From G.LANGE at LINK-GOE.comlink.apc.org Fri Jan 13 15:46:24 1995 From: G.LANGE at LINK-GOE.comlink.apc.org (G.LANGE at LINK-GOE.comlink.apc.org) Date: 13 Jan 1995 15:46:24 Subject: Iraq: The Kurdish people 1994: A de Message-ID: <5dhdy9OeENB@1lange.link-goe.cent> ************************************************************************** #####Iraq#####Iraq#####Iraq#####Iraq#####Iraq#####Iraq#####Iraq#####Iraq## ************************************************************************** The Kurdish people 1994: A depressing report ============================================ by Prof. Dr. Dr. Siegwart-Horst Guenther Several weeks ago the allocation of food in Iraq has been shortened again. The monthly rations per person now consist of 6 kg flour from the worst quality, 1,250 kg of rice, 750 g of sugar, 625 g of oil (margarine); only infants younger than one year receive 1 kg of milk powder. At an average income of 800-1.200 Iraqi Dinars (ID), the prices of the free market are, for the poor class , about 70%, exorbitantly high: 1 chicken is traded with 950 ID, 1 kg of meat with 800 ID, 1 kg of fish with 500 ID or 1 egg with 55 ID. Short before Christmas again I could distribute a lorry-load of rice and milk powder, from donations of SODI (Solidarity Service Inter- national, Berlin), GIV (Society for International Communication, Goettingen) and GKI (Yellow Cross International, Lichtenau, Austria), to hungry Kurdish families. At ths same time there was offered a higher quantity of medicine to the active doctors from the Red Crescent. This relief supply has been received with high gratitude, in particular, because for some time past such supplies have been attacked and it was said to be also dead people connected with those attacks. On the way to the desaster area I had a depressing experience: On the trip I had seen a thin gotten, starving, on both legs crippled child and I had given some food into the small hands. From a distance I saw in the backmirror, how the child was attacked by surely also starving grown- ups, who snatched everything away from it. Because of safety-reasons I couldn't help. I feel deep sympathy with the starving population in Iraq, particularly also with the Kurdish people, who, to keep the receipt of the public rations, must prove their Iraqi nationality. Some come away empty-handed and are provided by helpful families from their meagre rations. In the First World War the Kurds have been promised by the allies, in return for a military support against the Turks, an own state. In the peace treaty of Lausanne in 1923 this allied promise was out of the question. After the victory the interests had changed, about 20 millions of Kurds have been handed over to the new-created countries. After the gulf-war the Kurds, in expectation of American help, revolted. But the Iraqi army knocked down the uprising. Fearing retaliation, a refugee stream to the neighbour countries started: Nearly 1.25 millions of Kurds flew to Iran, about 600.000 to Turkey. Non of these countries was prepared for an influx of such a crowd. Daily hundreds of them died, also from Cholera. I know these refugee camps and handed over the first relief shipments. There I could hold longer talks With Kurdish leaders: They were depressed about their situation, in particular because of the restricted freedom of movement. Most of the families wanted to return to their villages, others to emigrate to European countries. My proposals for a general amnesty have been corresponded to in Iraq. Many Kurdish families returned to their villages to start new after the destructions. In the last years developed, with support from abroad, a limited autonomous region Kurdistan, the so-called "Peschmerga-area", whose durable viability is doubtful. The regional Kurdish leaders are in quarrel, they control only their small tribe area. Fights between them are reported time and again. According to Kurds more and more families in the "Peschmerga area" are forced to decide about the participation in the military conflicts or, as alternative, to leave the just repaired houses. Meanwhile about 200.0O0 Kurds flew to the by the Iraqi central government controlled ares between Dohuk and Erbil near Mosul and live now in former barracks or new arosen small villages. The speech, held by Albert Schweitzer at the handing over of the Nobel peace price in Oslo on 4th, November, 1954, is specially precious today. He said: "The statesmen, who formed the world following peace nego- tiations of the two wars, didn't have a lucky hand. They didn't strive to create circumstances, which contained the possibility of a somewhat prospering future, but were occupied predominantly to come to the ob- vious conclusion from the fact of victory and to fix it". Unfortunately this attitude didn't change until today. * * * * * From G.LANGE at LINK-GOE.comlink.apc.org Tue Jan 17 10:24:29 1995 From: G.LANGE at LINK-GOE.comlink.apc.org (G.LANGE at LINK-GOE.comlink.apc.org) Date: 17 Jan 1995 10:24:29 Subject: Iraq: US spent $1 billion on Iraqi Message-ID: <5dxru1heENB@1lange.link-goe.cent> *US spent $1 billion on Iraqi Kurds since 1991* WASHINGTON - The United States has spend over $1 billion since 1991 to help and protect the Kurds of Northern Iraq, according to figures released by the Congressional Research Service. Approximately half of this amount - $ 572 million - was spent as "dire emergency supplemental appropriation" back in 1991 for initial relief operations taken on by the Defense Department or DOD (320.5 million) and by the State Department and related agencies ($ 251.5 million). Such "dire emergency supplemental funds" were again appropriated between 1991 and 1993. Fifteen million was spent in 1992 on the Kur- dish and "other Iraq-related humanitarian operations," by DOD. One-hundred million was spent on military operations conducted between 1991-1993 supporting the "no-fly zone" established in Northern Iraq, to the north of the 36th parallel - which protected the kurds from Baghdad. In 1993, $ 40 million was spent for "DOD relief activities" including food delivery, health care, water supply and mine clearing. Again in 1993, $ 3 million went to "general DOD humanitarian aid," $ 5 million as "urgent humanitarian aid," $ 23 million as "general DOD humanitarian aid," including $ 10 million to buy part of a Kurdish- grown wheat crop. For DOD activities related to Operation Provide Comfort, $ 201.2 million was spent in 1993. In 1994, $ 30 million went to Northern Iraq as "general DOD humanitarian aid"- including $ 15 millon in winter relief. Another $ 100 million was spent on the enforcement of the "no-fly zone" and related supply, maintenance and personnel costs. Another $ 15 million is scheduled for 1995 as "general DOD humanitarian aid." The total the United States appropriated to help the Kurds of Northern Iraq, including the above amount mentioned for 1995, comes to $ 1.1 billion. TURKISH DAILY NEWS, 9. Sept. 1994 * * * * * From kendal at nucst11.neep.wisc.edu Wed Jan 25 14:02:23 1995 From: kendal at nucst11.neep.wisc.edu (kendal at nucst11.neep.wisc.edu) Date: 25 Jan 1995 14:02:23 Subject: SCK Message-ID: From: kendal at nucst11.neep.wisc.edu Subject: SCK Friends: Voting to create SOC.CULTURE.KURDISH has begun. Your YES vote and your effort to find YES votes will be appreciated. Kendal -------------------------------------------------------------- Article: 2599 of news.announce.newgroups From: rdippold at qualcomm.com (Ron "Asbestos" Dippold) Subject: CFV: soc.culture.kurdish FIRST CALL FOR VOTES (of 2) unmoderated group soc.culture.kurdish Newsgroups line: soc.culture.kurdish People from Kurdistan and Kurds around the world. Votes must be received by 23:59:59 UTC, 13 February 1995. This vote is being conducted by a neutral third party. For voting questions only contact rdippold at qualcomm.com. For questions about the proposed group contact A.Stam . CHARTER This newsgroup will be established as a forum for sharing ideas and information about the culture, history, social and political devolepments in Kurdistan or related to Kurdistan. This newsgroup will provide open discussions on the issue of Kurdish Question, that is shared by different countries where Kurds currently live. This news group will also be accessable for other people from Kurdistan and others who believe that they have any kind of relationship with Kurdistan. The discussions will be in English or in different dialects of Kurdish (languages within Kurdish family). RATIONALE Periodically, interest in a group to discuss the Kurdish issue has been expressed. Questions concerning Kurdish problem have been posted in various newsgroups. It is widely felt that due to its context (the Kurdish problem) the other groups like soc.culture.turkish are inadequate for this purpose, not only because of different languages but also for the reason that just only one part of Kurdistan shares some common background with Turkey. So it is felt that a seperate newsgroup is suitable. This Newsgroup will virtually connect the vast scattered people from Kurdistan and hopefully it might contribute to bring the seperated dialects of Kurdish to a single national language. HOW TO VOTE Send MAIL to: voting at qualcomm.com Just Replying should work if you are not reading this on a mailing list. Your mail message should contain one of the following statements: I vote YES on soc.culture.kurdish I vote NO on soc.culture.kurdish You may also ABSTAIN in place of YES/NO - this will not affect the outcome. Anything else may be rejected by the automatic vote counting program. The votetaker will respond to your received ballots with a personal acknowledge- ment by mail - if you do not receive one within several days, try again. It's your responsibility to make sure your vote is registered correctly. One vote counted per person, no more than one per account. Addresses and votes of all voters will be published in the final voting results list. From voting at qualcomm.com Wed Jan 25 14:03:04 1995 From: voting at qualcomm.com (voting at qualcomm.com) Date: 25 Jan 1995 14:03:04 Subject: SCK References: Message-ID: From: newsdesk at newsdesk.aps.nl (Newsdesk Amsterdam) Subject: Re: SCK Reply-To: voting at qualcomm.com ---------------- Forwarded from : kendal at nucst11.neep.wisc.edu ----------------- Friends: Voting to create SOC.CULTURE.KURDISH has begun. Your YES vote and your effort to find YES votes will be appreciated. Kendal -------------------------------------------------------------- Article: 2599 of news.announce.newgroups From: rdippold at qualcomm.com (Ron "Asbestos" Dippold) Subject: CFV: soc.culture.kurdish FIRST CALL FOR VOTES (of 2) unmoderated group soc.culture.kurdish Newsgroups line: soc.culture.kurdish People from Kurdistan and Kurds around the world. Votes must be received by 23:59:59 UTC, 13 February 1995. This vote is being conducted by a neutral third party. For voting questions only contact rdippold at qualcomm.com. For questions about the proposed group contact A.Stam . CHARTER This newsgroup will be established as a forum for sharing ideas and information about the culture, history, social and political devolepments in Kurdistan or related to Kurdistan. This newsgroup will provide open discussions on the issue of Kurdish Question, that is shared by different countries where Kurds currently live. This news group will also be accessable for other people from Kurdistan and others who believe that they have any kind of relationship with Kurdistan. The discussions will be in English or in different dialects of Kurdish (languages within Kurdish family). RATIONALE Periodically, interest in a group to discuss the Kurdish issue has been expressed. Questions concerning Kurdish problem have been posted in various newsgroups. It is widely felt that due to its context (the Kurdish problem) the other groups like soc.culture.turkish are inadequate for this purpose, not only because of different languages but also for the reason that just only one part of Kurdistan shares some common background with Turkey. So it is felt that a seperate newsgroup is suitable. This Newsgroup will virtually connect the vast scattered people from Kurdistan and hopefully it might contribute to bring the seperated dialects of Kurdish to a single national language. HOW TO VOTE Send MAIL to: voting at qualcomm.com Just Replying should work if you are not reading this on a mailing list. Your mail message should contain one of the following statements: I vote YES on soc.culture.kurdish I vote NO on soc.culture.kurdish You may also ABSTAIN in place of YES/NO - this will not affect the outcome. Anything else may be rejected by the automatic vote counting program. The votetaker will respond to your received ballots with a personal acknowledge- ment by mail - if you do not receive one within several days, try again. It's your responsibility to make sure your vote is registered correctly. One vote counted per person, no more than one per account. Addresses and votes of all voters will be published in the final voting results list. ----------------------------- End forwarded message -------------------------- ------------------------------------------------------- * Activists Press Service (Newsdesk) * newsdesk at aps.nl !Power to the people! ------------------------------------------------------- From khailany at emunix.emich.edu Wed Jan 25 14:06:17 1995 From: khailany at emunix.emich.edu (khailany at emunix.emich.edu) Date: 25 Jan 1995 14:06:17 Subject: WWW server, Kurdish Informatio Message-ID: From: khailany at emunix.emich.edu (Asad Khailany) Subject: Re: WWW server, Kurdish Information Network update Thanks for the inormation. Please keep in touch. Note I founded Kurdish National Congress of North America and we ready to cooperate with you in any way we can. Asad Khailany Past President and founder Kurdish Nationa Congress. From APS. at apsf.aps.nl Wed Jan 25 14:08:17 1995 From: APS. at apsf.aps.nl (APS. at apsf.aps.nl) Date: 25 Jan 1995 14:08:17 Subject: HIrgUr MUstemleke; Sanki Fiyasko Ha Message-ID: From: APS. at apsf.aps.nl(Newsdesk) (APS (Newsdesk)) Subject: HIrgUr MUstemleke; Sanki Fiyasko Haberler, 24/1/95, 08:00 TSI (1) Kurd MP urges EU against customs union with Turkey ANKARA, Jan 23 (Reuter) - A self-exiled Kurdish MP, whose party was banned by a Turkish high court, urged the European Union on Monday not to enter a customs union with Turkey. "Taking Turkey, which continues annihilation policies on our people, into customs union, means providing resources for bombs and bullets that kill our people," Remzi Kartal, told Reuters by telephone from Brussels. Kartal said his statement was on behalf of the committee of preparation for a Kurdistan parliament in exile. He was a deputy for the Kurd-based Democracy Party (DEP) which was banned by a Turkish high court last June, causing all 13 DEP deputies to lose their parliament seats. Six fled to Europe on the same day. "This is a crime against humanity. The EU council of ministers should use sanctions under international law and conventions against Turkey," Kartal said. He did not elaborate. Seven other DEP MPs and one independent Kurd deputy were sentenced in December to jail terms of up to 15 years for links with the rebel Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), fighting for a separate state in southeast Turkey. The verdict, preceding a EU decision on customs union, was a primary reason for the EU postponing the decision until March. Ankara hopes the union will sealed then. Kartal said a Kurdish parliament in exile was planned to be declared in March after delegates were elected. He did not say where it would be based. He has earlier said the PKK would be represented. Turkey has reacted sharply to plans for a separatist parliament and asked its European allies, the United States and Russia not to allow its activities on their territory. Washington has said the parliament would not be legitimate. "The parliament is not a cause for dividing Turkey," Kartal said. "It will promote the unity of the Turkish and Kurdish peoples on the basis of equality." More than 14,000 people have died in Turkey since 1984 when the PKK launched its battle for independence. (3) Turkey plans wage hikes for civil servants ANKARA, Jan 23 (Reuter) - Prime Minister Tansu Ciller's government is planning to grant extra pay increases to its some 1.5 million civil servants - a move some economists suggest signals an early election in the second half of this year. A senior economy official said the rise which will cost about 30 trillion lira ($735 million) in 1995 was not expected to dent the government austerity programme launched in April. "We have to do that. Civil servants' salaries depreciated sharply last year. Social benefits we will get from the rise will be higher than financial cost," the official told Reuters. Public wages declined about 40 percent in real terms in 1994 because of the stabilisation measures which brought tight curbs on public spending including wages. Inflation hit a record high of 150 percent last year, against a 54 percent rise in the salaries of civil servants. But some economists accuse Ciller of diluting the economic programme through higher-than-budgeted rises to restore its shaken popularity ahead of possible early elections later this year. The next secheduled polls take place in October, 1996. Ciller has ruled out an early poll, but Parliamentary Spokesman Husamettin Cindoruk, former leader and an influential member of Ciller's conservative True Path Party, said early elections were necessary to avoid social unrest. The pay plan proposes nearly 100 percent rises in low-level salaries, running around $97 at present exchange rates. Higher levels would get gradually declining increases. The government will also give generous pay rises to several thousand high-ranking bureaucrats to prevent a flight from state posts to the private sector. Ciller's pay plan appeared shortly after a wave of street protests by thousands of employees in the big Turkish cities. From root at newsdesk.aps.nl Tue Jan 31 16:18:10 1995 From: root at newsdesk.aps.nl (root at newsdesk.aps.nl) Date: 31 Jan 1995 16:18:10 Subject: HIrgUr MUstemleke; Sanki Fiyasko Ha References: Message-ID: From: newsdesk at newsdesk.aps.nl (Newsdesk Amsterdam) Subject: Re: HIrgUr MUstemleke; Sanki Fiyasko Haberler, 30/1/95, 08:00 TSI Reply-To: root at newsdesk.aps.nl ------ Forwarded from : Haldun Haznedar -------- (1) Mitterrand's wife says Turkey massacring Kurds By Alister Doyle PARIS, Jan 27 (Reuter) - Danielle Mitterrand, wife of the French president, accused Turkey of genocide against Kurds on Friday in a human rights report that also blasted Iran and Iraq for abuses of their Kurdish minorities. Presenting a report by a coalition of human rights groups including her own France-Libertes, Mitterrand said Kurds were suffering oppression in all three countries including indiscriminate killings, torture, and destruction of homes. She told a news conference that the report, which described the estimated 25 million Kurds as the largest group of stateless people in the world, was prompted by worsening treatment of Kurds in the region. "What is happening in Turkey, the destruction of villages, deportations of populations, the genocide in short of the Kurdish population (has prompted) many to flee to the protected region of Iraq," Mitterrand said. "For Iran it's more or less the same thing. Many refugees in Iran are moving to Iraqi Kurdistan," she said. Kurds have been protected in northern Iraq by Western air power in "Operation Provide Comfort" mounted after the Gulf War. The report also savaged Baghdad for its treatment of Kurds. As a human rights campaigner, the wife of President Francois Mitterrand has often criticised nations with friendly ties to France. Turkey is a NATO member and seeking membership of the European Union. Rival Kurdish groups have uneasily shared power to administer northern Iraq since 1991, protected against possible air attacks from Baghdad by Western air power based in southern Turkey. Kurdish factions have often clashed among each other. Mitterrand dismissed Ankara's argument that it had to combat attacks by Kurdish guerrillas on its territory. "One can't say that this is a war between Turks and Kurds. It's a war to exterminate a people." She first became involved in supporting the Kurdish cause in 1989. In July 1992 she narrowly escaped a car-bomb attack when on a visit to Iraqi Kurdistan. The 131-page report also said Iraqi Kurdistan was among the most heavily-mined lands in the world, after Cambodia and Afghanistan, and that thousands of Kurds had died or been mutilated by mines. Patrick Baudoin, head of the International Federation of Human Rights, said Kurds had faced oppression throughout history, but that it was rare they faced such hostility on so many fronts at the same time. Kurds, who came close to winning a state after the collapse of the Ottoman Empire early this century, also live in parts of Syria, Armenia and Azerbaijan. William Bourdon, secretary general of the Federation, said it seemed inevitable the United Nations would lift sanctions on Iraq. As part of any deal, he said the U.N. had to ensure President Saddam Hussein allowed Kurds in northern Iraq to consolidate their power. (2) Turkey asks for release of Moslem jailed by Greece ANKARA, Jan 28 (Reuter) - Turkey on Saturday asked Athens to release a Moslem clergyman jailed for 10 months for assuming the title of mufti (religious leader) of a Moslem minority