SOUTHEAST TURKEY PRESS SUMMARY,

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 ADANA 0152 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PREL PINS PGOV PHUM TU IZ ADANA SUBJECT: SOUTHEAST TURKEY PRESS SUMMARY, JUNE 05, 2003 ¶1. This is the Southeastern Turkey press summary for June 05, 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: A political party, under the name of "Democratic Republic Party," will be founded to substitute DEHAP. The chief prosecutor of the Supreme Court had sued DEHAP and demanded its permanent closure some time ago. The case is still pending. Taking into account the likely closure of DEHAP prior to local elections in 2004, former HADEP members had made preparations for founding a new party under Ahmet Turan Demir's leadership. Demir was one of HADEP's former chairs. The petition for founding the new party will be submitted to the Interior Ministry tomorrow. Demir said the new party would follow a democratic socialist line. ¶3. Sabah: A Republican Peoples Party (CHP) parliamentarian from Diyarbakir, Muhsin Kocyigit, in a resolution to the Grand National Assembly, asked the Interior Minister if beating and placing human excrement on the faces of two students in Hani (Diyarbakir) was true or not. It is alleged that the police detained, beat, and placed human excrement on the faces of two students for making insinuating remarks in Kurdish to their female teacher at Children's Day celebrations on April 23. ¶4. Evrensel/Milliyet: The Diyarbakir governorate investigating the (above) case decided that there was no solid evidence that the policemen in Hani had beaten, toured and placed excrement on the faces of students. The governorate dropped bringing the policemen to trial, and denied all the students' allegations. Based upon the governorate's decision, the office of the Chief Public Prosecutor in Hani also announced that there was no evidence that required bringing public charges against the policemen. At a court hearing in Hani, the teacher, who had sued the students, withdrew her complaint. The court adjourned the case to an unspecified date to listen to the students' account of the event. The students attorney, Zulfu Dundar, sued the policemen, Hasan Sezgin and Ergun Sahin. ¶5. Evrensel: At a press meeting in Human Rights Association's Chapter in Sanliurfa, the Urfa Democracy Platform, announced that the "repent law" proposed for the Kurdish issue; the personnel law damaging reconciliation at job sites; the law opening the path for depriving laborers of unions; the local administration law; and the isolation applied in F-type prisons; had increased tension in society. The spokeswoman for the platform, Gulay Koca, proposed declaring a general amnesty for installing peace and order in lieu of the repent law under consideration. DEHAP's provincial office in Diyarbakir launched a three-day signature campaign demanding a general amnesty. DEHAP's Provincial Chairman, Firat Anli, asked all segments of society to be sensitive about resolving the Kurdish issue, and to participate in the signature campaign. ¶6. Hurriyet/Milliyet: Sergeant Matthias Arnt, 24, was stabbed to death at Incirlik AFB on May ¶27. It is suspected that his wife, Latasha Arnt, had killed the sergeant. Latasha was taken to the US for trial in California. The Military Police are taking care of the crime. In the meantime, FBI detectives began an investigation. Sergeant Arnt's body was taken to Germany for an autopsy. ¶7. Turkiye: The Provincial National Education Director of Hakkari, Durmus Ozdemir, said he needed 706 teachers in the province in order to fill in the gap. The national Education Ministry announced it would hire twenty thousand teachers nationwide. Ozdemir said around four hundred of one thousand four hundred sixty teachers currently employed in Hakkari would be transferred elsewhere. He added that he needed at least 650 or 700 teachers in assorted branches, and 150 or 200 classroom teachers. ECONOMIC AND AGRICULTURAL DEVELOPMENTS ¶8. Dunya: The General Director of the Iron and Steel Plant in Iskenderun (Isdemir),Atamer Giyici, said they took the first step for modernization and transformation at the plant. Giyici said they would invest USD 300 million for bringing fine casting technology, and formally invited companies interested in the projects through the Financial Times and the Official Gazette on May 16 to bid, and would receive bids until the first week of June. Giyici said USD 700 million was required in order to eliminate the disorder in long and flat iron production in Turkey. The plant would double production after the investment, and added that Isdemir had made a profit of USD 2 million during the first quarter of 2003, and aimed to increase its annual capacity to 2.1 million tons. HOLTZ