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UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 ADANA 000046 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PINS PGOV PHUM TU
SUBJECT: SOUTHEAST TURKEY PRESS SUMMARY FOR MARCH 27, 2007 
 
 
This is the Southeastern Turkey press summary for March 27, 
¶2007.  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 
 
EKSPRES / BOLGE:        A local TV station interviewed the U.S. Consul 
to Adana, Eric Green, on the day that marked the fourth 
anniversary of the Iraq war.  Green reportedly said that after 
four years, the situation in Iraq was not as well as they like 
it to be and there was a high level of instability there. 
According to Green, President Bush had acknowledged this, and, 
they were changing their strategy to try to improve the 
situation in Iraq.  Green, when asked questions about the PKK 
issue, asserted that PKK was designated as a terrorist 
organization by the U.S. and denied having any contacts with 
them.  Regarding the PKK's relationship with any people or 
authority in northern Iraq, Green said their objective was to 
get all of the Iraqi authorities, those in Baghdad as well as 
those in northern Iraq, to work to end PKK's presence in that 
country. 
 
EKSPRES / BOLGE / ZAMAN:        Umit Ozgumus, Chairperson of 
Adana's Chamber of Industry, talked with members of ISKAD (Adana 
Businesswomen Association). During the talk Ozgumus mentioned 
that despite the U.S. officially stating that it respected 
Turkey's territorial integrity and it designated the PKK as a 
terrorist organization, it has not been sharing information with 
Turkey about 5000 people who have established presence in the 
Qandil Mountains in Northern Iraq and who have been entering 
Turkey to raid police stations and kill soldiers and civilians. 
 
BOLGE / EKSPRES:        Adana's new governor Ilhan Atis paid a 
courtesy visit to Adana Mayor Aytac Durak. Durak ran a slide 
show for Mr. Atis in order to show him the other side of Adana 
and make him aware of the problems of people who migrated to 
Adana from rural sections. 
 
EVRENSEL / ZAMAN:       Diyarbakir's Kayapinar district mayor Zulkuf 
Karatekin reportedly received a threat letter including a 
suspicious powder in it.  The text of the letter was created 
with letters cut from a newspaper and it was signed as "Laz 
Direnc (Laz Resistance)".  Similar letters including the same 
signature were sent to Diyarbakir Mayor Osman Baydemir and 
Hakkari Mayor Metin Tekce in the past. 
 
ONLINE GUNDEM:  Online Gundem daily claims that the pressure 
exerted on the Kurdish press has been continuing with the recent 
20-day ban on Azadiya Welat daily which is the only Kurdish 
language newspaper in Turkey.  The proprietary owner of the 
newspaper has recently been arraigned because of the former 
publications about the alleged slow poisoning of Abdullah Ocalan 
by state authorities. 
 
CRIME / LAW ENFORCEMENT 
 
HURRIYET (CUKUROVA):    Police found and seized 6557 Kalashnikov 
bullets in a car they stopped and searched in Sanliurfa's 
Ceylanpinar district. 
 
ECONOMY 
 
HURRIYET (CUKUROVA) / EVRENSEL: Kemal Sag, Adana deputy from 
CHP, gave the good news to 400 workers that the Adana's TEKEL 
cigarette factory will resume its operations. 
 
SABAH (GUNEY):   Guler Sabanci, a powerful businesswomen whose 
hometown is Adana, will come to Adana on March 27 and attend a 
meeting that will be held with ISKAD. 
 
CULTURE / SOCIETY / ENVIRONMENT 
 
EVRENSEL / ZAMAN:       Thousands of people reportedly protested 
recent killing of a teacher because of an ongoing feud between 
two families in Hakkari's Yuksekova district. 
 
EKSPRES / SABAH (GUNEY) / BOLGE / ZAMAN:        Adana Governor Ilhan 
Atis attended a program that marked the Week for Libraries at 
the Provincial Public Library.  Atis arrived at the venue prior 
to the program, inspected the building to see if it was kept 
clean and orderly, and reprimanded some officials for not 
keeping the place clean. 
 
 
ADANA 00000046  002 OF 002 
 
 
EKSPRES:        Zeki Yilmaz, Provincial Culture and Tourism 
Director, said that a French company applied to them to get 
permission from them to carry out a 10-billion-YTL tourism 
investment. 
GREEN