VZCZCXRO4062
RR RUEHDA
DE RUEHDA #0066 1230523
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 030523Z MAY 07
FM AMCONSUL ADANA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 4514
INFO RUEUITH/AFOSI DET 521 ANKARA TU
RUEHAK/AMEMBASSY ANKARA 1060
RHEFDIA/DIA WASHINGTON DC
RUEHIT/AMCONSUL ISTANBUL 0913
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 1117

UNCLAS ADANA 000066 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PINS PGOV PHUM TU
SUBJECT: SOUTHEAST TURKEY PRESS SUMMARY FOR MAY 02, 2007 
 
 
¶1.      This is the Southeastern Turkey press summary for May 02, 
¶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: 
 
¶2.      EKSPRES / SABAH (GUNEY) / BOLGE:        Sanliurfa Mayor and a 
delegation from the municipality paid a visit to the Adana Mayor 
Aytac Durak to study the municipal implementations and to 
benefit from the experience of Aytac Durak as a mayor, report 
the dailies. 
 
¶3.      BOLGE:  During May 1 Labor Day march in Adana 
yesterday, CHP and DSP members displayed an attitude of 
solidarity and walked side by side as they carried the flags of 
their parties. 
 
¶4.      BOLGE:  In a television program yesterday, Necati 
Erdem, Provincial Chairperson of Motherland Party in Adana, made 
a call to Mayor Aytac Durak to resign from his party, namely 
AKP, because, according to Erdem, Durak was incompatible with 
his party. 
 
¶5.      GUNDEM: A DTP delegation met with Iraqi President 
Jalal Talabani.  During the meeting of the parties, it is 
reportedly stated that Kurdish issue could be resolved through 
dialogue. 
 
¶6.      GUNDEM: During May 1 celebrations in the southeastern 
region, the message the people of the region conveyed was that 
they were objecting to the memorandum the Turkish military 
issued over the weekend against the government.  The banners 
carried read, "We are citizens of the Turkish Republic, we are 
Kurds, but we are not enemies." 
 
SECURITY: 
 
¶7.      GUNDEM: A helicopter had to carry out a forced landing 
in a village of Diyarbakir due to a mechanical failure.  Gundem 
daily reports that the helicopter actually crashed and two 
officers were wounded. 
 
CRIME AND LAW ENFORCEMENT 
 
¶8.      HURRIYET (CUKUROVA):    A police dog searching a car found 
52 kilograms of heroin in a hidden section of the car in Bitlis. 
 
 
¶9.      SABAH (GUNEY):  In two separate operations police 
conducted in Gaziantep, 1,140 ecstasy pills, nearly 2 kilograms 
of heroin and 64 Indian hemp roots were found and seized. 
Police detained 18 people in connection with those anti-drug 
operations. 
 
CULTURE / SOCIETY / ENVIRONMENT 
 
¶10.     EKSPRES:        Murat Caner, a disabled Adana war veteran, is 
paying visits to the schools in Adana and talking to the 
students. Caner is telling the students the grief that terrorism 
brings into people's lives and pointing out the importance of 
performing one's duty to preserve the (Turkish) Republic. 
 
GREEN