Contamination and Impact

Mines

Turkey is contaminated with antipersonnel and antivehicle mines, as well as improvised explosive devices (IEDs). Mines were laid from 1956–1959 along 510km of the border with Syria, and on some sections of the borders with Armenia, Iran, and Iraq to prevent illegal border crossings, and around security installations.[1] It has been stated that all the mines laid on the Turkish side of Turkey’s borders with Greece, Bulgaria,[2] and Georgia have been cleared.[3]

Turkey reported in 2011 that a total of 977,407 mines remained emplaced on its territory at the end of 2010, 2,010 less than at the end of the previous year. Most mines were along the border with Syria (613,766 mines), followed by the borders with Iran (194,755), Iraq (69,046), and Armenia (21,856). Turkey reported another 77,984 mines were emplaced at various locations inside the country.[4] A notice of intention to call tenders for clearance of minefields on the Syrian border published by the Ministry of National Defense in March 2011 said they totaled 212km².[5]

Mines were also emplaced by government forces during the 1984–1999 conflict with the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (Partiya Karkerên Kurdistan, PKK) in the southeast of the country. According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, these mines have been progressively cleared since 1998.[6] Turkey’s Armed Forces General Staff reported continuing to find PKK mines in 2009 and 2010, but did not specify whether they were victim-activated (and therefore mines or command-detonated devices.[7]

During the 1974 occupation of northern Cyprus, Turkish armed forces emplaced minefields to create a barrier on the northern side of the buffer zone that divides the island, and in areas adjacent to the buffer zone.[8] The UN identified 26 minefields laid by Turkish forces in the buffer zone.[9] Most of the minefields have been maintained since then.[10]

Cluster munition remnants and other explosive remnants of war

Turkey is also contaminated with explosive remnants of war (ERW), primarily unexploded ordnance, but has not identified the affected areas. Reports by the Human Rights Foundation say the areas most affected are Batman, Bingöl, Diyarbakir, Hakkari, Mardin, Siirt, Sirnak, and Van.[11] There is no evidence of any problem with cluster munition remnants.

Mine Action Program

Key institutions and operators

There is not yet a national mine action authority or mine action center in Turkey. In March 2010, Minister of National Defense Vecdi Gönül told parliament that the government had set up a Top Project Board (TPB) to oversee mine action and a Project Implementation Board (PIB) to act as a national mine action center. The TPB would include representatives of the ministries of agriculture, finance, foreign affairs, internal affairs, and rural affairs, with other ministries participating when necessary. The ministry was said to be preparing a directive setting out the respective responsibilities of the TPB and PIB.[12] The government said in June 2011 that the initiative is “still in an initial process.” It said the Prime Minister had instructed all government departments involved to prepare to participate and that the Ministry of Defense was coordinating preparations.[13]

Turkey is developing plans for mine clearance on its borders with Armenia, Iran, Iraq, and Syria. Turkey and Syria reportedly agreed in 2003 to demine their common border.[14] Turkey says the border accounts for most of the mines emplaced on its territory and its clearance is therefore its “priority.”[15] Officials observe it is also the easiest border to clear because the terrain is flat and there has been minimal displacement of mines as a result of factors such as land erosion.[16]

Turkey’s President ratified Law No. 5903 on demining of minefields along the Syrian border on 16 June 2009. The law stipulates that initially the Ministry of National Defense will invite tenders for demining, and if this process does not work the Ministry of Finance will have the minefields cleared through the “service procurement method” (the meaning of this is not clear). According to the law, if this method also fails, the government will invite companies to tender for demining in exchange for the right to cultivate lands suitable for agriculture for up to 44 years.[17]

The law also provided for the possibility of “requesting the services of the NATO Maintenance and Supply Agency [NAMSA].”[18] Turkey said in June 2011 it had concluded a “sales agreement” with NAMSA providing for quality management and technical support.[19] A NAMSA advisor in Ankara provides technical support on such issues as tendering procedures and contract management.[20]

