From pnmideast at igc.apc.org  Mon Nov  2 06:31:07 1992
From: pnmideast at igc.apc.org (PeaceNet Middle East Team)
Date: Sun, 01 Nov 1992 22:31:07 -0800 (PST)
Subject: IPS/IRAQ/OCTOBER 1992
References: <APC.1.0.54efc675.127@igc.apc.org>
Message-ID: <APC.1.0.54efc685.7c7@igc.apc.org>

From: <pnmideast>
Subject: IPS/IRAQ/OCTOBER 1992

/* Written 12:07 am  Oct 30, 1992 by newsdesk in cdp:ips.englibrary */
/* ---------- "IRAQ: Kurds face fuel and food shor" ---------- */
Copyright Inter Press Service 1992, all rights reserved.  Permission to re-
print within 7 days of original date only with permission from 'newsdesk'.

Title: IRAQ: Kurds face fuel and food shortages as Winter looms


an inter press service feature

by john roberts

suleymaniyah, iraq, oct 27 (ips) -- winter is fast approaching and
kurds in kurdistan, northern iraq are for the second year running
facing drastic fuel shortages and the risk of starvation.

''we are suffering; we are afraid,'' said a shopkeeper in
halabja, the ruined town that became a synonym for terror when it
was destroyed with chemical weapons by iraqi president saddam
hussein four years ago.

''there is a lack of food. the winter is very near. there is no
fuel,'' added jamal mustapha nader. behind him was the collapsed
concrete remains of a shop he had owned in halabja's main street.
reconstruction could wait, survival is more important.

it should not be like this. for the past 18 months, perhaps as
many as 100 voluntary organisations and international agencies
have been trying to create some sort of economic normality in the
northern and north-eastern regions of iraq now ruled by the freely-
elected kurdish government in irbil.

yet it is clear that once again the almost one million iraqi
kurds face an aid crisis. for the second year in a row, seed
deliveries have been too few and too badly organised to ensure
that the traditionally-rich lands of iraqi kurdistan can feed
themselves.

''more emergency food will have to be distributed by this
winter,'' said one veteran aid worker. ''and the lack of planting
means we may very well be back here a year from now to hand out
food aid.''

a major factor is the lack of fuel. for more than a year, saddam
has mounted a partial fuel and food embargo against the iraqi
kurds, cutting supplies of diesel oil, gasoline and heating fuel
to around one-fifth of normal peace-time supplies. then, in july,
this fuel embargo was made total.

a year ago, stocks were just high enough to ensure that most
homes in kurdistan's major cities and refugee camps could receive
at least the bare minimum of heating and cooking oil necessary to
keep the worst of the harsh kurdish winter at bay. this year, the
total embargo began when there were no stocks at all.

''the most urgent thing is fuel. without fuel there is no
agriculture,'' says noshirwan mustapha amin, until recently, a
close aide of iraqi co-leader jalal talabani.(more/ips)

iraq: kurds face fuel and food shortages as winter looms(2-e)

iraq: kurds (2)

mohammed taufiq, minister of foreign aid in the new kurdish
regional government chosen after last may's multi-party elections,
told ips: ''we need 15 million litres of fuel for three months --
and that's just the minimum for the cities.''

yet fuel is also needed to keep the tractors running so they can
both harvest and distribute existing crops and plant the seed for
next season's spring crops.

one problem is that the cost of fuel for a farmer taking his crop
20 kms to market can often outweigh the price he will get for his
cereal or vegetables when he gets there.

by western standards the fuel is not expensive, 20 litres of
diesel costs only around 150 iraqi dinars or seven dollars and
fifty cents at current exchange rates. but here, that amounts to
three weeks' wages for a teacher or a month's pay for a labourer.

in addition, lack of storage facilities means that much of the
produce of iraqi kurdistan -- a naturally rich food growing area --
is likely to go to waste. the region has just enjoyed a generally
good harvest, but the food has to be sold and eaten quickly, since
it cannot be exported in significant quantities.

turkey will not let it in, because of united nations sanctions
against the whole of iraq, whilst it cannot be sold openly to
saddam's iraq because of baghdad's economic embargo against the
minority kurdish population.

thus there are piles of rotting tomatoes going to waste across
iraqi kurdistan while poverty-stricken families literally have no
money to buy food.

the u.n. is preparing to bring in 60,000 tonnes of stocks --
mostly fuel and emergency food rations -- in a major relief
effort, although it is not yet certain when and how this will
reach kurdistan.

on oct 17, the united nations made an agreement with the iraqi
government in baghdad and the following day, after talks with
voluntary agencies in the kurdish areas, announced it would take
in the supplies via areas controlled by saddam's armed forces.

the aid workers feared this would lead to further delays and to
severe distribution problems so that many people, particularly in
outlying mountainous areas, might not get their rations before
winter sets in.

then washington, apparently for electoral reasons, moved to block
implementation of the agreement with baghdad. saddam was not to be
involved in the distribution.

relief aid will probably now have to be brought in through
turkey. but there has been so much delay that whatever route is
chosen, it appears increasingly likely that aid deliveries will
not begin until november. and that, aid workers say, could prove
too late.(end/ips/ip/jmr/cpg/92)


From pnmideast at igc.apc.org  Mon Nov  2 06:43:00 1992
From: pnmideast at igc.apc.org (PeaceNet Middle East Team)
Date: Sun, 01 Nov 1992 22:43:00 -0800 (PST)
Subject: IPS/IRAQ/OCTOBER 1992
References: <APC.1.0.54efc675.127@igc.apc.org>
Message-ID: <APC.1.0.54efc686.ac0@igc.apc.org>

From: <pnmideast>
Subject: IPS/IRAQ/OCTOBER 1992

/* Written 12:20 am  Oct 31, 1992 by newsdesk in cdp:ips.englibrary */
/* ---------- "IRAQ: Kurdish civil war reported to" ---------- */
Copyright Inter Press Service 1992, all rights reserved.  Permission to re-
print within 7 days of original date only with permission from 'newsdesk'.

Title: IRAQ: Kurdish civil war reported to be at an end


an inter press service feature

by john roberts

istanbul, oct 28 (ips) -- a bitter civil war between kurds from
iraq and kurds from turkey was wednesday reported to have come to
an end with an agreement by the guerrillas of the turkish pkk to
quit their bases in iraq.

according to radio reports from the area, after three weeks of
fighting, the northern iraq peshmergas in concert with turkish
army troops, has forced the pkk to agree to abandon control of a
swathe of villages along iraq's border with turkey.

the kurdistan workers party (pkk) has in recent times been
operating from bases in northern iraq to launch attacks inside
turkey in its long term aim for self-determination of turkey's
minority kurdish population.

according to kurdish sources, the peshmergas were pressured into
taking on the pkk.

during a visit to turkey at the start of october, sources say the
north atlantic treaty organisation (nato) supreme commander in
europe, general john shalikashvili, told the iraqi kurdish leaders
bluntly that they must show through deeds -- not words -- that
they were against the pkk.

the same message, the sources say, was also conveyed directly by
turkey to the kurdistan front, the umbrella grouping which
represents the main iraqi kurdish political groups and which
speaks, in effect, for the kurdish regional government.

''the decision was not our decision,'' one iraqi kurd said
angrily. yet within 48 hours of receiving these demands, the
peshmerga launched a string of attacks on pkk positions along
almost the entire length of the iraqi-turkish border.

at one end of the 300-km long border, peshmergas loyal to
political leader masoud barzani entered the shiranshir valley near
zakho to take out a cluster of pkk positions; at the other end,
near iran, peshmergas supporting the other main kurdish leader,
jalal talabani, took on the pkk in the remote kharkuk valley.

with their backs to the wall, the pkk were forced to retreat
further when one week later, the turkish army attacked them from
the north, moving 10 or 15 kms into iraq territory.

the war against the pkk has split the iraqi kurds. many
mistrusted turkey's intentions. some argued that barzani had been
too accommodating to turkey. yet the fighting looks likely to
produce some definitive political results -- though the military
conclusions will take longer to evaluate.(more/ips)

iraq: kurdish civil war reported to be at an end(2-e)

iraq: kurdish (2)

the pkk's reported agreement to quit northern iraq represents a
triumph for both ankara and the peshmergas. both sides wanted them
out, and the peshmerga leadership was particularly embittered
because in the weeks before the latest fighting began, it
repeatedly offered the pkk a peaceful way out.

''we wrote many letters to them asking them to leave our area, to
leave our villages and to allow our villagers to return to their
villages,'' said francois hariri, a senior kurdistan front
official. for up to four years, he said, the pkk had occupied more
than 300 villages inside iraq.

he added that both the kurdish government and the kurdish
parliament elected last may had many times conveyed the same
message to the pkk, that they were welcome to stay in iraq
provided they pursued their struggle by political, and not
military, means.

finally, hariri said, on oct 4, the kurdish parliament issued the
pkk with a 24 hour ultimatum to leave iraqi kurdistan. but, he
added, ''they said they didn't care about such decisions'' -- and
the fighting began.

over the next few days, the restoration of effective
turkish/peshmerga control either side of the border should result
in quick moves by turkey to re-open to full civilian traffic key
roads on the turkish side of the border.

since the border fighting started, the regular traffic which
takes civilian goods into northern iraq, and brings out contraband
iraqi diesel in return, has dried up in the face of pkk threats to
blow up trucks coming back from iraq.

but while the restoration of civilian traffic will boost civilian
morale in iraqi kurdistan, the long-term military prospects remain
clouded. according to western diplomats, the pkk's core strength
before the fighting was 10,000 fighters. worse case scenarios
would point to a casualty count of half that.

borders throughout the region are notoriously porous and the pkk
will no doubt continue to secure arms from one source or another.
it may have lost its bases in iraq, but this may simply mean the
pkk will now try to base itself solely in the rugged mountainous
regions of south-eastern turkey.

there is no reason to believe the turkish army will be able to
fully suppress the pkk revolt -- turkish prime minister suleyman
demirel told ips last week it would take ''a reasonable time''.

failure to defeat the pkk could lead the turks to break their
uneasy alliance with the iraqi kurds. for the moment, there will
be optimism in both ankara and irbil that having cooperated
successfully in the military field, iraq's kurds and turkey will
now be able to cooperate politically to help resolve the kurdish
problem in northern iraq.(end/ips/rp/jmr/cpg/92)


From pnmideast at igc.apc.org  Mon Nov  2 04:12:39 1992
From: pnmideast at igc.apc.org (PeaceNet Middle East Team)
Date: Sun, 01 Nov 1992 20:12:39 -0800 (PST)
Subject: AI EX086/92 TURKEY Fear of torture
Message-ID: <APC.1.0.54efc682.327@igc.apc.org>

From: <pnmideast>
Subject: AI EX086/92 TURKEY Fear of torture

/* Written  6:50 pm  Oct 27, 1992 by gn:rmitchellai in cdp:ai.uan */
/* ---------- "AI EX086/92 TURKEY Fear of torture" ---------- */
EXTERNAL (for general distribution) AI Index: EUR 44/108/92
                                    Distr: UA/SC        

EXTRA 86/92       Fear of Torture                           27
October 1992

TURKEY:           Mohammed Ali Akgul, aged about 18
                  Hasan Aldur, aged about 18

 Amnesty International is concerned about the safety of Mohammed
Ali Akgul and Hasan Aldur who were detained on or around 19
October 1992 and have been held incommunicado since.

The two young Kurds, both aged about 18 and cousins, are from the
village of Mizizeh near Midyat in the province of Mardin. Both have
been detained previously (see UA 163/91 of 10 May 1991, AI Index:
EUR 44/59/91) as have close relatives living in the same village (see
UA EXTRA 54/92 of 20 May 1992, AI Index: EUR 44/48/92). Those
detained in May 1992 were released about three weeks ago, after
having allegedly been severely tortured.  After their release a wedding
was celebrated in the village during which PKK (Kurdish Workers
Party) guerrillas are said to have appeared in the village and taken
prisoner a man whom they later released. Following this incident,
seven trucks full of soldiers came to the village on or around 19
October 1992 and the soldiers detained 12 of the villagers. Ten were
released on 23 October 1992, including Huseyin Demir, Hasan Demir
and Nihat Aydogdu, all close relatives of Mohammed Ali Akgul and
Hasan Aldur. The two cousins, however, were not released, but
continue to be held incommunicado, presumably at the Gendarmerie
Headquarters in Mardin (Mardin Alay Jandarma Komutanligi). It is
feared that they are again being interrogated under torture, possibly
about suspected links with the guerrillas of the PKK.

 BACKGROUND INFORMATION

Turkey has a Kurdish ethnic minority which is estimated to number
some 10 million people, living mainly in southeastern Turkey. Since
August 1984, when guerrillas of the Kurdish Workers' Party (PKK)
started armed attacks against the security forces, an alarming number
of reports of ill-treatment of detainees by the security forces have
come from the eastern and southeastern provinces. Furthermore,
allegations of over 100 extrajudicial executions have been received
during the past 12 months. More than 4,000 lives have so far been lost
on both sides and among the civilian population in the continuing
fighting. Emergency legislation is in force in 10 provinces in the region
and the Emergency Legislation Governor in Diyarbakir has
extraordinary powers over three additional provinces. 

