US embassy cable - 05ADANA118

UNCLAS ADANA 000118 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREL, PINS, PGOV, PHUM, TU, Press Summaries, ADANA 
SUBJECT: SOUTHEAST TURKEY PRESS SUMMARY FOR MAY 31, 2005 
 
This is the Southeastern Turkey press summary for May 31, 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 (GUNEY) / BOLGE / OZGUR GUNDEM / EKSPRES / ZAMAN: 
Chief of Staff Hilmi Ozkok with other senior military officials 
paid visits to Mersin Governor Atilla Osmancelebioglu, Mayor 
Macit Ozcan and Mediterranean Regional and Garrison Command. 
 
OZGUR GUNDEM:   Last week Turkey and Iran reportedly agreed to 
cooperate and conduct joint military operations against the 
PKK/Kongra-Gel terrorist organization. Meanwhile, the paper 
claims that three soldiers in Diyarbakir died in an ambush set 
by terrorists. 
 
OZGUR GUNDEM:   Two DEHAP (Democratic People's Party) 
provincial officials in Malatya were sentenced to six months in 
jail for allegedly allowing a Kurdish song to be performed at 
the Provincial Party Congress in April 2003 in Malatya; the 
prison sentence has been converted to a fine. 
 
OZGUR GUNDEM:   European Commission's Turkey Representative 
Hans Jorg Kretschmer said, "Leyle Zana and her friends should 
put a plain distance between themselves and the PKK." Former DEP 
(Democratic Party) deputy and currently DTH (Democratic Society 
Movement) Coordination member Orhan Dogan, in response to 
Kretschmer's remarks, said in a speech in Diyarbakir that the EU 
condemned ETA as a terrorist organization, yet "Spain started to 
discuss the matter with ETA. Isn't this part of an EU policy?" 
 
CUMHURIYET / OZGUR GUNDEM / ZAMAN:      A sabotage attempt using 
explosives damaged a section of the Batman oil pipeline and 50 
barrels of oil leaked out. The firefighters of the state-run 
TPAO (Turkish Petroleum Joint Stock Company) extinguished the 
fire that followed the explosion. Ozgur Gundem reports that the 
PKK allegedly claimed responsibility for the explosion and that 
the amount of barrels leaked was a hundred. 
 
CUMHURIYET:     Eleven years after the 1994 military operations in 
Tunceli which resulted in the alleged disappearance of seven 
people, the Tunceli Chief Prosecutor's office along with the 
Jandarma Commander are looking in the case, by conducting a 
study around the Mirig hamlet of Tunceli.  Their action is in 
response to the demand of the attorney of allegedly disappeared 
persons' families. 
 
ZAMAN:  Sami Comak (31), alleged to be the logistics 
overseer of the PKK, reportedly died as a result of snakebite in 
a rural area of Tunceli. According to the Governor of Tunceli, 
security forces are searching for the body of the terrorist. The 
paper reported that there is a serious shortage of medicine 
against snake and scorpion bites in the PKK terrorist 
organization. 
 
ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENTS 
 
1.      SABAH (GUNEY) / EKSPRES / ZAMAN / BOLGE:        A commercial 
delegation came to Adana from Holland to promote commercial ties 
between Holland and Turkey. The delegation paid a visit to Adana 
Municipality and then to Adana's Chamber of Industry (ACI). ACI 
Chairperson Ozgumus said that they would host another Dutch 
delegation in late September and that Holland plans to open a 
commercial bureau in Adana. 
 
2.      SABAH (GUNEY) / BOLGE:  After Russia's decision to stop 
buying vegetables and fruit from Turkey, prices are reportedly 
falling sharply in the Turkish internal markets and the 
producers are experiencing hardships. 
 
 
 
 
 
REID