SOUTHEAST TURKEY PRESS SUMMARY,

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 ADANA 0141 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PREL PINS PGOV PHUM TU IZ ADANA SUBJECT: SOUTHEAST TURKEY PRESS SUMMARY, MAY 22, 2003 ¶1. This is the Southeastern Turkey press summary for May 22, 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/Cumhuriyet/Evrensel/Milli Gazete/Turkiye/Milliyet/Hurriyet: As a result of clashes between the security forces and members of illegal organizations in Tunceli, two privates were martyred while four organization members were killed. A group of PKK/KADEK militants firing on the soldiers near rural Atacinar village in Tunceli the previous night killed two soldiers. Reinforcement units dispatched to the scene encircled the terrorist group, but clashes continued throughout the night. Officials said, in the region, there were around 30 PKK/KADEK militants who had infiltrated into Turkey some time ago. During clashes between security forces and a group of TKP/ML (Turkish Communist Party/Marksist Leninist Faction) and TIKKO (Turkish Workers Villagers Communist Army) members, four members of the illegal organization were killed. ¶3. Evrensel: Based on the permission from the governor to return to their village, approximately 500 people from Yesiloz village in Sirnak left Van, Hakkari, and Cizre on May 16 for their village. The families were not allowed to go to the village by the Sub-govern orate and Jandarma Command on grounds that the village lacked the necessary infrastructure. The villagers are being kept under military supervision in an open space in the Village Services Department's workshop. The villagers' request for tents has not been met. Villagers claimed the problem stemmed from the Chief Village Guard and Tribal Leader, Kemal Aslan, having denounced the villagers to the Brigade Command for allegedly assisting the PKK some time ago. ¶4. Evrensel: Emin Ete, who was apprehended at his store in Siirt on April 19, filed a petition with the local public prosecutor claiming he was taken by police to a field where he was exposed to physical and psychological pressure. Ete also claimed the police cut his fingers with a knife. The court dropped the charges against the policemen Sinasi Cetin and Senol Kutal, who are stationed at the Anti-terror Department of Siirt Security Directorate, on the grounds that there was no evidence that police had wounded the accuser. Opposing the court's decision, Ete said police seized the physical report he obtained after he had been wounded, and that he would appeal the case. ¶5. Hurriyet: The 6th Harmonization Package with the EU, which will be submitted to the Prime Ministry by the Ministry of Justice today, makes it permissible to name children in Kurdish. The ban in the Political Parties Law in regard to campaigning in languages other than Turkish will also be lifted, and amendments will be made in the RTUK Law (Radio Television High Council). Broadcasting on public and private TV channels and radio stations of different languages and accents the Turkish citizens use in their daily lives will be permitted. ¶6. Turkiye: Police teams from Adana arrested eleven Somali nationals in a bus at the Adana Bus Terminal. The Somalis had illegally crossed into Turkey from Hatay at the Turkish-Syrian border, and were planning to go to Italy. The Somalis will be brought before the court for "coming into the country through illegal ways." ¶7. Milliyet: Teams from the Organized Crimes Department of the Adana Security Directorate arrested a Tarik Cakar, the so called leader of "Cakarlar," a gang involved in theft, pick- pocketing and extorting money from shopkeepers in various quarters of the town. It is claimed that Cakar was involved in four murder cases. ¶8. Turkiye/Milliyet/Hurriyet: The Government and UNICEF's joint project "The Child and Family Education Program" was started in Mersin today. Ankara, Istanbul, Izmir, Diyarbakir, Samsun, and Mersin have been picked as pilot cities for the program. Regarding the program which aims to end domestic violence, the Deputy Governor of Mersin, Ibrahim Seker, said three thousand families would be educated throughout the province within the framework of the program. HOLTZ