US report urges European allies to act against PKK

The United States has urged European allies to support Turkey's fight against the terrorist Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), and criticized some capitals for allowing the group to maintain a large extortion, fundraising and propaganda network.

Ayhan Simsek

Photos: US State Department

The PKK continues to use northern Iraq as a launch pad for terrorist attacks against targets inside Turkey.

The US State Department's recently published Country Reports on Terrorism 2007 said that the majority of the European countries improved their capabilities to counter the terrorist threat, but due to various deficiencies, presence of terrorist support networks in Europe, including the PKK, remained a source of concern.

"Efforts to combat the [terrorist] threat in Europe were sometimes slowed by legal protections that made it difficult to take firm judicial action against suspected terrorists, asylum laws that afforded loopholes, the absence of adequate legislation, or standards of evidence that limited the use of classified information in holding terrorist suspects," the report stated. "Terrorists also sought to take advantage of the ease of travel among Schengen countries."

Turkey has long criticized several of its NATO allies for failing to combat PKK activities and blamed them for allowing PKK members to found associations, even TV channels in their territories. The PKK, which is also known as Kongra-Gel, is considered by the United States and much of the international community as a terrorist organization.

The violence of the Kurdish separatist group have claimed more than 37,000 lives since 1984. The PKK continues to use northern Iraq as a launch pad for terrorist attacks against targets inside Turkey. PKK's one of the major financial sources and propaganda is rooted in Europe, among the Diaspora Kurds; and the group is known to have an "octopus-like structure", with illegal activities including fundraising, drug and people smuggling.

Last year, US President George W. Bush committed to provide Turkey "real-time, actionable intelligence" to counter the PKK existence in northern Iraq, and he also urged European allies to cut off the logistic and propaganda bases of the terrorist group.

The US State Department's Country Reports on Terrorism 2007, however, showed that only a few European allies moved to take stronger steps against PKK, while some of them even released detained key PKK militants.

"Germany led Europe in maintaining action against the militant Kurdish separatist group Kongra Gel/Kurdistan Workers' Party (KGK/PKK), which raised funds, often through illicit activity, to fund violence in Turkey, but coordination problems across borders in Europe blunted some successful arrests," the report stated.

Austria, Belgium and Denmark criticised

The report criticised NATO member Austria for failing to fully co-ordinate their law enforcement activities with other states working against the PKK. Last July, Austria initially detained and quickly released KGK/PKK operative Riza Altun and allowed him to board a plane for northern Iraq, despite the fact that he had fake documents and faced charges in France and an extradition request from Turkey. In November, Austria also failed to detain Remzi Kartal, another KGK/PKK leader known to be traveling to Austria who was also wanted by Interpol.

Another European country criticized of its weak treatment to KGK/PKK is Belgium.

"The KGK/PKK is a known presence, with television production studios in Brussels. The KGK/PKK continued to exploit Belgium to raise illicit financing for violence in Turkey and its camps in northern Iraq," the report stated.

A key NATO ally, Denmark, has been praised for its close work with the US and the UN against terrorist threats worldwide, but the report noted that a PKK affiliated media outlet, Roj-TV, continued to operate in the country.

According to the report, PKK affiliated organizations also maintained presence in Italy and were thought to have links with affiliated charitable organizations that maintained Italian branches.

Hundreds of people demonstrate in the streets of Istanbul.

PKK's activities in Europe continue to be one of the major factors that contribute to a rising sense of alienation from the West in Turkey. The study of the Transatlantic Trends 2007 by the German Marshall Fund (GMF) revealed a 14% decline in Turkish support for EU membership, from 54% to 40%, and it showed a growing skepticism towards the EU.

Turkey's ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) has promised political and socio-economic openings towards the country's ethnic Kurds, but the PKK's continued violence creates strong public outrage which limits possible steps. Turkish military continues air strikes against PKK bases in northern Iraq, and the Turkish troops conducted a llimited land incursion across Iraq's northern border in February. The State Department report expressed hope that a closer work between Turkey, Iraq and the Kurdish regional government in northern Iraq, will be effective in eliminating the PKK threat.

The report pointed out that the Iraqi Kurdish administration has taken new concrete actions, against the PKK activities in the region, including "closing off re-supply routes via additional checkpoints, increasing airport screening for KGK/PKK members, and directing the closure of KGK/PKK-affiliated offices."

Islamist terrorism threat to Turkey

The US report also highlighted that besides separatists, Islamist terror continues to be one of the major security concerns for Turkey. The Turkish National Police (TNP) and the National Intelligence Organization (MIT) conducted an aggressive counterterrorist campaign and detained numerous suspected terrorists in a number of raids last year. In January, a multi-city crackdown netted 47 suspected terrorists associated with Al-Qaeda. In March, 48 suspected Islamic terrorists were arrested in Konya and in June, a concentrated effort in Bursa resulted in 23 arrests. In November, in response to a German request, authorities arrested a German-Turkish citizen in Konya allegedly involved in a disrupted terrorist plot.

With these raids, the groups were disrupted before terrorist acts could be carried out, but the prosecutions did not always follow the arrests.

According to the report, the definition of terrorism in Turkish laws hinders Turkey of interdicting groups targeting "non-combatants globally."

By Turkish law, "terrorist" activities are composed primarily of crimes outlined in the Penal Code committed within the context of terrorist group activities, which target the structure of the state, changing or destroying the principles of the state, and aiming to create panic and terror in society. The law defines terrorism as attacks against Turkish citizens and the Turkish state.

Another concern expressed in the US report has been relatively weak measures against money laundering and financing of terrorism. In 2006, a new law went into place giving MASAK -- Turkey's Financial Crimes Investigation Board -- sole responsibility for financial investigation of money laundering and financing of terrorism.

In its February peer review report, the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) evaluated Turkish standards to combat money laundering and finance of terrorism. This report stated that "the number of convictions for money laundering was relatively low; confiscation measures have not yet produced substantial results; and the number of suspicious transaction reports was also relatively low."

Turkey has continued to circulate UN designated names of terrorists to all law enforcement and intelligence agencies, and to financial institutions. This legal mechanism for enforcing sanctions under UNSCR 1267 was challenged in Turkish courts by UN-designated terrorist financier Yasin al-Kadi. A lower-court reversed the ruling, but the appeals court upheld the Council's authority to freeze. In the meantime, al-Kadi's assets remained frozen.

Turkey's support to US led operations

Country Reports on Terrorism 2007 praised Turkey's support to counterterrorism operations in Afghanistan and Iraq. "Turkey has provided significant logistical support to Coalition operations in Afghanistan and Iraq, authorizing the use of Incirlik Air Base as an air-refueling hub," the report stated. "Establishment of this hub allows six C-17 aircraft to transport the amount of goods it took nine to ten aircraft to move from Germany, and saves the United States almost $160m per year."

Turkey has also been active in reconstruction efforts, including providing electricity to Iraq. Turkey contributed headquarters personnel to the NATO Training Mission in Iraq, helped train Iraqi diplomats and political parties, and completed military leadership training in Turkey for 90 Iraqi officers as a further contribution to the NATO's mission.

This content was commissioned for SETimes.com

Inform,May 2008