community in northeast Greece. "President Suleyman Demirel sent a message today to Greek President Constantine Karamanlis to express his disappointment that Xanthi's mufti Mehmet Emin Aga was sentenced to prison for carrying out his religious duties," Demirel's office said. "(He has) requested that Karamanlis be instrumental in the release of mufti Mehmet Emin Aga," it said. Greece does not recognise Aga as the mufti of the area which has an officially sanctioned religious leader. Aga was convicted last week for signing as mufti for the district of Xanthi in letters sent in 1993 to the 120,000-strong Moslem minority living mostly in northeastern Greece. In the letters, Aga accused Greece of mistreating the minority. He was jailed late on Tuesday after refusing to pay a fine. Under a 1990 law the Greek state has the right to choose the Moslem minority's two muftis, after reviewing a list of candidates recommended by a panel of 11 minority leaders. Demirel expressed regret that, "contrary to international agreements, muftis chosen by the Turkish community...are thus prevented from officially performing their religious duties." Greece rejects the assertion that the people are a Turkish community and refers to them as Greek Moslems. On the eve of the Moslem holy month of Ramadan, which begins on February 1 or 2, Demirel also demanded that Moslem clerics be allowed to travel from Turkey to western Thrace to fulfil the needs of the Moslem community there. The Moslems are remnants of the Ottoman Empire which ruled the Thrace region, straddling the present Greek-Turkish border, until 1913. Historically poor relations between Turkey and Greece have deteriorated even further in recent months over a range of issues, including rights in the Aegean Sea, Turkey's bid to forge a customs pact with the European Union, and the divided island of Cyprus. (3) Greece risks tension with Turkey over sea limits By Stephen Weeks ATHENS, Jan 29 (Reuter) - Greece is risking a surge in tension with its neighbour and rival Turkey by preparing to ratify a world sea treaty which allows Athens to extend its territorial waters to 12 miles. Turkey threatened last year to go to war if Athens extended its waters, saying this would effectively turn the Aegean which separates the feuding NATO allies into a Greek lake. "We let it be known that we didn't want war but would go to war in such a situation" the Turkish foreign minister at that time, Mumtaz Soysal, said. He was speaking shortly before an international Law of the Sea Convention came into force on November 16, recognising the right of states to extend their territorial waters to 12 miles. Greece's socialist government sent a draft bill to ratify the Sea Convention to parliament last week, saying the time was right for such a move. "This is the appropriate time for the ratification of the Law of the Sea Convention, which codifies long-standing international standards and practices," government spokesman Evangelos Venizelos said. The bill is expected to pass in February, with both major parties backing it. Once ratified the government could extend the territorial limit from its present six miles at any time. More than 60 countries have ratified the convention, which was signed by Greece in 1982 but has never been ratified by the 300-seat parliament. Turkey has not signed the convention. Diplomats said the danger in Greece ratifying the treaty was that from then on, at a moment's notice, Athens could extend its waters and trigger an unexpected reaction from Turkey. "Once the treaty is ratified, this or any future government can extend the country's waters with immediate effect. There is no longer any waiting period," a diplomat from a European Union country said. Several diplomats expressed concern the move was coming in a period of intense manoeuvring ahead of possible early elections in April, if parliament fails to elect a new Greek president. Socialist Prime Minister Andreas Papandreou may simply want a strong negotiating card in his hand -- the threat of extending territorial limits -- in any talks over Cyprus or other issues with Turkey, some diplomats said. "But with Papandreou you're never quite sure what he'll do. We still see him as the master of unpleasant surprises and our worst fear would be seeing the territorial limit extended to win popular support in a pre-election period," said another Western diplomat. Papandreou, remembered as an unpredictable maverick from his 1981-89 government, said in an interview this month that he was willing to start a rapprochement with Turkey. But he added: "Turkey violates our airspace, threatens Greece with war if it extends its territorial waters to 12 miles... (and) infringes on international flight regulations. This creates tension...and could lead to an incident." (4) Istanbul getting a face lift ISTANBUL, Turkey (AP) -- Inside the Malta Palace, the furniture is packed up, the lights are out and the days of toasting the view of the Bosporus with a beer are a memory. The closing of the popular bar in the 19th century Ottoman mansion in Yildiz Park is just the first step. Istanbul's first Islamic fundamentalist mayor has big plans to stamp a Muslim way of life on Turkey's biggest city. It won't be easy. Turkey is predominantly Muslim but officially secular. Many Turks like it that way. Mayor Recep Tayyip Erdogan's decision to take management of the Malta Palace and 11 other bar-coffee houses in city-owned buildings fits into his Islamic vision for this metropolis of 12 [sic] million people. Erdogan's Welfare Party won mayorships in many cities, including Istanbul and the capital, Ankara, in elections last March. But secular parties still control the national government. Islam forbids the serving and drinking of alcohol, although alcohol is legal in Turkey. Many people like to end the day with a glass of raki, the anisette-flavored national drink. The mayor's decision to ban alcoholic beverages at the coffee houses didn't affect dozens of private establishments. But secularists strongly objected. "These places are so popular among tourists. ... It is hard to understand their policy against alcoholic beverages," said Celik Gulersoy, head of the Touring and Automobile Club. The club had spent $1.5 million to restore the coffee houses and open them to the public 12 years ago under a lease from the city government. An editorial in the newspaper Cumhuriyet said people who thought the Welfare Party mayors would not try to impose a fundamentalist way of life on the cities had been proven wrong. "Welfare's world view does not fit Turkey's common lifestyle in many fields," it said. Welfare Party mayors in several small towns also are trying to stamp out alcohol. And the mayor of Ankara, Melih Gokcek, removed a number of nude sculptures from parks in the capital, declaring them obscene. A Welfare deputy in Parliament, Oguzhan Asilturk, even suggested that the remnants of ancient Roman fortifications in Istanbul be torn down to open up space for housing. Asilturk, who is secretary-general of the party, retracted his statement under intense criticism. One reason the fundamentalists won the mayoral races was that secular center-right and socialist parties split the rest of the vote. Welfare won 25 percent of the vote in Istanbul, the biggest single bloc, while three leftist parties shared 34 percent and two center-right parties split 37 percent. Fundamentalists also capitalized on voter disgust with political corruption and the impression that secular parties were not answering people's needs, especially those of the poor. Secular Turks are conducting a nationwide petition campaign to support Gulersoy, the head of the touring and auto club who has led efforts to refurbish parks, palaces and hotels from the Ottoman era. "I will no longer go and visit these places," Gulersoy said of the alcohol-free coffee houses. (5) Turkmenistan to proceed with gas pipeline to Turkey ANKARA, Turkey, Jan. 27 /PRNewswire/ -- US-CIS Ventures, Inc. and its subsidiary, US-CIS International, Inc. organized business meetings that were held in Ankara, Turkey last week to discuss details of the previously agreed upon development of a natural gas pipeline from Turkmenistan across Iran to Turkey and Europe. The first day of Business Council meetings was attended by a group of more than 30 of the largest Western companies and financial institutions, who were presented with particulars of the pipeline project, including its technical and financial components. On the second day, Turkmen President Sapamurat Niyazov convened the Third Inter-State Council meeting with delegates from Turkmenistan, Turkey, Iran, Russia and Kazakhstan. US-CIS has been exclusively authorized, by the government of Turkmenistan, to organize a team to manage the development of the pipeline. The pipeline, which is expected to be completed by 1999, will extend nearly 1,260 km and will eventually deliver up to 28 billion cubic meters of gas to Turkey and Europe per year. The Inter-State Council meeting was addressed by President Niyazov of Turkmenistan and President Demirel of Turkey. By agreement among the members of the Inter-State Council, a company named Turkmenistan Transcontinental Pipeline, Ltd. (TTP) was established to develop, own and operate the pipeline. This company will also serve as the vehicle for offering stock to governments and major private investors interested in owning equity in the pipeline. TTP has assigned the responsibility for designing and developing the project to US-CIS. Bi-lateral and multi-lateral agreements have already been executed among the affected countries to address the issues of transit of the gas through Iran, the purchase of gas by Turkey and the supply of gas by Turkmenistan. Negotiations for the more detailed documents implementing these governmental agreements are underway. Turkmenistan has one of the largest natural gas supplies in the world and is capable of producing the necessary gas requirements for the pipeline from existing fields in the western part of the country. The estimated total hard and soft capital cost of the project is $2.54 billion. The project will be funded with a combination of debt and equity. (6) Two abducted Iranians found dead in Istanbul ANKARA, Jan 29 (Reuter) - Two Iranians abducted in Turkey two weeks ago were found dead on Sunday with signs of torture on their bodies, Anatolian news agency said. The two, named as Asker Smitko, 42, and Jciaben Ecmajit, 49, were found in Istanbul province, 75 km from where they had been forced into a car on January 15, the agency said. They were shot dead after their ear lobes had been cut off, it said. Anatolia did not give any possible motives for the killings. (7) Istanbul stocks rise 1.88 pct on selective demand ISTANBUL, Jan 27 (Reuter) - Shares at Istanbul's stock market posted selective gains as demand enlivened in the afternoon on optimistic expectations for Saturday's joint merger congress by two social democrat parties, including the junior coalition partner Social Democrat Populist Party. The 100-share composite index closed up 465.02 points, or 1.88 percent at 25,246.08, but fell 1.07 percent over the week. Daily volume dropped to 2.7 trillion lira from Thursday's 3.02 trillion. "I see today's activity as short-term risk taking. Trade volume did not improve," said Metin Ayisik, assistant general manger at Ata securities. Brokers said the market also aimed and succeded in keeping the index above the psychological barrier at 25,000 points. ----------------------------- End forwarded message -------------------------- ------------------------------------------------------- * Activists Press Service (Newsdesk) * newsdesk at aps.nl !Power to the people! ------------------------------------------------------- From APS. at apsf.aps.nl Wed Jan 25 14:09:21 1995 From: APS. at apsf.aps.nl (APS. at apsf.aps.nl) Date: 25 Jan 1995 14:09:21 Subject: TRKNWS-L As Ataturk's Legacy ... Message-ID: From: APS. at apsf.aps.nl(Newsdesk) (APS (Newsdesk)) Subject: TRKNWS-L As Ataturk's Legacy ... Department: Business Week International Editions: Spotlight On Turkey Issue: January 9, 1995 AS ATATURK'S LEGACY COMES UNDER FIRE......WATERS FLOW OVER AN ARID PLAIN In Turkey these days, the battle lines are drawn. On one side are those who cleave to the secularist ideals set down by Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, founder of the modern Turkish nation. On the other are those who challenge the idea that the vision of a man who died almost 60 years ago can still set the agenda for 60 million people. And despite-or maybe because of-decades of near-deification, the numbers in the anti-Ataturk camp appear to be growing. In addition to Islamists, represented by the Welfare Party of Necmettin Erbakan, there are separatist Kurds and other non-Turkish minority groups who feel stripped of their identities. The main challenge to the Ataturk legacy comes from the Islamists. Capitalizing on public disgust with corruption and greed in high places that dates back to the Turgut Ozal era of the 1980s, and the total disarray of the mainstream groups, Erbakan's Welfare Party has emerged as a real contender. In municipal elections held in the spring of 1994, the party captured the mayor's office in Turkey's three largest cities--Istanbul, Ankara, and Izmir--plus a host of smaller localities. By-elections for Parliament scheduled to be held in December were postponed by Prime Minister Tansu Ciller, at least partially because of her fear that Welfare would capture most of the contended seats. The paradox is that it was Ciller who emptied them when she stripped a number of Kurdish deputies belonging to the now-banned Democratic Party (DEP) of their parliamentary immunity. The former deputies were first charged with treason for meeting with the leader of the outlawed Kurdish Workers Party in Damascus. The treason charge potentially carries the death penalty, but this later was dropped, and the former deputies were sentenced to 15 years in jail. Although Ciller recently suggested that the state ``should do to Welfare what it did to DEP,'' her True Path Party is trying to assuage the Kurds with religion--which is exactly Welfare's platform. As an ideology, Islamism transcends ethnic issues between nationalist Turks and Kurds. But the prospect of giving religion a political role deeply alienates secularists. Something must be done about the burning Kurdish issue. Since violence erupted in 1984, more than 15,000 have died. And despite an expenditure of around $1 billion a year on security, no end appears in sight. The government says security must be established before an expansion of Kurdish rights and prerogatives is discussed. Meanwhile, the Turkish lira continues to fall (it is now 38,000 to the dollar, vs. 20,000 this time last year), the tourism bubble has burst, and the dream of creating a Turkic economic zone in the Muslim republics of the former Soviet Union has turned into a black hole into which resources are poured, but out of which nothing seems to come forth. Would you believe a new Garden of Eden? The Turks do, and they call it GAP--the Turkish acronym for Southeast Anatolian Project--a massive $36 billion project to irrigate Upper Mesopotamia by tapping the waters of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers. By any yardstick, GAP is huge. Under way since 1976, when completed in 2005, it will consist of 22 dams and reservoirs; 19 hydroelectric plants capable of generating 27 billion kilowatts of power; and two gigantic, 29-kilometer-long tunnels feeding water into thousands of miles of irrigation canals crisscrossing 16.9 million hectares of land. One reason it took 18 years to complete was the vast financial outlay required. International institutions, such as the World Bank, declined to support the project, citing ecological concerns. A more likely reason was pressure from downstream states of Syria and Iraq, which worry that GAP will give the Turks total control over the flow of water before it reaches their borders. For Turkey, however, the GAP project is of vital importance. When the taps were opened in November, allowing water to gush out over the arid plain, it was a concrete symbol of government concern for the economic development of the Urfa region and its inhabitants, most of whom are Kurds. Thomas Goltz in Istanbul From newsdesk_aps_nl at apsf.aps.nl Wed Jan 25 21:46:46 1995 From: newsdesk_aps_nl at apsf.aps.nl (newsdesk_aps_nl at apsf.aps.nl) Date: 25 Jan 1995 21:46:46 Subject: Kurdistan Info Bulletin #1 Message-ID: From: newsdesk_aps_nl at apsf.aps.nl (newsdesk at aps.nl) Subject: Kurdistan Info Bulletin #1 * Originally by Arm The Spirit , 16:31/2 * Originally to KIC London, 10:31/1.10 * Originally dated 24 Jan 1995, 5:07 >From sun4nl!locust.cic.net!ats Tue Jan 24 07:09:26 1995 remote from aps Cc: newsdesk at newsdesk.aps.nl (Newsdesk Amsterdam) X-Mailer: ELM [version 2.4 PL23] Content-Length: 71962 Kurdistan Info Bulletin #1 - Winter 1994/95 Index: 1) Introduction 2) The Turkish Army Is Systematically Burning Kurdish Villages 3) Kurdistan Is Burning! 4) Ozgur Ulke Offices Bombed 5) Statement From Ozgur Ulke Editor 6) "Our Movement Will Continue To Grow" - Excerpt From An Interview With Abdullah Ocalan, PKK General Secretary 7) For A Free And Independent Kurdistan! 16 Years Of The PKK 8) Interview With ARGK Regional Commander 9) PKK European Spokesperson Arrested 10) Kurdish Youth Murdered By German Police 11) Police Attack Kurdish Protests In Mannheim 12) Deportation Is Murder! Solidarity With The Kurds! 13) Letter From Leyla Zana 14) Kurdish MP's Sentenced 15) Kurds Resist Criminalization In Germany 16) Joint Statement From Kurdish Groups In Germany 17) GSG-9 Storm Kurdish Cultural Gathering 18) Kurds Sentenced For Consulate Take-Over 1) Introduction The Kurdish national liberation struggle has consistently been an important theme in our magazine Arm The Spirit. Since we did not publish an issue in 1994, we collected a vast amount of documents and news items related to the struggle of PKK over the course of the year. We are now publishing some of these texts in an independent publication, the Kurdistan Info Bulletin. As 1995 will be an important and eventful year for the Kurdish resistance, both in Kurdistan and in exile, we are committed to publishing this info bulletin on a regular basis as a gesture of concrete solidarity and in order to inform the North American left about the Kurdish struggle. We plan to publish the second issue of this bulletin shortly before Newroz in March 1995. Berxwedan Jiyane! Arm The Spirit P.O. Box 6326, Stn. A Toronto, Ontario M5W 1P7 Canada e-mail: ats at etext.org 2) The Turkish Army Is Systematically Burning Kurdish Villages The Turkish army's offensive against the Kurds is continuing. Every day, witnesses report civilian casualties. Since the end of September, the army has been forcing Kurds out of their villages in the province of Dersim (Tunceli) and neighboring provinces. According to reports from human rights agencies, as well as spokespersons for the expelled villagers, more than 30 villages in Tunceli have been destroyed and burned in the last three weeks, 17 in the area around Ovacik alone. The newspaper Ozgur Ulke recently published a list of the names of the villages destroyed, as well as pictures of soldiers making victory poses in front of burning houses. People fleeing from the villages have reported that military commanders would spread a "white, quickly-burning powder" in the houses, and then a soldier designated as the "ignitor" would set the houses on fire. While thousands of the expelled persons from Tunceli are camping or staying with relatives in other cities, 35 people are still missing. Last Friday, seven bodies of members of the Serim and Icik families were found in their burned out houses in the village of Gokcek. At the same time as villages are being destroyed and their inhabitants forced to flee, residents are also being subjected to aerial bombardments from helicopters seeking to wipe out all the forests in the province. One high-ranking military official, who has since fled from Turkey, told the newspaper Ozgur Ulke that the military code name for the destruction and burning of the villages by the Turkish military forces is "Operation Rome", a reference to the burning of Rome by the emperor Nero. Soldiers also informed the newspaper that the Turkish military is planning to destroy another 150 villages and settlements in the region. The Turkish interior minister Mentese justified the military operation in a press conference with reporters, stating that "the region around Tunceli is a nest full of terrorists". While state sources respond to the accusations by claiming that the PKK are the ones setting fire to the villages, both the "minister for human rights" Azimet Koyluogluas as well as Turkish parliament minister Cindoruk have publically acknowledged that the army is destroying the villages, while not drawing any consequences from this fact. Even a delegation of SHP parliamentarians lead by party chairman and deputy prime minister Karayalcin, which visited the city of Tunceli last week, did not feel it was necessary to pay a visit to the villages destroyed or even to speak with the families expelled. Meanwhile, committees in solidarity with Tunceli have been established in several major cities such as Istanbul, Ankara, and Adana, and on Tuesday they carried out a protest demonstration in the capital Ankara. "The army is preparing