US embassy cable - 05ADANA194

UNCLAS ADANA 000194 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREL, PINS, PGOV, PHUM, TU, ADANA, Press Summaries 
SUBJECT: SOUTHEAST TURKEY PRESS SUMMARY FOR OCTOBER 26, 2005 
 
This is the Southeastern Turkey press summary for October 26, 
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 
 
HURRIYET / OZGUR GUNDEM:        Ahmet Turk, former HEP (People's 
Labor Party) national chairperson, was elected the national 
leader of DTH (Democratic Society Movement), and, Aysel Tugluk, 
one of the attorneys of Abdullah Ocalan, was elected as the 
co-chairperson of the Democratic Society Party during DTH's 
meeting yesterday.  Co-chairmanship is reportedly a new concept 
that DTH introduced in the Turkish political arena. 
 
RADIKAL / OZGUR GUNDEM: Sezgin Tanrikulu, Chairperson of 
Diyarbakir Bar Association, filed a complaint against an author 
and the editorial director of a Turkish journal called "Turkish 
Left", alleging that the journal promoted racism through 
publishing articles that denigrate and disparage the Kurds. The 
article reportedly sets Kurds as vulnerable to hostilities. The 
journal reportedly published the following statements in one of 
its articles, "Turks should shop only from Turks... Every person 
who calls himself a Kurd is a potential PKK member." (see press 
summary 09/12) 
 
RADIKAL:        Twenty people, who are fined to pay 100 new Turkish 
liras by a court --under a Turkish law banning characters not 
used in the Turkish alphabet-- for using the non-Turkish letters 
"w" and "q" on a banner during a March 2004 Newruz celebrations 
in Siirt, will lodge an appeal.  The defendants rejected the 
allegations that they themselves hung the unauthorized banner. 
Further, they had reportedly told the court that they expressed 
a warning not to do so when the banners were hung during the 
celebrations. 
 
RADIKAL:        Former President of the Turkish Republic of Northern 
Cyprus Rauf Denktas, who was invited to a discussion organized 
by students at Cukurova University, came to Adana yesterday and 
paid a visit to the Adana Mayor, Aytac Durak. 
 
CUMHURIYET:     Twelve people, who were detained by police during a 
skirmish that took place in front of the Court Hall before the 
start of the Ugur and Ahmet Kaymaz trial, were released 
yesterday. (see press summary 10/25) 
 
CUMHURIYET:     An article in Cumhuriyet daily reported that, while 
on the one hand DTH members feel exhilarated as they are 
undergoing political formation (in Ankara), on the other hand, 
the unveiling of Hikmet Fidan's case and the PKK's reported role 
in this murder, has triggered a debate in circles in Diyarbakir 
and in other provinces where DEHAP is in power.  According to 
the article, PKK members have avoided any claim of 
responsibility for the murder to date.  The article's author 
cites the alleged statements of the Murat Karayilan, one of the 
senior members of the PKK, "We do not know who killed him. The 
incident is not related to us. Our movement would never resort 
to such acts. However, some Kurdish circles might have shot him 
because of their reaction against the extent of Fidan's opposing 
stance."  The article further claims that, since the day these 
words were uttered, be it a PKK, or a PWD (Patriotic Democratic 
Party), or a DTH, or a DEHAP member; everybody in the 
southeastern region has known that the murder originated from 
the PKK. 
 
OZGUR GUNDEM:   Batman Mayor paid visits to the Batman 
Governor, Chief Prosecutor, and Chairperson of the Bar 
Association to express his sorrow over the bombing incident at 
the Batman Court Hall on October 20 (see press summary 10/21). 
 
OZGUR GUNDEM:   An explosion occurred between two buildings 
that belong to the military in Hakkari's Yuksekova district. 
Only material damage was reported. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
REID