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UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 ADANA 000245 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PINS PGOV PHUM TU
SUBJECT: SOUTHEAST TURKEY PRESS SUMMARY FOR NOVEMBER 20, 2006 
 
This is the Southeastern Turkey press summary for November 20, 
¶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 
 
ZAMAN / YENI SAFAK:     An investigation under Article 301 of 
the Penal Code has been started against Ayhan Bilgen, 
Chairperson of Association for Human Rights and Solidarity for 
Oppressed People (Mazlum-Der), for Bilgen allegedly insulted 
Turkishness by stating that dismissal of former Van Prosecutor 
from profession constituted an intervention in the exercising of 
the law. 
 
EVRENSEL / BOLGE / RADIKAL:     Devlet Bahceli, national 
chairperson of MHP (Nationalist Movement Party), criticized 
Mehmet Agar, DYP leader, without necessarily mentioning Agar's 
name during his address at the eight MHP congress held in 
Ankara.  Bahceli said that when time matures (Turkish) people 
would give the best answer to those who were "attempting to draw 
the terrorists from the (Qandil) mountain to the plains of 
Ankara in the so-called name of peace and tranquility." 
According to Bahceli, AKP was showing great weakness in the face 
of terrorism and heeding the political scenarios that were 
actually being created by the PKK. 
 
CUMHURIYET / EVRENSEL:  A program called "Authors in Diyarbakir 
are Discussing Their Problems", which was being shot at Gun TV 
station in Diyarbakir to mark Diyarbakir's Fourth Literature 
Days, was cancelled when police, with its authorization obtained 
from the Governor's Office, attempted to film the shooting of 
the program.  The speaker and 20 authors participating in the 
program said that the move was against press freedom and the 
principles related with the profession, and that the 
administrators of the TV station decided they would discontinue 
shooting of the program under those circumstances. 
 
EVRENSEL:       The people living in tents in areas that were badly 
affected by flooding in Batman are demanding from PM Erdogan 
that the premier's pledge for providing housing for the flooding 
victims should not require the victims to pay back the costs of 
the housing.  Victims are reportedly frustrated that the premier 
did not declare the area as a disaster zone during his recent 
visit to the province, which came 17 days after the flooding 
incident. 
 
SECURITY 
 
ZAMAN:  Mines placed allegedly by PKK members in Tunceli and 
Sirnak provinces reportedly wounded seven soldiers. 
 
HUMAN RIGHTS 
 
RADIKAL / EVRENSEL / ZAMAN / CUMHURIYET / YENI SAFAK:   A doctor 
in Van's Baskale district, who diagnosed that a 21 year-old girl 
was 3 months old pregnant because of a extra-marital affair, 
assessed that the girl might be victim of an honor killing.  The 
doctor then informed the subgovernor to put the girl under state 
protection. 
 
CRIME / LAW ENFORCEMENT 
 
EKSPRES / BOLGE:        Jandarma caught 30 people in Mersin's Silifke 
district who entered the country illegally.  Twenty-four of the 
people were from Syria, two of them were from Iran, and four of 
them are from Georgia.  Jandarma officials were startled that 
snakeads were able to squeeze 30 people in a 14 seated small 
passenger bus. 
 
ECONOMY 
 
ZAMAN:  Ministry of Finance has still not determined a date 
for a new tender for the mine-cleaning task in an area in Mardin 
at the border with Syria.  The first tender, which was held on 
February 2006, was cancelled because the three companies that 
offered bids have not provided all of the required documents. 
However, the Ministry has still not announced nine months after 
the first tender opening of a new one.  Recently, Mardin deputy 
from AKP said that the Ministry launched new efforts an was 
assessing the case, and would announce their new decision about 
the case in two months. 
 
BOLGE / EKSPRES / SABAH (GUNEY):        The recent rainfall, which 
 
ADANA 00000245  002 OF 002 
 
 
caused damage to cotton fields in the fertile Cukurova plain in 
the eastern Mediterranean region, caused the price of the cotton 
to dive by 50 percent, said the chairperson of the Chamber of 
agricultural engineers.  The quality of the cotton reportedly 
decreased a great deal.  Meanwhile, a farmer in Gaziantep held a 
protest and burned all his cotton produce, because he was not 
able to sell it at a profitable price in the market. 
 
CULTURE / SOCIETY / ENVIRONMENT 
 
ZAMAN:  Thirty old manuscripts belonging to the library of 
Sheikh Maruf that were damaged in the flooding which took place 
in Batman will be repaired and restored in a library of 
manuscripts in Kayseri, a central Anatolian province. 
 
EVRENSEL:       Cilo Nature Association in Hakkari presented a 
project to the Eastern Anatolian Development Progam to promote 
the upcountry tourism potential of the lakes located in the 
Mountain Cilo.  The association held a meeting in Hakkari to 
promote the project whose organizers claimed the project would 
utilize the natural richness of Hakkari to stimulate the 
socioeconomic development in the province. 
 
EVRENSEL:       Snowfall in the southeastern region and reduced 
visibility due to fog adversely affects the flow of the traffic 
and safe driving.  Especially, people without tire chains had 
great difficulty in traveling with their cars on the road 
between Hakkari and Van.  Meanwhile, the first snow in the Agri 
province fell, reports the daily. 
GREEN