Keep Us Strong WikiLeaks logo

Currently released so far... 64621 / 251,287

Articles

Browse latest releases

Browse by creation date

Browse by origin

A B C D F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W Y Z

Browse by tag

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

Browse by classification

Community resources

courage is contagious

Viewing cable 05ADANA30, DEMONSTRATORS CLASH WITH POLICE IN SIIRT

If you are new to these pages, please read an introduction on the structure of a cable as well as how to discuss them with others. See also the FAQs

Understanding cables
Every cable message consists of three parts:
  • The top box shows each cables unique reference number, when and by whom it originally was sent, and what its initial classification was.
  • The middle box contains the header information that is associated with the cable. It includes information about the receiver(s) as well as a general subject.
  • The bottom box presents the body of the cable. The opening can contain a more specific subject, references to other cables (browse by origin to find them) or additional comment. This is followed by the main contents of the cable: a summary, a collection of specific topics and a comment section.
To understand the justification used for the classification of each cable, please use this WikiSource article as reference.

Discussing cables
If you find meaningful or important information in a cable, please link directly to its unique reference number. Linking to a specific paragraph in the body of a cable is also possible by copying the appropriate link (to be found at theparagraph symbol). Please mark messages for social networking services like Twitter with the hash tags #cablegate and a hash containing the reference ID e.g. #05ADANA30.
Reference ID Created Released Classification Origin
05ADANA30 2005-02-17 14:43 2011-08-24 01:00 UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY Consulate Adana
This record is a partial extract of the original cable. The full text of the original cable is not available.
UNCLAS ADANA 000030 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PTER PHUM ASEC PREL TU ADANA
SUBJECT: DEMONSTRATORS CLASH WITH POLICE IN SIIRT 
 
REF: ADANA 0018 
 
1.  (U)  Per reftel (SE Turkey Press Summary 1/25/05), as many 
as 1000 demonstrators reportedly clashed with security officials 
in Siirt on January 23, 2005.  Reportedly throwing stones and 
breaking windows, they protested what they claimed was a 
decision by government and municipal officials to block the 
burial in Siirt township of alleged PKK militants Nergis Ozer 
and Sibal Saltik, who allegedly were killed by security forces 
in Sirnak last weekend.  (Note:  In March 2004, the AK Party won 
the mayoralty of Siirt, previously held by the pro-Kurdish DEHAP 
party.  The current AKP Mayor of Siirt originally was elected to 
Parliament but vacated his seat to allow current Prime Minister 
Erdogan to run in a by-election and formally, therefore, join 
the Parliament and be chosen as Prime Minister.  End note.) 
 
2.  (U)  Family members who reportedly had recovered the bodies 
in nearby Sirnak province were transporting the deceased to 
Siirt for burial, but were stopped from entering the town by as 
yet unidentified GoT forces.  The two bodies were reportedly 
seized by Jandarma and transported to nearby Eruh, where they 
were buried against the families' wishes. In the resulting 
protests, press reports indicate that up to 10 police were 
injured, and that police launched tear gas canisters to disperse 
the crowd. 
 
3.  (SBU)  A human rights activist in Siirt reports that 
tensions there remained high through mid-week as detentions 
related to the incident continued, but that by January 27 the 
mood in the town was considerably calmer.  On January 28 a 
Diyarbakir-based lawyer told poloff that a Human Rights 
Association (HRA) delegation had traveled to Sirnak on January 
25 to investigate the circumstances under which the two alleged 
militants and three others were killed.  Their report also 
addresses the families' complaints about government handling of 
their family members' burial.  (Note:  The two alleged PKK 
militants, whose burials sparked the demonstrations in Siirt, 
were both female and reportedly aged 23 and 16.  According to 
HRA, among others killed in the same clash/incident were two 
individuals aged 21, and one other, aged 13. End note.) 
 
4.  (SBU)  Comment:  Amcon Adana has not been able to determine 
definitively some of the key facts in this case; poloff will 
travel to Siirt in the coming week to follow up on the case.  As 
an aside, the incident casts light on continuing grassroots 
sympathy for PKK/KG in parts of southeast Turkey, especially in 
rural areas, and sheds further light on the participation of 
women and youth in reported PKK/KG units.  End comment. 
 
5.  (U)  BAGHDAD MINIMIZE CONSIDERED. 
 
 
REID