US embassy cable - 05ADANA61

UNCLAS ADANA 000061 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREL, PINS, PGOV, PHUM, TU, ADANA, Press Summaries 
SUBJECT: SOUTHEAST TURKEY PRESS SUMMARY FOR MARCH 24, 2005 
 
 
This is the Southeastern Turkey press summary for March 24, 
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 
 
BOLGE / ZAMAN / EKSPRES / HURRIYET (CUKUROVA):  Cahit Kirac, 
Adana Governor, has been awarded "Governor of the Year" prize at 
the "Golden Men of the Year" event which is an annually 
organized event of the Ankara-based Baskent Group. 
 
ZAMAN / EKSPRES / BOLGE / MILLI GAZETE: AKP's (Justice and 
Development Party) Central Executive Board and PM Erdogan are 
going to discuss and decide about party policy concerning Adana 
MP Abdullah Caliskan's negative remarks on current economic 
issues at a meeting in Adana Chamber of Commerce. The party 
administration already warned Caliskan verbally. Erdogan today 
stressed that the current foreign trade deficit was no threat to 
economic stability in Turkey, as reportedly a response to the 
critical remarks both by the MP from AKP and Turkey's Central 
Bank Governor, Sureyya Serdengecti. 
 
EVRENSEL / OZGUR GUNDEM / RADIKAL / BOLGE /  HURRIYET / YENI 
SAFAK / SABAH (GUNEY) / CUMHURIYET / ZAMAN / EKSPRES / SABAH 
(GUNEY):        Disputes about the assault on the Turkish flag in 
Mersin still dominate the agenda in local and national papers. 
Ozgur Gundem calls for common sense and quotes some reportedly 
prominent NGO representatives, who caution against public 
announcements that may breed hatred among people. Officials from 
DEHAP (Democratic People's Party) will go to Mersin to probe 
attack against the (Turkish) flag. Some other local papers and 
the Adana Chamber of Industry have proposed launching a campaign 
to hang flags everywhere in Turkey. A thousand people comprised 
of Turkish nationalist groups broke into the DEHAP district 
building in Istanbul and hung a Turkish flag there. Three 
children, ages 12 to 14, have been detained in Mersin in 
connection with the flag-assault. 
 
BOLGE / EKSPRES: People and nationalist groups, angry at the 
flag-assault, marched in the streets in Adana and chanted 
slogans. The crowd criticized Cukurova University's Rector for 
his (alleged) impotency when a clash broke out between the 
nationalist and the left-leaning students on the occasion of 
erecting a Turkish flag during the annual celebration of 
Turkey's national anthem. This event took place two weeks ago at 
the Cukurova University campus. 
 
ZAMAN:  Murat Mercan, Deputy President of AKP (Justice and 
Development Party), speaking to an audience at AEI (American 
Enterprise Institute) in Washington, D.C., said that the 
(Turkish) government is soon to make a decision about the U.S. 
requests concerning the Incirlik Airbase. 
 
HURRIYET (CUKUROVA):    An anonymous call that a bomb was 
planted in a Municipality Theater Hall in Adana caused panic 
among the 500-person audience. Bomb squad teams carried out a 
search in the theater, but the bomb notice turned out to be a 
hoax. 
 
CUMHURIYET:     Aytac Durak, Adana Mayor and Chairperson of Turkish 
Union of Municipalities, has still not commented on "granting 
the right to vote for foreigners in Turkey", an issue which 
envisages an amendment in the Turkish Constitution and which is 
brought to the agenda by the Council of European Municipalities 
and Regions (CEMR) in Europe. CEMR will be sending a delegation 
to Turkey soon and will pay a visit to Aytac Durak as well. 
 
 
ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENTS 
 
1.      ZAMAN / BOLGE:  Celik-Is (Steel Union), discontent with 
contract negotiations, decided to go on a stike at the 
Iskenderun Iron and Steel Factory in Hatay on May 2. 
 
 
 
REID