Cablegate: Southeast Turkey Press Summary for August 7, 2006

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E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PINS PGOV PHUM TU
SUBJECT: SOUTHEAST TURKEY PRESS SUMMARY FOR AUGUST 7, 2006

This is the Southeastern Turkey press summary for August 07,
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

RADIKAL / ZAMAN / HURRIYET / BOLGE / OZGUR GUNDEM: A bomb
exploded in front of an ATM of an OYAK bank branch in Adana on
Friday (08/04) at 1 p.m. Reportedly, another bomb exploded 10
or 20 minutes later near the place where the police officers
that came to investigate the first bombing parked their cars.
Seventeen people were wounded. Eight among the wounded are
police officers and two of them are police academy students.
The police have been looking into surveillance camera footage
which reportedly showed a person with a white hat leaving a
package in front of the ATM a few minutes before the explosion.
Adana Governor and Security Director conducted studies at the
site of the incident. (This article is from 08/05 editions.)

ZAMAN / BOLGE: TAK (Kurdistan Freedom Hawks - Teyrebazen
Azadiya Kurdistan), a reported offshoot of the PKK, reportedly
claimed responsibility on its internet site (teyrebaz.com) for
the 2 bombings that took place in Adana on Friday. Adana
Security Directorate announced that a percussion bomb caused the
first bombing and a fragment-impact bomb caused the second one.
Meanwhile, security measures have been intensified in public
spaces around the site. (This article is from 08/06 editions.)

RADIKAL / ZAMAN / OZGUR GUNDEM: An explosion took place as a
cargo train, which was travelling from Diyarbakir to Siirt's
Kurtalan district, was passing through a village in Diyarbakir's
Bismil district. Only material damage to four cars of the train
was reported. Diyarbakir Governor's Office announced that a
mine caused the blast. (This article is from 08/05 editions.)

HURRIYET / RADIKAL: A military vehicle has been ambushed by
terrorists in Gumushane's Siran district. Terrorists opened
fire at the vehicle and killed a non-commissioned officer and
two privates. Eight soldiers have been wounded. Meanwhile, a
mine placed on a railroad in Bingol's Genc district exploded as
a train was passing through. Four security personnel in the
train incurred minor wounds.

OZGUR GUNDEM: Local people in Hakkari's Semdinli district
decided to re-open the Umut Bookstore where a November 9 bombing
took place in 2005 -- the ensuing legal process convicted two
non-commissioned officers for being involved in the bombing.
People will undertake it in turns to ensure that the bookstore
stays open since the owner of the bookstore has been under
arrest because of a statement a PKK defector gave against him in
the days that followed the verdict in the Semdinli trial. The
bookstore is reportedly the only bookstore in the district.
(This article is from 08/05 edition.)

HURRIYET: Upon getting a tip-off, Mersin Anti-Terror branch
members started following a PKK member in Mersin allegedy as he
was making preparations to launch a terrorist attack with a
bomb. The police caught the PKK member at his home and found
five hand grenades, 18 electrical fuses and 8.5 kilograms of
explosives. (This article is from 08/05 edition.)

BOLGE: Two unidentified people on a motorcycle opened
fire with pump-action shotguns at the Iskenderun chapter of
Democratic Society Party (DTP) in Hatay. The incident took
place at 2 a.m. on Saturday morning (08/5). No casualties were
reported and only the windows of the building have been broken.
(This article is from 08/05 edition.)

RADIKAL / EVRENSEL: 08/06 edition of Radikal daily cites
several stories about U.S. soldiers' alleged ill-treatment
against Turkish soldiers and asks whether Turkish people are
being treated as second class people in Incirlik Air Base in
Adana. Meanwhile, Turkish General Chief of Staff (TGS) denied
recent media reports concerning a Turkish major and his wife who
were reportedly forced to lie on the ground handcuffed to be
searched with dogs in 2005. The major and his wife resisted
when U.S. personnel wanted the major to get out of the car,
because the major was driving out of the parking lot in wrong
direction. U.S. personnel had to get the people in the car out
to take the situation under control, announced the TGS.

EVRENSEL: Publication and delivery of pro-Kurdish Ozgur
Gundem daily has been suspended for 15 days on grounds that the

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daily was making propaganda of the PKK every day. Political
parties, civil society members, various newspaper
representatives, artists, intelligentsia reacted to the
decision.

ZAMAN: A number of non-governmental organizations led by
Human Rights Association's Adana Chapter (HRA) held an
anti-Israel and anti-U.S. demonstration in Adana against
Israel's attack on Lebanon. A representative of the HRA said
that the Greater Middle East Project was the cause of the
massacres in Lebanon and Palestine. (This article is from 08/05
edition.)

ZAMAN / RADIKAL / HURRIYET: Ground-breaking ceremony of the
controversial Ilisu Dam Project was held on Saturday (08/05) in
Batman with participation of PM Erdogan. Members of the
Survival of Hasankeyf Initiative, comprised of non-governmental
organizations and 27 regional mayors (including Diyarbakir Mayor
Osman Baydemir), stood duty for one night before the ceremony
day as a display of their discontent with the project. Baydemir
said, 'Hasankeyf is our common heritage. The ground-breaking
constitutes disrespect to this heritage.' PM Erdogan said
during the ceremony that 10,000 people would be employed during
dam's construction process. Erdogan also announced amount of
money that will finance transportation of historical artefacts
from old Hasankeyf to the area where new Hasankeyf will be
built. Erdogan assured people that all means of science would
be utilized to save the historical values of the area. (This
article is from 08/06 editions.)

HURRIYET: A bomb placed in front of CHP's (Republican
People's Party) Diyarbakir Chapter exploded but caused no
casualties. Material damage on the building was reported.
Police are suspecting that the bomb was a percussion bomb. (This
article is from 08/06 edition.)
EVRENSEL: The news that Zubeyir Aydar, PKK/Kongra-Gel Chief,
used Turkish airspace as he was traveling to the northern Iraq,
upset the Turkish authorities.

EVRENSEL: An Italian delegation comprised of members of civil
society organizations came to Van's Dogubeyazit district to
conduct local studies.

SABAH (GUNEY): Reconstruction process of one of the main
crossroads in Adana, namely the crossroad near Hilton Hotel, has
been going on for one year and five months. The daily reported
that the construction will be completed soon and opening
ceremony will be held on August 15.
REID

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