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

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 ADANA 0141 
 
SIPDIS 
 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREL PINS PGOV PHUM TU IZ ADANA
SUBJECT:  SOUTHEAST TURKEY PRESS SUMMARY, 
          MAY 22, 2003 
 
 
¶1.  This is the Southeastern Turkey press summary 
for May 22, 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 
 
 
¶2.  Radikal/Cumhuriyet/Evrensel/Milli 
Gazete/Turkiye/Milliyet/Hurriyet: As a result of 
clashes between the security forces and members 
of illegal organizations in Tunceli, two privates 
were martyred while four organization members 
were killed. A group of PKK/KADEK militants 
firing on the soldiers near rural Atacinar 
village in Tunceli the previous night killed two 
soldiers. Reinforcement units dispatched to the 
scene encircled the terrorist group, but clashes 
continued throughout the night. Officials said, 
in the region, there were around 30 PKK/KADEK 
militants who had infiltrated into Turkey some 
time ago. During clashes between security forces 
and a group of TKP/ML (Turkish Communist 
Party/Marksist Leninist Faction) and TIKKO 
(Turkish Workers Villagers Communist Army) 
members, four members of the illegal organization 
were killed. 
 
 
¶3.  Evrensel: Based on the permission from the 
governor to return to their village, 
approximately 500 people from Yesiloz village in 
Sirnak left Van, Hakkari, and Cizre on May 16 for 
their village. The families were not allowed to 
go to the village by the Sub-govern orate and 
Jandarma Command on grounds that the village 
lacked the necessary infrastructure. The 
villagers are being kept under military 
supervision in an open space in the Village 
Services Department's workshop. The villagers' 
request for tents has not been met. Villagers 
claimed the problem stemmed from the Chief 
Village Guard and Tribal Leader, Kemal Aslan, 
having denounced the villagers to the Brigade 
Command for allegedly assisting the PKK some time 
ago. 
 
 
¶4.  Evrensel: Emin Ete, who was apprehended at 
his store in Siirt on April 19, filed a petition 
with the local public prosecutor claiming he was 
taken by police to a field where he was exposed 
to physical and psychological pressure. Ete also 
claimed the police cut his fingers with a knife. 
The court dropped the charges against the 
policemen Sinasi Cetin and Senol Kutal, who are 
stationed at the Anti-terror Department of Siirt 
Security Directorate, on the grounds that there 
was no evidence that police had wounded the 
accuser. Opposing the court's decision, Ete said 
police seized the physical report he obtained 
after he had been wounded, and that he would 
appeal the case. 
 
 
¶5.  Hurriyet: The 6th Harmonization Package with 
the EU, which will be submitted to the Prime 
Ministry by the Ministry of Justice today, makes 
it permissible to name children in Kurdish. The 
ban in the Political Parties Law in regard to 
campaigning in languages other than Turkish will 
also be lifted, and amendments will be made in 
the RTUK Law (Radio Television High Council). 
Broadcasting on public and private TV channels 
and radio stations of different languages and 
accents the Turkish citizens use in their daily 
lives will be permitted. 
 
 
¶6.  Turkiye: Police teams from Adana arrested 
eleven Somali nationals in a bus at the Adana Bus 
Terminal. The Somalis had illegally crossed into 
Turkey from Hatay at the Turkish-Syrian border, 
and were planning to go to Italy. The Somalis 
will be brought before the court for "coming into 
the country through illegal ways." 
 
 
¶7.  Milliyet: Teams from the Organized Crimes 
Department of the Adana Security Directorate 
arrested a Tarik Cakar, the so called leader of 
"Cakarlar," a gang involved in theft, pick- 
pocketing and extorting money from shopkeepers in 
various quarters of the town. It is claimed that 
Cakar was involved in four murder cases. 
 
 
¶8.  Turkiye/Milliyet/Hurriyet: The Government and 
UNICEF's joint project "The Child and Family 
Education Program" was started in Mersin today. 
Ankara, Istanbul, Izmir, Diyarbakir, Samsun, and 
Mersin have been picked as pilot cities for the 
program. Regarding the program which aims to end 
domestic violence, the Deputy Governor of Mersin, 
Ibrahim Seker, said three thousand families would 
be educated throughout the province within the 
framework of the program. 
HOLTZ