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PP RUEHWEB

DE RUEHIT #0128/01 0890811
ZNR UUUUU ZZH (CCY AD4987DD MSI1943-632)
P 300811Z MAR 09
FM AMCONSUL ISTANBUL
TO RUEATRS/DEPT OF TREASURY WASH DC PRIORITY
RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 8889
INFO RUEHZL/EUROPEAN POLITICAL COLLECTIVE
RUCNWTO/WORLD TRADE ORGANIZATION COLLECTIVE
RUEHAK/AMEMBASSY ANKARA 8199
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHDC
RUEKJCS/DIA WASHDC
RUFOADA/JAC MOLESWORTH RAF MOLESWORTH UK
RHMFISS/JOINT STAFF WASHINGTON DC
RHEHNSC/NSC WASHDC
RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHDC
RUCNDT/USMISSION USUN NEW YORK 0010
RHEHAAA/WHITE HOUSE WASHDC

UNCLAS ISTANBUL 000128 
 
SENSITIVE 
C O R R E C T E D  C O P Y CAPTION 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: CASC ECON EFIN ENIV ETRD IMF PREL TU
SUBJECT: WORLD WATER FORUM PROVIDES A DRY-RUN FOR THE 
OCTOBER WORLD BANK/IMF MEETING IN ISTANBUL 
 
REF: A. ISTANBUL 57 
     ¶B. 08 ISTANBUL 208 
 
 ¶1. (U) Summary and Comment:   During March 16-22, 2009, over 
25,000 people from more than 60 countries attended the Fifth 
Triennial World Water Forum (WWF) in Istanbul. The 71-member 
U.S. delegation was headed by Alonzo Fulghum, Acting Director 
of USAID, who gave the opening and closing Ministerial 
statements on behalf of the United States, WWF outcomes will 
be reported septel.  Turkish government and Istanbul 
municipality preparations provided a relative smooth 
meeting, although the organizers were scrambling at the last 
minute to tie the event together.  A network of shuttle buses 
and ferries to the venue helped attendees avoid being tied up 
in Istanbul,s legendary traffic congestion.  A strong police 
presence likely deterred some unauthorized protesters; 
nevertheless, police employed riot control measures on 
opening day, and 17 demonstrators were arrested. Given the 
size and international flavor of the conference, the WWF 
presented a useful preview for the upcoming World Bank/IMF 
meeting this October; about 23,000 people attended the World 
Bank/IMF Annual meeting in Singapore in 2006. End Summary and 
Comment. 
 
¶2. (U) Istanbul hosted a larger than expected turn-out for 
the Fifth World Water Forum (WWF) held between March 16 and 
¶22.  WWF organizers aimed to draw 20,000 people to the event, 
outdoing the 2006 WWF in Mexico City, which about 15,000 
people attended.  WWF Secretariat staff told us they were 
concerned when, on the eve of the Forum, the number of 
pre-registrants had reached almost 30,000.  Over 23,000 
attended the opening day alone, yet the actual number of 
attendees was over 25,000 for the week. At times the venue 
felt the weight of the crowd, since some meeting rooms could 
not physically handle the numbers of interested attendees. 
Overall, the WWF Secretariat and venue successfully 
accommodated the large numbers of attendees. 
 
¶3. (SBU) Construction of the venue facilities was constantly 
behind schedule, forcing a mad scramble in the weeks leading 
up to opening day (Ref A).   The primary venue, the Sutluce 
Congress Center, has been under stop and go construction for 
the past 10 years. The latest interruption occurred in the 
fall, when the organizers replaced the contractor, causing 
additional delays.   One week before opening day, Ahmet 
Saatci, Deputy Secretary to the WWF Secretariat, confessed to 
us the work on the venue was similar to how the Turks play 
European Football; "we fall behind, but then we score in the 
last minute."  The final product appeared to meet the needs 
of both the organizers and attendees. 
 
¶4. (U) Transportation to the venue at Sutluce seemed to work 
relatively well, a significant feat in congested Istanbul. 
Despite the existing lack of public transportation routes to 
the main WWF site, shuttle buses carried most of the 
attendees to and from their hotels. A ferry between Sutluce 
and a few popular local landings, which offered a scenic and 
apt means of transportation from the Bosphorus to the WWF 
sites, was suspended on opening day for security reasons; 
however, by the second day the ferries were operating on 
schedule, and many WWF attendees utilized them.  Strict 
police traffic control made vehicular travel to the main 
Forum area manageable, though parking spaces were limited. 
Also, several Americans were scammed by unscrupulous taxi 
drivers who took advantage of Turkey,s two existing legal 
currencies to avoid giving back the correct change.  Note: 
Turkey switched to "Turkish Lira" (TL) on January 1, 2009; 
however "New Turkish Lira" or (YTL) is still legal currency 
until December 31.  The value of TL and YTL are identical, 
but the physical bills look different. End Note. 
 
¶5. (U) There was a strong security presence at the WWF, and 
throughout the city, in the run-up to the event, and this 
presence continued during the entire week.  Thousands of 
police were visible at the venue and at popular gathering 
locations during the WWF.  Several water-related 
demonstrations took place during the week, the principal one 
occurring on opening day.  The Turkish police used water 
cannons (a point highlighted by the press) to quickly break 
up the demonstration, which took place in a restricted area 
 
just outside the Forum:  police arrested 17 protesters.  An 
American citizen and a German were deported after unrolling a 
banner inside the venue protesting "No Risky Dams!" during 
the opening ceremony (the two had been given the alternative 
of spending one year in jail).  Authorized, non-violent 
protests occurred with little incident. Opponents of the WWF 
held peaceful "counter forums" throughout the city 
simultaneously with the WWF.  The WWF occurred during the 
official campaign period for March 29 municipal elections. 
Five parties held major rallies in Istanbul on March 22, the 
closing day of the Forum, with the largest drawing over 
100,000 supporters of the ruling party to an area near the 
international airport.  Public authorities aptly 
de-conflicted tens of thousands of party loyalists and WWF 
attendees.  The net impact of the March 22 political rallies 
on the Forum was nil. 
 
¶6. (SBU) Comment:  The WWF provides a preview of what to 
expect for the World Bank/IMF Annual Meeting to be held in 
Istanbul on October 6-7. While the police presence will 
assuredly be greater to meet the larger numbers of expected 
protesters, the ability of the police to respond to 
unauthorized or violent protests at the WWF while handling an 
election campaign at full steam provides some indication of 
what to expect in October. The strong police presence and 
response to the May Day demonstrations 2008, which are 
expected to occur again in 2009, demonstrates the Turkish 
National Police,s ability to field a sizable police force 
and put in place strict transportation controls to put a stop 
to any unauthorized protests (reftel B). The TNP have told us 
there will be far more road closures for the October meeting 
than during WWF. The venue will be different for the October 
meeting; the World Bank/IMF meeting will be in the downtown 
area of Harbiye, near public transportation and the five star 
hotels of Taksim. This will likely make transportation issues 
less of a problem, but will provide greater opportunities for 
opponents of the international meeting to stage protests. 
Wiener