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Viewing cable 03ADANA91, SOUTHEAST TURKEY PRESS SUMMARY,

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Reference ID Created Released Classification Origin
03ADANA91 2003-03-31 17:01 2011-08-24 01:00 UNCLASSIFIED Consulate Adana
This record is a partial extract of the original cable. The full text of the original cable is not available.
UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 ADANA 0091 
 
SIPDIS 
 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREL PINS PGOV PHUM TU IZ ADANA
SUBJECT:  SOUTHEAST TURKEY PRESS SUMMARY, 
          MARCH 31, 2003 
 
 
1.  This is the Southeastern Turkey press summary 
for March 31, 2003.  Please note that Turkish 
press reports often contain errors or 
exaggerations; AmConsulate Adana does not vouch 
for the accuracy of the reports summarized here. 
 
 
2. Hurriyet/Tercuman/Radikal/Dunya/Milliyet/ 
Evrensel/Bolge: Trucks carrying US military 
equipment were stoned by a group of people in 
Sanliurfa. The group dispersed after the police 
came to the scene. The windshields of some trucks 
were broken, and the convoy proceeded under 
security escort. One week after evacuation of the 
base in Nusaybin, the US evacuated its logistical 
support center in the Organized Industrial Zone 
in Kiziltepe of Mardin yesterday. Following the 
loading of military equipment and vehicles on 
trucks, the US soldiers left by buses from Mardin 
to Incirlik AB. 
 
 
3.  Cumhuriyet: The US wants the coordination 
cell to be established in Silopi to be 
represented at the rank of a colonel. Turkish 
officials are uncomfortable about the status of 
the Kurds to be represented at the CC. Different 
options are still under discussion. The US is 
reluctant to sign any documents about the 
coordination cell, and the Turkish side is still 
not satisfied with verbal declarations by the US 
about protecting Iraq's territorial integrity and 
sharing the oil wealth of Iraq among all its 
peoples. In response to the news that Kurds are 
as close as 20 kilometers to Kirkuk, President 
Bush's Special Envoy to Iraq, Zalmay Halilzad, 
reminded his Turkish counterparts that "The Kurds 
will not enter Mosul and Kirkuk. Should such a 
thing happen, they will have spoiled the game. We 
will prevent that even before you do." 
 
 
4.  Hurriyet: Armed US troops are taking very 
stringent security measures at the airbase at the 
Gaziantep airport, where 250 US military vehicles 
and tons of equipment are stored. Turkish 
soldiers provide security with armored vehicles 
at the entrance of the airport. 
 
 
5.  Milliyet: The US is continuing to amass 
military equipment and armored vehicles for 
transport by aircraft into northern Iraq. As 
Iraqi forces withdrew from Chamchamal toward 
Kirkuk, a 30-kilometer-area was taken under 
control by the Kurds. The PUK fighters positioned 
around Kirkuk are waiting for US heavy armament 
and armored vehicles to arrive for the offensive, 
and are preparing measures against possible 
looting in the region. 
 
 
6.  Turkiye/Cumhuriyet: Some 90 empty trucks that 
belonged to the Turkish Armed Forces arrived in 
Mardin and were subsequently dispatched to a tank 
battalion in Midyat. The trucks are expected to 
carry armored vehicles from Midyat to Silopi. It 
is reported that Turkey will send armored 
personnel carriers to northern Iraq and withdraw 
its tanks and military vehicles from the Iraqi 
border. 
 
 
7.  Turkiye: An alleged Hizbullah member, Huseyin 
Celik, was arrested in Kavak hamlet of Ucyol 
village in Hasankeyf township in Batman. He was 
ordered held by the court. 
 
 
8.  Cumhuriyet: TIHAK, Turkish Human Rights 
Institution, announced that 14,500 torture 
incidents, 261 extra-judicial executions, 518 
killings under detention, and 216 disappearances 
under detention occurred in Turkey between 1990- 
2002. According to TIHAK's data, 4,820 cases have 
been opened against Turkey in the European Court 
of Human Rights; Turkey lost 286 and won 12 of 
the cases, 513 were resolved amicably. 107 cases 
were not found acceptable by the court. TIHAK 
President, Nevzat Helvaci, announced during its 
4th Ordinary Convention that the torture issue in 
Turkey had not been resolved yet.  Although the 
case alleging torture of young men from Manisa 
was taken to the highest court in the country, 
because of statue of limitations the perpetrators 
would most likely escape  accountability. 
 
 
9.  Hurriyet/Milliyet/Evrensel/Bolge/Cumhuriyet: 
As a result of explosion in a two-story factory 
producing yeast and additives for bakers in 
Adana, eight people died and 13 others were 
wounded. While bomb experts attributed the 
explosion to chemical reactions, the security 
director of Adana said they were taking into 
account claims of a sabotage as well. 
HOLTZ