Turkey ratified the European Convention for the Prevention of Torture
on 25 February 1988 and the UN Convention Against Torture on 2
August 1988. However, all information available to Amnesty
International indicates that torture is still widespread and systematic in
Turkey. Most allegations relate to ill-treatment of detainees in police
custody during their initial interrogation when they are usually denied
access to relatives or a lawyer. In August 1990, the government
derogated from Articles 5, 6, 8, 10, 11 and 13 of the European
Convention on Human Rights, all of which contain important
safeguards for human rights. Under current legislation the maximum
period a detainee may be held before being formally charged or
released is 24 hours; in cases involving three or more suspects or due
to the 'nature of the crime' it may be extended to 15 days. This period
may be extended to 30 days in areas under emergency legislation or
martial law. Emergency legislation is currently in force in 10 provinces,
including Mardin province.

RECOMMENDED ACTION: Telegrams/telexes/faxes/express and
airmail letters:

- urging that Mohammed Ali Akgul and Hasan Aldur be not subjected
to any form of ill-treatment while being held in custody;

- asking to be informed of any charges brought against the two
detainees.

APPEALS TO:

Mardin Chief Prosecutor:

State Prosecutor's Office         [Salutation: Dear Sir]
Cumhuriyet Bassavciligi
Mardin, Turkey
Telegrams:  Cumhuriyet Bassavciligi, Mardin, Turkey

Mardin Gendarmerie Commander:

Albay Enver Uysal (Colonel)       [Salutation: Dear Colonel Uysal]
Alay Jandarma Komutani
Alay Jandarma Komutanligi
Mardin, Turkey
Telegrams:  Alay Jandarma Komutani, Mardin, Turkey
Telexes:    72004 jimr tr

Minister of the Interior:               

Mr Ismet Sezgin                   [Salutation: Dear Minister]
Icisleri Bakanligi
06644 Ankara, Turkey
Telegrams:  Interior Minister, Ankara, Turkey
Telexes:    46369 ICSL TR
Faxes:      +90 4 418 1795

COPIES OF YOUR APPEALS TO:

President of the Parliamentary Human Rights Commission:

Insan Haklari Arastirma Komisyonu Baskani
TBMM
Ankara, Turkey

and to the diplomatic representative in your country - please see the
responses to this topic for details.   

PLEASE SEND APPEALS IMMEDIATELY.  Please do not send
appeals after 20 November 1992.

From pnmideast at igc.apc.org  Mon Nov  2 06:18:57 1992
From: pnmideast at igc.apc.org (PeaceNet Middle East Team)
Date: Sun, 01 Nov 1992 22:18:57 -0800 (PST)
Subject: IPS:IRAQ: Turkish Kurds the main lo
Message-ID: <APC.1.0.54efc683.4b9@igc.apc.org>

From: <pnmideast>
Subject: IPS:IRAQ: Turkish Kurds the main losers

/* Written 12:03 am  Oct 29, 1992 by newsdesk in cdp:ips.englibrary */
/* ---------- "IRAQ: Turkish Kurds the main losers" ---------- */
Copyright Inter Press Service 1992, all rights reserved.  Permission to re-
print within 7 days of original date only with permission from 'newsdesk'.

Area: Europe, western
Title: IRAQ: Turkish Kurds the main losers in a five-sided clash of wills


an inter press service feature

by john roberts

zakho, iraq, oct 26 (ips) -- there are now five main players in
the battle for the soul of some 20 million kurds in the
mountainous borderlands of iraq, turkey and iran.

and, within a few miles of this suburban city of kurdistan, all
of them are either warring or flexing their military muscle to
support or suppress the kurds' traditional dream of an independent
kurdish state.

the five players are the governments of turkey and iraq; the
peshmerga guerrillas who control the liberated kurdish areas of
northern iraq; the uncompromising, marxist forces of turkey's own
kurdish nationalist movement, the pkk; and the coalition forces
dispatched by the united states, britain and france to turkey to
help defend the iraqi kurds from the wrath of iraqi dictator
saddam hussein.

for nearly three weeks two of the actors, the peshmergas (iraqi
kurdish fighters) and the armed forces of turkey, have been
engaged in a bitter war against the pkk.

on oct 5, the peshmergas began a campaign to oust the pkk from a
strip of border territory -- embracing some 300 largely destroyed
or abandoned villages -- controlled by pkk fighters in northern
iraq.

this was done following a secret agreement concluded between
iraq's two main kurdish leaders, masoud barzani and jalal
talabani, and the turkish government and armed forces high
command. ten days later, the turkish army itself crossed the
border, to complete a pincer movement against the pkk.

according to turkish reports, more than 600 pkk fighters were
killed in the first week of the turkish operation. but diplomatic
sources told ips that the pkk had begun the war with at least
active -- both in northern iraq and in the kurdish areas of south-
eastern turkey.

for the peshmergas, the decision to turn on their fellow kurds
from turkey was not an easy one. describing the pkk's fighters as
''brothers'', barzani's top man in zakho told ips, this meant that
there was in effect, a civil war between kurds.

there would, declared fazel mirzani of barzani's kurdistan
democratic party, be no half-measures. ''if you fight your
brother, you really fight him. there is no fighting without
killing.''(more/ips)

iraq: turkish kurds the main losers in a five-sided clash of will(2)

iraq: turkish (2)

mirzani had no doubt that the forces of the kurdistan front, the
umbrella political grouping controlling the peshmergas, would
defeat the pkk in northern iraq. but, he added, ''you can't call
it victory''.

both parties are kurds, he said, adding that the peshmerga
leaders and specialists on kurdistan are well aware of what the
pkk is capable.

this was the closest he came to accusing the pkk of the kind of
behaviour that has won it a reputation in turkey as a terrorist
movement, accused of killing kurdish civilians on grounds of non-
cooperation, as well as turkish soldiers fighting to crush the pkk
insurgency.

for the peshmergas, the pkk's presence -- its hardline
authoritarianism and its rejection of any form of compromise --
prompted the decision to launch the october campaign.

''we gave them too many chances,'' mirzani said. ''they could
stay in iraq as a political group, making propaganda. they could
go to syria -- we told them 'the road's open -- go ahead,' or they
could continue the struggle in turkey.''

instead, he said, the pkk chose to continue to wage war against
turkey from bases in iraqi kurdistan and, he charged, did so with
weapons supplied by saddam hussein.

iraq's leader has his forces poised much closer to zakho than
most outsiders realise. just 15 kms east of this border town is
the tri-border point between iraq, syria and turkey. and just
seven or eight kilometres to the south-west of that position is
the most northerly outpost of saddam's army.

the relative emptiness of the land in the tri-border region,
where the tigris river cuts through low mountains to flow from
turkey into iraq, has not prevented arms from moving in recent
years from syria into iraq, or from syria into turkey, or from
iraq into turkey.

now, according to mirzani, the flow is from areas of iraq
controlled by saddam to areas of iraq or turkey controlled by the
pkk. by day, such movements are unlikely. by night, according to
both peshmerga and western diplomatic sources, the pkk have long
enjoyed considerable freedom of action.

but it is not the supply of arms that will ultimately prove
crucial. it is whether saddam intends to try to regain control of
iraq's kurdish regions by force.

throughout the summer there were reports of a build-up of iraqi
troops close to kurdish lines, whilst probing attacks on outlying
peshmerga positions are commonplace. but there has been no sign of
an actual impending offensive. (more/ips)

iraq: turkish kurds the main losers in a five-sided clash of will(3-e)

iraq: turkish (3)

this is because of the u.s., british and french military presence
in turkey. three squadrons of coalition aircraft routinely mount
extensive patrols over northern iraq, even flashing their lights
at night to inform both friendly kurd and antagonistic iraqi of
their presence.

officially their mission is to safeguard the kurdish-controlled
areas north of the 36th parallel by preventing iraqi warplanes
from flying above that line; in practice, they are helping to
safeguard the extensive kurdish-controlled areas lying further
south as well.

the coalition, one western diplomat told ips in ankara, has
contingency plans for extending the iraqi no-flying-zone south to
the 35th or even the 34th parallel.

these could be activated within 24 hours if the need arose, the
source said, thus ensuring an attack by saddam's planes on, for
example, the kurdish-held city of suleymaniyah could be countered
promptly by western military intervention.

but how much intervention will be possible remains a question
largely in the hands of what appears to be the most important
actor of all: turkey.

for the turkish government, and particularly the turkish army,
holds some of the highest cards in this five-sided game. it
controls the only guaranteed access route to the iraqi kurds, the
road to the border checkpoint near zakho, and thus it can
determine the extent of outside assistance that iraq's kurds
receive.

turkey also has the right to oust the coalition forces from its
territory and, indeed, their presence is a subject of fierce
political debate in ankara.

there is no doubt that barzani and talabani fully understand that
the freedom they have won from saddam's tyranny remains largely
dependent on turkey's goodwill. for the moment, at least, ankara
has ousted lesser players such as iran and syria, which both have
kurdish minorities, from their accustomed place in the kurdish
game.

if the present fighting goes turkey's way, then it may be able to
forge an uneasy but politically effective alliance with the
leaders of iraqi kurdistan that diminishes not only the role of
the pkk within both turkey and iraq but also saddam hussein's
prospects for regaining control of northern iraq.

but to sustain such a change in the regional geopolitics of this
volatile border region, turkey would need to bolster its own
forces. for, say western diplomats, the one army in the region
that turkey cannot yet expect to defeat in open warfare,
essentially because of a relative lack of advanced weaponry, is
that of saddam's iraq. (end/ips/rp/jmr/cpg/92)


From pnmideast at igc.apc.org  Mon Nov  2 06:21:00 1992
From: pnmideast at igc.apc.org (PeaceNet Middle East Team)
Date: Sun, 01 Nov 1992 22:21:00 -0800 (PST)
Subject: IPS:IRAQ: Turkish Kurds the main lo
References: <APC.1.0.54efc683.4b9@igc.apc.org>
Message-ID: <APC.1.0.54efc684.540@igc.apc.org>

From: <pnmideast>
Subject: IPS:IRAQ: Turkish Kurds the main losers

/* Written 12:04 am  Oct 29, 1992 by newsdesk in cdp:ips.englibrary */
/* ---------- "IRAQ: Iraqi Kurd puts down his gun," ---------- */
Copyright Inter Press Service 1992, all rights reserved.  Permission to re-
print within 7 days of original date only with permission from 'newsdesk'.

Title: IRAQ: Iraqi Kurd puts down his gun, refuses to fight PKK/RELATE/


an inter press service feature

by nadire mater

att edit)rs: please relate the following item to 'iraq: turkish
kurds the main losers in a five-sided clash of wills', moved
earlier from zakho, iraq.

istanbul, oct 26 (ips) -- a former iraqi kurdish fighter, who put
down his gun rather than fight his brethren, has accused his
leadership of ''collaborating'' with the turkish army to drive the
pkk kurdish guerrilla group out of northern iraq.

he further charges that recent newspaper reports referring to
pleas by the iraqi leadership for the turkish army to stay out of
the civil war is nothing more than propaganda following a fait
accompli.

''is it only now that they realise that the intervention of the
turkish armed forces is a flagrant violation of their
sovereignty?'' asks 30-year-old kawa akra. ''they are convinced
that the pkk has been rendered ineffective. that is the reason
they are doing it now. why not on the very first day?''

the iraqi kurdish peshmergas (fighters) and the pkk have been
engaged in a vicious civil war for the past three weeks with each
kurdish group laying claim to the territory known as kurdistan in
northern iraq.

the iraqi kurds are reported to have got the upperhand in the
battle with the pkk forced on the retreat following over the
weekend ground and air attacks by the turkish military.

the turkish government has been involved in an eight-year-old
battle with the pkk (kurdistan workers party) which has been
fighting for the right of self-determination of the minority
kurdish population in turkey.

last month, the army launched a series of attacks on the pkk,
forcing the guerrillas to leave their bases in south-eastern
turkey and cross the iraq border where they joined with their pkk
brethren -- already engaged in a verbal battle for control of the
region.

those words turned into violence on oct 4 -- the same day the
iraqi kurds declared a federal state in the region, at the same
time warning the pkk that time was running out for them to leave
the area.

but on the hunt for a home base after being flushed out of the
syrian-controlled bekaa valley in april by syrian forces, and
similarly forced to abandon camp in south-east turkey, the pkk
stood their ground -- and the war started. (more/ips)

iraq: iraqi kurd puts down his gun, refuses to fight pkk/relate/(2-e)

iraq: iraqi (2)

in the weeks leading up to the war, the iraqi kurdish leadership
was in constant discussion with the turkish authorities, and it
therefore came as a surprise to akra when turkish newspapers this
week reported that the iraqi kurds were calling on the turkish
government to stop the bombings.

