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DE RUEHDA #0052/01 0961218
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 061218Z APR 07
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INFO RUEUITH/AFOSI DET 521 ANKARA TU
RUEHAK/AMEMBASSY ANKARA 1038
RHEFDIA/DIA WASHINGTON DC
RUEHIT/AMCONSUL ISTANBUL 0894
RUEKJCS/OSD WASHINGTON DC
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHDC
RUEILB/NCTC WASHINGTON DC
RHMFIUU/AFOSI DET 522 INCIRLIK AB TU
RUETIAA/DIRNSA FT MEADE MD
RUEHDA/AMCONSUL ADANA 1095

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 ADANA 000052 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PINS PGOV PHUM TU
SUBJECT: SOUTHEAST TURKEY PRESS SUMMARY FOR APRIL 06, 2007 
 
 
This is the Southeastern Turkey press summary for April 06, 
¶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 
 
EVRENSEL:       The support Cizre people are extending to Cizre 
Mayor Aydin Budak (from DTP), who was arrested recently, has 
reportedly been increasing and spreading (see press summary for 
April 5). Diyarbakir Democracy Platform organized a sit-in 
protest yesterday in front of the Diyarbakir Municipality and 
many employees of the municipality attended the protest as well. 
 People chanted slogans and shouted, "Pressure will not 
discourage us" and "Cizre people are not alone."  The protests 
in Cizre are still continuing as well.  Despite the heavy rain, 
people gathered in front of the Cizre Municipality, wore black 
attire and black ribbons, and shouted slogans saying 
"Prosecutor, resign!", "Governor, resign!", "Aydin is the same 
with people, people are down here." 
 
CNNTURK ONLINE / HURRIYET ONLINE:       Soon after the probe two 
inspectors started at the Diyarbakir Municipality was completed, 
the Ministry of Internal Affairs initiated three ensuing 
investigations against Diyarbakir Mayor Osman Baydemir 
concerning the greeting card Baydemir sent to the Hakkari 
Governor in Turkish and English during Ramadan, the Kurdish 
invitation sent to the same governor about a festival program, 
and the posters in Kurdish hung on the billboards of the 
Diyarbakir city about a cleaning campaign of the municipality. 
 
EVRENSEL:       Sixty-six people detained as they attempted to visit 
the birth place of imprisoned PKK leader Abdullah Ocalan, namely 
Omerli village of Halfeti district in Sanliurfa to mark the 
birthday of Ocalan, are still being kept under detention in a 
jandarma station. Some Sanliurfa municipality assembly members, 
Ceylanpinar district municipality assembly members, and ten 
TUHAD-FED (Federation of Prisoners' Relatives Associations) 
members, who organized that activity, are also among the 
detainees. 
 
CNNTURK ONLINE: The website reports that fifteen people, 
including Salih Karaaslan, DTP Ankara chapter's provincial 
chairperson, and, Ismet Aras, the chairperson of Human Rights 
Association's Ankara chapter, were detained the previous day in 
Ankara on charges that they made propaganda for a terrorist 
organization during demonstrations held separately on February 
15 and March 10.  Thirteen of the detainees have been arraigned, 
and, the two chairpersons and other two detainees have been 
arrested after arraignment. (This summary is from an April 3 
online news article.) 
 
BOLGE / EKSRPES:        Local Adana papers are making positive news 
stories every day about Adana Governor Ilhan Atis's activities 
carried out in the town and quoting in big captions his remarks 
about the people and the potential of Adana.  The papers display 
photos of events Atis attended everyday:  Today, Atis attended 
the opening ceremony for the first international literature 
festival of Adana, and he paid a courtesy visit to the Cukurova 
Journalists Association. 
 
BOLGE / EKSPRES:        April 10 marks the 162nd anniversary of 
foundation of the Turkish National Police, report the dailies. 
Governor Ilhan Atis praised the efforts of the police in an 
announcement he made and said, "police employed most reasonable 
common sense in the face of difficult times and provocations as 
they emerged, and approached the issues in a calm and 
even-tempered manner. The police have been very successful in 
maintaining peace and order while at the same time they never 
discriminated against people because of any racial, religious, 
or ethnic concerns while undertaking their duties."  The dailies 
separately noted that Seyhan district security director paid a 
visit to Seyhan Mayor because of the April 10 anniversary. 
Meanwhile, people and police gathered for a ceremony at the 
cemetery for police to remember and honor the police officers 
who died in the line of duty. 
 
SECURITY 
 
BOLGE / EKSPRES / SABAH (GUNEY):        Upon receiving a tip-off, 
Adana police carried out a joint operation with Istanbul police 
in Seyhan district of Adana.  During a search in a house, police 
found four kilograms of plastic (Portuguese-make) explosives and 
(Austria-make) 10 electrical fuses. A person has been detained 
 
ADANA 00000052  002 OF 002 
 
 
following the search operation. 
 
CRIME AND LAW ENFORCEMENT 
 
 ZAMAN / EVRENSEL / SABAH:       Jandarma teams searched an LPG 
tanker parked on the road between two districts of Van.  To the 
surprise of the jandarma teams, 59 Pakistani refugees were found 
hiding in the tanker.  The driver of the tanker was able to flee 
the scene. The refugees will be deported once required 
procedures are completed. It is reminded by the dailies that 7 
refugees were found frozen to death in Van last week and 220 
refugees who have crossed the border illegally were caught the 
previous day again in Van. (see press summary for April 5.) 
 
ZAMAN / RADIKAL:        Security forces seized many arms and 
ammunition they found in a truck they stopped for search, in 
Mardin's Kiziltepe district.  There were 7 Kalashnikovs, one PM 
98 automatic gun, 9 cartridges, and several other firearm items 
in the vehicle.  The firearms were reportedly brought to Mardin 
from northern Iraq through the Habur Border Gate in Sirnak.  The 
daily separately notes in a small news article that foreign-made 
firearms are entering the country through border gates with Iraq 
and Syria. 
 
ECONOMY 
 
BOLGE / EKSPRES:        General Manager of BOTAS International Limited 
announced that a total of 100 million barrels of crude oil were 
loaded onto vessels up until today from the Ceyhan terminal of 
the BTC (Baku-Tibilisi-Ceyhan Pipeline) in Adana. 
 
CULTURE / SOCIETY / ENVIRONMENT 
 
BOLGE / CUKUROVA MERHABA ONLINE:        It is reported that the 
number of women officers employed in the (U.S.) Army increased 
because of the war situation in Iraq and Afghanistan, and 
consequently this caused an increase in sexual assault cases. 
According to the information given on HYPERLINK 
"http://www.incirlik.af.mil" www.incirlik.af.mil, a coordination 
office for "Sexual Assault Prevention" has been established at 
Incirlik Air Base for prevention and education efforts about the 
issue, report the dailies.  Lt. Cheri Guikema, Sexual Assault 
Response Coordinator of the Base, said that sexual assaults were 
a challenge to the Base, to the nation, and to the military. 
 
SABAH:  The suicide rates among women have been increasing 
in the southeastern region.  The number of suicide incidents was 
formerly reported in newspapers as having already reached high 
levels in Batman, Diyarbakir, Van and Sanliurfa.  Today, Sabah 
daily points out that this trend has recently been joined by 
Hakkari province where 41 young girls attempted to commit 
suicide last year. Four of them died.  This number is reportedly 
2 times higher than the figures of the previous year in Hakkari, 
a province where no honor killings are seen.  The soaring number 
of suicide attempts among Hakkari women is reportedly raising 
the question of whether the girls and/or women are being forced 
into committing suicide by their families. 
GREEN