US embassy cable - 04ADANA168

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 ADANA 000168 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREL, PINS, PGOV, PHUM, TU, ADANA, Press Summaries 
SUBJECT: SOUTHEAST TURKEY PRESS SUMMARY FOR DECEMBER 16, 2004 
 
 
This is the Southeastern Turkey press summary for December 16, 
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 
 
EVRENSEL:       A case has been opened against five students of 
Dicle University's Faculty of Education in Siirt. The students 
were wearing badges reading "No to Prosecutions 
(Investigations)," in protest of the charges brought against 30 
students who (allegedly) demonstrated against YOK (Higher 
Education Board) policies on November 6. 
 
CUMHURIYET / OZGUR GUNDEM / EVRENSEL:   Ozdemir Ozok, head of 
the Turkish Bar Association, called for a fair judicial process 
to reveal the truth about the killing of Ahmet Kaymaz and his 
son. Ozok added that the Union of Turkish Bar Associations would 
assign someone to observe the process until its conclusion. 
Ozkok's written announcement stated that his organization 
generated its own report about the Kiziltepe incident, by means 
of interviews with authorities, residents, and the victims' 
family, but that the case file's being classified as secret 
hindered the report. 
 
OZGUR GUNDEM:   Diyarbakir Prosecutor Erkan Ozcan voiced his 
opinion on the lawsuit brought against 72 security officers who 
(allegedly) killed 10 prisoners and wounded 23 prisoners at the 
Diyarbakir jail.  (Note:  the trial of these officers has been 
ongoing for 8 years, and the case has since been taken to the 
European Court of Human Rights.  End note.)  The prosecutor 
(reportedly) asked that the charges against some of the officers 
be dropped due to statute of limitations, and that the sentences 
of some of the officers be decreased to four years on the 
grounds that the officers were performing their duties, and 
acting in self-defense. 
 
OZGUR GUNDEM:   Members of DEHAP's Youth Branches initiated 
a campaign with the title "Yes to differences, No to 
separatism."  In support of the campaign, members have collected 
thousands of petitions from Diyarbakir, the Aegean Region, 
Mardin and Mersin since December 6, which they will send to the 
Turkish Parliament today.  Erkan Tas, the spokesperson of DEHAP 
Youth Branches, said his group is asking that the 3rd, 42nd, and 
66th articles of the Constitution be amended.  (Note:  the third 
article states that the language of the Turkish state is 
Turkish; the 42nd addresses education issues, and the 66th state 
that "everyone bound to the Turkish state through the bond of 
citizenship is a Turk."  End note). 
 
YENI SAFAK: Bingol Municipality's Press and Public Relations 
Directorate established a special desk to foster better 
communication between citizens and the Municipality. Through the 
so-called "White Desk," the Municipality aims to provide better 
service to the people of Bingol. 
 
ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENTS 
 
1.      EVRENSEL:  Negotiations between the Gaziantep Municipality 
and the 1200 workers of GASKI (Gaziantep Waterworks and Sewage 
System) are ongoing, and the parties have agreed on 17 of 83 
items in a draft agreement.  The union is seeking a 50 percent 
gross increase in pay for 2005. 
 
2.      TERCUMAN / HURRIYET / YENI SAFAK / RADIKAL / OZGUR GUNDEM: 
 Northern and eastern regions of Turkey are under heavy 
snowfall. The weather conditions make life difficult, rendering 
transportation impossible and causing water and electricity 
infrastructure to fail.  Due to unexpected and early snowfall in 
Haskoy, Mus, farmers are trying to plant wheat in negative 25 
degree Celsius on fields that are covered with snow. 
 
3.      EVRENSEL:               Nearly 300 producers of citrus fruit 
demonstrated in Samandag, Antakya province, to protest the 
prices the government is offering for their produce.  The 
producers criticized the government's economic policies, 
claiming the economy is managed through World Bank, IMF and WTO 
directives. 
 
4.      OZGUR GUNDEM:   Sanliurfa's Directorate of Environment 
and Forestry is launching one of Turkey's biggest forestation 
projects in Halfeti, where four types of trees will be planted 
on an area covering 82 hectares. 
 
5.      CUMHURIYET:     Cultivation of fields in the Cukurova region 
is declining. Today, fewer fields are being planted and finding 
workers to work the existing cotton fields is sometimes 
difficult.  Ali Ergezer, the head of the Chamber of Agriculture 
in Tarsus, expressed dissatisfaction with the prices for cotton 
offered by the state, especially compared to the relatively 
higher prices offered in other countries. (Note:  In this highly 
protected economy growers are as attuned to state monopoly 
prices as to any market index prices.  End note). 
 
 
REID