US embassy cable - 05ADANA94

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 ADANA 000094 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREL, PINS, PGOV, PHUM, TU, ADANA, Press Summaries 
SUBJECT: SOUTHEAST TURKEY PRESS SUMMARY FOR MAY 02, 2005 
 
 
This is the Southeastern Turkey press summary for May 02, 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 
 
SABAH / SABAH (GUNEY) / OZGUR GUNDEM / CUMHURIYET / BOLGE / 
EVRENSEL / HURRIYET:    May Day celebrations in Adana were 
shorter than expected because of rainfall. A significant number 
of CHP (Republican People's Party) members and deputies 
reportedly participated, (approximately) 8000 people marched, 
and no incidents were reported. (Note: Bolge reports the number 
of participants as 3000.  End Note.) Ozgur Gundem reports that 
celebrations in Adana and Mersin included calls for the end of 
military operations and the start of democratization processes. 
The police reportedly detained five people in celebrations in 
Batman and one person in Siirt. Tension surfaced in Diyarbakir 
between police and a slogan-chanting group of people who 
rejected the designated May Day site, 13 kilometers away from 
the city center. May Day celebrations in other cities were 
reportedly peaceful. 
 
RADIKAL:        Cetin Nuhoglu, Chairman of the International 
Transporters Union (ITU) in Turkey, stated that the opening of a 
second border gate at Habur in Sirnak is on ITU's agenda. 
According to Nuhoglu, President of Iraq Jalal Talabani was 
receptive to the idea of a second border gate. Nuhoglu also 
noted that for security reasons, "Vehicle Monitoring Systems" 
have been installed on 3,000 ITU-member trucks that travel to 
Iraq. 
 
CUMHURIYET / OZGUR GUNDEM:      The people of Dicle district in 
Diyarbakir collected 6000 signatures in a bid to name a newly 
built street in Dicle after President Ahmet Necdet Sezer, who 
served his first judgeship there.  Sezer, who on principle has 
not accepted having places named after him, amicably rejected 
this proposal. 
 
OZGUR GUNDEM:   Thirty-eight organizations that formed the 
Religious Freedom and Freedom of Expression Initiative in 
Sanliurfa held a press announcement to protest the head scarf 
ban and restrictions on freedom of expression. 
 
CUMHURIYET / HURRIYET / OZGUR GUNDEM:   Thirty members of the 
Christian community celebrated Easter in Diyarbakir's Virgin 
Mary Church.  Red eggs, representing "Christ's resurrection," 
were distributed during the ceremony. Separately, CHP members 
reportedly participated in Syriac Easter celebrations in Kirklar 
Church of Mardin.  Easter celebrations are being held in Antakya 
Orthodox Church as well. The celebrations are due to last three 
days. 
 
CUMHURIYET:     CHP's "Commission for Assessing the GAP Project's 
Current Situation and its Future" is looking into the issue of 
fields that have been mined in Nusaybin district of Mardin. The 
Deputy Chairperson of CHP's Parliamentary Group suggested that 
after de-mining activities along the Syrian border are 
completed, the areas cleaned up could be cultivated by 
cooperatives or distributed to low-income villagers for 
cultivation. 
 
HURRIYET:       The police reportedly apprehended 35-year-old 
Nazmiye Erkal, who traveled by bus from Diyarbakir to Izmir with 
five kilograms of "RDX-type" explosives. Erkal reportedly served 
a prison sentence previously for membership in a terrorist 
organization, and was released last October when provisions of 
the new Penal Code allowed her an amnesty. 
 
HURRIYET:       Runway maintenance will be conducted on the 
three-kilometer runway of Incirlik Airbase. Flights at the base 
have been cancelled for two weeks for this reason. 
 
BOLGE:  In a party meeting in Adana, MHP Deputy National 
Chairperson Ali Isiklar reportedly stated that an alliance 
formed by "circles (note:  later specified as mostly EU) that 
have problems with Turkey" is politically oppressing Turkey and 
imposing psychological pressure. He also reportedly noted in the 
meeting that Christian missionary activities are as jeopardizing 
to Turkey's unity and solidarity as the activities of the 
terrorist organization, PKK. 
 
EKSPRES:  A columnist writes about Erkan Mumcu's trip to Adana 
for his April 30 political rally, his first as ANAP (Motherland 
Party) leader. According to this columnist, a number of AKP 
(Justice and Development Party) members, who had been members of 
ANAP previously, were among the participants at the event.  They 
likely are dissatisfied with the policies of their current 
party, he writes, and wanted to see what impact Mumcu would 
create. 
 
EKSPRES:        Another columnist from Ekspres states that Mumcu has 
come to Adana after taking many risks. First, he left a party 
which has been governing Turkey with 34.5 percent of the votes; 
second, he has chosen one of the biggest cities of Turkey for 
his political public debut as the ANAP leader; third, he decided 
to plan rallies although no election period is likely in the 
near future; lastly, Mumcu preferred an open-air public address. 
Unfortunately heavy rainfall ended just a few hours before the 
rally. 
 
 
ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENTS 
 
1.      HURRIYET / YENI SAFAK:          The conditions of the sale 
of 51 percent of TUPRAS (Turkish Petroleum Refineries 
Corporation) have been settled. The buyer will reportedly have 
to pay half of the price immediately and will have the option to 
pay the other half in two years with a 7 percent interest rate. 
The buyer will not be allowed to shut down the Batman refinery, 
according to these reports. 
 
REID