SOUTHEAST TURKEY PRESS SUMMARY FOR FEBRUARY 14, 2007

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 ADANA 000020 SIPDIS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PINS PGOV PHUM TU SUBJECT: SOUTHEAST TURKEY PRESS SUMMARY FOR FEBRUARY 14, 2007 ¶1. This is the Southeastern Turkey press summary for February 14, 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. BOLGE / HURRIYET (CUKUROVA) / EKSPRES: Street vendors in Adana held a protest activity in front of the Seyhan Municipality and complained that the six venues the municipality constructed and assigned to them for their use have now been assigned to others. Meanwhile, Adana Mayor Aytac Durak criticized the district municipalities for not having solved the issue of street vendors who are occupying the streets illegally. ¶3. GUNDEM: "Public Initiative for Liberation in Support for Apo" has been delivering brochures everywhere in Diyarbakir to make a call for people to temporarily shut down their businesses in protest to remember the anniversary of the arrest of Abdullah Ocalan by Turkish authorities eight years ago on February 15. (Note: Apo is a nickname for Abdullah Ocalan. End Note.) ¶4. GUNDEM: Five people, who were conducting a campaign for gathering signatures in support of peace under "Democratic Free Women's Movement" in Sirnak's Silopi district, were detained. Meanwhile, the daily reports the PKK as held a conference between January 15 and February 4. According to the daily, decisions were taken at the conference to turn the PKK into a professional guerilla army, because, the policies of denial and neglect in Turkey brought the Kurdish people to the point where they would have to reconsider their situation and would eventually have to make new decisions to bring about change. ¶5. SABAH: The judge did not allow Attorney Ibrahim Guclu, the spokesperson for the former Kurd-Der (Kurdish Association),to give his statement in Kurdish during the trial opened against him for his remarks made on the anniversary of a Kurdish rebellion which dates back to 1920s. SECURITY ¶6. SABAH: Office of the Chief of General Staff announced that an anti-personnel mine, which was placed by the PKK in a rough terrain area in Batman's Hasankeyf district, was safely detonated. The Office further announced that two PKK shelters were discovered in Tunceli last Sunday, and one RPG 7, its ammunition, two flame throwers and large amounts of ammunition were seized in mountainous sections of Sirnak. CRIME / LAW ENFORCEMENT: ¶7. HURRIYET (CUKUROVA): Van police announced that 31 kilograms of hashish were seized during a police search at two houses. In a separate operation Van police seized 18,000 packets of smuggled cigarettes in a car they followed. The car, which did not stop when police warned it to halt, was found with the cigarettes as deserted later. Meanwhile, jandarma teams in Elazig searched a passenger bus on a road between Elazig and Bingol, and found 6 kilograms of hashish in the luggage of a passenger. ECONOMY ¶8. BOLGE / ZAMAN: Umit Ozgumus, Chairperson of Adana Chamber of Industry, talked with the Seyhan Subgovernor who paid a visit to Ozgumus. During their conversation, Mr. Ozgumus said that people should not long for the wealthy era of Adana between 1950s and 60s since it had not been a period of healthy economic growth. According to Ozgumus, there was no competition then and money was earned easily by only a small portion of the society. Ozgumus made further positive comments about the investment prospects in Adana. ¶9. BOLGE: Saban Bas, Chairperson of Adana Chamber of Commerce, announced that they created a report on the chief economic and social problems of Adana and submitted it to the Ministry of Industry and Commerce. ¶10. GUNDEM: Chairperson of Kars Commodity Exchange said that Kars would be a center of attraction when the Kars-Tibilisi-Baku Railway Project is completed. ADANA 00000020 002 OF 002 CULTURE / SOCIETY / ENVIRONMENT ¶11. BOLGE / EVRENSEL / EKSPRES / SABAH (GUNEY) / GUNDEM / ZAMAN / RADIKAL: A ten-year-old child was found stabbed and wounded by fire from a modified blank firearm in a street in Adana. The child was hospitalized by people who found him in the street. The father of the child is reported to be in prison, and, the police detained a suspect, who is a person they suspect is romantically involved with the mother of the child. ¶12. ZAMAN / RADIKAL: Ministry of Agriculture and Village Works verified that bird flu virus was detected in the poultry that died in Batman's Doluca village. Meanwhile, the Radikal daily reported that Ministry of Agriculture and Village Works verified that bird flu virus was detected in the poultry that died in Diyarbakir's Silvan district. ¶13. GUNDEM: Green card system in Turkey provides a special card giving access to hospital care at state hospitals for poor people. The daily reports an alleged "green card scandal" in Sirnak's Cizre district: 2000 expired green cards, were found dumped in the garbage of a state hospital. Local Green Card holders, whose expired green cards were found in the garbage, complained that state authorities have not been reissuing green cards to them only because they are of Kurdish origin. ¶14. GUNDEM: Orthodox Christians in Hatay's Iskenderun district started festivities to welcome the Easter Fasting that will start on February 19. GREEN