Tim W Hayes  02/14/2008 03:47:03 PM  From  DB/Inbox:  Tim W Hayes

Cable 
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UNCLAS        ANKARA 00271

SIPDIS
CX:
    ACTION: PMA
    INFO:   FCS CONS AMB POL DCM DAO RAO ECON TSR PA

DISSEMINATION: PMA /1
CHARGE: PROG

APPROVED: PMA:CRSIEBENTRITT
DRAFTED: PMA:RCIESLINSKI
CLEARED: NONE

VZCZCAYI181
RR RUEHC RHEBAAA RUCPDOC RULSJGA RUEAORC RUCNEXC
RUEUITH RUEKJCS RUEKJCS
DE RUEHAK #0271/01 0441448
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 131448Z FEB 08
FM AMEMBASSY ANKARA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 5219
RHEBAAA/DEPT OF ENERGY WASHINGTON DC
RUCPDOC/DEPT OF COMMERCE WASHDC
RULSJGA/COMDT COGARD WASHINGTON DC
RUEAORC/US CUSTOMS AND BORDER PROTECTION WASHINGTON DC
INFO RUCNEXC/EXPORT CONTROL AND RELATED BORDER SECURITY
RUEUITH/ODC ANKARA TU
RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHDC
RUEKJCS/JCS WASHDC

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 ANKARA 000271 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT FOR NP/ECC- YWONG, ACHURCH, BGOLDEN 
DEPT FOR EUR/ACE- DSILLIMAN, BHUNT, PMALIK 
DOE/NNSA- TPERRY, LPARKER, EDESCHLER 
CBP/INA- BWATTS, BPICKETT 
DOC FOR DCREED 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: ETTC KNNP KSTC MNUC PARM PREL TU
SUBJECT: EXBS: TURKEY ADVISORS MONTHLY REPORT- (JANUARY 
2008) 
 
 
¶1. Summary:  EXBS Advisor met with EU Commission 
representative to coordinate future border security 
assistance programs with Turkish Customs.  EXBS program 
completed Customs clearance of CT-30 Kits and Gerber tool 
Kits and moved them into temporary storage at Post, awaiting 
MFA acceptance of new Property Grant documents for transfer 
of equipment to Turkish Customs Enforcement.  TNP requested 
postponement of radiation detection training by SLD due to 
internal Turkish process issues. 
 
¶2. Completed Actions for the Reporting Period 
 
¶A. Meetings During Recent Reporting Period 
 
1)  EXBS Advisor and Coordinator met with the following 
Turkish and European officials this period: 
 
a) Jan 4th - Turkish National Police (TNP) Assistant Director 
for Counter-terrorism and Operations Division, Ahmet Yayla. 
Yayla is the POC for coordinating radiation and detection 
programs for TNP.  We discussed the planned delivery of 
radiation detection training and hand-held radiation 
detectors and pager by SLD, which was scheduled for Feb 4th - 
16th, 2008.  During this meeting, coordination of training 
location at Golbasi training academy site and delivery and 
acceptance of training materials, including hand-held 
detectors and pagers in time for this training, were 
discussed.  Yayla assured us that the site and authority to 
conduct this training was already approved.  Advisor 
requested to visit training site and met with Chief of 
External affairs prior to moving ahead with this program, as 
MFA would need to be notified of any U.S. provided training 
prior to arrival of training team. 
 
b) Jan 8th - Delegation of the European Commission to Turkey 
Trade Officer, Arslan Umut Ergezer.  We discussed the current 
EU accession Twining project currently underway with Turkish 
Customs.  Ergezer noted that Turkish Customs was progressing 
with internal process improvements for enforcement of current 
Custom regulations, but still lacked sound institution 
building. Current EU funded projects include procurement and 
installation of five new mobile x-ray vehicle and container 
scanning units and search sheds (inspection buildings with 
refrigeration units) at key land/sea container ports of 
Izmir, Istanbul/Ambarli, Samsun, Mersin and Gurbulak.  EU is 
also funding a new Customs forensic laboratory in Istanbul 
and is currently entertaining a request from Turkish Customs 
to reprogram funds for a proposed Customs Training Academy, 
which lacks Turkish required funding support for 
infrastructure development, to procure a new railway scanning 
system (x-ray) for installation in the city of Van, on the 
main Turkish rail line from Iran to Syria.  Both Advisor and 
Ergezer agreed to hold regular border security coordination 
meetings with EU and EXBS programs in the near term to ensure 
coordination of assistance provided to Turkish Customs. 
 
