Cablegate: Southeast Turkey Press Summary for June 15, 2006

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SUBJECT: SOUTHEAST TURKEY PRESS SUMMARY FOR JUNE 15, 2006

This is the Southeastern Turkey press summary for June 15, 2006.
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

EVRENSEL: Military operations have been continuing in
Tunceli's Geyiksuyu township (see press summary). A clash
reportedly took place between security officers and PKK members
yesterday night. One PKK member has reportedly been killed.

HURRIYET: Police arrested 7 people in Kilis, 4 people in
Istanbul, 3 people in Mersin and 1 person in Kirklareli in
connection with a large-scale narcotics operation carried out in
those four cities. 1,970,898 Captagon pills, which would be
transferred on the route Bulgaria-Istanbul-Syria via a Turkish
intercity bus company, have been seized.

OZGUR GUNDEM: Diyarbakir Governor's Office (DGO) rejected
Kayapinar Municipality's applications to give Kurdish names to
parks in the district on grounds that those names were being
used by the PKK. Using such names would stir discrimination
among people, according to DGO.

OZGUR GUNDEM: DGO have not granted authorization to Goc-Der
(Immigrants Association for Cooperation and Culture) to hang
posters in Diyarbakir marking Migration Week (June 14-21). The
posters reportedly read, "Enforced migration is a tragedy, we do
not want to go through other such tragedies."

OZGUR GUNDEM: Kurdish hackers reportedly hacked the website
of Mersin Governor's Office and put a statement as if uttered by
the Mersin Governor Huseyin Aksoy. The statement reportedly
said, "I, Turkish Republic's Governor, apologize to the Kurdish
people because of the state terrorism we have been applying on
Kurdish people."

OZGUR GUNDEM: Supreme Court of Appeals reaffirmed the
lifetime imprisonment given by Diyarbakir's 4th Heavy Penalty
Court against a 21 year-old person on charges that the person
threw a Molotov cocktail at a police car in Diyarbakir on
December 2004. Attorney of the accused claims that his client
was detained as he was walking around the spot of the incident
and he was convicted only upon statements given by the police
officers.

OZGUR GUNDEM: Diyarbakir's 4th Heavy Penalty Court sentenced
three people, who were engaged with the task of delivering
Kurdish Azadiya Welat newspaper and Ulkede Ozgur Gundem
newspaper in Batman, to six years and three months in prison for
attempting to gather signatures in a campaign called, "Abdullah
Ocalan represents my political will."

OZGUR GUNDEM: DTP (Democratic Society Party) invited
President Ahmet Necdet Sezer, Iraqi President Jalal Talabani and
Kurdistan Regional President Massoud Barzani to its first
congress to be held in Ankara on June 25.

BOLGE / OZGUR GUNDEM / EKSPRES: 270 cleaning services
workers, who were laid off by the Seyhan Municipality 38 days
ago, staged a sit-in protest activity in Adana for one hour.

BOLGE / EKSPRES: Adana's 7th First Instance Court continued to
hear the defamation lawsuit PM Erdogan filed against Ceyhan
Mayor Huseyin Sozlu.

BOLGE: Saban Bas, Chairperson of Adana Chamber of Commerce,
said that Iraq International Fair, which was held in Gaziantep,
turned out a successful enterprise which brought together both
foreign and local companies that would like to carry out
business in Iraq.

BOLGE / EKSPRES / SABAH (GUNEY: Transfer of petroleum
through Kirkuk-Yumurtalik pipeline has resumed again after a
4-month lapse of inactivity. The petroleum flow through the
pipeline was stopped because of sabotage targeting the pipeline
in Iraq.

SABAH (GUNEY): Jandarma teams seized 95 kilograms of heroin
found hidden in sections of a private car in Hakkari's
Yukseokova district.

SABAH (GUNEY): Twenty-six Iraqis, who entered the country
illegally from northern Iraq, have been caught in Gaziantep.

REID

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