the second destruction of Dersim," commented the head of one Tunceli support group, making reference to the tragedy of 1938 when the Turkish army, after two years of effort, deported the entire population of Dersim and then razed the city. The name "Dersim" was then banned and replaced with "Tunceli". "But today, they aren't satisfied with just driving us from our homes and destroying our houses, but rather they also want to destroy nature, they want to destroy all our forests so as to make the region uninhabitable forever." Making note of the comments made by the "minister for human rights", the International Human Rights Association in Bonn has called on the German government to announce an immediate moratorium on the deportation of Kurds and to stop all weapons sales to Turkey. (From: junge Welt, October 14, 1994) 3) Kurdistan Is Burning! Dozens Arrested After Peaceful Demonstrations Kurds in several major German cities took to the streets on Saturday, October 22, to protest the on-going offensive by the Turkish army in the Kurdish province of Dersim. Several hundred Kurds took part in marches in Dortmund, Munich, Hamburg, and Frankfurt. In Hannover and Berlin, several people were slightly injured after riot police attacked demonstrators carrying ERNK flags and shouting slogans in support of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK). At least two dozen Kurds were arrested and charged with disorderly conduct and displaying symbols of an illegal organization. To The Public: Yesterday Lice, Kulp, Halepce - Today Dersim! Kurdistan Is Burning! In Dersim, hidden from world public opinion, a people, a city, a region are being systematically destroyed by the Turkish government. According to our information, at least 37 villages have been depopulated and destroyed by bombing raids so far. The forests are being set on fire, the farmers' fields are being burned - a scorched earth policy is being followed. Hundreds more villages have already been affected through death threats designed to force people to resettle elsewhere. Dersim has been hidden from the media for weeks, not even the Turkish media, which is loyal to the Turkish state, has been allowed to enter the area. Only military reports are sent from the region, and these are then read, without comment, on state and private television stations. It is no coincidence that all of this is taking place in Dersim, which has been placed under a state of emergency for 10 years, and in a higher state of emergency for the last 2 years. There is a food embargo, a ban on taking sheep herds into the mountains, and food is so strictly and minimally rationed that families barely have enough to survive. Food and livestock are confiscated by the military if they feel there is too much food above the minimal level needed to survive. Villages have been cut off from one another, steets are blocked, and the people's right to free movement has been de facto abolished. The "Reasons" For The Massacre These measures have been enacted against the people of Dersim, because they are a population which are especially progressive and critical of the government. That's why they have been a thorn in the side of the Ankara government for quite some time. This is not the first time that Dersim has experienced such a massacre. For example, in 1938, 40,000 Kurds, elderly people, pregnant women, and children, were killed. This event left a deep memory in the minds of the people of the Dersim region, and that is why the people are so distrustful of the Turkish state. Anyone who knows about what has happened in Lice, Kulp, and Dersim can no longer stay silent in the face of the Turkish government's aggression. We call on the German government to help establish an independent international commission to look into the events in Dersim. We demand that all aid to the Turkish government be suspended, because this aid only serves to keep the Turkish government in place and to allow it to carry out its massaces against the Kurdish people. We demand that all occupying troops withdraw immediately from Kurdish territory! AGIF (Federation of Labor Immigrants from Turkey) Taunusstrasse 12a 51105 Cologne Germany 4) Ozgur Ulke Offices Bombed On Saturday, December 3, 1994, the offices of the pro- Kurdish daily newspaper Ozgur Ulke in the Turkish cities Ankara and Istanbul were bombed. The editorial offices and printing presses were completely destryed in the ensuing fire. Office workers who attempted to put out the blaze were arrested by Turkish police, witnesses reported. At least two dozen people were hurt in blast, and one of the drivers for the paper, Ersin Yildiz, was killed. No group has claimed responsibility for the bombing, but indications are that it was either the work of the Turkish fascist party MHP or the Turkish secret police - or both. Just a few days before the bombing, Ozgur Ulke had published a ceasefire offer from PKK chairman Abdullah Ocalan; Turkish prime minister Ciller flatly rejected the proposal. On Monday, December 5, several thousand people took part in Ersin Yildiz' funeral. According to the European office of Ozgur Ulke, the Turkish police banned all gatherings and buried Yildiz themselves. Police then attacked and seriously injured several people wishing to attend the funeral. Several small Turkish democratic presses have pooled their resources in order to make it possible for Ozgur Ulke to continue publishing, albeit in a smaller form. 5) Statement From Ozgur Ulke Editor To The Media And General Public: We received the following statement from the Chief Editor of the pro-Kurdish daily newspaper Ozgur Ulke, A. Baki Karadeniz: Between 03.00-3.30 a.m. last night, explosions ripped through three of the main offices of our newspaper, Ozgur Ulke (Free Land) in Istanbul and Ankara. Once again the world is witness to another atrocity of the Turkish regime. Ersin Yilmaz, a driver was killed and 18 people seriously injured. There is no need to speculate as to the authors of this crime. They are very clear to all of us and are as follows: 1. Ozgur Ulke, following its predecessor Ozgur Gundem, has consistently fought against murderers masquerading as "generals", "ministers" or "journalists"; 2. By publicising new items, photographs and documents revealing the true nature of the dirty-war Turkish regime in Kurdistan, Turkey's mask was torn off before the eyes of the world; 3. Ozgur Ulke never pulling its punches, has been the voice of the Kurdish people and at every turn, proved to be the paper for both Turkish and Kurdish people; 4. Our newspaper always insisted on the need for a political solution to the war in Kurdistan, a war which has already claimed the lives of thousands, the destruction of hundreds of Kurdish villages, and the torturing, maiming and imprisonment of tens of thousands. Through this work, we have raised the awareness of the people and thus become the target for the blood-thirsty commissioners; 5. Despite confiscation of almost every issue and the repression resulting in the reduction of its circulation to between 12-13,000 in Turkey, Ozgur Ulke continued stubbornly to be the voice of the suffering masses. Therefore Ozgur Ulke had to face the myriad orders ranging from those of the chief of staff to interior Minister, from the police to the Special Forces, from so-called journalists to mayors and last but not least we neither wait on the "findings" of false investigations nor the "statements" of state officials because: 1. Already, Interior Minister Nahit Mentese, a few days prior to the atrocity, described our paper as a "separatist paper" and added "I would have closed it down, if I had the authority"; 2. Already, during the MGK (National Security Council) meeting four days ago, our newspaper was on the agenda when it was decided to silence it; 3. Already, our newspaper was declared a target by columnist Emin Colasan of the Turkish daily, Hurriyet, which is nothing but an arm of the contra-guerilla. These examples are enough to identify by conspirators. This attack which happens to coincides with the proposals for peace and dialogue shows the real intentions of the state. However, the state has failed again. They will not be able to silence us by razing our buildings and offices. Ozgur Ulke will be out tomorrow and for many, many days after tomorrow. 6) "Our Movement Will Continue To Grow" Excerpt From An Interview With Abdullah Ocalan, PKK General Secretary What is the significance of August 15, 1984, in Kurdish history and what role has it played? If we are to evaluate this 10-year period, which we can consider to be the Kurdish people's first and last chance of liberation, we may say it is the best organised step towards nation building and national liberation for thousands of years. The Kurdish people, who throughout their history have been bedevilled by tribal divisions due to colonialist policies, were on the point of losing their national identity when this striking attempt was made to stop this process. The Kurdish people had reached this point in the 20th century, a century in which the development of national consciousness was at it zenith. In general, the emergence of the PKK, and in particular the launching of the armed struggle, stopped the slide to oblivion and opened the door to the unfettered development of national consciousness. It was only then that 'Kurdishness' began to develop in a healthy environment. The people believed they could be liberated. The despair of hundreds of years was swept away. The movement that began on August 15, 1984, endeavoured to avoid the pitfalls and fundamental weaknesses of previous Kurdish rebellions. We examined the reasons for the failure of the uprisings that took place in the years following the founding of the Turkish Republic. We also evaluated the Turkish left-wing movement of the seventies, its failure and the way it tried to prevent the emergence of a genuine Kurdish national liberation movement through social chauvinism. We are also aware of the KDP experience. It is clear that the KDP, which started out as a primitive nationalist movement, has completely failed to learn from the uprising of March 1991 and has acted like a simple horse trader and lapsed into a more reactionary position than all the rebellions led by primitive nationalist forces. The PKK has become the incarnation of the Kurdish people's values. It has become a strong material force and is dominant on an ideological, political, and cultural level. It has also transcended the purely national sphere and begun to influence the whole of the Middle East and the international stage. For the first time, the Kurdish identity is being accepted internationally. It has reached the stage where the world takes note and says "there should be a solution". We are also exerting all our energy to ensure that the process of building national institutions is based on a free identity, and on sound principles. We have drawn the lessons of the collapse of "real-existing socialism". From a military and political standpoint, 15 August has brought the Turkish army, supported by the imperialist world and using the most brutal methods, to a standstill. Turkey's political life is also in a cul-de-sac. 15 August is also the expression of resistance to a host of political and diplomatic policies, all of which have been successfully frustrated. Could we categorise the last 10 years as the Kurds' transition to a modern military activity? Not all armed revolts can be classified as army building. The peshmerga is not a typical Kurdish army and is definitely not an expression of a national process of army building. I believe we have made progress towards forming an army on the national level. We have only been able to overcome the characteristics of the peshmerga tradition and traditional uncoordinated rebellion through an intensive internal ideological, political, and organisational struggle. Within the organisation the tribal clan, family mentality tried to exert itself. This is a form of expression of rebellion, the person is engaged in a conflict with oppression and wants to fight back, but then thinks of his family and changes his mind. This is particularly striking in the south where the peshmergas, never having been able to abandon their family interests, have consequently never been able to instigate a protracted war in the mountains. This has prevented the formation of a national army. Even in our organisation there is only a limited number of people who want to be part of a highly organised guerrilla entity. The social, economic, and cultural level of our people makes them less amenable to this form of struggle. I still see this as the most serious problem confronting us. Those who claim to be intellectuals, even revolutionary intellectuals, only indulge in long-winded rhetoric when it comes to the struggle. They are unable to demonstrate the necessary discipline and will-power that military matters demand. All this has emerged since 1984 and with further analysis we believe we will be able to succeed in developing the struggle further. In this context, the 15 August process is a genuine building of a people's army. If it hadn't been for great discipline, patience, and foresight the 15 August uprising would not have lasted 48 hours let alone I0 years. What have been the economic, political, and military results of 10 years of war for the Turkish state and the people of Kurdistan? There is no need for me to say much. Everyone can see that Turkey is experiencing its worst economic crisis in the history of the Republic and I might add arguably the Ottoman period too. It is the struggle we are waging that has brought the economy to this state. If the Turkish people are still putting up with the economic crisis it is due to the pressure of the dirty war. Those directing the dirty war are imposing their own chauvinistic blackmail saying "If this struggle achieves success it will be the end of us, we'll lose everything." They think that they can pursue the war by making the people dependent upon them. Business circles have begun to oppose this policy, and as a result the government has threatened them. Politically, too, there is a crisis. There is no democracy in Turkey. If you added up all the political parties they wouldn't make one party. Most of the party leaders have been appointed by the General Staff. There is no doubt about that. The press have also been put under the control of a committee from the TRT which is a team from the Special Forces Command. The entire press has been organised according to the needs of the dirty war. Consequently the most important aspect of the 10-year war is the way it has exposed the lack of democracy and politics in Turkey. The generals are furious. Despite the many weaknesses and shortcomings of the guerrillas, the Turkish army has not been able to prevent the development of the guerrilla struggle. This constitutes a defeat for them. The General Staff is indulging in a gigantic bluff, trying to show itself as successful by ensuring the media does not mention the great losses suffered by the Turkish army. We know there are over 10,000 guerrillas in the mountains of Kurdistan. Every day over 50 troops are killed but there is not a word in the press. Unfortunately, there is nowhere the people can go to find out the truth. Thus the General Staff can conceal what is happening. I invite the Turkish Grand National Assembly to send a commission to find out the true situation. Are there or are there not guerrillas in the mountains? There is no need for them to be afraid. We will provide assistance to them. Parliament should assume this responsibility and inform the public of the reality of the situation. If parliamentarians are unable to tell the people that the war being waged in Kurdistan is responsible for their economic hardships, how can they conduct politics? Chief of Staff Dogan Gures claimed he would finish us off by winter, then it was March, now he says "by the end of August" which incidentally coincides with his retirement. On the contrary, despite Gures the guerrillas have bases all over Kurdistan, from Sivas to Artvin, near the Black Sea, and from Erzurum to the Taurus Mountains near Adana. In fact from now on we will conduct real guerrilla activity. Up to this time we have only been making preparations. This year, as Dogan Gores has admitted, there is a stalemate. The guerrilla forces have grown both numerically and qualitatively. The Turkish army has launched countless operations this year with 30,000 or 50,000 men but they have all ended in fiasco. They have withdrawn with unexpectedly heavy casualties. The state is on the point of bankruptcy. They cannot attack us as they used to. We, too, aware of their 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. This is a significant military development which will have political results. They will have to talk to us about a political solution. The General Staff are aware of this situation but are afraid of the Turkish public discovering it. You have mentioned Dogan Gures's high-profile in recent years. Is it possible to talk about a "Gures period"? And what is the role of Demirel and the other civilian politicians during this period? In the last change of military personnel, Demirel attempted to impose his authority, since by virtue of the authority entrusted to him as president he is commander of the armed forces. However he signed the order given him by Gures. Demirel gave a banquet in his residence and some generals did not attend. If people as a protest do not accept the commander's invitation this means there is a military coup. Ciller says: "I won't continue as P.M. without Dogan Gures", meaning she will retain him and give him a ministry. Gures did not want to cause discontent amongst other officers by postponing his retirement as he did last year. Although he is no longer formally the Chief of Staff, there is no doubt that he is still running the show. Everyone is saying that his clique is dominant. So if this isn't a clandestine coup, what is it? Gures began his move to power in 1990. At that time Ozal wanted to implement his own policies in the Gulf Crisis and the Kurdish question. It was at that time that the Gures clique made an intervention to weaken Ozal's position. Of course Ozal's death has not yet been properly explained. Even his own doctors say it was not a normal death. A day before he died, Ozal said: "I'm going to solve the Kurdish question and the northern Iraq problem." A day later he was dead. It's too much of a coincidence. Going back to 1991 when the coalition came to power, it was the army and the MIT (National Intelligence Organisation) that ensured that the True Path Party (DYP) and Social Democratic Populist Party (SHP) came together to form a coalition. As soon as the coalition had settled in the massacres started. In March 1992 there were the Newroz massacres in Cizre and Nusaybin. General Esref Bitlis was blown up while on a plane, the General in Lice was shot, a colonel in Dersirii allegedly committed suicide. None of these incidents have been properly explained. The existence of the Kurdish question was once again denied as Demirel and Inonu, the latter almost as if he wished to exceed his father, rained bombs on the Kurdish people. Demirel has again enrolled Turkes (leader of far-right MHP - trans.) to help eliminate the resistance in Kurdistan and any other revolutionary activity that may exist, as he has done for 30 years. In fact the coalition is not a DYP-SHP one, it is a DYP-SHP and MHP one. The MHP is a secret member of the coalition government because the powers that be do not want people to think the coalition is another "national front government" (like in 1977). Turkes's task has been to organise the so-called "mystery killings" that have been perpetrated in Kurdistan. Could you elaborate on this please? It would appear that Turkes has been the head of the Special Warfare Department since 1958. Just as he was in the 1960 coup, since the end of 1991 he has been the clandestine Prime Minister. Turkes and Ciller have had secret talks, it seems that they have regular meetings. Turkes's old cronies have also been put in charge of the other parties, both the main opposition party, the Motherland Party, and even the SHP and DYP. So who else could be Prime Minister? Since 1991 the real president has been Gures and the Prime Minister Turkes. In the same way as the Austrian, Hitler, brought disaster to Germany, it seems the Cypriot, Turkes, is trying to bring disaster to Turkey. In fact, if you look at the representatives of racist-chauvinist Turkish nationalism you will see that nearly all of them are non-Turkish. There are Balkan immigrants, Arabs, Circassians, Cypriots, and even Kurds. The Turkish Republic continues the Ottoman tradition of taking people from its periphery and relying on them to perpetuate its existence. The Special Warfare Department has used all its resources against us. They used Hikmet Cetin until he had no more use, like a squeezed lemon. Now they have brought in Mumtaz Soysal, who used to consider himself a leftist. He is now an ally of fascism. Since 1991, Turkes has been organising the "killings by unidentified persons". These murders have been carried out by the "Special Army" which has been organised by Turkes. Hundreds of people have been murdered, Kurdish businessmen have been killed in the west of Turkey. I want to emphasise the danger that "Turkes's Turkish nationalism" poses for the Turkish people. It