US embassy cable - 04ADANA21

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 ADANA 0021 
 
SIPDIS 
 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREL, PGOV, PHUM, KTEX, TU, ADANA 
SUBJECT:  AMBASSADOR'S INITIAL VISIT TO 
ADANA 
 
REF:  ADANA 0017 
 
 
1.  (SBU) SUMMARY:  Ambassador Edelman on 
February 10th made his initial visit to Adana. 
Ambassador met with incumbent Adana Mayor Aytac 
Durak to discuss both USG foreign policy and the 
current conditions in Adana.  When the Ambassador 
asked Durak what he considered Adana's most 
significant problem, Durak responded that it was 
internal migration.  The Mayor noted no problems 
with the Adana Christian community although there 
is an ongoing investigation into a recent attack 
on a church.  In response to the discussion on 
the 2005 Multifiber Agreement expiration, Durak 
noted that a QIZ including textiles would be 
beneficial to the area.  Ambassador also made a 
courtesy call to Sabanci Mosque and received 
mission briefs at Incirlik Air Base, including 
Iraq support missions.  END SUMMARY. 
 
 
 
 
2.  (SBU) 10th Tanker Base Commander Brigadier 
General Levent Turkmen met the Ambassador and his 
party at the Incirlik Air Base flight line on 
February 10.  Embassy Ankara sent a diplomatic 
note to the TGS requesting meetings with Turkmen 
and 6th Corps Commander Lt General Ayhan Tas but 
the meetings were not approved.  Ambassador 
departed the flight line with 39th Air Base Group 
Commander Col William MacLure for a mission 
briefing. 
 
 
3.  (SBU) Ambassador met with incumbent Adana 
Mayor Aytac Durak later on February 10 to discuss 
the current political and economic scene 
conditions in Adana.  Durak opened by noting area 
interest in the ongoing UN talks in New York 
regarding Cyprus.  When the Ambassador stressed 
that the US strongly supports a Cyprus solution 
before the Greek Cypriot EU accession in May, 
Durak remarked that it was unfortunate that past 
Cyprus policy had been not been more favorable to 
the Turkish side.  The Mayor noted the importance 
of a stable Iraq since it was Turkey's southern 
neighbor and that the southeast Turkish region 
was watching developments there closely. 
 
 
4.  (SBU) The Mayor is currently up for 
reelection in a very active campaign, but has yet 
to declare his political party affiliation (see 
REFTELs).  Durak remained confident that he would 
win in any case, but he preferred to belong to 
"the strongest party possible" (Comment: Mayor's 
advisors assure consulate personnel that Durak 
will run as an AK Party candidate.  AK Party 
remains silent on Durak's candidacy. End 
comment).  The Mayor expressed concern that once 
re-elected he would continue to experience 
difficulty working with the sub-municipalities 
(Yuregir and Seyhan) on the City Council.  Durak 
went on to explain that, if he belonged to the 
strongest party, he could direct Seyhan and 
Yuregir more effectively.  He gave the example of 
gecekondus he had observed near the Consulate 
(new Consulate now is located in Yuregir 
municipality).  When visiting the Consulate, 
Durak told PO that he would like to do something 
about the illegal structures, but since it was 
Yuregir, he could not control the problem 
(Comment: Consulate has only requested road, 
security, and sewage system improvements;  it has 
not asked that Durak or his Yuregir counterpart 
address the nearby gecekondu.  End comment). 
 
 
5.  (SBU) When the Ambassador asked Durak what he 
considered Adana's most significant problem, 
Durak responded that it was internal migration. 
The rich people moved to Istanbul and the poor 
people continue to immigrate from southeastern 
Turkey to Adana, according to the Mayor.  Durak 
noted that this was producing a strain on 
services in the area because, despite the 
predominately agricultural nature of the area 
economy, many of the internal migrants still were 
unemployed and too illiterate to find other than 
agricultural jobs. 
 
 
6.  (SBU) In response to the Ambassador's 
discussion of area plans regarding the January 
2005 expiration of the Multifiber Agreement, 
Durak and his advisors offered that a QIZ 
including textiles in Yumurtalik would be 
beneficial to the area.  Only one of the Mayor's 
advisors (an experienced businessman who handles 
Durak's press affairs) responded with an 
understanding of the need for Adana textile 
manufacturers to move up the value chain.  The 
advisor noted that there was a need to 
manufacture higher quality higher value-added 
apparel because in the production of bulk cloth 
and low quality apparel few countries could 
compete with China. 
 
 
7.  (SBU) When the Ambassador asked the Mayor 
about the situation in Adana for religious 
minorities, the Mayor responded that there was a 
very small community in Adana.  Most of the 
Christians are in Mersin or Iskendurun, he said. 
Durak did not mention any problems (Note: 
Recently there was a molotov cocktail thrown at 
an Adana church, causing only superficial damage 
to the faade, which is still under 
investigation. Durak did not appear to be aware 
of the incident.  End note). 
REID