Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
03ADANA91
2003-03-31 17:01:00
UNCLASSIFIED
Consulate Adana
Cable title:
SOUTHEAST TURKEY PRESS SUMMARY,
how-toThis record is a partial extract of the original cable. The full text of the original cable is not available.
UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 ADANA 0091
SIPDIS
E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PREL PINS PGOV PHUM TU IZ ADANA
SUBJECT: SOUTHEAST TURKEY PRESS SUMMARY,
MARCH 31, 2003
UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 ADANA 0091
SIPDIS
E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PREL PINS PGOV PHUM TU IZ ADANA
SUBJECT: SOUTHEAST TURKEY PRESS SUMMARY,
MARCH 31, 2003
1. This is the Southeastern Turkey press summary
for March 31, 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.
2. Hurriyet/Tercuman/Radikal/Dunya/Milliyet/
Evrensel/Bolge: Trucks carrying US military
equipment were stoned by a group of people in
Sanliurfa. The group dispersed after the police
came to the scene. The windshields of some trucks
were broken, and the convoy proceeded under
security escort. One week after evacuation of the
base in Nusaybin, the US evacuated its logistical
support center in the Organized Industrial Zone
in Kiziltepe of Mardin yesterday. Following the
loading of military equipment and vehicles on
trucks, the US soldiers left by buses from Mardin
to Incirlik AB.
3. Cumhuriyet: The US wants the coordination
cell to be established in Silopi to be
represented at the rank of a colonel. Turkish
officials are uncomfortable about the status of
the Kurds to be represented at the CC. Different
options are still under discussion. The US is
reluctant to sign any documents about the
coordination cell, and the Turkish side is still
not satisfied with verbal declarations by the US
about protecting Iraq's territorial integrity and
sharing the oil wealth of Iraq among all its
peoples. In response to the news that Kurds are
as close as 20 kilometers to Kirkuk, President
Bush's Special Envoy to Iraq, Zalmay Halilzad,
reminded his Turkish counterparts that "The Kurds
will not enter Mosul and Kirkuk. Should such a
thing happen, they will have spoiled the game. We
will prevent that even before you do."
4. Hurriyet: Armed US troops are taking very
stringent security measures at the airbase at the
Gaziantep airport, where 250 US military vehicles
and tons of equipment are stored. Turkish
soldiers provide security with armored vehicles
at the entrance of the airport.
5. Milliyet: The US is continuing to amass
military equipment and armored vehicles for
transport by aircraft into northern Iraq. As
Iraqi forces withdrew from Chamchamal toward
Kirkuk, a 30-kilometer-area was taken under
control by the Kurds. The PUK fighters positioned
around Kirkuk are waiting for US heavy armament
and armored vehicles to arrive for the offensive,
and are preparing measures against possible
looting in the region.
6. Turkiye/Cumhuriyet: Some 90 empty trucks that
belonged to the Turkish Armed Forces arrived in
Mardin and were subsequently dispatched to a tank
battalion in Midyat. The trucks are expected to
carry armored vehicles from Midyat to Silopi. It
is reported that Turkey will send armored
personnel carriers to northern Iraq and withdraw
its tanks and military vehicles from the Iraqi
border.
7. Turkiye: An alleged Hizbullah member, Huseyin
Celik, was arrested in Kavak hamlet of Ucyol
village in Hasankeyf township in Batman. He was
ordered held by the court.
8. Cumhuriyet: TIHAK, Turkish Human Rights
Institution, announced that 14,500 torture
incidents, 261 extra-judicial executions, 518
killings under detention, and 216 disappearances
under detention occurred in Turkey between 1990-
2002. According to TIHAK's data, 4,820 cases have
been opened against Turkey in the European Court
of Human Rights; Turkey lost 286 and won 12 of
the cases, 513 were resolved amicably. 107 cases
were not found acceptable by the court. TIHAK
President, Nevzat Helvaci, announced during its
4th Ordinary Convention that the torture issue in
Turkey had not been resolved yet. Although the
case alleging torture of young men from Manisa
was taken to the highest court in the country,
because of statue of limitations the perpetrators
would most likely escape accountability.
