SOUTHEAST TURKEY PRESS SUMMARY

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 ADANA 0218 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PREL PINS PGOV PHUM TU IZ ADANA SUBJECT: SOUTHEAST TURKEY PRESS SUMMARY AUGUST 16-17-18, 2003 ¶1. This is the Southeastern Turkey press summary for August 16-17-18, 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 / Syrian citizen, Abdulkadir Alhaj Jouma is married to a Turkish woman in Gaziantep for eight years but is not allowed to get residence permit from the Turkish Government. ¶3. Turkiye, Bolge / In Ergani/Diyarbakir villagers paniced with the news of anthrax. Bozyer village in the area is under quarantine. Health authorities sent medical aid to the area. ¶4. Turkiye, Cumhuriyet / Two Syrians and a Turkish citizen were arrested in Gaziantep with about 47kg of marijuana they brought from Syria. The total value of the marijuana is about 100 billion TL. ¶5. Sabah Guney / Gendarme Forces in Hatay found 10 kg of heroin in a truck and arrested Huseyin Turk for intending to sell the heroine. ¶6. Hurriyet / Security forces found 58 kg of heroin in Van. Heroin was hidden in a truck coming from Yuksekova/Hakkari. ¶7. Turkiye, Cumhuriyet / At a meeting of Medical doctors in Antakya; Fusun Sayek, Head of the Medical Doctors' Association in Turkey, announced that doctors will be protesting against the government in October due to problems they experience. ¶8. Turkiye / Osman Uluc was elected as the new head of CHP in Sanliurfa. ¶9. Bolge / Mustafa Koseoglu and Necmettin Atay were rechosen as the heads of CHP in Seyhan and Yuregir. ¶10. Zaman, Bolge / Cem Uzan, Head of Genc Party, visited Adana at the weekend to attend his party's annual meeting. The local people didn't welcome Uzan. The crowds protested his visit to Adana by throwing eggs at him. ¶11. Zaman / Burak Varol, broke the windows of Imarbank in Adana to protest against their unethical system in banking. Varol's father had about 15 billion TL investment money at the bank. (Editor's Note: This is the bank associated with Uzan family scandals). ¶12. Evrensel / Kurdish mothers in Diyarbakir wanted a general amnesty instead of the new "Home Return" law. ¶13. Bolge / Extraordinary precaution was taken in Southeast area at the weekend due to the possible August 15 attacks. AUGUS 16-17-18, 2003 ¶14. Turkiye / In Reyhanli/Hatay 27 of the 31 village heads joined in AKP. ECONOMIC ¶15. Turkiye / The success in the first crops of rice in Sanliurfa is going to help with the coming years' planning for farming. TOURISM/CULTURE ¶16. Tercuman/ In Van digging for the remnants of The Urartian capital "Tuspa" is in process for 13 years. Professor Oktay Belli is leading the project. Urartians used to live in the region in 7-8 BC. ¶17. Turkiye / Sanliurfa Governor applied UNESCO to include Sanliurfa in the list of "protection needed cultural areas". HART