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UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 ADANA 000082 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PINS PGOV PHUM TU
SUBJECT: SOUTHEAST TURKEY PRESS SUMMARY FOR JUNE, 13, 2007 
 
¶1.      This is the Southeastern Turkey press summary for June 13, 
¶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.      BOLGE / CNN ONLINE / HABERLER.COM / EKSPRES:    Roger C. 
Rigaud, Vice-Consul to the U.S. Embassy in Ankara, during a talk 
he gave at Adana Chamber of Commerce on "Non-Immigrant Visas to 
the U.S.", told the audience that the rumours alleging that the 
U.S. was not issuing visas since 9/11 were not true.  Rigaud 
said that they were actually striving to issue more visas. 
Rigaud, when asked about the number of Turkish people going to 
the U.S. since 9/11, said that the number of people decreased 
from 90,000 to 40,000 since 9/11, but they believed economic 
concerns were the chief cause of this outcome. 
 
¶3.      CUMHURIYET / HURRIYET ONLINE / GUNDEM:  Diyarbakir's 6th 
Heavy Penalty Court continued to hear the case of 10 defendants, 
including DTP Diyarbakir Deputy District Chairperson Musa 
Farisogullari, because of the violent demonstrations that took 
place in Diyarbakir between 28 and 31 March.  The prosecutor 
demanded 10 years of prison sentence against Farisogullari "for 
being a member of a terrorist organization." 
 
¶4.      GUNDEM: PKK reportedly claimed that the actor behind 
the societal tension escalating recently in Turkey was the 
Turkish Armed Forces which was allegedly using the media to 
reach this goal.  PKK said that they were not taking and would 
not take any action besides self-defence if/when attacked. 
According to the terrorist organization, Turkey was deepening 
the crisis on the Kurdish issue through internet memorandums, 
internal military operations and cross-border bombardments.  If 
the army were to cease its military operations, the tension 
would then subside, said the PKK. 
 
¶5.      GUNDEM: "Independent Candidates of A Thousand Hopes" 
met with the electoral base, reports the daily.  Independent 
candidates in Diyarbakir will continue their election campaigns 
in four different election zones in the province.  In the first 
election zone, which is the Baglar District, Aysel Tugluk will 
run her campaign; in the 2nd zone, which covers Bismil and Cinar 
districts and a few other quarters, Akin Birdal will run his 
campaign; in the 3rd zone covering Surici district which also 
includes Silvan, Hazro, Lice and Kulp districts, Gultan Kasinak 
will run her campaign.  In the 4th zone covering Kayapinar 
district which also includes Ergani, Cermik, Cungus and some 
villages, Selahattin Demirtas will run his election campaign. 
Van province is divided into three election zones. Fatma 
Kurtulan will run in city center and Bostanici quarter; Saim 
Kartal will run in Ercis, Caldiran, Muradiye districts and some 
villages; Ozdal Ucer will run in Catak, Gevas, Edremit, 
Gurpinar, Baskale, Saray and Ozalp districts.  The daily further 
provides information about independent candidates in Siirt, 
Batman and Malatya. 
 
¶6.      HURRIYET:       The daily reports controversies going on in 
Van district concerning parties' nomination lists.  The first 
ranking candidates in MHP's, CHP's and DYP's and Motherland 
Party's tickets reportedly frustrated many part members.  The 
daily reports that first ranking candidates of DYP and 
Motherland Party were parachuted.  Former Van deputy from CHP, 
Mehmet Kartal, who is a member of Buruki clan which covers 110 
villages in Van, is frustrated that he was not able to find room 
in the CHP party ticket: 110 villages equal a loss of 30,000 
votes in Van for CHP.   In 2002 elections, AKP deputies won 6 
seats and CHP won 1 seat in the Van province. 
 
¶7.      BOLGE:  The CHP provincial party organization, during 
a meeting they held yesterday to assess the current situation in 
the runup to the elections (see press summary for June 12), 
decided that they would hold a press announcement on Thursday 
(June 14) with their election candidates.  Adana CHP also 
announced its decision to take part in the public meeting that 
will be held in Adana's Pozanti district to condemn terrorism. 
 
¶8.      BOLGE:  Kanal A, a local TV station in Adana, hosted 
two former Adana deputies, one from AKP and one from CHP, namely 
Abdullah Torun and Ziya Yergok, and they discussed why the 
former deputies were left out of the local party tickets formed 
for the upcoming parliamentary elections. 
 
SECURITY 
 
ADANA 00000082  002 OF 003 
 
 
 
¶9.      HURRIYET ONLINE:        Feyzullah Arslan, former Antalya 
security director who resigned from his office to get nominated 
to run in the elections, was not included in the DP party 
ticket. Arslan was recently appointed as the new Adana Security 
Director, a seat which had remained empty for about a month 
after the former security director retired from office. 
 
