This record is a partial extract of the original cable. The full text of the original cable is not available.

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 ADANA 000099 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREL PINS PGOV PHUM TU ADANA
SUBJECT: SOUTHEAST TURKEY PRESS SUMMARY FOR MAY 4, 2006 
 
 
This is the Southeastern Turkey press summary for May 04, 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 
 
ZAMAN / EVRENSEL / OZGUR GUNDEM / RADIKAL / YENI SAFAK: 
Van's Third Heavy Penalty Court will start prosecuting 
defendants of the November 9 Semdinli case today. Many 
politicians, representatives of civil society members, lawmakers 
and journalists went to Van to watch the court hearing.  Mehmet 
Elkatmis, Chairperson of Turkish Parliamentary Commission for 
Human Rights, a commission member, and Esat Canan, Hakkari 
deputy from CHP also went to Van.  One of the papers reminded 
that the indictment of the case was previously prepared by 
recently dismissed Van Prosecutor Ferhat Sarikaya. 
 
ZAMAN / RADIKAL / YENI SAFAK:   A bomb attack at a school bus, 
which was carrying children of military personnel and a car that 
was protecting the school bus, wounded 8 soldiers, 11 students 
and two women in Hakkari.  The incident was reportedly caused by 
a remote controlled bomb which was reportedly placed by the PKK. 
 Police suspecting 16 people have detained them. 
 
ZAMAN / RADIKAL / YENI SAFAK / HURRIYET: European Parliament's 
EU-Turkey Joint-Parliamentary Commission (JPC) Chairperson Joost 
Lagendijk, who came to Turkey to attend 56th meeting of JPC at 
the Turkish Parliament, said that European parliament was 
monitoring the Semdinli case closely.  Lagendijk also said that 
expelling of the Prosecutor Ferhat Sarikaya from profession sent 
wrong messages to the EU.  Lagenddijk will come to Diyarbakir on 
May 6. 
 
RADIKAL / ZAMAN:        PM Erdogan, who went to Adiyaman and Sanliurfa 
for the AKP provincial party congresses held there, also 
attended opening ceremonies of 33 factories yesterday in 
Adiyaman. 
 
BOLGE / EKSPRES:        A flurry of speculations about candidacy of 
AKP delegate Omer Kaya (see press summary 05/03), against 
current chairperson Abdullah Dogru, has been dismissed by Kaya's 
announcement that he would not be running for chairmanship in 
May 6 elections of AKP party organization in Adana. 
 
ZAMAN / BOLGE / SABAH (GUNEY):  Police conducted a crackdown 
on a criminal gang in Adana which issued fake diplomas and 
driving licenses to people.  A total of 9 people have been 
detained. 
 
BOLGE:  An ongoing feud between two families in Mardin's 
Kiziltepe district has been ended by efforts of the Kiziltepe 
Mayor Cihan Sancar. 
 
SABAH (GUNEY) / HURRIYET (CUKUROVA):    Sanliurfa Governor 
Yusuf Yavascan and his wife attended a picnic held for the 
children of a state orphanage in Sanliurfa. 
 
HURRIYET (CUKUROVA):    Hakkari Governor Ayhan Nasuhbeyoglu said 
that a budget worth of 23 million YTL has been allocated to 
Hakkari under "Support for Infrastructural Needs of Villages" 
project. The project envisages that such investments will be 
finished within one year. 
 
SABAH (GUNEY):  A group comprised of instructors and students 
of a Turkish Language Department of Syria's Aleppo University 
paid a visit to Hatay Governor Ahmet Kayhan.  A Turkish 
instructor told Kayhan that Turkish language gained popularity 
among Syrian students. 
 
SABAH (GUNEY):  A smuggler of ancient artifacts has been 
caught in Sanliurfa.  Reportedly, a photo taken with terrorist 
leader has been found on this person.  It is found out that the 
smuggler was convicted of aiding and abetting the PKK and served 
a three months prison sentence. 
 
OZGUR GUNDEM:   Youth Initiative for Apo made a call to the 
people to protest Erdoagan's Diyarbakir visit on May 7. (Note: 
Apo is a nickname of jailed PKK leader Abdullah Ocalan. End 
Note.)  Youth Initiative further said that Erdogan will be 
solely responsible for developments that may take place upon his 
visit to Diyarbakir. 
 
EVRENSEL / OZGUR GUNDEM:        DTP Co-Chairpersons will attend 
the opening of Iraqi Kurdish Regional Parliament's opening on 
May 7 in Iraq. 
 
 OZGUR GUNDEM:  Mardin's Nusaybin district mayor and DTP 
members delivered invitations to people for a May 13 concert 
that would be held to support daily Kurdish newspaper called 
Azadiya Welat (Freedom of Homeland). 
 
OZGUR GUNDEM:   The DIHA news agency journalists, who have 
been detained and arrested on February 18 as they were watching 
the demonstration activities carried out in Mersin to protest 
arrest of Abdullah Ocalan in 1999, will be prosecuted in Adana 
on charges of being members of the terrorist organization.  The 
first trial date is May 9.  Separately, Mersin DTP provincial 
chairperson Ali Bozan, who has been released to stand trial 
later, has been arrested again upon when the prosecutor appealed 
the decision to release him.  Meanwhile, Kars DTP provincial 
chairperson has filed a complaint against the director and 
prosecutor of the jail in Erzurum for banning the inmates from 
speaking Kurdish among themselves because of the reported 
difficulty it caused in controlling the inmates. Separately, a 
senior member of DTP in Mardin's Kiziltepe district has been 
detained by Anti-Terror Branch members. 
 
OZGUR GUNDEM:   International Amnesty Organization prepared a 
media briefing on incidents that developed after the November 9 
Semdinli bombing in Hakkari.  The briefing reminded that alleged 
violations committed by the security officers in Turkey have not 
been investigated properly and Turkey has been convicted at the 
European Court many times because of that. 
REID