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UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 ADANA 000212 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PINS PGOV PHUM TU
SUBJECT: SOUTHEAST TURKEY PRESS SUMMARY FOR OCTOBER 03, 2006 
 
 
This is the Southeastern Turkey press summary for October 03, 
¶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 
 
SABAH (GUNEY) / BOLG / HURRIYET / ZAMAN:  Police found out that 
the PKK terrorist who was caught in the intercity bus terminal 
of Adana with 6 kilograms of C-4 explosives (see press summary 
for October 2) had received military and political training in 
the camps located in Iran and Iraq between 2003 and 2004, and 
was later sent to Turkey to carry out terrorist activities.  The 
terrorist was formerly the private tailor of the terrorist 
leader Abdullah Ocalan. 
 
¶3.      HURRIYET / EVRENSEL / OZGUR GUNDEM:    Two children aged 
13 and 6 found a rocket propelled grenade in Bingol's Yedisu 
district and played with it.  The grenade then exploded and 
wounded the children. 
 
¶4.      ZAMAN:    Armored personnel carriers and military materiel 
that were brought to Mardin's Nusaybin district via train at 
11.30 p.m. are dispatched to military units located at the 
border area in Sirnak's Silopi and Cizre districts in order to 
be used at possible military operations. 
 
¶5.      ZAMAN / OZGUR GUNDEM: Iraqi Government appointed Shirwan 
el-Waaily, a Shia Minister Responsible for Security Affairs, as 
its special envoy in countering the PKK and the Iraqi government 
submitted el-Waaily's name officially to Ankara over the 
weekend.  El-Waaily has a military background and has close ties 
with the Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri el-Maliki. 
 
¶6.      EVRENSEL: The daily comments that cease-fire process is 
being jeopardized by the operations going on in the southeastern 
region.  While the Turkish Armed Forces launched one of the 
largest-scale military operations in its history in Hakkari (see 
press summary for October 02), Second Army Commander General 
Hasan Sigsiz reportedly said that the fight will go on until no 
terrorist is left in the mountains.  The daily also points out 
that Iraqi Government has also appointed an envoy for countering 
the PKK. 
 
¶7.      EVRENSEL / OZGUR GUNDEM:     Hilmi Aydogdu, DTP Provincial 
Chairperson in Diyarbakir, made a press announcement on behalf 
of the Kurdish organizations in the province before a 500-person 
audience in the provincial theater hall, extended support for 
PKK's cease-fire, and said that that historic opportunity should 
be seized.  Democratic organizations in Van also extended 
support for the cease-fire and made a call for ending the 
operations.  Chairperson of Van Chapter of Human Rights 
Association pointed out that despite Turkey passed through a 
five-year peaceful period between 1999 and 2004, it did not take 
satisfactory steps in resolving the Kurdish issue then. 
Hundreds of people gathered at the Kiziltepe Branch of DTP in 
Mardin and marched to a main square in the district to extend 
support to DTP and cease-fire. 
 
¶8.      OZGUR GUNDEM:   A conflict took place between PKK 
members and security officers in Diyarbakir's Silvan district, 
and two PKK members allegedly died. 
 
¶9.      ZAMAN ONLINE:    Selahattin Kaya, a former administrative 
attachi of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and former Bingol 
Mayor (between 1989 and 1994), talked with a journalist from 
Aksiyon magazine on the PKK issue.   Kaya said that the PKK's 
cease-fire did not involve an element of seriousness in essence, 
because as the winter was approaching in the region, the 
fighting capability of the PKK was decreasing.   Kaya said that 
PKK, in its nature, was not an organization for peace, rather it 
was a warring mechanism.  DTP's call for peace provided the 
grounds for the PKK for the cease-fire it longed for, according 
to Kaya.  Separately, the (Turkish) military unacceptably 
engaged itself in politics as it collected garbage in Hakkari to 
protest its Municipality for ignoring routine tasks (Note: The 
Municipality "engaged itself in divisive acts" instead, see 
press summary for September 26. End Note.), according to Kaya. 
 