''they (iraqi kurds) gave the army the coordinates of the pkk's
camps,'' charges akra. ''how else could the planes have
distinguished the pkk camps at batufa and saranis which are just
500 metres from the peshmerga camps. why do they (turkish
warplanes) never miss their aim?''

now in istanbul and dressed in a western-styled suit, akra says
he does not share the militant views of the pkk, but he has a lot
of friends in the group and could not bring himself to fight
against his brethren.

''for the first time in my life, i watched an armed struggle and
did not get involved myself,'' he says. ''i got within 600 metres
of the fighting and all i could feel was pain.''

having made up his mind to start a new life -- he plans to get
married soon and have children -- he has vowed never to take up
his kalashnikov again -- unless it is to fight against the forces
of iraqi dictator saddam hussein.

and akra says that he is among a majority rather than a minority
as far as shared iraqi kurdish feelings are concerned about the
whole situation. he recalled a recent meeting with one of his
comrades who was just returning from a day of fighting in zakho --
a border town in iraq where one of the several scattered battles
are taking place.

''now we are 'cahs' (traitors) to the turkish kurds,'' akra
quoted his friend as saying. ''how could we forget the help we
received from them on the border when saddam was in hot pursuit of
us last year?''

his reference was to a series of iraqi government forces attacks
on the kurds in northern iraq after baghdad had been defeated by
the allied forces in the gulf war. the united nations subsequently
declared the area a 'no fly zone' an to enforce it put operation
poised hammer' in place -- an allied airforce, based in southern
turkey.

an ips correspondent now in northern iraq has also carried out
several on the spot interviews in which the iraqi peshmergmas have
expressed reluctance to fight against their pkk brethren.

it only reached this stage, stressed akra, because of the
militant ideology of the pkk, which he said wanted to establish a
''free, independent kurdistan, only with kurds''. the pkk did not
want the united nations, any non-governmental organisations or any
allied forces in the region, he says, ''whereas we don't feel we
can do without them''.(end/ips/rp/nm/cpg/92)


From pnmideast at igc.apc.org  Mon Nov  2 06:46:42 1992
From: pnmideast at igc.apc.org (PeaceNet Middle East Team)
Date: Sun, 01 Nov 1992 22:46:42 -0800 (PST)
Subject: IPS/IRAQ/NOVEMBER 1992
Message-ID: <APC.1.0.54efc687.baa@igc.apc.org>

From: <pnmideast>
Subject: IPS/IRAQ/NOVEMBER 1992

/* Written 12:07 am  Nov  1, 1992 by newsdesk in cdp:ips.englibrary */
/* ---------- "IRAQ: Federalism may offer solution" ---------- */
Copyright Inter Press Service 1992, all rights reserved.  Permission to re-
print within 7 days of original date only with permission from 'newsdesk'.

Title: IRAQ: Federalism may offer solution to Kurdish question


an inter press service feature

by john roberts

irbil, iraqi kurdistan, oct 29 (ips) -- iraqi opposition groups
are currently gathering in kurdistan to consider how to unseat
president saddam hussain.

there is talk of the creation of a rebel government and of a new
constitution that would proclaim a federal iraq - assuring
continued autonomy for the kurds.

but since no-one knows for sure when or where the opposition
meeting will be held, and since the opposition essentially
comprises a disparate body of politicians and refugees -- united
only in their opposition to saddam -- predicting any possible
outcome of the talks is fruitless.

the opposition has to come to terms with several very different
realities. saddam seems as firmly entrenched in baghdad as ever
and the bulk of his troops still appear to be loyal to his
baathist regime.

in the north, the kurds may be willing to compromise on their
official political status, to ensure they remain within the
republic of iraq, but they are not prepared to compromise on their
bottom line.

baghdad, they say, will never again be allowed to determine the
internal affairs of iraq's kurds and, above all, there can be no
return of the feared iraqi secret police, the mukhabarat.

''we love iraq. we love our unified iraq,'' a top kurdistan front
official told a group of astonished journalists a few days ago.
''federation will keep our union stronger than self-
determination.''

the kurds of iraq have changed their fundamental position under
heavy external pressure. this, they hope, will yield them both the
recognition they require abroad for their regional government and
the recognition they require from the rest of iraq -- so that
their political autonomy can be safeguarded when saddam falls.

kurdish sources said that since last may's general election,
which led to the formation of a regional government for kurdistan,
the central question had been the relationship of the new kurdish
assembly to existing and future iraqi institutions.

kurdish sources say the iraqi opposition, which combines more
than 17 separate parties or factions, proposed that the kurdistan
parliament in irbil first issue a statement concerning federalism.
(more/ips)

iraq: federalism may offer solution to kurdish question(2-e)

iraq: federalism (2)

the opposition would then be asked for its formal backing for a
federal solution at its next meeting. the sources also implied
that this proposal was made under pressure from the west.

turkey, they say, was consulted on the issue throughout, since
turkey controls the only freely-available external overland access
route to iraqi kurdistan.

''finally we head from turkey that federalism is okay,'' said one
source, referring to turkish president turgut ozal's support for a
federal solution -- not just for iraq's kurdish problem, but also
for turkey's. ''he (ozal) made clear this kind of federalism might
be a good step to removing saddam from power.''

the kurds prefer to sidestep the question as to whether ozal in
fact speaks for anyone but himself. certainly ozal's views of a
federal solution for turkey's kurdish problem are bitterly opposed
both by prime minister suleyman demirel and by the turkish armed
forces, which are currently at war with turkey's pkk kurdish
fighters.

for the moment, the kurds believe federalism is the best way of
easing both turkish and iraqi opposition fears that they are bent
on dismembering the iraqi state in order to establish an
independent kurdistan.

they know that federalism is not a concept with which the middle
east is particularly familiar, since politics in the region tend
either to revolve around strongly centralised governments or the
principle of separate legal jurisdictions for different
communities with political power remaining at the centre.

''it's a factor of geopolitics,'' noshirwan mustafa amin, who
recently headed the kurdistan front's abortive negotiations with
the turkish pkk, told ips. ''we haven't chosen our neighbours, but
they are our neighbours.''

as a result, he says, iraq's kurds have to cooperate with turkey.
''it's the only way. turkey is our window to the world.'' if there
is to be another window, it will be the reopening of the old one --
facing baghdad. the kurds hope that will only come about when a
new government has ousted saddam's hated regime.

thus, they have good cause to make common ground with the rest of
the anti-saddam opposition. in exchange, they want federation.
and, if their own assessments are correct, that is what the
opposition is prepared to concede in order to present saddam with
a credible united front.

a unified iraq, but unified through a federal system which
includes kurdistan, may not be quite such a fanciful dream.
(end/ips/rp/jr/rp/92)


From r.barkow at 3landbox.comlink.apc.org  Thu Nov  5 20:32:43 1992
From: r.barkow at 3landbox.comlink.apc.org (r.barkow at 3landbox.comlink.apc.org)
Date: 05 Nov 1992 20:32:43
Subject: POINTER: No export of German warpla
Message-ID: <4pHaNQnyWe@3landbox.comlink.apc.org>


     See mideast.gulf, Subject: "No export of German warplanes to Turkey!"

     Quote:
                      Refering to the world-wide public:

                          Foundation Platform of the
                       UNIT OF ACTION AGAINST THE EXPORT
                             OF PHANTOM-AIRPLANES
              (Foundation meeting on the 22.10.1992 in Freiburg)

       In November and December 1992,  46 warplanes of the  Phantom-RF-4E
     type belonging to the "Investigatory Patrol Immelmann" in Bremgarten
     by Bad Krozingen and from Leck  by Flensburg as well as other large-
     weapons-systems are to  be delivered to Turkey.  This weapons export
     was  made possible through  a decision of the  Committee for Foreign
     Affairs  and the  agreement of  the Office  of Foreign  Affairs. The
     Defense Committee  of  the  German Parliament  was informed  by  the
     government on the 23.9.1992.

     (...) more in mideast.gulf


From kkelly at nyxfer.UUCP  Thu Nov  5 21:11:11 1992
From: kkelly at nyxfer.UUCP (kkelly at nyxfer.UUCP)
Date: 05 Nov 1992 21:11:11
Subject: US-Backed Attempt to Crush Kurds Fa
Message-ID: <bac1c849.4wVsTB4w165w@nyxfer.uucp>

Subject: US-Backed Attempt to Crush Kurds Fails/WW
From: nyxfer!kkelly (NY Transfer News)


Via The NY Transfer News Service * All the News that Doesn't Fit

U.S. PROXY WAR FAILS TO CRUSH KURDISH REVOLUTION

By Bill Doares

U.S.-made F-16 fighters and Cobra helicopters rained death and
destruction on Iraq's Kurdish region Nov. 3 as Turkey's
U.S.-armed and -financed military continued a bloody offensive
against freedom fighters of the Workers Party of Kurdistan (PKK).

Since the assault began Oct. 5, tens of thousands of Turkish
soldiers have entered northern Iraq, but have so far failed to
dislodge the PKK guerrillas, who are resisting heroically against
tremendous odds.

On Oct. 29, a Turkish commander, Brig. Mete Sayar, told Hurriyet,
Turkey's largest daily, that his forces had "been unable to
capture any of the PKK's positions." Another Turkish officer was
quoted complaining that there were not enough helicopters to
retrieve Turkish casualties.

Fierce fighting is also taking place inside Turkey itself. On
Nov. 1 the Chicago Tribune reported a massacre of Kurds in
southeastern Turkey by the army. On the whole, the U.S. media has
maintained almost complete silence about the war against the
Kurds and Washington's role supporting it.

Turkey's rightwing NATO regime moved greater forces into northern
Iraq in the wake of the PKK's defeat of an offensive by the
pro-U.S., Iraq-based "Kurdistan Front." The Front, essentially a
mercenary coalition patched together by the CIA, had been
attacking the PKK with U.S.-supplied artillery under the
direction of Turkish officers.

In an interview with the Kurdish newspaper Berxwedan, PKK General
Secretary Abdullah Ocalan said, "No, we are not giving up our
arms... The Kurdistan Front are the ones in difficulty, not us.
Their treachery has been exposed for all to see and they have
suffered a serious defeat.

"Our guerrillas have put up a great resistance for nearly a
month. It has been a heroic resistance. We will continue to
develop the war. ...

"Our losses are less than 100, not 400 to 500 as has been
claimed. Both Turkey and the collaborationists have suffered
heavy losses. There is no question of our forces being defeated;
on the contrary a military and political success has been
achieved."

                          -30-

(Copyright Workers World Service: Permission to reprint granted
if source is cited. For more info contact Workers World, 46 W. 21
St., New York, NY 10010; "workers" on PeaceNet; on Internet:
"workers at mcimail.com".)
 

 NY Transfer News Service * All the News that Doesn't Fit
 Modem: 718-448-2358  *  Internet: nytransfer at igc.apc.org

From pnmideast at igc.apc.org  Mon Nov  9 20:44:22 1992
From: pnmideast at igc.apc.org (PeaceNet Middle East Team)
Date: Mon, 09 Nov 1992 12:44:22 -0800 (PST)
Subject: AI EX096/92 TURKEY Fear of torture
Message-ID: <APC.1.0.54efc688.b16@igc.apc.org>

From: <pnmideast>
Subject: AI EX096/92 TURKEY Fear of torture

/* Written  6:22 pm  Nov  5, 1992 by rmitchellai at gn.apc.org in igc:ai.uan */
/* ---------- "AI EX096/92 TURKEY Fear of torture" ---------- */
EXTERNAL (for general distribution) AI Index: EUR 44/114/92
                                    Distr: UA/SC        

EXTRA 96/92       Fear of Torture   5 November 1992

TURKEY:     Methiye Elci (female), aged 16
            Kemal Elci, aged 34, brother of Methiye
            Bahrettin Elci, aged 18, cousin of Methiye
            and scores of villagers whose names are not known to
            Amnesty International

 Amnesty International is concerned about the safety of detainees from
Altinova village, including those named above.

On the night of 2 November 1992, the security forces raided Altinova
village in the province of Mus, eastern Turkey, and detained scores of
villagers. They also came to the house of the Elci family and detained
16- year-old Methiye Elci, her brother Kemal Elci and her cousin
Bahrettin Elci, causing much destruction to the home in the process. It
is believed that the villagers are suspected of supporting the guerrillas
of the PKK (Kurdish Workers' Party). They were taken to Mus and
are held incommunicado at Mus Police Headquarters. When Amnesty
International made inquiries by telephone about their detention, the
organization was told that the father of Methiye Elci had been allowed
to see his children. However, the father is currently ill in hospital
some 2000 kilometres away from Mus. It is feared that the detainees
are being subjected to torture during interrogation.

