This record is a partial extract of the original cable. The full text of the original cable is not available.

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 ADANA 0072 
 
SIPDIS 
 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREL PINS PGOV PHUM TU IZ ADANA
SUBJECT:  SOUTHEAST TURKEY PRESS SUMMARY, 
          MARCH 12, 2003 
 
 
¶1.  This is the Southeastern Turkey press summary 
for March 12, 2003.  Please note that Turkish 
press reports often contain errors or 
exaggerations; AmConsulate Adana does not vouch 
for the accuracy of the reports summarized here. 
 
 
POLITICAL, SECURITY, HUMAN RIGHTS 
 
 
Milli Gazete: It is reported that the Kurdish 
units stationed in Dohuk, close to the Turkish 
border, returned to their bases on weekend to 
confront Turkey's likely military incursion into 
northern Iraq. Babaker Zebari, the commander of 
Kurdish forces in the region, claimed they were 
ready for any Turkish intervention. Zebari 
claimed that "if Turks wanted problems, they 
would be held responsible for them." The Kurdish 
commander said that they would attack the Turkish 
forces the moment they came, even though they had 
only RPGs against the Turks'tanks. He remarked 
that they might not be able to hold the front but 
would launch guerilla attacks. In his TV program 
on Saturday, Mesut Barzani claimed that 
penetration of Turkish troops into Northern Iraq 
would create "serious consequences" and that he 
hoped the US would not betray the Kurds. 
 
 
Milliyet: Based on its interviews with ordinary 
Turkomen in Erbil, BBC claimed that the Turkomen, 
as opposed to the Turkomen Front supported by 
Ankara, were generally happy with their status 
and did not need any protection from Turkey. The 
BBC reporter said the number of Turkomen in 
northern Iraq reached 2.5 million. Cevdet Naccar, 
a Turkomen, said: "We enjoy the same rights as 
the Kurds in Northern Iraq. There is no need for 
the Turkish army to intervene on the pretext of 
rescuing the Turkomen." An antique dealer named 
Halis Yunus said: "They (the Turkish army) cannot 
protect us against theft and looting anyway." A 
Turkomen jeweler expressed the view that the 
Kurds, Arabs, and Turkomen lived together and 
could settle their problems among themselves. The 
BBC reporter claimed that the only group that 
actively supported Turkey's intervention was the 
Turkomen Front, headed by Sanan Ahmet Aga, who 
received his orders from Ankara. 
 
 
Radikal/Turkiye: Families and NGO representatives 
protested against statements made by northern 
Iraqi Kurdish leaders Barzani and Talabani. 300 
people who gathered in front of the Martyrs 
Monument in Diyarbakir yesterday morning shouted 
anti-Barzani and anti-Talabani slogans and 
dispersed peacefully after singing the Turkish 
National Anthem and the delivering of the speech 
by Ahmet Buyukburc, President of the Martyrs 
Association's Diyarbakir Chapter. 
 
 
Milliyet/Sabah/Hurriyet: LA Times' photographer 
Donald Bartletti, ABC News cameraman Alan Weeks, 
and Turkish producer Elif Ural tried to cross 
into northern Iraq illegally.  They were arrested 
by jandarmas who opened fire in the air. The 
jandarmas on patrol had noticed the journalists 
as they were wading across the Hezil River. The 
journalists and the person who assisted them were 
given a physical examination and interrogated at 
Silopi Jandarma Command, and then were brought 
before a court in the morning. The journalists 
were given a fine of USD 54 for violating 
immigration laws. As the journalists took a cab 
to Onsar Hotel in Cizre, they were escorted by 
police. It was decided that Bartletti and Weeks 
would be deported from Turkey.  (Note: That is 
correct.  End note.) 
Radikal: There has been a boom in demand for 
rental property, due to its proximity to the 
Iraqi border. The rents for houses, shops, 
storage facilities, and vacant land have 
increased by 300 to 500 percent. Agit Ozdemir, a 
pioneer who opened the first real estate office 
in Silopi, said he rented out 19 houses in one 
week. 
 
 
Milliyet/Radikal: War preparations in Mardin, 
which is in the position of being the US 
operation center, continues at full speed. The US 
intensified work at a furniture factory rented in 
the Organized Industrial Zone of Mardin. Mobile 
toilets, bunk beds, mobile telephones, 
foodstuffs, and all sorts of logistical material 
are being stored in the furniture plant. 
Meanwhile, Turkish armored units conducted 
maneuvers in empty fields along the highway in 
Kiziltepe. Appearance of the armored vehicles in 
town created excitement. 
 
 
Cumhuriyet/Bolge: Under the first modernization 
of ports and airports motion submitted to the 
Turkish National Grand Assembly, the US keeps 
sending military equipment. The majority of the 
shipments to the region come to Iskenderun port, 
where 5000 US troops and 20-25 ships are reported 
to be waiting off shore at Karpaz. 
 
 
Radikal: Truck drivers who agreed with 
contracting firms on transporting military 
equipment from Iskenderun port to the Southeast 
for USD 100 per day said they would stop carrying 
the material because they had not been paid for 
18 days. Thanks to the intervention of Turkish 
military officials, the contracting firms gave an 
advance to each trucker and transportation 
resumed only thereafter. 89 TIR truck left 
Iskenderun port while 15 TIR trucks loaded with 
military equipment departed Incirlik AB for the 
Southeast yesterday. 
 
 
Dunya: Because of lack of storage room, some U.S. 
military vehicles and materials were put in a 
yarn factory outside the Mardin Organized 
Industrial Zone. The Americans are trying to rent 
500 shops in Evren Industrial Site in Sanliurfa 
as well. Turkish-speaking US soldiers walking in 
Diyarbakir's streets are meeting with the local 
people and trying to obtain information about the 
region. It is reported that Americans are looking 
for a fully equipped hospital or medical center. 
It is gathered that the US plans to fly wounded 
soldiers to hospitals to be rented in Diyarbakir, 
where they have already made offers to five big 
private hospitals. 
 
 
Sabah/Tercuman/Hurriyet: The Patriot missiles 
deployed at the 8th Main Jet Base Command of the 
2nd Tactical Command in Diyarbakir were shown to 
the press. The Dutch commander of Patriot Air 
Defense Systems Command, Lt. Col. Eric Harry 
Abma, remarked that two of the three units of the 
system were deployed in Diyarbakir, while the 
other was deployed in Batman. He was quoted "We 
are here to protect people of Diyarbakir and 
Batman from Iraq. This is our military and 
political mission." The systems were made 
operational on March 11. 
 
 
Hurriyet: The US Consulate in Adana opened an 
exhibition of photographs by famed American 
photographer, William Albert Allard, at the 
Seyhan Municipality Building. The exhibit - some 
70 photographs reflecting American culture taken 
by National Geographic Society veteran Allard -- 
was opened by the American Consul, Adana Deputy 
Governor Bulent Egriboz, and Seyhan Mayor 
Yildiray Arikan.  Turkish and American invitees 
attended the opening reception. 
HOLTZ