Cablegate: Southeast Turkey Press Summary for June 28, 2007

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SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PINS PGOV PHUM TU
SUBJECT: SOUTHEAST TURKEY PRESS SUMMARY FOR JUNE 28, 2007

1. This is the Southeastern Turkey press summary for June 27,
2007. 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:

2. HURRIYET (CUKUROVA): Hakkari Jandarma Command in
Hakkari renovated a mosque and repaired the bust of Ataturk at a
school in Hakkari's Cukurca district.

3. CUMHURIYET: The total number of seats that can be won from
Agri is five. According to people in the street, the
competition in Agri will be mostly between the independent
candidates and the AKP. The AKP won three seats in the last
elections; however, according to people in the street,
independent candidates are posing a great challenge this year.
People generally expected that independents could win two seats.
PM Erdogan, during his address to the crowds at an election
rally held in Agri on June 19, warned people that casting votes
for independent candidates meant those votes would go waste
since their influence on decisions would be very limited at the
parliament.

4. GUNDEM: To beat DTP in the elections in the
southeastern region, AKP kicked off investments in areas where
DTP won by landslide victory in the last elections, reports the
daily. Recently, Minister of Agriculture and Village Works
announced a project called "Development Project for Diyarbakir,
Batman and Siirt" covering a total of 500 villages, 38 of which
are chosen for a pilot project.

5. GUNDEM: British Daily Telegraph newspaper reporters
went to the northern Iraq and reported that Turkey has been
shelling the border area to be able to create a 15-kilometer de
facto buffer zone inside northern Iraq. Turkey has mobilized
20,000 soldiers at its border to prevent the PKK from using Iraq
as a refuge.

6. HURRIYET / CUMHURIYET / GUNDEM / EVRENSEL: Gundem,
Evrensel and Cumhuriyet dailies claimed that the Ministry of
Interior started an investigation against members of Van's Third
Heavy Penalty Court for not conforming to the Supreme Court's
overturning of the prison sentence issued against the
non-commissioned officers by Van Court for their involvement in
the Semdinli bombing in November 2005. Despite the Supreme
Court of Appeals decree that the case should be referred to a
military court, Van's Heavy Penalty Court decided that the
jurisdiction lied with them and the court reopened the case on
June 13. However, Hurriyet daily reports that authorities
denied news reports that an investigation was opened against
Van's Third Heavy Penalty Court members.

SECURITY

7. BOLGE: Terrorists stopped the flow of traffic on a
road between Tunceli and Erzurum to disseminate propaganda of
the PKK to people whom they forced out of nearly 100 cars. PKK
members told people to cast their votes for the independent
candidates, reported the local daily.

8. GUNDEM: The PKK once again denied any PKK involvement
in the oil tanker suicide attack which targeted Karsilar
Jandarma Station in Tunceli (see press summaries for June 25 and
26). The terrorist organization said no PKK members were killed
in that incident. Meanwhile, the funeral of the truck driver
was held in Adana's Ceyhan district.

9. HURRIYET / CUMHURIYET / ZAMAN: Terrorists remotely
detonated a mine and killed a soldier during a survey soldiers
were carrying out in an area in Sirnak's Bestler district. The
coffin of the soldier was brought to his hometown, which is
Agri's Patnos district, for his funeral ceremony. Another PKK
mine detonated as Turkish soldiers were traveling on a road in
Agri's Patnos district killed a private.

ECONOMY

10. GUNDEM: A senior official from the Habur Border Gate
with Iraq said the closure of the Habur Border Gate because of
the renovation activities which ended eight months ago,
adversely affected the operations and dropped the number of
trucks passing the gate significantly. Previously, 800-900 oil
tankers were crossing the gate on a daily basis, however, this

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decreased to a daily 70-80 oil trucks, which indicates a 50 to
60 per cent decrease. The number of trucks with solid goods,
which are being processed at the gate, is reportedly at the
normal levels. The official denied any links attributed to the
rumors about a possible Turkish incursion into northern Iraq
causing the decline in the number of oil trucks processed at the
gate.
GREEN

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