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Viewing cable 09ADANA75, SE TURKEY SECURITY INCIDENTS: NOVEMBER 23-30, 2009

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Reference ID Created Released Classification Origin
09ADANA75 2009-12-02 07:25 2011-08-24 01:00 UNCLASSIFIED Consulate Adana
VZCZCXRO4879
RR RUEHDA
DE RUEHDA #0075/01 3360725
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 020725Z DEC 09
FM AMCONSUL ADANA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 4810
INFO RUEHAK/AMEMBASSY ANKARA 1352
RUEHIT/AMCONSUL ISTANBUL 1117
RUEHDA/AMCONSUL ADANA 1419
UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 04 ADANA 000075 
 
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: NOVEMBER 23-30, 2009 
 
1. The following security incidents for the period of November 
23-30, 2009, 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. Military operations against the Kurdistan Workers' Party 
(PKK) as reported by the Turkish General Staff: 
 
A. Weapons, ammunition, and equipment seized: 
 
Sirnak - 11.26.09: 1 pistol (9 mm), 2 magazines, 26 rounds of 
ammunition, 2 Kalashnikov magazines, 60 rounds of Kalashnikov 
ammunition, 1 pair of binoculars, 2 cell phone memory cards, 
various logistical equipment. 
 
Batman - 11.26.09: 1 hand grenade, an IED made of 50 grams of 
C-4. 
 
Diyarbakir - 11.25.09: An IED made of mortar ammunition. 
 
Sirnak - 11.25.09: 2 Kalashnikov rifles, 9 magazines, 2 hand 
grenades,1 pair of binoculars, 1 flash drive, 1 voice recorder. 
 
Sirnak - 11 .25.09: 1 wireless radio. 
 
B. PKK members captured or surrendered: 
 
Sirnak - 11.25.09: Security forces killed 2 PKK members. 
 
3. Media reports related to PKK and pro-Kurdish organizations: 
 
A. Anti-PKK operations: 
 
Turkish Armed Forces (TAF) anti-PKK operations in SE Turkey 
continue.  Many armored vehicles, military personnel and 
ammunition deployed to Sirnak, Hakkari, Diyarbakir, Igdir, 
Batman and Siirt. 
 
N. Iraq - 11.28.09: TAF artillery teams bombed the Zap District; 
no casualties reported. 
 
N. Iraq - 11.29.09: Pro-PKK ANF web site reported that Turkish 
war jets made low-altitude flights over N. Iraq. 
 
N. Iraq - 11.24.09: TAF artillery teams bombed Haftanin area. 
 
Hakkari - 11.24.09: TAF continue to withdraw military teams from 
the border lines. 
 
B. Arrests: 
 
Hakkari - 11.30.09: Security forces detained 4 people on the 
suspicion of terrorism. 
 
Diyarbakir - 11.30.09: Security forces detained 5 people on the 
suspicion of terrorism. 
 
Sirnak - 11.27.09: Two people were arrested on the charge of 
"being a member of a terror organization." 
 
Sanliurfa - 11.26.09: Seven DTP members were sentenced for a 
cumulative 18 years in prison on the charge of "violating 
restrictions on marches and demonstrations." 
 
Sirnak - 11.26.09: Security forces detained 1 person on the 
suspicion of terrorism. 
 
Diyarbakir - 11.26.09: Four people who threw eggs on a CHP bus 
were sentenced to a cumulative 5 years in prison on the charge 
of "violating restrictions on marches and demonstrations." 
 
Siirt - 11.25.09: Security forces detained 8 people on the 
suspicion of terrorism. 3 were later arrested on the charge of 
"carrying out an illegal demonstration on behalf of the PKK." 
 
Adana - 11.24.09: Security forces detained 8 members of the 
pro-leftist "Public Houses" on the suspicion of terrorisms. 
 
Sanliurfa - 11.24.09: Security forces arrested 4 administrators 
of the pro-Kurdish MEYA-DER (Mesopotamia Culture Center) and DTP 
on the charge of "making propaganda for the PKK." 
 
Siirt - 11.24.09: Security forces detained 7 people on the 
suspicion of terrorism. 
 
Diyarbakir - 11.24.09: DTP Mayor of Greater Municipality Osman 
Baydemir is on trial on the charge of "making propaganda for the 
 
ADANA 00000075  002 OF 004 
 
 
PKK." 
 
Van - 11.23.09: DTP administrator of Ercis and a former 
administrator of Van were sentenced to 2 years in prison on the 
charge of "making propaganda for the PKK." 
 
C. Other media stories about PKK: 
 
Hakkari - 11.30.09 and 11.29.09: PKK sympathizers in Yuksekova 
gathered on November 30 to protest Abdullah Ocalan's prison 
conditions.  Police intervened with batons, tear gas and 
pressurized water and demonstrators responded with stones and 
Molotov cocktails.  Turk Telecom's building was stoned.  A 
police vehicle and a branch of a bank were attacked with Molotov 
cocktails.  Clashes continued into the night. At least 6 
demonstrators were wounded.  The previous day, PKK supporters in 
central Hakkari clashed with security forces.  Police intervened 
with tear gas, batons and pressurized water and demonstrators 
responded with stones and Molotov cocktails. 
 