is carrying the Anatolian Turk along the same disastrous road that the Ottoman Empire went under the guidance of the Committee for Union and Progress. Democratic forces should be aware of this danger. In Turkey there is intensive debate about a "democratisation package" that is to be presented in the autumn. There is no democratisation package. This is a facade to conceal the losses suffered by the coup. The DEP trial has exposed the lack of democracy. The government wishes to cover this up. Ciller and Karayalcin are like a pair of conjurers doing "hocus pocus", distracting the people's attention. The people won't put up with this much longer. The crises in their parties demonstrate this. I do not expect these people to change. They are part of the team from the Special Warfare Department. Otherwise how could they have come from nowhere to become leaders of their parties? There are politicians with 30 or 40 years experience in both Ciller's and Karayalcin's parties. The so-called "democratisation package" will in fact be the exact opposite and will help to intensify the contradictions within the system. The guerrilla struggle will also deepen these contradictions and intensify the crisis. What is the state of Kurdish diplomacy? One of the most important products of the 15 August has been the effect on the international scene of the struggle which has developed in Kurdistan. Turkish diplomacy has, in recent years, expended great efforts in trying to prove that the PKK is "terrorist" and in so doing isolate the movement by casting a shadow on its legitimacy and limiting its external support. In the last two years, Turkey has used a Kurdish, in origin at least, Foreign Minister in an attempt to prevent the development of Kurdish diplomacy and, consequently, the international effects of our struggle. Unfortunately the negative effects of some Kurdish collaborationist circles can also be observed. Their approach can be compared to merchants competing in a bazaar who see Kurdistan as an alienable and negotiable commodity to be bought by the highest bidder. We have exposed this for what it is as cheap trading. It is not diplomacy. We have proved the effectiveness of principled, revolutionary diplomacy. We are still at the beginning of this process and there are serious shortcomings to be overcome. However, there is intense interest. Every state now has a foreign office Kurdish desk. There is an increasing interest developing around the DEP trial. There are the MPs in exile. There is a need for a Parliament in exile or a From newsdesk_aps_nl at apsf.aps.nl Wed Jan 25 21:46:54 1995 From: newsdesk_aps_nl at apsf.aps.nl (newsdesk_aps_nl at apsf.aps.nl) Date: 25 Jan 1995 21:46:54 Subject: 03:Kurdistan Info Bulletin #1 Message-ID: From: newsdesk_aps_nl at apsf.aps.nl (newsdesk at aps.nl) Subject: 03:Kurdistan Info Bulletin #1 Turkey except Turkish. Turkey has pretended since that there are no Kurds in Turkey, that the Kurds are ,'mountain Turks". The ancient place names of the Kurds have been changed into Turkish names and it has not been possible to give Kurdish names to infants. Pliable intellectuals have been pacified by official posts while others have been afflicted with prison or exile. This policy was followed even after the legalisation of political parties in 1950. The Kurdish elite was gradually eliminated. In 1971, a Turkish party of the Left, the Party of Labour, was banned just because it recognised "the existence of the Kurdish people". The military coup of September 1980 plunged the country into ferocious repression. In a land where the people had become attached to democracy and freedom, everyone poured on to the streets to oppose the dictatorship. Alas, Turkey has lost that spirit. It is not astonishing to me that the political parties of Turkey today accept a system that negates the very existence of the Kurds. (From: The London Times - September 7, 1994) 14) Kurdish MP's Sentenced On Thursday, December 8, 1994, heavy sentences were handed down against eight Kurdish parliamentarians from the now-banned Democracy Party (DEP). Although the court, under international pressure, dropped the charges of high treason and separatism, which carry the death penalty, all of the Kurdish politicians were convicted of supporting the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK). Two MP's were given sentences of 3 1/2 years, another was sentenced to 7 1/2 years, and five others, including the first Kurdish woman to ever be elected to the Turkish parliament, Leyla Zana, were sentenced to serve 15 years in prison. International trial observers, including members of the European Parliament, condemned both the trial and the verdict. 15) Kurds Resist Criminalization In Germany Despite Germany's banning of the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) and more than 30 other Kurdish organizations in November 1993, Kurds continued to take to the streets to protest Turkey's dirty war in Kurdistan and Germany's open support for that war, both in the form of arms sales to the Turkish military and harsh repression against Kurds living in exile in Germany. Kurds demonstrated on several occasions and in several cities all across Europe, particularly in Germany, throughout 1994. When Kurdish Newroz celebrations in March 1994 were banned and violently attacked by German riot police, Kurds set up buring barricades on Germany highways. In June 1994, tens of thousands of Kurds marched in Frankfurt to demand a political solution to the war in Kurdistan. At each of these events, people proudly displayed the flag of the National Liberation Front of Kurdistan (ERNK), an act which is itself illegal in Germany. The following is a very small compilation of actions, mostly from August 1994. On Thursday, August 18, 1994, a demonstration by 100 Kurds in Bonn's inner-city was violently dispersed by dozens of riot police. Several Kurds were injured. The reason for the police attack was the fact that the demonstrators were publically displaying symbols of the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), which is illegal in Germany. As police moved in to break up the demonstration, men, women, and children sat on the ground and chanted slogans. Police beat people on the ground and used pepper spray to break up the gathering. The demonstration had been organized as a send-off for a group of Kurdish youths who are set to make a bike trip to Geneva. On August 27, the UN Human Rights Commission is going to meet in Geneva to discuss peoples' rights to self-determination. After police had violently attacked and dispersed the demonstration, approximately 45 Kurds fled into Bonn's main post office. Riot police then stormed the building and arrested 22 men, women, and children, several of whom were injured by police. In total, more than 100 Kurds were arrested by police in Bonn. Interior minister Kanther (CDU), who was responsible for the November 1993 banning of the PKK and more than 30 other Kurdish organizations, has stated that he wants all those Kurds that were arrested to be immediately deported to Turkey. Kanther stated on Friday, August 19: "People who so blatanly abuse their guest rights must leave Germany immediately." On Saturday, however, all the arrested Kurds were released from police custody. On Saturday, August 20, around 500 Kurds demonstrated in Frankfurt in protest of the police action against the Kurds in Bonn. The demonstrators demanded that the police give back the bikes which they had confiscated from Kurdish youths in Bonn, as these were needed for the youths' protest ride to Geneva. Riot police threatened to use force to break up the demonstration, as several youths were waving PKK flags and wearing T-shirts with photos of Halim Dener, the 16 year old youth who was murdered by a plainclothes cop in Hannover. After tense negotiations, the demonstrators puts away their PKK symbols and police handed over the confiscated bikes. The demonstration then dispersed without anyone being arrested. On Monday, August 22, a spokesman for the Bavarian justice department confirmed reports that as many as 31 Kurdish prisoners had been on hungerstrike for several days. The hungerstrike is designed to protest Germany's repression of Kurdish activists, as well as to draw attention to the ongoing trial against six Kurdish parliamentarians in Turkey who are facing the death penalty for "high treason and separatism". Among those on hungerstrike are the PKK-supporters recently sentenced for the June 1993 take-over of the Turkish consulate in Munich. On Sunday, August 21, approximately 1100 Kurds held an event in Frankfurt. Police did not intervene, but they did confiscate PKK/ERNK literature. Demonstrators called on Germany to stop supplying Turkey with tanks and other forms of military aid. In Paris, France, at least 190 Kurds were arrested on Monday night, August 22, after police attacked a Kurdish vigil. The Kurds had unfurled banners condemning Turkey's dirty war in Kurdistan and also brought mattresses to a city square in order to stage an all-night vigil for Kurdistan. Riot police then attacked and broke up the gathering. On Wednesday, August 24, German police once again used violence to break up a Kurdish demonstration, this time in the city of Freiburg. When demonstrators held up PKK flags, riot police attacked and made three arrests. Ten police officers were injured in the confrontation. On Wednesday night, a carload of five Kurds was stopped by police at a roadcheck in Frankfurt.Police confiscated six molotov cocktails and arrested the five Kurds. Four have since been released from police custody, but one is being charged with planning an armed attack. Police say the men were all PKK activists. 16) Joint Statement From Kurdish Groups In Germany The thing that needs to be banned is the genocide being carried out by Turkey with the help of German weapons. The cooperation between the Turkish and German governments, who have tried for years to criminalize the Kurds and to place them in a bad light, has finally led to the banning of legal Kurdish organizations. This decision, taken under direction from Turkey, is a political decision. It has no legal basis. If there are concrete accusations, then these should be made openly. The normal legal procedure should be followed. Our organizations are strong enough to stand up to these accusations. Up until now, no trials have ever been opened against our organizations. This incredibly undemocratic decision was made during Ciller's most recent visit to Germany. It resembles the laws which Turkey imposed during its period of martial law. We shall defend our right to organize internationally, both in Germany and elsewhere. Our organizations enjoy the support of tens of thousands of Kurds. They have their own goals and are not bound to any one party. All Kurds are fighting against their ethnic extinction at the hands of Turkey. Germany has made a big mistake if they think that banning our organizations will lessen the support and sympathy of the hundreds of thousands of Kurds in Germany. Problems can best be solved through dialogue. This problem especially cannot be solved by banning Kurdish organizations. If that were the solution, then the Turkish state would have solved this problem long ago. The banning of our organizations is the result of growing cooperation between Turkey and Germany. Turkish authorities welcomed the ban and Turkish TV stations even interrupted their broadcasts to report the news. Germany needs to tell the Kurds whether or not it wishes to be complicit in the genocide in Kurdistan. How many millions of dollars has Turkey paid to Germany for weapons deliveries since 1980? Who is responsible for the 870 Kurdish villages that have been burned to the ground? Who delivered the German tanks, which have even been seen on German TV stations, which are put into action in Kurdistan? Throughout its history, Germany, by means of delivering weapons to Turkey, was complicit in Turkey's mass-murder of the Armenians, are they now going to support genocide against the Kurds? We, Kurds and Kurdish associations, stand for peace and a peaceful solution. But the tanks and other forms of military aid which are delivered from Europe, and especially from Germany, are killing our people. But Germany wants the Kurds, who are face to face with genocide, to remain silent. We, the organizations that have jointly signed this statement, as well as the approximately 200.000 Kurds who support us, wish to protest this undemocratic decision. This situation must change and place must be made for genuine democracy. November 26, 1993 Kurdistan Committee Feyka Kurdistan Kurdistan Centre, Bonn Cultural Centre, Berlin Workers' Union, Bremen Organization for Culture and Support for the Kurdish People, Frankfurt Kurdistan Cultural Association, Nurnberg Culture and Workers' Association, Coblenz Medya Cultural Association, Hagen Kurdistan Cultural Association, Mannheim Kurdistan Centre, Bielefeld Cultural Association of the Kurdish People, Duisburg Kurdish Cultural Centre, Celle Kurdistan Solidarity Centre, Stuttgart Kurdish Cultural Association, Hamburg Association of Kurdish Workers, Hannover Kurdish Workers' Union, Cologne Kurdistan Cultural and Workers' Union, Saarbrucken Kurdish Cultural Association, Rendsberg Kurdish Womens' Centre, Leverkusen Kurdistan Cultural Centre, Kassel Kurdistan Association, Munich Kurdistan Cultural Centre, Ingostadt Kurdistan Culture and Information Centre, Freiburg Kurdistan Cultural Solidarity Centre, Dortmund 17) GSG-9 Storms Kurdish Cultural Gathering On Saturday, May 28, 1994, 80 masked and heavily-armed members of the elite German "anti-terror" police unit GSG-9 stormed the Alte Feuerwache cultural center in Saarbruecken during a meeting of a Kurdish cultural association. 62 persons were handcuffed and arrested; several Kurds were kicked as they on the floor. According to police, the meeting was a leadership gathering of the PKK, which was banned in Germany in November 1993. In particular, the police say they were looking for one specific PKK leader believed to be at the gathering, but he turned out not to be present. All but one of those arrested (a Kurdish woman who German authorities plan to deport to Belgium) have since been released. 18) Kurds Sentenced For Consulate Take-Over On Wednesday, July 6, 1994, 13 Kurds, ranging in ages from 21-31, were given jail terms of 2.5-4.5 years for the June 24, 1993 take-over of the Turkish consulate in Munich. During this action, which was part of a European-wide day of actions coordinated by the PKK (Kurdistan Workers Party), 21 embassy personnel were held hostage for several hours. The Kurds demanded a meeting with German chancellor Kohl and a television broadcast to protest Turkey's genocidal war in Kurdistan. Although these demands were not met, all the hostages were released unharmed. The sentences given in this trial were well below what the state prosecutor had requested. Surprisingly, in handing down his ruling, the presiding judge stated that the Kurds had acted with a "positive goal" in mind, and that, considering the political situation in their homeland, they had acted from a sense of "personal emergency". (ND) ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Arm The Spirit E-mail: ats at etext.org P.O. Box 6326, Stn. A Toronto, Ontario M5W 1P7 Canada From newsdesk_aps_nl at apsf.aps.nl Wed Jan 25 21:47:10 1995 From: newsdesk_aps_nl at apsf.aps.nl (newsdesk_aps_nl at apsf.aps.nl) Date: 25 Jan 1995 21:47:10 Subject: 02:Kurdistan Info Bulletin #1 Message-ID: From: newsdesk_aps_nl at apsf.aps.nl (newsdesk at aps.nl) Subject: 02:Kurdistan Info Bulletin #1 National Congress. The fact that there are hundreds of thousands of Kurds abroad and a growing international interest makes the formation of such a body possible. The policies of France and Germany towards the Kurds appear to be different to other countries. How do you evaluate these policies and what is your position? France has a significant unity of interests with Turkey. If France persists with its negative attitude we will take steps to counter it. Also if Germany persists with its current Middle East policies it means its investments will suffer. However, if they wish to abandon their current policies then we can formulate policies based on reconciliation that are in our interests, rather than respond to them in a hostile way. But self-reliance is essential. Exercising our will in an independent way is fundamental for us. Russia has begun to return towards the areas where it formerly had influence. It is seeking to develop relations in the Middle East, particularly with Turkey, and has signed some agreements in the defence field. Can Russia develop an active policy on the Kurdish question? Russia will try to revive its classic diplomacy of the Tsarist period. Russia's Kurdish policy is important for two reasons: Firstly, because of the Turkic Republics in Central Asia and because of Turkey with its pan-Turkism has designs towards them due to their vast oil and gas resources, and secondly, the strategic value of the Bosphorus Straits. There is also the question of Armenia in the Caucasus and of Russia finding an identity of its own in the Middle East. The Kurds are at the point where all these problems meet. Consequently Russia will not remain idle while the USA increases its interest in the Kurdish question. In fact it would not surprise us if Russia formulated a bolder Kurdish policy in the near future. Meetings have been held with PKK representatives to help delineate this policy. Conversely Russia recently sold arms to Turkey and is also involved in Black Sea economic cooperation. Recently there have been talks between Turkey and Iraq and Turkey and Iran. Relations continue with Israel. How do you evaluate these developments? Iran's relations with the Kurds is connected with the dominant Persian element in the Iranian state. There is also a part of Kurdistan in Iran and for this reason, too, Iran is interested in the issue. There is also Turkey's interest in the Azeris and the existence of the Turkic Republics in central Asia. As a neighbour it has the PKK which is based on an entirely different ideology. Iran will develop a Kurdish policy based on winning over the Kurds on a pan-Islamic basis. Iran will also want to develop its relations with the PKK, depending on the state of its relations with Turkey. Syria has a similar approach. For Syria there are the questions of the Sanjak of Alexandretta, water, and the border. It also has its own Kurdish minority. There is also the Israel factor. For these reasons Syria will not be able to easily oppose the Kurds and will continue to desire close relations with the Kurdish movement. Iraq, too, will wish to make peace with the Kurds instead of making permanent war. How do you see the struggle between Turkey and the PKK developing? Our movement will continue to grow. The PKK has support in all parts of Kurdistan and has, to a great extent, influenced other organisations. In 10 years the PKK has grown over a hundred fold. In 1984 we started with 30 guerrillas attacking Eruh. In Amed province there were less than 10 guerrillas. Now there are over a thousand in Amed province. In Europe in the 80s we didn't even have a hundred supporters, now 200,000 people can be mobilised for demonstrations. We will carry the war into Turkey. Economic targets will be hit. Tourism has already been affected. It will be completely halted. If death squad killings do not stop we will retaliate in kind. If the Turkish regime does not put an end to the dirty war and start democratisation then the present situation will continue and this will have a negative effect on the economy as well as on the people. Is it possible that a ceaseflre will be called in the near future? The same evaluations that were made at the time of last year's ceasefire are still valid. There are urgent demands that must be met, like a new constitution, the lifting of the state of emergency, and the prosecution of people like Turkes who are guilty of murder. People who have been forced to leave their villages must be paid compensation and their homes repaired so that they can return. Prisoners of conscience must be released and the DEP trial stopped. Will the regime opt for this? I doubt it. It is still determined to continue the dirty war. It is up to them. What can the Turkish people do to help bring an end to the dirty war? The existing situation is the outcome of the dirty war and revolutionary struggle. They are two completely different things. The development of the revolutionary struggle is a source of pride for us. The dirty war is a source of shame, a dark stain for the army and the people. I call on the Turkish democrats and progressives to do their democratic duty. You must see the revolutionary possibilities created by our struggle. We are prepared to assist you and fight with you side by side. To the people of Kurdistan, I want to use for the first time the phrase "citizens of Kurdistan". You must conform to the new laws of society. New forms and rules are coming into being. We have to abandon our old obstinacy and establish a system where the rule of law is respected and where we can live a patriotic, dignified life. To establish a national order is a great advance for us. (From: Ozgur Ulke, August 17-23, 1994) 7) For A Free And Independent Kurdistan! 