US embassy cable - 03ADANA93

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 ADANA 0093 
 
SIPDIS 
 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREL, PINS, PGOV, PHUM, TU, IZ, ADANA, Press Summaries 
SUBJECT:  SOUTHEAST TURKEY PRESS SUMMARY, 
          APRIL 2, 2003 
 
 
1.  This is the Southeastern Turkey press summary 
for April 2, 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. 
 
 
POLITICAL, SECURITY, HUMAN RIGHTS 
 
 
2.  Radikal/Milliyet: The U.S.Department of 
State's Human Rights Report for 2002 has been 
published. The section covering Turkey emphasized 
that the government, in general, was respectful 
toward human rights and had realized some 
fundamental reforms. However, torture, use of 
excessive force and paucity in accountability for 
crimes committed by security forces still 
remained as serious problems. It is reported that 
State Department's annual Human Rights Report 
used to have a serious effect in the world, but 
because the US also has been violating human 
rights in the operations it has undertaken in 
various countries questions have been raised 
about the credibility of the report. The State 
Department draws heavily in its report on 
information gathered in Turkey by the Human 
Rights Foundation, Human Rights Association, and 
Amnesty International.  Newspapers go into 
considerable detail about the kudos and 
criticisms directed at Turkey in the report. 
 
 
3.  Radikal: 48 planes and 1,400 soldiers 
deployed at Incirlik AB for Operation Northern 
Watch are ready to leave the base within the week 
depending on the consequence of developments with 
Colin Powel's visit to Turkey. The US had built 
up an immense amount of military equipment prior 
the war at the base, which has not been allowed 
by the Turkish government to be used in air 
strikes against Iraq. 
 
 
4.  Milli Gazete: A US Prowler plane made an 
emergency landing at Incirlik AB last night. 
Tight security measures were taken around the 
runway and, after landing, fire brigades 
surrounded the plane, at the rear of which flames 
could be seen. The plane taxied to the hangar 
half an hour later, and it took off from the base 
around midnight. Two C-130 cargo planes took off 
from the base early morning as well. 
 
 
5.  Milli Gazete: Siirt Governorate has been 
giving classes in 59 subjects at its Public 
Training Center for free. Regarding the issue, 
Siirt Governor Nuri Okutan said the percentage of 
children enrolled in preschool education 
increased, as did the percentage of girls 
enrolled in schools.  In addition, the 
Governorate has tried to reach out to around 
6,000 women and young girls without education by 
involving them in weaving cooperatives and 
multipurpose social centers. 
 
 
6.  Evrensel/Cumhuriyet/Turkiye: Dagyani 
villagers of Sanliurfa who threw stones and eggs 
at US experts coming from Incirlik AB to remove 
fragments of a missile that erroneously fell 
nearby the village were detained by jandarma and 
released by the court after a hearing. Sanliurfa 
human rights activists reacted angrily to the 
interrogations of the villagers and demanded a 
similar response be shown to the US military, 
which is threatening the physical security of the 
people with missiles. 
 
 
7.  Evrensel: Van's former administrator of 
HADEP, Bazi Aslan, and a City Councilmember, 
Cihat Kara, were each sentenced to 10 months of 
imprisonment on the charges of "resisting the 
police" during a press conference on the occasion 
of World's Women's Day on March 8. 
 
 
8.  Milliyet: During a fashion show at the 
opening of a sportswear shop in Adana, models 
from Istanbul and Izmir protested the war in 
Iraq. The models opened a banner reading "Let 
there be no wars. Do not let children die." at 
the fashion show, which was attended by prominent 
people from Adana. 
 
 
ECONOMIC AND AGRICULTURAL DEVELOPMENTS 
 
 
9.  Turkiye/Bolge: Mersin Municipality is 
planning to open a tender for the town's 
Wastewater Treatment Plant on April 4.  Mersin 
Mayor Macit Ozcan said they would realize the 
project with a Euro 60 million loan. Mayor Ozcan 
said six qualifying companies would compete for 
the project, which will serve a municipal 
population of 750,000 people. Meanwhile, Mersin 
Municipality signed an MOU with a Canadian 
company for constructing a garbage-processing 
plant. The plant will produce heat and energy to 
be used in Mersin. 
HOLTZ