US embassy cable - 05ADANA224

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 ADANA 000224 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREL, PINS, PGOV, PHUM, TU, Press Summaries, ADANA 
SUBJECT: SOUTHEAST TURKEY PRESS SUMMARY FOR DECEMBER 1, 2005 
 
This is the Southeastern Turkey press summary for December 01, 
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 
 
CUMHURIYET / HURRIYET:  The statements of Jandarma Chief 
Sergeant Ali Kaya, Noncommissioned Officer Ozcan Ildeniz, PKK 
defector Veysel Ates, and the bookstore owner Seferi Yilmaz, 
about the Semdinli bombing are reportedly contradicting one 
another.  According to Yilmaz, "He (Ates) ran away from the 
bookstore after throwing the bomb in there.  I chased him and 
told people outside to catch him.  In the meantime the bomb had 
already exploded.  Outside, there were three more people along 
with him (Ates).  People attempted to kill him.  However, we 
surrendered [him] to the police.  In the notebook (in which a 
plan of the bookstore was found), there were nearly 100 names 
written down and my name was struck trough.  (Note: Ali Kaya 
said in his statement that they had drawn the plan of the bombed 
bookstore on the day of the incident. End Note.) The list also 
included the names of the mayor and clan leaders who have 
affiliations with DEHAP (Democratic People's Party)."  According 
to the statements given by Kaya and Ildeniz, "We parked our car 
in front of AKP premises when we came to Semdinli.  I, Veysel, 
and Ozcan were in the car.  We were to meet a person who would 
provide information in order to talk with him outside the 
district.  Following our meeting, the informant would leave us 
and we would go to the Prosecutor's Office to submit the report 
there.  Ozcan needed a break, and as he was leaving the car, a 
big explosion took place.  As a security officer would normally 
do under such a circumstance, I rushed to the spot where the 
bombing took place.  Veysel also got out of the car and was 
coming towards me as I walked 10 meters to see a group of people 
looking at Veysel and shouting 'This is a defector'.  Everybody 
in Semdinli had already known Veysel.  Suddenly people gathered 
in the place and started shouting 'Give us the defector'. I 
cried 'We are security officers; this car is an official state 
car.'  People started hitting the car; they broke the back 
window and hit Veysel.  All this lasted for 10 minutes." 
According to PKK defector Veysel Ates's first statement given at 
the Prosecutor's Office, Ates said "We set off at 8.30 a.m. to 
meet the people who would provide us with information.  We 
arrived at Semdinli.  Ozcan would observe ablution and we would 
buy a lottery ticket.  Before we even got out of the car, we 
heard an explosion.  People came towards us and started hitting 
at us. " 
 
HURRIYET / CUMHURIYET:          Officers Ali Kaya and Ozcan 
Ildeniz reportedly further said that they have obtained 
intelligence that two PKK members were stationed in Semdinli, a 
strategic hub point providing access both to Iran and Iraq where 
the district's two major clans had close relationships with 
Barzani's clan in northern Iraq,                           to 
enhance their organizational capabilities there and to recruit 
new members.  Reportedly, the two PKK members were raising money 
by collecting a "tax" from people.  That's why, said the 
officers in their statements, they (the officers) started 
following Seferi Yilmaz, whom allegedly had ties with this 
militia organization formed in Semdinli.  The officers, while 
dismissing the claims that they had formed an organized crime 
network, further said that everything they had been doing was 
known by their commanding officers.  Cumhuriyet daily claims 
that the statements of the officers revealed that they came to 
Semdinli on November 7 as well, and their second visit on 
November 9 was not a mere coincidence, a fact contradicting the 
officers' initial statements given. 
 
HURRIYET:       The daily reported that CHP (Republican People's 
Party) did not appoint Esat Canan, Hakkari deputy from CHP, to 
the Parliamentary Investigation Commission for the Semdinli 
Case.  Esat Canan was in Semdinli during the incidents, his 
announcements kept the incidents on the agenda and his remarks 
were broadcasted on Roj TV.  While CHP administration said, 
"There is no specific reason for not selecting him," Canan said 
that not selecting Canan as a commission member would be an 
inadequacy on his party's part. 
 
