INDEPENDENT NEWS

Cablegate: Se Turkey Security Incidents: January 04, 2010 - January 10,

Published: Tue 12 Jan 2010 01:26 PM
VZCZCXRO5691
RR RUEHDA
DE RUEHDA #0003/01 0121326
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 121326Z JAN 10
FM AMCONSUL ADANA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 4833
INFO RUEHAK/AMEMBASSY ANKARA 1376
RUEHIT/AMCONSUL ISTANBUL 1139
RUEHDA/AMCONSUL ADANA 1443
UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 04 ADANA 000003
SIPDIS
DEPARTMENT FOR DS/IP/EUR, DS/IP/ITA, INR AND EUR
E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: ASEC PTER PINR CASC TU
SUBJECT: SE TURKEY SECURITY INCIDENTS: JANUARY 04, 2010 - JANUARY 10,
2010
1. (U) The following security incidents for the period of
January 04, 2010 - January 10, 2010 were compiled by the
security assistant at Consulate Adana from RSO sources, to
include Turkish security contacts, government officials and
media. The RSO uses the information to determine the security
situation and trends of violence and crime throughout Turkey.
The RSO shares the information with the country team and Visas
Viper coordinator.
2. (U) Military operations against the Kurdistan Workers' Party
(PKK) as reported by the Turkish General Staff:
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A. Weapons, ammunition, and equipment seized:
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--------
01.01.10 through 01.08.10: Security forces confiscated 14
kilograms of TNT, 25 kilograms of plastic explosive material,
and 6 kilograms of ammonium nitrate.
Tunceli - 01.06.10: Security forces found and destroyed 2 IEDs
made of 6 kilograms of ammonium nitrate.
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B. PKK members captured or surrendered:
--------------------------------------------- -------------
01.04.10 through 01.10.10: Security forces captured 5 people: 4
alive and 1 surrendered.
Sirnak - 01.06.10: Security forces captured 1 PKK member. 1 PKK
member surrendered.
Sirnak - 01.04.10: Security forces captured 1 PKK member.
3. (U) Media reports related to PKK and pro-Kurdish
organizations:
---------------------------------
A. Anti-PKK operations:
---------------------------------
Turkish Armed Forces (TAF) anti-PKK operations in SE Turkey
continued in Sirnak, Tunceli and Van.
N. Iraq - 01.08.10: TAF artillery teams bombed the Zap region;
no injuries reported.
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B. Arrests:
----------------
Diyarbakir - 01.10.10: Security forces detained an activist of
the pro-Kurdish Kandil Peace Group on the suspicion of
terrorism.
Batman - 01.09.10: Security forces arrested 3 members of the
Turkish Hezbollah on the charge of "membership in Turkish
Hezbollah."
Sanliurfa - 01.09.10: Security forces arrested 2 people on the
charges of "membership in the PKK," and "making propaganda for
the PKK." Security forces also arrested 1 person on the charge
of "membership in Turkish Hezbollah."
Mersin - 01.09.10: Security forces detained 8 people, including
6 children, on the suspicion of terrorism.
Hakkari - 01.09.10: Security forces detained 8 people on the
suspicion of terrorism. Three were later arrested.
Gaziantep, Hatay, Mersin, and Adiyaman - 01.08.10: Security
forces arrested 21 people who had been detained in the recent
anti-KCK operations conducted in the region.
Hakkari - 01.06.10 and 01.07.10: Security forces detained 12
people on the suspicion of terrorism.
Adana - 01.06.10: Security forces detained 5 people on the
suspicion of terrorism.
Diyarbakir - 01.06.10: A member of the pro-Kurdish
MKM-DER-Mesopotamian Culture Center was arrested on the charge
of "membership in the PKK."
Sanliurfa - 01.05.10: Security forces arrested 1 person on the
charge of "membership in an armed terror organization."
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Adana - 01.05.10: A former mayoral candidate from DTP is under
investigation for "making propaganda for the PKK in the Kurdish
language."
Sanliurfa - 01.04.10: 1 person was detained on the suspicion of
terrorism.
Sirnak - 01.04.10: Security forces arrested 8 people on the
charge of "membership in the PKK" in an operation against the
PKK's youth arm, YDG-M.
