Cablegate: Southeast Turkey Press Summary for May 13, 2005

This record is a partial extract of the original cable. The full text of the original cable is not available.

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 ADANA 000105

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PREL PINS PGOV PHUM TU ADANA
SUBJECT: SOUTHEAST TURKEY PRESS SUMMARY FOR MAY 13, 2005

This is the Southeastern Turkey press summary for May 13, 2005.
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

OZGUR GUNDEM / EVRENSEL: DEHAP (Democratic People's Party)
reportedly announced that the ruling of the European Court of
Human Rights (ECHR) was no surprise and the Party was hopeful
that this development would help foster further democratization
and the establishment of peace within Turkey. According to Ozgur
Gundem, Ocalan said that the decision gives Turkey a historic
opportunity to transform the issue into a struggle for democracy
and for the resolution of the Kurdish problem.

BOLGE: Pro-Kurdish activists in Cyprus celebrated the
retrial decision of the ECHR and hit the streets carrying
pictures of Abdullah Ocalan and chanting slogans in favor of the
PKK/Kongra-Gel. Meanwhile, Mehmet Ocalan, 55-year-old brother of
Abdullah Ocalan, who lives in Yakapinar village of Yuregir
district in Adana, said that the ruling of the ECHR was fair and
was no surprise to him. He added, however, that a possible
retrial was doomed to being unfair due to politicians'
"pre-judging" comments, which would definitely influence the
course of a retrial.

OZGUR GUNDEM: The Ministry of Internal Affairs reportedly
announced that it is working to draft a law to improve the
village guard system in Turkey. The law would stipulate that
57,860 village guards receive social security benefits.

RADIKAL: Turkish military launched an extensive operation
with thousands of soldiers in Tunceli province upon obtaining
intelligence that terrorist activities would be conducted with
C-4 explosives. Reportedly, there were confrontations with a
group of nearly 30 PKK members in Pulumur pasture.

OZGUR GUNDEM: Adana American Consul Walter Scott Reid paid a
visit to the Dogubeyazit Mayor, Mukaddes Kubilay, in Agri. Reid
reportedly inquired about the problems of women in Dogubeyazit
and the Mayor, who is one of Turkey's few female mayors, stated
that "language and identity" were the most important problems
women were experiencing.

CUMHURIYET: PM Erdogan plans to break ground for a "Park of
Religions" in Sanliurfa during his visit to the province on
Saturday. However, nationalists, who claim that the "Baby
Killer" Ocalan had been supporting this project, and
fundamentalists and Saadet Party members, who believe that
synagogues and churches will be built with this "Jewish
project", have created tension in advance of the PM's arrival
and urged people to rise up. In today's Friday prayer, devout
people will reportedly be called upon to take a hard stance
against the park project.

OZGUR GUNDEM: Rural land that was being used for shooting
drills by the military two years earlier in Demirkapi village of
Dogubeyazit district is now being used as grazing land by many
young shepherds. A year ago, a 13-year-old shepherd was
reportedly killed there by a blast and three other children were
wounded.

EVRENSEL / OZGUR GUNDEM: The people of Igdir province are
reportedly taking their children out of school two months early
to work as shepherds in the highlands due to the hot summer
conditions at lower altitudes.

EKSPRES: Ejder Dilci, a researcher and author living in
Adana, has filed a complaint with the Adana Prosecutor against
Swiss prosecutor Andrej Gnehm, stating Gnehm violated the
European Human Rights Agreement and Universal Declaration of
Human Rights, and degraded the honor of the Turkish Republic.
(Note: Gnehm reportedly launched an investigation early in May
against a Turkish historian for denying 1915 Armenian genocide
allegations during a talk in Switzerland. End note.)

EVRENSEL: A moderate 3.4-magnitude earthquake shook the
Colakli district of Malatya at 5 a.m. yesterday.

HURRIYET (CUKUROVA): Michel Moretti, a Security Official of
the French Embassy in Ankara, came to Mersin to obtain more
information about such issues as drug dealing and human
trafficking. Moretti paid a visit to the Deputy Security
Director of Mersin.

SABAH (GUNEY) / BOLGE / HURRIYET (CUKUROVA): The first EU
Application and Research Center of the Mediterranean Region in
Turkey has been opened at Cag University in Adana. Ulrike Hauer,
First Secretary of the Delegation of the European Commission to
Turkey, attended the opening ceremony of the Center.

REID

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