16 Years Of The PKK The Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) was founded 16 years ago at a time when it seemed as though the Kurdish people would disappear from history. The PKK based itself on the conviction that the Kurdish people have a right to a free life, which is the natural right of all peoples. It began its legitimate struggle under impossible circumstances. The Turkish state responded with brutal violence. Whereas the PKK had legitimate reasons to begin this struggle, the attacks by the Turkish state were illegitimate and were concerned with denying the existence of the Kurdish people. The Turkish state really believed it had eliminated the Kurds and buried them under cement. According to the Turkish Republic, there are no Kurds and there never will be. The struggle between the PKK and the Turkish Republic has developed accordingly until today. The reason why the PKK took up armed struggle in addition to other forms of struggle in order to liberate the Kurdish people was the politics of lies and destruction practiced by the Turkish Republic. The PKK had to defend against attacks using a variety of weapons to prevent the legitimate struggle of the Kurdish people from being destroyed and drowned in a bloodbath. The PKK had no choice but to answer violence with violence. The PKK is not fanatically obsessed with armed struggle. On the contrary, the PKK has made efforts at the international level to reach a political solution and has made offers for a ceasefire which are still valid today. Because of the fact that the struggle of the PKK is a humane struggle and one for the freedom of a people, it has developed political strength in a very short time. In this short time, the PKK has won the trust of the Kurdish people. The PKK has given the Kurdish people political consciousness and has made them confident in their free thoughts by means of its political work. The Kurdish people recognize their future and their liberation in the struggle being led by the PKK. The Kurdish people have taken a clear position in the face of the oppression and barbarism, the terror and the massacres of the Turkish state, and, organized by the avantgarde, the PKK, they are in a position to recognize their real enemy. The Turkish state is losing credibility day by day, because it is carrying out an unjust struggle with uncivilized methods. But still it has not been able to separate the PKK from the Kurdish people, nor has it been able to stop the masses from going over to the PKK. Although the PKK historically took up its struggle under impossible conditions, within a short period of time it was able to free the Kurdish people from slavery and to turn a people into freedom fighters. By means of this struggle, the world has been shown that the Turkish state is a uniquely barbaric and terroristic state. The tight connection between the Kurdish people and the struggle of the PKK is proof of the victory of the liberation struggle of the Kurdish people. Today, the Turkish Republic has no political support in Kurdistan. It is trying to keep itself on its feet by stationing half of its army in Kurdistan to carry out a special war. As a result of the alienation of the Kurdish people from the Turkish Republic, the Turkish army has become a foreign occupying force. The people in Kurdistan no longer recognize the authority of the Turkish Republic. The oppression, massacres, and all the methods of destruction practiced by the Turkish state only make the Kurdish people more militant. This is a hopeless situation for the Turkish Republic, for one thing because the people and the PKK have grown together. The PKK has become the Kurdish people itself. As a result, the PKK, as praxis has shown, is the people, and the people are the PKK. Therefore, it is now impossible to separate the Kurdish people and the PKK from one another. That is the reason why the Turkish Republic is carrying out a war of total destruction. Because the Turkish state has not had any success against the PKK and has had to endure continual blows from the PKK guerrilla, it has turned its entire military might against the people. The Turkish state tortures and arrests people at will and puts them in internment camps. It destroys houses, burns villages, and puts people in flight. Last but not least, it bombards the mountains and burns the forests with the goal of reducing the guerrilla's ability to move around freely. All of these are clear signs of the defeat of the Turkish Republic and of the victory of the PKK. Kurdistan is not only a defeat for the Turkish Republic, but also for Western imperialism. Germany's repressive intervention against the Kurdish people is at a point where the Turkish Republic can no longer find a solution. So the banning of the PKK and the ERNK are not without reason. Germany is trying to defeat the Kurdish liberation struggle in order to protect its own economic and political interests. Therefore, Germany has made itself guilty. Its justifications for its position with regard to the Kurdish people and for the banning of the PKK and the ERNK cannot be maintained. The only terrorist who should be accused is the Turkish Republic. Neither the PKK nor the Kurdish people are terrorist. The PKK and the Kurdish people have no quarrel with Germany and they do not ask anything of Germany. Our people have simply made use of their right to organize solidarity events and demonstrations. Such activities have been carried out in several other Western states without any problems. If confrontations break out in Germany, then Germany itself is responsible on account of its pro-Turkish politics. If Germany doesn't want to have any problems, then it should leave the Kurdish people in peace and stop supporting Turkey's special war. Certainly Germany is not interested in bearing the brunt of the anger of the Kurdish people, because anyone who opposes the Kurdish people will surely be defeated. Just as the Turkish Republic will lose this struggle, the same thing applies for Germany. Germany also uses methods of repression against the Kurdish people, as does the Turkish Republic. The Kurdish people support their liberation movement, the PKK, in Europe, and just as they do back home in Kurdistan, they shout the slogan: "The PKK is the people, we are the people!" Repression and bans will only make the Kurds living in Europe even more militant and it will strenghten the organizations and the individuals. Germany should bear this in mind and back off from its present political course. We call on the German people to recognize this reality and to protest Germany's aid for genocide. We call on the German people to support the Kurdish peoples' struggle for humanity and freedom. Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) European Representatives November 23, 1994 8) Interview With ARGK Regional Commander "The Turkish Republic Has Lost Its State Authority" On Saturday, October 8, 1994, the KURD-A news agency held an interview with Ebebukir Atac, regional commander of the Kurdistan national liberation army ARGK. The Kurdistan national liberation army ARGK, the military wing of the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), has divided north-west Kurdistan (eastern Turkey) into three military regions. Ebubekir Atac, who commands an estimated 13,000-15,000 guerrillas, commands the "middle" region. This region contains the Kurdish districts Garzan, Amed, Diyarbakir, Mardin, Bitlis, Bingol, and Mus. During the interview, he confirmed reports from foreign observers that the PKK now has vast portions of the region under its control. The PKK now controls approximately 70-80% of north-west Kurdistan. "I can say that the Turkish government has no state authority in Kurdistan anymore." This authority, he said, was now in the hands of the PKK. In reference to the many expensive operations undertaken by the Turkish army over the last two months, Ebubekir Atac noted that "the Turkish government has tried everything militarily possible, but it has achieved nothing". The military leadership in Ankara has been exploiting its soldiers to the fullest. "The soldiers are being used as cannon fodder in the most perverse fashion." The ARGK commander described the military situation by noting that the guerrilla struggle is now - as planned - becoming increasingly focussed on urban centers. The Turkish army has had to abandon more and more military stations and concentrate their forces in barracks close to the cities. That's why one goal for the coming time period will be, on the one hand, "to strengthen attacks on the military stations until no more exist", and also to remove the so-called system of "village guards" which the Turkish government established in Kurdistan, according to Ebubekir Atac. The ARGK commander stated that the Kurdistan national liberation front would launch a major offensive in 1995, with the goal being a general popular uprising in Kurdistan. (KURD-A Press Agency - November 5, 1994) 9) 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 10) Kurdish Youth Murdered By German Police Close to midnight on Thursday, June 30, a 16-year-old Kurdish asylum-seeker was shot in the back and killed by a plainclothes police officer in the German city of Hannover. The youth, Halim Dener (Ayhan Eser), was out with five friends hanging ERNK (National Liberation Front of Kurdistan) posters. When a police car passed by, the youths split up. Once the car was out of sight, Halim and a friend continued postering. Then, two plainclothes officers surprised the boys and attempted to arrest them, but both were able to flee. Seconds later, a shot rang out, and Halim was dead with a bullet in his back. The police are calling this murder "an accident", but witness accounts state that the officer opened fire at close range and shot Halim in the back. Halim and his family had only arrived in Germany six weeks before, at the end of May, after fleeing from the Kurdish village of Parcuk in the province of Bingol. The village of Parcuk, like so many others in Kurdistan, had been de-populated and then destroyed by the Turkish army. On the Saturday following Halim's murder, spontaneous demonstrations were held in several German cities. In Hannover, more than 1,000 people held a march to protest Halim's murder. Marchers carried photos of Halim, as well as flags and posters of the ERNK, an organization which was outlawed in Germany along with the PKK (Kurdistan Workers Party) and more than 30 other Kurdish organizations in November 1993. The marchers also demanded the resignation of German interior minister Kanther who was responsible for the banning of the PKK/ERNK. Later Saturday night, police vehicles and police stations in Hannover, Osnabruck, Oldenburg, and Braunschweig were attacked with stones and molotov cocktails. In Berlin, a Turkish travel agency was firebombed, and more than two dozen stores in different parts of the city had their windows smashed. Other actions and demonstrations were held in Hamburg and several other cities as well. On Monday, July 4, approximately 1,000 people held a demonstration in Berlin to protest Halim's murder. Police threatened to attack the demonstration at several points, because marchers were carrying ERNK posters (the same poster Halim was hanging when he was murdered), but demonstrators continued to wave the ERNK posters and chant slogans in support of the outlawed PKK and were able to complete the demo route unhindered. After the demonstration had ended, however, riot police charged groups of people as they attempted to board subways trains. Several people were injured. In Kiel, Kurds drove a convoy of approximately 20 cars through the city streets waving PKK flags and denouncing the police murder of Halim Deren. Police arrested 11 Kurds during this action. Also on July 4, approximately 50 ERNK supporters occupied the German embassy in Athens, Greece, to protest Halim's murder. After about two hours, the demonstrators left the embassy. There were no arrests. Two days later, Kurds occupied a German consulate in the Danish city of Apenrade. On Saturday, July 9, more than 16,000 attended a funeral march for Halim Dener in Hannover. Thousands of people carried PKK/ERNK flags and banners during the four-hour procession through the city's centre. Halim's coffin was carried to the site where a German policeman murdered him nine days before. Despite witness accounts which prove that Halim was the victim of a politically-motivated murder, police officials are still calling the youth's death an "accident". On Friday, July 22, the body of Halim Dener was stolen by Turkish security forces from the airport of the city of Diyarbakir. His family had brought Halim back to Kurdistan to be buried but Turkish soldiers took Halim's coffin to an undisclosed location and buried it in secret. A delegation of Green and socialist German politicians who were accompanying the return of Halim's body to Kurdistan were detained at the airport and not allowed to travel to the burial site, and a TV crew who were sent to film Halim's funeral were detained in a hotel room. Soldiers prevented Halim's parents from seeing Halim's coffin at the airport before it was taken away. 11) Police Attack Kurdish Protests In Mannheim It was supposed to be a send-off for a march by Kurdish women to the European parliament in Strasbourg. But as more than 400 Kurds gathered in the city center of Mannheim on Monday, September 26, 1994, the German police acted as they have become accustomed to acting: The demonstration was declared an illegal gathering of PKK supporters, and riot police were ordered to attack. Several of the women marchers were injured as police used clubs and water cannons to break up the demonstration. At least 315 Kurds were arrested. On Tuesday, September 27, around 70 Kurdish women occupied Mannheim's town hall to protest the police violence from the previous day. Outside the building, riot police attacked 100 Kurdish demonstrators who were supporting the women's sit-in. During the confrontation, a 20 year old Kurdish youth rushed one riot policeman and stole his pistol. The youth was immediately tackled by half a dozen other officers. The gun - which apparently was not on safety - went off and wounded another Kurd in the leg. After the shooting incident, riot police stormed into the town hall building and brutally attacked the women inside. On this day in Mannheim, around 170 Kurds were arrested and several were injured. Apparently in protest of the police violence against Kurds in Mannheim, a series of firebombings were carried out on Monday night, causing extensive damage to several German police stations, as well as to the Deutsche Bank office in Kiehl and the central post office in Offenburg. 12) Deportation Is Murder! Solidarity With The Kurds! Today, we are blocking this section of the Autobahn to show our solidarity with the Kurds who are resiting the genocidal policies of the Turkish government. Germany, in its role as Turkey's most important arms supplier, NATO ally, and source of currency, is an accomplice to the policies of destruction, expulsion, and oppression being carried out by the Turkish government against the Kurds in Kurdistan. We strongly protest the German government's criminalization of every form of political or cultural expression by the Kurds and their organizations in Germany. The height of this criminalization of one of the largest minority populations living in Germany came with the banning of 35 Kurdish organizations in November 1993. For the past few weeks, we have seen a hardening of the government's stance against the Kurds. The Kurdish New Year's Festival (Newroz), a long-standing traditional expression of the Kurds' cultural identity and political resistance to their oppression, was banned in many parts of Germany and Kurdish gatherings were brutally dispersed by police. The same happened during the Autobahn blockades staged by the Kurds, which were an attempt to make the German public aware of the increasingly desperate situation in Kurdistan and to pressure the German government to change its course and stop supporting Turkey. After police provocation led to confrontations, the traffic stoppages by the Kurds were denounced by the media and seemingly all political parties as "terrorist acts". This clearly shows the double-standard of the established parties: Whereas Autobahn blockades by steel workers, truck drivers, and farmers are seen as understandable expressions of those peoples' uncertain position and the appropriate government ministers hurry to the scene of the protest, Kurds are immediately labelled as "terrorists" as a result of their blockades. This criminalization and smear-campaign has now reached a stage where the provincial governments and the federal government are calling for those Kurds involved in the protests to be deported to Turkey. The Turkish government claims that those persons deported will not be tortured or killed. In Bayern, the first deportations have already been approved, even though part of the ruling coalition there sees these deportations as illegal. For those concerned, deportation will surely mean torture and prison and, in many cases, death. The criminalization, smear-campaign, and deportations are just the latest signs of a state that is becoming increasingly authoritarian and nationalistic: - Last year, the right to seek asylum in Germany was practically abolished. This action was taken with the intention of keeping refugees out of Germany and of deporting them. - The "foreigner laws", which were made even more strict in 1991, are the basis for interior minister Kanther's ability to carry out the deportations. Finally, this is but the latest in a series of measures designed to deny immigrants and refugees any outlet for political activity and to force them into silence with the terror of threatened and actual deportations. No deportations of Kurds and other immigrants/refugees! Complete political self-determination for immigrants and refugees living here! No weapons for Turkey's military regime! Freedom for Kurdistan! Berlin Autonomen, 15.04.94 13) Letter From Leyla Zana Desperate Kurdish Cry Of Protest Rises From Prison Cell (This letter by Leyla Zana MP was smuggled out of an Ankara jail. She, along with 7 other Kurdish MP's, was charged with high treason and the promotion of separatism, a charge which carries the death penalty. The eight Kurds, who were elected members of the Turkish parliament from the Democracy Party (DEP), which was banned in Turkey in June, were stripped of the parliamentary immunity in March. The Turkish government claims the eight were actually just a political front for the PKK. The DEP party was formed after a similar pro-Kurdish party, the HEP, was banned by Turkish officials. In the past few months, several DEP politicians have been killed by "unknown assailants" in Turkish-occupied Kurdistan.) Turkey has a tradition under which politicians are periodically arrested and thrown into prison after a military coup. But even against that background, the actions taken against me and my Kurdish parliamentary colleagues are something new. This is the first time that under a so-called civilian government elected representatives are being intimidated with the threat of capital punishment. These actions are purely political. Even before we were arraigned before a court, Tansu Ciller, the Prime Minister, several ministers and all the leaders of the political parties judged and condemned us. During the municipal elections of last March, Mrs Ciller referred to was "the traitors in parliament" and the government's spokesman described us on state television as "terrorists". In such circumstances, a parliament no longer deserves its name and it is no longer possible to believe in Turkish justice. This justice wants me condemned to death for my peaceful and legal activities carried out in my capacity as a member of parliament for the city of Diyarbakir. It reproaches me in a higgledy-piggledy fashion for opinions expressed in the assembly, during meetings of my constituents, in the local and international press, and for going on hunger strike to protest against the destruction of the Kurdish city of Sirnak by the army. I have appealed for peace and for dialogue. My crime has been to use a Kurdish phrase for the friendship of Kurds and Turks and their coexistence during my oath of loyalty in parliament. Even the colour of my clothes are supposed to make me a 'separatist'. Again, speaking of the existence of the Kurdish people, of the land of Kurdistan, demanding a peaceful recognition of the culture and the identity of the Kurds in a democratic system and within existing borders, make me 'a member of the political wing of the Kurdistan Workers Party', even though that party is engaged in a war with the Turkish state and I search for a peaceful solution to the Kurdish problem. Nor am I alone speaking of the Kurds. Turgut Ozal, our late president, spoke publicly of the existence of "12 million Kurds in Turkey" and argued that a federal solution, was possible to this problem. Even our President, Suleyman Demirel, said in November 1991: "From now onwards, Turkey recognises the reality of the Kurds." The Kurdish people are not the product of my imagination. Historians tell us that the Kurds have been inhabiting their present land from the dawn of recorded time, have their own language, a culture and a civilisation of their own. My people conducted 28 uprisings between 1806 and 1937 to achieve their liberation. President Demirel has described the present guerrilla war as the 29th. At the end of the First World War, when the very existence of Turkey was threatened, the Kurds responded generously to the plea of Mustafa Kemal and he promised that they would obtain their full rights in the new state. Seventy-five Kurdish officials sat in the national assembly "as deputies of Kurdistan". In 1922 Kemal, later "Ataturk", announced a law of 19 articles for the "province of Kurdistan and its assembly". He delayed the examination of his proposals, however, until the Treaty of Lausanne, which recognised the new Turkish state in July 1923, was concluded. The Kurdish deputies who had previously helped him were sent to the Tribunal of Independence, a direct ancestor of the court that is trying us now, and the tribunal sent them to the gallows. A new constitution in 1924 forbade the use of the word "Kurd" and banned all the other languages of From root at newsdesk.aps.nl Thu Jan 26 21:19:23 1995 From: root at newsdesk.aps.nl (root at newsdesk.aps.nl) Date: 26 Jan 1995 21:19:23 Subject: PKK TO APPLY TO ICRC & ABIDE BY GEN Message-ID: From: newsdesk at newsdesk.aps.nl (Newsdesk Amsterdam) Subject: PKK TO APPLY TO ICRC & ABIDE BY GENEVA CONVENTION Reply-To: root at newsdesk.aps.nl PKK TO APPLY TO ICRC & ABIDE BY GENEVA CONVENTION The Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) has issued the foIlowing statement at a press conference in Geneva, today. Dear members of the press May I greet you all on behalf of the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK). Before the eyes of the world there is a war of annihiliation being conductad in our homeland, Kurdistan. The Turkish republic, since its foundation has denied the existence of our people with systematic state policies. The Turkish state which has forbidden the culture, language and the identity of the Kurdish people, is conducting a war of genocide and mobilising every possible military means and all its forces. The PKK, honouring the universal values of humanity, is fighting for the national and democratic rights of our people. The war is a consequence of Turkish state policy. ln this filthy and bloody adventure Turkey has declared the Kurdish people as the prime legitimate military target. The Turkish state has depopulated Kurdistan: 3,000 villages have been burned down and millions of people have been forced to flee. The state forces, unable to vanquish the guerrillla army, is revenging itself on the civilians with unprecedented severity. 