VZCZCXRO1599
RR RUEHDA
DE RUEHDA #0110/01 2620728
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 190728Z SEP 07
FM AMCONSUL ADANA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 4606
INFO RUEUITH/AFOSI DET 521 ANKARA TU
RUEHAK/AMEMBASSY ANKARA 1151
RHEFDIA/DIA WASHINGTON DC
RUEHIT/AMCONSUL ISTANBUL 0998
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 1209

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 ADANA 000110 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PINS PGOV PHUM TU
SUBJECT: SOUTHEAST TURKEY PRESS SUMMARY FOR 
 
¶1.      This is the Southeastern Turkey press summary for 
September 18, 2007.  Please note Turkish press reports often 
contain errors or exaggerations; AmConsulate Adana does not 
vouch for the accuracy of the reports summarized herein. 
 
        POLITICAL: 
 
¶2.      HURRIYET:  The daily alleges Pinar Selek, a sociologist 
held as a defendant in the case involving the 1998 bombing of a 
touristic shopping area of Istanbul, was the love interest of 
Abdullah Ocalan.  The daily further reports allegations Ocalan 
would set up a separate pro-Kurdish party to be led by Selek and 
former DEP Deputy Hatip Dicle.  Selek categorically denied these 
reports, including accounts of her meeting with Ocalan. 
 
¶3.      EVRENSEL:  Authorities continue to question seven people 
detained in Van's Baskale district in connection with the 
September 11 discovery of a vehicle containing explosives in an 
Ankara parking lot.  The vehicle was stolen in Istanbul a year 
ago and was reportedly housed in a Van warehouse for one year. 
The police, who are searching for 11 other suspects in the case, 
are also trying to find out if the case has any links to the PKK. 
 
¶4.      EVRENSEL / RADIKAL:      DTP Acting Chairperson Selma 
Irmak expressed concern over reported pressures her party was 
facing, saying history could repeat itself if their party shared 
the same fate as the former DEP, which was closed in 1994. 
 
        SECURITY 
 
¶5.      HURRIYET / RADIKAL:      Hakkari Governor's office 
announced police had found one kilogram of plastic explosives in 
a house in Hakkari's Yuksekova district, and had arrested two of 
three suspects.  This development reportedly prevented a 
possible attack targeting the Governor's Office or the Security 
Directorate. 
 
¶6.      HURRIYET ONLINE:  Jandarma teams caught 46 Iraqi refugees, 
who entered the country illegally, in Sirnak's Silopi district. 
The refugees said they were fleeing the cholera outbreak in 
their home towns. 
 
        CRIME AND LAW ENFORCEMENT 
 
¶7.      HURRIYET:       Provincial jandarma command teams searching a 
car in a checkpoint on the road between Silvan and Hazro 
districts in Diyarbakir found 24 kilograms of hashish hidden in 
the car.  Three people were arraigned. 
 
¶8.      ZAMAN / HURRIYET (CUKUROVA):    Police stopped a car 
traveling from Van in the Bitlis province and found 22 kilograms 
of heroin hidden in the car. 
 
        CULTURE / SOCIETY / ENVIRONMENT 
 
¶9.      ZAMAN:  The Mersin Municipality's Basketball team hired 
two American basketball players for a term of one year. 
Separately, the daily reports the `Botas-Cup 4 tournament', an 
event held annually by Botasspor Basketball Team of Adana's 
Ceyhan district, will be held between 9 and 11 October this 
year. 
 
¶10.     EVRENSEL / BOLGE / RADIKAL:  Schools started yesterday, 
however, thousands of students in Sanliurfa province and 
Cukurova region were not able attend school due to their work as 
agricultural laborers; the cotton harvesting period coincides 
with the national opening of schools.  Evrensel daily writes in 
Adana districts where mostly Kurds live, children are primarily 
working and selling items in the streets. 
 
¶11.     BOLGE / EKSPRES / HURRIYET (CUKUROVA) / ZAMAN: To mark the 
opening of the new school semester, students visited offices of 
the Adana governor and mayor and presented flowers.  The Adana 
governor's message underscored violence at schools will be 
terminated through concerted effort from all members of the 
community.  The Governor and the Mayor also presided over the 
opening ceremony of a new primary school in the Yuregir 
district.  Adana's governor noted to the school's principal that 
a banner had misspelled one of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk's famous 
adages.  Adana's CHP deputy Gaye Erbatur also paid visits to 
several schools in Adana.  The Cukurova supplement of Hurriyet 
daily quotes Adana's AKP Deputy Necdet Unuvar as announcing the 
number of students in classrooms has decreased from 90 to 40 
students per classroom in the last five years, thanks to efforts 
 
ADANA 00000110  002 OF 002 
 
 
to construct and provide more classrooms at schools. 
 
¶12.     HURRIYET (CUKUROVA):  Gaziantep Mayor announced two 
projects under development in the province: the construction of 
a planetarium, and a botanical park that would house 4000 types 
of plants. 
 
¶13.     HURRIYET (CUKUROVA) / SABAH (GUNEY):    Mersin Mayor 
Macit Ozcan attended an iftaar dinner in one of the 
municipality's public tents set up to provide food to Mersin's 
citizens throughout the month of Ramazan.  Separately, Yuregir 
Mayor Omer Topcu held an iftaar dinner with his municipality 
workers in Adana.  Sanliurfa Governor, his wife, and the 
Provincial Director of Social Services had an iftaar dinner with 
twenty girls from an orphanage in Sanliurfa. 
GREEN