BACKGROUND INFORMATION

Turkey has a Kurdish ethnic minority which is estimated to number
some 10 million people, living mainly in southeastern Turkey. Since
August 1984, when guerrillas of the Kurdish Workers' Party (PKK)
started armed attacks against the security forces, an alarming number
of reports of ill-treatment of detainees by the security forces have
come from the eastern and southeastern provinces. Furthermore, 
allegations of over 100 extrajudicial executions have been received
during the past 12 months. More than 4,000 lives have so far been lost
on both sides and among the civilian population in the context of the
continuing fighting. Emergency legislation is in force in 10 provinces in
the region and the Emergency Legislation Governor in Diyarbakir has
extraordinary powers over three additional provinces. 

Turkey ratified the European Convention for the Prevention of Torture
on 25 February 1988 and the UN Convention Against Torture on 2
August 1988. However, all information available to Amnesty
International indicates that torture is still widespread and systematic in
Turkey. Most allegations relate to ill-treatment of detainees in police
custody during their initial interrogation when they are usually denied
access to relatives or a lawyer. In August 1990, the government
derogated from Articles 5, 6, 8, 10, 11 and 13 of the European
Convention on Human Rights, all of which contain important
safeguards for human rights. Under current legislation the maximum
period a detainee may be held before being formally charged or
released is 24 hours; in cases involving three or more suspects or due
to the 'nature of the crime' it may be extended to 15 days. This period
may be extended to 30 days in areas under emergency legislation or
martial law. Emergency legislation is currently in force in 10 provinces,
including Mus province.

RECOMMENDED ACTION: Telegrams/telexes/faxes/express and
airmail letters:

- urging that Methiye Elci, Kemal Elci, Bahrettin Elci and all those
detained with them and held incommunicado at Mus Police
Headquarters are granted immediate access to their families and
lawyers;

- seeking assurances that they are not ill-treated while in police
custody;

- requesting to be informed of any charges brought against them.

APPEALS TO

Minister of the Interior:               

Mr Ismet Sezgin               [Salutation: Dear Minister]
Icisleri Bakanligi
06644 Ankara, Turkey
Telegrams: Interior Minister, Ankara, Turkey
Telexes:   46369 ICSL TR
Faxes:     + 90 4 418 1795

Chief of Police in Mus: 

Mr Arif Guven Sahin                 [Salutation: Dear Sir]
Mus Emniyet Mudurlugu
Mus, Turkey
Telegrams: Emniyet Muduru, Mus, Turkey

Governor of Mus province:

Mr Koraltay Mitas
[Salutation: Dear Governor]
Mus Valiligi
Mus, Turkey
Telegrams: Mus Valiligi, Mus, Turkey

Prime Minister:

Mr Suleyman Demirel               [Salutation: Dear Prime Minister]
Office of the Prime Minister 
Basbakanlik                         
06573 Ankara, Turkey                     
Telegrams: Prime Minister, Ankara, Turkey
Telexes:   44061/44062/44063 bbmt tr, 42099 basb tr, 42875 bbk tr
Faxes:     + 90 4 417 04 76, + 90 4 230 88 96

PLEASE SEND COPIES TO:

President of the Parliamentary Human Rights Commission:

Insan Haklari Arastirma Komisyonu Baskani
TBMM
Ankara, Turkey
     
and to the diplomatic representative in your country - please see the
responses to this topic for details.

PLEASE SEND APPEALS IMMEDIATELY.  Please do not send
appeals after 30 November 1992.


From pnmideast at igc.apc.org  Mon Nov  9 20:48:40 1992
From: pnmideast at igc.apc.org (PeaceNet Middle East Team)
Date: Mon, 09 Nov 1992 12:48:40 -0800 (PST)
Subject: AI EX097/92 TURKEY Fear of torture
Message-ID: <APC.1.0.54efc689.c28@igc.apc.org>

From: <pnmideast>
Subject: AI EX097/92 TURKEY Fear of torture

/* Written  5:59 pm  Nov  6, 1992 by rmitchellai at gn.apc.org in igc:ai.uan */
/* ---------- "AI EX097/92 TURKEY Fear of torture" ---------- */
EXTERNAL (for general distribution) AI Index: EUR 44/117/92
                                    Distr: UA/SC        

EXTRA 97/92    Fear of Torture/     6 November 1992
                   Death in custody

TURKEY:     Sukru Yilmaz ) brothers
            Habip Yilmaz ) 
            Irfan Solak ] brothers
            Salih Solak ]
            Bahri Gitmez
            Serhat Baytar
            M Sirin Dogan
            Resul Balta
            Ebubekir Gunes

            and the three brothers:

            Nuri Adlik 
            Tahsin Adlik 
            Haci Adlik

            and Ramazan Altunsoz (died on or about 30 October 92)

 Amnesty International is concerned about those named above who
were taken into custody, mostly from their homes, on various dates
since 16 October 1992 and are now held at Batman Police
Headquarters. Neither relatives nor lawyers have been permitted access
to the detainees, and the public prosecutor has reportedly given no
indication as to how long they will be held.

Those most recently detained were Nuri, Tahsin, and Haci Adlik who
were taken into custody on 5 November 1992, as was Habip Yilmaz,
who went to the police station to inquire about the welfare of his
brother Sukru Yilmaz. 

Sukru Yilmaz had alleged previously that he was tortured in Batman
Gendarmerie in March 1992. According to his account, he was
blindfolded and hoisted into the air by his arms which were tied to an
iron pipe. Electric shocks were given through his toes, penis and anus.
A bottle or truncheon was inserted into his anus, while another
interrogator squeezed his testicles. He also claimed that he was
subjected to falaka (beating on the soles of the feet). Sukru Yilmaz
made a formal complaint about his torture, which was supported with
medical reports. Like all such complaints in the provinces under
emergency legislation, it must first be approved by the local governor's
office (responsible for police matters) before legal proceedings can
begin. The complaint is still at the governor's office, no action having
been taken in the intervening seven months.

Among those taken into custody at the beginning of this wave of
detentions was Ramazan Altunsoz, who was taken from his home and
interrogated at Batman Police Headquarters on 21 October 1992. After
a week in incommunicado detention, he was taken to hospital and
treated for gastritis, before being returned to the Police Headquarters
for further interrogation. Three days later, on 31 October, his body
was returned to his family and the local governor announced that he
had died of "diseases of the stomach and kidney". The official medical
cause of death was given as "haemorrhage of the lungs and acute
gastritis" but his family photographed bruises and other marks on his
chest, shoulder, armpits, arms and knee after his death. Ramazan
Altunsoz was the third person to die following interrogation at Batman
Police Headquarters this year. 

BACKGROUND INFORMATION

Speaking in Batman on 4 November 1992, in connection with the
cross-border operation in Northern Iraq against bases of the Kurdish
Workers' Party (PKK) which the Turkish armed forces have been
conducting since 16 October, the Emergency Region Governor Unal
Erkan told press representatives that a crack-down on rebels inside
Turkey was to be expected after the operation ended. "After the
operation, the time will come for inside Turkey."

Under current legislation the maximum period a detainee may be held
before being formally charged or released is 24 hours; in cases
involving three or more suspects or due to the 'nature of the crime' it
may be extended to 15 days. This period may be extended to 30 days
in areas under emergency legislation or martial law. Emergency
legislation is currently in force in 10 provinces, including Batman
province.

RECOMMENDED ACTION: Telegrams/telexes/faxes/express and
airmail letters in English or your own language:

- urging that those detainees named above who are being held in
incommunicado detention at Batman Police Headquarters be permitted
access to their families and to legal counsel, and are not subjected to
any form of torture or ill-treatment;

- urging that a thorough and impartial investigation be initiated into
the death in custody of Ramazan Altunsoz, and that those responsible
be brought promptly to justice.

APPEALS TO

Minister of the Interior:

Mr Ismet Sezgin               [Salutation: Dear Minister]
Icisleri Bakanligi
06644 Ankara, Turkey
Telegrams: Interior Minister, Ankara, Turkey
Telexes:   46369 ICSL TR
Faxes:     + 90 4 418 1795

Prime Minister:

Mr Suleyman Demirel           [Salutation: Dear Prime Minister]
Office of the Prime Minister 
Basbakanlik                         
06573 Ankara, Turkey                     
Telegrams: Prime Minister, Ankara, Turkey
Telexes:   44061/44062/44063 bbmt tr, 42099 basb tr, 42875 bbk tr
Faxes:     + 90 4 417 04 76, + 90 4 230 88 96

PLEASE SEND COPIES TO: 

President of the Parliamentary Human Rights Commission:

Insan Haklari Arastirma Komisyonu Baskani
TBMM
Ankara, Turkey

and to the diplomatic representative in your country - please see the
responses to this topic for details.

PLEASE SEND APPEALS IMMEDIATELY.  Please do not send
appeals after 30 November 1992.

From pnmideast at igc.apc.org  Mon Nov  9 21:23:10 1992
From: pnmideast at igc.apc.org (PeaceNet Middle East Team)
Date: Mon, 09 Nov 1992 13:23:10 -0800 (PST)
Subject: IPS:IRAQ: PKK and Iraqi Kurds seek
Message-ID: <APC.1.0.54efc68a.5ca@igc.apc.org>

From: <pnmideast>
Subject: IPS:IRAQ: PKK and Iraqi Kurds seek

/* Written 12:17 am  Nov  5, 1992 by newsdesk at igc.apc.org in igc:ips.englibrary */
/* ---------- "IRAQ: PKK and Iraqi Kurds seek peac" ---------- */
Copyright Inter Press Service 1992, all rights reserved.  Permission to re-
print within 7 days of original date only with permission from 'newsdesk'.

Title: IRAQ: PKK and Iraqi Kurds seek peace accord, but Turkey fights on


istanbul, nov 2 (ips/nadire mater) -- driven away from their bases
in northern iraq by a combined offensive, the turkish guerrilla
pkk kurds say they are willing to accept a peace accord, but the
turkish government seems determined to flush them completely out
of the region.

three weeks of fighting against the iraqi kurdish peshmergas and
the turkish army, is reported to have taken a heavy toll on the
beleaguered kurdistan workers party (pkk) which on sunday agreed
that it would sign a peace pact with the iraqi kurds.

''the negotiations are not concluded yet. however the agreement
will be signed in a few days. this is not a surrender by any
means. we will not leave our arms. we will retreat further south
and stay in iraq,'' a spokesperson close to the pkk leadership
told ips in a telephone interview from germany monday.

but the turkish army, which has been working in tandem with the
peshmergas to force the pkk to leave bases in the disputed
northern iraq territory, says that such an agreement would not
alter its own crackdown.

''this so-called agreement between the pkk and the peshmergas
cannot have any affect on our operations in iraq. we will stay
there until the marsh is totally dried. our operation is not
based on the combat between the pkk and the peshmerga forces,''
said general dogan gures, turkish chief of staff on sunday.

the iraqi peshmergas and turkish army launched their united
attack on oct 16 -- 12 days after the peshmergas had declared a
kurdish state in the northern iraqi region of kurdistan.

in making that oct 4 declaration, the political administrators of
the iraqi kurds warned the pkk forces to either put down their
weapons or leave the region.

the pkk guerrillas are themselves seeking an independent kurdish
state for the estimated 800,000 kurds in turkey. but the turkish
government refuses to recognise the minority kurds.

the 10,000 strong pkk had previously been dominant in the south-
eastern turkish regions, but government forces clamped down on its
operations there, forcing the turkish based pkk guerrillas across
the border where they joined arms with their brethren.

but from the start, the pkk and the iraqi kurds were at odds with
the militant pkk attempting to assert its authority by imposing an
across the border trade embargo which damaged the already weak
iraqi kurdish economy.(more/ips)

iraq: pkk and iraqi kurds seek peace accord, but turkey fights on(2-e)

iraq: pkk (2)

previously, the pkk had been based in the syrian-controlled bekaa
valley, but was forced out of that region by the syrian government
seeking to better relations with turkey. now the turkish
government is determined not to let the guerrillas cement bases in
iraq.

the pkk has already been forced to leave its bases in haftanin
and shive and the turkish security forces are predicting the
capture of another major camp near the turkish border -- haqurq.
the turkish army is also claiming that it has killed more than
2,000 pkk guerrillas, while losing less than a 100 of its own men.

but with a ceasefire agreement in sight, the iraqi kurds are
asking the turkish army to withdraw.

''the continuing flow of hundreds of turkish troops in northern
iraq is not against the pkk which is already shattered but against
us,'' charged hoshyar zhebari, spokesperson of the kurdistan
democratic party -- one of the two major political parties in
kurdistan. ''the turks are trying to establish a permanent
existence in iraq.''

jalal talabani, the leader of the patriotic union of kurdistan,
the other major iraqi kurd political force, also charged that
turkey is now ''violating the territorial integrity of iraq''.

abdullah ocalan, the pkk leader, has also been quoted in the
press as seeking an end to the fighting and has called for a
''political solution'' with turkey.

