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

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 04 ANKARA 005621 
 
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
SUBJECT: TIP IN TURKEY: TURKISH MEDIA ATTENTION, August 16- 
31, 2005 
 
¶1. 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. Published by Hurriyet on Thursday, September 1: 
 
     TITLE:  They tricked us by saying we would be models 
 
     BEGIN TEXT:  Three Moldovan and Ukrainian university 
     students who were brought to Turkey and taken to Mersin 
     to be forced into prostitution were rescued in a sting 
     operation after calling the 157 Human Trafficking 
     Victim Rescue Line. 
 
     A 23-year-old medical student from Moldova called the 
     157 Line from the Erdemli District (of Mersin), and 
     reported that she and two of her friends had been 
     forced into prostitution for 11 months in a Kizkalesi 
     Township hotel.  Upon notification, the police raided 
     the Kizkalesi hotel. 
 
     5 Suspected Turks Arrested 
 
     Teams, through four concurrent operations, rescued L.C. 
     and Ukrainian university student Y.C. (21) and S.B. 
     (21) from a prostitution ring.  The operations netted 
     in the arrests of C.B. (24), a hotel manager A.A. (42), 
     N.D. (43), I.D. (30) and C.N. (37).  The five suspects 
     were remanded to the court and a bench warrant was 
     issued for M.D.  The three women claim to have been 
     promised to be paid $2,500 each to work in the modeling 
     and tourism sector in Turkey.  After the necessary 
     paperwork is completed, the three women who were forced 
     into prostitution will be repatriated to their 
     countries.  END TEXT. 
 
¶3.  Published by Turkish Daily News on Thursday, September 
1: 
 
     TITLE:  Police rescue three foreign girls from human 
     traffickers 
 
     BEGIN TEXT:  Police rescued three female university 
     students brought to Turkey from Moldova and Ukraine for 
     sexual exploitation in the southern province of Mersin 
     after they contracted the 157 hotline and requested 
     help, reported the Dogan News Agency yesterday. 
 
     Turkey is a destination for many women, mostly from the 
     former Soviet republics, who are seeking better living 
     standards and job opportunities.  They are trafficked 
     primarily for sexual exploitation. 
 
     Twenty-three year-old L.C., a student from the School 
     of Medicine in Moldova, reportedly dialed 157 and 
     claimed she and her friends were forced into 
     prostitution and sold to men for 11 months by 
     unidentified traffickers at hotels in the Erdemli 
     district of Mersin. 
 
     Acting on the tip-off, the police rescued the girls 
     from suspected human traffickers and arrested five, 
     including a hotel manager.  Police issued an arrest 
     warrant for M.D., claimed to have links with human 
     traffickers. 
 
     Officials say the human traffickers in Mersin have 
     connections in Ukraine since, according to a bank slip 
     found in their possession, they sent money to that 
     country.  The foreign girls were brought to Turkey 
     believing they would become top models and be paid 
     $2,500 each.  The three girls will be deported to their 
     countries following the completion of legal procedures. 
     END TEXT. 
 
¶4.  Published by Vatan on Tuesday, September 6, 2005: 
 
     TITLE:  Prostitution Mafia Kidnapped My Wife 
 
     BEGIN TEXT:  Suleyman Cali (26), who works as an acting 
     teacher in Kagithane, Istanbul, met with the older 
     sister of his student six years ago.  Nural Cali (25), 
     who recently divorced her former husband, became 
     friends and later they fell in love with each other. 
 
     When the families did not approve of this relationship, 
     the two fled and got married.  She gave birth to a 
     daughter whom they named Sule Can. 
     When Cali returned home from work about four months 
     ago, he found Sule Can alone.  When he looked for his 
     wife and could not find her, he filed a report with the 
     police.  Cali claimed that his wife might have been 
     kidnapped by the prostitution mafia. 
 
     Cali claimed that after she disappeared, threat 
     messages began to come to his unlisted cell phone 
     number.  Callers told me, "Leave your wife alone or 
     else things will get bad."  He filed a report with the 
     Sisli Public Prosecutor's office. 
 
