Cablegate: Southeast Turkey Press Summary for October 26, 2005

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

UNCLAS ADANA 000194

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PREL PINS PGOV PHUM TU ADANA
SUBJECT: SOUTHEAST TURKEY PRESS SUMMARY FOR OCTOBER 26, 2005

This is the Southeastern Turkey press summary for October 26,
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

HURRIYET / OZGUR GUNDEM: Ahmet Turk, former HEP (People's
Labor Party) national chairperson, was elected the national
leader of DTH (Democratic Society Movement), and, Aysel Tugluk,
one of the attorneys of Abdullah Ocalan, was elected as the
co-chairperson of the Democratic Society Party during DTH's
meeting yesterday. Co-chairmanship is reportedly a new concept
that DTH introduced in the Turkish political arena.

RADIKAL / OZGUR GUNDEM: Sezgin Tanrikulu, Chairperson of
Diyarbakir Bar Association, filed a complaint against an author
and the editorial director of a Turkish journal called "Turkish
Left", alleging that the journal promoted racism through
publishing articles that denigrate and disparage the Kurds. The
article reportedly sets Kurds as vulnerable to hostilities. The
journal reportedly published the following statements in one of
its articles, "Turks should shop only from Turks... Every person
who calls himself a Kurd is a potential PKK member." (see press
summary 09/12)

RADIKAL: Twenty people, who are fined to pay 100 new Turkish
liras by a court --under a Turkish law banning characters not
used in the Turkish alphabet-- for using the non-Turkish letters
"w" and "q" on a banner during a March 2004 Newruz celebrations
in Siirt, will lodge an appeal. The defendants rejected the
allegations that they themselves hung the unauthorized banner.
Further, they had reportedly told the court that they expressed
a warning not to do so when the banners were hung during the
celebrations.

RADIKAL: Former President of the Turkish Republic of Northern
Cyprus Rauf Denktas, who was invited to a discussion organized
by students at Cukurova University, came to Adana yesterday and
paid a visit to the Adana Mayor, Aytac Durak.

CUMHURIYET: Twelve people, who were detained by police during a
skirmish that took place in front of the Court Hall before the
start of the Ugur and Ahmet Kaymaz trial, were released
yesterday. (see press summary 10/25)

CUMHURIYET: An article in Cumhuriyet daily reported that, while
on the one hand DTH members feel exhilarated as they are
undergoing political formation (in Ankara), on the other hand,
the unveiling of Hikmet Fidan's case and the PKK's reported role
in this murder, has triggered a debate in circles in Diyarbakir
and in other provinces where DEHAP is in power. According to
the article, PKK members have avoided any claim of
responsibility for the murder to date. The article's author
cites the alleged statements of the Murat Karayilan, one of the
senior members of the PKK, "We do not know who killed him. The
incident is not related to us. Our movement would never resort
to such acts. However, some Kurdish circles might have shot him
because of their reaction against the extent of Fidan's opposing
stance." The article further claims that, since the day these
words were uttered, be it a PKK, or a PWD (Patriotic Democratic
Party), or a DTH, or a DEHAP member; everybody in the
southeastern region has known that the murder originated from
the PKK.

OZGUR GUNDEM: Batman Mayor paid visits to the Batman
Governor, Chief Prosecutor, and Chairperson of the Bar
Association to express his sorrow over the bombing incident at
the Batman Court Hall on October 20 (see press summary 10/21).

OZGUR GUNDEM: An explosion occurred between two buildings
that belong to the military in Hakkari's Yuksekova district.
Only material damage was reported.

REID

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