SOUTHEAST TURKEY PRESS SUMMARY FOR JULY 18, 2005

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 ADANA 000143

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PREL PINS PGOV PHUM TU ADANA
SUBJECT: SOUTHEAST TURKEY PRESS SUMMARY FOR JULY 18, 2005


This is the Southeastern Turkey press summary for July 18, 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


1. OZGUR GUNDEM: People in Adiyaman's villages, throwing
the carcasses of animals infected with brucellosis on open land,
instead of burying them, are reportedly aggravating the village
brucellosis epidemic.


2. EVRENSEL/OZGUR GUNDEM: The number of people contracting
anthrax increased from 6 to 7 in Diyarbakir's Bagivar district.


3. OZGUR GUNDEM: The daily reports that the terrorist
organization PKK/Kongra-Gel dismissed any allegations linking
its name to the bombing incident which killed civilians on a bus
in Aydin's Kusadasi district on Saturday. The terrorist
organization reportedly denied any affiliation with the TAK
(Kurdistan Liberation Hawks),an organization whose name the
(Turkish) media associates with the name of the PKK in the news
articles related with the Kusadasi bomb incident.


4. RADIKAL/EVRENSEL: DEHAP, Turkey's Human Rights
Association, Israel's Ambassador to Ankara, the UK's Ambassador
to Ankara and Syria condemned Saturday terrorist attack on a bus
in Aydin's Kusadasi district.


5. OZGUR GUNDEM: Terrorist organization PKK/Kongra-Gel
claimed that, despite the "offensive attitude of the Turkish
Armed Forces," their organization's treatment to Private Coskun
Kirandi is in conformity with the international laws and the
Geneva Convention. In a separate article, the paper quotes the
PKK saying that Turkish Armed Forces allegedly are trying to
kill Private Kirandi as a result of the risks from the
intensified military operations launched in Tunceli.


6. EVRENSEL/OZGUR GUNDEM: A committee, comprised of members
of political parties and NGOs, has been established to monitor
the lawsuit, which will continue trying the security officers
accused of killing Ahmet and Ugur Kaymaz in Mardin. The court
will be held in Eskisehir, a central Anatolian province. The
committee, which is reportedly working to increase the number of
those attending the hearings, estimates that the hearing, which
will be held on July 20, will be widely participated.


7. OZGUR GUNDEM: A group calling itself "Youth Initiative
Supporting Apo (Abdullah Ocalan)" staged a protest in Mardin's
Kiziltepe district and threw a Molotov cocktail on a street
where a bank office is located. The group chanted slogans
supporting (PKK) terrorist leader (Abdulah) Ocalan.


8. OZGUR GUNDEM: Goc-Der (Migration Association) Deputy
National Chairperson Ilyas Erdem alleged that village guards
have been in the habit of forming gangs and involving themselves
in crime. The current village guard system reportedly has
become an institution blocking the way for people's return to
villages.


9. OZGUR GUNDEM: Protestors in Mersin's port warned the
government that they would occupy the city if the government did
not withdraw its decision to privatize the port (see press
summary 07/13 and 07/15).


10. RADIKAL/EVRENSEL/ZAMAN/HURRIYET/CUMHURIYET/SA BAH: The
Sirnak Governor's office announced that ten PKK terrorists were
killed during military operations conducted in Sirnak's rural
areas between July 13 and 16. Zaman daily reports that, in a
separate incident, a military vehicle hit a mine on a Bitlis
road and four soldiers were wounded as a result of the blast.


11. ZAMAN: The paper claims that, in the case of former
HADEP (People's Democracy Party) National Chairperson Hikmet
Fidan's July 6 Diyarbakir killing, none of the attorneys from
Diyarbakir are willing to participate as legal representatives
in the public prosecution because the PKK terrorist organization
is exerting pressure on the (southeastern) region's lawyers. The
paper further reports that, despite Leyla Zana and her
colleagues extended condolences to the family of Fidan, Zana and
her colleagues neither signed the text that condemns the murder
of Fidan, nor the condolence book. Meanwhile, the paper quotes
Fidan's son as saying that his father was (allegedly) killed by
the PKK.

ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENTS


1. SABAH (GUNEY): The daily notes that the preparations
for the "3rd Cukurova Commerce and Industry Fair (September 26 -
October 2)" are under way. Saban Bas, Chairperson of Adana
Chamber of Commerce, urged companies to book their places in
advance.


2. SABAH (GUNEY): Angry farmers from Hatay's Amik Plain
protested the government inability to find a solution to the
problem of the lack water needed for agricultural irrigation.
As a protest, farmers are not harvesting grown cotton and,
instead, tilling the mature cotton crop under.


3. ZAMAN/EKSPRES/BOLGE: Umit Ozgumus, Chairperson of Adana
Chamber of Industry (ACI),pointed out that a qualified
workforce shortage still is placing a strain on the Turkish
private sector. Despite the efforts of the universities,
industrial enterprises and research centers, the problem still
has not been fully addressed, said Ozgumus. ACI announced that
it would hold a meeting to discuss the "Joint Education Program"
of the TOBB (Turkish Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges)
Economy and Technology University together with industrialists
in Adana on July 19.



REID