     Cali said that he was still in love with his wife and 
     added, "My daughter Sule Can is asking about her mother 
     every day.  She asked, `Dad, when will mom come back?' 
     I filed reports in many places in vain.  I'm concerned 
     about my wife's life.  If anyone knows her whereabouts, 
     please inform me."  END TEXT. 
 
¶5.  Published by TurkishPress.com on Thursday, September 8: 
 
     TITLE:  Aksu and Cicek Leave for Britain 
 
     BEGIN TEXT:  Turkish Interior Minister Abdulkadir Aksu 
     and Justice Minister Cemil Cicek left for Britain on 
     Wednesday to attend the EU Interior and Justice 
     Minister's informal meeting. 
 
     Prior to their departure, Aksu told reporters at 
     Ataturk Airport in Istanbul that fight against 
     terrorism, organized crimes, human trafficking, illegal 
     migration and drug smuggling would be discussed at the 
     meeting. 
 
     Aksu indicated that he would also hold bilateral talks 
     during his visit to Britain. 
 
       -    "I'M PLEASED WITH THE DECISION OF GERMAN AUTHORITIES"- 
 
     Stressing that he was pleased with the decision of 
     German authorities to ban the Ozgur Politika (Free 
     Politics) newspaper, (spreading news for terrorist 
     organization PKK/KONGRA-GEL)Aksu indicated, "I 
     appreciate the decision of the German government 
     affirming that it is willing not to tolerate any kind 
     of terrorist action and take measures to prevent them. 
     I also sent a letter to German Interior Minister Otto 
     Schily due to the decision of German authorities."  END 
     TEXT. 
 
¶6.  Published by Sabah on Friday, September 9: 
 
     TITLE:  When one pays careful attention to despotic 
     love on a serial 
 
     BEGIN TEXT:  M.K. (32), who is involved in the 
     wholesale business in the Fatih District, with the help 
     of his consultant friend, Z.A. (45), recruited E.A. 
     (21), a Turkmen citizen, to help him with the housework 
     two months ago. 
 
     According to allegations, M.K. fell in love with the 
     woman and held her hostage for two months.  E.A. could 
     no longer stand the situation and she fled.  She took 
     shelter with another person.  M.K. was detained. 
 
     M.K. was detained along with F.K. (22) and Z.A. (45) 
     who helped him to take her hostage, raping, being 
     involved in human trafficking and restricting one's 
     freedom. 
 
     During his interrogation at the police station, M.K. 
     said that he loved E.A. and that this was why he took 
     her hostage.  He denied the rape allegations. 
 
     Police searched the home and office of M.K. and found 
     two toy guns and a book with some pages carved out to 
     accommodate a pistol.  M.K. said that he cut the pages 
     to hide a pistol in it and that he kept the toy guns to 
     replace with the real one during a police search.  He 
     said that he did all this after he watched with 
     admiration the movie The Godfather years ago and The 
     Valley of Wolves TV series more recently.  END TEXT. 
 
¶7.  Published by Vatan on Sunday, September 11: 
 
     TITLE:  The Police Search for Anastasia 
 
     BEGIN TEXT:  Six Kyrgyz women forced into prostitution 
     were saved by a police sting operation.  The women 
     claimed that a Russian woman named Anastasia sold them 
     by force and called for her capture. 
 
     Six Kyrgyz women lured to Turkey under the guise of 
     making $500 as childcare workers and then being forced 
     into prostitution were saved in a police sting 
     operation on a hotel in Fatih (Istanbul).  The six 
     women were taken to the police station to give their 
     statements.  The women, whose visas were expired, 
     claimed that a Russian woman named "Anastasia" brought 
     the women to Turkey, and hardly by the time they 
     settled in a hotel, a person named K.K., with ties to 
     her, started to sell them to men.  The police, who have 
     her photo, say that the name is an alias and have 
     started an operation to capture her.  END TEXT. 
 
