From root at newsdesk.aps.nl Sat Apr 1 10:03:16 1995 From: root at newsdesk.aps.nl (root at newsdesk.aps.nl) Date: 01 Apr 1995 10:03:16 Subject: HIrgUr MUstemleke; Sanki Fiyasko Ha References: Message-ID: From: newsdesk at newsdesk.aps.nl (Newsdesk Amsterdam) Subject: Re: HIrgUr MUstemleke; Sanki Fiyasko Haberler, 31/3/95, 09:00 TSI Reply-To: root at newsdesk.aps.nl (2) Turkish Targets Firebombed FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) -- Police detained four Kurdish militants Thursday after firebombs were hurled into Turkish travel agencies, shops, mosques and meeting halls in 15 German cities. A travel agency in Zurich, Switzerland was also firebombed Thursday. More than 100 firebombings have hit Turkish targets in Germany this month, leading to complaints from Turkish business and government officials that Germany isn't doing enough to protect the two million-strong Turkish minority. Officials have promised more police action. But the leftist opposition has said there would be less Kurdish terrorism in Germany if Chancellor Helmut Kohl did more to push Turkey to end alleged rights abuses against Kurds in their homeland. The Marxist Kurdistan Workers Party, or PKK, which is fighting for a Kurdish homeland, is thought to be responsible for many of the attacks. Some 35,000 Turkish troops have invaded northern Iraq, an area controlled by Iraqi Kurds who want independence from Saddam Hussein's government, to destroy PKK camps. The firebombings in Germany have intensified since the start of Turkey's military offensive in northern Iraq against PKK fighters. Four Turkish Kurds aged 20 to 28 were arrested with a Molotov cocktail in their car in Bad Hersfeld, in central Germany. Thirty-two of the 44 suspects arrested for the attacks this month had links to the PKK, said Herbert Schnoor, the interior minister in North Rhine-Westfalia state. Schnoor promised more protection for the 1,300 mosques in his state, but added, "the attacks are no more likely to be halted by police than the conflict in Turkey is to be solved by military means." (3) Turkey Considers Troop Options ANKARA, Turkey (AP) -- Turkey wants to keep its troops in northern Iraq under U.S. command as a way to consolidate its offensive against rebels yet answer Western concerns over civilian casualties, an official said Thursday. Turkey suggested the idea in meetings this week with U.S. officials in Ankara and Washington, said an official familiar with the meetings. The official asked not to be named. More than 35,000 troops invaded northern Iraq on March 20 to wipe out Kurdish rebel camps used to attack Turkey. The military says 269 rebels and 17 Turkish soldiers have died since then. The area is controlled by Iraqi Kurds who want independence from Saddam Hussein's government. Turkey has promised to leave the region after rebel bases are eliminated, but wants to ensure the guerrillas don't come back. The United States has been protecting Iraqi Kurds with air patrols since the Persian Gulf War in what is known as Operation Provide Comfort. Prime Minister Tansu Ciller's chief adviser, Emre Gonensay, was quoted by the Turkish press as saying Wednesday that "the most likely option to form a security mechanism in northern Iraq seems to involve Provide Comfort." "We do not want Provide Comfort to expand or internationalize. But we shall see what we can do with it," said Gonensay, who was in Washington. At the Pentagon, however, spokesman Kenneth Bacon denied that such a proposal had been made to the U.S. military. And in any case, the Pentagon would not be in favor of such an idea, Baon said, noting that Turkish officials have said the incursion would not be lengthy. "We can't accept a permanent extension of this effort," he said. Western countries have pressured Turkey to withdraw because of concern for the safety of civilians. Germany has imposed an arms embargo and the United States has increased its criticism of the operation. Allegations the Turkish army was harrassing civilians mounted Thursday when about 40 Iraqi Kurds arrived at a military coordination center run by a Turkish diplomat to lodge complaints. They were told to relay them to local Iraqi Kurdish authorities. Turkey denies harming civilians, and the government said it is taking care to protect them. But the international Red Cross said Thursday that Turkey was refusing it access to the combat zone. The Red Cross said in a statement from Geneva that it was "unable to carry out an impartial and independent survey of the situation of civilians, nor can it act on behalf of the wounded and captives." Meanwhile, a third U.N. convoy brought about 525 Turkish Kurdish refugees from the Iraqi border town of Zakho to refugee camps farther south Thursday. In southeastern Turkey, 33 rebels had been killed in clashes with the army between Wednesday and Thursday, the Anatolia news agency quoted the regional governor's office as saying. The rebels have been fighting for autonomy since 1984, and more than 15,000 people have died in the war. (4) Turks accused of killing boy, 18, on Iraqi street By Suna Erdem ZAKHO, Iraq, March 30 (Reuter) - Iraqi Kurdish villagers besieged a Turkish complaints centre on Thursday, saying they had seen Turkish troops on an anti-rebel drive murder an 18-year-old boy on a village street. But a Turkish envoy at the centre, set up to resolve problems between Kurdish civilians and the army, said the legitimacy of alleged abuses would have to be checked out. He said complaints were often "exaggerated." "I saw everything," said villager Sarket Abet, whose son Imat, 19, was shot and wounded on Sunday in the Hamzika village incident in which Ali Jarjis, 18, was killed. "They were coming back from Kidish village and a large group of Turkish soldiers stopped them on the street in Hamzika and questioned them for two hours. Then the soldiers told them to go away. The pair got 10 metres away before the soldiers threw stones at them. Then they shot at them with guns," Abet said. "His brother was killed," Abet told reporters while pointing at villager Ferhan Jarjis, 29. Jarjis, among a group of 40 civilians who showed up in a minibus and cars to complain at the centre in the Iraqi border town of Zakho, produced what he said was a death certificate for his brother from Amadiyah hospital. Turkish troops swept into northern Iraq on March 20, hunting for rebels of the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) who are fighting for statehood in southeast Turkey. Ankara set up the complaints centre three days ago in the face of international pressure to safeguard civilians. Britain, France, Germany, the United States and the Baghdad office of the United Nations have joined a chorus placing the unprecedented drive by 35,000 troops on the world agenda. The Turkish envoy, Mufit Ozdes of the foreign ministry, told Turkish reporters: "We have to check the reports because they're really exaggerated." He said the centre had to "ensure incorrect information doesn't get out." Ozdes, who slips over from Turkey to visit the centre for a few hours daily, said all complaints had to go first to a local administrator who would refer only the "relevant" ones to him. But a senior Iraqi Kurd official meant to vet the villagers' complaints said he received complaints all the time. "We have made formal applications to Mr Mufit. I have spoken to him many times," the official told Reuters, waving a stack of complaints in the air. The villagers, who complained about the killing, bombings of their villages, property damage and other alleged harassment, left disappointed. One of them, asked if they were satisfied their complaints were being handled, said: "Well, we haven't had a reply yet, have we now?" ------------------------------------------------------- * Activists Press Service (Newsdesk) * newsdesk at aps.nl !Power to the people! ------------------------------------------------------- From info at aps.nl Thu Apr 20 17:19:08 1995 From: info at aps.nl (info at aps.nl) Date: 20 Apr 1995 17:19:08 Subject: No Subject Given References: Message-ID: From: local at aps.nl Subject: Reply-To: info at aps.nl testing the mailinglist We are installing a mailinglistprogram with the possibility to (UN)subscribe on kurdeng at aps.nl Biji Kurdistan From kurd-l at burn.ucsd.edu Fri Apr 21 15:17:05 1995 From: kurd-l at burn.ucsd.edu (kurd-l at burn.ucsd.edu) Date: 21 Apr 1995 15:17:05 Subject: No Subject Given References: Message-ID: Reply-To: kurd-l at burn.ucsd.edu From: Subject: Welcome to the Kurdeng mailing list. Please send all submissions to the list to kurdeng at aps.nl You may leave the list at any time by sending a "SIGNOFF kurdeng" command to info at aps.nl Please note that this command must NOT be sent to the list address (kurdeng at aps.nl, but to the mail server which handles this mailing list. The amount of acknowledgement you wish to receive from this list after submitting an e-mail can be changed using the "ECHOMAIL kurdeng" and "NOECHOMAIL kurdeng" commands. The ECHOMAIL command forces the mailing list to send a copy of the mail back to you. The NOECHOMAIL command turns this off. The default upon joining this list is NOECHOMAIL. More information on MailServer commands can be found in the "MailServer HELP", which you can retrieve by sending a "HELP" command to info at aps.nl ABOUT THE MALINGLIST The need for this mailinglist rose because it turned out not everyone on the Internet has acces to soc.culture.kurdish (We have been told). Others thought it would be good to keep a shadowmailing list just in case soc.culture.kurdish would be blocked. Other people did no longer wish to receive the news the list provided. Therefore we installed a mailinglist program to enable the readers to subscribe or unsubscribe. The news on this list will be news on Kurdistan. We will put mainstream news here and everything which serves the Kurdish struggle. Biji Kurdistan -- KURDENG at APS.NL From info at aps.nl Thu Apr 20 23:25:44 1995 From: info at aps.nl (info at aps.nl) Date: 20 Apr 1995 23:25:44 Subject: AI: Turkey bulletin References: Message-ID: From: tabe at newsdesk.aps.nl Subject: Re: AI: Turkey bulletin Reply-To: info at aps.nl ---------- Forwarded from : Ray Mitchel ---------- +------------------------------------------------------+ + AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL URGENT ACTION BULLETIN + + Electronic distribution authorised + + This bulletin expires: 1 June 1995. + +------------------------------------------------------+ EXTERNAL (for general distribution) AI Index: EUR 44/52/95 Distr: UA/SC 20 April 1995 Further information on UA 450/94 (EUR 44/157/94, 22 December 1994) - Prisoners of Conscience and follow-ups (EUR 44/04/95, 6 January; EUR 44/12/95, 13 January; EUR 44/27/95, 6 February; EUR 44/38/95, 1 March; EUR/39/95, EUR 44/39/95, 10 March 1995. TURKEY: Mahmut Sakar, secretary of Diyarbakir branch of the Turkish Human Rights Association (HRA) Nimetullah Gunduz, lawyer, board member of Diyarbakir HRA Abdullah Cager, lawyer, board member of Diyarbakir HRA Melike Alp (f), board member of Diyarbakir HRA Sinan Tanrikulu, lawyer, member of Diyarbakir HRA Firat Anli, lawyer, member of Diyarbakir HRA Hanifi Isik, teacher, member of Diyarbakir HRA Serif Atmaca, member of Diyarbakir HRA Servet Ayhan, lawyer, member of Diyarbakir HRA Mahmut Sakar, Nimetullah Gunduz, Abdullah Cager, and Melike Alp were released on Monday 17 April after a hearing at Diyarbakir State Security Court. The next hearing of their continuing trial will be on 12 June. Congratulations and thanks to all who appealed on their behalf. The indictment against Sinan Tanrikulu, Firat Anli, Hanifi Isik, Serif Atmaca, and Servet Ayhan has now been prepared. They will appear at the first hearing of their trial on 1 May, on charges of membership of the armed illegal organisation, the PKK. Further information on the releases will follow. Meanwhile, please continue appeals for the five boardmembers of Diyarbakir Human Rights Association who remain in custody. ----------------------------- End forwarded message -------------------------- From info at aps.nl Mon Apr 24 21:23:12 1995 From: info at aps.nl (info at aps.nl) Date: 24 Apr 1995 21:23:12 Subject: AI: Turkey bulletin References: Message-ID: From: tabe at newsdesk.aps.nl Subject: Re: AI: Turkey bulletin Reply-To: info at aps.nl ---------- Forwarded from : Ray Mitchel ---------- +------------------------------------------------------+ + AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL URGENT ACTION BULLETIN + + Electronic distribution authorised + +------------------------------------------------------+ EXTERNAL (for general distribution) AI Index: EUR 44/54/95 Distr: UA/SC 24 April 1995 Further information on UA 92/95 (EUR 44/51/95, 13 April 1995) - Fear of Torture TURKEY Ramazan Avsar Sait Avsar Ilhan Avsar Sedat Avsar Hasip Avsar Amnesty International has learned that Ramazan Avsar, Sait Avsar and Ilhan Avsar appeared in court on 20 April 1995 and were remanded in custody until a date is set for their trial. No further action is required on their behalf at present. Thanks to all those who sent appeals. However, we would ask you to please continue appeals on behalf of Sedat Avsar and Hasip Avsar, as detailed in the original action. +-----------------------------------------------------------+ + If you would like information about the Urgent Action + + network or Amnesty International in general, please + + contact one of the following: + + + + Ray Mitchell, rmitchellai at gn.apc.org (UK) + + Scott Harrison, sharrison at igc.apc.org (USA) + + Guido Gabriel, ggabriel at amnesty.cl.sub.de (Germany) + + Marilyn McKim, aito at web.apc.org (Canada) + +-----------------------------------------------------------+ ----------------------------- End forwarded message -------------------------- From info at aps.nl Thu Apr 27 22:32:25 1995 From: info at aps.nl (info at aps.nl) Date: 27 Apr 1995 22:32:25 Subject: AI: Turkey bulletin References: Message-ID: From: tabe at newsdesk.aps.nl Subject: Re: AI: Turkey bulletin Reply-To: info at aps.nl ---------- Forwarded from : Ray Mitchel ---------- +------------------------------------------------------+ + AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL URGENT ACTION BULLETIN + + Electronic distribution authorised + + This bulletin expires: 8 June 1995. + +------------------------------------------------------+ EXTERNAL (for general distribution) AI Index: EUR 44/56/95 Distr: UA/SC 27 April 1995 Further information (7) on UA 450/94 (EUR 44/157/94, 22 December 1994) and follow-ups (EUR 44/04/95, 6 January 1995; EUR44/12/95, 13 January; EUR 44/27/95, 6 February; EUR 44/38/95, 1 March; EUR 44/39/95, 10 March; EUR 44/52/95, 20 April) - Prisoners of Conscience TURKEY Mahmut Sakar, secretary of Diyabakir branch of the Turkish Human Rights Association (HRA) Nimetullah Gunduz, lawyer, board member of Diyarbakir HRA Abdullah Cager, lawyer, board member of Diyarbakir HRA Melike Alp (f), board member of Diyarbakir HRA Sinan Tanrikulu, lawyer, member of Diyarbakir HRA Firat Anli, lawyer, member of Diyarbakir HRA Hanifi Isik, teacher, member of Diyarbakir HRA Servet Ayhan, lawyer, member of Diyarbakir HRA * Serif Atmaca, member of Diyarbakir HRA - see correction below Amnesty International has received further information concerning the treatment of Sinan Tanrikulu and Firat Anli after they were taken into custody on 27 February 1995 for interrogation at the Gendarmerie Regimental Headquarters in Diyarbakir. According to their account of their ten days in incommunicado police custody, both men were tightly blindfolded with filthy rags, day and night, throughout their period in detention. Sinan Tanrikulu noted that his blindfold covered both his eyes and nose, and made breathing difficult. Both men were obliged to sit and sleep on a cold concrete floor. Sleep was almost impossible due to music being played very loud 24 hours a day. They were only allowed to visit the toilet twice a day for a very brief time - while a gendarme counted to 20 outside the cubicle. They were also only fed once every 24 hours with stale bread, and were only able to drink water while on the way to the toilet. Both men were reportedly frequently beaten, cursed and pushed around. Sinan Tanrikulu noted that the beatings were particularly severe because they were lawyers who had acted for the defence in cases against alleged members of the Kurdish Workers' Party (PKK) - the gendarmerie accused them of "defending terrorists". Sinan Tanrikulu reported that during interrogation he was sprayed with high pressure cold water and that his testicles were squeezed. He was threatened with further tortures, such as hanging by the arms and electric shocks if he did not sign incriminating statements. When the two were brought to court on 9 March 1995 the judge refused to hear any testimony from them. They were immediately removed from the court and only informed later that they had been formally charged. Their next appearance in court is scheduled for 1 May 1995. Sinan Tanrikulu, Firat Anli, Hanifi Isik and Servet Ayhan, will appear in court on 1 May for the first hearing of their trial where they are indicted with six others for alleged membership of the PKK. Amnesty International believes that these four have been targeted because of their work as defenders of human rights. * CORRECTION TO UPDATE OF 20 APRIL (EUR 44/52/95) * Please note that Serif Atmaca is not being held in detention but was released on 9 March. We apologise for this error. THANK TO THE NETWORK The lawyer Mahmut Sakar, who was released on 17 April, has expressed gratitude for the actions taken by Amnesty International members and members of the Urgent Action Network, including demonstrations in Norway and the USA, which he had heard about. He said that international attention, including the attendance of an Amnesty International delegate at the first hearing of his trial, had contributed to his release and that of the other three members of Diyarbakir HRA board released the same day. Melike Alp received many letters from Urgent Action network members in Diyarbakir Central Closed Prison. Letters to the three males in Diyarbakir E-Type Prison did not arrive, however, and may have been intercepted. +-----------------------------------------------------------+ + Supporters of Amnesty International around the world are + + writing urgent appeals in response to the concerns + + described above. If you would like to join with them in + + this action or have any queries about the Urgent Action + + network or Amnesty International in general, please + + contact one of the following: + + + + Ray Mitchell, rmitchellai at gn.apc.org (UK) + + Scott Harrison, sharrison at igc.apc.org (USA) + + Guido Gabriel, ggabriel at amnesty.cl.sub.de (Germany) + + Marilyn McKim, aito at web.apc.org (Canada) + +-----------------------------------------------------------+ ----------------------------- End forwarded message -------------------------- From root at newsdesk.aps.nl Sat Apr 1 10:08:31 1995 From: root at newsdesk.aps.nl (root at newsdesk.aps.nl) Date: 01 Apr 1995 10:08:31 Subject: Fr, 31.03.1995 20:00 MESZ Message-ID: From: newsdesk at newsdesk.aps.nl (Newsdesk Amsterdam) Subject: Re: Fr, 31.03.1995 20:00 MESZ Reply-To: root at newsdesk.aps.nl - Fortsetzung der Gewaltserie gegen tuerkische Einrichtungen Seit fast drei Wochen werden Nacht fuer Nacht tuerkische Einrichtungen in Deutschland in Brand gesetzt. Die Polizei sucht die unbekannten Taeter in den Kreisen der verbotenen Arbeiterpartei Kurdistans, PKK. Sie vermutet aber auch, dass teilweise auch rechtsextreme Kriminelle dahinterstehen. In Ehrlenbach bei Aschaffenburg war ein tuerkisches Reisebuero Ziel eines Brandanschlags. Anwohner hatten um Mitternacht Scheiben klirren hoeren. Kurz darauf stand das Gebaeude in Flammen. Verletzt wurde niemand. Vermutlich hatten die Taeter durch die Frontscheiben des Gebaeudes Brandkoerper in das Innere des Gebaeudes geschleudert und dadurch das Feuer ausgeloest. Trotz des sofortigen Einsatzes der oertlichen Feuerwehr wurde das Reisebuero vollstaendig zerstoert. Der Sachschaden belaeuft sich auf mehere 10.000 DM. Trotz Grossfahndung fehlt von den Taetern bisher jede Spur. Im Nordrhein-westfaelischen Elsdorf(sp?) bei Bergheim brannte die Lagerhalle einer tuerkischen Kleiderfabrik bis auf die Mauern nieder. Menschen wurden nicht verletzt. Der Sachschaden belaeuft sich auf 250.000 DM. Auch hier konnten die Taeter fluechten. In Ulm fand die Polizei vor einem tuerkischen Geschaeft einen Brandsatz, der aber nicht explodierte. - Unser Algerien am Bosporus (Sueddeutsche Zeitung, 31.3.1995) Wer in diesen TAgen eine deutsche und eine tuerkische Tageszeitung aufschlaegt, und ihre politischen Seiten miteinander vergleicht, der wird wenig Unterschiede finden: Ankaras Militaeroperation im Irak, deutsche Schuetzenpanzer, kurdische Newroz-Feiern und alewitische Proteste, Abschiebungen von Kurden aus Deutschland und Brandanschlaege auf Tuerken in Deutschland - es sind dieselben Themen, welche die oeffentliche Debatte in beiden Staaten beherrschen. Fuer die franzoesische, die britische oder gar die amerikanische Presse stehen ganz andere Themen im Vordergrund. Der kleine Zeitungstest zeigt: Von einer multikulturellen Gesellschaft mag die Bundesrepublik Deutschland noch weit entfernt sein, doch eine bi-kulturelle deutsch-tuerkische Schicksalsgemeinschaft gibt es bereits. Jedes Ereignis in der Tuerkei hat direkte Auswirkungen auf Deutschland und Bonner Beschluesse beeinflussen so manches Mal die Politik in Ankara. Zu keinem anderem Staat hat die Bundesrepublik - ob es ihren Bewohnern nun gefaellt oder nicht - ein engeres, ein persoenliches, ein emotionaleres Verhaeltnis als zur Tuerkei. Bei allen Unterschieden: Das Verhaeltnis aehnelt dem Frankreichs zu seinen ehemaligen nordafrikanischen Kolonien. Unser Algerien liegt am Bosporus. Knapp zwei Millionen Tuerken und Kurden leben zwischen Flensburg und Berchtesgaden, zum Teil schon in der dritten oder vierten Generation. Sie gehen zur Schule und zur Universitaet, sie heiraten hier, sie zeugen Kinder und lassen sich hier begraben. Es sind fleissige, gesetzestreue Buerger, auf die Staat und Wirtschaft nicht verzichten koennen: Jedes Jahr zaheln sie 3.4 Milliarden DM an den Fiskus und weitere drei Milliarden in die staatliche Rentenversicherung. Waehrend der ersten Runde des Solidarzuschlags foerderten sie den Aufbau Ost mit einer halben Milliarde. Auch als Konsumenten sind sie unentbehrlich - mit jaehrlich zehn Milliarden Mark foerden sie den Umsatz des deutschen Einzelhandels. Aus all diesen Gruenden muesste es eigentlich selbstverstaendlich sein, dass es in Deutschland ein zusammenhaengendes, durchdachtes Konzept fuer die Tuerkei und fuer die Tuerken in unserem Land gibt. Es sollte eine Politik sein, die Augenmass, Realismus, eigene politische und wirtschaftliche Interessen sowie jene des Partners miteinander verknuepft; eine Politik zudem, die stellvertretend fuer die Freunde in der Europaeischen Union formuliert und umgesetzt wird; eine Politik schliesslich, die von den Kenntnissen und dem Sachverstand jener tuerkischen Mitbuerger profitiert, die seit Jahren unter uns leben. Doch von alledem ist nichts zu spueren, wie die vergangenen Wochen erneut gezeigt haben. Noch immer scheinen zwei Emotionen vorzuherrschen: Die einen scheinen peinlich davon beruehrt zu sein, dass die Nachkriegsentwicklung die Deutschen ausgerechnet mit den Tuerken so innig verknuepft hat; andere bauen die Tuerkei als Kulisse auf, in der man seine eigenen innenpolitischen Dramoletten auffuehren kann. So kommt es, dass die deutsche Tuerkeipolitik (oder was man dafuer haelt) zu grossen Teilen entweder an rechtsreaktionaeren Stammtischen oder in linksillusionaeren Selbsterfahrungsgruppen vorformuliert wird. Die einen sehen in jedem Kurden einen mutmasslichen Terroristen, der unverzueglich abgeschoben gehoert. Die anderen vermuten in jedem tuerkischen Gemuesehaendler einen Voelkermoerder, der daheim kurdische Haeftlinge gefoltert hat. Diese Widersprueche komme am besten in der Reaktionen auf Brandanschlaege auf tuerkische Geschaefte zum Ausdruck. STammen die Taeter aus dem deutschen Skin-Umfeld, ist die Betroffenheit - voellig zu Recht - gross; sind Kurden die mutmasslichen Urheber, haelt sich die Empoerung - voellig zu Unrecht - in Grenzen. Fuer unsere Mitbuerger indes macht es keinen Unterschied, wer hinter dem Anschlag steht: Sie fuehlen sich ungeschuetzt und unsicher. Genauso widerspruechlich ist die offizielle Politik Bonns gegenueber Ankara. Ein Minister (Kanther) konstatiert die Einhaltung von Menschenrechtsstandards, ein anderer (Kinkel) beklagt die Verletzung dieser Normen. Ein Minister (Ruehe) liefert regulaer Waffen an einen NATO-Partner, ein anderer (abermals Kinkel) will dem Verbuendeten ihren Einsatz verbieten - aber nicht wegen der Kurden, sonder nur, weil er es sich mit der oeffentlichen Meinung zu Hause nicht verderben will. Am Ende bleibt ein Kompromiss, der nichts bedeutet und nichts bewirkt: Die Tuerken bekommen vorerst keine Bergungspanzer und keine Kriegsschiffe. Es gehoert schon eine gehoerige Portion Chuzpe dazu, die Oeffentlichkeit fuer so dumm verkaufen zu wollen. Denn das letzte Schiff, das in Kurdistan gesichtet wurde, hiess "Arche" und wurde von einem gewissen Noah kommandiert. Militaerisch haette auch sie keine Rolle gespielt; sie war bekanntlich gestrandet. Wer mit derart vielen Zungen redet wie die Deutschen, der darf sich nicht wundern, wenn sein Gespraechspartner gar nicht mehr zuhoert. Bonn aber muss sich in Ankara Gehoer verschaffen - im eigenen Interesse, im Interesse der europaeischen Partner, und im Interesse der zwei Millionen Deutschen tuerkischer Herkunft. Bonn hat die Verantwortung, die aus der "special relationship" mit Ankara erwaechst, nicht angestrebt. Aber es ist zu spaet, sich aus ihr davonzustehlen. ------------------------------------------------------- * Activists Press Service (Newsdesk) * newsdesk at aps.nl !Power to the people! ------------------------------------------------------- From root at newsdesk.aps.nl Sat Apr 1 10:08:37 1995 From: root at newsdesk.aps.nl (root at newsdesk.aps.nl) Date: 01 Apr 1995 10:08:37 Subject: Jane's Intel' Review: April 1, Message-ID: From: newsdesk at newsdesk.aps.nl (Newsdesk Amsterdam) Subject: Re: Jane's Intel' Review: April 1, '95: Turkey: The Kurdish Pit (fwd) Reply-To: root at newsdesk.aps.nl ----------- Forwarded from : MSA ------------ _______________________________________________________________________________ Views expressed on MSANEWS do not necessarily represent those of MSANEWS, the Ohio State University or any of our associated staff and "WATCHERS". MSANEWS is a medium of exchange of news and analyses (standard and alternative) on Muslim World affairs. Information provided for "fair use only." For subscriptions/suggestions drop a note at msanews-request at magnus.acs.ohio-state.edu _______________________________________________________________________________ Jane's Intelligence Review April 1, 1995 SECTION: MIDDLE EAST; Vol. 7; No. 4; Pg. 170 HEADLINE: Turkey's Kurdish Conflict By Christopher Panico Christopher Panico is a Research Associate for a private institution based in Washington, USA. BODY: Since late March 1994, the Turkish military has been on the offensive both within Turkey and in northern Iraq against the Kurdistan Workers' Party (Partia Karkaren Kurdistan - PKK). Both sides have been locked in a 10-year struggle, with most of the fighting occurring in the largely Kurdish regions of mountainous southeastern Turkey. (See also JIR, Vol 5, No 1, pp 29-32, and JIR Yearbook, pp 81-84.) Ten provinces in this area have been under emergency decree since 1987, ruled by a so-called 'Super Vali' or governor, Unal Erkan, based in Diyarbakir. Isolated PKK attacks and security countermeasures have developed into a conflict which has consumed an estimated 13000 lives, with over half the losses coming in the past year or so. The Turkish government has vowed to bring an end to the PKK. In September 1994, the Turkish interior minister, Nahit Mentese, stated that the PKK was 'in a process of decline' after having suffered huge losses thanks to the government's counter-insurgency offensives. In fact, in an interview with the Brussels daily De Morgen, the PKK's main spokesman in Europe, Kani Yilmaz, admitted that the PKK had suffered 'severe blows', but he stated that new recruits were 'streaming' to the PKK's ranks. On 28 November, the PKK called for a cease-fire, but Prime Minister Tansu Ciller rejected the call, stating that, 'Our road is clear - we will continue like this'. A unilateral PKK cease-fire in March 1993 ended two months later when a guerrilla unit killed 33 unarmed Turkish soldiers after stopping their bus at a road block. The government also rejected a PKK cease-fire offer in March 1994, calling it a 'tactical' move. Turkey's Military Plan The coalition government of Prime Minister Ciller has been extremely weak vis-a-vis the military establishment in a state that has experienced three coups in the last 34 years. After taking office in mid-1993, she gave former chief of the General Staff Dogan Gures a free hand to pursue a military solution to the conflict in southeastern Turkey. Security forces would pursue a two-pronged strategy, namely a rural pacification programme to dry-up the PKK's logistical 'sea', combined with offensives against the guerrillas' mountain bases both in Turkey and northern Iraq. Gures, who retired in August 1994, termed the former approach the 'go hungry and surrender strategy'. Only after the PKK is defeated would the government institute economic or cultural reforms in the region, according to Volkan Vural, one of Ciller's advisers. Turkey's rural pacification programme in its southeastern provinces is built largely around the village guards system, first instituted in 1985. There are presently 45000-50000 village guards. Armed with automatic rifles and radios, these civil patrols initially only guarded their settlements to deter PKK forays for food and shelter. Now, they play a more active role in fighting. Ninety per cent of all village guards come from villages where the traditional tribal (asiret) system still functions. While the state forces many to serve as village guards, several large tribes such as the Jirki, Gevdan, Mamguran, Giravi, and Goran in Hakkari and Sirnak provinces participate in the system voluntarily. The PKK has targeted village guards, often attacking them and killing whole families. Security forces, on the other hand, target villages that refuse to enter the village guard system or give food or shelter to PKK fighters or are suspected of doing so. Villagers are forced out of their homes, and the structures and fields are often burned and destroyed. Arbitrary detention frequently accompanies such actions. Since the conflict began, an estimated 1400 villages and hamlets have been depopulated and two million have been displaced, though some have left the region for economic reasons. Yilmaz has stated that many of the villagers affected were part of the PKK's militia system of part-time fighters and activists. Most of the displaced, however, were simply caught between the state and the PKK. The Turkish government denies that security forces burn villages, with the interior minister recently claiming that PKK fighters dressed in army fatigues were to blame. In October 1994, however, the minister for human rights, Azimet Koyluoglu, called the burning of villages in Tunceli province 'state terrorism'. Ankara began a series of military offensives against PKK mountain strongholds immediately after Turkey's local elections in March 1994. These campaigns, which continue today, are directed at PKK bases in northern Iraq, as well as against PKK staging areas in the Munzur, Gabar, Tendurek, Cudi, Agri and Tunceli regions, in addition to the Bingol mountain ranges, within Turkey. Turkish forces sought to create a buffer zone separating PKK bases in Turkey from those in northern Iraq. Most land operations in northern Iraq consisted of cross-border raids, but air strikes have reached deep into Iraqi territory, hitting PKK camps near Badawan in Suleymaniyah province, 230 km over the border. Some of the PKK's Turkish camps, such as those in Mount Cudi at the confluence of the Turkish, Iraqi and Syrian borders, provided easy access to foreign bases. Several of these regions, especially those on Tendurek and Agri mountains, were declared 'restricted military areas', a sort of free-fire zone. All those who lived on the mountains were removed, and anyone who returned was fired on. There were frequent reports of civilians being killed by stray artillery fire and air bombardment, and in the spring of 1994 an estimated 12000-14000 ethnic Kurds left their villages in Turkey for northern Iraq, reportedly to escape bombing raids and artillery barrages. Heavy bombardments proceed land operations, with artillery, AH-1 Cobra gunships, and F-16, F-104, F-4 fixed-wing aircraft all providing fire support. In the early part of last year, it was reported that two squadrons of F-16s would be transferred to Diyarbakir, southeastern Turkey's main administrative city, for use in operations against the PKK. Since 1986, Turkey has co-produced, with Lockheed, F-16s in a factory outside of Ankara. Production for the Turkish air force is expected to total 240 aircraft; an additional 46 planes are earmarked for export to Egypt. Turkey has recently received surplus AH-1 attack helicopters and F-4 Phantoms from German and US stockpiles; in November, Dasa set-up a Turkish subsidiary with an eye on Turkey's US$500 million F-4 modernization programme but the contract went to the Israeli Aircraft Industries in January. After considerable artillery preparation, troops are then airlifted to remote areas or more likely disembark from armoured personnel carriers and trucks, and walk into the mountains to hunt the guerrillas because of Turkey's shortage of helicopters. With their knowledge of local terrain, village guards sometimes act as scouts. The military also claims that so-called 'repentant guerrillas' (itirafci) are key in providing intelligence and reconnaissance support. The scale of combined land-air operations can reach division and corp strength: an estimated 10000 troops took part in an offensive in northern Iraq a year ago, while close to 40000 were reported active in fighting in Tunceli province in the autumn of 1994. The Turkish military has invested considerable resources in southeastern Turkey in its bid to defeat the PKK. Roughly 20 per cent of Turkey's US$41 billion loan from the USA in 1994 was allocated to fighting the PKK. According to recent statements by Defence Minister Mehmet Golhan, 220000 soldiers and 50000 special forces - such as commandos from the mountain warfare school in Bolu - are on duty in the region along with the village guards. They face an estimated 10000-30000 PKK fighters. The CFE treaty allows Turkey to maintain 530000 troops for 1994. The Turkish Gendarmerie (Jandarma), a paramilitary rural police force ostensibly under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of the Interior, takes part in fighting. Filling manpower levels has become increasingly difficult - conscripts scheduled for discharge in January 1994 were ordered to serve an additional three months, reserve officers another four - in order to fill a shortfall of 50000 troops. In July and October 1994, the discharge of conscripts was again postponed to prevent, according to the Defence Ministry, 'the terrorist organization...reorganizing its personnel, training, and logistics operations during the winter months'. In October 1994, the ministry announced that Military Law 1111, which allows young men to pay a set amount in lieu of military service, would not be implemented 'for a long time' because of manpower shortfalls. At the end of December, Defence Minister Golhan submitted a decree to the president raising service from 15 to 18 months for privates, and from 12 to 16 months for reserve officers. Of all the varied security forces deployed in southeastern Turkey, special teams (Ozel Tim or Ozel Herakati Tim) play an important role in military operations. Under the jurisdiction of the Interior Ministry, the Ozel Tim are instructed to fight the PKK with their own tactics, namely to go into the mountains and bring the fight to the PKK with ambushes and lightening attacks. In November 1993, Prime Minister Ciller announced that 'Special mobile teams of commandos are being trained to fight the militants with their own methods....The first stage will be complete in January and we aim to bring their numbers to 10000 as soon as possible.' Present estimates of the size of Ozel Tim range from 15000 to 20000. Many special team members speak Kurdish, and are often masked. There have been reoccurring charges that Ozel Tim soldiers are recruited mainly from members or sympathizers of the National Action Party (Milli Hareket Partisi - MHP). MHP is a right-wing, pan-Turkist, nationalist party headed by Alparslan Turkes, a retired army colonel who played a key role in Turkey's coup in 1960. Supporters of the party, so called 'Grey Wolves' (Bozkurt) and 'Idealists' (Ulkuculer), were linked with right-wing death squads during the political violence of the 1970s. Both the PKK and the Turkish military have distinct tactical advantages over each other. The PKK can never match the military's firepower, especially from the air, and it seems that the guerrillas have no effective anti-aircraft weaponry like the Stinger missile that proved so decisive in Afghanistan. On 13 January, however, a UH-60A Black Hawk helicopter went down in Diyarbakir province, killing six. Military authories attributed the crash to technical difficulties, while the PKK claimed to have shot down the aircraft. The Turkish army can also mass strength in any one given area, like the ongoing offensive in Tunceli province, where 40000 Turkish soldiers face 2000-3000 guerrillas. The PKK, however, has terrain and good knowledge of it on its side. Mountains several thousand metres high, honey-combed with thousands of caves, make virtually impregnable camps. In spite of the military's use of local Kurdish village guards and so-called 'repentant guerrillas' as scouts, the majority of forces deployed are conscripts from outside the region. In late October, for example, a reconnaissance patrol of eight commandos was ambushed and wiped out by guerrillas in Tunceli, according to security forces. The PKK also probably enjoys better intelligence because of its growing popularity in the region: even if villagers do not provide active information to the guerrillas, they are unlikely to inform the security forces of PKK movements either out of support for the PKK or fear. The military balance sheet is still not clear from Turkey's latest gambit to defeat the PKK. The PKK is less active in urban population centres in the southeast than it was two years ago, and intifada-style demonstrations and shop closures are a thing of the past. Sources close to the PKK say the guerrilla group has beat a 'tactical retreat' to spare the civilian population government reprisals like those which the security forces meted out in Sirnak in 1992 and in Lice in 1993. But the PKK is still able to mount small operations in many rural areas, such as setting up road blocks, raiding village guard settlements, and attacking isolated military outposts. One attack against a military outpost in Bingol province in August 1994, for example, killed 11 soldiers. PKK units also seem well supplied with ammunition, radios, light weapons, mortars, mines, as well as light and heavy machine guns. A Turkish officer involved in a counter-insurgency campaign in October in Tunceli province complained of the PKK's ample munitions stock. The PKK is also able to plant bombs in many western Turkish cities. Although accurate casualty figures are the first victim in a conflict, Governor Erkan announced that 3905 PKK fighters had died in 1994, while security forces lost 900 dead; 900 civilians, according to Erkan, were killed. The PKK, for its part, claims diametrically opposite casualty figures. The PKK's Strategy and Tactics Once avowedly Marxist and separatist, the PKK and its leader, Abdullah Ocalan, seemed to have moved away from both positions. In an interview published in April 1994 in a pro-Kurdish Istanbul daily, Ozgur Gundem, Ocalan stated that, 'I do not think it appropriate to see Kurdish independence in the form of separation from Turkey, even if we reach the stage where we have the military power to realize that'. Ocalan has stated that the PKK would accept a federal solution. The PKK has also reportedly begun to colour its propaganda with Islamic tones. PKK fighters operate out of camps inside Turkey and in northern Iraq. Ocalan, who has built a cult of personality around himself, reportedly lives outside the Syrian capital. The organization is divided into two wings. The ARGK, the Peoples' Liberation Army of Kurdistan, constitutes a full-time guerrilla army fighting in the mountains, while the ERNK, a broad-based group, serves as the PKK's political front abroad but also includes urban cadres, recruiters and part-time fighters within Turkey. While the ERNK and ARGK each has its own command structure, there is movement of personnel between the two groups: an ERNK member can easily take to the mountains to become a guerrilla or can recruit ARGK fighters, while an ARGK fighter can be sent to Europe to work in an ERNK front organization. In late 1993, unofficial Turkish government figures put the PKK's strength at 7000-10000 full-time fighters (ARGK), 50000 militia, and 375000 sympathizers. In October 1994, an ERNK spokesman in Athens reported that the PKK had 30000 fighters, a figure that could rise to 50000 by 1995. The high level of violent displacement of ethnic Kurds by security forces in southeastern Turkey provides a ready manpower reserve for the PKK. By 1993, the PKK had achieved what it termed 'strategic defence', namely the ability to conduct small raids against security forces, build its organization, including bases, and conduct propaganda amongst the Kurds. In the November 1993 edition of its monthly journal, Serxwebun, the PKK announced it would soon enter a stage of 'strategic balance', where the organization would be able to carry out large-scale raids and create 'liberated zones'. A month earlier, Ocalan even spoke of conducting single attacks with as many as 1000 fighters. At its third national conference in March 1994, the PKK made the following declaration: 'The struggle which the PKK carries out has left the stage of strategic defence...It is inevitable that we escalate our struggle in response to Turkey's declaration of all-out war. Consequently, all economic, political, military, social and cultural organizations, institutions, formations - and those who serve in them - have become targets. The entire country has become a battlefield.' The PKK also promised to 'liquidate' or 'eliminate' political parties, 'imperialist' cultural and educational institutions, legislative and representative bodies, and 'all local collaborators and agents working for the Republic of Turkey in Kurdistan'. The PKK has targeted teachers, killing over 15 in late 1994. It often kidnaps tourists travelling in southeastern Turkey and has bombed tourist areas and other targets throughout the country. In 1993, it threatened to kill all journalists who continued working in southeastern Turkey; this effectively closed down all newspaper operations in the area. For a time, the only place one could purchase a newspaper was in a police station. Financing for the organization comes from voluntary donations from Kurds in Europe and in Turkey. Strong-arm tactics against businessmen and others in Europe and Turkey to extort money are also used, and 'taxes' are often levied in areas of strong PKK influence in Turkey. Recently, NV Turkse Shell, a subsidiary of Royal Dutch Shell, announced that it was ending its Turkish drilling operations largely centred in the southeast in part because of harassment and intimidation from the PKK. One German state opened an anonymous hotline to handle complaints of PKK intimidation. There have also been allegations of drug trafficking. Syria has assisted the PKK, evidenced by Ocalan's Syrian domicile and former training camps in the Bekaa Valley. This support, however, has waned recently. In 1992, Syria and Turkey signed an agreement in which Damascus pledged not to allow the PKK to launch attacks from its territory, and consequently two PKK training camps in the Bekaa were closed. While many observers believed that Syria had only half-heartedly implemented the accord at the start, more recently Damascus has taken its obligations more seriously. Last autumn, the PKK cancelled a news conference for foreign reporters in Lebanon because of Turkish pressure on Damascus. Reportedly, President Assad has decided to prioritize better relations with the West and with Turkey and restrict PKK activities in areas under Syrian control. Assad reconsidered his hands-off policy regarding the PKK, even though Syria has not solved its transnational water problem with Ankara. Turkey's ambitious US$32 billion Southeast Anatolian Project (GAP), a string of dams in southeastern Turkey, will regulate the flow of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers and thus Syria's water supply. Turkey's recent offensives seem to have blunted the PKK's move towards its self-proclaimed 'strategic balance'. While the PKK still carries out small-scale attacks, in an interview with a pro-Kurdish publication, Ozgur Ulke, in August, Ocalan admitted that, 'We, too, are aware of their security forces equipment and numerical strength, do not attack them in open warfare but we are able to maintain our existence for long periods wherever we wish.' In a recent edition of Serxwebun, Ocalan harshly criticized his field commanders for their military shortcomings. Attacks in the early months of 1995 seem to indicate a hardline faction in the PKK outside Ocalan's control. Turkey Seeks New Arms Markets Although largely equipped with Western military hardware, the Turkish armed forces have not forgotten the US military embargo which followed Turkey's invasion of Cyprus in 1974. Such memories were reinforced this summer when the US Congress conditioned 10 per cent of military assistance to Turkey for FY 1995, roughly US$36.3 million of credits, on human rights improvement. In April 1994, the German government also conditioned its military aid, briefly halting arms shipments to Turkey because of allegations that former East German BTR-60 armoured personnel carriers had been used to commit human rights violations in the southeast. Recently, there have been several reports that the US government was holding up licences for US firms seeking to export arms to Turkey. In December 1995, the US State department stalled a deal to sell cluster bombs to Turkey which had been approved by other NATO members. Consequently, Ankara is presently in the process of diversifying and domesticating its arms procurement. In October, former Turkish Foreign Minister Mumtaz Soysal told reporters that, 'We have diversity regarding military hardware....We will not find ourselves in difficulty.' As far back as November 1992, Turkey agreed to buy US$75 million in weapons from Russia, making it the first Nato country to purchase weapons from Moscow. Under the deal, Turkey received 17 Mi-17 helicopters (an upgraded version of the workhorse Mi-8), as well as assault rifles, 25 BTR-60 and BTR-80 armoured personnel carriers. Turkey forgave US$60 million in Russian credits at the Turkish Exim Bank and paid US$15 million in cash. In July 1994, Russian Deputy Premier Oleg Soskovets travelled to Turkey to discuss trading US$404.3 million in Turkish Exim Bank credits for Russian military hardware. The result would be a formidable arsenal given the cut-rate prices Russia charges for its weapons. That same month, Turkey signed a military co-operation agreement with Ukraine that envisioned defence industry interaction. In September 1994, Turkey agreed to produce armoured personnel carriers jointly with Romania. The vehicle, to be known as the RD-94, will have better capabilities than the BTR-80. Such wheeled armoured vehicles, easier to maintain than tracked vehicles, are essential for troop transport in the southeast, given Turkey's helicopter shortage. The government has also attempted to convert domestic industry hit by Turkey's economic downturn to defence production. Kurds in Modern Turkey >From the founding of the Turkish republic in 1923 until quite recently, all outward expressions of Kurdish ethnic identity, such as Kurdish language education, publishing, or openly speaking Kurdish, were forbidden. But the Kurds were punished for expression of identity, not for the identity itself, and many assimilated Kurds rose to positions of power and prestige. Recently, however, rural Kurds migrating to western Turkey to escape the fighting have begun to face discrimination. The late Turkish prime minister and president, Turgut Ozal, started to loosen strictures on the expression of Kurdish identity in Turkey, especially the most egregious ones which regulated the use of Kurdish in public. In November 1991, the newly elected prime minister (now president), Suleyman Demirel, stated that the Turkish state had recognized 'the Kurdish reality'. Demirel vowed to address legitimate demands for greater cultural freedom by Turkey's estimated 12 million Kurds, roughly 20 per cent of the population. He even appointed a Kurd, Mehmet Kahraman, as Turkey's first state minister for human rights and promised to end the village guard system in southeastern Turkey. This window of opportunity, however, was quickly lost in the escalation of the conflict between the PKK and state security forces. Death-squad killings of Kurdish politicians, journalists and activists have increased. Some allege that security forces have a hand in these killings, or at the least do little to investigate these crimes. Debate concerning the Kurdish issue in Turkey is often punished as 'separatism' under Article 8 of Turkey's 1991 Anti-Terror Law. In March 1994, five Kurdish deputies from the now banned Democracy Party (DEP) were stripped of their immunity and detained on treason changes largely for statements they made. In December 1995, six of eight Kurdish parliamentarians from the DEP on trial in the Ankara State Security Court for treason were given sentences stretching to a maximum of 15 years. Islamists and Entrepreneurs Two forces that could change Turkey's Kurdish policy have gained strength in recent times. These are Necmettin Erbakan's Islamist Welfare Party (Refah Partisi), and businessman Cem Boyner's New Democracy Movement (Yeni Demokrasi Hareketi). The religious right in Turkey traditionally received between 7-10 per cent of the vote in national elections. However, Refah captured close to 20 per cent of the electorate in local elections in March 1994, plus the mayoral offices in Istanbul and Ankara. The Welfare Party points to Turkey's Ottoman past, where Kurdish ethnic and cultural identity was generally unrepressed. At a speech in October in Diyarbakir, Refah's chairman Erbakan harshly criticized the government's Kurdish policy and blamed it for the misery of Kurds in the southeast. A petition by the Welfare Party led to the postponement of local elections on 4 December to allow Kurds displaced by fighting to re-register to vote. Of the 22 contested seats, 16 are in southeastern Turkey. According to opinion polls conducted in late September, Refah was the vote winner in the southeast, winning 29.7 per cent of the electorate, 12 per cent ahead of the second place party, the main opposition conservative Motherland Party. Young, well-spoken and well-educated, the New Democracy Movement, which registered as a political party in December 1994, represents for many intellectuals a way out of Turkey's Kurdish dilemma. A textile magnate, Boyner is able to speak openly and freely on the Kurdish question because of his stature in society and social standing. Despite his entrepreneurial background, many of his advisers are reportedly leftist intellectuals with backgrounds in the former Turkish Labour Party (TIP) which, in the late 1960s, was quite strong among urban workers and some Kurds. The party was later banned. Boyner has tackled the Kurdish problem head-on, and is reported to have said that Turkey has a Turkish problem, not a Kurdish problem, because of the government's refusal to grant basic cultural and linguistic rights to Kurds. The rise of Boyner and his movement, however, depends on his ability to move beyond intellectuals and to build an administrative structure throughout Turkey should his movement register as a political party. Conclusions Turkey's military offensives in 1994 have blunted the strength of the PKK, but certainly not defeated the guerrilla group which still seems able to mount small-scale raids and operations and plant bombs throughout Turkey. Also, the level of civilian displacement, most of which is the result of the government's harsh counter-insurgency campaign, seems a ready breeding ground for new recruits. Since much of this migration has been to cities throughout the country, but especially to urban centers in western Turkey such as Istanbul, Izmir, Adana and Antalya, the government may have just shifted the problem. No solution to Turkey's Kurdish dilemma will come, however, without the granting of basic cultural and linguistic rights to the Kurds. Nevertheless, concessions to legitimate Kurdish demands must take place within an overall democratization of Turkey's legal system. GRAPHIC: Photograph 1, The Turkish army makes house-to-house searches in Sirnak in their efforts to track down PKK militants. These pictures were smuggled out as all journalists have been officially banned from the area. (All photographs: EPA); Photograph 2, Members of a PKK cell surrender to Turkish forces.; Photograph 3, Turkish armour is also involved in the Sirnak operation. Reports of 53 soldiers killed in a weekend of fighting in Sirnak have not been confirmed.; Photograph 4, After police fired at demonstrators in Sirnak, Turkish security forces take up position in the market square. ----------------------------- End forwarded message -------------------------- ------------------------------------------------------- * Activists Press Service (Newsdesk) * newsdesk at aps.nl !Power to the people! ------------------------------------------------------- From root at newsdesk.aps.nl Sat Apr 1 21:26:30 1995 From: root at newsdesk.aps.nl (root at newsdesk.aps.nl) Date: 01 Apr 1995 21:26:30 Subject: our mailinglist and s.c.k Message-ID: From: tabe at newsdesk.aps.nl (Tabe Kooistra) Subject: our mailinglist and s.c.k Reply-To: root at newsdesk.aps.nl Friends of kurdistan, We think it is time to tink about the future of our mailinglist. Now we established soc.culture.kurdish, we wonder if there is still a need for the existance of our list. Please sents comments to root at newsdesk.aps.nl From kurd-l at burn.ucsd.edu Sun Apr 2 11:13:39 1995 From: kurd-l at burn.ucsd.edu (kurd-l at burn.ucsd.edu) Date: 02 Apr 1995 11:13:39 Subject: A Case Summary: The Ozgur Ulke Cris Message-ID: Reply-To: kurd-l at burn.ucsd.edu From: Arm The Spirit Subject: A Case Summary: The Ozgur Ulke Crisis A Case Summary: The Ozgur Ulke Crisis By Ismet Imset, London On November 30, 1994, Turkish Prime Minister Tansu Ciller issued a secret decree to various government offices urging action to be taken against the domestic press. In this decree, which would later find its way into the hands of investigative journalists, Ciller was calling for "the elimination of all dangerous media" in the country. It was evident that the government was concerned over the ongoing war between Kurdish guerrillas and state troops in Southeast Turkey. More than 15,000 people had died in the past ten years and over 2,000 villages had been evacuated by troops and torched. Human rights violations were spreading throughout the country as the crisis, which cost $ 7 billion per-annum on military expenditures and led to a 156 % inflation annual inflation rate, was rapidly draining Turkey's resources. Thus the reference "dangerous" mainly concerned opposition, dissident and left-wing media critical of Ankara's refusal to give Turkey's 12 million Kurds any social, cultural or language rights. The primary target for the decree, on the other hand, had already been identified in a military-dominated National Security Council meeting held days before. It was the Istanbul-based Ozgur Ulke (Free Country) newspaper, a pro-Kurdish daily which had already suffered dearly in its plight to uncover wide-spread human rights violations, amid Turkish claims that it was "a PKK publication" and promoted Kurdish violence. But for three days after the decree, nothing happened. There were no raids, no detention of journalists nor even the customary threats. This silence though, would soon turn out to be the stillness before a storm, a fooling serenity. The storm hit Turkey's media world only in the early hours of December 3. Residents of Turkey's largest metropolitan city Istanbul, jumped out of their beds in panic as two consecutive explosions echoed through the empty streets. On one side of the city, the four-story printing facility of Ozgur Ulke was blasted to pieces, "as if struck by an air raid," as in the words of its editor-in-chief Baki Karadeniz. On the other, the daily's editorial headquarters was hit by another bomb. Unknown that morning to Istanbulites was a third explosion some 200 miles away, in the Turkish capital of Ankara, where Ozgur Ulke's central office was blown up as well. In the "attacks," which local police unsuccessfully tried to brush away as "results of gas leaks," one newspaper worker was killed and 18 others were injured. Those daring enough to fight the flames with hope of saving something were immediately detained by police. The wounded were hauled into questioning without even being allowed first aid treatment. Despite the ignorance of the mainstream national press to this attack, Turkey's opposition media immediately launched a campaign to support Ozgur Ulke and its personnel. One Kurdish newspaper ceased its own publishing and allowed the daily to move to its facilities. Journalists from all over the city took turns at the new office to contribute on a daily basis and cover up for the material losses of the paper. But solidarity alone was not enough and Ozgur Ulke's first post-bombing issue was also seized by the police. Yet, for a period of one month, the newspaper continued to publish under pressure, defying all official demands for censorship. Ankara, meanwhile, made a face saving gesture and announced somewhat in response to foreign pressure that the paper would be compensated for its damages. A promise, like many others, which was never kept. New court cases and investigations were launched against Ozgur Ulke in December as more and more journalists faced arbitrary detentions. And in the first week of January 1995, declining attention to the situation led Turkish authorities to adopt even tougher measures against it. In a new meeting of the National Security Council, another decision was passed to eliminate all of the dissident press in Turkey. Only this time, what immediately caught the eye was a written reference to do this "within the boundaries of law." As of January 6, 1995, policemen started to wait outside printing facilities to confiscate the paper as soon as it was printed. Copies of the paper were then taken to a press prosecutors office working around the clock in shifts and "inspected." Undesirable items, often some three to four pages of the paper devoted to human rights, were censored and it had to reprint. As of the second week, the reprints started to appear with the mark "censored" instead of the story. Ozgur Ulke was allowed to publish less and less on human rights and the Kurdish issue. "But it was clear that Ankara was still not happy and wanted the newspaper closed down permanently," Karadeniz was to say later. Indeed, even censored issues started to create problem. As of the third week of January, the paper had to publish two to three times a day to avoid confiscation. In one outstanding case, the newspaper was confiscated owing to a news report which also appeared the same day in other mass circulation dailies. Although no measures were taken the others, Ozgur Ulke's report was censored. The paper re-printed without the report only to be confiscated again. This time, two more front page stories were marked by the prosecutor. It was only after the third re-print that the prosecutor marked most of the remaining front page stories that Ozgur Ulke could not publish a fourth issue. As this systematic harassment continued in Istanbul, where Turkey's "Fleet Street" only but ignorantly waited to see the outcome, other "legal" campaigns were launched against the paper in Anatolia. The paper's main office inn the southeastern provincial capital of Diyarbakir was raided by police along with others. At least five reporters were detained and extensively tortured. Meanwhile, newspaper staff in Turkey and abroad received threats. According to Karadeniz, "such ruthless censorship and persecution was not even witnessed after 1980, following the military coup." The campaign was indeed so ruthless that it even forced Turkey's Press Council chairman Oktay Eksi, a columnist for the mass circulation daily Hurriyet which has systematically campaigned against Ozgur Ulke, to publicly appeal for it to end. Indeed, it ended. Not owing to Eksi's carefully worded and half-witted protest, but to the lack of timely support from western media organizations and that of the heavily-censored domestic press. And, it ended in a very skillfully planned way. On Thursday, February 3, Turkish officials changed tactics and instead of a prosecutor, a Justice Court Judge ordered for the confiscation of all copies of the paper. When it continued to print on Friday another judge passed an order for its closure. Legally, Ozgur Ulke could no longer publish. The final verdict claimed that "according to evidence compiled," it had been determined that the paper was a continuation of the Ozgur Gundem (Free Agenda) which was closed down by a State Security Court last year. Citing that 24 separate orders for closure had been passed against Ozgur Gundem, the verdict declared Ozgur Ulke, in print then for nine months, "outlawed." The newspaper's lawyers were neither given the chance for defense nor to appeal against the verdict. "If you publish, we'll arrest all of you," a policeman delivering the order explained to its editors. Ozgur Ulke and its alleged predecessor Ozgur Gundem are now closed. A total of 22 journalists working for them have been assassinated by death squads. Four reporters have "disappeared" and only one tortured body, that of a reporter kidnapped by police, has been found. 