SOUTHEAST TURKEY PRESS SUMMARY FOR FEBRUARY 25, 2005

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 ADANA 000042

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PREL PINS PGOV PHUM TU ADANA
SUBJECT: SOUTHEAST TURKEY PRESS SUMMARY FOR FEBRUARY 25, 2005


This is the Southeastern Turkey press summary for February 25,

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

OZGUR GUNDEM: SHP (Social Democratic People's Party) mayors
in Batman province, municipal assembly members and village
headmen made a joint press announcement at the Batman Fortress
to remind PM Erdogan of his pledge to save Hasankeyf, the site
of an ancient settlement, from being submerged by the pending
Ilisu Dam Project. The group pointed out that if the Ilisu Dam
Project is undertaken in its current form, short-term interests
of the energy sector will be met, but Hasankeyf -- which had
been a cradle for the world civilizations for ages -- will be
lost forever.

RADIKAL / CUMHURIYET: Guldal Okuducu, Chairperson of the CHP
(Republican People's Party) Women's Branch, announced the
party's Hakkari earthquake report findings today and urged the
(Turkish) government to declare Hakkari a "disaster site." The
report drew attention to the miserable condition of Hakkari
after the earthquake, suggested ways to solve the current
problems and called on the government to take urgent action.

ZAMAN / SABAH (GUNEY) / EKSPRES: Oktay Ekinci, National
Chairperson of the Chamber of Architects, announced in Adana
today that Adana and Antakya will host a congress on
architecture entitled "Multi-Cultural Cities and Architecture."
Ekinci said that the event will precede a larger International
Congress of Architecture, which will be held in June in
Istanbul. Ekinci requested that the Turkish government wait to
pass any bill regarding city planning, since decisions to be
taken at the Istanbul Congress will surely contribute
significantly to urban-planning policies.

RADIKAL: According to environmental specialists, life in Van
Lake will come to an end in 25 years time, unless measures
against pollution are taken. The Van Municipality brought out
3,000 tons of garbage from the Lake in nine months and cleaned
7,000 tons of garbage that the rivers carried into the lake?. A
20-person team works to clean the lake on a daily basis, and a
one trillion-lira budget is needed annually to carry out
cleaning tasks, according to Van Mayor Burhan Yenigun. (Note:
The article did not specify whether or not the TL 1 trillion was
referring to new or "old" Turkish Lira. End note.)


ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENTS


1. SABAH (GUNEY): Chambers of Commerce, Chambers of
Industry and Commodity Exchanges will hold Assembly elections
around Turkey between March 1 and 3. Locally, the Gaziantep
Chamber of Commerce and Chamber of Industry election will be
March 3, and the Gaziantep Commodity Exchange election March 1.
A total of 147 people will be elected for the three assemblies
in Gaziantep.


2. TURKIYE: James Brexton from the UK's Sheffield Chamber
of Commerce, Baris Topal from Adana Chamber of Commerce and
Fulya Melissa Aybars from Mersin Chamber of Commerce and
Industry announced the formation of the Mersin Foreign Trade
Club in a meeting yesterday in Mersin. Kadri Saman, Chairperson
of the Mersin Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said that SMEs'
level of development has been hindered to date because of the
late establishment of the Organized Industrial Zone and a
delayed recognition of the value of the foreign relations.



3. HURRIYET (CUKUROVA): AKIB (Mediterranean
Exporters' Union) participated in the Fruit Logistica 2005
International Fruit and Vegetables Marketing Fair in Berlin and
exhibited Turkish produce with 27 booths. In this important
trade event, the participating Turkish companies exceeded their
expectations and were able to consolidate ties with existing
contacts.


4. HURRIYET (CUKUROVA): Citrus fruit producers in Adana
started to cut down young fruit trees to replace them with
better, profit-yielding produce. Erol Kolbasi, one of the
producers in Solakli district lamentably cut down 700 trees,
which were 7 years old.


5. BOLGE: The due date for submitting bids in response
to the BOTAS (Turkish Petroleum Pipeline Corporation) tender,
which will transfer natural gas imports to the private sector,
was extended from February 25 to April 25.


6. OZGUR GUNDEM / VAKIT: A bill was passed to support the
animal husbandry/livestock-breeding sector by providing
incentives during the period 2005-2010. The bill went into
effect in January 2005 and has been published in the Official
Gazette. It is anticipated that the (Turkish) government will
allocate 622 million new Turkish liras ($480 million) for the
incentives.

7. OZGUR / CUMHURIYET / EVRENSEL: Protestors angry at
the privatization process of TEKEL (Cigarette Industry
Enterprise) were reportedly treated roughly by police when they
obstructed the road that PM Erdogan was to travel over in Adana
province by laying down in the street. Eighty-two people were
(allegedly) wounded during the incident. Today, workers of TEKEL
in Adana announced that they will continue their protests, and
Southeastern Region Branch Chairperson of the Tek-Gida Is
(Turkish Union Of Tobacco, Alcoholic Beverage, Food And Related
Industry Workers) called for a general strike.




REID