''we would welcome any offer for an agreement with turkey even if
it would come through a junior officer. we are ready to stop the
armed fight. however, the 'hawks' within the turkish
administration do not want peace, they want our heads only,''
ocalan has been quoted as saying.

but turkish prime minister suleyman demirel maintains that the
mission is not over. he said he is still ''uncertain'' about the
pkk ''surrender''. ''we will proceed as far as necessary,''
insists demirel.

he adds: ''the political vacuum in northern iraq is intolerable
and we will not allow this area to be  exploited by the pkk.''

but yavuz sabuncu, associate professor of the international
relations department of the faculty of political sciences at the
ankara university, warns that turkey could run afoul of the west
if it continues its assault into iraq territory.

''the current silence of the west might be related with the
obvious consent previously given by the iraqi kurds. however if
the turkish army remains in the region for more than a few months,
the west may turn against turkey, warned sabuncu.
(end/ips/rp/nm/cpg/92)


From pnmideast at igc.apc.org  Mon Nov  9 21:25:33 1992
From: pnmideast at igc.apc.org (PeaceNet Middle East Team)
Date: Mon, 09 Nov 1992 13:25:33 -0800 (PST)
Subject: IPS:EDUCATION: Kurdish state univer
Message-ID: <APC.1.0.54efc68b.661@igc.apc.org>

From: <pnmideast>
Subject: IPS:EDUCATION: Kurdish state university

/* Written 12:03 am  Nov  6, 1992 by newsdesk at igc.apc.org in igc:ips.englibrary */
/* ---------- "EDUCATION: Kurdish 'state' universi" ---------- */
Copyright Inter Press Service 1992, all rights reserved.  Permission to re-
print within 7 days of original date only with permission from 'newsdesk'.

Area: Asia, southern
Title: EDUCATION: Kurdish 'state' university reopens in Iraq


an inter press service feature

by john roberts

suleymaniyah, nov 03 (ips) -- upstairs, in the rooms that once
housed the local headquarters of the iraqi secret police, the new
university of suleymaniyah plans to open its medical faculty --
forming part of the new kurdish mini-state's new university.

in two weeks time, on nov. 15, the university of suleymaniyah
will open its doors for the first time in more than ten years and
its administrators are now busy sending out letters to academic
institutions abroad to secure recognition of its status.

so far, says registrar ali hasan saber, the voluntary team
working on the project has raised 2.5 million iraqi dinars (around
120,000 dollars) for the project.

much of it has been raised privately from the citizens of
suleymaniyah, though the leaders of the main kurdish political
parties, jalal talabani and masoud barzani, have also contributed
a large proportion of the cost.

at the university site in the north of the city, a cluster of
buildings, part of the campus of the original university but taken
over by the iraqi authorities in 1981, is being renovated.

new lighting is being installed, the lecture theatres are being
refurbished and paint, a scarce commodity that has to be imported
from iran, brightens the rooms where the mukhabarat (secret
police) once struck fear into the hearts of ordinary citizens.

the university will initially have three faculties: medicine,
agriculture and languages. more than 50 members of staff have
already been hired, many of them with first or second degrees from
institutions in the united states or western europe.

about 400 students have already been accepted, some will be
starting university for the first time. others are kurds who
previously studied at iraq's other main universities in baghdad,
basra and mosul.

''we are starting from zero. we have got nothing,'' says saber.
''we need books, typewriters, calculators, cars. above all, we
need basic laboratories.''

the university is getting administrative help from another
university already functioning in kurdish iraq, at salahuddine. it
is also being assisted by a us agricultural specialist, dr. jamal
fouad, who is seeking to develop links between the new institution
and north american agricultural institutions. (more/ips)

education: kurdish 'state' university reopens in iraq(2-e)

education: kurdish 'state' (2)

the university aims very much to be a practical centre. its
officials emphasise on the school of agriculture because
suleymaniyah is in the heart of kurdistan's naturally rich
farmland, and because it wants to set up an agricultural extension
service so that farmers can learn how to improve crop strains and
benefit from technological innovations.

physical reconstruction is being supervised by the former chief
engineer of suleymaniyah nowruz mohammed sayid. now the mayor of
suleymaniyah, he has a special connection with the university, as
he was in charge of building much of the campus 15 years ago.

in those days, the campus had seven faculties, including
engineering, education, administration, arts and science as well
as medicine and agriculture. but in 1981 the government suddenly
closed the university and moved its students to irbil to punish
the city for supporting the peshmerga kurdish guerrillas.

when the iraqi army pulled out of suleymaniyah seventeen months
ago, they set fire to many of the buildings and the university's
kitchens still carry scorch marks under thick layers of new paint.

sayid says his biggest problem is getting such basic items as
glass and fluorescent lights. ''all the glass comes from iran. one
square metre of glass in baghdad would cost just ten dinars (50 us
cents). here we have to pay 170 dinars.'' but, unlike other
buildings in suleymaniyah, the glass is being installed.

both the mayor and the registrar have discussed the project with
visiting officials from the us agency for international
development and are hopeful of international support for the
project.

they have written to the u.n. education, scientific and cultural
organisation (unesco) to seek external recognition, though any
response is not expected to be quick. but they believe they can
maintain high academic standards.

when the iraqi government refused to send this year's
baccalaureate examination papers to high schools in the kurdish
region, the kurdish authorities drew up their own papers and asked
educational specialists from the united nations children's fund to
compare the kurdish and the baghdad papers.

''they were very happy,'' says dr. saber. ''on the strength of
these results, we received 35 scholarships from italy and some
more from france, so our examinations were successful.''

one iraqi practice that the new university will be keeping is
very much designed to ensure that the revived university of
suleymaniyah can quickly secure general international acceptance:
apart from the language school, all its instruction will be in
english. (end/ips/ce/jmr/rj/92)


From pnmideast at igc.apc.org  Mon Nov  9 21:39:32 1992
From: pnmideast at igc.apc.org (PeaceNet Middle East Team)
Date: Mon, 09 Nov 1992 13:39:32 -0800 (PST)
Subject: IPS:IRAQ: Kurds have land
Message-ID: <APC.1.0.54efc68c.9e0@igc.apc.org>

From: <pnmideast>
Subject: IPS:IRAQ: Kurds have land

/* Written 12:03 am  Nov  7, 1992 by newsdesk at igc.apc.org in igc:ips.englibrary */
/* ---------- "IRAQ: Kurds have land and know-how," ---------- */
Copyright Inter Press Service 1992, all rights reserved.  Permission to re-
print within 7 days of original date only with permission from 'newsdesk'.

Area: Environment
Title: IRAQ: Kurds have land and know-how, but no equipment or seeds


an inter press service feature

by john roberts

sarraw, iraq, nov 04 (ips) -- kurdistan contains some of the best
soil in iraq. but today, little food is grown in the valleys of
rich brown earth; tractors lie idle and though some seed has been
planted by hand, distribution is poor in this kurdish populated
region.

''before 1988, the kurdish areas were self-sufficient. but in
1988 the iraqi government destroyed the countryside,'' says dr
aumeed noori amin, a senior official with the kurdistan
agricultural rehabilitation and development organisation (kardo).

''for agriculture, we need tractors. the iraqis took most of our
tractors. we have perhaps 20 to 30 percent of our tractor needs,''
amin told ips.

the iraqis uprooted hundreds of thousands of villagers,
destroying their homes and forcing the mainly agricultural
community to live in specially constructed modern collective
villages, often far away from their fields but where they could be
better controlled by the iraqi military.

now, the villagers of kurdistan -- a once vibrant agricultural
community -- are reduced to begging for hand-outs. ''nawt,
nawt!'', they cry to any passing stranger, meaning ''kerosene,
kerosene!''.

they have little or no fuel for their small stoves and are
reduced to collecting brushwood for fires, both for cooking and
heating.

it is a striking contrast with the tidy, air-conditioned and
neatly-polished offices in irbil where the minister for
agriculture and irrigation in the newly elected kurdish regional
government stresses theoretical problems of land ownership rather
than practical issues of reopening irrigation dykes and seed
distribution.

the kurds have inherited the iraqi system in which much of the
land is owned by the state, with farm workers producing on behalf
of the state.

this structure became all the more rigid with the destruction of
some 4,000 traditional villages and the enforced collectivisation
of the peasantry into saddam's compact and easily guarded
collected villages.(more/ips)

iraq: kurds have land and know-how, but no equipment or seeds(2-e)

iraq: kurds (2)

agriculture minister qadar aziz, plans to hold a major
agricultural conference in kurdistan next spring at which, he says
''hundreds of experts will participate''. the goal, he says, will
be to ''create a law to suit realistic needs and to solve problems
and establish conditions based on equality and justice''.

but while the need for land redistribution is clear,
aid workers say the most immediate issue is simply getting seed
into the hands of existing farmers.

the iraqi government has cut off regular seed distribution and
charitable organisations which have brought seed in have found it
difficult to arrange direct distribution.

one major supply brought in overland from turkey was immediately
allocated by local kurdish authorities to the irbil region, the
only area of kurdistan where there is no seed shortage.

in the end, the local voluntary agency handed the seeds over to
the kurdish governmental authorities in dohuk for distribution to
state-owned farmland. it had been intended for private farmers.

the instinctive wish of the new kurdish authorities to emulate
the old state-run iraqi agricultural administration, pose problems
that will not easily be solved -- not in the short term at least.
but the issues -- lack of fuel, seed and cash -- can not wait for
long-term solutions.

these shortages largely stem from the fact that the region is
still regarded by the u.n. as being a part of iraq, and thus
liable to u.n. sanctions; at the same time, baghdad has for more
than a year instituted its own ban on trade with the kurdish-
controlled areas.

with such restrictions, the kurdish authorities say they are only
able to cultivate 60 percent of the land under their control.

''some lands are not being exploited because we are undergoing a
double blockade by the united nations and the baghdad regime. we
need technical assistance, fertilisers, spare parts, seeds. all
these are lacking. that's why some our lands are unexploited.''

and with winter setting in, it seems likely that the failure to
sow enough seed this year will lead to further food shortages next
year.

thus the outside world, through failing to provide a naturally
rich area with the rudimentary wherewithal to meet its basic
agricultural requirements, is likely to find itself in the
embarrassing position of once again having to provide the kurds
with emergency food supplies next year, for the third year in a
row.(end/ips/ac-ne/jmr/cpg/92)


From pnmideast at igc.apc.org  Fri Nov 13 23:16:57 1992
From: pnmideast at igc.apc.org (PeaceNet Middle East Team)
Date: Fri, 13 Nov 1992 15:16:57 -0800 (PST)
Subject: Kurdistan Update 11.11.92
Message-ID: <APC.1.0.54efc68d.439@igc.apc.org>

From: <pnmideast>
Subject: Kurdistan Update 11.11.92

Date: Thu, 12 Nov 92 17:26:32 PST
Subject: Kurdistan update 11.11.92

/* Written 11:56 pm  Nov 11, 1992 by aforum%moose.uvm at MIZZOU1.missouri.edu in igc:misc.activism. */
/* ---------- "Kurdistan update 11.11.92" ---------- */
posted by: AF/ATS
--

Interview With PKK General Secretary Abdullah Ocalan By Kurdish
Newspaper Berxwedan, October 30/92

General Secretary. In recent days in the press there have been
reports about talks between the Kurdistan Front and the PKK. Is
this true?

Talks are continuing. We are particularly concerned to defeat the
schemes of the Turkish state. They are pitting Kurd against Kurd.
They have infiltrated agents into the Kurdistan Front. As you know
they have brought Turkish tanks in and they are using the peshmerga
fighters like a shield. There are some traitors that want to
organize a massacre killing the Kurds on both sides. We have taken
precautions against these possibilities, one of these is the talks,
to settle the problems in a political framework. We believe better
results will be forthcoming. This does not mean "they have
surrendered, they have fled", the way it was portrayed in the
press. This is nothing but propaganda. The struggle will continue
in a more comprehensive and healthy way. This means our guerrillas
will have better opportunities everywhere, including along the
border. In this way we will defeat the designs of the Turkish
state. This is the framework in which the talks are proceeding. We
wish to prevent needless bloodletting. The Kurdistan Front have
similar demands. We believe that the people of Kurdistan will be
able to wage a better struggle against the Turkish state by
uniting. A settlement has not yet been reached but we are hopeful
that the talks will lead to an outcome that will thwart the plans
of the Turkish state.

     Some circles are saying that "the PKK has given up its arms,
it has accepted the conditions laid down by the Kurdistan Front."
How do you evaluate this situation?