35 employees are in prison, excluding each and every editor of the paper who has been arrested as well. More than 230 published issues have been seized and its former owner Yasar Kaya faces 1,200 years imprisonment for what has so far been put into print. Despite this, as with the case of Ozgur Gundem, those who have stood up with Ozgur Ulke to defend the freedom of expression and press in Turkey, have still not collapsed. Efforts are even today underway to resurrect the newspaper for a third time, possibly under a different name and perhaps in a different country, in the very near future. In these efforts though, to get more moral support and solidarity from international colleagues and organizations will be even more necessary. Not only to make this landmark challenge against censorship completely worthwhile, but also to insure the safety of our colleagues who will still be working "under the threat of the gun" in Turkey. "Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media regardless of frontiers..." Article 19, UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Arm The Spirit E-mail: ats at etext.org P.O. Box 6326, Stn. A Toronto, Ontario M5W 1P7 Canada WWW: gopher://locust.cic.net:70/11/Politics/Arm.The.Spirit FTP: ftp.etext.org --> /pub/Politics/Arm.The.Spirit ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- From kurd-l at burn.ucsd.edu Sun Apr 2 11:14:21 1995 From: kurd-l at burn.ucsd.edu (kurd-l at burn.ucsd.edu) Date: 02 Apr 1995 11:14:21 Subject: Kurdish News #14 - March 30, 1995 Message-ID: Reply-To: kurd-l at burn.ucsd.edu From: Kurdistan Committee of Canada Subject: Kurdish News #14 - March 30, 1995 Kurdish News A Bi-Weekly Publication Of The Kurdistan Committee Of Canada Number 14 - March 30, 1995 Index: 1) Turkish Troops Occupy South Kurdistan 2) Statement From PKK General Secretary Abdullah Ocalan Concerning The Turkish Invasion Of South Kurdistan 3) "We Will Expel The Turkish Army From Kurdistan!" 4) Prominent Turkish Novelist May Become A Casualty Of War 5) Yeni Politika Will Replace Banned Ozgur Ulke 6) Questions Raised In Canadian Parliament 7) Demonstration Announcement 8) Canadian Delegation Visits Kurdistan 1) Turkish Troops Occupy South Kurdistan On March 20, 1995, more than 50,000 Turkish troops moved into northern Iraq. Along four routes, a 335 kilometres long border was breached and eyewitnesses noted that advanced Turkish teams were sent some 40 kilometres inside South Kurdistan. The stated aim of the Turkish forces is to wipe out PKK guerrilla bases, but the real intention of the Ankara government is to silence the Kurdish aspirations for freedom and liberty by any means necessary. There has been intense fighting in South Kurdistan. Civilian Kurds have been killed and refugee camps have been bombarded from the air. Although the Turkish government claims to be having great success with the operation, guerrilla sources have stated that the invading Turkish forces have suffered heavy losses because they are unfamiliar with the terrain and they cannot cope with the guerrillas' hit and run tactics. According to the Press Office of the People's Liberation Army of Kurdistan (ARGK) in Botan, less than 20 guerrillas have died in the struggle so far. We will publish updates on the invasion of South Kurdistan in the next issue of Kurdish News. Statement From PKK General Secretary Abdullah Ocalan Concerning The Turkish Invasion Of South Kurdistan It is rather important to gauge correctly the recent provocations that are taking place in Turkey. A weakening government, faced with resignation, has formed a new coalition with the Popular Republican Party (CHP) and, in the meantime, is committing atrocities via dark circles to make itself invaluable. First there was the massacre in Zaxo, then came the unprecedented brutal attack on the residents of Gaziosmanpasa, and finally this latest operation, all designed to prolong a government in crisis. In their own words, this operation is far more comprehensive than the one the Turkish government undertook in Cyprus some two decades ago. It is part of a meticulous plan to achieve certain ends. Before the Turkish troops invaded Cyprus, the Turkish government had noted that "there was a state of war between the Turks and the Greeks; we moved in to secure peace". Again, in South Kurdistan, a state of tension was the moment of opportunity for the government in Ankara. In Zaxo, there was a powerful explosion, an act of barbarity was committed. Also, the Turkish government meddled in the internal affairs of the Federated Kurdish State, urging the warring parties to fight on so that its own entrance on the scene would be smooth. We also know that the government in Ankara was having secret meetings with the government in Baghdad. Its goal was to choke the Federated Kurdish State. The army got its way and the so-called civilian government of Tansu Ciller in Ankara was obliging in every sense, notwithstanding the loss of confidence the government was facing because of the worsening economy. In a sensitive city like Istanbul, in a poor shantytown like Gaziosmanpasa, where opposition to the government is the rule rather than the exception, the attack which culminated in a massacre was part of a plan to achieve certain ends. The logic was that "the government in Ankara should not be forced to resign; if it does, chaos will ensue". There was also the issue of the Alevi community, who were rapidly responding to the call of the Kurdish national liberation struggle. The message for them was: "If you continue doing what you are doing, you will be crushed." The attack on Gaziosmanpasa was a stepped-up version of the unsolved murders that are taking place in the country daily. The same logic was at work in Zaxo: "In a chaotic period, massacres do take place and the sane thing to do would be to move in to provide for the safety and security of the people. Just like in Cyprus, where there seemed to be a need for the invasion of the island by the Turkish army to provide security for the people." They seem to say that they are more effective at "protecting" the Kurds than are the forces of Operation Provide Comfort. The message is that Turkey wants to remain in the area. In their own words, "We will stay here so long as there is political instability." In other words, they would like to be the government in the area. Notwithstanding their claim, this is not a war to hunt down PKK fighters; the messages emanating from Ankara prove that. With these steps, they hope to prolong the life of the Ankara government; they want to silence the opposition. With this outward operation, they want to prevent the reactions of a population unhappy with its economic and social problems. In other words, they have assuaged the reaction. The upshot is that the government is in place and the army is content. What they want to leave behind are the economic, social, and political problems. It is not that they want to crush PKK bases, rather it is the crisis facing the Turkish Republic which has forced them to undertake this largest military operation in the history of the country in order to cover up their own mismanagement. We are urging the progressive and democratic international community not to remain silent to these acts of massacres and outright occupation by circles whose ideas smack of fascism. It behooves them to note the implications of such a blatant military act that condones the domination of one people over another. We want to emphasize that the United States government is secretly supporting this massacre by the fascist Turkish government. We want the United States government to withdraw its support from this dirty war and provide opportunities for a political solution to this problem. It is incumbent on the part of the mass media to bring out the truth behind these developments. These are the facts; the news that is emanating from the Turkish army does not dovetail with our observations. The occupation forces have not targeted our areas. The members of the Turkish armed forces have entered Zaxo, a city of civilians and Kurdish peshmergas. They have also surrounded the camps of Kurds who had fled Turkish state terror back in Turkey. These people are being terrorized. Those who are saying "the operation is limited in scope and will not harm civilians" are misleading the public. The outsiders who are saying "the operation should be limited in scope" are condoning the attack and watching it. These are double standards. Our resistance is primarily in the North. In South Kurdistan, there are revolutionary forces who are uniting behind a national front. They, too, have a history of resistance. They are becoming an alternative force in the area. We, the PKK, are supporting this development. We are not taking part in these developments but the democratic forces are enjoying our support. There are Kurdish patriots who would like to see their program implemented and their sovereignty secured. Also, it is not so easy to close in on the PKK guerrilla fighters. We are determined to fight a long-term guerrilla war, trap the enemy forces, and turn the area into a grave-site for them. As of now, a few hundred Turkish soldiers have been killed. Our losses stand at 11 fighters killed. We were prepared for this war and our morale is high. We were expecting this military operation. We responded in a language which the enemy understands but in a manner which they did not expect. In close battles, we have stopped the movement of the army and in some areas we have forced them to retreat. They will never be able to surround us completely or curtail our free movement. We can with certainty note that with our guerrilla tactics we will deny victory to the Turkish government's favoured policy of a "military solution" whose basis has always been force. In this spirit, we wanted to inform you, the public, to draw your attention to the war, and send you our greetings. Abdullah Ocalan, General Secretary of the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) 3) "We Will Expel The Turkish Army From Kurdistan!" This is a five day summary of what has happened in the aftermath of the Turkish invasion of South Kurdistan. The Turkish army has undertaken an all-out operation using armoured vehicles, tanks, helicopters, and fighter planes. In this massive attack, including residential areas, much of rural Kurdistan has been bombed. Since we knew of the impending invasion, our mobile forces were prepared to resist the attack and we have inflicted heavy losses on the Turkish forces. On March 19-20, Turkish tanks and armoured vehicles moved into Zaxo and then proceeded towards Haftanin. We then ambushed the advancing units between Zaxo and Haftanin and we halted their movement and inflicted losses. During the day, our forces came in contact with enemy forces in the Sinaht, Hezil, and Habur regions along the border and again the enemy forces were encircled, some of them were killed and many others were bewildered. Between Habur and Zap in the Kendora valley, at Hirror, Ciyaye Kulli, Derkar, and the Zap bridge, the Turkish soldiers were attacked six times and again they suffered losses. These hit and run tactics have slowed down the enemy forces and hampered their movements on the ground. Finding themselves landlocked on inhospitable terrain, the enemy forces have airlifted their forces into the Xapuske region between Kari and the Metina mountains. On the night of March 23, they airlifted some more troops into the Kandine region. Here, our guerrilla units encircled the headquarters of the Turkish troops and forced them to retreat from the area. The enemy forces have not been able to move into the Zap and Avasin regions. There, Turkish fighter planes have exacted heavy losses in the residential areas. On March 21, in the Basya valley, our fighters ambushed another Turkish military convoy. Some of the military vehicles, along with their occupants, found themselves in the Avasin river. Local residents noted that the enemy forces suffered heavy losses. As a result, the enemy movement on the ground has come to a standstill. In the air, they are ineffective against our mobile forces. To date, as of Friday, March 24, our losses stand at 17 and we also have 10 injured fighters. We have no exact information on the enemy losses, but we estimate the number to be some 300 soldiers and their officers. There are probably as many injured troops as well. For example, at Xanxurke, the enemy had 4 of its soldiers killed and 3 of them injured. During the Basya valley attack, some soldiers were killed in the fighting and others drowned in the Avasin river. In Kendora region on March 20, 15 enemy soldiers were killed and more were injured. At the Kandine headquarters, close to 50 soldiers were put out of commission. On the hills of Derkar, the enemy has yet to pick up its dead from the ground. Unlike the "good" news which is emanating from Ankara, the Turkish soldiers are unable to fight a guerrilla war. Many of the soldiers are displaying clumsy behaviour. They are still doing what they are best at: killing Kurdish civilians and telling the world that these are "terrorists". If this is the truth then why aren't they showing these supposedly killed Kurdish fighters to the media? The people of Zaxo have been subjected to intimidation and torture since the beginning of this operation. The region between Hezil and Zap has been bombarded heavily and the residents of Derkar, Devgerli, and Holina have fled their villages. In the Zap valley, the villages of Gare, Sili, and Edi have also been bombarded from the air. All the villages between Zap and Avasin have been evacuated. In Gazine village, a shepherd was murdered by the invading forces. At Orke and Banya, Turkish planes have hit some of the houses, killing a 6-year-old girl and wounding 6 other people. The villages of Kale and Baluka have been searched and 3 residents were killed. The people of South Kurdistan have been rallying against the Turkish invasion of their state. In Dohuk, the residents of the city have demonstrated against the presence of the enemy. There are reports that a larger demonstration has also taken place at Sulaymania. The Turkish government has received the blessings of the international community, especially that of the United States of America. Their mission, Operation Provide Comfort, has become a guise to choke the Kurds. Notwithstanding the international support which Turkey enjoys, this is the last foray of Turkish soldiers into South Kurdistan. We will expel them soon - and for good. People's Liberation Army of Kurdistan (ARGK) March 26, 1995 4) Prominent Turkish Novelist May Become A Casualty Of War If an Istanbul public prosecutor has his way, one of Turkey's greatest living authors will be locked behind bars this spring, the most prominent victim of sweeping anti-terror laws that give the government nearly free rein to restrict discussion of this country's "Kurdish problem". Yashar Kemal, an internationally acclaimed novelist whose tales of a vanishing way of life on the punishing Anatolian plains are standard fare in Turkish literature textbooks, is scheduled to appear before a state security court May 5 to answer charges of advocating separatism. The accusations stem from an article he wrote for the January 10 edition of the German magazine Der Spiegel. His strongly worded essay "Campaign of Lies" argued that Turkey's leaders have tried through systematic oppression "to kill the Kurdish language and culture since the founding of the republic". The article caused a furor at a time when the government is trying to reconcile demands for democracy by liberals, leftists, and Turkey's Western allies with deep and widespread fears of the growth of Islamic extremism and the intractability of the Kurdish conflict. Kemal's prosecution demonstrates the lengths to which Ankara will go to silence critics after more than a decade of unofficial civil war with Kurdish separatists. The conflict has cost more than 15,000 lives and has been marked by rampant human rights abuses. "If I am sentenced, the Turkish Republic won't be able to look foreigners in the face," the 71-year-old Kemal said recently. He wrote in his Der Spiegel article that Turkey "must not enter the 21st century as a nation accursed". About 150 academics, journalists, writers, human rights activists, and lawyers currently are imprisoned for "crimes of expression" according to the Ankara-based Human Rights Association (IHD). Many, like Kemal, were prosecuted under Article 8 of the Turkish Law Against Terrorism, which states that any "written or spoken propaganda" that threatens the "indivisible integrity of the state" is punishable with a prison sentence of 2 to 5 years. Nearly 8,000 others are either appealing jail sentences or awaiting trial for alleged violations of Article 8. Intellectual "terrorists" now in prison include Fikret Baskaya, an economics professor who wrote a book criticizing Turkey's socio-economic development and its underlying ideology; writer Haluk Gerger, who argued that violent movements emerge when peaceful channels for dissent are closed; and sociologist Ismail Besikci, who has spent more than a decade in jail for his studies of the Kurds. "Yashar Kemal is one of many similar cases," said Yavuz Onen, president of the independent Human Rights Foundation of Turkey. "But he is one of the best-known personalities ever prosecuted under the anti-terror law, so he created quite a stir." Kemal's Der Spiegel essay prompted heated debate in the Turkish media. Although some columnists said Kemal had betrayed the country, others rallied to his defense in an unprecedented show of support for freedom of expression. "Even those who give the appearance of being the most democratic of people accused Yashar Kemal of being a traitor," wrote the weekly magazine Aktuel, which called his piece a "writing event dividing Turkey". Throwing down the gauntlet, publisher Erdal Oz released a collection of controversial essays -- including Kemal's Der Spiegel article -- titled "Freedom of Thought and Turkey". The book was signed by about 1,080 writers and artists in an attempt to force the state to charge them all under the same law as Kemal. An additional 50,000 people signed declarations supporting them. "While Kemal got bad press, he catalyzed this sort of lobby among writers and artists," said Semih Idiz, an editor and columnist at the Turkish Daily News. "This hasn't happened before. But it also shows the intelligentsia is divided on the Kurdish issue. It's something like the McCarthy period in your country -- Will people fall behind the government line no matter what? It's a choice between `my country right or wrong' and `democracy right or wrong.'" Turkey is substantially more democratic today than in 1983, when civilians returned to power after three years of military dictatorship. Discussion of the Kurdish issue -- once strictly taboo -- is now a national pastime, and the formerly prohibited Kurdish language is now legal. About a quarter of Turkey's 60 million people are of Kurdish origin. But the government's fight to subdue the separatist Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) have stalled long-promised constitutional reforms. Kurdish-language education and TV is still banned under the rationale that it will weaken national unity, and 10 predominantly Kurdish southeastern provinces are under oppressive emergency law. Kemal's case could scarcely have come at a worse time for the Turkish government, which is eager to prove that its talk of democratization is more than just talk since it signed a customs union with the European Union early this month. Ratification of the agreement by the European Parliament is conditional upon Turkey taking immediate steps to improve human rights. Prime Minister Tansu Ciller has been promising democratic reforms since she took office in the summer of 1993. But a much-heralded "democratization package" discussed last year never reached the parliamentary floor, and a new year's pledge to reform the constitution has not materialized. On March 14, eager to maintain momentum toward the customs union, Ciller again outlined a number of proposals, including a general amnesty for all political prisoners of conscience and a gradual lifting of the state of emergency in the southeast. But Turks are skeptical that real progress will emerge from the current parliament, which is dominated by conservative hard-liners who view democratization as a "softening" on terrorism. Turkey's powerful generals, generally given a free hand in the southeast, also resist reform. (Source: Chronicle Foreign Service) 5) Yeni Politika Will Replace Banned Ozgur Ulke Dear friends, I am happy to inform you that as of mid April 1995, a new Turkish-language newspaper dedicated to democracy, human rights, and coverage of Kurdish-related issues is expected to come out in Turkey: Yeni Politika. The newspaper will be 14 pages and will soon be available in Europe, and it will be published in a European city as well. Owing to previous Turkish attacks on democratic and pro-Kurdish newspapers, which have resulted with the subsequent closures of many publications, including Ozgur Ulke and Ozgur Gundem, we call upon all people concerned for Kurdish and human rights in Turkey to closely monitor future developments related to Yeni Politika. As you would recall, Ozgur Ulke was closed down by Istanbul courts earlier this year after a judgment was passed that it was the continuation of Ozgur Gundem (closed previously). In its plight for existence, over 20 Ozgur Ulke/Ozgur Gundem reporters were gunned down by death squads, 35 were arrested and tortured, and the newspaper's Istanbul offices and its Ankara bureau were bombed. All information related to Yeni Politika and its reports will soon be made available. Best regards, Ismet Imset Ex-columnist, Ozgur Ulke London 6) Questions Raised In Canadian Parliament On Wednesday, March 29, Mr. Svend J. Robinsion, an MP from the social democratic party NDP, raised questions in the Canadian Parliament concerning Canada's plans to participate in Ankara's 75th anniversary celebration of "democracy in Turkey", as well as the Canadian government's impending plan to sell 39 CF-5 warplanes to the Turkish military. The following is a transcript of the question and answer session: Mr. Svend J. Robinson (MP, NDP): Last week I met in an Ankara, Turkey prison with four respected members of the Turkish Parliament, including Leyla Zana, who were sentenced in December to terms of up to 15 years for speaking out for human rights and democracy for the 12 million Kurds in Turkey. In light of this appalling attack on elected members of Parliament, I want to ask the Prime Minister to explain why his government is sending a ministerial delegation to Turkey on April 23 to celebrate the 75th anniversary of the same Turkish Parliament. Will the Prime Minister in these circumstances agree to review this decision which deeply concerns not only these members of Parliament but I am sure many Canadians. Right Hon. Jean Chretien (Prime Minister, Lib.): Mr. Speaker, I will certainly look into that possibility. It might be a good occasion for the ministerial delegation to raise the issue of human rights with the government while it is there. One way or the other, I would like the question of human rights to be raised with the Government of Turkey. Perhaps one way is to cancel the delegation or the other way is to send the delegation with a mandate to talk about it. Mr. Svend J. Robinson (MP, NDP): Mr. Speaker, in view of the very grave human rights abuses committed by the Turkish government, including its history in Cyprus and the current illegal assault in northern Iraq, will the Prime Minister now explain why the head of the Turkish air force was invited to Canada last month, invited to fly the CF-5 aircraft himself? Will the government finally do the right thing and not only cancel any potential sale of the CF-5s to Turkey but join our NATO ally, Norway, in saying that there will be no arms sales whatsoever to the repressive regime in Turkey? Hon. David M. Collenette (Minister of National Defence, Lib.): Mr. Speaker, my colleague, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, has answered the question a couple of times in the last 10 days. There has been some indication by the Government of Turkey about the surplus CF-5s and there have been some informal discussion. However, there is no deal pending. Our position is well known on the exporting of arms. We want to make sure, if that is done, that certain safeguards are in place. I believe the question at this time is somewhat premature. 7) Demonstration Announcement Protest Demonstration Thursday - April 13 - Noon Parliament Hill Turkish Troops Out Of Kurdistan! No Arms Sales To Turkey! 8) Canadian Delegation Visits Kurdistan From March 18-23, a Canadian human rights delegation, headed by MP Svend Robinson (NDP), visited Turkey and Kurdistan. The delegation members met with representatives of human rights organizations, interviewed imprisoned Kurdish MPs, and witnessed the celebration of the Kurdish New Year Newroz in the city of Diyarbakir. The next issue of Kurdish News will be devoted to the findings of this delegation. Delegation members will write on the Turkish government's widespread repression of the Kurdish people and the flagrant and systematic human rights abuses committed by the Turkish government and military. Kurdish News is published by: Kurdistan Committee of Canada 2487 Kaladar Ave. Suite 203 Ottawa, Ontario, K1V 8B9 tel: (613) 733-9634 fax: (613) 733-0090 email: kcc at magi.com From kurd-l at burn.ucsd.edu Sun Apr 2 11:14:37 1995 From: kurd-l at burn.ucsd.edu (kurd-l at burn.ucsd.edu) Date: 02 Apr 1995 11:14:37 Subject: Kurdish Fighters Inflict Blows On T Message-ID: Reply-To: kurd-l at burn.ucsd.edu From: Kurdistan Committee of Canada Subject: Kurdish Fighters Inflict Blows On Turkish Army Information Desk - The Turkish Invasion of South Kurdistan Tel: +32-2-230-9233 Fax: +32-2-230-9208 Press Release #14 April 1, 1995 We received the following news today from Ahmet Yigit, a correspondent for the Kurd-A news agency in Zaxo, Kurdistan: Kurdish Fighters Inflict Blows On The Turkish Army The Turkish armed forces, looking for a needle in a hay stack, have, it looks like, given up their search for the People's Liberation Army of Kurdistan (ARGK) fighters. Instead, they are now concentrating their troops in urban centres, now and then making forays, but then forcing the local Kurds to guide them lest they step on mines on their way to the mountains. The Kurdish fighters, on the other hand, well-adapted to the terrain, await an opportune moment and attack the invading Turkish forces with deadly results. This was apparent at the Gabar, Sikeftiyan, and Bekara army posts in Haftanin region, which received blows that had the Turks on the edge of their nerves. The Kurdish fighters attacked with rockets, automatic weapons, and hand grenades. Because the Kurdish forces are the veterans of sometimes a decade-long guerrilla war, whereas the Turkish conscripts are young Turks from the cities of the relatively prosperous west, the morale has always been on the side of the natives, the Kurds. In three attacks, while the Kurds lost no fighters in the battle, the Turkish losses were 3 at Bekara and 17 at Sikeftiyan. There were no reports of casualties at the Gabar army post. In another development, a Turkish tank went up in flames after stepping on a mine that was planted by Kurdish guerrillas near the village of Kesrok in Haftanin. Yesterday, we reported that 24 Turkish soldiers were killed on Kesan hill. The Turkish soldiers collected the area residents and killed a Kurd who was well-liked and known as a patriot. Another Kurd was taken away and, as of this writing, no one knows of his whereabouts. Fighting was pretty intense in North Kurdistan as well. In Cukurca, at Sifrezan, Kurdish fighters attacked the enemy forces and early reports indicate that the Turkish losses were 5 but could well be somewhere in the vicinity of 30. In Kozluk, the house of the Ismailka commander of the Turkish forces was attacked and the Turkish officer and 2 other soldiers were killed. In the ensuing gun battle, another 23 Turkish soldiers were ambushed. In Omeryan, at Kova Res, 2 Turkish officers and 3 Turkish soldiers lost their lives after stepping on a mine. ----- Kurdistan Committee of Canada Tel: (613) 733-9634 2487 Kaladar Ave. Suite 203 Fax: (613) 733-0090 Ottawa, Ontario, K1V 8B9 E-mail: kcc at magi.com ----- From kurd-l at burn.ucsd.edu Sun Apr 2 11:18:31 1995 From: kurd-l at burn.ucsd.edu (kurd-l at burn.ucsd.edu) Date: 02 Apr 1995 11:18:31 Subject: Yeni Politika: A New Newspaper For Message-ID: Reply-To: kurd-l at burn.ucsd.edu From: Arm The Spirit Subject: Yeni Politika: A New Newspaper For Kurdistan Forwarded from: igi at igrey.demon.co.uk (igi) Dear friends, I am happy to inform you that as of mid April 1995, a new Turkish langauge newspaper, dedicated democracy, human rights and coverage of Kurdish related issues, is expected to come out in Turkey: YENI POLITIKA. The newspaper will be 14 pages and will soon be available in Europe, to be published in a European city as well. Owing to previous Turkish attacks on democratic and pro-Kurdish newspapers, which have resulted with the subsequent closures of many publications including Ozgur Ulke and Ozgur Gundem, we call upon all concerned for Kurdish and human rights in Turkey to closely monitor future developments related to Yeni Politika. As you would recall, Ozgur Ulke was closed down by Istanbul courts earlier this year after a judgment was passed that it was the continuation of Ozgur Gundem (closed previously). In its plight for existence, over 20 Ozgur Ulke/Gundem reporters were gunned down by death squads, 35 were tortured and later arrested and the newspaper's Istanbul offices and its Ankara building were bombed. (See separate item A Case Summary: Ozgur Ulke on s.c.k.) All information related to YENI POLITIKA and its reports will soon be made available. Best regards Ismet Imset Ex-columnist, Ozgur Ulke London ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Arm The Spirit E-mail: ats at etext.org P.O. Box 6326, Stn. A Toronto, Ontario M5W 1P7 Canada WWW: gopher://locust.cic.net:70/11/Politics/Arm.The.Spirit FTP: ftp.etext.org --> /pub/Politics/Arm.The.Spirit ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- From kurd-l at burn.ucsd.edu Mon Apr 3 05:47:26 1995 From: kurd-l at burn.ucsd.edu (kurd-l at burn.ucsd.edu) Date: 03 Apr 1995 05:47:26 Subject: Statement From European ERNK Repres Message-ID: Reply-To: kurd-l at burn.ucsd.edu From: Arm The Spirit Subject: Statement From European ERNK Representative Kani Yilmaz Statement From Kani Yilmaz To The Public And Press: It is now more than three months since I was detained after coming to Britain at the invitation of a British MP and subsequently arrested and incarcerated in prison. At first I was to be deported. However, although I received invitations from Italy, Greece, Belgium, The Netherlands, Denmark and other countries the Home Office prevaricated on various pretexts and eventually I was taken to court and told that Germany had requested my extradition. The case will soon be heard. It is abundantly clear that a political conspiracy has been hatched. This can be deduced from the fact that when I arrived in this country for my umpteenth visit I was met by two officials at the airport who said they had been informed of my arrival and that they knew who I was. If they had said "We don't want you here" I would have turned round and gone back instantly. It is illegal to conspire against a person, and when that person has been invited by a parliamentarian of that country it is the height of disrespect. It is shameful to invite someone and then arrest them. As for the German allegations all I can say is that the reactions of the Kurdish people in Germany to the genocide being perpetrated by the Turkish state against the Kurdish people in Kurdistan, aided and abetted by the European states, in particular Germany, is just and right. To accuse me on account of these protests is ridiculous. I am not a clandestine person, I am the public mouthpiece of my people's just and legitimate struggle. I am alleged to have incited the people. How did I do this? The German Interior Minister targets us every day. A German policeman influenced by him shot dead a Kurdish youth in Hanover who was flyposting. According to this logic the German Interior Minister should be put on trial. For days now Turkish security and intelligence officials are visiting Germany. It is clear that Mrs Ciller, who said she would slaughter us in Europe, intends to do this with German assistance. The nation of which I am an individual is being slaughtered in front of the eyes of the world for the crime of demanding its name and its freedom. In Kurdistan today a genocide is being carried out and people, villages and the forests and fields are being subjected to a scorched earth policy. I came to this country to explain this dire situation, to convey PKK General Secretary Abdullah Ocalan's proposals for a ceasefire leading to a peaceful political settlement, and to request Britain's assistance. However my peace mission resulted in my incarceration in a British prison, despite the fact that I have committed no offence in this country. I call on public opinion, political parties, parliament and the media to oppose this unacceptable breach of all democratic norms and urge them to protest against it. Kani Yilmaz ERNK (National Liberation Front of Kurdistan) European Representative February 1995 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Arm The Spirit E-mail: ats at etext.org P.O. Box 6326, Stn. A Toronto, Ontario M5W 1P7 Canada WWW: gopher://locust.cic.net:70/11/Politics/Arm.The.Spirit FTP: ftp.etext.org --> /pub/Politics/Arm.The.Spirit ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- From mchyet at library.berkeley.edu Tue Apr 4 17:23:41 1995 From: mchyet at library.berkeley.edu (mchyet at library.berkeley.edu) Date: 04 Apr 1995 17:23:41 Subject: Statement From European ERNK Repres References: Message-ID: From: "Michael Chyet" Subject: Statement From European ERNK Representative Kani Yilmaz Dear friends- If you are already a subscriber to kurd-l at burn.ucsd.edu and keep on getting duplicate messages, one from them and one from me, please let me know so that I can delete you from my kurd-l list. I will still send you things that originate with me, or come to me via a route other than kurd-l. Let me also take this opportunity to inform you that I will be leaving my job here in Berkeley next month, and will be assuming the position of senior editor of the Kurdish service at the Voice of America in Washington, D.C. I have every intention of continuing my "news service", but there may be a gap of a couple of weeks between when I leave here in early May and when I get settled in Washington [hopefully in late May or early June]. In the meantime, I hope to find someone to relay messages as they come in. For this reason in particular I would encourage people to subscribe to kurd-l at burn.ucsd.edu so that you can continue to receive those news messages even in my absence. All the best, MLC ______________________________ Forward Header __________________________________ Subject: Statement From European ERNK Representative Kani Yilmaz Author: kurd-l at burn.ucsd.edu at AA_GRAPELINK Date: 4/3/95 4:40 AM Statement From Kani Yilmaz To The Public And Press: It is now more than three months since I was detained after coming to Britain at the invitation of a British MP and subsequently arrested and incarcerated in prison. At first I was to be deported. However, although I received invitations from Italy, Greece, Belgium, The Netherlands, Denmark and other countries the Home Office prevaricated on various pretexts and eventually I was taken to court and told that Germany had requested my extradition. The case will soon be heard. It is abundantly clear that a political conspiracy has been hatched. This can be deduced from the fact that when I arrived in this country for my umpteenth visit I was met by two officials at the airport who said they had been informed of my arrival and that they knew who I was. If they had said "We don't want you here" I would have turned round and gone back instantly. It is illegal to conspire against a person, and when that person has been invited by a parliamentarian of that country it is the height of disrespect. It is shameful to invite someone and then arrest them. As for the German allegations all I can say is that the reactions of the Kurdish people in Germany to the genocide being perpetrated by the Turkish state against the Kurdish people in Kurdistan, aided and abetted by the European states, in particular Germany, is just and right. To accuse me on account of these protests is ridiculous. I am not a clandestine person, I am the public mouthpiece of my people's just and legitimate struggle. I am alleged to have incited the people. How did I do this? The German Interior Minister targets us every day. A German policeman influenced by him shot dead a Kurdish youth in Hanover who was flyposting. According to this logic the German Interior Minister should be put on trial. For days now Turkish security and intelligence officials are visiting Germany. It is clear that Mrs Ciller, who said she would slaughter us in Europe, intends to do this with German assistance. The nation of which I am an individual is being slaughtered in front of the eyes of the world for the crime of demanding its name and its freedom. In Kurdistan today a genocide is being carried out and people, villages and the forests and fields are being subjected to a scorched earth policy. I came to this country to explain this dire situation, to convey PKK General Secretary Abdullah Ocalan's proposals for a ceasefire leading to a peaceful political settlement, and to request Britain's assistance. However my peace mission resulted in my incarceration in a British prison, despite the fact that I have committed no offence in this country. I call on public opinion, political parties, parliament and the media to oppose this unacceptable breach of all democratic norms and urge them to protest against it. Kani Yilmaz ERNK (National Liberation Front of Kurdistan) European Representative February 1995 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Arm The Spirit E-mail: ats at etext.org P.O. Box 6326, Stn. A Toronto, Ontario M5W 1P7 Canada WWW: gopher://locust.cic.net:70/11/Politics/Arm.The.Spirit FTP: ftp.etext.org --> /pub/Politics/Arm.The.Spirit ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- From kurd-l at burn.ucsd.edu Tue Apr 4 15:40:23 1995 From: kurd-l at burn.ucsd.edu (kurd-l at burn.ucsd.edu) Date: 04 Apr 1995 15:40:23 Subject: Kurds Rally Against The Turkish Inv Message-ID: Reply-To: kurd-l at burn.ucsd.edu From: Kurdistan Committee of Canada Subject: Kurds Rally Against The Turkish Invasion Information Desk - The Turkish Invasion of South Kurdistan Tel: +32-2-230-9233 Fax: +32-2-230-9208 Press Release #16 April 3, 1995 We received the following news today from Ahmet Yigit, a correspondent for the Kurd-A News Agency in Zaxo, Kurdistan: Kurds Rally Against The Turkish Invasion In Koysancak, South Kurdistan (northern Iraq), Kurds took to the streets to protest the Turkish invasion. Carrying banners that condemned the recent occupation, the participants also held pictures of PKK chairman Abdullah Ocalan. "This is exactly what we wanted to happen, to win the hearts and the support of the Kurds who live in South Kurdistan," said a Kurdish fighter who had organized the event. He continued, "What we wanted to do was taking us time, but the Turkish invasion, acting like a catalyst, proved to our compatriots that salvation was through the armed struggle and that what we offered surpassed all the remaining alternatives." The fighting continued yesterday as well. In Amediye, at Iniske, Kurdish fighters ambushed a group of 500 Turkish soldiers in the early morning hours. The ensuing battle lasted all day. There was no word on the casualties but conversations between Turkish officers on walkie-talkies revealed a scene of panic and heavy losses. In Gele, another hit and run guerrilla tactic was put in place. But the Turkish reinforcements were at hand and tried to surround the Kurdish fighters. As the Turkish soldiers took positions against the Kurds, another group of Kurdish fighters came to the aid of their friends. Again, the fighting lasted all day. Late into the night, the Kurdish fighters disappeared having killed at least 5 soldiers. The number of Turkish soldiers is expected to be higher. Skirmishes continued in Gowende, Xapuske, Erdebil, and at Dee village as well. ----- Kurdistan Committee of Canada Tel: (613) 733-9634 2487 Kaladar Ave. Suite 203 Fax: (613) 733-0090 Ottawa, Ontario, K1V 8B9 E-mail: kcc at magi.com ----- From kurd-l at burn.ucsd.edu Tue Apr 4 15:41:49 1995 From: kurd-l at burn.ucsd.edu (kurd-l at burn.ucsd.edu) Date: 04 Apr 1995 15:41:49 Subject: Fighting Continues In South Kurdist Message-ID: Reply-To: kurd-l at burn.ucsd.edu From: Kurdistan Committee of Canada Subject: Fighting Continues In South Kurdistan Information Desk - The Turkish Invasion of South Kurdistan Tel: +32-2-230-9233 Fax: +32-2-230-9208 Press Release #15 April 2, 1995 We received the following news today from Ahmet Yigit, a correspondent for the Kurd-A News Agency in Zaxo, Kurdistan: Fighting Continues In South Kurdistan Kurdish guerrilla fighters attacked a Turkish regiment in Cukurca with mortars, targeting army buildings and a number of sitting helicopters on the ground. According to conversations between Turkish officers on walkie-talkies, 18 Turkish soldiers had died. No number was given, but the word was that there were many more wounded. Another Kurdish offensive took place in Kani Masi at Xanke where a Turkish force of some 150 soldiers was attacked. A Cobra helicopter that came to the aid of some Turkish soldiers was also hit. The enemy losses were high whereas the Kurdish losses were 2. From the scene of the battle, some Turkish weapons were confiscated: 5 G-3 guns, 14 G-3 cartridges, a considerable number of binoculars, and other light military equipment. Suffering from serious losses one after another, the Turkish soldiers began their time-honoured bombardment of the countryside at random. These carpet bombing exercises took place in Tirbanis, Ormane, and Iniske villages in the Zap and Kani Masi regions. Hoping to kill the PKK fighters, the attacks accomplished one thing: they forced the residents to flee the region. We also received a brief statement from the Press Office of the People's Liberation Army of Kurdistan (ARGK) concerning the disappearance of two Turkish journalists who were working for foreign news agencies: On a random check on the road between Cizre and Nusaybin, we found out that there were two journalists, Fatih Saribas and Kadir Gursel, who had Reuters News Agency and Associated France Press News Agency press cards respectively. We notified our commanders and awaited an answer as to what we should do about them. While the search for the identity of the two journalists was going on, we also received news that Turkish soldiers were on their way to attack us. We then decided to take the journalists with us for their own safety. Both Mr. Saribas and Mr. Gursel are in good health; we are doing everything to make sure that they are safe and secure. ----- Kurdistan Committee of Canada Tel: (613) 733-9634 2487 Kaladar Ave. Suite 203 Fax: (613) 733-0090 Ottawa, Ontario, K1V 8B9 E-mail: kcc at magi.com ----- From kurd-l at burn.ucsd.edu Tue Apr 4 15:43:39 1995 From: kurd-l at burn.ucsd.edu (kurd-l at burn.ucsd.edu) Date: 04 Apr 1995 15:43:39 Subject: Civil War Balance - March 1995 Message-ID: Reply-To: kurd-l at burn.ucsd.edu From: Kurdistan Committee of Canada Subject: Civil War Balance - March 1995 We received the following monthly statement from the Press Office of the People's Liberation Army of Kurdistan (ARGK): Civil War Balance - March 1995 In March, our forces stopped traffic on the road 11 times, ambushed Turkish military convoys 41 times, and attacked Turkish troops 58 times in the month of March. So far as we were able to make use of collected data, 9 officers and 749 soldiers were killed and 92 soldiers were injured. Also, some 40 Kurdish mercenaries receiving pay from the Turkish military were put out of commission and 17 were injured. We have also punished 6 collaborators by death and injured 6 others. We have 10 collaborators in our custody and are determining their culpability. Our losses were 109 fighters killed and 29 injured. During these operation, a considerable amount of Turkish weapons were confiscated. ----- Kurdistan Committee of Canada Tel: (613) 733-9634 2487 Kaladar Ave. Suite 203 Fax: (613) 733-0090 Ottawa, Ontario, K1V 8B9 E-mail: kcc at magi.com ----- From kurd-l at burn.ucsd.edu Tue Apr 4 16:21:39 1995 From: kurd-l at burn.ucsd.edu (kurd-l at burn.ucsd.edu) Date: 04 Apr 1995 16:21:39 Subject: Article From An Phoblacht On The Ku Message-ID: Reply-To: kurd-l at burn.ucsd.edu From: Arm The Spirit Subject: Article From An Phoblacht On The Kurdish Struggle No "Comfort" Now For Kurds World View By Dara Mac Neill Anybody remember the Gulf War? Apparently it had a lot to do with toppling tyrants and protecting the human rights of subject peoples. One of the key events in that whole campaign was the establishment by the U.S.-led forces, in April 1991, of Operation Provide Comfort. Operation Provide Comfort apparently had one basic premise: to protect the long-suffering Kurdish population in northern Iraq from the excesses of Saddam Hussein's military. As a result, a huge swathe of northern Iraq became a no-go area for any Iraqi military personnel and, in order to ensure compliance, the region was policed by the US military. There are some 25 million Kurdish people scattered between Iraq, Syria, Iran and Turkey. During the carve-up of the Middle East after the First World War, nobody paid any heed to Kurdish demands to be treated as a separate national entity. The same carve-up resulted in the creation of Kuwait, simply to maintain a western foothold in the region and ensure its bounteous oil supplies would not fall into "the wrong hands". Since then, the Kurds have lived largely as refugees and they are, effectively, the largest displaced nation on earth. Demands for the establishment of a separate Kurdish state have met with equal ferocity and brutality from the rulers of the countries in which they reside. Indeed, the Turkish government even refuses to recognise the Kurdish people within their own borders as a separate ethnic identity. Finding all other avenues closed the Kurds have resorted to armed struggle which today is led largely by the PKK. Since the establishment of Operation Provide Comfort some 44 months go, the only people who appear to be in any way comforted are the Turkish military. Using the absence of any Iraqi military presence in northern Iraq, they have struck at both rebel bases and civilian centres in the region. In the process, an estimated 15,000 Kurds have been killed. In this the Turks have been aided and abetted by the U.S., who regard Turkey as a key ally in the region. Thus, although George Bush was willing to play politics with the lives of the Kurds in 1991 and make noises about protecting them from Saddam Hussein, he repeatedly refused to meet Kurdish representatives for fear of upsetting Turkey. On 20 March, Turkey took their brutal campaign against the Kurds a step further when they launched a wholesale invasion of northern Iraq. The operation, involving up to 35,000 troops, is the biggest ever in Turkey's history, outstripping even their 1974 invasion of Cyprus. So where are the self-styled protectors of the Kurds? Standing on the sidelines making comforting noises. Bill Clinton has endorsed the operation and expressed "understanding" of Turkey's need to "deal decisively" with the Kurds. Apparently, Clinton was initially hesitant about the whole affair, but was reassured when the Turkish government informed him they expected the operation would be a short one. I'm sure the Iraqi Kurds will be immensely comforted by that news. As a result, according to one U.S. news report, the U.S.-led airforce which is charged with protecting the Kurds has "halted its routine flights in the area, which are designed to protect Iraqi Kurds." The news report which carried the story appeared to find nothing even remotely strange, unusual, or even slightly contradictory abut this. But then they wouldn't, would they. Once again, the Kurdish people have become the victims of "strategic necessity". (Source: An Phoblacht/Repubican News - News And Views Of The Irish Republican Movement. Published in Belfast and Dublin, Ireland - March 28, 1995) ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Arm The Spirit E-mail: ats at etext.org P.O. Box 6326, Stn. A Toronto, Ontario M5W 1P7 Canada WWW: gopher://locust.cic.net:70/11/Politics/Arm.The.Spirit FTP: ftp.etext.org --> /pub/Politics/Arm.The.Spirit ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- From kurd-l at burn.ucsd.edu Wed Apr 5 19:08:45 1995 From: kurd-l at burn.ucsd.edu (kurd-l at burn.ucsd.edu) Date: 05 Apr 1995 19:08:45 Subject: DEMONSTRATION - April 7 - Montreal Message-ID: Reply-To: kurd-l at burn.ucsd.edu From: Kurdistan Committee of Canada Subject: DEMONSTRATION - April 7 - Montreal DEMONSTRATION - Friday - April 7 - 11:00 a.m. - Montreal To all democrats, progressives, and friends: On Friday, April 7, the Kurdistan Cultural Association of Montreal, in conjuction with the Greek and Armenian communities and Quebecois supporters as well, will hold a protest demonstration. We will be gathering for the demonstration at 11:00 a.m. on Friday in Parc Montreal. We will then walk down Parc Avenue to Rene Levesque. Then we will rally in front of the Federal Building at Complex Guy Favrue. There are many reasons for holding this demonstration, the most urgent being Canada's impending sale of CF-5 warplanes to Turkey, as well as Turkey's recent invasion of South Kurdistan. On March 20, Turkey launched the biggest military operation in its history and invaded South Kurdistan (northern Iraq). Allegedly targeting guerrillas from the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), the invasion has actually caused innocent Kurdish civilians and refugees to suffer the most. Although the invasion violates international law, neither NATO nor the UN has condemned Turkey. South Kurdistan (northern Iraq) is supposed to be a UN-protected "safe haven" for Kurdish people. Turkey's recent invasion proves that there is no safe place for the Kurds in this world. Also in March, the Canadian government announced that it had plans to sell 39 modernized CF-5 warplanes to Turkey. Similar warplanes are being used to bomb Kurdish villages and refugee camps in South Kurdistan right now. If Canada sells these planes to Turkey, the Turkish military will certainly use them to bomb Kurdish civilians. In the last three years of the civil war in Turkey, more than 1,400 Kurdish villages have been destroyed by the Turkish military and more than 2 million Kurds have been forced to become refugees. And as a final insult, Canada's interior ministry announced recently that it would send a ministerial delegation to Turkey to participate in the 75th anniversary celebration of "democracy in Turkey". Democracy in Turkey? That's ridiculous! In March 1994, Kurdish MPs in the Turkish Parliament saw their party banned and their constitutional immunity lifted. Some fled to Europe, but the others faced the death penalty on charges of "high treason". What was their crime? Speaking out for human rights and democracy for the Kurdish people. In December 1994, 5 of these MPs were sentenced to 15 years in prison. That is the reality of democracy in Turkey, the country with the highest number of journalists in prison, a country where Kurdish newspapers are illegal, and a country where pro-Kurdish politicians, lawyers, and human rights activists are routinely attacked and killed by "unknown persons". The world's 40 million Kurds are the largest people in the world without their own country. The Kurds have been perceuted and betrayed for centuries. Now is the time for this oppression to end. The people of Canada and Quebec should support the Kurds in their struggle for Freedom. Turkish Troops Out Of Kurdistan! No Arms Sales To Turkey! Freedom For Kurdistan! For more information, call (514) 376-0978 ----- Kurdistan Committee of Canada tel: (613) 733-9634 2487 Kaladar Ave. Suite 203 fax: (613) 733-0090 Ottawa, Ontario, K1V 8B9 email: kcc at magi.com ----- From kurd-l at burn.ucsd.edu Fri Apr 7 23:19:18 1995 From: kurd-l at burn.ucsd.edu (kurd-l at burn.ucsd.edu) Date: 07 Apr 1995 23:19:18 Subject: ,CIRA, new Kurdish journal Message-ID: Reply-To: kurd-l at burn.ucsd.edu From: "Michael Chyet" Subject: ,CIRA, new Kurdish journal Dear friends, I am very happy to announce the appearance of a new Kurdish cultural journal, ,CIRA [=the lamp], put out by the Association of Kurdish Writers in Sweden [Komeleya Niv^iskar^en Kurd li Sw^ed^e], under the editorship of Malm^isanij. The first issue appeared in March [Adar] 1995, and included articles in Kurmanji Kurdish, Sorani Kurdish, and Zaza [Dumili], all in the Latin orthography. This new journal has a sleek, professional appearance as yet unparalleled in the world of Kurdish publishing. Issue no. 1 includes articles on history, politics, literature, and language, as well as some poetry. One issue costs 50 Swedish kronor 6 month subscription: 100 Swedish kronor 1 year subscription: 200 Swedish kronor ,CIRA can be obtained from the following address: c/o Tayfun Hyppingeplan 21, 2 tr. o 163 32 Spanga SWEDEN tel. 08-760 69 38 fax: 08-711 08 36 From kurd-l at burn.ucsd.edu Mon Apr 10 15:05:24 1995 From: kurd-l at burn.ucsd.edu (kurd-l at burn.ucsd.edu) Date: 10 Apr 1995 15:05:24 Subject: DEMONSTRATION - April 13 - Ottawa Message-ID: Reply-To: kurd-l at burn.ucsd.edu From: Kurdistan Committee of Canada Subject: DEMONSTRATION - April 13 - Ottawa PROTEST Stop Canada's Military Exports to Turkey! Demonstration on Parliament Hill March to the Turkish Embassy Thursday - April 13 - Noon Oppose Canada's military exports to Turkey. Work for a peaceful resolution to the war. Support democracy and human rights in Kurdistan. Canada has already sold about $26 million in military equipment to Turkey in the past 4 years. Canada is now trying to sell 39 CF-5s for Turkey to use in its war against the Kurds. A few examples of Turkish "democracy": * 2,000 villages forcibly evacuated or destroyed since 1993; * 1,700 intellectuals, politicians, unionists, teachers, and journalists murdered in 2 years; * 50,000 people killed since 1984; * Kurdish MPs imprisoned; * 15,000 political prisoners; * more than 3 million people displaced. Please copy, circulate, and post this notice. Organized by: Canadian Friends of Kurdistan Kurdistan Committee of Canada (733-9634) Coalition to Oppose the Arms Trade (231-3076) OPIRG Carleton University From kurd-l at burn.ucsd.edu Mon Apr 10 15:05:57 1995 From: kurd-l at burn.ucsd.edu (kurd-l at burn.ucsd.edu) Date: 10 Apr 1995 15:05:57 Subject: More Iraqi Civilians Killed Message-ID: Reply-To: kurd-l at burn.ucsd.edu From: Kurdistan Committee of Canada Subject: More Iraqi Civilians Killed Information Desk - The Turkish Invasion of South Kurdistan Tel: +32-2-230-9233 Fax: +32-2-230-9208 Press Release #19 April 7, 1995 We received the following statement from Serhat Celik, a contact person for the National Liberation Front of Kurdistan (ERNK) in Zaxo, Northern Iraq, Southern Kurdistan: The owner of Heval Restaurant in Zaxo, Irfan F. Horiri, along with his family and some relations were killed when their car was attacked last night at about eight o'clock in the evening. There were four children, one women, and three men in the car. The family was on its way home after viewing some oil paintings that were commemorating a massacre that had taken place in the same city 40 days ago. The incident took place over a bridge which is guarded by the Turkish soldiers. Turkish tanks and armoured vehicles stand by to enable the smooth transition of troops from Turkey to Southern Kurdistan. Many in Zaxo believe that this can only be the work of some individuals with higher rank in the Turkish army to avenge the death of three Turkish aid workers who were killed earlier. As the news spread in the beleaguered city, the people took to the streets to protest the barbarity of the act and shout slogans, that the enemy must leave. The reports that the villages are still pounded by the Turkish armed forces and that the locals are forced to flee have made the city residents extremely edgy. Long time residents feel that a commotion may be in the near future. ----- Kurdistan Committee of Canada Tel: (613) 733-9634 2487 Kaladar Ave. Suite 203 Fax: (613) 733-0090 Ottawa, Ontario, K1V 8B9 E-mail: kcc at magi.com ----- From kurd-l at burn.ucsd.edu Mon Apr 10 15:10:20 1995 From: kurd-l at burn.ucsd.edu (kurd-l at burn.ucsd.edu) Date: 10 Apr 1995 15:10:20 Subject: ARGK Update On South Kurdistan Message-ID: Reply-To: kurd-l at burn.ucsd.edu From: Kurdistan Committee of Canada Subject: ARGK Update On South Kurdistan Information Desk - The Turkish Invasion of South Kurdistan Tel: +32-2-230-9233 Fax: +32-2-230-9208 Press Release #20 April 9, 1995 We received the following statement from the Press Office of the People's Liberation Army of Kurdistan (ARGK). It sums up the latest casualty rates for the parties involved. Below are a few excerpts from the statement: Data collected from the Kurdish platoon leaders in the field of war indicates that since the beginning of the Turkish invasion of Southern Kurdistan coupled with the ongoing war in Northern Kurdistan, 84 times we have come in contact with the enemy forces. Of these encounters, 45 have been ambushes, 19 times we have attacked the enemy forces, 11 times we have managed to infiltrate into their ranks and 9 times we have subjected them to the thunder of our gunfire and often hitting them on target. In addition, the enemy has stepped on our mines 28 times. As a result of our ambushes, 460 Turkish soldiers have died. Our attacks have decapacitated 265 enemy soldiers. Through infiltration tactics, we have killed 14 of the enemy forces. The exploded mines have added 93 more soldiers to the casualty rates. 