15.000 member of our party are now facing the death penalty in prisons. Turkey, as well as disregarding the international conventions that she is signatory to, also prevents the press, OSCE and international human rights observers visiting Kurdistan and monitoring the situation for themselves. The state has refused the lCRC's humanitarian endaavour to visit Kurdistan. Turkey, even though it is a signatory, has never complied with the 12 August 1949 Geneva Convention and has refused to sign the 1977 protocol 1. The 10-year war has claimed the lives of 34.000 people. The war has never been the choice of our party. lt was imposed on our people. We state categorically: we want this war to end are in favour of a democratic, equitable and legal solution. This demand was demonstrated by the declaration of a unilateral ceasefire in 1993 which lasted for 83 days. Turkey continues to persist in its dirty war. We will continue to fight until we compel Turkey to seek a political solution. We call on Turkey to comply with international laws and to cease its attacks on civilians. The PKK, as a party in this conflict, has always observed the conventions on war. The relevant application denoting such acceptance was submitted to the lCCRC and concerned bodies on 23 january 1995 on behalf of the PKK Genaral Secretary Abdullah Ocalan. The declaration moreover also contains the following points: 1. ln its conflict with the Turkish state forces, the PKK undertakes to respect the Geneva Conventions of 1949 and the protocol 1 of 1977 regarding the conduct of hostilities and the protection of the victims of war and to treat those obligations as having the force of law within its own forces and the areas within its control. 2. To end any doubt, the PKK regards the following groups as part of the Turkish security forces and, therefore, as legitimate targets of attack: a - members of the Turkish armed forces b - members of the Turkish contra-guerrilla forces c - members of the Turkish lntelligence Service d - members of the Turkish gendarmerie e - village guards The PKK does not regard civil servants as members of the security forces, unless they come within one of the above categories. 3. The PKK will treat captured members of the Turkish security forces as prisoners of war. 4. The PKK will disseminate this statement and the rules of the Geneva Convention of 1949 and Protocol 1 of 1977 to its forces and asks for the assistance of the ICRC. lt has adopted a system of discipline to ensure respect for these rules and the punishment of those who break them. lt accepts the principle of command responsibility. The PKK would accept an offer of services from the ICRC. 6. The PKK calls upon the Turkish goverment to give the same undertakings and to accept an offer for services from the ICRC. Finally, the PKK calls upon all parties to the Geneva Convention, UN, OSCE, Council of Europe and ICEC to take necessery steps to end the war or ensure that the Turkish state and the PKK respect their obligetions under international law. On behalf of PKK General Secretary Abdullah Ocalan. 24 January 1995 ------------------------------------------------------- * Activists Press Service (Newsdesk) * newsdesk at aps.nl !Power to the people! ------------------------------------------------------- From mchyet at lionheart.Berkeley.EDU Fri Jan 27 10:10:56 1995 From: mchyet at lionheart.Berkeley.EDU (mchyet at lionheart.Berkeley.EDU) Date: 27 Jan 1995 10:10:56 Subject: PKK TO APPLY TO ICRC & ABIDE BY GEN References: Message-ID: From: Michael Chyet Subject: PKK TO APPLY TO ICRC & ABIDE BY GENEVA CONVENTION PKK TO APPLY TO ICRC & ABIDE BY GENEVA CONVENTION The Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) has issued the foIlowing statement at a press conference in Geneva, today. Dear members of the press May I greet you all on behalf of the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK). Before the eyes of the world there is a war of annihiliation being conductad in our homeland, Kurdistan. The Turkish republic, since its foundation has denied the existence of our people with systematic state policies. The Turkish state which has forbidden the culture, language and the identity of the Kurdish people, is conducting a war of genocide and mobilising every possible military means and all its forces. The PKK, honouring the universal values of humanity, is fighting for the national and democratic rights of our people. The war is a consequence of Turkish state policy. ln this filthy and bloody adventure Turkey has declared the Kurdish people as the prime legitimate military target. The Turkish state has depopulated Kurdistan: 3,000 villages have been burned down and millions of people have been forced to flee. The state forces, unable to vanquish the guerrillla army, is revenging itself on the civilians with unprecedented severity. 15.000 member of our party are now facing the death penalty in prisons. Turkey, as well as disregarding the international conventions that she is signatory to, also prevents the press, OSCE and international human rights observers visiting Kurdistan and monitoring the situation for themselves. The state has refused the lCRC's humanitarian endaavour to visit Kurdistan. Turkey, even though it is a signatory, has never complied with the 12 August 1949 Geneva Convention and has refused to sign the 1977 protocol 1. The 10-year war has claimed the lives of 34.000 people. The war has never been the choice of our party. lt was imposed on our people. We state categorically: we want this war to end are in favour of a democratic, equitable and legal solution. This demand was demonstrated by the declaration of a unilateral ceasefire in 1993 which lasted for 83 days. Turkey continues to persist in its dirty war. We will continue to fight until we compel Turkey to seek a political solution. We call on Turkey to comply with international laws and to cease its attacks on civilians. The PKK, as a party in this conflict, has always observed the conventions on war. The relevant application denoting such acceptance was submitted to the lCCRC and concerned bodies on 23 january 1995 on behalf of the PKK Genaral Secretary Abdullah Ocalan. The declaration moreover also contains the following points: 1. ln its conflict with the Turkish state forces, the PKK undertakes to respect the Geneva Conventions of 1949 and the protocol 1 of 1977 regarding the conduct of hostilities and the protection of the victims of war and to treat those obligations as having the force of law within its own forces and the areas within its control. 2. To end any doubt, the PKK regards the following groups as part of the Turkish security forces and, therefore, as legitimate targets of attack: a - members of the Turkish armed forces b - members of the Turkish contra-guerrilla forces c - members of the Turkish lntelligence Service d - members of the Turkish gendarmerie e - village guards The PKK does not regard civil servants as members of the security forces, unless they come within one of the above categories. 3. The PKK will treat captured members of the Turkish security forces as prisoners of war. 4. The PKK will disseminate this statement and the rules of the Geneva Convention of 1949 and Protocol 1 of 1977 to its forces and asks for the assistance of the ICRC. lt has adopted a system of discipline to ensure respect for these rules and the punishment of those who break them. lt accepts the principle of command responsibility. The PKK would accept an offer of services from the ICRC. 6. The PKK calls upon the Turkish goverment to give the same undertakings and to accept an offer for services from the ICRC. Finally, the PKK calls upon all parties to the Geneva Convention, UN, OSCE, Council of Europe and ICEC to take necessery steps to end the war or ensure that the Turkish state and the PKK respect their obligetions under international law. On behalf of PKK General Secretary Abdullah Ocalan. 24 January 1995 ------------------------------------------------------- * Activists Press Service (Newsdesk) * newsdesk at aps.nl !Power to the people! ------------------------------------------------------- From newsdesk_aps_nl at apsf.aps.nl Fri Jan 27 10:11:30 1995 From: newsdesk_aps_nl at apsf.aps.nl (newsdesk_aps_nl at apsf.aps.nl) Date: 27 Jan 1995 10:11:30 Subject: TRKNWS-L NEWS from Vic McDonald Message-ID: From: newsdesk_aps_nl at apsf.aps.nl (newsdesk at aps.nl) Subject: TRKNWS-L NEWS from Vic McDonald Turkey says fighting rages in northern Iraq ANKARA, Jan 25 (Reuter) - Several relief agencies providing aid to Iraqi Kurds in northern Iraq are considering pulling out because of continued fighting between factions there, Turkey's Foreign Ministry spokesman Ferhat Ataman said on Wednesday. ``The clashes are seriously hampering the transportation and distribution of relief aid to the Iraqi Kurdish people,'' he said, but gave no details. Forces of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK), led by Jalal Talabani, and Masoud Barzani's Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) guerrillas have been fighting since December 13. The worst of the fighting has been over Arbil, controlled by PUK forces. There was no indication of casualty figures from the latest fighting. ``Because of the fighting some foreign NGOs (non-govenmental organisations) handling humanitarian aid are considering pulling out of the area,'' Ataman said. A Turkish Red Crescent relief group, distributing aid in Suleimaniyah, Arbil and Dohuk cities, was operating, but only just, Ataman said. ``Turkey would like to see the sides end fighting which can benefit none except those who wish for instability in northern Iraq,'' he added. The PUK and KDP supposedly share power to administer northern Iraq, protected against possible attacks from Baghdad by an allied force in southern Turkey, patrolling an exclusion zone. PUK and KDP spokesmen in Ankara were not avilable for immediate comment. A foreign ministry source said a team of Turkish and U.S. officials were in northern Iraq to urge Talabani and Barzani to end hostilities immediately. The delegation crossed into the region from the Turkish border on Tuesday, the source said but gave no further details. Ankara earlier this month offered to mediate between Talabani and Barzani and host a meeting of the two leaders. Ataman said there was no progress on the issue. PUK spokesman in Ankara had said earlier that Talabani had in principle agreed to the offer. REUTER Transmitted: 95-01-25 12:20:23 EST New German military aid to Turkey sparks dispute BONN, Jan 25 (Reuter) - Germay said on Wednesday it would make good on a Gulf War-era promise and send more military equipment to Turkey despite opposition parties' objections. ``The German side has decided to honour its pledge from autumn 1990,'' the defence ministry said, adding it would send Turkey armoured vehicles, rubber rafts, boats, ambulances and spare parts worth around 52 million marks ($34 million). The equipment, which does not include any weapons, is part of a 1.5 billion mark ($990 million) military aid package Bonn promised Ankara in 1990 after Iraqi troops marched into Kuwait. Most of that equipment has already been delivered. But the opposition Social Democrats (SPD) attacked Chancellor Helmut Kohl's government for continuing the shipments amid worries over Turkey's treatment of its Kurdish minority. Bonn expressed concern over the conviction last month of Kurdish deputies for comments they made in the Turkish parliament on Kurdish autonomy. And it has suspended repatriation of rejected asylum seekers while it examines the situation of Kurds in Turkey and the efforts promised by Ankara to liberalise its constitution. ``With the sensitivity of a T-72 tank (Kohl) gives this happy message just when world opinion is unsettled by news from Turkey about sentencing of parliamentary deputies, the start of a trial against writer Yasar Kemal and the further escalation of the war in Kurdish regions,'' an SPD statement said. It called on the government to halt military aid to Turkey and Greece, with which Bonn will discuss such aid on Friday. The defence ministry rejected what it called ``completely unfounded'' SPD criticism. ``An international binding pledge is simply being upheld, underscoring Germany's reliability,'' it said. Bonn temporarily froze shipments in 1992 and again in 1994 while reviewing allegations Turkey was violating terms of the agreement and using German equipment against separatist Kurds. It said last May it had found no proof to back the allegations. Turkey denies using military equipment from Germany in its southeast where security forces are fighting a 10-year-old insurgency by the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK). REUTER Transmitted: 95-01-25 14:22:04 EST From ffpeace at igc.apc.org Fri Jan 27 15:02:50 1995 From: ffpeace at igc.apc.org (The Fund for Peace) Date: Fri, 27 Jan 1995 07:02:50 -0800 (PST) Subject: Announcement:Handbook for HR Groups Message-ID: ======================================================================== Available February, 1994 in English Available Spring 1994 in French, Spanish, Arabic, and Amharic HUMAN RIGHTS INSTITUTION-BUILDING: A HANDBOOK ON ESTABLISHING AND SUSTAINING HUMAN RIGHTS ORGANIZTIONS The Fund for Peace Human rights activists world-wide share the goal of making their work more effective. But in order to carry out the important objectives of protecting and promoting rights, more than knowledgeable and committed people are needed. Infrastructures which support these objectives and allow them to be expanded are also critical. In fact, effective institutions significantly re-inforce a group's substantive agenda of advancing respect for human rights. Despite the universal relevance and application of organization-building and maintenance, however, these institutional implications of rights activism are often given scant attention by over-whelmed activists. At the same time, it is obvious to most human rights workers that they increase their power and effectiveness through solidarity, mutual support, training, and information sharing. Particularly with regard to information sharing, the successes and failures of others in the same field are always instructive. Unfortunately, few groups have the resources necessary to regularly exchange experiences and strategies with their colleagues in other parts of the world. Recognizing this difficulty, `Human Rights Institution- Building: A Handbook on Establishing and Sustaining Human Rights Organizations' was conceived as a vehicle for allowing activists to, in effect, teach each other about organizational issues. The Handbook is a compilation and analysis of the experiences of rights activists and others throughout the world on a variety of human rights institution-building issues. Specifically, it is intended to help activists seriously thinking about starting a new human rights group, as well as new organizations already in existence and older organizations which are finding that they now need to address organizational concerns. Although it is impossible to anticipate every institutional pitfall that may beset a human rights group, careful planning can play a key role in preventing organizational paralysis. The purpose of the Handbook, then, is to help groups anticipate institutional problems and develop structures and procedures that will help prevent them. During the course of over a year, the Human Rights Program of The Fund for Peace personally interviewed a broad range of human rights organizations from throughout the world to survey their start-up process, organizational structures, and advice for overcoming various obstacles encountered in the initial phases of their operations. In addition, the Program mailed a detailed questionnaire in four languages to some 600 human rights groups around the globe. The responses, along with relevant practical information derived from a number of existing written sources on institution-building, were synthesized to form the Handbook. We hope that the finished product reflects in some fashion the collective wisdom that we were privileged to assemble. TABLE OF CONTENTS Acknowledgement Introduction Getting Started Developing a Core Group Determining Mandate Writing Organizational Bylaws When are Bylaws Written? What Kind of Information is Usually Included in Bylaws? Creating Organizational Structure Opening an Office Defining Internal Roles and Relationships Volunteers and Staff The Board of Directors Members Relations Between a Group's Constituent Bodies Recruiting Who does the Recruiting and Where do they Look for Candidates? Establishing Methodical Procedures Why are Methodical Procedures Important? What Kind of Procedures should be Considered? Consolidating and Sustaining Human Rights Organizations Organizational Health Internal Democracy and Accountability Leadership Teamwork Credibility Public Relations and the Media Developing a Public Relations Plan Developing an Effective Message Cultivating Media Contacts Tips for Conducting Press Interviews Preparing Press Releases and Other Media Materials Organizing Press Events Generating Resources Where can a New Organization Turn for Funds? Developing Local Sources of Funding The Pros and Cons of Foreign Funding Identifying External Sources of Funding What International Funders Look for in a Proposal Is It Advisable to Accept Government Funding? A Final Note of Caution Evaluation What is an Evaluation? What is the Purpose of an Evaluation? Are Evaluations Important for Human Rights NGOs? How can You Prepare for an Evaluation? Mechanisms for Evaluating NGOs Evaluating the Internal Functioning of an NGO Evaluating an NGO's External Impact Who is Evaluated? Who does the Evaluation? What can an Evaluation Reveal? Networking and Coalition Building What are "Networks" and "Coalitions"? Why Establish a Coalition? Are there Reasons to Avoid Forming a Coalition? How can Effective Coalitions be Built? Relating to International Human Rights NGOs What are International Human Rights NGOs? Relations Between INGOs and Local Groups Finding out about INGOs Organizational Expansion When should an Organization Expand? Developing Branch Offices Looking Forward Appendices Handbook Questionaire Basic Bibliography on Fact-Finding Human Rights Training and Education Programs Sample Bylaws Sample Press Release Sources of Funding Information ================================================================== The Fund for Peace Human Rights Program provides technical and financial assistance to groups working to protect and promote human rights, to date limited to the countries in the Horn of Africa (Eritrea, Ethiopia, Djibouti, Sudan, Somaliland, and Somalia). The program organizes skill-building workshops, and collects and produces written materials on organizational issues of importance to human rights groups, particularly in the early stages of their development. The program's training efforts have focused on human rights education and advocacy, and the elements of human rights