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 000024 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREL PINS PGOV PHUM TU ADANA
SUBJECT: SOUTHEAST TURKEY PRESS SUMMARY FOR FEBRUARY 03, 2006 
 
 
This is the Southeastern Turkey press summary for February 03, 
¶2006.  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 
 
HURRIYET:       Turkish-American Association (TAA) Executive Board 
in Adana extended thanks to the Adana Governor Mr. Cahit Kirac, 
the American Consul Mr. Scott Reid, the Adana Security Director 
Mr. Mehmet Cebe, and the State Hospital Emergency Team for the 
close interest and sensitivity they showed during the 
distressing January 30 attack (see press summary 01/31) at their 
association, through an announcement published on Hurriyet 
daily.  The announcement further read that TAA, as an NGO, has 
been giving English classes in Adana for over fifty years and 
the association was a voluntary establishment that provided 
non-profit English classes under the control of the Ministry of 
National Education, and all of its material and institutional 
assets belonged to Turkish people and town.  TAA will reportedly 
resume classes as of Saturday, February 4. 
 
ZAMAN:  The daily reported that the parliamentary commission 
for the Semdinli Case has obtained significant evidence 
concerning the "local sources" of the incident as the commission 
heard statements from Kutlu Savas, former Inspection Board 
Chairperson of the Prime Minister Office (see press summary 
02/02), and Sabri Uzun, Chairperson of the Security 
Directorate's Intelligence Center, yesterday.  According to 
anonymous member of the commission, the Semdinli incident's 
origins are traced back to the Jandarma, however, the incident 
was of local nature.  The commission decided to hear the 
statements of some local public employees in Hakkari. 
 
EVRENSEL:       Tunceli Mayor Songul Erol Abdil will participate in 
"Inter-governmental Relationships-International Visitors and 
Leaders Program" that will be held in the U.S. between February 
6-24.  The program, which will last 18 days will cover the 
following topics: Federal Structure of the U.S. Government, How 
Do Local and State Administrations Work in the U.S., Role of the 
Non-Governmental Organizations in Supporting Local 
Administrations, Financing of the Municipalities and Local Tax 
Administration, Relationship of the U.S. and Turkey, and the 
U.S.'s Turkey Policies." 
 
HURRIYET:       Prof. Yucel Askin, Van Centennial University Rector, 
paid separate visits to the DYP (True Path Party) leader Mehmet 
Agar and SHP (Social Democratic People's Party) leader Murat 
Karayalcin.  Agar reportedly said that case of Askin should not 
have gone beyond the framework of the judiciary. 
 
OZGUR GUNDEM:   Some of the students of the Dicle University 
are allegedly being threatened and oppressed by the police.  The 
daily noted that students have reportedly suffered from 
investigations to date. Following tension developing in the 
(southeastern) region after the Semdinli incident, incidents of 
students being threatened by the police reportedly surged. 
 
EVRENSEL:       The daily draws attention to the fact that Turkish 
Parliamentary Commission Probing the Semdinli Case, which was 
set up in November 23, 2005 and which has heard in a total of 11 
sessions the statements of the lawmakers, military officers and 
police officers for over two months, have not been enumerated or 
mentioned in the public website of the Turkish Parliament.  The 
other commissions of the parliament were however cited on the 
website, according to the daily. 
 
OZGUR GUNDEM:   Yilmaz Yasmin, a person living in Agri's 
Dogubeyazit district, claimed that JITEM (Jandarma Intelligence 
Center) members came to his house and forcibly took Yasmin to 
their van, which was allegedly full of arms and heavy weapons, 
and was forced to become an agent by reported JITEM members. 
Moreover, when Yasmin went to Dogubeyazit Prosecutor's Office to 
file a complaint following that incident, the prosecutor 
allegedly said that an investigation would be started against 
him, if Yasmin told this story to the media. 
 
EVRENSEL / OZGUR GUNDEM:        A court of first instance has been 
convened in Diyarbakir to litigate KURD-DER (Kurdish Association 
for Democracy and Solidarity) members on charges of holding a 
"Mahabad Kurdish Republic and Commemoration of the Executed 
Kurdish Leaders" conference on April 3.  The court ordered that 
conference CDs in Kurdish be translated.  Ibrahim Guclu, 
Spokesperson of KURD-DER, one of the defendants of the court, 
demanded that a Kurdish translator be assigned to the court for 
he would be giving his statement in Kurdish. 
 