6 soldiers in the gunfire assaults. 5 soldiers have died by committing suicide. 24 Kurdish mercenaries have also been killed. 18 Kurdish collaborators have had the same fate. There has also been the death of 11 Turkish officers of various ranks. The enemy forces have also had 102 of their troops injured. Our losses are 113 Kurdish fighters killed and 26 injured. Of the decommissioned enemy vehicles, we know of 45 armoured vehicles hitting mines or being ambushed. 9 tanks and 3 panzers have had the same fate. We have also hit 3 helicopters and seriously damaged 21 armoured vehicles. The enemy logistics have been our open target and they too have had their share of assaults. In addition, in several places we have confiscated the enemy arsenal. ----- Kurdistan Committee of Canada Tel: (613) 733-9634 2487 Kaladar Ave. Suite 203 Fax: (613) 733-0090 Ottawa, Ontario, K1V 8B9 E-mail: kcc at magi.com ----- From kurd-l at burn.ucsd.edu Tue Apr 11 00:45:43 1995 From: kurd-l at burn.ucsd.edu (kurd-l at burn.ucsd.edu) Date: 11 Apr 1995 00:45:43 Subject: The Kurdistan Parliament In Exile Message-ID: Reply-To: kurd-l at burn.ucsd.edu From: Kurdistan Committee of Canada Subject: The Kurdistan Parliament In Exile Please note that the Kurdistan Parliament in Exile will hold its first inaugural meeting in The Hague, The Netherlands, on April 12, 1995. The openging session will last from 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. and will be followed by cultural entertainment. Address: Nederlands Congresgebouw Den Haag Churchillplein 10 2508 EA Den Haag, NL For more information, contact: Tel: +322-5393033 Fax: +322-5393887 ----- The Parliament Of Kurdistan In Exile And Its Aims As we approach the end of this century, the oppressed peoples of the world are declaring their independence and freedom. In today's world, one of those national and social upheavals is taking place in Kurdistan. At the root of this war lies the denial of the Kurdish national identity and the absence of democratic rights. Kurdistan was first divided by the Treaty of Kasri-Sirin in 1639 between the Ottoman and Persian empires. At the end of the First World War, the issue of Kurdistan surfaced again, this time among the Allies at Sevres in 1920. The founding of the Turkish Republic put an end to this proposition, however, and the Treaty of Lausanne divided Kurdistan among four countries. When the young Turkish Republic was being founded, it solicited and received help from the people of Kurdistan. Later, that same republic began to oppress the Kurds by means of force. A campaign of assimilation became the official ideology of the Turkish state. Many Kurdish uprisings were crushed and millions of Kurds were forced to resettle elsewhere. In the 1970s, the Kurds began to develop their national consciousness, partly because of internal developments and partly because of developments taking place in other parts of the world. The Turkish government's refusal to accommodate the democratic and political rights of the people of Kurdistan forced the people to take up a national liberation struggle. This led to the creation of Kurdish political, military, economic, and cultural institutions. The situation of the people in Turkish-occupied Kurdistan and in other counties in which the Kurds live is at variance with the ideals of the free world. The war that is taking place in Kurdistan is not an internal matter of Turkey but rather a regional and global issue. A nation whose population is about 40 million people are deprived of their rights that are enshrined by the United Nations' Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The right of a nation to self-determination remains a matter of necessity because of scientific and historic reasons. In our world, peoples whose population do not exceed more than one hundred thousand possess their own parliaments and organs of political representation. But 40 million Kurds are deprived of this right. The free will of the people of Kurdistan is being suppressed by force. We believe the time has come, both in Kurdistan and abroad, to have the Kurdish political institutions unite at the highest level. There is no Kurdish representation in the countries in which we live. In addition, a war of extermination is being waged against the Kurds by the government in Ankara. Turkey's Grand National Assembly does not represent the will of the people in Kurdistan. That assembly, by using force, wants everyone to become a Turks. The Kurdish representatives who were elected in 1991 by popular vote were harassed because they did not subscribe to official Turkish state ideology and also because they raised the Kurdish question of behalf of their constituencies. Mehmet Sincar was murdered. The others had their constitutional immunity lifted. Seven of these MPs were then given prison terms ranging from 3 1/2 to 15 years. The remaining MPs were forced to seek refuge abroad. At this stage, a national parliament is of necessity for the people of Kurdistan. Our people want to express their political will by means of a representative body. This body will tackle the question of Kurdistan, speak on behalf of national concerns, and be the voice of the people abroad. This issue has been discussed for a long time now. It enjoys broad popular support among our people. We also acknowledge the two-year experience with parliamentary representation that is in effect in South Kurdistan. Our country is under military occupation. Our people are waging a heroic war of liberation against the occupiers. The Turkish government, which is losing on the military field, has begun a campaign against our people. Villagers, shopkeepers, students, intellectuals, politicians, writers, workers, women, men, children, and people of all ages from every class and every profession are murdered. This lives of our deputies who were democratically elected are in danger. Because of these conditions, more than half of the population has fled the country. It is obvious that our people cannot represent themselves in their country and therefore they must seek representation elsewhere. The situations of Poland after the Second World War, Algeria in the 1960s, and the recent experiences of the Palestinians and the ANC are similar to our own. As a first step, we are establishing a parliament that will consist of representatives of our people who live abroad. In addition, in our country, we would like to establish provincial legislatures. The exile parliament and the provincial legislatures will eventually merge to represent the will of the people in a liberated Kurdistan. At this time, there are approximately 12 million Kurds living abroad. About 10 million of these have been forced to relocate to Turkish cities. The reason for this uprooting is the war that is unfolding in our country. In Diaspora, there is a substantial Kurdish potential. The population is intimately connected with its roots in the country and they need unity and a voice: a parliament. With this parliament, our people will determine their legal and official status. The people of Kurdistan need to represent themselves in an institution that will be recognized world-wide. They need to tackle the questions of legal citizenship and they need to contribute to the efforts of war and peace that affect them. These issues can only be raised by a parliament that represents all the people of Kurdistan. The Parliament of Kurdistan in Exile rejects all forms of foreign occupation of our country and approves of the legitimacy of the national liberation struggle. The Parliament of Kurdistan in Exile relies on the support of the people of Kurdistan and their national liberation struggle. It protects the people of Kurdistan abroad and makes decisions of their behalf. The Parliament of Kurdistan in Exile will act according to the national will of the people when a referendum determines its composition. The Parliament of Kurdistan in Exile will be a bridge between the world public opinion and the national liberation struggle and it will enter into dialogue to have better relations with governments and international organizations and it will conduct political and diplomatic relations. The parliament will be the voice of the people of Kurdistan and its ultimate aim will be to represent the legitimate and legal aspirations of the Kurdish people. As an institution that will be the voice of the people of Kurdistan, the Parliament of Kurdistan in Exile will implement and monitor the decisions made by its members by way of commissions and/or other necessary organs. The Parliament of Kurdistan in Exile will undertake the task of politically, socially, economically, and culturally educating the people of Kurdistan who live abroad and it will develop laws for citizenship and represent its people. The official language of the Parliament of Kurdistan in Exile is Kurdish. The first act of the Parliament of Kurdistan in Exile will be the creation of a Kurdistan National Congress and determine a National Assembly. It will be open to all national political groups and institutions. Its aims will be to unite these forces and will be guided by national interests. The Parliament of Kurdistan in Exile will not discriminate on the basis of nationality, religion, or gender. It is open to those who support the idea of a free Kurdistan and those who side with the national liberation struggle. The Parliament of Kurdistan in Exile will address the concerns of the people of Kurdistan regardless of whether they live in Kurdistan or abroad. In light of these aims, the Parliament of Kurdistan in Exile will select its members from those people who subscribe to these principles and others who are representatives of the exiled Kurdish community, including the parliamentarians and mayors who were forced to seek refuge abroad, the people who were elected to the Kurdistan National Assembly and who are now actively engaged in the national liberation struggle, and the exiled members of the Democracy Party (DEP). Because our people cannot freely choose their representatives in Kurdistan, the representatives of the Parliament of Kurdistan in Exile will be elected from national institutions located abroad. Because of the above-mentioned reasons, the work of the Parliament of Kurdistan in Exile will be undertaken by the Preparatory Commission, which consists of people who are elected by Kurdish people and others involved in the national liberation struggle. The Parliament of Kurdistan in Exile Preparatory Committee January 2, 1995 ----- Kurdistan Committee of Canada Tel: (613) 733-9634 2487 Kaladar Ave. Suite 203 Fax: (613) 733-0090 Ottawa, Ontario, K1V 8B9 E-mail: kcc at magi.com ----- From kurd-l at burn.ucsd.edu Tue Apr 11 16:12:13 1995 From: kurd-l at burn.ucsd.edu (kurd-l at burn.ucsd.edu) Date: 11 Apr 1995 16:12:13 Subject: Don't Holiday In Turkey! Message-ID: Reply-To: kurd-l at burn.ucsd.edu From: Kurdistan Committee of Canada Subject: Don't Holiday In Turkey! KURD-A Documentation: Statement From The ARGK Press Office January 17, 1995 "Boycott Turkish Tourism! Do Not Give Financial Support To The Dirty War!" The press office of the ARGK (People's Liberation Army of Kurdistan) issued a statement on January 17, 1995 relating to a boycott of Turkish tourism, which finances the special war in Kurdistan. A special war is taking place in Turkey and Kurdistan. In this situation of war, the ARGK press office said, there can be no vacation trips. "Every holiday in Turkey makes profit for the dirty war." The following is the communique which was sent to us in written form: "There is a battlefield in Kurdistan. The Turkish Republic is waging a horribly dirty war. They do not seek to reach a peaceful, political, and democratic solution. The Turkish Republic has forced the people of Kurdistan into a one-sided war. In the cities and the countryside, countless people are driven from their homes, more than 2,000 villages have been destroyed or depopulated through the violence of the military. Millions of Kurds are being tortured. 15,000 Kurdish patriots, our people, have been imprisoned. All living spaces in Kurdistan are being destroyed, the forests are being burned, and there is not a single mountain region which is not being bombarded. The Kurdish people have every right to resist and to struggle. Every region in Kurdistan is a battlefield in this war. A horrible war is waging between the ARGK and the Turkish Republic. "The special war is also being carried out in Turkey. Every vacation in Turkey brings in profits for the dirty war. These profits are transformed into bullets which are used against the Kurdish people. We are warning the European public, those people who would like to spend their holidays in Turkey: You cannot take a vacation on a battlefield. No one should make reservations nor book any tickets, no one should travel into Turkey or Kurdistan. There is no guarantee that you can survive in a region where a war is taking place. Anyone who does not pay attention to this and who ignores the human conditions is risking their life by travelling into Turkey and Kurdistan - we are not responsible for this. To prevent unwanted consequences, do not travel to Turkey or Kurdistan. We are warning people ahead of time and making them aware of the reality. "Turkey is not a safe country: The lies and destructive policies of the government are responsible for this. We don't want Europeans to be fooled by the tourism propaganda of a regime which is dictatorial, not democratic, and whose military is waging a special dirty war. Just like last year, we hope that people will respect our call. "We call on the German state to remove its support for the Turkish government and to free itself from its complicity in the dirty war. In the long-term, this complicity will only harm Germany's own interests. If Germany continues to support destructive policies in Kurdistan, then political and economic targets will be attacked by ARGK units. We will carry out suicide attacks against German targets in Turkey and Kurdistan. "The Turkish government denies the existence of the Kurdish people, it practices violence and despotism. This regime cannot be accepted. You cannot take a vacation in a region where such a regime is accepted. "We are warning people ahead of time that we are not responsible for the consequences or any undesirable developments." ARGK (People's Liberation Army of Kurdistan) ----- Kurdistan Committee of Canada Tel: (613) 733-9634 2487 Kaladar Ave. Suite 203 Fax: (613) 733-0090 Ottawa, Ontario, K1V 8B9 E-mail: kcc at magi.com ----- From kurd-l at burn.ucsd.edu Tue Apr 11 16:13:32 1995 From: kurd-l at burn.ucsd.edu (kurd-l at burn.ucsd.edu) Date: 11 Apr 1995 16:13:32 Subject: Interview With A Member Of HADEP Message-ID: Reply-To: kurd-l at burn.ucsd.edu From: Kurdistan Committee of Canada Subject: Interview With A Member Of HADEP Interview With A Member Of HADEP Recently a correspondent for the KURD-A news agency visited some Kurdish friends in Antep and Diyarbakir and in the big cities of western Turkey as well. In several conversations and interviews, she tried to get a clear picture of the mood, hopes, and fears of the Kurdish people. One of the people she spoke to was a prominent member of the pro-Kurdish People's Democracy Party (HADEP), which is not officially banned in Turkey, but which has been plagued by murders carried out by "unknown assailants", arrests, attacks, and accusations of collaboration with the PKK. "In the last few months, our work here at HADEP has taken some great steps forward, but the state's persecution of the Kurds has also gotten stronger. The Kurds must live in fear - that is the only means the Turkish government knows how to use. But despite all the oppression, we continue to work because we love our people. Those people killed by 'unknown assailants' are brothers to all of us. They stand behind us. Their blood shall not have been shed in vain." The friend continued: "If only the Kurdish people in Europe, and in the world, just had the broad support of friends and a sympathetic party! But we know how to tell the difference between our friends and our enemies. We thank our friends for their practical and moral assistance, for their political and humanitarian support." And what about your enemies? "Our enemies want to show us how a person should be, both in struggle and at the negotiating table. If only they knew how our guerrillas live! If they could share but one day of their lives with them, then they would really know how a person should be!" Will the struggle escalate in the coming year? "We won't lose our hope for freedom in 1995 and we will struggle on, even if it costs us four times as many lives. We aren't afraid. But we hope that the Turkish state will finally stop oppressing the Kurds and start negotiating." (KURD-A 29.03.1995) ----- Kurdistan Committee of Canada Tel: (613) 733-9634 2487 Kaladar Ave. Suite 203 Fax: (613) 733-0090 Ottawa, Ontario, K1V 8B9 E-mail: kcc at magi.com ----- From KOMMAG at ASCO.comlink.apc.org Wed Apr 12 22:31:00 1995 From: KOMMAG at ASCO.comlink.apc.org (KOMMAG at ASCO.comlink.apc.org) Date: 12 Apr 1995 22:31:00 Subject: Kurdish "med TV" ??? Message-ID: <5jdu2fYIx.B@kommagp.asco.nev.sub> hello friends! have you any political or technical information about the new kurdish tv program from london? greetings from FRG study groups kurdistan - university kassel \\\\\\\\ PUBLIC-KEY (PGP) als `EmpfangsBestaetigung' //////// ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ^ ~~~~~ ^ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ >> Willkommen im GLOBALEN dOrFFrIedhOf! << ## CrossPoint v3.02 R ## From kurd-l at burn.ucsd.edu Thu Apr 13 11:49:24 1995 From: kurd-l at burn.ucsd.edu (kurd-l at burn.ucsd.edu) Date: 13 Apr 1995 11:49:24 Subject: Two Journalists Safe With The ARGK Message-ID: Reply-To: kurd-l at burn.ucsd.edu From: Kurdistan Committee of Canada Subject: Two Journalists Safe With The ARGK Information Desk - The Turkish Invasion of South Kurdistan Tel: +32-2-230-9233 Fax: +32-2-230-9208 Press Release #18 April 6, 1995 We received the following statement from the Press Office of the People's Liberation Army of Kurdistan (ARGK) relative to the fate of Fatih Saribas and Kadir Gursel, two journalists working for Reuters and AFP respectively: Two journalists who were picked up by our fighters during a routine road stop on March 31, 1995 between Cizre and Nusaybin in North Kurdistan (southeastern Turkey) are in our custody. As we indicated in our earlier communique, we took them into our custody because, as our road control was continuing, we received word that Turkish soldiers were on their way to engage us in a battle. We then decided that the best thing to do was to keep the journalists in our safety. Since then, in the Turkish press, there have been concocted storied about this incident. These stories are all false. Mr. Saribas and Mr. Gursel are with us and they are safe. A cursory look at recent Turkish history will reveal that circles affiliated with the Turkish government have murdered many journalists, and some of them have been Turks. We also have had the unpleasant experience of freeing Prisoners of War, only to find out later that they were murdered by the Turkish side. Just a few days ago, the Turkish armed forces committed an atrocity in the village of Gorumlu in Silopi and heralded the news to the world that our forces, the PKK fighters, had committed the crime. With this record in mind, we urge the representatives of the United Nations or the Red Cross or any other international body to intervene and secure their freedom. Should we be forced to release them without the intervention of any representatives of an international body, we would like to notify the public that we will take no responsibility for their torture or death in the hands of the Turkish authorities. People's Liberation Army of Kurdistan (ARGK) ----- Kurdistan Committee of Canada Tel: (613) 733-9634 2487 Kaladar Ave. Suite 203 Fax: (613) 733-0090 Ottawa, Ontario, K1V 8B9 E-mail: kcc at magi.com ----- From root at newsdesk.aps.nl Fri Apr 14 17:32:41 1995 From: root at newsdesk.aps.nl (root at newsdesk.aps.nl) Date: 14 Apr 1995 17:32:41 Subject: Ankara challenged by PKK face-l Message-ID: From: newsdesk at newsdesk.aps.nl (Newsdesk Amsterdam) Subject: Re: Ankara challenged by PKK face-lift Reply-To: root at newsdesk.aps.nl ---------------- Forwarded from : igi at igrey.demon.co.uk (igi) ------------------ Ankara challenged by PKK face-lift 04.13.95/CM (C) Turkey's confidence in crushing its ten-year-old Kurdish rebellion through military means alone appears to have hampered little the Kurds' own plans to escalate warfare even further while at the same time launching a massive diplomatic offensive on Ankara and its policies. This week, as the first Kurdish Parliament in Exile came to being in Holland, the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) once again offered a political solution to the crisis through dialogue. Otherwise, it warned, Turkey should gear up for a major military and diplomatic defeat. Whether the PKK, which is held responsible by Ankara for at least 8,000 civilian casualties since 1984, could score any military victories over the well-organized armed forces of Turkey is highly sceptical. But Ankara's handling of its own internal affairs and systematic violation of human rights has raised the odds for the Kurds to further isolate this country in the West. Last week, Turkey once again brushed aside the peace offer of PKK chairman Abdullah Ocalan and declared that despite foreign reaction, its military operations would continue until this organization was fully crushed. "Once terrorism is eradictated," Foreign Minister Erdal Inonu was quoted as saying in the domestic press, "we will then give all of the rights." He did not elaborate on what the rights would be. Democratic reforms have long been a major item on Prime Minister Tansu Ciller's coalition government's agenda and Ankara has vehemently argued in the West that Kurdish terrorism was the main obstacle before Turkey's democratization. But despite its formal recognition of an "ethnic Kurdish identity," the government and military insist that any "exceptional" rights for the Kurds, who constitute one-sixth of Turkey's population at an estimated 12 million, would lead to the division of the country. "If you give them your hand," Ciller had said earlier, "they will take your arm." Both the government and military believe the way to solve the crisis is by crushing terrorism. And, that addressing social, cultural and economic demands in the deprived Southeast region can only come after that. They refuse to recognize the PKK as an end result of Turkey's formal denial of a Kurdish identity and years of forceful assimilation, regarding it mainly as an armed terrorist organization which survives through foreign support -- both from Middle Eastern dictatorships and European countries with Greece coming at top of the list. They ignore both the conditions which brought the PKK into being in the first place and those which have thrust thousands of volunteers into the ranks of this organization. Prior to the recent Turkish military incursion into north Iraq, which has now become a major headache for Ankara, PKK officials held a major meeting in the territories which are now occupied. Dubbed as "the Fifth Victory Congress," the meeting resulted with a full face-lift for the organization bracing itself to fight a political-diplomatic war throughout the globe. More than 300 delegates including PKK commanders in Turkish territory were present to vote for a new Central Committee as well as other related bodies. Most important of all, they voted to drop the Cold War symbols of hammer and sickle from the PKK flag and amblem after denouncing Soviet socialism as "the most primitive and violent era of socialism." The face-lift included a major decision to take diplomacy as important as guerilla war and channel new recruits into this field. It was also decided that the PKK, now probably the most expansive guerilla organization in the whole of the Middle East, would keep its policies and tactics in line with the changins world order. It appears now, some three months after this meeting, that Ankara's consecutive crack downs on PKK forces in Iraq and eastern Turkey have done little to obstruct the Kurdish effort to seek justification and legitimization in the West. Many western countries with America at top of the list still regard the PKK as a Marxist Leninist terrorist movement but find it hard to deny that its very being is the result of Turkey's policies rather than a foreign plot. Indeed, aware of this distinction and criticism of its past conduct, the PKK has spent great time on image building efforts. Earlier this year prior to the fifth congress, it issued a "Declaration of Intention" to abide by humanitarian laws and rules specified by the Geneva Convention. It made an application to the International Committee of the Red Cross and attempted to send Kurdish representatives to meet with senior UN officials. Furthermore, it declared a four month amnesty to state-armed village guards, dramatically cutting down on attacks related to civilian targets. It also published a statement in which it limited its future targets to military and security personnel alone. The impact of these decisions, however, was nil in Turkey where Ciller has gathered much of her lost popularity promising an imminent military victory on terrorism. Western circles approved of the changes but were cautious, pointing out that only time could show whether they were sincere. Human rights activists placed the organization once again under a magnifying glass. The opening of the Kurdish Parliament in Exile this week was cited in a recent statement by Ocalan as a step towards dialogue and a peaceful solution. Many observers argue that the so-called parliament has little substance and no authority at all. But the Kurdish rebel movement, aware of international concern to deal directly with the PKK, sees it as an "address." "It is a body which represents the Kurdish people and their aspirations. It is non-violent and believes that a solution to the crisis could be found without shedding more blood," a leading Kurdish activist was to say. But the parliament is only one angle of the Kurdish plight to get their words across an international audience. In another development, the world's first private Kurdish television to broadcast through satellite came to being in Europe, stunning and angering Ankara. Med television is currently on a test run of three hours per-day in Kurdish but soon plans to go up to around the clock. >From applying to Geneva to setting up private televisions, the Turkish-Kurdish movement has clearly changed skin since 1990 when it was constantly blamed for civilian massacres in the Turkish Southeast. It no longer regards violence as a major tactic and has turned to skilfull politics, exploiting many of Ankara's political blunders, for its aims. In the meantime, it seeks to increase military activities only to further force Turkey to recognize that the rebellion is but a result of its own policies of denial and violations, and unless those policies are radically changed, terrorism cannot be crushed. "If they want war, we will give them war. But if they want peace, we are prepared to talk," Ocalan said in a recent interview. His words reflecting the PKK's new policy. Today, Ankara is still no closer to introducing the much required reforms which could passify the demands of the Kurdish masses and force the PKK to abandon military tactics. It does not accept that by meeting Kurdish demands, terrorism could be marginilized. More important, the national-state concept of the modern republic, based mainly on the assimilation of all Muslim peoples into a dominant Sunni- Turkish identity, prevents Turkey and a majority of Turks to actually agree with the Kurdish demands. Despite the PKK's repeated statements that a seccession may not be necessary and that a solution could be found to the problem within Turkish sovereignty, Ankara is determined to ignore such proposals and crush the rebellion by pure force. It appears that Turkey is learning its lesson in a very, very hard way. Ends ----------------------------- End forwarded message -------------------------- ------------------------------------------------------- * Activists Press Service (Newsdesk) * newsdesk at aps.nl !Power to the people! ------------------------------------------------------- From kurd-l at burn.ucsd.edu Fri Apr 14 19:42:16 1995 From: kurd-l at burn.ucsd.edu (kurd-l at burn.ucsd.edu) Date: 14 Apr 1995 19:42:16 Subject: Kurdistan Parliament in Exile Opens Message-ID: Reply-To: kurd-l at burn.ucsd.edu From: Kurdistan Committee of Canada Subject: Kurdistan Parliament in Exile Opens in The Netherlands Kurdistan Parliament in Exile Press Release April 14, 1995 The Kurdistan Parliament in Exile - Resolution #4 On April 12, 1995 in The Netherlands, the Kurdistan Parliament in Exile held its first inaugural meeting to begin its work. The performance of the act proved to the world that the Dutch people and their government were democratic and fair relative to freedom of expression. This opportunity was also an act of tolerance. The Kurdish people will never forget such an act of understanding. It is obvious that the occasion will be remembered as an historic beginning in times to come. In the world, as democratic values are becoming institutionalized with every passing day, Turkey is insisting on its anti-democratic stand and tradition. To the acts of terror that the Turkish state continues to commit in Northern Kurdistan, the Ankara government has added a new atrocity in front of the whole world and invaded Southern Kurdistan. It is a pity that Turkey has even been showered with understanding and support by some countries. We consider such empathy regrettable, as it makes it difficult to bring about a solution to the Kurdish question. The Turkish government has called home its ambassador to The Netherlands, Mr. Zeki Celikkol. It has done so to protest the democratic values of the Dutch government. In so doing, it has again revealed its undemocratic nature. We condemn this act of the government of Turkey. We again thank the Dutch people and their government for their act of understanding. Contact address: 129a Avenue Louise 1050 Brussels, Belgium tel: +322-539-3033 fax: +322-539-3887 ----- Kurdistan Committee of Canada Tel: (613) 733-9634 2487 Kaladar Ave. Suite 203 Fax: (613) 733-0090 Ottawa, Ontario, K1V 8B9 E-mail: kcc at magi.com ----- From kurd-l at burn.ucsd.edu Fri Apr 14 21:37:17 1995 From: kurd-l at burn.ucsd.edu (kurd-l at burn.ucsd.edu) Date: 14 Apr 1995 21:37:17 Subject: PKK Chairman Calls For A Lasting Pe Message-ID: Reply-To: kurd-l at burn.ucsd.edu From: Kurdistan Committee of Canada Subject: PKK Chairman Calls For A Lasting Peaceful Solution Information Desk - The Turkish Invasion of South Kurdistan Tel: +32-2-230-9233 Fax: +32-2-230-9208 Press Release #21 April 14, 1995 We received the following facsimile from the leader of the PKK. It follows for your perusal verbatim: PKK Chairman Calls For A Lasting Peaceful Solution The Kurdish question is rapidly becoming a global issue. A political solution is becoming necessary. We would like to indicate that neither Germany nor other countries can afford to overlook this fact. The support given to Turkey has culminated in the genocide of the Kurds and the annihilation of their nation. The policy of the Turkish government is such that it recognizes no limits. It behooves you not to aid a government with these aims. This is also the desire of the people of Kurdistan. The Kurdish people are resisting the Turkish government's policies of violating the rules of war, which result in massacres and forced migrations which are designed to depopulate Kurdistan. We have not committed nor do we plan to commit acts of violence in Europe. The German government's tacit support of the aims of the Turkish war, which are conducted by the plans of the Special War Department, are pushing the Kurds to despair. We do not want acts of violence to take place; we want this to be known. We also believe there is a need for some measures to be implemented to dampen the situation. We believe all arms shipments must come to a halt. We think it is wrong to support a policy of force relative to human rights and the Kurdish question. From now on, the German government should use its clout to put pressure on Turkey for a political solution to this question. Such efforts will pave the way for the Kurdish people to respect the rule of law. The Kurdish community will strongly support such a promising policy. Such salutary steps are necessary for all those who respect human rights and democracy. We are awaiting the same treatment that is displayed towards other nations to be shown towards the Kurds, one of the most ancient peoples in the Middle East. We do not want anything special for our Party. We are leaving what constitutes the rights of nations to the judgement of the German people and the public at large. The work that may be done for human rights has the highest importance for the Kurds, who are subjected to genocide. It is also a service to the cause of humanity. It is rather important that steps be taken towards finding a political solution, considering the German and European public's sensitivity towards this issue. Subjecting the Kurds to the test of democracy will also bring a solution to a number of problems in the Middle East. We want the German government to play a leading role in this endeavour, considering the fact that it has a large responsibility towards this issue. If this is done, a friendly reception can be expected from us as well. We want the banning of our Party and the ERNK to be lifted and steps to be taken for the political solution of this question. Such a course of action is in Germany's interest as well. If relations are to be improved, their policies need to be guided with the aims of preventing internal conflicts and not damaging the interests of the people. We believe the misguided steps that have been taken so far, given the role the German state plays right now, need to be corrected in order to pave the way for the establishment of healthier relations. We want to make it clear once again that we are ready to do what is expected of us. The recent foray of the Turkish army into Southern Kurdistan, which is not bringing a solution to the Kurdish question, is escalating the nature of the war. It is turning the conflict in Southern Kurdistan into a quagmire. This Turkish policy, and its upshot the invasion, is clearly targeting the whole of the Kurdish nation. It is becoming very obvious that the military operations are not bringing any results. It is time to put peaceful and democratic solutions on the table. This operation has become a fiasco for the Turkish army. As this operation comes to a close, we await the European public opinion, the democratic masses, and the Western governments to insist on political solutions. At every opportunity, we have expressed our desire for a peaceful solution to this conflict. We are ready for a mutual cease-fire, referendum, open dialogue, and democratic debate. We are repeating our call: We are ready to do our share and we recognize no obstacles. Abdullah Ocalan, General Secretary of the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) ----- Kurdistan Committee of Canada Tel: (613) 733-9634 2487 Kaladar Ave. Suite 203 Fax: (613) 733-0090 Ottawa, Ontario, K1V 8B9 E-mail: kcc at magi.com ----- From ww at wwp.blythe.org Sat Apr 15 15:01:04 1995 From: ww at wwp.blythe.org (ww at wwp.blythe.org) Date: 15 Apr 1995 15:01:04 Subject: Turks Invade Iraq, Fail to Crush Kurds Message-ID: From: Workers World Service Subject: Turks Invade Iraq, Fail to Crush Kurds ------------------------ Via Workers World Service Reprinted from the April 20, 1995, issue of Workers World newspaper ----------------------- TURKISH INVASION OF IRAQ: BRUTAL TACTICS FAIL TO CRUSH KURDS By John Catalinotto Turkish troops are still waging war against the Kurdish people in northern Iraq three weeks after some 35,000 invaded Kurdish areas March 20 with the stated aim of eliminating guerrilla bases. Turkey's military officials report glorious victories in their war against the Kurdish national-liberation movement. But other sources indicate the operation was a military flop. The Turkish forces did manage to kill many Kurdish civilians, but Kurdish liberation fighters in small units punished Turkey's army. As the invasion began, President Bill Clinton stated his support for Turkey's invasion of Iraq. In a telephone call to Turkish Prime Minister Tansu Ciller, Clinton expressed "understanding for Turkey's need to deal decisively" with the Kurdish liberation movement. Washington has propped up the Turkish military since the end of World War II, first as a weapon against the Soviet Union and then in its effort to dominate Middle East oil. More U.S. foreign aid goes to Turkey than to any country except Israel and Egypt. The Pentagon has 14 military bases in Turkey, many used to dominate Iraqi air space. Since Clinton's first statement, his administration has had to distance itself publicly from Turkey's occupation of northern Iraq. But it fully supports the Turkish regime's attempt to crush the PKK. Kurds make up 20 percent of the over 60 million people living under Turkish rule. The Turkish state represses the Kurdish language and culture. Since 1984, the Kurdish Workers Party (PKK) has led an armed liberation struggle. It has gained massive popular support. Frustrated by the guerrillas' successes over the decade, the Turkish military began waging war against Kurdish civilians. Currently 200,000 Turkish troops occupy Kurdish regions, where they have destroyed over 200 villages. In a March 24 statement released by the Kurdistan Information Center in London, PKK General Secretary Abdullah Ocalan criticized Washington's clandestine support of Turkish policy. He said, "We want the United States government to withdraw its support from this dirty war and provide opportunities for a political solution." TURKISH CLAIMS REFUTED Turkish officials claim there have been hundreds of PKK casualties while the Turkish army suffered only two dozen losses. Even Western observers greet these announcements with skepticism. On March 27, the Turkish army began interfering with correspondents trying to report from the area of the conflict. The Kurdistan National Liberation Army (ARGK) estimates as of April 9 that its fighters or mines have killed over 800 Turkish soldiers and injured many more. On the other hand, says the ARGK, "our losses to date are 113 killed. The massive and indiscriminate Turkish attack has also resulted in civilian casualties." "[Contrary to] the 'good' news that is emanating from Ankara, the Turkish soldiers are unable to fight a guerrilla war. Many of the soldiers are displaying clumsy behavior. "They are still doing what they are best at: killing Kurdish civilians and telling the world that these are 'terrorists,'" says the ARGK. Some Reuter reports validate the ARGK claim of heavy civilian casualties from the Turkish attack. One March 26 report from Dohuk, Iraq, told of villagers assuring Turkish tank commanders they had nothing to do with the guerrillas. Nevertheless, the tanks opened fire on the villagers. According to Reuter, "Iraqi Kurds and Western aid workers charge at least seven villages have been damaged by Turkish fire" the first six days of the invasion. -30- (Copyright Workers World Service: Permission to reprint granted if source is cited. For more information contact Workers World, 55 W. 17 St., NY, NY 10011; via e-mail: ww at wwp.blythe.org. For subscription info send message to: ww-info at wwp.blythe.org.) From root at newsdesk.aps.nl Wed Apr 19 15:55:42 1995 From: root at newsdesk.aps.nl (root at newsdesk.aps.nl) Date: 19 Apr 1995 15:55:42 Subject: Mainstream Warnews Message-ID: From: newsdesk at newsdesk.aps.nl (Newsdesk Amsterdam) Subject: Re: Mainstream Warnews Reply-To: root at newsdesk.aps.nl -------- Forwarded from : newsdesk at newsdesk.aps.nl (Newsdesk Amsterdam) -------- Turkish leader says pullout under way from Iraq By Arthur Spiegelman NEW YORK (Reuter) - Turkish Prime Minister Tansu Ciller said Monday her government was withdrawing some troops from northern Iraq after destroying rebel Kurdish bases there but she declined to give a date for total withdrawal. "Now that we have achieved our primary objectives, we have begun to bring our troops home. We will continue this carefully staged withdrawal in the coming weeks as we seek to bring maximum stability and security to this difficult territory," she said in a speech at Hunter College. She declined to specify a date for total withdrawal either in her speech or in a brief news conference afterwards when she was asked about a weekend report in the Turkish newspaper Hurriyet that the country's National Security Council was recommending a mid-May pullout. She said Turkey had no intention of establishing a security zone in northern Iraq after its pullout is completed similiar to the one Israel has set up in southern Lebanon. "We don't want that," she said in answer to a question. Turkey sent an estimated 35,000 troops backed by tanks and jet fighters into northern Iraq on March 20, charging that the rebel Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) was using the territory to stage attacks on Turkish soil. Ciller called the PKK a terrorist group that used violence against Kurds and Turks in a bid to create a Kurdish homeland. Western critics of the push -- especially in Europe -- have demanded a swift end to the operation, fearing for civilians in the way of the offensive. "The PKK is a ruthless terrorist organization. It uses violence to create a separate Kurdish state ... What were we to do? I ... submit that any Western government bordered by a no-man's land that was used as a terrorist base to invade its country and kills its citizens would not stand idly by," Ciller said. She also said she would press when she returns home for a revision of Turkey's anti-terrorism laws under which writers, journalists and academics have been jailed for what they have written and she predicted a solution to the Cyprus crisis once Turkey becomes a full member of the European Union. About 50 Greeks, Greek Cypriots and Kurds staged a noisy protest on a street corner outside the college, shouting "Ciller Must Go." Her talk, the first major address of her weeklong U.S. visit, went off without incident after attendees passed through a metal detector. Ciller will meet President Clinton Wednesday. Ciller says goal of rooting out Kurdish terrorists achieved NEW YORK, April 17 /PRNewswire/ -- The Prime Minister of Turkey said today that the operation against Kurdish terrorists in northern Iraq has succeeded and the gradual withdrawal of its troops would continue over the next weeks. Prime Minister Tansu Ciller, in a speech at Hunter College in Manhattan sponsored by the Council on Foreign Relations and the American Turkish Society, also raised the possibility of an amnesty for some of those detained as dissenters. "We will continue this carefully staged withdrawal in the coming weeks as we seek to bring maximum stability and security to this difficult territory," the Prime Minister said. Mrs. Ciller praised the United States for its support of Operation Steel Curtain against PKK terrorists in northern Iraq but said that Turkey was disappointed by the harsh criticism from some of its other allies. Prime Minister Ciller said Turkey is engaged in a war against terrorism in the same way Japan grapples with gas attacks in subways and the United States with bombings against buildings such as the World Trade Center. "The PKK is a ruthless terrorist organization. It uses violence to try to create a separatist Kurdish state. The governments of the United States, Germany and France have branded it one of the world's major terrorist groups," Mrs. Ciller said. Mrs. Ciller staunchly defended her government's decision to send 35,000 troops into the no-man's land of northern Iraq, where operatives of the outlawed PKK terrorist movement roam at will and launch strikes against Turkish citizens, including many ethnic Kurds. "What were we to do? I again submit that any western government bordered by a no-man's land that was used as a terrorist base to invade its country and kills its citizens would not stand idly by," she said. Prime Minister Ciller said that now that the fight against terrorism has had some success, her government can now move to expedite its "bold agenda of democratic reform." She said that the reforms "must be followed by a modification of our anti-terrorism law under which highly publicized prosecutions have been brought against writers, journalists, and academics." "The non-violent expression of ideas must and will be fully protected," the Prime Minister said. Turkey, at the crossroads of Europe and Asia, shares borders with eight countries, a region the Prime Minister aptly described as a "rough neighborhood." "There are reasons why Turkey is the only secular democracy among the world's 52 Muslim states. Turkey's democracy is not an aberration or accident." Referring to the founder of modern Turkey, Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, Prime Minister Ciller said that 70 years after Ataturk "Turkey is firmly committed to the course he set." Mrs. Ciller said that Turkey is a country of people with different backgrounds, a common language and a common commitment to progress and freedom. On the economic front, Mrs. Ciller proposed an aggressive agenda of projects, which includes water and oil pipelines. Mrs. Ciller said that becoming a member of the European Customs Union, and eventually a full member of the European Union, was a "critical objective" for Turkey. Her country has sought entry into this key economic unit for more than three, decades. The European Parliament is set to vote on Turkey's application in the Fall. "Failure to do so will send a message of exclusion and intolerance and draw an artificial line through the democracies of Europe," the Prime Minister warned. Turkish social clubs firebombed in Germany BONN, April 17 (Reuter) - Petrol bombs were thrown at two Turkish social clubs in southern Germany overnight, causing heavy damage to one of them, police said on Monday. They said they suspected Turkish extremists of carrying out the attacks in the towns of Backnang and Ditzingen. No one was hurt. Six Turks have been arrested in connection with petrol bomb attacks on five Turkish banks in the western city of Cologne on Saturday. Police said some of them had a record of activism for the banned Turkish militant left-wing group Dev Sol. Turkish premises in Germany have been the target of several waves of attacks in the last two years, most recently in the last two months. Most have been attributed to militants linked to the banned Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) protesting at the treatment of the Kurdish minority in Turkey. Army Kills 24 Kurdish Rebels TUNCELI, Turkey (AP) -- Troops pressed their offensive against Kurdish rebel hideouts, killing 24 guerrillas in a mountain pass, officials said Monday. The regional governor's office said the rebels were killed Sunday. News reports said 75 rebels were killed in the area last week. About 20,000 Turkish troops, backed by helicopters and jet fighters, have been attacking rebels for the past month in southeastern Turkey. Kurdish rebels have been fighting for autonomy in the region since 1984. About 500 Kurdish rebels are believed to operate out of Tunceli under the command of a leading guerrilla figure Sendin Sakik. Turkey sent 35,000 troops into northern Iraq last month ago to try to wipe out Kurdish rebel camps used for hit-and-run attacks. The Turkish military says they have killed 464 rebels so far, and have lost 56 of their own troops in northern Iraq. Turkey's National Security Council has recommended pulling Turkish troops out of northern Iraq by mid-May. In Diyarbakir, a Turkish court released four human rights activists accused of Kurdish separatism after three months in jail in the southeastern province. The group, which included three lawyers, were members of the local branch of independent Human Rights Association. They face up to 10 years in jail if convicted. Eleven German also awaited trial here on Monday. The Germans, a group of social workers, politicians and a journalist, were arrested in Silvan on Sunday during a demonstration to protest the army's alleged raid of a Kurdish village. ------------------------------------------------------- * Activists Press Service (Newsdesk) * Newsdesk at APS.NL !Power to the people! ------------------------------------------------------- ----------------------------- End forwarded message -------------------------- ------------------------------------------------------- * Activists Press Service (Newsdesk) * newsdesk at aps.nl !Power to the people! ------------------------------------------------------- From kurd-l at burn.ucsd.edu Wed Apr 19 18:40:02 1995 From: kurd-l at burn.ucsd.edu (kurd-l at burn.ucsd.edu) Date: 19 Apr 1995 18:40:02 Subject: Turkish War And The Civilians Suffe Message-ID: Reply-To: kurd-l at burn.ucsd.edu From: Kurdistan Committee of Canada Subject: Turkish War And The Civilians Sufferings Information Desk - The Turkish Invasion of South Kurdistan Tel: +32-2-230-9233 Fax: +32-2-230-9208 Press Release #22 April 19, 1995 We received the following statement from the Press Office of the People's Liberation Army of Kurdistan (ARGK). It is a balance sheet of the Turkish war against the Kurds that began with the invasion of Southern Kurdistan on March 20, 1995. It follows for your information verbatim: Turkish War And The Civilian Sufferings A month has passed since the Turkish army invaded Southern Kurdistan. A total defeat has been the reward for this incursion. A fierce resistance has prevented the invading force from moving around. Their only temporary stronghold, Zaxo and its vicinity, has become an inhospitable place with every passing day. This assessment of ours was seconded the other day by a high ranking Turkish general, who, to his credit, noted that "the Turkish operation is turning into a Vietnam-style quagmire". It is this sense of utter hopelessness that has forced the Turkish authorities to undertake a nationwide campaign, extending even to Europe, to collect funds to finance the war. A cursory look at the activities of the Turkish army in South Kurdistan is quite telling. In Xankurke region, the enemy has engaged our forces many times, but to no avail. It has now decided to retreat from the region. Its forays into Awasin and Zap regions have also been repulsed. In Metina, Kani Masi, Qurmiye-Hiror, and Zendur regions, the Turkish forces have entered in order to set up army posts, but their camps have been attacked, sometimes during the day and almost always at night. Their way out has been to leave these areas as well. The only relatively "safe" area is Zaxo, which also has its share of attacks from us as well. The Turkish war in South Kurdistan has had a psychological goal rather than a military one. The aim has been to intimidate the people, to torture, and at times to kill them, just to make the point that the Turkish army is invincible. This being the policy, the tactics have varied from time to time. Last month in Zaxo, a car explosion that killed some 100 people was the work of Turkish agents who wanted to create a political vacuum in order to pave the way for the entrance of the Turkish troops. Not much later, a car with civilian passengers was targeted, killing 8 of its Kurdish occupants. In the course of this operation, the Turkish troops have killed 27 civilians, injured 3 seriously, and taken a number of shepherds into their custody. Some 30 villages have been totally destroyed, forcing some 30,000 residents to flee. Throughout this operation, we have attacked the Turkish troops at will. In some parts of Kurdistan we have had the direct support of the people, and in some areas civilians suffering under the yoke of the invading forces have joined us to avenge the Turkish wrongs with their participation in our ranks. To date, in terms of ambushes, attacks, previously placed mines, harassment through intense gunfire, suicide attacks, and infiltration of enemy forces, we have had 190 contacts with Turkish troops. From field reports that have reached our office, a total of 1,047 Turkish soldiers have been killed. Our losses for the same period in South Kurdistan are 45 fighters killed and 42 injured. People's Liberation Army of Kurdistan (ARGK) From kurd-l at burn.ucsd.edu Wed Apr 19 20:39:33 1995 From: kurd-l at burn.ucsd.edu (kurd-l at burn.ucsd.edu) Date: 19 Apr 1995 20:39:33 Subject: ERNK: The Hands Of The Turkish Auth Message-ID: Reply-To: kurd-l at burn.ucsd.edu From: Kurdistan Committee of Canada Subject: ERNK: The Hands Of The Turkish Authorities Are Smeared In Blood KURD-A Documentation April 5, 1995 The Hands Of The Turkish Authorities Are Smeared In Blood The forces of Turkey's special war are carrying out the systematic destruction of the Kurdish people. An important part of doing this is to portray a different reality in the media. The Turkish media follow all the orders given to them by the General Staff and the army. In the war against the Kurdish people, they are an instrument to spread disinformation and to rally people in support of the war. International media representatives who represent news agencies and television companies wishing to provide objective reports from Kurdistan are denied entry. For this reason, the only reports and information which reach the international press are filtered through the Turkish media, which is serving the aims of the special war. The reports concerning the recent invasion of South Kurdistan are a prime example of this. This military operation is not aimed against PKK guerrillas, as the media have been stating, rather its aim is much broader. It is, in fact, aimed at the Kurdish people as a whole. It is an attack on the status quo and the Kurdish people who live in the region. During the course of the invasion, many settled areas were bombarded. At least 15 civilians were murdered and 6 others wounded. Because the international media are very sensible to the plight of civilians with regards to this situation, Turkish government officials have been spreading the following lies: "The PKK will murder civilians to make Turkey look responsible." On March 28, one day after this preventive lie, Turkish contra- guerrillas carried out a massacre against the population of the village of Gorumul near Silopi. The Turkish media responded by claiming that the PKK were responsible for the massacre, with the aim of lessening the pressure from the international public. On the day the massacre in Gorumul was carried out, our guerrilla units issued a communique which stated that guerrilla units had nothing to do with the massacre in Gorumul and that this massacre had been carried out by Turkish state forces. Two Labour MPs from Britain, Ann Clwyd and Jim Cousins, were misused for this plan. The television company n-TV carried out an objective report concerning this event. But after a Turkish government official intervened, n-TV released a statement stating that their earlier report had been mistaken. In this statement, they accused the PKK of having carried out the massacre. We hope that they will correct this false assertion. Recently, 50 Kurds and anti-fascists were murdered by the armed forces of the Turkish government in Gaziosmanpasa and Omraniye in downtown Istanbul. Before this massacre, 86 Kurds were killed by a carbomb attack in Zaxo. This mysterious attack was carried out by the Turkish intelligence agency MIT. The hands of the Turkish authorities are smeared in blood. They carry out concealed as well as open massacres. In Kurdistan, more than 3,000 villages have been burned and forcibly depopulated by the Turkish military. Millions of civilians have been driven from their homes. We expect the European states and the Western media to look objectively at the politics of lies and destruction which the Turkish state are carrying out in Kurdistan. Do not abandon us to the whims of the Turkish generals! We aren't saying: "Make propaganda for the PKK!" But we expect, in the name of the Kurdish people, that you cover these crimes against humanity and against the Kurdish people. At the beginning of the invasion of South Kurdistan, Turkey's prime minister Tansu Ciller said: "We can win this war with the help of the media." We call on the international media not to trust the chauvinistic Turkish press, which is an instrument of the special war. Please issue objective reports! Try to tell the truth! We trust that you are aware of these things and that you will attempt to be responsible. Ali Garzan, ERNK European Spokesperson April 5, 1995 ----- Kurdistan Committee of Canada Tel: (613) 733-9634 2487 Kaladar Ave. Suite 203 Fax: (613) 733-0090 Ottawa, Ontario, K1V 8B9 E-mail: kcc at magi.com ----- From info at aps.nl Fri Apr 21 19:06:11 1995 From: info at aps.nl (info at aps.nl) Date: 21 Apr 1995 19:06:11 Subject: ERNK: The Hands Of The Turkish Auth References: Message-ID: From: newsdesk at newsdesk.aps.nl Subject: Re: ERNK: The Hands Of The Turkish Authorities Are Smeared In Blood Reply-To: info at aps.nl ---- Forwarded from : kcc at infoweb.magi.com (Kurdistan Committee of Canada) ----- KURD-A Documentation April 5, 1995 The Hands Of The Turkish Authorities Are Smeared In Blood The forces of Turkey's special war are carrying out the systematic destruction of the Kurdish people. An important part of doing this is to portray a different reality in the media. The Turkish media follow all the orders given to them by the General Staff and the army. In the war against the Kurdish people, they are an instrument to spread disinformation and to rally people in support of the war. International media representatives who represent news agencies and television companies wishing to provide objective reports from Kurdistan are denied entry. For this reason, the only reports and information which reach the international press are filtered through the Turkish media, which is serving the aims of the special war. The reports concerning the recent invasion of South Kurdistan are a prime example of this. This military operation is not aimed against PKK guerrillas, as the media have been stating, rather its aim is much broader. It is, in fact, aimed at the Kurdish people as a whole. It is an attack on the status quo and the Kurdish people who live in the region. During the course of the invasion, many settled areas were bombarded. At least 15 civilians were murdered and 6 others wounded. Because the international media are very sensible to the plight of civilians with regards to this situation, Turkish government officials have been spreading the following lies: "The PKK will murder civilians to make Turkey look responsible." On March 28, one day after this preventive lie, Turkish contra- guerrillas carried out a massacre against the population of the village of Gorumul near Silopi. The Turkish media responded by claiming that the PKK were responsible for the massacre, with the aim of lessening the pressure from the international public. On the day the massacre in Gorumul was carried out, our guerrilla units issued a communique which stated that guerrilla units had nothing to do with the massacre in Gorumul and that this massacre had been carried out by Turkish state forces. Two Labour MPs from Britain, Ann Clwyd and Jim Cousins, were misused for this plan. The television company n-TV carried out an objective report concerning this event. But after a Turkish government official intervened, n-TV released a statement stating that their earlier report had been mistaken. In this statement, they accused the PKK of having carried out the massacre. We hope that they will correct this false assertion. Recently, 50 Kurds and anti-fascists were murdered by the armed forces of the Turkish government in Gaziosmanpasa and Omraniye in downtown Istanbul. Before this massacre, 86 Kurds were killed by a carbomb attack in Zaxo. This mysterious attack was carried out by the Turkish intelligence agency MIT. The hands of the Turkish authorities are smeared in blood. They