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 0148 
 
SIPDIS 
 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PINS PGOV PHUM TU IZ ADANA
SUBJECT:  SOUTHEAST TURKEY PRESS SUMMARY, 
          MAY 30, 2003 
 
 
¶1.  This is the Southeastern Turkey press summary 
for May 30, 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.  Sabah/Hurriyet: As a result of ensuing 
clashes between the security forces and a group 
of PKK-KADEK militants who had set up an ambush 
near Bingol yesterday evening, one soldier was 
killed while seven others were wounded. As 
clashes continued, enforcement units were 
dispatched to the region. 
 
 
¶3.  Hurriyet: Charges were brought against a 
shepherd named Suleyman because he grazed his 
live stocks in Bingol at night. The court 
demanded two and a half months of imprisonment 
for the shepherd for acting in opposition to the 
orders given by authorities. The shepherd 
appealed the case to the Supreme Court. The 
Supreme Court acquitted Suleyman on the grounds 
that the state was responsible for promoting live 
stock raising and supporting the live stock 
raisers for increasing production, and that the 
ban was not in confirmation with the 
Constitution. 
 
 
¶4.  Hurriyet: After his speech at the War Academy 
on EU and assorted issues, the Vice Chief of TGS, 
General Buyukanit, clarified his views about his 
abstention on use of mother tongue in 
broadcasting. General Buyukanit was quoted as 
saying, "When there are thousands of terrorists 
in the country, we can not pretend as though they 
do not exist. It would not matter if broadcasting 
on the country's television was made in Chinese 
or Arabic if there had been no terrorist threat 
in our country." Drawing attention to the 
difficulty in controlling the TV channels, 
General Buyukanit said "RTUK's (Radio and 
Televison High Council) offices in Anatolia are 
being closed down. Who is going to inspect these 
private broadcasts? Once it was debated on a 
private TV channel in Diyarbakir whether the 
Independent Kurdish State should be Islamist or 
secular. Controlling is not as easy as it is 
thought. First of all, the idea would emerge, and 
then weapons would be given to people. At the 
moment, there are 900-armed PKK militants within 
the borders. Is this a threat? At a time, Kocero 
(a bandit) was only one person, and he was a 
threat. From this angle, we perceive broadcasting 
in the mother tongue as a threat." 
 
 
¶5.  Sabah: The Batman Women's Platform decided to 
arrange a poem and essay competition in Turkish 
and Kurdish on "War, Peace and Women." The 
platform applied to the governor's office to 
obtain permission. The authorities denied its 
request on the grounds that no such entity 
legally existed. The governor's decision is found 
odd because Turkey is trying to pass bills to 
make it permissible to broadcast in Kurdish on 
private TV channels. An inmate in Batman prison, 
Fahriye Ceylan, hoping the permission for the 
contest would be granted, sent a poem in Kurdish 
to the jury. The poem was illegible because it 
was entirely scratched out by the prison 
administration. The prison administration's note 
on the poem stated, "It has been scratched out 
because it was written in a not understandable 
language." 
 
 
¶6.  Milliyet: Adana's Mayor Aytac Durak, who 
faced up to one year of imprisonment on the 
charges of abuse of authority while in office, 
also benefited from the amnesty law. Durak was 
charged of violating several laws and rules 
between 1996 and 1998. His file has been 
suspended for five years. If Mayor Durak commits 
a crime within five years, he will be given a 
penalty for the previous charges as well. 
 
 
ECONOMIC AND AGRICULTURAL DEVELOPMENTS 
 
 
¶7.  Bolge/Cumhuriyet: Although the harvesting of 
wheat has started in the Cukurova Plain, the 
government has not announced the basic rate for 
the product yet. The producers said they suffered 
approximately a 10 percent loss in yield due to 
extreme heat and northeast wind in May. The 
farmers said the government should take world 
market prices into account and announce a basic 
price not less than 0.26 or 0.28 USD per kilo. 
Merchants have been buying wheat at 0.21 or 0.22 
US dollar per kilo. The President of Yuregir's 
Chamber of Agriculture, Sahin Tekin, said TMO 
(Soil Products Office) was not friendly to 
farmers anymore because it acted in a business- 
minded manner. Tekin said it was impossible to 
feed 70 million people with imported wheat, and 
therefore, he said the government should support 
the farmers to increase the wheat production. 
HOLTZ