Keep Us Strong WikiLeaks logo

Currently released so far... 51122 / 251,287

Articles

Browse latest releases

Browse by creation date

Browse by origin

A B C D F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W Y Z

Browse by tag

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

Browse by classification

Community resources

courage is contagious

Viewing cable 07ADANA100, SOUTHEAST TURKEY PRESS SUMMARY FOR JULY 28-31, 2007

If you are new to these pages, please read an introduction on the structure of a cable as well as how to discuss them with others. See also the FAQs

Understanding cables
Every cable message consists of three parts:
  • The top box shows each cables unique reference number, when and by whom it originally was sent, and what its initial classification was.
  • The middle box contains the header information that is associated with the cable. It includes information about the receiver(s) as well as a general subject.
  • The bottom box presents the body of the cable. The opening can contain a more specific subject, references to other cables (browse by origin to find them) or additional comment. This is followed by the main contents of the cable: a summary, a collection of specific topics and a comment section.
To understand the justification used for the classification of each cable, please use this WikiSource article as reference.

Discussing cables
If you find meaningful or important information in a cable, please link directly to its unique reference number. Linking to a specific paragraph in the body of a cable is also possible by copying the appropriate link (to be found at theparagraph symbol). Please mark messages for social networking services like Twitter with the hash tags #cablegate and a hash containing the reference ID e.g. #07ADANA100.
Reference ID Created Released Classification Origin
07ADANA100 2007-08-01 14:44 2011-08-24 01:00 UNCLASSIFIED Consulate Adana
VZCZCXRO8176
RR RUEHDA
DE RUEHDA #0100/01 2131444
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 011444Z AUG 07
FM AMCONSUL ADANA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 4582
INFO RUEUITH/AFOSI DET 521 ANKARA TU
RUEHAK/AMEMBASSY ANKARA 1127
RHEFDIA/DIA WASHINGTON DC
RUEHIT/AMCONSUL ISTANBUL 0976
RUEKJCS/OSD WASHINGTON DC
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHDC
RUEILB/NCTC WASHINGTON DC
RHMFIUU/AFOSI DET 522 INCIRLIK AB TU
RUETIAA/DIRNSA FT MEADE MD
RUEHDA/AMCONSUL ADANA 1185
UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 04 ADANA 000100 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PINS PGOV PHUM TU
SUBJECT: SOUTHEAST TURKEY PRESS SUMMARY FOR JULY 28-31, 2007 
 
1.      This is the Southeastern Turkey press summary for July 
28-31, 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/SABAH/CUMHURIYET/YENI SAFAK/SABAH: After escaping 
to Northern Iraq last week, Riza Altun, the PKK militant in 
charge of its monetary traffic in Europe and accused of 
embezzlement, was asked to attend a meeting participated by high 
ranking PKK operatives in the Kandil Mountain. It is claimed 
that as a result of explosion of a bomb used by a suicide 
militant, the suicide bomber and three high ranking PKK 
administrators in the meeting were killed. The bombing is 
attributed to the internal dispute between Murat Karayilan, the 
overall in charge of PKK, and Syrian origin Feyman Huseyin, who 
is in charge of PKK's armed wing. Murat Karayilan escaped the 
explosion by not attending the meeting at the last minute. 
 
3.      EVRENSEL/GUNDEM: The Administrative Case Offices Committee 
of the Supreme Court accepted the objection filed against 
dismissal of the Mayor of Sur District of Diyarbakir, Abdullah 
Demirbas, and dissolving the municipal council. The 8th Office 
of the Supreme Court will retry the case. The new mayor will not 
be elected until the case has been finalized. A temporarily 
appointed mayor is fulfilling the mayoral position. Mayor 
Abdullah Demirbas and the Municipal Committee were dismissed for 
introducing multilingualism and multiculturalism in municipal 
services. 
 