¶10.     CUMHURIYET / HURRIYET:  The coffin of Jandarma Commanda 
Corporal Ahmet Bilgic, who was killed in Erzincan's Kemah 
district in a shootout with the PKK (see press summary for June 
12), was brought to his hometown in Tokat.  Nearly 10,000 people 
attended the funeral despite the rainy weather, reports the 
Hurriyet daily.  People shouted anti-PKK slogans and slogans 
against the government.  During his talk at the funeral, the 
Tokat Provincial Jandarma Commander, while expressing his 
sorrow, gave the news that the unit to which the corporal was 
registered was continuing its military operations and they were 
able to kill three of the terrorists who killed the corporal. 
Meanwhile, an angry person tore apart the wreath which an AKP 
district municipality sent to the funeral. 
 
¶11.     HURRIYET ONLINE / HABERLER.COM: The PKK's alleged 
ceasefire announced yesterday lasted for only a few hours, as 
PKK members reportedly opened fire at a jandarma post located at 
the Munzur Mountains in Tunceli at around 1.30 p.m. yesterday. 
Security personnel at the jandarma station retaliated; however, 
the terrorists fled the scene.  No casualties were reported. 
 
¶12.     HURRIYET ONLINE / GUNDEM:       Around 10 PKK members 
attacked a marble quarry owned by a Turkish businessman named 
Halis Toprak, in Diyarbakir's Hani district.  Terrorists 
gathered the quarriers to a place and burned three vehicles 
after pouring gas on them.  The terrorists told the people that 
they should not continue operating the quarry.  Terrorists ran 
away after repeating PKK-related propaganda. Jandarma teams 
launched an operation in the direction that the terrorists had 
run. 
 
¶13.     CNN ONLINE:     With military operations in the region 
continuing, units from the Ikizce 23rd Division Command in 
Sirnak conducted a large-scale military exercise in the Cudi 
Mountain employing tanks and artillery. 
 
¶14.     GUNDEM: Children playing outside discovered some 
ammunition, including projectiles of varying calibers, in a 
plastic bag in the water under a bridge in the Hekimhan district 
of Malatya. 
 
¶15.     GUNDEM: On June 8 two people, reportedly clad in 
military uniforms, stopped a car on a road 200 metres away from 
a jandarma point in Van's Baskale district and extorted 5000 YTL 
and two cell phones from the passengers.  The two passengers 
followed the thieves as they fled the scene and identified them 
later to file a complaint with the jandarma.  However, the daily 
alleges that the suspects were released by the jandarma 
authorities a day after they were caught. 
 
CRIME AND LAW ENFORCEMENT 
 
¶16.     BOLGE:  Police found 21 kilograms of heroin in Malatya 
and detained five people in connection with the drug find. 
 
¶17.     CUMHURIYET:     Police searched a house in Nurdagi district of 
Gaziantep and found 67 kilograms of hashish in its bathroom. 
47,952 roots of Indian hemp were found planted in the house's 
garden. 
 
ECONOMY 
 
¶18.     BOLGE / EKSPRES:        The chairperson of the Chamber of 
Agriculture announced that this year's watermelon produce, in 
quality and abundance, pleased the farmers in the Cukurova 
region.  The chairperson added that available exporting 
capability for this produce balanced the prices in the market, 
and the farmers were also pleased with current watermelon market 
prices. 
 
CULTURE / SOCIETY / ENVIRONMENT 
 
¶19.     BOLGE / EVRENSEL:       Atilla Gulsar, Deputy Education Director 
of Adana, said that the project initiated by the ILO 
(International Labor Organization) and Turkish Ministry of Labor 
in Adana's Karatas district for "Ending the Child Labor Caused 
 
ADANA 00000082  003 OF 003 
 
 
by Seasonal Agricultural Work in the Fields in Karatas through 
Winning the Children Workers Back to the Education System" was 
working well.  Gulsar, who was visited by the Project 
Coordinator and a group of students yesterday (June 12) which 
marked the International Day to Fight Against Child Labor, said 
that the project was successful and should be continued. 
 
¶20.     HURRIYET (CUKUROVA) / BOLGE / EKSPRES:  Fevzi Acevit, 
president of Adana's main festival organizer company, said that 
14th Altinkoza (Golden bowl) Film Festival was very successful 
and a total of 60,000 people watched films during the festival 
between June 4 and 11. 
 
¶21.     GUNDEM: A DTP Women's Assembly was founded in 
Hakkari's Yuksekova district.  A meeting was held to announce 
the founding of the assembly.  A total of 200 people including 
the Yuksekova District Mayor, members of DTP women's assemblies 
in Semdinli and Cukurca districts, a DTP central party women's 
assembly member, members of Mothers for Peace Initiative, Free 
Citizens Initiative members, and others attended the meeting. 
 
¶22.     GUNDEM: A 30-year-old woman committed suicide at her 
home by hanging in Mardin's Derik district. 
GREEN