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UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 ADANA 000151 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREL PINS PGOV PHUM TU
SUBJECT: SOUTHEAST TURKEY PRESS SUMMARY FOR JUNE 26, 2006 
 
 
This is the Southeastern Turkey press summary for June 26, 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:  A village guard has been killed because of a mine 
explosion in Elazig's Palu district. The mine was placed 
allegedly by PKK members. 
 
OZGUR GUNDEM:   4500 people set off from Diyarbakir in 120 
vehicles for the DTP congress to be held on Sunday in Ankara. 
Jandarma allegedly caused difficulties to people traveling to 
Ankara from Sirnak by conducting intermittent searches on cars 
on separate sections of the road.  Twenty buses and 25 cars from 
Batman, nearly 200 people from Siirt, four buses and four cars 
from Mardin set off for Ankara yesterday.  Thousands of people 
reportedly arrived in Ankara from Mardin, Bingol, Malatya, 
Tunceli and Sanliurfa, as well. (This summary is from 06/25 
edition) 
 
ZAMAN / BOLGE / SABAH / YENI SAFAK / CUMHURIYET / RADIKAL / 
EVRENSEL:       The dailies reported that when posters of PKK leader 
Abdullah Ocalan were waved and pro-PKK slogans in Kurdish were 
shouted during DTP's congress held in Ankara on Sunday (06/25), 
the president of the congress warned those groups.  15,000 
people reportedly took part in the congress.   The congress 
marked the first time in ten years that the Ataturk Sports Hall 
(ASH) has been assigned to the congress of an ethnic-based 
party.  (Note: In 1996, an incident concerning the removal of 
Turkish flag during the HADEP's congress took place at ASH. End 
Note.)  The dailies noted that Turkish flag was hung, but 
Turkish National Anthem was not sung at the onset of the 
congress.  Abullah Ocalan's brother and sister, representatives 
of IRA and ETA, mayors from DTP attended the congress.  Kurdish 
activist Leyla Zana did not attend the congress.  Ahmet Turk, 
the sole candidate for DTP chairmanship, said that they would 
amend their charter according to the requirements placed by the 
Supreme Court; but a de facto co-chairmanship would continue 
within the party.  (Note: Aysel Tugluk, former co-chairperson, 
did not announce her candidacy; despite the fact that she was 
the one recommended allegedly by Ocalan for chairmanship of the 
party. End Note.) Turk called on the government to introduce 
amendments in the constitution and political parties act, to 
lower the election threshold, to end the "isolation" of the 
inmate at the Imrali Jail, to introduce a general amnesty for 
political prisoners, to introduce policies concerning education 
in one's mother tongue, to withdraw the draft anti-terror law 
etc.; however, Turk reportedly did not make a call to PKK to lay 
down arms.  The congress elected Turk as the national 
chairperson. 
 
OZGUR GUNDEM:   DTP's former co-chairperson Aysel Tugluk said 
that they were told to put distance between the party and the 
PKK at several occasions.  According to Tugluk, it was 
impossible to realize that argument.  Tugluk, on the contrary, 
argued that democratic forces and the society should remove the 
barriers between themselves and the PKK to end the ongoing war 
within the country.  Ahmet Turk told the crowd that a solution 
that does not involve the Kurds would not be realistic.  Both 
Tugluk and Turk called on the Turkish state to establish a 
dialogue with the Kurds. 
 
OZGUR GUNDEM:   Joost Lagendijk, Head of the Turkey-EU Joint 
Parliament, criticized the requirement in Turkey's "Regulation 
Governing Broadcasts in Different Languages and Dialects" which 
stipulates using Turkish subtitles in Kurdish language 
broadcasting.  An official from the Diyarbakir-based Gun TV said 
that they filed a lawsuit with the Council of State to annul the 
subtitles requirement in the regulation. 
 
OZGUR GUNDEM:   The daily cites allegations that the U.S. had 
started operations in the radar base located in Hatay's Amanos 
Mountains. 
 
OZGUR GUNDEM:   A group comprised of members of ESP (Socialist 
Platform of the Oppressed People) and SGD (Socialist Youth 
Association) staged a protest against the pollution seen in the 
Asi River (Orontes River) in Hatay. 
 
HURRIYET / OZGUR GUNDEM / ZAMAN:        Eleven PKK terrorists have 
been killed in a clash which broke out between PKK terrorists, 
who attempted to infiltrate Turkey, and Turkish Armed Forces, at 
Cukurca district of Hakkari on Friday (06/23) morning, Hakkari 
Governor's Office announced.  (This summary is from 06/24 
editions) 
 
CUMHURIYET:     Two non-commissioned officers were wounded in 
 
ADANA 00000151  002 OF 002 
 
 
Elazig's Maden district because of a mine blast that took place 
on a road. (This summary is from 06/25 edition) 
 
OZGUR GUNDEM:   Seferi Yilmaz, owner of the bookstore bombed 
last year in November in Hakkari, who was arrested early last 
week and imprisoned in Van's jail, told his attorneys that he 
was arrested only because a PKK informant told the authorities 
that some PKK members had said they (PKK) should protect Seferi 
Yilmaz.  Yilmaz complained that he was put in solitary 
confinement and he was barred access to books and newspapers. 
(This summary is from 06/25 edition) 
 
ZAMAN:  680,000 barrels of petroleum have been loaded onto 
the Panama-flagged second vessel, Tridents Hope, and the vessel 
started its journey towards Lavera port in France.  The third 
vessel will reportedly arrive at Haydar Aliyev Terminal at 
Ceyhan on June 27.  A total of 9 petroleum vessels will come to 
the terminal throughout July.  Meanwhile, preparations for the 
July 13 official opening of the pipeline are under way.  Fifteen 
presidents, 30 prime ministers, and nearly 50 ministers will 
reportedly take part in the opening ceremony.  (This summary is 
from 06/25 edition) 
 
. 
REID