SOUTHEAST TURKEY PRESS SUMMARY FOR FEBRUARY 03, 2006

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 ADANA 000024

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PREL PINS PGOV PHUM TU ADANA
SUBJECT: SOUTHEAST TURKEY PRESS SUMMARY FOR FEBRUARY 03, 2006


This is the Southeastern Turkey press summary for February 03,

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: Turkish-American Association (TAA) Executive Board
in Adana extended thanks to the Adana Governor Mr. Cahit Kirac,
the American Consul Mr. Scott Reid, the Adana Security Director
Mr. Mehmet Cebe, and the State Hospital Emergency Team for the
close interest and sensitivity they showed during the
distressing January 30 attack (see press summary 01/31) at their
association, through an announcement published on Hurriyet
daily. The announcement further read that TAA, as an NGO, has
been giving English classes in Adana for over fifty years and
the association was a voluntary establishment that provided
non-profit English classes under the control of the Ministry of
National Education, and all of its material and institutional
assets belonged to Turkish people and town. TAA will reportedly
resume classes as of Saturday, February 4.

ZAMAN: The daily reported that the parliamentary commission
for the Semdinli Case has obtained significant evidence
concerning the "local sources" of the incident as the commission
heard statements from Kutlu Savas, former Inspection Board
Chairperson of the Prime Minister Office (see press summary
02/02),and Sabri Uzun, Chairperson of the Security
Directorate's Intelligence Center, yesterday. According to
anonymous member of the commission, the Semdinli incident's
origins are traced back to the Jandarma, however, the incident
was of local nature. The commission decided to hear the
statements of some local public employees in Hakkari.

EVRENSEL: Tunceli Mayor Songul Erol Abdil will participate in
"Inter-governmental Relationships-International Visitors and
Leaders Program" that will be held in the U.S. between February
6-24. The program, which will last 18 days will cover the
following topics: Federal Structure of the U.S. Government, How
Do Local and State Administrations Work in the U.S., Role of the
Non-Governmental Organizations in Supporting Local
Administrations, Financing of the Municipalities and Local Tax
Administration, Relationship of the U.S. and Turkey, and the
U.S.'s Turkey Policies."

HURRIYET: Prof. Yucel Askin, Van Centennial University Rector,
paid separate visits to the DYP (True Path Party) leader Mehmet
Agar and SHP (Social Democratic People's Party) leader Murat
Karayalcin. Agar reportedly said that case of Askin should not
have gone beyond the framework of the judiciary.

OZGUR GUNDEM: Some of the students of the Dicle University
are allegedly being threatened and oppressed by the police. The
daily noted that students have reportedly suffered from
investigations to date. Following tension developing in the
(southeastern) region after the Semdinli incident, incidents of
students being threatened by the police reportedly surged.

EVRENSEL: The daily draws attention to the fact that Turkish
Parliamentary Commission Probing the Semdinli Case, which was
set up in November 23, 2005 and which has heard in a total of 11
sessions the statements of the lawmakers, military officers and
police officers for over two months, have not been enumerated or
mentioned in the public website of the Turkish Parliament. The
other commissions of the parliament were however cited on the
website, according to the daily.

OZGUR GUNDEM: Yilmaz Yasmin, a person living in Agri's
Dogubeyazit district, claimed that JITEM (Jandarma Intelligence
Center) members came to his house and forcibly took Yasmin to
their van, which was allegedly full of arms and heavy weapons,
and was forced to become an agent by reported JITEM members.
Moreover, when Yasmin went to Dogubeyazit Prosecutor's Office to
file a complaint following that incident, the prosecutor
allegedly said that an investigation would be started against
him, if Yasmin told this story to the media.

EVRENSEL / OZGUR GUNDEM: A court of first instance has been
convened in Diyarbakir to litigate KURD-DER (Kurdish Association
for Democracy and Solidarity) members on charges of holding a
"Mahabad Kurdish Republic and Commemoration of the Executed
Kurdish Leaders" conference on April 3. The court ordered that
conference CDs in Kurdish be translated. Ibrahim Guclu,
Spokesperson of KURD-DER, one of the defendants of the court,
demanded that a Kurdish translator be assigned to the court for
he would be giving his statement in Kurdish.