9. Hurriyet/Milliyet/Evrensel/Bolge/Cumhuriyet:
As a result of explosion in a two-story factory
producing yeast and additives for bakers in
Adana, eight people died and 13 others were
wounded. While bomb experts attributed the
explosion to chemical reactions, the security
director of Adana said they were taking into
account claims of a sabotage as well.
HOLTZ
SIPDIS
E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PREL PINS PGOV PHUM TU IZ ADANA
SUBJECT: SOUTHEAST TURKEY PRESS SUMMARY,
MARCH 31, 2003
1. This is the Southeastern Turkey press summary
for March 31, 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.
2. Hurriyet/Tercuman/Radikal/Dunya/Milliyet/
Evrensel/Bolge: Trucks carrying US military
equipment were stoned by a group of people in
Sanliurfa. The group dispersed after the police
came to the scene. The windshields of some trucks
were broken, and the convoy proceeded under
security escort. One week after evacuation of the
base in Nusaybin, the US evacuated its logistical
support center in the Organized Industrial Zone
in Kiziltepe of Mardin yesterday. Following the
loading of military equipment and vehicles on
trucks, the US soldiers left by buses from Mardin
to Incirlik AB.
3. Cumhuriyet: The US wants the coordination
cell to be established in Silopi to be
represented at the rank of a colonel. Turkish
officials are uncomfortable about the status of
the Kurds to be represented at the CC. Different
options are still under discussion. The US is
reluctant to sign any documents about the
coordination cell, and the Turkish side is still
not satisfied with verbal declarations by the US
about protecting Iraq's territorial integrity and
sharing the oil wealth of Iraq among all its
peoples. In response to the news that Kurds are
as close as 20 kilometers to Kirkuk, President
Bush's Special Envoy to Iraq, Zalmay Halilzad,
reminded his Turkish counterparts that "The Kurds
will not enter Mosul and Kirkuk. Should such a
thing happen, they will have spoiled the game. We
will prevent that even before you do."
4. Hurriyet: Armed US troops are taking very
stringent security measures at the airbase at the
Gaziantep airport, where 250 US military vehicles
and tons of equipment are stored. Turkish
soldiers provide security with armored vehicles
at the entrance of the airport.
5. Milliyet: The US is continuing to amass
military equipment and armored vehicles for
transport by aircraft into northern Iraq. As
Iraqi forces withdrew from Chamchamal toward
Kirkuk, a 30-kilometer-area was taken under
control by the Kurds. The PUK fighters positioned
around Kirkuk are waiting for US heavy armament
and armored vehicles to arrive for the offensive,
and are preparing measures against possible
looting in the region.
6. Turkiye/Cumhuriyet: Some 90 empty trucks that
belonged to the Turkish Armed Forces arrived in
Mardin and were subsequently dispatched to a tank
battalion in Midyat. The trucks are expected to
carry armored vehicles from Midyat to Silopi. It
is reported that Turkey will send armored
personnel carriers to northern Iraq and withdraw
its tanks and military vehicles from the Iraqi
border.
7. Turkiye: An alleged Hizbullah member, Huseyin
Celik, was arrested in Kavak hamlet of Ucyol
village in Hasankeyf township in Batman. He was
ordered held by the court.
8. Cumhuriyet: TIHAK, Turkish Human Rights
Institution, announced that 14,500 torture
incidents, 261 extra-judicial executions, 518
killings under detention, and 216 disappearances
under detention occurred in Turkey between 1990-
2002. According to TIHAK's data, 4,820 cases have
been opened against Turkey in the European Court
of Human Rights; Turkey lost 286 and won 12 of
the cases, 513 were resolved amicably. 107 cases
were not found acceptable by the court. TIHAK
President, Nevzat Helvaci, announced during its
4th Ordinary Convention that the torture issue in
Turkey had not been resolved yet. Although the
case alleging torture of young men from Manisa
was taken to the highest court in the country,
because of statue of limitations the perpetrators
would most likely escape accountability.
9. Hurriyet/Milliyet/Evrensel/Bolge/Cumhuriyet:
As a result of explosion in a two-story factory
producing yeast and additives for bakers in
Adana, eight people died and 13 others were
wounded. While bomb experts attributed the
explosion to chemical reactions, the security
director of Adana said they were taking into
account claims of a sabotage as well.
HOLTZ