By Gareth Jenkins
Friday, September 26, 2008
On September 16 a directive by the Turkish Ministry of Finance to try to tighten Turkish anti-money-laundering legislation was published in the country’s Official Gazette.
“The Directive on the Harmonization Program Regarding Responsibilities Related to the Prevention of the Laundering of Criminal Proceeds and the Financing of Terrorism” requires all financial institutions in the country—such as banks, brokerage houses, and insurance and pension companies—to improve the monitoring of financial transactions through the adoption of standardized procedures and an increase in staff training. The directive also obliges the institutions to establish specialized departments to ensure that the appropriate procedures are being followed (Official Gazette, No. 26999, September 16).
The directive is the latest in a flurry of legislative amendments passed by the Turkish authorities in the run-up to an assessment in February 2009 of Turkey’s anti-money-laundering efforts by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). A previous assessment by the FATF in February 2007 listed numerous shortcomings in Turkish legislation and its implementation. They included the lack of a precise definition in Turkish law of the crime of money laundering; inadequate fulfillment of Turkey’s obligations under the 1999 International Convention on the Suppression of the Financing of Terrorism, particularly with regard to non-indigenous groups; the low level of notifications of suspicious transactions; and poor implementation of anti-money laundering-legislation by the Turkish court system (Dunya, July 7).
The Turkish authorities subsequently passed measures to tighten the legal definition of the financing of terrorism (Official Gazette, No. 26693, November 7, 2007), improve coordination between state authorities against money laundering (Official Gazette, No. 26730, December 12, 2007), and increase the measures that should be taken to combat it (Official Gazette, No. 26751, January 9). Serious doubts remain, however, about how effective these changes will be in practice.
The Financial Crimes Investigation Board (MASAK), whose primary purpose is to combat money laundering, was first established in the Turkish Ministry of Finance in 1997. Its legal status and responsibilities were overhauled in 2006 (Law No. 5549 on the Prevention of the Laundering of Criminal Proceeds, published in the Official Gazette, No. 26323, October 18, 2006). In addition to its activities inside the country, it is faced with an additional problem: Turkey’s position on one of the main heroin trafficking routes into Europe has ensured that members of the Turkish underworld have been able to amass considerable fortunes, much of which has been ploughed back into the Turkish economy. Yet, in the 11 years since MASAK was founded, nobody has served time in jail in Turkey for money laundering.
According to MASAK’s own figures, from February 17, 1997, until December 31, 2007 (the latest period for which official data are available), a total of 231 money-laundering cases were filed with the Turkish courts, of which 170 were still continuing as of December 31, 2007. Of the 61 cases that had been concluded in the court of first instance, 51 resulted in acquittal and 10 in convictions. The court granted the right of appeal in 54 of the 61 cases. Of these 54 cases, 46 were still continuing. Of the other eight, the appeal courts ruled for an acquittal in seven and a retrial in one (MASAK Annual Report 2007, www.masak.gov.tr)
There is no reason to doubt the Turkish authorities’ determination to combat indigenous terrorist organizations such as the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), nor Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s personal antipathy toward organized crime groups such as those involved in narcotics trafficking; but, while there is no evidence to suggest that leading members of the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) have knowingly concealed illegal financial transfers, there have recently been disturbing signs of a lack of political will by some members of the government to subject those with whom they are personally acquainted, or whom they believe share their ideological affiliations, to legal scrutiny.
On September 17 in a court in Frankfurt, Germany, three members of the Deniz Feneri e.V. charity, which collected donations from Muslims in Europe, were convicted of embezzling 41.3 million euros (approximately $58 million) (see EDM, September 11). The convicted men confessed to having transferred a large share of the money to Turkey, where it was invested in businesses (Milliyet, Radikal, Hurriyet, NTV, September 18). The three convicted men, Deniz Feneri e.V., and the businesses in Turkey in which the embezzled funds were invested were all close to the AKP. Yet, not only was the AKP reluctant to launch an investigation into what had happened to the money after it arrived in Turkey, but when non-AKP Turkish newspapers published details of the verdict, together with documents apparently implicating AKP-appointed members of the bureaucracy, Erdogan instructed AKP supporters: “Don’t allow these newspapers into your homes” (NTV, CNNTurk, Milliyet, Radikal, Hurriyet, September 19).
The AKP’s apparent reluctance to subject its own supporters and acquaintances to judicial scrutiny came less than a month after former AKP Foreign Minister and now President Abdullah Gul formally pardoned 82-year-old Necmettin Erbakan, the doyen of the Turkish Islamist movement and under whose wings both Erdogan and Gul himself had begun their political careers. Erbakan had been convicted of embezzling treasury aid while head of the Islamist Welfare Party (RP). The original indictment also named Gul as a co-defendant, although his parliamentary immunity meant that he could never be tried (Radikal, August 20). Gul defended his decision on the grounds of Erbakan’s age, but he has not extended this courtesy to other elderly convicted criminals.
As a result, in addition to doubts about how effective Turkey’s new anti-money laundering-measures will prove in practice, there are also now questions about how evenly they will be applied. There is no reason to suppose that Deniz Feneri e.V. was involved in the financing of terrorism, but other organizations masquerading as Islamic charities undoubtedly are; including some that are active in Turkey.
Source: Eurasia Daily Monitor
Showing posts with label PKK. Show all posts
Showing posts with label PKK. Show all posts
on Sunday, May 13, 2012
Turkish Daily News
The Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) groups has a presence on both sides of Cyprus, the United States said in its 2007 report on terrorism, daily Cyprus Mail reported Friday. "However its activities generally were limited to fundraising and transit en route to third countries; authorities believed there was little risk the group would conduct operations there,” it said.The report emphasized that issues of status and recognition inevitably restrict the ability of Turkish Cypriot authorities to cooperate on counterterrorism. “Turkish Cypriots cannot sign treaties, U.N. conventions, or other international agreements, for example. Moreover, the Turkish Cypriot-administered area lacked the legal and institutional framework necessary to meet minimum standards on combating money laundering and terrorist financing effectively,” it said. Although the Turkish Cypriot community's financial sector was vulnerable to abuse by criminals and terrorists but that within the limitations, Turkish Cypriots cooperated in pursuing specific counterterrorism objectives, according to the report.
