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DE RUEHDA #0063/01 0890943
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FM AMCONSUL ADANA
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INFO RUEHDA/AMCONSUL ADANA 0662
RUEUITH/AFOSI DET 521 ANKARA TU
RUEHAK/AMEMBASSY ANKARA 0616
RUEKJCS/OSD WASHINGTON DC
RHEFDIA/DIA WASHINGTON DC
RUEHIT/AMCONSUL ISTANBUL 0532

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 ADANA 000063 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREL PINS PGOV PHUM TU
SUBJECT: SOUTHEAST TURKEY PRESS SUMMARY FOR 29 MARCH, 2006 
 
 
This is the Southeastern Turkey press summary for March 29, 
¶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 
 
RADIKAL:        A crisis was reportedly sparked at the end of a 
theater play Tourism Minister Atilla Koc watched in Adana 
following the opening of 8th International Theater Festival. 
The lines of the play included an offensive statement that PM 
Erdogan uttered to a farmer in Mersin early in February (see 
press summary 02/13).  The controversial lines of the play would 
reportedly not be included in the other performances. 
 
OZGUR GUNDEM:   Turkish Miltary Forces reportedly launched a 
military operation in a rural area of Siirt's Eruh district. 
20,000 soldiers and village guards have reportedly been deployed 
in the area. 
 
RADIKAL / HURRIYET / BOLGE / EKSPRES / ZAMAN:   During the 
funeral held in Diyarbakir for four of the fourteen PKK members 
killed in a military operation last Friday (see press summary 
03/27) in Mus, tension developed and the city center turned into 
chaos.  Upon calls made from pro-PKK Roj TV, most of the 
tradesmen in the region closed their businesses during the day 
because of the funerals that would take place in the city. 
Pro-PKK demonstrators allegedly hurled stones and Molotov 
cocktails at nearly 70 businesses that stayed open during the 
day. Zaman daily claimed that people of Diyarbakir have not 
yielded to PKK threats oppressing tradesmen in the province to 
close their businesses during the day of the funerals.   The 
ATMs of the banks, who stayed open, have been badly damaged 
allegedly by the protestors.  Hurriyet daily blames Denmark for 
tension developing in the region because Denmark-based Roj TV 
has reportedly incited people.  Nearly 5000 people gathered for 
the funeral and people carried the coffins to the cemetery.  The 
crowd dispersed at the end of the funerals; however, a 
1000-person group marched along a street that led to a police 
station and chanted pro-PKK and pro-Ocalan slogans.  Anti-riot 
teams blocked the way and stopped the crowd.  People reportedly 
threw stones at the police and hurled a Molotov cocktail at an 
armored police vehicle which started burning.  Another armored 
vehicle extinguished the fire in the armored vehicle. Police 
used gas bombs to disperse the crowd.  However, people gathered 
again and continued to clash with the police.  The clash got 
more widespread and 22 people have been wounded. Special team 
members arrived at the city then, and Jandarma deployed more 
forces in the city.  23 people have been detained. Meanwhile, 
tension also developed in Adana during the funeral of another 
terrorist. 3000 people attending the funeral reportedly waved 
PKK flags, shouted pro-Ocalan slogans, and hurled stones at the 
police. Police detained 3 people during the clash including 
Kucukdikili mayor Leyla Guven from DTP. In Batman, 5000 people 
attended the funeral of another terrorist. People carried 
banners reading, "We will go up the mountains and will have 
those liable people pay for this."  Another terrorist's funeral 
was held in Siirt and 5000 people attended it.  People marched 
to the city center then and a 500-person group hurled stones at 
the police.  Military forces intervened and unidentified one 
person and a 16-year-old person has been wounded during the 
incident.  Tension resumed towards evening in Diyarbakir, but 
security forces dispersed people. Jandarma Commando Teams have 
been deployed in the yard of the Governor's Office. 
 
EVRENSEL / OZGUR GUNDEM:        Daily Ozgur Gundem claims that 
Turkish military used chemical weapons during the military 
operation last Friday (03/25) that killed 14 terrorists. 
According to the paper, 20,000 people attended four funerals 
held in Diyarbakir. People reportedly clashed with security 
officers for three hours following the end of the funerals. The 
administration of security in the city center has been 
transferred to the Jandarma and special teams for the first time 
after 15 years.  Former DEP deputy Hatip Dicle, DTP Diyarbakir 
provincial chairperson Ahmet Cengiz, TUHAD-FED (Federation 
Initiative for Solidarity with Inmate Families) national 
chairperson Nursel Aydogan, and Mehdi Zana (Husband of Leyla 
Zana) were among the people that participated in the funeral. 
The dailies also reported that many F-16 military planes flew 
over the funeral place.  Police in Siirt allegedly shot Muhlis 
Ete, a 16-year-old demonstrator, who attempted to raise flag of 
democratic confederalism around 4 p.m on a hill viewing the 
funeral area.  The young person was seriously wounded and 
hospitalized.  The dailies reported as 10,000 people attending 
the funeral in Siirt.  Meanwhile, a 100-car convoy brought the 
coffin of another terrorist to Adiyaman.  500 hundred people 
reportedly attended funeral ceremony there.  Ali Ekber, DTP 
Adiyaman provincial chairperson, delivered a speech and said 
that they still wanted peace despite all the developments taking 
 
