VZCZCXRO3296
RR RUEHDA
DE RUEHDA #0147/01 1701207
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 191207Z JUN 06
FM AMCONSUL ADANA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 4201
INFO RUEKJCS/OSD WASHINGTON DC
RUEHDA/AMCONSUL ADANA 0801
RUEUITH/AFOSI DET 521 ANKARA TU
RUEHAK/AMEMBASSY ANKARA 0749
RHEFDIA/DIA WASHINGTON DC
RUEHIT/AMCONSUL ISTANBUL 0650

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 ADANA 000147 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREL PINS PGOV PHUM TU
SUBJECT: SOUTHEAST TURKEY PRESS SUMMARY FOR JUNE 19, 2006 
 
This is the Southeastern Turkey press summary for June 19, 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 
 
EVRENSEL:       The fourth hearing of the Semdinli case will be held 
today at Van's Third Heavy Penalty Court (see press summary 
06/14).  One of the defendants, Non-commissioned officer Ali 
Kaya, will not be able to attend the hearing due to a reported 
pulmonary disease, for which he is being treated in Ankara. Kaya 
did not attend the previous hearing as well.  This recent 
development is an omen for prolonging the case and delaying the 
verdict, according to some circles. 
 
HURRIYET (CUKUROVA):    The efforts put forth by the rector of 
the Cukurova University in Adana to found an engineering faculty 
in Osmaniye have reportedly produced results.  Council of 
Ministers have recently approved the decision and submitted it 
for the approval of President Ahmet Necdet Sezer. 
 
OZGUR GUNDEM:   Pro-Islamist newspaper Vakit has reportedly 
been leading a campaign encouraging hostility among people 
against Cukurova University and its rector (see press summary 
06/14) by claiming that posters of terrorist leader Abdullah 
Ocalan were hung at a stand at the university during the Spring 
Festival held in May. 
 
OZGUR GUNDEM / EVRENSEL:         Each day, these dailies have been 
reporting separate stories of people who have been forced to 
migrate, or on conditions or problems of cities that had to 
absorb those migrants, in order to mark the Migration Week (June 
14-21) (see press summary 06/15).  One of the dailies reported 
that Diyarbakir's Kayapinar district has been among those spots 
that received huge migration in the recent decades (see press 
summary 06/15).  In another article, Goc-Der (Immigrants 
Association for Cooperation and Culture) reportedly claimed that 
the migration issue itself was a Kurdish issue. 
 
EVRENSEL / OZGUR GUNDEM:        A group of people in Ankara held 
some activities to commemorate the killing of 17 Maoist and 
Communist MKP-HKO terrorists in Tunceli's Ovacik district on 
June 17, 2005. 
 
BOLGE / EKSPRES:        Twenty-six Syrians and Georgians, who entered 
the country illegally to go to Cyprus, have been caught in 
Adana's Karatas district. 
 
EVRENSEL / OZGUR GUNDEM:        The dailies point out that many 
schools in the southeastern region are situated side-by-side 
with military quarters.  Parents of the students in a high 
school in Diyarbakir's Hani district are reportedly disturbed 
because of the garrison command located next door to the high 
school.  There have reportedly been several cases in which 
female students were harassed by the soldiers who use the 
schoolyard to get into the command. 
 
OZGUR GUNDEM:   Turkish Military has reportedly been 
continuing to deploy more soldiers and weaponry in Tunceli 
allegedly following the attack carried out by PKK members last 
week on a military vehicle in the Geyiksu township (see press 
summary 06/12). 
 
ZAMAN / RADIKAL / OZGUR GUNDEM / CUMHURIYET:    A remote 
controlled bomb placed on a railroad in Mus exploded and damaged 
eight cars of a cargo train and a twenty-meter section along the 
railroad.  Zaman daily separately reported that three PKK 
members have been killed in a clash in Tunceli. 
 
OZGUR GUNDEM:   DTP (Democratic Society Party) will issue 
clear messages about its social peace project during it's 
first-ever congress to be held on June 25 in Ankara.  Meanwhile, 
Salih Yildiz, Yuksekova Mayor (from DTP) said that they did not 
care about the lawsuit brought against the mayors of the region 
for the December 2005 letter sent to Denmark's Prime Minister 
Adders Fogh Rasmussen in support of pro-PKK Roj TV.  Yildiz said 
that Rasmussen called them to say how sorry he was about the 
situation. 
 
EVRENSEL:       According to the daily, Ministry Of Justice sent a 
circular to all notaries in Turkey and required them not to use 
or translate the term "Kuzey Irak" (Northern Iraq) in any of the 
official documents they may generate. 
 
EVRENSEL:       15,000 people reportedly took part in an event held 
by the Federation of Alawi Unions in Germany on June 17 in 
Cologne.  Chairperson of the federation said that Alawis have 
been oppressed by various authorities in power for hundreds of 
 
ADANA 00000147  002 OF 002 
 
 
years. 
 
RADIKAL:        A municipality in Istanbul's Umraniye district for 
the first time granted the title deed of a 2000-square-meter 
plot of land in Umraniye, which was already allocated as land 
for building a Cemevi (Alawi worshipping place) in the zoning 
plans of the municipality, to a cultural Alawi association in 
order to build a Cemevi.  Alawis will hold a celebration to mark 
this development on July 8. 
 
BOLGE / EKSPRES:        A new course introduced at the Lifelong 
Learning Center of Adana's Cukurova University will teach how to 
grow Spirulina algae and will reportedly create new job 
opportunities for people. 
REID