SOUTHEAST TURKEY PRESS SUMMARY FOR AUGUST 7, 2006

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 ADANA 000177 SIPDIS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PINS PGOV PHUM TU SUBJECT: SOUTHEAST TURKEY PRESS SUMMARY FOR AUGUST 7, 2006 This is the Southeastern Turkey press summary for August 07, ¶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 / ZAMAN / HURRIYET / BOLGE / OZGUR GUNDEM: A bomb exploded in front of an ATM of an OYAK bank branch in Adana on Friday (08/04) at 1 p.m. Reportedly, another bomb exploded 10 or 20 minutes later near the place where the police officers that came to investigate the first bombing parked their cars. Seventeen people were wounded. Eight among the wounded are police officers and two of them are police academy students. The police have been looking into surveillance camera footage which reportedly showed a person with a white hat leaving a package in front of the ATM a few minutes before the explosion. Adana Governor and Security Director conducted studies at the site of the incident. (This article is from 08/05 editions.) ZAMAN / BOLGE: TAK (Kurdistan Freedom Hawks - Teyrebazen Azadiya Kurdistan),a reported offshoot of the PKK, reportedly claimed responsibility on its internet site (teyrebaz.com) for the 2 bombings that took place in Adana on Friday. Adana Security Directorate announced that a percussion bomb caused the first bombing and a fragment-impact bomb caused the second one. Meanwhile, security measures have been intensified in public spaces around the site. (This article is from 08/06 editions.) RADIKAL / ZAMAN / OZGUR GUNDEM: An explosion took place as a cargo train, which was travelling from Diyarbakir to Siirt's Kurtalan district, was passing through a village in Diyarbakir's Bismil district. Only material damage to four cars of the train was reported. Diyarbakir Governor's Office announced that a mine caused the blast. (This article is from 08/05 editions.) HURRIYET / RADIKAL: A military vehicle has been ambushed by terrorists in Gumushane's Siran district. Terrorists opened fire at the vehicle and killed a non-commissioned officer and two privates. Eight soldiers have been wounded. Meanwhile, a mine placed on a railroad in Bingol's Genc district exploded as a train was passing through. Four security personnel in the train incurred minor wounds. OZGUR GUNDEM: Local people in Hakkari's Semdinli district decided to re-open the Umut Bookstore where a November 9 bombing took place in 2005 -- the ensuing legal process convicted two non-commissioned officers for being involved in the bombing. People will undertake it in turns to ensure that the bookstore stays open since the owner of the bookstore has been under arrest because of a statement a PKK defector gave against him in the days that followed the verdict in the Semdinli trial. The bookstore is reportedly the only bookstore in the district. (This article is from 08/05 edition.) HURRIYET: Upon getting a tip-off, Mersin Anti-Terror branch members started following a PKK member in Mersin allegedy as he was making preparations to launch a terrorist attack with a bomb. The police caught the PKK member at his home and found five hand grenades, 18 electrical fuses and 8.5 kilograms of explosives. (This article is from 08/05 edition.) BOLGE: Two unidentified people on a motorcycle opened fire with pump-action shotguns at the Iskenderun chapter of Democratic Society Party (DTP) in Hatay. The incident took place at 2 a.m. on Saturday morning (08/5). No casualties were reported and only the windows of the building have been broken. (This article is from 08/05 edition.) RADIKAL / EVRENSEL: 08/06 edition of Radikal daily cites several stories about U.S. soldiers' alleged ill-treatment against Turkish soldiers and asks whether Turkish people are being treated as second class people in Incirlik Air Base in Adana. Meanwhile, Turkish General Chief of Staff (TGS) denied recent media reports concerning a Turkish major and his wife who were reportedly forced to lie on the ground handcuffed to be searched with dogs in 2005. The major and his wife resisted when U.S. personnel wanted the major to get out of the car, because the major was driving out of the parking lot in wrong direction. U.S. personnel had to get the people in the car out to take the situation under control, announced the TGS. EVRENSEL: Publication and delivery of pro-Kurdish Ozgur Gundem daily has been suspended for 15 days on grounds that the ADANA 00000177 002 OF 002 daily was making propaganda of the PKK every day. Political parties, civil society members, various newspaper representatives, artists, intelligentsia reacted to the decision. ZAMAN: A number of non-governmental organizations led by Human Rights Association's Adana Chapter (HRA) held an anti-Israel and anti-U.S. demonstration in Adana against Israel's attack on Lebanon. A representative of the HRA said that the Greater Middle East Project was the cause of the massacres in Lebanon and Palestine. (This article is from 08/05 edition.) ZAMAN / RADIKAL / HURRIYET: Ground-breaking ceremony of the controversial Ilisu Dam Project was held on Saturday (08/05) in Batman with participation of PM Erdogan. Members of the Survival of Hasankeyf Initiative, comprised of non-governmental organizations and 27 regional mayors (including Diyarbakir Mayor Osman Baydemir),stood duty for one night before the ceremony day as a display of their discontent with the project. Baydemir said, 'Hasankeyf is our common heritage. The ground-breaking constitutes disrespect to this heritage.' PM Erdogan said during the ceremony that 10,000 people would be employed during dam's construction process. Erdogan also announced amount of money that will finance transportation of historical artefacts from old Hasankeyf to the area where new Hasankeyf will be built. Erdogan assured people that all means of science would be utilized to save the historical values of the area. (This article is from 08/06 editions.) HURRIYET: A bomb placed in front of CHP's (Republican People's Party) Diyarbakir Chapter exploded but caused no casualties. Material damage on the building was reported. Police are suspecting that the bomb was a percussion bomb. (This article is from 08/06 edition.) EVRENSEL: The news that Zubeyir Aydar, PKK/Kongra-Gel Chief, used Turkish airspace as he was traveling to the northern Iraq, upset the Turkish authorities. EVRENSEL: An Italian delegation comprised of members of civil society organizations came to Van's Dogubeyazit district to conduct local studies. SABAH (GUNEY): Reconstruction process of one of the main crossroads in Adana, namely the crossroad near Hilton Hotel, has been going on for one year and five months. The daily reported that the construction will be completed soon and opening ceremony will be held on August 15. REID