US embassy cable - 05ADANA16

UNCLAS ADANA 000016 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREL, PINS, PGOV, PHUM, TU, ADANA, Press Summaries 
SUBJECT: SOUTHEAST TURKEY PRESS SUMMARY FOR JANUARY 14, 2005 
 
1.      This is the Southeastern Turkey press summary for January 
14, 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 
 
2.      CUMHURIYET / EVRENSEL:  The Liman-Is (Union of Ports) 
issued a written report to protest the privatization of the 
TCDD's (Turkish State Railways) ports and criticized the 
transferring of some of the port ownerships without conducting 
the usual contract awarding processes. 
 
3.      CUMHURIYET / EVRENSEL:  After criticizing the Turkish 
Parliament's ratification of the transfer of the SSK (Social 
Security Authority) Hospitals, the Unions in Diyarbakir now 
react sharply against the (Turkish) GoT's decision to close down 
the General Directorate of the Village Services. Mehmet 
Demircan, the Branch Secretary of the Yapi-Yol Sen (Union of 
Construction and Road Works) stated that fifty thousand workers 
and civil servants will be rendered unemployed with the closing 
of the Village Services Offices. 
 
4.      HURRIYET (CUKUROVA) / VAKIT / BOLGE:    Turkey and 
Russia discussed ways to transport Russian oil and natural gas 
through pipelines from Samsun (Turkey's Black Sea Coast) to the 
Mediterranean port of Ceyhan (in Adana province). Under this 
project, a terminal for liquidated natural gas may also be set 
up in Ceyhan. It is highly likely that Ceyhan is going to be the 
center for natural gas and oil delivery, since Azerbaijani oil, 
through Baku-Tiflis-Ceyhan pipeline, is also going to be 
delivered from Ceyhan to the world markets. 
 
5.      YENI SAFAK / SABAH / MILLIYET / HURRIYET / ZAMAN / 
CUMHURIYET / OZGUR GUNDEM:      Mehmet Fidanci (allegedly an 
executioner of Hizbullah terrorist organization), to whom a 
legal action was brought against for killing Ali Gaffar Okkan 
(Diyarbakir Security Director) and five policemen in January 24, 
2001, is sentenced to life in prison by the Diyarbakir Criminal 
Court. 
 
6.      OZGUR GUNDEM:   3400 students of 144 villages in 
Kiziltepe are not being transported to schools due to a failure 
of the (Turkish) Ministry of Education's "transportation system" 
project. The Ministry has not paid the amount due in 2004 to the 
contractors. Hence, the contractors are unable to pay the wages 
of the drivers who had been carrying the students to their 
schools. 
 
7.      OZGUR GUNDEM:   Bilal Cosalev (17) allegedly committed 
suicide in the Erzurum (E-Type) Prison on December 17, 2004; 
however, his death was reported to his family fourteen days 
later. This delay raised suspicions about the death of Cosalev. 
Then, Cosalev's family filed a complaint to the Kars Prosecutor 
and claimed that the prison officers killed their son. 
 
8.      EVRENSEL:       The workers of TEKEL (State Cigarette Factory) 
and their families held a demonstration in Adana and Malatya to 
protest and to stop the TEKEL's privatization process. 
 
 
9.      EVRENSEL:       Despite the presence of allegations that the 
Bolu Commando Brigade and the village guards burnt down many 
villages in Lice, Diyarbakir and killed six villagers in Kutlu 
village of Lice in 1994, the cases are no longer put on trial 
(except for the European Court of Human Rights following up the 
case of six villagers) on Turkish Courts thanks to the statute 
of limitations. 
 
10.     MILLIYET:       Arif Sakik, a captive held in prison for being 
a member of the terrorist organization, namely the PKK, was 
asked for his statement about the mass graves discovered in 
Kulp, Diyarbakir. Sakik stated that the eleven people found in 
the grave might be the ones that PKK executed on the grounds 
that eleven people were "operatives/agents". Sakik said that if 
the bones were discovered under a walnut tree, then those people 
are the ones killed by the PKK.