Van - 01.04.10: Security forces detained 5 people on the
suspicion of terrorism.
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C. Other media stories about the PKK:
--------------------------------------------- --------
01.10.10 - The General Staff had recorded encrypted messages
coming from the PKK four days prior to an attack in Tokat on
December 7 that left seven soldiers dead, but was unable to
decode the messages and prevent the assault.
01.10.10 - Iran hanged a member of the PKK this week, and
several other members of the group are to be executed in the
coming days in an attempt to deter attacks in Iranian territory.
The PKK's Iranian offshoot, a group called the Party for a Free
Life in Kurdistan (PJAK), has carried out several attacks on
Iranian security forces.
Diyarbakir - 01.10.10: Almost 91 NGOs, including pro-Kurdish
organizations, held a press statement to protest recent anti-KCK
operations and to call upon GOT to find a democratic solution
for the Kurdish issue.
Adiyaman - 01.10.10: Pro-Kurdish NGOs held a press statement to
protest anti-KCK operations. Demonstrators chanted slogans in
favor of PKK and Ocalan.
Sanliurfa - 01.10.10: PKK supporters attacked a Turkish Telecom
Building with Molotov cocktails. Pro-PKK "Ayrin Erdem Youth
Initiative" has claimed the responsibility.
Adana - 01.09.10: PKK supporters set fire to 4 vehicles in
Mahfesigmaz, Guzelyali and Turgut Ozal
areas. A Pro-PKK group called themselves as "Ocalan's Youths"
has claimed responsibility. NOTE: Three of Consulate Adana's
four officers live in this area. END NOTE.
Mersin - 01.09.10: The pro-Kurdish Democracy Platform protested
alleged lynch attempts against Kurdish and other ethnic groups.
Demonstrators chanted slogans in favor of PKK and Ocalan.
Diyarbakir and Hakkari - 01.08.10: Pro- Kurdish NGOs and BDP
(Peace and Democracy Party) officials and members held press
statements to protest the recent anti-KCK operation.
Demonstrators chanted slogans in favor of PKK and Ocalan. No
clash or arrest occurred.
Mersin - 01.07.10: Police stormed a house and detained 4 people
who were making Molotov cocktails
01.07.10: Approximately 300 intellectuals have started a
campaign in reaction to the denial of a rental house to Ahmet
Turk, former leader of the DTP. The "My house is Yours" campaign
is supported by artists, academics, professionals and writers.
Hakkari - 01.06.10 through 01.10.10: PKK supporters blocked
streets, burnt trash barrels and chanted slogans in favor of PKK
and Ocalan to protest recent anti-KCK operations across Turkey.
Police intervened with tear gas, pressurized water and batons;
protesters responded with Molotov cocktails and stones. Two
protesters were wounded on January 6 by rubber bullets.
01.06.10: The Security General Directorate received information
from a PKK informant regarding a plan to target the families of
police officers who work in eastern Turkey. Security precautions
around police officers' homes and their children's schools have
been heightened.
Diyarbakir, Van, Bingol, Batman, & Sanliurfa - 01.06.10: Many
people, including former DTP members, BDP officials, Human
Rights Union members, and members and officials of pro-Kurdish
unions gathered to protest recent anti-KCK operations.
Demonstrators chanted slogans in favor of PKK and Ocalan. No
clash or arrest occurred.
Mersin - 01.06.10: A fight between two high school students -
one Turkish and one Kurdish - turned into an ethnic dispute
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involving over 200 residents. The fight ended after police teams
arrived on the scene and fired shots into the air. Six injuries
and 15 arrests were reported.
Gaziantep - 01.06.10: Demonstrators, including BDP officials and
members, gathered to protest recent anti-KCK operations.
Meanwhile, investigations continue regarding the 24 people who
were detained in the last anti-KCK operations.
Turkey-wide - 01.04.10: The Democratic Society Congress, which
gathered in Diyarbakir a few months ago upon orders from
Abdullah Ocalan, added certain press agencies to its list of
targets. Security forces have heightened security measures at
offices believed to be at risk.