c) Jan 9th - TNP Department of Criminal Police Laboratories 
Head of Department, Seyit Demirci. We had a brief meeting 
with Demirci to review upcoming radiation detection training 
and confirmed that 48 Bomb Disposal officers from around all 
regions, including parliamentary and presidential Bomb squad 
units, would be the prime recipients of this training and 
equipment.  He stated that few bomb disposal teams currently 
had the capacity to verify if radioactive materials are 
present in suspicious containers and vehicles and that it was 
critical for these teams to detect radioactive materials, if 
present, prior to inspecting and/or disabling suspicious 
packages or vehicles.  He agreed to arrange for a site visit 
to the Golbasi training academy where this training is 
scheduled to be held. 
 
d) Jan 11th - TNP Criminal Police Laboratory Bomb Disposal 
Unit Head of Section, Cengiz Ozdemir.  We visited the Golbasi 
training site and confirmed site was suitable for radiation 
detection training.  Ozdemir discussed Turkish bomb squad 
teams' roles and responsibilities in ensuring the safety of 
Turkish citizens from the detonation of crude conventional, 
radioactive, and Bio-chemical devices by criminals and 
terrorists throughout Turkey.  He agreed to store the 
hand-held detectors and pagers when they have cleared customs. 
 
e) Jan 14th - Turkish National Police (TNP) Organized Crime 
and Smuggling Section Head Mehmet Keskinkilic.  We provided a 
brief update on the status of the pending Hazardous Material 
Response training, which Keskinkilic is eager to have his 
officers attend, and requested TNP input into the 
development of training and equipment programs for TNP to 
promote increased detection capabilities for potential WMD 
related materials and dual use items.  Keskinkilic reiterated 
his desire to receive first responder related equipment 
(protection suits and detection equipment) and training so 
that his team could adequately respond to future biological 
or chemical incidents.  We provided Keskinkilic with 
specifications for SABR 400 detection units during this 
meeting for his staffs review. 
 
f) Jan 18th - Turkish National Police Chief of International 
Relations Department Recep Gultekin.  We discussed the 
upcoming radiation detection training program at Golbasi by 
DOE/SLD and the proposed Hazardous material training in the 
US for early spring.  Gultekin confirmed his department was 
eager to receive both training programs and confirmed 
training was targeted at the correct departments within TNP. 
Cieslinski noted to Gultekin and his staff that all training 
programs delivered by both EXBS and DOE/SLD would be notified 
to MFA as required by diplomatic note. 
 
g) Jan 30th - Undersecretariat for Foreign Trade (UFT) 
Foreign Agreements Section, Cigdem Sagiloglu Erkoc.   We 
provided Erkoc with a copy of the CTP, Inc letter which 
offered to provide GOT with extensive rights for Official Use 
of the ICP software provided during the ICP development 
program at no cost to GOT.   Erkoc noted that this appeared 
to be what UFT required to progress with implementing the ICP 
application on a web based platform, but that UFT lawyers 
would need to confirm this and that they would provide us 
with a response as soon as their lawyers reviewed the content 
of this letter. 
 
