Cablegate: Southeast Turkey Press Summary for November 20, 2006

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SIPDIS

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E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PINS PGOV PHUM TU
SUBJECT: SOUTHEAST TURKEY PRESS SUMMARY FOR NOVEMBER 20, 2006

This is the Southeastern Turkey press summary for November 20,
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

ZAMAN / YENI SAFAK: An investigation under Article 301 of
the Penal Code has been started against Ayhan Bilgen,
Chairperson of Association for Human Rights and Solidarity for
Oppressed People (Mazlum-Der), for Bilgen allegedly insulted
Turkishness by stating that dismissal of former Van Prosecutor
from profession constituted an intervention in the exercising of
the law.

EVRENSEL / BOLGE / RADIKAL: Devlet Bahceli, national
chairperson of MHP (Nationalist Movement Party), criticized
Mehmet Agar, DYP leader, without necessarily mentioning Agar's
name during his address at the eight MHP congress held in
Ankara. Bahceli said that when time matures (Turkish) people
would give the best answer to those who were "attempting to draw
the terrorists from the (Qandil) mountain to the plains of
Ankara in the so-called name of peace and tranquility."
According to Bahceli, AKP was showing great weakness in the face
of terrorism and heeding the political scenarios that were
actually being created by the PKK.

CUMHURIYET / EVRENSEL: A program called "Authors in Diyarbakir
are Discussing Their Problems", which was being shot at Gun TV
station in Diyarbakir to mark Diyarbakir's Fourth Literature
Days, was cancelled when police, with its authorization obtained
from the Governor's Office, attempted to film the shooting of
the program. The speaker and 20 authors participating in the
program said that the move was against press freedom and the
principles related with the profession, and that the
administrators of the TV station decided they would discontinue
shooting of the program under those circumstances.

EVRENSEL: The people living in tents in areas that were badly
affected by flooding in Batman are demanding from PM Erdogan
that the premier's pledge for providing housing for the flooding
victims should not require the victims to pay back the costs of
the housing. Victims are reportedly frustrated that the premier
did not declare the area as a disaster zone during his recent
visit to the province, which came 17 days after the flooding
incident.

SECURITY

ZAMAN: Mines placed allegedly by PKK members in Tunceli and
Sirnak provinces reportedly wounded seven soldiers.

HUMAN RIGHTS

RADIKAL / EVRENSEL / ZAMAN / CUMHURIYET / YENI SAFAK: A doctor
in Van's Baskale district, who diagnosed that a 21 year-old girl
was 3 months old pregnant because of a extra-marital affair,
assessed that the girl might be victim of an honor killing. The
doctor then informed the subgovernor to put the girl under state
protection.

CRIME / LAW ENFORCEMENT

EKSPRES / BOLGE: Jandarma caught 30 people in Mersin's Silifke
district who entered the country illegally. Twenty-four of the
people were from Syria, two of them were from Iran, and four of
them are from Georgia. Jandarma officials were startled that
snakeads were able to squeeze 30 people in a 14 seated small
passenger bus.

ECONOMY

ZAMAN: Ministry of Finance has still not determined a date
for a new tender for the mine-cleaning task in an area in Mardin
at the border with Syria. The first tender, which was held on
February 2006, was cancelled because the three companies that
offered bids have not provided all of the required documents.
However, the Ministry has still not announced nine months after
the first tender opening of a new one. Recently, Mardin deputy
from AKP said that the Ministry launched new efforts an was
assessing the case, and would announce their new decision about
the case in two months.

BOLGE / EKSPRES / SABAH (GUNEY): The recent rainfall, which

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caused damage to cotton fields in the fertile Cukurova plain in
the eastern Mediterranean region, caused the price of the cotton
to dive by 50 percent, said the chairperson of the Chamber of
agricultural engineers. The quality of the cotton reportedly
decreased a great deal. Meanwhile, a farmer in Gaziantep held a
protest and burned all his cotton produce, because he was not
able to sell it at a profitable price in the market.

CULTURE / SOCIETY / ENVIRONMENT

ZAMAN: Thirty old manuscripts belonging to the library of
Sheikh Maruf that were damaged in the flooding which took place
in Batman will be repaired and restored in a library of
manuscripts in Kayseri, a central Anatolian province.

EVRENSEL: Cilo Nature Association in Hakkari presented a
project to the Eastern Anatolian Development Progam to promote
the upcountry tourism potential of the lakes located in the
Mountain Cilo. The association held a meeting in Hakkari to
promote the project whose organizers claimed the project would
utilize the natural richness of Hakkari to stimulate the
socioeconomic development in the province.

EVRENSEL: Snowfall in the southeastern region and reduced
visibility due to fog adversely affects the flow of the traffic
and safe driving. Especially, people without tire chains had
great difficulty in traveling with their cars on the road
between Hakkari and Van. Meanwhile, the first snow in the Agri
province fell, reports the daily.
GREEN

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