SOUTHEAST TURKEY PRESS SUMMARY FOR SEPTEMBER 26, 2006

UNCLAS ADANA 000209 SIPDIS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PINS PGOV PHUM TU SUBJECT: SOUTHEAST TURKEY PRESS SUMMARY FOR SEPTEMBER 26, 2006 This is the Southeastern Turkey press summary for September 26, ¶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 OZGUR GUNDEM / EVRENSEL / ZAMAN: Ozgur Gundem and Evrensel dailies carried on their front-cover the military personnel's recent protest against the Hakkari Municipality for "being indifferent to the garbage collecting duty and engaging itself in efforts to divide the country." According to the dailies, Hakkari people did not give credit to the protest event. Legal experts allegedly claimed that military personnel are not allowed to demonstrate against public institutions and that investigation must be started against them. Meanwhile, Deputy Mayor of Hakkari Municipality claimed that some of the civilian demonstrators were actually soldiers from a brigade located seven kilometers away from the city. ¶3. EVRENSEL / OZGUR GUNDEM: Ahead of tomorrow's court hearing in Eskisehir on the case of Ahmet and Ugur Kaymaz, the father and his son, who were allegedly executed by security officers on November 21, 2004 in Mardin's Kiziltepe district, the daily published for the first time photos that showed dead bodies of Ahmet and Ugur Kaymaz lying on the ground at the site of the event reportedly two hours after the incident. ¶4. ZAMAN / YENI SAFAK / RADIKAL / EVRENSEL / OZGUR GUNDEM / CUMHURIYET: Iraqi President Jalal Talabani reportedly claimed that Iraq has convinced the PKK to lay down arms. PKK will allegedly implement a ceasefire in the coming days, according to Talabani. Talabani also expressed a strong desire for the U.S. soldiers to stay in the country for a long time and for the construction of permanent U.S. air bases in Iraq. ¶5. ZAMAN / RADIKAL: The draft constitution the Kurdish Authority in the northern Iraq prepared, which has been presented to the regional parliament in Arbil province, reportedly includes clauses which prevent returning of the PKK militants to Turkey. ¶6. YENI SAFAK / OZGUR GUNDEM: PKK claimed responsibility for the bomb attack that wounded five police officers in a police residence in Igdir the previous day. ¶7. RADIKAL / SABAH / YENI SAFAK / ZAMAN / EVRENSEL / OZGUR GUNDEM / CUMHURIYET: A second lieutenant was killed by PKK terrorists in Mardin's Dargecit district during a military operation that had been going on for three days. Two village guards were wounded. The father of the lieutenant blamed the U.S. for what was going on in the southeastern region and described the PKK as a mere pawn. ¶8. YENI SAFAK / OZGUR GUNDEM: Diyarbakir Prosecutor's Office started prosecuting 56 mayors from the southeastern region today because of a letter the mayors sent in December 2005 to Denmark's President which called on him not to black out pro-PKK Roj TV. A delegation from the Embassy of Denmark in Ankara is also observing the trial. ¶9. SABAH (GUNEY): The police reportedly identified the gunman who killed the mayor of Adana's Karatas district (from AKP) on September 22. The person has not been caught yet. ¶10. SABAH (GUNEY): Hatay police conducted an anti-drug trafficking operation and detained 24 people as a result of efforts that lasted eight months. Twenty kilograms of heroin, 460 Captagon pills, hashish and some chemicals were seized during the operation. ¶11. ZAMAN: Van police found and seized seventy-five kilograms of heroin substance in a house where it conducted a raid at. ¶12. ZAMAN: A minor earthquake with a magnitude of 3 shook Adana's Tufanbeyli district. GREEN