SOUTHEAST TURKEY PRESS SUMMARY

UNCLAS ADANA 0394 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PREL PINS PGOV PHUM TU IZ ADANA SUBJECT: SOUTHEAST TURKEY PRESS SUMMARY NOVEMBER 16-17, 2002 ¶1. This is the Southeastern Turkey press summary for November 16-17, 2002. Please note that Turkish press reports often contain errors or exaggerations; AmConsulate Adana does not vouch for the accuracy of the reports summarized here. POLITICS, SECURITY, HUMAN RIGHTS -------------- ¶2. VIOLATIONS CONTINUE IN THE SOUTHEAST (Evrensel) The Turkish Human Rights Foundation (THRF) issued its human rights violations report for October. The report said extra-judicial killings, village guard assaults, and arrest of people listening to Kurdish-language music continued in the Southeast. In October, soldiers and police officers opened fire, killing one person and wounding four others in the region. Village guards killed three people, including a child, injured six people, beat four people and threatened three others. The reports indicated that several people had been ordered to remain in custody for listening to Kurdish music and that village returns had been prevented. ¶3. DEHAP ISKENDERUN (HATAY) OFFICE ATTACKED (Cumhuriyet/Evrensel) An attack was launched on the Democratic People's Party's (DEHAP) office in Iskenderun (Hatay) on November 15 during which the office's window glasses were broken. During an earlier attack on November 11, unidentified assailants broke in, rummaging the office and stealing computers and documents. ¶4. CONTINUED PRO-OCALAN PROTESTS (Van) A group of Van youths who call themselves "Apo's (PKK leader Abdullah Ocalan) Volunteers" staged demonstrations in four different locations on November 16 to protest Ocalan's isolation. The demonstrators marched, shouting pro-Ocalan slogans and then dispersed without incident. ¶5. VILLAGERS FILE SUIT AGAINST JANDARMA COMMANDANT (Evrensel) Several Lice (Diyarbakir) villagers who had been arrested in connection with a fight over a land dispute filed suit against the local Jandarma commander, whom they accused of torturing them for having voted for the Democratic People's Party (DEHAP). ¶6. CLAIM OF SEXUAL ASSAULT IN VAN JANDARMA CENTER (Evrensel) Saray (Van) resident Okan Yurdabak, who had been arrested following a fight over a land dispute, claimed that soldiers at the local Jandarma station raped him with a truncheon. Yurdabak was issued a medical report excusing him from work for 15 days. ECONOMIC AND AGRICULTURAL DEVELOPMENTS -------------- ¶7. NUSAYBIN BORDER GATE WILL BE OPENED TO SYRIA (Evrensel) Mardin's Nusaybin border gate with Syria will be opened to transit crossings in the upcoming days. Nusaybin District Governor Omer Ulu predicted the opening would enliven commercial life in the region. HOLTZ