SOUTHEAST TURKEY PRESS SUMMARY,

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 ADANA 0130 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PREL PINS PGOV PHUM TU IZ ADANA SUBJECT: SOUTHEAST TURKEY PRESS SUMMARY, MAY 6, 2003 ¶1. This is the Southeastern Turkey press summary for May 6, 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. Turkiye: Although the US had announced the PKK/KADEK as a "terrorist organization," the US gave permission to the PKK/KADEK to open an office in Mosul. It is believed that the US has been disregarding Turkey's warnings about the PKK because, after the collapse of Saddam's regime, the US turned a blind eye to the PKK's seizure of some of Iraq's weapons in northern Iraq. The PKK has expedited its reorganization in northern Iraq and has opened many offices throughout the country, including Mosul. It is further claimed that the US is trying to take its revenge from Turkey because of the TGNA's failure to endorse the motion that would have allowed the deployment of US troops in Turkey. It is also reported that the PKK has been making serious preparations to infiltrate into Turkey again. ¶3. Evrensel: In order to protest the shortening of the time allowed for Abdullah Ocalan to meet with his family and lawyers at Imrali prison, all KADEK defendants in Turkey will boycott their weekly meetings with their families. Making an announcement on behalf of all KADEK inmates, Nasrullah Kuran, said shortening Abdullah Ocalan's meeting with his family and lawyers to 15 and 45 minutes respectively was inhumane and illegal, and such applications are intended to undermine the Kurdish-Turkish brotherhood. ¶4. Sabah: Sabah paper claimed that, according to two documents seized from Saddam's Secret Intelligence Organization's (SIO) archives in Baghdad, the PKK and Osman Ocalan had established ties with the SIO. The first letter, written by Osman Ocalan, gave information about former Prime Minister Ecevit's visit to the US in January 2002, and suggested persuading the Prime Minister about the Northern Front. The second document suggested taking advantage of the PKK for contacting the DHKP-C (Revolutionist Peoples Communist Party-Front) which wanted to attack Incirlik AFB in Adana. The documents indicated the presence of a liaison between the PKK and Iraq's Intelligence Organization. ¶5. Turkiye: The President of the Executive Board of Gaziantep-based Sanko Holding, Abdulkadir Konukoglu, gave a one-million USD check to Prime Minister Erdogan in order to address the wounds of the earthquake in Bingol. The money was raised in a campaign in Gaziantep to help the earthquake victims. ¶6. Turkiye/Milli Gazete/Milliyet: The Chief Public Prosecutor of Bingol, M. Ali Erbay, said an investigation was started against the contractors, comptrollers, and project designers of the buildings that collapsed in the earthquake. Erbay said a warrant of arrest had been issued for the contractor of the boarding school that collapsed killing 84 students. The contractor would face between one to six years of imprisonment for failure of his obligations. In a recent cabinet meeting, the government decided to build 2,566 houses for the earthquake victims by the end of the year. The government blamed the PKK for the earthquake-victims' demonstrations in Bingol. After the quake in Bingol, the boarding schools in the region are being inspected. Because of cracks in the buildings, 500 students in the boarding schools in Batman were sent to other schools. ¶7. Turkiye: The sound-bomb that exploded in front of the Finance-Investment building on Inonu Street in Mersin at 22:30 last night caused material damages. No organization has claimed responsibility. According to police officials, an investigation is underway. ¶8. Cumhuriyet: In his address at DEHAP's Provincial Convention in Diyarbakir, DEHAP's Chair, Mehmet Abbasoglu, claimed that his party did not compete with other political parties in the November 3 General Elections; rather, DEHAP competed with the public prosecutors. Abbasoglu stated, "As a political party founded five years ago, the government did not give us any financial support, and was trying to close us down permanently." Abbasoglu added that the Prime Minister did not visit the Bingol Municipality after the earthquake to express his condolences to the people, and, therefore, the Prime Minister should apologize to the inhabitants of Bingol. Abbasoglu claimed that isolation was being imposed on Abdullah Ocalan at Imrali Island, and it was a shame that people from Turkey could not go to the island. ¶9. Bolge: Because of the rumors that DYP's Adana Provincial Chairman, Yavuz Tekeli, and Seyhan District Chairman, Mustafa Tumer, will be terminated by the party's headquarters, both chairmen will resign from their parties today. It is also reported that DYP's chairmen for Yuregir and Kozan districts have also been making preparations for their resignations. ECONOMIC AND AGRICULTURAL DEVELOPMENTS ¶10. Tercuman: The Mardin Cement Plant signed an agreement with Syria to export cement to that country. According to the first phase of the agreement, 250 thousand tons of cement will be exported. The director of the plant, Ilker Guner, announced that they already had achieved their export goals for 2003, and they were now working on their export objectives in 2004. He added that they would make USD 11 million from the exports to Syria. ¶11. Radikal: After four months of closure, the Habur Border Gate between Turkey and Iraq was reopened to transit transportation as of yesterday. The people in Silopi and Cizre are extremely happy with the reopening of the gate because the gate is perceived to be the artery of the economy in the region. HOLTZ