VZCZCXRO5677
RR RUEHDA
DE RUEHDA #0096/01 1991112
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 181112Z JUL 07
FM AMCONSUL ADANA
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INFO RUEUITH/AFOSI DET 521 ANKARA TU
RUEHAK/AMEMBASSY ANKARA 1118
RHEFDIA/DIA WASHINGTON DC
RUEHIT/AMCONSUL ISTANBUL 0970
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 1176

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 ADANA 000096 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PINS PGOV PHUM TU
SUBJECT: SOUTHEAST TURKEY PRESS SUMMARY FOR JULY 16 AND 17, 2007 
 
 
¶1.      This is the Southeastern Turkey press summary for July 16 
and 17, 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 / HURRIYET:       Deniz Baykal, National Leader of CHP, 
addressed people in Igdir and Erzurum, the provinces included in 
his campaign program, and said that a new era will start after 
July 22 elections.  Meanwhile, Gaye Erbatur, Adana candidate 
from CHP and current Adana deputy, promised the electorate that 
they would clear the path of politics from corruption. 
 
¶3.      BOLGE:  Dengir Mir Mehmet Firat, first ranking AKP 
candidate running in Adana and deputy national chairperson of 
AKP, opened more campaign offices in several quarters of Adana. 
 
 
¶4.      EVRENSEL:       AKP Bismil district provincial party 
organization canvassed people in villages they toured in 
Diyarbakir and reportedly pledged to issue green cards as they 
collected copies of the villagers' identity cards for the 
required procedures. (Note: Green cards in Turkey are issued for 
disadvantaged poor people in order to grant them access to 
health services. End Note.)  Reportedly, however, the copies of 
the ID cards were later found in trash cans later. 
 
¶5.      EVRENSEL:       Thousands of people reportedly attended the 
election campaign meetings in several southeastern provinces of 
Turkey: meetings are held by Emine Ayna, a female DTP-endorsed 
candidate running in Mardin; Huseyin Yilmaz DTP-endorsed 
candidate running in Agri's Patnos district; Vakkas Dalkilic, 
DTP-endorsed candidate running in Gaziantep, and Selahattin 
Demirtas, DTP-endorsed candidate running in Diyarbakir. 
 
¶6.      EVRENSEL:        ADSIAD (Adana Industrialists and Businessmen 
Association) held last round of its meetings with the candidates 
who are running in the July 22 elections.  The last candidates 
the meeting hosted were the AKP candidates of Adana. 
 
¶7.      ZAMAN / BOLGE / EKSPRES:        Adana Governor Ilhan Atis 
gave a present, a laptop computer, to a student from Adana who 
received one of the best scores in the National University 
Entrance examination. 
 
¶8.      SABAH (GUNEY):  The local supplement of Sabah daily 
launched a campaign to extend support to and prevent closing 
sown of the Mensa Textile Company of Adana which had been 
suffering from financial hardship.  Mensa Textile employs 2500 
workers. 
 
CRIME AND LAW ENFORCEMENT 
 
¶9.      HURRIYET (CUKUROVA):     Police caught 11 illegal 
immigrants of Pakistani origin in Van's Baskale district. 
 
¶10.     BOLGE:  Jandarma teams conducting road checks in 
Yuregir district of Adana opened fire when an oil tanker truck 
did not obey a halt warning of the jandarma.  The Jandarma later 
found the truck one kilometer away from the original scene. The 
truck has been transporting oil stolen from the Ceyhan-Kirikkale 
pipeline.  The driver was able to flee the scene. (This summary 
is from June 16 edition) 
 
¶11.     HURRIYET (CUKUROVA):    Diyarbakir police seized 80 
kilograms of hashish and 160,000 packets of smuggled cigarettes 
in two separate anti-drug and anti-smuggling operations. 
Twenty-one people were detained and arraigned. 
 
¶12.      HURRIYET (CUKUROVA):   Police broke up an illegal ring in 
Mersin members of whom employed themselves in fraudu and 
counterfeiting of documents.  The members of the ring included 
two police officers, one computer engineer and a public servant. 
 
¶13.     HURRIYET (CUKUROVA) / ZAMAN:    Police in Van's Ercis 
district seized 26 kilograms of heroin they found in the fuel 
tank of a car they searched.  The driver of the car was 
apprehended. 
 
CULTURE / SOCIETY / ENVIRONMENT 
 
¶14.     ZAMAN:  A fire that broke out in Adana's Imamoglu 
district burned 98 acres of a forest area. The firefighters were 
 
ADANA 00000096  002 OF 002 
 
 
able to take the fire under control in seven hours. 
 
¶15.     HURRIYET (CUKUROVA):    A 3.7-magnitude earthquake shook 
Adana's Kozan district yesterday. No casualties were reported. 
 
ECONOMY 
 
¶16.     HURRIYET (CUKUROVA):    EPDK (Energy Market Regulatory 
Authority) will be holding a tender to award natural gas 
distribution license in the Cukurova region on July 20 (see 
press summary for June 22).  The Cukurova region is the biggest 
natural gas distribution area of Turkey and the company which 
will be awarded the contract will provide service to 3 million 
users in the region. 
 
¶17.     SABAH (GUNEY) / HURRIYET (CUKUROVA):    The recent 
allegations that surfaced in Mersin about importing of 106,000 
tons of lemon from Argentina angered Mersin's citrus fruit 
producers. 
GREEN