SOUTHEAST TURKEY PRESS SUMMARY FOR JUNE 08, 2006

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 ADANA 000137 SIPDIS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PREL PINS PGOV PHUM TU SUBJECT: SOUTHEAST TURKEY PRESS SUMMARY FOR JUNE 08, 2006 This is the Southeastern Turkey press summary for June 08, 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 YENI SAFAK / ZAMAN / BOLGE / EKSPRES: The dailies carried recent news articles of the mainstream newspapers (see press summary 06/08) about the reported presence of 90 nuclear bombs in the Incirlik Airbase in Adana, and discontent of the people living in the Incirlik district on hearing such news. Zaman daily also cites a report of the European Council (EC) saying that Incirlik Airbase was used as a platform for transportation of the arrested terrorism suspects. EC has blamed 14 countries for disregarding such illegal operations of the U.S. BOLGE: Turhan Comez, Balikesir deputy from AKP, criticized dismissal from AKP of Fuat Gecen, Hatay deputy from AKP, for voicing allegations about irregularities of AKP deputies with public tenders in Hatay (see press summary 06/07). SABAH / RADIKAL / CUMHURIYET: Concerning killing of Selahattin Aksu and his daughter in Mardin's Kiziltepe district on June 3 (see press summaries 06/05, 06 and 07),officials from Mardin chapter of Human Rights Association (HRA) said that it was too early to make comments on the incident, but there was not much similarity between the killing of Ahmet and his son Ugur Kaymaz in November 2004 in Kiziltepe and that incident. DTP and HRA sent delegations to Kiziltepe. OZGUR GUNDEM: Ahmet Ertak, Sirnak Mayor, and Emrullah Cin, Mayor of Sanliurfa's Viransehir district, gave their statements at Sirnak's Chief Prosecutor's Office for sending along with 56 mayors (from DTP) in the southeastern region a letter to the premier of Denmark in support for the pro-PKK Roj TV. YENI SAFAK: The report of the EU permanent members' meeting on June 6 reportedly had concerns over the issues in the southeastern Turkey, Cyprus issue, the role of military in Turkish politics, the ongoing judicial process for the Semdinli case. As regards to the cultural rights, the report found it pleasing that Kurdish language broadcasting was started. OZGUR GUNDEM: Pursuant to the court decision that imposed a ban on disclosure of information concerning the Semdinli case through media, the daily alleged that authorities banned access �A;to some websites delivering such information over Internet. EVRENSEL / OZGUR GUNDEM: The daily reports that clashes between military and the terrorist organization taking place in Bingol and Sirnak's Gabar Mountain has intensified recently. The daily reported that five soldiers have been wounded in two separate clashes in those areas. Separately, the number of village guards who do not want to take part in the military operations and who want to lay down arms has reached to fifty only in May, reports the daily. The daily claims that a military officer uttered threatening remarks to the village guards who refused to take part in a clash in Hakkari's Semdinli district. SABAH (GUNEY) / BOLGE / EVRENSEL / OZGUR GUNDEM: A group of attorneys from the Adana Bar Association gathered in front of the Court Hall of Adana and demanded release of Ali Bozan, Attorney and Chairperson of DTP's Mersin Chapter, who was arrested last month on grounds not specified by the daily. EVRENSEL: Ankara Chapter of Human Rights Association announced that arbitrary implementations of the jail administrations have allegedly been oppressing people. Kurdish origin inmates were reportedly being discriminated against and their Kurdish letters were being omitted by the board monitoring the content of the letters. If the letters were to be translated, the jail authorities were demanding the translation fee from the inmates. OZGUR GUNDEM: Quarantine has been imposed on a village and a hamlet in Van's Gurpinar district when rabies was detected in a sheep that was bitten by a wild fox. EVRENSEL / OZGUR GUNDEM: Hakkari Municipality (DTP) launched a three-day cleaning campaign in the city which aimed to incorporate people's efforts in works undertaken by the municipality which are allegedly carried out despite obstructions (from unspecified sources). EVRENSEL: Mehmet Ali Azun, who was reportedly taken by two civilians from his home on May 17 in Diyarbakir's Baglar quarter, has disappeared since then. ADANA 00000137 002 OF 002 EVRENSEL: Anti-terror teams have reportedly been recording the names, telephone numbers and business information of the tradesmen and business owners in Hakkari's Semdinli district upon authorization obtained from the prosecutor's office. ZAMAN: Ministry of Energy has included petroleum theft from pipelines within the scope of its struggle against fuel-oil smuggling, an issue the ministry has been concerned with due to its connection to national security matters and to financing of terrorists. HURRIYET (CUKUROVA): A 47 years old person from Diyarbakir, who was convicted two years before of killing his wife four years ago in the name of honor in Adana, applied to benefit from the new Turkish Penal Code in hope for a decrease from his life time imprisonment. The second court ruling has also sentenced him to life in prison. SABAH (GUNEY): The tender for clearing the land from mines in the border area with Syria has been cancelled and postponed to a later date on grounds that satisfactory competitive conditions have not been achieved in the tender. YENI SAFAK: A fire broke out in the mined territory at the border area with Syria. Intermittent explosions took place as fire fighting teams were trying to extinguish the fire. BOLGE: The friendship monument erected in Syria's Lazkiye province was named after the Mayor of Antakya in Hatay province. YENI SAFAK: During a visit of the district mayors of Gaziantep paid to the Mayor of Aleppo in Syria, mayors stressed the importance of the friendship between Gaziantep and Aleppo provinces. REID