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DE RUEHDA #0118/01 1440634
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 240634Z MAY 06
FM AMCONSUL ADANA
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INFO RUEHDA/AMCONSUL ADANA 0748
RUEUITH/AFOSI DET 521 ANKARA TU
RUEHAK/AMEMBASSY ANKARA 0697
RHEFDIA/DIA WASHINGTON DC
RUEHIT/AMCONSUL ISTANBUL 0604
RUEKJCS/OSD WASHINGTON DC

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 ADANA 000118 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREL PINS PGOV PHUM TU
SUBJECT: SOUTHEAST TURKEY PRESS SUMMARY FOR MAY 23, 2006 
 
This is the Southeastern Turkey press summary for May 23, 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 
 
YENI SAFAK / OZGUR GUNDEM:      Forty-four foreign nationals, who 
have entered the country illegally and who were being 
trafficked, were caught in a truck in Van's Gurpinar district. 
Twenty-six of them were Afghanis, 15 of them were Bangladeshis, 
3 of them were Pakistanis.  Yeni Safak daily further reports 
that Ministry of Interior started scrutinizing the issue of 
human trafficking, terrorism, internal displacement and 
prostitution. 
 
ZAMAN / BOLGE / OZGUR GUNDEM:   Traffic police have imposed fines 
on four drivers in Adana who were carrying construction workers 
in the cargo section of the trucks in the last three days. 
 
CUMHURIYET / YENI SAFAK / OZGUR GUNDEM: Deputy Chief of Afghan 
Embassy in Turkey said that the identity cards of the Afghani 
nationals who were killed in an accident on Friday (05/19) in 
Osmaniye (see press summary 05/22) were seized by the human 
traffickers; a situation which made it difficult to identify the 
victims. 
 
ZAMAN / BOLGE:  Provincial Chairperson of AKP (Justice and 
Development Party) paid a courtesy visit to the Adana Governor. 
 
OZGUR GUNDEM:    The Turkish Supreme Court's objection against 
the co-chairmanship concept introduced by DTP has caused heated 
controversy within party ranks.  The party's Central Executive 
Board has tended to act in accordance with the prescription of 
the Supreme Court, however, DTP's women's branch has been 
showing strong objection to annulment of co-chairmanship. (This 
summary is from 05/20 edition.) 
 
RADIKAL:        Diyarbakir Prosecutor's Office, pointing to DTP 
Siirt Provincial Chairperson Murat Avci's lawsuit, demanded that 
DTP be closed.  Murat Avci made his March 29 remarks in Siirt 
where he allegedly incited people to protest action during the 
violent protests in Diyarbakir in late March. 
 
HURRIYET / ZAMAN / RADIKAL / CUMHURIYET:        Two separate remote 
controlled mines killed one commissioned officer and wounded two 
privates in separate incidents in Diyarbakir and Van. 
 
OZGUR GUNDEM:   The daily claimed that 10 soldiers have died 
in the last two days in military operations going on in Bingol 
and Diyarbakir's Lice district.  Separately, a private has 
reportedly been wounded because of an explosion that took place 
when a military vehicle was passing along a road in Van's 
Baskale district. 
 
OZGUR GUNDEM:   The rivalry between DTP and AKP in Van turned 
into a demonstration of power between the two parties' 
congresses that were held on May 19 and May 21 respectively in 
Van.  Both parties attempted to strengthen their position: AKP, 
frustrated about Diyarbakir, shifted its concentrated efforts in 
Van, and DTP, frustrated in mayoral elections in Van was trying 
to strengthen its position there (05/18 edition).  Thousands of 
people reportedly welcomed the DTP Co-Chairpersons when they 
arrived at Van for the first congress of DTP to be held in Van. 
Co-Chairpersons Ahmet Turk and Aysel Tugluk, who wanted to visit 
Bostanici district municipality after their visit to DTP office 
in Van, were denied entrance to the municipality by Jandarma 
when the delegation refused to be searched.  DTP delegation and 
Bostanici Mayor protested the search attempt and quit the scene, 
the crowd of people applauded to protest the actions by the 
Jandarma, and the Mayor of the Bostanici Municipality said that 
the search attempt by the Jandarma was unlawful (05/20 edition). 
 DTP Co-Chairperson Ahmet Turk urged PM Erdogan to see them as 
counterparts of the Kurdish issue during the DTP congress held 
in Van on May 20. People chanted slogans saying, "PKK is made up 
of people. And those people are now here" during the congress. 
People also chanted slogans in support of terrorist leader 
Abdullah Ocalan.  Van Mayor (from AKP) sent flowers to the DTP 
congress (05/21 edition). 
 
OZGUR GUNDEM:   A group comprised of members of Human Rights 
Association and Socialist Platform of the Oppressed People 
staged a protest activity in Adana to mark the International 
Week for People Who Disappeared Under Detention (May 17-31). 
 
OZGUR GUNDEM:   Threatening letters have been sent to 18 
muhtars (headmen) of the villages in Van's Gurpinar district 
from unknown sources in Hatay.  The headmen are from a section 
of Gurpinar which was evacuated in 1990s on grounds that people 
 
ADANA 00000118  002 OF 002 
 
 
did not agree to become village guards.  For about a month, the 
displaced people were returning to their villages there. 
Reportedly, security officers from Van Command seized the 
letters. 
 
 
 
 
WILSON 
REID