US embassy cable - 03ADANA123

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 ADANA 0123 
 
SIPDIS 
 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREL, PINS, PGOV, PHUM, TU, IZ, Press Summaries, ADANA 
SUBJECT:  SOUTHEAST TURKEY PRESS SUMMARY, 
          APRIL 29, 2003 
 
1. This is the Southeastern Turkey press summary 
for April 29, 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: Jandarma Master Sergeant Ilhan 
Kayikci and Private Salih Sancar were arrested 
for killing Cetin Kahraman by gunfire on the 
grounds that Kahraman disobeyed a "halt warning" 
while driving from Baskale to Van the previous 
morning. Seven people had already been detained 
for attacking the police with stones and clubs as 
the police took Kahraman's body from the 
hospital; they were released by the court on the 
condition that they voluntarily appear before the 
court when needed. 
 
 
3.  Radikal/Milli Gazete: Kizilay's -Turkish Red 
Crescent- humanitarian relief items destined for 
Mosul and Kirkuk in Northern Iraq left Habur 
border gate yesterday. Two Turkish 
Parliamentarians accompanied the humanitarian 
relief convoy. The Turkish Foreign Ministry (FM) 
announced hundreds of trucks carrying 
humanitarian relief goods had already been moved 
to Iraq. The FM also announced aircraft and 
health teams would be dispatched from Turkey to 
Iraq for the treatment of some wounded persons. 
 
 
4.  Tercuman: Claudia Roth, the German 
Parliamentarian from the Green Party, met with 
officials from UNHCR, UNICEF, and WHO at the UN's 
office in Diyarbakir. She said she was visiting 
the region as someone in charge of the 
humanitarian relief program. She also received 
information regarding Iraq from the UN officials. 
During her meeting with Diyarbakir's governor, 
Roth expressed that she was happy because the 
wave of migration everybody had feared did not 
happen, and there is a calm situation in northern 
Iraq. She also told the governor that 
broadcasting in the mother tongue, particularly 
in Kurdish, should be allowed. 
 
 
5.  Evrensel: On March 1, Zamanhan Kaya, Mehmet 
Bakis, Bilal Yakis, and Suat Kucuk went to 
Nusaybin in Mardin to sell detergents.  They were 
arrested by the village guards on the grounds 
they would join the "mountain cadre of the 
organization (PKK)." Later, the court released 
them but they were never heard from again after 
they were set free. Kaya's father claimed he 
received a letter 15 days ago, undersigned by an 
Ibrahim, stating his son and his three friends 
were under arrest in Nusaybin and would be 
released shortly. Kaya's father feared his son 
and the others would be kidnapped, and therefore 
applied to Diyarbakir State Security Court (SSC) 
and Diyarbakir HRA to help find out whereabouts 
of his son and his friends. 
 
 
6.  Evrensel: The President of the Physically 
Handicapped Persons Association in Hakkari, Bedri 
Calli, said he had 50 members who were victims of 
randomly planted land mines during the 15-year 
long clashes in the region. He said many people 
were disabled by the explosion of land mines 
while going out for a walk or walking from one 
village to another. Calli also stated the area 
must be cleared of land mines so people could 
return to their villages. 
7.  Evrensel: On May 1, the Turkish Labor Day, 
meetings will be held between the political 
parties and labor unions in almost every town. In 
Adana, the meeting will start at 11:00 a.m. at 
Mimiar Sinan Open Air Theater and continue with a 
march to the Ugur Mumcu Square by the railway 
station. In Van, after a long absence, the 
festivities will be held for the first time. The 
May 1 meeting will also be held in Diyarbakir, 
Malatya, Mardin, Tunceli, Mersin, Gaziantep, 
Adiyaman, Batman, Elazig, and Sanliurfa provinces 
in Adana's consular district. 
 
 
ECONOMIC AND AGRICULTURAL DEVELOPMENTS 
 
 
8.  Milliyet/Bolge: Adana's Provincial Director 
of Agriculture, Abdullah Keskin, announced that 
"foot-and-mouth" disease had been diagnosed in 
some of the livestock illegally brought to Adana 
during the Sacrifice Holiday in mid-February. 
Keskin added, as a precaution, the livestock 
markets in Yuregir and Kozan districts were 
closed down until further notice. Keskin said, 
despite all precautions, mouth-and-foot disease 
was determined in five quarters of Seyhan and 
Yuregir districts because of unregistered 
livestock and the unauthorized movement of 
livestock. Pursuant to this issue, the Director 
of Provincial Animal Health Section, Enver Ozbek, 
said, they launched an inoculation campaign that 
began on March 01 and would last until May 15. 
They have already given shots to 56,804 animals 
in the province. 
HOLTZ