institution-building. ================================================================= Inquiries about publications should be directed to: Horn of Africa Program The Fund for Peace 823 United Nations Plaza, Suite 717 New York, New York 10017 Telephone: 212 661-5900 Fax: 212 661-5904 Email: ffpeace at igc.apc.org dbricker at panix.com From root at newsdesk.aps.nl Sat Jan 28 17:19:19 1995 From: root at newsdesk.aps.nl (root at newsdesk.aps.nl) Date: 28 Jan 1995 17:19:19 Subject: Kurds on way to launching new s Message-ID: From: newsdesk at newsdesk.aps.nl (Newsdesk Amsterdam) Subject: Re: Kurds on way to launching new satellite TV station; 23/1/95 Reply-To: root at newsdesk.aps.nl ------ Forwarded from : Haldun Haznedar -------- By Peter Warg Cairo (Variety) - A Kurdish separatist movement is reportedly wheeling out a new weapon in its struggle for an independent Kurdistan - a TV station from outer space, well outside the artillery range of its earthbound Mideast adversaries. The region's first Kurdish-lingo satellite TV channel is planning to take to the skies during the first half of this year and is operated by the Marxist-oriented Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), according to a report in the Ankara-based Turkish Daily News. The English-language daily, quoting sources close to the PKK, said that the channel would be called MED-TV and broadcast from Britain to the Mideast via satellite. The PKK has long been a major headache for the Turkish government. The party's guerrilla wing has turned much of southeastern Turkey into a civil war zone. PKK has also claimed responsibility for numerous bomb attacks on Turkish diplomatic missions and businesses in Europe. The Daily News reported that the space TV project was receiving financial backing from unidentified Kurdish businessmen in the West. It said that further details of the project were expected to be announced in coming weeks. There are an estimated 22 million Kurds living in the Middle East - mostly in Turkey, Iraq, Iran and Syria. They speak an Indo-European language distinct from Turkish or Arabic, but closely related to the Persian spoken in Iran. If the sat station gets off the ground, it will mark a new milestone in the Kurdish independence movement - and a tool for helping to enhance a Kurdish national identity. As such, it can hardly expect a warm reception from the governments of those countries where Kurds constitute sizable and often fractious minorities. Kurdish nationalist aspirations have long been suppressed in these countries - especially Turkey, which has in the past suppressed the public use of the Kurdish language. ----------------------------- End forwarded message -------------------------- ------------------------------------------------------- * Activists Press Service (Newsdesk) * newsdesk at aps.nl !Power to the people! ------------------------------------------------------- From mchyet at lionheart.Berkeley.EDU Sun Jan 29 23:11:10 1995 From: mchyet at lionheart.Berkeley.EDU (mchyet at lionheart.Berkeley.EDU) Date: 29 Jan 1995 23:11:10 Subject: No Subject Given Message-ID: From: Michael Chyet Subject: Text item: Text_1 Dear friends: I am sorry to say that I have a piece of news: The mother of an Iraqi Kurdish friend of mine just arrived here in the the San Francisco Bay Area, after being harrassed by Turkish authorities at the Istanbul airport. She has an American identification card which states that her place of origin is "KURDISTAN". For this reason, she was forced to get off the airplane she had already boarded {T"urk Hava YollarI} and was taken to the American Consulate. The authorities at the American Consulate apparently said: "She's an old lady, let her alone; She's an Iraqi Kurd, and the term "KURDISTAN" is now in use for 'Northern Iraq'; besides, the Turkish government has officials relations with both the KDP and the PUK, which maintain offices in Ankara, and have the word "KURDISTAN" in their titles." The Turks reportedly tried to get a $300.oo bribe from her, but she bravely stood her ground and said, "You give me $3,000.oo for this insulting inconvenience!" No money changed hands, but she was eventually returned to the airport, where she was permitted to board the next day's flight. Her son in San Francisco, who went to meet the flight that she was originally scheduled to arrive on, was not told of any of this, and one can just imagine how worried he must have been until he found out -- after making several expensive international long distance phone calls to the hotel she had been staying in, etc. -- what had happened to her. This sort of treatment of civilians as if they were garbage is neither new nor peculiar to the Turkish authorities. Nevertheless, there are those who would say that this is an example of how the Turkish-Kurdish war is being fought on a new front. Anyone interested in contacting the woman involved to interview her -- she has just come from Kurdistan of Iraq, with fresh views and insights on the situation there as well, may contact me, and I will put you in touch with her. Best wishes, MLC From aoturkey at gn.apc.org Mon Jan 30 12:51:22 1995 From: aoturkey at gn.apc.org (aoturkey at gn.apc.org) Date: 30 Jan 1995 12:51:22 +0000 (GMT) Subject: Yashar Kemal faces five year jail Message-ID: Turkey's most famous author may face 5 years jail Turkey's most famous living author Yasar (Yashar) Kemal, also the only Turkish novelist to be shortlisted for the Nobel Prize for Literature, may face a prison sentence of up to five years if found guilty by a special State Security Court for violating a controversial law inhibiting the freedom of expression in that country. Kemal, himself of Kurdish origin, appeared before an Istanbul court this month owing to an article published in the January 10 edition of the German news weekly Der Spiegel. Prosecutors later brought formal charges against him demanding up to five years jail! His Der Spiegel article, "Campaign of Lies," described the Turkish state as "a system of unbearable repression and atrocity," claiming that 70 years of official denial of the Kurdish identity in Turkey had justified a Kurdish rebellion and that the demand for an independent Kurdish homeland was also "a justifiable human right." "We want him tried under article eight of the antiterror law," the State Security Court prosecutor told reporters Monday, noting that this article carried a two to five-year prison term and a fine of 50 to 100 million lira ($1,250-$2,500). "They could convict me," Kemal agreed after appearing at court. "But in the eyes of the Turks and people around the world, I won't be guilty." The investigation against this renowned author at 71 years of age was launched after Turkey's sensationalist press, led by the mass circulation daily Hurriyet, published translated paragraphs of the original Der Spiegel article. Kemal claimed the case was being built on this translation but agreed that the views worded were his. "By making such statements against Turkey," said Hurriyet columnist Emin Colasan, "he appears to be indenting to secure the Nobel prize." Kemal appeared in Monday's hearing accompanied by a crowd of supporting artists, journalists and writers who are now organizing a campaign on his behalf. "I am a separatist, apparently," Kemal told them. "But I have not the smallest trace of guilt," he added, amid their applause. A petition passed around the courthouse by his supporters pointed out that at least 100 Turkish intellectuals, among them prominent writers and academicians, had recently been jailed for speeches or writings mostly related to Turkey's Kurdish problem. Turkey's tough anti-separatism laws have led to dozens of controversial convictions over the past two years, leading recently to the jailing of eight elected members of the parliament. "Yashar Kemal told Der Spiegel democracy is limited here," Turkey's best-seller author Orhan Pamuk commented on the case. "The state is proving this...If someone is going to the state security court for writing such things, this shows the writer is telling the truth. I support wholly what Kemal wrote." According to said leading actor-director Rutkay Aziz, Kemal did not want the division of Turkey as claimed, but was facing punishment "for wanting a peaceful solution for all the blood and tears." Over 13,000 people have died in a decade-long bloody war between guerillas of the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) and government troops in Southeast Turkey but the government and military still maintain the problem has no social or cultural roots and is of "terrorist nature" alone. Ankara has recently turned down another offer by the PKK to lay down the arms and start a dialogue for a peaceful solution to the crisis within the framework of Turkish sovereignty. Turkey's human rights record over the Kurdish crisis has gone worse since 1990, filled with allegations of mass evacuation and torching of Kurdish villages, bombing of civilian targets, extensive torture and arbitrary detentions aside from a country- wide roundup of intellectuals. The Yashar Kemal case is expected to further strain Ankara's relations with the West coming at a time Turkey is trying to secure a customs union agreement with the European Union. Already, Ankara has been stormed with protest messages coming from international organizations in Kemal's defense. In a telegram it sent to Prime Minister Tansu Ciller on Monday, the London-based international centre against censorship, Article 19, emphasized that this and similar cases were in violation of Article 10 of the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights (ECHR) which is also binding by Turkish law. "We urge your government to drop any charges pending against Yashar Kemal, and to reaffirm, in public, that he and other Turkish writers will be fully protected in the exercise of their professional activities," the telegram said. Ends From root at newsdesk.aps.nl Mon Jan 30 20:03:08 1995 From: root at newsdesk.aps.nl (root at newsdesk.aps.nl) Date: 30 Jan 1995 20:03:08 Subject: The Balance Of The War In Kurdi Message-ID: From: newsdesk at newsdesk.aps.nl (Newsdesk Amsterdam) Subject: Re: The Balance Of The War In Kurdistan Reply-To: root at newsdesk.aps.nl --------------- Forwarded from : Arm The Spirit ---------------- KURD-A Special Report January 15, 1995 The Balance Of The War In Kurdistan: More Than 35,000 Dead Since 1984 Over the last few weeks, KURD-A carried out research to discover the "balance" of the war in Kurdistan. In addition to information from their own correspondents, KURD-A also utilized data from the daily newspaper Ozgur Ulke, reports from the Turkish human rights association IHD, as well as statistics compiled by the Kurdish liberation front ERNK. Since 1984, the beginning of the armed struggle of the PKK, the war-like confrontation between the Turkish government and the army on the one side and the ARGK, the Kurdish guerrilla army of the PKK, on the other has reached an unprecedented level of intensity, one which is not reflected in German-language media reports. According to KURD-A's research, between 35,000 and 37,000 people have died since 1984. A total of 11,000 armed confrontations have taken place since 1984. In these battles, approximately 26,000 Turkish soldiers and other members of the security forces were killed, as were approximately 3,500 ARGK guerrillas. Between 5,000 and 7,000 civilians in Kurdistan have also died. The actual number of civilians killed is difficult to calculate, since more than 2 million people have become refugees and more than 2,500 villages have been destroyed during the last two years alone. It is during these last two years that the "fatality statistics" most accurately illustrate the increasingly dramatic war situation in Kurdistan. Whereas last week the governor of the provinces under emergency rule, in contrast to government figures from Ankara, spoke of more than 9,000 dead in 1994 alone, KURD-A has received information which indicates that 11,000 Turkish soldiers and members of the security forces and 1,300 guerrillas were killed during that time period. Translated by: Arm The Spirit P.O. Box 6326, Stn. A Toronto, Ontario M5W 1P7 Canada E-mail: ats at etext.org Berxwedan jiyane! ----------------------------- End forwarded message -------------------------- ------------------------------------------------------- * Activists Press Service (Newsdesk) * newsdesk at aps.nl !Power to the people! ------------------------------------------------------- From root at newsdesk.aps.nl Mon Jan 30 20:04:01 1995 From: root at newsdesk.aps.nl (root at newsdesk.aps.nl) Date: 30 Jan 1995 20:04:01 Subject: KURD-A News Jan.15-20 Message-ID: From: newsdesk at newsdesk.aps.nl (Newsdesk Amsterdam) Subject: Re: KURD-A News Jan.15-20 Reply-To: root at newsdesk.aps.nl --------------- Forwarded from : Arm The Spirit ---------------- KURD-A News Updates January 15-20, 1995 During fighting in the Diyarbakir-Hani region, which lasted all of Friday and Saturday, Kurdish guerrillas shot down an army helicopter which was carrying leading army and police officers from Diyarbakir. According to KURD-A correspondents in the area, 4 guerrillas and more than 30 soldiers were killed in the fighting. (15.01.95) In the strategically important Cudi mountains, which have been under the control of the ARGK since the summer of 1994, another attempt by the Turkish army to regain control of the region failed on Friday. There were "many deaths" as a result of constant guerrilla attacks during the three-hour battle. (15.01.95) During the first day of a major Turkish army operation involving at least 70,000 men on Friday, Kurdish guerrillas attacked army units. According to KURD-A correspondents in the area, army units were forced to partially retreat on Saturday, leaving behind logistical stations. It was also reported today that the army was forced to call off an unsuccessful assault on the Kalendar mountains which are under the control of the ARGK. (15.01.95) Yesterday, ARGK units attacked several military stations of the Turkish army in the Botan region. According to reports, rockets were fired on military stations in Haliktan near Kerboran and in Deriya. Our correspondent could not give any casualty figures, but it appears that the military station in Deriya was completely destroyed. (16.01.95) In Gabar-Sikeftiyan, Kurdish guerrillas captured a food transporter belonging to the Turkish army. According to KURD-A correspondents in the area, a young Kurdish recruit mutilated himself so that he would not have to take part in Turkish army operations, which are largely directed against the Kurdish civilian population. (16.01.95) The military commander of the south Kurdish KDP (Barsani), Ali Serman, is dead. He died in the south Kurdish province of Zele during an attack by Barsani's enemies the PUK (Tablani). Both parties, the KDP and the PUK, have been engaged in heavy rivalry fighting since mid-December 1994 in the UN Security Zone in northern Iraq. During this latest PUK attack, 35 other KDP members were killed. (16.01.95) A few days ago, heavy fighting broke out between the Turkish army and Kurdish guerrillas following a military operation in the Lice-Hani region. At least 20 Turkish soldiers were killed. Last Saturday, an army helicopter which was shot down crashed right into a guerrilla camp. This resulted in the deaths of all the helicopter's passengers as well as 4 guerrillas in the camp. Fighting has also broken out between the Turkish army and Kurdish guerrillas in the Agri-Silan region. (17.01.95) In Baykan-Marara, 4 paramilitary village guards were killed by a mine planted by guerrillas when their vehicle drove over the mine just outside of Madara. (17.01.95) After Kurdish guerrillas attacked the heavily-defended village guard settlement Sehen in the Bitlis-Tatvan region, fighting broke out with approaching Turkish army units. KURD-A correspondents could not report on the outcome of this battle, but they did report that 1 village guard and 2 of his male associates were killed. (17.01.95) The Turkish army has starting making countless arbitrary arrests in at least 7 villages in the area around Urfa-Zuruk. According to reports, yesterday afternoon alone 50 known persons in the villages of Merza and Zehwan were arrested. (18.01.95) Yesterday morning at around 10:00 a.m., the chairman of the HADEP party in Batman, Zeki Adlig, was shot dead in the street by "unknown assailants". As in other cases of the murders of writers, journalists, lawyers, and Kurdish oppositional politicians, the police investigation into the deed has gone nowhere. Zeki Adlig had been released from police custody just a few days before after being detained for political reasons. (18.01.95) According to the Turkish human rights association IHD in Ankara, a 12-year-old Kurd named D.T., who had been caught shoplifting, was held by police for 5 days. He was tortured every day by police. (18.01.95) Yesterday evening, the press office of the ARGK released a statement concerning tourism in Turkey and Kurdistan. In this statement, the ARGK stated that Turkey and Kurdistan are areas where a war is being fought and that tourists should not travel there. All money earned from tourism in Turkey is used to finance the Turkish government's dirty war in Kurdistan. (18.01.95) Yesterday, a Turkish army convoy drove onto a mined road near Besiri in Batman province. According to KURD-A correspondents in the area, 2 tanks and other vehicles were destroyed by the mine explosions. (19.01.95) Several Turkish soldiers were killed yesterday when a mine planted by guerrillas near a military station in Ayne exploded. (19.01.95) In the village of Simaz near Kulp, residents reported that 2 Kurdish guerrillas blew themselves up when they saw no other way out of an hours-long battle with Turkish soldiers. KURD-A was told that the 2 guerrillas had been surprised by Turkish soldiers in the village. (19.01.95) As KURD-A has often reported, Turkish army units have been terrorizing villagers in the Mardin region for weeks now in order to force residents to take part in the state's paramilitary village guard system. Some villages have left their areas and fled. According to Ozgur Ulke correspondents, Turkish army units forcibly evacuated the village of Kirdir in the Mardin-Savur region the day before yesterday. (19.01.95) After the bombing of the offices of the daily newspaper Ozgur Ulke, repression against the paper is continuing. Each issue of the paper is censored, correspondents and distributors are arrested and tortured. After the Diyarbakir correspondent Salih Gueler was arrested on January 4, now Ismail Hakki Kelleci, who also works for the paper in Diyarbakir, has also been arrested. (20.01.95) In the Mardin-Oemerli region, the mayor of Kocasirt, whose residents refuse to become village guards, has been shot and killed by Turkish security forces. The village was attacked by security forces and its residents were ordered to become village guards. Cemil Bingoel, the mayor, was then dragged from his house and murdered near the village. After the murder of the mayor, the village was evacuated less than a week later. (20.01.95) According to KURD-A correspondents, a Kurd in the Turkish army in the city of Nicosia in Turkish-occupied Cyprus was murdered. Ali Riza Minaz, who only had one month of service left, had been repeatedly arrested and tortured just because he was a Kurd. A few weeks ago, Ali Riza Minaz had called his family and said that he was afraid the he was going to be killed. (20.01.95) Translated by: Arm The Spirit P.O. Box 6326, Stn. A Toronto, Ontario M5W 1P7 Canada E-mail: ats at etext.org Berxwedan jiyane! ----------------------------- End forwarded message -------------------------- ------------------------------------------------------- * Activists Press Service (Newsdesk) * newsdesk at aps.nl !Power to the people! ------------------------------------------------------- From root at newsdesk.aps.nl Mon Jan 30 20:04:55 1995 From: root at newsdesk.aps.nl (root at newsdesk.aps.nl) Date: 30 Jan 1995 20:04:55 Subject: Boycott Turkish Tourism! Message-ID: From: newsdesk at newsdesk.aps.nl (Newsdesk Amsterdam) Subject: Re: Boycott Turkish Tourism! Reply-To: root at newsdesk.aps.nl --------------- Forwarded from : Arm The Spirit ---------------- 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) Translated by: Arm The Spirit P.O. Box 6326, Stn. A Toronto, Ontario M5W 1P7 Canada E-mail: ats at etext.org Berxwedan jiyane! ----------------------------- End forwarded message -------------------------- ------------------------------------------------------- * Activists Press Service (Newsdesk) * newsdesk at aps.nl !Power to the people! ------------------------------------------------------- From root at newsdesk.aps.nl Mon Jan 30 20:05:35 1995 From: root at newsdesk.aps.nl (root at newsdesk.aps.nl) Date: 30 Jan 1995 20:05:35 Subject: An Angry Look At German Reality Message-ID: From: newsdesk at newsdesk.aps.nl (Newsdesk Amsterdam) Subject: Re: An Angry Look At German Reality Reply-To: root at newsdesk.aps.nl --------------- Forwarded from : Arm The Spirit ---------------- KURD-A News Updates January 21-23, 1995 There was heavy fighting between units of the Turkish army and Kurdish guerrillas two days ago as a result of a military operation in the area around Sason. According to KURD-A correspondents, Kurdish guerrillas first attacked a flank of the army's troops on Thursday. After heavy losses, the army troops retreated in a convoy