As for the South, the report said legal framework for investigating and prosecuting terrorist-related activity remained relatively weak. It also said the large volume of container traffic moving through Greek Cypriot ports in the government-controlled area made Cyprus “an attractive and convenient venue for terrorist organizations seeking transshipment points for weapons and other items of concern.”
“While Cypriot agencies responsible for non-proliferation assess only a small risk of illicit materials moving through transit cargo, the United States continued to push for increased maritime cooperation,” said the report.
Three years ago, Greek Cyprus was the first EU member state to sign a ship boarding agreement with Washington, which provides the United States with the authority to board sea vessels suspected of carrying illicit shipments of weapons of mass destruction, their delivery systems, or related materials.
In addition, during 2007 the U.S. embassy in Cyprus organized and executed training programs to assist Cyprus to create a stronger export control regime and to pursue more proactive non-proliferation enforcement.
http://www.turkishdailynews.com.tr/article.php?enewsid=104084
The Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) groups has a presence on both sides of Cyprus, the United States said in its 2007 report on terrorism, daily Cyprus Mail reported Friday. "However its activities generally were limited to fundraising and transit en route to third countries; authorities believed there was little risk the group would conduct operations there,” it said.The report emphasized that issues of status and recognition inevitably restrict the ability of Turkish Cypriot authorities to cooperate on counterterrorism. “Turkish Cypriots cannot sign treaties, U.N. conventions, or other international agreements, for example. Moreover, the Turkish Cypriot-administered area lacked the legal and institutional framework necessary to meet minimum standards on combating money laundering and terrorist financing effectively,” it said. Although the Turkish Cypriot community's financial sector was vulnerable to abuse by criminals and terrorists but that within the limitations, Turkish Cypriots cooperated in pursuing specific counterterrorism objectives, according to the report.
As for the South, the report said legal framework for investigating and prosecuting terrorist-related activity remained relatively weak. It also said the large volume of container traffic moving through Greek Cypriot ports in the government-controlled area made Cyprus “an attractive and convenient venue for terrorist organizations seeking transshipment points for weapons and other items of concern.”
“While Cypriot agencies responsible for non-proliferation assess only a small risk of illicit materials moving through transit cargo, the United States continued to push for increased maritime cooperation,” said the report.
Three years ago, Greek Cyprus was the first EU member state to sign a ship boarding agreement with Washington, which provides the United States with the authority to board sea vessels suspected of carrying illicit shipments of weapons of mass destruction, their delivery systems, or related materials.
In addition, during 2007 the U.S. embassy in Cyprus organized and executed training programs to assist Cyprus to create a stronger export control regime and to pursue more proactive non-proliferation enforcement.
http://www.turkishdailynews.com.tr/article.php?enewsid=104084
on Monday, May 7, 2012
The Finance Ministry is stepping up efforts to prevent the financing of terror activities and the laundering of criminal revenue, working to map the course of Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) financing in Scandinavian countries.
In recent days, the Finance Ministry’s Financial Crimes Investigation Board (MASAK) and Revenues Administration (GİB) have stepped up their efforts to map the financial traffic of the outlawed PKK. MASAK officials say that efforts to expand intelligence on PKK financing in Scandinavian countries such as Switzerland, Norway, Finland and Denmark picked up speed with meetings toward the end of 2009. In 2010, Turkish authorities are aiming to reach an agreement with these nations that will bring an end to money laundering and fundraising for the terrorist group in these nations.
The Scandinavian nations are a focal point of many PKK financial activities, MASAK says, and during the year Turkey aims to gather detailed information on the money trail through these countries. Two years ago, a mutual memorandum was signed between MASAK and Swiss Confederation authorities aiming to prevent money laundering and the financing of terrorism. Within the framework of that memorandum, an agreement on double taxation between Norway and Turkey was revised last week. The agreement aims to prevent tax loss and fraud in mutual commercial relations by enabling the exchange of information between institutions to that end.
The Finance Ministry is also planning changes to the Bylaws on Precautions to Prevent Money Laundering and Financing of Terrorism. The changes drafted by the ministry include changes to the information required when performing electronic money transfers, eliminating the different requirements for domestic and international electronic transfers. In addition to the current requirement that the sender of money provide a Turkish Republic identification number, passport number and tax identification number, to bring this up to the international standard, an address or date and place of birth will also be required.
Source: Today's Zaman
In recent days, the Finance Ministry’s Financial Crimes Investigation Board (MASAK) and Revenues Administration (GİB) have stepped up their efforts to map the financial traffic of the outlawed PKK. MASAK officials say that efforts to expand intelligence on PKK financing in Scandinavian countries such as Switzerland, Norway, Finland and Denmark picked up speed with meetings toward the end of 2009. In 2010, Turkish authorities are aiming to reach an agreement with these nations that will bring an end to money laundering and fundraising for the terrorist group in these nations.
The Scandinavian nations are a focal point of many PKK financial activities, MASAK says, and during the year Turkey aims to gather detailed information on the money trail through these countries. Two years ago, a mutual memorandum was signed between MASAK and Swiss Confederation authorities aiming to prevent money laundering and the financing of terrorism. Within the framework of that memorandum, an agreement on double taxation between Norway and Turkey was revised last week. The agreement aims to prevent tax loss and fraud in mutual commercial relations by enabling the exchange of information between institutions to that end.
The Finance Ministry is also planning changes to the Bylaws on Precautions to Prevent Money Laundering and Financing of Terrorism. The changes drafted by the ministry include changes to the information required when performing electronic money transfers, eliminating the different requirements for domestic and international electronic transfers. In addition to the current requirement that the sender of money provide a Turkish Republic identification number, passport number and tax identification number, to bring this up to the international standard, an address or date and place of birth will also be required.
Source: Today's Zaman
on Friday, May 4, 2012
Friday, 04 January 2008
by William Fisher
The government’s spotty record in obtaining convictions of people charged with providing “material support” to terrorist organizations is adding new impetus to the efforts of prominent constitutional lawyers to seek substantial changes in the law.
