SOUTHEAST TURKEY PRESS SUMMARY FOR AUGUST 14, 2006

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 ADANA 000184 SIPDIS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PINS PGOV PHUM TU SUBJECT: SOUTHEAST TURKEY PRESS SUMMARY FOR AUGUST 14, 2006 This is the Southeastern Turkey press summary for August 14, ¶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: Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul, who was commenting on Iraqi government's recent ban on activities of the PKK in northern Iraq, said that the PKK was an evil source causing dissension to prevail over solidarity between Turks and Kurds. It is to the benefit of them (Iraqi government) that they cooperate with Turkey, and the PKK constitutes a problem for both of the countries, which are undeniable components of the region, said Gul. OZGUR GUNDEM: Mahmut Osman, a Kurdish politician and member of the Iraqi Parliament, harshly criticized the Iraqi government for shutting down the PKK offices in Iraq. RADIKAL: PKK attempted to carry out a bomb attack on a jandarma station in a village in Mardin's Midyat district with a donkey carrying explosives. However, the donkey, heading towards the fields instead of the jandarma station, exploded in the open field. ZAMAN / RADIKAL / CUMHURIYET / OZGUR GUNDEM / EVRENSEL: PKK terrorists detonated a remote-controlled bomb on a road in Tunceli 500 meters away from a police checkpoint at 8.45 a.m. yesterday morning as a vehicle carrying the duty officers were passing by. Two special team members were killed and one wounded. RADIKAL: Police caught three terrorists in Antalya's Alanya district making preparations to launch an attack with 1.5 kilograms of explosives and cell phone devices. OZGUR GUNDEM: The daily reported on its front-page allegations of a senior PKK member claiming that MIT intelligence center officials, who infiltrated northern Iraq to kill PKK officials, were recently caught and were being interrogated. The senior PKK member claimed that the KP government has launched an fresh effort to kill the senior PKK members. OZGUR GUNDEM: PKK headquarters instructed its members to abide by the agreement signed with the Swiss-based Geneva Call Organization on July 15, 2006 on not using anti-personnel mines. PKK headquarters said that they have been in contact with the UN supported non-governmental organization Geneva Call for about a year. OZGUR GUNDEM: Kurdish people started celebrating the anniversary of the first-ever PKK attack which was carried out on August 15, 1984 in Siirt's Eruh district and Hakkari's Semdinli district. Police opened fire in Adana as people attempted to stage a demonstration to mark the event. A young person was shot in the head and reportedly entered a vegetative state. Another young person was also wounded. Police carried out operations until early in the morning in the quarters of the province where Kurds lived. Meanwhile, police raised security levels in provinces such as Diyarbakir, Hakkari, Sirnak, Tunceli, Mardin, Bingol and Van because of the sensitive August 15 pro-PKK anniversary. The control at entrances of the sensitive provinces has been tightened. BOLGE: Bolge daily stresses that the demonstration in Adana was an unauthorized one. According to the daily, one person was wounded during the incident because the person fell into a ditch as he was running away from the police. OZGUR GUNDEM / EVRENSEL: The soldiers are allegedly continuing to set ablaze the forest areas in the region. Following the forest fires in Tunceli, Bingol and Diyarbakir's Lice district, the soldiers reportedly set fire in the forest areas in the Gabar Mountain of Sirnak the previous night. Meanwhile, GABB (Union of Municipalities of Southeasern Anatolia) established an initiative to investigate the cause of the fires. EVRENSEL / CUMHURIYET: Parliament speaker Bulent Arinc said that it would be an anti-democratic move to enforce an election threshold for the independent candidates aiming to win seats in the next elections. EVRENSEL: Patriotic Front members, who started an anti-U.S. walk ADANA 00000184 002 OF 002 from ?ncirlik Air Base in Adana to Istanbul on July 15, took a break in Ankara. The group sent telegrams to embassies of the U.S. and Israel. EVRENSEL / OZGUR GUNDEM: A 20 year old woman, who was forced into a marriage, committed suicide in Diyarbakir's Dicle district. EVRENSEL: The weekly Kurdish language newspaper Azadiya Welat will start to be published on a daily basis starting from August ¶15. CUMHURIYET: The daily alleged on its front page that the U.S. was sending urgent support in terms of weaponry from the Incirlik Air Base in Adana via the ports in Mersin to Israel, and the AKP government had given permission to shipment from the air base. GREEN REID