Rights group says U.S.-NATO weapons

[kurd-l at burn.ucsd.edu]

From: Arm The Spirit <ats at etext.org>
Subject: Rights group says U.S.-NATO weapons misused by Turkey

Rights group says U.S.-NATO weapons misused by Turkey

    WASHINGTON, Nov 20 (Reuter) - An influential Western human
rights group on Monday said U.S. and NATO weapons played a
central role in alleged abuses committed by Turkish security
forces in their campaign against Kurds.
    The Human Rights Watch group said in a report on 29
incidents between 1992 and 1995 that Turkey used U.S.-supplied
fighter-bombers to attack civilian villages. The report said
American helicopters were used to support ``a wide range of
abusive practices, including the punitive destruction of
villages, extrajudicial executions, torture and indiscriminate
fire.''
    Turkish forces have been fighting insurgents of the
Kurdistan Workers Party, the PKK, in the southeastern part of
the country.
    The human rights group said Turkish forces have also relied
on British armoured cars, German-designed rifles and machine
guns, Belgian rifle grenades and German armoured personnel
carriers.
    The United States over the past 10 years has supplied Turkey
with $5.3 billion in military aid.
    Human Rights Watch also accused the PKK of substantial
violations of the laws of war, including summary executions,
indiscriminate firing and intentional targeting of
non-combatants.
    The group called on NATO members to freeze arms shipments to
Turkey and for the Ankara government to allow access to
prisoners and areas of the country from which outside monitors
have been barred.

Reuter N:Copyright 1995, Reuters News Service