The latest failure in a terrorism-financing prosecution came late in 2007, when a Texas jury failed to render any guilty verdicts in the trial of the Holy Land Foundation (HLF) – once the largest and most prominent charity dedicated to supporting Palestinian and other Muslim causes. Several HLF officials were charged with giving money to Hamas, the militant Palestinian organization designated a terrorist group by the U.S. in 1995. The trial ended with a mix of acquittals and deadlocks.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation started looking into HLF in 1993. In December 2001, the U.S. Treasury Department (DOT) seized and confiscated the charity’s assets and records, effectively putting the organization out of business. Given that outcome, some legal scholars have questioned why the government pursued a criminal prosecution at all. The trial did not begin until mid-2007.
William Neal, a juror in the HLF case, told the media that the government’s evidence “was pieced together over the course of a decade — a phone call this year, a message another year.” Instead of trying to prove that the defendants knew they were supporting terrorists, Mr. Neal said, prosecutors “danced around the wire transfers by showing us videos of little kids in bomb belts and people singing about Hamas, things that didn’t directly relate to the case.”
Civil liberties groups say the HLF case was just the latest in a line of misguided prosecutions. One such group, OMB Watch, charges that the USA Patriot Act gives the government “largely unchecked power to designate any group as a terrorist organization.” It says that “once a charitable organization is so designated, all of its materials and property may be seized and its assets frozen. The charity is unable to see the government’s evidence and thus understand the basis for the charges. Since its assets are frozen, it lacks resources to mount a defense. And it has only limited right of appeal to the courts. So the government can target a charity, seize its assets, shut it down, obtain indictments against its leaders, but then delay a trial almost indefinitely.”
One result, say critics of the government’s policy, is that Muslim charities have experienced a precipitous decline in contributions. Contributions that do arrive often come in cash from anonymous givers. And donors who happen to be Muslim are increasingly turning to the large household names like Oxfam and Save the Children, which may conduct programs in predominantly Muslim areas abroad.
One of America’s foremost constitutional scholars, Prof. David Cole of the Georgetown University Law Center, argues that the “material support principle is ‘guilt by association’ in 21st-century garb, and presents all of the same problems that criminalizing membership and association did during the Cold War.” He told us that the problem requires fundamental changes in the terrorism-financing law.
Included in Cole’s recommendations for major changes:
1. The Treasury Department should be required to permit closed charities to direct their collected funds to charities mutually approved by the frozen charity and the government.
2. Congress should enact a statutory definition of a "specially designated terrorist." “Right now the Treasury Department makes such designations entirely on the basis of an Executive Order, and accordingly Congress has given the President essentially a blank check,” Cole told us.
3. Treasury should allow designated entities to use their own funds to pay for their own defense. “Treasury not only shuts down charities in a secretive one-sided process, but then bars the charities from using any of their own money to defend themselves against the designation,” according to Cole.
4. The criminal material support statutes should be amended to require proof that an individual supported a proscribed group with the intent to further its illegal activities. “Today,” according to the government, “even aid intended to discourage terrorist activities is a crime under the material support laws,” Cole says.
He adds, “There is no requirement that the aid have any connection to terrorism,” and cites a case he is handling with the Humanitarian Law Project (HLP) at the Center for Constitutional Rights (CCR).
He told us, “My clients had been providing human rights advocacy training to the PKK in Turkey, as a way of encouraging them to use peaceful lawful means to resolve their disputes with the Turkish government over its treatment of the Kurdish minority. By encouraging lawful outlets for dispute resolution, such aid would presumably discourage terrorism. Yet under the material support statute it is a crime even if HLP could prove that both the purpose and the effect of their support was to decrease the PKK's resort to violence.”
OMB Watch says the “material support” effort has resulted in the government shutting down charities that were not on any government watch list before their assets were frozen.
The organization says the result is that Muslims have no way of knowing which groups the government suspects of ties to terrorism. “Organizations and individuals suspected of supporting terrorism are guilty until proven innocent,” it says.
OMB Watch told us, “A group could comply 100% and still be shut down ‘pending an investigation’."
Material-support cases are just a small fraction of the Justice Department’s terrorism prosecutions, but some observers believe they represent a shift in government strategy from punishment to prevention. Earlier prosecutions were for acts of violence that actually took place. Examples include the first World Trade Center attack, the 1998 bombings of American embassies in Africa, and conspiracies that were relatively close to fruition.
Nonetheless, government terror-financing prosecutions have been reasonably successful. From the Sept. 11 attacks to last July, the government started 108 material-support prosecutions and completed 62. Juries convicted nine defendants, 30 defendants pleaded guilty, and 11 pleaded guilty to other charges. There were eight acquittals and four dismissals.
In terrorism prosecutions involving a violent act actually committed or near fruition, the government’s record is spottier. According to the Center on Law and Security at the New York University School of Law, the government has a 29 percent conviction rate in terrorism prosecutions overall, compared with 92 percent for felonies generally.
The latest government setback involves the so-called Liberty City Seven – seven men named for the blighted Miami district where they allegedly operated. Charged with plotting to join forces with al-Qaeda to blow up Chicago's Sears Tower, one was acquitted last month and a mistrial was declared for the six others after the federal jury deadlocked.
Prosecutors acknowledged that no attack was imminent, and then-Attorney General Alberto Gonzales said after the arrests in mid-2006 that the alleged terror cell was ''more aspirational than operational.''
In some cases, defendants are arguably convicted of terror-related offenses in the court of public opinion rather than in the courts. One example often cited by lawyers is the case of Dr. Rafil Dhafir, an Iraqi-born American citizen, who organized and raised money for a charity providing humanitarian relief to children in Iraq. He was never charged in court with a terrorist-related offense; the word “terrorism” was not allowed to be used in his trial, although prominent politicians such as then-New York Governor George Pataki hailed his arrest as a victory in the war on terror.
The upstate New York oncologist was sentenced to 22 years in jail in 2005 for 59 felony charges, including violating U.S. sanctions against Iraq.
http://www.atlanticfreepress.com/content/view/3179/32/
by William Fisher
The government’s spotty record in obtaining convictions of people charged with providing “material support” to terrorist organizations is adding new impetus to the efforts of prominent constitutional lawyers to seek substantial changes in the law.
