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UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 ADANA 000238 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PINS PGOV PHUM TU
SUBJECT: SOUTHEAST TURKEY PRESS SUMMARY FOR NOVEMBER 07, 2006 
 
 
This is the Southeastern Turkey press summary for November 07, 
¶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 
 
HURRIYET (CUKUROVA):    Hakkari Governor Ayhan Nasuhbeyoglu and 
some commanders went to the Yuksekova district in Hakkari and 
heard problems of the tradesmen there on a local level, and 
talked with people in the streets.  The tradesmen requested from 
the military officers to let soldiers shop in the downtown 
district. 
 
EKSPRES / BOLGE:        DSP (Democratic Left Party) in Adana opened a 
stand with a condolence book for people to express their 
feelings upon former premier Bulent Ecevit's passing away. 
 
BOLGE:  Adana Mayor Aytac Durak extended condolences to 
Turkish people upon the passing of Bulent Ecevit.  Durak said 
that not every person holding authority has been able to remain 
honest like Bulent Ecevit in the course of his/her duties. 
 
OZGUR GUNDEM:   The daily points out that Bulent Ecevit had 
always taken a stance against the democratic rights of the 
Kurds, and he was never able to comprehend the reasons behind 
why the PKK leader Abdullah Ocalan was surrendered to Turkey on 
February 16, 1999, during his premiership. 
 
OZGUR GUNDEM:   DTP Chairperson Ahmet Turk harshly criticized 
PM Erdogan who said that the situation was being exaggerated, 
after the flooding incidents in the southeastern region.   Turk 
asked, "Are 40 people killed in the disaster not enough for PM 
Erdogan?" 
 
OZGUR GUNDEM:   The daily continues to voice its allegations 
which were reported on October 19 about a mass grave found in 
Mardin's Nusaybin district.  The daily points out that the 
remains in the grave could belong to Armenians and Syriacs who 
were allegedly killed in 1915. 
 
 
BOLGE / ZAMAN:  French Ambassador to Ankara, Paul Poudade, 
paid a visit to the Mersin Governor and told the Governor that 
the current government [in Paris] was not backing the bill that 
made it a crime to deny the Armenian genocide and that the issue 
must be left to historians. 
 
SECURITY 
 
OZGUR GUNDEM / EVRENSEL:        Turkish Armed Forces launched a 
large scale operation against the PKK in Siirt's Kurtalan and 
Eruh districts.  Meanwhile, Mahmut Alinak, DTP provincial 
chairperson in Kars, said that they would undertake actions to 
stop the operations unless the military operations going on in 
the southeastern region despite the cease-fire were stopped. 
Alinak said that their patience was running out. 
 
ECONOMY 
 
SABAH (GUNEY) / BOLGE / ZAMAN:  A business delegation from 
Adana's Chamber of Industry went to Iran following the 
delegation's visits to Greece, Syria, and Iraq.   Adana Governor 
Cahit Kirac is also a member of the delegation. 
 
BOLGE:  Last week's rains lowered the quality of cotton 
cultivated in the fields of the Cukurova region by 35 per cent. 
Provincial Director of Agriculture said that the cotton yield, 
which was anticipated as 200,000 tons, will be badly affected 
from the recent situation. 
 
CRIME / LAW ENFORCEMENT 
 
HURRIYET (CUKUROVA) / SABAH (GUNEY):     Diyarbakir and 
Erzincan police seized 52.5 kilograms of heroin in an anti-drug 
operation conducted in the Diyarbakir city center.  Separately, 
in an operation conducted against illegal arms in Gaziantep, 
police seized 9 pistols smuggled to Turkey from the northern 
Iraq, and detained four people.  Police also found anti-aircraft 
and G-3 bullets at the houses and businesses of the smugglers. 
 
CULTURE / SOCIETY 
 
EVRENSEL / OZGUR GUNDEM:        Heavy rains affecting the 
 
ADANA 00000238  002 OF 002 
 
 
southeastern region caused flooding incidents, one of which 
recently hit Hakkari's Semdinli district.  Three people 
disappeared and four people were wounded there.  150 houses have 
been evacuated.  The daily points out that, like in the recent 
flooding in Batman, the Governor's Office of Hakkari reportedly 
rejected the Semdinli Municipality's request for a helicopter to 
access the quarters which the flooding hit because of the bad 
weather conditions.  Semdinli Mayor Hursit Tekin made a call for 
urgent aid to be sent to the province and said that water 
network, electricity and telephone lines were down in the 
district.  65 civil society organizations, and municipalities in 
the region, which the daily reports the latter as from DTP, have 
been sending aid to the area and making calls for the government 
to declare the region as a disaster zone.  The organizations, 
which expressed that PM Erdogan was informed insufficiently 
about the disaster in the region, made a call to the prime 
minister [asking him] to visit the region. 
 
RADIKAL:        The daily reports that three people were wounded and 
three people disappeared in yesterday's flooding in Hakkari's 
Semdinli district. 
 
OZGUR GUNDEM / EVRENSEL:        The flooding which hit Batman a 
week ago damaged 10,000 houses and affected 62,841 people, 
according to the damage assessment studies of the Batman 
Governor's Office.  Kizilay (The Red Crescent) delivered 600 
blankets, 400 beds, and 218 heaters to the people.  DTP's Batman 
provincial party organization launched a cleaning campaign in 
the quarters badly hit by the flooding.   The flooding affected 
Adiyaman province as well, and 50 houses and businesses were 
washed and covered by the flood waters.  The municipality 
workers and people struggled to discharge the flood waters from 
the houses. 
 
BOLGE / EKSPRES:        Furniture manufacturers marched towards the 
Seyhan Municipality in Adana when the municipal authorities 
attempted to close down nearly 200 businesses lacking official 
documents required to conduct business. 
 
BOLGE:  Group of students in Mersin University of Mersin, 
Cukurova University of Adana, and Mustafa Kemal University in 
Hatay protested YOK (Higher Education Council) on the day that 
marked the 25th anniversary of YOK's foundation. 
GREEN