US embassy cable - 05ADANA11

UNCLAS ADANA 000011 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREL, PINS, PGOV, PHUM, TU, ADANA, Press Summaries 
SUBJECT: SOUTHEAST TURKEY PRESS SUMMARY FOR JANUARY 7, 2005 
 
This is the Southeastern Turkey press summary for January 7, 
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 
 
ZAMAN / HURRIYET / VAKIT / TERCUMAN / CUMHURIYET:       2600 
villages are currently not accessible due to the heavy snowfall 
in the East Anatolia. 
 
HURRIYET / OZGUR GUNDEM:        The ports of Bandirma, Izmir, 
Samsun, Derince, Mersin and Iskenderun, which belong to TCDD 
(Turkish State Railways), are included in the privatization 
program. The TCDD will be managing the ports until the end of 
the privatization process, which is going to take about twelve 
months. 
 
CUMHURIYET / OZGUR GUNDEM / EVRENSEL:   As the Turkish 
Parliament starts the talks on handing over the SSK Hospitals to 
the Ministry of Health (Note: SSK is an abbreviation for the 
Social Security Organization. End Note.), the Labor Platform 
held rallies in Ankara, Izmir, Adana and Istanbul to protest the 
move of the (Turkish) GoT to transfer the ownership of the SSK 
hospitals. 
 
OZGUR GUNDEM: Selahattin Demirtas, Chairperson of the Diyarbakir 
Branch of the Human Rights Association, said that a commission 
comprised of 50 attorneys has been set up to receive the 
applications for the compensation of the damages that the 
people, who had been subject to displacement and migration, 
incurred. 
 
ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENTS 
 
1.      BOLGE / MILLIYET / HURRIYET (CUKUROVA) / ZAMAN / EKSPRES: 
A stormy debate has been going on in many cities (of Turkey), 
especially in Adana and Gaziantep (Note. The two prominent 
southeastern cities. End Note.), because the cities were not 
included within the GoT's recent contentious Incentive Law list. 
The cities that were not included claim that the Law generates 
unfair competition. Umit Ozgumus, President of the Adana Chamber 
of Industry, said that they will demand from the Chief 
Opposition Party to bring the issue to the Constitutional Law 
for amendment. The incentive list is comprised of forty-nine 
cities this year with the latest addition of thirteen cities. 
 
 
2.      MILLIYET / HURRIYET (CUKUROVA): Twenty-five CHP 
(Republican People's Party) MPs demanded that Turkish Parliament 
conduct an investigation about how to solve the problems of 
CUKOBIRLIK (Cooperative for Agricultural Product Sales in 
Cukurova). The facilities of CUKOBIRLIK were recently shut down 
and some of the machines of the Cooperative were sold. 
 
3.      MILLI GAZETE / BOLGE / TURKIYE: According to Cumali 
Dogru, the Chairperson of Adana Union of Farmers, "The producers 
sell their produce for cheap prices, however, several brokers 
settle the prices in-between, and because of that, the prices of 
fruits and vegetables multiply by ten when the final consumer 
purchase them". Cumali Dogru demands that the 
Vagetables-and-Fruits Market Law be revised in order to solve 
that price dilemma. 
 
4.      HURRIYET (CUKUROVA):    The EU has accepted Gaziantep 
Chamber of Industry's project for developing the 
carpet-manufacturing sector. Courses on carpet manufacturing 
will be offered under the EU funded project in order to to train 
qualified carpet designers. 
 
 
 
 
 
REID