SOUTHEAST TURKEY PRESS SUMMARY

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 ADANA 0202 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PREL PINS PGOV PHUM TU IZ ADANA SUBJECT: SOUTHEAST TURKEY PRESS SUMMARY JULY 25, 2003 ¶1. This is the Southeastern Turkey press summary for July 25, 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 / An earthquake of 4.0 has been reported in Kadirli/Osmaniye on July 25 at 12.34 am. No damage or loss of life has been reported. ¶3. Turkiye, Bolge / Two young men found eight fetuses at the Cukurova University refuse area. Fetuses were in plastic buckets, which belong to Cukurova University Pathology Departmen, and their internal organs had been emved . uriye Blge/ ecuit foce fond1 mllion oot hepinGen/Bngo. he oos ae sidto elng KKKADK andthy ae gow tomae marijuana. Officials say tha their value is more than $700,000. ¶5. Turkiye, Milli Gazete / Security officials found about 21,000 packets of cigarettes and 3,220 liters of diesel which were illegally brought in Turkey from Iran. Two people are under police custody for questioning. ¶6. Dunya / The land in Turkish-Syrian border will be used for farming after the clearance of the landmines. Agriculture officials say that it would be great for the economy because the area is flat, has no water problems and it's been resting for a long time, which is good for farming. ¶7. Bolge, Gunaydin, Hurriyet / Pharmacists in Adana sent faxes to the Prime Minister to claim their payments from the government. (Editor's Note: The government owes back payments for prescriptions filled under social security programs). ¶8. Bolge / Gaziantep Security officials found $2,500 in counterfeit 100 USD notes. A man is still being questioned. Police are looking for two men related to the case. ¶9. Gunaydin, Hurriyet / There were two ceremonies at Ataturk Park yesterday. The celebration of the 95th anniversary of the free press and the celebration of the anniversary of Lausanne Peace Agreement. NGOs and some kindergartens attended the ceremonies. ¶10. Gunaydin / Esat Bala, the owner of the Bala shoe factory announced that they are exporting shoes to Greece, Israel, Jordan and Dubai. "This will create more jobs in the shoe factories and workshops", Bala stated. ¶11. Milli Gazete / Government Health Authorities in Siirt started a new project for fighting against Malaria in the region. Fifty Malaria technicians are visiting all the villages in the region and taking blood samples. Out of 6,300 blood samples 18 malaria cases were discovered. Emre Omur, Head of the Siirt Health Authority stated that their aim is to completely get rid of malaria in the region. ¶12. Milli Gazete / Fifty caves in Hasankeyf/ Batman are going to be used as apart hotels. ¶13. Evrensel / NGOs, political parties and people walked in Diyarbakir to announce that US Government can not help with the Kurdish problem. Serdal Savas, the spokesman of Diyarbakir Democracy Platform stated that government's policy is to leave the Kurdish problem with the United States Government. "This is very dangerous" Savas added. ¶14. Hurriyet / Necati Hancerlioglu, Head of TEDAS (Turkish Electric Distribution Company) officially reported to the court that he has been threatened. In his report he says one of the rich clients is talking about finding a person to kill him for 5 billion TL. Hancerlioglu is known to be very effective in decreasing the number of the unauthorized electric users in Mersin. (The unauthorized electric using rate was %59 when he took over the job in March ¶2003. Now it is %16). A hired assassin before had killed Hasan Balikci, assistant manager of TEDAS in Urfa, who was known to fight against unauthorized usage of electricity. HART