Cablegate: Southeast Turkey Press Summary for June 10, 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 000124
SIPDIS
E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PREL PINS PGOV PHUM TU ADANA
SUBJECT: SOUTHEAST TURKEY PRESS SUMMARY FOR JUNE 10, 2005
This is the Southeastern Turkey press summary for June 10, 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
RADIKAL/ZAMAN / EVRENSEL: Leakage from BOTAS's (Petroleum
Pipeline Corporation) Batman-Yumurtalik Pipeline that occured in
April (see press summary 4/18 and 4/20) had reportedly polluted
sections of land in the area. BOTAS plan to clean a 200-truck
amount of earth within one year, and also announced that it was
examining the complaints of the villagers on site and would
compensate for the losses of the villagers soon.
ZAMAN: A professor of the Sociology department at the
Middle East Technical University claims that 42,976 people have
died in Turkey as a result of terror related activities between
1979-2004. Terrorist activities, he said, began after the
adoption of the 1961 Constitution and intensified between
1971-1980. After providing some other figures, the professor
reported that Turkey has spent a total of 100-120 billion USD to
fight terrorism, a figure equal to the total debt of Turkey.
CUMHURIYET/YENI SAFAK: Solidarity Association for the Mothers
of the Martyrs filed a complaint against the terrorist
organisation PKK's leader, Abdullah Ocalan, for "attempting to
separate certain territory of the state in order to eliminate
the state's rule there."
OZGUR GUNDEM: An investigation has reportedly been opened in
Tunceli against Tunceli Mayor Songul Erol Abdil and other DEHAP
members on the grounds that these people celebrated an event on
April 4 and and sliced a cake that allegedly featured a flag
related to "democratic confederalism." A DEHAP member said that
they were questioned (by unspecified person/authority) about the
purpose of the festitivity and whether they ate the cake or not.
OZGUR GUNDEM: One of the leaders of the terrorist
organisation PKK, Murat Karayilan, reportedly suggested that
the Ocalan retrial issue be turned into a case that aims to
solve the Kurdish issue. Karayilan claims that the PKK was
ready to form a Kurdish-Turkish alliance to solve the issue and
bring Kurds and Turks together to promote solidarity among
people.
OZGUR GUNDEM: The newly elected chairperson of Van's Goc-Der
(Immigrants' Social Solidarity and Culture Association),
Caroline Camgoz, is reportedly of Armenian origin and says her
family was directly affected by events of 1915.
OZGUR GUNDEM: Tension persists in the Municipality of Van
among AKP and SHP members of the municipality assembly (see
press summary 06/08), despite the fact that AKP officials
reportedly visited the SHP members at their homes to apologize.
Mayor Burhan Yenigun dismissed the SHP members' corruption
allegations in 2004 Municipality tenders.
EVRENSEL: The paper reports that Aytac Durak's remarks
yesterday about Incirlik Airbase were in response to a question
asked by Greenpeace members visiting him (see press summary
06/09).
EVRENSEL/OZGUR GUNDEM: Soldiers raided a village in Cukurca
district of Hakkari (reportedly opening fire with cannons in the
operation) and villagers escaped to caves in the region. Houses
of those who fled were reportedly searched and villagers'
identities were checked. Villagers brought this issue and their
complaints to the Cukurca Subgovernor.
RADIKAL/OZGUR GUNDEM: Diyarbakir's Human Rights Association
announced that human rights violations in eastern and
southeastern Turkey have increased extraordinarily in the last
three months. (Ozgur Gundem claims that areas where violations
have increased include alleged extrajudicial killings,
mistreatment, illegal detentions.) At the same time, the
Association noted a decrease in the occurence of torture
incidences.
YENI SAFAK: President of the Turkish Parliamant, Bulent Arinc,
currently attending the Ararat Mountain Culture and Arts
Festival, paid a visit to Dogubeyazit Subgovernor Rauf Ulusoy
and Dogubeyazit Mayor Mukaddes Kubilay. Arinc said during his
visit, "It is an honor and a pleasure to visit a Mayor from
DEHAP...Ethnical difference is a richness of a society."
REID