4.      SABAH/GUNDEM/RADIKAL: The Criminal Peace Court in 
Beytussebab district of Hakkari sentenced the DTP Mayor, Faik 
Dursun, to 1.5 years of imprisonment on charges of insulting the 
sub-governor and the security director during a press 
conference. He criticized the sub-governor for refusing the 
Municipal Board's January 12, 2007 decision to give Kurdish 
names to streets in Beytussebab. 
 
5.      YENI SAFAK/HURRIYET: The High Election Board in Hakkari 
reversed the objection filed by the DTP-supported independent 
candidate, Sebahattin Suvagci. According to the unofficial 
results of the election in Hakkari, Suvagci had been elected to 
the parliament but he lost his seat to the AKP candidate after 
the votes in the border gates were counted. 
 
6.      GUNDEM: Two inspectors from the Interior Ministry took a 
deposition from the Mayor of Sirnak, Ahmet Ertak, who is alleged 
to have said "PKK should be supported" and "We are supporting 
the PKK" in an interview he had in Kurdish on the French-24 TV 
channel. Ertak denied those statements. 
 
7.      EVRENSEL/RADIKAL/CUMHURIYET/GUNDEM: The indictment 
prepared by the Diyarbakir Public Prosecutor has been asking 3.5 
years of imprisonment for the Diyarbakir Mayor Osman Baydemir, 
the Sur District Mayor Abdullah Demirbas, and the municipal 
board of the Sur Municipality. The Sur mayor and municipal board 
members had adopted a policy of applying "multilingualism and 
multiculturalism" in municipal services, and this decision was 
endorsed by the Diyarbakir Mayor, Osman Baydemir, as well. The 
mayors' hearing is scheduled for November 7. Charges have been 
pressed against the Diyarbakir Mayor Baydemir and the Baglar 
Mayor Yurdusev Ozsokmenler for publishing anti-littering 
materials in the Kurmanci and Zaza dialects of Kurdish. 
 
8.      CUMHURIYET: The National Chairperson of HAK-PAR, Sertac 
Bucak, said the claims that circulated prior the July 22 General 
Election that the "Republic is under threat" proved to be false. 
In a press release at his party's office in Diyarbakir, Mr. 
Bucak said that the Turkish General Staff delivered an 
e-memorandum on the pretext of the Presidential election, and 
that it amassed troops along the border, and made plans to 
attack Northern Iraq. Mr. Bucak concluded that people did not 
tolerate creating tension and "stopped" those in favor of a coup 
d'etat. 
 
SECURITY 
 
9.      CUKUROVA HURRIYET/BOLGE/ZAMAN/GUNDEM: Based on a tip, 
teams from the Adana and Mersin Security Directorates arrested 
seven persons who were members of the Mustazaflar Dernegi (The 
Oppressed People's Association) in Adana and Mersin on the 
grounds of membership to the outlawed Hizbullah Organization. 
One unlicensed weapon, 74 bullets, organizational documents, 
 
ADANA 00000100  002 OF 004 
 
 
false ID cards and driving licenses were found in the searches 
conducted at the houses and businesses of the suspects. 
 
10.     ZAMAN/BOLGE: The Turkish General Staff announced that a 
PKK militant surrendered to the GOT forces in Yedisu district of 
Bingol. The GOT forces seized 1 Kalashnikov weapon, 5 clips, 125 
bullets, 21 bombs, 140 electrical fuses, 5 kilos of C-4 
explosive, 150 meters of detonators, 87 BCK bullets, 1 RPG-7 
rocket, and a large quantity of food stuffs in the places shown 
to them by the PKK deserter.  Another PKK militant also 
surrendered to the security officials in Akcay village of 
Sirnak, and the GOT forces scanning rural Eruh of Siirt found 
lots of survival materials in the shelters and dwellings used by 
the PKK militants. 
 
