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UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 ADANA 000107 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PINS PGOV PHUM TU
SUBJECT: SOUTHEAST TURKEY PRESS SUMMARY FOR AUGUST 28, 2007 
 
¶1.      This is the Southeastern Turkey press summary for August 
28, 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.      HURRIYET:       Turkish General Staff reportedly did not send 
Victory Day Reception invitations to DTP MPs. 
 
¶3.      GUNDEM: Prosecutor's Office (PO) in Agri's Dogubeyazit 
district initiated an investigation against Hatip Dicle, former 
DEP (Democracy Party) deputy, because Dicle used the word 
"Kurdistan," during a July 18 speech at a DTP-affiliated 
independent candidate's political rally in Agri.  PO also 
started an investigation against DTP Dogubeyazit district 
chairperson for using an honorific title before the name of 
Abdullah Ocalan in a speech he delivered at the same event. 
 
 
¶4.      GUNDEM: A senior PKK member wrote in a column in 
pro-Kurdish Azadiya Welat newspaper that Kurdish circles should 
agree on a unified attitude and reaction against recent remarks 
of Turkish History Society President Yusuf Halacoglu about 
Kurds, Turks and Alevis.  Meanwhile, DTP-affiliated independent 
Sirnak deputy Hasip Kaplan asked the chairmanship of the Turkish 
Parliament if any action would be taken against Halacoglu. 
 
¶5.      GUNDEM: Nearly 70 per cent of the governors of 81 
provinces will be reshuffled with a decree which the government 
is trying to prepare by the end of September.   Following this 
decree, a separate decree relocating national security 
directors' positions will be issued. 
 
¶6.      EVRENSEL:       Akin Birdal and Gultan Kisanak, DTP Diyarbakir 
deputies, completed their inquiries concerning the living 
conditions of seasonal agricultural workers in Sakarya province 
(see press summary for August 27). The two deputies met with the 
Sakarya Governor to share their insights. 
 
SECURITY 
 
¶7.      BOLGE:  Security personnel caught a person attempting 
to cross from Syria to Turkey's Kilis province.  He reportedly 
was carrying 5.5 kilograms of heroin, one 7.65 mm Vzor-brand 
pistol (Czechoslovakian-make), pistol's cartridge and seven 
bullets. 
 
¶8.      BOLGE:  In Sirnak's Silopi district, an improvised 
remote controlled explosive device detonated, wounding two 
soldiers traveling in a military vehicle to their posts on 
August 24 at 5.40 p.m. 
 
¶9.      GUNDEM: Police reportedly received a tip-off and 
raided a house in Gaziantep where they found many arms and 
bullets.  710 bullets of various brands and sizes, 3 cartridges, 
and a device used in manufacturing bullets were seized. Two 
persons were arraigned after the operation. 
 
¶10.     GUNDEM: The pro-Kurdish Gundem daily announced the 
identity of 11 PKK members killed on August 24 in Sirnak's 
Uludere district.  The daily separately quotes the current PKK 
leader, Murat Karayilan, as calling on countries in the region, 
especially Iran, to stop bombarding the villages in northern 
Iraq as part of Iran's operation to crush PJAK (Kurdistan Free 
Life Party) operatives. 
 
CRIME AND LAW ENFORCEMENT 
 
¶11.     GUNDEM: Twenty-two Iraqi nationals, who entered the 
country illegally through Hezil stream in Silopi (located at the 
border with Iraq), were caught in Sirnak's Cizre district.  The 
illegal migrants will be deported soon. 
 
¶12.     HURRIYET (CUKUROVA):    Jandarma teams searched a car they 
stopped in Van's Baskale district and found 30 kilograms of 
hashish. 
 
ECONOMY 
 
¶13.     HURRIYET (CUKUROVA) / ZAMAN / EKSPRES:  Adana's 
Provincial Agricultural Director Abdullah Keskin said that 
growing olive trees started to become a favourable business 
among growers in the Cukurova region who are disappointed with 
 
ADANA 00000107  002 OF 002 
 
 
weak revenues from citrus fruit. 
 
CULTURE / SOCIETY / ENVIRONMENT 
 
¶14.     ZAMAN:  According to the daily, 300 trees Diyarbakir 
Municipality purchased from Italy and planted in the province 
failed to adapt to the climatic conditions there and died. 
 
¶15.     ZAMAN / BOLGE:  Tarsus district municipality in Mersin 
enforced use of Turkish at district businesses and shops to 
protect the Turkish language from erosion and invasion by 
foreign languages. 
 
¶16.     GUNDEM: The renovation project of the 1600-year-old 
Dayr-ul Zafaran Monastery in Mardin was completed and an opening 
ceremony has been held.  The project lasted 15 months. 
 
¶17.     EVRENSEL / ZAMAN:       Nearly 10,000 people reportedly held an 
environmentalist protest against the additional unit for the 
coal powered energy plant the government is planning to build in 
Sirnak's Silopi district.  Meanwhile, Zaman daily notes that 
Sirnak Governor appealed Sirnak Provincial General Assembly's 
decision which did not ratify the zoning plan of the plant's 
additional unit. 
 
¶18.     GUNDEM: "Train of Loyalty to Hasankeyf" set off with 
its 350 passengers for Batman province.  The passengers include 
artists, authors, and civil society representatives and the 
train's journey will symbolize activism against building of the 
Ilisu Dam which will submerge Hasankeyf district of Batman and 
its historical values under reservoir waters. 
 
¶19.     SABAH (GUNEY):  Chairperson of Sanliurfa's Agricultural 
Development Cooperative urged the local authorities to start an 
aid campaign for the families of the victims of a traffic 
accident that killed 18 agricultural workers in mid-August (see 
press summary for August 20) in Sanliurfa. 
 
¶20.     ZAMAN / BOLGE / EKSPRES:        Faculty members of the 
Cukurova University were saddened by the news that one of the 
founding members of the university's Food Engineering Department 
died because of liver dysfunction.  A ceremony has been held for 
the late faculty member at the university. 
 
¶21.     BOLGE / EKSPRES:        Julie Ann McBride, an American 
basketball player of Ceyhan municipality's basketball team in 
Adana, returned from vacation and started training with the 
team.  A new transfer player, Kristen Green, will also come 
tomorrow to start training for the first time. 
 
¶22.     GUNDEM: A scuffle that broke out when a group of 
people attempted to prevent another group from beating a woman 
in Adana's Karatas district turned into a violent fight 
yesterday at 10 p.m. Nine people were wounded and hospitalized. 
GREEN