Adana - 11.30.09: PKK members in the Kurkculer Prison have 
started a hunger-strike to protest Abdullah Ocalan's prison 
conditions. 
 
Siirt - 11.30.09: PKK supporters attacked 2 vehicles with 
Molotov cocktails. 
 
Sirnak - 11.30.09: Security forces killed 1 PKK member. Anti-PKK 
operations continue in the region. 
 
Diyarbakir - 11.30.09: Several NGOs, including Pro-Kurdish 
TUHAD-DER and MEYA-DER made a press statement to protest 
Ocalan's prison conditions. 
 
Mersin - 11.30.09 and 11.29.09: PKK supporters attacked a police 
station for the second time in 2 days. On November 30, nearly 
200 PKK supporters attacked the station with Molotov cocktails, 
fireworks and stones. Police opened fire in the air and used 
tear gas and pressurized water to disperse demonstrators. The 
previous day, almost 400 PKK sympathizers attacked the same 
station with Molotov cocktails, fireworks and stones.  Police 
opened fire in the air and intervened with tear gas and armored 
vehicles.  Protesters set fire to a municipal kiosk and damaged 
parked vehicles and nearby shops.  Security forces detained many 
people. 2 demonstrators were wounded by bullets. Illegal street 
demonstrations continued for long hours in throughout the city. 
 
Tarsus in Mersin - 11.29.09: PKK sympathizers clashed with 
security forces. 
 
Siirt - 11.29.09: Security forces intervened in a PKK 
demonstration protesting Abdullah Ocalan's prison conditions; 
security forces detained at least 20 people. 
 
Sanliurfa - 11.29.09: PKK supporters gathered to protest 
Abdullah Ocalan's prison conditions and to commemorate the 
anniversary of the foundation of the PKK.  Demonstrators chanted 
slogans in favor of PKK and Ocalan and set fire to trash barrels 
and tires.  Police intervened with tear gas, batons and armored 
vehicles and PKK supporters responded with stones and Molotov 
cocktails. 
 
Diyarbakir - 11.29.09: KCK stated that they had no connection 
with the Molotov cocktail attack against the pro-Hezbollah 
Sura-Der Union building in Diyarbakir. 
 
Batman - 11.29.09: PKK supporters attacked Turk Telecom's 
building with Molotov cocktails; no injuries reported. 
 
Yuksekova in Hakkari - 11.29.09:  Hundreds of PKK sympathizers 
gathered to protest Ocalan's prison conditions and to 
commemorate the anniversary of the foundation of the PKK. 
Demonstrators threw stones and Molotov cocktails and blocked the 
Diyarbakir-Hakkari-Van highway to traffic.  Security forces 
detained many people.  At least 2 people were wounded. 
 
Adana - 11.29.09: PKK supporters set fire to a privately-owned 
cargo vehicle. 
 
Diyarbakir - 11.28.09: PKK supporters attacked an AK Party 
district building and pro-Hezbollah Sura-Der Union building with 
Molotov cocktails.  Security guards posted at AK Party's 
building opened fire on assailants, wounding one of them.  Two 
days later, nearly 1000 members of the pro-Hezbollah Islamic 
Union protested the PKK action, bearing Hezbollah banners and 
chanting anti-PKK slogans.  No clash or arrest occurred. 
 
11.28.09 - Van: Iranian troops killed a Kurdish fuel smuggler. 
According to pro-PKK web site ANF, 38 Kurdish smugglers have 
been killed since July by Iranian and Turkish troops, possibly 
 
ADANA 00000075  003 OF 004 
 
 
due to cross-border efforts to decrease PKK-linked smuggling 
activities. 
 
Hakkari - 11.28.09:  PKK sympathizers attacked an armored police 
vehicle with axes and stones. PKK supporters held illegal street 
demonstrations in 11 separate parishes of the city and clashed 
with security forces. 
 
Mersin - 11.27.09:  PKK supporters in snow masks attacked a 
branch of the Turkish postal service with 4 Molotov cocktails; 
no injuries reported. 
 
Sirnak - 11.27.09:  Thousands gathered to protest Abdulah 
Ocalan's prison conditions and to commemorate the anniversary of 
the foundation of the PKK.  Demonstrators chanted slogans in 
favor of PKK and Ocalan.  No clash or arrest occurred. 
 
Batman - 11.27.09:  Security forces intervened in an illegal PKK 
demonstration with batons, tear gas and pressurized water.  One 
person heavily wounded. 
 
Hakkari - 11.27.09: Security forces intervened in a PKK 
demonstration with batons, tear gas and pressurized water. 
Demonstrators responded with Molotov cocktails, fireworks and 
stones. 
 
Hakkari - 11.27.09: DTP officials visited the graves of 4 PKK 
members who were killed almost 2 months ago in a clash with TAF 
in the Kazan area. 
 
Adana - 11.26.09: TNP anti-terror teams arrested 1 PKK member of 
Syrian origin. 
 
Malatya, Elazig and Batman - 11.26.09: NGOs held press 
statements to protest alleged lynch attempts against DTP 
members. 
 
