US embassy cable - 05ADANA230

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 ADANA 000230 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREL, PINS, PGOV, PHUM, TU, ADANA, Press Summaries 
SUBJECT: SOUTHEAST TURKEY PRESS SUMMARY FOR DECEMBER 09, 2005 
 
 
This is the Southeastern Turkey press summary for December 09, 
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 / HURRIYET / OZGUR GUNDEM:        Photographs of Hakan Acil 
(27), the police officer, whom the PKK kidnapped two months ago 
(see press summary 10/11) on the road between Sirnak and Mardin, 
have been published on a terrorist organization's website.  Acil 
reportedly said, "I thought I would be killed since I am a 
police officer. However, they told me that I would be released 
soon. They further said that a non-governmental organization 
could come and take me...My health condition is good. They treat 
me the way they treat the others in here."  Hurriyet daily drew 
attention to the weary-looking Acil as he was drinking tea in 
the photo.  Ozgur Gundem, published a second photo of Acil 
sitting side by side with a PKK member and with a little smile 
on his face. 
 
HURRIYET / CNNTURK ONLINE / ZAMAN:      CHP (Republican People's 
Party) National Leader Deniz Baykal went to Semdinli and 
Yuksekova districts of Hakkari.  Baykal paid a visit to the 
Semdinli Mayor Hursit Tekin and paid condolences to the wife of 
Zahir Korkmaz, the only person who died during the bombing on 
November 9.  Baykal later conducted studies at the area, which 
was devastated by the November 1 bombing, and at Umut Bookstore, 
which was bombed on November 9.  Baykal later addressed a nearly 
1000-person crowd at the main square of the district and said, 
"This country belongs to all of us.  There is no such separation 
as 'you' and 'us'.  It is not possible for anybody to win 
anything by way of disregarding the presence of each other or 
not heeding the rights of one another."  Baykal further stated 
in Yuksekova that they came to the region because they wanted to 
make sure that the incidents be exposed, and not covered.  A 
150-person group protested Baykal in Hakkari and shouted 
slogans. 
 
OZGUR GUNDEM:   The daily reported that the people of Semdinli 
were not interested at all in the arrival of the main opposition 
party leader Baykal to their district, especially for his 
arrival one month later than the incident.  One of the local 
people reportedly said, "If Esat Canan (the Hakkari deputy from 
CHP) were not in the delegation that accompanied Baykal, people 
would barely show the smallest hint of recognizing him down 
here." (Note.  A 12/01 press summary reported that CHP did not 
appoint Esat Canan to the Parliamentary Investigation Commission 
for the Semdinli Case. Canan had hinted then that not selecting 
him as a commission member would be an inadequacy on his party's 
part. End Note.) 
 
HURRIYET / ZAMAN:       As the December 14 trial date for Yucel Askin, 
Van Centennial University Rector, neared, CHP Leader Deniz 
Baykal paid a visit to Askin, who was arrested on October 14 on 
charges of financial irregularities and who has been staying at 
the hospital since November 13 because of a cardiac disorder 
associated with psychological problems, which surfaced following 
the suicide of the deputy general secretary of the university. 
Askin has been under arrest for 56 days.  The journalists, who 
visited Askin, along with the CHP leader, were strictly banned 
from taking photographs.  Commenting on the physical appearance 
of Askin, the journalists reported that he was weak and has lost 
a lot of weight.  Reportedly, Askin said that he wanted to 
attend the trial; however, the doctors said he was not quite 
sure whether his health status would permit that. 
 
ZAMAN:  Zaman daily quoted Diyarbakir Soz newspaper's report 
alleging that Ali Kaya, one of the non-commissioned officers 
held as defendants in the November 9 bombing in Semdinli, during 
his tenure in Diyarbakir, reportedly prepared "fake intelligence 
reports" about nearly 100 businessmen.  The daily further 
claimed that Kaya prepared intelligence reports about 
Diyarbakir's 4th State Security Court Chairperson and its 
members for their reported reactionary tendencies and submitted 
this report to 7th Army Corps Command. 
 
