Cablegate: Southeast Turkey Press Summary for December 13, 2006

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UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 ADANA 000260

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PINS PGOV PHUM TU
SUBJECT: SOUTHEAST TURKEY PRESS SUMMARY FOR DECEMBER 13, 2006

This is the Southeastern Turkey press summary for December 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

ZAMAN/HURRIYET/RADIKAL/CUMHURIYET/SABAH: Concerning the
explosion of a boiler in a military residential building in
Diyarbakir on December 11, 2006, the Chief Public Prosecutor of
Diyarbakir -CPPD- Durdu Kavak, announced that eight persons had
been killed and 5 persons, including the janitor,
boiler-caretaker and repairmen, had been detained on the charges
of "attempting to kill people accidentally." In response to
whether the explosion was a terrorist incident, the CPPD said
that the five persons, who had been detained, had never been
involved in terrorist acts, but that possibility was also being
probed.

ZAMAN: The DTP Provincial Chair of Erzurum, Bedri Firat, has
been given 10 months of imprisonment and 47 Turkish Liras of
fine for addressing to PKK's Leader as "Mr. Ocalan" in 2004 and
having a poster of Ocalan in the party's office. Firat said that
the decision was political and he would appeal it at the Supreme
court.

HURRIYET/EVRENSEL: Because of the events that broke out during
the lynching attempt on December 04, 2006 of Abdullah Basci, a
rapist who allegedly raped and killed 2 thirteen-year old girls
and harassed several others, 1 person had been killed and 76
others had been wounded. Of the 29 persons detained by police
before and after the events on 12/04/2006, 14 have been
arraigned while the other 15 are still being interrogated. Of
the ones who have been arraigned, 6 persons have been imprisoned
and others have been let free to be tried in absentia.

RADIKAL/EVRENSEL/EKSPRES: NGOs and some political parties in
Adana formed a Peace and Brotherhood Initiative and marched by
making a "Peace Chain" for solving the Kurdish issue. The Peace
Chain formed by the Emegin Partisi (Labor Party) gathered in
front of the Human Rights Association. A group of 40 people
hanged banners written in Turkish and Kurdish on their necks and
started to march. The Emegin Partisi Chairwoman, Sevil Arici,
made a press announcement on behalf of the group and reminded
that PKK had declared a unilateral cease fire on October 01,
2006, and that opportunity should be evaluated well.

EVRENSEL: Just prior DTP's "Elected Officials March" aiming to
turn the cease fire declared by PKK to a lasting peace, the
DTP's Provincial Organization in Tunceli held an indoor meeting
with section headmen, provincial council members, municipal
council members, lawyers, union presidents and political party
chairpersons yesterday. The DTP Provincial Chairman, Hidir
Aytac, claimed that provocations had increased despite PKK's
truce and urged that everybody should do whatever falls on his
shoulders and that they all would be responsible for the
consequences of the process. The EMEP -Labor Party- Provincial
Chairman, Huseyin Tunc, expressed his wishes that the truce
would bring about the conditions for these two peoples [Turks
and Kurds] to live together as brothers and told that everybody
should contribute to the process. The Tunceli Mayor, Songul Erol
Abdil, and the HRA's Tunceli Chapter's President, Attorney Baris
Yildirim, also expressed their views in the meeting.

SABAH: PKK militants are seeking for ways of having a
comfortable winter in the mountains. While PKK shelters equipped
with televisions and satellite dishes were discovered in rural
Lice of Diyarbakir, one person taking heaters operating with
solar energy to PKK was arrested in Nusaybin of Mardin. The
solar energy was equipped with high technology and could be
programmed to operate remote booby traps and recharge radio
batteries with solar energy as well.

ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENTS

BOLGE/EKSPRES: The 1st Cukurova Agricultural Fair will be opened
in Adana by the Minister of Agriculture, Mehdi Akar, today.
Irrigation systems, agricultural machinery, green house farming
and feed sectors will display their products in the fair to be
participated by 230 companies -35 foreign companies.

EKSPRES: Ali Kavak, the President of Mediterranean Fresh Fruits
and Vegetables Exporters Union -AKIB-, expressed in a meeting
organized for citrus producers in Adana on "Citrus Industry"

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that Turkey processed only %7 of its production and that the
best way of rescuing that product was to go into
industrialization. Kavak said that the citrus production season
in Turkey lasted for three or four months but in rivaling
countries, such as Spain and Italy, the season was all year
long. Mr. Kavak added that the Turkish producers should also
diversify their citrus varieties and try to produce all year.
Mr. Kavak said that Turkey was processing only 189,000 tons in
its industrial plants of its 2,398,000 tons, which corresponded
to %7 of its production. The Spanish FMC Food Technologies S.L.
Citrus Systems Murica Company officials gave a presentation to
the producers at the conclusion of the meeting held at Hiltonsa.
GREEN

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