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UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 ADANA 000240 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PINS PGOV PHUM TU
SUBJECT: SOUTHEAST TURKEY PRESS SUMMARY FOR NOVEMBER 08, 2006 
 
 
This is the Southeastern Turkey press summary for November 08, 
¶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 
 
RADIKAL / OZGUR GUNDEM: Four ministers from the AKP government, 
namely Minister of Education, Minister of Health, Minister of 
Public Works and Minister of Energy and Natural Resouces, came 
to Batman, conducted local studies there, and extended 
condolences to the people who lost their relatives in the 
flooding disasters.  Ozgur Gundem daily claims that the 
ministers were met with statements from local people resenting 
the recent remarks of PM Erdogan about the disaster situation in 
the southeastern region.  Ministers said that the remarks of the 
premier were misunderstood and they further promised that new 
houses would be built for people under projects of TOKI (Mass 
Housing Administration).  PM Erdogan, for his part, pledged that 
the government would allocate all its resources to remedy 
people's losses from the disaster.  PM Erdogan further pointed 
out that it was not logical to expect everything from the 
government and that the people should abide by the construction 
limitations and obtain construction permits from the local 
administrations to prevent such disasters turning into 
catastrophes.  Meanwhile, CHP prepared a draft law to include 
Diyarbakir, Batman, Sirnak, Hakkari, Erzurum, Adana, Istanbul 
and Mersin in a disaster zone. 
 
OZGUR GUNDEM:   The daily claims that the government not only 
failed in declaring the southeastern region a disaster zone 
because of the flooding, but also it allegedly did not allow the 
municipalities in the region to collect relief aid and to launch 
aid campaigns, citing grounds that the municipalities lacked the 
authority to gather aid.  The subgovernors in the region are 
trying to ensure that any aid be delivered to people through the 
official crisis desks set up there: Reportedly, the 
Subgovernor's Office in Mardin sanctioned the aid Mardin's 
Kiziltepe, while Derik municipalities (DTP) attempted to deliver 
aid to the victims, and the Subgovernor's Offices in Sirnak 
pursued the same policy.  Moreover, according to the daily, the 
prime minister reiterated that the situation in the region was 
being exaggerated and he further cancelled his anticipated trip 
to the region to November 17 because of the funeral of the 
former Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit that will take place on 
Saturday (11/11).  Meanwhile in Hakkari's Semdinli district, the 
dead bodies of two people, who disappeared in the recent 
flooding that took place there, were found.  Hakkari and 
Yuksekova municipalities launched three-day-long aid campaigns 
for the Semdinli district, and Semdinli Municipality distributed 
water and food to people all through the night.  Hakkari 
Governor, Hakkari Deputy Mayor, Yuksekova Deputy Mayor, DTP 
Provincial Chairperson and military officials were all ready and 
present in Semdinli where search efforts were being spared for 
the missing people. 
 
OZGUR GUNDEM:   Ahmet Turk, Chairperson of DTP, who has been 
currently conducting studies in the areas hit by the disaster, 
this time, went to Diyarbakir's Bismil district, one of the 
areas that the flooding affected.  Turk said that regional 
discrimination was taking place in Turkey, people were no longer 
seeing the Turkish state as embracing them, and the Kurds were 
no longer expecting anything coming from the Turkish government. 
 Meanwhile, Diyarbakir Mayor Osman Baydemir made a call to the 
people to bring whatever they would donate to a (municipality) 
building located at a park in Diyarbakir.   Diyarbakir 
Municipality also sent one truck of non-perishable food to 
Diyarbakir's Bismil district.  Baydemir also made an 
announcement that Kayapinar, Baglar, Sur and Yenisehir 
Municipalities in Diyarbakir and non-governmental organizations 
were all displaying unified effort and coordination in this time 
of hardship. 
 
OZGUR GUNDEM:   DTP Vice-Chairperson Aysel Tugluk, a DTP 
official, and Yenisehir District Mayor of Diyarbakir attended a 
meeting of the Socialist International Council in Chile.  DTP 
delegation later met with the Chilean President Michelle 
Bachelet at a reception given on occasion of the meeting. 
 
ZAMAN:  Mr. Paul Poudade, French Ambassador to Ankara, who 
has been currently paying visits to local authorities (see press 
summary for November 7) in the provinces of eastern 
Mediterranean region, was wearied by questions of journalists 
related to the Armenian issue, especially during his visit to 
 
ADANA 00000240  002 OF 002 
 
 
the Hatay Governor. 
 
SECURITY 
 
OZGUR GUNDEM:   Turkish Armed Forces, which launched a 
large-scale military operation in rural sections of Siirt's Eruh 
and Kurtalan districts, extended the operations to include the 
Pervari district. 
 
ZAMAN:  Two PKK militants were killed in the flooding that 
took place in an area in the Mountain Qandil in the northern 
Iraq. 
 
HUMAN RIGHTS 
 
OZGUR GUNDEM:   400 health sector workers of the Balcali 
Hopital of the Cukurova University in Adana have been continuing 
their strike action for about a year now.  The workers, who 
started their protests when four unionist workers were laid off 
from the hospital a year ago allegedly because of their unionist 
activities, are demanding an increase in their salaries and 
betterment of their working conditions. 
 
ZAMAN / RADIKAL / EVRENSEL:      A strange exchange that took 
place between two families revealed the ugly side of the local 
codes related to 'honor' in Van's Ozalp district.  A person, who 
raped a three-month pregnant woman (22) called S.A., evaded a 
potential revenge attempt from the woman's family by giving his 
16 year old daughter to S.A.'s husband.  The local headmen 
further complicated the situation by gathering a village 
assembly and forcing S.A. to divorce from her husband to enable 
marriage between S.A.'s husband and the rapist's daughter. 
Jandarma, upon learning about the incident, conducted a raid on 
the village, put the 16 year old girl under state protection, 
and detained 13 people from the village. 
 
ECONOMY 
 
EKSPRES / BOLGE / OZGUR GUNDEM: Chairperson of Chamber of 
Agricultural Engineers said that rainfall in the fertile 
Cukurova region (the fertile agricultural plain of the eastern 
Mediterranean region) have left decares of cultivated fields 
under flood waters, farmers have not been able to harvest cotton 
and corn crops, and they have faced a 40 to 50 per cent loss 
because of the products that remained in the fields.   Moreover, 
the farmers were not able to enter the next stage of cultivation 
when new crops would be planted, because of the mud in the 
fields; and the farmers would not be able to prepare themselves 
for the next season.  Meanwhile, damage assessment studies on 
the fields have begun in Adana's Ceyhan district, announced the 
Ceyhan Subgovernor. 
 
EKSPRES:        Gaziantep Chamber of Industry will hold GAPFOOD 
(Food and Food Technologies Fair) between 9 and 12 November in 
Gaziantep. 
 
EKSPRES:        The free trade agreement between Turkey and Syria 
has taken effect in both countries, said the State Minister 
Kursat Tuzmen. 
 
HURRIYET (CUKUROVA):    Fourth Cukurova Industry and Commerce 
Fair will be held between 15 and 19 November in Adana. 
GREEN