SOUTHEAST TURKEY PRESS SUMMARY FOR AUGUST 28, 2007

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 ADANA 000107 SIPDIS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PINS PGOV PHUM TU SUBJECT: SOUTHEAST TURKEY PRESS SUMMARY FOR AUGUST 28, 2007 ¶1. This is the Southeastern Turkey press summary for August 28, 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. HURRIYET: Turkish General Staff reportedly did not send Victory Day Reception invitations to DTP MPs. ¶3. GUNDEM: Prosecutor's Office (PO) in Agri's Dogubeyazit district initiated an investigation against Hatip Dicle, former DEP (Democracy Party) deputy, because Dicle used the word "Kurdistan," during a July 18 speech at a DTP-affiliated independent candidate's political rally in Agri. PO also started an investigation against DTP Dogubeyazit district chairperson for using an honorific title before the name of Abdullah Ocalan in a speech he delivered at the same event. ¶4. GUNDEM: A senior PKK member wrote in a column in pro-Kurdish Azadiya Welat newspaper that Kurdish circles should agree on a unified attitude and reaction against recent remarks of Turkish History Society President Yusuf Halacoglu about Kurds, Turks and Alevis. Meanwhile, DTP-affiliated independent Sirnak deputy Hasip Kaplan asked the chairmanship of the Turkish Parliament if any action would be taken against Halacoglu. ¶5. GUNDEM: Nearly 70 per cent of the governors of 81 provinces will be reshuffled with a decree which the government is trying to prepare by the end of September. Following this decree, a separate decree relocating national security directors' positions will be issued. ¶6. EVRENSEL: Akin Birdal and Gultan Kisanak, DTP Diyarbakir deputies, completed their inquiries concerning the living conditions of seasonal agricultural workers in Sakarya province (see press summary for August 27). The two deputies met with the Sakarya Governor to share their insights. SECURITY ¶7. BOLGE: Security personnel caught a person attempting to cross from Syria to Turkey's Kilis province. He reportedly was carrying 5.5 kilograms of heroin, one 7.65 mm Vzor-brand pistol (Czechoslovakian-make),pistol's cartridge and seven bullets. ¶8. BOLGE: In Sirnak's Silopi district, an improvised remote controlled explosive device detonated, wounding two soldiers traveling in a military vehicle to their posts on August 24 at 5.40 p.m. 
 ¶9. GUNDEM: Police reportedly received a tip-off and raided a house in Gaziantep where they found many arms and bullets. 710 bullets of various brands and sizes, 3 cartridges, and a device used in manufacturing bullets were seized. Two persons were arraigned after the operation. ¶10. GUNDEM: The pro-Kurdish Gundem daily announced the identity of 11 PKK members killed on August 24 in Sirnak's Uludere district. The daily separately quotes the current PKK leader, Murat Karayilan, as calling on countries in the region, especially Iran, to stop bombarding the villages in northern Iraq as part of Iran's operation to crush PJAK (Kurdistan Free Life Party) operatives. CRIME AND LAW ENFORCEMENT ¶11. GUNDEM: Twenty-two Iraqi nationals, who entered the country illegally through Hezil stream in Silopi (located at the border with Iraq),were caught in Sirnak's Cizre district. The illegal migrants will be deported soon. ¶12. HURRIYET (CUKUROVA): Jandarma teams searched a car they stopped in Van's Baskale district and found 30 kilograms of hashish. ECONOMY ¶13. HURRIYET (CUKUROVA) / ZAMAN / EKSPRES: Adana's Provincial Agricultural Director Abdullah Keskin said that growing olive trees started to become a favourable business among growers in the Cukurova region who are disappointed with ADANA 00000107 002 OF 002 weak revenues from citrus fruit. CULTURE / SOCIETY / ENVIRONMENT ¶14. ZAMAN: According to the daily, 300 trees Diyarbakir Municipality purchased from Italy and planted in the province failed to adapt to the climatic conditions there and died. ¶15. ZAMAN / BOLGE: Tarsus district municipality in Mersin enforced use of Turkish at district businesses and shops to protect the Turkish language from erosion and invasion by foreign languages. ¶16. GUNDEM: The renovation project of the 1600-year-old Dayr-ul Zafaran Monastery in Mardin was completed and an opening ceremony has been held. The project lasted 15 months. ¶17. EVRENSEL / ZAMAN: Nearly 10,000 people reportedly held an environmentalist protest against the additional unit for the coal powered energy plant the government is planning to build in Sirnak's Silopi district. Meanwhile, Zaman daily notes that Sirnak Governor appealed Sirnak Provincial General Assembly's decision which did not ratify the zoning plan of the plant's additional unit. ¶18. GUNDEM: "Train of Loyalty to Hasankeyf" set off with its 350 passengers for Batman province. The passengers include artists, authors, and civil society representatives and the train's journey will symbolize activism against building of the Ilisu Dam which will submerge Hasankeyf district of Batman and its historical values under reservoir waters. ¶19. SABAH (GUNEY): Chairperson of Sanliurfa's Agricultural Development Cooperative urged the local authorities to start an aid campaign for the families of the victims of a traffic accident that killed 18 agricultural workers in mid-August (see press summary for August 20) in Sanliurfa. ¶20. ZAMAN / BOLGE / EKSPRES: Faculty members of the Cukurova University were saddened by the news that one of the founding members of the university's Food Engineering Department died because of liver dysfunction. A ceremony has been held for the late faculty member at the university. ¶21. BOLGE / EKSPRES: Julie Ann McBride, an American basketball player of Ceyhan municipality's basketball team in Adana, returned from vacation and started training with the team. A new transfer player, Kristen Green, will also come tomorrow to start training for the first time. ¶22. GUNDEM: A scuffle that broke out when a group of people attempted to prevent another group from beating a woman in Adana's Karatas district turned into a violent fight yesterday at 10 p.m. Nine people were wounded and hospitalized. GREEN