US embassy cable - 05ADANA170

UNCLAS ADANA 000170 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREL, PINS, PGOV, PHUM, TU, ADANA, Press Summaries 
SUBJECT: SOUTHEAST TURKEY PRESS SUMMARY FOR OCTOBER 4, 2005 
 
This is the Southeastern Turkey press summary for October 4, 
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 
 
YENI SAFAK:     Non-Governmental Organizations from around the 
country came together at the "Platform for Non-Governmental 
Organizations" to pay a visit to southeastern Turkey, to express 
their sentiments of solidarity and to see the problems and 
issues themselves on a local level (see press summary 10/03). 
Diyarbakir's Deputy Mayor Ilhan Diken welcomed the "hands 
extended to create solidarity", and said that they were ready to 
go hand-in-hand with anyone who is willing to solve the issues 
of the region in a peaceful and democratic manner. 
 
YENI SAFAK:     The daily cites Le Figaro and draws attention to the 
U.S. response regarding Israel's cordial relationships with the 
Kurds in Iraq. 
 
RADIKAL:        A DNA test that compared the DNA of a dead baby, 
given birth by a 13-year-old rape victim in Kulp district of 
Diyarbakir, (Note: she was killed in the name of honor by her 
uncle's sons upon the decision of the family, later. End Note.), 
and the DNA of a suspected perpetrator of the rape, who was 
judged by, and put to death in accordance with a decision made 
by a family assembly, revealed that the suspected person was in 
fact innocent. 
 
OZGUR GUNDEM:   Activists from Izmir's Bergama community, who 
previously become known publicly for their struggle against a 
gold mining company using cyanide in its mining operations in 
western Turkey, were joined by European Parliamentarian Feleknaz 
Uca and architect Bilge Contepe and others to protest against a 
dam project in Batman's Hasankeyf district.  When completed, the 
reservoir created by the dam will submerge the ancient city 
Hasankeyf. 
 
OZGUR GUNDEM:   Ceyhan Security Directorate Anti-Terror Branch 
detained Sima Dorak, one of the founding members of the DTH 
(Democratic Society Movement) in Adana on grounds that Dorak was 
among those who dropped roses into Adana's Seyhan River while 
chanting pro-Ocalan slogans (see press summary 08/03). 
 
 
OZGUR GUNDEM:   Two bombs, placed next to a building in 
Hakkari's Yuksekova district, went off successively and wounded 
four police officers, who arrived at the scene following the 
initial blast. 
 
OZGUR GUNDEM:   A total of 127 refugees have been caught at 
road checkpoints in Van's Muradiye district and Igdir's Tuzluca 
district. 
 
SABAH (GUNEY) / BOLGE / EKSPRES:        President Ahmet Necdet Sezer 
came to Adana Airport to change planes on his one-day trip to 
Hatay province.  Sezer attended the Mustafa Kemal University's 
academic-year opening ceremony in Hatay.  Reportedly, Sezer, 
criticized attempts that aimed to prevent Istanbul's Bilgi 
University conference from discussing Armenian issues. 
 
RADIKAL:        As a result of an explosion that occurred in a 
section of East Anatolian Natural Gas Pipeline, which is 16 
kilometers away from the Gurbulak border gate in Agri province, 
the use of the pipeline was stopped.  BOTAS (Petroleum Pipeline 
Corporation) said the cause of the explosion was most probably a 
gas leakage. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
REID