US embassy cable - 05ADANA40

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 ADANA 000040 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREL, PINS, PGOV, PHUM, TU, ADANA, Press Summaries 
SUBJECT: SOUTHEAST TURKEY PRESS SUMMARY FOR FEBRUARY 23, 2005 
 
 
This is the Southeastern Turkey press summary for February 23, 
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 
 
CUMHURIYET:     CHP (Republican People's Party) started an aid 
campaign right after CHP's leader Deniz Baykal's visit to the 
earthquake-hit Hakkari. Aid comprising of heaters, blankets, 
food, beverages, clothing, etc., which is worth one million new 
Turkish liras ($770,000), has been raised to date by the CHP and 
was distributed to students and local people in Hakkari. 
 
 
RADIKAL / CUMHURIYET / OZGUR GUNDEM / EVRENSEL: Veysel Guler, 
the defendants' attorney in the trial regarding the killing of 
the father and son in Kiziltepe in Mardin, is also the AKP 
(Justice and Development Party) Adana Deputy Provincial 
Chairperson. Guler cited a recent report of United Nations, 
which gives the number of child terrorists decreasing from 
360,000 to 300,000 as an example in response to "a 12-year-old 
boy cannot be regarded as a terrorist" claims. Guler, casting 
doubts about the age of Ugur Kaymaz, drew attention to his 
underarm hair and noticeable moustache hairs as indicators of 
his being older than the prosecution contends. On the other 
hand, the AKP MPs of the Parliamentary Human Rights Commission 
criticized the absence of the accused special operations team 
members in the first hearing of the case. 
 
OZGUR GUNDEM:   Five hundred infant goats and lambs died in 
Mus province due to a microbe called septicemia, which caused a 
contagious disease called salmallezois an which is characterized 
in animals by symptoms of high fewer and diarrhea. The microbe 
takes advantage of the poor conditions that the cattle are 
raised in, such as the low quality feed, airless and crowded 
sheepfolds, poor feeding methods, hunger, and very low 
temperatures. 
 
ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENTS 
 
1.      HURRIYET (CUKUROVA) / YENI SAFAK / SABAH (GUNEY): 
Turkey's Aleppo Consul in Syria, Hulusi Kilic, Syria's Gaziantep 
Consul in Turkey, Bahjat Doughman, and the U.S.'s Adana Consul 
W. Scott Reid are going to attend the opening ceremony of the 
third of the five-day GAPSHOES fair which is organized by 
Gaziantep Chamber of Industry in the Gaziantep province. 125 
Turkish companies participate in the event and two buses will 
bring Syrian businessmen to visit the fair as well. 
 
2.      TOBB'DAN HABERLER:      State Minister responsible for 
foreign trade, Kursat Tuzmen, announced a security reform 
package for the border gates and ports of Turkey. Tuzmen signed 
a protocol agreement with TOBB (Turkish Union of Chambers and 
Commodity Exchanges) to modernize Habur Border Gate by means of 
a Build-Operate-Transfer Project. The physical and technical 
infrastructure of the Habur Border Gate will be renovated 
through constructing new administrative and commercial buildings 
and social facilities. The gate's security will be strengthened 
to fight smuggling through installation of security materiel 
such as exit-entrance control units, electronic scales, etc. 
 
3.      YENI SAFAK:     The reform announced by State Minister Kursat 
Tuzmen for Turkish ports includes Mersin and Iskenderun's ports, 
and envisages the installation of closed circuit TV (CCTV) 
surveillance systems which will permit monitoring of the ports 
24 hours a day from a central control site in Ankara. 
 
4.      MILLI GAZETE:   The border gate built by Sanliurfa 
Chamber of Commerce and Industry and Commodity Exchange Office 
in Akcakale township of Sanliurfa has remained idle since then, 
because the dispute about the border has not been settled since 
1988 and Syria has not embarked upon a project to build a border 
gate counterpart on its side. 
 
5.      MILLIYET / HURRIYET (CUKUROVA) / SABAH (GUNEY): CUGIAD 
(Cukurova Young Businessmen Association) was certified with the 
ISO9001-2001 Quality Management Certificate by the Italian Det 
Norske Veritas (DNV). The Governor of Adana, Cahit Kirac, said, 
"CUGIAD achieved the standards of the EU," as he received the 
Cerificate on behalf of the association. AKP (Justice and 
Development Party) MP from Adana, Ayhan Zeynep Tekin Boru; CHP 
(Republican People's Party) MPs, Kemal Sag and Ziya Yergok; 
Chairperson of the Adana Chamber of Commerce, Saban Bas; and 
President of the Cukurova University, Alper Akinoglu, 
participated in the ceremony. 
 
6.      EKSPRES:        BOTAS (Turkish Petroleum Pipeline Corporation) 
announced that 95 percent of the BTC (Baku-Tibilisi-Ceyhan) 
Pipeline construction has been completed. Petroleum is expected 
to begin flowing into the 6 huge tanks located in the Turkish 
section of the pipeline (at Ceyhan port) in June 2005. 
 
 
 
 
 
REID