SOUTHEAST TURKEY PRESS SUMMARY,

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 ADANA 0144 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PREL PINS PGOV PHUM TU IZ ADANA SUBJECT: SOUTHEAST TURKEY PRESS SUMMARY, MAY 23, 2003 ¶1. This is the Southeastern Turkey press summary for May 23, 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. Cumhuriyet: Before he was killed, the former Security Director of Diyarbakir, Gaffar Okkan, had disclosed the names of 26 Hizbullah members. Hizbullah's leader in Turkey, Mehmet Besir Varol, AKA "Melle Mizgin," was arrested in Konya on May ¶17. Mehmet Cicek and Nurullah Gulsever who were also arrested have been identified as important militants in the organization. The Hizbullah militants were taken to Diyarbakir for interrogation. So far, eight of the terrorists on Okkan's list have been arrested while two others were killed some time ago. The militants were ordered held by Diyarbakir State Security Court. Cicek and Gulsever are accused of involvement in 18 incidents. ¶3. Turkiye: A meeting dubbed "Family Planning and Methods to Prevent Pregnancy" was organized at Cukurova University (CU),by CU's Women's Problems Research and Application Center. Vice Rector Prof. Dr. Nebahat Sari said a major portion of women are affected by health problems in the country. Sari added that two million women become pregnant in Turkey annually, and of 450 thousand miscarriages, 280 thousand are intentional. She said approximately 30 thousand children were stillborn, and more than 700 mothers a year lose their lives due to various health problems. ¶4. Bolge: At a City Council meeting, the Governor of Adana, Kemal Onal, said the government had built houses for the earthquake victims in Adana in 1994. Governor Onal said two thousand families persisted living in the damaged and inhabitable houses rather than moving to the government-built houses. The governor added that those families would forcibly be evacuated by the security forces from those unsafe houses. ¶5. Milliyet: Because of the authority vested in the OHAL Governor (State of Extraordinary Rule Governor),the administrative decisions made by his office could not be reversed. Such a prevention in the provinces under the OHAL has been found to be against the law. The OHAL Governor wanted to transfer a teacher in Diyarbakir for his activities. The teacher filed a petition with the Administrative Court for the reversal of the action, but the court dismissed the case. The teacher appealed the case to the Supreme Court which demanded the reversal of the action and submitted the file to the Constitutional Court. While five members of the Constitutional Court decided against the reversal, 6 decided in favor of the decision. ECONOMIC AND AGRICULTURAL DEVELOPMENTS ¶6. Bolge: After McDonalds unilaterally decided to cancel its contracts in Turkey, the owner of the McDonalds outlet in Mersin, Mustafa Yuksel, put a pad lock on his facility with a ceremony to protest the decision. Yuksel said he had spent USD 450 thousand for the McDonalds, and had signed a contract for 20 years. Yuksel claimed that McDonalds' unilateral decision caused 19 of 42 McDonalds outlet owners in Turkey to go bankrupt. Yuksel said, on a monthly basis, he paid 18 percent of his gross for rent, 5 percent for advertisement, and 5 percent for use of the brand name in addition to $45 thousand he had initially paid for franchising. Yuksel said he was offered only $75 thousand for closing down his facility where 25 people were employed. HOLTZ