SOUTHEAST TURKEY PRESS SUMMARY,

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 ADANA 0167 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PREL PINS PGOV PHUM TU IZ ADANA SUBJECT: SOUTHEAST TURKEY PRESS SUMMARY, JUNE 27, 2003 ¶1. This is the Southeastern Turkey press summary for June 27, 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, Bolge, / Prime Minister Erdogan is visiting Adana on June 29. He will be attending his party's annual convention. Mr. Abdullah Dogru seems to be the strongest candidate for the head of AK Party Adana Branch heading into the convention. ¶3. Bolge, / Thirty children in Sanliurfa have been trained as assistant tourist guides by the government and security forces to help the tourists in the area. The tourists welcome the action. ¶4. Hurriyet, / The 13-year-old girl from Mardin who was regularly raped by 28 people (some of these were government officials) during a 7-month time period wrote a letter to the Minister of Justice and asked for justice. All but one of the government officials had been found "not guilty" and returned to their jobs. The girl is in Istanbul now, under the supervision of psychologists and social workers. ¶5. Milliyet, / In Ceyhan, about 2000 people still live in houses which were damaged after the 1998 earthquake. Governor Kemal Onal said these houses would be evacuated by force, if necessary. The people do not want to leave their homes. ¶6. Evrensel, / Seventy graduates from the German Language Teaching Department of Cukurova University insisted upon their rights. They visited the local branch of CHP and gave them a complaint letter. This year graduates of this department are not being appointed as German teachers by the government. (Editor's comment: Graduates of the language teaching departments get appointed to their teaching jobs every September.) ¶7. Evrensel, / In Batman, A man was not allowed to give the name "Lorina Dila" to his little girl. It means "The Lullaby of the Soul" in Kurdish. ¶8. Milli Gazete, / A five-month-old baby died at Adana Numune Hospital. The father claims it was the fault of the doctor who refused to treat his baby at the hospital because the family did not pay him money by going to his private clinic. The doctor denies the charges. ECONOMIC ¶9. Dunya, / The first four-star hotel in Elazig "The Marathon Hotel" is opening in August. Five million dollars have been spent in the building of the hotel. ¶10. Dunya, / Gaziantep Chamber of Commerce is organizing an "information day" for local investors on July 3. Turkish and foreign specialists will inform the investors about marketing, business capital and human resources. HOLTZ