[Australia]: Message to Turkey [SEC=TOP SECRET]

[Owen]

​

FIRST ASSISTANT SECRETARY, MIDDLE EAST AND AFRICA DIVISION​

SECURITY CLASSIFICATION: TOP SECRET​

5 February 2009

Dear Ambassador Kural, I have been asked by the Minister for Foreign Affairs to request a meeting of you at the Department for Foreign Affairs and Trade's head office (R.G. Casey Building), located on the other side of Parliament House to the Turkish Embassy. Please enter from the John McEwen Crescent side rather than State Circle. This is in regards to the deteriorating security situation inside Turkey. Yours sincerely, David Ritchie.

R.G. Casey Building, BARTON, ACT 2600 Telephone: (02) 6261 1111​

Protective Marking:	Business Impact Level:	Compromise of Information Confidentiality:	Required to be Encrypted:
UNOFFICIAL	No Business Impact	No damage. This information does not form part of official duty.
OFFICIAL	Low Business Impact	No or insignificant damage. This is the majority of routine information.
OFFICIAL: Sensitive	Low to Medium Business Impact	Limited damage to an individual, organisation or government generally if compromised.
PROTECTED	High Business Impact	Damage to the national interest, organisations or individuals.
SECRET	Extreme Business Impact	Serious damage to the national interest, organisations or individuals.
TOP SECRET	Catastrophic Business Impact	Exceptionally grave damage to the national interest, organisations or individuals.

Jay

 

[Jay]

Dışişleri Bakanlığı Ministry of Foreign Affairs​

AUTHENTIC COMMUNIQUE OF THE OFFICE OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS Security Clearance: Secure and Encrypted ŞİFRELEME KORUMASI: KAPLUĞA​

[Recipient]: David Ritchie < Owen > [Sender]: Minister of Foreign Affairs, Türkiye < korhan.kuralAU@db.tr.gov > [Subject]: Confidential // Re: Meeting Request – Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade

Dear Mr. Ritchie, Thank you for your email. I acknowledge receipt of your request and appreciate the Minister's invitation to meet at the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade. I will attend the meeting at the R.G. Casey Building as requested, and I will be accompanied by my Chief Secretary, Mr. Şükrü Özyıldız, and Political Affairs Aide, Ms. Elif Denizer. I look forward to discussing the current security situation and exchanging views on matters of mutual concern. Yours sincerely, Korhan Kural Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary Embassy of the Republic of Türkiye 6 Moonah Place, Yarralumla ACT 2600 Canberra, Australia E: korhan.kural@turkiye.org.au T: +61 2 6273 9300

Ambassador Korhan Kural sat quietly in the rear of the armored Range Rover as it drove through Canberra's Parliamentary Triangle. Beyond the tinted windows, the broad lawns the silhouette of Parliament House, its towering flagpole standing against the morning sky. The journey from the Turkish Embassy to the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade would take only four minutes.

Across from him sat his Chief Secretary, Mr. Şükrü Özyıldız, a leather portfolio open across his lap. Beside him, Political Affairs Aide Ms. Elif Denizer reviewed briefing notes in her folder, occasionally highlighting passages for later discussion.

"As of twenty minutes ago," Şükrü began, breaking the silence, "Ankara reports that the situation in Ankara and Izmir is under control. Several arrests have been made but nothing definitive. We have been advised that the Prime Minister has requested that the President declare a state of emergency and that the President's Office is preparing to make the announcement soon. The Interior Ministry officials assess that TAK elements remain active in the capital, Izmir, Istanbul, Konya, and Adana despite recent arrests, while intelligence continues to link logistical support back to PKK networks operating across the border. We are told to not confirm anything regarding a state of emergency until the President makes his address."

Korhan nodded, absorbing it. He looked back at Şükrü taking his attention away from the window. "Any indication this is connected to why DFAT requested the meeting?"

"Nothing explicit," Şükrü replied. "Only that Canberra appears increasingly concerned about the broader security picture. Likely they are thinking about the potential implications for Australians in Türkiye."

Elif looked up from her folder. "The station chief asked that I also raise the issue of Australia taking more efforts to tackle the PKK and its use of communal financing through the Kurdish diaspora. He's identified Renas Lelikan, an Australian national, as a person of interest he'd like Australia to investigate." She handed him a brief bio which Korhan read.

