US embassy cable - 05ADANA87

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 ADANA 000087 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREL, PINS, PGOV, PHUM, TU, Press Summaries, ADANA 
SUBJECT: SOUTHEAST TURKEY PRESS SUMMARY FOR APRIL 25-26, 2005 
 
 
This is the Southeastern Turkey press summary for April 25-26, 
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:        As construction of the BTC (Baku-Tibilisi-Ceyhan 
Pipeline) nears an end, Kazakhstan - despite objections from 
China and Russia - has announced that 7.5 million tons of Kazakh 
oil would be carried through the BTC to the Mediterranean. To 
this end, a pipeline under the Caspian Sea will be constructed 
to bring Kazakh oil to the BTC. 
 
HURRIYET:       Unidentified people threw a burning fuel-filled 
container into the entrance of the Turkish-American Association 
in the city center in Adana. Upon noticing the flames at the 
gate, local residents called the firefighters and the police. 
Five minutes later, another attack was conducted against an 
insurance agency on Turhan Cemal Beriker Boulevard in Adana. 
Again, unidentified people threw a fuel-filled burning container 
at the windows of the agency. The attack produced only a local 
fire since the container fell against the exterior side of the 
window and was prevented from entering by a Venetian blind. 
 
SABAH (GUNEY) / EVRENSEL / BOLGE:       Members of the 
Education-Union (Egitim-Sen) protested a lawsuit that aims to 
shut down the Union. People marched in the streets and chanted 
slogans in Adana, Ankara, Istanbul, Mersin, Diyarbakir, Sivas 
and Tunceli. 
 
EKSPRES:        Berc Kartun, the muhtar (headman) of Vakifli Koy in 
Hatay, the only Armenian village in Turkey, reportedly said that 
nobody had ever oppressed the Armenians in the village in the 
course of the 300 years they have been there.  Kartun is 
reported as saying the EU has been exploiting the Armenian issue 
for its political ends. 
 
ZAMAN / BOLGE / EKSPRES:        Adana Mayor Aytac Durak departs 
for Iran today upon an invitation from the Iranian Ministry of 
Internal Affairs to represent Turkey in an April 28 event called 
"Congress for Municipality Assemblies." 
 
OZGUR GUNDEM:   Thirty thousand people, who reportedly 
participated in a "Spring Festival" in Yuksekova district of 
Hakkari, demanded that the military operations in southeastern 
Turkey be ended, a peaceful environment be maintained, and 
Abdullah Ocalan be released. 
 
OZGUR GUNDEM:   The family of Abdulgani Dag is still waiting 
for the courts to take action on their request for an 
investigation into Dag's alleged disappearance in July 1994, 
after he was allegedly detained by soldiers in Nusaybin district 
of Mardin.  Despite the claim that there are witnesses to the 
act, the Office of the Diyarbakir Prosecutor allegedly has not 
responded to complaints filed by Dag's sister. 
 
CUMHURIYET:     The total amount of oil that leaked from BOTAS's 
Batman-Yumurtalik pipeline (see press summ 4/18 and 4/20) was 
reported as thirty-five thousand barrels. A 400-person group, 
including American and English specialists, is handling the 
decontamination activities of the affected area and the oil 
extracted is being sent to Adiyaman province.  Reportedly, 
farmers' drainage activities caused the leak accident. 
 
SABAH (GUNEY):  A fight that broke out in Adana between two 
clans, who originally come from Diyarbakir, wounded one police 
officer and five people. Ten people were detained after the 
police ended the clash that included guns, sticks and stones. 
 
RADIKAL / EKSPRES:      DYP (True Path Party) leader Mehmet Agar 
arrived in Mersin to address the public at a political meeting. 
As party members were waiting to welcome their leader, a fight 
broke out between two groups of party members who could not 
agree on who would occupy the front lines of the crowd that 
awaited Agar's arrival. 
 
EVRENSEL:       Provincial Health Directorate of Van warned that the 
environmental pollution in Van Lake has increased compared to 
the previous years. 
 
HURRIYET (CUKUROVA):    Upon receiving an invitation from Kilis 
Governor Aslan Kutukcu, mine clearing specialists came from 
Germany and conducted studies around the border with Syria. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
REID