SOUTHEAST TURKEY PRESS SUMMARY FOR JANUARY 7, 2005

UNCLAS ADANA 000011 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PREL PINS PGOV PHUM TU ADANA SUBJECT: SOUTHEAST TURKEY PRESS SUMMARY FOR JANUARY 7, 2005 This is the Southeastern Turkey press summary for January 7, ¶2005. 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 ZAMAN / HURRIYET / VAKIT / TERCUMAN / CUMHURIYET: 2600 villages are currently not accessible due to the heavy snowfall in the East Anatolia. HURRIYET / OZGUR GUNDEM: The ports of Bandirma, Izmir, Samsun, Derince, Mersin and Iskenderun, which belong to TCDD (Turkish State Railways),are included in the privatization program. The TCDD will be managing the ports until the end of the privatization process, which is going to take about twelve months. CUMHURIYET / OZGUR GUNDEM / EVRENSEL: As the Turkish Parliament starts the talks on handing over the SSK Hospitals to the Ministry of Health (Note: SSK is an abbreviation for the Social Security Organization. End Note.),the Labor Platform held rallies in Ankara, Izmir, Adana and Istanbul to protest the move of the (Turkish) GoT to transfer the ownership of the SSK hospitals. OZGUR GUNDEM: Selahattin Demirtas, Chairperson of the Diyarbakir Branch of the Human Rights Association, said that a commission comprised of 50 attorneys has been set up to receive the applications for the compensation of the damages that the people, who had been subject to displacement and migration, incurred. ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENTS ¶1. BOLGE / MILLIYET / HURRIYET (CUKUROVA) / ZAMAN / EKSPRES: A stormy debate has been going on in many cities (of Turkey), especially in Adana and Gaziantep (Note. The two prominent southeastern cities. End Note.),because the cities were not included within the GoT's recent contentious Incentive Law list. The cities that were not included claim that the Law generates unfair competition. Umit Ozgumus, President of the Adana Chamber of Industry, said that they will demand from the Chief Opposition Party to bring the issue to the Constitutional Law for amendment. The incentive list is comprised of forty-nine cities this year with the latest addition of thirteen cities. ¶2. MILLIYET / HURRIYET (CUKUROVA): Twenty-five CHP (Republican People's Party) MPs demanded that Turkish Parliament conduct an investigation about how to solve the problems of CUKOBIRLIK (Cooperative for Agricultural Product Sales in Cukurova). The facilities of CUKOBIRLIK were recently shut down and some of the machines of the Cooperative were sold. ¶3. MILLI GAZETE / BOLGE / TURKIYE: According to Cumali Dogru, the Chairperson of Adana Union of Farmers, "The producers sell their produce for cheap prices, however, several brokers settle the prices in-between, and because of that, the prices of fruits and vegetables multiply by ten when the final consumer purchase them". Cumali Dogru demands that the Vagetables-and-Fruits Market Law be revised in order to solve that price dilemma. ¶4. HURRIYET (CUKUROVA): The EU has accepted Gaziantep Chamber of Industry's project for developing the carpet-manufacturing sector. Courses on carpet manufacturing will be offered under the EU funded project in order to to train qualified carpet designers. REID