     No, we are not giving up our arms. On the contrary a more
comfortable environment is being created. The Kurdistan Front are
the ones in difficulties, not us. Their treachery has been exposed
for all to see and they have suffered a serious defeat. Our
guerrillas have put up a great resistance for nearly a month. It
has been a heroic resistance. We will continue to develop the war.
They want to hide their defeat and the fact that their real faces
have been exposed by using propaganda. Our losses are less than
100, not 400 or 500 as has been claimed. Both Turkey and the
collaborationists' forces have suffered heavy losses. There is no
question of our forces being defeated, on the contrary, a great
military and political success has been achieved.


Press Statement - October 28/92

"We have not withdrawn one inch", says PKK

     ARGK (People's Liberation Army of Kurdistan, military wing of
PKK) main military command said today: "From being on the
defensive, we are going on the attack".
     Following reports in the press of the PKK forces losing ground
in clashes with the KDP-PUK forces, and rumours of the PKK meeting
the PUK and accepting all conditions laid down by these forces,
contact was made with the ARGK military command in the region. The
commander stated that there had been no such meeting and that up
until now the guerrillas had been on the defensive but that they
were now ready to go on the offensive. He said the report of the
PKK accepting conditions of surrender was entirely imaginary. He
said: "Clashes are continuing. Neither Turkish units nor peshmergas
have taken any of our positions and they have not forced the PKK
into a difficult situation. As we have stressed before we are not
in favour of conflict and we did not start the hostilities. Now we
will go on the offensive. We have the strength to succeed." Another
official stated: "Kurdistan is our country and no force will be
able to remove us from our land.
     In fact many peshmerga fighters have come over to our side.
This statement by the PUK and KDP shows the bankruptcy of their
attacks. The reason they have made this statement is that they wish
to soften criticisms and reactions aimed at them by the Kurdish
people, and they want to give the Iraqi opposition representatives
the impression that they are still powerful".

Kurdistan Information Centre


An Interview With The General Secretary Of The PKK, Abdullah
Ocalan, By The Kurdish Newspaper Berxwedan, On October 24/92

PKK General Secretary Abdullah Ocalan: "We will develop the
revolutionary war to counter the imperialist plot in south
Kurdistan"

     General Secretary, how do you evaluate the developments in
south Kurdistan?

     We are well aware that the enemy has intensified his attacks
on us. The all-out offensive of the Turkish state dates back to the
National Security Council and Cabinent meetings held in Diyarbakir
at the end of August. A concensus has been arrived at between the
parties in the Turkish Parliament and diplomatic endeavours have
been made to cut off supposed ties with Iran and Syria. they then
tried to put the southern collaborationist forces into the breach.
The basis for this is Demirel's phrase "to break the back" of our
activities in south Kurdistan. We know that they have been
preparing such a plan for a long time now. For various reasons they
timed it for October. By securing the approval of the U.S. and
Europe, and even taking into account the U.S. elections they made
their preparations accordingly. Barzani's statement: "Turkey gave
me seven days, I have to succeed" proves the reality of this plan.
The timing of the meeting of the Iraqi opposition was also part of
this plan. They had hoped to defeat us by the 23rd of October, but
the failure of the peshmergas and the lack of success of the
Turkish offensive has resulted in the postponement of this meeting.
The fact that the Turkish army entered the fray in the last few
days proves that the collaborators were unable to deliver the
goods. We will develop the struggle on all fronts against these
plans.

     If you are victorious in this war, how do you see future
developments?

     If we come out on top it will mean Turkey is staring defeat
in the face and it will have to withdraw. Kurdistan will then be
free, to a great extent. We will give our all and create a free
Kurdistan.

     Our reporters in the region inform us that the peshmergas are
unwilling to fight. What is your opinion about this?

     This is clearly the case, that the peshmergas have no
intention of fighting. They are being forced to fight. In a
prolonged war the collaborationist forces would lose the support
of the people and the peshmerga fighters. These forces have put all
their fighters at the disposal of the Turkish units. If the Turkish
units fail they, too, will collapse. For this reason we do not see
the clashes in the south as a PKK-Peshmerga conflict, rather we see
it as the liberation struggle of the people of the south.

     So can we say that you are going to open a front in south
Kurdistan?

     The two fronts are linked. We cannot develop the front in the
north without doing the same in the south and vice versa. The
drawing of the Turkish army into the south makes things easier for
us in the north. We will draw them deeper into the swamp which will
be very disadvantageous for them.

     War scenes are being shown on Turkish television and in the
press. How do you evaluate this?

     For the enemy the war is intensifying and for us the guerrilla
war is coming to the stage of an all-out popular uprising. This is
an important stage. It gives us the possibility of reaching
equilibrium in the war. We will dedicate all our forces to the
struggle and believe our people will be the victors in this war.


Press Release - October 23/92

Barzani And Talabani's Plans Have Passed Into The Hands Of The ARGK

On October 22, ARGK (People's Liberation Army of Kurdistan, armed
wing of PKK) guerrillas raided a meeting of KDP and PUK commanders
in the Haftanin area of north Iraq. 5 commanders were killed in the
attack and 3 taken prisoner. From documents seized it has become
clear that there is a trilateral committee composed of one PUK
commander, one KDP commander and a senior Turkish major with direct
access to the Turkish High Command, directing the operations of the
peshmergas. Most of the heavy weaponry sent to the peshmergas by
Turkey is being used by Turkish officers and troops. The captured
peshmerga commanders said all plans of military operations were
formulated by Turkish officers. Provisions are also being sent from
Turkey and delivered to the battle by mule. Masoud Barzani is also
reported to be directing operations through couriers. Peshmerga
commanders also stressed there was great disquiet in the ranks of
the peshmerga fighters.
     Turkish helicopters have been participating in attacks in the
last two day but guerrilla commanders say they are not troubled at
all by aerial attacks.
     Guerrilla sources in Mardin, Turkish Kurdistan, claim that
Turkey is trying to suppress news of guerrilla actions in Turkey
due to the situation in Iraq. Around 40 Turkish soldiers are
reported killed in guerrilla attacks on military posts in Mardin,
Batman and Siirt provinces and 8 village guards have also been
killed. 3 villagers are reported to have been shot out of hand by
Turkish troops in Gulkur village near Dargecit in Mardin province,
and Berekli village near Idil in Sirnak province is reported to
have been surrounded by Turkish troops and besieged for 4 days.
Protests against the attacks by the PUK and KDP against the PKK are
continuing. In Gercus, Batman, shopkeepers closed their shops for
a second day and thousands of people are reported to be clamouring
to join the ARGK guerrillas.

Kurdistan Information Centre


To international organizations, governments, national parliaments,
political parties, human rights bodies and world public opinion:

Elections To A National Assembly For All People Of Kurdistan Have
Been Launched

     The Kurdish people, numbering over 30 million, are the largest
nation in the world which is partitioned and without its own state.
Their national democratic rights and identities have been usurped
over the centuries by states which have occupied our land and
imposed a war of annihilation on our people. The present status of
the Kurdish people in the Middle East is one that conflicts with
universal standards.
     In our country, which has seen countless rebellions, our
people's desire for independence and freedom has not been
extinguished. In the 1970's, particularly, various political views
on a national basis were espoused in the different parts of
Kurdistan. The national liberation struggle being waged in
Kurdistan today has affected all sections of society. Particularly
in north Kurdistan which is under the domination of Turkey,
millions of people are struggling for their rights of self-
determination, independence and freedom despite all kinds of state
terror. In the same way the Kurdish people in Syria, Iran, Iraq and
those Kurds living in different continents have embraced this
demand and created a great national unity.
     Today in Kurdistan there is a war situation. In this war the
Turkish state in particular uses all methods of destruction at its
disposal with absolute disregard for international norms of war.
It does not accept the principle of prisoner of war status and by
its attacks and atrocities towards the civilian population has
adopted a policy of genocide. The Turkish army of one million is
in a continuous state of attack - aerial and ground - and is now
using two collaborationist Kurdish parties that represent a small
minority in the south of our country to carry out a policy of
"pitting Kurd against Kurd".
     Calls by our national liberation struggle for a democratic
political solution to the Kurdish question, for a ceasefire and
talks, have been rejected outright by Turkey.
     The Turkish parliament, far from being a body that can
represent the Kurdish people, is an institition that us an
associate of Turkish militarism, that is based on the policy of
annihilation. The legislation it ratifies is in line with this
policy.
     Worldwide developments, the situation of our people and the
colonialist states' war of annihilation have made it imperative to
summon the "National Assembly of Kurdistan". The Preparation
Commission which was composed on June 7, 1992, has begun work on
the assembly amongst all the Kurdish people and election dates have
been fixed for the next few months. According to the conditions
prevailing in north Kurdistan, Syria, Iraq and Iran the elections
for the National Assembly will be carried out in a democratic
manner. The "National Assembly of Kurdistan" will be the highest
body representing the people of Kurdistan. The assembly will pass
laws in all fields which interest the Kurdish nation and be the
only body representing them in the international arena.
     Half a million Kurds living in the Soviet Union and 700,000
living in Europe will also participate in the elections. These
elections will be held in Europe on November 20-22, 1992. The
elections for the "National Assembly of Kurdistan" will be held in
a democratic way and in two stages. At the first stage the people
will elect delegates on a regional basis. At the second stage these
delegates will elect 300 deputies according to the size of the
population they represent. All elections procedures will be carried
out in a just way by the "General Election Committee".
     This highest institution will be the legitimate representative
body of the Kurdish people all over the world. The "National
Assembly of Kurdistan" will give direction to our people's future.
     Any association, group or parties outside this or the "local
assembly" established in south Kurdistan with the support of Turkey
and the U.S. does not represent the general will of the Kurdish
people.

October 20, 1992

Kurdistan National Assembly Preparation Commission


Press Release - October 21/92

Clashes In South Kurdistan Split KDP/PUK Forces

     It has been confirmed that 4 ministers from the Arbil-based
Kurdistan Front government resigned 2 days ago. The ministers are
Molla Muhammed Abdulhadi, Religious Affairs Minister; Idris Hadi,
Minister for Public Works; Munin Brifkan, Minister of Transport and
Communications; and Selahaddin, Finance Minister. Three of the
minister are from the KDP and one from the PUK. The reason they
gave for their resignation was that the KDP and PUK have not ended
their attacks on the PKK. They said the clashes only helped the
Turkish state. Sources there say that other resignations are on the
cards.
     After suffering heavy casualties in the Haftanin region, many
peshmergas have given up their arms and gone back to Suleymaniye.
Sources state that for the first time the peshmergas have announced
that they have been unsuccessful against the ARGK guerrillas. In
clashes which have been going on since yesterday evening, 20
peshmergas have died. Turkish army units have withdrawn across the
border near Haftanin.

Kurdistan Information Centre


--
                     Autonome Forum: aforum at moose.uvm.edu
                          "Solidarity is a Weapon!"
--







From pnmideast at igc.apc.org  Fri Nov 13 23:20:13 1992
From: pnmideast at igc.apc.org (PeaceNet Middle East Team)
Date: Fri, 13 Nov 1992 15:20:13 -0800 (PST)
Subject: Torture in Turkey
Message-ID: <APC.1.0.54efc68e.50d@igc.apc.org>

From: <pnmideast>
Subject: Torture in Turkey

Date: Thu, 12 Nov 92 18:21:15 PST
From: Human Rights Coordinator <hrcoord>
To: conf:ai.general, conf:hr.eurmideast, mlangley, pnmideast
Subject: Turkey: Widespread Torture

/* Written  7:00 am  Nov 11, 1992 by draskovi at usc.edu in
igc:soc.culture.eu */

	LONDON (UPI) -- Despite election pledges to take action
against human rights violations, Turkey's new government has
failed to prevent widespread torture and killings, often by
security forces, Amnesty International said Wednesday.
	``There has been too much talk and too little action on
the part of the Turkish authorities,'' the London-based
international human rights group said.
	``The new government made serious promises on the issue of
human rights, and in particular torture, but like previous
governments, it has done nothing to stop the practice.''
	Turkish Prime Minister Suleyman Demirel spoke out against
abuses of official power in an October 1991 election pledge, and
said in his administration ``the walls of all police stations will
be made of glass.  ''
	But in the nine months between the formation of the new
government and the writing of the report, there were at least
eight deaths in custody believed to have been a result of torture,
Amnesty said.
	Successive governments have sought to deflect
international criticism of Turkey by speaking out against human
rights abuses, but they have done nothing to stop the abuses, the
group said in a report released Wednesday, ``Turkey: Walls of
Glass.''
	``There has been no discernable decline in the stream of
allegations of torture reaching Amnesty International since the
formation of the new government,'' the group said.
	The independent Turkish Human Rights Foundation received
179 reports of torture of men, women and children in the first six
months of 1992 alone.
	Few of the victims who tried to press charges against
their torturers succeeded, as many of the torture techniques left
few visible injuries, or left injuries that disappeared during a
long period of police custody.
	Many torture victims or their relatives who attempted to
take legal action were subjected to threats from officials, the
group said.
	Political killings, many involving security forces, were
	common.  ``In southeast Turkey there were, during the
	summer and autumn of
1991, more than 50 alleged extrajudicial executions,'' Amnesty
said.  Many victims were singled out because they were believed to
be in contact with the opposition Kurdish Workers Party (PKK), or
involved in legal political opposition to the government.
	``In these killings, the victims, mostly villagers, were
taken from their homes, often in rural areas and shot by groups of
armed men, or possibly the same group, acting as a death squad,''
Amnesty said.
	In some cases, security forces randomly fired on
residential areas as ``retaliation'' for attacks by the PKK, the
group said.
	Amnesty condemned the killings and sharply criticized the
Turkish government for its apparent indifference to human rights
abuses, and called on government and opposition groups to abide by
international humanitarian standards.
	``It is time for the Turkish government to face up to its
responsibilities under international law and bring perpetrators of
human rights violations to justice,'' Amnesty said. ``Too many
people have suffered already.''