11.     SABAH/ZAMAN/GUNDEM/YENI SAFAK/HURRIYET: PKK militants, who 
tried to get food in Tunekpinar village of Eruh in Siirt 
province, killed Mahmut Dayan (58) when the villagers rejected 
to give them any food items, the Siirt Governor's office 
disclosed. An operation, participated by village guards, has 
been launched. The Gundem newspaper claimed that Mahmut Dayan 
had been held responsible for the killing of 7 PKK members in 
Cirav Mountain on May 7. 
 
12.     GUNDEM: Following her interrogation at the Caldiran 
jandarma outpost in Van province, Hatice Atsak (45), the DEHAP's 
former district chairman, Medeni Atsak's wife, who was arrested 
in Yuvacik village, was put in the F-type prison of Van after 
she was arraigned. Mrs. Aksak is accused of making propaganda 
for an illegal organization. 
 
13.     ZAMAN/BOLGE: The Agri Governorate disclosed that 2 PKK 
militants surrendered to GOT forces with their weapons and 2 
hand grenades. Based on the depositions of the deserters, three 
persons who had allegedly assisted and harbored the PKK 
militants have been imprisoned by the court. 
 
14.     ZAMAN: It is reported that a high-tech back-pack radio 
device of PKK has been seized. The back-pack radio, which is 
produced only by four companies in the world, provides 
uninterrupted communication in war zones and performs critical 
services such as skipping frequencies and encryption. The 
Turkish General Staff announced that an explosive planted by the 
terrorist organization members was discovered in the mountainous 
region of Lice district of Diyarbakir. GOT forces seized 1 kilo 
840 grams of dynamite sticks, 4 kilos 550 grams of explosives, 
and 18 electric fuses in the mountainous Zorkun resort of 
Osmaniye. 
 
15.     RADIKAL/CUMHURIYET/RADIKAL: In Mersin, of the 55 
bureaucrats, politicians and contractors detained for 
irregularities in bids on government contracts, 27 were 
imprisoned following their arraignment. 
 
16.     GUNDEM: On July 27, the GOT forces launched an operation 
in Mus province and Dallitepe, Gol, and Xapik regions of Bingol 
province where 3 soldiers were killed and 1 village guard and 3 
soldiers were wounded. The Turkish General Staff disclosed that 
1 village guard had been wounded in clashes with the PKK members 
in the rural Mus. It is reported that the operation participated 
by many village guards has been intensified in the Besta 
Mountain of Sirnak and that the area is constantly bombed by 
jets. 
 
17.     ZAMAN/HURRIYET: As a result of the clashes between the GOT 
forces and PKK militants in the rural Nusaybin of Mardin, 1 
sergeant was killed and 2 soldiers were wounded. The wounded 
solders have been taken to the military hospital in Diyarbakir 
by a helicopter. A large scale operation has been launched to 
arrest the dissidents. 
 
18.     EVRENSEL/RADIKAL/GUNDEM: The security officials arrested 
15 persons, including administrators and officials from the 
Patriot Forces Unified Movement (an ultranationalist group made 
up of retired military officers), in an operation dubbed 
"Whirpool-2" in Diyarbakir on July 27. Police seized 1 
long-barreled Kalashnikov weapon, 6 pistols and lots of 
documents during the searches conducted in the association and 
the businesses and houses of the detainees. The detainees are 
accused of 25 types of crimes including "forming an armed 
organization; fraud; involvement in judiciary cases; and 
intriguing bids." 
 
19.     EVRENSEL: Charges have been pressed against 22 persons in 
 
ADANA 00000100  003 OF 004 
 
 
Eskisehir and 15 others in Bursa for attending the hearing at a 
court in Eskisehir of Ugur Kaymaz (12) who had been killed with 
13 bullets in Kiziltepe of Mardin on July 19, 2005. They are 
charged with instigating people, chanting illegal slogans, and 
resisting the police. 
 