The latest failure in a terrorism-financing prosecution came late in 2007, when a Texas jury failed to render any guilty verdicts in the trial of the Holy Land Foundation (HLF) – once the largest and most prominent charity dedicated to supporting Palestinian and other Muslim causes. Several HLF officials were charged with giving money to Hamas, the militant Palestinian organization designated a terrorist group by the U.S. in 1995. The trial ended with a mix of acquittals and deadlocks.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation started looking into HLF in 1993. In December 2001, the U.S. Treasury Department (DOT) seized and confiscated the charity’s assets and records, effectively putting the organization out of business. Given that outcome, some legal scholars have questioned why the government pursued a criminal prosecution at all. The trial did not begin until mid-2007.
William Neal, a juror in the HLF case, told the media that the government’s evidence “was pieced together over the course of a decade — a phone call this year, a message another year.” Instead of trying to prove that the defendants knew they were supporting terrorists, Mr. Neal said, prosecutors “danced around the wire transfers by showing us videos of little kids in bomb belts and people singing about Hamas, things that didn’t directly relate to the case.”
Civil liberties groups say the HLF case was just the latest in a line of misguided prosecutions. One such group, OMB Watch, charges that the USA Patriot Act gives the government “largely unchecked power to designate any group as a terrorist organization.” It says that “once a charitable organization is so designated, all of its materials and property may be seized and its assets frozen. The charity is unable to see the government’s evidence and thus understand the basis for the charges. Since its assets are frozen, it lacks resources to mount a defense. And it has only limited right of appeal to the courts. So the government can target a charity, seize its assets, shut it down, obtain indictments against its leaders, but then delay a trial almost indefinitely.”
One result, say critics of the government’s policy, is that Muslim charities have experienced a precipitous decline in contributions. Contributions that do arrive often come in cash from anonymous givers. And donors who happen to be Muslim are increasingly turning to the large household names like Oxfam and Save the Children, which may conduct programs in predominantly Muslim areas abroad.
One of America’s foremost constitutional scholars, Prof. David Cole of the Georgetown University Law Center, argues that the “material support principle is ‘guilt by association’ in 21st-century garb, and presents all of the same problems that criminalizing membership and association did during the Cold War.” He told us that the problem requires fundamental changes in the terrorism-financing law.
Included in Cole’s recommendations for major changes:
1. The Treasury Department should be required to permit closed charities to direct their collected funds to charities mutually approved by the frozen charity and the government.
2. Congress should enact a statutory definition of a "specially designated terrorist." “Right now the Treasury Department makes such designations entirely on the basis of an Executive Order, and accordingly Congress has given the President essentially a blank check,” Cole told us.
3. Treasury should allow designated entities to use their own funds to pay for their own defense. “Treasury not only shuts down charities in a secretive one-sided process, but then bars the charities from using any of their own money to defend themselves against the designation,” according to Cole.
4. The criminal material support statutes should be amended to require proof that an individual supported a proscribed group with the intent to further its illegal activities. “Today,” according to the government, “even aid intended to discourage terrorist activities is a crime under the material support laws,” Cole says.
He adds, “There is no requirement that the aid have any connection to terrorism,” and cites a case he is handling with the Humanitarian Law Project (HLP) at the Center for Constitutional Rights (CCR).
He told us, “My clients had been providing human rights advocacy training to the PKK in Turkey, as a way of encouraging them to use peaceful lawful means to resolve their disputes with the Turkish government over its treatment of the Kurdish minority. By encouraging lawful outlets for dispute resolution, such aid would presumably discourage terrorism. Yet under the material support statute it is a crime even if HLP could prove that both the purpose and the effect of their support was to decrease the PKK's resort to violence.”
OMB Watch says the “material support” effort has resulted in the government shutting down charities that were not on any government watch list before their assets were frozen.
The organization says the result is that Muslims have no way of knowing which groups the government suspects of ties to terrorism. “Organizations and individuals suspected of supporting terrorism are guilty until proven innocent,” it says.
OMB Watch told us, “A group could comply 100% and still be shut down ‘pending an investigation’."
Material-support cases are just a small fraction of the Justice Department’s terrorism prosecutions, but some observers believe they represent a shift in government strategy from punishment to prevention. Earlier prosecutions were for acts of violence that actually took place. Examples include the first World Trade Center attack, the 1998 bombings of American embassies in Africa, and conspiracies that were relatively close to fruition.
Nonetheless, government terror-financing prosecutions have been reasonably successful. From the Sept. 11 attacks to last July, the government started 108 material-support prosecutions and completed 62. Juries convicted nine defendants, 30 defendants pleaded guilty, and 11 pleaded guilty to other charges. There were eight acquittals and four dismissals.
In terrorism prosecutions involving a violent act actually committed or near fruition, the government’s record is spottier. According to the Center on Law and Security at the New York University School of Law, the government has a 29 percent conviction rate in terrorism prosecutions overall, compared with 92 percent for felonies generally.
The latest government setback involves the so-called Liberty City Seven – seven men named for the blighted Miami district where they allegedly operated. Charged with plotting to join forces with al-Qaeda to blow up Chicago's Sears Tower, one was acquitted last month and a mistrial was declared for the six others after the federal jury deadlocked.
Prosecutors acknowledged that no attack was imminent, and then-Attorney General Alberto Gonzales said after the arrests in mid-2006 that the alleged terror cell was ''more aspirational than operational.''
In some cases, defendants are arguably convicted of terror-related offenses in the court of public opinion rather than in the courts. One example often cited by lawyers is the case of Dr. Rafil Dhafir, an Iraqi-born American citizen, who organized and raised money for a charity providing humanitarian relief to children in Iraq. He was never charged in court with a terrorist-related offense; the word “terrorism” was not allowed to be used in his trial, although prominent politicians such as then-New York Governor George Pataki hailed his arrest as a victory in the war on terror.
The upstate New York oncologist was sentenced to 22 years in jail in 2005 for 59 felony charges, including violating U.S. sanctions against Iraq.
http://www.atlanticfreepress.com/content/view/3179/32/
on Monday, January 30, 2012
EU's Counterterrorism Coordinator Gilles De Kerchove touched on extradition of militants, an issue on which Turkey complains about.
