VZCZCXRO5063
RR RUEHBC RUEHDA RUEHDE RUEHIHL RUEHKUK
DE RUEHAK #0584/01 0731300
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 141300Z MAR 07
FM AMEMBASSY ANKARA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 1328
INFO RUCNRAQ/IRAQ COLLECTIVE
RUEHAM/AMEMBASSY AMMAN 0885
RUEHGB/AMEMBASSY BAGHDAD 0910
RUEHDM/AMEMBASSY DAMASCUS 1629

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 ANKARA 000584 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
SIPDIS, DEPT FOR PRM/A 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREF PHUM TU IZ
SUBJECT: TURKEY: GOT POSITIVELY INCLINED TO US REQUEST FOR 
IRAQI REFUGEE PROCESSING, DESPITE SOME INITIAL HESITATION 
 
¶1. SUMMARY:  Turkish government officials are likely to make 
a positive decision in response to the USG request to 
resettle Iraqi refugees currently located in Turkey.  They 
expressed some initial hesitation, primarily because they 
fear an increased influx of refugees from Iraq and elsewhere 
in the region.  We dispelled many of their misconceptions 
about the USG program and will work closely with the GOT in 
the weeks ahead to help facilitate a quick and favorable 
formal decision.  END SUMMARY. 
 
¶2. On March 2, 2007, a U.S. delegation headed by Terry Rusch, 
Director of Refugee Admissions for PRM, met with officials at 
the Turkish Ministries of Foreign Affairs and Interior. 
Rusch sought Turkish cooperation with U.S. plans to resettle 
Iraqi refugees from Turkey to the U.S. in 2007.  UNHCR 
expects to refer up to 7,000 Iraqi refugees from the region 
for resettlement in the U.S. during the first six to nine 
months of 2007.  We expect about 1,800 of these to come from 
Turkey.  However, Turkish authorities tell us that fewer than 
800 Iraqi refugees are registered in Turkey right now.  They 
are concerned that higher estimates cast doubt on Turkish 
border security and they believe increased international aid 
to refugees in Turkey could attract a new influx of people 
for whom Turkey is unprepared to provide asylum or 
assistance.  Rusch helped mitigate Turkish concerns by 
explaining that the U.S. resettlement program focuses 
exclusively on refugees already present here and in other of 
Iraq's neighbor countries.  She also noted that we will 
simultaneously resettle an even larger number of Iraqi 
refugees from Syria and Jordan. 
 
¶3. PRM/A Director Rusch, Regional Refugee Coordinator 
Doetsch, and Ankara Consul General made office calls at the 
MFA and Ministry of Interior on March 2.  The aim was to 
provide additional details about the U.S. Refugee Admissions 
Program (USRAP) and to gain Turkish government cooperation in 
allowing the departure of USRAP-approved Iraqi refugees who 
may not yet have registered with Turkish authorities.  Under 
current policy, Turkish authorities do not permit asylum 
seekers to depart the country if they have not registered 
properly at their port of entry.  Since formal registration 
means that asylum seekers cannot live in Istanbul or Ankara 
and cannot work, many avoid registering.  Additionally, some 
asylum seekers who have tried to register in the "satellite 
cities" where they are allowed to live have encountered 
delays and backlog at local institutions. 
 
¶4. MFA Head of Asylum and Migration Ulueren and Interior 
Ministry Head of Foreigners' Police Terzioglu both took a 
tough stance during the meetings.  Ulueren initially pointed 
out that the part of Iraq that borders Turkey - the northern, 
Kurdish controlled provinces of Dohuk and Erbil - is 
relatively stable, and he was skeptical that Arab Iraqi 
refugees are entering Turkey across this border.  He also 
said that Turkey is under a heavy burden as a transit country 
already, and worried that the U.S. resettlement program would 
bring more Iraqi refugees to Turkey.  Terzioglu expressed 
concern at what he described as UNHCR's "inflated" estimates 
of the number of Iraqi refugees already in Turkey and 
suggested that a Turkey-based U.S. resettlement program would 
attract yet more refugees to cross the border illegally. 
 
¶5. Rusch reassured both Ulueren and Terzioglu that we have no 
plans to bring in additional Iraqi refugees, noting that this 
effort is aimed at refugees already in-country.  Simultaneous 
with the Turkey-based program, the U.S. will resettle much 
larger numbers of Iraqi refugees from Syria, Jordan, and 
other countries in the region.  She emphasized that the U.S. 
already resettles an average of 1,100 refugees out of Turkey 
each year (mostly Iranian Ba'hais) and our existing 
resettlement infrastructure through the International 
Catholic Migration Commission (ICMC) in Istanbul makes Turkey 
a logical place to start resettling Iraqi refugees.  In 
total, resettlement of Iraqis, as currently envisioned, would 
increase the number of individuals processed through ICMC in 
Turkey by approximately 1500-2000 in 2007. 
 
¶6. Rusch's interlocutors softened during the course of the 
meetings.  At the end of the MFA meeting, Ulueren asked for 
written talking points that he will forward for a formal GOT 
decision.  At the Interior Ministry, Terzioglu agreed that 
the MoI would review on a case-by-case basis those Iraqis in 
Turkey who have been identified by UNHCR but not registered 
with Turkish authorities. 
 
¶7. We subsequently provided the following talking points 
covered by PRM to Ulueren via note verbale: 
 
ANKARA 00000584  002 OF 002 
 
 
 
BEGIN TEXT OF NOTE VERBALE 
 
-- Each year, the United States welcomes an average of 1,100 
refugees from Turkish territory for resettlement in the U.S. 
Most of these are Iranian Ba'hais while some are from 
countries in Africa or Asia. 
 
-- In 2007, we expect to resettle several hundred additional 
Iraqi refugees from Turkish territory.  At the same time, we 
will not reduce the number of refugees from other 
nationalities whom we resettle from Turkey. 
 
-- Compared to some of Turkey's neighboring countries, the 
number of Iraqi refugees in Turkey is relatively small. 
However, because of our established resettlement 
infrastructure through the International Catholic Migration 
Commission (ICMC) in Istanbul, it is most logical for us to 
focus our initial efforts on those refugees present in Turkey. 
 
-- We plan to be able to begin the resettlement process for 
300 Iraqi refugees from Turkey to the United States by June 
¶2007.  These are individuals who have already registered both 
with UNHCR and with Turkish authorities, and who have been 
identified by UNHCR and the U.S. Department of Homeland 
Security as particularly vulnerable. 
 
-- We hope to be able to resettle another several hundred to 
one thousand Iraqi refugees from Turkey to the United States 
before the end of the year. 
 
-- Throughout this program, we will resettle only persons who 
are already present on Turkish territory, and we will 
cooperate closely with Turkish authorities to resolve any 
issues of their legal status.  We have no plans to move any 
person or persons across any international borders for the 
purpose of their resettlement from Turkey to the United 
States. 
 
-- During 2007 we will also begin resettling thousands of 
vulnerable Iraqi refugees who are currently residing in other 
countries in the region.  We will resettle them directly from 
the countries where they are currently residing.  Meanwhile, 
we will provide uniform humanitarian assistance to Iraqi 
refugees of all ethnicities in all countries in the region 
where they are residing. 
 
END TEXT. 
 
Visit Ankara's Classified Web Site at 
http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/eur/ankara/ 
 
WILSON