SOUTHEAST TURKEY PRESS SUMMARY

UNCLAS ADANA 0251 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PREL PINS PGOV PHUM TU IZ ADANA SUBJECT: SOUTHEAST TURKEY PRESS SUMMARY SEPTEMBER 25, 2003 ¶1. This is the Southeastern Turkey press summary for September 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. Zaman, Milli Gazete, Turkiye / In Divrigi and Imranli, Sivas province, a 4.8 earthquake shook the area. No loss of life has been reported. ¶3. Zaman, Bolge / The imprisonment verdict of Adana Mayor Aytac Durak for misusing his position in employing staff has been changed into a fine. ¶4. Bolge, Evrensel, Turkiye, Sabah Guney / Adana Anti-War Platform is organizing a meeting on September 27. The group is known to be against sending Turkish troops to Iraq. ¶5. Bolge, Evrensel / W. Scott Reid, US Consul in Adana, visited Diyarbakir with Ken Kero, from the State Department and Philip Kaplan, from the American Embassy. The group visited the Governor and Mayor of Diyarbakir. ¶6. Sabah Guney / Kristin L. Rebinson, a 22-year- old American citizen from Incirlik, claimed that Mustafa Katar, a merchant in Incirlik village, sexually assaulted her in his shop. ¶7. Sabah Guney / Dr. Oguz Zafer Karahan in Iskenderun announced that there are leishmania cases in Arsuz, Iskenderun. Karahan also stated that a US professor visited the area to investigate possible solutions. ECONOMIC ¶8. Turkiye / Halil Sahin, head of the Iskenderun Chamber of Commerce and Industry, announced that Iskenderun received approximately 10,000 tons of war scrap metal from Iraq. Sahin stated that there are many scrap metal iron-processing factories in Iskenderun and these factories process the scrap metal. REID