INDEPENDENT NEWS

Cablegate: Got Concerns On Some Aspects of Csi

Published: Wed 1 Dec 2004 07:08 AM
This record is a partial extract of the original cable. The full text of the original cable is not available.
UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 ANKARA 006649
SIPDIS
DEPT FOR EB/TRA/OTP AND EUR/SE
ROME FOR ICE ROBERT STIRITI
PARIS FOR TSA
DHS FOR CSI - TODD HORTON
DEPT PASS TRANSPORTATION DEPT
SENSITIVE
E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: EWWT PTER ETRD PREL ETTC KTIA TU
SUBJECT: GOT Concerns on Some Aspects of CSI
Ref: (A) Ankara 5691 (C) State 198802
Sensitive but Unclassified. Please Handle Accordingly.
Summary
-------
1. (SBU) At briefings on the Container Security
Initiative by visiting Immigration, Customs and
Enforcement Attache, Turkish officials reaffirmed their
interest in the program, but expressed sensitivities
about stationing U.S. personnel in Turkish customs areas
and said a bilateral agreement would need to be
negotiated. The Turks provided data on security
infrastructure and transport at the port of Izmir.
Although the Turks are moving forward on our proposal,
including through a visit to existing CSI ports, they
will proceed with caution. Mission recommends that DHS
consider the command/control, administration and
security aspects of a presence in Turkey carefully,
including the merits of posting a representative in
Ankara when and if personnel are deployed to Izmir. End
Summary.
GOT Concerns on CSI
-------------------
2. (SBU) ICE Attache Robert Stiriti briefed a GOT
interagency group, including officials from MFA, the
Foreign Trade Undersecretariat (FTU), the Customs U/S,
the Security General Directorate of the Interior
Ministry, and the Maritime U/S, on expanding the
Container Security Initiative (CSI) to the Turkish port
of Izmir on November 23. Turkish officials, including
Acting Customs U/S Riza Tuna Turagay and MFA Deputy
Director General for Aviation and Maritime Affairs Vakur
Gozdenizler, reaffirmed Turkey's interest in joining
CSI. However, they told us it would be difficult to
reconcile CSI (stationing U.S. customs officers) with
domestic legislation restricting access to customs
areas. MFA suggested that it might be more feasible to
station customs officer near, but not in, Turkish ports
or customs areas. MFA stated that a bilateral agreement
to inaugurate CSI would need to be negotiated and
submitted either to Parliament for ratification, or to
the GOT Council of Ministers for approval. Turagay and
Gokdenizler requested technical, training and financial
assistance with respect to preparing staff and securing
non-intrusive inspection equipment.
3. (U) The GOT is sending Cahit Gokcelik, Deputy
Director General at the Customs U/S, to observe
arrangements at several functioning CSI ports in Western
Europe as part of the interagency process to evaluate
CSI.
4. (U) ICE Attache emphasized that U.S. customs officers
would not have the authority to unilaterally order
inspection of containers or to conduct any inspections;
the two sides cooperating in CSI would jointly decide
which containers are searched and Turkish customs
officers would conduct actual inspections under the
observation of U.S. personnel. He told the Turks that
it might be possible for the U.S. side to lend
equipment, and/or to support equipment purchase through
other U.S. or multilateral assistance programs.
Izmir: Port Equipment and Transport Data
-----------------------------------------
5. (SBU) The Turkish side provided ICE Attache with the
following data concerning the port of Izmir:
Equipment: Fixed radiation detectors are installed and
used at entry and exit points at the port. An X-ray
detector is used to screen passengers and their baggage,
but there is no such device available to screen
containers. As required, law enforcement authorities
have narcotics-detection, explosive-detection, ionscan,
fiberoptic and other equipment, as well as a narcotics
sniffer dog available for screening purposes. GAS-DATA
equipment used to combat human trafficking is not
available.
Transport volumes: Customs officials confirmed that
Izmir is the largest port servicing Turkish exports to
the United States. In 2003, 531,000 tons of merchandise
were exported through Izmir. In the first nine months
of 2004, exports totaled 465,000 tons.
Comment
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6. (SBU) We believe ICE Attache's briefings were
beneficial in explaining to the GOT how CSI works and
what is expected from them. The GOT is genuinely
interested in CSI, primarily because of the trade
facilitation dimension of the program, but will probably
proceed cautiously and in a legalistic manner as it has
in other export control and related programs.
7. (SBU) As discussed with ICE Attache, DHS should also
consider carefully the U.S. internal administrative and
security concerns raised by stationing Customs and
Border Protection officers in Izmir, and particularly
whether it is advisable to station a CBP representative
in Ankara as part of the Mission's country team.
Mission fully supports objectives of CSI, and is eager
to discuss how to most effectively implement the program
if we obtain a more definitive response that the Turks
are prepared to proceed. Edelman
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