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 0272 
 
SIPDIS 
 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREL PINS PGOV PHUM TU IZ ADANA
SUBJECT:  SOUTHEAST TURKEY PRESS SUMMARY, 
          OCTOBER 17, 2003 
 
¶1. This is the Southeastern Turkey press summary 
for October 17, 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. Turkiye, Hurriyet, Bolge, Ozgur Gundem, 
Milliyet, Ekspres / Cumali Kizilkoca, was 
sentenced to 5 years of imprisonment for the 
June 11, 2003, grenade attack on the US 
Consulate in Adana.  Kizilkoca stated that he 
wanted the voice of Muslims to be heard by his 
attack. 
 
 
¶3. Evrensel / The "Two minutes of darkness for 
peace" campaign started in Diyarbakir 
yesterday.  People turned off their lights for 
two minutes at 20:30 to call attention to the 
Kurdish problem. 
 
 
¶4. Bolge / Necati Erdem, head of the Adana Law 
Bar, announced that the local bar association 
condemns the October 15 attack on the Jandarma 
minibus which killed one soldier and wounded 
another. 
 
 
¶5. Cumhuriyet, Milliyet / During his speech at 
Diyarbakir court, Semdin Sakik, a prominent 
member of PKK/KADEK, stated that he is a test 
case for the PKK/KADEK members awaiting 
acceptance by the Turkish government to be 
classified under the regulations of 
"reintegration" law.  "If my case takes any 
longer nobody would apply to the Turkish 
government to benefit from the law," Sakik 
reported.  Sakik also stated that Abdullah 
Ocalan is seen as a prophet, even half god, in 
the PKK/KADEK community. 
 
 
¶6. Ozgur Gundem / Hanefi Isik, Southeast Region 
Human Rights Organization representative, 
announced in a press conference that the 
"planned, organized" raid of the villages in 
Kovali, Derik, Mardin province by the Jandarma 
is in retaliation against the 405 soldier rape 
case involving the woman identified by the 
initials S.E. (Editor's Note: Jandarma 
Commanders announced that the incident in 
Kovali, Derik was not a raid, but was a clash 
between the Jandarma and terrorists.) 
 
 
¶7. Ozgur Gundem / Police officers M. Yucel and I. 
Icen, who had been accused of torturing Remziye 
Daslik, are not being detained during their 
trial.  The trial is ongoing. 
 
 
¶8. Ozgur Gundem / Sultan and Senay Izra, a mother 
and her daughter, applied to the Diyarbakir 
Human Rights Organization to lodge a complaint 
against the police officers who allegedly 
abused and beat them.  "If anything happens to 
me or to my daughter, the police will be 
responsible for that," the mother stated. 
 
 
¶9. Milliyet, Hurriyet, Zaman / Security forces 
found 65 empty bullet shells around the area in 
Adana where an attack was made on the 
patrolling Jandarma minibus on October 15. 
Turkish Security forces started intensive 
operations in the area. 
 
 
¶10. Ekspres / A suspicious bag in front of the 
Saricam Police Station caused panic.  A special 
police team determined that it was not a bomb. 
¶11. Zaman / A Turkish Embassy employee wounded 
in the attack on the Turkish Embassy in 
Baghdad, is being treated at Diyarbakir's Dicle 
University Hospital. 
 
 
¶12. Yeni Safak / About 100 families are waiting 
for a signal from Turkish officials in order to 
return home and benefit from the "reintegration 
law." The families, who are presently living in 
the Daretiye village in Northern Iraq, are 
worried about their security and safety when 
they return to Turkey. 
REID