US embassy cable - 05ADANA143

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 ADANA 000143 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREL, PINS, PGOV, PHUM, TU, ADANA, Press Summaries 
SUBJECT: SOUTHEAST TURKEY PRESS SUMMARY FOR JULY 18, 2005 
 
 
This is the Southeastern Turkey press summary for July 18, 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 
 
1.      OZGUR GUNDEM:   People in Adiyaman's villages, throwing 
the carcasses of animals infected with brucellosis on open land, 
instead of burying them, are reportedly aggravating the village 
brucellosis epidemic. 
 
2.      EVRENSEL/OZGUR GUNDEM:  The number of people contracting 
anthrax increased from 6 to 7 in Diyarbakir's Bagivar district. 
 
3.      OZGUR GUNDEM:   The daily reports that the terrorist 
organization PKK/Kongra-Gel dismissed any allegations linking 
its name to the bombing incident which killed civilians on a bus 
in Aydin's Kusadasi district on Saturday.  The terrorist 
organization reportedly denied any affiliation with the TAK 
(Kurdistan Liberation Hawks), an organization whose name the 
(Turkish) media associates with the name of the PKK in the news 
articles related with the Kusadasi bomb incident. 
 
4.      RADIKAL/EVRENSEL:       DEHAP, Turkey's Human Rights 
Association, Israel's Ambassador to Ankara, the UK's Ambassador 
to Ankara and Syria condemned Saturday terrorist attack on a bus 
in Aydin's Kusadasi district. 
 
5.      OZGUR GUNDEM:   Terrorist organization PKK/Kongra-Gel 
claimed that, despite the "offensive attitude of the Turkish 
Armed Forces," their organization's treatment to Private Coskun 
Kirandi is in conformity with the international laws and the 
Geneva Convention.  In a separate article, the paper quotes the 
PKK saying that Turkish Armed Forces allegedly are trying to 
kill Private Kirandi as a result of the risks from the 
intensified military operations launched in Tunceli. 
 
6.      EVRENSEL/OZGUR GUNDEM:  A committee, comprised of members 
of political parties and NGOs, has been established to monitor 
the lawsuit, which will continue trying the security officers 
accused of killing Ahmet and Ugur Kaymaz in Mardin.  The court 
will be held in Eskisehir, a central Anatolian province.  The 
committee, which is reportedly working to increase the number of 
those attending the hearings, estimates that the hearing, which 
will be held on July 20, will be widely participated. 
 
7.      OZGUR GUNDEM:   A group calling itself "Youth Initiative 
Supporting Apo (Abdullah Ocalan)" staged a protest in Mardin's 
Kiziltepe district and threw a Molotov cocktail on a street 
where a bank office is located.  The group chanted slogans 
supporting (PKK) terrorist leader (Abdulah) Ocalan. 
 
8.      OZGUR GUNDEM:     Goc-Der (Migration Association) Deputy 
National Chairperson Ilyas Erdem alleged that village guards 
have been in the habit of forming gangs and involving themselves 
in crime.  The current village guard system reportedly has 
become an institution blocking the way for people's return to 
villages. 
 
9.      OZGUR GUNDEM:   Protestors in Mersin's port warned the 
government that they would occupy the city if the government did 
not withdraw its decision to privatize the port (see press 
summary 07/13 and 07/15). 
 
10.     RADIKAL/EVRENSEL/ZAMAN/HURRIYET/CUMHURIYET/SA BAH:       The 
Sirnak Governor's office announced that ten PKK terrorists were 
killed during military operations conducted in Sirnak's rural 
areas between July 13 and 16.  Zaman daily reports that, in a 
separate incident, a military vehicle hit a mine on a Bitlis 
road and four soldiers were wounded as a result of the blast. 
 
11.     ZAMAN:  The paper claims that, in the case of former 
HADEP (People's Democracy Party) National Chairperson Hikmet 
Fidan's July 6 Diyarbakir killing, none of the attorneys from 
Diyarbakir are willing to participate as legal representatives 
in the public prosecution because the PKK terrorist organization 
is exerting pressure on the (southeastern) region's lawyers. The 
paper further reports that, despite Leyla Zana and her 
colleagues extended condolences to the family of Fidan, Zana and 
her colleagues neither signed the text that condemns the murder 
of Fidan, nor the condolence book.  Meanwhile, the paper quotes 
Fidan's son as saying that his father was (allegedly) killed by 
the PKK. 
 
ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENTS 
 
1.      SABAH (GUNEY):  The daily notes that the preparations 
for the "3rd Cukurova Commerce and Industry Fair (September 26 - 
October 2)" are under way.  Saban Bas, Chairperson of Adana 
Chamber of Commerce, urged companies to book their places in 
advance. 
 
2.      SABAH (GUNEY):  Angry farmers from Hatay's Amik Plain 
protested the government inability to find a solution to the 
problem of the lack water needed for agricultural irrigation. 
As a protest, farmers are not harvesting grown cotton and, 
instead, tilling the mature cotton crop under. 
 
3.      ZAMAN/EKSPRES/BOLGE:    Umit Ozgumus, Chairperson of Adana 
Chamber of Industry (ACI), pointed out that a qualified 
workforce shortage still is placing a strain on the Turkish 
private sector.  Despite the efforts of the universities, 
industrial enterprises and research centers, the problem still 
has not been fully addressed, said Ozgumus.  ACI announced that 
it would hold a meeting to discuss the "Joint Education Program" 
of the TOBB (Turkish Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges) 
Economy and Technology University together with industrialists 
in Adana on July 19. 
 
 
 
REID