SOUTHEAST TURKEY PRESS SUMMARY FOR 5 JUNE 2006

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 ADANA 000132 SIPDIS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PREL PINS PGOV PHUM TU SUBJECT: SOUTHEAST TURKEY PRESS SUMMARY FOR 5 JUNE 2006 This is the Southeastern Turkey press summary for June 05, 2006. 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 RADIKAL / HURRIYET (CUKUROVA) / OZGUR GUNDEM / HURRIYET / ZAMAN: A hand grenade was remotely detonated in front of a newspaper and beverages shop in Mersin 50 meters away from the Mersin Municipality and Mersin Chamber of Commerce and Industry at 11.40 am on 06/03. Twelve people have been wounded. The police have been looking for a 16-year-old suspect. (This summary is from 06/04 edition.) YENI SAFAK / OZGUR GUNDEM: TAK (Kurdistan Liberation Hawks) reportedly claimed responsibility for the recent bomb incident in Mersin. ZAMAN / HURRIYET: Two terrorists were reportedly killed on June 2 in Bingol's Genc district in a clash between security officers and terrorists during a military operation that was started on May 31. (This summary is from 06/04 edition.) 06/05 edition of Hurriyet daily reported that PKK members ambushed a military unit on Bingol-Elazig road, killed one soldier and wounded 8 soldiers. CUMHURIYET / HURRIYET (CUKUROVA) / OZGUR GUNDEM / HURRIYET: A 4.8-magnitude earthquake hit Hakkari's Yuksekova district at 2.07 pm on Saturday (06/03). Three and a half hours later, a 4.5-magnitude earthquake hit Elazig's Karakocan district. No casualties have been reported. (This summary is from 06/04 edition.) Minor quakes, a 2.9 on Friday (06/02) and a 3.1 yesterday, shook Ceyhan district and Karatas districts in Adana respectively. OZGUR GUNDEM: Hans Jorg Kretschmer, Head of the EU Delegation in Turkey, paid a visit to DTP Erzincan provincial party organization to get information about the local developments and problems. (This summary is from 06/04 edition.) SABAH (GUNEY) / ZAMAN / EVRENSEL / RADIKAL: PM Erdogan attended provincial congresses of his party held in Mardin and Sirnak provinces. Erdogan said that everyone should act in solidarity not to compromise unity of the country. Erdogan announced that ground-breaking of (controversial) Ilisu Dam Project (in Batman) will be held in the coming month. OZGUR GUNDEM: The daily reported that a group of people in Mardin's Kiziltepe district, who gathered in front of the DTP Kiziltepe party building, protested PM Erdogan who came to Mardin on Sunday. (This summary is from 06/04 edition.) OZGUR GUNDEM: Dead bodies of a 31-year-old father and his 4-year-old daughter have been found in an irrigation canal in Mardin's Kiziltepe district. The victims were reportedly shot with a firearm. HURRIYET: Turkish, U.S. and UNHCR (High Commission for Refugees) authorities met in Geneva to discuss the future of Maxmur Camp in Iraq. The parties have agreed in principle that closing procedures for the Maxmur Camp be started in fall. (This summary is from 06/04 edition.) RADIKAL / HURRIYET (CUKUROVA) / YENI SAFAK: Loading of petroleum that arrived through BTC pipeline last weekend to the vessel waiting at the Ceyhan port in Adana started at 4.20 pm on Saturday. 85,000 tons of petroleum has been loaded onto the vessel which set off for Italy. (This summary is from 06/04 edition.) CUMHURIYET: Development Center conducted a survey in Diyarbakir which covered 3000 people living in sections of Diyarbakir where the crime rate is the highest. The survey inquired about results of the internal displacement and migration from villages to the Diyarbakir city center. The survey pointed focused on families with an average of 7 members. Seventy-four percent of the family members are under age of 30-years-old. Sixty percent of those families are reportedly surviving with an income less than 300 YTL (approx. 190 USD) per month. Sixty-two percent of the families reported that they had to migrate to city because their villages were burned or they feared about their safety. Sixty-three percent of them said their economic and social conditions deteriorated more after migration. (This summary is from 06/04 edition.) ZAMAN: All of the 94 children, who were detained and arrested following the violent demonstrations in Diyarbakir in late March for attending those unauthorized demonstrations, have ADANA 00000132 002 OF 002 been released. (This summary is from 06/04 edition.) BOLGE: Bolge daily continues its campaign against Serdar Seyhan, CHP Adana provincial chairman. Cukurova Journalists Association Chairperson paid a visit to the Bolge headquarters in Adana and criticized Seyhan for holding a press conference where he bitterly criticized the local press. SABAH (GUNEY): Two people have been caught in Adana's Ceyhan district in connection with petroleum theft from a pipeline of BOTAS (Petroleum Pipeline Corporation) between Yumurtalik district and Kirikkale province. HURRIYET (CUKUROVA) / SABAH: People of Van's Muradiye district reacted strongly at news of an incident where five people raped a Swiss national tourist in the district five days ago. The assailants have been caught in Sirnak's Cizre district. EVRENSEL / OZGUR GUNDEM: Villagers, who were forced out of their hamlet in Batman in 1994 on grounds of security concerns, returned to their village in 2002. However, Batman Governor's Office has been claiming that the land of the hamlet belonged to the treasury and that villagers must leave. Governor's Office reportedly removed the power supply to the village two years ago. ZAMAN / EVRENSEL: Diyarbakir businessmen have been making preparations to hold a conference on June 11 in Diyarbakir to discuss ways to resolve the Kurdish issue. ZAMAN: The report of the parliamentary commission probing the incidents in Hakkari, Semdinli and Yuksekova, has also providing information about the illegal drug trafficking business and the routes used in the eastern and southeastern part of Turkey. OZGUR GUNDEM: Members of the DTP Diyarbakir Chapter will gather signatures in support of the co-chairmanship model of DTP at eight stands in Diyarbakir. Supreme Court of Appeals has issued warnings against the co-chairmanship model which is reportedly against Political Parties Act of Turkey. OZGUR GUNDEM: Quarantine has been imposed on four villages in Kars' Sarikamis district because of hoof-and-mouth disease detected in cattle. 51 animals have died so far because of the epidemic outbreak. REID