Cablegate: Southeast Turkey Press Summary for September 26, 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 000172

SIPDIS

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

This is the Southeastern Turkey press summary for September 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

BOLGE / EKSPRES / SABAH (GUNEY): PM Tayyip Erdogan, who came
to Adana to change planes for his trip to Hatay, briefly
addressed a 1000-person crowd, which gathered to meet him at the
airport. In order to attend a number of opening events, Erdogan
will reportedly return to Adana following his participation in
the First Meeting of Civilizations in the Hatay province.

SABAH / HURRIYET / RADIKAL / HURRIYET (CUKUROVA) / ZAMAN:
First Meeting of Civilizations event, among whose sponsors is
the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, commenced in Hatay on Sunday.
Security officers in Hatay have been on high alert and measures
in this regard have been intensified in the province. The Chief
Rabbi of the Jews in Turkey, Syriac Metropolitan, Armenian
Patriarch, Fener Greek Orthodox Patriarch, four senior figures
from Roman Catholic Church, and the head of Turkish Religious
Affairs Directorate are among the participants of the five-day
event.

EVRENSEL / OZGUR GUNDEM: DTH (Democratic Society Movement)
Coordination Council member Selim Sadak called for all party
members to attend a party meeting to be held in Diyarbakir on
October 3. Founding members of the party will convene on
October 4 in Ankara to decide whether the movement will shake
hands with Celal Dogan, former Gaziantep mayor, in forming a new
party.

EVRENSEL / OZGUR GUNDEM: Esendere Border Gate in Hakkari is
closed allegedly because of military operations going on in
Hakkari's Yuksekova district. However, according to officials
at the gate, the gate was closed because of a computer system
failure.

YENI SAFAK / ZAMAN / CUMHURIYET / RADIKAL / SABAH / OZGUR GUNDEM
/ HURRIYET: Two soldiers were reportedly wounded by a mine blast
in Batman's Sason district. Separately, Mardin Governor's
Office announced that security officers found an RPG-7
(rocket-propelled grenade launcher) and 4 rockets in the trunk
of a passenger bus during a military operation in Mardin.
Separately, Jandarma teams, noticing explosives placed on the
railroad between Erzurum and Erzincan provinces, immediately
took action and prevented a terrorist bomb attack that
reportedly targeted a 180-passenger train. Twenty-five kilograms
of C-4 explosives were found on the spot.

SABAH: An alleged PKK terrorist attack on a military unit
on Sirnak-Hakkari road killed two village guards.

OZGUR GUNDEM: Reportedly, Ministry Of Domestic Affairs
brought action against the families of three terrorists, who
died in a clash with police officers in April 2004 in Hatay's
Erzin district, to make compensation for a security officer
whose left eye was wounded in the same clash.

HURRIYET: The daily reported that a Swedish Radio station
decided to suspend Turkish-language broadcasts on the grounds
that they could negatiely affect Syriacs and Kurds living in
Sweden.
SABAH: Subgovernor's Office in Diyarbakir's Erani district
disallowed the use of Kurdish wordsto be used for the name of a
women's solidarity asociation.

ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENTS

1. EKSPRES / ZAMAN: According to AKP Adana Provincial
Chairperson Abdullah Dogru, followers of the former prime
minister and president Suleyman Demirel's agricultural policies
devastated the agricultural sector in Turkey.

2. SABAH (GUNEY) / HURRIYET (CUKUROVA / BOLGE / EKSPRES /
ZAMAN: Third Cukurova Industry and Commerce Fair will open
today at 11 a.m. Reportedly, the fair will bring a yield of 1
million dollars to Adana's economy. It is expected that the
fair will gain an international status next year.

3. BOLGE / EVRENSEL: Farmers in the Cukurova region have
become more interested in olive tree cultivation in the course
of time than corn and wheat cultivation.

4. EVRENSEL: Chamber of Mechanical Engineers organized a
congress on GAP (Southeastern Anatolia Project) and industry
issues in the region. According to the Chamber, the development
prospects of the GAP project failed, and the region's provinces
remained economically stagnant.

REID

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