SOUTHEAST TURKEY PRESS SUMMARY FOR APRIL 24, 2007

UNCLAS ADANA 000060 SIPDIS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PINS PGOV PHUM TU SUBJECT: SOUTHEAST TURKEY PRESS SUMMARY FOR APRIL 24, 2007 This is the Southeastern Turkey press summary for April 24, ¶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: EKSPRES / BOLGE: Kemal Sag, Adana deputy from CHP, criticized the remarks made by Necati Cetinkaya, AKP Deputy National Chairperson and Elazig deputy, who recently said that the right to elect the President was at AKP's discretion and they would allow nobody to interfere in their own business. Sag reportedly responded to those remarks by saying that electing the President was not an item of intra-party business, but a right that belongs to the Turkish Parliament. EKSPRES: Abdullah Torun, Adana deputy from AKP, harshly criticized the Ankara Bar Association which filed a petition with the court to annul the recent decision taken to found a law faculty in Adana. The Ankara Bar Association was reportedly regarding the decision to found a law faculty in Adana as a political move and based their objection on a shortage of faculty members. SECURITY: ZAMAN / HURRIYET (CUKUROVA) / BOLGE / EVRENSEL: Jandarma in Hatay's Dortyol district opened fire on two persons when they reportedly ran away after disobeying jandarma's call to halt. One of them died and the other one was wounded. It was found out later that the two persons were working voluntarily as village guards. Meanwhile, a private was wounded during a conflict with PKK members in a military operation going on in the Amanos Mountain range in Hatay's Hassa district. ZAMAN: Terrorists reportedly planted explosives on a section of railroad passing nearby a village of Diyarbakir's Bismil district. Security officials noticing the explosives safely defused the device and rendered the area safe. Meanwhile, security forces patrolling a rural area in Bingol's Genc district found terrorists' shelters and ammunition and supplies stored in the shelters. EVRENSEL: The daily claims that two Sikorsky helicopters that took off from Sirnak's Silopi district bombarded the rural sections of Zaho in the northern Iraq for three hours the previous day. The villagers in those areas were reportedly very anxious because of the bombardment. No casualties were reported. ECONOMY HURRIYET (CUKUROVA) / ZAMAN: The ground-breaking ceremony of the Samsun-Ceyhan Pipeline project, which is a joint venture of Turkey and Italy, will be held today in Ceyhan district of Adana. CRIME AND LAW ENFORCEMENT EKSPRES / BOLGE / HURRIYET (CUKUROVA) / ZAMAN: Jandarma found and seized 54,000 packets of smuggled cigarettes in the warehouse of a factory in Adana's Organized Industry Zone. In a separate operation in Adana's Yuregir district, jandarma seized 152 historical artifacts at the house of a person upon receiving a tip-off. CULTURE / SOCIETY / ENVIRONMENT EVRENSEL: The daily points out that those children in disadvantaged sections of the society, such as the children of seasonal workers, were not able to celebrate April 23 joyfully. They were instead working to earn a livelihood for their families or they were playing in the slums in front of their makeshift tent-homes. Members of Adana branch of Egitim-Sen (Teacher's Union) pointed out that 5 million children in Turkey were deprived of the right to receive an education. EVRENSEL: Alevi organizations will hold their biggest public meeting on April 28 in Mersin. GREEN