US embassy cable - 05ADANA4

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 ADANA 000004 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREL, PINS, PGOV, PHUM, TU, ADANA, Press Summaries 
SUBJECT: SOUTHEAST TURKEY PRESS SUMMARY FOR DECEMBER 30, 2004 
 
 
This is the Southeastern Turkey press summary for December 30, 
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 
 
MILLIYET / RADIKAL / EVRENSEL / OZGUR GUNDEM / SABAH:   The Mardin 
Kiziltepe Prosecutor finally prepared the long-awaited statement 
of charges against the four (Turkish National Police) special 
operations team members who are allegedly connected to the 
killing of Ugur and Ahmet Kaymaz. The prosecutor brought a 
lawsuit at the Criminal Court of Law on the grounds that four 
police officers "transgressed the rules of necessary 
self-defence and caused the incidence of the two killings whose 
actual perpetrator cannot be traced or discovered". The police 
officers may face up to 12 years of imprisonment according to 
Radikal.(Note: Ozgur Gundem and Evrensel report the term as 6 
years. Sabah and Milliyet says that three of the four police 
officers may face up to 12 years and the other officer may face 
up to 6 years. End Note.) According to the statement, the 
information gained and the statement of a witness said that 
Ahmet Kaymaz's house would be used by PKK, which was in the eve 
of organizing an activity against the security forces at a 
nearby police station. On the day of the incident, Ahmet Kaymaz 
went out of the house with his son, only to distract the police 
watching the house and allow Nusret Bali to run away through the 
backdoor. The statement further says that Ugur and Ahmet Kaymaz 
started the conflict and the Kalachnikov gun found beside Ugur 
Kaymaz's body fired 8 bullets and the gun found beside Ahmet 
Kaymaz fired 5 bullets. This statement contradicts with the 
report of the Human Rights Commission of the Turkish Parliament 
reading that there were no traces of armed conflict in the 
scene. The statement demanded that a charge be brought against 
Makbule Kaymaz, the wife of Ahmet Kaymaz, for 'being a member 
and a leader of the terrorist organisation'. If the Criminal 
Court accepts this appeal, Makbule Kaymaz may face up to 24 
years of imprisonment. 
 
EVRENSEL / CUMHURIYET:  The headmen of Hozat, Tunceli, 
complained that they were threatened and insulted by Colonel 
Namik Dursun, the Tunceli Jandarma Regiment Commander. A 
delegation from the Human Rights Association interviewed the 
village headmen to inquire about the matter. The village headmen 
stated that if the headmen did not divulge (unspecified) 
information until January 1st, the (Jandarma) Commander would 
allegedly going to give much trouble to villages and/or its 
headmen. Human Rights Association states that people are being 
seriously opressed and they are constantly being terrorized in 
Tunceli. The delegation later visited Tunceli subgovernor and 
the Governor as well. 
 
OZGUR GUNDEM:   Ozgur Gundem narrates the story of Vahdettin 
Yalcin who was (allegedly) deliberately executed (note: it says 
by rifle. End Note.) along with his two friends by the Bolu 
Commando Brigade on November 7, 1993. He saved his life because 
he pretended to have died after being thrown into the river with 
his two dead friends. Four bullets wounded him. According to 
Yalcin's narration, after his recuperation, he was forced to 
change his statement, which had brought a charge against the 
execution's perpetrator. 
 
OZGUR GUNDEM / EVRENSEL:        Bulent Tas, President of the 
Tunceli Bar Associaton filed a complaint with the Tunceli 
Prosecutor about the Bolu Commando Brigade. Bulent Tas stated 
that, apart from the mysterious disappearings of seven people in 
Mirik (Tunceli province), a total of sixteen people disappeared 
in 1994 in Tunceli. Bulent Tas said that the allegations against 
Bolu Commando Brigade must be investigated. 
 
OZGUR GUNDEM:   The incidences of people disappearing after 
being taken into custody date back to 1980s and increase in 
intensity during the period from 1993 to 1994. After the mass 
grave in Kulp, Diyarbakir had been discovered, people started to 
apply to the Human Rights Association, and, currently, there are 
applications for 843 people who disappeared during that period 
of time. 
 
 
ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENTS 
 
1.      VAKIT / EKSPRES / BOLGE / TURKIYE / HURRIYET (CUKUROVA): 
The EU has accepted the application of the Adana Chamber of 
Commerce for a project named "Integrated Foreign Trade and 
Exchange Course" that is worth 80.000 euros. The project aims to 
educate and enhance the qualifications of foreign trade and 
foreign exchange employees to make up for the shortfall of 
people in this sector. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
REID