US embassy cable - 03ADANA55

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 ADANA 0055 
 
SIPDIS 
 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREL, PINS, PGOV, PHUM, TU, IZ, Press Summaries, ADANA 
SUBJECT:  SOUTHEAST TURKEY PRESS SUMMARY, 
FEBRUARY 25, 2003 
 
 
1.  This is the Southeastern Turkey press summary 
for February 25, 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.  Bolge/Milli Gazete/Milliyet: In his written 
statement, Saban Bas, the President of Adana's 
Chamber of Commerce, said that since it is 
impossible to avert the possible war on Iraq 
investment should continue so that the war would 
not have a negative impact on the economy. Bas 
said the war should not cast a shadow over the 
economy, and that no one has the luxury of 
forgetting the impact of the 1991 Gulf War. 
Milliyet reports that Mr. Bas claimed Turkey's 
losses due to the 1991 war and post-war crisis 
were between 100-150 billion dollars and that 
Adana's exports dropped to 3 million dollars from 
20-25 million dollars. 
 
 
3.  Turkiye: The first group of 210 Dutch 
soldiers assigned to work on the Patriot air 
defense systems sent to Turkey by Holland will 
arrive this week. The second group of the total 
360 soldiers will leave Holland for Turkey on 
February 28. The Dutch soldiers will land in 
Adana and be dispatched to Diyarbakir and Batman. 
The Patriot air defense systems sent by freight 
ships by the Government of Holland are expected 
to arrive in Turkey shortly. 
 
 
4.  Turkiye/Tercuman/Dunya: 80 Turkish Red 
Crescent(Kizilay) officials who will help 
refugees in the possible war on Iraq departed 
Ankara for Silopi. Some 51 Kizilay official had 
been moved to the region earlier. Together with 
Kizilay personnel, 29 cars carrying communication 
devices, ambulances, and assorted equipment were 
dispatched to the region. 
 
 
5.  Tercuman: The Iraqi Opposition's meeting in 
Northern Iraq was postponed due to adverse 
weather conditions. The meeting is rescheduled 
for February 28. A total of 366 reporters, 
including 242 foreign reporters with 
accreditation, will pass from Habur Border gate 
to Northern Iraq to follow the meeting in 
Selahaddin town under IKDP's control. About 50 
persons from opposition groups are expected to 
attend the meeting. 
 
 
6.  Tercuman: It is reported that the first US 
military unit will land in Gaziantep. 
Preparations have been made for landing of six 
thousand US soldiers at Gaziantep airport. It is 
claimed that the land around the airport has been 
rented for setting up desert tents. Soldiers from 
the famed 101st Airborne Brigade are expected to 
be deployed in Gaziantep. 
 
 
7.  Evrensel: In Batman, people talk about the 
war at every opportunity, and at night protest 
the US by participating in the nationwide 
"turning lights on and off" campaign. In Batman, 
shopkeepers are affected most from the 
preparations for the war because of stagnation in 
commerce because missile defense systems had been 
deployed behind Batman's industrial site. 
 
 
8.  Cumhuriyet: While US preparations for the war 
on Iraq are intensified, people in the Southeast 
have already started to suffer. The oil tankers 
bringing oil from Northern Iraq to Turkey form 
long queues at the border. Tanker drivers claimed 
that 130 km trips required all of 10 days because 
of intensified traffic due to US convoys. In the 
meantime, one segment of the people suffering 
badly from the war are merchants, who said 
because of the uncertainty added to the existing 
economic crises they have no customers and have 
closed their doors. 
 
 
9.  Radikal: In addition to military equipment 
brought to the Iskenderun port under the 
modernization program, a second freighter named 
Antares (Norwegian-flagged) unloaded 310  pieces 
of military equipment and 52 military vehicles. 
Activities were also seen at warehouses rented by 
Americans. 
 
 
10.  Milliyet: The Executive Board President of 
Adana's Environment and Consumer Protection 
Association, and East Mediterranean Environment 
Associations' Representative for Adana, Attorney 
Remzi Umit Akay, said the possible war on Iraq 
would not only kill people but also damage the 
ecosystem because of the chemical weapons that 
would be used. Akay said that war was a crime, 
and Turkey should not become a partner in this 
crime, and added that the ones who counted each 
death in this war would feel that every bomb was 
thrown at their conscience. 
 
 
11.  Bolge: The President of Mersin's Chamber of 
Maritime Trade, Cihat Lokmanoglu, announced that 
because of its position, location, and distance 
to Asia, Europe, and Africa continents, the port 
of Mersin was the most important sea gate of the 
Eastern Mediterranean and Turkey. It was 
expressed that the tourism potential in Antalya 
should be carried over to the Mersin region and 
the maritime transportation between Antalya and 
Mersin should definitely be established. In order 
to enliven sea tourism in the province, 
Lokmanoglu opined that the 500-yacht-capacity 
Mersin marina and 200-yacht-capacity Kumkuyu 
marina currently under construction should be 
completed as soon as possible. Lokmanoglu also 
said that in addition to its rich natural 
resources, history, and culture, Mersin was 
important for its proximity to other historical 
and tourist sites such as Kapadokya and Hatay. He 
added that fast ferryboat transportation between 
neighboring countries such as Lebanon, Syria and 
Israel. 
HOLTZ