EU's Counterterrorism Coordinator Gilles De Kerchove touched on extradition of militants, an issue on which Turkey complains about, and said that Turkey should not seek extradition of suspects on grounds of terrorists acts.
It would not work since every EU country had different definitions of terrorism and terrorist crimes, he said, adding that Turkey should bring specific accusations such as drug and human trafficking, or money laundering.
"Extradition of suspects would become easier if trials are handled according to EU standards in Turkey," he said.
Recalling that the PKK was a threat in Turkey, in EU and in the north of Iraq, Gilles de Kerchove also said that PKK was carrying out its activities in EU to find financial sources.
He said PKK was able to collect huge amounts of money in Europe and added that PKK could also become a threat to European countries after a while.
To be honest, he said, some European countries had encouraged the terrorist organization.
Turkish police chief Ufuk Yavuz Gursoy, who also spoke at the meeting, said that PKK collected 20 million euro every year in Europe. He said this amount could be doubled after adding the money PKK earned from smuggling.
Gursoy said Turkey and EU should work together to stop PKK's recruitment efforts and cut its financial sources.
Source: World Bulletin
on Tuesday, February 6, 2007
French police on Monday detained 13 Turkish Kurds suspected of helping finance the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), police officials said. Investigators have opened a judicial inquiry into whether the suspects have links to terrorist financing.
Seperatist PKK is considered a terrorist organization by Turkey, the United States and the European Union.
Police seized small sums of cash during the arrests, which took place in the suspects' homes in suburbs all around Paris, according to the Paris regional police headquarters. Investigators had been watching the suspects since July, when two Kurds were arrested in Paris trying to exchange € 200,000 (US$ 260,000) in cash.
The 13 were seized in the Paris region departments of Yvelines, Hauts-de-Seine, Seine-Saint-Denis and Val d'Oise, as part of an investigation headed by France's top anti-terrorist judge, Jean-Louis Bruguiere.
Turkey is pressing the EU and the United States to crack down on PKK that operates out of bases in northern Iraq and demands more autonomy. The conflict has claimed the lives of 37,000 people since the guerrillas took up arms in 1984.
http://www.todayszaman.com/tz-web/detaylar.do?load=detay&link=102096&bolum=102
Seperatist PKK is considered a terrorist organization by Turkey, the United States and the European Union.
Police seized small sums of cash during the arrests, which took place in the suspects' homes in suburbs all around Paris, according to the Paris regional police headquarters. Investigators had been watching the suspects since July, when two Kurds were arrested in Paris trying to exchange € 200,000 (US$ 260,000) in cash.
The 13 were seized in the Paris region departments of Yvelines, Hauts-de-Seine, Seine-Saint-Denis and Val d'Oise, as part of an investigation headed by France's top anti-terrorist judge, Jean-Louis Bruguiere.
Turkey is pressing the EU and the United States to crack down on PKK that operates out of bases in northern Iraq and demands more autonomy. The conflict has claimed the lives of 37,000 people since the guerrillas took up arms in 1984.
http://www.todayszaman.com/tz-web/detaylar.do?load=detay&link=102096&bolum=102
on Wednesday, December 20, 2006
Turkey of the ’60s, ’70s, ’80s is in the past, official says to praise democracy
U.S. authorities have recently visited several Western European capitals in an effort to persuade those nations to cut off the terrorist Kurdistan Workers Party's (PKK) finances and to prevent the group from using Europe as a base of operations, a top counterterrorism official at the State Department said.
Meanwhile, another senior State Department official praised Ankara's democratic transformation in recent years, saying that Turkey now was not the country that it was in the 1960s, '70s and '80s.
Turkey's military conducted three coups in 1960, 1971 and 1980, and the remarks by Dan Fried, assistant secretary of state for European and Eurasian affairs, were a thinly veiled reference to a recent debate in Ankara over "the possibility of a coup in 2007."
The debate was prompted by an article by Zeyno Baran, a Turkey specialist at the Hudson Institute, a conservative think tank here, that appeared in the international edition of newsweek Newsweek late last month. Baran said another coup was possible next year at a time when the military was deeply concerned over alleged efforts by Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan's government to undermine secularism,
But Fried said that Turkey was undergoing a profound democratic transformation.
"Turkey of the '60s, '70s, '80s, is in the past," Fried told a small group of reporters on Tuesday, according to the Anatolia news agency. "Turkey remains a secular republic, and democracy is deepening."
He also reiterated Washington's backing for Turkey's eventual European Union membership, saying he hoped the accession process would still go ahead despite an ongoing rift between Ankara and Washington.
At a summit meeting later this week, EU leaders are expected to suspend eight of the 35 policy chapters in Turkey's accession negotiations because of the dispute on Cyprus.
On the PKK matter, Frank Urbancic, the State Department's principal deputy coordinator for counterterrorism, said in an interview with the Turkish Daily News that he and other officials from the State Department, the Justice Department and the Treasury Department visited Europe late last month for anti-PKK talks.
"Frankly, PKK terrorism is something very poorly understood in Western Europe, and it's very much not known in the United States," he said.
"We're trying to find mechanisms that we can jointly use against the PKK to cut down their ability to fund," Urbancic said. "But we also want to stop their use of Europe, primarily Western Europe, as a base of operations."
He said there was some progress, and that the talks would continue early next year.
U.S. officials did not give the number and names of countries Urbancic had visited for anti-PKK purposes because of the sensitivity of planned measures, but said the U.S. effort covered several countries.
"Unhappily, terrorists are very effective people. They have great networks which span borders and even continents," Urbancic complained, adding the PKK, an organization like "an octopus," had not only a terrorist branch, but also branches for money laundering, extortion, killing political opponents and drug trafficking. "We're trying to attack the entire problem," he said.
He declined to criticize any country directly, but said that "we believe [the PKK] should not be allowed to launch propaganda campaigns from any territory, including our own," when asked to comment on the case of Denmark, from where Roj TV, a PKK mouthpiece, is broadcasting despite Turkey's protests.