carry out concealed as well as open massacres. In Kurdistan, more than 3,000 villages have been burned and forcibly depopulated by the Turkish military. Millions of civilians have been driven from their homes. We expect the European states and the Western media to look objectively at the politics of lies and destruction which the Turkish state are carrying out in Kurdistan. Do not abandon us to the whims of the Turkish generals! We aren't saying: "Make propaganda for the PKK!" But we expect, in the name of the Kurdish people, that you cover these crimes against humanity and against the Kurdish people. At the beginning of the invasion of South Kurdistan, Turkey's prime minister Tansu Ciller said: "We can win this war with the help of the media." We call on the international media not to trust the chauvinistic Turkish press, which is an instrument of the special war. Please issue objective reports! Try to tell the truth! We trust that you are aware of these things and that you will attempt to be responsible. Ali Garzan, ERNK European Spokesperson April 5, 1995 ----- Kurdistan Committee of Canada Tel: (613) 733-9634 2487 Kaladar Ave. Suite 203 Fax: (613) 733-0090 Ottawa, Ontario, K1V 8B9 E-mail: kcc at magi.com ----- ----------------------------- End forwarded message -------------------------- ------------------------------------------------------- * Activists Press Service (Newsdesk) * newsdesk at aps.nl !Power to the people! ------------------------------------------------------- From info at aps.nl Fri Apr 21 03:07:46 1995 From: info at aps.nl (info at aps.nl) Date: 20 Apr 1995 18:07:46 -0800 (PST) Subject: Orphaned Response References: <9501271023.A03532@lionheart.berk> Message-ID: From: Subject: Reply-To: info at aps.nl Welcome to the Kurdeng mailing list. Please send all submissions to the list to kurdeng at aps.nl You may leave the list at any time by sending a "SIGNOFF kurdeng" command to info at aps.nl Please note that this command must NOT be sent to the list address (kurdeng at aps.nl, but to the mail server which handles this mailing list. The amount of acknowledgement you wish to receive from this list after submitting an e-mail can be changed using the "ECHOMAIL kurdeng" and "NOECHOMAIL kurdeng" commands. The ECHOMAIL command forces the mailing list to send a copy of the mail back to you. The NOECHOMAIL command turns this off. The default upon joining this list is NOECHOMAIL. More information on MailServer commands can be found in the "MailServer HELP", which you can retrieve by sending a "HELP" command to info at aps.nl ABOUT THE MALINGLIST The need for this mailinglist rose because it turned out not everyone on the Internet has acces to soc.culture.kurdish (We have been told). Others thought it would be good to keep a shadowmailing list just in case soc.culture.kurdish would be blocked. Other people did no longer wish to receive the news the list provided. Therefore we installed a mailinglist program to enable the readers to subscribe or unsubscribe. The news on this list will be news on Kurdistan. We will put mainstream news here and everything which serves the Kurdish struggle. Biji Kurdistan -- KURDENG at APS.NL From info at aps.nl Fri Apr 21 11:20:18 1995 From: info at aps.nl (info at aps.nl) Date: 21 Apr 1995 11:20:18 Subject: Turkish War And The Civilian Su Message-ID: From: newsdesk at newsdesk.aps.nl Subject: Re: Turkish War And The Civilian Sufferings Reply-To: info at aps.nl ---- Forwarded from : kcc at infoweb.magi.com (Kurdistan Committee of Canada) ----- Information Desk - The Turkish Invasion of South Kurdistan Tel: +32-2-230-9233 Fax: +32-2-230-9208 Press Release #22 April 19, 1995 We received the following statement from the Press Office of the People's Liberation Army of Kurdistan (ARGK). It is a balance sheet of the Turkish war against the Kurds that began with the invasion of Southern Kurdistan on March 20, 1995. It follows for your information verbatim: Turkish War And The Civilian Sufferings A month has passed since the Turkish army invaded Southern Kurdistan. A total defeat has been the reward for this incursion. A fierce resistance has prevented the invading force from moving around. Their only temporary stronghold, Zaxo and its vicinity, has become an inhospitable place with every passing day. This assessment of ours was seconded the other day by a high ranking Turkish general, who, to his credit, noted that "the Turkish operation is turning into a Vietnam-style quagmire". It is this sense of utter hopelessness that has forced the Turkish authorities to undertake a nationwide campaign, extending even to Europe, to collect funds to finance the war. A cursory look at the activities of the Turkish army in South Kurdistan is quite telling. In Xankurke region, the enemy has engaged our forces many times, but to no avail. It has now decided to retreat from the region. Its forays into Awasin and Zap regions have also been repulsed. In Metina, Kani Masi, Qurmiye-Hiror, and Zendur regions, the Turkish forces have entered in order to set up army posts, but their camps have been attacked, sometimes during the day and almost always at night. Their way out has been to leave these areas as well. The only relatively "safe" area is Zaxo, which also has its share of attacks from us as well. The Turkish war in South Kurdistan has had a psychological goal rather than a military one. The aim has been to intimidate the people, to torture, and at times to kill them, just to make the point that the Turkish army is invincible. This being the policy, the tactics have varied from time to time. Last month in Zaxo, a car explosion that killed some 100 people was the work of Turkish agents who wanted to create a political vacuum in order to pave the way for the entrance of the Turkish troops. Not much later, a car with civilian passengers was targeted, killing 8 of its Kurdish occupants. In the course of this operation, the Turkish troops have killed 27 civilians, injured 3 seriously, and taken a number of shepherds into their custody. Some 30 villages have been totally destroyed, forcing some 30,000 residents to flee. Throughout this operation, we have attacked the Turkish troops at will. In some parts of Kurdistan we have had the direct support of the people, and in some areas civilians suffering under the yoke of the invading forces have joined us to avenge the Turkish wrongs with their participation in our ranks. To date, in terms of ambushes, attacks, previously placed mines, harassment through intense gunfire, suicide attacks, and infiltration of enemy forces, we have had 190 contacts with Turkish troops. From field reports that have reached our office, a total of 1,047 Turkish soldiers have been killed. Our losses for the same period in South Kurdistan are 45 fighters killed and 42 injured. People's Liberation Army of Kurdistan (ARGK) ----------------------------- End forwarded message -------------------------- ------------------------------------------------------- * Activists Press Service (Newsdesk) * newsdesk at aps.nl !Power to the people! ------------------------------------------------------- From kurd-l at burn.ucsd.edu Fri Apr 21 15:44:14 1995 From: kurd-l at burn.ucsd.edu (kurd-l at burn.ucsd.edu) Date: 21 Apr 1995 15:44:14 Subject: ERNK Austria: "A New Turkish Provoc Message-ID: Reply-To: kurd-l at burn.ucsd.edu From: Kurdistan Committee of Canada Subject: ERNK Austria: "A New Turkish Provocation" KURD-A Documentation April 16, 1995 ERNK Representation in Austria: "A New Turkish Provocation" On March 15, the National Liberation Front of Kurdistan (ERNK), following consultations with Austrian politicians, opened a representative's office in Vienna. The aim of opening this office was to start political dialogue and discussions in order to reach a peaceful political solution to the "Kurdish question". It was also an attempt to establish and strengthen the ties between the Kurdish people and the Austrian community. After ten years of dirty war against our people, one thing is becoming increasingly clear: The Kurdish question cannot be solved militarily. The Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) has taken many steps towards finding a political solution, starting with the 83-day unilateral cease-fire in March 1993 and continuing with letters from PKK leader Abdullah Ocalan to Western leaders in an attempt to make the Kurdish situation known. But the Turkish state has continued to harden its traditionally barbaric and bestial politics of violence against our people. In Kurdistan, this has led to more than 3,000 villages destroyed and thousands of Kurds murdered. This is the praxis in Turkey because military logic dominates the political arena. The Turkish army invasion into South Kurdistan (northern Iraq) is a perfect example of this. All attempts by the Kurdish people to take a political route have been answered with military violence and diplomatic threats. The mouthpieces of the Turkish government, the newspapers, have called on Turks living in Europe to boycott and take sanctions against European states. In order to prevent the founding of the Kurdistan Parliament in Exile, government officials from Ankara travelled around Europe issuing threats. In Kurdistan and Turkey, Turkish soldiers have begun confiscating satellite antennas to prevent communication via the Kurdish television channel MED-TV. Due to its massive violations of human rights, Turkey is pushing its international credibility to the limit, as the European Parliament and the Council of Europe recently indicated. More and more European states are beginning to see the necessity of a solution to the Kurdistan conflict. That's why Kurdish initiatives such as the Kurdistan Parliament in Exile are being welcomed and supported. The formation of ERNK representations in several countries are an expression of this development. As the representatives of the Kurdish Diaspora in Austria, we would like to stress our commitment to reaching a political solution. The attack on the Turkish Airlines office was an attack of provocation carried out by the Turkish intelligence agency MIT designed to harm our political work. Also at this time we would like to repeat the call of PKK party leader Abdullah Ocalan who called on the German government to stop enacting repressive measures against the Kurds and to start acting for peace. Ocalan's statement also indicated that he is willing at any time to find a peaceful solution. We reject the unjust accusations being cited against the PKK and the ERNK in connection with this recent attack. This type of reporting covers the real criminals and gives support to the terrorist regime in Turkey to carry out more violent acts in Europe. Just like the attack on the Turkish bar in Dornheim in March, this attack is an attempt to criminalize the Kurdish community. Forces which are friendly to Turkey are seeking to realize their anti-Kurdish and undemocratic aims by means of securing political repression and bans against Kurds in Austria. They seek legitimation for this by looking to Germany. The ERNK European Representation has also rejected the accusations being levied against them in Germany. We call on the Austrian public and media to demand that Turkey stop its dirty war. The international Kurdish question requires an international political solution. In Austria, we hope to contribute to this by engaging in dialogue and working together with the Austrian community. The neutrality and democratic spirit of Austria can be a basis for this and we place great value on this. ERNK Austrian Representation ----- Kurdistan Committee of Canada Tel: (613) 733-9634 2487 Kaladar Ave. Suite 203 Fax: (613) 733-0090 Ottawa, Ontario, K1V 8B9 E-mail: kcc at magi.com ----- From info at aps.nl Sat Apr 22 11:21:39 1995 From: info at aps.nl (info at aps.nl) Date: 22 Apr 1995 11:21:39 Subject: ERNK Austria: "A New Turkish Provoc References: Message-ID: From: newsdesk at newsdesk.aps.nl Subject: Re: ERNK Austria: "A New Turkish Provocation" Reply-To: info at aps.nl -------- Forwarded from : Kurdistan Committee of Canada --------- KURD-A Documentation April 16, 1995 ERNK Representation in Austria: "A New Turkish Provocation" On March 15, the National Liberation Front of Kurdistan (ERNK), following consultations with Austrian politicians, opened a representative's office in Vienna. The aim of opening this office was to start political dialogue and discussions in order to reach a peaceful political solution to the "Kurdish question". It was also an attempt to establish and strengthen the ties between the Kurdish people and the Austrian community. After ten years of dirty war against our people, one thing is becoming increasingly clear: The Kurdish question cannot be solved militarily. The Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) has taken many steps towards finding a political solution, starting with the 83-day unilateral cease-fire in March 1993 and continuing with letters from PKK leader Abdullah Ocalan to Western leaders in an attempt to make the Kurdish situation known. But the Turkish state has continued to harden its traditionally barbaric and bestial politics of violence against our people. In Kurdistan, this has led to more than 3,000 villages destroyed and thousands of Kurds murdered. This is the praxis in Turkey because military logic dominates the political arena. The Turkish army invasion into South Kurdistan (northern Iraq) is a perfect example of this. All attempts by the Kurdish people to take a political route have been answered with military violence and diplomatic threats. The mouthpieces of the Turkish government, the newspapers, have called on Turks living in Europe to boycott and take sanctions against European states. In order to prevent the founding of the Kurdistan Parliament in Exile, government officials from Ankara travelled around Europe issuing threats. In Kurdistan and Turkey, Turkish soldiers have begun confiscating satellite antennas to prevent communication via the Kurdish television channel MED-TV. Due to its massive violations of human rights, Turkey is pushing its international credibility to the limit, as the European Parliament and the Council of Europe recently indicated. More and more European states are beginning to see the necessity of a solution to the Kurdistan conflict. That's why Kurdish initiatives such as the Kurdistan Parliament in Exile are being welcomed and supported. The formation of ERNK representations in several countries are an expression of this development. As the representatives of the Kurdish Diaspora in Austria, we would like to stress our commitment to reaching a political solution. The attack on the Turkish Airlines office was an attack of provocation carried out by the Turkish intelligence agency MIT designed to harm our political work. Also at this time we would like to repeat the call of PKK party leader Abdullah Ocalan who called on the German government to stop enacting repressive measures against the Kurds and to start acting for peace. Ocalan's statement also indicated that he is willing at any time to find a peaceful solution. We reject the unjust accusations being cited against the PKK and the ERNK in connection with this recent attack. This type of reporting covers the real criminals and gives support to the terrorist regime in Turkey to carry out more violent acts in Europe. Just like the attack on the Turkish bar in Dornheim in March, this attack is an attempt to criminalize the Kurdish community. Forces which are friendly to Turkey are seeking to realize their anti-Kurdish and undemocratic aims by means of securing political repression and bans against Kurds in Austria. They seek legitimation for this by looking to Germany. The ERNK European Representation has also rejected the accusations being levied against them in Germany. We call on the Austrian public and media to demand that Turkey stop its dirty war. The international Kurdish question requires an international political solution. In Austria, we hope to contribute to this by engaging in dialogue and working together with the Austrian community. The neutrality and democratic spirit of Austria can be a basis for this and we place great value on this. ERNK Austrian Representation ----- Kurdistan Committee of Canada Tel: (613) 733-9634 2487 Kaladar Ave. Suite 203 Fax: (613) 733-0090 Ottawa, Ontario, K1V 8B9 E-mail: kcc at magi.com ----- ----------------------------- End forwarded message -------------------------- ------------------------------------------------------- * Activists Press Service (Newsdesk) * newsdesk at aps.nl !Power to the people! ------------------------------------------------------- From kurd-l at burn.ucsd.edu Fri Apr 21 15:48:23 1995 From: kurd-l at burn.ucsd.edu (kurd-l at burn.ucsd.edu) Date: 21 Apr 1995 15:48:23 Subject: KURD-A News Updates: April 16-17, 1 Message-ID: Reply-To: kurd-l at burn.ucsd.edu From: Kurdistan Committee of Canada Subject: KURD-A News Updates: April 16-17, 1995 KURD-A News Updates April 16-17, 1995 * Torture and arrests in Silvan * Kurdish guerrillas carry out more attacks on Turkish forces in South Kurdistan * ARGK also carries out attacks in North Kurdistan * Guerrillas attack village guards in Guclukonak * State terror against civilians in Misare The village of Kurucayir near the city of Silvan was attacked by Turkish troops on April 14, 1995. The villagers were forced into the centre of the village by soldiers. Here, 4 of them, including Mehdi Ari and Turan Dagkusu, were tortured. What's more, Mehdi Ari's house, with all of his belongings, was blown up. After the torture, 80 villagers, including several women and children, were arrested. According to one of our correspondents, the village had previously been attacked several times for no reason by Turkish army units and villagers had been arrested. Our correspondent noted further that he is concerned for the lives of the villagers and that human rights organizations should intervene on their behalf. (16.04.95) On April 15, 1995, Turkish troops stationed on Sehit Mustafa hill in the Haftanin region of South Kurdistan were attacked by ARGK guerrillas. The guerrillas launched a major attack and quickly seized two Turkish positions. 1 guerrilla was wounded in the attack. We do not have any figures of Turkish army casualties. There was a further attack by guerrillas on Turkish troops stationed in Destan near Hakkari. According to our correspondents, guerrillas attacked from two sides and several soldiers were killed. (16.04.95) Near Gabar, a Turkish army unit was ambushed by Kurdish guerrillas near Sindik. After a short battle, the Turkish troops retreated. The guerrillas reported that the Turkish soldiers suffered heavy losses. In Sexedde, 2 soldiers died after stepping on a mine planted by Kurdish guerrillas. There was also fighting at the foot of the Gabar mountains between Kurdish guerrillas and Turkish army units. The fighting, which began after a Kurdish guerrilla attack, lasted until evening. (16.04.95) On April 16, 1995 near Guclukonak, Kurdish guerrillas attacked village guards at two locations. During four hours of fighting, 8 village guards died at one location and 9 at the other. The guerrilla unit retreated from the area without suffering any casualties. On April 15, 1995, a Turkish army unit on a hill at the foot of the Cudi mountains was attacked by Kurdish guerrillas. 2 soldiers were killed in this guerrilla attack. Guerrillas also launched an attack against hill posts of the Bargenima barracks in Yuksekova. The guerrillas, who attacked from two sides, quickly captured the posts. 15 soldiers were killed in this attack. 3 guerrillas were wounded. (17.04.95) The Turkish army has been carrying out an operation in the Misare region for several days now. According to reports from civilians, several villages have been attacked by Turkish soldiers. Some civilians have been killed. Turkish army units have also launched a major operation in Sason-Kozluk. (17.04.95) ----- Kurdistan Committee of Canada Tel: (613) 733-9634 2487 Kaladar Ave. Suite 203 Fax: (613) 733-0090 Ottawa, Ontario, K1V 8B9 E-mail: kcc at magi.com ----- From kurd-l at burn.ucsd.edu Fri Apr 21 16:00:18 1995 From: kurd-l at burn.ucsd.edu (kurd-l at burn.ucsd.edu) Date: 21 Apr 1995 16:00:18 Subject: KURD-A News Updates: April 16-17, 1 References: Message-ID: Reply-To: kurd-l at burn.ucsd.edu From: Kurdistan Committee of Canada Subject: KURD-A News Updates: April 16-17, 1995 KURD-A News Updates April 16-17, 1995 * Torture and arrests in Silvan * Kurdish guerrillas carry out more attacks on Turkish forces in South Kurdistan * ARGK also carries out attacks in North Kurdistan * Guerrillas attack village guards in Guclukonak * State terror against civilians in Misare The village of Kurucayir near the city of Silvan was attacked by Turkish troops on April 14, 1995. The villagers were forced into the centre of the village by soldiers. Here, 4 of them, including Mehdi Ari and Turan Dagkusu, were tortured. What's more, Mehdi Ari's house, with all of his belongings, was blown up. After the torture, 80 villagers, including several women and children, were arrested. According to one of our correspondents, the village had previously been attacked several times for no reason by Turkish army units and villagers had been arrested. Our correspondent noted further that he is concerned for the lives of the villagers and that human rights organizations should intervene on their behalf. (16.04.95) On April 15, 1995, Turkish troops stationed on Sehit Mustafa hill in the Haftanin region of South Kurdistan were attacked by ARGK guerrillas. The guerrillas launched a major attack and quickly seized two Turkish positions. 1 guerrilla was wounded in the attack. We do not have any figures of Turkish army casualties. There was a further attack by guerrillas on Turkish troops stationed in Destan near Hakkari. According to our correspondents, guerrillas attacked from two sides and several soldiers were killed. (16.04.95) Near Gabar, a Turkish army unit was ambushed by Kurdish guerrillas near Sindik. After a short battle, the Turkish troops retreated. The guerrillas reported that the Turkish soldiers suffered heavy losses. In Sexedde, 2 soldiers died after stepping on a mine planted by Kurdish guerrillas. There was also fighting at the foot of the Gabar mountains between Kurdish guerrillas and Turkish army units. The fighting, which began after a Kurdish guerrilla attack, lasted until evening. (16.04.95) On April 16, 1995 near Guclukonak, Kurdish guerrillas attacked village guards at two locations. During four hours of fighting, 8 village guards died at one location and 9 at the other. The guerrilla unit retreated from the area without suffering any casualties. On April 15, 1995, a Turkish army unit on a hill at the foot of the Cudi mountains was attacked by Kurdish guerrillas. 2 soldiers were killed in this guerrilla attack. Guerrillas also launched an attack against hill posts of the Bargenima barracks in Yuksekova. The guerrillas, who attacked from two sides, quickly captured the posts. 15 soldiers were killed in this attack. 3 guerrillas were wounded. (17.04.95) The Turkish army has been carrying out an operation in the Misare region for several days now. According to reports from civilians, several villages have been attacked by Turkish soldiers. Some civilians have been killed. Turkish army units have also launched a major operation in Sason-Kozluk. (17.04.95) ----- Kurdistan Committee of Canada Tel: (613) 733-9634 2487 Kaladar Ave. Suite 203 Fax: (613) 733-0090 Ottawa, Ontario, K1V 8B9 E-mail: kcc at magi.com ----- From info at aps.nl Fri Apr 21 23:22:03 1995 From: info at aps.nl (info at aps.nl) Date: 21 Apr 1995 23:22:03 Subject: KURD-A News Updates: April 16-17, 1 References: Message-ID: From: newsdesk at newsdesk.aps.nl Subject: Re: KURD-A News Updates: April 16-17, 1995 Reply-To: info at aps.nl -------- Forwarded from : Kurdistan Committee of Canada --------- KURD-A News Updates April 16-17, 1995 * Torture and arrests in Silvan * Kurdish guerrillas carry out more attacks on Turkish forces in South Kurdistan * ARGK also carries out attacks in North Kurdistan * Guerrillas attack village guards in Guclukonak * State terror against civilians in Misare The village of Kurucayir near the city of Silvan was attacked by Turkish troops on April 14, 1995. The villagers were forced into the centre of the village by soldiers. Here, 4 of them, including Mehdi Ari and Turan Dagkusu, were tortured. What's more, Mehdi Ari's house, with all of his belongings, was blown up. After the torture, 80 villagers, including several women and children, were arrested. According to one of our correspondents, the village had previously been attacked several times for no reason by Turkish army units and villagers had been arrested. Our correspondent noted further that he is concerned for the lives of the villagers and that human rights organizations should intervene on their behalf. (16.04.95) On April 15, 1995, Turkish troops stationed on Sehit Mustafa hill in the Haftanin region of South Kurdistan were attacked by ARGK guerrillas. The guerrillas launched a major attack and quickly seized two Turkish positions. 1 guerrilla was wounded in the attack. We do not have any figures of Turkish army casualties. There was a further attack by guerrillas on Turkish troops stationed in Destan near Hakkari. According to our correspondents, guerrillas attacked from two sides and several soldiers were killed. (16.04.95) Near Gabar, a Turkish army unit was ambushed by Kurdish guerrillas near Sindik. After a short battle, the Turkish troops retreated. The guerrillas reported that the Turkish soldiers suffered heavy losses. In Sexedde, 2 soldiers died after stepping on a mine planted by Kurdish guerrillas. There was also fighting at the foot of the Gabar mountains between Kurdish guerrillas and Turkish army units. The fighting, which began after a Kurdish guerrilla attack, lasted until evening. (16.04.95) On April 16, 1995 near Guclukonak, Kurdish guerrillas attacked village guards at two locations. During four hours of fighting, 8 village guards died at one location and 9 at the other. The guerrilla unit retreated from the area without suffering any casualties. On April 15, 1995, a Turkish army unit on a hill at the foot of the Cudi mountains was attacked by Kurdish guerrillas. 2 soldiers were killed in this guerrilla attack. Guerrillas also launched an attack against hill posts of the Bargenima barracks in Yuksekova. The guerrillas, who attacked from two sides, quickly captured the posts. 15 soldiers were killed in this attack. 3 guerrillas were wounded. (17.04.95) The Turkish army has been carrying out an operation in the Misare region for several days now. According to reports from civilians, several villages have been attacked by Turkish soldiers. Some civilians have been killed. Turkish army units have also launched a major operation in Sason-Kozluk. (17.04.95) ----- Kurdistan Committee of Canada Tel: (613) 733-9634 2487 Kaladar Ave. Suite 203 Fax: (613) 733-0090 Ottawa, Ontario, K1V 8B9 E-mail: kcc at magi.com ----- ------------------------------------------------------- * Activists Press Service (Newsdesk) * newsdesk at aps.nl !Power to the people! ------------------------------------------------------- From ww at wwp.blythe.org Sat Apr 22 20:13:50 1995 From: ww at wwp.blythe.org (ww at wwp.blythe.org) Date: 22 Apr 1995 20:13:50 Subject: ANKARA, STILL IN IRAQ, THANKS CLINTON Message-ID: From: Workers World Service Subject: ANKARA, STILL IN IRAQ, THANKS CLINTON ------------------------ Via Workers World Service Reprinted from the April 27, 1995, issue of Workers World newspaper ----------------------- TURKISH ARMY STILL IN IRAQ ANKARA REGIME TO CLINTON: THANKS By John Catalinotto April 20 will mark one month since the Turkish army invaded northern Iraq. Turkish Premier Tansu Ciller asserted while in New York that the Turkish military was withdrawing some troops from Iraq, but she refused to give a date the occupation would end. Turkish troops violated Iraqi sovereignty with the stated goal of wiping out bases of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) in the Kurdish regions of Iraq. Since 1984, the PKK has led a guerrilla war for Kurdish self-determination in the areas under Turkish rule. Kurds, an oppressed people who originate in the mountainous areas where Turkey, Iraq, Syria and Iran meet, have not been allowed to even use their language inside Turkey. Because it is leading a heroic war of liberation, the PKK has gained massive support from Kurds inside Turkey. It has also built up a following among Kurds in the other Kurdish regions, as well as among those who emigrated to the West. Unlike the best-known Kurdish groups in northern Iraq, which have become pawns of U.S. policy targeting Baghdad, the PKK has taken a clear anti-imperialist position. It has up to now made no alliance with oppressor countries in an attempt to gain a temporary tactical advantage over Ankara. As with the U.S. assault on Vietnam in 1965-1975, the Turkish army inflicts most casualties on Kurdish civilians. The heaviest fighting of this latest anti-guerrilla campaign has taken place not in Iraq but in the Tunceli region inside the Turkish borders. As the U.S. did in Vietnam, the Turkish army exaggerates guerrilla casualties, while minimizing its own. Some West European governments have criticized the Turkish invasion. Germany, a major backer of the Turkish regime and military, publicly suspended military aid, although Bonn is completely hostile to the PKK. But Turkey's Ciller made a point of thanking U.S. President Clinton for his continued support. -30- (Copyright Workers World Service: Permission to reprint granted if source is cited. For more information contact Workers World, 55 W. 17 St., NY, NY 10011; via e-mail: ww at wwp.blythe.org. For subscription info send message to: ww-info at wwp.blythe.org.) From ww at wwp.blythe.org Sat Apr 22 20:15:09 1995 From: ww at wwp.blythe.org (ww at wwp.blythe.org) Date: 22 Apr 1995 20:15:09 Subject: PKK: "KURDISH PEOPLE ARE RESISTING" Message-ID: From: Workers World Service ------------------------ Via Workers World Service Reprinted from the April 27, 1995, issue of Workers World newspaper ----------------------- PKK STATEMENT: "KURDISH PEOPLE ARE RESISTING" In a recent statement, PKK General Secretary Abdullah Ocalan offered a proposal to the German government for "a lasting and peaceful solution" to the crisis. "The Kurdish question is rapidly becoming a global issue," wrote Ocalan. "A political solution is becoming necessary. We would like to indicate that neither Germany nor other countries can afford to overlook this fact. "The support given to Turkey has culminated in the genocide of the Kurds and the annihilation of their nation. The policy of the Turkish government is such that it recognizes no limits. It behooves you not to aid a government with these aims. This is also the desire of the people of Kurdistan. "The Kurdish people are resisting the Turkish government's policies of violating the rules of war, which result in massacres and forced migrations which are designed to depopulate Kurdistan. "We have not committed nor do we plan to commit acts of violence in Europe. The German government's tacit support of the aims of the Turkish war, which are conducted by the plans of the Special War Department, are pushing the Kurds to despair. We do not want acts of violence to take place; we want this to be known. "We also believe there is a need for some measures to be implemented to dampen the situation. We believe all arms shipments must come to a halt. We think it is wrong to support a policy of force relative to human rights and the Kurdish question. "From now on, the German government should use its clout to put pressure on Turkey for a political solution to this question. Such efforts will pave the way for the Kurdish people to respect the rule of law. The Kurdish community will strongly support such a promising policy. "The recent foray of the Turkish army into Southern Kurdistan, which is not bringing a solution to the Kurdish question, is escalating the nature of the war. It is turning the conflict in Southern Kurdistan into a quagmire. ... "This operation has become a fiasco for the Turkish army. As this operation comes to a close, we await the European public opinion, the democratic masses, and the Western governments to insist on political solutions. "At every opportunity, we have expressed our desire for a peaceful solution to this conflict. We are ready for a mutual cease-fire, referendum, open dialogue, and democratic debate. We are repeating our call: We are ready to do our share and we recognize no obstacles." In an earlier statement, Ocalan had also criticized Clinton's support for the Turkish invasion. -30- (Copyright Workers World Service: Permission to reprint granted if source is cited. For more information contact Workers World, 55 W. 17 St., NY, NY 10011; via e-mail: ww at wwp.blythe.org. For subscription info send message to: ww-info at wwp.blythe.org.) From kurd-l at burn.ucsd.edu Sun Apr 23 23:27:41 1995 From: kurd-l at burn.ucsd.edu (kurd-l at burn.ucsd.edu) Date: 23 Apr 1995 23:27:41 Subject: We Stand For The Brotherhood Of The Message-ID: Reply-To: kurd-l at burn.ucsd.edu From: Kurdistan Committee of Canada Subject: We Stand For The Brotherhood Of The Peoples Of The World Parliament of Kurdistan in Exile 129a Avenue Louise 1050 Brussels, Belgium Tel: +322-539-3033 Fax: +322-539-3887 Press Release #1 April 23, 1995 We Stand For The Brotherhood Of The Peoples Of The World In addition to the Kurds, there are Armenians and Assyrians living in Kurdistan. The invasion and occupation of their lands have adversely affected all three constituent peoples. The implementation of divide and rule policies have resulted in internal feuding. The natives of millenniums have fought one another and forced each other to migrate. A most telling example of this policy was put into action in 1915. For a few years, we were provoked to kill one another in order to benefit our self-appointed leaders. On April 24, 1915, the Ottoman administrators began a policy of annihilating the Armenians and the Assyrians. This was a plan long in the making, meticulously carried out with the aid of some tribal Kurds who were organized into an auxiliary force, the 'Hamidiye Alaylari' or Hamidiye Brigades, of the Istanbul government. Today, a similar force has been established, the 'Koy Koruculari' or village guards. In that singular act of brutality at the turn of the century, millions of Armenians, Assyrians, and Kurds were murdered and many more were forced to embrace the coldness of diaspora. The policy of divide and rule has been inherited by the new Turkish government in Ankara. The same hideous crimes are now inflicted on the Kurds. At times, the Kurdish religious communities are provoked into fighting one another, as the Alevis and Sunnis do from time to time. A more sinister plan is the empowerment of an auxiliary force of mercenary Kurds to fight against their fellow Kurds who are on the side of freedom and liberty. New chapters of blood and pain, suffering and migration are written daily in the history of Turkey. A cursory look at the history of the Ottomans reveals more about the nature of the Turkish state's practices. In Asia Minor, historians tell us, there were once vibrant societies, different languages, and various cultures. Today, there are no vestiges left of these communities. A similar policy is now in the works for Kurdistan: Some Kurds are killed, many are legally and forcibly made to become Turks, and more are forced to flee in an attempt to end the way of life which is known as Kurdistan. As the Chair of the Executive Council of the Parliament of Kurdistan in Exile, a representative body of the Kurds in diaspora, I am urging the world public opinion not to let history repeat itself and not to remain silent to the annihilation of the Kurds. Tomorrow is the 80th anniversary of the massacres of the Armenians and the Assyrians. Let history note that we at the Parliament of Kurdistan in Exile share the pain of the survivors and their relations. We unequivocally denounce the act and condemn the perpetrators of this inhumanity, the Ottomans and their collaborators of the Kurdish auxiliary forces. We urge you all to do the same. Zubeyir Aydar, Chair of the Executive Council ----- Kurdistan Committee of Canada Tel: (613) 733-9634 2487 Kaladar Ave. Suite 203 Fax: (613) 733-0090 Ottawa, Ontario, K1V 8B9 E-mail: kcc at magi.com ----- From info at aps.nl Mon Apr 24 19:07:11 1995 From: info at aps.nl (info at aps.nl) Date: 24 Apr 1995 19:07:11 Subject: We Stand For The Brotherhood Of The References: Message-ID: From: kcc at magi.com Subject: We Stand For The Brotherhood Of The Peoples Of The World Reply-To: info at aps.nl Parliament of Kurdistan in Exile 129a Avenue Louise 1050 Brussels, Belgium Tel: +322-539-3033 Fax: +322-539-3887 Press Release #1 April 23, 1995 We Stand For The Brotherhood Of The Peoples Of The World In addition to the Kurds, there are Armenians and Assyrians living in Kurdistan. The invasion and occupation of their lands have adversely affected all three constituent peoples. The implementation of divide and rule policies have resulted in internal feuding. The natives of millenniums have fought one another and forced each other to migrate. A most telling example of this policy was put into action in 1915. For a few years, we were provoked to kill one another in order to benefit our self-appointed leaders. On April 24, 1915, the Ottoman administrators began a policy of annihilating the Armenians and the Assyrians. This was a plan long in the making, meticulously carried out with the aid of some tribal Kurds who were organized into an auxiliary force, the 'Hamidiye Alaylari' or Hamidiye Brigades, of the Istanbul government. Today, a similar force has been established, the 'Koy Koruculari' or village guards. In that singular act of brutality at the turn of the century, millions of Armenians, Assyrians, and Kurds were murdered and many more were forced to embrace the coldness of diaspora. The policy of divide and rule has been inherited by the new Turkish government in Ankara. The same hideous crimes are now inflicted on the Kurds. At times, the Kurdish religious communities are provoked into fighting one another, as the Alevis and Sunnis do from time to time. A more sinister plan is the empowerment of an auxiliary force of mercenary Kurds to fight against their fellow Kurds who are on the side of freedom and liberty. New chapters of blood and pain, suffering and migration are written daily in the history of Turkey. A cursory look at the history of the Ottomans reveals more about the nature of the Turkish state's practices. In Asia Minor, historians tell us, there were once vibrant societies, different languages, and various cultures. Today, there are no vestiges left of these communities. A similar policy is now in the works for Kurdistan: Some Kurds are killed, many are legally and forcibly made to become Turks, and more are forced to flee in an attempt to end the way of life which is known as Kurdistan. As the Chair of the Executive Council of the Parliament of Kurdistan in Exile, a representative body of the Kurds in diaspora, I am urging the world public opinion not to let history repeat itself and not to remain silent to the annihilation of the Kurds. Tomorrow is the 80th anniversary of the massacres of the Armenians and the Assyrians. Let history note that we at the Parliament of Kurdistan in Exile share the pain of the survivors and their relations. We unequivocally denounce the act and condemn the perpetrators of this inhumanity, the Ottomans and their collaborators of the Kurdish auxiliary forces. We urge you all to do the same. Zubeyir Aydar, Chair of the Executive Council ----- Kurdistan Committee of Canada Tel: (613) 733-9634 2487 Kaladar Ave. Suite 203 Fax: (613) 733-0090 Ottawa, Ontario, K1V 8B9 E-mail: kcc at magi.com ----- From info at aps.nl Mon Apr 24 05:23:45 1995 From: info at aps.nl (info at aps.nl) Date: 24 Apr 1995 05:23:45 Subject: SUBSCRIBE KURD-L KURDENG Message-ID: From: listserv at burn.ucsd.edu Subject: SUBSCRIBE KURD-L KURDENG Reply-To: info at aps.nl You have been added to list kurd-l at burn. The system has recorded your address as kurdeng at aps.nl and in order for your messages to get posted, you will have to send them from this address. If a message is ever rejected, please contact the list's owner: ats at locust.cic.net All requests should be addressed to listserv at burn. If you ever wish to unsubscribe from this list, send a message to listserv at burn.ucsd.edu with the message body "unsubscribe kurd-l". ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Arm The Spirit E-mail: ats at etext.org P.O. Box 6326, Stn. A Toronto, Ontario M5W 1P7 Canada WWW: gopher://locust.cic.net:70/11/Politics/Arm.The.Spirit FTP: ftp.etext.org --> /pub/Politics/Arm.The.Spirit ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- From info at aps.nl Tue Apr 25 05:26:55 1995 From: info at aps.nl (info at aps.nl) Date: 25 Apr 1995 05:26:55 Subject: MEM: Vol. 09, Message-ID: From: newsdesk at newsdesk.aps.nl Subject: Re: MEM: Vol. 09, Reply-To: info at aps.nl ----------- Forwarded from : MSA ------------ _______________________________________________________________________________ Views expressed on MSANEWS do not necessarily represent those of MSANEWS, the Ohio State University or any of our associated staff and "WATCHERS". MSANEWS is a medium of exchange of news and analyses (standard and alternative) on Muslim World affairs. Information provided for "fair use only." For subscriptions/suggestions drop a note at msanews-request at magnus.acs.ohio-state.edu _______________________________________________________________________________ Mideast Mirror April 12, 1995 SECTION: IRAQ, TURKEY; Vol. 09, No. 71 HEADLINE: Why the Iraqi Kurds should be wary of Turkey's embrace HIGHLIGHT: * The kind of "cooperation" sought by Ankara is likely to fuel inter -Kurdish rivalries and conflicts -- Sami Shourosh in al-Hayat * Turkey's invasion is part of a U.S. scheme to fragment Iraq and consolidate its hold over the Gulf's oil -- Adnan Badr in al-Quds al-Arabi * Ankara threatens to reduce the flow of Euphrates water into Syria in retaliation for its alleged help to the PKK -- Saleha Allam in al-Watan * Ekeus has given the U.S. the excuse its needs to maintain the embargo, and will doubtless oblige again when asked -- al-Quds al-Arabi * No sovereign state could ever accept terms such as those Washington is trying to impose on Iraqi oil sales -- Fahd al-Fanek in al-'Arab BODY: Iraqi Kurds are extremely wary of the security partnership Ankara is proposing, under which they are to help it combat the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) after Turkey withdraws its invasion force from their northern enclave, according to Iraqi Kurdish writer Sami Shourosh. While they welcome the prospect of improved relations with Ankara, they fear that its ultimate aim is to foil their legitimate political aspirations while using them as policemen to guard its southern borer, he writes in Wednesday's pan-Arab daily al-Hayat. Shourosh says Iraqi Kurds are fully aware of the supreme importance of "normal relations" and cooperation with Turkey, in its capacity as base country for the Western air forces that protect Iraqi Kurdistan, as the enclave's main trading partner and physical link to the outside world, and as its future bridge to the European Union. Accordingly, they look forward to an end in the chill that has characterized relations between the Iraqi Kurdish parties and Ankara for the past two years. But they remain deeply apprehensive about the nature of the cooperation and relations which Ankara is hinting at, especially following its massive military invasion of Iraqi Kurdistan. They know full well that there is international pressure on Turkey to withdraw and rely on a partnership with the Iraqi Kurds to keep the PKK at bay. But the absence of any indication from Ankara that it is altering its hostile view of the Iraqi Kurds and their enclave has compounded their worries. What they fear most is that Ankara's hidden agenda is to press them into a reconciliation with the regime of President Saddam Hussein in Baghdad. Turkey is already prressing the Americans to give it carte blanche to deal with the Iraqi Kurdish issue as it sees fit, and has in the past tried to reduce, if not bring a complete end to, the Western role in protecting the enclave. And it has made no secret of its view that it eventually wants to see Saddam reasert his control over Iraqi Kurdistan, which in Turkey's view is an independent Kurdish state-in-the-making. Another concern is that Turkey will confine its cooperation with the Iraqi Kurds to the military and security spheres without treating them as political partners. It seeks to turn their peshmerga fighters into border policemen whose job is to protect Turkey's southern frontier, a sure recipe for igniting a conflict between the Iraqi Kurds and the Turkish Kurds. The Iraqi Kurds point out that Ankara's thinking has changed considerably since the days of the late president Turgut Ozal. He appreciated the importance of political cooperation with them, respected their desire for a federal post -Saddam Iraq, and was convinced the Kurdish problem in Turkey had to be resolved by political means in the long term. Accordingly, both of the two main Iraqi Kurdish parties, the Kurdish Democratic Party (KDP) and the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK), did not hesitate to help Turkey combat the PKK in 1992. But nowadays, Turkish officials generally lack any ideas about political solutions to the Kurdish question, are reluctant to speak to Iraqi Kurdish leaders or their envoys, and show no interest in helping stabilize their enclave after the recent KDP-PUK conflict or improve economic conditions in it. The only assistance Turkey is proposing to provide them with is arms, military equipment and money to pay their fighters' salaries, and this in the final analysis will only contribute to escalating the fighting both between the IIraqi Kurds and the PKK and between the KDP and PUK. There is also concern that Turkey intends to confine its cooperation with the Iraqi Kurds to the KDP, as it controls the border zone. Any such "one-sided" approach will only make matters worse in Iraqi Kurdistan. No party that is engaged in an internal power struggle can alone take on the task of policing Turkey's border, so the Turkish army will find itself having to invade again in a year or two to once more eject the PKK from the enclave. Moreover, if Turkey does a deal with the KDP alone, it will in effect be legitimizing its control over other matters, such as the passage of goods and travellers between Turkey and Iraqi Kurdistan and the levying of customs duties on the border -- already a key cause of the KDP-PUK dispute. By bestowing authority on the KDP rather than the Iraqi Kurdistan administration, Ankara will in effect be fuelling the armed conflict between the Iraqi Kurdish rivals. So while the Iraqi Kurds welcome Turkey's new desire for cooperation they harbor many fears and reservations, and worry that "cooperation" will prove to be Turkey's way of pushing them into a new cycle of infighting and conflict. () CONSPIRACY: Mohammad Zuheir Diab, of the pro-Libyan daily al-'Arab, also urges the Iraqi Kurds to be wary of the "conspiratorial plans" Turkey is hatching ahead of its troop withdrawal from the enclave. Facing international pressure to pull out and aware that its incursion has failed to destroy the PKK, Turkey is now negotiating with the KDP and PUK about a security partnership to keep the PKK out of Iraq. This, he warns, could have grave repercussions both for the Kurdish people and other Iraqis. Not only will such an arrangement set the Iraqi and Turkish Kurds against each other -- as though the war between the KDP and PUK were not enough -- but it will be tantamount to a declaration that neither Ankara nor the Iraqi Kurds recognize Baghdad's authority in northern Iraq. It is one thing for the U.S. and Britain to have prevented Baghdad from exercising that authority in practice, but quite another for the Iraqi Kurds to turn themselves into surrogates of Turkey, Diab says. If Turkey wants the border policed, it can do so from its side with its troops. And if it is sincere when it says it does not want Iraq dismembered, it ought to match its words with deeds and pull out immediately. As for the Iraqi Kurds, they need to draw a distinction between their hostility to the present regime in Baghdad, and the way they are being used by Turkey and the West to undermine Iraq's sovereignty as a country. "If the Iraqi Kurds are sincere about preserving Iraq's territorial integrity and saving the Kurdish people from more calamities, they must be extremely cautious of Turkey's bid to involve them in its internal security problem, which is what it is doing by hurling allegations (of helping the PKK) against all neighboring states as though the essence of the problem did not lie in Turkey itself," Diab writes. Turkey "should resolve that problem domestically before threatening to invade others or to cut off Syria's water supply," and the Iraqi Kurds should be alert to the folly of its behavior. () SYRIA'S WATER: A reduction in the flow of water down the Euphrates River from Turkey to Syria in retaliation for Damascus' alleged support for the PKK is meanwhile said by an Istanbul-based Arab correspondent to be under active consideration in Ankara. Saleha Allam writes for Wednesday's Kuwaiti daily al-Watan that the Turks are threatening to slash the flow from 500 cubic meters per second -- as agreed in the 1987 water-sharing protocol -- to 300 cubic meters per second, with potentially grave consequences for Syria. This, in response to information provided to Turkey by the CIA, which told Ankara that on the day before the Turkish invasion of northern Iraq Syria opened its border to allow PKK leader Abdallah Ocalan and several hundred of his fighters to flee ahead of the incoming Turkish troops. Ms Allam notes that when Prime Minister Tansu Ciller was asked about the report on Tuesday she said Ankara could not act on the basis of unverified information, but that if the substance of the report were true, "we will take decisive action this time." Ms Allam's sources say a decision about reducing the amount of Euphrates water allowed to reach Syria will be taken after Ciller returns from her forthcoming trip to Washington, during which she will be apprised of details of the CIA's information and discuss with her hosts the possible repercussions in the Arab world of such a water cut-off. The sources add that Deputy Prime Minister Hikmet Cetin has asked Ciller to wait, and not to escalate tensions with Syria until after this month's regular meeting in Tehran of the Turkish, Iranian and Syrian foreign ministers to discuss the situation in Iraq. But Mesut Yilmaz, of the opposition Motherland Party (ANAP), is among those politicians advocating swift and decisive action against Syria if its reported help to the PKK leader is verified. A Syrian diplomat in Ankara strongly denied the substance of the purported CIA report to al-Watan, saying Damascus was adhering to its border security agreement under which it has handed over tens of PKK rebels captured on the Turkish-Syrian border. The diplomat said: "Ankara has found in these American claims a peg on which to hang its failure to achieve the declared objectives of its military operation and Washington aims, by spreading these claims and leaking them to the media, to put pressure on Syria to submit to its demands to make concessions to Israel in the peace talks." The diplomat also pointed out that although the alleged border-opening incident was supposed to have happened over three weeks ago, nothing was said about it at the time and it was only leaked to the media when U.S. Special Middle East Coordinator Dennis Ross arrived in Damascus last weekend. () EUROPE VS U.S.: Syrian writer Adnan Badr looks at the Turkish move into northern Iraq from another angle -- namely, the contrast between Washington's clear support for the operation and its European allies' surprisingly strong opposition to it. In an article in the Palestinian daily al-Quds al-Arabi attempting to explain this divergence, Badr Wednesday notes that the Europeans have been condemning the Turkish incursion on two grounds -- that of sovereignty and the violation of Iraq's territorial integrity that it entails; and that of human rights and the effect which the Turkish invasion has on the civilian population. This is all rather strange. Many of those same European powers actively supported the violation of Iraq's sovereignty and territorial integrity by means of the "no-fly-zones" the Western powers imposed in the north and south of the country, yet all of a sudden they are springing to its defense. And their professed humanitarian concern for the Iraqi civilian population contrasts sharply with the fact that they have shown not the slightest sympathy for the suffering which UN economic sanctions have been inflicting on that population for nearly five years. To Badr's mind, the real reasons for the Euro-American dispute over the Turkish incursion go beyond these declared concerns. They in fact reflect a contest between the two sides whose ultimate prize is control of the Gulf's colossal oil resources. A key thing to note is that Turkey invaded northern Iraq immediately after a failed CIA-sponsored plot to incite a revolt in Iraq in conjunction with the former head of military intelligence Gen. Wafik al-Samara'i, the U.S.