Turkey reported in June 2010 that the Ministry of National Defense was “taking the necessary steps for a comprehensive programme” of border clearance,[21] and in March 2011 it announced on its website that tenders would be invited for clearance of the 911km-long Syrian border divided into six separate areas with a total mined area of 212km².[22] Officials say these six areas represent the entirety of mine contamination on the Syrian border, but reported that in some of the six areas demarcation of the border is disputed by Syria and that clearance work would start in the other areas. The government had initially planned to set a deadline of June 2011 for tender submissions but later extended it. Officials told the ICBL in May that Turkey’s intention was still to start clearance in 2011.[23]

Minister of National Defense Gönül confirmed in 2010 that after clearing its border with Syria, Turkey planned to clear its other borders.[24] Turkey submitted a proposal to the European Union in 2010 seeking financing for a €50 million (about US$66 million) project[25] “Increasing the Border Surveillance Capacity Through de-mining of the Eastern Borders of Turkey.” The project provides for clearing Turkey’s Armenian border of all remaining mines covering an area of 1.64km² and to clear three areas on its border with Iran north of Lake Van covering 6.4km², 3.5km², and 1.5km², respectively. Under the proposal, Turkey would call for tenders at the end of 2012 or early in 2013 and expected work to start in 2013. Turkey planned to submit a proposal to clear the southern part of the border with Iran in 2012.[26]

Land Release

In the past, demining in Turkey has been conducted by the Specialized Mine Clearance Unit of the Turkish army, using manual and mechanical means.[27]

Mine clearance in 2010

Turkey’s latest Article 7 report stated 25,092 antipersonnel mines were destroyed in mined areas in 2010, up from 22,782 the previous year, and a big increase from the 999 mines reportedly destroyed in 2008.[28] The locations and area cleared were not specified. Turkey has not included in its Article 7 reports the destruction of antipersonnel mines emplaced by the PKK/KADEK/Kongra Gel, but the Turkish General Staff website has reported clearance of IEDs. In 2010, it reportedly destroyed a further 132 antipersonnel mines.[29]

In March 2011, Nokta Yatirim Limited Company reported it had demined Gaziantep Karkamış antique city, clearing an area of 663,800m² and destroying 1,200 mines.[30]

Compliance with Article 5 of the Mine Ban Treaty

Under Article 5 of the Mine Ban Treaty, Turkey is required to destroy all antipersonnel mines in mined areas under its jurisdiction or control as soon as possible, but not later than 1 March 2014.

Turkey has been slow to fulfill its obligations under Article 5 and has not reported in sufficient detail on either the remaining contamination or the clearance it has undertaken to date. In June 2010, Turkey said that “the Ministry of National Defense is taking the necessary steps for a comprehensive programme and timelines of clearance, in collaboration with NAMSA, to comply with the deadline set for 2014.”[31]

Under Action Point 17 of the Cartagena Action Plan, adopted by the Second Review Conference of the Mine Ban Treaty, States Parties undertake to, “Provide annually, in accordance with Article 7, precise information on the number, location and size of mined areas, anticipated particular technical or operational challenges, plans to clear or otherwise release these areas, and information on the areas already released, disaggregated by release through clearance, technical survey and non-technical survey.”

Turkey has initiated plans for clearance of its border minefields, but it remains unclear whether it will be able to complete these tasks by March 2014. Moreover, Turkey has made no announcement of any plans to clear the 77,984 mines it has identified are emplaced within its borders.[32] Turkey also still needs to set out concrete plans for clearance of all affected areas under its jurisdiction or control to meet its treaty requirements, including areas under its control in northern Cyprus.[33]

Other Risk Reduction Measures

Turkey undertakes little mine/ERW risk education (RE). In 2007, the Minister of Internal Affairs summed up RE activity by commenting that, “the citizens in the region are being warned periodically that they should inform the security forces when they encounter suspicious things.”[34]

Some mine warning signs have been placed near settlements between Nusaybin and Midyat in the southeastern province of Mardin, according to Turkish media reports.[35]