SOUTHEAST TURKEY PRESS SUMMARY FOR AUGUST 01 -03, 2007

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 ADANA 000102 SIPDIS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PINS PGOV PHUM TU SUBJECT: SOUTHEAST TURKEY PRESS SUMMARY FOR AUGUST 01 -03, 2007 ¶1. This is the Southeastern Turkey press summary for August 01-03, 2007. 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: ¶2. GUNDEM: The DTP-supported parliamentarian candidate from Hakkari, Sabahattin Suvagci, who had applied to the High Election Board of Hakkari to annul the election in Hakkari for fraud, is taking his case to the European Human Rights Court. ¶3. ZAMAN/EKSPRES/SABAH GUNEY: The Adana American Consul, Eric ¶F. Green, who visited the Justice and Development Party (AKP) Provincial Chair to congratulate him for the success his party achieved in the July 22 General Elections, said that AKP got 2 or 3 points above his guesses. The Adana AKP Provincial Chairman, Mustafa Attaroglu, said that almost 50 percent of voters cast their votes in favor of them, and that his party produced 6 deputies from Adana, which was traditionally known as the leftists' and the National Movement Party's (MHP)stronghold. Attaroglu said that everybody should be respectful to the results of the election and pointed out that the AKP government's priorities would be to fight unemployment and terrorism. Attaroglu added that per capita income had increased from 2,500 US dollars to approximately 6,000 US dollars and that his party aimed to increase it to 10.000 US dollars. Attaroglu said when we achieve this target, most of the problems that Turkey is faced with today would diminish. ¶4. EVRENSEL/GUNDEM: Regarding the charges and cases brought against the mayor of Sur district of Diyarbakir, Abdullah Demirbas, for introducing multilingualism and multiculturalism in municipal services, the famed Kurdish writer, Mehmet Uzun, said pressing such charges was a humanitarian crime and had nothing to do with judiciary and commented that it was a continuation of the state's traditional assimilation policy towards Kurds. Writer Uzun said that language was the honor of people, and encouraged all Kurds to use Kurdish in all walks of life and to protect and promote their culture. Uzun emphasized that Kurds should take such antidemocratic decisions and applications to the European Union and to the Justice Council of the European Parliament. ¶5. SABAH: The Turkish Railway Administration, (TCDD), received bids for selling 850 acres (3,400,000 square meters) of coastal land on the Mediterranean Dortyol district in Hatay province. Kurdish origin President of the Gaziantep Soccer Team and owner of the Kizil Group Company [provides oil for the coalition forces in Iraq], Ibrahim Kizil, offered the highest bid: 125,250,000 US dollars for the land on April 12. Based on rumors that Kizil had given the bid on behalf of the Leader of Kurds in Northern Iraq, Mesoud Barzani, and assessment of the issue by other state organs as to the sensitivity of that region, TCDD suspended the tender. SECURITY ¶6. GUNDEM: Police arrested 8 persons in Sirnak on charges of shouting illegal slogans during the June 30 funeral ceremony in Cizre of the former Kurdish politician, Orhan Dogan, who died as a result of a stroke. The detainees are being held at the Cizre Security Directorate. The police raiding the houses and businesses that belonged to the Democratic Society Party (DTP) supporters in Antalya detained 4 persons, including the provincial accountant of DTP. ¶7. GUNDEM: 14 PKK defendants in the E-Type Indoor Prison of Malatya, who had sent petitions to the Justice Ministry and used the honorific title "Mr. Ocalan," in order to draw attention to his health condition, have been given 2 months of imprisonment. The inmates' attorney, Hasan Dogan, said that they would appeal the decision. It is also reported that the prison administration has not been delivering the Kurdish-language daily newspaper "Azadiya Welat" on the grounds that the administration does not have a translator and that the inmates would be given the newspaper if they paid for the translator's fee. ¶8. CUMHURIYET/ZAMAN/YENI SAFAK/HURRIYET/SABAH: As a result of clashes between GOT forces and PKK militants in the rural Cemisgezek and Hozat districts of Tunceli one soldier who had been wounded was taken to the Military Hospital in Elazig by a helicopter. The Zaman newspaper reported that PKK had a group of ADANA 00000102 002 OF 003 250 militants who were constantly on the move to change their locations. Hurriyet and Sabah newspapers reported that 3 soldiers and 5 militants were killed while 1 soldier was wounded. ¶9. RADIKAL: The National President of the Human Rights Association of Turkey, Reyhan Yalcindag, said yesterday that inmates at the H-type prison in Erzurum were subjected to inhumane treatment. Yalcindag said that when Erdal Ozdemir was taken to the hearing at the Erzurum Criminial Court he was insulted and cursed at by judicial employees and that when he complained about it to the prison commander he was beaten for hours by two soldiers. Ozdemir was taken to his ward without being taken to a doctor. Yalcindag said that the HRA had undertaken action to initiate judicial and administrative investigations. ¶10. GUNDEM: Police arrested nine youth in Uludere district of Sirnak for shouting illegal slogans during the opening of the DTP-supported parliamentary candidates' election office on July ¶14. ¶11. GUNDEM: After their arraignment in Baskale district of Van, Ayhan Seven and Ozgur Turan have been imprisoned for making propaganda of an illegal organization. Seven and Turan were interrogated by police for chanting illegal slogans during the independent candidates' meeting in Baskale. ¶12. RADIKAL/SABAH/YENI SAFAK/CUMHURIYET/EKSPRES/BOLGE HURRIYET/ZAMAN: PKK militants killed 3 soldiers and wounded 7 soldiers in an ambush in the rural Tunceli. The wounded soldiers have been taken to the military hospital in Elazig for treatment. 