US embassy cable - 03ADANA54

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 ADANA 0054 
 
SIPDIS 
 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREL, PINS, PGOV, PHUM, TU, IZ, ADANA, Press Summaries 
SUBJECT:  SOUTHEAST TURKEY PRESS SUMMARY 
FEBURARY 24, 2003 
 
 
1.  This is the Southeastern Turkey press summary 
for February 24, 2003.  Please note that Turkish 
press reports often contain errors or 
exaggerations; AmConsulate Adana does not vouch 
for the accuracy of the reports summarized here. 
 
 
POLITICS, SECURITY, HUMAN RIGHTS 
-------------------------------- 
 
 
2.  Hurriyet: The European Committee for 
Prevention of Torture (CPT) who last week visited 
PKK/KADEK leader Abdullah Ocalan at Imrali prison 
by helicopter provided by the Justice Ministry 
determined that Ocalan was physically sound. The 
two-person CPT delegation met with Ocalan for 
five hours.  They determined that his sole 
complaint was isolation. The following points 
were underlined in the CPT report: Ocalan is in 
good health. The Turkish authorities provide 
regular physical examinations and report the 
results to Ankara. Ocalan's family and lawyers 
were being taken to the island every Wednesday by 
the Justice Ministry's official boat. However, 
when the winds are too high (Level 4), such boat 
journeys are not doable. No one has able to visit 
Ocalan for a long time - since the end of 
November. Thus, there has been an obstacle to 
such boat visits.  The CPT team is of the 
impression that this obstacle is being created 
deliberately. Ocalan has access to daily 
newspapers. He has a transistor radio on which he 
can listen to TRT (Turkish Radio and Television). 
The CPT believes that, even with limitations or 
conditions, a means of telephone communication 
should be created for Ocalan. 
 
 
3.  Hurriyet: It is reported that the wave of 
migration Turkey expects in the likely war on 
Iraq already started in Northern Iraq's region 
close to Hakkari province. It is gathered that 
the migration movement that started in Barzani's 
KDP controlled region has not reached Turkey yet, 
and the immigrants are living on their own means, 
and that Kizilay, the Turkish Red Crescent, has 
undertaken all sorts of precautions to provide 
relief to the immigrants in the event they 
appeared at the Turkish border. Although 
Barzani's KDP and Talabani's PUK claim that there 
won't be a migration like the one in 1991, 
Turkish officials believe migration will be 
inevitable. Turkey has had a military presence in 
northern Iraq since 1993, and is worried that the 
United States is depending on Mesud Barzani's 
forces too much. 
 
 
4.  Hurriyet/Radikal:  IKDP's spokesman, Hosyar 
Zebari threatened Ankara by warning that the 
Turkish army should not enter the region, and 
they would clash with them if they did. Zebari 
was quoted as saying, "We understand Turkey's 
sensitivity, and we guaranteed it repeatedly. Our 
purpose is not to found an independent Kurdistan. 
We have showed in the past that we could work in 
coordination with Turks. Even a minor 
intervention will cause clashes. Any intervention 
on any pretext will cause clashes. No one should 
think that we are bluffing." Zebari said that 
there was nothing that required the Turkish army 
to enter the region, and that they could take 
care of anything needed in the region. He said 
there was no discrimination against Turcomans, 
and that they were their co-citizens and 
partners. Talabani's spokesman, Latif Resit, also 
expressed that they were against Turkish army 
penetration into the region, and in response to 
whether or not they would enter Kirkuk, Mr. Resit 
said "our forces will remain as part of Iraq's 
forces." 
 
 
5.  Milliyet/Turkiye: Turkish armed forces' 
military build-up in the region continues. 
Military convoys carrying ammunition and military 
equipment from various towns are first destined 
for Cizre and Silopi townships. Three convoys -- 
consisting in total of 25 trucks, 15 jeeps and 20 
TIR trucks carrying armored vehicles and 
artillery -- passed through Cizre yesterday. 
Preparations for a possible refugee influx into 
Turkey continue. It is said that 75 teachers will 
be assigned to tents to be set up for  refugees 
on the Turkish side of the border. 
 
 
6.  Milliyet: It is reported that the 
infrastructure improvement projects at Incirlik 
AB have been expedited, and that a large number 
of heavy-duty machines were seen digging a three 
meter deep pit in the size of a soccer field. It 
is said that the excavations were made for 
building new hangars.  An increase in the number 
of tents at the site allocated for ONW soldiers 
was also reported. The number of "giant tents" 
increased to three during the weekend. It is said 
that these giant tents will be used as a 
revolving door by the US troops when the Turkish 
national Assembly authorizes deployment of US 
forces in Turkey. It is also reported that the 
ground where the US tankers are located has been 
hardened, and painting of the runways has been 
completed. 
 
 
7.  Cumhuriyet: It is reported that the United 
States has asked the Turkish government to double 
the capacity of Incirlik AB or else build a new 
base similar to the one in Incirlik in Batman. In 
addition to the current issues and hot 
developments in the region, bilateral long-term 
strategic talks are also taking place between the 
two governments. 
The US wants to use Turkey as a "central logistic 
base" for its plans to shape the Middle East and 
Caspian and Balkan triangle in the 21st century, 
and therefore wants to use almost all Turkish 
ports and airports from which military aircraft 
could operate. It is reported that the US has 
made the following demands from the Turkish 
government. 
- Sign a new agreement for doubling the capacity 
of Incirlik AB. 
- If that doesn't work, turn over the Batman base 
and the  installations around the base. 
- During the use of airports and ports by the 
Turkish military, there may be a shortage of 
warehouse space. Therefore we should work on a 
rental arrangement for the areas surrounding the 
bases. 
- We should also work on the railway and roads to 
facilitate our transportation. 
8.  Bolge: As the possible war on Iraq 
approaches, government officials have not 
disclosed how they are going to provide for 
citizens' security.  The people of Adana do not 
know what to do in the case of an attack by Iraq 
using weapons of mass destruction. Civil defense 
authorities said they had determined the type of 
precautions to be undertaken in case of an 
attack, but because they had not received 
approval from the governor's office, they 
couldn't announce it to the public. 
 
 
9.  Turkiye: A spokeswoman for the Women's 
Platform of the Human Rights Association's 
Diyarbakir chapter said the number of sexual- 
harassment and rape cases in Mardin has increased 
recently. She said a 12 year old girl was 
recently found to have been trafficked and 
serially raped, even by government officials. The 
investigation caused detention of many government 
officials, and the investigation continues. Necla 
Akdeniz, another girl, who was raped by village 
guards in Mardin, was subsequently shot to death 
by her own family. A girl named Semsiye was also 
killed; her head was bashed in with stones, for 
having a forbidden love affair. 
 
 
 
 
10.  Evrensel: 2500 Petrol-Is Union members in 
Batman who did not receive their overtime pays 
for four months will go on strike today and press 
for 700 contracted workers whose contracts will 
end in March to be put on permanent payroll. The 
union's Batman chapter president, Nimetullah 
Sozen, said their unpaid overtime totaled to TL 
800 billion ($620 thousand. 
 
 
11.  Sabah: Adana mayor, Aytac Durak, who did not 
report 38 pieces of real estate and 583,825 
square meters of land in his statement to the tax 
office faces a court hearing on March 13. If 
Mayor Durak fails to persuade the jury about the 
shortcomings in his statement he will face an 
imprisonment term from 3 to 8 years and will be 
banned for life from public service. As a result 
of a tip-off, the Interior Ministry launched an 
investigation in 2001 and his file was submitted 
to Chief Public Prosecutor's Office of Adana. 
HOLTZ