-backed Iraqi National Congress (INC) opposition group, Jalal Talabani's PUK, and the pro-Iranian Iraqi Shiite opposition movement led by Mohammad Baker al-Hakim. The role of Hakim's forces was to step up attacks against government forces in the south while the PUK and INC did so in the north and Samara'i arranged for various military units to rise up. Had this plot, which the New York Times says U.S. Secretary of State Warren Christopher discussed with King Fahd of Saudi Arabia, succeeded, it would in effect have led to Iraq being carved up into three de facto statelets -- a Kurdish one in the north, a Sunnite-dominated one in the center, and a Shiite one beholden to Iran in the south. Those who dispute this conclusion can legitimately ask what interest the U.S. would have in seeing a pro-Iranian entity emerge in southern Iraq adjacent to the Gulf oil fields at a time when Washington is engaged in a ferocious propaganda war against Tehran similar to that which it launched against Baghdad in the build-up to the Gulf crisis. The answer is that Washington's long-term aim is not merely to get rid of Saddam's regime, but to incapacitate Iraq as a country, to prevent it from reemerging as a strong Arab power capable of standing on its own feet. Igniting an "Iraqi crisis" of this kind would not only enhance Washington's ability to control an Iraq that has been fragmented into statelets, but also enable it to drag Iran into a trap identical to that into which Iraq was lured in Kuwait, with the aim both of instilling fear into the rulers of the Gulf oil sheikhdoms to make them more beholden to U.S. protection, and of justifying a second "Desert Storm," this time against Iran. The ultimate aim is to complete the process of placing the Gulf's oil resources under U.S. hegemony with all the strategic, financial and commercial advantages this brings. It is this, rather than any pangs of conscience about Iraq's sovereignty or the human rights of its Kurdish or non-Kurdish citizens, that troubles the Europeans and explains their anger at the Turkish incursion. They know that the U.S is relying on Turkey in the execution of its plan to fragment Iraq, promising it suitable recompense in terms of oil and other rewards, perhaps even awarding it the Iraqi districts of Mosul and Kirkuk which it has long coveted. Former Turkish president Turgut Ozal was reported to have drawn up a plan under which Turkey would take control of those districts as a "reward" for its Gulf war role. The Americans have concluded that it is preferable to rely on Turkey in implementing this scheme than on the Iraqi Kurds and other Iraqi opposition groups, whose record has been one of abject failure despite all the external military, financial and political and support with which they have been provided since 1990. Some would go so far as to say that these groups' foreign sponsors actually want them to fail in their declared task of toppling the Iraqi regime. More light may have been cast on U.S. thinking by the recent tour of UN Security Council member states by the U.S.'s UN Ambassador Madeleine Albright, during which she lobbied for sanctions against Iraq to be retained. During that tour, Albright conveyed the "clear and resolute" message that as leader of the anti-Iraq coalition, the U.S. believes it alone is entitled to decide when and how sanctions are eased. Implicit in this is an acknowledgement that the function of sanctions is not to secure Baghdad's implementation of UN resolutions, but to achieve American goals which Washington alone is entitled to determine. To Badr's mind, the unrivalled power of the U.S. does not necessarily mean that its apparent plans for Iraq are bound to succeed. A combination of Iraqi resistance to and international awareness of the grave implications of such a scheme can help foil it. But if the Europeans are to thwart this U.S. bid ultimately aimed at monopolizing the Gulf's oil, they need to do more than oppose the Turkish incursion. They should ensure that the linkage is reestablished between the sanctions and the UN's Gulf war resolutions, thereby enabling Iraq to resume oil exports once it fulfils UN disarmament demands. Arab leaders also ought to awaken to the dangerous fallout which the Turkish invasion could have on their countries, especially Syria, as should Iran, especially if they take note of recent remarks by Turkish officials indicating that Israel had a role in planning and executing the Turkish campaign. The question is whether these leaders and regimes will take serious action commensurate to the threat posed by developments in Iraq, or whether they are too busy with the peace process with Israel to notice. It has often been said that one aim of U.S. scheming against Iraq is to divide the Arabs so that a peace deal on Israel's terms can be imposed on them, says Badr. But who is to say that the reverse does not hold true, and that one goal of preoccupying the Arabs with the negotiations with Israel is to divert their attention from what is being planned for Iraq? Indeed, who is to say that both things are not being accomplished simultaneously? () SANCTIONS: The anticipated renewal of the UN oil ban on Iraqi oil exports also preoccupies Arab commentators Wednesday following UNSCOM chief Rolf Ekeus report to the Security Council in which he said Iraq had failed to account for about 17 tons of bacteriological growth media it imported in 1988 and could have diverted them for military use. Al-Quds al-Arabi believes Ekeus was under U.S. pressure to furnish an excuse which could be invoked to block a lifting of the oil embargo. It notes that previously Ekeus had said that all that remained to be done to give Iraq a clean bill of health was to set up and test a long-term monitoring system for its arms industry. Now that system is up and running, he has contrived a new pretext, and doubtless will do so again once Baghdad uncovers the necessary documentation about the missing growth media. For, in effect, UNSCOM's task is not to help Iraq get to the point from where it can be relieved of sanctions, but to find ways to ensure the sanctions remain in place until the U.S. decides to lift them. It wants to use the embargo to topple the regime, and to ease the financial pressure faced by its allies Saudi Arabia and Kuwait, whose oil revenues would be badly affected by the effects of a return of Iraqi crude to the markets, as would their ability to pay colossal U.S. arms bills. The U.S. allows Turkey to get away with invading Iraq and Israel to commit the most manifest abuses of human rights on a daily basis, yet it leaps on any opportunity to keep Iraq blockaded and starved in the pursuit of its interests. In so doing, it is creating bitter resentment among Arabs and Moslems that could one day prove to have a devastating affect on those interests, the paper warns. () U.S. PLOY: In al-'Arab, Fahd al-Fanek defends Iraq's refusal to go along with the latest Anglo-American proposal that it be allowed to sell two billion dollars worth of oil subject to a number of stringent conditions, including that half the proceeds go to paying UN costs and meeting Kuwaiti reparations claims. A similar proposal has been on the table for years and Iraq has always rejected it as unacceptable, so why should the U.S. be renewing the same idea in slightly modified form now? he wonders. Its aim is merely to mislead public opinion and give the impression that it is not to blame for the deprivation caused by sanctions, but rather to pin the blame on the Iraqi government for its refusal to accept Washington's insulting and harsh "offer." According to the U.S. proposal, 30 percent of the two billion dollars has to go to the UN compensation fund and a further 20 percent to cover UN costs, including the cost of its activities in the areas of northern Iraq that have been taken out of the government's control. This leaves Iraq with just seven dollars per person per month to meet all the health and nutrition needs of its population. And even to earn this pathetic amount Iraq must agree to export any oil via Turkey and not through its Gulf terminal, accept that payment for Iraqi oil purchases be made directly to the UN, acquiesce to the de facto secession of Kurdistan, and allow its people to be treated as though they were inhabitants of a refugee camp reliant for their rations on handouts controlled by international agencies. The U.S. came up with this scheme as a propaganda ploy to enable it to argue that it is no longer starving the innocent Iraqi people, and thereby to turn the embargo from a temporary measure subject to certain conditions being met into a permanent regime, Fanek says. If Iraq agreed to it, it would in effect be agreeing to place its northern provinces and its economy under international trusteeship until further notice. No sovereign state could ever agree to that. "Does the UN Charter permit the infringement of the sovereignty of its independent member states?" asks Fanek. "And does anyone believe that all this is being done for the sake of upholding the independence of Kuwait?" ----------------------------- End forwarded message -------------------------- ------------------------------------------------------- * Activists Press Service (Newsdesk) * newsdesk at aps.nl !Power to the people! ------------------------------------------------------- From uuaps at antenna.nl Tue Apr 25 13:50:29 1995 From: uuaps at antenna.nl (uuaps at antenna.nl) Date: 25 Apr 1995 13:50:29 Subject: No Subject Line Message-ID: From: Activists Press >From listserver Mon Apr 24 22:16:15 1995 remote from aps Received: by aps.nl (1.65/waf) via UUCP; Mon, 24 Apr 95 22:16:46 +0200 for mideast.kurds at antenna.nl Received: by aps.nl (V-MailServer 2.20) id VT1036; Mon, 24 Apr 1995 22:16:15 -0800 Date: Mon, 24 Apr 1995 21:41:00 +0100 From: newsdesk at newsdesk.aps.nl Subject: Re: taz: gesprach zwischen Hakki Keskin und Mehmet Sahin (KOMKUR) Sender: kurdeng at aps.nl To: mideast.kurds at antenna.nl Message-Id: <042495214102Rnf0.79b6 at newsdesk.aps.nl> Reply-To: info at aps.nl Precedence: bulk -------- Forwarded from : schism at schism.aps.nl (Schism at schism.aps.nl) ---------- THEMA HEUTE: DER TRKISCH-KURDISCHE KONFLIKT. SPRECHEN ZWISCHEN PPK UND TRKISCHEM MILITR BISLANG NUR DIE WAFFEN, SUCHEN KURDISCHE UND TRKISCHE IMMIGRANTEN IN DEUTSCHLAND NACH FRIEDLICHEN KONFLIKTLSUNGEN, AUCH - BER ALLE MEINUMGSVERSCHIEDENHEITEN HINWEG - GEMEINSAM. DAS STREITGESPRCH ZWISCHEN DEM TRKEN HAKKI KESKIN UND DEM KURDEN MEHMET SAHIN DAUERTE BER DREI STUNDEN. Zusammengestellt von Zafer Senocak Gemeinsam eine Lsung finden Streitgesprach zwischen dem trkischen SPD-Abgeordneten Hakki Keskin und Mehmet Sahin, Vorsitzender von "KOMKAR". Moderiert von Jrgen Gottschlich. Hakki Keskin lebt seit ber dreiaig Jahren in Deutschland und gehrt zu den autoren einer Studie des Instituts fr trkisch- europische Beziehungen ber "Ursachen und Lsungswege des Kurdenkonflikts". Mehmet Sahin ist Vorsitzender der kurdischen Immigrantenvereinigung "KOMKAR". KOMKAR setzt sich seit Jahren fr eine friedliche, politische Lsung in Kurdistan ein und versucht, zusammen mit trkischen und deutschen Intellektuellen und Politikern solchen Vorschlgen in der Trkei Gehr zu verschaffen. KOMKAR wird von der PKK als unliebsame Konkurrenzorganisation eingestuft. taz: Vielleicht fangen wir gleich mit einer etwas zugespitzten Frage an. Ist es fr sie beide denkbar, daa der trkische Staatsprsident Demirel und der Chef der kurdischen Arbeiterpartei PKK demnchst miteinander verhandeln? Keskin: Ich glaube nicht, daa Demirel oder irgendein anderer trkischer Politiker, der Regerierungsverantwortung wahrnimmt, willens oder in der Lage ist, mit celan an einem Tisch zu sitzen. Mit einer Terrororganisation kann sich keine gewhlte Regierung an einen Tisch setzen, solange die Organisation nicht definitiv der Gewalt abgeschworen hat. Nein, da mua es andere Schritte geben. taz: Das erinnert an die Aussagen der verschiedensten israelischen Regierungen, bis es eben letzlich doch zum Hndedruck Rabin/Arafat kam. Keskin: Ja, aber erst nachdem die PLO sich glaubwrdig von Gewalt und Terror distanziert hat. Sahin: Um die Frage zu beantworden mua berhaupt erst einmal klar sein, ob die trkische Regierung die Kurdenfrage friedlich lsen will oder aber immer noch glaubt, die PKK militrisch besiegen zu knnen und damit dann auch die Kurdenfrage gelst zu haben. Schauen wir nach Spanien. In die Baskenfrage kam auch erst Bewegung, nachdem Franco tot war und eine demokratische Regierung tatschlich eine friedliche Lsung anstrebte. Wenn der Wille zu einer politischen Lsung da ist, lassen sich auch Wege finden - aber der Wille der trkischen Regierung fehlt. Warum hat die trkische Regierung nicht mit den kurdischen Abgeordneten der DEP gesprochen? Statt dessen hat sie dafr gesorgt, daa diese Abgeordneten aus dem Parlement geworfen und als Separatisten verurteilt wurden. taz: Das heiat, es htte Mglichkeiten zu gesprchen gegeben, ohne daa die trkische Regierung sich mit der PKK an einem Tisch htte setzen mssen? Sahin: Ja, natrlich. Die Kurden haben andere Reprsentanten als die PKK. taz: Aber die anderen kurdischen Gruppierungen knnten keinen Waffenstillstand aushandeln. Sahin: Das ist auch nicht notwendig. Wenn die Regierung die Kmpfe einstellt, wird die PKK sofort die Waffen schweigen lassen. taz: Herr Keskin, gibt es innerhalb des politischen Establishments der Trkei, eine gengend starke Gruppe, die sagt, wir wollen nicht lnger den Einsatz des Militrs, sondern wir wollen eine politische Lsung. Der verstorbene Staatsprsident zal hat ja mal 1991 einen Anlauf zu einer Vereinbarung gemacht, ist aber vom Militr ziemlich harsch ausgebremst worden. Keskin: Fast alle Parteien wollen eine politische Lsung, aber nicht unter dem Diktat des Terrors und der Gewalt. Erst mua der Terror beseitigt werden, und dann knnen alle weiteren Fragen besprochen werden. Das ist der Stand in der Trkei. Ich persnlich meine, daa Reformen, die Gewhrung umfassender kultureller Rechte fr die Kurden, jetzt sofort in Angriff genommen werden sollen. Aber so redet ein in Deutschland lebender Intellektueller. Schauen wir uns tatschlich die anderen vergleichbaren Konflikte an. Die britische Regierung htte niemals mit der IRA geredet, wenn diese nicht zuvor einen Verzicht auf Gewalt erklrt htte. Das gleiche gilt fr Israel und die PLO. Sahin: Die PKK hat doch mehrfach einen Waffenstillstand angeboten. Im Mrz 1993 hat sie sogar einen einseitigen Waffenstillstand ber einen lngeren Zeitraum eingehalten. Keskin: Wir reden immer noch aneinander vorbei. Die frmliche Anerkennung eines Waffenstillstands wrde ja gleichzeitig bedeuten, die PKK als regulre Kriegspartei anzuerkennen. Das will und wird die trkische Regierung nicht tun, das sage ich doch die ganze Zeit. Das wrde schon die Bevlkerung nicht zulassen, selbst wenn die Regierung es wollte. Sahin: Dann frage ich Sie noch einmal anders: Ist denn die Kurdenfrage gelst, falls die PKK besiegt wrde? Ist das Problem dann erledigt? Das ist doch die Kernfrage. Keskin: Nein, nein, natrlich nicht. taz: Knnen wir noch einmal versuchen, die graten Hindernisse fr eine politische Lsung zu benennen. Stimmten Sie zu, daa die ausschliealiche Reduktion der kurdischen Frage auf ein Terrorismusproblem auf der einen Seite und das kurdische Beharren auf einem eigenen Staat Positionen sind, bei denen es keinen Kompromia, keine Verhandlungen geben kann? Keskin: Trken und Kurden leben fast tausend Jahre zusammen. Zur Zeit gibt es ungefhr 5 Millionen Mischehen. Es gibt vielfltige Beziehungen untereinander, und es gibt kein Gebiet in der Trkei, in dem ausschliealich Kurden oder ausschliealich Trken leben. Es gibt eine historische und praktische Notwendigkeit, miteinander auszukommen. Einfache Lsungen, indem man sagt: Hier habt ihr euren kurdischen Staat, gibt es dagegen nicht. ber die Hlfte der Kurden lebt in den westlichen Groastdten der Trkei. Beide Vlker sind letztlich dazu verurteilt, friedlich miteinander zu leben. Das Problem ist, bis zu zal haben alle trkischen Regierungen negiert, daa es Kurden gibt. Alle Bewohner der trkischen Republik sollten Trken sein, mit gleichen Rechten und Pflichten. Und in den letzten siebzig Jahren hat die berwiegende Mehrheit der trkischen und kurdischen Bevlkerung ja auch friedlich miteinander zusammengelebt. Sahin: Das ist nicht so. Das ist die Sichtweise der trkischen Regierung, die Sicht des Kemalismus. Wenigstens hier im Ausland sollten wir anfangen ber die Fakten zu reden. Gibt es berhaupt ein kurdisches Volk? Gibt es wie im Nordirak oder im Iran ein Gebiet Kurdistan? Seit Grndung der trkischen Republik gibt es ein Problem. Im Befreiungskrieg haben die Kemalisten noch von einer trkischen und einer kurdischen Nation geredet. Zwei Nationen in einem Staat. Davon war spter keine Rede mehr. Das war die Brderlichkeit der Kemalisten. Seitdem waren die kurdischen Gebiete eine Kolonie Ankaras. Keskin: Das ist doch Unsinn. Das entsprach doch nie der tatschlichen Situation. Jeder Kurde konnte in der Trkei jede beliebige Position einnehmen. Sahin: Natrlich, aber nur wenn er seine Herkunft als Kurde verleugnet. Wer sich auf seine kurdische Existenz beruft, wer die Rechte des kurdischen Volkes einfordert, wird verfolgt. Keskin: Die Trkei hat eine republikanische Verfassung, die nicht nach ethnischer Herkunft fragt. Das ist ja gerade die Grundlage des modernen trkischen Staates. Es gibt fnfzig unterschiedliche Ethnien in der Trkei. Schon deshalb hat es natrlich eine Assimilationspolitik gegeben - im positiven Sinne. Ich bin in der Ost-Trkei aufgewachsen. In meiner Stadt, Erzincan, hat es immer zwei kurdische Abgeordnete gegeben. Sahin: Das bestreite ich doch gar nicht. Solange ich mich als Trke bekenne, kann ich alles werden. Was ist aber mit den kurdischen Abgeordneten, die darauf bestanden haben, daa sie Kurden sind? Keskin: Das ist ein anderes Problem. Es gibt in der Trkei eine ganz defizitre Demokratie. Das weia jeder. Das geben ja sogar die Reprsentanten des Staates zu. Es gibt Menschenrechtsverletzungen, es gibt Folter, das weia jeder, ganz offiziell. Wichtig ist, daa jemand nicht verfolgt wird, weil er Kurde ist, sondern weil er ein Oppositioneller ist. Sahin: Jeder, der die elementaren Rechte fr das kurdische Volk verlangt, nicht mit der Waffe, sondern auch als Wissenschaftler oder als Journalist, wird verfolgt. Keskin: Ja, das ist auch ein Demokratiedefizit. Gbe es eine entwickelte Demokratie, was ja fast alle Parteien in der Trkei anstreben, wre das nicht mehr der Fall. Die jetzige - undemokratische - Verfassung soll ja verndert werden. taz: Herr Sahin, knnen sie einmal mglichst przise sagen, wie die trkische Gesellschaft, die trkische Verfassung, verndert werden mua, damit aus ihrer Sicht ein friedliches Zusammenleben in der Trkei mglich ist - oder besteht die Mehrheit der Kurden ohnehin auf einem eigenen Staat? Sahin: Auch das kurdische Volk hat wie jedes andere das Recht selber darber zu entscheiden, ob es in einem eigenen Staat leben will oder nicht. Die Mehrheit der Kurden in der Trkei ist aber fr einem gemeinsamen Staat. Einem Bundesstaat, in dem Kurden und Trken gleichberechtigt zusammenleben. Das heiat, in der Verfassung wird festgehalten, in der Trkei lebt die trkische und die kurdische Nation. Wer glaubt, die Kurdenfrage nur mit einigen kulturellen Zugestndnissen lsen zu knnen, irrt sich. Keskin: In der Tat, wenn wir uns nherkommen wollen, und das mssen wir, mua es Vernderungen in der Trkei geben. Erstens mua anerkannt werden, daa es ein kurdisches Volk, eine kurdische Identitt gibt, zweitens, die Zulassung von Kurdisch als Schulsprache, kurdische Fernsehsender undsoweiter mssen akzeptiert werden, und darber hinaus mua man ber eine Verwaltungsform, eine Dezentralisierung der Staatlichen Institutionen nachdenken. Sie sagen, ein Bundesstaat, der aus zwei Regionalstaaten bestehen soll. Ich sage, das entspricht nicht den historischen Gegebenheiten dieses Landes. Jedes Land mua versuchen, seine Entwicklung aus seiner Geschichte heraus zu verstehen. Ich glaube, man sollte statt dessen versuchen, die gesamte Verwaltung des Staates zu dezentralisieren, so daa die Bevlkerung in den verschiedenen Teilen des Landes graere Selbst- und Mitbestimmungsrechte bekommt, damit - natrlich auch die kurdische Bevlkerung - sie ihre Geschichte in der Region selbst bestimmen kann. Das wre, glaube ich, in der Trkei machbar. taz: Bedeutet das regionale Parlemente, regionale Regierungen oder weiterhin von Ankara eingesetzte Gouverneure? Keskin: ber die Einzelheiten kann man diskutieren. Sahin: Das ist doch eine sehr trkische Sichtweise. Keskin: Dann sagen Sie doch einmal Ihre Vorstellungen, was wollen Sie noch? Sahin: Einen Bundesstaat, in dem eine kurdische und eine trkische Republik existiert und unter einem Dach zusammenkommt. Das bedeutet ein gemeinsames Parlement, aber jeweils eine regionale Regierung fr Kurden und eine fr Trken. So, wie es in Belgien der Fall ist. Das ist kein Separatismus, sondern vorteilhaft fr beide Nationen. Keskin: Das ist nicht realistisch. Das ist nicht machbar. Welche Krfte gibt es in der Trkischen Gesellschaft, die solche Ideen untersttzten wrden? Das kann ja nicht wie in einer Diktatur von oben herab gemacht werden. Dafr bruchte man Mehrheiten. taz: Der erste Schritt wre aber, solche Modelle erst einmal ffentlich zu debattieren. Keskin: Natrlich, natrlich! Sahin: Warum wird nicht das kurdische Volk gefragt, warum werden die Lsungsmoglichkeiten nicht auch mit den einfachen Menschen diskutiert? Keskin: Wissen Sie, ich habe bisher darber geredet, was ich fr realistisch halte. Ich persnlich, Hakki Keskin, htte nichts dagegen, wenn, ohne Repression durch die PKK oder das Militr, die kurdische Bevlkerung gefragt wrde, wie sie leben will. Wenn sie einen eigenen Staat heben wollen, bitte schn. Aber was wren die Konsequenzen? In einem kurdischen Staat, unter der Dominanz der PKK, knnte die trkische Bevlkerung, die jetzt in diesen Gebieten lebt, nicht bleiben. Die Trken in diesem Gebiet wrden vertrieben. Das gleiche wrde dann umgekehrt geschehen, die Kurden wrden aus den westlichen Gebieten vertrieben. Das wre eine Katastrophe, eine ethnische Suberung in Millionenumfang. Sahin: Das wollen wir doch auch nicht. Deshalb bemhen wir uns seit zwanzig Jahren um eine demokratische, politische Lsung. Das bedeutet, um diskutieren zu knnen, um zu einer politischen Lsung zu kommen, mssen erst einmal die Waffen schweigen, mua das Ausnahmerecht aufgehoben werden, mssen die Institutionen des Ausnahmezustands abgeschafft werden, kurdische Parteien zugelassen werden, und die kurdische Sprache und Kultur mua gelehrt und weitergegeben werden. Wenn wir das erreicht haben, beginnen die Gesprche. Wie kommen wir dahin? Die PKK ist bereit, einen Waffenstilstand einzugehen. taz: So weit waren wir ja schon einmal, Hakki Keskin sagt dann, Waffenstillstandverhandlungen mit der PKK wird es nicht geben. Sahin: Brauchen wir auch nicht. Wenn der trkische Staat mit der PKK nicht reden will, kann er den ersten Schritt selbst tun. Wenn die Armee in Kurdistan aufhrt zu schieaen, wird auch die PKK aufhren. Das haben sie mehrmals erklrt. Keskin: Der anfang besteht in solchen Situationen immer darin, daa die Aufstandspartei, die den Staat bekmpft, erklrt: Wir werden unsere Ziele nicht mehr gewaltsam, sondern mit politischen Mitteln verfolgen. Wenn das der Fall ist, gibt es viele Mglichkeiten, ins Gesprch zu kommen. Man kann Botschaften ber die irakischen Kurden schicken, mit der kurdischen sozialistischen Partei reden undsoweiter. Aber das ist der zweite Schritt. Der erste Schritt ist, daa die PKK sagt, wir werden nicht mehr bewaffnet vorgehen, wir wollen verhandeln. Sahin: Sie erwarten die Kapitulation der PKK, ohne irgendwelche Garantien zu geben. taz: Herr Keskin, welche Zusicherungen knnte die trkische Regierung den Kurden machen - wenn nicht ffentlich, nicht im Wege von Verhandlungen, dann eben ber diskrete Kanle. Was knnte sie der PKK anbieten, damit diese zu einem solchen von ihnen geforderten Schritt bereit sein knnte? Keskin: Ich glaube, daa genau darber heute in den verschiedenen Parteien und anderen gesellschaftlichen Institutionen diskutiert wird. Wir mssen alles tun, um erst einmal das Blutvergieaen zu stoppen. Die PKK mua nicht kapitulieren - aber die Seite die den Aufstand begonnen hat, mua ffentlich davon Abstand nehmen. Dann werden die politischen Parteien sich gentigt und gedrngt sehen zu verhandeln, mit wem auch immer. Dann wird auch eine Lsung gefunden, letztlich auch mit den Leuten aus der PKK. Sahin: Warum sollte die PKK jetzt, ohne Gegenleistung die Waffen niederlegen? taz: Herr Keskin, glauben sie nicht, daa das Militr in der Trkei viel zu sagen hat. Aber leztendlich, wenn die Rahmenbedingungen sich ndern wrden, wenn die PKK der Gewalt abschwrt, wre es auch fr das Militr sehr schwierig, Verhandlungen abzulehnen. Gegen wen soll das Militr kmpfen, wenn die PKK die Waffen niederlegt? Wenn von seiten der PKK ohne Befristung erklrt wird, wir schieaen nicht mehr, wir wollen eine politische Lsung, werden sich Mittel und Wege finden lassen, miteinander zu reden. Davon bin ich berzeugt. Das beste wre, wenn alle demokratischen Krfte unter den Kurden darauf drngten, daa die PKK den bewaffneten Kampf aufgibt. Natrlich in der Hoffnung, daa der trkische Staat positiv darauf reagiert. taz: Warum sollten sie dies Hoffnung haben? Keskin: Dafr mate man Gesprche fhren. Nicht mit der PKK, aber mit anderen demokratischen kurdischen Organisationen, die bereit wren, die PKK fr eine friedliche Lsung zu gewinnen oder auch zu zwingen. Gegenber den demokratischen Organisationen in Kurdistan mua der trkische Staat seine Bereitschaft erklren, kurdische Parteien zu legalisieren und eine Generalamnestie vorzubereiten, wenn diese die PKK dazu bringen, die Waffen niederzulegen. taz: Knnte es sein, daa das Hauptproblem darin besteht, daa sowohl die PKK aber auch das Militr immer noch nicht eingesehen haben, daa dieser Krieg nicht zu gewinnen ist? Keskin: Ich weia natrlich nicht genau, wie die Militrs denken, aber jede vernnftige Mensch weia, daa Ideen nich mit Gewehren beseitigt werden knnen. Ich persnlich meine, eine friedliche Lsung setzt den Willen zu einer Ausshnung voraus. Beide Seiten, sowohl die trkische als auch die PKK, mssen Annherungen wagen, mssen ber den eigenen Schatten springen. Sahin: Dann lassen Sie uns gemeinsam Druck auf die trkische Regierung ausben, indem auch Sie sagen, die Waffen mssen schweigen, so geht es nicht. Keskin: Natrlich, das machen wir doch. taz: Ist es denkbar, im Ausland eine groae kurdisch-trkische InitiatIve zusammenzubekommen, die in diesem Sinne in der Trkei Einflua nimmt? Sahin: Das machen wir ja. Gerade haben wir einen Aufruf zusammen mit trkischen und deutschen Intellektuellen verffentlicht, der genau diese Ziel hat. Keskin: Das sind doch einseitige Initiativen fr die Bildung eines kurdischen Staates, durch die Sie nichts erreichen. Wir sollten uns gemeinsam fr Ziele engagieren, die erreichbar sind. Ich sage, vllige Gleichstellung und eine regionale Selbstbestimmung - allein die Parole, Selbstbestimmung der Vlker, ist keine Lsung, sondern ein Programm fr ein neues Jugoslawien, ein neues Bosnien. Ich vermute, daa wenn es heute ein Referendum unter der kurdischen Bevlkerung gbe, mehr als 60 bis 70 Prozent fr einen Verbleib im trkischen Staat stimmen wrden - unter der Voraussetzung, daa ihre kulturellen Rechte anerkennt werden. Sahin: Dann sorgen wir doch dafr, da es zu einem Referendum kommt. Wenn der Krieg beendet wird und der Ausnahmezustand aufgehoben wird, wenn kurdische Parteien legalisiert werden und die kurdische Sprache, auch in den Schulen gelehrt wird, dann knnen wir eine Lsung finden. Aus die Tageszeitung, dienstag 18 april 1995 ************************************************** Infogroup Schism Postbus/P.O. Box 2884 3500 GW Utrecht/The Netherlands schism at schism.aps.nl ************************************************** ----------------------------- End forwarded message -------------------------- ------------------------------------------------------- * Activists Press Service (Newsdesk) * newsdesk at aps.nl !Power to the people! ------------------------------------------------------- From kurd-l at burn.ucsd.edu Tue Apr 25 16:31:56 1995 From: kurd-l at burn.ucsd.edu (kurd-l at burn.ucsd.edu) Date: 25 Apr 1995 16:31:56 Subject: KURD-A News: April 18-23, 1995 Message-ID: Reply-To: kurd-l at burn.ucsd.edu From: Kurdistan Committee of Canada Subject: KURD-A News: April 18-23, 1995 KURD-A News Updates April 18-23, 1995 * Guerrillas attack army barracks in Siirt * ARGK mortar attack on Turkish army post in Sirnak * Mayor abducted by Turkish security forces found dead * Turkish troops in Haftanin, South Kurdistan can only escape with helicopters * Kurdish guerrillas destroy pipeline in Silopi * More guerrilla attacks on Turkish army units in South Kurdistan * Short battle between guerrillas and security forces near Lice * Guerrilla-controlled Cudi mountain region bombarded by Turkish airforce * Guerrillas attack military convoy between Sirnak and Cizre * Turkish army pulls out of Sirnak-Pulumur following guerrilla attacks * Turkish soldiers flee following guerrilla attack on military station On the night of April 18, ARGK guerrillas attacked an army barracks in the city of Siirt. The guerrillas fired rockets and machine guns. Eight rockets struck the building. There are no exact casualty figures available at this time. (18.04.95) On April 17, soldiers from the military stations Besna Brijne and Bejne were attacked by Kurdish guerrillas while returning to their bases. In the fighting, 4 soldiers were killed and 2 were wounded. On the same day, a Turkish army base in Sirnak was attacked by ARGK guerrillas who fired mortars. Nine mortars struck the compound. According to reports from civilians, more than 10 soldiers were killed. However, the Press Office of the ARGK in Botan has not yet issued any casualty figures. (18.04.95) The mayor of the village of Gerneke near Omerli was abducted by Turkish security forces about two weeks ago. Since then, no one had heard from the mayor. Yesterday, his body was found near the village. According to civilians, there were torture marks all over his body. (18.04.95) Turkish army units stationed in Haftanin, South Kurdistan are slowly retreating. According to our correspondents, the soldiers have to be brought out by helicopters, since they can't be protected from ARGK guerrilla attacks on the roads. (18.04.95) An oil pipeline near Silopi has been destroyed by Kurdish guerrillas. The guerrillas blew up the pipeline. A great deal of damage was caused by the attack. (18.04.95) Turkish army units have attempted to penetrate into South Kurdistan between the regions of Cukurca and Bircella, which are about six hours apart. Following several attacks by ARGK guerrillas, the Turkish troops pulled back. During the retreat, a village guard named Mustafa Ozturk was seriously wounded after stepping on a mine planted by guerrillas. On April 22, ARGK guerrillas again attacked Turkish troops trying to enter South Kurdistan near Bircella and Avasin. The fighting is still going on. According to guerrilla sources, the bodies of 4 Turkish soldiers killed have been seen so far. One Turkish army unit was ambushed repeatedly by Kurdish guerrillas near Cukurca-Sifreza. This fighting is also still continuing. On April 21, the Avasin region was bombarded by the Turkish airforce. (22.04.95) On April 21, there was fighting between Kurdish guerrillas and Turkish army units in Karincakay near Lice. 1 solider died during the brief encounter. After the fighting, the guerrillas left the area. (22.04.95) The Cudi mountains, which are controlled by ARGK guerrillas, were bombarded by Turkish warplanes on April 21. According to our correspondents, neither the guerrillas nor the civilian population suffered any losses. (22.04.95) On April 22, a military convoy was attacked by guerrillas on the road between Sirnak and Cizre. During the attack, guerrillas fired B-7 machine guns at the convoy and destroyed a troop transporter and hit a bus full of soldiers. Several soldiers died in the attack, but no exact figures are available at this time. (23.04.95) Kurdish guerrillas ambushed a Turkish army patrol in the Dersim- Pulumur region. Fighting between guerrillas and soldiers lasted for about three hours. The Turkish forces pulled back after suffering heavy losses. (23.04.95) An attack was launched against a hilltop Turkish army post in Bingol-Kigi. Guerrillas killed 3 soldiers and captured the hill. The other soldiers who had been on the hill fled to a military station. After the guerrillas pulled back, there was more fighting near the military station. A total of 5 soldiers died in the fighting. (23.04.95) ----- Kurdistan Committee of Canada Tel: (613) 733-9634 2487 Kaladar Ave. Suite 203 Fax: (613) 733-0090 Ottawa, Ontario, K1V 8B9 E-mail: kcc at magi.com ----- From info at aps.nl Thu Apr 27 15:46:34 1995 From: info at aps.nl (info at aps.nl) Date: 27 Apr 1995 15:46:34 Subject: KURD-A News: April 18-23, 1995 References: Message-ID: From: tabe at newsdesk.aps.nl Subject: Re: KURD-A News: April 18-23, 1995 Reply-To: info at aps.nl -------- Forwarded from : Kurdistan Committee of Canada --------- KURD-A News Updates April 18-23, 1995 * Guerrillas attack army barracks in Siirt * ARGK mortar attack on Turkish army post in Sirnak * Mayor abducted by Turkish security forces found dead * Turkish troops in Haftanin, South Kurdistan can only escape with helicopters * Kurdish guerrillas destroy pipeline in Silopi * More guerrilla attacks on Turkish army units in South Kurdistan * Short battle between guerrillas and security forces near Lice * Guerrilla-controlled Cudi mountain region bombarded by Turkish airforce * Guerrillas attack military convoy between Sirnak and Cizre * Turkish army pulls out of Sirnak-Pulumur following guerrilla attacks * Turkish soldiers flee following guerrilla attack on military station On the night of April 18, ARGK guerrillas attacked an army barracks in the city of Siirt. The guerrillas fired rockets and machine guns. Eight rockets struck the building. There are no exact casualty figures available at this time. (18.04.95) On April 17, soldiers from the military stations Besna Brijne and Bejne were attacked by Kurdish guerrillas while returning to their bases. In the fighting, 4 soldiers were killed and 2 were wounded. On the same day, a Turkish army base in Sirnak was attacked by ARGK guerrillas who fired mortars. Nine mortars struck the compound. According to reports from civilians, more than 10 soldiers were killed. However, the Press Office of the ARGK in Botan has not yet issued any casualty figures. (18.04.95) The mayor of the village of Gerneke near Omerli was abducted by Turkish security forces about two weeks ago. Since then, no one had heard from the mayor. Yesterday, his body was found near the village. According to civilians, there were torture marks all over his body. (18.04.95) Turkish army units stationed in Haftanin, South Kurdistan are slowly retreating. According to our correspondents, the soldiers have to be brought out by helicopters, since they can't be protected from ARGK guerrilla attacks on the roads. (18.04.95) An oil pipeline near Silopi has been destroyed by Kurdish guerrillas. The guerrillas blew up the pipeline. A great deal of damage was caused by the attack. (18.04.95) Turkish army units have attempted to penetrate into South Kurdistan between the regions of Cukurca and Bircella, which are about six hours apart. Following several attacks by ARGK guerrillas, the Turkish troops pulled back. During the retreat, a village guard named Mustafa Ozturk was seriously wounded after stepping on a mine planted by guerrillas. On April 22, ARGK guerrillas again attacked Turkish troops trying to enter South Kurdistan near Bircella and Avasin. The fighting is still going on. According to guerrilla sources, the bodies of 4 Turkish soldiers killed have been seen so far. One Turkish army unit was ambushed repeatedly by Kurdish guerrillas near Cukurca-Sifreza. This fighting is also still continuing. On April 21, the Avasin region was bombarded by the Turkish airforce. (22.04.95) On April 21, there was fighting between Kurdish guerrillas and Turkish army units in Karincakay near Lice. 1 solider died during the brief encounter. After the fighting, the guerrillas left the area. (22.04.95) The Cudi mountains, which are controlled by ARGK guerrillas, were bombarded by Turkish warplanes on April 21. According to our correspondents, neither the guerrillas nor the civilian population suffered any losses. (22.04.95) On April 22, a military convoy was attacked by guerrillas on the road between Sirnak and Cizre. During the attack, guerrillas fired B-7 machine guns at the convoy and destroyed a troop transporter and hit a bus full of soldiers. Several soldiers died in the attack, but no exact figures are available at this time. (23.04.95) Kurdish guerrillas ambushed a Turkish army patrol in the Dersim- Pulumur region. Fighting between guerrillas and soldiers lasted for about three hours. The Turkish forces pulled back after suffering heavy losses. (23.04.95) An attack was launched against a hilltop Turkish army post in Bingol-Kigi. Guerrillas killed 3 soldiers and captured the hill. The other soldiers who had been on the hill fled to a military station. After the guerrillas pulled back, there was more fighting near the military station. A total of 5 soldiers died in the fighting. (23.04.95) ----- Kurdistan Committee of Canada Tel: (613) 733-9634 2487 Kaladar Ave. Suite 203 Fax: (613) 733-0090 Ottawa, Ontario, K1V 8B9 E-mail: kcc at magi.com ----- ----------------------------- End forwarded message -------------------------- ------------------------------------------------------- * Activists Press Service (Newsdesk) * newsdesk at aps.nl !Power to the people! ------------------------------------------------------- From info at aps.nl Thu Apr 27 22:33:18 1995 From: info at aps.nl (info at aps.nl) Date: 27 Apr 1995 22:33:18 Subject: KURD-A News: April 18-23, 1995 References: Message-ID: From: tabe at newsdesk.aps.nl Subject: Re: KURD-A News: April 18-23, 1995 Reply-To: info at aps.nl ------------------------ Forwarded from : kcc at magi.com ------------------------- KURD-A News Updates April 18-23, 1995 * Guerrillas attack army barracks in Siirt * ARGK mortar attack on Turkish army post in Sirnak * Mayor abducted by Turkish security forces found dead * Turkish troops in Haftanin, South Kurdistan can only escape with helicopters * Kurdish guerrillas destroy pipeline in Silopi * More guerrilla attacks on Turkish army units in South Kurdistan * Short battle between guerrillas and security forces near Lice * Guerrilla-controlled Cudi mountain region bombarded by Turkish airforce * Guerrillas attack military convoy between Sirnak and Cizre * Turkish army pulls out of Sirnak-Pulumur following guerrilla attacks * Turkish soldiers flee following guerrilla attack on military station On the night of April 18, ARGK guerrillas attacked an army barracks in the city of Siirt. The guerrillas fired rockets and machine guns. Eight rockets struck the building. There are no exact casualty figures available at this time. (18.04.95) On April 17, soldiers from the military stations Besna Brijne and Bejne were attacked by Kurdish guerrillas while returning to their bases. In the fighting, 4 soldiers were killed and 2 were wounded. On the same day, a Turkish army base in Sirnak was attacked by ARGK guerrillas who fired mortars. Nine mortars struck the compound. According to reports from civilians, more than 10 soldiers were killed. However, the Press Office of the ARGK in Botan has not yet issued any casualty figures. (18.04.95) The mayor of the village of Gerneke near Omerli was abducted by Turkish security forces about two weeks ago. Since then, no one had heard from the mayor. Yesterday, his body was found near the village. According to civilians, there were torture marks all over his body. (18.04.95) Turkish army units stationed in Haftanin, South Kurdistan are slowly retreating. According to our correspondents, the soldiers have to be brought out by helicopters, since they can't be protected from ARGK guerrilla attacks on the roads. (18.04.95) An oil pipeline near Silopi has been destroyed by Kurdish guerrillas. The guerrillas blew up the pipeline. A great deal of damage was caused by the attack. (18.04.95) Turkish army units have attempted to penetrate into South Kurdistan between the regions of Cukurca and Bircella, which are about six hours apart. Following several attacks by ARGK guerrillas, the Turkish troops pulled back. During the retreat, a village guard named Mustafa Ozturk was seriously wounded after stepping on a mine planted by guerrillas. On April 22, ARGK guerrillas again attacked Turkish troops trying to enter South Kurdistan near Bircella and Avasin. The fighting is still going on. According to guerrilla sources, the bodies of 4 Turkish soldiers killed have been seen so far. One Turkish army unit was ambushed repeatedly by Kurdish guerrillas near Cukurca-Sifreza. This fighting is also still continuing. On April 21, the Avasin region was bombarded by the Turkish airforce. (22.04.95) On April 21, there was fighting between Kurdish guerrillas and Turkish army units in Karincakay near Lice. 1 solider died during the brief encounter. After the fighting, the guerrillas left the area. (22.04.95) The Cudi mountains, which are controlled by ARGK guerrillas, were bombarded by Turkish warplanes on April 21. According to our correspondents, neither the guerrillas nor the civilian population suffered any losses. (22.04.95) On April 22, a military convoy was attacked by guerrillas on the road between Sirnak and Cizre. During the attack, guerrillas fired B-7 machine guns at the convoy and destroyed a troop transporter and hit a bus full of soldiers. Several soldiers died in the attack, but no exact figures are available at this time. (23.04.95) Kurdish guerrillas ambushed a Turkish army patrol in the Dersim- Pulumur region. Fighting between guerrillas and soldiers lasted for about three hours. The Turkish forces pulled back after suffering heavy losses. (23.04.95) An attack was launched against a hilltop Turkish army post in Bingol-Kigi. Guerrillas killed 3 soldiers and captured the hill. The other soldiers who had been on the hill fled to a military station. After the guerrillas pulled back, there was more fighting near the military station. A total of 5 soldiers died in the fighting. (23.04.95) ----- Kurdistan Committee of Canada Tel: (613) 733-9634 2487 Kaladar Ave. Suite 203 Fax: (613) 733-0090 Ottawa, Ontario, K1V 8B9 E-mail: kcc at magi.com ----- ----------------------------- End forwarded message -------------------------- From kurd-l at burn.ucsd.edu Tue Apr 25 22:23:02 1995 From: kurd-l at burn.ucsd.edu (kurd-l at burn.ucsd.edu) Date: 25 Apr 1995 22:23:02 Subject: KURD-A News: April 25, 1995 Message-ID: Reply-To: kurd-l at burn.ucsd.edu From: Kurdistan Committee of Canada Subject: KURD-A News: April 25, 1995 KURD-A News April 25, 1995 * Journalists not able to be released * Kurdish guerrillas attack Turkish army hill posts * Heavy fighting in South Kurdistan On April 24, the ARGK released two news correspondents, Fatih Saribas of Reuters and Kadir Gursel of AFP, who had been detained on March 31 at a roadblock between Cizre and Nusaybin. But because of the presence of a large number of Turkish soldiers, the correspondents had to remain in the custody of the guerrillas. The press office of the ARGK in Botan issued a statement today: "We wanted to release the two journalists without endangering their safety. But the Turkish army, after learning of this, bombed the area from the air and with artillery. Their purpose in doing this was to kill the two journalists and blame it on us. This is the only reason why we took the two journalists with us once again. They are with us again and their health is good. We would like to stress that we will release them as soon as possible when we are sure that they will be safe." (25.04.95) On April 24, Kurdish guerrillas attacked Turkish army units stationed on a hill in the Yekmal region. Guerrillas attacked the soldiers from four sides. During the fighting, which lasted from afternoon until evening, 19 soldiers were killed. 2 guerrillas were wounded in the encounter. (25.04.95) A unit of the Turkish army was attacked by Kurdish guerrillas in Bircella in South Kurdistan. 2 soldiers were killed in the fighting. There is also heavy fighting going on between Turkish soldiers and Kurdish guerrillas in the Avasin region. On April 24, on the road between Garisa and Sirnak, Kurdish guerrillas attacked a military vehicle. During the short battle, 4 soldiers were killed. (25.04.95) ----- Kurdistan Committee of Canada Tel: (613) 733-9634 2487 Kaladar Ave. Suite 203 Fax: (613) 733-0090 Ottawa, Ontario, K1V 8B9 E-mail: kcc at magi.com ----- From info at aps.nl Thu Apr 27 15:41:47 1995 From: info at aps.nl (info at aps.nl) Date: 27 Apr 1995 15:41:47 Subject: KURD-A News: April 25, 1995 References: Message-ID: From: tabe at newsdesk.aps.nl Subject: Re: KURD-A News: April 25, 1995 Reply-To: info at aps.nl id VT1328; Wed, 26 Apr 1995 19:33:49 -0800 KURD-A News April 25, 1995 * Journalists not able to be released * Kurdish guerrillas attack Turkish army hill posts * Heavy fighting in South Kurdistan On April 24, the ARGK released two news correspondents, Fatih Saribas of Reuters and Kadir Gursel of AFP, who had been detained on March 31 at a roadblock between Cizre and Nusaybin. But because of the presence of a large number of Turkish soldiers, the correspondents had to remain in the custody of the guerrillas. The press office of the ARGK in Botan issued a statement today: "We wanted to release the two journalists without endangering their safety. But the Turkish army, after learning of this, bombed the area from the air and with artillery. Their purpose in doing this was to kill the two journalists and blame it on us. This is the only reason why we took the two journalists with us once again. They are with us again and their health is good. We would like to stress that we will release them as soon as possible when we are sure that they will be safe." (25.04.95) On April 24, Kurdish guerrillas attacked Turkish army units stationed on a hill in the Yekmal region. Guerrillas attacked the soldiers from four sides. During the fighting, which lasted from afternoon until evening, 19 soldiers were killed. 2 guerrillas were wounded in the encounter. (25.04.95) A unit of the Turkish army was attacked by Kurdish guerrillas in Bircella in South Kurdistan. 2 soldiers were killed in the fighting. There is also heavy fighting going on between Turkish soldiers and Kurdish guerrillas in the Avasin region. On April 24, on the road between Garisa and Sirnak, Kurdish guerrillas attacked a military vehicle. During the short battle, 4 soldiers were killed. (25.04.95) ----- Kurdistan Committee of Canada Tel: (613) 733-9634 2487 Kaladar Ave. Suite 203 Fax: (613) 733-0090 Ottawa, Ontario, K1V 8B9 E-mail: kcc at magi.com ----- ----------------------------- End forwarded message -------------------------- ------------------------------------------------------- * Activists Press Service (Newsdesk) * newsdesk at aps.nl !Power to the people! ------------------------------------------------------- From info at aps.nl Wed Apr 26 19:06:31 1995 From: info at aps.nl (info at aps.nl) Date: 26 Apr 1995 19:06:31 Subject: Mainstream news Message-ID: From: tabe at newsdesk.aps.nl Subject: Mainstream news Reply-To: info at aps.nl Istanbul stocks fall 9 % ISTANBUL, Turkey (Reuter) - After three months of spectacular gains, Istanbul stocks lost nearly 10 percent on Monday in heavy sales triggered by the government's plans to sell state-owned shares on the exchange floor. The 100-share composite index had rocketed 116.6 percent in a bull run since end-January till last Friday's historical high, fired by low interest rates and a return of stability to markets after last year's financial crisis. The index swelled to Friday's 54,653.93 from 25,228.78 on January 31. It plunged 4,977.74 points to 49,676.19 on Monday, or 9.11 percent. The government privatization agency (OIB) on Monday said it has plans to sell shares of eight partially state-owned companies on the exchange floor in the next six months. The possible sale of state shares prompted fears of excessive supply and switched the mood to "sell" from "buy." The index had risen to 32 historical high closes since the start of the rally. "The OIB's announcement will have a negative effect in the short-term, such as a month," said Mustafa Karaahmetoglu from Arz securities. Turkey is involved in a major privatization program which include the state shares at blue-chip Eregli steel mills, petrochemicals giant Petkim, petroleum refinies Tupras and distributer Petrol Ofisi and Turkish Airlines. (3) Turkish Troops Kill 41 Kurds ANKARA, Turkey (AP) -- Turkish soldiers clashed with Kurdish rebels in northern Iraq on Monday, killing 41 guerrillas in the largest confrontation since the army moved into the region five weeks ago, the military reported. Two Turkish soldiers died in the fighting, according to the military statement. The site of the battle was not given. Nine guerrillas were reported killed in separate clashes in Turkey. Turkey sent 35,000 troops to northern Iraq on March 20 to wipe out camps used by about 2,800 Turkish Kurdish rebels. The rebels have been fighting for autonomy in southeastern Turkey since 1984. More than 15,000 people have been killed during the insurgency. The latest killings increased the rebel death toll to 505 since the start of the March offensive. Fifty-eight soldiers also have been killed. The area in northern Iraq is controlled by Iraqi Kurds who want independence from Baghdad. It is out of reach of the Iraqi military. More than 10,000 Turkish Kurds have fled there in the last year, complaining of Turkish military oppression. Turkey has come under pressure from the United States and other NATO allies to pull its troops out quickly, but only 3,000 soldiers have been withdrawn. EU says TR must make solid moves on reform BRUSSELS, April 24 (Reuter) - Turkey must quickly show real progress on economic and political reforms if it is to persuade the European Parliament to agree to a customs union with the European Union, Commissioner Hans van den Broek said on Monday. "It is fair to say that it is not a foregone conclusion that the customs union will enter into force next January," van den Broek, the commissioner responsible for relations with Ankara, told a seminar on EU relations with Turkey. "Success will require vigorous action not only by the Turkish Government but also certainly by the Grand National Assembly to pass the economic legislation and the constitutional and legal changes needed to ensure approval of our ambitious joint project by the European Parliament," he said. The parliament has threatened to veto the customs union plan, agreed in principle at the EU-Turkey Co-operation Council on March 6, unless Ankara cleans up its act on human rights. Van den Broek said he hoped the key elements of Turkey's programme of constitutional and legal reforms could be put through the Grand National Assembly before its summer recess as a way of proving the country's good intentions. "The European Parliament will be asked, in the early autumn, to give its assent to the customs union. But parliament's assent will only be forthcoming if its members feel that Turkey and the Union are committed to the same fundamental values," he said. In carefully measured words, the commissioner also urged Turkey to pull its troops out of northern Iraq where they have been hunting fighters from the Kurdistan People's Party (PKK) to the general outrage of the international community. "The continual attacks by the PKK, which have claimed countless innocent lives, are utterly reprehensible...but it is clear that the problems in the south-east of the country cannot be solved by military means alone," Van den Broek said. "I therefore expect the troop withdrawals to be completed as quickly as possible," he added. But he stressed that the customs union could not be allowed to founder because Turkey and the EU were important trading partners, the country was a model of a secular government in the Moslem world and as a NATO ally it was in a key geographic position in the Mediterranean, linking Europe to Asia. "It is absolutely unacceptable that the customs union fails," he said. "Turkey and the European Union are vital to each other." From info at aps.nl Thu Apr 27 22:34:22 1995 From: info at aps.nl (info at aps.nl) Date: 27 Apr 1995 22:34:22 Subject: Mainstream news References: Message-ID: From: tabe at newsdesk.aps.nl Subject: Mainstream news Reply-To: info at aps.nl Turkey-NATO relations worsen over Kurdish issue By Guy Dinmore ANKARA, April 26 (Reuter) - Turkey's relations with its NATO allies deteriorated further over the Kurdish issue on Wednesday with Ankara announcing it would stop all new military purchases from the Netherlands. "We have decided to stop all new military procurements from the Netherlands and Dutch firms will not be able to participate in Turkey's military tenders," foreign ministry spokesman Ferhat Ataman told a news briefing. The ban was in response to the Dutch government allowing a Kurdish parliament-in-exile to be set up in the Hague and would last as long as it tolerated the exiled body, he said. The Dutch government says its law does not prohibit exiled Kurds from meeting as long as their activities are not linked to terrorism. Ataman called this "unacceptable." Turkey's protest was partly symbolic as the Netherlands, along with Germany and Norway, had already declared they would suspend new arms sales to Turkey because of its March 20 offensive into northern Iraq against bases of the separatist Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK). Turkey recalled its ambassador earlier this month in an angry reaction to the Kurdish presence in the Dutch capital. Turkey says the parliament-in-exile is a propaganda tool of the banned PKK which is fighting a separatist war in southeast Turkey. More than 15,000 people have died in the war since 1984. Ataman said the ban did not cover equipment already ordered from the Netherlands. Two Dutch companies are supplying Turkey with casings for grenades and electronics for radar. Last week Turkey called an emergency meeting of its NATO allies in Brussels to protest against the Netherlands' failure to stop the parliament-in-exile. Western diplomats played down the growing row within NATO and said they hoped it would be resolved after Turkey fulfills its pledges to withdraw from northern Iraq. But they have also warned Turkey the whole Kurdish issue and its general human rights record could yet scupper Ankara's bid to forge a customs pact with the European Union. The European parliament is due to vote on whether to ratify the pact late this year, possibly in October. Turkey said on Tuesday it had withdrawn 20,000 more troops from Iraq, in addition to 3,000 pulled back in early April. This leaves about 12,000 troops still over the border from the original 35,000 that crossed into northern Iraq on March 20. The United States, which has urged Turkey to limit the "scope and duration" of its incursion, said it welcomed news of the partial withdrawal. But some diplomats and Iraqi Kurds were doubtful that 20,000 troops had pulled out this week, although they admitted it was difficult to be certain, given the moutainous terrain. "I don't know about exact figures but if you take the number of vehicles that left Zakho, the ones our people counted at the border, it doesn't quite confirm 20,000," an official of the Kurdistan Democratic Party said in Ankara. Iraqi radio, monitored by the British Broadcasting Corporation, said Turkey had pulled out about 10,000 troops. Baghdad, which is unable to control its north because of a Western air exclusion zone, has demanded a total withdrawal. Dutch play down Turkish arms boycott THE HAGUE, April 26 (Reuter) - The Dutch government played down reports on Wednesday that Turkey would boycott new military purchases from the Netherlands, after Kurdish exiles set up an assembly in the Hague on April 12. "We would like to find a solution to this problem as soon as possible through dialogue," said a Foreign Ministry spokesman. But the government would not respond to media reports as this would "not contribute to a solution," he added. Turkish Foreign Ministry spokesman Ferhat Ataman said earlier: "We have decided to stop all new military procurements from the Netherlands, and Dutch firms will not be able to participate in Turkey's military tenders." Dutch Foreign Minister Hans van Mierlo told the Dutch parliament he wanted to soothe the diplomatic crisis. But he said there was no question of the Dutch intervening in the Kurdish assembly. "I won't go back. There is nothing to be embarrassed about," Van Mierlo told parliament. In mid-March, the Dutch said they would no longer grant new export licences to Turkey for arms equipment worth "hundreds of millions of guilders" in response to Turkey's military incursion into northern Iraq. Dutch opposition green party GroenLinks has also called for ongoing arms orders to be halted, but the government said this was not possible under existing contracts. Two Dutch firms are currently supplying arms to Turkey, the Dutch ANP news agency said. Eurometaal provides shells for grenades to be assembled in Turkey, and Hollandse Signaal, part of France's Thompson CSF SA, has a Turkish order for radar equipment. Kurds Launch Rocket Attack TUNCELI, Turkey (AP) -- Kurdish rebels fired rockets at Turkish military targets today in an attack on forces that have spent weeks trying to dismantle insurgent strongholds. No injuries were reported in the attack, which was mounted from four directions on this southeastern city and ended at dawn. About 50 rebels launched rockets at some 1,000 troops based on a hill in the city. They also targeted another base where a special police operations team was deployed. The Turkish army has attacked rebel strongholds in the mountains of Tunceli for the past month. It started a new offensive today, sending tanks toward mountains near the town of Pulumur, 48 miles north of Tunceli. A total of 40,000 soldiers are based in the rugged Tunceli province. About 20,000 of them, backed by jet fighters, have been trying to clear a mountain pass of rebels for the past month. Turkey also sent about 35,000 soldiers across the border into northern Iraq to wipe out rebel camps used for hit-and-run attacks. That number has since dwindled to 12,000 soldiers. Germans blame Kurds for Turkish property attack BONN, April 26 (Reuter) - German authorities blamed Kurdish extremists on Wednesday for a spate of firebomb attacks on Turkish properties this year but said some were the work of radical left-wing Turkish groups. Security experts from the federal and state governments have compiled a list of 148 politicially motivated attacks on travel agencies, mosques and banks since February 17, Bavaria's interior ministry said. The arrest of two Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) supporters after one attack and the seizure in German cities of PKK propaganda material urging boycotts of Turkish travel agencies firmly established a link to the PKK, it added. The Bavarian ministry said most of the firebombings were almost identical, making it likely the PKK was primarily responsible. "This remains the case even though additional attacks have been carried out on cultural associations and mosques that may be attributed to the Turkish Communist Party/Marxists Leninists and a faction of Dev-Sol," it added. Dev-Sol (Revolutionary Left) is Turkey's most lethal urban guerrilla group. Leaders of the two-million-strong Turkish community in Germany and the Ankara government have demanded better protection against the spate of firebombings. Van den Broek speech on Turkey European Commission Press Release, April 24, 1995 TURKEY AND THE EU - THE CHALLENGE OF THE CUSTOMS UNION - HANS VAN DEN BROEK - FORUM EUROPE - BRUSSELS - 24 APRIL 1995 I wish to thank Forum Europe for its initiative in arranging this conference and to compliment the organisers on preparing the excellent background report on Business Opportunities in the EU-Turkey Customs Union. I am especially pleased that Murat Karayalcin, who played such an important role in negotiating the customs union, is with us today. On 6 March, a decision of great significance in the history of relations between Turkey and the European Union was taken by our Association Council. It was a decision which should lead to the formation of a customs union between Turkey and the European Union on 1 January 1996. This represents the coming of age of a relationship which goes back over 30 years to the conclusion of the Ankara Agreement in 1964. Although we are close to our goal, it is not a foregone conclusion that the customs union will enter into force next January. Much hard work remains to be done to turn good intentions into solid achievements. Success will require vigorous action by the Turkish Government and Grand National Assembly to pass the economic legislation and the constitutional and legal changes needed to ensure approval of our ambitious joint project by the European Parliament. In order to clarify the issues involved, it is useful to recall at the outset the essential characteristics of the customs union. It will consist of a single customs territory in which duties and other restrictive trade regulations are eliminated on substantially all trade and in which substantially the same regulations are applied to trade with parties outside the union. Putting this formal definition into plain words, goods will be free to move between the EU and Turkey duty- free in both directions, and there will be practically no quantitative restrictions on imports or exports on either side. To make this ambitious step in trade liberalisation a reality, Turkey faces the challenge of ensuring that all necessary legislation is in place and the required administrative decisions are taken in good time. Over and above the rules on customs duties and quantitative restrictions, Turkey will need to adopt single market legislation in a number of areas to ensure a level playing-field throughout the customs union. These areas include industrial standards, rules governing competition and state aids, and intellectual property rights. Turkey has also agreed to accede to the international conventions on intellectual property rights, and to adopt relevant parts of the Trade Related Intellectual Property commitments agreed in the framework of the Uruguay Round. Turkey will apply the common customs tariff on entry into force of the customs union and then has five years to align its market access regime with the trade arrangements which the EU has with various partners. Negotiations are already under way between Turkey and some of these countries. For its part, the European Union, too, will have to work hard to honour the obligations it accepted in the customs union package agreed on 6 March. First among these is the resumption of financial co-operation. This commitment should be seen in the context of the major effort being made by Turkey to adapt its economy to a more competitive environment. Funds for financial co-operation will come from the Mediterranean package to be adopted by the European Council in Cannes in June. In the months ahead, the Union will also be working to set up the machinery for running the customs union. Arrangements still need to be completed in a number of sectors. In the coal and steel sector, Turkey and the Union must agree rules on the free movement of goods. In agriculture, we must try to improve reciprocal market access. In textiles, we must confirm that the conditions for ending the self-restraint agreements have been satisfied by Turkey. Finally, in the automobile sector, we must agree on the technical measures needed to avoid the circumvention of the consensus with Japan. But even more important than these technical measures, is progress on human rights in Turkey. At the last two Association Councils in December 1994 and March this year, the Union expressed its apprehension at the human rights situation and appealed to Turkey to make improvements in this area. Indeed, the alignment of our two systems involves not only economic and trade questions but also the need for guarantees of the fundamental rights of the individual, which citizens in the Union take for granted. Our media and public opinion pay close attention to the situation in Turkey because it is an important neighbour with considerable influence in the eastern Mediterranean region. It is only to be expected that this interest will grow as Turkey and the Union draw closer together. The European Parliament will be asked, in the early autumn, to give its assent to the customs union. But Parliament's assent will only be forthcoming if its members feel that Turkey and the Union are committed to the same fundamental values. During the recent visit of the European "Troika" to Ankara, the Prime Minister, Mrs Tansu Ciller, confirmed her government's awareness of the need for democracy to operate effectively at all levels of society. In a recent address at Bilkent University, Mrs Ciller outlined a programme of constitutional reform and legal changes to strengthen democracy and human rights. This programme is extremely encouraging and I am confident that the Turkish Government and the Grand National Assembly will spare no efforts to ensure that tangible progress in enacting it is made before the summer. Turning to the customs union itself, allow me briefly to outline the very considerable benefits which it will bring to business on both sides. Turkey and the European Union are already well established trading partners, with annual trade of the order of ECU 20 billion per year. Turkey is one of the Union's top 10 trading partners and the EU is Turkey's first partner, accounting for almost half its total trade. The elimination of Turkish customs duties and other restrictions as well as the expiry of voluntary restraint agreements for textiles will open up many new opportunities. Customs Union will further stimulate investment in Turkey, which has already been averaging around $1 billion a year in the 1990s. Businesses are attracted by Turkey's large national market and its increasing integration with the markets of the Union. In future Turkey will be well placed to realise the benefits of its many comparative advantages, which include proximity to markets in eastern Europe, the Middle East, the Caucasus and central Asia, as well as its abundant natural resources. This year, Turkey is expected to enjoy an export-led recovery, a significant fall in the rate of inflation and a return to a promising level of growth. Further expansion can be expected in dynamic sectors, including vehicle components, where direct investment is on the increase, food production and retailing, textiles and tourism. The customs union will be a powerful incentive for Turkey to increase its competitivity and to align its legislation and economic policies with those of the European Union. It is essential for Turkey to pursue rigorously its macroeconomic reforms and particularly the restructuring of the public sector. This implies adaptation to a new legislative framework and improved production and distribution systems. Turkey's privatisation programme, which was relaunched at the end of last year, provides an excellent opportunity for