US embassy cable - 05ADANA26

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 ADANA 000026 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREL, PINS, PGOV, PHUM, TU, Press Summaries, ADANA 
SUBJECT: SOUTHEAST TURKEY PRESS SUMMARY FOR FEBRUARY 3, 2005 
 
This is the Southeastern Turkey press summary for February 3, 
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:   A confession made by Abdulkadir Aygan, a 
former JITEM (Jandarma Intelligence Center) official, 
(reportedly) contributed to the uncovering of the bones of Murat 
Aslan, (allegedly) killed by Aygan and a group of JITEM members 
in 1994.  (Note:  this confession was reportedly made to Ozgur 
Gundem newspaper in March, 2004.)  According to Aygan, Aslan was 
tortured and killed; his body was burned and then buried in the 
Kortuk village of Silopi in Sirnak province. In April 2004, 
after learning about the confession, Aslan's family discovered 
their son's grave in the very place Aygan has described. The 
family and the Diyarbakir Human Rights Association (HRA) 
obtained permission to exhume the grave; the Silopi Prosecutor 
then sent the remains for testing at the Istanbul Forensic 
Medicine Authority (FMA). The FMA reported that a bullet hole 
was found in the skull and that DNA samples taken from the bones 
matched Murat Aslan's father with 99.99% accuracy. Selahattin 
Demirtas, attorney and Chairperson of Diyarbakir's HRA, will 
press charges with the Silopi Prosecutor against thirty state 
officials that were serving at the time of Aslan's death. Sezgin 
Tanrikulu, Chairperson of the Diyarbakir Bar Association, called 
on the prosecutors to take appropriate action based on Aygan's 
confessions. 
 
OZGUR GUNDEM:   The families of five people killed in Sirnak 
province by security forces (note: in Cemilli hamlet of Kumcati 
on January 19, 2005) have applied to the Human Rights 
Association (HRA) for legal assistance in initiating 
prosecution.  Selahattin Demirtas, Chairperson of Diyarbakir 
HRA, and Reyhan Yalcindag, Deputy Chairperson of HRA, filed 
charges with the prosecutor against the security forces involved 
in the incident, on the grounds that they could have caught the 
five people alive. (Note: Public unrest broke out after the 
security forces did not allow the burial in Siirt of two of the 
people killed in Cemilli. For details see press summary of 
January 25.  End Note.) 
 
OZGUR GUNDEM / RADIKAL / ZAMAN: CHP (Republican People's 
Party) leader Deniz Baykal's first trip, after being re-elected 
to his position in an extraordinary party congress, was to 
Hakkari.  In Hakkari, Baykal accused the GoT of indifference to 
the problems there after the earthquake.  Baykal criticized the 
GoT for failing to respond to the needs of Hakkari as 
efficiently as it did to the countries hit by the tsunami. 
Stating that the first issue on CHP's agenda was the earthquake 
in Hakkari, Baykal (reportedly) was able to draw the attention 
of Turkey's Parliament to Hakkari. 
 
HURRIYET (CUKUROVA) / EKSPRES / BOLGE / VAKIT:  To celebrate 
World Wetlands Day (February 2nd), panel discussions and 
meetings were held in Adana on ways to conserve the natural 
riches of Adana and its surroundings. Prof. Mustafa Yalinkilic, 
one of the speakers on the panel, pointed out that public and 
international awareness about the value of Yumurtalik Lagoon 
should be raised.  New policies for using wetlands' tourism 
potential to, among other things, provide employment, were among 
the topics discussed. 
 
BOLGE / TURKIYE / SABAH:        Equipment and attached explosives 
(four kilograms of TNT) making up an improvised explosive device 
were discovered in a briefcase at a disco in the Incirlik 
district of Adana, located next to the Incirlik Airbase. (Note: 
This GoT airbase also houses the USAF 39th Wing.  For post's 
report on the incident see Adana 0022.  End note.)  Employees of 
the disco stated they remember two women arriving with the 
briefcase (Note:  Most accounts state a man and women left the 
bag, rather than two women.  End note.)  Later, after 
discovering, the bag was left in the bar, security personnel 
called the police.  Members of Adana Security Directorate's 
Anti-Terror Branch and bomb squad technicians safely detonated 
the bomb that would have sent fragments flying had it exploded. 
 
ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENTS 
 
1.      MILLIYET / HURRIYET (CUKUROVA) / EKSPRES:       Microsoft Sales 
 
Representative Emre Teker visited the Adana Industrialists and 
Businessmen Association (ADSIAD), and promised to provide 
technical and educational support for the association's Business 
Development Center (ISGEM). ISGEM's primary goal is to support 
young entrepreneurs in the information technology sector. 
 
 
 
 
REID