US embassy cable - 05ADANA69

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 ADANA 000069 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREL, PINS, PGOV, PHUM, TU, ADANA, Press Summaries 
SUBJECT: SOUTHEAST TURKEY PRESS SUMMARY FOR APRIL 3-4, 2005 
 
This is the Southeastern Turkey press summary for April 3-4, 
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 
 
RADIKAL:        Eric Edelman, the U.S. Ambassador to Ankara, said 
that the U.S. might provide support or undertake feasibility 
studies, should Turkey and Iraq agree to open a second gate on 
their border. Opening a second border gate at a place that opens 
to a non-Kurdish zone has been on the agenda of Turkey for five 
years. The Kurdistan Democratic Party, which allegedly has been 
exacting duties from Turkish trucks at its sole discretion due 
to lack of a stable Iraqi government, has reportedly strongly 
opposed this proposal. 
 
YENI SAFAK / HURRIYET / CUMHURIYET:     James Inhofe, a Republican 
Senator, paid a surprise visit to Incirlik Airbase along with 
U.S. Ambassador Edelman. Meanwhile, Abdullah Gul, Foreign 
Minister, told AKP MPs on Sunday that the Turkish government 
would grant permission to the U.S. for more flexible use of the 
Incirlik Airbase; however, this permission would be within the 
boundaries of U.N. criteria. In Monday's Cumhuriyet, Gul was 
quoted as saying that they would soon provide a response to the 
requests of the U.S. 
 
HURRIYET / CUMHURIYET: During a military operation conducted in 
Guzeldere district of Bingol, one village guard was killed; 
another village guard, as well as two soldiers, were wounded. A 
network of shelters built to survive winter conditions was 
discovered (note:  the report does not say specifically, but 
implies these shelters were established by terrorists).  In 
addition, 2240 pounds of food, 100 blankets, training suits, 
medicine, syringes, and ammunition found in the shelters were 
reportedly destroyed together with the shelters. 
 
CUMHURIYET:     The Ministry of Health embarked upon a project to 
fight malaria in Diyarbakir, Sanliurfa, Batman and Siirt 
provinces. To control the spread of the disease, the Ministry 
began using pesticides, starting with the Yucelen village of 
Siverek district in Sanliurfa. 
 
CUMHURIYET / OZGUR GUNDEM / EVRENSEL:   Twenty-seven of the 
"human shields" from Batman and Istanbul were allegedly arrested 
as they tried to go to Cay village of Derik district in Mardin, 
where military operations were being conducted. Twenty-nine of 
the "human shields" from the Cukurova region were detained as 
they tried to go to the Cudi Mountain. Some of the volunteers 
reportedly have obtained medical reports from doctors indicating 
that they have been exposed to violence. 
 
OZGUR GUNDEM / EVRENSEL:        Abdulkadir Aygan, a former PKK 
member turned JITEM (Jandarma Intelligence Center) officer, had 
allegedly made confessions regarding murders committed as a 
JITEM officer to Ozgur Gundem (see press summary of 2/3/05).  In 
the wake of those confessions being reported, the Diyarbakir 
Prosecutor pressed charges against Aygan on March 29. However, 
it has been discovered that Aygan was recorded as dead in his 
civil registry record. The court will solicit information on why 
the civil registry of the accused lists him as dead. 
 
EKSPRES:        Ali Pekmezci, a columnist from Ekspres, wrote: "As 
far as I can infer from a TV program of Nedim Soylu on _Akdeniz 
Channel...the cold war between Aytac Durak and Abdullah Dogru 
(Justice and Development Party Provincial Chairperson) seems to 
be turning into a heated one. Meanwhile, _Akdeniz and Cukurova TV 
are more than willing to host the upcoming war on their 
channels." 
 
EVRENSEL:       GABID, the Association for Southeast - European 
Union Relations, was founded in Diyarbakir.  Sahin Akkaya, 
GABID's Chairperson, said that the association has more than 100 
members and that it is planning to open branches in Ankara, 
Istanbul and Brussels. 
 
CUMHURIYET:     Although the ban on the Kurdish letters "x","w" and 
"q" was lifted five moths ago, it is reported that nobody in 
Diyarbakir has given names to their children including these 
letters to date. 
 
YENI SAFAK / BOLGE:     Forty-seven percent of the population in 
southeastern Turkey is under 15 years of age, according to data 
provided by the State Statistics Institute. On a nationwide 
level only 30 percent of the population is under 15. 
 
 
ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENTS 
 
1.      EKSPRES / HURRIYET (CUKUROVA):  Hulusi Kilic, Turkey's 
consul in Aleppo, Syria, paid a visit to Ali Kavak, Chairperson 
of the Antakya Chamber of Industry and Commerce. Kilic 
congratulated Kavak for being re-elected to office. Ambassador 
Kilic stated that the volume of exports to Syria has doubled 
compared to figures of four years before. 
 
 
 
 
REID