AI UA279/92 TURKEY Killings

[PeaceNet Middle East Team]

From: <pnmideast>
Subject: AI UA279/92 TURKEY Killings

/* Written  8:36 pm  Sep 14, 1992 by gn:rmitchellai in cdp:ai.uan */
/* ---------- "AI UA279/92 TURKEY Killings" ---------- */
Subject: AI UA279/92 TURKEY Killings

EXTERNAL (for general distribution)              AI Index: EUR 44/85/92
                                                 Distr: UA/SC       

UA 279/92  Killing and Wounding of Civilians/    4 September 1992
                  Fear of Torture

TURKEY:    Among those civilians killed were:

           Hezni Erkol            Guler Sokmen, aged 13
           Zehra Koval            Veysi Sokmen, aged 6
           Halime Kurtel          Sema Sokmen, aged 9
           Suleyman Kurtel        Kumru Gungen
           Abdulaziz Besin        Gulum Gungen, aged 6
           Haci Kilic             Menive Gungen, aged 14 
           Yusuf Vatan            Ibrahim Artuc
           Yusuf Yaman

           Among those wounded are:

Abdullah Atsiz            Gule Artuc, aged 1     Salih Altan
Ayse Artuc, aged 4        Ahmet Yildirim         Remziye Artuc, aged 10
Ahmet Vatan               Mehdi Artuc, aged 12   Abdurahman Balta
Vesile Artuc, aged 35     Fatma Balta            Kadriye Artuc, aged 6
Orhan Uysal               Haci Gungen            Abdurahman Dure
Saadet Gulec, aged 10     Suleyman ....          Meryem Beter, aged 65

Reportedly at least 15 civilians named above, including five children,
were killed by security forces in the Kurdish town of Sirnak in
southeastern Turkey between the night of Tuesday, 18 August 1992,
and noon on the following Friday 21 August. Four members of the
security forces were also killed. The exact circumstances in which the
killings took place are not known. Five hundred people were detained
in Sirnak by the security forces, many of whom have been released,
but around 140 remain in detention and there are fears that they may
be ill-treated during interrogation.

   Initially it was reported that government buildings in Sirnak were
attacked by large numbers of guerrillas of the Kurdistan Workers'
Party (PKK) on the night of 18 August and that the security forces
responded by bombing, heavy shelling and firing on houses and shops
over the next 48 hours. Subsequently, the PKK denied that they had
launched an attack. According to the newspaper Turkish Daily News of
24 August, journalists who arrived in Sirnak following a limited lifting
of the curfew which had been imposed after the events: " [R]eported
they were prevented from speaking to local political officials by the
police, and there was no way to get an objective account of what had
happened between last Tuesday night and Friday noon. Reportedly
those who managed to approach reporters in secrecy could only say
they were under fire for two days and claim that tanks and cannons
were used to hit buildings occupied by civilians."

   Thousands of people have fled Sirnak and are living in makeshift
accommodation. There have been further reports of attacks on civilians
in villages surrounding Sirnak.

On 26 August, Amnesty International called on the Turkish Prime
Minister, Suleyman Demirel, to initiate immediately an independent,
impartial inquiry into the events in Sirnak, especially the killings, and
to make the findings public. The organization also urged that all steps
were taken to ensure that no one was ill-treated in police custody.

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. 

RECOMMENDED ACTION: Please send
telegrams/telexes/faxes/express and airmail letters:

- calling for a thorough and impartial investigation to be carried out
without delay into the events in Sirnak between 18 and 21 August
1992, in particular all killings and wounding of civilians, including those
named above, by the security forces, and for its findings to be made
public;

- urging that all steps are taken to ensure that those held in police
custody are not ill-treated.

APPEALS TO:

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 PRIME MINISTER; + 90 4 230 88 96
(attn: Prime Minister)

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

Emergency Legislation Governor:

Mr nal Erkan             [Salutation: Dear Governor]
Olaganustu Hal Valisi
Diyarbakir, Turkey
Telegrams:        Olaganustu Hal Valisi, Diyarbakir, Turkey
Telexes:   72110 OHVT TR; 72084 DYVA TR  "please forward to the
Governor"; 72090 JASY TR

Governor of Sirnak Province:

Mr Mustafa Malay          [Salutation: Dear Governor]
Sirnak Valiligi
Sirnak, Turkey
Telegrams:        Sirnak Valisi, Sirnak, Turkey

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 for Turkey in your country - see 
the responses to this topic for further details.

PLEASE SEND APPEALS IMMEDIATELY.