businesses from the Union and Turkey to cooperate in the modernisation of the Turkish economy. Customs union will have a major impact in the political as well as the economic sphere. It will reaffirm Turkey's allegiance to the values which underlie European democracy and thus contribute to its stability and security. This is of the utmost importance to the Union, and to the west in general, given Turkey's strategic position. Regular political dialogue and increased contacts at all levels can only strengthen relations between Turkey and each of the members of the Union, including Greece. As far as the lack of political progress on the Cyprus question is concerned, why shouldn't closer relations between Turkey and the EU help bring about a political solution, which would enable the island as a whole to enter the European Union? Is that not what we all want since it would serve the interests of both Cypriot communities? Instead of speculating about the possibility of a divided Cyprus joining the Union, why don't we concentrate on actually bringing to life the federal, bizonal, bicommunal model to which we are all committed? The Union has offered to develop, with Cyprus, a specific pre-accession strategy, to improve understanding of the Union and the advantages of membership. In this context the Union seeks also to promote contacts with the Turkish-Cypriot community, through information seminars and meetings at various levels, with the aim of highlighting the opportunities open to this community within the European Union. After more than twenty years, it is now time to break the deadlock on Cyprus. Turkey also faces other critical issues in its foreign policy, including the situation in the former Yugoslavia and in the Caucasus. Not all of Turkey's neighbours can exactly be considered exporters of stability. In such circumstances, understandably, the Turkish government is gravely concerned about threats to the unity of the Turkish state. We are all aware that any government has the duty to ensure the safety of its citizens and, indeed, the European Union has repeatedly condemned terrorism. The continual attacks by the PKK, which have claimed countless innocent lives, are utterly reprehensible. While Turkey is grappling with such attacks it is also seeking to preserve the state's secular traditions, which are unique in the Moslem world and a model for the newly independent states in central Asia. Against this background it is clear that the problems in the south-east of the country cannot be solved by military means alone. I hope that an atmosphere will develop in Turkey which is conducive to a durable political solution of these problems. For this reason, I attach particular importance to the assurance given by the Turkish government, during the Troika's visit to Ankara, that it seeks to avoid any prolonged presence in northern Iraq and to prevent unnecessary civilian casualties. I, therefore, expect the troop withdrawals to be completed as quickly as possible. The speedy enactment of the constitutional and legal changes announced by Mrs Ciller, as well as other positive measures being considered within the framework of the judicial system, will also help create an atmosphere favourable to a political solution. I am convinced that completion of customs union will encourage Turkey to pursue its traditional role as a moderating influence in regional and world affairs and reinforce its commitment to economic modernisation. This is in the interests of us all. We have come a long way since the Ankara Agreement was concluded in 1964 and should now redouble our efforts to ensure that our common goal can at last be attained. From info at aps.nl Thu Apr 27 22:50:21 1995 From: info at aps.nl (info at aps.nl) Date: 27 Apr 1995 22:50:21 Subject: Mainstream news References: Message-ID: From: tabe at newsdesk.aps.nl Subject: Mainstream news Reply-To: info at aps.nl TURKISH PRESS REVIEW APRIL 25, 1995 Summary of the political and economic news in the Turkish press this morning. REBEL LOSSES MOUNT IN NORTHERN IRAQ, TGS SAYS Turkish troops continuing their search for PKK separatists in northern Iraq in the second month of their cross-border military operation killed 26 rebels in an overnight engagement, the Anatolia news agency said yesterday, quoting a communique by the Turkish General Staff. The report did not say where the clash occured inside the 220 km-long, 40 km-deep strip where the troops are operating. The latest figures have raised PKK losses to 490 killed and 13 captured since the start of the massive incursion. Turkey puts its own losses at around 50. /All papers/ CONFERENCE ON TURKEY IN BRUSSELS A conference about the business possibilities, which Turkey-EU relations and customs union will bring about, as organized by the "Forum Europe" lobbying company, started in Brussels yesterday. Former Foreign Minister and Deputy Prime Minister Murat Karayalcin made the opening speech. Noting that customs union would be important and useful for both sides, Karayalcin stated that customs union had not only economic dimensions but also a political dimension. Economic Development Foundation Chairman Sedat Aloglu, Prime Ministry Advisor Ali Tigrel, Turkish Permanent Representative to the EU, Uluc Ozulker, EU Comission Mediterranean countries Department Chief Serge Abou and Turkish Ambassador to the OECD Orhan Guvenen were among yesterday's speakers. /Hurriyet/ REACTIONS AGAINST KURDISH PARLIAMENT-IN-EXILE One of the strongest reactions against the Kurdish Parliament in-exile established in The Hague last week came from the European Council Parliamentarians Assembly. Term president of the assembly, Spanish parliamentarian Miguel Angel Martinez said that the Kurdish parliament-in-exile, which had received strong reactions not only from Turkish citizens in Turkey but also from abroad, could not be recognized as an official body. Martinez said: "Our official address is the Turkish Grand National Assembly (TGNA)". /Sabah/ TURKEY ASKS NETHERLANDS TO BAN PKK Turkey, continuing contacts with the Netherlands over the issue of the Kurdish Workers' Party (PPK) "Parliament-in-exile" set up in The Hague, has asked the Netherlands to declare a ban on the parliament and the activities of the PKK. Deputy Prime Minister Hikmet Cetin, yesterday conveyed Turkey's views to Dick Deef, Deputy Speaker of the Dutch Parliament. Cetin, who met with Deef at a reception given by the Speaker of the Turkish Parliament to commemorate the 75th anniversary of the Turkish Parliament (TGNA), said Deef had agreed that the Netherlands should take some firm measures in order not to damage relations between the two countries. /Milliyet/ DOGAN: "NO NEED FOR FOREIGN DEPT" State Minister responsible for the Economy Aykon Dogan, has gone to Washington to attend mid-term meetings of the World Bank and IMF. Before leaving Turkey, Dogan said that the economy was on the up-turn and there was no need to ask for news credit because of increases in Central Bank foreign currency reserves. /Milliyet/ HOLLAND IGNORES WARNINGS It is understood that Federal Germany has exerted great effort in order to prevent the establishment of a "Kurdish parliament-in-exile" in Holland, but could not persuade the Dutch government. In correspondence sent to the Turkish government by the Federal Germany Foreign Ministry on 12 April, 1995, it was noted that Germany's efforts to persuade her Dutch and Belgian partners that overlooking an initiative openly directed by the PKK terrorist organization was against international laws, had been unsuccessful. Later it was also clear from negotiations with other European Union member countries that Federal Germany had drawn attention to the principles in the decision of United Nations decree number 2625 of the 'Friendly Relations Declaration'. In a report from the Federal Germany Foreign Ministry, it has been also stated that "a Kurdish parliament-in-exile" activities should not be permitted within the borders of Federal Germany and that no contacts should be made with the members of that parliament. /Hurriyet/ MOVES TO BLOCK PKK ABROAD The Turkish Foreign Ministry has begun initiatives to have the "Med TV" channel taken off the satellite services. Med TV operates out of Britain with PKK financial support, and talks have begun with the British government to have the TV station closed down. The contract terms of Med TV are for music broad- casts only, but more and more PKK propaganda has been creeping into programmes. The Turkish Foreign Ministry is asking for the contract to be cancelled. Over in the US, Turkish Ambassador Nuzhet Kandemir is applying pressure to have PKK accounts frozen in the same way that US legal departments have blocked accounts belonging to the Hizbullah and Hamas terror groups. There are also Turkish government moves to get Moscow to ban new Kurdish initiatives in connection with the Kurdish parliament-in-exile. Turkey wants Russian support in connection with getting the parliament, set up in Holland, stopped before its gets too far. /All papers/ END From info at aps.nl Fri Apr 28 21:01:22 1995 From: info at aps.nl (info at aps.nl) Date: 28 Apr 1995 21:01:22 Subject: Mainstream news References: Message-ID: From: tabe at newsdesk.aps.nl Subject: Mainstream news Reply-To: info at aps.nl ver 2.20) id VT2140; Fri, 28 Apr 1995 21:56:13 -0800 ANKARA, April 27 (Reuter) - Turkish students carrying pictures of Lenin and Stalin scuffled with security forces after Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev gave a speech at an Ankara university, the Anatolian news agency said on Thursday. Security forces later detained some students who had attacked the sports salon with stones and eggs after Gorbachev's speech. Gorbachev is in Turkey as the guest of a private bank. Turkey denounces Council of Europe decision ANKARA, April 27 (Reuter) - Turkey denounced on Thursday a Council of Europe resolution to suspend it from the organisation because of its military offensive against Kurdish rebels in northern Iraq. "...the resolution passed by the Council of Europe is of an unacceptable nature, inappropriate, unfair and never applicable," government spokesman Yildirim Aktuna told reporters after the cabinet discussed the issue. The Council's 34 member states approved a resolution in Strasbourg asking its governing committee of ministers to suspend Turkey unless it showed significant progress towards a withdrawal from Iraq before a June 26 European Union summit. It also called for a peaceful solution to the Kurdish problem and democratic reforms of Turkey's constitution and aws. The European parliament has set similar conditions before it will ratify a customs agreement between Turkey and the European Union. Turkey's parliamentary delegation in Strasbourg said it would no longer take part in any activities and would refuse all cooperation with the Strasbourg-based Council. "No entity has the right to dictate to the Turkish parliament..." Aktuna said, noting that the coalition government of Prime Minister Tansu Ciller was preparing what it calls a "democratisation package" and would set its own timetable. He said the operation in northern Iraq was aimed against "terrorism" and would be limited in duration. The Council has adopted several resolutions demanding that Turkey improve its human rights record, but this would be the first time it imposed sanctions on Ankara. The only country the Council ever suspended was Greece, in protest at its military dictatorship in the 1970s. Mitterrand's wife leads campaign for jailed Kurds PARIS, April 27 (Reuter) - France's first lady Danielle Mitterrand on Thursday set up a committee sponsored by six Nobel peace prize winners to campaign for the release of six jailed Turkish Kurd parliamentarians. A long-time supporter of Kurds, the wife of President Francois Mitterrand heads the International Committee for the Release of Kurdish Deputies Imprisoned in Turkey as president of the human rights group France-Libertes. The committee said it would strive to set up branches where possible, organise lectures and missions to Turkey to win the release of the parliamentarians and political prisoners in Turkey, and promote a peaceful settlement of the Kurdish issue. It said it was sponsored by Nobel laureates Desmond Tutu, the Dalai Lama, Adolfo Peres Esquivel, Oscar Arias Sanchez, Mairead Corrigan and Betty Williams. Turkey has been widely criticised in Europe for sentencing eight Kurdish parliamentarians for up to 15 years in jail last year for alleged support of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party, which has waged a 10-year battle for control of the largely Kurdish southeast. Just six of the eight remain in jail as two were released after the trial for time served. All eight have appealed against their sentences. From info at aps.nl Wed Apr 26 21:41:38 1995 From: info at aps.nl (info at aps.nl) Date: 26 Apr 1995 21:41:38 Subject: Ciller's democratization: No ch Message-ID: From: tabe at newsdesk.aps.nl Subject: Re: Ciller's democratization: No change in "Kurdish violations" Reply-To: info at aps.nl ---------------- Forwarded from : igi at igrey.demon.co.uk (igi) ------------------ Ciller's democratization: A window dressing for the West? By Ismet Imset (c)Cyprus Mail April 20,1995 Turkish Prime Minister Tansu Ciller's visit to the United States last week has highlighted once again the issue of democratization on the coalition government's agenda. When the first coalition took to power in 1991 under the leadership of now-President Suleyman Demirel, democratization, openness and "visible police stations" were its main slogans. These priorities, however, were shelved almost immediately after the election as Ankara turned to fight its Kurdish rebellion with sheer force and argued that until terrorism was fully crushed, it would be a major obstacle before democracy. The Clinton administration is a strong supporter of the current Ciller coalition between the senior conservative True Path Party (DYP) and its junior partner Republican People's Party (CHP). It regards Turkey's struggle against terrorism as a just right and in contrast to recent European reaction to the cross-border incursion into northern Iraq, has given its tacit approval to Ankara. As far as Washington is concerned, the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) is a "terrorist" organization. Yet many Turks are suspicious of US policy and sceptical that its insistence on finding a political solution to the country's age-old Kurdish question may have a hidden target of creating a new and independent Kurdish state in the region. American officials have strongly refuted such claims but all such statements have been read with scrutiny in Turkey where hidden meanings have been sought "between the lines." What the coalition government is aware of, however, is the direct pressure of this vital ally for Turkey to continue with its earlier announced democratization plans. "The Clinton administration has for some time been demanding concrete steps in this field," in the words of Hurriyet's foreign relations expert and Ankara bureau chief Sedat Ergin. "Ciller, having said what she did, is now obliged to go ahead." Prime Minister Ciller's reputation for speaking on democracy yet failing to carry out her promises is often a matter of joke in the Turkish national press. Recently the mass circulation daily Milliyet branded President Demirel as "a flying democrat" only because he made speeched related to democracy while on flight to foreign visits. Ciller, noted the same newspaper last week, makes such promises while abroad. Her first visible move towards democratization was in December last year when Ciller issued a public statement calling for an end of torture in Turkish police stations. This year, she followed up on her drive and formally asked the Interior Ministry to take necessary measures "to remove torture instruments from stations." The statement caught the police force off guard as it was also an indirect confession of the wide-spread and systematic torture throughout Turkey. Yet her efforts have hardly worked and appear only to be another window dressing for the West. International human rights watchdog groups still refer to systematic torture in Turkey. According to the Turkish Human Rights Association (IHD), a total of 297 suspects were tortured to death in 1994 alone. "My target after this," Ciller said while flying to America this week, "is democratization. When I return to Turkey, I will sit in Parliament... and make the necessary amendments in the anti-terrorism decree article 8." Her message was clearly in line with the direct promises given to Clinton and other western leaders that "the crime of thought will be eliminated in Turkey." Currently, more than 100 scientists, academicians, journalists and writers are serving prison terms in Turkey mainly for criticising verbally, or in writing, Ankara's policy with regard to the Kurds. Among those who have suffered most from the criminal laws is Turkish sociologist Ismail Besikci who has spent most of his last decade in prison. Besikci, who carried out a sociological survey on the Kurds, was first fired from his job with a university then placed in prison. Since the incident, he has been sentenced to a total of 84 years jail on 40 separate cases related to his books and faces up to 198 years with 27 more cases to go. Even Turkey's reknown author Yasar Kemal may be jailed if found guilty on charges related to an article he wrote in January for the German news magazine Der Spiegel. Three separate charges are now being brought up against him which could earn this 72-year-old intellectual 15 years of prison life. Turkey's restrictions on the freedom of expression are widely known in the West but have often been brushed off as birth pains of democratization. Yet some examples are shocking even for the best of Ankara's allies. Recently, for instance, theatre actor Orhan Aydin and cinema actress Nur Surer were sentenced to 22 months each only for working as announcers during a solidarity night with a music group -- during which offensive slogans were heard. Article 8 of the anti-terrorism decree has, in the view of Ankara, become a main obstacle in relations with the West. It regulates punishment for terrorist and separatist propaganda. Aside from Aydin and Surer, many other intellectuals were placed behind the bars. Haluk Gerger, a journalist and writer, and academician Fikret Baskaya were sentenced to 20 months each. Oral Calislar, a writer for the daily Cumhuriyet, received a 2 year jail sentence while Chairman of Turkey's Labor Party Dogu Perincek has been slapped three years. Many more examples can be listed. Ciller's recent promise on lifting the controversial article appears now to have eased some tension on Turkey as Ankara's western allies wait to see what will happen. But there is wide-spread concern among Turkish intellectuals that the overall Turkish judicial system is not completely understood in the West and lifting of article 8 could become a new window- dressing for the government. Indeed, the Turkish constitution and judicial system are full of restrictions on the freedom of expression and the government's treatment of the issue now is highly suspicios. It appears that under pressure from the military and the DYP hawks, attempts for full democratization have stammered and Ciller is but seeking to save face. Even if the said the article was lifted with a concession on part of the hard liners, little may change. This week, for instance, representatives of 1080 Turkish intellectuals who collectively defied Turkish laws and issued a book containing banned articles, faced a court in Istanbul. "They gave themselves in" as in the words of one court official, "and demanded to be punished." Neither would probably face charges under article 8 but all could go to jail on other laws. The attempt, clearly, is aimed to humiliate the government and attract attention to the poor state of Turkish democracy. "Everything is banned. Books, newspaper reports, everything. Every day it is becoming more and more of a police state," is how an Istanbul-based columnist summed up the situation. He too demanded anonymity as many Turkish intellectuals do these days, in fear of retribution. Indeed, despite what is being said, the situation is getting worse. Only three days after Ciller's promise for democratization, writer Yasar Kemal had to appear at court once again. The Istanbul prosecutor's questioning now is related to a possibly new case against the writer yet again for for criticizing Turkey's Kurdish policy. Press reports implied Kemal could face charges this time for "insulting the Turkish republic." Earlier he was charged with "separatism" and later with "racism." These examples alone show that the Turkish constitution and laws are riddled with repressive articles and little would change in practice with the abolishment of a mere article in a new decree. According to writer Aziz Nesin, interviewed by a Turkish daily, "whatever they promise, I do not believe anything will change." The fear is that without an overall amendment of every law and the constitution which was prepared by the military junta in the early 1980s, the crime of thought is bound to continue in Turkey in different forms. Although article 8 of the anti-terrorism bill foresees punishment of propaganda related to terrorism and separatism, a majority of sufferers are on trial or imprisoned owing to other laws as well. Last year, in example, three television producers and a cameraman were sentenced to 5 months jail each only for running a program on extention of compulsory military service during which some soldiers were heard criticising the decision. Most charges brought against Turks could easily be related to article 125 which regulates the punishment for "treason" as in the case of Kurdish deputies ousted from Parliament. Under current laws, disregarding Ankara's window dressing article 8, Turks could be sentenced to decades of imprisonment for any serious criticism of the government and state institutions. There are laws banning speach against the republic, banning criticism of its founder Mustafa Kemal, banning speech against military service, banning criticm of the army and the string of bans and restrictions goes on and on. Under these circumstances, even if the lifting of a single article could be an indicator of good will, it can hardly be seen as a major democratization attempt. And, although an abolishment of the article will lift some pressure on Turkish intellectuals and free some some of them, it is hardly going to effect the mainstream restrictions in Turkey on thought. Whether Ciller can even go ahead with her promised yet minor step is also a matter of concern. Many observers point out now that she may have further trouble with the Hawks in the government and the hard liner military. They may not appreciate such a "concession." There is also the confusion surrounding what she, herself, really wants. Initially, Ciller had declared last month that a "partial amnesty" would be announced and all criminals of thought would be released. A day after her announcement, Turkey's Justice Minister said in a public speech that he knew nothing of such plans and believed that instead of such an amnesty, lifting article 8 would be enough. Later, the minister said he was working on such a project under instructions from the junior coalition leader and not Ciller. Caught between a major guerilla war in the east, magnified economic problems at home and increasing western pressure for democracy, Ciller's government is clearly seeking some kind of a booster for its much-lost credibility. Yet it appears that democratization will not be as easy a task for Ankara as said and in the meantime, both Turks and the West will have to glare at many more window dressings before finding a substantial improvement. Ends ----------------------------- End forwarded message -------------------------- From info at aps.nl Thu Apr 27 16:01:03 1995 From: info at aps.nl (info at aps.nl) Date: 27 Apr 1995 16:01:03 Subject: taz: gesprach zwischen Hakki Ke Message-ID: From: tabe at newsdesk.aps.nl Subject: Re: taz: gesprach zwischen Hakki Keskin und Mehmet Sahin (KOMKUR) Reply-To: info at aps.nl -------- Forwarded from : schism at schism.aps.nl (Schism at schism.aps.nl) ---------- THEMA HEUTE: DER TRKISCH-KURDISCHE KONFLIKT. SPRECHEN ZWISCHEN PPK UND TRKISCHEM MILITR BISLANG NUR DIE WAFFEN, SUCHEN KURDISCHE UND TRKISCHE IMMIGRANTEN IN DEUTSCHLAND NACH FRIEDLICHEN KONFLIKTLSUNGEN, AUCH - BER ALLE MEINUMGSVERSCHIEDENHEITEN HINWEG - GEMEINSAM. DAS STREITGESPRCH ZWISCHEN DEM TRKEN HAKKI KESKIN UND DEM KURDEN MEHMET SAHIN DAUERTE BER DREI STUNDEN. Zusammengestellt von Zafer Senocak Gemeinsam eine Lsung finden Streitgesprach zwischen dem trkischen SPD-Abgeordneten Hakki Keskin und Mehmet Sahin, Vorsitzender von "KOMKAR". Moderiert von Jrgen Gottschlich. Hakki Keskin lebt seit ber dreiaig Jahren in Deutschland und gehrt zu den autoren einer Studie des Instituts fr trkisch- europische Beziehungen ber "Ursachen und Lsungswege des Kurdenkonflikts". Mehmet Sahin ist Vorsitzender der kurdischen Immigrantenvereinigung "KOMKAR". KOMKAR setzt sich seit Jahren fr eine friedliche, politische Lsung in Kurdistan ein und versucht, zusammen mit trkischen und deutschen Intellektuellen und Politikern solchen Vorschlgen in der Trkei Gehr zu verschaffen. KOMKAR wird von der PKK als unliebsame Konkurrenzorganisation eingestuft. taz: Vielleicht fangen wir gleich mit einer etwas zugespitzten Frage an. Ist es fr sie beide denkbar, daa der trkische Staatsprsident Demirel und der Chef der kurdischen Arbeiterpartei PKK demnchst miteinander verhandeln? Keskin: Ich glaube nicht, daa Demirel oder irgendein anderer trkischer Politiker, der Regerierungsverantwortung wahrnimmt, willens oder in der Lage ist, mit celan an einem Tisch zu sitzen. Mit einer Terrororganisation kann sich keine gewhlte Regierung an einen Tisch setzen, solange die Organisation nicht definitiv der Gewalt abgeschworen hat. Nein, da mua es andere Schritte geben. taz: Das erinnert an die Aussagen der verschiedensten israelischen Regierungen, bis es eben letzlich doch zum Hndedruck Rabin/Arafat kam. Keskin: Ja, aber erst nachdem die PLO sich glaubwrdig von Gewalt und Terror distanziert hat. Sahin: Um die Frage zu beantworden mua berhaupt erst einmal klar sein, ob die trkische Regierung die Kurdenfrage friedlich lsen will oder aber immer noch glaubt, die PKK militrisch besiegen zu knnen und damit dann auch die Kurdenfrage gelst zu haben. Schauen wir nach Spanien. In die Baskenfrage kam auch erst Bewegung, nachdem Franco tot war und eine demokratische Regierung tatschlich eine friedliche Lsung anstrebte. Wenn der Wille zu einer politischen Lsung da ist, lassen sich auch Wege finden - aber der Wille der trkischen Regierung fehlt. Warum hat die trkische Regierung nicht mit den kurdischen Abgeordneten der DEP gesprochen? Statt dessen hat sie dafr gesorgt, daa diese Abgeordneten aus dem Parlement geworfen und als Separatisten verurteilt wurden. taz: Das heiat, es htte Mglichkeiten zu gesprchen gegeben, ohne daa die trkische Regierung sich mit der PKK an einem Tisch htte setzen mssen? Sahin: Ja, natrlich. Die Kurden haben andere Reprsentanten als die PKK. taz: Aber die anderen kurdischen Gruppierungen knnten keinen Waffenstillstand aushandeln. Sahin: Das ist auch nicht notwendig. Wenn die Regierung die Kmpfe einstellt, wird die PKK sofort die Waffen schweigen lassen. taz: Herr Keskin, gibt es innerhalb des politischen Establishments der Trkei, eine gengend starke Gruppe, die sagt, wir wollen nicht lnger den Einsatz des Militrs, sondern wir wollen eine politische Lsung. Der verstorbene Staatsprsident zal hat ja mal 1991 einen Anlauf zu einer Vereinbarung gemacht, ist aber vom Militr ziemlich harsch ausgebremst worden. Keskin: Fast alle Parteien wollen eine politische Lsung, aber nicht unter dem Diktat des Terrors und der Gewalt. Erst mua der Terror beseitigt werden, und dann knnen alle weiteren Fragen besprochen werden. Das ist der Stand in der Trkei. Ich persnlich meine, daa Reformen, die Gewhrung umfassender kultureller Rechte fr die Kurden, jetzt sofort in Angriff genommen werden sollen. Aber so redet ein in Deutschland lebender Intellektueller. Schauen wir uns tatschlich die anderen vergleichbaren Konflikte an. Die britische Regierung htte niemals mit der IRA geredet, wenn diese nicht zuvor einen Verzicht auf Gewalt erklrt htte. Das gleiche gilt fr Israel und die PLO. Sahin: Die PKK hat doch mehrfach einen Waffenstillstand angeboten. Im Mrz 1993 hat sie sogar einen einseitigen Waffenstillstand ber einen lngeren Zeitraum eingehalten. Keskin: Wir reden immer noch aneinander vorbei. Die frmliche Anerkennung eines Waffenstillstands wrde ja gleichzeitig bedeuten, die PKK als regulre Kriegspartei anzuerkennen. Das will und wird die trkische Regierung nicht tun, das sage ich doch die ganze Zeit. Das wrde schon die Bevlkerung nicht zulassen, selbst wenn die Regierung es wollte. Sahin: Dann frage ich Sie noch einmal anders: Ist denn die Kurdenfrage gelst, falls die PKK besiegt wrde? Ist das Problem dann erledigt? Das ist doch die Kernfrage. Keskin: Nein, nein, natrlich nicht. taz: Knnen wir noch einmal versuchen, die graten Hindernisse fr eine politische Lsung zu benennen. Stimmten Sie zu, daa die ausschliealiche Reduktion der kurdischen Frage auf ein Terrorismusproblem auf der einen Seite und das kurdische Beharren auf einem eigenen Staat Positionen sind, bei denen es keinen Kompromia, keine Verhandlungen geben kann? Keskin: Trken und Kurden leben fast tausend Jahre zusammen. Zur Zeit gibt es ungefhr 5 Millionen Mischehen. Es gibt vielfltige Beziehungen untereinander, und es gibt kein Gebiet in der Trkei, in dem ausschliealich Kurden oder ausschliealich Trken leben. Es gibt eine historische und praktische Notwendigkeit, miteinander auszukommen. Einfache Lsungen, indem man sagt: Hier habt ihr euren kurdischen Staat, gibt es dagegen nicht. ber die Hlfte der Kurden lebt in den westlichen Groastdten der Trkei. Beide Vlker sind letztlich dazu verurteilt, friedlich miteinander zu leben. Das Problem ist, bis zu zal haben alle trkischen Regierungen negiert, daa es Kurden gibt. Alle Bewohner der trkischen Republik sollten Trken sein, mit gleichen Rechten und Pflichten. Und in den letzten siebzig Jahren hat die berwiegende Mehrheit der trkischen und kurdischen Bevlkerung ja auch friedlich miteinander zusammengelebt. Sahin: Das ist nicht so. Das ist die Sichtweise der trkischen Regierung, die Sicht des Kemalismus. Wenigstens hier im Ausland sollten wir anfangen ber die Fakten zu reden. Gibt es berhaupt ein kurdisches Volk? Gibt es wie im Nordirak oder im Iran ein Gebiet Kurdistan? Seit Grndung der trkischen Republik gibt es ein Problem. Im Befreiungskrieg haben die Kemalisten noch von einer trkischen und einer kurdischen Nation geredet. Zwei Nationen in einem Staat. Davon war spter keine Rede mehr. Das war die Brderlichkeit der Kemalisten. Seitdem waren die kurdischen Gebiete eine Kolonie Ankaras. Keskin: Das ist doch Unsinn. Das entsprach doch nie der tatschlichen Situation. Jeder Kurde konnte in der Trkei jede beliebige Position einnehmen. Sahin: Natrlich, aber nur wenn er seine Herkunft als Kurde verleugnet. Wer sich auf seine kurdische Existenz beruft, wer die Rechte des kurdischen Volkes einfordert, wird verfolgt. Keskin: Die Trkei hat eine republikanische Verfassung, die nicht nach ethnischer Herkunft fragt. Das ist ja gerade die Grundlage des modernen trkischen Staates. Es gibt fnfzig unterschiedliche Ethnien in der Trkei. Schon deshalb hat es natrlich eine Assimilationspolitik gegeben - im positiven Sinne. Ich bin in der Ost-Trkei aufgewachsen. In meiner Stadt, Erzincan, hat es immer zwei kurdische Abgeordnete gegeben. Sahin: Das bestreite ich doch gar nicht. Solange ich mich als Trke bekenne, kann ich alles werden. Was ist aber mit den kurdischen Abgeordneten, die darauf bestanden haben, daa sie Kurden sind? Keskin: Das ist ein anderes Problem. Es gibt in der Trkei eine ganz defizitre Demokratie. Das weia jeder. Das geben ja sogar die Reprsentanten des Staates zu. Es gibt Menschenrechtsverletzungen, es gibt Folter, das weia jeder, ganz offiziell. Wichtig ist, daa jemand nicht verfolgt wird, weil er Kurde ist, sondern weil er ein Oppositioneller ist. Sahin: Jeder, der die elementaren Rechte fr das kurdische Volk verlangt, nicht mit der Waffe, sondern auch als Wissenschaftler oder als Journalist, wird verfolgt. Keskin: Ja, das ist auch ein Demokratiedefizit. Gbe es eine entwickelte Demokratie, was ja fast alle Parteien in der Trkei anstreben, wre das nicht mehr der Fall. Die jetzige - undemokratische - Verfassung soll ja verndert werden. taz: Herr Sahin, knnen sie einmal mglichst przise sagen, wie die trkische Gesellschaft, die trkische Verfassung, verndert werden mua, damit aus ihrer Sicht ein friedliches Zusammenleben in der Trkei mglich ist - oder besteht die Mehrheit der Kurden ohnehin auf einem eigenen Staat? Sahin: Auch das kurdische Volk hat wie jedes andere das Recht selber darber zu entscheiden, ob es in einem eigenen Staat leben will oder nicht. Die Mehrheit der Kurden in der Trkei ist aber fr einem gemeinsamen Staat. Einem Bundesstaat, in dem Kurden und Trken gleichberechtigt zusammenleben. Das heiat, in der Verfassung wird festgehalten, in der Trkei lebt die trkische und die kurdische Nation. Wer glaubt, die Kurdenfrage nur mit einigen kulturellen Zugestndnissen lsen zu knnen, irrt sich. Keskin: In der Tat, wenn wir uns nherkommen wollen, und das mssen wir, mua es Vernderungen in der Trkei geben. Erstens mua anerkannt werden, daa es ein kurdisches Volk, eine kurdische Identitt gibt, zweitens, die Zulassung von Kurdisch als Schulsprache, kurdische Fernsehsender undsoweiter mssen akzeptiert werden, und darber hinaus mua man ber eine Verwaltungsform, eine Dezentralisierung der Staatlichen Institutionen nachdenken. Sie sagen, ein Bundesstaat, der aus zwei Regionalstaaten bestehen soll. Ich sage, das entspricht nicht den historischen Gegebenheiten dieses Landes. Jedes Land mua versuchen, seine Entwicklung aus seiner Geschichte heraus zu verstehen. Ich glaube, man sollte statt dessen versuchen, die gesamte Verwaltung des Staates zu dezentralisieren, so daa die Bevlkerung in den verschiedenen Teilen des Landes graere Selbst- und Mitbestimmungsrechte bekommt, damit - natrlich auch die kurdische Bevlkerung - sie ihre Geschichte in der Region selbst bestimmen kann. Das wre, glaube ich, in der Trkei machbar. taz: Bedeutet das regionale Parlemente, regionale Regierungen oder weiterhin von Ankara eingesetzte Gouverneure? Keskin: ber die Einzelheiten kann man diskutieren. Sahin: Das ist doch eine sehr trkische Sichtweise. Keskin: Dann sagen Sie doch einmal Ihre Vorstellungen, was wollen Sie noch? Sahin: Einen Bundesstaat, in dem eine kurdische und eine trkische Republik existiert und unter einem Dach zusammenkommt. Das bedeutet ein gemeinsames Parlement, aber jeweils eine regionale Regierung fr Kurden und eine fr Trken. So, wie es in Belgien der Fall ist. Das ist kein Separatismus, sondern vorteilhaft fr beide Nationen. Keskin: Das ist nicht realistisch. Das ist nicht machbar. Welche Krfte gibt es in der Trkischen Gesellschaft, die solche Ideen untersttzten wrden? Das kann ja nicht wie in einer Diktatur von oben herab gemacht werden. Dafr bruchte man Mehrheiten. taz: Der erste Schritt wre aber, solche Modelle erst einmal ffentlich zu debattieren. Keskin: Natrlich, natrlich! Sahin: Warum wird nicht das kurdische Volk gefragt, warum werden die Lsungsmoglichkeiten nicht auch mit den einfachen Menschen diskutiert? Keskin: Wissen Sie, ich habe bisher darber geredet, was ich fr realistisch halte. Ich persnlich, Hakki Keskin, htte nichts dagegen, wenn, ohne Repression durch die PKK oder das Militr, die kurdische Bevlkerung gefragt wrde, wie sie leben will. Wenn sie einen eigenen Staat heben wollen, bitte schn. Aber was wren die Konsequenzen? In einem kurdischen Staat, unter der Dominanz der PKK, knnte die trkische Bevlkerung, die jetzt in diesen Gebieten lebt, nicht bleiben. Die Trken in diesem Gebiet wrden vertrieben. Das gleiche wrde dann umgekehrt geschehen, die Kurden wrden aus den westlichen Gebieten vertrieben. Das wre eine Katastrophe, eine ethnische Suberung in Millionenumfang. Sahin: Das wollen wir doch auch nicht. Deshalb bemhen wir uns seit zwanzig Jahren um eine demokratische, politische Lsung. Das bedeutet, um diskutieren zu knnen, um zu einer politischen Lsung zu kommen, mssen erst einmal die Waffen schweigen, mua das Ausnahmerecht aufgehoben werden, mssen die Institutionen des Ausnahmezustands abgeschafft werden, kurdische Parteien zugelassen werden, und die kurdische Sprache und Kultur mua gelehrt und weitergegeben werden. Wenn wir das erreicht haben, beginnen die Gesprche. Wie kommen wir dahin? Die PKK ist bereit, einen Waffenstilstand einzugehen. taz: So weit waren wir ja schon einmal, Hakki Keskin sagt dann, Waffenstillstandverhandlungen mit der PKK wird es nicht geben. Sahin: Brauchen wir auch nicht. Wenn der trkische Staat mit der PKK nicht reden will, kann er den ersten Schritt selbst tun. Wenn die Armee in Kurdistan aufhrt zu schieaen, wird auch die PKK aufhren. Das haben sie mehrmals erklrt. Keskin: Der anfang besteht in solchen Situationen immer darin, daa die Aufstandspartei, die den Staat bekmpft, erklrt: Wir werden unsere Ziele nicht mehr gewaltsam, sondern mit politischen Mitteln verfolgen. Wenn das der Fall ist, gibt es viele Mglichkeiten, ins Gesprch zu kommen. Man kann Botschaften ber die irakischen Kurden schicken, mit der kurdischen sozialistischen Partei reden undsoweiter. Aber das ist der zweite Schritt. Der erste Schritt ist, daa die PKK sagt, wir werden nicht mehr bewaffnet vorgehen, wir wollen verhandeln. Sahin: Sie erwarten die Kapitulation der PKK, ohne irgendwelche Garantien zu geben. taz: Herr Keskin, welche Zusicherungen knnte die trkische Regierung den Kurden machen - wenn nicht ffentlich, nicht im Wege von Verhandlungen, dann eben ber diskrete Kanle. Was knnte sie der PKK anbieten, damit diese zu einem solchen von ihnen geforderten Schritt bereit sein knnte? Keskin: Ich glaube, daa genau darber heute in den verschiedenen Parteien und anderen gesellschaftlichen Institutionen diskutiert wird. Wir mssen alles tun, um erst einmal das Blutvergieaen zu stoppen. Die PKK mua nicht kapitulieren - aber die Seite die den Aufstand begonnen hat, mua ffentlich davon Abstand nehmen. Dann werden die politischen Parteien sich gentigt und gedrngt sehen zu verhandeln, mit wem auch immer. Dann wird auch eine Lsung gefunden, letztlich auch mit den Leuten aus der PKK. Sahin: Warum sollte die PKK jetzt, ohne Gegenleistung die Waffen niederlegen? taz: Herr Keskin, glauben sie nicht, daa das Militr in der Trkei viel zu sagen hat. Aber leztendlich, wenn die Rahmenbedingungen sich ndern wrden, wenn die PKK der Gewalt abschwrt, wre es auch fr das Militr sehr schwierig, Verhandlungen abzulehnen. Gegen wen soll das Militr kmpfen, wenn die PKK die Waffen niederlegt? Wenn von seiten der PKK ohne Befristung erklrt wird, wir schieaen nicht mehr, wir wollen eine politische Lsung, werden sich Mittel und Wege finden lassen, miteinander zu reden. Davon bin ich berzeugt. Das beste wre, wenn alle demokratischen Krfte unter den Kurden darauf drngten, daa die PKK den bewaffneten Kampf aufgibt. Natrlich in der Hoffnung, daa der trkische Staat positiv darauf reagiert. taz: Warum sollten sie dies Hoffnung haben? Keskin: Dafr mate man Gesprche fhren. Nicht mit der PKK, aber mit anderen demokratischen kurdischen Organisationen, die bereit wren, die PKK fr eine friedliche Lsung zu gewinnen oder auch zu zwingen. Gegenber den demokratischen Organisationen in Kurdistan mua der trkische Staat seine Bereitschaft erklren, kurdische Parteien zu legalisieren und eine Generalamnestie vorzubereiten, wenn diese die PKK dazu bringen, die Waffen niederzulegen. taz: Knnte es sein, daa das Hauptproblem darin besteht, daa sowohl die PKK aber auch das Militr immer noch nicht eingesehen haben, daa dieser Krieg nicht zu gewinnen ist? Keskin: Ich weia natrlich nicht genau, wie die Militrs denken, aber jede vernnftige Mensch weia, daa Ideen nich mit Gewehren beseitigt werden knnen. Ich persnlich meine, eine friedliche Lsung setzt den Willen zu einer Ausshnung voraus. Beide Seiten, sowohl die trkische als auch die PKK, mssen Annherungen wagen, mssen ber den eigenen Schatten springen. Sahin: Dann lassen Sie uns gemeinsam Druck auf die trkische Regierung ausben, indem auch Sie sagen, die Waffen mssen schweigen, so geht es nicht. Keskin: Natrlich, das machen wir doch. taz: Ist es denkbar, im Ausland eine groae kurdisch-trkische InitiatIve zusammenzubekommen, die in diesem Sinne in der Trkei Einflua nimmt? Sahin: Das machen wir ja. Gerade haben wir einen Aufruf zusammen mit trkischen und deutschen Intellektuellen verffentlicht, der genau diese Ziel hat. Keskin: Das sind doch einseitige Initiativen fr die Bildung eines kurdischen Staates, durch die Sie nichts erreichen. Wir sollten uns gemeinsam fr Ziele engagieren, die erreichbar sind. Ich sage, vllige Gleichstellung und eine regionale Selbstbestimmung - allein die Parole, Selbstbestimmung der Vlker, ist keine Lsung, sondern ein Programm fr ein neues Jugoslawien, ein neues Bosnien. Ich vermute, daa wenn es heute ein Referendum unter der kurdischen Bevlkerung gbe, mehr als 60 bis 70 Prozent fr einen Verbleib im trkischen Staat stimmen wrden - unter der Voraussetzung, daa ihre kulturellen Rechte anerkennt werden. Sahin: Dann sorgen wir doch dafr, da es zu einem Referendum kommt. Wenn der Krieg beendet wird und der Ausnahmezustand aufgehoben wird, wenn kurdische Parteien legalisiert werden und die kurdische Sprache, auch in den Schulen gelehrt wird, dann knnen wir eine Lsung finden. Aus die Tageszeitung, dienstag 18 april 1995 ************************************************** Infogroup Schism Postbus/P.O. Box 2884 3500 GW Utrecht/The Netherlands schism at schism.aps.nl ************************************************** ----------------------------- End forwarded message -------------------------- ------------------------------------------------------- * Activists Press Service (Newsdesk) * newsdesk at aps.nl !Power to the people! ------------------------------------------------------- From info at aps.nl Thu Apr 27 16:05:33 1995 From: info at aps.nl (info at aps.nl) Date: 27 Apr 1995 16:05:33 Subject: Military discipline hits Kurdis Message-ID: From: tabe at newsdesk.aps.nl Subject: Re: Military discipline hits Kurdish debate in TC Reply-To: info at aps.nl ---------------- Forwarded from : igi at igrey.demon.co.uk (igi) ------------------ Turkish media adjusts further to military discipline By Ismet Imset What would have happened if the situation in Anatolia in the early 20th century had been different? For instance, what would have happened had Mustafa Kemal been born in Mosoul instead of Salonika, had he named the republic which was founded after the war of liberation fought by the Turks and Kurds, as 'the Kurdish Republic' and had he taken the name of Ata-Kurd (Father of Kurds) instead of Ataturk with a special parliamentary decision. What would have happened had all citizens of the Kurdish government been called Kurds, had they been banned from using Turkish names, had Turks been banned from having Turkish broadcast, had all broadcast been in Kurdish? "Would we Turks have accepted this?" asked Milliyet columnist Ahmet Altan in one of his recent articles. "Had we been forced to write our novels, stories and poems only in Kurdish, had we been forced only to listen to Kurdish songs or publish our newspapers only in Kurdish... Had Kurdish been the only language in our schools, had Turkish education been banned, had we faced arbitrary imprisonment only for saying 'we are Turks, we have a history and a language.' Had the special teams constantly harassed us as 'suspects' and had we been insulted constantly only for being Turks. Had our houses and apartments been burned down on claims we assisted 'Turkish terrorists' would we Turks have accepted this?" Last week, for asking this question in one of his published daily commentaries titled "Atakurd," Altan found himself in a matter of hours unemployed and joining the growing army of Turkish intellectuals treated by officials as short of being traitors. He was never given an answer to his questioned. As for the response to his argument that the Kurds in Turkey today demand only what the Turks in such conditions would have naturally demanded, it was but a slip of paper abruptly ending his contract with the newspaper. "Milliyet's editorial policy is based on correct reporting and free commentaries," a front page editorial declared after the incident. "But... a newspaper's writers prepare their free commentaries according to that newspaper's main policy.... To defend the right of Mr.Altan to defend his views in the said article is one thing, to defend the principles of a newspaper is another." The editorial, which carefully vouched for the paper's continuing support to the principles of modern Turkey's founder Ataturk, also claimed it would continue to defend the freedom of expression in Turkey even without Altan. Since his sacking, at least two more Milliyet writers who supported him have been laid off. The management of Milliyet is pleased. The Turkish military, suspected of being behind the ordeal, is clearly more pleased than all... Turkey's military repression of the national press has always existed but as seen in this recent Milliyet incident is becoming more systematic in view of the country's futile military attempts to crush its growing Kurdish rebellion. There is little if no tolerance for criticism of the official policy and if the death squads, police or courts fail to tackle with dissent, newspaper owners are always there as a last resort. "I received a letter from the editor," explained one columnist recently. "It said 'my resignation would be accepted' if I insisted on writing on Kurdish or human rights issues." Koray Duzgoren, another prominent researcher on Kurdish affairs, was recently sacked by the daily Hurriyet without compensation for similar reasons. He learned he was fired while dressing in the morning to go to work. The papers were delivered by a special notary. "We had an editorial meeting," explains another Istanbul- based newspaper executive. "We were told not to concentrate on human rights or Kurdish issues." In many cases, as soon as what officials deem as "controversial" reports are seen, media bosses receive a brief and harsh phone call from military commanders demanding them to sack the reporters concerned. Television reporters who have interviewed Kurdish villagers claiming Turkish troop attacks on their homes have been suspended from duty. Magazine journalists have been sacked only for echoing the terrifying accounts of civilian victims of Turkey's military solution to the Kurdish crisis and when possible, such reporters have been punished severely. Newspaper employees have almost always suffered the most. Even during the recent incursion into northern Iraq, reporters asking for information on conflicting Turkish statements were verbally warned by commanders to either write what they were told by the military or be treated as serving "the enemy." Perhaps for the first time in its repressive history of press freedoms since 1915, Turkey is now fully mobilized once again for a concerted effort on part of government, military and media to cover up what is really going on in its Kurdish regions. Where direct censorship does not work, the military trusts on its pressure for self-control, skillfully using the threat of outdated and undemocratic laws as much as highly required state subsidies and advertisements as a leverage. Recently the same tactic was used even in an attempt to censor Reuters, with the Turkish Union of Banks launching a protest against the news agency after being contacted reportedly by the military. Where both methods fail, there is always what Amnesty International has referred to as "censorship by the bullet." At least 23 journalists working on Kurdish issues have so far been assassinated. Most of the suffering of this gross cover-up has clearly been inflicted on the country's openly pro-Kurdish press which has faced a variety of attacks of sorts from assassinations, arbitrary confiscations, kidnappings, disappearances to multiple bombings. Three such newspapers have over the past two years been forced to close down and the Yeni Politika, newly on the streets, is now tasting its share of arbitrary state attacks in need of more support than any other single publication. Its journalists are being harassed and detained without explanation as copies of the newspaper are seized by police almost on a daily basis. Milliyet's recent and sudden sacking of Altan has led only to new problems within the newspaper also boosting internal strife on editorial policy. Those who insisted on the freedom of expression in support of Altan were briefly dealt with in the same manner and this Wednesday, an in-house declaration announced that the daily's editor-in-chief Ufuk Guldemir was no longer employed. Observers of Turkish press freedoms concluded this was but the end of a serious "operation" to silence this daily which under Guldemir's management had sparked off some anger for critical coverage of the Kurdish dispute. "One by one, they are dealing with all of the papers with independent news policies and all independent minds," as put by one of his colleagues. Guldemir himself could not be reached for comment. The "objectivity" of Turkish press reports where taboos such as Ataturk and the Kurds are concerned have always been challenged. Reporters writing especially on human rights and Kurdish issues are overtly critical of editorial policies -- which often include a complete rewriting of facts back at desks in Istanbul and adding a touch of pro-Turkish nationalist captions and headlines to news stories. There are also oustanding examples in which whole interviews have been changed to accomodate with military policies. But the priority for the Turkish press, faced on one hand with the threat of severe punishment and on the other with a nationalitist popular demand, became even more clearer very recently. Claiming on one hand to report objectively on the facts on Turkey's latest incursion in Iraq, Turkey's mass circulation dailies with the support of televisions launched a major campaign to collect money for the military. Executives of the Turkish Press Association publicly expressed support to the armed campaign, siding with the policy, and since then have used the papers to gather vast donations from Turks at home and abroad to "support the Turkish soldiers -- or the Mehmetcik" Little remains of any ethics the Turkish press had but at least some 400 billion liras was reportedly collected to be added to the vast share of allocations the military already has from the national budget. This bizzare situation, though, is said to be only the result of a skilful exploitation of economic problems in the media sector, best observed in promotion campaigns built on distribution of everything from a bar of soap to bed sheets to readers, and state control over money and laws. Many journalists argue it is the economic harship which has dragged the media into becoming the victim of this major military repression campaign, supported by a mere rubber-stamp government-- aimed at silencing any serious opposition. The censorship, meanwhile, stems back two years to a meeting held at the Chief of Staff headquarters in Ankara for media owners and executives. In the words of one of the participants, "it was made clear there that the generals expected all to support their policies without question and would regard those who failed to, as enemies." Prominent newsmen were "taught" by psychological warfare experts during this meeting on how stories and commentaries should be written. "This is a national cause" one colonel explained. Those failing to abide by the rules set out by the military have since been promptly punished. They have either been cut out of subsidies and credits or prevented from covering major news issues. Dozens of journalists have faced trials and many are still behind the bars. According to moderate official circles in Ankara, one of the major problems behind today's censorship stems from the amount of control National Security Council chief General Dogan Bayazit has established on press and public relations. His military-dominated council is known to cooperate extensively with Military Intelligence and have basically robbed the duty of "psychological warfare" from the civilians. Military Intelligence Chief Gen.Atilla Tuzman and Gen.Bayazit have personally demanded the arrest and subsequent trial of many journalists. There are reports now that a secret budget has been allocated to a special committee they head, to further control the press. There are also claims, from pro-Kurdish news circles, that they are the masterminds of armed campaigns targeting them. Whichever the case, many independent observers believe the issue at hand covers more than the freedom of expression or general press freedoms in Turkey. While objective observers of Turkey's Kurdish conflict and human rights are ruthlessly being silenced, the press in general is motivated by an immense trend of ethnic-Turkish nationalism. The odds are that in pursuing the current cover- up of truth, what is at stake is Turkey's overall grasp of realities and, perhaps, the future stability of a country, which is ending up in the whirlpool of believing in its own lies. It is probably a result of this concern that Altan asked in his controversial commentary: "Is it worth to shed so much blood and put the country into a bottleneck only in order to reject the demands of a people who we accept as equal, while we ourselves would have demanded the same things under different circumstances?" ----------------------------- End forwarded message -------------------------- From info at aps.nl Thu Apr 27 16:05:50 1995 From: info at aps.nl (info at aps.nl) Date: 27 Apr 1995 16:05:50 Subject: Release Kani Yilmaz, European P Message-ID: From: tabe at newsdesk.aps.nl Subject: Re: Release Kani Yilmaz, European PKK Representative! Reply-To: info at aps.nl ---- Forwarded from : kcc at infoweb.magi.com (Kurdistan Committee of Canada) ----- Information On Kani Yilmaz, European Representative Of The PKK Index: 1) PKK European Spokesperson Arrested 2) The Kani Yilmaz Case - By Ismet Imset 3) Free Kani Yilmaz - End The Criminalization Of The PKK And The Kurdish People In Europe - Statement From The Kurdistan Solidarity Committee, London 4) "Our Struggle Now Incorporates The Aspirations Of The Whole Kurdish Nation" - Interview With Kani Yilmaz 1) PKK European Spokesperson Arrested On October 26, 1994, British police arrested Kani Yilmaz, the European spokesperson for the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK). Yilmaz was arrested at Westminster subway station, as he was travelling to address a Labour Party event entitled "The Future Of The Kurdish People". Yilmaz was in London on the invitation of a member of the British parliament. It is certain that Kani Yilmaz was arrested on the order of officials at the Turkish embassy. After his arrest, Kani Yilmaz was placed in top-security detention. Officials in Germany are trying to have him deported back to Germany, where he has refugee status. Turkish officials have stated that they would then like Germany to deport Yilmaz back to Turkey. Kurdish groups and their supporters have organized several protests in London and in several German cities as well to demand the immediate release of Kani Yilmaz. British parliamentarians as well have expressed their extreme disgust at the fact that police have arrested and detained a man invited by some members of the British parliament to give a talk on the prospects for a political solution to the war in Kurdistan. On December 30, 1994, a judge was supposed to rule on whether or not Kani Yilmaz would be deported to Germany. This hearing was postponed. For more information on the case, contact: Kurdistan Information Centre 10 Glasshouse Yard London EC1A 4JN tel. 0171 250 1315 fax. 0171 250 1317 e-mail: kic.london at kurd.aps.nl 2) The Kani Yilmaz Case By Ismet Imset I have a file of many pages in my hands. On the first of these, somewhat squeezed into a pink dossier is inscribed: "Separatist terrorist organization-PKK." The mentality which aims to conceal everything has stamped both the cover and all its pages "Secret". The author of this product is the security (Police) General Directorate, the centre of those who manufacture lies and market them to their superiors for promotions... Almost every page of the dossier provides information on PKK leaders. From the commander of Serhat region to Fingerless Zeki, from Abdullah Ocalan to Riza Altun, here are many names. At the end of the dossier is a detailed, graphic explanation of the PKK's "separatist terror organization" and a section on "founders and directors of the organization". The most interesting part of this official file which I have in my possession is its final part. There is a two-paragraph explanation there on Faysal Dunlayici who is registered as "code named Kani Yilmaz". Instantly I recall the telephone conversation I had with the British police following Yilmaz's arrest. "I hear Kani Yilmaz is arrested. Could you confirm this?" I had asked the police spokesperson. "We have no one under that name", was the reply, before adding, "but we have a suspect by the name of Faysal Dunlayici." In the file of the Security General Directorate on Yilmaz and Dunlayici, there is no mention of a "concrete crime". The only crime which is evidenced is that he was "among the founders" of an organization created "to divide and separate the Turkish Republic through terrorist actions", and to "direct" this organization. Dunlayici or Yilmaz is on a Turkish search warrant for being "a founder and ringleader of a terrorist organization". The file of Security General Directorate that I have openly displays this. According to the laws of the Turkish Republic even membership and/or acting on behalf of it, is a capital offence, let alone being a founder or director of such an organization. In other words, had Yilmaz been in Turkey and had he been arrested by the police, he would have been put on trial for being "a founder and director of a separatist organization", facing and most likely being sentenced to, a penalty of death. Turkish Foreign Ministry spokesman Ferhat Ataman who held a press conference before the weekend has announced that Turkey had formally applied to Britain for the extradition of Yilmaz, who is under arrest here. He took care to add that the file prepared for Yilmaz's extradition "does not contain any criminal offenses which would require him facing capital punishment charges". It is understood that, using the opportunity, Turkey has sent London not the full dossier on Yilmaz who is being hunted as a "founder of a separatist organization", but a dossier "prepared to contain criminal charges not including capital punishment". In other words, it is playing a new game to achieve its objective. Despite this, every security unit throughout Europe is aware that if Yilmaz is extradited, he will face what has now become systematic torture in Turkey, that he will be tried not by an impartial court but a controversial State Security Court which has a special status and to which military prosecutors are assigned, and that he will eventually be executed either legally or by extra- judicial methods. For Britain to extradite Yilmaz under these circumstances will mean no less than sending someone to face a certain death sentence. Thus, neither an extradition nor Ankara's request can be expected to be taken seriously. But, there are other possibilities... The Yilmaz case, from the viewpoint of both legal implications and of international norms, is one of the most interesting cases Britain has been party to. Yilmaz, who had come to Britain three times in the past, was invited to this country as "the European Spokesperson of the PKK" and on arrival he was not only assisted through immigration control but was even given VIP treatment. But exactly three days later, while on his way to a meeting with British parliamentarians "to disclose the PKK's new proposals for dialogue", he was detained by police under instructions of the same immigration office. The first statement by the Home Minister claimed his presence in Britain was against 'public interest'. Although the Home Secretary who gave the order for his arrest later said it was a mistake to have