VZCZCXRO0704
RR RUEHDA
DE RUEHDA #0053/01 1010535
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 110535Z APR 07
FM AMCONSUL ADANA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 4494
INFO RUEUITH/AFOSI DET 521 ANKARA TU
RUEHAK/AMEMBASSY ANKARA 1040
RHEFDIA/DIA WASHINGTON DC
RUEHIT/AMCONSUL ISTANBUL 0896
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 1097

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 ADANA 000053 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PINS PGOV PHUM TU
SUBJECT: SOUTHEAST TURKEY PRESS SUMMARY FOR APRIL 10, 2007 
 
 
This is the Southeastern Turkey press summary for April 10, 
¶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 
 
ZAMAN / RADIKAL:        Diyarbakir Mayor Osman Baydemir, who attended 
the opening ceremony of an artist's exhibition in an art gallery 
of Diyarbakir, talked with journalists when he was asked about 
his views about ten security personnel who lost their lives in 
the last two days in the operations.  Baydemir reportedly said 
that every life lost was taking away something from the future 
of the peoples and diminishing the human values.  Baydemir 
reportedly refused to respond questions regarding recent 
statements of Massoud Barzani, president of the regional 
authority in Iraq, about Diyarbakir and Turkey. 
 
ZAMAN / EVRENSEL / RADIKAL:     One day after the expiration of 
the due date (on April 6) of the one-month-ban imposed on March 
6 by the 13th Heavy Penalty Court on the publication and 
distribution of the pro-Kurdish Ozgur Gundem daily, this time 
11th Heavy Penalty Court issued a 15-day-ban on the daily's 
publication because of the announcements that appeared on the 
daily concerning an event that would be held to mark terrorist 
leader's birthday at the birth place of Abdullah Ocalan. 
Evrensel daily notes that people protested 'silencing of the 
Ozgur Gundem daily' in front of the DTP provincial headquarters 
in Diyarbakir.  Baglar district mayor (from DTP) and Sur 
district mayor (from DTP) and some assembly members from the 
municipality attended the protest activity. 
 
EVRENSEL:       Nineteen people, including the provincial 
chairperson of the DTP in Bursa province, were detained on 
grounds that they chanted slogans and held banners in support 
for Abdullah Ocalan during a public meeting held during March 21 
Newroz celebrations in Bursa.  Meanwhile, Human Rights 
Association (HRA) condemned the recent detention of Ankara 
chapter of HRA and DTP Ankara provincial chairperson (see press 
summary for April 6) in Ankara. 
 
EKSPRES / BOLGE:        Kemal Sag, Adana deputy from CHP, paid a visit 
to the Daglioglu Police Station in Adana, where a bomb incident 
took place the previous day (see press summary for April 9). 
Kemal Sag claimed that the AKP administration, with its 
decisions taken and implementations carried out regarding 
terrorism, was creating vulnerabilities during the 
counter-terrorism efforts undertaken. 
 
CRIME / LAW ENFORCEMENT: 
 
HURRIYET (CUKUROVA):    Police, who stopped a car on the road 
between Van and Bitlis, found 29 kilograms of heroin after a 
police dog searched the car. 
 
SECURITY: 
 
ZAMAN / BOLGE:  More soldiers and two Cobra helicopters were 
reportedly dispatched to the area when security forces detected 
30 PKK members in rural sections of the Tunceli, Bingol and 
Sirnak provinces.  A total of ten terrorists were killed as 
security forces intensified their military efforts in those 
areas.  One member of the DHKP/C was reportedly caught alive. 
 
ZAMAN:  Three DHKP/C members who were caught in Adana the 
previous day as they were allegedly making preparations to carry 
out a bomb attack in the province (see press summary for April 
09), have been arraigned and arrested. 
 
ECONOMY 
 
SABAH (GUNEY):  Dipal Varua, Vice-President of a bank called 
Grameen Bank, which provides micro-credit loans to women, came 
to Diyarbakir and paid a visit to a group of women in the city 
together with a Diyarbakir deputy from AKP.  Varua said that a 
total of nearly 6 million YTL credits were offered to women in 
Diyarbakir to date. 
 
SABAH (GUNEY):  Nejat Kocer, President of Gaziantep's Chamber 
of Industry, said that Second International Iraqi Fair, which 
will be held between May 23 and 27 in Gaziantep, will contribute 
a great deal to the Turkish economy. 
 
CULTURE / SOCIETY / ENVIRONMENT 
 
ADANA 00000053  002 OF 002 
 
 
 
EKSPRES:        Eric Green, U.S. Consul to Adana, and Nuri Sabuncu, 
Honorary Consul of Tunusia and Finland, paid a visit to a school 
in Adana that offered training in various fields of employment 
to women of different ages, who have no access to regular 
national education system.  The students at the school ran a 
fashion show for the visitors and they displayed the handcrafted 
apparel they designed and created according to the cultural 
motifs, patterns and embroidery used in traditional Turkish 
clothes. 
 
ZAMAN / HURRIYET (CUKUROVA) / EKSPRES / BOLGE:  The heavy rain 
that affected Adana province for three hours the previous day 
caused the garden and the base floor of the Culture and Arts 
Center (Former Girls' High School) to flood with rain water. 
Many of the office tools and documents of a well-known festival 
company of Adana, namely Altin Koza, were destroyed after the 
flooding.  The rain also badly affected many settlement areas 
whose infrastructures were built weakly.  In some areas where 
people were stuck and not able to get out of their houses, 
armored police vehicles saved people. 
 
BOLGE / EKSPRES:        Adana Mayor Aytac Durak, who made a press 
statement to mark the anniversary of the foundation of Turkish 
National Police, said that the employee rights of police 
officers should be expanded. 
 
EKSPRES:        Third Theater Festival organized by joint 
undertaking of the Cukurova University and Adana Municipality 
started yesterday. 
 
SABAH (GUNEY):  Under a project called "Peace Houses" thirty 
students who are from Salzburg city of Austria came to Hatay 
province and planted trees in a campus of a rehabilitation 
center for the handicapped people. 
 
SABAH (GUNEY):  Mardin Governor Mehmet Kiliclar attended a 
religious ceremony held by Syriacs celebrating the Easter in a 
1400-year-old church in Mardin. 
GREEN