SOUTHEAST TURKEY PRESS SUMMARY FOR JUNE 27, 2007

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 ADANA 000090 SIPDIS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PINS PGOV PHUM TU SUBJECT: SOUTHEAST TURKEY PRESS SUMMARY FOR JUNE 27, 2007 ¶1. This is the Southeastern Turkey press summary for June 27, ¶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 (CUKUROVA): Hakkari Jandarma Command in Hakkari renovated a mosque and repaired the bust of Ataturk at a school in Hakkari's Cukurca district. ¶3. CUMHURIYET: The total number of seats that can be won from Agri is five. According to people in the street, the competition in Agri will be mostly between the independent candidates and the AKP. The AKP won three seats in the last elections; however, according to people in the street, independent candidates are posing a great challenge this year. People generally expected that independents could win two seats. PM Erdogan, during his address to the crowds at an election rally held in Agri on June 19, warned people that casting votes for independent candidates meant those votes would go waste since their influence on decisions would be very limited at the parliament. ¶4. GUNDEM: To beat DTP in the elections in the southeastern region, AKP kicked off investments in areas where DTP won by landslide victory in the last elections, reports the daily. Recently, Minister of Agriculture and Village Works announced a project called "Development Project for Diyarbakir, Batman and Siirt" covering a total of 500 villages, 38 of which are chosen for a pilot project. ¶5. GUNDEM: British Daily Telegraph newspaper reporters went to the northern Iraq and reported that Turkey has been shelling the border area to be able to create a 15-kilometer de facto buffer zone inside northern Iraq. Turkey has mobilized 20,000 soldiers at its border to prevent the PKK from using Iraq as a refuge. ¶6. HURRIYET / CUMHURIYET / GUNDEM / EVRENSEL: Gundem, Evrensel and Cumhuriyet dailies claimed that the Ministry of Interior started an investigation against members of Van's Third Heavy Penalty Court for not conforming to the Supreme Court's overturning of the prison sentence issued against the non-commissioned officers by Van Court for their involvement in the Semdinli bombing in November 2005. Despite the Supreme Court of Appeals decree that the case should be referred to a military court, Van's Heavy Penalty Court decided that the jurisdiction lied with them and the court reopened the case on June 13. However, Hurriyet daily reports that authorities denied news reports that an investigation was opened against Van's Third Heavy Penalty Court members. SECURITY ¶7. BOLGE: Terrorists stopped the flow of traffic on a road between Tunceli and Erzurum to disseminate propaganda of the PKK to people whom they forced out of nearly 100 cars. PKK members told people to cast their votes for the independent candidates, reported the local daily. ¶8. GUNDEM: The PKK once again denied any PKK involvement in the oil tanker suicide attack which targeted Karsilar Jandarma Station in Tunceli (see press summaries for June 25 and 26). The terrorist organization said no PKK members were killed in that incident. Meanwhile, the funeral of the truck driver was held in Adana's Ceyhan district. ¶9. HURRIYET / CUMHURIYET / ZAMAN: Terrorists remotely detonated a mine and killed a soldier during a survey soldiers were carrying out in an area in Sirnak's Bestler district. The coffin of the soldier was brought to his hometown, which is Agri's Patnos district, for his funeral ceremony. Another PKK mine detonated as Turkish soldiers were traveling on a road in Agri's Patnos district killed a private. ECONOMY ¶10. GUNDEM: A senior official from the Habur Border Gate with Iraq said the closure of the Habur Border Gate because of the renovation activities which ended eight months ago, adversely affected the operations and dropped the number of trucks passing the gate significantly. Previously, 800-900 oil tankers were crossing the gate on a daily basis, however, this ADANA 00000090 002 OF 002 decreased to a daily 70-80 oil trucks, which indicates a 50 to 60 per cent decrease. The number of trucks with solid goods, which are being processed at the gate, is reportedly at the normal levels. The official denied any links attributed to the rumors about a possible Turkish incursion into northern Iraq causing the decline in the number of oil trucks processed at the gate. GREEN