"Well we are here." Kordan said as the Range Rover rounded the final bend, Parliament House receding behind them as the angular façade of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade's R.G. Casey Building came into view. The vehicle slowed before the designated entrance on John McEwen Crescent. Korhan stepped from the vehicle, adjusted his suit jacket, and, accompanied by Şükrü Özyıldız and Elif Denizer, proceeded through the entrance as instructed.

Owen

 

[Owen]

The First Assistant Secretary would be down at the reception area. He would notice the Range Rover approach at the front. Standing next to him was the Director-General of Security, Mike Burgess, the only publicly acknowledged individual working for ASIO. As the Ambassador entered through the door he would approach him. David was a big man, quite noticeable to the Ambassador.

"Ambassador Kural, it's a pleasure to meet you. This is Director-General Burgess." He would shake his hand before allowing him to shake the Director-General's hand.

"Please, come this way." He would take him to his office. When they entered his office they would notice an array of artefacts from across the Middle East and Africa which had been gifted to or bought by the First Assistant Secretary in his role looking after the Middle East and Africa Division. The Middle East and Africa Division of DFAT probably got the least attention of any division within DFAT as Australia focused heavily on its relations with Asia and the Pacific and had traditional allies in the Americas and Europe. Nevertheless, David was passionate about his role and about the Middle East and the African continent.

"Please take a seat...

I want to start by passing on the condolences of the Australian Government to your nation as you reel from these attacks that have been perpetrated against you. As you may be aware, we've had to continuously update and advise Australians about travelling to Turkey at this time. I think we are working on moving towards a more harsher travel advisory for the remainder of Turkey, not just the southeast. I hope you can understand why and that is certainly not a reflection on the relationship between Australia and Turkey.

As a result, we have been in contact with the Department of Veterans' Affairs and our Embassy in Ankara and uhhh, we've had to make the very hard decision to cancel the Anzac Day commemorations this year in Gallipoli. The security risk to the event was just far too extreme and we don't want Australians or high ranking officials travelling to Turkey at this time to attend the event. Again, I hope you can understand.

Whilst we understand that the Turkish Armed Forces and security agencies are working around the clock to deal with this threat and it is far from Australia and doesn't directly impact our security. However, we are increasingly concerned about the role that Thailand is playing in this conflict. The Office of National Intelligence has provided a brief to us that states the likelihood of weapons transfers between Thailand and the PKK is extremely likely. This is based on their public statements and their previous actions globally. The Office of National Intelligence works to gather open source intelligence and provide intelligence assessments using both open source and sources from our agencies. So this is not grounded in any hard evidence but rather a holistic open source picture.

Australia has a publicly acknowledge operation in South East Asia, Operation Gateway, that operates out of our bases in Singapore under the Singapore-Australia Status of Forces Agreement. We also commit maritime assets to the Operation from time to time but it primarily involves maritime patrol aircraft. We've now introduced the P-8 Poseidon which gives us cutting edge maritime surveillance. Defence has floated the possibility that assets be increased to Gateway and that we seriously monitor vessels moving in and out of Thailand for the possible shipment of weapons. We have zero tolerance for Thailand supplying weapons to foreign terrorist organisations and inflaming existing conflicts by moving weaponry. If Turkey has any intelligence on this matter, the Australian Government would like to hear it. Anything you share with us will be kept in the stricted confidence. And on that note... Mike."

The Director-General would speak.

"As you may be aware, Ambassador, we have a Kurdish diaspora in Australia. 10,000 or so individuals. I want to make it clear to you though that the vast majority of this diaspora are law abiding, hard working and Australian citizens. ASIO has zero tolerance for foreign espionage, interference and campaigns of intimidation against the Kurdish diaspora, that includes if they are Turkish citizens or not. We have no evidence that your government has been engaging in this, but we want to make it clear from the outset what our expectations are.

We have, however, been tracking a few individuals. I'm not at liberty to disclose who those individuals are, but you can be reassured that the Joint Counter Terrorism Teams in each respective state and territory are monitoring these individuals and they are under increase surveillance. We believe, however, that if they are going to commit an attack in Australia that the only likely targets are your Embassy here in Canberra and your Consulate-Generals in Sydney and in Melbourne. As a result, ASIO is increasing surveillance near those sites as well as uniformed Australian Federal Police will bolster their presence around these sites."

Jay

 

[Jay]

Kordan followed David into the building. His two staffers behind him. He shook both Richie's and Director-General Burgess' hands before following Richie into his office.

