SOUTHEAST TURKEY PRESS SUMMARY,

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 ADANA 0259 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PREL PINS PGOV PHUM TU IZ ADANA SUBJECT: SOUTHEAST TURKEY PRESS SUMMARY, OCTOBER 4-6, 2003 ¶1. This is the Southeastern Turkey press summary for October 4-6, 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, Milli Gazete / Four people attempted to open the storage door of the Isbank Karsiyaka branch in Adana, but escaped when they heard the police sirens. ¶3. Ozgur Gundem / The case of the Ortakoy villagers in Sirnak who attempted to leave their villages and walked towards the Iraqi border is continuing. Villagers accuse the Jandarma Commander of the village of torture. Allegedly a Jandarma soldier also accused his commander of torturing him as he fell asleep during his duty. Reyhan Yalcindag, head of the Human Rights Organization in Turkey, announced that this incident is a sign of the danger villagers are facing at the moment. ¶4. Ozgur Gundem / Kurdish youth groups in Diyarbakir, Siirt and other parts of Turkey organized meetings and parades for "Democratic Solutions for Peace." Four people were detained due to the booklets they distributed during the meetings. ¶5. Ozgur Gundem / A relative of a prisoner accused Bitlis Prison officials of punishing prisoners by placing them in solitary confinement because they haven't accepted the new "reintegration law". Arafat Ozlu, a relative of another prisoner from Bitlis prison, stated that the officials did not even accept mail for his brother in the prison. ¶6. Ozgur Gundem / Human Rights Organization and Immigrants' Association (GOC-DER) stated in their joint report that before villagers return to their villages in Bogazkoy, Dicle, Van province, all the basic needs of the villages, like drinking water, schooling, health services, electricity and telephone, should be supplied. ¶7. Milliyet / One hundred and seven Armenians from different parts of Turkey attended the worship service in Akdamar Church, Van province. The group visited the churches in Gevas, Akdamar Island, and Carpanak Island. ¶8. Cumhuriyet, Turkiye, Ozgur Gundem / Attorney Yesim Dogan Kar sued 405 Jandarma personnel in Mardin for raping a girl known by the initials "S.E." in 1993. S.E had been detained in the Caykoy Jandarma Station during the time of the alleged incident. ¶9. Ekspres, Bolge / Sergeant John Michael from Incirlik Base, Adana was fined for driving while under the influence of alcohol and disturbing the peace with loud music during his drive. Michael was also fined for driving a car with no emission check. Michael's driving license was detained for 6 months. ¶10. Evrensel / Diyarbakir Education Union (Egitim-Sen),during its October 5 World Teacher's Day press conference, made announcements in Turkish and Kurdish. ¶11. Turkiye / Alleged PKK/KADEK members Hursit Aslan and Kasim Abi were detained by Hatay Jandarma Forces in Belen, Hatay. Aslan and Abi had not applied for the "reintegration law". ¶12. Turkiye / Fourteen-year-old Mustafa Barut was injured after playing with the landmine he found in Genc, Bingol province. ¶13. Ekspres, Turkiye / Adana Education Officials called on all businessmen and foreign embassies in Turkey to help the schools in Adana. Three people from the USA and Japan applied to Turkish officials for help in the construction of new schools and laboratories. ¶14. Ozgur Gundem / The Democratic People's Party (DEHAP) Women's Branches organized meetings for "Peace" in Diyarbakir. DEHAP women spoke of the importance of Abdullah Ocalan's health conditions in prison. ¶15. Ozgur Gundem / In Malatya prison, 44 KADEK members reportedly were prevented from seeing their visitors since they were on a 2-day hunger strike to protest to prison management about an undisclosed grievance. TOURISM and CULTURE ¶16. Turkiye / Two American authors, Angie Breener and Joy Ttocke, came to Mardin to collect information for their book about Mardin. REID