SOUTHEAST TURKEY PRESS SUMMARY,

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 ADANA 0002 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PREL PINS PGOV PHUM TU IZ ADANA SUBJECT: SOUTHEAST TURKEY PRESS SUMMARY, JANUARY 3, 2003 ¶1. This is the Southeastern Turkey press summary for January 3, 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. POLITICS, SECURITY, HUMAN RIGHTS -------------- ¶2. CONTINUED ANTI-WAR PROTESTS FROM VARIOUS AREAS OF SE Radikal reported continued reactions against the possible U.S. operation against Iraq. Representatives of leftist parties gathered at the port of Mersin, where the paper says construction projects are underway to prepare it for use in such an operation, and staged a protest demonstration. Centennial University (Van) students held a march on the university campus, shouting slogans critical of war and the Higher Education Council (YOK). In Sanliurfa's Ataturk Boulevard, NGO representatives displayed banners condemning war. Turkiye reported Nihat Demir of Elazig's Mis Holding Company said it was meaningless to jump into a war in the Middle East which is hard to know when it will end, for the sake of the U.S. ¶3. ALLEGATIONS OF AGGRAVATED PRISON CONDITIONS (Bolge) Suleyman Ozkan, President of the Adana chapter of the Inmates' Families Assistance and Solidarity Association, claimed prison conditions had worsened. Ozkan announced that inmates and prisoners in Adana's Kurkculer and Ceyhan Prisons had launched hunger strikes in protest of these conditions. Ozkan complained about maltreatment and health conditions in prisons, and pressure on visitors. A group of families criticized prison conditions and warned they would burn themselves in front of the prisons unless conditions were straightened. ¶4. VILLAGE GUARDS OPEN FIRE ON THEIR ENEMIES (Evrensel) Five Siverek (Sanliurfa) village guards reportedly opened fire on two brothers, Esat and Mehmet Sakin, traveling in their own vehicle from Sanliurfa's Hebana village to the township of Viransehir (Sanliurfa),seriously wounding Esat. With two bullets in his left leg, Esat was taken to the Sanliurfa State Hospital and then to Gaziantep's private Sani Konukoglu Hospital. Based on Mehmet's testimony, the five village guards were arrested and then released following interrogation at the local Jandarma command. Mehmet alleged that the village guards had been searching for an opportunity to take revenge because of a blood feud between them. ¶5. BITLIS SCHOOLS RE-OPEN (Milli Gazete) Bitlis Provincial National Education Director Harun Topaloglu said many Bitlis schools, which had previously closed due to terror incidents, had resumed operations. According to Topaloglu, all village schools have also re-opened following the restoration of an environment of peace in the region. ECONOMIC AND AGRICULTURAL DEVELOPMENTS -------------- ¶6. BATMAN REFINERY MOST PROFITABLE OF TURKISH REFINERIES (Cumhuriyet) The Turkish Petroleum Refineries Corporation (TUPRAS) Batman Refinery processed 1.5 million tons of crude oil over the past year. The Batman Refinery is reported to be the most profitable of Turkey's four refineries. HOLTZ