US embassy cable - 03ADANA92

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 ADANA 0092 
 
SIPDIS 
 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREL, PINS, PGOV, PHUM, TU, IZ, ADANA, Press Summaries 
SUBJECT:  SOUTHEAST TURKEY PRESS SUMMARY, 
          APRIL 1, 2003 
 
 
1.  This is the Southeastern Turkey press summary 
for April 1, 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. 
 
 
2. Radikal/Cumhuriyet: In northern Iraq, where 
1,200 US soldiers are already deployed, intensive 
bombing took place around oil centers such as 
Mosul and Kirkuk, and the Iraqi forces withdrew 
further south. KDP and PUK affiliated peshmergas 
also intensified their attacks against Iraqi 
forces stationed west of the Zab River. Iraqi 
forces have been withdrawing to defend the 
cities. KDP's spokesman, Hasyar Zebari, announced 
that they were expecting thousands of US soldiers 
in northern Iraq in a very short time. The US 
envoy to Iraq, Zalmay Halilzad, told the New York 
Times that the US had not yet reached an 
agreement with Turkey about the establishment of 
a "Coordination Cell" to be set up in Silopi.  He 
added that there was a real lack of confidence 
between Turks and Kurds. 
 
 
3.  Milliyet/Sabah: Turkey and the US agreed on 
Turkey's not penetrating into northern Iraq in 
the absence of solid reasons. The US guaranteed 
that the Kurds in the region under would act 
under its control and not enter Kirkuk. Zalmay 
Halilzad said Turkey's penetration into northern 
Iraq should not be an objective for Turkey and 
the US would do its best to allay Turkey's 
concerns. 
 
 
4.  Bolge/Tercuman: Six young men protesting the 
war on Iraq chained themselves to the US 
Embassy's fence in Ankara yesterday morning. The 
protesters unfurled a banner reading "End the US 
Murders in the Middle East."  Drivers on Ataturk 
Boulevard who honked as they drove by supported 
their action.  Police cut the chains and the 
demonstrators were taken to the police station 
for interrogation. 
 
 
5.  Cumhuriyet: After US experts from Incirlik AB 
went to a village of Sanliurfa to fetch the 
fragments of a Tomahawk missile were pelted 
stones and eggs, US military officials asked 
Turkish officials to provide security for the 
shipment of US military equipment and vehicles 
from Kiziltepe to Iskenderun.  In the meantime, 
it is reported that the US extended its lease 
concerning Iskenderun Port until April 18. 
 
 
6.  Radikal/Hurriyet: On the grounds of having 
publicly said the phrase "KADEK Chairman, Mr. 
Abdullah Ocalan" at DEHAP's convention in Tarsus, 
DEHAP's Tarsus District Chairman, Alattin Bilgi, 
was interrogated by police and ordered held by 
the court on charges of "instigation aiming at 
disintegration of the indivisible Turkish 
Republic." Bilgi will be tried at the State 
Security Court of Adana. 
 
 
7.  Evrensel: A case alleging 175 persons damaged 
a police APC during the 2002 Newroz festivities 
in Mersin has come to court.  Some 46 defendants 
and their lawyers attended the hearing, during 
which they denied the allegations. The lawyers 
asked for submission of experts' report. The 
hearing was adjourned to an unspecified date to 
complete the statements of others involved in the 
incident. 
 
 
8.  Evrensel: Four of the eight people detained 
during jandarma raids at houses in Kurtalan 
(Siirt) were ordered held on the charges of 
"assisting and harboring KADEK." The detainees 
were put in Siirt prison. 
 
 
9.  Evrensel: In Karakocan of Elazig, seven 
persons accused of playing Kurdish tunes at the 
"Solidarity Evening with the People of Karakocan" 
were sentenced to five months of imprisonment for 
violating two articles of the Political Parties 
Law. The sentence was converted to a fine of USD 
650 per person. 
 
 
10.  Evrensel: The trial of 72 security officials 
involved in the 1996 Diyarbakir F-Type Prison 
incident -- which resulted in the death of 10 
inmates and injury to 23 others -- started in 
Diyarbakir. None of the security officials 
involved in the case attended; only attorneys and 
families of the victims were present. The court 
said that the duty rosters obtained from the 
Provincial Jandarma Command and from the Security 
Directorate of the persons on duty when the 
incident broke out differed, and asked for a new 
duty roster and adjourned the hearing to a later 
date. 
HOLTZ