Diyarbakir, Van & Mus - 01.04.10: Demonstrators, including
current and former BDP and DTP members and officials, gathered
to protest anti-KCK operation.
4. (U) Media reports on significant crime or security incidents:
01.10.10: A suspect in the trial of suspected members of an
illegal gendarmerie unit called JITEM has confessed to taking
part in extrajudicial killings and even making prayer beads out
of the ears of those whom he had killed.
Bingol - 01.10.10: A child was wounded by an IED.
Hatay - 01.10.10: Security forces detained 47 people in an
anti-gang operation. Twenty-two of them later were arrested on
the charge of "membership in an organized-crime group."
Kilis - 01.10.10: Security forces found 10 hand grenades and 9
fuses at a residence.
Bingol - 01.09.10: Unidentified people slashed the tires of 13
civilian vehicles. Elsewhere in the province, villagers found
some fragments of human bones. A criminal investigation is
underway.
Diyarbakir, Hatay Osmaniye and Gaziantep - 01.07.10: Security
forces detained 77 people and confiscated 162 historical
artifacts in an anti-organized-crime and smuggling operation.
Mersin - 01.07.10: An attacker opened fire at a police check
point, wounding 3 police officers. The attacker was later
apprehended.
Batman - 01.06.10: Security forces confiscated 1 rifle, 6
pistols, 7 magazines, 78 rounds of ammunition and 28 bullets. 5
people were detained.
Elazig - 01.06.10: Security forces detained 4 people in an
anti-organized-crime operation.
Elazig - 01.05.10: Security forces seized 1 Kalashnikov rifle, 4
rifles, 3 pistols, and 172 rounds of ammunition.
Diyarbakir - 01.05.10: Demonstrators protested recent anti-KCK
operations, blocking traffic and throwing stones and Molotov
cocktails. Security forces intervened with tear gas, batons and
pressurized water.
Van - 01.05.10: Demonstrators, including Human Rights Union and
pro-Kurdish organization officials, gathered to protest anti-KCK
operations. Demonstrators chanted anti-GOT slogans.
Van - 01.04.10: A person who was working as a cleaner at a bank
attempted to rob his employer, killing 1 person and wounding 3
others.
5. (U) Illegal immigrant arrests:
12.27.09 through 01.09.10: Security forces captured and deported
963 illegal immigrants from: Kirklareli, Kilis, Balikesir,
Erzurum, Nigde, Tekirdag, Van, Aydin, Hatay, Aksaray, Hakkari,
Sirnak, Bitlis, Edirne, Mugla, the Aegean Coast and the borders
of Iran, Iraq, Syria and Greece. Nine Turks assisting them were
also detained in the operations.
6. (U) Counter-narcotic operations:
Turkey-wide - 01.01.09 through 12.31.09: Gendarme forces
confiscated 44 kilograms poppy gum, 2,400 kilograms of heroin,
2,035,527,831 units of cannabis, 998 seeds of cannabis, 20,000
kilograms of raw hashish, 5,500 kilograms of powder hashish, 1.7
kilograms of cocaine, 17 kilograms of morphine, 173,000
synthetic pills, and 3470 liters of acid anhydrite.
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Adana - 01.09.10: Security forces seized 500 pills (Ice) and
detained 7 people in an anti-narcotic operation conducted
against 8 separate addresses. Two Ecstasy pills, 720 grams of
cannabis, and 10 kilograms of white powder were also seized in
the operation.
Batman - 01.08.10: Security forces seized 8 kilograms of hashish
and detained 5 people.
Osmaniye - 01.08.10: Security forces detained 4 people in an
anti-smuggling operation.
Sanliurfa - 01.06.10: Security forces seized 6 kilograms of
hashish and detained 2 people.
Hakkari - 01.04.10: Security forces seized 36 kilograms of
hashish and arrested 2 people.
Elazig - 01.04.10: Security forces seized 20 kilograms of
hashish and detained 3 people.
Van - 01.04.10: Security forces seized 120 kilograms of heroin
and 170 kilograms of hashish. 6 people were detained in the
operation.
Van - 01.05.10: Security forces confiscated 95 kilograms of
hashish and detained 2 people.
DARNELL
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