ADANA 00000063  002 OF 002 
 
 
place. 
 
OZGUR GUNDEM:   Democratic Union Party, which was established 
by Kurds in Syria, made a call on the Kurdish community in Syria 
to voice protests against killing of 14 terrorists in Turkey's 
Mus province.  Meanwhile, hundreds of people held a march in a 
village of Suleymaniyah district of Northern Iraq to protest the 
killing of guerillas. Separately, some students at Van 
Centennial University hung a giant banner on a wall of the 
university that read, "Revenge of 14 HPG guerillas killed will 
be taken." The banner was removed by the soldiers deployed in a 
police station located at the university.  Meanwhile, nearly 
1,000 people marched in Mardin's Kiziltepe district to protest 
the killings in March 25 military operations in Mus. 
 
RADIKAL / ZAMAN / CUMHURIYET / EVRENSEL:        The nine-person 
delegation of the Turkish parliamentary commission probing the 
Semdinli case went to Hakkari yesterday (see press summary 
03/28).  Meetings of the commission will reportedly be held at 
the Hakkari Governor's Office.  Delegation members met the 
Hakkari Governor at his office.  Apart from the people related 
with the Semdinli incident, commission members also will hold 
talks with the owner of a car in which a July 2005 blast killed 
two officers in Hakkari, and the brother of AKP deputy Fehmi 
Oztunc, in whose garden a bomb attack was carried out in 
September 2005.  Chairperson of the parliamentary commission, 
Sivacioglu, dismissed allegations that the commission was 
interwoven with politics and that the commission formerly 
disclosed information to the Van prosecutor as he was preparing 
the Semdinli indictment.  Meanwhile, yesterday's papers noted 
that Prosecutor Ferhat Sarikaya's announcement that he would not 
be holding a meeting with the commission members during their 
trip. 
 
OZGUR GUNDEM:   HPG reportedly denied any connection with the 
death of 31-year-old Serdar Donmez who stepped on a mine in a 
village in Tunceli (see press summary 03/28). The Tunceli 
Governor's Office had claimed that the mine was planted by the 
PKK. 
 
EVRENSEL:       Speeches of former and current U.S. ambassadors to 
Turkey delivered at the Turkish-American Business Council's 
conference reportedly implied warnings to Turkey regarding its 
relationship with Iran.  Marc Grossman, former U.S. Ambassador 
to Turkey, reportedly said that the Iranian issue might either 
create a very positive effect on the Turkish-American 
relationship, or the relationship might get stagnant.  The daily 
further reported that the U.S. has finally won "the war" over 
the quotas Turkey imposed on its rice imports after filing a 
complaint against Turkey with the WTO. 
 
OZGUR GUNDEM:   A bomb reportedly exploded in one of the main 
streets of Mardin's Midyat district yesterday morning. No 
injuries or deaths were reported following the event.  The 
police evacuated and sealed off the area. 
 
OZGUR GUNDEM:   Security forces allegedly opened fire and 
killed a reported Iranian origin fuel-oil smuggler in Van's 
Baskale district.  The man was reportedly shot at close range. 
 
CUMHURIYET / RADIKAL / OZGUR GUNDEM:    Ministry of Justice 
inspectors completed their investigation report concerning the 
controversial Semdinli indictment prepared by Van Prosecutor 
Ferhat Sarikaya; and the Ministry of Justice demanded that a 
disciplinary action be brought against Sarikaya for referring to 
concerns in the Semdinli indictment that need not be involved in 
it.   The report also demands disciplinary action against 
Sarikaya for sending a written document (of unspecified content) 
to the Hakkari Provincial Jandarma Command. 
 
RADIKAL / CUMHURIYET / ZAMAN:   Amid heated controversy over fraud 
allegations in public tenders in Hatay, AKP Group Deputy 
Chairperson, upon instructions given by PM Erdogan, appointed 
two AKP deputies to probe the allegations claiming that 
companies with links to AKP deputies in Hatay have won 271 of 
the 273 public tenders in the province in the last three years. 
REID