SOUTHEAST TURKEY PRESS SUMMARY FOR OCTOBER 31, 2006

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 ADANA 000237 SIPDIS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PINS PGOV PHUM TU SUBJECT: SOUTHEAST TURKEY PRESS SUMMARY FOR OCTOBER 31, 2006 This is the Southeastern Turkey press summary for October 31, ¶2005. 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 OZGUR GUNDEM: DTP offices in the western part of Turkey and in the southeastern region held meetings in Izmir, Van and Diyarbakir to discuss the cease-fire process. Separately, DTP National Chairperson Ahmet Turk said that the ultimate goal should be to achieve disarmament and to create a serious medium to discuss the issue, until May. Turk reiterated that the cease-fire process was indefinite. ¶4. ZAMAN: According to the daily, DTP has intensified its efforts to solve the Kurdish issue through democratic means: DTP officials decided to discuss the issue with the political parties including CHP and MHP. DTP will also talk with civil society organizations such as TUSIAD (Turkish Association for Industrialists and Businessmen) and TOBB (Turkish Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges). OZGUR GUNDEM: (Reported on Sunday) The daily reports that the villagers in a village of Sirnak's Uludere district caught three JITEM (Jandarma Intelligence) members in civilian clothes who, according to the villagers, were surveying the area around the village for nearly three weeks. As the villagers alleged that they saw three Kalashnikov guns, hand grenades, munitions and some documents in the trunk of the car, the daily reported that the villagers were concerned that the JITEM members were in the area to perpetrate mysterious bombings, similar to the bombing that took place on November 9, 2005 in Semdinli. The online version of the daily alleges that the jandarma blockaded the village as they came to take away the JITEM members and put pressure on the villagers to give back a document that disappeared from the car of the JITEM members. (This summary is from 10/29 edition.) HURIYET: (Reported on Sunday) The daily reports the tension that erupted between jandarma intelligence members and villagers in Uludere. The villagers reportedly stopped the car of three officers who told the villagers that they were members of jandarma intelligence unit. As the tension escalated, the Jandarma Commander, whom the officers called, came to the scene and sent the officers away. Sirnak Governor announced that tension broke out as the officers were gathering information about smuggling in the area. No fighting or beatings took place during the event. (This summary is from 10/29 edition.) ¶5. EVRENSEL: Following the tension that broke out between alleged JITEM members and villagers in Sirnak's Uludere district over the weekend, the villagers claimed that a commander was putting pressure on the villagers in the district by voicing his plans to evacuate the villages located along the border. SECURITY ¶6. OZGUR GUNDEM: PKK made an announcement about death of three PKK members during the clash in Batman on October 23. According to the PKK, three soldiers also died during that clash. ¶7. OZGUR GUNDEM: A thermos detected as left unattended in front of a shop in a quarter of Diyarbakir caused panic among people who feared that it might be a bomb. Police safely detonated it and found out that it was not a bomb. ¶8. EVRENSEL / OZGUR GUNDEM / ZAMAN: The daily reports that the news about an alleged attack on a jandarma station in Van's Gurpinar district circulating in the media has been falsified by the subgovernor of the district. The soldier that was said to have been wounded in that attack actually wounded himself as a result of an accident. CRIME / LAW ENFORCEMENT CUMHRIYET / EKSPRES / BOLGE / EVRENSEL / OZGUR GUNDEM: Unidentified person(s) opened fire and killed a teacher who was standing on his balcony to see who rang the bell at the door of his house in Adana's Ceyhan district. The teacher was a member of Egitim-Sen (Teacher's Union). ECONOMY ADANA 00000237 002 OF 002 HURRIYET: Abdullah Keskin, Head of the Agricultural Directorate in Adana, said that the climatic conditions in the Cukurova region were very suitable to cultivate pomegranate. Keskin anticipates that pomegranate cultivation will be more popular in the coming years. CULTURE / SOCIETY ¶11. HURRIYET / OZGUR GUNDEM: Forty people, trapped in a blizzard in a highland area, were saved by rescue teams of the municipality of Hakkari. GREEN