From pnmideast at igc.apc.org  Tue Nov 17 06:40:48 1992
From: pnmideast at igc.apc.org (PeaceNet Middle East Team)
Date: Mon, 16 Nov 1992 22:40:48 -0800 (PST)
Subject: IPS/TURKEY/NOVEMBER 1992
Message-ID: <APC.1.0.54efc68f.a30@igc.apc.org>

From: <pnmideast>
Subject: IPS/TURKEY/NOVEMBER 1992

/* Written 12:12 am  Nov 15, 1992 by newsdesk at igc.apc.org in igc:ips.englibrary */
/* ---------- "TURKEY: Syria, Iran and Turkey meet" ---------- */
Copyright Inter Press Service 1992, all rights reserved.  Permission to re-
print within 7 days of original date only with permission from 'newsdesk'.

Title: TURKEY: Syria, Iran and Turkey meet to discuss Kurds and security


an inter press service feature

by nadire mater

istanbul, nov 13 (ips) -- the kurdish question and matters of
security are expected to be high on the agenda of a regional
foreign ministers meeting in ankara this weekend.

significantly, iraq has not been invited to attend the two-day
three-nation summit involving high-ranking officials from iran,
syria and turkey. saudi arabia had been invited, but subsequently
declined for reasons that have not been made public.

the snubbing of baghdad has raised consternation across borders
although the iraqi ambassador in ankara has tried to play down the
issue. last week raffi el tigriti formally asked the turkish
foreign ministry for an explanation on the issue, and apparently
got a satisfactory answer.

''we have no doubts concerning the goodwill of turkey,'' the
iraqi ambassador subsequently said. ''moreover they have reassured
us that they will keep us informed about the developments.''

but the iraqi daily 'babel' -- published by the family of iraqi
dictator saddam hussein was not as charitable: ''the sick men of
the crippled americans -- turkey, iran and syria -- are trying to
act out the american conspiracy against iraq. baghdad will be
able to defeat the attempts to violate its integrity.''

retired turkish diplomat, mahmut dikerdem, is also disappointed
that iraq was not invited. ''now iraq is completely justified in
its reactions. perhaps she was excluded, because the issue
involves, even if indirectly, 'poised hammer'.

indeed 'poised hammer' -- an allied force operation based in
south-eastern turkey -- as well as the kurdish situation, will be
the key topics of discussion on saturday and sunday.

last month's declaration of a kurdish state in northern iraq
and the subsequent civil war between iraqi kurds and turkish kurds
of the kurdistan workers party (pkk) guerrilla group, have raised
international concerns about the future of the minority kurdish
population in the region.

the turkish government -- itself anxious to get rid of the pkk
once and for all -- took the side of the iraqi kurds in the war,
and is continuing its crackdown even now in northern iraq and in
the south-eastern regions of turkey.

for the most part, the western world has looked on impassively
although the rapid deployment forces going by the name of 'poised
hammer' have from time made clear their presence with
reconnaissance flights over the disputed region.(more/ips)

turkey: syria, iran and turkey meet to discuss kurds and security(2-e)

turkey: syria (2)

made up of troops withdrawn from iraq after the gulf war, the
operation was set up in july, 1991, following several air attacks
by the saddam hussein regime on the besieged kurds.

the 2,000 strong operation includes u.s., french, british and
turkish fighter planes based in adana; as well as a 62-member
central coordination council in pirincilik, diyarbakir.   in all,
'poised hammer' has 48 foreign and eight turkish fighter planes at
its disposal, as well as 20 support aircraft and 10 helicopters.

the allied forces were initially scheduled to leave the region in
july, however, the turkish government agreed to allow the
operation to remain until dec 31.

the kurds have made it clear that they favour the presence of the
allied forces in the region, however, ankara is becoming
increasingly worried that the presence of the allied forces will
allow for more autonomy for the kurds of the region.

chief of general staff dogan gures was also unhappy with the
reconnaissance flights by the allied forces during the army's
crackdown on the pkk guerrillas.

similarly, gen oktay karasoy who is a member of the general staff
working in the plans and principles department, voiced his
concerns this week about the growing possibility of an independent
state with the prolonged stay of the allied forces.

at the same time he and others note that it would be against
turkey's interest -- relations-wise -- to ask the allied forces to
leave. dikerdem, the turkish diplomat observed: ''poised hammer
does more good than harm to the government. it is quite closely
linked with sustaining good relations with the united states.''

and speaking along similar lines, ex-u.s. ambassador to turkey,
morton abramowitz, was quoted this week in the turkish daily
'sabah' as saying: ''this is more of an ideological issue. the
stay of the poised hammer represents turkey's links to the western
world. therefore the removal of poised hammer will be perceived as
a choice ... against the west.''

nevertheless, asim karaomerlioglu, a political historian from
bogazici university stressed that turkey will not allow itself to
be viewed as a pawn of the west. ''in spite of close ties with the
west a relatively independent turkish attitude must not be
underestimated when national interests are at stake. the
intervention in cyprus is an example.''

karaomerlioglu adds: ''the security of its eastern borders have
always been an issue of maximum priority for turkey since the
establishment of the republic in 1923. and with its 10 million
kurds longing for self-determination, an independent kurdish state
neighbouring turkey on the east might be the last thing a turkish
statesman would want to hear about.''(end/ips/rp/nm/cpg/92)
~

From pnmideast at igc.apc.org  Mon Nov 30 03:22:02 1992
From: pnmideast at igc.apc.org (PeaceNet Middle East Team)
Date: Sun, 29 Nov 1992 19:22:02 -0800 (PST)
Subject: IPS/TURKEY/NOVEMBER 1992
References: <APC.1.0.54efc68f.a30@igc.apc.org>
Message-ID: <APC.1.0.54efc693.582@igc.apc.org>

From: <pnmideast>
Subject: IPS/TURKEY/NOVEMBER 1992

/* Written 12:03 am  Nov 29, 1992 by newsdesk at igc.apc.org in igc:ips.englibrary */
/* ---------- "TURKEY: Fears expressed about the g" ---------- */
Copyright Inter Press Service 1992, all rights reserved.  Permission to re-
print within 7 days of original date only with permission from 'newsdesk'.

Area: Africa, southern
Title: TURKEY: Fears expressed about the growing powers of the military


an inter press service feature

by nadire mater

istanbul, nov 26 (ips) -- hopes of a more western-style democracy
have all but faded in turkey, say opposition officials and
academics, critical of one year of suleyman demirel's coalition
government and the significant role the military is playing.

''neither the people nor their representatives have any grain of
power in this country,'' said abdulmelik firat, a kurdish
deputy.   ''the premier yields before the  military. the parliament
has no will of its own. it is only a sort of a democratic
decoration.''

frequent media appearances by the chief of staff, general dogan
gures, commenting on all aspects of political and public life are
causing widespread concern, along with recent ''orders'' from the
national security council (nsc) imposing more and more
restrictions on the lives of ordinary people.

and despite pre-election pledges to resolve the kurdish problem
peacefully, 20,000 troops have been mobilised to crush the
kurdistan workers party (pkk) guerrilla group now operating in
northern iraq.

gures announced last week that the across the border military
operation would be extended to cover turkish territory, not just
in the border region but a over the whole country in a ''domestic
mission'' until ''the enemy is defeated''.

''no information is released by the government on this 'domestic
mission', said bulent tanor, a law professor from istanbul
university. ''where and how it is going to be executed, we do not
know. the chief of staff cannot and must not decide on these
matters alone.''

but gures has not confined his proclamations to domestic security
matters. this week he spoke of a ''possible balcan war'' and
called for military intervention in bosnia-herzegovnia.

''i hold ground troops and air forces capable of striking
serbian airports, and artillery batteries,'' said general gures,
in an unprecedented leap into foreign policy.

''he has no constitutional right to make statements on foreign
policy matters such as bosnia-hercegovina. he is gone too far,''
tanor complained.

political scientist dr hikmet ozdemir believes that the kurdish
situation has given the military the perfect opportunity to seize
a greater share of power. ''there is a vacuum of authority and the
chief of staff strives to fill that vacuum,'' he said. (more/ips)

turkey: fears expressed about the growing powers of the military(2)

turkey: fears (2)

''the outer border operation in iraq was out of government's
control and was completely presided by the army,'' ozdemir
continued.

''the power in the country is divided between the army and
government. either parliament is the supreme organ of power or the
nsc. if the nsc is making the decisions then parliament comes
second.''

observers believe their fears over military dominance were
confirmed by the latest communique from the nsc last week, which
further erodes the government's power.

it said: ''the trt (turkish radio and television and the ptt is
to be warned to improve the content of the broadcast directed at
the emergency case region (the kurdish provinces where troops are
fighting pkk guerrillas) and to increase the number of
transmission posts, and the foreign tvs broadcasting from
neighbouring countries must be screened.''

the nsc is a consultative body of army high command including the
chief of staff, the president and the prime minister, together
with other ministers including foreign affairs, domestic affairs
and national defence.

''the national security council cannot take executive
decisions,'' said professor tanor. ''this de facto situation is
contrary to the constitution.''

deputy firat said: ''turkey is rapidly being dragged into chaos.
people will experience brutal oppression. we, as deputies are also
under such intense pressure that even the kurdish deputies are
scared to voice any criticism.

''a wave of state terror is on the way. not only the kurds but
the turks will come under the sway of military oppression.''

talat turan, a retired army intelligence colonel, doubts that the
nsc as a whole is in command. ''not the nsc but even a narrower
circle is holding the ropes,'' he said.

the power of this inner circle was felt by tv producer mehmet ali
birand, who was sued by the chief of staff over an interview with
osman ocalan, brother of pkk leader abdullah ocalan and the
commander of pkk guerrillas in northern iraq.

interviewed by one of birand's reporters, ocalan, holding a
kalashnikov rifle, denied all the government's claims of a mass
surrender to iraqi kurds. birand was charged with showing a pkk
propaganda film.

local journalists in the south-eastern kurdish provinces who have
written stories which contradict official communiques have
received harsher punishment. (more/ips)

turkey: fears expressed about the growing powers of the military(3-e)

turkey: fears (3)

namik taranci, local correspondent for istanbul weekly gercek was
shot dead in the street in diyarbakir by an unidentified  gunman.

security agents use intimidation, violence and even murder to
prevent the istanbul daily, ozgur gundem, being distributed in
south-eastern kurdish provinces.

a volunteer distributor died in his burned out car. and
unidentified gunmen opened fire on distributors in diyarbakir,
injuring two people.

''if the 'domestic mission' includes the repression of the
civilian population, as it seems, then the free flow of
information will be obstructed,'' said ozgur gundem editor merdan
yanardag. ''that is why the kiosks are threatened by plainclothes
agents not to distribute ozgur gundem. that is why our private
distributors have been killed and their cars are burned.''

despite the disturbing developments, observers do not believe
that the military will attempt to seize power completely.

''there will be no military takeover,'' said firat. ''the
military have got all the power they need within the existing
system.'' (end/ips/np/nm/mt/92)


From pnmideast at igc.apc.org  Fri Nov 20 04:51:39 1992
From: pnmideast at igc.apc.org (PeaceNet Middle East Team)
Date: Thu, 19 Nov 1992 20:51:39 -0800 (PST)
Subject: New Video on Media: Lines in the Sa
Message-ID: <APC.1.0.54efc690.ce7@igc.apc.org>

From: <pnmideast>
Subject: New Video on Media: Lines in the Sand

I recently had the opportunity to review this
video which I think is an excellent resource
for people to know about. Excellent short video
perfect as a discussion starter in a classroom
or group. It also has a companion classroom study
guide available, which is very useful and includes
good teaching aids.

Jennifer Smith
Middle East facilitator, PeaceNet
pnmideast at igc.apc.org


PRESS RELEASE

For more information call
Peter Wirth (315) 476-3396


Lines in the Sand

"Modern wars are not won and lost on battlefields but in front 
of television screens, where attitudes and perceptions are 
bought and sold." With footage from Vietnam, the invasions of 
Grenada and Panama, Lines in the Sand illustrates how the 
Pentagon increasingly manipulates the news we see. Michael 
Deaver, who served as President Reagan's principal media 
advisor, said that the Persian Gulf war was such a propaganda 
success that a team of public relations experts could not have 
planned it better.

