VZCZCXYZ0021
RR RUEHWEB

DE RUEHAK #3926/01 1871132
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 061132Z JUL 06
FM AMEMBASSY ANKARA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 7057
INFO RUEHIT/AMCONSUL ISTANBUL 0896
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHDC
RUEKDAI/DIA WASHDC
RUEKJCS/JOINT STAFF WASHDC
RHEHAAA/NSC WASHDC
RUEUITH/ODC ANKARA TU//TCH//
RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHDC
RUEUITH/TLO ANKARA TU
RUEHAK/TSR ANKARA TU

UNCLAS ANKARA 003926 
 
SIPDIS 
 
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: Media Attention from April 16 to May 31, 
2006 
 
 
¶1. (U) Post is instituting a new summary format, which we hope will 
make the TIP-related media report more accessible.  We welcome 
feedback. 
 
¶2. (U) Summary:  During the six-week reporting period, media 
attention on trafficking in persons (TIP) focused on several stories 
compiled and summarized below.  The Turkish National Police (TNP) 
continued its crack down on human traffickers through several 
operations, including arresting a female police chief and two 
policemen for alleged involvement in human trafficking rings.  End 
Summary. 
 
----------------- 
Police Operations 
----------------- 
 
¶3. (U) Media reported on several police crackdowns on trafficking, 
including: 
 
-- April 18 dailies reported police captured two traffickers, 
including one woman, in Istanbul.  They rescued six underage Turkish 
girls, two of whom reportedly had fled the Taksim Youth center, an 
Istanbul orphanage for adolescents.  The judicial process is 
ongoing. 
 
-- Police arrested a woman police chief during a so-called Pink Line 
Operation against a human trafficking ring in Antalya.  According to 
April 26 dailies, she allegedly received $1000 per week in return 
for turning a blind eye to gang activities.  The Antalya police 
detained 41 people, including 11 public servants and 26 prostitutes. 
  The judicial process is ongoing. 
 
-- The semi-official Anatolian News Agency reported May 5 that the 
Ankara Police carried out an operation and arrested four 
traffickers.  Traffickers lured women primarily from Moldova, 
Uzbekistan and Azerbaijan.  Six trafficking victims were placed in 
shelters.  The judicial process is ongoing. 
 
-- "Radikal" reported that Mugla Police detained 15 people in 
Fethiye, Mugla for human trafficking on May 16.  Further details 
were not available. 
 
-- "Sabah" on May 26 reported that Ardahan Police cracked down on a 
prostitution gang and arrested trafficker Niyazi Yildirim and six 
other gang members.  Police continued to detain Yildirim and two 
policemen who were allegedly tipping the gang off to police 
investigations. The article did not provide details on the victims. 
 
 
------------------ 
Other Developments 
------------------ 
 
¶4. (U) The media covered a variety of other trafficking related 
stories: 
 
-- "Hurriyet" on April 18 quoted a provincial police chief who 
suggested a tax on prostitution revenues.  He calculated that 
organizers transferred abroad around $3.8 million earned through 
prostitution per year.  The proposal of Mutlu Celik, the local 
police chief in the tourist area of Urgup, created controversy. 
 
-- According to April 20 dailies, prosecutors opened a case against 
four human traffickers, including a woman, for forcing 23 Turkish 
women into prostitution.  The Istanbul Police earlier cracked down 
on this gang with its so-called Barbie Operation. 
 
-- April 20 dailies reported that Interior Minister Abdulkadir Aksu 
traveled to Baku to talk to Azeri officials about terrorism, 
organized crime, human trafficking, illegal immigration and arms 
trafficking. 
 
-- April 24 mass-appeal daily "Hurriyet" and April 25 "Sabah" 
carried items on a UN Office for Drugs and Crime report that stated 
that Turkey was one of ten major destination countries for human 
trafficking.  The report noted that in 2005, 360 people were put on 
trial for human trafficking in Turkey. 
 
-- Anatolian News Agency reported on May 4 that Ukrainian Elena 
Temshewko fled from traffickers and took refuge with the Alanya 
police.  After she received a medical check-up, a judge ruled for 
 
her deportation because she overstayed her visa.  She was deported. 
 
-- On May 8 Islamist "Yeni Safak" referred to 2005 TNP Smuggling and 
Organized Crime Department statistics.  In the past two years, 
approximately 6000 foreign women were deported for prostitution.  In 
2005, 2113 were deported; in the first six months of 2006, the 
figure was 301. 
 
-- Left-of-center "Radikal" on May 16 reported that the EU granted 
250,000 Euros for a project called "Global Migration in Eastern 
Mediterranean and Eurasia: Its Security and Human Rights Threats to 
Europe."  Middle East Technical University Sociology Department 
Prof. Ayse Ayata and her team will conduct the study n coordination 
with experts in Britain, Germany, the Netherlands, Russia, Spain, 
Egypt and Georgia.