VZCZCXRO2184
RR RUEHDA
DE RUEHDA #0107 1320508
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 120508Z MAY 06
FM AMCONSUL ADANA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 4137
INFO RUEHDA/AMCONSUL ADANA 0734
RUEUITH/AFOSI DET 521 ANKARA TU
RUEHAK/AMEMBASSY ANKARA 0686
RHEFDIA/DIA WASHINGTON DC
RUEHIT/AMCONSUL ISTANBUL 0595
RUEKJCS/OSD WASHINGTON DC

UNCLAS ADANA 000107 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREL PINS PGOV PHUM TU
SUBJECT: SOUTHEAST TURKEY PRESS SUMMARY FOR MAY 11, 2006 
 
 
This is the Southeastern Turkey press summary for May 11, 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 (CUKUROVA):    Four people, who were arrested when they 
were caught with USD 4,000,000-worth of materials with which 
Captagon drugs can be produced in a textile factory in 
Gaziantep's Organized Industrial Zone in February, have been 
released by Adana's 7th Heavy Penalty Court to stand trial 
later.  The suspects have been in prison for three months. 
 
HURRIYET (CUKUROVA):    Non-governmental organizations and 
political parties in Bitlis gathered at Bitlis's Chamber of 
Commerce and Industry to discuss the problems and to find 
solutions to natural disasters the city has experienced for 20 
years. 
 
BOLGE / EKSPRES:        Seyhan Municipality's cleaning services 
workers have entered the third day of their strike in Adana (see 
press summary 05/09).  Seyhan Mayor Azim Ozturk talked with the 
workers and requested from them to carry on with their work and 
not yield to provocations.  Meanwhile, police have been 
investigating into identity of alleged actors inciting workers 
to strike. 
 
BOLGE:  Chairperson of Adana Commodity Exchange said that 
farmers have don't favor the cultivation of wheat and corn in 
the Cukurova region anymore because of an oversupply of such 
products, which yields insufficient economic returns. 
 
OZGUR GUNDEM:   In the last three months, Siirt Prosecutor 
initiated investigations against 27 students of the Siirt 
Education Faculty on charges of disseminating terrorist 
organization's propaganda and breaching codes on holding 
demonstrations and gatherings on such occasions as the World 
Women's Day, anniversary of Halabja massacre, and Newruz 
celebrations.  Action has been brought against 7 of the 
students.  Meanwhile, Jandarma teams which arrived at a 
dormitory at Van Centennial University to extinguish a fire that 
broke out have allegedly detained 6 students for keeping illegal 
documents in their rooms. 
 
CUMHURIYET / RADIKAL / EVRENSEL / OZGUR GUNDEM: Eskisehir Heavy 
Penalty Court continued to hear the case of Ahmet (30) and Ugur 
Kaymaz (12), the father and son who were killed in November 2004 
in Mardin's Kiziltepe district.  Claimant's attorneys and 
defendant's attorneys blamed each other for using a discourse 
that politicized the case.  The jurors rejected a petition by 
the claimants to conduct a study at the site of the incident and 
to have the defendants arrested in the course of their trial. 
The court was adjourned until July 19. 
 
CUMHURIYET / OZGUR GUNDEM:      Seven more children, five of whom 
were under arrest, have been arraigned in Diyarbakir.  The 
children dismissed accusations during their statements in the 
court hearing, which was not open to press members.  A reported 
interesting development was that 18 police officers, who were 
wounded during the rioting in Diyarbakir late in March, were 
present at the courtroom to express their complaints. However, 
the officers said the children accused in that court session 
were not the ones that attacked the officers. 
 
RADIKAL / OZGUR GUNDEM / HURRIYET:      Jandarma Regiment Command 
filed a complaint against Tunceli mayor Songul Erol Abdil 
because of a speech Abdil delivered in Germany on April 29.  An 
investigation has been started against Abdil.  Meanwhile, the 
court gave verdict about two university students who allegedly 
gathered signatures in support of Abdullah Ocalan in Agri.  The 
students are sentenced to ten months in prison and a fine of 416 
YTL each.  Separately, Diyarbakir's 4th Heavy Penalty Court 
heard the case of an Azadiya Welat newspaper representative and 
two employees of Ozgur Gundem daily newspaper who are being 
accused of disseminating terrorist organization's propaganda 
during efforts to hold referendum in support for Abdullah 
Ocalan. 
 
RADIKAL:        Representative of Delegation of European Commission 
in Turkey, Hans Jorg Kretschmer, told Diyarbakir Mayor Osman 
Baydemir during a reception in Ankara marking EU Day that the 
representatives of the Kurdish community should be more active 
in convincing (Kurdish) people to establish dialogue. 
 
REID