6 PKK militants have been killed in the ensuing clashes. It is claimed that the US make M-16 weapons were found on the militants. The GOT forces launched an operation with 5,000 soldiers in the Tunceli, Ovacik, Hozat, and Cemisgezek rectangular. ¶13. SABAH: As a result of explosion of a remote-controlled PKK mine, 1 soldier was wounded in Uludere of Sirnak. The Turkish General Staff announced on its web site that one PKK militant was found dead during the GOT forces' search in the rural Bitlis. ¶14. YENI SAFAK/EKSPRES/BOLGE: Hatice Arat, the PKK's suicide bomber, who was arrested in Adana with 9.750 kilos of explosives, two hand grenades and 14 electric fuses on April 12 has been sentenced to 39.5 years of imprisonment by the 8th Felony Court of Adana on charges of "membership to an illegal organization, possessing dangerous materials without permission, and forgery." ¶15. GUNDEM: Eyup Dogan, who was trying to go from Kiziltepe district of Mardin to his home in Viransehir district of Sanliurfa stopped a minibus for a ride. 10 policemen in disguise, who got out of the minibus, started cursing and beating Mr. Dogan. Dogan was kept under observation at the Kiziltepe State Hospital and was issued a medical report indicating that he had suffered from strokes in the head and stomach and had bruises. Dogan reported the incident to the Mardin Chapter of the Human Rigts Association and filed charges with the Chief Public Prosecutor of Kiziltepe. ¶16. GUNDEM: Despite 6 months have passed over detention of the Democratic Society Party's (DTP) Van Provincial Chairman, Ibrahim Sungar, and Abdulvahap Turhan, the speaker of DTP's Youth Organization, the public prosecutor has not prepared the indictment yet. Sungar and Turhan had been detained by police on February 19 and are charged with membership to an illegal organization. ¶17. CUMHURIYET: The Dogu Haber Ajansi (DHA) [Eastern news Agency] reporters from Diyarbakir, Ramazan Yavuz and Ramazan Imrag, who had gone to Cizre district in Sirnak province to cover the demonstrations protesting dismissal from his post and arrest of the Cizre Mayor Aydin Budak three months ago are facing three years of imprisonment on charges of "opposing the anti-terror law" for citing some of the slogans chanted by demonstrators, such as: "Cizre will become a graveyard for the prosecutor; Greetings, greetings, thousands of greetings to Imrali [where Abdullah Ocalan is imprisoned]." The hearing of the Dicle News Agency's reporters from Sirnak, Faysal Tunc and Behdin Tunc, and the deliverer of the Gundem newspaper, Sabri Adanir, who are accused of "assisting an illegal organization willingly and deliberately," was adjourned to another date by the 5th Felony Court of Diyarbakir yesterday. ADANA 00000102 003 OF 003 CRIME & LAW ENFORCEMENT ¶18. CUKUROVA HURRYET: Jandarma arrested 3,900 kilos of sugar in Albayrak village of Baskale district of Van. It is believed that the sugar had been smuggled from Iran. ¶19. CUKUROVA HURRIYET/SABAH GUNEY: GOT forces seized a total of 45 kilos of hashish and 160 hemp roots in Diyarbakir during the operations in the last week. 7 of 12 persons detained for connections with drugs were imprisoned. ECONOMY ¶20. GUNDEM: Bayram Kara, the Batman Regional Director of the Turkish Petroleum Company (TPAO),said that TPAO had drilled 25 wells along the Turkish-Syrian border since 2005 and produced 2,500 barrels of oil from 21 wells daily. Kara said that TPAO aimed to drill 40 wells and added that it produced 20,000 barrels from 570 wells in Batman region daily. ¶21. CUMHURIYET/EVRENSEL: A delegation of ten Italians, who are members of various non-governmental organizations in Italy, visited the historic Hasankeyf site in Batman province. The delegation also paid a visit to the Mayor of Hasankeyf, Abdulvahap Kusen, to find out what could be done to rescue the town which will submerge under the reservoir of the Ilisu Dam that will be built over Tigris river. ¶22. CUMHURIYET/SABAH GUNEY: In Tarsus district of Mersin, the Mersin Governor Huseyin Aksoy said at a meeting attended by the sub-governor of Tarsus, the Provincial Tourism Director and presidents of many non-governmental organizations that Vatican and the Pope had declared the year 2008 as the "Saint Paul's Year" and that he therefore expected thousands of tourists to visit St. Paul's birthplace in Tarsus. ¶23. EVRENSEL: In order to protest the plan to construct a dam over the Munzur River -a tributary of the Euphrates- in Tunceli, 20 domestic and international cyclists will ride their bikes from Ankara to Tunceli on August 9, covering 950 kilometers. The bikers will set off with the "We are cycling to Munzur to drink a cup of water from Munzur." The cyclists will participate in the 7th Munzur Nature and Culture Festival starting on August 9 in Tunceli. GREEN