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 000044 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREL PINS PGOV PHUM TU ADANA
SUBJECT: SOUTHEAST TURKEY PRESS SUMMARY FOR FEBRUARY 28- MARCH 1, 
2006 
 
 
This is the Southeastern Turkey press summary for February 28 - 
March 1, 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 
 
ZAMAN:  According to the daily, Roj TV, pro-PKK websites, 
and pro-PKK newspapers incited people to hit the street on 
Monday in Diyarbakir and gather in front of the local hospital 
because one of the dead bodies of the terrorists killed in 
Mardin's Dargecit district would be turned over to his family by 
that hospital.  According to the paper, all these efforts of the 
pro-PKK media were able to gather only 3000 people at the site. 
(This summary is from 02/28 edition.) 
 
RADIKAL / SABAH:        Diyarbakir Heavy Penalty Court sentenced 62 of 
the 72 defendants of a case which brought charges against 
defendants including police officers, Jandarma, prison guards, 
on grounds that they used disproportionate force which resulted 
in the death of 10 prisoners during the incidents sparked in a 
prison in Diyarbakir in September 1996.  23 prisoners were 
wounded then.  The court decreased the 18-year prison sentence 
to five years taking into account the aggravated situation that 
incited the defendants to offence and the good behavior they 
displayed in the course of the court action. Seven defendants 
were not found guilty because of statute of limitations, and 
three senior military and police officers were acquitted because 
of lack of sufficient evidence proving their offence.  (This 
summary is from 02/28 edition.) 
 
OZGUR GUNDEM:   As Directorate of Agricultural and Village 
Works concentrated its efforts on the bird flu outbreak, in the 
meantime foot-and-mouth disease developed in animals in 9 
provinces in three months in Turkey. (This summary is from 02/28 
edition.) 
 
OZGUR GUNDEM:   Civil society members in Mardin and its 
districts launched a campaign to gather signatures against the 
attempts to black out Roj TV. (This summary is from 02/28 
edition.) 
 
 
ZAMAN:  Turkish Parliamentary Commission Probing Semdinli 
Case heard statements from the Hakkari Mayor Metin Tekce, 
Semdinli district's Mayor Hursit Tekin, and Yukekova district's 
Mayor Salih Yildiz.  The three mayors reportedly expressed 
common concerns and said that perpetrators of the bombing 
incidents in Hakkari (in the last quarter of 2004) were those 
circles (in Turkey) who were against the stance of the 
government about the Kurdish issue.  PM Erdogan had acknowledged 
back in August that there was a Kurdish issue in Turkey during a 
speech he made in Diyarbakir. 
 
EKSPRES:        As the day for the provincial congress of AKP 
approaches in Adana, Mustafa Kebude, announced his candidacy for 
chairmanship of the provincial party organization. 
 
BOLGE / EKSPRES:        Jandarma teams, upon hearing a tip-off, 
arrested 18 Syrian national refugees as they were attempting to 
go to Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus in Adana's Karatas 
district. 
 
RADIKAL:        Fatma Sahin, Gazianep deputy from AKP and 
Chairperson of Turkish Parliamentary Commission for Probing 
Honor Killings (TPCPHK), said that a special action team should 
be set up to probe increasing cases of people committing suicide 
in Batman.  Sahin further said that generation gap between 
members of families were factors triggering suicidal tendencies. 
 According to Sahin, a mother would only speak Kurdish, but her 
son, who only speaks Turkish, cannot communicate with his 
mother.  Sahin pointed out that support should be extended to 
the province to provide language education to people. 
 
EVRENSEL:       The daily provided statistical figures about the 
suicide cases in Batman.  According to TPCPHK, number of women 
committing suicide in Batman is three times higher than men, as 
compared to the figures in overall Turkey.  Between 2001 and 
2006, 402 people attempted to commit suicide in Batman.  80 
people were successful in their attempts and 43 of them were 
women.  Those people who committed suicide were between the ages 
15 and 25. Majority of the suicide cases reportedly took place 
in the slums of the province which was formed by internal 
migration, according to the Batman Bar Association. 
 
RADIKAL / YENI SAFAK / CUMHURIYET:      As a result of the 
four-month endeavors of the Security Directorate's Smuggling and 
Organized Crimes Branch, a 28-person gang comprised of computer 
hackers was allegedly caught in Diyarbakir.  Reportedly, members 
of the gang have hacked over internet passwords of the digital 
household electricity meters to illegally decrease costs of 
electricity consumption for their clients.  Leader of the gang 
has been detained in Mardin's Kiziltepe district. 
 
OZGUR GUNDEM:   Reportedly thousands of people marched in the 
streets in Batman when the coffins of two of the 7 terrorists 
killed in Mardin's Dargecit district were brought to Batamn from 
Diyarbakir for burial procedures. (This summary is from 02/28 
edition.) 
 
OZGUR GUNDEM:   The daily claims that some body parts of 7 
terrorists killed during a military operation in Mardin's 
Dargecit district in February 23 (see press summary 02/27) were 
allegedly cut apart or dissected.  Families of the dead 
terrorists were reportedly had difficulty identifying their kin 
as a result of that alleged brutality.  Meanwhile, the funerals 
of two of the 7 terrorists were held in Mus's Varto and Bitlis's 
Tatvan districts.  The funeral car and 30-car convoy heading 
towards Mus were allegedly checked every three kilometers by the 
local Jandarma Command. 
 
EVRENSEL:       Statements of the fifty-nine persons, who were 
detained during a demonstration that followed a funeral of a PKK 
member in Diyarbakir, have been taken at the Security 
Directorate in Diyarbakir.  The detainees have been sent to the 
Prosecutor's Office. 
 
OZGUR GUNDEM:   Attorneys of the 89 arrestees, who were 
detained and arraigned in Adana following a turbulent 
demonstration activity on February 16 marking the seventh 
anniversary of Abdullah Ocalan's capture, objected to Adana's 
7th Heavy Penalty Court and demanded that their clients, who 
were jailed in a prison in Adana, be released.  Meanwhile, Ziya 
Aydemir, DTP Adana Provincial Chairperson, said that they would 
file a complaint with the Ministry of Interior against the 
attitude of the police who reportedly smashed the door of the 
DTP provincial party building and broke into its headquarters 
during the incident. 
REID