In the wake of increased PKK attacks against Turkish security forces and civilians, Turkey warned in July that it could send its military to neighboring northern Iraq to eliminate terrorist bases there, prompting Washington to pledge a larger anti-PKK effort.
The United States in late August appointed retired Gen. Joseph Ralston, a former NATO supreme commander, as special envoy for countering the PKK.
Ralston mainly deals with the Iraqi dimension of the PKK problem, Urbancic said, while he himself is working with European countries.
Urbancic said that a fledgling cease-fire announced by the PKK in early October did not mean much, and urged the terrorist group to lay down its arms. "We're determined to get [the PKK] shut down. That's all there's to say. The violence must stop," he said. (The Anatolia news agency contributed to this report.)
http://www.turkishdailynews.com.tr/article.php?enewsid=61639
U.S. authorities have recently visited several Western European capitals in an effort to persuade those nations to cut off the terrorist Kurdistan Workers Party's (PKK) finances and to prevent the group from using Europe as a base of operations, a top counterterrorism official at the State Department said.
Meanwhile, another senior State Department official praised Ankara's democratic transformation in recent years, saying that Turkey now was not the country that it was in the 1960s, '70s and '80s.
Turkey's military conducted three coups in 1960, 1971 and 1980, and the remarks by Dan Fried, assistant secretary of state for European and Eurasian affairs, were a thinly veiled reference to a recent debate in Ankara over "the possibility of a coup in 2007."
The debate was prompted by an article by Zeyno Baran, a Turkey specialist at the Hudson Institute, a conservative think tank here, that appeared in the international edition of newsweek Newsweek late last month. Baran said another coup was possible next year at a time when the military was deeply concerned over alleged efforts by Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan's government to undermine secularism,
But Fried said that Turkey was undergoing a profound democratic transformation.
"Turkey of the '60s, '70s, '80s, is in the past," Fried told a small group of reporters on Tuesday, according to the Anatolia news agency. "Turkey remains a secular republic, and democracy is deepening."
He also reiterated Washington's backing for Turkey's eventual European Union membership, saying he hoped the accession process would still go ahead despite an ongoing rift between Ankara and Washington.
At a summit meeting later this week, EU leaders are expected to suspend eight of the 35 policy chapters in Turkey's accession negotiations because of the dispute on Cyprus.
On the PKK matter, Frank Urbancic, the State Department's principal deputy coordinator for counterterrorism, said in an interview with the Turkish Daily News that he and other officials from the State Department, the Justice Department and the Treasury Department visited Europe late last month for anti-PKK talks.
"Frankly, PKK terrorism is something very poorly understood in Western Europe, and it's very much not known in the United States," he said.
"We're trying to find mechanisms that we can jointly use against the PKK to cut down their ability to fund," Urbancic said. "But we also want to stop their use of Europe, primarily Western Europe, as a base of operations."
He said there was some progress, and that the talks would continue early next year.
U.S. officials did not give the number and names of countries Urbancic had visited for anti-PKK purposes because of the sensitivity of planned measures, but said the U.S. effort covered several countries.
"Unhappily, terrorists are very effective people. They have great networks which span borders and even continents," Urbancic complained, adding the PKK, an organization like "an octopus," had not only a terrorist branch, but also branches for money laundering, extortion, killing political opponents and drug trafficking. "We're trying to attack the entire problem," he said.
He declined to criticize any country directly, but said that "we believe [the PKK] should not be allowed to launch propaganda campaigns from any territory, including our own," when asked to comment on the case of Denmark, from where Roj TV, a PKK mouthpiece, is broadcasting despite Turkey's protests.
In the wake of increased PKK attacks against Turkish security forces and civilians, Turkey warned in July that it could send its military to neighboring northern Iraq to eliminate terrorist bases there, prompting Washington to pledge a larger anti-PKK effort.
The United States in late August appointed retired Gen. Joseph Ralston, a former NATO supreme commander, as special envoy for countering the PKK.
Ralston mainly deals with the Iraqi dimension of the PKK problem, Urbancic said, while he himself is working with European countries.
Urbancic said that a fledgling cease-fire announced by the PKK in early October did not mean much, and urged the terrorist group to lay down its arms. "We're determined to get [the PKK] shut down. That's all there's to say. The violence must stop," he said. (The Anatolia news agency contributed to this report.)
http://www.turkishdailynews.com.tr/article.php?enewsid=61639
on Thursday, December 14, 2006
By Cihan News Agency
Thursday, December 14, 2006
The United States has started a new, wide-scale initiative to kill off the financial resources of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) in Europe.
U.S. Principal Deputy Coordinator for Counterterrorism Frank Urbancic said that definite progress was made on the issue during his recent visits to Europe.
In an interview with the Turkish channel NTV, Urbancic stated that the new initiative started against the outlawed PKK and his European visits together with other top U.S. officials were all aimed at bringing PKK terrorism under control.
The talks with Europe, said Urbancic, would continue next year as well.
Urbancic compared the PKK to an octopus and pointed out that terrorism was not the only arm of the organization; a money laundering arm, racketeering arm and drug dealing arm were all issues being targeted by the United States.
”We believe that the PKK should be terminated and lay down its weapons. We are not interested in issues such as communicating with the PKK, cease-fire or negotiations” noted the high-ranking U.S. official.
Urbancic also underlined that that the PKK should not be allowed to conduct propaganda in any countries, implying Denmark, known as a supporter of pro-PKK Roj TV.
http://www.zaman.com/?bl=hotnews&alt=&trh=20061214&hn=39186
Thursday, December 14, 2006
The United States has started a new, wide-scale initiative to kill off the financial resources of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) in Europe.
U.S. Principal Deputy Coordinator for Counterterrorism Frank Urbancic said that definite progress was made on the issue during his recent visits to Europe.
In an interview with the Turkish channel NTV, Urbancic stated that the new initiative started against the outlawed PKK and his European visits together with other top U.S. officials were all aimed at bringing PKK terrorism under control.
The talks with Europe, said Urbancic, would continue next year as well.
Urbancic compared the PKK to an octopus and pointed out that terrorism was not the only arm of the organization; a money laundering arm, racketeering arm and drug dealing arm were all issues being targeted by the United States.