OZGUR GUNDEM:   Reportedly, hunger strikes protesting prison 
conditions of Abdullah Ocalan have been getting widespread in 
the southeastern region.  New rolling hunger strikes in Mardin's 
prison and in Ergani and Bismil districts of Diyarbakir have 
been started.  Havva Keser, Abdullah Ocalan's sister, has also 
taken turns fasting at the second day of the two-day rolling 
hunger strike launched in Adana's Human Rights Association.  100 
people in Mahmur Camp in Iraq have also launched a hunger 
strike.  The hunger strike that was started in Sirnak's Cizre 
district has been ended and nearly 1000 people held a 
demonstration to mark that.  A small turmoil broke out when 
people engaged in a petty scuffle with police.  Meanwhile, a 
group of people paid a visit to the Cizre Mayor who has been 
fined to pay 10.000 YTL (approximately 7,500 USD). 
 
OZGUR GUNDEM:   Turkish Armed Forces have been continuing its 
military operations in rural area of Mardin and are readying to 
launch new operations in Sirnak. 
 
OZGUR GUNDEM:   Following police's intervention in a public 
demonstration that marked the end of a hunger strike in Mus 
yesterday, and, police allegedly wounding four people as they 
tried to quell it, reportedly, non-governmental organizations in 
Mus demanded that the Mus Security Director be removed from his 
office. 
  BOLGE / OZGUR GUNDEM: Aziz Akgul, Chairperson of MADER (Mersin 
Fuel Oil Association), said that 34 Turkish firms have not been 
able to receive payment of a total of 1 billion dollars worth of 
service firms provided through transportation of fuel oil to 
Iraq, a situation which has caused halting of transportation 
operations to from Turkey to Iraq for fifteen days.  Akgul 
further said that if the problem persisted, 24,000 people 
earning livelihood from the business will lose their job and 
12,000 tanker trucks turn idle. 
 
EVRENSEL:       The daily approached critically to the recent CHP 
support extended (see press summary 01/30) to the Tekel 
Cigarette Factory workers who have been on a strike for a while 
against the government decision to close down the factory. 
Following recent announcement of CHP deputies that they would 
extend support to businessmen in Adana if the Privatization 
Authority decided to privatize the factory rather than closing 
it down (see press summary 02/02), the daily expressed the anger 
of the workers who discerned CHP's "true face."  Meanwhile, DISK 
(Confederation of Progressive Unions) Chairperson, who paid a 
visit to the Tekel Adana cigarette factory workers on strike in 
the factory for 35 days, called on the workers' platform to go 
on a one-hour strike in the workday to protest the government 
which "has been observing the instructions of the IMF." 
 
EVRENSEL:       The draft report of the Turkish Parliamentary 
Commission for Probing Honor Killings reportedly stated that 
majority of women in the southeastern region was speaking 
Kurdish and did not know Turkish; a fact that reportedly made it 
harder to extend support for women in the region.  Nebahat 
Akkoc, representative of KA-MER women's association, suggested 
broadcasting of Kurdish educational programs in the state-run 
Turkish TV station on order to increase women's awareness in the 
region about their own rights, according to the report. 
 
HURRIYET ONLINE:        Two avalanches took place on the 80th 
kilometer of the road between Hakkari and Sirnak. Road clearing 
team and 24 cars with 40 passengers were trapped in-betweens two 
avalanche spots.  Jandarma and villagers rescued this morning 
the people and team members trapped. 
 
WWW.MEMLEKETHABER.COM:  A former governor (of an unspecified 
province) reportedly said that the government has been trying to 
cure cancer with vitamins. In fact, the surrender of (Abdullah) 
Ocalan was only part of a plot.  Ocalan is a terrorist in whom 
the U.S. has made investments for so many years, Ocalan is a 
murderer, said the news article.  Since the U.S. anticipated 
then that it would lose control of Ocalan, (it determined that) 
Ocalan's life would be in jeopardy because of a couple of 
varying reasons. Not to render those investments it (the U.S.) 
made as futile, it determined that the wisest solution would be 
to guarantee the survival of Ocalan.  The U.S. ensured this by 
surrendering Ocalan to Turkey. As a result of that, the (PKK 
terrorist) organization, which was formerly engaging in 
activities such as conducting raids on villages and 
(police/jandarma) stations, established greater goals. The 
organization developed strategies in the form of mass uprisings 
and rebellions in order to free that territory from Turkey's 
control. It carried out rehearsals of this project in Semdinli, 
Yuksekova and Batman. And it (it is not clear in the text 
whether the subject refers to the U.S. or to the terrorist 
organziation) now waits and sees how the outcome would be. 
REID