SOUTHEAST TURKEY PRESS SUMMARY FOR MAY 10 AND 11, 2007

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 ADANA 000071 SIPDIS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PINS PGOV PHUM TU SUBJECT: SOUTHEAST TURKEY PRESS SUMMARY FOR MAY 10 AND 11, 2007 ¶1. This is the Southeastern Turkey press summary for May 10 and 11, 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 / EKSPRES: The local daily Bolge reads as follows in big captions on its front page: "Durak has his eyes on President's Office." The article further reads that (Adana Mayor) Durak advocated in a speech he made at a meeting of the Union of Cukurova Municipalities that, like in the government's proposal which said that the president should be elected directly by the people in a two-round election, the mayors should be elected in two rounds, as well, and the voters should be able to directly vote for the candidates, not for candidates that a board nominated. Durak further proposes that the right to return to their posts should be secured by the constitution for public office holders who are to resign from their offices to run in the elections. ¶3. ZAMAN: Land Forces Commander Ilker Basbug paid a visit to the Sirnak Governor Selahattin Apari. Basbug told Apari that he had inspected some of the military units at the province. ¶4. GUNDEM: DTP's election strategy was unanimously decided as to field independent candidates as a result of the two-day meeting DTP held in Diyarbakir on May 8 and 9. The other election strategy, namely forming alliances with other parties, was opted out. DTP's candidates will run in a total of 40 cities and it aims to win 37 parliamentary seats in the July 22 election. The daily reports that the legal concerns over whether former Kurdish deputies Leyla Zana, Hatip Dicle, Orhan Dogan and Selim Sadak could run and whether they will be nominated as candidates will be discussed in a separate party assembly meeting. Two of the topics discussed during the meetings were the termination of the PKK's unilateral cease-fire on May 18 and the health condition of Abdullah Ocalan. (This summary is from May 10 edition.) ¶5. EVRENSEL / GUNDEM / HURRIYET: The dailies claim that, AKP, CHP, Motherland Party and DYP, who were in bitter strife during the presidential election process, have reportedly smoothly agreed to boycott DTP's election strategy to win seats through independent candidates. DTP's Vice-Chairperson Osman Ozcelik, �0A;who said the recent amendment on the election law aimed to prevent Kurdish people's will to be represented in the parliament, commented that those efforts would prove vain. Ankara deputy from AKP, Ersonmez Yarbay, said that amendments to the election law should be made one year ahead of the election period, or, if it gets verified, it should be implemented a year later; otherwise it would harm the credibility of that law. ¶6. GUNDEM: The tension between Esat Canan, Hakkari deputy from CHP, and CHP party administration is reportedly signaling a rift between the two. Canan said, "It has become more difficult for me to carry out politics within CHP ranks." (This summary is from May 10 edition.) ¶7. GUNDEM: Abdullah Ocalan's attorneys set off for their weekly call on Ocalan at Imrali Prison Island. (This summary is from May 10 edition.) ¶8. ZAMAN / EVRENSEL / GUNDEM: Under a constitutional article cited, the Ministry of Interior suspended Cizre District Mayor Ayhan Budak from his office because of the two court cases he is currently standing trial (see press summary for May 9). Attorneys of Budak will appeal the decision at the Council of State. ¶9. GUNDEM: Diyarbakir Sur District Mayor Abdullah Demirbas, DTP Vice-Chairperson Bayram Altun, DTP European Representative Fayik Yagizay and Brussel Kurdish Institute Chairperson Derwis Ferho held a press announcement at the European Parliament and talked about pressures exerted on DTP officials in Turkey. ¶10. GUNDEM: Diyarbakir Heavy Penalty Court continued hearing the case brought against Batman Mayor Huseyin Kalkan (from DTP) on charges of making propaganda of the PKK in his May 2006 statements published in Los Angeles Times newspaper in the U.S. ADANA 00000071 002 OF 002 ¶11. GUNDEM: The Istanbul Prosecutor, following the end of the initial investigation process brought against Sirri Sakik, Vice-Chairperson of DTP, for his remarks during Newroz celebrations in a district of Istanbul, decided that there was no indictable offense in Sakik's remarks. ¶12. GUNDEM: DTP Viransehir District Chairperson in Sanliurfa, who was detained on charges that he used an honorific title before the name of Abdullah Ocalan during a press announcement four days ago, has been arraigned and released. The chairperson will stand trial for "praising criminals." ¶13. GUNDEM: KKK, PKK's political wing, which harshly criticized the government's attempts to block Kurds' representation in the parliament, announced that they were supporting DTP's strategy to field independent candidates. CRIME AND LAW ENFORCEMENT ¶14. ZAMAN / BOLGE / EKSPRES: Teams from Adana Provincial Jandarma Command and Pozanti District Jandarma Command, upon receiving a tip-off, conducted a search in two tanker trucks traveling on a highway. Teams found 57 tons of smuggled fuel-oil (diesel-oil) which was brought from the port of Mersin. ¶15. ZAMAN / SABAH (GUNEY) / BOLGE: Police caught 26 people in a truck parking area in Adana who entered the country illegally. 16 of them were Somalis and 10 of them were Iraqis. The snakeheads reportedly cheated people out of their money (3000 USD),told them that they arrived in Istanbul, and left people in a truck parking lot in Adana to flee the scene. ¶16. SABAH (GUNEY): Jandarma teams found 350 Indian hemp roots planted in flower pots and hidden in sections of a field cultivated by a person. Legal action has been brought against the owner of the field. CULTURE / SOCIETY / ENVIRONMENT ¶17. SABAH (GUNEY): The daily reports Mersin's great frustration over Council of State suspending the 500-million-dollar-tourism subsidy that would be allocated to the province. ¶18. GUNDEM: The villagers in a village of Sirnak's Uludere district attempted to cross the border into northern Iraq the previous day reportedly as a result of the alleged ongoing pressure from the military: The security officers prevented them from doing so. Three hundred village guards this time decided to lay down their arms and expressed strong commitment not to participate in the military operations. The army officials reportedly tried to convince the villagers by promising to remove check points at the entrance of the village and agreed that the villagers would not have to attend the operations. The villagers this time said that they would not take up arms until they feel fully convinced they will not be forced to participate in the operations. ¶19. GUNDEM: Families of the two PKK terrorists, who were killed in Hatay's Hassa district on May 5 during a military operation (see press summary for May 7 and 8),and some DTP members claimed the bodies of the terrorists from the mortuary of Adana Forensic authority. One of the terrorists was buried in Sanliurfa and the daily claims that the soldiers prevented the family from burying their dead without observing one of the Islamic burial procedures. The other PKK member was buried in Tunceli's Mazgirt district. DTP Tunceli Provincial Chairperson and DTP Mazgirt District Chairperson also attended the funeral. The security forces are reported as taking intense security measures during the funerals. ¶20. ZAMAN / HURRIYET (CUKUROVA) / EKSPRES / BOLGE: The 14th of Adana's Altin Koza Film Festival will be held between June 4 and 11. Mayor Durak said that the festival would gain an international status this year. Durak further announced that the theme of this year' festival will draw attention to global warming and child abuse. ¶21. BOLGE / EKSPRES: Twenty-two sheep of a 300-sheep-herd died immediately after drinking chemical waste water leaking from broken pipes on the premises of a factory in Adana. The owner of the herd said that he would file a complaint against the factory owners. GREEN