SOUTHEAST TURKEY PRESS SUMMARY FOR DECEMBER 13, 2006

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 ADANA 000260 SIPDIS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PINS PGOV PHUM TU SUBJECT: SOUTHEAST TURKEY PRESS SUMMARY FOR DECEMBER 13, 2006 This is the Southeastern Turkey press summary for December 13, ¶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 ZAMAN/HURRIYET/RADIKAL/CUMHURIYET/SABAH: Concerning the explosion of a boiler in a military residential building in Diyarbakir on December 11, 2006, the Chief Public Prosecutor of Diyarbakir -CPPD- Durdu Kavak, announced that eight persons had been killed and 5 persons, including the janitor, boiler-caretaker and repairmen, had been detained on the charges of "attempting to kill people accidentally." In response to whether the explosion was a terrorist incident, the CPPD said that the five persons, who had been detained, had never been involved in terrorist acts, but that possibility was also being probed. ZAMAN: The DTP Provincial Chair of Erzurum, Bedri Firat, has been given 10 months of imprisonment and 47 Turkish Liras of fine for addressing to PKK's Leader as "Mr. Ocalan" in 2004 and having a poster of Ocalan in the party's office. Firat said that the decision was political and he would appeal it at the Supreme court. HURRIYET/EVRENSEL: Because of the events that broke out during the lynching attempt on December 04, 2006 of Abdullah Basci, a rapist who allegedly raped and killed 2 thirteen-year old girls and harassed several others, 1 person had been killed and 76 others had been wounded. Of the 29 persons detained by police before and after the events on 12/04/2006, 14 have been arraigned while the other 15 are still being interrogated. Of the ones who have been arraigned, 6 persons have been imprisoned and others have been let free to be tried in absentia. RADIKAL/EVRENSEL/EKSPRES: NGOs and some political parties in Adana formed a Peace and Brotherhood Initiative and marched by making a "Peace Chain" for solving the Kurdish issue. The Peace Chain formed by the Emegin Partisi (Labor Party) gathered in front of the Human Rights Association. A group of 40 people hanged banners written in Turkish and Kurdish on their necks and started to march. The Emegin Partisi Chairwoman, Sevil Arici, made a press announcement on behalf of the group and reminded that PKK had declared a unilateral cease fire on October 01, 2006, and that opportunity should be evaluated well. EVRENSEL: Just prior DTP's "Elected Officials March" aiming to turn the cease fire declared by PKK to a lasting peace, the DTP's Provincial Organization in Tunceli held an indoor meeting with section headmen, provincial council members, municipal council members, lawyers, union presidents and political party chairpersons yesterday. The DTP Provincial Chairman, Hidir Aytac, claimed that provocations had increased despite PKK's truce and urged that everybody should do whatever falls on his shoulders and that they all would be responsible for the consequences of the process. The EMEP -Labor Party- Provincial Chairman, Huseyin Tunc, expressed his wishes that the truce would bring about the conditions for these two peoples [Turks and Kurds] to live together as brothers and told that everybody should contribute to the process. The Tunceli Mayor, Songul Erol Abdil, and the HRA's Tunceli Chapter's President, Attorney Baris Yildirim, also expressed their views in the meeting. SABAH: PKK militants are seeking for ways of having a comfortable winter in the mountains. While PKK shelters equipped with televisions and satellite dishes were discovered in rural Lice of Diyarbakir, one person taking heaters operating with solar energy to PKK was arrested in Nusaybin of Mardin. The solar energy was equipped with high technology and could be programmed to operate remote booby traps and recharge radio batteries with solar energy as well. ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENTS BOLGE/EKSPRES: The 1st Cukurova Agricultural Fair will be opened in Adana by the Minister of Agriculture, Mehdi Akar, today. Irrigation systems, agricultural machinery, green house farming and feed sectors will display their products in the fair to be participated by 230 companies -35 foreign companies. EKSPRES: Ali Kavak, the President of Mediterranean Fresh Fruits and Vegetables Exporters Union -AKIB-, expressed in a meeting organized for citrus producers in Adana on "Citrus Industry" ADANA 00000260 002 OF 002 that Turkey processed only %7 of its production and that the best way of rescuing that product was to go into industrialization. Kavak said that the citrus production season in Turkey lasted for three or four months but in rivaling countries, such as Spain and Italy, the season was all year long. Mr. Kavak added that the Turkish producers should also diversify their citrus varieties and try to produce all year. Mr. Kavak said that Turkey was processing only 189,000 tons in its industrial plants of its 2,398,000 tons, which corresponded to %7 of its production. The Spanish FMC Food Technologies S.L. Citrus Systems Murica Company officials gave a presentation to the producers at the conclusion of the meeting held at Hiltonsa. GREEN