allowed Yilmaz entry in the first place, sources from the same ministry now say the whole incident stemmed from orders issued through the Foreign Office. In a way, this suggests "foreign influences" have been at work. Thus, the "Yilmaz case" is no longer an issue concerning only Turkey and the Kurds but has turned into a debate concerning Britain's own laws as well. This is one of the reasons why his period of arrest has been extended. Day by day, with the legal advice of Winstanley- Burgess, the case is building up into a resistance. The British authorities, immediately after detaining Yilmaz, informed him through translators and attorneys that they wanted him deported. But the PKK spokesman was never asked which country he would prefer to be deported to. Moreover, although he was arrested a day before leaving for Holland, he has not been sent to that country either. At this stage, Kani Yilmaz's own decision was very important. While at the beginning he wanted to get the issue over with and return to his responsibilities as soon as possible, Yilmaz reviewed his position and took an interesting decision that he would resist. He argued that he had entered Britain quite legally, that his personal rights were violated through his arrest and that he should either be deported to a country of his choice or freed immediately. The British authorities have rejected Yilmaz's demands and, as required by the laws of the land, have asked for written guarantees from any country who would accept him. But, as if those countries applied to aimed to give a new dimension to the issue, none of them agreed to provide the written approval. It was at this very stage that Germany appeared on the scene with a surprise request. This request turned the Yilmaz case, which had started out as an issue of simple expulsion into a case of "extradition". Britain was informed that Yilmaz was wanted for violation of the German 129a Anti-Terror Law for provoking an arson attack. This request, coming as it does from a country where the Kurdish community in Europe is most concentrated and where the PKK influence is strongest, took even British officials by surprise. The British, who had arrested Yilmaz simply to "expel" him suddenly found themselves with "a suspect requiring extradition". The Yilmaz operation, which supposedly would end in a matter of days, was thus snatched out of their hands. Germany, one of the countries to which Yilmaz was expected to wish to be sent to after his detention, suddenly became a country which "wanted" him. Such a development has naturally led to suspicion among Kurdish circles that "a secret agreement may have been reached between Germany and Turkey" on this issue. Extraditing Yilmaz to Germany so he could be put on trial there would, according to international law, give Turkey the right to ask Germany for his extradition for trial as well. Now, what everyone asks is whether Germany has become a smoke screen for Turkish interests. Ataman, answering a question relating to Germany's extradition request, was observed to have abandoned the customarily harsh line of Turkish officialdom and replied that he would appreciate such an eventuality. "The British will decide on this", was all he had to say. Yilmaz's 'hearing' of last Friday lasted exactly four minutes and it was adjourned to November 28. Meanwhile, a brief struggle between demonstrators supporting Yilmaz and the police left behind seven injured. Kurds marching in eight separate cities of Europe are supporting Yilmaz with slogans against Turkey and Britain. These actions clearly give "a careful warning" both to German and other European governments. The only reason why there are no "larger explosions" is seen as the murky nature of the Yilmaz affair but the hidden message passed on with these demonstrations is being heard by the capitals involved. It could be appreciated that the Yilmaz case has already started to disturb England. The fact that a "simple" issue of expulsion has now turned into a legal case which could last for months, is raising some concern. According to those close to Yilmaz, the British actually want to solve the issue "without wasting time". As far as is known, there is no "concrete criminal charge" against Yilmaz in Britain. But Britain is faced by a legal dilemma both at home and on the international scene. Despite the possibility that the case may take time, it is not possible to keep Yilmaz captive "indefinitely". It is also difficult now to deport Yilmaz to another country while the German request for extradition is on the agenda. Furthermore both Yilmaz and Winstanley-Burgess appear determined "to resist to the end". They will force British law as far as they can, using their rights under these laws and appeal against an extradition were such a decision made. The situation surrounding Yilmaz is still murky and no one really knows what will happen. Even if there is no "secret agreement" between the Turkish Republic and Germany, extraditing Yilmaz to that country so he could be put on trial, is regarded as a step which could in the long term trouble both London and Bonn. The possibility of having another era of "Dusseldorf trials" in Germany, which has formally banned the activities of the PKK and ERNK, brings with it significant risks related to that country's internal security. It is certain that in such a period, Ankara will demand that Germany extradite Yilmaz. Under these circumstances, Britain is left with only two viable alternatives: either to expel Yilmaz to the country of his choice or "extradite" him to Germany. The possibility which does not exist is for Yilmaz to be extradited directly to Turkey where he will certainly be tortured, tried on capital charges and executed most probably by extra-judicial methods. It is at this point that Germany plays a key role... (Source: Kurdistan Report #20 - January-February 1995. Originally published in Turkish in Ozgur Ulke - November 22, 1994) 3) Free Kani Yilmaz - End The Criminalization Of The PKK And The Kurdish People In Europe The police seizure of Kani Yilmaz, the European Representative of the PKK (Kurdistan Workers Party) and his subsequent imprisonment by the Home Office is a serious blow to the democratic rights of all people in Britain. It also reveals the sinister workings of a new and unaccountable European police force which is coordinating its actions across Europe in support of the Turkish state's war against the Kurdish people. Kani Yilmaz was invited to address a meeting at the House of Parliament on October 26 by British MPs and Lords. As he left Westminster tube station a carefully laid police trap seized him. He was detained under the National Security provision of the 1971 Immigration Act. What threat Kani Yilmaz posed to Britain's security was never stated. On November 11 his status was reclassified and under the European Convention for the Suppression of Terrorism Act of 1978 he now faces extradition to Germany where he has refugee asylum status. The German state has invented general, non-specific reasons for issuing an extradition order - a procedure which effectively overrides, ignores and prevents the exercise of the right to appeal. In her June 1994 maiden public speech Stella Rimington, head of MI5, identified the Kurds as a potential source of "terrorism" in Britain. A programme to criminalise Kurdish and Turkish opposition in Europe to the Turkish state is being coordinated by British and German police and military intelligence, together with their Turkish counterparts. The programme includes mobilisation of sections of the media and establishment of special police units to survey and attack the Kurdish communities. The PKK has been outlawed in Germany and France. Alerted, if not encouraged, by the undemocratic actions of the British and German governments, the Turkish state now demands the extradition of Kani Yilmaz to Turkey where he would face certain torture and death. The Kurdish struggle for national rights is seen by the British government as a threat to the Middle Eastern status quo. For the British government ever since it devised the Treaty of Lausanne in 1923 which divided the Kurdish people up between Iran, Iraq, Syria and Turkey, that status quo has meant oil and profits. Over 1,500 Kurdish villages have been destroyed by the Turkish army, Kurdish refugees from those burned out villages sheltering in the mountains of south Kurdistan are regularly bombed by Turkish aircraft, concentration camps have been set up in southeast Turkey by Turkish state forces, torture is rife, death squads murder open and legal Kurdish politicians, dozens of journalists and academics who try to tell the truth about Kurdistan are imprisoned and murdered. Eight Kurdish Democracy Party MPs are stripped of their constituencies and now face the death penalty at the hands of the Turkish state. This is what the British government condones by its seizure and criminalisation of Kani Yilmaz. All democrats in Britain must support the Kurdish people who have mounted a three week protest and hunger strike outside the Home Office for Kani Yilmaz's release. We must demand to know what is the relationship between Scotland Yard, MI5 and the Turkish police and military intelligence. What policy decisions have been taken by the Home Office towards the Kurdish community in Britain, for what reasons, in conjunction with what European powers and under whose authority? British companies are queuing up to sell arms to Turkey to carry on the slaughter of Kurds. They are queuing up to organise and benefit from the forthcoming privatisation of Turkish industry. Democrats in Britain must brand Turkey as an international pariah (as with apartheid in South Africa) until it recognises Kurdish people's basic human rights. We must end British and German govemmental collaboration with the Turkish state's war effort. End arms sales to Turkey. The rights of Kani Yilmaz to address people in Britain is a democratic right of all the British people. It must not be taken away. Kurdistan Solidarity Committee Statement - November 16, 1994 (Source: Kurdistan Report #20 - January-February 1995) 4) Our Struggle Now Incorporates The Aspirations Of The Whole Kurdish Nation Interview by Matthew Brady with PKK European representative Kani Yilmaz a few hours before his arrest in London on October 26, 1994. What stage have the endeavours to establish a national assembly reached and how will it respond to the needs of the present time? We had an earlier experience which we felt needed deepening. Therefore contact groups have been set up by intellectuals and DEP members which have met with varioUs sectors. The idea is to set up a National Congress of 1,000 to 1,500 members representing north Kurdistan, and for this Congress to establish an assembly. The make up and framework of the assembly will be determined by the results attained by the contact groups. I believe some Kurdish groups have also been consulted but they said they were not in favour of such an initiative. In fact these groups would not be able to make a con- structive contribution had they wished to. They simply don't have the resources. Therefore the projected assembly may not be a perfect, classical one as it will not be all-inclusive. For this reason the assembly is being projected as one that is oriented to external relations, to the outside world, an assembly capable of including all sections of society and with national symbols putting the emphasis on legal activities internationally. These are continuing. I believe that the founding of the assembly may be announced around Newroz (March 21). Ocalan made an important statement recently calling on Kurdish people to feel themselves to be Kurdish citizens and to live their Kurdish identity? There is no nation that is in need of the concept of citizenship than the Kurds. Thus the General Secretary's call is of the utmost significance. The Kurds have been dispersed to the four corners of the world. Even Kurds living in their own homeland have been unable to call it home. They are deprived of seeing their homeland as theirs and of seeing themselves as citizens for many years. This call is in essence an appeal to the people to involve themselves in the national liberation struggle and to realise a transformation in their minds, to realise a return to the motherland and to develop a national consciousness that enables them to make the link with the homeland. This is a call that incorporates broad layers of society: it means those who can do so should join the struggle en masse, it means the nation completing its self-mobilisation and the realisation of the training of tens and hundreds of thousands. We evaluate this call as one for national consciousness and a great sensitivity to the developments in the motherland. We say that it is high time to establish a Kurdish national reality, a reality that feels responsible for the motherland and takes action on its behalf. This is how we evaluate this call. In the past, calls for national unity were made to other northern Kurdistan organisations. However, it would appear that the desired unity has not been achieved. If the vital importance of national unity is taken into consideration, how then will the participation of different opinions in the assembly be ensured? What stage have such activities reached? I think it is necessary to clarify what is meant by this phrase "national unity", which has been used in a rhetorical way for years. Is national unity the unity of the nation or the unity of organisations? This is a crucial question. I believe the unity of the nation has been achieved in Kurdistan, that is, a great majority of the people support the national liberation struggle led by the PKK. What is the proof of this? The ten-year war. If a nation fights for 10 years and the struggle continues to develop, this can only occur if support is received from the nation. However, despite this, we felt it would be beneficial for those circles that claim to be organisations, that they be involved in a front of national unity. For about 18 months now, meetings have been held with various Kurdish groups. However we have now reached an impasse, a dead end. There are various reasons for this: Firstly seven or eight of the 12 Kurdish organisations involved are almost nonexistent. They have no people to contribute to a front organisation. Some of them haven't even issued a leaflet for four or five years, or organised a demonstration. Then there are organisations like Hevgirtin, that have contacts with village guards, that want any front that is set up to have the authority to impose a ceasefire decision on the ARGK (People's Liberation Army of Kurdistan). "If the war is not ended we will not participate in the front" they declare. They have a liquidationist approach. So there are problems, but talks are continuing. Even if we are unable to establish a front we at least believe we will be able to have an understanding for cooperation and be able to act together in some practical ways. We will take this proposal for an agreement on cooperation to the next meeting planned for the first week of November. Of course it would be ideal if a front of national unity could be set up but the groups working towards the national assembly have contacted broad circles to ensure a variety of views are represented. Also the national liberation struggle is continuing amidst blood and fire. Kurdistan is being burnt as the Turkish state tries to create a Kurdistan without forests or villages. Therefore, those people who feel they have an obligation will not wait for a front to be formed. It could take another five years. There are some people who, if you even kill them, they would still not go to Kurdistan. They have no sense of their responsibilities. But Kurdistan is not the country it was ten years ago. The struggle has grown massively. Soon in 1995, the PKK will have 50,000 guerrillas. A decision has been taken in this regard. So whether we have a front or not, at this time when Turkish colonialism is carrying out ferocious attacks, we will give the neces- sary response on the basis of the national unity that we have created. There is a campaign in Europe for the recognition of the Kurdish identity. It would seem to be an effective demand at this time. If this is recognised by the Western states how would you evaluate the consequences? KON-KURD is the largest confederation working for the rights of Kurds in Europe. On November 4, 1994, it is organising a conference in Brussels, in a hall at the European Parliament. This is a conference to force the acceptance of Kurdish identity in Europe. In my opinion it is a very important step. Of course the Kurdish identity is already recognised in various ways in some places in Europe but this must be made official in the whole of Europe. For instance, if 20 Kurdish students warrant the opening of a Kurdish school then they should also recognize the Kurdish identity. I believe this would also make a contribution to the political process in that it would serve to assist those circles in the west that want the West to play a role in the Kurdish question. It would change, the opinions of various circles. It would also deepen the expression of Kurdishness, the concept of citizenship amongst the Kurds in Europe. This would also put Turkey on the spot because if the Kurdish identity is recognised in Europe it would make it somewhat difficult for Turkey to explain the lack of such recognition in Turkey. In March the North-West Kurdistan Conference was held in Brussels. Following this conference has there been an intensification in diplomatic activities? The most important aspect of the Brussels conference was the package of proposals presented by our General Secretary Abdullah Ocalan. Did this have the effect it merited? I don't think it did. There should have been more interest. But some opinions were changed or, at least, some circles which had a superficial "anti-terrorist" approach, have become more circumspect and cautioUs. There were also a considerable number of messages of support from international and human rights organisations. Some countries also began to take this issue serioUsly and realised that steps should be taken. On November 18-19 the Olaf Palme Trust is organising an International Kurdish Conference in Barcelona. This is something that has come about partly as a result of the Brussels Conference. Of course the reason the conference did not find the necessary response is political. Although Turkey is losing its strategic importance, it is becoming an attractive market and countries like France and Germany have interests at stake. However it is still possible to state that the Brussels Conference did offer a perspective on the Kurdish question and gave Western countries and organisations the chance to learn what the PKK is, and this was particularly the case with Abdullah Ocalan's package of proposals. You say that France and Germany have adopted a negative attitude to the PKK on account of their economic interests. Europe's negative, even hostile, view of the national liberation struggle in Kurdistan is well known. Could you comment on Western support or at least silent approval for Turkey's genocidal policies? To remain silent, or approve, or support what Turkey is doing in Kurdistan implies support for a Kurdish genocide. But I can say that those who follow this policy in Germany, have begun to debate the PKK ban which will be one year old in November. They banned the PKK and what happened? I will tell you. The PKK increased its strength threefold in Germany. Now Germany wishes to play a role in the Middle East, a sensitive region from which it has been excluded since it was defeated in the 2nd World War. However it is now, particularly after its unification with the East, a world economic power. It desires political power to match. Thus, it is now targeting the parts of the Middle East which used to be under U.S. domination, such as Iran and Iraq. Iran now does more trade with Germany than it does with all the rest of the world put together. And since autumn 1993 there has been a stream of delegations from Germany visiting Saddam Hussein. Germany also uses Turkey as a bridgehead to reach Iraq. Therefore the reason for Germany's hostility towards us is its interests in the Middle East. An intriguing situation has emerged. We have relations with many countries. The world has not labelled us as terrorists but Germany has. However, Germany is developing friendship with Saddam, who the whole world regards as a terrorist. This illustrates the hypocrisy of Germany's approach to us. Let's get on to the war. From the world's press, or at least the British press, one gets the impression that the guerrilla movement has suffered serious setbacks as a result of the huge military operations of the Turkish state. Can you comment on this please? The war news emanating from Turkey and finding its way into the world press is onesided and has been taken under the control of those directing the dirty war. However, in the last 2 or 3 months the Turkish state has not mentioned "finishing us off" or "breaking our backs". They are silent. In Kurdistan we are now establishing a regional military command structure and we are preparing in 1995 to take complete control of areas which are already to a great extent under our control. Ciller claimed in Autumn 1993 that she was going to finish us off by Spring 1994. But we said then, that we would have 30,000 guerrillas by that time. Now we aim to field 50,000 guerrillas by the Spring of 1995. It is the Turkish army, which lost thousands of men in its last operation around Herekol mountain and in South Kurdistan, that has suffered severe blows. If the Turkish army has really broken our backs then why are they talking about extending military service and why are they sending marines to Kurdistan? It is Turkey that has its back to the wall, both militarily and economically. The guerrillas are in every part of Kurdistan. If the Turkish army had achieved success with its military operations it would not have to burn down so many villages or murder so many civilians. These are the methods to which a defeated army resorts. I would like to ask you about the situation in South Kurdistan. The clashes between the KDP and PUK seem to have ended. There are also reports of a KDP buildup in Behdinan, which has led to fears of a repeat of the southern war of 1992. Could you comment? South Kurdistan is a region where many circles are active and various forces are pursuing their interests. Turkey and Germany are striving to reconcile Massoud Barzani with Saddam and South Kurdistan with Iraq, and also to get Saddam a reprieve so that he can return to the international community. Recent Turkish operations into South Kurdistan have all ended in fiasco. At the beginning of October 30,000 troops crossed into the South with a fanfare from the Turkish press, but they suffered heavy blows and withdrew in great silence. The sole reason for the instability in South Kurdistan is the absolute domination the Turkish state exerts over the KDP, and Massoud Barzani's collaboration with Turkey. If only the KDP were able to act according to its own will, the situation in the South would have been well on the way to freedom, but the leadership of the KDP does not permit this. The reason for the KDP's attacks on the PUK and other forces, is Turkey's policy. Turkey wants to remove all forces except the KDP. Otherwise there is no ideological conflict between the parties there. The only possible clash would be of interests. All this stems from the fact that Massoud Barzani formulates all his policies at the Turkish brigade headquarters in Silopi. The situation at the moment may seem calm but this does not mean that the situation is stable. Massoud Barzani has sold himself to the Turkish state. Therefore there will always be the potential for provocations and attacks on opposition groups. Turkish intelligence operatives are in control of things there and move more freely than the Kurds. The KDP has taken part in all the recent military operations against the PKK and we think they will continue to do so. Turkey and Germany's policy in South Kurdistan and their plan to rehabilitate Saddam is seriously disturbing the USA. To keep the equilibrium intact the U.S. is supporting Talabani, but not actively. Now things seem to have subsided following Mitterand's intervention but this is misleading because nothing has been resolved there. Britain's policy is similar to that of the U.S. November 27, 1994 will be the 16th anniversary of the founding of the PKK. Could you comment on this please? The national liberation struggle led by the PKK has now reached the stage where it can not be defeated. The struggle now incorporates the aspirations of the whole Kurdish nation. The 16th anniversary of the founding of the PKK will be followed by the Party's 5th Congress which will be held in Kurdistan. Chairman APO has named this congress the Freedom and Liberation Congress, and as preparations for the anniversary and party congress continue, the PKK is evaluating the next period as one of liberation and freedom. Our people began to live again with the emergence of the PKK. As Chairman Apo has said, a revival was set in motion. Our 16-year-long struggle has brought about a revival and from now on we are heading for liberation. (Source: Kurdistan Report #20 - January/February 1995) ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Arm The Spirit E-mail: ats at etext.org P.O. Box 6326, Stn. A Toronto, Ontario M5W 1P7 Canada WWW: gopher://locust.cic.net:70/11/Politics/Arm.The.Spirit FTP: ftp.etext.org --> /pub/Politics/Arm.The.Spirit ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- ----------------------------- End forwarded message -------------------------- From info at aps.nl Thu Apr 27 16:06:50 1995 From: info at aps.nl (info at aps.nl) Date: 27 Apr 1995 16:06:50 Subject: Mainstream News Message-ID: From: tabe at newsdesk.aps.nl Subject: Mainstream News Reply-To: info at aps.nl Turkey: Soldiers Leaving Iraq ANKARA, Turkey (AP) -- Turkey, under Western pressure to wind up its military campaign against Kurdish insurgents in Iraq, said Tuesday it has pulled out 20,000 more troops from its southern neighbor. Some 35,000 Turkish troops invaded northern Iraq five weeks ago to destroy camps used by Kurdish rebels to launch hit-and-run attacks against Turkey. The rebels have been fighting for autonomy in southeastern Turkey since 1984 in an uprising that has killed more than 15,000 people. Col. Dogu Silahcioglu told reporters Tuesday that 20,000 troops returned to their bases in Hakkari and Sirnak provinces on the border. About 3,000 Turkish soldiers were withdrawn earlier this month, and some 12,000 troops remain. "The remaining troops will also return home when their mission is completed," Silahcioglu said. He did not say when that was expected. The Turkish offensive is being waged in the section of northern Iraq patrolled by allied warplanes since the end of the 1991 Gulf War. The area, home to 3.5 million Iraqi Kurds, is beyond the reach of Iraq's military. Fearing civilian casualties, U.S. and other Western officials have urged Turkey to withdraw as quickly as possible. That message was repeated to Prime Minister Tansu Ciller last week during her visit to Washington. In Washington, State Department spokesman Nicholas Burns called Tuesday's announcement "obviously a positive development. It is consistent with the assurances given to the president and the secretary of State last week by Prime Minister Ciller that ... this incursion would be limited in time and in scope," Burns said. The Turkish military said 505 rebels were killed since the start of the March 20 offensive. Fifty-eight soldiers also have died. On Tuesday, Ciller warned that Turkey would strike back in northern Iraq if the rebels tried to renew their attacks. The Milliyet newspaper also reported that Turkey was installing a $120 million electronic network to monitor the border, a project that would be completed this year. Kurds: Journalists released ANKARA, Turkey (AP) -- A Kurdish guerrilla group said it has released two Turkish journalists abducted last month, a newspaper reported Tuesday. Kadri Gursel, a reporter for the French news agency Agence France Presse, and Fatih Saribas, a photographer for the Reuter news agency, were released near the town of Cizre, the pro-Kurdish daily Yeni Politika reported. It quoted a statement from the military branch of the rebel Kurdistan Workers Party, or PKK. Turkish officials said they couldn't confirm the report. The pair were returning from northern Iraq, where Turkish troops have pursued Kurdish rebels, when they were abducted March 31 near Cizre. Council of Europe to vote on suspending Turkey PARIS, April 25 (Reuter) - The Council of Europe parliamentary assembly will take up on Wednesday the question of suspending Turkey's membership as punishment for its invasion of northern Iraq. The council's 34 member states will vote on a resolution asking its governing committee of ministers to suspend Turkey "unless it shows progress towards a withdrawal from Iraq, a peaceful solution to the Kurdish problem and a reform of its constitution and legislation to bring them into line with democratic norms." The Strasbourg-based Council has adopted several resolutions demanding that Ankara improve its human rights record, but this would be the first time it had imposed sanctions on the Turkish government. The only country the Council has ever suspended is Greece, to protest against its military dicatorship in the 1970s. A parliamentary assembly report on Turkey, accompanying the draft resolution to be voted on Wednesday, was a milder version of an earlier draft by a group of Socialist parliamentarians asking that Turkey be suspended "unconditionally and without delay." The Turkish army launched an offensive into northern Iraq on March 20 in a bid to destroy bases used by Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) rebels in their separatist insurgency in southeast Turkey. From info at aps.nl Thu Apr 27 22:35:43 1995 From: info at aps.nl (info at aps.nl) Date: 27 Apr 1995 22:35:43 Subject: MSANEWS NEWS UPDATE: 10-25 Apri Message-ID: From: tabe at newsdesk.aps.nl Subject: Re: MSANEWS NEWS UPDATE: 10-25 April '95: Turkey/Iran/Iraq: Kurds in Reply-To: info at aps.nl ----------- Forwarded from : MSA ------------ _______________________________________________________________________________ Views expressed on MSANEWS do not necessarily represent those of MSANEWS, the Ohio State University or any of our associated staff and "WATCHERS". MSANEWS is a medium of exchange of news and analyses (standard and alternative) on Muslim World affairs. Information provided for "fair use only." For subscriptions/suggestions drop a note at msanews-request at magnus.acs.ohio-state.edu _______________________________________________________________________________ TABLE OF CONTENTS: HEADLINE: TURKEY WITHDRAWS MORE THAN 20,000 TROOPS, MILITARY SAYS HEADLINE: U.S. MOVES AGAINST IRAN RAISE STAKES IN GULF HEADLINE: IRAN IS TRYING TO SET UP MEETING BETWEEN PUK AND KDP LEADERS HEADLINE: OPEC LEADER SAYS IRAQ'S RETURN TO THE OIL MARKET WILL HAVE NO AFFECT HEADLINE: TURKEY PLANS WITHDRAWAL SOON FROM NORTHERN IRAQ HEADLINE: NEW HINTS OF BAGHDAD REFUSING LIMITED OIL SALE OFFER HEADLINE: CLINTON WILL TRY TO NUDGE TURKEY TOWARD WITHDRAWING TROOPS HEADLINE: SECURITY COUNCIL LETS IRAQ SELL OIL FOR HUMANITARIAN SUPPLIES HEADLINE: PKK CHIEF THREATENS WEST FOR SUPPORTING TURKEY HEADLINE: IRAN DENIES REPORTS OF CURTAILED OIL PRODUCTION AND EXPORT HEADLINE: TURKEY RECALLS ITS AMBASSADOR TO THE NETHERLANDS HEADLINE: KURDISH "PARLIAMENT IN EXILE" INAUGURATED AT THE HAGUE HEADLINE: IRAQI KURDISH LEADER READY TO COOPERATE WITH TURKEY HEADLINE: IRAN INTENSIFIES UNDERGROUND WAR TO PUNISH AMERICA HEADLINE: RIVAL IRAQI KURDISH GROUPS AGREE ON TRUCE HEADLINE: PKK CHIEF SAYS HE IS OPEN TO POLITICAL SOLUTION WITH TURKEY _______________________________________________________________________________ COMPASS Newswire APRIL 25, 1995, TUESDAY SECTION: IN THE NEWS HEADLINE: TURKEY WITHDRAWS MORE THAN 20,000 TROOPS, MILITARY SAYS BODY: ANKARA, April 25 (COMPASS) - Turkey has pulled more than 20,000 of the 35,000 troops it sent into Iraq to "wipe out" the rear bases of the separatist Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) of Turkey, Turkish military sources said Tuesday. The spokesman for the Turkish military, Col. Dogu Silahcioglu, said the troops, representing five brigades, were sent back to their bases in the border provinces of Hakkari and Sirnak. Three weeks ago, Turkey announced it was pulling some 3,000 troops out of northern Iraq. According to the figures given, some 11,000 to 12,000 Turkish soldiers remain in northern Iraq. Col. Silahcioglu said they would be withdrawn "when their mission has been accomplished." The military incursion into Kurdish-controlled northern Iraq, which informed sources say was imposed by the military high command against the will of the country's political leadership, has turned out to be a total political and military fiasco, observers say. The PKK guerrillas, who were monitoring troop concentrations on the Turkish side of the border, had plenty of time to withdraw most of their fighters deeper into Iraq, and would be quick to reestablish their destroyed bases, the observers added. The minimal losses inflicted on them by the Turkish army will be easily overcome, the same sources say. Politically, the operation was very costly and brought sharp criticism from Turkey's NATO allies. Germany suspended some military aid projects in protest, and the Netherlands hosted the inauguration of a "Kurdish parliament-in-exile" dominated by PKK sympathizers. Turkey's plans to transfer the security of the border zone to the Iraqi Kurdish parties are encountering great difficulty. The two main Kurdish factions in northern Iraq, the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) of Masoud Barzani and the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) of Jalal Talabani, have been at war with one another for more than a year. The KDP and PUK took control of the Kurdish region of northern Iraq at the end of the 1991 Gulf War, and set up an autonomous administration there. When the two parties began fighting for supremacy, this administration collapsed. The KDP now controls a third of the area, near the borders with Turkey and Syria, while the remaining regions are under PUK control. In 1992, the Turkish army launched the first cross-border sweep into Iraq against the PKK, then made a security agreement with the KDP and PUK. The accord lasted for only a few months. PKK and PUK maintain good relations with Syria. The PKK in 1984 began a guerrilla campaign for self-determination for the Kurdish regions of Turkey. Some 15,000 have been killed in the insurgency since then. Political observers do not exclude the possibility that Turkish troops could remain in northern Iraq to control a minimal "security zone" to prevent further PKK infiltrations. Last week, U.S. officials told visiting Turkish Prime minister Tansu Ciller her country should withdraw its troops from northern Iraq "as soon as possible." COMPASS End _______________________________________________________________________________ COMPASS Newswire APRIL 24, 1995, MONDAY SECTION: IN THE NEWS HEADLINE: U.S. MOVES AGAINST IRAN RAISE STAKES IN GULF BODY: WASHINGTON, April 24 (COMPASS) - The Clinton administration's moves to tighten the economic squeeze on Iran are heightening tension in the Persian Gulf at a time when the United States' allies there are grappling with economic setbacks and internal dissent. The suspicion is growing, amid an intensification of the U.S. demonization of Iran that often verges on the hysterical, that the possibility of a military confrontation with Tehran's fundamentalist regime cannot be excluded. The Iranians have long believed that the United States is determined to take revenge for the humiliations it has suffered since 1979 at the hands of the Islamic republic. The Tehran Embassy hostage drama, the suicide bombings in Beirut that killed hundreds of Americans, the kidnappings in Lebanon and the subsequent Irangate debacle that almost toppled the Reagan administration, all are etched deeply on the American psyche. Washington's stated aim is to force Iran, which it has branded a rogue state, to stop supporting international terrorism and abandon its rearmament efforts, especially the clandestine nuclear weapons program the United States and Israel insist it has underway. That allegation appears to be based on a negative assessment of Iran's intentions rather than any hard evidence. U.S. Secretary of State Warren Christopher, a strong advocate of a comprehensive trade ban against the Islamic republic, declared in January that the United States "places the highest priority in denying Iran a nuclear weapons capability." One way is clearly to choke the life out of Iran's economy so it cannot afford a nuclear program. The Americans now appear to be seeking to enlist the support of their partners in the Group of Seven -- Britain, France, Germany, Japan, Italy and Canada -- for their campaign to dissuade Russia and China from exporting reactors to Iran at the next G7 summit in June. But given the reluctance of these countries to join the U.S. crusade to isolate Iran politically and economically, that looks to be a major undertaking with little hope of success. The Iranians are said to be bracing for a possible Israeli or U.S.-Israeli strike against this reputed program. Iran's nervousness that it is being set up was underlined by a sharp increase in its military activity during the U.S. buildup in the Gulf last October to counter what was viewed as an Iraqi threat to Kuwait. U.S. military officials in the region reported then that Iranian air force flights, apparently protective air patrols, were considerably intensified as U.S. forces poured into the region and Saddam Hussein massed his elite Republican Guard in southern Iraq. It was the same after the March 1992 bombing of the Israeli embassy in Buenos Aires, when 28 people were killed and Iranian-backed Islamic fundamentalists were blamed. Iranian air patrols were doubled because Tehran feared a retaliatory Israeli air strike. Israel has hinted that it might launch strikes to knock out Tehran's suspected nuclear facilities as it did in 1982, when it destroyed Saddam's French-built Osirak reactor near Baghdad, if it feels that program is advancing to a dangerous stage. Current Iranian deployments could be viewed in that light. Iran's President, Hashemi Rafsanjani, has warned the United States against "adventurism" in the region and Iran's official media has of late reported a barrage of tough talk from leading officials denouncing the Western military presence in the Gulf. In such a climate, the Gulf could well become a powderkeg once more, easily ignited by political miscalculation and perceived threats, real or imaginary. With the Gulf Cooperation Council sheikdoms now gripped by economic malaise because of low oil prices and the $60 billion cost of the 1990-91 Gulf crisis, not to mention internal dissent, the growing awareness of the threat of Islamic fundamentalism -- publicly acknowledged by GCC leaders recently for the first time -- and even the question marks emerging over the succession in several of the ruling dynasties, any confrontation between the United States and Iran would undermine rather than strengthen the oil-rich region's precarious stability. Even without Iranian or Iraqi mischief-making, the GCC states face a potentially troubled decade because of their inability to tackle fundamental economic problems amid anticipated limited oil revenues and because of their rulers' reluctance to allow greater political participation for their peoples. While Bill Clinton ponders how far he will go with his next step in his drive to impose an economic blockade on Iran, the Americans are pushing hard to preposition heavy weapons and military supplies in the GCC states to enhance the rapid deployment of troops should they be needed to counter any aggression. Ostensibly, this is aimed at Iraq. But the Iranians, who bitterly oppose the presence of Western forces in a region in which they consider themselves the paramount power, suspect that they are also the target. The Clinton administration's policy of "dual containment" of both Iran and Iraq is a major element in Washington's regional policy. Its stated objective is to prevent them developing the military and economic strength to be able to threaten U.S. allies and interests in the Gulf. The difference is that sanctions against Iraq are maintained under the mantle of the UN Security Council, while U.S. actions against Iran are so far unilateral. One danger is that by squeezing Iran too hard, Washington may make the possibility of diverting its 60 million people from their hardships through military confrontation a political necessity for Iran. Still, the reluctance of America's allies to comply with U.S. efforts to strangle the Tehran regime economically and prevent it acquiring high-technology weapons is proving to be a major obstacle. It is straining relations with Washington's traditional allies, who argue that maintaining a dialogue with Iran is more effective in getting Tehran to moderate its policies than alienating it. U.S. actions are also steadily eroding the post-Cold War honeymoon with Moscow, which is resisting pressure from Washington to stop providing arms and nuclear assistance to Iran. U.S. efforts, so far unsuccessful, to prevent Moscow from completing the unfinished nuclear reactor at Bushehr, abandoned by Germany's Kraftwerk Union during the 1980-88 war with Iraq, and providing other assistance under a deal that could be worth as much as $8 billion to cash-strapped Russia, have become the touchstone of the increasingly uptight relations between Moscow and Washington. The Chinese, too, have rebuffed U.S. efforts to halt their plans to sell two 300-megawatt reactors to Iran -- clearly demonstrating that they think as little of Washington's assertions that Iran is striving to develop nuclear weapons as the Russians. Clinton's March 14 executive order banning Americans from helping Iran develop its vital oil industry killed a landmark deal between a Dutch subsidiary of the giant Conoco oil company of Houston, Texas, and the state-owned Iranian National Oil Company. Many saw the deal as a signal by Rafsanjani of moving toward improving relations with Washington and allowing Iran to gradually slip back into the international mainstream -- which the Americans say was their objective in the first place. But with the highly charged anti-Iran climate in Washington, the Clinton administration found itself with no choice but to stamp down hard on the Conoco deal. Richard Murphy, a former U.S. undersecretary of state for Near Eastern Affairs and a pragmatic even-handed analyst of Middle East issues, declared in early April that Washington had squandered a golden opportunity to start repairing relations with Tehran after 16 years of bitterness and bloodshed. The Clinton administration is having to grapple with bills before both houses of Congress which seek to ban all commercial and financial dealings with Iran. A Senate bill, introduced by Alfonse D'Amato, a New York Republican and powerful chairman of the Senate Banking Committee, targets all companies registered under U.S. law, all American nationals abroad, and all foreign corporations in which Americans have more than a 50 percent stake. It would also require U.S. executive directors of international organizations, such as the International Monetary Fund, to oppose any extension of multilateral assistance to the Islamic republic at a time when the Iranian economy is in a perilous state and Rafsanjani's government is coming under increasing criticism as conditions deteriorate. D'Amato's bill has found considerable support in Congress and in some quarters in the White House. But it has become clear that Clinton would prefer not to go as far as D'Amato wants because in the end, such a comprehensive trade ban would only harm U.S. companies and benefit their foreign competitors. At present the United States prohibits the export of high- technology equipment, particularly items which have military applications, to Iran, and bans the import of Iranian oil. But U.S. companies have been forging growing commercial links with the Islamic republic despite this. In 1994, U.S. companies bought around 24 percent of Iran's oil exports, worth some $3.5 billion, for resale in Europe and the Far East. In other sectors, American firms have been pushing to take over from Germany as Iran's largest trading partner. Despite misgivings about the value of a complete commercial ban, Robert Pelletreau, the Assistant Secretary of State for Near East Affairs, told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee March 2 that the administration was seeking ways to "turn up the heat" on Iran "to demonstrate our determination to send the clearest possible message to Iran that the American people reject Tehran's policies of violence and terror." There has been a remarkable series of hawkish, high-profile allegations by senior administration and military figures in recent weeks that Iran is flexing its military muscle in the Gulf. The U.S. allegations have convinced many Arab observers, not to mention the Tehran regime itself, that the Americans are upping the ante in their high-stakes diplomatic campaign against Iran, possibly in preparation for military action at some point. Others suspect that the Americans have been highlighting the military threats from Baghdad and Tehran to spook the jittery GCC states into buying more high-tech weapons, to keep U.S. arms production lines going while the military scales down in the post-Cold War era, and to provide bases and prepositioned equipment. The objective of the U.S. assertions that Iran's military moves in the southern Gulf are a threat to Western interests appeared to be solely to raise fears of Tehran's intentions. These have remained remarkably obscure. Iran argues that it has no aggressive or expansionist intentions and that it is simply striving to rebuild its military forces which were shattered in the costly 1980-88 war with Iraq. Indeed, the Islamic republic lost much of its hardware in that conflict in which, for all intents and purposes, it was defeated since its aim was to topple Saddam Hussein. If the ultimate U.S. objective is to drive Iran's ailing economy into the ground to bring down the government headed by Rafsanjani, widely considered to be the leader of Tehran's so-called pragmatists, then it runs the risk of bringing to power Rafsanjani's hard-line fundamentalist rivals. But the accelerating tempo of anti-Iranian propaganda may have the opposite effect of rallying all the Iranian factions to counter the perceived threat from the United States. Israel, the peace process with its traditional Arab foes now in train, views Iran these days as one of its primary threats because of its alleged nuclear weapons program. It has been argued that Israel is using the possibility of Iran, a vociferous opponent of the U.S.-backed Arab-Israeli peace process, acquiring nuclear weapons as justification for holding onto its current nuclear monopoly in the region and for continued U.S. military aid to maintain its technological and qualitative military superiority. If that is the case, it makes the task of persuading Iran, by whatever means, to modify its policies that much more difficult and thus keeps the level of tension high. According to Uri Lubrani, a former intelligence agent in pre- revolutionary Iran and now the Israeli government's coordinator in occupied south Lebanon, the Iranian regime is edging closer to collapse. Israel's military intelligence, on the other hand, perceives the regime as stable enough despite its problems. Lubrani and other senior Israeli officials are urging the United States to spearhead a global campaign to strangle the Islamic republic economically before it acquires nuclear weapons and tries to seize control of the Gulf to control Middle East oil. Claiming that the Tehran regime is now "fighting for survival" while "their irresponsibility is growing," Lubrani stressed on April 2: "When it has nuclear weapons the whole world will be exposed to blackmail. "Only if an American-European coalition is formed, is there a chance that Japan and China would join an international coalition that will economically strangle this regime. The United States must lead such a move." Behind the U.S. actions lie the perception that Islamic fundamentalism, which has repeatedly humiliated the Americans, is now the number one threat. That perception has grown since the 1993 bombing of the World Trade Center in New York, for which Islamic fundamentalists have been convicted. Had there been an Islamist hand in the Oklahoma City bombing, the domestic clamor for tough action against Iran would have placed intolerable pressure on the Clinton administration to move. As it is, the anguished realization that within the United States itself there are home-grown extremists prepared to carry out such atrocities as the Oklahoma City slaughter may divert U.S. hostility toward Islam for a time. But the fact remains that in Washington's view, Iran is the embodiment of militant Islam, the root of all evil, and must thus be forced into line or humbled. For many Americans, fundamentalism is synonymous with terrorism and the "domino theory" which so obsessed U.S. thinking in the Vietnam era, no matter that it has since been utterly discredited, has been revived with an Islamic overlay. It has been suggested in more than one quarter that Western Christian civilization is on a collision course with Islam. This does nothing to bridge the widening gulf between Islam and the West, and bludgeoning Iran, rather than reasoning with it, however tortuous and difficult that might be, is unlikely to produce a solution that will avert confrontation in the Gulf once again. COMPASS End _______________________________________________________________________________ COMPASS Newswire APRIL 20, 1995, THURSDAY SECTION: IN THE NEWS HEADLINE: IRAN IS TRYING TO SET UP MEETING BETWEEN PUK AND KDP LEADERS BODY: TEHRAN, April 20 (COMPASS) - Iran is trying to set up a new round of proxy discussions between the two main rival Iraqi Kurdish groups, informed Kurdish sources told Compass Thursday. The sources say Iran, which has been mediating between the two parties during the past weeks, is trying to organize a meeting between the leaders of the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) and the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK). Iran is also pressuring KDP leader Masoud Barzani to have him drop his preconditions for an agreement with PUK leader Jalal Talabani. The KDP demands that PUK forces evacuate the regional capital of Irbil, which they have controlled since the end of last year. Two weeks ago, the KDP announced a two-week suspension of military actions, following a meeting between Barzani and two high- ranking Turkish Foreign Ministry officials. Tehran was apparently angered by the decision, which suggested an increase of Turkish influence on the Iraqi Kurds. However, two Turkish Foreign Ministry diplomats are soon expected to travel to the town of Sulaymaniyah to meet with Talabani, according to the Kurdish sources. On March 20, Turkey launched an across-the-border offensive into northern Iraq against rear bases of the separatist Kurdish Worker's Party (PKK) of Turkey. Turkey's operation fell short of its military goals and Ankara is now trying to negotiate a security agreement with the Iraqi Kurdish parties, which were given control of the region following the end of the 1991 Gulf War. COMPASS End _______________________________________________________________________________ COMPASS Newswire APRIL 20, 1995, THURSDAY SECTION: IN THE NEWS HEADLINE: OPEC LEADER SAYS IRAQ'S RETURN TO THE OIL MARKET WILL HAVE NO AFFECT BODY: ABU DHABI, April 20 (COMPASS) - Iraq's return to the oil market is unlikely to affect oil prices if it happens within the framework of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) guidelines, the secretary general of OPEC said. Secretary General of OPEC Rilwanu Lukman, who is on a Gulf tour, told the United Arab Emirates official news agency WAM that once an agreement is reached between Iraq and the United Nations to lift the oil embargo, OPEC will hold an emergency meeting to discuss measures to maintain the stability of the market. OPEC is scheduled to hold its regular meeting next June in Vienna. Lukman ruled out the possibility of changing the current quotas of OPEC members or the production ceiling agreed on during their last meeting. Lukman also denied reports that the decrease in the value of the U.S. dollar will be on the agenda of the next OPEC meeting. Meanwhile, Iraq last week rejected an offer by the United Nations Security Council allowing Baghdad to sell $2 billion of its oil every 180 days for humanitarian supplies. COMPASS End _______________________________________________________________________________ COMPASS Newswire APRIL 19, 1995, WEDNESDAY SECTION: IN THE NEWS HEADLINE: TURKEY PLANS WITHDRAWAL SOON FROM NORTHERN IRAQ BODY: WASHINGTON, April 19 (COMPASS) - Turkey's prime minister told President Clinton on Wednesday that her country plans to withdraw troops soon from northern Iraq, but declined to say publicly when that will happen. Clinton said the two would discuss the situation in northern Iraq, where Turkey sent troops last month to crush the ability of the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) to launch cross-border raids against targets in Turkey. Prime Minister Tansu Ciller said before the meeting that it would not be "fair" for her to give a timetable for withdrawal because Turkish troops are searching mountain caves in northern Iraq looking for arms and ammunition. Northern Iraq has been effectively under the control of the Kurds since the end of the Gulf War, when the United Nations extended its protection over the Kurds against attacks by the Iraqi military. The power vacuum in the resulting Kurdish enclave has given rise to fighting among Kurdish factions and provided a haven to base operations by the PKK, which has been branded a terrorist organization. Ciller said the situation in northern Iraq was not of "our making, it is not only our responsibility, either. We have to think of a way to handle this, otherwise Turkey always ends up being the only ally to continually pay for this operation." After her meeting with Clinton, reporters asked whether Syrian aid to the PKK had been discussed. She replied only that they talked about support for the PKK coming from various neighbors in the region. COMPASS End _______________________________________________________________________________ COMPASS Newswire APRIL 17, 1995, MONDAY SECTION: IN THE NEWS HEADLINE: NEW HINTS OF BAGHDAD REFUSING LIMITED OIL SALE OFFER BODY: AMMAN, April 17, (COMPASS) - Iraqi President Saddam Hussein's government appears to be preparing its impoverished nation for rejecting the U.N.'s offer to let it sell more oil and use the money to buy food and medicine. Also Monday, Saddam appointed a new Minister of Agriculture in a reshuffle which was coupled with a stern warning to farmers to meet government-set production quotas of wheat and barley or risk prosecution, including imprisonment and confiscation of their land. The draconian regulations underscored worsening conditions in Iraq, where many basic commodities, including some foodstuffs and medicine, have disappeared from the markets or are in short supply. The U.N. Security Council, which imposed sweeping sanctions against Iraq after its August 1990 invasion of Kuwait, offered last week to allow Baghdad to sell $2 billion worth of oil every 180 days to raise funds for purchasing basic supplies under close U.N. supervision. In an initial reaction, Saddam's ruling Revolutionary Command Council criticized the offer as "crippling" and an "infringement on Iraq's sovereignty, independence and national unity." But it did not categorically reject the plan, saying it would refer the matter to parliament. However, this rubber-stamp house is known to follow Saddam's orders. And if the criticism of the proposal is any indication, it appears that Saddam, having lost a bid to improve the oil sale conditions, is now inclined to reject the offer, even though it is likely to worsen living conditions for his population of 20 million. Foreign Minister Mohammed Said al-Sahhaf offered on Monday what Baghdad sees as a possible counter proposal. He said $4 billion worth of Iraqi assets frozen after the invasion could be unblocked to give Iraq the money it needs for humanitarian purposes. The Iraqi request is unlikely to be accepted by the United States or any of its allies in the coalition that routed the Iraqis in Kuwait in the 1991 Gulf War. Sahhaf reiterated that Baghdad would not drop its campaign to get the sanctions lifted, claiming a recent report by U.N. inspectors accusing Iraq of concealing material that could be used in biological weapons was part of the "malicious campaign" launched by the United States. The report, presented by U.N. chief inspector Rolf Ekeus, suggested that some 15 tons of material purchased by Iraq which could be used in germ warfare remains unaccounted for. The destruction of all of Iraq's non-conventional weapons, including chemical and biological arsenals, ballistic missiles, and a nuclear program, must be complete before the sanctions could be eased or lifted. One indication that Saddam is preparing his people for further suffering was Monday's warning to farmers to help the government beat the international sanctions or risk punishment. An official announcement noted that some "peasants and farmers were failing to market all or part of their pledged cereal produce, be it wheat or barley, to the state." "If the violation is repeated in the next season, punishment will be more severe", it said, stressing that violators risk being sent to prison or having their land seized by the government. The warning coincided with Saddam's appointment of key adviser Khaled Abdul-Munim Rashid as Minister of Agriculture, replacing Karim Hassan Rida, who was removed from that office in December allegedly for failing to step up agricultural production. COMPASS End _______________________________________________________________________________ COMPASS Newswire APRIL 17, 1995, MONDAY SECTION: IN THE NEWS HEADLINE: CLINTON WILL TRY TO NUDGE TURKEY TOWARD WITHDRAWING TROOPS BODY: WASHINGTON, April 17 (COMPASS) - The United States wants Turkey to pull its troops out of northern Iraq but will not make it a condition for receiving U.S. assistance, a U.S. official said Monday. Turkish Prime Minister Tansu Ciller will meet with President Clinton at the White House on Wednesday, and the subject of Turkey's military response to Kurdish terrorism will come up, said Alexander Vershbow, an official of the National Security Council. "Of course, the Turkish incursion into Northern Iraq is likely to be near the top of the agenda," Vershbow said in a briefing for reporters. "Turkey faces a serious threat from terrorism of the PKK, and we've made it clear that we believe Turkey has the right to defend itself against this threat." When asked whether the United States would withhold aid if Turkey does not withdraw, Vershbow replied: "We're not ourselves making our assistance in any way conditional on any particular Turkish action. "We think that a prompt withdrawal from northern Iraq, however, is in Turkey's own best interest, both in terms of providing the basis for a longer-term solution to the Kurdish question, but also in terms of Turkey's larger interest in the customs union and in closer relations with Western Europe more generally." Turkey has come under increasing Western pressure since it sent some 35,000 troops into northern Iraq in March to root out rear bases of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) to keep its guerrillas from launching raids across the border into Turkey. Vershbow said the United States would continue to lean on Syria to cut off its support and sanctuary for the PKK. He said the Syrians have not been cooperative on this point and saw little reason for optimism. "It is one of the many aspects of Syrian behavior to which we object, and we'll continue to press it, and hope we can at least make some modest progress," he said. COMPASS End _______________________________________________________________________________ COMPASS Newswire APRIL 14, 1995, FRIDAY SECTION: IN THE NEWS HEADLINE: SECURITY COUNCIL LETS IRAQ SELL OIL FOR HUMANITARIAN SUPPLIES BODY: UNITED NATIONS, April 14 (COMPASS) - The U.N. Security Council on Friday unanimously passed a resolution allowing Iraq to sell oil in order to buy humanitarian supplies. Iraq, in turn, responded with a strong criticism of the United States, but did not reject the proposal outright. The resolution will allow Iraq to sell $2 billion worth of Iraqi oil over a 180-day period and use the money to purchase badly-needed food and medicine. Thirteen percent of the money would go to provide humanitarian supplies to the Kurdish region of northern Iraq. Another 30 percent would go to pay war reparations as a result of Iraq's 1990 invasion of Kuwait. According to the resolution, the procedure would begin when Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali informs the Security Council that arrangements to monitor an "equitable" distribution of the supplies has been negotiated between Iraqi officials and U.N. staff. The resolution said this operation should not be viewed as an "infringement" of Iraqi sovereignty. Deputy Prime Minister Tariq Aziz in a press statement said a number of the Security Council members made "sincere" efforts to "reach a resolution that could be workable and clear of biased political motivations," but that these efforts were blocked by the United States. The United States did not intend to pass the resolution to alleviate Iraqi suffering, but as a public relations move, he said. "The U.S. exercise was on the one hand a public relations campaign, and on the other a deliberate effort to jeopardize the prospects of lifting the whole economic sanctions and to infringe on the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Iraq." COMPASS End _______________________________________________________________________________ COMPASS Newswire APRIL 14, 1995, FRIDAY SECTION: IN THE NEWS HEADLINE: PKK CHIEF THREATENS WEST FOR SUPPORTING TURKEY BODY: LONDON, April 14 (COMPASS) - The leader of the separatist Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) of Turkey in two separate interviews Friday threatened the West for supporting the Turkish government. Speaking to the London-based Arabic newspaper Al-Hayat, Abdullah Ocalan, better known as Apo, said "if the West has illegitimate interests we will strike at them." "Our people are facing ethnic cleansing," by Turkey and the "insistence of the United States and Europe to support this war is not understandable and for this we warn them," Ocalan said, also accusing certain Middle Eastern countries without mentioning them by name. The PKK, a Marxist-Leninist nationalist oriented movement, has waged a guerrilla war against the Turkish government over the past 10 years to gain self-determination for the Kurdish people in Turkey. Ocalan also accused Europe and the United States of giving Turkey the "green light" for its army's sweeping cross-border operation against PKK bases in northern Iraq, which began March 20. However, Ocalan said the warning is aimed at opening negotiations to solve the Kurdish problem, and that he was not "about to declare war on the United States and Europe." Ocalan also stressed that he was ready to engage in "dialogue without preconditions" with Turkey to reach a negotiated settlement to the Kurdish problem in that country. The PKK leader advocated a "voluntary federation or any other project open to negotiation," hinting that former Turkish President Turgut Ozal may have been assassinated because he chose to open dialogue with the Kurds. Ozal favored recognizing the 16 million Kurdish minority and giving it regional and linguistic rights. However, the Kemalist trend strongly opposed Ozal, instead advocating principles of Mustafa Kemal, the founder of the Turkish republic. Kemal believed that Turkey is the homeland to the Turkish people alone and must remain a unified and centralized country. Ozal died at the age of 66 of heart problems on April 17, 1993. Ocalan also told the Al-Hayat that he lives in Lebanon most of the time, implicitly denying that he resides in Syria, a country which supports the PKK. Well-informed Arab and Kurdish sources say Ocalan spends most of his time in Damascus and only comes to Lebanon to visit the PKK training camps in the eastern Bekaa Valley or to give interviews to the press, so as not to embarrass Syria. In a second interview, with the London-based Al-Sharq Al-Awsat, Ocalan said Turkey's intervention in northern Iraq had been unable to destroy the rear bases of his movement in the region. "So far we have not moved from any of our positions" he said, adding that his fighters were "deploying on strategic mountains to wage guerrilla war" against the Turkish army. He also criticized the Iraqi Kurdistan Democratic Party of Masoud Barzani, accusing him of "dealing with Ankara in the war against the PKK," and warned him against Turkey's "divide and rule" policy. The Turkish government has recently began contacting and meeting with the KDP, which controls the area where the PKK is based, in an effort to convince the Iraqi Kurds to prevent the PKK guerrillas from infiltrating Turkish territory. The PKK has close ties with the other main Iraqi Kurdish party, the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan of Jalal Talabani, which has been fighting the KDP for control of the region since last May. The KDP Thursday denounced the previous day's inauguration of a "Kurdish parliament in exile" in The Hague, Netherlands. The KDP said the "parliament" was a "tool" in the hands of the PKK and a "propaganda exercise". The Iraqi Kurds set up their own parliament and autonomous government after they wrested control of their region from the Iraqi central government at the end of the 1991 Gulf War. However, the fighting over the past year has led to the virtual collapse of both institutions. Turkey tried to pressure the Netherlands to block the inauguration of the "parliament" but was rebuffed by the Dutch government. In a protest move, the Turkish ambassador to the Netherlands has been recalled for "consultations." The Dutch government Friday lashed out at Turkey's behavior, saying Ankara had no right to put pressure on the Netherlands and criticized Turkey for its poor human rights record. The United States also criticized the establishment of the parliament, calling the PKK a "brutal terrorist organization." Meanwhile, a new pro-Kurdish newspaper, Yeni Demokratia (New Democracy) was published in Turkey on Friday, with blank sections marked by the word "censored," including an article on the "parliament in exile." Yeni Demokratia replaces the pro-Kurdish Yeni Ulke (New Country) daily, which was banned over alleged separatist propaganda; and Yeni Ulke succeeded another daily, Yeni Gundem (New Agenda), who was also shut down for the same reason. COMPASS End _______________________________________________________________________________ COMPASS Newswire APRIL 13, 1995, THURSDAY SECTION: IN THE NEWS HEADLINE: IRAN DENIES REPORTS OF CURTAILED OIL PRODUCTION AND EXPORT BODY: NICOSIA, April 13 (COMPASS) - Iran on Thursday denied news reports that it had reduced production and export of its crude oil, the Iranian official news agency IRNA reported. The Iranian Oil Ministry issued a statement denying a report in the Middle East Economic Survey, a respected oil newsletter, that said Iran's oil production in March had dropped by 481,000 barrels a day as U.S. firms curtailed purchases from Iran. "Iran's oil production and export continued at its normal level in March 1995," the statement said. The Clinton administration launched a campaign to stop American firms from buying or trading in Iranian crude oil and petroleum products after blocking a $3 billion contract between a Netherlands- based subsidiary of Conoco Inc. and the state-run National Iranian Oil Co. to develop Iranian offshore fields in the southern Gulf. The United States is halting its trade with Iran as part of an effort to force Tehran to moderate its policies and stop its support for international terrorism. U.S. companies last year bought about a quarter of Iran's total oil output. Much of it was resold outside the United States. COMPASS End _______________________________________________________________________________ COMPASS Newswire APRIL 13, 1995, THURSDAY SECTION: IN THE NEWS HEADLINE: TURKEY RECALLS ITS AMBASSADOR TO THE NETHERLANDS BODY: THE HAGUE, April 13 (COMPASS) - Turkey recalled its ambassador to the Netherlands Thursday to protest the inauguration of a "Kurdish parliament" in exile a day earlier in the Hague, informed sources said. The sources added that Ambassador Zeki Celikkol has been officially recalled for "consultations" and that the Dutch ambassador in Ankara has been summoned to the Turkish foreign ministry. Turkey tried without success to put diplomatic pressure on the Dutch government, calling for a ban on the planned meeting of the Kurdish "parliament in exile." Ankara argued the move was harming Turkey's territorial integrity and national unity. Turkish Foreign Minister Erdal Inonu said this was "incompatible" with the international commitments of the Netherlands. This attitude, he said, went against the common values of NATO, of which both Turkey and the Netherlands are members. Both the Dutch Foreign Ministry and the Hague township have refused to bend to the pressure, saying they had no information that the inauguration would be a challenge to public order or lead to disturbances. The Foreign Ministry said it considered the move as a "private initiative." The Netherlands have been critical of Turkey's policy toward its Kurdish minority and condemned the recent cross-border sweeping operation of the Turkish army against PKK bases in northern Iraq which began a month ago. The 65-seat assembly draws members from the Kurdish diaspora, but is dominated by Turkey's outlawed separatist Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) and the pro-Kurdish Democracy Party (DEP) of Turkey, banned last year by the authorities. The parliament in exile plans to elect a president and executive committee next week. Kurdish political sources view the parliament in exile as a first step toward a Kurdistan National Congress, uniting all the Kurdish regions of Turkey, Syria, Iraq and Iran. The United States has criticized the inauguration of the parliament in exile, accusing it of being dominated by the PKK. "We consider the PKK as a brutal terrorist organization and we surely do not support the creation of any parliament in exile," said a spokesman for the U.S. State Department. Some 25 million Kurds live in the four countries, according to the most serious estimates, with Turkey having the biggest population. Significant Kurdish minorities also exist in the southern republics of the former Soviet Union, such as Armenia, Azerbaijan and Turkmenistan. Meanwhile, informed sources in Tehran confirmed that Iran had set up mediation between representatives of the two warring Iraqi Kurdish parties. The sources said proxy talks under Iranian auspices took place last week in Tehran between representatives of the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) and the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK). The KDP insisted that the "capital" of the Kurdish-held region of northern Iraq, Irbil, be evacuated by PUK forces before it can enter negotiation with the PUK, headed by Jalal Talabani. Irbil, once the seat of the Kurdish regional parliament and government the KDP and PUK set up after they wrested control of the region from Baghdad in 1991, fell to the PUK at the end of December. Sporadic fighting have opposed KDP and PUK fighter in the entire Kurdish region for the past 12 months and led to the collapse of the Kurdish "government" dominated by the two parties. In an interview published last week end by the London based Arabic daily Al-Hayat, Talabani rejected in advance KDP claims that his fighters must pull out from Irbil. "We also could demand that (KDP leader Masud) Barzani's forces pull out from Salahuddin," a town north of Irbil were the KDP has its headquarters, Talabani said. Talabani blamed the internecine Kurdish crisis on the KDP and praised the attitude of Iran, which he said, dropped its traditional support for Barzani in favor of a more balanced stand. The KDP on April 8 ordered a unilateral two-week cease-fire in the fighting, following a visit to Salahuddin by a high-ranking Turkish Foreign Ministry delegation. The PUK said it would respect the cease-fire. COMPASS End _______________________________________________________________________________ COMPASS Newswire APRIL 12, 1995, WEDNESDAY SECTION: IN THE NEWS HEADLINE: KURDISH "PARLIAMENT IN EXILE" INAUGURATED AT THE HAGUE BODY: THE HAGUE, Netherlands, April 12 (COMPASS) - Despite protests from the Turkish Foreign Ministry, a Kurdish "parliament in exile" was inaugurated Wednesday at the Congress center of The Hague, Netherlands. Several hundred people participated in the official opening session, which began mid-morning and was to be followed by a reception. The parliament's creation was masterminded by the separatist Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) of Turkey, which has been waging a guerrilla war against the central government for the past 11 years. Most parliament members will be PKK supporters, although the exact composition is not yet known. Former Turkish Parliament members of the Democratic Party, which Turkish authorities banned last year as a PKK front, are likely to be included in the new parliament. Exiled mayors of Kurdish towns of Eastern Turkey are likely to be included also. According to Kurdish sources, the parliament will have no fixed seat and will convene in European capitals. It had been previously reported that the parliament would have its permanent seat in Brussels or The Hague, but the project was apparently dropped following Turkish pressure on the governments of Belgium and the Netherlands. The Turkish Embassy in the Netherlands had tried to prevent the inauguration by claiming a Kurdish parliament in exile was "totally unacceptable" to Ankara. However, both the Netherlands' Foreign Ministry and the Hague township refused to bend to the pressure, saying they had no reason to believe the inauguration would be a challenge to public order or lead to disturbances. The Foreign Ministry said it considered the move a "private initiative." The Netherlands has been critical of Turkey's policy toward its Kurdish minority and condemned the current cross-border offensive of the Turkish army against PKK bases in northern Iraq. The establishment of a "Kurdish parliament" will have few practical results in the Kurdish region itself, Kurdish observers say, but is instead a part of a lobbying campaign Turkey's Kurds have been waging in the West for the past few years. By challenging the legitimacy of Turkey's sovereignty over Turkish Kurdistan, it will also be a PKK playing card for possible future political negotiations with the Ankara government, they added. COMPASS End _______________________________________________________________________________ COMPASS Newswire APRIL 12, 1995, WEDNESDAY SECTION: IN THE NEWS HEADLINE: KURDISH "PARLIAMENT IN EXILE" INAUGURATED AT THE HAGUE (Editors: Inserts 3 paragraphs after 9th paragraph previous, beginning: The Netherlands xxx. Picks up after 10th paragraph previous, beginning: The establishment...) BODY: THE HAGUE, Netherlands, April 12 (COMPASS) - Despite protests from the Turkish Foreign Ministry, a Kurdish "parliament in exile" was inaugurated Wednesday at the Congress center of The Hague, Netherlands. Several hundred people participated in the official opening session, which began mid-morning and was to be followed by a reception. The parliament's creation was masterminded by the separatist Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) of Turkey, which has been waging a guerrilla war against the central government for the past 11 years. Most parliament members will be PKK supporters, although the exact composition is not yet known. Former Turkish Parliament members of the Democratic Party, which Turkish authorities banned last year as a PKK front, are likely to be included in the new parliament. Exiled mayors of Kurdish towns of Eastern Turkey are likely to be included also. According to Kurdish sources, the parliament will have no fixed seat and will convene in European capitals. It had been previously reported that the parliament would have its permanent seat in Brussels or The Hague, but the project was apparently dropped following Turkish pressure on the governments of Belgium and the Netherlands. The Turkish Embassy in the Netherlands had tried to prevent the inauguration by claiming a Kurdish parliament in exile was "totally unacceptable" to Ankara. However, both the Netherlands' Foreign Ministry and the Hague township refused to bend to the pressure, saying they had no reason to believe the inauguration would be a challenge to public order or lead to disturbances. The Foreign Ministry said it considered the move a "private initiative." The Netherlands has been critical of Turkey's policy toward its Kurdish minority and condemned the current cross-border offensive of the Turkish army against PKK bases in northern Iraq. The United States had contact with the Dutch government and echoed Turkey's assertion that the parliament is not a legitimate body, the State Department said Wednesday. "We think that the PKK is a brutal terrorist organization and we obviously don't support the creation of any kind of parliament in exile that is associated with the PKK," said State Department spokesman Nicholas Burns. However, the meeting did not violate Dutch law, so there were no grounds to deny them the right to meet, Burns said. The establishment of a "Kurdish parliament" will have few practical results in the Kurdish region itself, Kurdish observers say, but is instead a part of a lobbying campaign Turkey's Kurds have been waging in the West for the past few years. By challenging the legitimacy of Turkey's sovereignty over Turkish Kurdistan, it will also be a PKK playing card for possible future political negotiations with the Ankara government, they added. COMPASS End _______________________________________________________________________________ COMPASS Newswire APRIL 11, 1995, TUESDAY SECTION: IN THE NEWS HEADLINE: IRAQI KURDISH LEADER READY TO COOPERATE WITH TURKEY BODY: ANKARA, April 11 (COMPASS) - The leader of the Iraqi Kurdistan Democratic Party on Monday said he was ready to cooperate with Turkey on issues of border security. In an interview aired Monday evening by the private Turkish station Show-TV, KDP leader Masoud Barzani said he was ready to hold talks with Ankara to discuss details of border cooperation. He suggested that Turkish troops should control the Turkish side of the border, while KDP Peshmergas (literally, those who face death) would secure the Iraqi side. Barzani said he did not want the Turkish troops -- which moved into the region four weeks ago as part of an operation aimed at eliminating the rear bases of the separatist Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) -- to remain in northern Iraq. The presence of the 35,000 Turkish troops "created incidents" in the region, he said, and suggested that Turkey instead direct its energy toward helping rebuild Iraqi Kurdish villages destroyed by Iraqi government troops in 1991. Such a move would have a "good effect on the population who (would) become the eyes and ears of Ankara in the region," he said. Last week a high-ranking Turkish Foreign Ministry delegation visited Barzani at his headquarters in Salahuddin in northern Iraq to discuss cooperation with the KDP when Turkish troops pull out. According to official Turkish sources, 417 PKK guerrillas and some 40 Turkish soldiers have been killed since the beginning of the operation. The PKK claims 800 Turkish soldiers have been killed and acknowledged only minimal losses. Turkey has borne increasing international criticism for the incursion, especially from its NATO allies, and has been encouraged to withdraw its forces as quickly as possible. COMPASS End _______________________________________________________________________________ COMPASS Newswire APRIL 11, 1995, TUESDAY SECTION: IN THE NEWS HEADLINE: IRAN INTENSIFIES UNDERGROUND WAR TO PUNISH AMERICA BODY: WASHINGTON, April 11 (COMPASS) - Iran, seeking revenge for Washington's efforts to isolate it economically, has accelerated a drive to undermine the Middle East peace process, where President Bill Clinton had hoped to score a major foreign policy victory. For that purpose, the Iranians last month summoned leaders of three key radical groups to Tehran to map out a strategy for the new terror campaign, Western diplomats said. The meeting was also confirmed by an independent source in Beirut. The source said the meeting took place one week before U.S. Secretary of State Warren Christopher's most recent trip to the Middle East. The diplomats said that Tehran has pledged millions of dollars to the campaign. They had no exact figures. Those who attended the Tehran meetings with top Revolutionary Guards officers were Ahmad Jibreel, leader of the Syria-based Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine-General Command, Hassan Nasrallah, secretary-general of Lebanon's Hizbullah and Fathi Shuqaqi, the exiled founder of Islamic Jihad-Palestine. They agreed that Hizbullah, with the backing of the PFLP-GC, a dissident Palestinian faction vehemently opposed to the peace process, would escalate their attacks against Israeli troops occupying a border enclave in south Lebanon, while Shuqaqi would handle a surge in suicide attacks in Israel and against Jewish settlers in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. Shuqaqi was to coordinate his group's attacks with Hamas, the larger Palestinian Islamic fundamentalist group based in Gaza. The diplomats, interviewed on condition of strict anonymity, said two suicide attacks against isolated Jewish settlements in Gaza Sunday, one claimed by Hamas' military arm, the Izzeddine al-Qassam brigades, and the other by Islamic Jihad, were the result of the Iranian-inspired campaign. At least seven people were killed and 45 wounded. Within hours, Hizbullah guerrillas had launched missile attacks on an Israeli- occupied border enclave, killing five pro-Israeli militiamen of the self-styled South Lebanon Army. Asked how the Iranian strategy would affect Syria, which last month resumed peace talks with Israel, the diplomats said Damascus was only too happy to use the looming threat from radicals as a pressure tactic in the negotiations as it has done all along. For that purpose, it has made no effort to block the campaign, but could be persuaded to do so if the payback from Israel was worthwhile. The Clinton administration had hoped to wrap up a Middle East peace settlement within a few months before election campaigns get underway in Israel and the United States. But the spiraling tension has dimmed these aspirations. In the meantime, the diplomats said, Israel and its Arab peace partners, especially Yassir Arafat's Palestinian National Authority, should expect more bloodshed that would put their resolve to achieve peace to the test. Tehran's showdown with the United States began last month when Washington blocked a $3 billion contract between a Netherlands-based subsidiary of the Conoco Oil company of Houston, Texas, with the state-run National Iranian Oil Co. to develop Iranian offshore fields in the southern Gulf. The Clinton administration then launched a campaign to stop American firms buying or trading in Iranian crude oil and petroleum products. Washington says the drive is part of its effort to force Tehran to moderate its policies and stop its alleged support for international terrorism and radical Middle East factions seeking to undermine Arab-Israeli peace efforts. U.S. companies last year bought about a quarter of Iran's total oil output. Much of it was resold outside the United States. The Middle East Economic Survey, a respected oil newsletter, reported this week that Iran's oil production in March had dropped by 481,000 barrel a day as U.S. firms curtailed imports from Iran. It was a significant loss for a country whose production hovers at about 3.7 million barrels a day. If the pattern continues many observers say, Iran's economy could plunge into further turmoil given that oil is its main lifeline. COMPASS End _______________________________________________________________________________ COMPASS Newswire APRIL 10, 1995, MONDAY SECTION: IN THE NEWS HEADLINE: RIVAL IRAQI KURDISH GROUPS AGREE ON TRUCE BODY: IRBIL, Iraq, April 10 (COMPASS) - The two main rival Iraqi Kurdish groups over the weekend agreed to put an end to their year- long fighting which has claimed thousands of lives. The Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) of Masoud Barzani proclaimed a two-week unilateral cease-fire, calling its fighters to refrain from any action and to only exercise "self-defense." The KDP said it hoped the rival Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) of Jalal Talabani would take "all necessary steps to normalize the situation." The PUK has agreed to the cease-fire, but details of its implementation are still not clear. Previous accords, including one negotiated last July in Paris under French, British and U.S. supervision, collapsed even before they could begin to be implemented. The KDP move comes after Barzani last week held talks with a high-ranking Turkish delegation at his headquarters in Salahuddin, north of the regional capital Irbil. Turkey on March 20 launched a major across-the-border offensive into northern Iraq against rear bases of the separatist Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) of Turkey, citing regional instability as one reason for the incursion. The operation has fallen short of its military goals and Turkey has become the target of international criticism for the action. Ankara is now trying to negotiate a security agreement with the Iraqi Kurdish parties, which were given control of the region at the end of the 1991 Gulf War. Turkey wants the Iraqi Kurds to prevent PKK infiltrations into Turkish territory in exchange for military and economic aid, according to informed Kurdish sources. A similar agreement was concluded in 1992, following the first Turkish sweep into northern Iraq, but ceased to be enforced by the Iraqi Kurds soon after. Talabani on Sunday commented on the agreement in an interview published by the London-based Arabic newspaper Al-Hayat, blaming the KDP for recent fighting. Although he said he had lost confidence in the KDP, Talabani said he would try to uphold the cease-fire. He said the PUK expelled the KDP from the regional capital Irbil at the end of December because the Barzani had seized the PUK- controlled strategic town of Shaqlawa, near the Iranian border. This was done, he said, despite the fact that the PUK had informed Barzani an attack on Shaqlawa would be considered a declaration of war. Talabani also denied that the question of sharing tax revenues of the Ibrahim Khalil border checkpoint with Turkey, controlled by the KDP, had been a factor in the fighting. The PUK leader praised Iran, which he said had dropped its total support for the KDP and was now acting as a mediator between the Kurdish parties. Informed Kurdish sources told Compass last week that the head of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards Military Intelligence had summoned PUK and KDP representatives to Tehran and urged them to put an end to their internecine fighting. Talabani also said there had been a change in Turkey's attitude and that Ankara is now prepared to consider cooperation with the Iraqi Kurds. COMPASS End _______________________________________________________________________________ COMPASS Newswire APRIL 10, 1995, MONDAY SECTION: IN THE NEWS HEADLINE: PKK CHIEF SAYS HE IS OPEN TO POLITICAL SOLUTION WITH TURKEY BODY: BEIRUT, April 10 (COMPASS) - The leader of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) on Monday said he was ready to negotiate a political solution with Ankara, provided Turkey end its military operation in northern Iraq. In an interview published Monday by the Lebanese daily Al-Nahar, Abdullah Ocalan said when the operation is over "we may be able to talk about finding a political solution ... not just from our side but also from Ankara's government side as well." Ocalan, known popularly as Apo, usually lives in Damascus and the PKK has training camps in the eastern Lebanese Bekaa valley, near the Syrian border. He said the PKK was open to a political solution to the Kurdish problem in Turkey and was "prepared to give what is asked of us in order to achieve progress." Commenting on the military situation, Ocalan said Turkey had "slipped into quicksand and a quagmire" and claimed his forces had not "retreated one step." PKK fighters were "stronger than in the past and their morale is higher," he said. He claimed his guerrillas had killed more than 800 Turkish soldiers and had only lost around 25 men. Turkey says some 400 Kurdish guerrillas have been killed since the beginning of Operation Steel, with the Turkish army losing some 40 troops. Ocalan also said a Kurdistan parliament in exile is likely to be proclaimed before the end of April. Kurdish sources say the move, which was scheduled to happen earlier but was apparently delayed for security reasons, will take place in a western European capital. COMPASS End ----------------------------- End forwarded message -------------------------- From info at aps.nl Thu Apr 27 22:49:44 1995 From: info at aps.nl (info at aps.nl) Date: 27 Apr 1995 22:49:44 Subject: Journalists Released Message-ID: From: tabe at newsdesk.aps.nl Subject: Re: Journalists Released Reply-To: info at aps.nl 0800 ---------------- Forwarded from : igi at igrey.demon.co.uk (igi) ------------------ Fatih Saribas and Kadri Gursel who were held in Southeast Turkey by forces of the ARGK have been released. Both are said to be in good health. Yesterday's release was prevented owing to constant Turkish attacks in the area and a Turkish military search for the journalists. ----------------------------- End forwarded message -------------------------- From info at aps.nl Sat Apr 29 15:22:50 1995 From: info at aps.nl (info at aps.nl) Date: 29 Apr 1995 15:22:50 Subject: mainstream news Message-ID: From: tabe at newsdesk.aps.nl Subject: mainstream news Reply-To: info at aps.nl VT2216; Sat, 29 Apr 1995 15:14:40 -0800 Inonu: Complete Troop Withdrawal in near Future BRATISLAVA, April 27 (Reuter) - Turkish Foreign Minister Erdal Inonu said on Thursday that the Turkish troops still in northern Irag would be pulled out very soon and he blasted the Coucil of Europe for demanding a speedier withdrawal. ``Since I am not in the operation, I cannot give you a date, but certainly it will be very soon,'' Inonu told a news conference at the start of a two-day visit to Slovakia. ``(The operation) is almost completed and most of the troops which have taken part in this operation have returned to Turkey.'' He declined to say how many Turkish troops remained in northern Iraq from the force of 35,000 which was sent there on March 20 to smash bases of the separatist Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK). Turkey said on Tuesday that it had pulled out about 23,000 troops, but Iraq said the number was lower. Inonu said the operation was aimed against ``PPK terrorist groups who assembled arms and munitions and armed people just across the Turkish border in northern Iraq in preparation for attacks on Turkish citizens on Turkish soil.'' The parliamentary assembly of the Strasbourg-based Council of Europe passed a resolution on Wednesday demanding that Turkey's membership be suspended until it took steps towards a troop withdrawal. The resolution prompted Turkey to break away formally from the Council of Europe until it changed its mind. ``With due respect to the parliamentarians in the Council of Europe, I must say that our colleagues in the Council of Europe do not well understand the problems that a nation faces when there is terrorism going on in the country,'' Inonu said. ``This leads them to come to some wrong conclusions and to give wrong advice.'' During his visit to Slovakia, Inonu was due to meet Prime Minister Valdimir Meciar and President Michal Kovac. From info at aps.nl Sun Apr 30 17:17:33 1995 From: info at aps.nl (info at aps.nl) Date: 30 Apr 1995 17:17:33 Subject: mainstream news References: Message-ID: From: tabe at newsdesk.aps.nl Subject: mainstream news Reply-To: info at aps.nl Turkey To Expand Free Speech ANKARA, Turkey (AP) -- Turkey's war against Kurdish separatism has toughened Prime Minister Tansu Ciller's task of expanding freedom of expression. Ciller promised to part of an anti-terror law which bans verbal or written propaganda threatening Turkey's territorial integrity. At least 140 intellectuals are in jail for violating the law -- including one of the country's most famous authors, Yasar Kemal. His trial -- for allegedly writing Kurdish propaganda in an article published in Germany -- starts May 5. Under pressure from Western countries to improve democracy, Ciller decided to begin by lifting Article 8 of the law -- but she was blocked this week by conservative lawmakers in her center-right True Path Party. ``We are against the presentation of separatism and treason as freedom of expression,'' they said in a declaration, referring to the bloody, 11-year Kurdish uprising for autonomy in southeast Turkey. ``I will die for democracy but the country's territorial integrity comes before anything. We just cannot get rid of Article 8,'' said State Minister Necmettin Cevheri, a close aide to Ciller. Many politicians see the Western pressure to impose such measures on Turkey as part of a plan to help create a Kurdish state. Ciller and Hikmet Cetin, the leader of her coalition's Social Democrat partners, came up with a compromise Friday: Moving the offending paragraph from the anti-terror law to the Criminal Code. That would allow defendants to be tried in a civil court instead of a semi-military tribunal and gives a limited amnesty to those in jail. The change, however, is more cosmetic than substantive. Turkey, a member of NATO, is under pressure from Western allies to improve democracy or face isolation. Turkey Plans Border Fortresses ANKARA, Turkey (AP) -- The military is planning to build a string of fortresses along the mountainous border with Iraq to prevent incursions by Kurdish guerrillas. Gen. Hasan Kundakci, who commanded Turkey's five-week campaign to wipe out Kurdish guerrilla camps in northern Iraq, said in a newspaper interview Friday that bases would be constructed for a ``sufficient number'' of soldiers to keep rebels from launching cross-border attacks. The new fortifications would supplement existing bases along the border, where patrolling is difficult due to the rugged terrain. Turkey sent its troops into northern Iraq on March 20 to wipe out some 20 camps used by 2,800 rebels for cross-border attacks. Guerrillas of the Kurdistan Workers Party, known as the PKK, have been fighting for autonomy in southeastern Turkey for 11 years. Patrolled by allied warplanes since the end of the Gulf War, the area is controlled by Iraq Kurds who want independence from Baghdad and is beyond the reach of President Saddam Hussein's military. Turkey pulled out 20,000 soldiers from Iraq this week, but some 12,000 still remain there. Turkey's Western allies have pressured Ankara to withdraw the rest. Turkish leaders have ruled out the possibility that troops would remain in northern Iraq permanently. But it was not clear whether soldiers would remain inside northern Iraq until their new border bases were established. In the interview with the newspaper Milliyet, Kundakci said Turkey also would build roads in northern Iraq, apparently trying to ease the task of Iraqi Kurds to maintain security in the mountainous area. He said his troops accomplished their mission in northern Iraq by destroying Kurdish rebel camps and seizing large quantities of arms and ammunition. The military said 505 rebels were killed since the start of the offensive. Fifty-eight soldiers also died. Turkish soldiers seized more than 1,000 weapons, 31 mortars, 118 rocket launchers and six anti-tank rockets in addition to generators, wireless equipment, gas masks, tents, 193 tons of food, and medical supplies, according to a military list obtained by The Associated Press. But the rebels were already returning to regions as close as three miles from the Turkish border, said local sources who spoke on condition of anonymity. Turkey said it would strike back if the guerrillas returned to their bases. Turkish Ambassador Cenk Duatepe, who returned from northern Iraq this week, told a news conference in Ankara that Jalal Talabani, the leader of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan, promised that Turkish rebels would be disarmed in the part of the northern Iraq under his authority. But he said that Talabani's assurances fell short of satisfying his delegation, since Turkey did not want the PKK rebels -- ``armed or disarmed in northern Iraq.'' --- * Origin: APS Amsterdam (aps.nl), bbs +31-20-6842147 (16:31/2.0) From info at aps.nl Sat Apr 29 15:23:44 1995 From: info at aps.nl (info at aps.nl) Date: 29 Apr 1995 15:23:44 Subject: TURKISH PRESS REVIEW Message-ID: From: tabe at newsdesk.aps.nl Subject: TURKISH PRESS REVIEW Reply-To: info at aps.nl ---------------------- THURSDAY APRIL 27, 1995 ----------------------- US: "CILLER KEEPS HER PROMISE" US State Department Spokesman Nicholas Burns said the Turkish decision to withdraw 20,000 more troops from northern Iraq was "obviously a positive development. It is consistent with the assurances given to the President and the Secretary of State last week by Prime Minister Ciller that Turkey would meet its agreement (that) this incursion would be limited in scope and duration. We are very encouraged to see that the Turkish civilian and military authorities are acting on their commitment to this, that this will in fact be limited". Burns then reaffirmed US support for Turkey's campaign against the PKK. "We believe that Turkey has a right to try to cope with the very serious problem of terrorism that has emanated not only from northern Iraq but from within Turkey's own borders" Burns said. Meanwhile, Germany said yesterday that Turkey had taken a step in the right direction by agreeing to pull out most of its troops from northern Iraq. Foreign Minister Klaus Kinkel said he was happy Turkey had heeded its allies' calls and withdrawn more than 20,000 troops. Kinkel said: "Now the remaining 10,000 soldiers must be withdrawn without delay". /Hurriyet/ TURKEY SEVERS DEFENCE INDUSTRY TIES WITH THE NETHERLANDS Angry over the Netherlands' failure to stop the meetings of a so-called Kurdish Parliament-in-exile in The Hague, Ankara declared yesterday that it would halt future military purchases from the Netherlands. Foreign Ministry Spokesman Ferhat Ataman said Turkey had placed the Netherlands on a "red list". "We have decided to stop all new military procurements from the Netherlands and Dutch firms will not be able to participate in Turkey's military tenders" Ataman said in his weekly press conference. But he added that there were ongoing military deals between the two countries and these would continue as contracts had been signed. Ataman said the ban would continue until Amsterdam came up with a guarantee that the so-called parliament would never be allowed to convene in the Netherlands again. In Amsterdam, the Dutch Parliament also debated Turco-Dutch ties following a motion from the opposition. The Christian Democrats have demanded that the government explain why it allowed such a meeting and how it planned to overcome the difficulties that might a rise in Dutch foreign policy. Meanwhile, Dutch Foreign Minister Hans Van Mierlo called upon his Turkish counterpart Erdal Inonu to meet at an "impartial" place. Mierlo will meet with representatives of Turkish institutions and federations next week. /Sabah-Hurriyet/ CETIN: "TERROR IS THE BIGGEST VIOLATION OF HUMAN RIGHTS" Republican People's Party (CHP) Chairman, State Minister and Deputy Prime Minister Hikmet Cetin pointed out that terror was the biggest violation of human rights and stated that terror has nothing to do with democracy, rule of law and human rights. He said that within the frameworks of democracy and law, every country had the right to fight against terror. He noted that changes should be made in the Struggle against Terror Law, apart from the Constitution. He said: "I beleive that Turkey will overcome every problem including terror along with democracy". /Cumhuriyet/ 20,000 TURKISH TROOPS WITHDRAW Explaining the situation in Northern Iraq after the withdrawal of 20,000 Turkish troops, a high level official of the Chief-of-Staff stated that Turkish troops would remain at critical points in order to provide security, and said:" The Turkish Armed Forces will obey if the political authority finds a new solution and gives a new order. The Turkish Armed Forces are withdrawing units which have achieved their aims but some units are being deployed at critical points just as some officials stay behind to check the field after a match. By leaving some units behind our aim is to control border crossing." Stressing that news claiming Peshmerge regional forces had taken over control the places where Turkish troops have been withdrawn did not reflect the truth, the official said: "The Turkish Armed Forces have not left their places to Peshmerges and have not made an agreement regarding this issue with the Peshmerges until now. We are withdrawing the units that have completed their task and we are now taking necessary measures regarding security. The Turkish Armed Forces are controlling the necessary places and the personnel left there are enough to do this task." Criticizing comments claiming that the withdrawal of the 20,000 troops had been planned to be realized before the General Council meeting of the European Council, the same official said: "The political authorities could have been approached with this in mind but we did not receive such an order from the political authority before this meeting. There is no further need to keep our units deployed there. They have finished their work. Keeping them there would only mean an extra expense." /Milliyet/ EU'S PROPOSAL DECISION Following a debate by the European Union Parliamentary Assembly on the future of Turkey's relations with the EU, 156 members voted in favour of a decision that Turkey should find a peaceful solution to the Kurdish issue and northern Iraq issue, before full membership could be considered. The Assembly also decided to give Turkey a period of time to harmonize her laws and constitution with European Council principles, and that if Turkey makes little or no progress regarding these issues, membership will be suspended. Regarding the recent proposal decision of the Parliamentary Assembly of the EU, Speaker of the Turkish National Assembly (TGNA), Husamettin Cindoruk said that Turkey did not deserve such a tough decision. Noting that he would write a protest letter to EU General Secretery Miguel Martines, Cindoruk said: "Although we have a deficiency, democracy is functioning in Turkey." Twelve Turkish Parliamentarians attending the voting session, left the meeting to protest the proposal decision. /Milliyet/ NEW STATUS FOR MULTINATIONAL HAMMER FORCE One of the issues that Prime Minister Ciller spoke about during her visit to the US recently concerned the functions of the "hammer" force deployed at Incirlik base near Adana. The UN multinational strike force has long been a bone of contention between certain groups in Turkey, and Ciller said during her US contacts that the sit- uation needed to be revised. Ciller wants the status of the strike force revised according to the conditions now obtaining in the region, especially in view of the Turkish military incursion into northern Iraq just over a month ago. Reports now suggest that a new series of talks at tech- nical levels with US officials have been agreed to in principle, but nothing concrete has been decided. /All papers/ DIPLOMATIC PRESSURE TO CLOSE MED-TV Claiming that the PKK terror organization is supporting the London-based Med-TV satellite channel, Turkish Am- bassador to London, Candemir Onhon, has officially re- quested the British government to have the station closed down. After a series of diplomatic notes from Ankara, the struggle to have Med-TV closed has moved to London, where Ambassador Onhon is trying to show that the TV station broadcasts PKK propaganda during its daily three hour satellite broad- casts. According to the broadcasting contract made with Med-TV, the TV station is only allowed to broadcast music and similar light entertainment-not political propaganda that favours the PKK terrorist organization. /Cumhuri- yet/ PKK RELEASES JOURNALISTS Two Turkish journalists held by PKK terrorists in the Nusaybin region since March 31 have been released. AFP reporter Kadri Gursel and Reuter journalist Fatih Saribas were released early yesterday morning after an eight hour walk to a village near Sirnak, in the southeastern borders of Turkey. Acording to Reuters' Ankara bureau chief, Jonathan Lyons, both of the journalist are well. Fatih Saribas has been in telephone contact with his office and reported that other than losing a few kilos he is fine. /All papers/ NEW MEASURES FOR MIDDLE EAST SECURITY In a move to establish security cooperation similar to that in Europe, Turkey has taken the first initiative to set up a Middle East security cooperation to bring a lasting solution to regional tensions. During a meeting of high level officials held at the beginning of the month in Antalya, it was agreed that information about military activities in most regional countries should be made available to other countries sharing the same desire for regional security. Turkey has engineered a series of three meetings so far on the issue, and the general opinion is that they have been a success. Conditions ruling military development and activity have been drawn up and accepted in principle by the countries participat- ing in the initiative. /Cumhuriyet/ --- * Origin: APS Amsterdam (aps.nl), bbs +31-20-6842147 (16:31/2.0) From kurd-l at burn.ucsd.edu Sat Apr 29 19:59:34 1995 From: kurd-l at burn.ucsd.edu (kurd-l at burn.ucsd.edu) Date: 29 Apr 1995 19:59:34 Subject: KURD-A News: April 26, 1995 Message-ID: Reply-To: kurd-l at burn.ucsd.edu From: Kurdistan Committee of Canada Subject: KURD-A News: April 26, 1995 KURD-A News April 26, 1995 * Mortar attack by guerrillas against Habur border station * Hill post of the Maden barracks near Sirnak attacked by guerrillas * New guerrilla attacks on Turkish soldiers in Cukurca * No travel in or out of Derik near Mardin KURD-A/26.04.95: The border station at Habur was attacked by guerrillas at noon on April 25 with mortars. It is not yet known whether there were any people killed or wounded in the attack. KURD-A/26.04.95: A hill post of the Maden barracks near Sirnak was attacked by ARGK guerrillas. The guerillas, who captured the hill after a short fight, reported that 5 soldiers were killed. A Turkish patrol was also attacked, but no casualty figures are available at this time. KURD-A/26.04.95: A Turkish army unit marching toward Kinyanis near Cukurca was attacked by Kurdish guerrillas on April 25. Fighting lasted until evening. During the fighting, 5 Turkish soldiers were confirmed killed, but guerrillas estimate that the Turkish losses were actually much higher. KURD-A/26.04.95: The city of Derik near Mardin has been sealed off by Turkish security forces, preventing all travel in and out of the city. As of 3:00 pm, Turkish forces stationed at the entrances to the city have refused to let anyone in or out of the city. Civilians have reported to us that this applies even to people who are sick or with other life-threatening conditions. ----- Kurdistan Committee of Canada Tel: (613) 733-9634 2487 Kaladar Ave. Suite 203 Fax: (613) 733-0090 Ottawa, Ontario, K1V 8B9 E-mail: kcc at magi.com ----- From info at aps.nl Sat Apr 29 23:05:48 1995 From: info at aps.nl (info at aps.nl) Date: 29 Apr 1995 23:05:48 Subject: "THE FEAR WITH IN"-PART I Message-ID: From: tabe at newsdesk.aps.nl Subject: Re: "THE FEAR WITH IN"-PART I Reply-To: info at aps.nl --------------------- Forwarded from : hellas at digital.net ---------------------- THE FEAR WITH IN, PART I - TORTURE ------------------------------------------------------------------- For some years now, Turkish authorities have claimed that torture is no longer used in Turkey, except for an occasional case of police brutality. But Helsinki Watch, in all of its previous reports on Turkey, has found torture to be widespread and common. Unfortunately, this remains the case: on our recent visit we were forced to conclude that torture is still practised in Turkey on a large scale. International human rights organizations have concluded that torture is still going on in Turkey. Amnesty International, in a report issued on June 15, 1986, declared: Throughout 1986 and to the present date Amnesty International has continued to receive allegations of torture and deaths caused by torture and believes that any person detained for suspected political offences is in danger of being tortured. Most allegations of torture relate to the initial detention period which under Turkish martial law amounts to 30 days and under regular law to 15 days in cases involving three or more suspect. But even these detention periods, during which suspects are denied access to lawyers or close relatives, are often extended. Internationally recognized standards require that detainees be brought promptly before a judge or other judicial officer( Article 9(3) of International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights) Nejat Yazicioglu, a member of the Instanbul Medical Association condemned the part that doctors play in the torture of prisoners. Speaking as part of a panel discussion organized by the Association of Families of Detainees and Convicts, he declared: In Metris Prison physicians were always present at torture; their function is to determine how much a victim can take. These physicians should not be acquitted of their acts--I speak as a physician. When the medical association found out, we said we would take steps to press charges against any doctor who took part in torture. We are still on trial for that statement...How does someone turns into torture? He becomes part of a system that uses torture as a form of government. Anyone who witnesses torture and does nothing becomes a partner in crime--torturers are civil servants paid by the government...if a physician is present and does nothing, he is also a party to the crime. Torture is not aimed so much at the individual--once he's been through it he's not afraid anymore-but at the total society which fears it. Turkey has not signed the United Nations convention against torture. Amnesty International continues to urge the government to do so. In Instanbul in June, we met with Nurhan (not her real name) a slender nervous 26-year-old woman, mother of a two-year-old child, who was brutally tortured, together with three other women, during police detention in April 1987. The four women were accused of distributing subversive literature which they claim never to have seen. Nurhan was taken into custody after being named by one of the other women, whom she new only slightly. The following is our summary of what she told us. At the Gayrettepe police station the women were beaten, stripped, given electric shock, and subjected to intense water pressure and falaka. The husband and son of one woman were brought to headquarters; the police threatened to torture them and told the husband they would rape his wife if he did not tell them what they wanted to know. The husband then signed a statement saying whatever the police wanted him to say. The husband, wife and child were the released. Although Nurhan was blindfolded throughout the torture, the leather blindfold slipped out of place from time to time when she was being beaten, and she saw that she was in a large room with a rug on the floor, rubber tires and a big closet. The police tore her stockings at the toes and tied electric cables to her smallest toe and to her little finger on her right hand. Then they sent electric currents through her body, stopping to ask her again and again where she lived. They then repeated the shocks on the left side and doused her with cold water to intensify the pain. On the first day this went on from 3:00 PM until 9 PM. "It is not the electricity that hurts," she told us, "it is the convulsions, and hitting yourself during them." As the days went on, Nurhan was beaten with fists and with something that felt like iron. She was stripped to her slip and bra and given electric shocks. She was beaten on the face, arms and legs, sometimes sitting, sometimes lying on the floor. Currents were sent through all her fingers and toes and her navel. Later she had wounds where the cables had been fastened. Her hands swelled and were still red. In between shocks she was interrogated, sometimes by a woman, sometimes by men. From time to time, in what amounted to four days of torture, the police brought in the other two women, each of women had been tortured even more severely than Nurhan. One woman had had a nightstick shoved in her rectum and was in such bad shape she couldn't sit down. One had been beaten so badly she had a hard time talking. Each at various times had been suspended from a cross: a thick piece of wood wrapped in cloth that was attached by chains to the ceiling. Their arms were tied to the crosspiece with a piece of cloth; one woman was suspended in that fashion for four hours. The women told Nurhan that after they were on the cross the electric current felt good--it seemed to repair the damage from the cross. One evening the police told Nurhan that they would come to get her at night to give her a "small operation". She was terrified and didn't sleep all night, but no one came. The next day she began admitting things and ultimately signed a statement prepared by the police. The day before they were to appear before a judge, the women were taken from their cells for exercise, examined for wounds and other problems, and allowed to wash their hair. The following day, in the State Security Court, they renounced their written statements, telling the judge that the statements were extorted by torture. Nurhan was released from custody, but the case against the women is continuing. As a result, she has lost her job and has been unable to get a new one. Her husband has gone hiding because the police are looking for him too. The facts of Nurhan's detention were confirmed, not only by her lawyer but by a 17-year-old girl who had been detained on different charges in Gayrettepe police station at the same time as Nurhan. This young woman was also beaten and tortured in the police station; she asked that we withhold both her name and the facts of her case. She described, however, her encounter with one of the women who was a defendant in Nurhan's case. Through a peephole in her cell door, she could see her being taken in and out of her cell: She looked awful. She told me that the woman in the cell next to hers could not walk, she had been beaten so badly on the soles of her feet. I saw the others being roughed up, pushed and dragged away. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- HELSINKI WATCH COMMITTEE "STATE OF FLUX, HUMAN RIGHTS IN TURKEY" -------------------------------------------------------------------------- will continue... George Kontostanos ----------------------------- End forwarded message -------------------------- From info at aps.nl Sat Apr 29 23:06:47 1995 From: info at aps.nl (info at aps.nl) Date: 29 Apr 1995 23:06:47 Subject: "THE FEAR WITH IN"-INTRO Message-ID: From: tabe at newsdesk.aps.nl Subject: Re: "THE FEAR WITH IN"-INTRO Reply-To: info at aps.nl pr 1995 23:18:59 -0800 --------------------- Forwarded from : hellas at digital.net ---------------------- "THE FEAR WITH IN", INTRODUCTION ----------------------------------------------------------------- It is very unfortunate that although we are about to cross on to the 21st century, there are still people who are being denied their most basic and fundamental right. The right to be human. And it is far more terrifying to see that phenomena happening within our own yard, the West. I have been asked numerous times to present more solid evidence concerning the human rights violations in Turkey. This is an attempt to enlighten a very terrifying yet realistic profile of the human value in Turkey. As a reference I'm using a report by the "Helsinki watch" called "STATE OF FLUX" This report is based largely on information gathered by Jeri Laber, Executive Director of Helsinki Watch, and Lois Whitman, an attorney and consultant to the Helsinki Watch committee, during a fact finding mission to Turkey in June 1987. I have tried to be as more objective as I could, that's one of the reasons why I didn't use any Greek references. George Kontostanos ----------------------------- End forwarded message -------------------------- From info at aps.nl Sat Apr 29 23:07:33 1995 From: info at aps.nl (info at aps.nl) Date: 29 Apr 1995 23:07:33 Subject: "THE FEAR WITH IN", PART II Message-ID: From: tabe at newsdesk.aps.nl Subject: Re: "THE FEAR WITH IN", PART II Reply-To: info at aps.nl id VT2355; Sat, 29 Apr 1995 23:19:03 -0800 --------------------- Forwarded from : hellas at digital.net ---------------------- "THE FEAR WITH IN", PART II TORTURE --------------------------------------------------------------------- A young man who was badly tortured in Gayrettepe in 1980 and 1981 told us in June that two of his friends had been arrested within the past six months for taking part in a protest march and severely tortured. He described the experience for us: First you're blindfolded; then you start feeling blows--you don't know where they're coming from. It's a terrible feeling of isolation, of loneliness. You hear the cries of other people being tortured--they make sure you hear them. There's no discrimination between men and women--the inquisition begins by striping you. Then you are given electric shocks on your lips, ears, nose, fingertips and genitals. You are given falaka. Then you are suspended on the wall; in ten minutes you lose consciousness. You are given water torture and are beaten with sacks full of sand, to leave no marks. When they get really crazy they insert truncheons in your anus. Women are threatened with rape, and sometimes raped. Many people, in Instabul and Ankara as well as in southeast Turkey, told us that torture was most severe and widespread in the Kurdish areas of Turkey. The Turkish authorities have admitted the existence of torture but have repeatedly claimed that these were isolated incidents and that each of them would be investigated thoroughly and those found guilty of torture would be punished. In fact, Amnesty International is informed of many cases where torture allegations have not led to any investigations at all or where charges have been dropped at an early stage. Amnesty International has noted the fact that in some cases alleged torturers have been given awards and promoted by the authorities while investigations and trials against them were continuing. ---------------------------------------------------------------- "STATE OF FLUX, HUMAN RIGHTS IN TURKEY" "A HELSINKI WATCH REPORT" ---------------------------------------------------------------- This has been just a small reference compared to the complete number of the Human Rights Violations that occur in Turkey. The purpose of these articles is not in anyway to degrade the Turkish people, but to examine an existing and very terrifying problem in Turkey today. There are thousands examples concerning the abuse of people detained in Turkey, or the freedom of expression and the freedom of speech. Human rights is the most essential part of a civilized country. George Kontostanos The article will continue in examining different parts of the relations between Greece and Turkey, as well as other aspects of Turkish interference in Greece's stability and the conflict over Cyprus. ----------------------------- End forwarded message --------------------------