”We believe that the PKK should be terminated and lay down its weapons. We are not interested in issues such as communicating with the PKK, cease-fire or negotiations” noted the high-ranking U.S. official.
Urbancic also underlined that that the PKK should not be allowed to conduct propaganda in any countries, implying Denmark, known as a supporter of pro-PKK Roj TV.
http://www.zaman.com/?bl=hotnews&alt=&trh=20061214&hn=39186
on Tuesday, December 12, 2006
By Soner Cagaptay
December 12, 2006
The recently released Iraq Study Group (ISG) report successfully lists Turkey’s major concerns about instability in Iraq. The report states that Turkish anxiety over “operations of [the] Kurdish Workers Party (PKK), . . . a terrorist group based in northern Iraq . . . that has killed thousands of Turks,” are so serious that Turkey might “go after the PKK themselves.” PKK terror is definitely Turkey’s most serious concern. Yet, surprisingly, the report, which suggests that efforts to stabilize Iraq will move ahead only if all of Iraq’s neighbors contribute to the process, does not offer a single policy suggestion on how to address the PKK issue in order to bring Turkey on board.
This is a significant gap. Unless the PKK issue is resolved, Turkey will not fully commit itself to stabilizing Iraq. Accordingly, the PKK issue is as much an Iraqi and American problem as it is a Turkish problem, and, in addition to Turkey’s ongoing efforts, action on their part is required to solve it.
The PKK, Turkey, and Iraq: The Big Picture
In July alone, the PKK killed twenty-three Turks, and the ongoing violence remains the most important domestic issue in Turkey. According to a November poll conducted by TESEV, a Turkish think tank, terrorism ranks among the public’s top concerns, equal to major issues such as high inflation, from which the Turks have suffered for nearly four decades.
The PKK has used the four years since the start of the Iraq war to enhance its presence in northern Iraq, setting up a fully functioning enclave (with training camps, storage facilities, and reconnaissance and communications centers) around Qandil Mountain along the Iraq-Iran border, as well as various camps across the area. These bases provide training and coordination for attacks into Turkey. PKK violence emanating from this region, which is under U.S. military supervision but is actually controlled by Iraqi Kurdish parties—the Kurdish Democratic Party (KDP) and the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK)—is inciting intense Turkish resentment against both Iraqi Kurds and the United States. As far as the Turks are concerned, both parties are implicitly sanctioning the PKK attacks by not dealing with the terrorist group’s presence in northern Iraq.
Iraqi Kurds have suggested they have nothing to do with the PKK. Yet the group’s camps and the Qandil enclave would have withered away if not for the electricity, fuel, food, money, arms, and reinforcements that flow to them through KDP- and PUK-controlled territory. PKK terrorists regularly cross these territories into Turkey. The KDP is particularly complicit, as PKK leader Murat Karayilan lives in safety in the Barzan area of northern Iraq—the tribal homeland and bastion of KDP leader Massoud Barzani—and appears often on Kurdistan TV, the official KDP network.
The ISG report suggests that “Turkey opposes an independent or even highly autonomous Kurdistan because of its own national security considerations.” Turkish concerns on this issue should be evaluated within the context of the PKK presence in the area: Turkey opposes a Kurdish entity in the region because it harbors a terrorist group. Far from being imaginary, these concerns are based on a real-life threat similar to that posed to Israel by Hizballah-dominated southern Lebanon.
The PKK as an American Problem
The PKK is now America’s problem for two reasons. First, the continued PKK presence in northern Iraq curbs Turkish enthusiasm to help stabilize Iraq. Second, the PKK issue is eating into the very foundations of U.S.-Turkish relations. Many in Washington are puzzled over the persistent deterioration of Turkish attitudes toward the United States since the start of the Iraq war. These individuals are trying to figure out the right public diplomacy steps to take in order to improve bilateral ties.
However, because the Turks interpret lack of U.S. action on the PKK as complicity, rebuilding U.S.-Turkish ties is now beyond the pale of diplomacy alone. In other words, unless there is U.S.-sanctioned action against the PKK, America’s ties with Turkey will continue to suffer, and Ankara will accelerate its improving political, military, and economic ties with Iran, Syria, Russia, and—increasingly—China. The gravity of the threat Turkey perceives in the PKK presence in northern Iraq means that, at this stage, symbolic gestures such as the closing of PKK offices across Iraq will not suffice. Continued U.S.-Turkish intelligence cooperation against the group will also fail to win the Turks’ hearts and minds. After years of delayed action, the Turks will be convinced of U.S. commitment to the issue only when they see Washington take definitive actions—such as eliminating the PKK leaders and camps in northern Iraq—that can be publicized on the front pages of major Turkish newspapers.
In this regard, the State Department’s recent creation of a new office—“Special Envoy for Countering the PKK”—and the appointment of Gen. Joseph Ralston to this position are positive first steps. Yet, unless General Ralston’s job description involves actually combating the PKK, his mission may only make a bad situation worse and further undermine U.S.-Turkish relations. The creation of this office has raised Turkish expectations that the United States is now considering action against the PKK. Symbolic, cosmetic steps will only increase Turkish frustration.
Washington’s dilemma is that it cannot commit its already stretched resources to combating the PKK. But then, such action does not have to be carried out by the United States. Instead, it could be undertaken by Iraqi Kurds. Left to their own devices, Iraqi Kurds will not confront the PKK. But they need America as much as America needs them. The Kurds in Iraq are surrounded by hostile forces that include Syria, Iran, and Iraqi Arabs (all of whom resent the Kurds’ alliance with the United States). The KDP and PUK would take action only if Washington presented them with a grave choice between either combating the PKK or losing America’s backing in an increasingly volatile geography. By doing so, Washington can make action against the PKK a win-win scenario for all sides involved. Importantly, the United States would win Turkey’s heart in the bargain, and gain a potential ally in Iraq.
