VZCZCXRO7100
RR RUEHDA
DE RUEHDA #0139/01 1641328
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 131328Z JUN 06
FM AMCONSUL ADANA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 4189
INFO RUEHDA/AMCONSUL ADANA 0789
RUEUITH/AFOSI DET 521 ANKARA TU
RUEHAK/AMEMBASSY ANKARA 0738
RHEFDIA/DIA WASHINGTON DC
RUEHIT/AMCONSUL ISTANBUL 0639
RUEKJCS/OSD WASHINGTON DC

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 ADANA 000139 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREL PINS PGOV PHUM TU
SUBJECT: SOUTHEAST TURKEY PRESS SUMMARY FOR JUNE 13, 2006 
 
 
This is the Southeastern Turkey press summary for June 13, 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 ONLINE / OZGUR GUNDEM: The third hearing of the 
Semdinli case is being held at Van's Third Heavy Penalty Court. 
Mesut Deger, Diyarbakir deputy from CHP and Deputy Chairperson 
of Turkish Parliamentary Human Rights Commission (TPHRC), who 
attended the court session, said that they expected a verdict to 
come out of the third hearing.  Mehmet Elkatmis, Chairperson of 
TPHRC, and Esat Canan, Hakkari deputy from CHP, have also been 
monitoring the case. 
 
ZAMAN / EVRENSEL / EKSPRES / SABAH (GUNEY):     Funeral of one 
of the soldiers killed in Tunceli (06/12) by terrorists was held 
in Mersin.  Separately, a military vehicle had a rollover 
accident on the road between Hakkari and Van.  A 
non-commissioned officer and a private were wounded. 
 
EKSPRES / HURRIYET (CUKUROVA) / SABAH (GUNEY):  Eighty Afghans, 
Bangladeshis and Pakistanis, who entered the country illegally, 
have been caught traveling from Van to Izmir on the road between 
Adana and Konya. 
 
EKSPRES / EVRENSEL / OZGUR GUNDEM:      A 3.2-magnitude earthquake 
shook Van's Gurpinar district.  Meanwhile, minor earthquakes 
with magnitudes 3.1 and 3.0 shook Osmaniye's Kadirli district 
and Adana's Ceyhan district respectively. 
 
EVRENSEL / OZGUR GUNDEM:        Anti-terror branch of Tunceli's 
Security Directorate detained a journalist from DIHA (Dicle News 
Agency) because of another person's statement concerning him. 
Security members have conducted a raid at the house of the 
journalist.  Meanwhile, an employee of the Ozgur Gundem daily 
has also been detained by Jandarma officials in Maden district 
as she was traveling to Elazig (on unspecified grounds). 
 
EVRENSEL:       Members of the intelligentsia, who attended the 
conference in Diyarbakir, reportedly expressed very positive 
opinions about the outcome of the event (see press summary 
06/12). 
 
OZGUR GUNDEM:   Diyarbakir Mayor Osman Baydemir gave his 
statement concerning the investigation that was started when 56 
mayors of the region sent a letter in December 2005 to Denmark's 
prime minister in support for the Roj TV. 
 
OZGUR GUNDEM:   The daily mentioned in front page coverage 
that despite Turkey's opening of talks on reforms with the EU, 
human rights violations in the southeastern region have 
increased recently.  The daily gives three examples of such 
violations: 1- Forest land in the area between Mardin's Midyat 
district and Sirnak's Idil district has allegedly been set on 
fire by Turkish Military on security grounds (Note: This is an 
alleged common practice of the military that stated back in 
1990s under state of emergency rule in the region. End Note.), 
2- Because of a recent terrorist attack on a military convoy in 
Tunceli (see press summary 06/12) Tunceli Security Directorate 
has banned all the wedding ceremonies in the province to be held 
around these days,  3- The presence of soldiers in a village of 
Kars's Digor district has allegedly turned the area into a 
military camp.  Soldiers have reportedly been treating the local 
people as if they were enemies. 
 
BOLGE / HURRIYET (CUKUROVA) / SABAH (GUNEY) / HURRIYET: 
Mersin police conducted a search on a car on the road between 
Adana and Mersin, and found 93 kilograms of narcotic material 
used in deriving heroin in hidden sections of a truck that set 
off from Van in order to traffic drugs abroad.  Sabah (Guney) 
daily separately reported that Van Jandarma Command teams seized 
125 kilograms of hashish in two search operations in the storage 
section of a house in Van and in a car.  The two people caught 
in connection with the illegal narcotics reportedly had posters 
of terrorist leader Abdullah Ocalan in their houses. 
Separately, Hakkari police found 145 kilograms of pure heroin in 
hidden sections of a truck, which set off for Van, at an exit 
near Hakkari.  Separately, Sanliurfa police seized 15 kilograms 
of heroin in Sanliurfa in a truck which set off from Van for 
Istanbul.  Three people have been detained. 
 
HURRIYET (CUKUROVA) :    Concerning the recent bar on 
foreigners' purchasing of real estate property in Hatay because 
of numbers exceeding the 5 per thousand quota allowed for such 
property trading, Iskenderun's Mayor in Hatay warned that the 
numbers in such trading have already gone very far beyond what 
is actually allowed. 
 
ADANA 00000139  002 OF 002 
 
 
 
OZGUR GUNDEM:   Quarantine has been imposed in three villages 
of Osmaniye because of rabies detected in animals.  Health 
officials took necessary measures against the disease. 
 
HURRIYET / RADIKAL / OZGUR GUNDEM:      Diyarbakir Security 
Directorate reportedly found five of the 34 children who were 
found out to have disappeared from the state orphanage in 
Diyarbakir.  The children were reportedly living and working in 
the streets. 
 
OZGUR GUNDEM:   Anti-terror teams in Adana, which conducted 
unannounced raids at two houses in Seyhan district, have 
detained two persons on unspecified grounds. 
 
EVRENSEL:       A building contractor, who has undertaken a building 
project for the Jandarma in Bingol's Karliova district, 
attempted to commit suicide by drinking pesticide allegedly 
because of his debts to the military. 
REID