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Cablegate: Southeast Turkey Press Summary for June 13, 2006

Published: Tue 13 Jun 2006 01:28 PM
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SUBJECT: SOUTHEAST TURKEY PRESS SUMMARY FOR JUNE 13, 2006
This is the Southeastern Turkey press summary for June 13, 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
HURRIYET ONLINE / OZGUR GUNDEM: The third hearing of the
Semdinli case is being held at Van's Third Heavy Penalty Court.
Mesut Deger, Diyarbakir deputy from CHP and Deputy Chairperson
of Turkish Parliamentary Human Rights Commission (TPHRC), who
attended the court session, said that they expected a verdict to
come out of the third hearing. Mehmet Elkatmis, Chairperson of
TPHRC, and Esat Canan, Hakkari deputy from CHP, have also been
monitoring the case.
ZAMAN / EVRENSEL / EKSPRES / SABAH (GUNEY): Funeral of one
of the soldiers killed in Tunceli (06/12) by terrorists was held
in Mersin. Separately, a military vehicle had a rollover
accident on the road between Hakkari and Van. A
non-commissioned officer and a private were wounded.
EKSPRES / HURRIYET (CUKUROVA) / SABAH (GUNEY): Eighty Afghans,
Bangladeshis and Pakistanis, who entered the country illegally,
have been caught traveling from Van to Izmir on the road between
Adana and Konya.
EKSPRES / EVRENSEL / OZGUR GUNDEM: A 3.2-magnitude earthquake
shook Van's Gurpinar district. Meanwhile, minor earthquakes
with magnitudes 3.1 and 3.0 shook Osmaniye's Kadirli district
and Adana's Ceyhan district respectively.
EVRENSEL / OZGUR GUNDEM: Anti-terror branch of Tunceli's
Security Directorate detained a journalist from DIHA (Dicle News
Agency) because of another person's statement concerning him.
Security members have conducted a raid at the house of the
journalist. Meanwhile, an employee of the Ozgur Gundem daily
has also been detained by Jandarma officials in Maden district
as she was traveling to Elazig (on unspecified grounds).
EVRENSEL: Members of the intelligentsia, who attended the
conference in Diyarbakir, reportedly expressed very positive
opinions about the outcome of the event (see press summary
06/12).
OZGUR GUNDEM: Diyarbakir Mayor Osman Baydemir gave his
statement concerning the investigation that was started when 56
mayors of the region sent a letter in December 2005 to Denmark's
prime minister in support for the Roj TV.
OZGUR GUNDEM: The daily mentioned in front page coverage
that despite Turkey's opening of talks on reforms with the EU,
human rights violations in the southeastern region have
increased recently. The daily gives three examples of such
violations: 1- Forest land in the area between Mardin's Midyat
district and Sirnak's Idil district has allegedly been set on
fire by Turkish Military on security grounds (Note: This is an
alleged common practice of the military that stated back in
1990s under state of emergency rule in the region. End Note.),
2- Because of a recent terrorist attack on a military convoy in
Tunceli (see press summary 06/12) Tunceli Security Directorate
has banned all the wedding ceremonies in the province to be held
around these days, 3- The presence of soldiers in a village of
Kars's Digor district has allegedly turned the area into a
military camp. Soldiers have reportedly been treating the local
people as if they were enemies.
BOLGE / HURRIYET (CUKUROVA) / SABAH (GUNEY) / HURRIYET:
Mersin police conducted a search on a car on the road between
Adana and Mersin, and found 93 kilograms of narcotic material
used in deriving heroin in hidden sections of a truck that set
off from Van in order to traffic drugs abroad. Sabah (Guney)
daily separately reported that Van Jandarma Command teams seized
125 kilograms of hashish in two search operations in the storage
section of a house in Van and in a car. The two people caught
in connection with the illegal narcotics reportedly had posters
of terrorist leader Abdullah Ocalan in their houses.
Separately, Hakkari police found 145 kilograms of pure heroin in
hidden sections of a truck, which set off for Van, at an exit
near Hakkari. Separately, Sanliurfa police seized 15 kilograms
of heroin in Sanliurfa in a truck which set off from Van for
Istanbul. Three people have been detained.
HURRIYET (CUKUROVA) : Concerning the recent bar on
foreigners' purchasing of real estate property in Hatay because
of numbers exceeding the 5 per thousand quota allowed for such
property trading, Iskenderun's Mayor in Hatay warned that the
numbers in such trading have already gone very far beyond what
is actually allowed.
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OZGUR GUNDEM: Quarantine has been imposed in three villages
of Osmaniye because of rabies detected in animals. Health
officials took necessary measures against the disease.
HURRIYET / RADIKAL / OZGUR GUNDEM: Diyarbakir Security
Directorate reportedly found five of the 34 children who were
found out to have disappeared from the state orphanage in
Diyarbakir. The children were reportedly living and working in
the streets.
OZGUR GUNDEM: Anti-terror teams in Adana, which conducted
unannounced raids at two houses in Seyhan district, have
detained two persons on unspecified grounds.
EVRENSEL: A building contractor, who has undertaken a building
project for the Jandarma in Bingol's Karliova district,
attempted to commit suicide by drinking pesticide allegedly
because of his debts to the military.
REID
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