US embassy cable - 05ADANA227

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 ADANA 000227 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREL, PINS, PGOV, PHUM, TU, ADANA, Press Summaries 
SUBJECT: SOUTHEAST TURKEY PRESS SUMMARY FOR DECEMBER 05, 2005 
 
This is the Southeastern Turkey press summary for December 05, 
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/ULKEDE OZGUR GUNDEM: The Turkish National Assembly's 
(TNA) Commission to investigate the bombing incidents in 
Semdinli and Hakkari and the increased terror incidents will 
resume its work tomorrow. The Investigation Commission will 
disclose the names of its members at the General Convention and 
then will convene to elect its management. The commission will 
be composed of 12 lawmakers: 1 pharmacist and 11 lawyers. The 
names of the AK Party deputies in the Commission are: 1-Musa 
Sivacioglu (lawyer)from Kastamonu,; 2-Enver Yilmaz (lawyer)from 
Ordu; 3-Sukru Onder (Security Diector) from Yalova;4-Metin 
Kasikoglu (lawyer) from Duzce; 5-Ayhan Sefer Ustun (lawyer) from 
Sakarya; 6-Semiha Oyus (lawyer) from Aydin; 7-Fehmi Husrev Kutlu 
(lawyer) from Adiyaman; 8-Orhan Yildiz (lawyer) from Artvin. The 
CHP deputies in the Commision are: 9-Ahmet Ersin (lawyer)from 
Izmir; 10-Mesut Deger (lawyer) from Diyarbakir; 11-Sirri Ozbek 
(lawyer) from Istanbul. The ANAP member in the Commission is: 
12-Ibrahim Ozdogan (pharmacist). 
The Commission will have to work for four months according to 
the TNA's internal regulations. It is anticipated that the 
Commission will be faced with the "state secret" impediment in 
its operations. 
 
YENI SAFAK/ULKEDE OZGUR GUNDEM/CUMHURIYET/RADIKAL: The Head of 
the Istanbul Chamber of Doctors, Gencay Gursoy, who undertook a 
three-day inspection in Hakkari, Semdinli and Yuksekova together 
with the "Citizens Committee" made up of university teachers, 
NGO administrators and journalist, said at a news conference 
that he hoped the incidents in Semdinli would be brought to 
light and that they would follow the case closely. Radikal and 
Ulkede Ozgur Gundem newspapers reported that the shopkeepers' 
representatives in Yuksekova told the committee that the 
military applied sanctions on shopkeepers and that charges had 
been brought against them for closing their shops. The committee 
visited the former Rector of the Van Centennial University, 
Yucel Askin, who is under confinement at the Research Hospital 
of the university. In order to prevent Yucel from escaping, 
Jandarma mounted an iron grill at the window of the room in 
which he is receiving medical care. 
 
ZAMAN: It is feared that the Commission that will investigate 
the Semdinli case will encounter the same impediments as those 
encountered in the "Susurluk Case," since the required 
amendments concerning "secrecy of the state and commercial 
operations" have not been made in the TNA's internal 
regulations. The former SHP (Socialist Peoples Party) lawmaker 
Fikri  Saglar said that the "Investigation Committee" should be 
changed to "Interrogation Committee" and articles concerning 
"state secrecy" should be brought to the level of those in 
modern states respectful to the rule of law. While former 
lawmaker Saglar stated that the TNA's Committees lacked 
authority to apply sanctions the former lawmaker Sadik 
Avundukoglu, who was the Head of the Committee Investigating 
Mysterious Killings in 1993, emphasized that it was almost 
impossible to get any documents or depositions from government 
employees because the public prosecutors from the State Security 
Courts at that time had instructed government agencies in 
writing that employees should not give any information or 
documents to the commission. Avundukoglu stressed that the 
Turkish National Staff, Turkish National Police and Turkish 
National Intelligence should not hide behind the "state secret" 
phrase for alleged involvement in any incidents but help the 
TNA's commissions to enlighten them. 
 
ULKEDE OZGUR GUNDEM: Attorney Yusuf Alatas, the National 
President of Human Rights Association of Turkey, said that the 
association would closely follow the process after the Semdinli 
bombing and would form a commission that would follow, inspect 
and contribute to the TNA's Investigation Committee's work. HRA 
President Alatas said that the association would organize mass 
participation to the Semdinli Case hearings at the Van Heavy 
Criminal Penalty  Court and would provide legal assistance to 
victims of the bombing. 
 
