US embassy cable - 05ADANA150

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 ADANA 000150 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREL, PINS, PGOV, PHUM, TU, ADANA, Press Summaries 
SUBJECT: SOUTHEAST TURKEY PRESS SUMMARY FOR AUGUST 15, 2005 
 
1.      This is the Southeastern Turkey press summary for August 
15, 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.      SABAH (GUNEY):  Hulusi Kilic, Turkey's Consul General in 
Aleppo, has been assigned to a new position in the Foreign 
Ministry.  As Kilic paid a visit to Hatay Governor Abdulkadir 
Sari to bid farewell, Sari said Kilic has made important 
contributions to strengthening of relationships between Syria 
and Turkey. (This article is from 08/13 edition.) 
 
2.      OZGUR GUNDEM:   The daily's front page coverage read, 
"Erdogan went to Diyarbakir, but people (in Diyarbakir) did not 
go to listen to him."  During his visit in Diyarbakir, PM 
Erdogan, "instead of announcing viable solutions to improve an 
environment of violence", reportedly delivered a speech on his 
government's economic merits.  The people listening to Erdogan 
reportedly regarded PM's messages as positive, but not 
sufficient in essence, and people were reportedly frustrated 
about not hearing a call for peace. (This article is from 08/13 
edition.) 
 
3.      OZGUR GUNDEM:   Diyarbakir's Mayor Osman Baydemir said 
that the Kurdish people were not fighting in the mountains to 
pass leisure time.  Should an environment of democracy prevail, 
then the Kurds would not have to resort to armed fighting, said 
Baydemir.  Baydemir further stated that it was an important step 
for PM Erdogan to state the name of the problem in his speech 
and to acknowledge that the (Turkish) state has made some 
administrative mistakes (against the Kurds) in the past. 
Baydemir said that the time had come to take concrete steps to 
solve the issue without ever compromising on principles of 
democracy. (This article is from 08/13 edition.) 
 
4.      ZAMAN:  Governor's Office in Hakkari and the 
Directorate of National Highways and Roads separately said that 
their offices had been prioritizing demands coming from military 
officials in response to the military officials' complaints that 
soldiers were dying because the roads used by the security 
officers and soldiers had not been covered with asphalt despite 
the military's demands to do so.  Roads without asphalt were 
reportedly making military personnel vulnerable to mine attacks. 
(This article is from 08/13 edition.) 
 
 
5.      EKSPRES / BOLGE:        Hasan Yaman, MHP Provincial Chairperson 
 
of Adana's Seyhan district criticized PM Erdogan because of the 
speeches Erdogan made in his Diyarbakir visit.  For Hasan, PM's 
speeches incited separatism among the people, and Hasan urged 
prosecutors to take action in this respect. 
 
6.      HURRIYET (CUKUROVA):    A road in Gaziantep's city center 
nearby an old bazaar where hand-made copper articles are being 
sold collapsed, and interconnected caves, which were used as 
arsenals during the Liberation War of Turks (in 1920s) were 
revealed. 
 
7.      OZGUR GUNDEM:   In response to PM Erdogan's speech 
saying that the (Turkish) state would face the mistakes it had 
made in the past, NGOs (in the southeastern Turkey) urged PM 
Erdogan to correct those past mistakes through open dialogue 
with the Kurdish movement's representatives, resolving the 
region's still-unsolved murders and people's disappearances, and 
remedying the affects of forced migration. 
 
8.      OZGUR GUNDEM:   Orhan Dogan, one of the representatives 
of the DTH (Democratic Society Movement), said that PM Erdogan 
should be given a chance to fulfill the promises he made in 
Diyarbakir.  In line with that, Dogan said the PKK/Kongra-Gel 
terrorist organization must stop its activities in the region. 
Meanwhile, DEHAP National Chairperson Tuncer Bakirhan said that 
Kurds should also take steps following the statements Erdogan's 
statements to end armed activities. 
 
9.      ZAMAN / OZGUR GUNDEM:   PKK terrorist organization is 
reportedly "celebrating the 22nd anniversary of taking up arms." 
 PKK reportedly issued a call for the Kurdish people to work 
actively for the campaign that reportedly aims to liberate the 
terrorist leader Abdullah Ocalan.  Meanwhile, the dailies cite 
many incidences occurring during the celebrations in Istanbul, 
Adana, Izmir and Sirnak's Silopi district. 
 
10.     OZGUR GUNDEM:   A military operation was reportedly 
launched in the Elazig province responding to the explosion 
which took place as the convoy of cars, including Elazig 
Governor Kadir Kocdemir's car, was passing on a road in Elazig 
(on an unspecified date). 
 
11.     ZAMAN / OZGUR GUNDEM:   Jandarma revealed that temporary 
village guard Muhyettin Sengul was killed by his own son and not 
by PKK terrorists two days ago.  Relatives of Sengul had earlier 
claimed that PKK killed him. 
12.     ZAMAN / OZGUR GUNDEM:   Mehmet Agar, National Chairperson 
of DYP (True Path Party), reportedly said that PM Erdogan, 
instead of resolving the issues, had caused greater problems 
with the statements uttered during his Diyarbakir visit.  Agar 
reportedly said that PM Erdogan carried out his visit to a 
province of Turkey, as if he was visiting another country.  Agar 
blamed PM Erdogan for being ignorant about what liabilities the 
PM's words in Diyarbakir would create for him in the future, and 
Agar further blamed Erdogan for conveying different political 
messages to, for example, a mother of a martyr in Izmir 
province, and to the people in Diyarbakir province. 
 
13.     CUMHURIYET:     Four alleged PKK/Kongra-Gel terrorists were 
caught in Batman while preparing for a bomb attack at the Batman 
city center using four kilograms of A-4 explosives.  The 
authorities have not provided any information about the targets 
of the terrorists, but specialists said that the terrorists 
might have been targeting the petroleum refinery in Batman. 
 
ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENTS 
 
1.      ZAMAN / BOLGE / EKSPRES:        The business world in Adana 
is reportedly getting ready for the third of "Cukurova 
Industrial and Commercial Fair" which will be held between 
September 26 and October 2 in Adana. 
 
2.      BOLGE / HURRIYET (CUKUROVA) / SABAH (GUNEY) / OZGUR 
GUNDEM: The port of Mersin has been sold to a consortium of 
companies from Turkey and Singapore for 755 million USD for a 
period of 36 years. 
 
3.      SABAH (GUNEY):  Gaziantep's and the southeastern 
region's exports have increased by 38 percent in the first seven 
months of the year.