SOUTHEAST TURKEY PRESS SUMMARY,

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 ADANA 0410 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PREL PINS PGOV PHUM TU IZ ADANA SUBJECT: SOUTHEAST TURKEY PRESS SUMMARY, DECEMBER 8-9, 2002 ¶1. This is the Southeastern Turkey press summary for December 8-9, 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. U.S. WARNS TERROR MIGHT HIT GAZIANTEP (Hurriyet/Milliyet) The U.S. State Department issued a statement warning U.S. citizens in Turkey that terrorists might be planning a terrorist attack in Southeastern Turkey. The statement warned U.S. citizens to pay special attention especially during entry to and exit from the Gaziantep Airport, which is in use as the Adana Airport is under renovation. The warning noted that the Turkish government had taken measures against such a threat. Turkiye and Bolge reported that, following the warning, security measures at Incirlik (Adana) had been elevated, with vehicles entering and exiting Incirlik being thoroughly searched. ¶3. DEPLOYMENT ALONG IRAQI BORDER (Sabah/Milli Gazete) Ankara began to deploy soldiers from Sanliurfa and Diyarbakir along the Iraqi border due to a possible U.S. operation against Iraq. Soldiers were being transported in covered military trucks, as well as civilian passenger busses, with Jandarma taking security measures along the 90-km Mardin-Diyarbakir highway. ¶4. OHAL CONTINUES IN LICE (DIYARBAKIR) (Sabah) Celebrations were held to celebrate the abolition of the State of Emergency (OHAL),but the only thing that changed in Lice (Diyarbakir) was that curfew hours now begin at 10:00 p.m., instead of 4:00 p.m. Lice resident Mehmet Emin Alagunduz was ordered to remain in custody on December 5 (the first day of the Ramadan Holiday) for "resistance and insult to police." According to his testimony in the court file, the reason for the scuffle that landed him in prison was violation of curfew hours. ¶5. HIZBULLAH'S NEW LEADER (Cumhuriyet) Muzaffer Abdulkaya and Osman Aktas, arrested on October 20 in Istanbul and ordered to remain in custody by a Diyarbakir court, testified Mehmet Besir Varol was Hizbullah's new leader. According to them, Varol was in Turkey. The Diyarbakir State Security Court was reported to have issued an arrest warrant for Varol in absentia. ¶6. BAN ON PUBLICATIONS LIFTED (Evrensel) Newspapers and magazines which had not been previously allowed into the State of Emergency (OHAL) region took their places in news stands, with the lifting of the State of Emergency (OHAL) on November 30. Bans on associations have also been lifted following the abolition of OHAL. ¶7. SIRNAK DISTRICT MAYOR'S HOME BOMBED (Turkiye) Unidentified assailants launched a bomb attack against the home of Republican People's Party (CHP) Idil (Sirnak) district President Seyhmus Kaplan. Of the two hand grenades thrown during the attack, one hit Kaplan's vehicle while the other exploded in the air. No casualties were reported; Kaplan's vehicle was damaged. A similar attack had been launched against Kaplan's place of business three years ago. ¶8. PRO-OCALAN DEMONSTRATION IN VAN (Evrensel) In Van, a group of people who called themselves "Apo's Volunteers" staged a demonstration protesting PKK (KADEK) leader Abdullah Ocalan's isolation. The group dispersed after lighting fires and shouting pro-Ocalan slogans. ¶9. FIRST KURDISH CAFQ OPENS IN MARDIN (Evrensel) CafQ Ramiro, the first cafQ in which Kurdish- language songs will be sung, was inaugurated in Mardin's Nusaybin township on December 7. Nusaybin Mayor Mehmet Tanhan and municipal council members, as well as Democratic People's Party (DEHAP) and People's Democracy Party (HADEP) officials attended the inauguration. ¶10. WEAPONS DEALERS (Turkiye/Bolge) Acting on a tip, Elazig Jandarma cracked down on a six-person ring of weapons dealers. Five Kalashnikov rifles, a machine gun, two pistols, and ammunition were seized during the operation. ¶11. AK PARTY NOMINATES ERDOGAN FROM SIIRT (Radikal/Turkiye) In its official Internet website, Justice and Development Party (AKP) announced AKP leader Recep Tayyip Erdogan's candidacy from Siirt, where parliamentary elections will be renewed on February 9. The Higher Election Council's (YSK) decision to cancel the November 3 parliamentary elections in Siirt was published in the official gazette on December 8. ¶12. NEW COURTHOUSE BUILDING IN ADANA (Turkiye/Bolge) Adana's new courthouse building has been completed. It took nearly five years to build and cost TL 6 trillion (approx. USD 3.9 million). Chief Public Prosecutor Cemal Sahir Gurcay announced possibly taking extraordinary security measures at the new courthouse to prevent any possible incidents. ¶13. LANDMINES (Cumhuriyet/Evrensel) In rural Mazgirt (Tunceli),a 34- year-old female shepherd was seriously wounded when the landmine she stepped on exploded. The incident took place as she herded her sheep out of a restricted area near a Jandarma station. Military officials claim having informed locals about the landmines planted in the restricted area and that there were signs showing landmines had been planted in the area. ¶14. CAPTAGON (Milliyet) Police raided the home of Kilis resident Mehmet Curat and seized nearly 1,000 Captagon pills destined for Syria. In addition to Curat, three other people, including two Syrian nationals, were arrested in connection with the seizure. ¶15. DROP IN HEPATITIS B (Turkiye) Dicle University (Diyarbakir) Gastroentrology Department Head Professor Vedat Goral said there had been a decrease in Hepatitis B, which was common in the Southeast, mostly due to efforts to raise the level of consciousness of the public. ECONOMIC AND AGRICULTURAL DEVELOPMENTS -------------- ¶16. NORWEGIAN AMBASSADOR VISITS ADANA (Hurriyet) A guest of Adana Mayor Aytac Durak, Norwegian Ambassador Herr Hans Wilhelm Longva came to Adana to attend a ceremony to distribute the second half of TL 2 trillion (approx. USD 1.3 million) aid sent from Norway to Adana. U.S. Adana Consul Greta C. Holtz, Deputy Governor Ahmet Narinoglu, Norwegian Military AttachQ Roal Lougerud, U.S. Adana Deputy Consul Patrick Hanish, Adana Foundation founding member Gokhan Durak, Soner Sevin, Second President of the Norwegian Association for Promoting Ataturk's Principles, Adana Chamber of Commerce Assembly President Behic Pakyurek, and Durak's Consultant Orhan Urgenc attended a dinner hosted by Durak in honor of Ambassador Longva. ¶17. INCREASED BUSINESS CLOSURES IN ADANA (Bolge) According to Kazim Barisik, President of the Adana Union of Merchants and Artisans Chamber, 2,757 merchants closed their businesses in the first eleven months of the year, compared to 2,291 in 2001. In the same period, another 2,017 merchants registered at the union. The number of registries in 2001 was 2,454. ¶18. ANSWER TO PRO-ARMENIAN PROPAGANDA (Turkiye) Van Governor's Office inaugurated a primary school it had constructed in honor of former Van Governor Ali Cevdetbey, who had displayed great sacrifices against Armenian and Russian units during the World War I. A statement issued by the Governor's Office described the school as an answer to the film Ararat, which was full of made-up slanders. HOLTZ