VZCZCXRO1107
RR RUEHDA
DE RUEHDA #0126/01 1501132
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 301132Z MAY 06
FM AMCONSUL ADANA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 4160
INFO RUEHDA/AMCONSUL ADANA 0760
RUEUITH/AFOSI DET 521 ANKARA TU
RUEHAK/AMEMBASSY ANKARA 0709
RHEFDIA/DIA WASHINGTON DC
RUEHIT/AMCONSUL ISTANBUL 0610
RUEKJCS/OSD WASHINGTON DC

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 ADANA 000126 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREL PINS PGOV PHUM TU
SUBJECT: SOUTHEAST TURKEY PRESS SUMMARY FOR 28-29-30, 2006 
 
 
This is the Southeastern Turkey press summary for May 28-29-30, 
¶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 
 
BOLGE / OZGUR GUNDEM / HURRIYET:        On the second day of his 
visits in the southeastern Turkey, Ross Wilson, U.S. Ambassador 
to Ankara, visited Diyarbakir Bar Association, Southeasten 
Businessmen and Industrialists Asociation, and AKP Provincial 
Party Chairmanship.  Ambassador Wilson said that they wanted 
people to stay away from terrorism and that they were supporting 
the Turkish people in their efforts against terrorism.  Wilson 
and the accompanying delegation paid a visit to the Mardin 
Governor and Mardin Mayor later. (This summary is from 05/28 
edition)  Wilson paid a visit to El-Rizk Mosque and to the 
citadel in Batman's Hasankeyf district.  Wilson said that the 
current condition of Hasankeyf was very impressive.  (This 
summary is from 05/29 edition of Hurriyet daily.) 
 
EVRENSEL / OZGUR GUNDEM:        The daily reported that number of 
investigations started against Seferi Yilmaz, owner of the 
bookstore where a bomb exploded in Semdinli in November 2005, 
have increased to 10.  Recently, a new investigation has 
reportedly been started against Yilmaz for closing his business 
three times following the bomb incident -a common way of protest 
people resort to in the southeastern region-.  Yilmaz claimed 
that he did not open his business because it was damaged because 
of the bombing. 
 
EVRENSEL / OZGUR GUNDEM:        Co-chairpersons of DTP (Democratic 
Society Party), who went to Iraqi Federal Kurdistan Region in 
Iraq to attend a meeting of Socialist International's Kurdish 
Work Group in Suleymaniyah, met with Iraqi President Jalal 
Talabani. 
 
EVRENSEL / OZGUR GUNDEM:        Women's Branch of DTP has launched 
a signature gathering campaign against warnings issued by the 
Supreme Court demanding DTP to abolish co-chairmanship system, 
which is not in conformity with the Political Parties Act of 
Turkey. 
 
CUMHURIYET / RADIKAL / ZAMAN / EVRENSEL / OZGUR GUNDEM: 
Diyarbakir Governor's Office announced that a sergeant major was 
killed in a clash at 6.20 p.m. yesterday during a military 
operation in the Lice, Hani, Kulp, and Hazro districts which has 
been going on since May 23.  Three village guards and one 
Jandarma commando private have been wounded. 
 
EVRENSEL / OZGUR GUNDEM:        Border security meeting of Turkish 
and Iranian military delegations started in Hakkari.  Hakkari 
Governor said that the meetings will last for two days. 
 
CUMHURIYET / YENI SAFAK / SABAH (GUNEY) / EVRENSEL / OZGUR 
GUNDEM: A hydroelectric power plant located at the end of a 
tunnel which carries the water of Ataturk Dam to the Harran 
Plateau in Sanliurfa has been flooded with waters. 10,000 cubic 
meters of water have accumulated at the site.  Authorities are 
working to address the problem. 
 
ZAMAN / BOLGE / RADIKAL:        Petroleum that traveled through 
Baku-Tibilisi-Ceyhan pipeline arrived at the Ceyhan end of the 
pipeline.  The British Hawtharne, the ship that will carry the 
petroleum to the world markets, has already arrived at the 
terminal at Ceyhan district in Adana.  The official opening 
ceremony will be held on July 13.  President Ahmet Necdet Sezer 
started sending invitations to more than 90 countries for the 
opening ceremony. (This summary is from 05/28 editions.) 
 