"Thank you." Kordan said as he took his seat. He listened to the Australians speak. His daughter had developed an affection for the accent, but for Kordan, with English as his third language, it was a bit difficult at times to grasp what was being said sometimes.

"On behalf of my government, we deeply appreciate this expression of solidarity and sympathy during this difficult time. The PKK's attacks against civilians are a consistent reminder of the global threat that terrorism poses. These terrorists know no boundaries, abide by no customs, or respect the sanctity of human life." Kordan said, then listened to the rest of what the Director had to say about the August ANZAC Commemorations and Travel Advisories.

"Thank you for the notice regarding the plans to change your travel advisory notice," Kordan said. "What level does your government plan to raise the travel advisory?" The Ambassador asked before continuing. "Regarding the ANZAC Day commemorations, while it is your prerogative to cancel Australia's involvement in the commemorations given that we are six months out, would it not be prudent to wait until it is closer to the event to make a decision. It is far more difficult for us to make preparations for the commemorations if Australia seeks to rejoin them as opposed to cancelling them later if the security situation does not improve."

Ambassador Kural then listened to the Australians asking about Thailand's involvement. David saw as Ms. Denizer handed the Ambassador a document. Kordan looked down at it before looking back up at the two Australian men. "At the moment, our intelligence services are working to identify the exact nature of the Socialist regime in Bangkok's involvement with the PKK." He paused, looking back at the document. "My Government has not had relations with Bangkok since the ouster of the Bangkok-aligned regime in Ankara, now two years ago. Since then, Bangkok has harbored at least a dozen high-ranking Turkish communist officials who have fled the judicial process of our country, and some armed communist militants support Bangkok throughout the South of the country." Kordan folded his hands.

"If Australia began conducting maritime intelligence operations, I am sure it would be of interest to my government, especially given Thailand's public statements of support for the terrorist group," Kordan continued. "I will speak with Ankara and have our Station Chief provide a more thorough briefing with ASIO, as I simply don't have the most up-to-date picture about our intelligence gathering situation." Ambassador Kural said honestly.

"I have been asked to raise our concern that the Kurdish Association of Victoria has been providing financial assistance to the PKK through its charity activities," Kordan said, handing a document from the folder that Elif had handed him to Burgess. "This is intelligence that our security forces have gathered regarding the KAV's charity activities. I have been asked by our intelligence services to pass this along to you."

SECRET CLASSIFICATION: RESTRICTED — LIAISON SHARING ONLY Distribution: ASIO, Canberra Ref: MIT/DI-2009/0447 Date: 14 January 2009 Suspected Financial Support to PKK by "Kurdish Association of Victoria"​

2. Subject of Interest Kurdish Association of Victoria ("KAV"), registered as a cultural and humanitarian charity in Victoria since 1984, ostensibly providing aid to displaced Kurdish families in southeastern Türkiye and northern Iraq. 3. Basis for Assessment a. Disproportionate transfer volume. Between the years 2003 and November 2007, the KAV's financial activities were routed through the Turkish banking system, given the involvement of the Kurdish militant groups in government under the 2003 TIP/PKK alliance. Our financial systems recorded outbound transfers totaling approximately $340,000 to two intermediary accounts held by Renas Lelikan b. Intermediary layering. Renas Lelikan then transferred the bulk of the received funds, in tranches of $9,000–$14,000, to a currency exchange office in Diyarbakır. Structuring below reporting thresholds is deliberate to avoid detection. Confidential Sources confirmed that the funds were issued to purchase "school supplies", "winter clothes", "food stuff", "diesel", and other household goods for refugee camps in Northern Iraq. The confidential sources show that at least 2/3s of those funds did not actually go to the refugee camps as actual goods but instead as financial stipends, which were used by the PKK to purchase equipment and weapons for their terrorist operations. c. Temporal correlation. Transfers have begun to spike since June 2007. This has coincided with an increase in the group's terror activities. Mr. Lelikan has traveled to Northern Iraq on numerous occasions, and Turkish intelligence believes he is not only active as a financial courier but also supporting actual terror activities. 4. KAV's Involvement Mr. Lelikan has assisted the KAV in taking donations that are either knowingly or negligently being used to support the PKK under the charade of charity activities. The MİT requests any ASIO intelligence on Lelikan's activities, the KAV's financial accounts, and any known associates of Lelikan.

Prepared by: The National Intelligence Organization Point of Contact: Canberra Station Chief​

Owen