VZCZCXRO4690
RR RUEHDBU RUEHFL RUEHKW RUEHLA RUEHROV RUEHSR
DE RUEHAK #5866/01 2831620
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
R 101620Z OCT 06
FM AMEMBASSY ANKARA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 9301
INFO RUEHZL/EUROPEAN POLITICAL COLLECTIVE

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 ANKARA 005866 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/10/2026 
TAGS: PREF PREL PGOV TU GR
SUBJECT: GOT FIRMLY PLACES BLAME ON GREECE FOR MIGRANT 
DUMPING; UNHCR MORE CIRCUMSPECT 
 
REF: ATHENS 2620 
 
Classified By: Acting Political Counselor Kelly Degnan.  Reason: 1.4 (b 
) and (d) 
 
¶1.  (C) SUMMARY: Turkish MFA officials continue to place the 
blame for the deaths of at least six illegal migrants thrown 
into Turkish territorial waters on September 26 off the coast 
of Karaburun, Turkey on Greek coast guard officials.  The GOT 
pointed to Greece's lack of cooperation with Turkey on 
discussing the return of illegal migrants as a continuing 
problem, though a meeting of the countries' coast guard 
commanders planned for December holds out some hope. 
Meanwhile, UNHCR Ankara officials (protect) who interviewed 
many of the survivors of the September 26 incident said it is 
clear a crime was committed in the dumping of people 
overboard, however, it remains unclear exactly who may have 
perpetrated the crime.  END SUMMARY 
 
--------------------------------------------- - 
GOT Places Blame for Deaths on Greek Officials 
--------------------------------------------- - 
 
¶2.  (C) Poloff met with Turkish MFA Deputy Directorate 
General for Expatriate Turks, Migration, Asylum, and Property 
Issues Department Head Melih Ulueren October 10 to discuss 
the extensive press reporting and subsequent public statement 
issued by GOT MFA concerning the September 26 deaths of at 
least six, and perhaps up to nine, illegal migrants.  These 
deaths were connected to the alleged dumping of a group of up 
to 42 migrants into Turkish territorial waters by Greek coast 
guard officials near Karaburun, Turkey.  In response to 
poloff questions regarding the veracity of Turkish press 
reporting on the incident, Ulueren said it was accurate.  In 
response, Turkish MFA had issued a statement of protest both 
publicly and through diplomatic channels to Greek authorities 
on September 27. 
 
¶3.  (C) Noting the Greek government's denial of its 
officials' involvement, Ulueren pointed to the obvious trauma 
suffered by the survivors and their first-hand accounts of 
what transpired as proof.  Ulueren said the event was just 
another in a long line of similar instances in which Greek 
officials have pushed illegal migrants into Turkey, whether 
they had entered Greece from Turkey or not, though this 
particular event had had unfortunately dire repercussions. 
Ulueren indicated Greek officials have consistently abrogated 
the Greece-Turkey bilateral protocol on re-entry in such 
instances and refused to respond to Turkish requests to 
convene a bilateral coordination committee called for under 
the protocol to discuss these issues. 
 
¶4.  (C) Ulueren admitted that a large number of illegal 
migrants indeed do travel into Greece from Turkey and 
lamented the difficulty in controlling the flow of such 
migration throughout the world.  However, he claimed that a 
fair number of such migrants also travel directly from North 
Africa via boat to Greece, just as they do to Italy and 
Spain, but GOG authorities attempt to pass them onto Turkey 
regardless.  Ulueren expressed regret that the Greek and 
Turkish governments have been unable to cooperate more fully 
on this issue but again pointed to Greek officials for their 
lack of response to Turkish efforts to consult.  He also 
scoffed at Greek attempts to point a finger at Turkey's 
inability to control its borders, saying Greek officials have 
at times been unable to produce illegal migrants for 
deportation to Turkey after Turkey has agreed to accept them 
back upon demonstration of proof that they had traveled to 
Greece via Turkey. 
 
¶5.  (C) Ulueren said the GOT had pressed for a bilateral 
meeting of the two countries' coast guard commanders to 
discuss operational issues related to the return of illegal 
migrants at sea and it appears this meeting will happen, 
probably in December. 
 
------------------------------------------- 
UNHCR:  Crime Committed but Who's to Blame? 
------------------------------------------- 
 
¶6. (C) Poloff met October 10 with UNHCR Ankara XXXXXXXXXXXX. 
XXXXXXXXXXXX had just returned from Izmir where XXXXXXXXXXXX had done joint interviews with a Turkish police official of 26 of the surviving migrants, including Tunisians, Lebanese, Iraqis, and Palestinians.  XXXXXXXXXXXX said according to information gathered from those interviews, the facts surrounding the September 26 incident largely occurred along the lines reported in the Turkish press.  The survivors reported boarding a smugglers' boat near Izmir late in the evening of September 25.  They were left on a largely 
undeveloped island in the middle of the night at which point 
 
ANKARA 00005866  002 OF 002 
 
 
they began to yell for assistance.  The survivors all claimed 
that four armed men in dark uniforms then arrived, arrested 
them and handcuffed them with plastic handcuffs.  About an 
hour later, they boarded a boat and shortly thereafter were 
dumped into the sea, one-half to one kilometer off the 
Turkish coast.  Some of the migrants were unable to swim and 
drowned.  XXXXXXXXXXXX said all of the survivors XXXXXXXXXXXX interviewed were grateful for the treatment afforded them by Turkish 
officials after their rescue.  According to XXXXXXXXXXXX, the GOT 
indicated most of the migrants had been found to have entered 
Turkey legally before setting off for Greece. 
 
¶7.  (C) XXXXXXXXXXXX noted that while the stories of all the 
survivors varied greatly regarding how they came to meet the 
smugglers, from where the smugglers boat departed, etc., they 
were all remarkably similar concerning the details of the 
encounter with Greek officials and being dumped overboard. 
When XXXXXXXXXXXX asked survivors how they knew the officers they had encountered were Greek, some initially said they had seen 
the Greek flag.  When then asked how they could see, having 
earlier claimed how dark the survivors said it had been, they 
indicated they had heard the officers speaking Greek.  How 
these Tunisians, Lebanese, Iraqi, and others knew it was 
Greek is unclear.  XXXXXXXXXXXX both said it is clear a 
crime was committed, but how conclusively to identify the 
perpetrators is very difficult. 
 
¶8.  (C) COMMENT: Despite direct questioning of many of the 
survivors by a neutral third party, it remains impossible to 
say with any certainty that Greek officials indeed were 
involved in dumping illegal migrants into the sea to fend for 
themselves or to drown.  It is equally unclear whether this 
was some sort of elaborate ruse by Turkish officials to 
enable them to lay blame on Greece.  The truth may never be 
learned, though UNHCR staff in Ankara is considering 
referring the case to the UN Committee Against Torture or the 
International Maritime Organization for further 
investigation.  We will continue to monitor such reports as 
they arise and press the GOT for continued efforts at 
coordination and cooperation with Greece on this issue. 
 
Visit Ankara's Classified Web Site at 
http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/eur/ankara/ 
 
WILSON