SOUTHEAST TURKEY PRESS SUMMARY FOR AUGUST 29, 2006

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 ADANA 000191 SIPDIS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PINS PGOV PHUM TU SUBJECT: SOUTHEAST TURKEY PRESS SUMMARY FOR AUGUST 29, 2006 This is the Southeastern Turkey press summary for August 29, ¶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 EVRENSEL: People in Tunceli's Ovacik district protested a non-commissioned officer who wounded two people he had an altercation with. The officer reportedly surrendered himself after the incident and was arrested. EVRENSEL: Eighteen non-governmental organizations in Diyarbakir launched a campaign to send aid to the Lebanese people who reportedly suffered from oppression of Israel. The campaign will last 50 days. EVRENSEL / OZGUR GUNDEM: Peace and Democracy Festivity will be held in Diyarbakir on September 3. The organizing committee made a call to the people to participate in the celebrations. DTP provincial party organization said that they will extend support to the public meeting. Another organizing committee in Sirnak's Cizre district applied to the subgovernor's office to get authorization for a public meeting that will be held on September 1 Peace Day. The daily notes that the Peace Day celebrations will be held for one week starting from August 31, in the Cukurova region which includes Adana, Mersin, Gaziantep and Hatay provinces. People will reportedly stand duty for one night on August 31 for peace, make press announcements on September 1, and distribute hand-outs to people throughout the week. OZGUR GUNDEM: The daily reports the growing anger among people against confinement of Abdullah Ocalan in his prison cell. Nearly 100 young people in quarters of Adana blockaded a road with Molotov cocktails. The protests of the group reportedly lasted two hours. OZGUR GUNDEM: The inmates in the prisons who are former PKK members will launch a series of protest activities in the jails. The prisoners might engage in a hunger strike protest for an indefinite period. EVRENSEL: Police seized 4,120 hemp roots in the garden of a house in Gaziantep. CUMHURIYET / EVRENSEL / ZAMAN: A reported racist hacker hacked the website of Istanbul Chapter of the Human Rights Association. EVRENSEL: KESK (Confederation of Public Employees' Unions) spokesperson in Adana and Chairperson of Adana Chapter of Egitim-Sen (Teachers' Union) condemned the bomb attack that took place in front of the CHP party building in Adana on August 25. EKSPRES: Abdullah Caliskan, Adana deputy from AKP (Justice and Development Party),reportedly made a call to the U.S., Britain and Israel and said, "You can not draw maps on desks or computer desktops. The maps of the countries are generally drawn by the blood shed for them." Meanwhile, Kemal Sag, Adana deputy from CHP (Republican People's Party) paid a visit to the Cukurova Journalists' Association. Sag reportedly criticized the government decision to contribute to the U.N. peacekeeping force. HURRIYET / SABAH A member of the Kurdistan Patriotic Union, which is being led by Iraqi President Jalal Talabani, said that 3000 or 4000 PKK members, who have been entangled in the area in the northern Iraq, should go back to Turkey and carry out its activities as a political force in that country. HURRIYET (CUKUROVA): Ayhan Senbayrak, Chairperson of CUGIAD (Cukurova Young Businessmen Association),protested the fact that Adana was not included in the list of the provinces who received sizeable migrating population. According to Senbayrak, Adana province will not be able to make use of the EU funds because of that. CUMHURIYET: A supermarket owner in Bingol claimed that five PKK members stole sacks of goods and items from his shop yesterday night. ZAMAN: A court order has barred access to the internet site of a terrorist organization called TAK (Kurdistan Liberation ADANA 00000191 002 OF 002 Hawks) effective beginning August 27. The site was reportedly also making propaganda of the PKK terrorist organization. The site had also published claims that TAK members were responsible from the fierce fires that have raged in various forest lands in Turkey. SABAH: PM Erdogan will come to Adana on September 1 to conduct studies at the BTC (Baku-Tibilsi-Ceyhan Project) terminal in Ceyhan district. PM Erdogan will fly over the site of the BTC with a helicopter. GREEN