US embassy cable - 05ADANA9

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 ADANA 000009 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREL, PINS, PGOV, PHUM, TU, ADANA, Press Summaries 
SUBJECT: SOUTHEAST TURKEY PRESS SUMMARY FOR JANUARY 5, 2005 
 
 
This is the Southeastern Turkey press summary for January 5, 
2005.  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 
 
OZGUR GUNDEM:   The people (of Turkey) paid the price of human 
rights violations that General Yavuz Erturk (allegedly) 
committed during the operations he carried out in the 
(southeastern) region, with a compensation payment of 2.5 
trillion Turkish liras (1.8 million USD) to the European Court 
of Human Rights (ECHR). ECHR criticized Turkey for not having 
Yavuz Erturk attend the court hearings as a witness. Yavuz 
Erturk, who retired as a Major-General rank from the army, is 
contributing articles to Yeni Cag, a newspaper known for 
nationalistic tendencies. 
 
OZGUR GUNDEM:   According to Bingol Branch of the Human Rights 
Association, 158 human rights violations were allegedly 
committed at Bingol in 2004. During the conflicts that went on 
in Bingol throughout the year, allegedly, nine people died, 
eleven people were wounded and two people were killed. Mines and 
explosives wounded six people, the deaths and suicides of 
thirteen people raised suspicions and forty-three people were 
taken into custody. Out of forty-three, eight people were 
arrested and twenty-nine people were allegedly exposed to 
torture, threats and bad treatment. Two villages and five houses 
in the city centers were allegedly raided and subjected to 
warrantless searches. Lastly, one person has applied to the 
Human Rights Association with an allegation of rape. 
 
OZGUR GUNDEM:   120 people, who ran away from their villages 
in Ercis, Van, due to the alleged oppressive attitude of the 
Agha, have now been subject to another internal displacement 
within their own country, according to Ozgur Gundem. These 
"refugees" in their own land are not welcomed in the township 
they arrived at, which is Demirkoy, Kirklareli. They were 
escorted last night by the police and taken away from Demirkoy 
to a refugee guesthouse in Kirklareli. 
 
OZGUR GUNDEM:   The villagers in Yedisu township of Bingol 
prevented nine village guards from fishing in a river on 
December 12 because the guards were fishing with hand grenades. 
The villagers are now allegedly exposed to threats from the 
village guards. Hence, the villagers applied to the Human Rights 
Association for any possible offences the guards may subject 
them to in the future. 
 
CUMHURIYET:     Because of the improper fishing practices and the 
ignorant attitudes of fishermen in the Mediterranean Sea, the 
forty thousand ton fish harvest from the 1990s have declined 
dramatically to ten thousand tons. "The fishing seasons are very 
long, the fishermen are using improper methods, such as 
poisonous baits and explosives", said Bedii Cicik, a member of 
the faculty of Mersin University Faculty of Fisheries. 
 
RADIKAL / TERCUMAN / CUMHURIYET:        Nineteen students from the 
Kargili hamlet of the Ortac village of Yuksekova in Hakkari 
province are walking ten kilometers from their home to school 
every day. Armed guards escort them against the wild animals. 
The students demand that a transportation system be established 
to ease their travel to school. 
 
 
ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENTS 
 
1.      ZAMAN / CUMHURIYET / SABAH (GUNEY):             PM Erdogan was 
not able to resist the demands of MPs on the Incentive Law. 
Erdogan announced that the scope of the Incentive Law will be 
expanded and thirteen more cities will be included in the new 
system. PM Erdogan further added that MPs should make no further 
demands about the Law. On the other hand, Sabah (Guney) reports 
that the AKP Gaziantep Provincial Chairperson said that 
Gaziantep should be included in the incentive package of the GoT 
and that they will strive to include Gaziantep within the scope 
of the Incentive Law. Gaziantep and five other cities were very 
recently removed from the incentive list of the government. 
 
2.      OZGUR GUNDEM:   The Van Commercial Commodity Exchange 
Office and the Training Center for Service-Sector Occupations 
announced that courses on silver manufacturing will be offered 
under the EU funded "Active Workforce Project". The courses aim 
to train unemployed youth, former prisoners, physically 
handicapped people and the unskilled labor force in order to 
assist them in finding occupational opportunities in silver 
manufacturing. 
 
3.      BOLGE / TURKIYE:        According to Umit Ozgumus, the Presiden 
 
of the Adana Chamber of Industry, the Incentive Law will bring 
no beneficial outcomes for the economy of the country. Ozgumus 
said that the Law paves the way for providing unfair competitive 
advantage to one city over another, and may cause a the loss of 
a great deal of business in the latter. Ozgumus proposes that 
the government annuls the Incentive Law, and launch a new 
incentive system that soundly assesses the export potential of 
cities and gives priority to the ones, which can substitute 
imports and draw foreign exchange to the country. 
 
4.      SABAH / ZAMAN / MILLI GAZETE / CUMHURIYET / TURKIYE:    The 
Government (of Turkey) is trying to please the farmers. Sami 
Guclu, the Minister of Agriculture, announced that the GoT is 
going to improve the agricultural incentives comprehensively. 
According to the new enhancements, high premium subsidies for 
cattle breeding will be provided and the farmers that utilize 
more agricultural technologies will be receive more subsidies. 
The GoT (of Turkey) will announce the whole package of 
agricultural incentives -including tax reductions and payment 
installments on many items, such as fuel oil, fertilizers, 
cotton premium prices and electricity debts, etc.- on January 
10. 
 
 
 
REID