CNNTURK ONLINE: Four security officers died during an attack 
of the terrorists on a military unit in Sirnak's Guclukonak 
district on 1 a.m. this morning.  Reportedly, the PKK members 
attacked with rocket propelled grenades, hand grenades and 
rifles. A confrontation between the security forces and 
terrorists followed the attack, and two terrorists were killed 
as a result of that.  Upon hearing this news, Minister of 
Education Huseyin Celik, who is currently in Sirnak's Idil 
district to open a school, said, "We came here to open a school 
and to celebrate this. We feel a deep sorrow now that we heard 
this unfortunate news. Whatever its source is, we must all 
condemn terrorism. Nobody benefits from terrorism. We are very 
sad." 
 
NTVMSNBC ONLINE:        There were two bombing attempts in Tokat; in 
the first incident, a packet was noticed yesterday evening in 
front of the Subgovernor's Office in Tokat's Turhal district. 
People, upon noticing the packet, called the bomb squad, which 
defused the bomb.  The bomb was comprised of two TNT blocks; and 
the specialists said that the humidity of the blocks prevented 
its detonation.  The second bomb attack targeted the Governor's 
Office in Tokat. A bottled gas canister with a fuse was placed 
at the back entrance of the Office's building; however, although 
the fuse ignited, the bottled gas reportedly did not detonate. 
Governor Erdogan Gurbuz, former Hakkari governor, who was 
appointed as a governor to Tokat following the Semdinli 
incidents (see press summary 11/25), said that there was nothing 
to worry about and the situation was under control. 
 
ZAMAN:  Thirteen students were arrested at Erzurum's 
university on charges that they would hold a pro-PKK meeting to 
discuss how to organize the youth in the universities.  Police, 
upon receiving a tip-off, conducted a raid on a house and seized 
documents and books which made PKK propaganda.  The students 
arraigned were released by the court later.  Separately, a 
21-year-old soldier enrolled at 9th Army Corps Command in 
Erzurum has been convicted and sentenced to six years and 3 
months of imprisonment for being a member of the PKK. 
 
ZAMAN:  Two modified blank firing handguns and one blank 
firing handgun were found in the locker of a 15-year-old student 
at a Diyarbakir Boarding Primary School located on the road 
towards Elazig.  The police brought the child to the Security 
Directorate's Children Branch. 
 
ZAMAN:  Members of the Turkish Parliament's Human Rights 
Commission may reportedly resign because of an alleged 
controversy involving the Chairperson Mehmet Elkatmis.  Elkatmis 
attributed the recent inefficiency of the commission to the 
shortage of staff made up of specialists. 
 
ZAMAN:  Syria's olive oil factories have reportedly 
discharged waste products into the Asi River and caused 
significant environmental pollution.  Thousands of fish 
reportedly died on the Turkish part of the river because of the 
oily layer formed on the water.  Provincial Director of 
Environment and Forests said that they took samples of water and 
gave it to the Mustafa Kemal University in Hatay for analysis. 
 
 
OZGUR GUNDEM:   The daily reported that today marked the first 
month of the November 9 Semdinli bombing.  A big event will 
reportedly be organized tomorrow and thousands of people from 
around Turkey, non-governmental organizations, will pour into 
Semdinli to condemn the bombing incidents and to strengthen the 
bonds of solidarity. 
 
OZGUR GUNDEM:   According to the reported results of "a 
referendum" held in Turkey's Agean Region, 30,000 people signed 
a document that declared acknowledgement of (terrorist leader) 
Abdullah Ocalan as the political will of the people. 
 
OZGUR GUNDEM:   Hulya Avsar, one of the most famous 
celebrities in Turkey, said that she would do everything she 
could to contribute to the resolution of the Kurdish issue. 
 
OZGUR GUNDEM:   Reportedly, the people in Mahmur Camp in Iraq 
told the U.S. delegation that visited the camp that they would 
not return to Turkey unless Turkey ended its "execution" and 
"negligence" policies pursued against the Kurds (see press 
summary 12/08). 
REID