Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
03ADANA123
2003-04-29 15:45:00
UNCLASSIFIED
Consulate Adana
Cable title:  

SOUTHEAST TURKEY PRESS SUMMARY,

Tags:  PREL PINS PGOV PHUM TU IZ ADANA 
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UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 ADANA 0123 

SIPDIS


E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PREL PINS PGOV PHUM TU IZ ADANA
SUBJECT: SOUTHEAST TURKEY PRESS SUMMARY,
APRIL 29, 2003

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 ADANA 0123

SIPDIS


E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PREL PINS PGOV PHUM TU IZ ADANA
SUBJECT: SOUTHEAST TURKEY PRESS SUMMARY,
APRIL 29, 2003


1. This is the Southeastern Turkey press summary
for April 29, 2003. 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, SECURITY, HUMAN RIGHTS



2. Radikal: Jandarma Master Sergeant Ilhan
Kayikci and Private Salih Sancar were arrested
for killing Cetin Kahraman by gunfire on the
grounds that Kahraman disobeyed a "halt warning"
while driving from Baskale to Van the previous
morning. Seven people had already been detained
for attacking the police with stones and clubs as
the police took Kahraman's body from the
hospital; they were released by the court on the
condition that they voluntarily appear before the
court when needed.



3. Radikal/Milli Gazete: Kizilay's -Turkish Red
Crescent- humanitarian relief items destined for
Mosul and Kirkuk in Northern Iraq left Habur
border gate yesterday. Two Turkish
Parliamentarians accompanied the humanitarian
relief convoy. The Turkish Foreign Ministry (FM)
announced hundreds of trucks carrying
humanitarian relief goods had already been moved
to Iraq. The FM also announced aircraft and
health teams would be dispatched from Turkey to
Iraq for the treatment of some wounded persons.



4. Tercuman: Claudia Roth, the German
Parliamentarian from the Green Party, met with
officials from UNHCR, UNICEF, and WHO at the UN's
office in Diyarbakir. She said she was visiting
the region as someone in charge of the
humanitarian relief program. She also received
information regarding Iraq from the UN officials.
During her meeting with Diyarbakir's governor,
Roth expressed that she was happy because the
wave of migration everybody had feared did not
happen, and there is a calm situation in northern
Iraq. She also told the governor that
broadcasting in the mother tongue, particularly
in Kurdish, should be allowed.



5. Evrensel: On March 1, Zamanhan Kaya, Mehmet
Bakis, Bilal Yakis, and Suat Kucuk went to
Nusaybin in Mardin to sell detergents. They were
arrested by the village guards on the grounds
they would join the "mountain cadre of the
organization (PKK)." Later, the court released
them but they were never heard from again after
they were set free. Kaya's father claimed he
received a letter 15 days ago, undersigned by an
Ibrahim, stating his son and his three friends
were under arrest in Nusaybin and would be
released shortly. Kaya's father feared his son
and the others would be kidnapped, and therefore
applied to Diyarbakir State Security Court (SSC)
and Diyarbakir HRA to help find out whereabouts
of his son and his friends.



6. Evrensel: The President of the Physically
Handicapped Persons Association in Hakkari, Bedri
Calli, said he had 50 members who were victims of
randomly planted land mines during the 15-year
long clashes in the region. He said many people
were disabled by the explosion of land mines
while going out for a walk or walking from one
village to another. Calli also stated the area
must be cleared of land mines so people could
return to their villages.

7. Evrensel: On May 1, the Turkish Labor Day,
meetings will be held between the political
parties and labor unions in almost every town. In
Adana, the meeting will start at 11:00 a.m. at
Mimiar Sinan Open Air Theater and continue with a
march to the Ugur Mumcu Square by the railway
station. In Van, after a long absence, the
festivities will be held for the first time. The
May 1 meeting will also be held in Diyarbakir,
Malatya, Mardin, Tunceli, Mersin, Gaziantep,
Adiyaman, Batman, Elazig, and Sanliurfa provinces
in Adana's consular district.


ECONOMIC AND AGRICULTURAL DEVELOPMENTS



8. Milliyet/Bolge: Adana's Provincial Director
of Agriculture, Abdullah Keskin, announced that
"foot-and-mouth" disease had been diagnosed in
some of the livestock illegally brought to Adana
during the Sacrifice Holiday in mid-February.
Keskin added, as a precaution, the livestock
markets in Yuregir and Kozan districts were
closed down until further notice. Keskin said,
despite all precautions, mouth-and-foot disease
was determined in five quarters of Seyhan and
Yuregir districts because of unregistered
livestock and the unauthorized movement of
livestock. Pursuant to this issue, the Director
of Provincial Animal Health Section, Enver Ozbek,
said, they launched an inoculation campaign that
began on March 01 and would last until May 15.
They have already given shots to 56,804 animals
in the province.
HOLTZ