US embassy cable - 05ADANA82

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 ADANA 000082 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREL, PINS, PGOV, PHUM, TU, Press Summaries, ADANA 
SUBJECT: SOUTHEAST TURKEY PRESS SUMMARY FOR APRIL 20, 2005 
 
 
This is the Southeastern Turkey press summary for April 20, 
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 / OZGUR GUNDEM / EVRENSEL:   Residents of 
Diyarbakir's Hasirli quarters expressed their outrage about 
yesterday's rape of a seven-year-old child (see 4/18-19 press 
summ) by marching along the streets shouting "Shoulder to 
shoulder against the gangs", "Arrest the brutes, penalize the 
perpetrators." Meanwhile, the health condition of the victim was 
reported as critical. 
 
ZAMAN / CUMHURIYET / OZGUR GUNDEM / SABAH:      Diyarbakir 
Public Prosecutor Haki Celiker, after re-examining the case of 
the March 1994 deaths of thirty-eight persons in two Sirnak 
villages, sent the case back to Sirnak in October 2004, citing a 
lack of jurisdiction in the case.  (Note:  The Sirnak Prosecutor 
had sent the case to the Diyarbakir State Security Court after 
the incident, alleging that it had been perpetrated by the PKK. 
The families' lawyer urged last year that the case be 
reinvestigated.)  In returning the case, the Diyarbakir 
Prosecutor reportedly sent a letter to the Sirnak Chief Public 
Prosecutor allegedly stating that no evidence had been found to 
support claims of PKK involvement in the case, and that 
according to statements, the villagers died after planes and 
helicopters had bombed the area. The Diyarbakir Prosecutor's 
recent letter also reportedly advised that the case must be 
investigated "effectively" to avoid putting Turkey in a 
difficult position at a probable future European Court of Human 
Rights case. 
 
OZGUR GUNDEM / EVRENSEL:        Approximately 6000 barrels of the 
total amount of oil that leaked from the Batman-Yumurtalik 
pipeline have been cleaned up. (Note:  The total amount of the 
oil leak was unspecified in these reports.) An American 
specialist participated in the decontamination activities of the 
affected area. The Provincial Director for Forests and 
Environment announced that damage assessment studies would be 
conducted at the end of BOTAS' decontamination process. 
 
 
ZAMAN / EKSPRES / EVRENSEL / BOLGE / HURRIYET / SABAH / YENI 
SAFAK:  Guantanamo prisoner Salih Uyar has been released. 
Uyar was brought to Adana, after spending more than three years 
at Guantanamo. A military notice has reportedly been issued 
calling Uyar to render his compulsory military service. 
 
EKSPRES / BOLGE:        Adana Governor Cahit Kirac called for an 
investigation into media reports alleging that girls attending a 
primary school in Seyhan district of Adana had been deprived of 
the state's school transportation services. The Governor 
discussed the matter for forty-five minutes with the Deputy 
Provincial Education Director and the deputy governors. 
 
EKSPRES:        AKP Adana MP Abdullah Torun, Adana Mayor Aytac 
Durak, and Yuregir Mayor Omer Topcu, announced that the State 
Housing Administration would begin construction of 792 flats in 
Yuregir district. 
 
EVRENSEL:       Military operations are reportedly continuing in 
Silvan district of Diyarbakir. Separately, two thousand soldiers 
and village guards are reportedly readying for an operation in 
Narli Jandarma Command in Van. 
 
EVRENSEL:       The case of a lawsuit seeking the annulment of a 
1998 Counci of Ministers decision to build two dams on the 
Munzur river in Tunceli started today. 
 
YENI SAFAK:     Citizens of Adana are distrbed tat a ditc dug 
during light-rail constrution hs bee lef neglected due to a 
lack of funds and has turned into a lake with fish in it. 
Recently, the level of water reportedly rose "dangerously". 
 
ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENTS 
 
1.      ZAMAN / CUMHURIYET / HURRIYET (CUKUROVA):       As Mersin 
emerges as a center for fuel-oil smuggling, the Investigation 
Commission of the Turkish Parliament has launched a probe into 
the matter. The (Turkish) state's losses from a variety of 
smuggling methods reportedly reached three billion dollars. 
Meanwhile, Hurriyet (Cukurova) reports the arrest in Mersin of 
five people as they were caught red-handed emptying the tank of 
a fuel-oil-transporting truck to Iraq. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
REID