Cablegate: Tip in Turkey: Turkish Media Attention, November 1-

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 006754

SIPDIS

DEPARTMENT FOR G/TIP, G, INL, DRL, EUR/PGI, EUR/SE

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PREL KCRM PHUM KWMN SMIG KFRD PREF TU TIP IN TURKEY
SUBJECT: TIP IN TURKEY: TURKISH MEDIA ATTENTION, November 1-
15, 2005

1. In response to G/TIP inquiries, national and
international media sources published the following news
articles about TIP in Turkey. Text of articles
originally published in Turkish is provided through
unofficial local FSN translation.

2. Published by Milliyet and also reported by Vatan, Sabah
and Radikal on Tuesday, November 1:

TITLE: Slave children's camp in Tekirdag

BEGIN TEXT: Ugur Dundar's Arena program, aired on Kanal
D and CNN Turk, showed the plight of child workers who
were made to work like slaves at brick factories.

Dundar, accompanied by Labor Ministry inspectors, visited
the factory and brought to light the unhealthy working
conditions. He also showed how he was detained by the
Jandarma.

The Arena team, following a tip that was received from
Tekirdag, documented that many children were made to work
under incredible conditions at brick factories.

Children who were employed illegally were carrying heavy
bricks in the mist of dust and soil. They were sleeping
in unhealthy conditions at night. Even girls were
working under the same conditions.

Dundar and his team entered a brick factory and
interviewed the children. Upon the factory owner's
application, the Jandarma detained Dundar and his team in
Kumbag. They were released after three hours.

Murat Ayhan Basaran, Department Head for Child Labor at
the Labor Ministry, said that children must not be
employed under those conditions.

Highlights of the interview with the children included:

-- How old were you when you began to work here?
-- Nine.

-- Do you wear a mask?
-- No.

-- You have been here for one and a half months. How
many times did you have meat to eat?
-- Twice.

-- What do you do for ten hours?
-- We clean the premises. It is hard. There is dirt and
stone. We are constantly in dust. You cannot see
around.

-- How much money do you get?
-- I get 10 million TL (less than 8 USD) a day.

-- Have you received that money?
-- Not yet.

-- Why are you washing your mouth?
-- It is full of dust.

-- When you spit, do you feel the dust?
-- Yes.

-- How do you describe this place?
-- I would say that working conditions are very hard.
The daily payment is low. Sleeping (here) is awful.

-- In other words, you are saying that it is not suitable
to sleep?
-- When you go inside, (you see) bedbugs. You can see
(on me) their marks. END TEXT.

3. Published by Moldova.org on Friday, November 4:

TITLE: Woman trafficked to Kosovo becomes pimp in
Moldova

BEGIN TEXT: The capital's police have detained a
resident of Anenii Noi district who is suspected of
trafficking many young girls to Kosovo.

According to the General Police Commissariat, Carolina
Gherasimov, 25, was arrested in an apartment on Ginta
Latina Street from the capital, together with three
young girls who were to be trafficked soon to Kosovo.

Gherasimov is also suspected of procuring in Moldova.
The cited source says that the forces of order
discovered three cases of trafficking organized by
Gherasimov. The suspect registered all the necessary
documents for transporting the victims. She was
cooperating with a person from Kosovo who is still
unidentified.

Upon investigation it was established that Gherasimov
was earlier trafficked to Kosovo, where she practiced
prostitution. The police found out that while
registering the documents Gherasimov forced the young
girls to provide intimate services for clients from
Moldova.

Criminal proceedings were instituted on the basis of
Articles 220 and 165 of the Penal Code (procuring) and
(trafficking in human beings), which stipulate jail
terms of up to 25 years.

Sergiu Purcica, division head at the Center for
Combating Trafficking in Persons, told REPORTER.MD that
216 cases of trafficking in persons, 47 cases of
trafficking in children and 90 cases of procuring were
registered in the first nine months of the current
year. Purcica specified that Turkey, the Arab Emirates
and Russia, especially Moscow, are the most attractive
centers of activity for traffickers at present. END
TEXT.

4. Published by Milliyet and same story picked up by Bugun
and Vatan on Wednesday, November 9:

TITLE: They marketed a Russian woman with AIDS to 200
people

BEGIN TEXT: It was claimed that three foreign women
captured in operations carried out by the Foreigners'
Police were HIV positive and carrying Hepatitis B. It
was also claimed that the women had sexual contact with
many businessmen and sportsmen.

Moldovan Natalia Gribal informed authorities that she
was forced into prostitution. Police raided a hotel on
Istiklal Street (in Istanbul) and Gribal was saved from
the hands of the network. Alina Muradova, the alleged
ring leader, was detained, and her deputy, Melisa Kagan
Chitvas, fled.

Natali Matinga, Anzhelika Marchenko and Inna Belkusova,
who were forced into prostitution by the network, were
detained. Following their medical check, it was found
out that Moldovan Natalia Matinga was HIV positive, and
Russians Anzhelika Marchenko and Inna Belkusova had
Hepatitis B. It was reported that Matinga, who had
AIDS, has been with approximately 200 people. END
TEXT.

5. Published by Sabah on Thursday, November 10:

TITLE: Natasha by accident

BEGIN TEXT: Kiev-born movie actress, Milla Jovovich,
is going in front of the cameras to portray a Russian
sex slave. Thirty-year-old Jovovich shares top billing
with Kevin Kline in the film, "Welcome to America." In
the film she plays a woman who goes to America to be a
childcare giver, but later finds herself in Mexico as a
sex slave. The film, with a budget of 12 million
dollars, was written by Roland Emmerich and will be
produced by Marco Kreuzpaintner. END TEXT.
MCELDOWNEY

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