¶10.     OZGUR GUNDEM:    Diyarbakir's Sixth Heavy Penalty Court 
will start the trial brought against Diyarbakir Mayor Osman 
Baydemir for his remarks made as he attempted to calm down the 
people during violent demonstrations that took place in 
Diyarbakir in March following the burial of 4 PKK terrorists. 
 
ADANA 00000212  002 OF 002 
 
 
Baydemir reportedly had said then, "14 people (PKK members) 
died, 3 more were killed in the demonstrations, and we should 
not let our death toll increase to 18."  Baydemir is reportedly 
facing ten years in prison for upholding members of the PKK. 
 
¶11.     ZAMAN / OZGUR GUNDEM / CNNTURK ONLINE: Parliamentary 
Assembly of Council of Europe (PACE), which would discuss on 
Friday (10/06) the report on "The Cultural Status of the Kurds", 
which was created by the English Parliamentarian Lord-Russel 
Johnston, decided to discuss the report earlier, on Wednesday 
(10/04), as a result of pressure exerted by the head of the 
French delegation.  The report, which dwelt on the cultural 
status of Kurds living in Iraq, Iran and Syria, depicted the 
Kurds as one of the biggest communities of the world without a 
state.  The report recommends that those states where Kurds 
lived should be encouraged not to see the cultural rights of the 
Kurds as a threat for themselves, but as a cultural heritage. 
Meanwhile, Rene Van der Linden, spokesperson of the PACE, 
announced that he was pleased with the PKK's cease-fire 
decision. 
 
¶12.     RADIKAL / ZAMAN / SABAH (GUNEY) / HURRIYET (CUKUROVA) / 
BOLGE: Karatas District Municipality's Assembly, which is 
comprised of 4 members from AKP, 3 members from CHP and 2 
members from DYP, elected under tight security measures the new 
mayor for Karatas, which is a seaside resort in Adana having 
27,000 population.  (Note: The case of the former Mayor Yusuf 
Erenkara [from AKP], who was killed with his brother on 
September 22 in a gun attack [see press summaries for September 
25, 26 and October 1], is still under police investigation. End 
Note.)  The new mayor, Metin Catalbas [from CHP], who held a 
press announcement at the headquarters of Adana's AK Party 
together with AKP Adana Provincial Chairperson Mustafa 
Attaroglu, told journalists he joined the ranks of AKP.  Bolge 
daily is surprised that a CHP municipality assembly member 
instantly became an AKP mayor in one night.  CHP Provincial 
Chairperson Serdar Seyhan finds the development unethical and 
says that Catalbas had not submitted his formal resignation to 
CHP yet. Catalbas, for his part, said that he supported the 
joining of Karatas to the Adana Municipality.  Catalbas further 
portrayed the former Karatas mayor as an "honest and 
hardworking" person and did not further comment on Adana Mayor's 
recent remarks about the Karatas Municipality [see press summary 
for October 1].   Attaroglu extended support for Catalbas. 
Catalbas is reportedly engaged in fishing trade in Karatas. 
 
¶13.     HURRIYET / RADIKAL: A 36-year-old woman was killed in 
Gaziantep by her brother, reportedly in the name of honor, after 
the two quarreled over why the woman ran away from her husband, 
with whom she had an unofficial marriage relationship.  The 
woman had reportedly eloped with that man 8 years ago without 
her family's consent and had recently returned home because of 
problems she had with her husband. 
 
¶14.     EKSPRES / OZGUR GUNDEM:  Members of Kamu-Sen 
(Confederation of Public Employees Unions) held a protest 
against the bomb incident which took place in front of the 
Mersin State Hospital on Sunday (10/01). 
 
¶15.     CUMHURIYET / SABAH (GUNEY) / EKSPRES / BOLGE / HURRIYET / 
ZAMAN: Unidentified thieves opened fire on a car traveling from 
Adana to Gaziantep province.  The driver, who was a jeweler, 
died and his aide was seriously wounded.  The thieves stole 10 
kilograms of gold from the car. 
 
¶16.     EVRENSEL: On the day that marked World's Architects' Day 
members of Chamber of Architects in Adana gathered at the Old 
Roman Bridge in the city center and demanded resumption of the 
renovation project of the bridge, which was recently suspended 
due to shortage of funding. 
GREEN