SOUTHEAST TURKEY PRESS SUMMARY FOR SEPTEMBER 11, 2006

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 ADANA 000199 SIPDIS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PINS PGOV PHUM TU SUBJECT: SOUTHEAST TURKEY PRESS SUMMARY FOR SEPTEMBER 11, 2006 This is the Southeastern Turkey press summary for September 11, ¶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 HURRIYET (CUKUROVA) / SABAH (GUNEY) / BOLGE: Gaziantep and Erzincan Police searched a truck and discovered 152 kilograms of heroin in hidden sections of the vehicle in Gaziantep. The Security Director said that the heroin was worth 1,500,000 Euros. HURRIYET (CUKUROVA): Eric Green, U.S. Consul in Adana, paid a visit to the Journalists' Association in Gaziantep. Green pointed out to the importance of non-governmental organizations in the society during his visit. OZGUR GUNDEM: The daily reports the speech of a sociologist in a panel about Alevi Arabs in Adana. According to the panelist, Alevi Arabs must not be ashamed of their ethnic identity in society. EVRENSEL / RADIKAL: A New York Times article said, ahead of the visit of Joseph Ralston, Special PKK Envoy of the U.S., to Turkey, that improving the relationship between Turkey and the U.S. was in the interest of the U.S. CUMHURIYET / RADIKAL / EKSPRES / EVRENSEL: In a terrorism conference in Washington, Security Affairs Director of the Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that in the first seven months of 2006, ninety-one soldiers and 427 civilians were killed in terrorist attacks by the PKK. The death toll among security members in one single month, namely July, was twenty-five, according to the official. RADIKAL: People have reportedly been suffering from the construction work going on for six days on a section of the Van-Hakkari road in Hakkari. Reportedly, the road, which is the opening of Hakkari province to the world, is closed for construction purposes. People are reportedly not able to transport their sick relatives to other provinces because of the construction. RADIKAL: Ministry of Education and ILO authorities are reportedly paying visits to the cotton fields in Adana to convince families working in the fields to send their children to schools. EKSPRES: Two female U.S. soldiers have been victims of snatch-and-run thieves who grabbed the soldiers' purses from their cars at a junction on D-400 highway in Adana. BOLGE: University registrations which started on September 4 at the Cukurova University in Adana ended on September 8. A total of 7,053 students registered at the university. BOLGE: Mersin Mayor Macit Ozcan attended one of the cultural events of the Mersin Culture festival yesterday. Various performances of sister-cities from Japan and China were held in yesterday's event. BOLGE: There is growing discontent among a sizeable number of members of CHP's Adana chapter against the party administration which is reportedly being run by a circle of people from the same family. This group is expected to go to the party center in Adana in the coming days to pressure the chairperson to resign. RADIKAL / OZGUR GUNDEM / CUMHURIYET: A security vulnerability at the Diyarbakir Military Airport reportedly caused a scandal to surface. A mother of two children was able to board a plane despite not being a passenger. She even went to the cockpit to tell the pilots to take her children to the destination point safely. RADIKAL / CUMHURIYET: Members of the Historical Cities Union attended a seminar called "Local Development in an Area Where Civilizations Meet"in Mardin's Midyat district. The group paid a visit to Batman's Hasankeyf district as well. OZGUR GUNDEM: Reportedly, in order to prevent families' anger to soar during the funerals of soldiers who died as they were doing military service in the southeastern region, ADANA 00000199 002 OF 002 according to the recent intelligence reports, the military will keep track of people who attendthe funerals. This measure will reportedly prevent any non-governmental organizations or people to provoke families of martyrs against the military or the government. The reports also say that it was a provocative act for human rights associations to pay visits in order to extend condolences to the families of the soldiers who passed away. OZGUR GUNDEM: The funerals of two people who died in Batman's Kozluk district allegedly as a result of soldiers opening fire on a car were held in Batman. (Note: A 10-year-old girl was also killed during the incident. End Note.) Two hundred people, including the senior officials of DTP's Batman chapter, reportedly attended the ceremonies. CUMHURIYET: The daily points out that the chief prosecutor's office has not started a probe concerning the death of a 10-year-old girl killed "in error" in crossfire between security officers and two terrorists in Batman's Kozluk district on September 5. It is reported that Human Rights Association, Batman Bar Association and Mazlum-Der (Association for the Oppressed People) have already conducted studies at the site of the incident. The Human Rights Association Chairperson claims that security officials could have caught the people in the car alive if they wanted to. OZGUR GUNDEM: Soldiers reportedly blockaded a village in Siirt's Eruh district pursuant to a September 6 PKK attack on a jandarma station which killed one soldier. OZGUR GUNDEM: The daily reports declarations Abdullah Ocalan made during his last meeting with his attorneys in his jail at Imrali Prison Island. EKSPRES / BOLGE: Ayhan Senbayrak, Chairperson of CUGIAD (Cukurova Young Businessmen Association),said that efforts were launched to form a "Special Energy Area" in a nearly 250,000 acre area in Ceyhan district of Adana. Senbayrak reminded the recent trip of the premier and the minister of energy to Ceyhan where various energy projects were under way. BOLGE: Vice-Chairperson of Adana's Chamber of Industry announced that a meeting would be held on September 12 at the chamber to give information to industrialists about the 2007 Hannover Industrial Fair. REID GREEN