US embassy cable - 04ADANA97

UNCLAS ADANA 000097 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREL, PINS, PGOV, PHUM, IZ, TU, ADANA, Press Summaries 
SUBJECT: SOUTHEAST TURKEY PRESS SUMMARY JULY 20, 2004 
 
 
This is the Southeastern Turkey press summary for July 20, 2004. 
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, SECURITY, HUMAN RIGHTS 
Sabah: As a result of ensuing clashes between 
PKK-Kongra Gel militants and GOT Forces in the rural Anadare 
region of Tatvan, Bitlis province, two militants were killed. 
The security forces launched a large scale operation in the area. 
Sabah: Mus First Criminal Court pressed charges 
against the defunct HADEP National Chairman Murat Bozlak for 
playing a song by the famous Kurdish singer Sivan Perver during 
his election activities in Mus in October 2001. The court ruled 
that no other language, except Turkish, could be used in the 
political parties' meetings, and therefore sentenced Bozlak to 
six months of imprisonment. Bozlak appealed to the Supreme Court. 
Yeni Safak: A research conducted by the Turkish 
General Staff revealed that 4,821 of the 90,000 village guards, 
who were employed since 1985 for combating the PKK in East and 
Southeastern Turkey, have been involved in various crimes and 
have been sentenced by courts. The report expressed that a 
village guard received 325,350,000.- Turkish Liras 
(Approximately $220)per month as of January 1, 2004, and the 
total paid to 60,000 village guards on the payroll amounted to 
$13 million a month. The report said 87,296 village guards were 
employed nationwide, and 28,754 were employed on voluntary 
basis. Currently, village guards are employed in 60 provinces. 
Village guards are mostly employed in the following towns: 
Hakkari (8,837), Diyarbakir (8,343), Van (8,340), Sirnak (7,870). 
The most frequent types of crimes the village guards have been 
involved in are "assisting and harboring the separatist 
organization, "terrorist incidents, smuggling, and crimes 
committed against individuals and property." 
Zaman, Bolge, Ulkede Ozgur Gundem: It is reported that 
the runways at Incirlik Air Base will undergo a ten-day 
maintenance program. 
Radikal: The Health Ministry built a health center in 
Esendere village of Yuksekova, Hakkari province, thirty years 
ago, appointing a nurse and a driver for the non-existing 
ambulance. No doctors have been appointed to the town whose 
population is roughly seven thousand. The patients from the town 
go to Iran for medical treatment. The children in the area have 
not received the required inoculations for the past three years. 
Bolge: It is reported that, Gevri Arslan (70), the 
headman of Catalcam village in Dargecit, Mardin province, was 
killed by unidentified persons for unknown reasons. 
Vakit: Based on a tip, the police from Anti-Organized 
Crimes and Smuggling Department of Yuksekova Security 
Directorate, Hakkari province, arrested five Iranians who had 
illegally entered into Turkey with 16.5 kilos of opium and 3.210 
kilos of morphine. The Iranians are being detained in the 
Hakkari prison following their arraignment. 
Zaman: The Tunceli Governorate announced that PKK- 
Kongra Gel militants attacking the Yenibas Jandarma Station in 
Hozat, Tunceli province, wounded a soldier. A large scale 
operation has been launched in the region to apprehend the 
militants. 
Ulkede Ozgur Gundem: The Geology Engineer Tahir 
Ongor claimed that a Canadian firm was producing gold in an 82 
hectare area in Tunceli using cyanide. The President of Tunceli 
Bar Association Attorney Huseyin Aygun said the Bar Association 
would develop a civil disobedience activity aiming environmental 
protection against the dams under construction in the region. 
Ulkede Ozgur Gundem: Diyarbakir police arrested 
38 demonstrators protesting the isolation detainment of Abdullah 
Ocalan, protesting inability to meet with his attorneys. Many 
demonstrators were beaten and dragged on the ground by police. 
ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENTS 
Hurriyet, Sabah (Guney Supplement), Turkiye: In a 
meeting organized by CUGIAD, The Cukurova Young Businessmen 
Association, discussed the future of the town with lawmakers, 
businessmen, and NGOs from Adana. The CUGIAD President Tarkan 
Kulak said Adana should be included in the government's 
Incentive Program, certain crops should be subsidized, and 
KOBIs, Small and Medium Sized Exploitations, should be granted 
long term loans with low interest rates.