This 12-minute video essay explores how information was 
controlled and news managed during Operation Desert Storm to 
keep the disturbing realities of war from affecting the 
conscience of the U.S. public. Lines in the Sand raises crucial 
questions concerning the ways that limited access to 
information shapes public opinion. Footage shot in Baghdad by 
producer and writer Ed Griffin-Nolan shows us the faces of the 
victims we did not see on the nightly news.

An interview with a geology professor who lost his wife and 
four daughters in the Ameria bomb shelter along with hundreds 
of other civilians puts a human face on a war that was 
skillfully and intentionally kept from our view. "Victory - but 
victory at what price?" is the troubling moral question that 
Lines in the Sand leaves us to ponder.

Now in use in hundreds of schools and churches in the US and 
Canada, Lines in the Sand premiered in the 35th London Film 
festival last November. Steven Bode, an organizer of the 
festival wrote "their analysis of the media coverage of the 
war and the questions it left unanswered is sharp, insightful, 
and sobering." More recently, it aired on PBS in New York, 
Washington, DC, San Francisco, and a number of smaller cities.

Randy Pitman of the Video Librarian gave Lines in the Sand a 
"Four Star - Editor's Choice" rating. He wrote that Lines in the 
Sand reminds us that not only were the human costs of the war 
neither calculated nor reported - they were ignored on 
purpose." Lander's Film and Video Review rated Lines in the 
Sand in their "Highly Recommended" category.

Dr. Charles Kimball of Furman University in South Carolina, 
whose book Angle of Vision: Christians and the Middle East was 
selected to be the principal text for the 1992 ecumenical 
study of the Middle East writes:
 "I am hopeful that your video will be used by many in these 
local church programs since it illustrates some of the issues 
and concerns I raise in my book. It is an important resource 
complementing my book."

Professor William Griffen in the Education Department at SUNY 
Cortland writes, "Congratulations on your video - Lines in the 
Sand. I have used it with my college students and teachers and 
the feedback was dramatic. Questions and issues either 
minimized or ignored in the mass media were developed 
intelligently, making Lines in the Sand one of the most 
effective audio-visual aids I have used in the past decade."

Gabrielle Tinto, an eighth grade student at Levy Junior High 
School in Syracuse wrote the following letter after viewing 
the video in her social studies class: "Overall I liked the video 
we were shown in class. It showed a side of war I hadn't seen 
before. For myself and others who didn't have relatives in the 
war, it seemed very distant. The US went in, bombed a few 
bases, showed their guns and the opposing side surrendered, 
neat quick and clean. What I never thought about were the 
hundreds of people, civilians, who were being killed, family 
members lost, homes burnt down . . . I gained a new perspective 
of war from watching this video."

Lines in the Sand is produced by Ed Griffin-Nolan, former 
media director for Witness for Peace, and edited by Laura J. E. 
Marini. Available for $21.95, or $37.95 complete with a study 
guide. Send orders to Griffin-Wirth Associates, 168 Parkway 
Drive Syracuse, New York 13207, or call (315) 476-3396. 
Prices include postage and handling.

Recommended for schools (junior high through college), 
libraries, religious organizations and community groups.

From pnmideast at igc.apc.org  Thu Nov 26 05:58:42 1992
From: pnmideast at igc.apc.org (PeaceNet Middle East Team)
Date: Wed, 25 Nov 1992 21:58:42 -0800 (PST)
Subject: AI EX102/92 TURKEY Fear of torture
Message-ID: <APC.1.0.54efc691.eaa@igc.apc.org>

From: <pnmideast>
Subject: AI EX102/92 TURKEY Fear of torture

/* Written  6:44 pm  Nov 25, 1992 by rmitchellai at gn.apc.org in igc:ai.uan */
/* ---------- "AI EX102/92 TURKEY Fear of torture" ---------- */
EXTERNAL (for general distribution) AI Index: EUR 44/127/92
                                    Distr: UA/SC        

EXTRA 102/92     Fear of Torture    25 November 1992

TURKEY:     Fifty people in Viransehir including:

            Mahmut Ozkan, aged 60   ) 
            Halil Ozkan             ) brothers 
            Omer Ozkan              )

            Lokman, 15, son of Mahmut

            Abdullah, 25 ) sons of  
            Cengiz, 17   ) Halil

            Mahmut, 14, son of Omer   

            and the children of a fourth brother: 
            Rusen, 14 (female)  
            Nezan, 15 (female) Cuco, 14

 Amnesty International is concerned about the safety of some 50
people detained in Viransehir, including the above members of the
Ozkan family.

On 21 November 1992, the security forces detained some 50 people in
Viransehir, province of Sanliurfa, including the above named members
of the Ozkan family. On that day at 10am six police officers searched
the house of Omer Ozkan. During the search a man was found in the
house who was wanted by the police. Subsequently, the police also
searched the homes of Omer Ozkan's brothers Mahmut and Halil and
detained them as well as the members of their families (named above)
present in their homes at the time. The police are said to have since
carried out daily searches of the same houses. The detainees were
taken to Sanliurfa where reportedly they are held incommunicado at
the Anti-Terror Branch of Sanliurfa Police Headquarters, presumably
on suspicion of supporting the guerrillas of the Kurdish Workers' Party
(PKK).

It is feared that the detainees are being subjected to torture during
interrogation.

BACKGROUND INFORMATION

Turkey has a Kurdish ethnic minority which is estimated to number
some 10 million people, living mainly in southeastern Turkey. Since
August 1984, when guerrillas of the PKK started armed attacks against
the security forces, an alarming number of reports of ill-treatment of
detainees by the security forces have come from the eastern and
southeastern provinces. Furthermore, allegations of over 100
extrajudicial executions have been received during the past 12 months.
More than 5,000 lives have so far been lost on both sides and among
the civilian population in the context of the continuing fighting.
Emergency legislation is in force in 10 provinces in the region and the
Emergency Legislation Governor in Diyarbakir has extraordinary
powers over three additional provinces. 

Turkey ratified the European Convention for the Prevention of Torture
on 25 February 1988 and the UN Convention Against Torture on 2
August 1988. However, all information available to Amnesty
International indicates that torture is still widespread and systematic in
Turkey. Most allegations relate to ill-treatment of detainees in police
custody during their initial interrogation when they are usually denied
access to relatives or a lawyer. In August 1990, the government
derogated from Articles 5, 6, 8, 10, 11 and 13 of the European
Convention on Human Rights, all of which contain important
safeguards for human rights. Under current legislation the maximum
period a detainee may be held before being formally charged or
released is 24 hours; in cases involving three or more suspects or due
to the 'nature of the crime' it may be extended to 15 days. New
legislation to shorten the maximum detention period was passed by
Parliament on 18 November, but is not yet in force, awaiting the
President's approval. However, it will not be applicable to detainees
held on suspicion of political offences to be tried in State Security
Courts. 

RECOMMENDED ACTION:  Please send
telegrams/telexes/faxes/express and airmail letters either in English or
in your own language:

-  urging that the detainees from Viransehir including all those named
above and in particular the two young girls are granted prompt access
to their families and lawyers;

-  seeking assurances that they are not subjected to torture or any
form of ill-treatment while in police custody;

-  requesting to be informed of any charges brought against them.

APPEALS TO:

Chief of Sanliurfa Police:

Mr Mehmet Cebe                      [Salutation: Dear Sir]
Sanliurfa Emniyet Mudurlugu
Sanliurfa, Turkey
Telegrams: Emniyet Muduru, Sanliurfa, Turkey

Minister of the Interior:

Mr Ismet Sezgin                     [Salutation: Dear Minister]
Icisleri Bakanligi
06644 Ankara, Turkey
Telegrams: Interior Minister, Ankara, Turkey
Telexes:   46369 ICSL TR
Faxes:     + 90 4 418 1795

Prime Minister:

Mr Suleyman Demirel           [Salutation: Dear Prime Minister]
Office of the Prime Minister 
Basbakanlik                         
06573 Ankara, Turkey                     
Telegrams: Prime Minister, Ankara, Turkey
Telexes:   44061/44062/44063 bbmt tr
           42099 basb tr, 42875 bbk tr
Faxes:     + 90 4 417 04 76
           + 90 4 230 88 96

PLEASE SEND COPIES OF YOUR APPEALS TO:

President of the Parliamentary Human Rights Commission:

Insan Haklari Arastirma Komisyonu Baskani
TBMM
Ankara, Turkey

and to the diplomatic representative in your country - please see the
responses to this topic for details.

PLEASE SEND APPEALS IMMEDIATELY.  Please do not send
appeals after 5 December 1992.

From pnmideast at igc.apc.org  Sat Nov 28 23:31:11 1992
From: pnmideast at igc.apc.org (PeaceNet Middle East Team)
Date: Sat, 28 Nov 1992 15:31:11 -0800 (PST)
Subject: IPS:TURKEY: Summit 'unity' highligh
Message-ID: <APC.1.0.54efc692.7cb@igc.apc.org>

From: <pnmideast>
Subject: IPS:TURKEY: Summit 'unity' highlights...

/* Written 12:03 am  Nov 27, 1992 by newsdesk at igc.apc.org in igc:ips.englibrary */
/* ---------- "TURKEY: Summit 'unity' highlights d" ---------- */
Copyright Inter Press Service 1992, all rights reserved.  Permission to re-
print within 7 days of original date only with permission from 'newsdesk'.

Area: Africa, southern
Title: TURKEY: Summit 'unity' highlights disagreements


an inter press service feature

by nadire mater

ankara, nov 24 (ips) -- turkey must look forward to a western-
sponsored summit on the future of iraq to restore some of the
credibility lost when its own regional summit backfired, political
analysts believe.

for the controversial conference involving turkey, syria and iran
in ankara earlier this month, which rejected the partitioning of
neighbouring iraq, was a ''farce'', said iskender savasir, of
turkey's bilar open university.

''turkish administration's policies are bound to be self-
contradictory,'' said savasir. ''they start an operation in
northern iraq, at the same time as they call for a summit to
preserve the territorial integrity of iraq. looked at from this
perspective, the summit was a farce.''

all three countries have a sizable kurdish population and the
summit followed the kurds' declaration of a federal state in iraq.
saudi arabia bowed to u.s. pressure and turned down an invitation
to join the summit, but is expected to attend a second meeting in
february next year.

meanwhile britain has called for an alternative summit involving
the us, britain, france and turkey. this western  summit is
expected to take place in the near future.

the ankara summit ended with a joint statement from turkish
foreign minister, hikmet cetin, saying;  ''the territorial
integrity of iraq is important for all three countries. any
attempt to divide it will have negative  effects on the peace and
the stability of the region.''

and in a clear rejection of kurdish independence aspirations he
added: ''the prospective political structure of iraq can only be
determined by the whole of the iraqi people, in accordance with
democratic principles, human rights and the unity of the
country.''

yasar kaya, journalist on the daily 'ozgur gundem' told ips:
''turkey was after a regional pact with iran and syria and even
saudi arabia in order to prevent a kurdish uprising.

the turkish venture was born dead because it did not have u.s.
support. and the west as a whole was against what they observed as
an attempt at non-western regional solidarity.'' (more/ips)

turkey: summit 'unity' highlights disagreements(2-e)

turkey: summit (2)

however, gungor mengi, chief columnist of the daily 'sabah'
believes the military operation together with the diplomatic
''success'' of the summit provides an ideal opportunity to
implement positive policies towards the kurdish population.

faik bulut, an analyst on middle eastern affairs argued that
while the summit and its declarations gave the appearance of
unity, the reality was very different.

''although there was an  outer impression of a consensus among
the participants in the summit, the inner contradictions have
grown. a common declaration against an 'independent kurdish state'
is not a diplomatic success for turkey.''

in fact turkey was seen to be hypocritical, he said, and will
would be viewed by the west as unreliable. ministers at the summit
also denounced terrorism and agreed to cooperate against
terrorists, but there were no concrete proposals for either this
initiative or preventing the break-up of iraq.

abdurrahman dilipak, an islamic analyst said: ''the ankara summit
was an attempt by turkey to appease her neighbours after the
operations in northern iraq. however the withdrawal of saudi
arabia from the summit and iran's doubts concerning the turkish
military deployment on the south-eastern border led to a dead end.

''the regional powers believe that turkey is a bogey of the u.s.
the summit has resulted not with a consensus but with growing
scepticism, which is totally against turkey's intentions.''

iraqi kurdish leaders were refused permission to attend the
summit where the foreign ministers agreed that the kurdish
parliament at erbil ''is not  representative enough''.

bulut added: ''a new period of distrust has opened in relations
between ankara, erbil, teheran, damascus and washington. turkey
wished to play the right card but met with an undesirable
result.'' (end/ips/ip/rp/mt/92)