Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
06ADANA39
2006-02-22 10:09:00
UNCLASSIFIED
Consulate Adana
Cable title:  

SOUTHEAST TURKEY PRESS SUMMARY FOR FEBRUARY 17, 2006

Tags:  PREL PINS PGOV PHUM TU ADANA 
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UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 ADANA 000039

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PREL PINS PGOV PHUM TU ADANA
SUBJECT: SOUTHEAST TURKEY PRESS SUMMARY FOR FEBRUARY 17, 2006


This is the Southeastern Turkey press summary for February 17,

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

BOLGE / SABAH (GUNEY) / EKSPRES / OZGUR GUNDEM / EVRENSEL: Some
members of Democratic Society Party (DSP),majority of whom were
women, attempted to conduct an unauthorized demonstration in
Adana yesterday. Security forces did not allow the group to
hold a protest activity when people gathered in front of the DSP
party building, started shouting slogans in support of the PKK,
and attempted to march in the street. The Deputy Security
Director and a police chief were wounded when people in the
party building reportedly threw heavy objects at the police from
the windows. Some objects hit shop windows and caused material
damage. Police detained nearly 200 demonstrators during the
unrest.

SABAH (GUNEY): Twenty-six refugees, who entered the country
illegally, were caught as they were traveling from the Hatay
province to Istanbul by Jandarma teams on the road between
Antakya and Adana. 8 Mauritanians, 8 Somalians, 4 Saudis, 2
Palestinians, 2 Iraqis and 2 Bangladeshis were arrested.

ZAMAN / CUMHURIYET / OZGUR GUNDEM / SABAH: The dailies
reported alleged torture cases occurring in Adana's 6th Army
Corps Command. Army prosecutor filed an indictment against a
Lieutenant and 29 soldiers on charges of killing with torture on
June 28 a 20-year-old private who was jailed in a military
prison. The indictment pressed separate charges against 6 more
soldiers, who were under arrest for serious torture in the 6th
Army Corps Command. Ozgur Gundem and Sabah branded this case as
similar to the torture cases of the U.S. soldiers on Abu Ghraib
prisoners. Amnesty International will also reportedly examine
the death of the private.

ZAMAN: A case known as "JITEM case" has continues in
Diyarbakir's 3rd Heavy Penalty Court. A brigadier general, a
major, a colonel and some PKK defectors are among the eleven
defendants in the case. They are being charged with
"establishing a ring to commit criminal activities." The case
covers criminal activities before 1996 allegedly perpetrated by

this JITEM group.

OZGUR GUNDEM: Martin Scheinin, UN Human Rights Committee
human rights reporter, will hold meetings with contacts over the
next week in Ankara and Diyarbakir and obtain first-hand
knowledge of current human rights issues in Turkey. Scheinin's
reporting comes while human rights cases are recently increasing
in the country as many members of the intelligentsia have been
held as defendants on charges of violating article 301 of the
Turkish Penal Code.

OZGUR GUNDEM: A staff member of the daily Ozgur Gundem has
reportedly been arrested in Mus province on charges of "being a
member of a terrorist organization" following his detention and
arraignment.

OZGUR GUNDEM: Four senior DSP members in Mersin, who were
detained (on an unspecified date) for making a press
announcement in support of Abdullah Ocalan, have been released
following their arraignment. Separately, senior DSP members in
Tunceli, who were detained following an unannounced raid on DSP
headquarters in Tunceli, have been released.

SABAH (GUNEY): Forty-two people in Sanliurfa were detained
when people attempted to hold an unauthorized demonstration to
protest the arrest of Abdullah Ocalan seven years ago on
February 15. Seventeen of the detained have been released
without being arraigned.

OZGUR GUNDEM: Kurds, who reportedly have passed their day
indoors as a sign of protest on February 15, hit the streets and
held demonstrations yesterday in Siirt, Mardin, Van and
Sanliurfa. Thousands of people in Batman marched for hours.
People reportedly said that they would continue to gather in the
squares every day until the Kurdish issue is resolved through
democratic means. Police detained 50 people in Bitlis's Tatvan
district. Reportedly, nearly 500 people staged a march in Agri
and ended the protest peacefully. Tension in Sirnak and its
Cizre district continued and people staged a march to continue
to protest the appearance of military tanks in the streets a
couple of days ago in Cizre. In a separate article, the daily
reported that Diyarbakir mainly remained silent and
non-protesting throughout the day on February 15, marking a
clear contrast with the rest of the region. Only small groups
in some quarters were seen holding protests there.

OZGUR GUNDEM: AKP (Justice and Development Party) deputy
from Mardin announced that the decision to establish an
architecture and engineering faculty and an arts faculty in
Mardin has been ratified by the president following its
ratification by the council of ministers.
EVRENSEL: Avalanches, which took place at eight separate
points along the road between Hakkari and Van, closed the road
for traffic once again.

CUMHURIYET / HURRIYET: The daily reported allegations of CHP
deputies who reportedly claimed that bird flu disease broke out
one month earlier than the first publicly known cases in Agri's
Dogubeyazit district on December 30 in Turkey. Prior to the
cases in Agri, Ministry of Agriculture and Village Works
allegedly had already detected bird flu disease in eight
separate spots in the eastern provinces.
REID