HURRIYET / CUMHURIYET:  According to Anavatan (Motherland Party) 
National Leader Erkan Mumcu, PM Erdogan's remarks saying, "I 
deem either the PKK flags flown or F-16 aircrafts flying low 
(over people during a funeral) as wrong actions" is wrongfully 
putting the PKK on equal footing with the security forces. 
 
HURRIYET:       RTUK (Higher Board for Radio and Television) decided 
to lift the stipulation that required a study and assessment of 
the audience profile before giving a license to television 
companies broadcasting in local languages, including the Kurdish 
language.  The regulation required will be arranged next week 
and Kurdish language broadcasting will be started two weeks 
later from today. 
 
CUMHURIYET / SABAH / RADIKAL / OZGUR GUNDEM:     A four-person 
Ministry of Health delegation went to Malatya to investigate the 
diarrhea epidemic case there (see press summary 11/29). 
Meanwhile, Malatya's Mayor claimed that the numbers of the 
patients having diarrhea in Malatya were exaggerated and the 
results of Inonu University's analysis of the case were 
politically manipulated.  The mayor dismissed the claims that 
chlorination was applied insufficiently in the city stored water 
(see press summary 11/29). Cumhuriyet and Sabah dailies claimed 
that the analysis of the city water supply by the City Hygiene 
Administration revealed mixing of sewage water into the potable 
water. 
 
OZGUR GUNDEM:   Former DEHAP's (Democratic People's Party) 
Mardin Provincial Chairperson Cemal Veske claimed that JITEM 
members stopped his car the previous night at the entrance of 
Mardin's Kiziltepe district and attempted to kidnap him.  Veske, 
who reportedly barely escaped from the JITEM members, filed a 
complaint with the Kiziltepe Prosecutor's Office concerning the 
alleged incident. 
 
OZGUR GUNDEM:     A Van Centennial University student was 
arrested on charges that he made PKK propaganda during a protest 
activity held (on an unspecified date) against the Semdinli 
case. 
 
OZGUR GUNDEM:   The daily reported claims about alleged 
oppression shepherds and guerillas' families were subjected to 
in two villages of Mardin's Savur district.  Separately, 
security forces reportedly caught 4 alleged PKK members during a 
military operation in Mardin's Derik district.  According to 
Mardin's Security Directorate, the PKK members were readying an 
attack against BOTAS's (Pertoelum Pipeline Corporation) oil 
pipeline in the Mazidagi district in Mardin. 
 
OZGUR GUNDEM:   The daily reported yesterday that a police 
station in a quarter of Tunceli moved from its position there 
before clearing mines they planted on the surrounding land. 
Tunceli CHP deputy announced that it will bring the case to the 
agenda of the Turkish Parliament, because the mined area, being 
very close to a Boarding Primary School, would pose grave risks 
for children and people. 
 
RADIKAL:        Ministry of Justice decided to initiate an 
investigation against Van Chief Prosecutor Kemal Kacan for 
breaching the secret nature of the investigation, which is 
carried out against Van Centennial University Rector Yucel 
Askin, through making a press announcement about the 
investigation.  There are already two ongoing investigations 
initiated against Kacan.  One of the investigations was opened 
because Kacan allegedly said once that half of the attorneys in 
Van were PKK affiliated. 
 
SABAH:  Hakan Acil, the police officer, who was kidnapped by 
terrorists on October 9 on the road to Sirnak's Cizre district, 
has not been released for 53 days.  Reportedly, a pro-PKK 
website of Firat News Agency published statements of Hakan Acil, 
who reportedly said that he talked on the phone with his father 
a couple of minutes ago and that he was safe and sound.  Acil 
allegedly further said that he would be released, and that the 
Human Rights Association would take him. 
 
CUMHURIYET:     The chief doctor of Van Centennial University said 
that the health condition of the University's Rector Yucel Askin 
was still serious.  Reportedly, Askin, aside from his physical 
health problems, suffered from psychological problems and was 
not responding well to his psychological treatment. 
 
OZGUR GUNDEM:   Seventeen children in Sanliurfa's Viransehir 
district are now being treated with life support therapies 
allegedly because of a disease called Subacute Sclerosing 
Panencephalitis (SSPE). Reportedly, the children became ill 
after having measles vaccination in October 2003.  Increase of 
SSPE cases has caused Viransehir Subgovernor to apply to many 
universities to call for studies on these cases. 
REID