Yeni Politika - May 15-21, 1995

[kurd-l at burn.ucsd.edu]

Reply-To: kurd-l at burn.ucsd.edu
From: kcc at infoweb.magi.com (kcc)
Subject: Yeni Politika - May 15-21, 1995

Weekly News Briefs From Kurdistan
May 15-21, 1995

Last week, we began a service to report some of the human rights
abuses taking place in Turkish-occupied Kurdistan. Our source of
information is the Turkish daily newspaper 'Yeni Politika', a pro-
Kurdish journal with a tumultuous past and an uncertain future. The
ordeal that has become the life of the Kurds is also the story of
their paper, a paper which has made it its mission to uphold the
truth about them.

May 15, 1995 / Tunceli (Dersim in Kurdish) -- The village of
Sutluce (Tuluk in Kurdish) in Tunceli was machine gunned on May 10.
Many houses received bullet holes, but there were no casualties.
The Turkish soldiers who visited the village afterwards declared
that the residents were guilty of aiding Kurdish guerrillas and
that they must vacate their homes immediately. For now, the
villagers have packed but remain in their homes.

Batman -- The villagers of Gendune, Bekse, and Maristo in Sason
district were asked to either become village guards or else face
the prospects of migration. They too have packed but are still
living in their villages.

Tunceli -- The villages of Ekrek, Osgeh, Ardixe, Uzakli, and Bikhe
are in quarantine since May 9. They happen to be in a district
called Alibogazi which since March 19 has seen some of the heaviest
bombardment of the Turkish-Kurdish conflict.

Diyarbakir -- The Islamic ritual Kurban Bayrami is a celebration in
which grave sites are visited by loved ones. This year, Turkish
soldiers barred some of the new residents of Kulp and Lice from
practicing this tradition. These were people who had left their
villages because they had refused to become village guards for the
government.

May 16, 1995 / Nusaybin -- A Kurdish patriot named Seyit Semso was
killed by members of the 'Hizbikontra' contra-guerrilla. The city
residents were so appalled by the murder that they took the law
into their own hands and lynched three of the perpetrators.

Bingol -- Ercan Bingol, an 8-year-old boy, died after stepping on
a mine that was planted by Turkish soldiers in Kumludere village.

Tunceli -- Another mine exploded in Akdemir village in Tunceli,
injuring children once again. Sahin Erol (6), Pelvin Erol (10),
Sevgi Erol (8), and Erkan Erol (12) were all seriously hurt. Erkan
Erol, who had received the deadly blast, lost both of his legs
while his siblings are in better condition. Their mother, Sultan
Erol, blamed the Turkish soldiers for mining the area.

Turkey -- Berivan Kultay, in a study of executions in Turkey, notes
that the Turkish claim that the death penalty does not exist in the
country is simply untrue. Referring to the work of human rights
advocates, she notes that, in the last four years, 874 people have
died in custody with another 2,000 reported missing.

May 17, 1995 / Van -- Turkish commandos stationed in Gurpinar town
in Van province held a soccer match with the town's Gurpinar Youth
last Saturday. The commandos lost the game and then proceeded to
fight with local residents, calling them "dirty Kurds". 9 people
were injured.

May 18, 1995 / Istanbul -- Hasan Ocak, a 29-year-old Istanbul
shopkeeper missing since March 21, was found via pictures in the
albums of the Cerrahpasa Hospital. The authorities said that his
body was discovered in Beykoz on March 26 and later buried in a
grave site for unknown persons. An autopsy revealed that he had
been strangled with an iron wire.

May 19, 1995 / Adana -- Naci Parmaksiz, the governor of Adana, in
a scene reminiscent of what Prime Minister Tansu Ciller had done
last year at the Holiday Inn in Istanbul, spoke of a list of
businessmen who are supporting the PKK. He said, "You are
benefitting from the riches of this country; I am asking you to
think again." He did not give any names. After Ciller's threat,
several Kurdish businessmen were kidnapped and killed in Istanbul.

May 20, 1995 / Mardin -- Ahmet Bulut (10), Rahim Kumru (10), and
Huseyin Yilmaz (48) were killed in Gundik Mala Hato hamlet near
Kermete village in Mardin province. They died in an attack by
Turkish soldiers and village guards.

May 21, 1995 / Istanbul -- 15,000 people gathered for the reburial
ceremony of Hasan Ocak in Istanbul.

Istanbul -- Giyasettin Oruc, chairperson for the People's Labour
Party (HADEP) for Beykoz district, is missing. Eyewitnesses insist
that they saw Mr. Oruc taken away by people who they said were
civilian police but the authorities are denying the arrest.

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Kurdistan Committee of Canada		Tel: (613) 733-9634
2487 Kaladar Ave. Suite 203		Fax: (613) 733-0090
Ottawa, Ontario, K1V 8B9		E-mail: kcc at magi.com
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