SOUTHEAST TURKEY PRESS SUMMARY FOR MARCH 13, 2007

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 ADANA 000039 SIPDIS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PINS PGOV PHUM TU SUBJECT: SOUTHEAST TURKEY PRESS SUMMARY FOR MARCH 13, 2007 This is the Southeastern Turkey press summary for March 13, ¶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 BOLGE: Adana Mayor Aytac Durak wrote a letter to Dogu Perincek, Labor Party (IP) leader against whom a Swiss court issued 9000-Swiss-francs of fine for denying the Armenian genocide. Durak said in his letter to Perincek that he would volunteer to pay the amount of money the Swiss court obliged Perincek to pay. Durak further said that the Western countries were displaying a double-faced attitude regarding the issue of freedom of expression. BOLGE / EKSPRES / EVRENSEL / ZAMAN: Eric Green, the U.S. Consul in Adana, paid a visit to the Cukurova Journalists' Association in Adana. Green told the press members during his visit to the association that Bush administration was urging the Congress to drop the Armenian resolution pending in the U.S. Congress since the Administration believed that the resolution would not help the strategic relationship and alliance between the U.S. and Turkey. Green further said that the U.S. very well understood the concerns of the Turkish people about the resolution and the damage it could to the ties between the two countries. Green further said that the issue was more controversial with the intervention of the diplomats and politicians, that Turkey must deal with its historical issues with a more critical approach, and that the issue must be left to historians. Green noted that the U.S. wants to focus all attention on maintaining the long-standing alliance and cooperation between Turkey and the U.S., and leave the resolution issue behind and concentrate on mutual interests of the two countries. SABAH (GUNEY): The Twenty-third Motorized Infantry Brigade Command made a donation of apparels to people in Sirnak's Silopi district, who were victims of flooding in the district last October, to provide relief for suffering caused by the disaster. EVRENSEL / RADIKAL: The daily reports that Yasamda Gundem daily, which appeared on the shelves immediately after the one-month-ban imposed against the pro-Kurdish Gundem daily (because of its publications about alleged poisoning of Ocalan) (see press summaries for March 8 and 12.),has also been closed and been withdrawn from the shelves today. The prosecutor's office has said Yasamda Gundem daily is an extension of the former Gundem daily. ZAMAN / EVRENSEL / HURRIYET / RADIKAL / SABAH: Bursa Chief Prosecutors Office declared the report by Istanbul Forensic Authority on the alleged attempts to poison Abdullah Ocalan in his prison at Island Imrali found no traces of any poisoning. Zaman daily quotes Government Spokesperson and Ministry of Justice Cemil Cicek as saying that the allegations about Ocalan's poisoning were refuted and were proved baseless. EVRENSEL: Members of the initiative for "Seeking Turkey's Peace", who are based in the southeastern region and in Diyarbakir, issued a joint declaration and made a call to the government to maintain common sense and show tolerance in the face of the developments that could escalate societal tension. The declaration was signed by 64 institutions and members of intelligentsia, it condemned the pressure exerted on DTP and called for an independent delegation of doctors to investigate the allegations about the poisoning of Ocalan. EVRENSEL: Some mayors of the southeastern (from DTP),namely mayors of Diyarbakir, Hakkari, Tunceli, Mardin's Kiziltepe district, and Mus varto district, are holding contacts in Istanbul and Ankara to discuss the Kurdish issue, and, in particular, the health condition of Ocalan, the increased pressure on DTP, and efforts to hold peaceful Newroz celebrations. The mayors are paying visits to the representatives of media organizations, opinion leaders, columnists, editors-in-chief, union leaders in Istanbul. In Ankara, the mayors are planning to pay visits to the spokesperson of the parliament and deputy chairpersons of groups at the parliament. The first visit in Istanbul was paid to the national chairperson of The Confederation of Revolutionary Trade Unions of Turkey (DISK). ZAMAN: Diyarbakir Governor Efkan Ala said in a press announcement that the Diyarbakir people could identify those ADANA 00000039 002 OF 002 people who are actually doing harm to province's public image. Ala said that the people engaging in terrorist activities should be aware of the fact that the provocations are taking the city 20 years backwards and causing the people of Diyarbakir and Turkey to suffer from the consequences. ZAMAN: Diyarbakir Mayor Osman Baydemir told journalists during DTP mayors' visits in Istanbul that the tourism potential in the Newroz celebrations should be brought to attention instead of just perceiving Newroz as a source of tension. Separately, in response to a question about a court's recently issued prison sentence against Ahmet Turk, DTP national chairperson, for using a courtesy title before the name of Abdullah Ocalan, Baydemir said that those kinds of remarks should not be construed as acts of crime in the 21st century. RADIKAL: The Ankara Governor's Office decided to protect Esat Canan, Hakkari deputy from CHP. They did this because of the information obtained by the Istanbul police through its phone lines and e-mail addressed that a possible assault may target Canan. Police started getting information after news appeared in the media about the remarks Canan made at an official reception allegedly saying that "the southeastern region has its own martyrs." Canan has already been going through an investigation process because of those remarks. CRIME / LAW ENFORCEMENT HURRIYET (CUKUROVA): Mardin police chased a car which did not obey the instructions of the police to halt. Police searched the car which was later found as deserted and found 19,000 packages of cigarettes. ECONOMY ZAMAN: Bahjat Dougman, Syrian Consul General to Gaziantep, made a call to businessmen and industrialists to carry out investments in Syria at a meeting held at Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Iskenderun district of Hatay. CULTURE / SOCIETY / ENVIRONMENT HURRIYET: A group of 100 people wearing masks protested the controversial landfill problem in Mersin which has not been resolved for many years. The protestors urged the local administration to hold a summit to solve the problem about where to dump the garbage of the city. HURRIYET: A 4-magnitude earthquake shook Bingol province at 2.30 p.m. yesterday. No material damage or casualties were reported. GREEN