¶8.  Published by Athens News Agency on Tuesday, September 
13: 
 
     TITLE:  Greece:  Thessalonica Police Disband Human 
     Trafficking Ring 
 
     BEGIN FBIS TRANSCRIBED TEXT:  Thessalonica police 
     disbanded one of the biggest human trafficking rings 
     that smuggled illegal immigrants from Turkey to western 
     European countries through Greece. 
 
     Police arrested five suspects on Monday morning:  a 
     truck driver who was transporting 30 illegal 
     immigrants, a driver who was riding ahead of the truck 
     and is believed to be the ring leader, along with his 
     wife; the driver of a second escort car; and a fifth 
     suspect. 
 
     According to the Thessalonica Police Chief Stergios 
     Apostolidis, the illegal immigrants arrived from Turkey 
     by boat and were met by the traffickers in Evros. 
 
     The 30 immigrants had each paid $1,000 to two Turkish 
     smugglers. 
 
     Police believe that at least another 10 ring members 
     from Greece, Turkey and Germany remain at large.  END 
     FBIS TRANSCRIBED TEXT. 
 
¶9.  Published by Milliyet on Wednesday, September 14. 
Hurriyet gave abbreviated coverage on the same day: 
 
     TITLE:  Escape from Death 
 
     BEGIN TEXT:  The police stopped a truck carrying 50 
     Bangladeshi and Pakistani illegal migrants in Gebze. 
     Two illegal migrants, trying to escape from the police, 
     were run over and killed. 
 
     Yesterday morning there was a disaster in Gebze.  A 
     truck carrying 50 Bangladeshis and Pakistanis, who had 
     made an agreement with human traffickers, heading to 
     Eskihisar to take the ferry to Topcular to get to the 
     Aegean Sea to make the cross onto a Greek island, 
     arrived in Gebze at about 4:00 AM.  In error, the 
     driver of a truck with the plate number 34 AZ 9391 took 
     Yenimahalle Road. 
 
     19 Escaped 
 
     The driver realized that there was a police-controlled 
     stop and stopped the vehicle on the side of the road. 
     The illegal migrants, after being told what was 
     happening by the driver, fled the scene.  Police 
     pursued the fleeing Bangladeshis and Pakistanis.  Some 
     escaped to side-streets, while others headed to the 
     D100 Highway.  Two illegal migrants who wanted to cross 
     the highway were struck by two cars and killed.  One of 
     the automobiles had the plate number 54 TD 404, but one 
     was a hit and run.  Twenty-nine illegal migrants were 
     arrested and taken to the Kocaeli Foreigners Branch. 
     END TEXT. 
 
¶10.  Reported by ITAR-TASS on Wednesday, September 14: 
 
     TITLE:  Russia, USA aircraft build plane for Russia Far 
     East 
     BEGIN TEXT:  Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk, September 14 (Itar- 
     TAss) - The Russian Komsomolsk-on-Amur Aircraft 
     Production Association and Boeing in Seattle are 
     working on a regional passenger plane for Russia. 
 
     The announcement was made at the tenth session of the 
     Russian-American Pacific Partnership, which ended here 
     on Wednesday.  This is the most vivid example of 
     regional cooperation between Russia's Far East and the 
     Western coast of the USA. 
 
     Over 250 business executives, representatives of 
     government and non-government organizations from 
     Russia, the USA, China, Australia, Great Britain, 
     Turkey, France and Japan participated in the forum. 
 
     They listed oil-and-gas projects, cooperation in the 
     customs sphere, the fight against terrorism and the 
     spread of AIDS, as well as against illegal drug 
     trafficking and human trade, among priority directions 
     in regional cooperation.  Russia's Far East and the 
     Western coast of the USA have stated their intention to 
     keep working on those problems in the future. 
 
     American sources participating in the session and U.S. 
     Secretary of Commerce Carlos Gutierrez and Russian 
     Minister for Economic Development and trade German Gref 
     intend to develop a joint program of actions to improve 
     the trade and investment climate in their countries. 
     This may give a boost to regional cooperation between 
     the Far East and the Western coast.  END TEXT. 
 
MCELDOWNEY