towards Batman, but their vehicals were trapped by the guerrillas. To the south of the city of Gabar, our correspondents report fighting between Turkish army units and Kurdish guerrillas. (21.01.95) Just like last week, Turkish army units have continued to punish village communities which refuse to take part in the state's village guard system. In the area around Mardin, army units set fire to the village of Henidiliya, and in the area around Savur, the village of Kose was burned. According to incomplete reports from KURD-A correspondents, Turkish army units are also carrying out actions against villages in the border region of Semdinan. (21.01.95) Last night, Kurdish guerrillas in the region of Mardin-Habizina attacked four neighboring village guard settlements. These were Midelbe, Tetra, Male Mihe, and Baminire. Turkish army units then launched an operation in this area in the early morning. (21.01.95) Late yesterday afternoon, it became known that the political police in Istanbul had arrested Suut Kilic, news editor of the new Kurdish weekly newspaper Velate Me, on January 18. (21.01.95) In an effort to become signatories of the Geneva Convention of 1949 and the first supplemental protocols of this Convention from Geneva 1977, the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) will hold a press conference on January 24, 1995, at the United Nations in Geneva. The PKK will seek admittance into the Convention and thereby gain recognition as a party at war in accordance with international law. The PKK accuses Turkey of violating the Convention by using force against civilians and by systematically destroying Kurdish villages. (22.01.95) The former senior member of the Deomcracy Party (DEP) in Izmir- Kemalpasa, who was arrested at his home five days ago, has disappeared. After Abdulselim Coban's wife, Melikiye Coban, made inquiries about her husband at the local police station and with the political police, she was told her husband was not there. Now, Milikiye Coban fears that her husband has disappeared like so many other Kurdish polticians. The wife of Abdulselim Coban has called on international human rights associations to put pressure on Turkey to find her husband. (22.01.95) During protest actions by PKK-prisoners in October 1994 in the political prison at Diyarbakir, Turkish security forces responded with violence and one PKK-prisoner was killed and at least 100 others were injured. One of those seriously wounded was Suleyman Ongun. After the prison riots, most of the prisoners were transferred to other prisons. The seriously wounded Suleyman Ongun was among those transferred. He was brought to Antep prison. According to the human rights association IHD, he is not being given medical treatment. (22.01.95) In the region of Semdinli-Zerre, 27 villages were forcibly evacuated by Turkish army units. The military commander of Hakkari called together the 27 mayors of these villages a few days ago and stated, "If you stay in those areas, you will be our targets in the spring." The mayors were told to either "form one joint village" or to leave the area. Last weekend, 10 Kurdish villages were forcibly evacuated by Turkish army units for not agreeing to take part in the state's paramilitary village guard system. These villages were Kirdikle near Mardin, Hasena near Mazidag, and at least eight other villages near Mardin-Savur and Diyarbakir-Bismil. According to incomplete reports, Turkish army units have surrounded two villages near Urfa-Suruc and completely cut them off from the outside world. In these villages, people who refuse to become village guards are seriously tortured. (23.01.95) On January 4, Ozgur Ulke editor Salih Gueler was arrested in Diyarbakir and, according to KURD-A, taken to the secret police barracks. His period of detention has since been extended, and one witness claims to have seen Salih Guerler being tortured. The witness described the Ozgur Ulke editor's health as very poor. "Salih Gueler was naked on the floor for the last few days," said the witness, "and his condition after the torture was not good. Furthermore, he was being kept in chains." (23.01.95) Translated by: Arm The Spirit P.O. Box 6326, Stn. A Toronto, Ontario M5W 1P7 Canada E-mail: ats at etext.org Berxwedan jiyane! ----------------------------- End forwarded message -------------------------- ------------------------------------------------------- * Activists Press Service (Newsdesk) * newsdesk at aps.nl !Power to the people! ------------------------------------------------------- From root at newsdesk.aps.nl Mon Jan 30 20:06:16 1995 From: root at newsdesk.aps.nl (root at newsdesk.aps.nl) Date: 30 Jan 1995 20:06:16 Subject: KURD-A News Jan.21-23 Message-ID: From: newsdesk at newsdesk.aps.nl (Newsdesk Amsterdam) Subject: Re: KURD-A News Jan.21-23 Reply-To: root at newsdesk.aps.nl --------------- Forwarded from : Arm The Spirit ---------------- KURD-A News Updates January 21-23, 1995 There was heavy fighting between units of the Turkish army and Kurdish guerrillas two days ago as a result of a military operation in the area around Sason. According to KURD-A correspondents, Kurdish guerrillas first attacked a flank of the army's troops on Thursday. After heavy losses, the army troops retreated in a convoy towards Batman, but their vehicals were trapped by the guerrillas. To the south of the city of Gabar, our correspondents report fighting between Turkish army units and Kurdish guerrillas. (21.01.95) Just like last week, Turkish army units have continued to punish village communities which refuse to take part in the state's village guard system. In the area around Mardin, army units set fire to the village of Henidiliya, and in the area around Savur, the village of Kose was burned. According to incomplete reports from KURD-A correspondents, Turkish army units are also carrying out actions against villages in the border region of Semdinan. (21.01.95) Last night, Kurdish guerrillas in the region of Mardin-Habizina attacked four neighboring village guard settlements. These were Midelbe, Tetra, Male Mihe, and Baminire. Turkish army units then launched an operation in this area in the early morning. (21.01.95) Late yesterday afternoon, it became known that the political police in Istanbul had arrested Suut Kilic, news editor of the new Kurdish weekly newspaper Velate Me, on January 18. (21.01.95) In an effort to become signatories of the Geneva Convention of 1949 and the first supplemental protocols of this Convention from Geneva 1977, the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) will hold a press conference on January 24, 1995, at the United Nations in Geneva. The PKK will seek admittance into the Convention and thereby gain recognition as a party at war in accordance with international law. The PKK accuses Turkey of violating the Convention by using force against civilians and by systematically destroying Kurdish villages. (22.01.95) The former senior member of the Deomcracy Party (DEP) in Izmir- Kemalpasa, who was arrested at his home five days ago, has disappeared. After Abdulselim Coban's wife, Melikiye Coban, made inquiries about her husband at the local police station and with the political police, she was told her husband was not there. Now, Milikiye Coban fears that her husband has disappeared like so many other Kurdish polticians. The wife of Abdulselim Coban has called on international human rights associations to put pressure on Turkey to find her husband. (22.01.95) During protest actions by PKK-prisoners in October 1994 in the political prison at Diyarbakir, Turkish security forces responded with violence and one PKK-prisoner was killed and at least 100 others were injured. One of those seriously wounded was Suleyman Ongun. After the prison riots, most of the prisoners were transferred to other prisons. The seriously wounded Suleyman Ongun was among those transferred. He was brought to Antep prison. According to the human rights association IHD, he is not being given medical treatment. (22.01.95) In the region of Semdinli-Zerre, 27 villages were forcibly evacuated by Turkish army units. The military commander of Hakkari called together the 27 mayors of these villages a few days ago and stated, "If you stay in those areas, you will be our targets in the spring." The mayors were told to either "form one joint village" or to leave the area. Last weekend, 10 Kurdish villages were forcibly evacuated by Turkish army units for not agreeing to take part in the state's paramilitary village guard system. These villages were Kirdikle near Mardin, Hasena near Mazidag, and at least eight other villages near Mardin-Savur and Diyarbakir-Bismil. According to incomplete reports, Turkish army units have surrounded two villages near Urfa-Suruc and completely cut them off from the outside world. In these villages, people who refuse to become village guards are seriously tortured. (23.01.95) On January 4, Ozgur Ulke editor Salih Gueler was arrested in Diyarbakir and, according to KURD-A, taken to the secret police barracks. His period of detention has since been extended, and one witness claims to have seen Salih Guerler being tortured. The witness described the Ozgur Ulke editor's health as very poor. "Salih Gueler was naked on the floor for the last few days," said the witness, "and his condition after the torture was not good. Furthermore, he was being kept in chains." (23.01.95) Translated by: Arm The Spirit P.O. Box 6326, Stn. A Toronto, Ontario M5W 1P7 Canada E-mail: ats at etext.org Berxwedan jiyane! ----------------------------- End forwarded message -------------------------- ------------------------------------------------------- * Activists Press Service (Newsdesk) * newsdesk at aps.nl !Power to the people! ------------------------------------------------------- From root at newsdesk.aps.nl Mon Jan 30 20:08:02 1995 From: root at newsdesk.aps.nl (root at newsdesk.aps.nl) Date: 30 Jan 1995 20:08:02 Subject: (correct version) An Angry Look Message-ID: From: newsdesk at newsdesk.aps.nl (Newsdesk Amsterdam) Subject: Re: (correct version) An Angry Look At German Reality Reply-To: root at newsdesk.aps.nl --------------- Forwarded from : Arm The Spirit ---------------- KURD-A Article Series: The Tears Of War In Kurdistan January 22, 1995 Kurdish Destiny? An Angry Look At German Reality by Susan Brand Last summer, H., a young Kurd who had lost both his feet and some of his fingers in the liberation struggle in Kurdistan, was arrested in a German hospital. Who is he? How could this happen? H. was born in Kurdistan and came to Europe as a youth. Here he joined the PKK and four years later he decided to return to his homeland and go "to the mountains" as a guerrilla fighter. In the mountains of Kurdistan, winters are extremely harsh, and H. suffered such extreme frostbite on his hands and feet while he was in the fighting areas that his comrades decided it was necessary to amputate his legs, without medical support, beneath the ankles. Without this operation, which was carried out without anaesthetics, H. would have died. After a few months, H. was able to make it back to Germany in order to get better medical treatment for his legs. Of course, shortly thereafter he wished to return to Kurdistan and to the struggle. But for the time being he spent his time with Kurds in Germany and he told them stories about the struggle in mountains in order to thereby awaken and strengthen their resistance, too. Germany's federal prosecutor's office used this as evidence that he was part of the "European leadership" of a "terrorist organization within the PKK". He was arrested at the hospital, with a complete disregard for his medical state. H. is being kept in strict isolation detention, which means no contact with other prisoners, newspapers, no books, and only one hour of closely monitored visits each month, with a translator present. This amounts to extreme psychological torture for H. At the beginning of last year, H. set his cell on fire to protest these conditions and his lack of medical attention, but also to protest the oppression, persecution, and criminalization of Kurds in Germany. This protest from a seriously disabled and sick political prisoner was not answered by a review of his prison conditions, but rather with a transfer to a psychiatric prison. One can only guess what that will mean for H. Last week, charges were filed against H. and three other prisoners, including a seriously ill woman. No one can say if H. will live to see the end of his trial. Translated by: Arm The Spirit P.O. Bx 6326, Stn. A Toronto, Ontario M5W 1P7 Canada E-mail: ats at etext.org Berxwedan jiyane! ----------------------------- End forwarded message -------------------------- ------------------------------------------------------- * Activists Press Service (Newsdesk) * newsdesk at aps.nl !Power to the people! ------------------------------------------------------- From root at newsdesk.aps.nl Tue Jan 31 16:18:48 1995 From: root at newsdesk.aps.nl (root at newsdesk.aps.nl) Date: 31 Jan 1995 16:18:48 Subject: KURD-A: The Case Of Kani Yilmaz Message-ID: From: newsdesk at newsdesk.aps.nl (Newsdesk Amsterdam) Subject: Re: KURD-A: The Case Of Kani Yilmaz Reply-To: root at newsdesk.aps.nl --------------- Forwarded from : Arm The Spirit ---------------- KURD-A January 24, 1995 A Danger To The Delay Of Peace: The Case Of Kani Yilmaz by Hans Breitscheidt On October 26, 1994, a Kurd entered the United Kingdom - Kani Yilmaz, European representative of the ERNK - on his way to London where he was to take part in an event organized by MPs and members of the House of Lords. He was able to enter the country, but he did not make it to the event. Kani Yilmaz was arrested by the British authorities. On November 11, it was announced that an investigation was underway and that both Germany and Turkey sought to have him deported. It is no coincidence, rather is it extremely significant that Kani Yilmaz was arrested on his way to the world's oldest parliament building. At the international conference on north- west Kurdistan in Brussels on March 12-13, 1994, Yilmaz brought together several hundred of the most important representatives of Kurdish parties, members of the Turkish parliament, prominent Turkish and Kurdish intellectuals, union representatives, European MPs, academics, and human rights activists from all over the world. One participant read a statement from the general secretary of the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), Abdullah Ocalan. This statement was an offer of a bilateral ceasefire under international monitoring and it was a pledge to "recognize all resolutions passed by the conference which aim at solving the conflict". This statement was greeted by the conference and was documented in the conference's final resolution as being a significant contribution to the political solution of the Kurdistan conflict. This clear sign of being prepared to work toward a peaceful political solution was like an alarm signal to those carrying out genocide in Kurdistan, as well as to their helpers and arms suppliers. It was a danger to the delay of peace - the danger of a political solution. That's why Kani Yilmaz had to be arrested. That's why he's still being detained under deplorable conditions in a British jail, after which the German authorities hope to keep him detained even longer so as to disrupt his activities which are aimed at making peace. Anyone who seeks peace in Kurdistan has the urgent duty of pressing for the release of Kani Yilmaz. Let us conclude with some words from Kani Yilmaz himself: "There is a concrete solution packet, it was given by our general secretary, Abdullah Ocalan, during the international Kurdistan Conference in Brussels. This solution packet includes proposals for a peaceful solution. This is further proof that we are prepared for a just political solution. The Kurdish and Turkish people can solve this problem together. We must strive toward a common solution. In response to this, the Turkish government and the Turkish state spread propaganda, saying that we want a separate state! That is not correct. That is Turkish propaganda. In the Kurdish solution packet, it is clear that we are willing to reach a political solution within the present borders." (The author is the chairman of the relief organization medico international and was one of the initiators of the Kurdistan Conference in Brussels in March 1994). Translated by: Arm The Spirit P.O. Box 6326, Stn. A Toronto, Ontario M5W 1P7 Canada E-mail: ats at etext.org Berxwedan jiyane! ----------------------------- End forwarded message -------------------------- ------------------------------------------------------- * Activists Press Service (Newsdesk) * newsdesk at aps.nl !Power to the people! ------------------------------------------------------- From root at newsdesk.aps.nl Tue Jan 31 16:19:29 1995 From: root at newsdesk.aps.nl (root at newsdesk.aps.nl) Date: 31 Jan 1995 16:19:29 Subject: KURD-A News Updates: January 24 Message-ID: From: newsdesk at newsdesk.aps.nl (Newsdesk Amsterdam) Subject: Re: KURD-A News Updates: January 24-25, 1995 Reply-To: root at newsdesk.aps.nl --------------- Forwarded from : Arm The Spirit ---------------- KURD-A News Updates January 24-25, 1995 As KURD-A reported yesterday, Turkish army units destroyed a mosque in the area of Zeko near Bismil on January 17. After local residents refused to take part in the state's paramilitary village guard system, Turkish troops occupied the area and took several persons from their homes and tortured them in public. then the soldiers broke in the doors to the mosque and set it on fire, thereby destroying the entire building. (24.01.95) According to KURD-A correspondents in the area, there was fighting yesterday between guerrillas and the army near the villages of Direkli, Diyarbakir-Genc, and Mardin-Oemeryan. (24.01.95) There was millions of dollars of damage caused, according to KURD-A correspondents, when Kurdish guerrillas blew up storage tanks at an oil refinery in Besiri-Varince. (24.01.95) We have just learned that a special commando unit of Kurdish guerrillas in Istanbul killed 2 members of the Turkish state's counter-guerrilla, Zeya Nazim and Asker Tahirhan. Both of these known "contras" were linked to the murder of the Kurdish employers Buldan and Cantuerk in western Turkey. (24.01.95) During the last two days there were major Turkish army operations in the regions of Sirnak-Cizre, Gabar, Elazig-Piran, and Genc- Hani. There have not yet been any confrontations between Kurdish guerrillas and Turkish army units, according to KURD-A correspondents. But sources in Sirnak-Cizre report that the army has surrounded several villages and has cut them off from the outside world. The residents of several villages around Gabar have been given an ultimatum: either become village guards or be forcibly evacuated. (25.01.95) On January 15, Hussein Kutlu and his son Silih were arrested by the political police in Yuesekova. Since that time, they have disappeared, and the state officials in Yuesekova deny that they are in their custody. The day before yesterday, however, a police official made an unofficial offer to the family to free the men for a bribe of $6,000. (25.01.95) An Ozgur Ulke correspondent in Van, Doran Denizhan, has "disappeared" without a trace. When the paper's editorial office in Istanbul asked police officials in Van where he was, they were told on the telephone that "it would be God's will, if he were dead". (25.01.95) Translated by: Arm The Spirit P.O. Box 6326, Stn. A Toronto, Ontario M5W 1P7 Canada E-mail: ats at etext.org Berxwedan jiyane! ----------------------------- End forwarded message -------------------------- ------------------------------------------------------- * Activists Press Service (Newsdesk) * newsdesk at aps.nl !Power to the people! ------------------------------------------------------- From newsdesk_aps_nl at apsf.aps.nl Tue Jan 31 17:25:12 1995 From: newsdesk_aps_nl at apsf.aps.nl (newsdesk_aps_nl at apsf.aps.nl) Date: 31 Jan 1995 17:25:12 Subject: THE ATATURK SOCIETY OF AMERICA Message-ID: From: newsdesk_aps_nl at apsf.aps.nl (newsdesk at aps.nl) Subject: THE ATATURK SOCIETY OF AMERICA ============================================================================= * Forwarded by newsdesk at aps.nl (16:31/102) * Area : SCTURK (SCTURK) * From : serdar93 at opim.wharton.upenn.edu, 16:31/2 (Thursday January 26 1995 22:01) * To : All * Subj : THE ATATURK SOCIETY OF AMERICA ============================================================================= pitt.edu!dsinc!netnews.upenn.edu!serdar93 Lines: 23 Merhaba, Washington'daki Turk isadami Hudai Yavalar'in onculugu ile kurulmus olan "THE ATATURK SOCIETY OF AMERICA" adli dernegin brosurunden kisa bir alinti geciyorum: "..... a number of Americans and Turkish-Americans have come together to form The Ataturk Society of America (ASA) as a non-profit cultural and educational society to acquaint a wider audience with Ataturk's ideas and deeds. A main aim of the organization is to bring together and support those who carry on ataturk's torch of inspriration both in Turkey and in the US in strong cooperation....." Uye olmak ya da daha fazla bilgi almak isteyenler asagidaki adrese yazabilirler: Mr. Hudai Yavalar 4731 Massachusetts Avenue, N.W. Washington D.C. 20016 -+- + Origin: APS Amsterdam (aps.nl), bbs +31-20-6842147 (16:31/2.0) ============================================================================= Hello ALL!