OZGUR GUNDEM: Reportedly, hunger strikes protesting prison
conditions of Abdullah Ocalan have been getting widespread in
the southeastern region. New rolling hunger strikes in Mardin's
prison and in Ergani and Bismil districts of Diyarbakir have
been started. Havva Keser, Abdullah Ocalan's sister, has also
taken turns fasting at the second day of the two-day rolling
hunger strike launched in Adana's Human Rights Association. 100
people in Mahmur Camp in Iraq have also launched a hunger
strike. The hunger strike that was started in Sirnak's Cizre
district has been ended and nearly 1000 people held a
demonstration to mark that. A small turmoil broke out when
people engaged in a petty scuffle with police. Meanwhile, a
group of people paid a visit to the Cizre Mayor who has been
fined to pay 10.000 YTL (approximately 7,500 USD).

OZGUR GUNDEM: Turkish Armed Forces have been continuing its
military operations in rural area of Mardin and are readying to
launch new operations in Sirnak.

OZGUR GUNDEM: Following police's intervention in a public
demonstration that marked the end of a hunger strike in Mus
yesterday, and, police allegedly wounding four people as they
tried to quell it, reportedly, non-governmental organizations in
Mus demanded that the Mus Security Director be removed from his
office.
BOLGE / OZGUR GUNDEM: Aziz Akgul, Chairperson of MADER (Mersin
Fuel Oil Association),said that 34 Turkish firms have not been
able to receive payment of a total of 1 billion dollars worth of
service firms provided through transportation of fuel oil to
Iraq, a situation which has caused halting of transportation
operations to from Turkey to Iraq for fifteen days. Akgul
further said that if the problem persisted, 24,000 people
earning livelihood from the business will lose their job and
12,000 tanker trucks turn idle.

EVRENSEL: The daily approached critically to the recent CHP
support extended (see press summary 01/30) to the Tekel
Cigarette Factory workers who have been on a strike for a while
against the government decision to close down the factory.
Following recent announcement of CHP deputies that they would
extend support to businessmen in Adana if the Privatization
Authority decided to privatize the factory rather than closing
it down (see press summary 02/02),the daily expressed the anger
of the workers who discerned CHP's "true face." Meanwhile, DISK
(Confederation of Progressive Unions) Chairperson, who paid a
visit to the Tekel Adana cigarette factory workers on strike in
the factory for 35 days, called on the workers' platform to go
on a one-hour strike in the workday to protest the government
which "has been observing the instructions of the IMF."

EVRENSEL: The draft report of the Turkish Parliamentary
Commission for Probing Honor Killings reportedly stated that
majority of women in the southeastern region was speaking
Kurdish and did not know Turkish; a fact that reportedly made it
harder to extend support for women in the region. Nebahat
Akkoc, representative of KA-MER women's association, suggested
broadcasting of Kurdish educational programs in the state-run
Turkish TV station on order to increase women's awareness in the
region about their own rights, according to the report.

HURRIYET ONLINE: Two avalanches took place on the 80th
kilometer of the road between Hakkari and Sirnak. Road clearing
team and 24 cars with 40 passengers were trapped in-betweens two
avalanche spots. Jandarma and villagers rescued this morning
the people and team members trapped.

WWW.MEMLEKETHABER.COM: A former governor (of an unspecified
province) reportedly said that the government has been trying to
cure cancer with vitamins. In fact, the surrender of (Abdullah)
Ocalan was only part of a plot. Ocalan is a terrorist in whom
the U.S. has made investments for so many years, Ocalan is a
murderer, said the news article. Since the U.S. anticipated
then that it would lose control of Ocalan, (it determined that)
Ocalan's life would be in jeopardy because of a couple of
varying reasons. Not to render those investments it (the U.S.)
made as futile, it determined that the wisest solution would be
to guarantee the survival of Ocalan. The U.S. ensured this by
surrendering Ocalan to Turkey. As a result of that, the (PKK
terrorist) organization, which was formerly engaging in
activities such as conducting raids on villages and
(police/jandarma) stations, established greater goals. The
organization developed strategies in the form of mass uprisings
and rebellions in order to free that territory from Turkey's
control. It carried out rehearsals of this project in Semdinli,
Yuksekova and Batman. And it (it is not clear in the text
whether the subject refers to the U.S. or to the terrorist
organziation) now waits and sees how the outcome would be.
REID