SOUTHEAST TURKEY PRESS SUMMARY,

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 ADANA 0098 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PREL PINS PGOV PHUM TU IZ ADANA SUBJECT: SOUTHEAST TURKEY PRESS SUMMARY, APRIL 7, 2003 ¶1. This is the Southeastern Turkey press summary for April 7, 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. Milliyet/Bolge/Cumhuriyet: Two Patriot missile batteries and military vehicles, including Hummer jeeps, were unloaded at Iskenderun port and moved to yesterday. It is not definite yet where the Patriot missiles will be deployed. ¶3. Tercuman/Cumhuriyet: The US troops deployed at two factories in Mardin's Organized Industrial Zone have now evacuated the factories. The US troops left the region in 11 buses and a convoy of over 150 trucks yesterday. The military jeeps, vehicles, equipment, and communications gear leaving Mardin was heading for Iskenderun port. ¶4. Sabah/Milli Gazete/Turkiye/Cumhuriyet: Incirlik Air Force Base, which had been quiet for some time, experienced a very active day yesterday. Around 100 trucks carrying military equipment and generators, including Hummer jeeps, entered the base yesterday evening. Twelve F-16 fighters and six F-15 fighters took off from the base for an unknown destination early in the morning, after which bombers, one passenger aircraft, one tanker plane, and one hospital plane also took off from the base. ¶5. Evrensel/Turkiye: As a result of the explosion of a land mine the previous night in Esenyamac village of Baskale (Van) right on the Turkish-Iranian border, two villagers were killed. It is reported that the land mine victims were engaged in fuel-smuggling. ¶6. Milliyet: PKK/KADEK, which declared a unilateral cease fire after its leader Abdullah Ocalan was arrested in 1999, and had pulled the majority of its militants into camps in northern Iraq, has been using the war situation for its propaganda in a region populated by the international press. A Reuters reporter visiting a PKK camp yesterday transmitted photographs of female militants, and heard PKK demands for political and cultural rights. ¶7. Evrensel: Although the Turkish Supreme Court had lifted the ban on naming children in Kurdish, the Court of First Instance in Ayvalik (Balikesir) did not honor it. A resident in Ayvalik, Abdullah Aric, wanted to name his son (b. May 10, 2002) as "Rojhat." The name means "New Day" in Kurdish. When he applied on May 13, 2002 to the Population Registry Office in Ayvalik his request was refused. After struggling for three months, the father managed to have his son registered as "Rojhat." In the meantime, the Population Registry Office sued the father on the grounds that the name "Rojhat" was "not in conformity with Turkish names and traditions." The suit sought that the baby's name should be annulled, per article 16/4 of the Population Law, which mandates that "names that hurt public opinion and are not in compliance with national culture, moral values and regulations cannot be given." The court decided to erase the name "Rojhat" from the registry on March 27, 2003. ¶8. Bolge: Around 300 members of Anti-War Platform of Adana undertook an anti-war demonstration at the entrance of Incirlik town where the military airbase is located. The demonstrators shouting anti-US and anti-AKP slogans set fire to an effigy of President Bush and smashed light bulbs that had been dipped in blood. Jandarma took stringent security measures and restricted the protesters' activities to a nearby vacant lot. The demonstrators carried banners with slogans such as "Close Incirlik Airbase," "Murderer USA, Collaborator AKP," "No to imperialist occupation," "Don't be silent; scream and stop the War," "Do not barricade people, but rather the USA," and "AKP's bulb is dipped in blood." ¶9. Turkiye: In Hakkari, where there is a shortage of doctors, inhabitants are taking their patients to other provinces for treatment. Hakkari Governor, Erdogan Gurbuz, he could not understand why doctors did not come Hakkari to work. Governor Gurbuz announced that he and the security force members were serving in the region happily, that there were no security problems, and that he could provide fully equipped lodging facilities for 500 doctors. ECONOMIC AND AGRICULTURAL DEVELOPMENTS ¶10. Dunya: The President of Chamber of Industry of Gaziantep, Nejat Kocer, said investment has halted in many regions, but that Gaziantep city deserved praise for its creating new job and investment opportunities. Kocer added that banks had reduced their loan capacities because of the economic crisis continuing for two years now, causing some Gaziantep companies to resort to importing raw material, machinery, and spare parts with loans obtained abroad. ¶11. Evrensel: Van Province's Drivers and Automobile Owners Association President, Sefik Alpaslan, claimed that the Turkish Ministry of Industry and Commerce's decision to not include diesel in the list of items within the framework of border trade would cause 120,000 people to face starvation. Aplaslan said 2,720 trucks in Van would become idle due to the decision by the ministry, and estimated that an annual figure of USD 4 million was generated from the diesel trade between 1987 and 2000. HOLTZ