Turkey wide - 11.26.09: Pro-PKK web site ANF claimed at least 39 
lynching attempts have been carried out against Kurdish people 
in the past 4 years. 
 
Diyarbakir - 11.25.09: Thousands gathered and held a press 
statement to protest Abdullah Ocalan's health conditions. 
Demonstrators chanted slogans in favor of PKK and Ocalan. No 
clash or arrest occurred. 
 
Sanliurfa  - 11.23.09: Many PKK supporters gathered to 
commemorate the foundation anniversary of the PKK.  The group 
blocked the roads to traffic and burned trash barrels. 
Demonstrators chanted slogans in favor of PKK and Ocalan. 
Security forces intervened with batons, tear gas, and 
pressurized water and PKK supporters responded with stones and 
Molotov cocktails.  The clashes continued for almost 2 hours. 
 
Hakkari - 11.23.09: Hundreds of people clashed with security 
forces to protest the attack against DTP members in Izmir. 
Demonstrators chanted slogans in favor of PKK and Ocalan, set up 
barricades, burned trash barrels, and threw stone and Molotov 
cocktails to security forces.  Police intervened with batons, 
pressurized water, and tear gas. Security forces detained at 
least 5 people. 
 
N. Iraq - 11.23.09: Pro-PKK web site ANF reported that 521 
people joined in PKK in the past 5 months. 
 
4. Media reports on significant crime or security incidents: 
 
Adana - 11.30.09: Passersby found the corpse of a girl near the 
Seyhan River. 
 
Sirnak - 11.30.09: Passersby found the corpse of a girl in the 
mountains. 
 
11.28.09: Oil exports to the port of Ceyhan in Turkey resumed on 
Saturday after a week-long interruption caused by sabotage to a 
pipeline in northern Iraq. 
 
Malatya - 11.27.09: 4 people were killed in a fight between 2 
groups following a business deal gone sour. 
 
Sanliurfa - 11.27.09: Security forces seized 1 Kalashnikov 
rifle, 5 magazines and 40 rounds of ammunition. 
 
Turkey wide - 11.27.09 through 11.30.09: Security forces 
captured 292 counterfeiters in 176 separate operations conducted 
in 52 provinces. 
 
11.26.09:  Turkish police seized 7.75 million counterfeit music 
CDs and movies and 1.6 million pirated versions of bestseller 
books over the past three years.  Police and ministry officials 
 
ADANA 00000075  004 OF 004 
 
 
have launched more than 9,500 operations against counterfeit 
rings in the country.  More than 10,000 people were arrested in 
these operations on the suspicion of possessing, producing or 
distributing counterfeit trademarked items. Statistics showed 
that there was a decline in the production of knock-off CDs 
since 2007.  2.22 million illegal copies were confiscated in 
2007, 1.5 million the next year and 890,000 so far in 2009. The 
rest of the bootleg items, around 3.6 million copies in the last 
three years, were DVDs.  Statistics revealed illegal production 
of pirated books. 
 
11.25.09: Turkey's Mechanical and Chemical Industry Corporation 
(MKEK) has sold 10,302 handguns since the beginning of this 
year.  While 8,225 of those handguns were made in Turkey, the 
remaining 2,077 were imported from different countries. 
 
11.25.09:  The International Day for the Elimination of Violence 
against Women was marked with protests, press meetings and 
statements from women's groups and human rights groups across 
the country. Speaking at an event in Adana, the head of the 
Adana Bar Association's women's rights commission said that 25 
percent of women in Turkey were victims of violence and 75 
percent of those individuals were subject to violence from their 
spouses.  She also said that one out of every four females under 
the age of 18 were victims of sexual violence. 
 
Diyarbakir - 11.24.09: A person was found dead in Silvan 
District.  The motive is unknown. 
 
11.24.09:  Security forces detained 42 people in simultaneous 
anti-smuggling operations conducted in Ankara, Mardin, Sanliurfa 
and Konya. 
 
Gaziantep - 11.23.09: 1 person killed and 1 person wounded in a 
firefight between 2 groups. Security forces detained 6 people in 
the operation. 
 
5. Illegal immigrant arrests: 
 
11.20.09 through 11.30.09: Security forces captured and deported 
333 illegal immigrants from: Aegean Coast, Adana, Agri, 
Balikesir, Canakkale, Van Sanliurfa, Hatay, Edirne, Hakkari, 
Izmir, Aydin, the Mediterranean region and the borders of Syria, 
Greece, and Iran. Security forces detained 8 Turks who were 
assisting the illegal immigrants. 
 
6. Counter-narcotic operations: 
 
Van - 11.26.09: Security forces seized 2 kilograms of heroin and 
50 kilograms of hashish.  4 people were detained in the 
operations. 
 
Osmaniye - 11.23.09: Security forces seized 1 kilogram of 
hashish, 1 unregistered pistol and 15 grams of cannabis in 
simultaneous operations conducted in Osmaniye, Adana, Gaziantep 
and Hatay. 11 people were detained in the operations. 
 
Van - 11.23.09: Security forces seized 22 kilograms of hashish 
and detained 1 person. 
DARNELL