Cablegate: Southeast Turkey Press Summary for September 07, 2006

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SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PINS PGOV PHUM TU
SUBJECT: SOUTHEAST TURKEY PRESS SUMMARY FOR SEPTEMBER 07, 2006

This is the Southeastern Turkey press summary for September 7,
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

ZAMAN / EKSPRES / BOLGE: CHP National Leader Deniz Baykal
will arrive at Adana on September 8 to travel to Mersin by car.
Baykal will attend the opening ceremony of international
cultural festival of Mersin.

SABAH (GUNEY): CHP Adana Provincial Chairperson Serdar Seyhan
made a strongly worded announcement against government which
enabled passing of a motion at the Turkish Parliament concerning
dispatch of troops to Lebanon. Seyhan compared AKP to a
subcontractor working for the U.S in the Middle East.

RADIKAL: It is reported the main hub through which Turkish
troops will be dispatched and logistical support will be sent to
Lebanon will be designated as the port of Mersin. Turkey is
also considering using Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus as a
base for sending troops to Lebanon.

EVRENSEL: Inonu University Rector Fatih Hilmioglu expressed
disapproval of the parliament motion allowing sending of Turkish
troops to Lebanon. The rector described Turkey as a country
being mandated and its soldiers were made into bargaining chips.
Malatya Governor Halil Ibrahim Dasoz strongly reacted to the
remarks of the rector.

OZGUR GUNDEM: An explosion took place in a storage house
where smuggled fuel oil was being traded in Van. One person died
in the explosion and two people were heavily wounded. The fire
caused by the explosion spread to the other canisters containing
fuel-oil in the storage house. The businesses in the environs
have been evacuated because of further explosion risk.

RADIKAL / ZAMAN / EVRENSEL /OZGUR GUNDEM: Ersoy Bulut, Mersin
deputy from SHP (Social Democratic People's Party), resigned
from his party because of the policies SHP pursued over the
Kurdish and PKK issues. Bulut is the third deputy recently
resigning from the party for being unhappy about party policies.
According to Bulut, SHP should declare that it will not form
alliances with parties aiming to divide the country.

OZGUR GUNDEM / RADIKAL: The funeral of ten-year-old Mizgin
Ozbek, who died allegedly when fired upon by soldiers in
Batman's Kozluk district the previous day, was held in a village
of Kozluk (see press summary for September 05 and 06).
Meanwhile, a delegation from the Batman Chapter of Human Rights
Association and Batman Bar Association, which was set up to
probe the killing, is expected to visit the Kozluk district
soon.

OZGUR GUNDEM: The daily dismisses the allegations placed by
Turkish General Chief of Staff that Abubekir Polat, a soldier of
Kurdish origin, had leaked information to the PKK, enabled the
PKK to carry out a September 1 attack which killed two soldiers
at Jandarma Battalion Command of in Hakkari's Cukurca district,
and escaped from his military unit afterwards (see press summary
for September 5). According to the daily, Polat admitted guilt
as a result of torture he suffered after being caught.
According to Polat's father, Polat escaped from his unit because
of the oppression he suffered during his military service.

ZAMAN: The daily reported that PKK's regional chief for
Erzurum was killed in the clash that took place on September 1
in a rural section located between Erzincan, Bingol and Tunceli.

OZGUR GUNDEM: Attorneys of Abdullah Ocalan were allegedly
not allowed to see their client this week, as well.

ZAMAN / EKSPRES: Nineteen Iraqi nationals, who entered the
country illegally, were caught in an operation Adana Provincial
Jandarma conducted in Adana's Ceyhan district. Iraqi nationals
reportedly entered the country from northern Iraq, arrived at
the Sirnak province on foot and were traveling to Istanbul to go
abroad.

ZAMAN: Customs Gate officials at the Cilvegozu Border Gate
in Hatay's Reyhanli district seized 176,600 packets of smuggled
cigarettes which were worth 700,000 YTL in hidden sections of a
truck which attempted to enter the country.

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EKSPRES / BOLGE: Adana Security Directorate opened a stand at
the Cukurova University to deliver brochures to students and
inform them about illegal entities and organizations during the
ongoing student registrations at the university.

EKSPRES: Ismet Altug, Chairperson of Bar Association in Adana
made an announcement to mark the opening of the new judicial
year.
GREEN

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