h) MFA Head of Department for Nonproliferation and 
Disarmament Elif Ulgen.  Advisor met with Ulgen to review 
status of EXBS agreement and to discuss avenues to continue 
EXBS program planning until agreement was implemented.  She 
reiterated, as in past meetings, that the EXBS Agreement 
would not be implemented until the PUNE(123) Agreement was 
ratified by the US.  She also noted that once EXBS is 
implemented by GOT, there would still need to be internal 
steps required by the GOT to approve an "implementation plan" 
for the EXBS agreement, which could take additional time. 
Advisor noted to Ulgen that this agreement has been held up 
for an extended period and that this agreement should be 
implemented as soon as possible to ensure that the US could 
adequately plan for future budget cycles to ensure Turkey 
received adequate funding for needed nonproliferation 
oriented export control and related border security programs 
for Turkey.  She agreed and noted that EXBS implementation 
was also seen by GOT as important, but that there this was a 
political decision at much higher levels within GOT and again 
noted the 123 agreement needed to be completed before action 
would be taking on EXBS. 
 
 
¶B. Training Conducted During this Reporting Period: - None. 
 
¶C. Equipment Delivered During this Reporting Period: - 
Delivered 8- hand-held digital spectrometers, 18- radiation 
survey meters, and 100- radiation detector pagers to TNP Bomb 
Disposal Unit at Golbasi, which were procured by DOE/SLD for 
scheduled February training. 
 
¶D. Imminent Training or Equipment Status Update: 
 
1) 8 ea- CT-30 Kits and 200 ea- Gerber tool kits 
w/flashlights where released from Customs storage and 
delivered to Embassy for temporary storage while awaiting new 
Property Grant documentation by GOT.  Expected delivery to 
Customs Enforcement on or about Feb 22nd, 2008  As requested 
in last month's report, Los Alamos Technical Associates 
(LATA) did provide payment for storage and handling fees. 
 
2) In cooperation with EXBS, DOE/SLD scheduled six two day 
hand-held radiation detection training sessions reported in 
last month's cable for February 1 - 18, 2008 were postponed 
due to internal political issues between MFA and TNP.  It is 
now known that TNP failed to inform MFA of their desire for 
this training and MFA pushed back on allowing TNP to receive 
this training at this time.  Advisor, with assistance of 
DOE/SLD program manager, is working to see if this training 
can be rescheduled in March 2008.  TNP has noted to MFA that 
this training is critical and MFA has indicated that they 
will support limited training once TNP provides adequate 
justification for this training.  MFA remains reluctant to 
allow further nonproliferation oriented training or equipment 
deliveries until the EXBS agreement has been fully 
implemented. 
 
¶E. Significant Developments in Export Controls, 
Nonproliferation, or Related Border Security: The 
Undersecretariat for Foreign Trade advised EXBS during the 
Jan 30th meeting that the proposed updates to current export 
control laws to bring Turkish law in line with EU export 
control standards, as part of the EU accession process, is 
now complete within UFT and will be sent to Parliament for 
review during Feb/Mar time frame.  They are confident that 
these new laws will be enacted before the end of 2008. 
 
¶3. Future Activities: EXBS Advisor and coordinator will to 
attend the commissioning ceremony in the port of Izmir for a 
new x-ray unit which was donated by the EU to Turkish Customs 
Enforcement on Feb 7th, 2008.  Submitted request to EXBS 
Advisor Management Team for EXBS Coordinator to attend first 
week of UGA Export Control Academy in April 2008.  Tuition is 
to be paid for by ISN/ECC and travel order and associated 
travel cost to be paid out of Ankara travel fund cite. 
 
¶4. Red Flag Issues:  None. 
 
¶5. Contact information for EXBS Program Ankara is:  Robert 
Cieslinski, EXBS Advisor, Email: CieslinskiRL@state.gov, 
Office (90) (312) 457-7210, Cell (90) (533) 716-4808 and 
Erhan Mert, EXBS Coordinator, Email: MertE2@state.gov, 
Office(90)312 457-7059, Cell (90) (533) 264-8407. EXBS 
Program 
Office Fax (90) (312) 468-4775 
 
Visit Ankara's Classified Web Site at 
http://www.intelink.sgov.gov/wiki/Portal:Turk ey 
 
WILSON