US embassy cable - 05ADANA203

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 ADANA 000203 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREL, PINS, PGOV, PHUM, TU, ADANA, Press Summaries 
SUBJECT: SOUTHEAST TURKEY PRESS SUMMARY FOR NOVEMBER 02, 2005 
 
 
This is the Southeastern Turkey press summary for November 02, 
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 
 
ZAMAN / RADIKAL:        CHP (Republican People's Party) national 
leader Deniz Baykal pointed out that four security officers died 
in the last two days during the recent attacks in Bingol, Van 
and Sirnak.  According to Baykal, Turkey is surrounded by a 
terrorist threat and the government's tolerant and submissive 
attitudes are creating vulnerabilities in Turkey's combat 
against terrorism.  According to Radikal daily, the CHP leader 
also held the U.S. responsible for that vulnerability. 
 
ZAMAN:  Adana Governor Cahit Kirac welcomed Binali Yildirim, 
Minister of Transportation, at Adana's Airport.  Yildirim 
attended an iftaar dinner at the Hilton Hotel.  Yildirim praised 
the regional aviation project and noted that quality, high 
standards and economics should be of concern for the civil 
aviation operations. 
 
OZGUR GUNDEM:   Yesterday night, police officers from Batman 
Security Directorate conducted a raid on DTP's (Democratic 
Society Party) Information Bureau and detained four DTP members 
on charges that these people have connections with the October 
20 bomb incident at the Batman Court Hall (see press summary 
10/21). Later, the police conducted raids on the houses of the 
detainees --reportedly without a search warrant-- and allegedly 
found C-4 explosives there.  Father of one of the DTP members 
denied the allegations and said that security forces contrived 
the alleged plot. 
 
HURRIYET / OZGUR GUNDEM:        One of the six people detained in 
connection with the October 15 explosion at a gas station in 
Istanbul's Maslak district (see press summary 10/31), was 
released.  The remaining detainees were arraigned on charges of 
being members of the PKK.  From among the five remaining 
detainees, Istanbul's 14th Heavy Penalty Court released Levent 
Dondu, and imprisoned the other four. 
 
OZGUR GUNDEM:   DEHAP Gaziantep's senior provincial and 
district members, currently standing trial because of the 
content of a past press announcement, complained that they have 
become weary of the charges brought against them, and of having 
to pass their time at the court hearings. 
 
SABAH / CUMHURIYET / YENI SAFAK / RADIKAL / HURRIYET / OZGUR 
GUNDEM: Three soldiers and a village guard died during a PKK 
attack with heavy weapons on a Jandarma Station at Sirnak's 
Uludere district.  Five soldiers were wounded.  Sirnak 
Governor's Office announced that one PKK terrorist was killed 
during the attack.  Separately, because of a confrontation with 
the terrorists during a military operation in Siirt's Eruh 
district, security forces blockaded the roads to and from the 
district. 
 
SABAH:  A car parked near a Jandarma Command in Hakkari's 
Semdinli district exploded at 11.30 p.m. Six soldiers, three 
police officers and 9 people were wounded during the blast. 
 
OZGUR GUNDEM:   The daily cited Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul 
as saying that a new era has started in terms of combat against 
the PKK.  According to the daily, this message signaled that 
Ankara would start regarding the Kurdish leaders in Northern 
Iraq as their counterpart. 
 
YENI SAFAK:     According to Yeni Safak, during a press 
announcement, Gul said that the PKK would inflict the greatest 
damage in the future on Kurdish leaders and groups. 
 
YENI SAFAK:     A state-employed theater actress in Erzurum resigned 
from her post allegedly because she was not allowed by the 
National Directorate of State Theaters to play a role in a 
Kurdish language movie. 
 
OZGUR GUNDEM:   Cotton cultivating farmers in the Amik Plain 
in Hatay are enduring hard times due to serious economic losses 
and decreased cotton production because of draught. 
 
CUMHURIYET:     Azim Ozturk, Adana's Seyhan District Mayor from AKP, 
responding to criticisms against him for not attending Adana's 
wreath laying ceremony and official parade organized to 
celebrate the 82nd anniversary of the nation's founding (see 
press summary 10/31 and 11/01), said that he did not attend 
these events because he was not on the A protocol list. 
 
HURRIYET (CUKUROVA):    A controversy over the zoning status of 
the Seyhan Municipalities' 51,700- square-kilometer land in 
Adana provoked tension between CHP Adana provincial organization 
and Azim Ozturk, Seyhan District Mayor.  Adana Mayor Aytac Durak 
lately involved himself in this controversy and said, "microbes 
who are residues of the former administrations (at the Seyhan 
Municipality) shall be held liable for their (unlawful) deeds." 
(see press summary 10/31) 
REID