VZCZCXRO1102
RR RUEHDA
DE RUEHDA #0125/01 1501131
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 301131Z MAY 06
FM AMCONSUL ADANA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 4158
INFO RUEHDA/AMCONSUL ADANA 0758
RUEUITH/AFOSI DET 521 ANKARA TU
RUEHAK/AMEMBASSY ANKARA 0707
RHEFDIA/DIA WASHINGTON DC
RUEHIT/AMCONSUL ISTANBUL 0608
RUEKJCS/OSD WASHINGTON DC

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 ADANA 000125 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREL PINS PGOV PHUM TU
SUBJECT: SOUTHEAST TURKEY PRESS SUMMARY FORMAY 25, 2006 
 
This is the Southeastern Turkey press summary for May 25, 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 
 
NTVMSNBC ONLINE:        Jandarma Command, which searched a car in Mus, 
caught 35 trafficked people who were from Afghanistan, Pakistan 
and Bangladesh.  Two people caught at the site, and a third 
person in Istanbul in connection with the human trafficking, 
have all been arrested. 
 
BOLGE:  Cukurova University's faculty, Adana Bar Association 
members and some organizations will hold a march today in the 
university to protest the gun attack at the Council of State in 
Ankara last week. 
 
BOLGE / SABAH (GUNEY) / ZAMAN:  Former provincial 
chairperson of AKP Adana party organization Abdullah Dogru paid 
a courtesy visit to the newly elected chairperson Mustafa 
Attaroglu 18 days after the chairmanship elections in Adana. 
 
SABAH (GUNEY) / BOLGE / EKSPRES:        The first petroleum to 
travel through Baku-Tiblisi-Ceyhan (BTC) pipeline has reached a 
point 40 kilometers away from the final destination.  The 
petroleum will reach to Ceyhan in Adana on May 27. 
 
BOLGE / EKSPRES / ZAMAN:        Seyhan Mayor Azim Ozturk, 
responding to questions on why the women's and men's hours for 
using the new swimming pool in the newly opened Dream Park in 
Adana were separated,  said that facilities in the park were 
arranged as tailored to feedback obtained from people in Adana. 
 
 
HURRIYET (CUKUROVA) / EVRENSEL: Four hundred out of 977 
cleaning services workers of the Seyhan Municipality's cleaning 
services subcontractor company went on a strike on May 8.  The 
company recently decided to lay off 200 of the 400 workers who 
did not come to work for 15 days.  Evrensel daily however claims 
that 670 of the workers were laid off despite the company's 
promise to rehire them if they signed a document indicating 
their repentance and requesting acceptance of their apologies 
from the Seyhan Mayor. 
 
CUMHURIYET:     120 cleaning services workers of Siirt Municipality 
also went on a strike five days ago when the subcontractor 
company laid off 32 of the workers allegedly without presenting 
grounds for their dismissal.  Meanwhile, allegations of 
corruption have surfaced against the Siirt Mayor Mervan Gul who 
had withdrawn his candidacy during 2003 by-elections to clear 
the path for Erdogan for premiership. 
 
HURRIYET (CUKUROVA):    Malatya police seized twenty-nine 
kilograms of heroin hidden in a car in the city upon receiving a 
tip-off that drugs would be trafficked from Van to Istanbul. 
Police detained one person in connection with the event and is 
searching for five other accomplices. 
 
OZGUR GUNDEM:   Diyarbakir's Sur Municipality Mayor Abdullah 
Demirbas has been acquitted by Diyarbakir 6th Court of First 
Instance of the charges brought against him because of a 
monument the municipality built in Mardin's Kiziltepe district 
in memory of a father and a 12-year-old child who were killed by 
the security officers in November 2004 in Kiziltepe. 
 
HURRIYET / OZGUR GUNDEM:        A (Turkish national) reporter from 
the Human Rights Commission of the United Nations working on the 
issue of violence against women will go to Batman to investigate 
causes of suicide cases that has been reported as an increasing 
trend in the province.  Separately, Human Rights Commission of 
the Turkish Parliament, which arrived at Diyarbakir, will 
conduct studies in Sirnak and Batman. 
 
CUMHURIYET / OZGUR GUNDEM:      The Washington Times published an 
article on the problems of Alawis in Turkey.  According to the 
paper, Alawis are being discriminated against in Turkey. 
 
OZGUR GUNDEM:   Houses and fields have been flooded with water 
in Hakkari's Yuksekova district because of the recent rainfall. 
Separately, authorities have been conducting damage assessment 
studies in Bitlis's Hizan district which was hit by a 
4.8-magnitude earthquake three days ago. 
 
OZGUR GUNDEM:   Attorneys of Abdullah Ocalan appealed the 
decision of Ankara 11th Heavy Penalty Court which overturned the 
May 5-dated file of attorneys requesting retrial for Ocalan. 
 
HURRIYET:       A total of 15 students from two universities, who 
 
ADANA 00000125  002 OF 002 
 
 
were caught in Agri's Dogubeyazit district with questionnaire 
forms which read, "In regard to Abdullah Ocalan as representing 
my political will," have been found guilty and sentenced to 10 
months in prison and payment of a 500 YTL (approx. 350 USD) 
fine. 
REID