SOUTHEAST TURKEY PRESS SUMMARY FOR APRIL 19, 2006

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 ADANA 000090 SIPDIS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PREL PINS PGOV PHUM TU SUBJECT: SOUTHEAST TURKEY PRESS SUMMARY FOR APRIL 19, 2006 This is the Southeastern Turkey press summary for April 19, ¶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 SABAH (GUNEY) / ZAMAN / EVRENSEL / YENI SAFAK / HURRIYET: Oil has been discovered in three of five wells that TPAO had excavated in Mardin's Nusaybin district near the border area, announced Mardin Governor Mehmet Kiliclar. EKSPRES: Sultan Rayev, Kyrgyzstan Minister of Culture, who came to Adana for the ongoing theater festival, paid a courtesy visit to Adana Mayor Aytac Durak. SABAH (GUNEY) / HURRIYET: Forty-six foreign nationals have been caught in a truck that police stopped in order to conduct a search in Siirt's Baykan district. SABAH (GUNEY): Jandarma teams have seized 11 long-barrel guns, 13 clips, 313 bullets and 3 bayonets in Siirt's Eruh district. RADIKAL / ZAMAN / YENI SAFAK: A terrorist and a soldier have been killed during a military operation in Siirt's Pervari district. ZAMAN / YENI SAFAK / RADIKAL / HURRIYET: Turkish parliamentary commission probing Semdinli case has submitted its 676-page report concerning the case to Parliamentary Speaker Bulent Arinc. Bulent Arinc criticized allegations claiming that parliamentary commission probing Semdinli case was unconstitutional. Arinc also stated that he did not agree with the accusations placed against Van Prosecutor Ferhat Sarikaya. Arinc did not agree with Nuri Ok, Chief Prosecutor of Supreme Court of Appeals, who said that parliament should not discuss the commission's report until the end of the judicial process of the Semdinli case. YENI SAFAK: State Minister Kursad Tuzmen pointed out the importance of International Iraq Fair that will be held in Turkey between June 7 and 11 in Gaziantep. HURRIYET (CUKUROVA): Hakkari Governor Ayhan Nasuhbeyoglu said that the state would provide all available support to people who will return to 18 villages and 115 hamlets in the province. The infrastructural needs of those places will reportedly be met as soon as possible, told Nasuhbeyoglu. RADIKAL: Central Executive Council of AKP discussed involvement of AKP members in irregularities concerning public tenders conducted in Hatay. OZGUR GUNDEM: Regional Representative of Human Rights Association (HRA) and Chairperson of HRA's Van Chapter paid a visit to an Iranian refugee in Van who started a death fast eight days ago when UNHCR decided to send the refugee back to his country. OZGUR GUNDEM: Nearly 300 students of education faculty of Erzurum University in Agri province staged a sit-in protest in front of the dean's office against recent investigations of the university targeting students. OZGUR GUNDEM: TV stations broadcasting in Kurdish language have been subject to many restraints in a reported sharp contrast with status of Turkish language broadcasts. Local TV stations are only allowed to broadcast four hours a week and maximum 45 minutes a day in Kurdish. Programs should be provided with Turkish subtitles, and Turkish translations of the programs must be sent to RTUK (Higher Board of Radio and Television) immediately. OZGUR GUNDEM: Five out of 7 people detained in Hakkari the previous day have reportedly been arrested on grounds that they made propaganda of terrorist organization and damaged public property during this year's Newruz celebrations. Meanwhile, the daily reported that a total of 11 DTP members, including DTP Tunceli provincial chairperson, have been detained in Tunceli, Diyarbakir and Istanbul yesterday. The daily further reported that legal prosecution has been started in Adana against 232 DTP members who held violent protests during which police officers were wounded in Adana on February 16, a day which marked anniversary of Abdullah Ocalan's arrest. OZGUR GUNDEM: Colleagues in Diyarbakir condemned recent death of a journalist from Revolutionary Democracy newspaper as a result of fatal wounds he incurred as he was following the ADANA 00000090 002 OF 002 violent protests in Diyarbakir (see press summary 04/17). OZGUR GUNDEM: While on the one hand families of six foreign-national terrorists, who were killed on March 25 in Mus together with other 8 PKK terrorists, have made many reported attempts to take possession of their dead from Turkish authorities and have gotten no response for one month, Ministry of Justice told the consulates of the three countries that nobody has claimed possession of those dead people. REID