ULKEDE OZGUR GUNDEM: 200 persons out of 622 torture victims, who 
applied to the Turkish Union of Chamber of Physicians (TUCP) in 
2005, claimed that they were exposed to torture either in 
streets or in open spaces. The TUPC Vice President, Metin 
Bakkalci, said that GOT forces have been kidnapping and applying 
torture in open spaces since application of torture has become 
difficult in detention centers because of newly adopted laws. 
Bakkalci said that the state officials applying torture tried to 
legitimize torture by saying "we are doing this for our 
country." Bakkalci said that the United Nations was founded to 
prevent torture and that the Prime Minister Erdogan was not 
sincere in preventing torture because he perceived that 
individuals claiming there was torture in Turkey were 
terrorists. 
 
ULKEDE OZGUR GUNDEM: On the occasion of the December 10 World 
Human Rights Day, the Human Rights Provincial Committee of the 
Adana Governorate delivered handouts 
reading "Rights Possessed by Suspects and Inmates" in various 
places in the town. It is also announced that a conference will 
be held on December 9 because of the occasion. Excerpts from the 
handout: No one can be held as a suspect or criminal for an act 
not considered a "crime" per the laws prevailing at the time the 
crime had been committed. No discrimination based on language, 
religion, race, sect, nationality, color, gender, and 
political-ideology can be made. In those cases where a suspect 
or inmate, whose rights have been violated, cannot solve his 
problem through domestic legal avenues, he has the right to seek 
his rights in the international judiciary. The suspect or inmate 
has the right to a fair trail. The suspect or inmate has the 
right not to be kept under detention for a longer period than 
determined by law and has the right to inform his relatives of 
his detention. The suspect or inmate possesses the right to 
remain silent. The suspect or inmate possesses the right to have 
a lawyer ready while giving a statement or being interrogated. 
 
ULKEDE OZGUR GUNDEM/EVRENSEL: In a report on PKK, a think-tank 
in the United States, The Washington Institute, argued that the 
Kurdish movement weakened the Turkish-American relations. The 
report claimed that a strong US military operation against PKK 
in the short term was not expected, and expressed that the 
organization's activities in Europe were "free." The report 
stressed that although some countries like England had banned 
PKK, PKK was still active in some countries like Greece, and 
suggested Ankara, Washington and Brussels to increase their 
anti-PKK coordination. 
 
SABAH: It is reported that the US Justice Secretary asked the 
Turkish Government to send a team to accompany Ibrahim Parlak 
who will be extradited from the United States to Turkey. On 
charges that Parlak had killed one Turkish soldier while 
crossing from Syria to Turkey and had worked for PKK, Turkey had 
asked for Parlak's extradition from the United States, where he 
sought political asylum. Parlak's application for asylum was 
denied for hiding facts in his application. 
 
ULKEDE OZGUR GUNDEM: The new US Ambassador to Turkey, Russ 
Wilson, arrived in Ankara. Ambassador Wilson expressed that he 
was looking forward to presenting his credentials to the Turkish 
President Sezer, and meeting with Prime Minister Erdogan and 
Foreign Minister Gul, together with his family who would arrive 
in Turkey in coming weeks. Ambassador Wilson said that he would 
like to advance Turkish-American relations with that country's 
leaders and would make a more detailed announcement after 
presenting his credentials to President Sezer. 
 
RADIKAL: A 25-ton LPG tanker destined from Iskendrun to Iraq 
turned over in Sanliurfa and caught fire as its brakes broke 
down yesterday noon. The tank that launched off from the chassis 
caught fire and LPG spilled in the street caused two empty 
busses and a house to burn. The Sanliurfa-Gaziantep highway was 
closed to traffic more than an hour. 
 
HURRIYET/CUMHURIYET/YENI SAFAK/RADIKAL: In Sirnak, More than 60 
people applied to hospitals in the past 10 days because of 
endemic diarrhea attributed to contaminated potable water. The 
Sirnak Governor warned people not to drink water from the city's 
water system until a further notice. Cumhuriyet newspaper 
reports that the governor added that diarrhea cases were not 
above the season's average. Citizens are currently getting their 
water from the natural springs in the mountains. 
REID