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 03ADANA96, SOUTHEAST TURKEY PRESS SUMMARY,

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. #03ADANA96.
Reference ID Created Released Classification Origin
03ADANA96 2003-04-04 16:56 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 0096 
 
SIPDIS 
 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREL PINS PGOV PHUM TU IZ ADANA
SUBJECT:  SOUTHEAST TURKEY PRESS SUMMARY, 
          APRIL 04, 2003 
 
 
1.  This is the Southeastern Turkey press summary 
for April 04, 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. 
 
 
POLITICAL, SECURITY, HUMAN RIGHTS 
 
 
2.  Radikal: Turkish and US officials started 
working on activating the issues Turkey and the 
US agreed on during the Secretary of State's 
visit to Ankara. Ambassador Pearson discussed 
with his Turkish counterpart, FM Undersecretary 
Ugur Ziyal, about where the Turkish-American-led 
center that will provide military coordination 
with Northern Iraq should be headquartered. 
Turkey, in order to escape debates about the 
"legal structure of the center," asked that the 
unit's center be in northern Iraq, while the US 
insisted having it headquartered in Diyarbakir or 
Silopi with a liaison office in Suleymaniye. 
Military and civilian officials will be employed 
at the to-be-formed coordination unit with 
participation from Turkish, US, PUK, IKDP, and 
Turkomen Front officials. The fundamental purpose 
of the coordination unit will be to handle 
refugee and security issues. The center's sources 
of information will be the information gathered 
by Turkish and US intelligence. The center will 
gather information about PKK/KADEK and Al Ansar 
activities in the region, assess refugee flows, 
and monitor Kurdish groups vis-Q-vis Mosul and 
Kirkuk. President Bush's special envoy, Zalmay 
Khalilzad, is expected to come to Ankara on 
Tuesday to give the final shape to the matter. 
 
 
3.  Cumhuriyet: People living in Dohuk and Semele 
towns in Northern Iraq have started moving to the 
mountains and villages close to the Turkish 
border as a precaution against an attack by 
Saddam. The people who had migrated to areas 
close to the Turkish frontier earlier had 
returned their homes, but after artillery fire in 
the vicinity of Selahaddin, Suleymaniye, and 
Erbil, people became anxious again and the ones 
living in Dohuk and Semele migrated to Mt. Beyaz 
and Mt. Zavita regions. It is reported that the 
US and British soldiers, along with Kurdish 
peshmergas, have been put on alert around Dohuk, 
Suleymaniye, Mosul, and Azre, and the US soldiers 
have been primarily positioned at Zavo Mountain 
near Dohuk. Peshmargas and US soldiers have been 
digging positions on the hills at Semele and 
Desta Dubane, and the radar systems set up on Mt. 
Zavo has enabled US soldiers to observe military 
movements in Iraq and Iran. The Gircepel hill 
close to Syria, which was evacuated by Iraqi 
forces, was bombed by US troops. The purpose of 
bombing of the hill has been interpreted as being 
to intimidate Syria. 
 
 
4.  Turkiye: Police in disguise have been taking 
stringent security measures around Tarsus 
American College.  The school, which has produced 
many important statesmen in Turkey, has been 
operational for more than 110 years. The security 
measures will remain until the conclusion of the 
war. 
5.  Evrensel: A group of people who gathered 
yesterday in Ovacik quarter of Seyhan district of 
Adana organized a demonstration on the occasion 
of the foundation of KADEK and Abdullah Ocalan's 
birthday. The crowd lit a bonfire and shouted 
slogans. 
 
 
6.  Radikal: The US Embassy put a new "Visa 
Information Service" for Turkey into operation 
yesterday. From now on, the applicants will 
acquire visa-related information by calling an 
Istanbul call center number (212-340-4444) 
instead of phoning the Embassy or Consulates. 
Callers will be able to get visa appointments as 
well as information.  For this purpose, they will 
have to pay an equivalent of USD 16 in Turkish 
lira for the phone call.  Until April 9, however, 
the call will be free of charge. 
 
 
ECONOMIC AND CULUTURAL DEVELOPMENTS 
 
 
7.  Cumhuriyet: The war on Iraq and the ongoing 
economic crisis has been having a negative impact 
on Gaziantep's economy. While production lines 
have been running at 30 percent capacity, many 
have sent their employees on leave without pay, 
and as a result a 30 percent decrease in 
commodity exchange has been reported. Gaziantep 
is the most important regional town with respect 
to trade with Middle Eastern countries.  A 
substantial portion of food items exported to 
Iraq under the oil-for-food program are supplied 
from Gaziantep. The US attack has caused 
stagnation in the region's economy. The President 
of the Executive Committee of Gaziantep's 
Organized Industrial Zone, Akif Ekici, said 
Gaziantep had an important place in Turkey's 
economy, and was a model town for development in 
Anatolia. Ekici said that there were 485 
operational factories and 120 others under 
construction in the four industrial zones, which 
cover an area of 24 million square meters in 
town. Ekici added that 55 factories suffered 
losses during the 1991 Gulf War, and estimated 
the town's financial losses in this war at USD 30 
million. 
HOLTZ