In the past, Turkey has taken matters into its own hands regarding the PKK. In 1998, after years of diplomatic talks with Syria, Ankara—deciding it was time to use force—massed troops on the Syrian border and threatened Damascus with immediate war if it continued to harbor the PKK. Today, Turkey’s anger over PKK safe havens in northern Iraq is at least as serious. The ISG report singles out northern Iraq as the nation’s only stable region. If Iraqi Kurds—and the United States—shy away from action against the PKK, even that stability will be at grave risk.
http://www.washingtoninstitute.org/templateC05.php?CID=2543
December 12, 2006
The recently released Iraq Study Group (ISG) report successfully lists Turkey’s major concerns about instability in Iraq. The report states that Turkish anxiety over “operations of [the] Kurdish Workers Party (PKK), . . . a terrorist group based in northern Iraq . . . that has killed thousands of Turks,” are so serious that Turkey might “go after the PKK themselves.” PKK terror is definitely Turkey’s most serious concern. Yet, surprisingly, the report, which suggests that efforts to stabilize Iraq will move ahead only if all of Iraq’s neighbors contribute to the process, does not offer a single policy suggestion on how to address the PKK issue in order to bring Turkey on board.
This is a significant gap. Unless the PKK issue is resolved, Turkey will not fully commit itself to stabilizing Iraq. Accordingly, the PKK issue is as much an Iraqi and American problem as it is a Turkish problem, and, in addition to Turkey’s ongoing efforts, action on their part is required to solve it.
The PKK, Turkey, and Iraq: The Big Picture
In July alone, the PKK killed twenty-three Turks, and the ongoing violence remains the most important domestic issue in Turkey. According to a November poll conducted by TESEV, a Turkish think tank, terrorism ranks among the public’s top concerns, equal to major issues such as high inflation, from which the Turks have suffered for nearly four decades.
The PKK has used the four years since the start of the Iraq war to enhance its presence in northern Iraq, setting up a fully functioning enclave (with training camps, storage facilities, and reconnaissance and communications centers) around Qandil Mountain along the Iraq-Iran border, as well as various camps across the area. These bases provide training and coordination for attacks into Turkey. PKK violence emanating from this region, which is under U.S. military supervision but is actually controlled by Iraqi Kurdish parties—the Kurdish Democratic Party (KDP) and the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK)—is inciting intense Turkish resentment against both Iraqi Kurds and the United States. As far as the Turks are concerned, both parties are implicitly sanctioning the PKK attacks by not dealing with the terrorist group’s presence in northern Iraq.
Iraqi Kurds have suggested they have nothing to do with the PKK. Yet the group’s camps and the Qandil enclave would have withered away if not for the electricity, fuel, food, money, arms, and reinforcements that flow to them through KDP- and PUK-controlled territory. PKK terrorists regularly cross these territories into Turkey. The KDP is particularly complicit, as PKK leader Murat Karayilan lives in safety in the Barzan area of northern Iraq—the tribal homeland and bastion of KDP leader Massoud Barzani—and appears often on Kurdistan TV, the official KDP network.
The ISG report suggests that “Turkey opposes an independent or even highly autonomous Kurdistan because of its own national security considerations.” Turkish concerns on this issue should be evaluated within the context of the PKK presence in the area: Turkey opposes a Kurdish entity in the region because it harbors a terrorist group. Far from being imaginary, these concerns are based on a real-life threat similar to that posed to Israel by Hizballah-dominated southern Lebanon.
The PKK as an American Problem
The PKK is now America’s problem for two reasons. First, the continued PKK presence in northern Iraq curbs Turkish enthusiasm to help stabilize Iraq. Second, the PKK issue is eating into the very foundations of U.S.-Turkish relations. Many in Washington are puzzled over the persistent deterioration of Turkish attitudes toward the United States since the start of the Iraq war. These individuals are trying to figure out the right public diplomacy steps to take in order to improve bilateral ties.
However, because the Turks interpret lack of U.S. action on the PKK as complicity, rebuilding U.S.-Turkish ties is now beyond the pale of diplomacy alone. In other words, unless there is U.S.-sanctioned action against the PKK, America’s ties with Turkey will continue to suffer, and Ankara will accelerate its improving political, military, and economic ties with Iran, Syria, Russia, and—increasingly—China. The gravity of the threat Turkey perceives in the PKK presence in northern Iraq means that, at this stage, symbolic gestures such as the closing of PKK offices across Iraq will not suffice. Continued U.S.-Turkish intelligence cooperation against the group will also fail to win the Turks’ hearts and minds. After years of delayed action, the Turks will be convinced of U.S. commitment to the issue only when they see Washington take definitive actions—such as eliminating the PKK leaders and camps in northern Iraq—that can be publicized on the front pages of major Turkish newspapers.
In this regard, the State Department’s recent creation of a new office—“Special Envoy for Countering the PKK”—and the appointment of Gen. Joseph Ralston to this position are positive first steps. Yet, unless General Ralston’s job description involves actually combating the PKK, his mission may only make a bad situation worse and further undermine U.S.-Turkish relations. The creation of this office has raised Turkish expectations that the United States is now considering action against the PKK. Symbolic, cosmetic steps will only increase Turkish frustration.
Washington’s dilemma is that it cannot commit its already stretched resources to combating the PKK. But then, such action does not have to be carried out by the United States. Instead, it could be undertaken by Iraqi Kurds. Left to their own devices, Iraqi Kurds will not confront the PKK. But they need America as much as America needs them. The Kurds in Iraq are surrounded by hostile forces that include Syria, Iran, and Iraqi Arabs (all of whom resent the Kurds’ alliance with the United States). The KDP and PUK would take action only if Washington presented them with a grave choice between either combating the PKK or losing America’s backing in an increasingly volatile geography. By doing so, Washington can make action against the PKK a win-win scenario for all sides involved. Importantly, the United States would win Turkey’s heart in the bargain, and gain a potential ally in Iraq.
In the past, Turkey has taken matters into its own hands regarding the PKK. In 1998, after years of diplomatic talks with Syria, Ankara—deciding it was time to use force—massed troops on the Syrian border and threatened Damascus with immediate war if it continued to harbor the PKK. Today, Turkey’s anger over PKK safe havens in northern Iraq is at least as serious. The ISG report singles out northern Iraq as the nation’s only stable region. If Iraqi Kurds—and the United States—shy away from action against the PKK, even that stability will be at grave risk.
http://www.washingtoninstitute.org/templateC05.php?CID=2543
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