations conducted during the 
     period, Aksu said. 
 
     He said the introduction of tougher laws on clandestine 
     immigration had forced trafficking networks to change 
     their routes. 
 
     Turkey is a major hub for migrants, many from Asia, 
     trying to reach neighbouring Greece or Italy, either by 
     land or crammed into boats that are often barely 
     seaworthy. 
 
     Illegal migrants are arrested almost daily in the 
     country, which spans Asia and Europe. 
 
     On Saturday police detained 48 Pakistanis at a house in 
     the Asian part of Istanbul, all hoping to reach Greece. 
     Anatolia said they would be questioned and deported. 
     END TEXT. 
 
EDELMAN