20.     GUNDEM: The Chief Village Guard, Iskender Ertus, Democrat 
Party's top one parliamentary candidate from Van, has been 
putting pressure on people in Baskale district of Van after he 
lost the election. Some people have been moving from the 
district because of the pressure and threats they have been 
receiving from the chief village guard. It is also reported that 
16 temporary workers at the Baskale State Hospital have been 
terminated for having cast their vote to the pro-Kurdish 
Democratic Society Party (DTP). It is also claimed that Ertus 
had ties with the perpetrators of the bombing in Semdinli of 
Hakkari on November 9, 2005. It is claimed that the jandarma has 
been threatening residents from the Bostan and Belen villages of 
Dargecit district in Mardin for having voted for DTP, and the 
villagers claimed that the jandarma gave them tickets for no 
grounds while they were driving back and forth to their fields. 
 
CRIME & LAW ENFORCEMENT 
 
21.     RADIKAL/CUMHURIYET: The dead body of young women, Halise 
Taskin (21), who was shot in the head, was found in a trash dump 
of the municipality of Suruc district of Sanliurfa three days 
ago. She was buried by a group of ten people, including her 
father. No other family members attended her funeral or accepted 
condolences for her death. Becoming suspicious of the event, 
jandarma detained Halise Taskin's husband Salih Binici with whom 
she had been married for a month and had no official marriage 
certificate. The security forces have been trying to clarify 
this case which might be an honor killing. Approximately 30 
women from the Yasamevi Women Association, DTP's Women 
Organization, Human Rights Association, and Mazlumder visited 
Taskin's grave and protested the honor killing. 
 
22.     BOLGE: The Anti-narcotic Team from the Gaziantep Security 
Directorate launched an operation against drug users and sellers 
in the city center. A two month preparation had been made for 
the operation dubbed "Clean Valley," during which 1 kilo and 6 
grams of heroin was seized and 11 persons had been detained, the 
officials said. 
 
23.     SABAH GUNEY: 56 refugees (37 Afghans, 13 Bangladeshis and 
6 Pakistanis), who had illegally crossed into Van province of 
Turkey from Iran, were arrested in a truck in Sanliurfa when 
they were on their way to Greece through Istanbul. The refugees, 
aged between 20 and 35 years, had agreed on paying 8,000 US 
dollars per person to the truck driver for taking them to 
Istanbul. The authorities said that the refugees had forged 
passports and would be deported from Turkey after they were 
surrendered to the security officials. 
 
24.     EKSPRES: The jandarma seized 78 kilograms of heroin in the 
trailer of a tractor near Kerimler village of Mersin. One person 
with O.G. initials has been detained for involvement in drug 
trafficking. 
 
25.     CUKUROVA HURRIYET: The Anti-smuggling and Organized Crime 
Team from the Provincial Jandarma Command of Gaziantep seized 
606,300 kilos of granulated and 12,257 kilos of cubic sugar that 
had been smuggled into the country. The smugglers were aiming to 
push the sugar into the market after putting false tags and 
changing the expire-dates of the sugar which had already 
expired. Three persons have been detained for involvement in the 
smuggling. 
 
ECONOMY 
 
26.     RADIKAL: Hamdullah Gunes, an entrepreneur form Batman, who 
started to manufacture dolls wearing the traditional local 
costumes, is facing trouble since some locals have spread the 
word that his dolls were idols and it was a sin to buy them 
according to the Islamic faith. Mr. Gunes, who was awarded for 
his contribution to the promotion of his region by the Ministry 
of Culture and Tourism, is trying to obtain a fatwa from the 
mufti of Batman in order to run his workshop. The mufti is 
awaiting guidance from the Department of Religious Affairs about 
the issue. 
 
27.     EKSPRES/GUNDEM: The President of the Cukurova Agriculture 
Mediators Association, Nevzat Alban, said that the agriculture 
 
ADANA 00000100  004 OF 004 
 
 
workers worked up to 15 hours a day but earned 13 US dollars, 
which is less than the daily minimum wage of 15 US dollars. Mr. 
Alban said because of extensive mechanization in agriculture, 
the need for manpower had decreased and that the landlords were 
thus able to find cheap labor. 
GREEN