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DE RUEHDA #0020 0981514
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RUEHDA/AMCONSUL ADANA 1328

UNCLAS ADANA 000020 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV PTER TU
SUBJECT: TURKEY:  VIOLENT AFTERSHOCKS CONTINUE IN SANLIURFA AFTER 
APRIL 4 CLASHES CLAIM TWO LIVES 
 
¶1.  (SBU)  SUMMARY.  Tensions continue in Kurdish-populated 
areas of Sanliurfa province after two protesters were fatally 
injured during clashes with police on April 4, the birthday of 
jailed PKK leader Abdullah Ocalan.  Community leaders dispute 
official declarations that police did not use firearms to subdue 
protesters, pointing to one autopsy result that concludes death 
by bullet.  April 6 saw more violent clashes with police after 
residents acted in response to what they say was police 
brutality.  Frictions remain high, in part because the region is 
still absorbing the pro-Kurdish party DTP's recent electoral 
successes .  END SUMMARY. 
 
 
 
¶2.  (SBU)   Sanliurfa Human Rights Association President Sedat 
Gozkiran confirmed media reports of violence that claimed the 
lives of two protesters in Halfeti district on April 4, the 60th 
birthday of the imprisoned leader of the Kurdistan Workers' 
Party (PKK) Abdullah Ocalan.  Gozkiran said the annual march to 
the small village of Omerli, Ocalan's birthplace, had taken 
place for many years, and while minor scuffles with law 
enforcement officials were typical, this was the first year 
there were fatalities.  Gozkiran told us police had blockaded 
all but one road to Halfeti, obliging marchers to use a single 
route, the passage of which was also ultimately closed. 
Violence erupted when marchers tried to force their way through 
the police, who responded with tear gas and water cannons. 
 
 
 
¶3.  (SBU)  While the Sanliurfa Governor Yusuf Yavascan has 
denied security forces used firearms to subdue the protesters, 
both Gozkiran and provincial Bar Association President Yaya 
Demirkol told us a recently completed autopsy showed one of the 
protesters had been killed by a gunshot to his head.  The 
autopsy results of the other deceased protester, who hailed from 
Diyarbakir, have not been released. 
 
 
 
¶4.  (U)  In a continuing rash of violence in Kurdish-populated 
areas of Sanliurfa province, media report on the night of April 
6 approximately 100 protesters demonstrated in Viransehir 
district, overturning dumpsters, setting fire to debris, and 
hurling stones and Molotov cocktails at local police.  Law 
enforcement responded with tear gas.  The group waved PKK flags 
and posters of Ocalan. 
 
 
 
¶5.  (SBU)  COMMENT.   Gozkiran pointed out that had police 
allowed the protesters to march peacefully to Ocalan's village, 
it is likely no violence would have occurred.  While Ocalan's 
birthday was the proximate cause of the unrest, the DTP's recent 
electoral success - including in the Halfeti region -- may have 
amplified the emotions.  Across the region, the question now is 
whether the DTP's better than expected election results will 
reduce tensions or lead to rising expectations for faster 
change.  Much will depend on AKP's attitude towards the DTP.  If 
AKP continues to treat DTP as a party of protest, the DTP and 
its supporters will be more inclined to act recklessly.  An 
inclusive approach would likely have a moderating influence. 
 
 END COMMENT. 
 
GREEN