CUMHURIYET:     The daily reported that Strategic Vision Document 
worked out by mutual efforts of the U.S. and Turkey did not 
directly touch upon the PKK issue. 
 
ZAMAN / EVRENSEL / BOLGE / HURRIYET (CUKUROVA): A bomb which was 
placed in a trash can in Mersin exploded at around 10.30 a.m. 
yesterday and caused panic among people.  No casualties have 
been reported.  Pieces of a cell phone have been found as the 
police was conducting a close examination in the area. 
 
HURRIYET / CUMHURIYET / OZGUR GUNDEM:   An explosion took 
place at 5.43 am on Sunday morning as a military vehicle was 
passing on a road in Hakkari's Daggol quarter.  No casualties 
have been reported.  Ozgur Gundem daily pointed out that no 
explosions took place in the months that followed Semdinli 
bombing on November 9, 2005.  However, according to the paper, 
the bombings resumed and three bomb incidents took place in May. 
 As the next trial date for Semdinli case nears (June 1), the 
people of Hakkari, who were reportedly getting more uneasy about 
 
ADANA 00000126  002 OF 002 
 
 
the intermittent bomb incidents, are reportedly asking whether 
certain circles are attempting to orchestrate new scenarios in 
the region (This summary is from 05/29 edition). 
 
ZAMAN / RADIKAL / OZGUR GUNDEM: Fuat Gecen, Hatay deputy 
from AKP (Justice and Development Party), who reportedly 
documented irregularities local AKP officials reportedly 
conducted in public tenders in Hatay, have been referred to 
Joint Disciplinary Committee of AKP.  Gecen refused to defend 
himself before the committee and fired sharp criticisms at the 
party administration in a letter. 
 
HURRIYET / RADIKAL:     UN's rapporteur Yakin Erturk, who came 
to southeastern region to conduct studies on such issues as 
increasing number of suicides, violence against women and 
violence within the family, has held a press conference in 
Sanliurfa.  Erturk said that mentalities should be transformed 
to prevent violence against women.  Erturk, while stating that 
the average number of suicide cases were not higher than the 
average figures in Turkey or in the world, added that if there 
were murders veiled as suicide cases, the authorities must probe 
those issues.  (This summary is from 05/28 edition) 
 
OZGUR GUNDEM:   Hilmi Aydogdu, the new chairperson of DTP 
Diyarbakir provincial party organization who was elected as 
chairman during the May 21 congress, said that their goal was to 
increase the number of party members to 100,000 in Diyarbakir. 
Aydogdu reminded that former DEHAP party organization had had 
60,000 members. 
 
OZGUR GUNDEM:   To encourage more widespread use of Kurdish 
language, TZP-Kurdi (Kurdish Language and Education Movement) in 
Van urged parents to speak with their children in Kurdish. 
 
OZGUR GUNDEM:   Lawsuit brought against artist Ferhat Tunc 
because of an article Tunc wrote for Ozgur Gundem daily, which 
was published on in January 2004, will continue hearing the case 
tomorrow in Istanbul. 
 
EVRENSEL / OZGUR GUNDEM:        The daily reported that mines 
drifting away with flood waters created by melting snow in a 
village in Van's Caldiran district have been jeopardizing lives 
of people living there.  Three children have been disabled in 
three years because of mine explosions. 
 
ZAMAN / BOLGE / EKSPRES / SABAH (GUNEY):        Adana Municipality 
announced that fourth of Cukurova Industry and Commerce Fair 
will be organized by TUYAP fair organizing company. 
 
BOLGE:  AKP Adana Provincial Chairperson Mustafa Attaroglu 
started visiting AKP district party organizations in Adana. 
 
SABAH (GUNEY):  Jandarma teams in Kahramanmaras caught two gun 
smugglers with numerous undocumented guns and bullets in 
Kahramanmaras. 
 
SABAH (GUNEY):  Wheat harvest started in Hatay's Amik Plain. 
 
SABAH (GUNEY):  Workers of the excavation site in Batman's 
Hasankeyf district have launched a strike allegedly because 
their social security payments were not being paid. 
 
SABAH (GUNEY):  Veli Serin, Mayor of Yenice in Mersin (from 
CHP), has reportedly been reprimanding Cag University 
administration, who allegedly rejected hiring a person as a 
cleaner upon request of Serin, by not collecting the garbage at 
the university. 
REID