Turkish Court Demands Explanation F

[kurdeng at aps.nl]

Subject: Turkish Court Demands Explanation From Professor


      ANKARA, Oct 23 (Reuter) - A Turkish security court will ask a leading
professor to explain an academic report he wrote urging better treatment of
Turkey's Kurds, the court's chief prosecutor said on Monday.

    Nusret Demiral, chief prosecutor of Ankara state security court, told
Anatolian news agency that the court would seek a statement from Dogu Ergil
about a report he produced in August on the southeast, scene of an 11-year
Kurdish insurgency that has taken more than 18,000 lives.

    The report, commissioned by an influential Turkish business grouping,
included a rare poll of more than 1,200 Kurds, most of whom said they would
choose autonomy or being part of a federation if they could change Turkey's
political structure.

    The court has been examining the report with an eye to prosecution under
Turkey's laws on freedom of expression, which have been criticised by the
West.

    Demiral said Ergil would be called to give a statement this week or next.
Then the court would decide whether to investigate and charge him for
transgressing anti-terror laws, he said.

    Many conservative politicians, journalists and security officials
condemned the report's findings on its release. Most Turkish establishment
figures refuse to see the Kurdish problem as anything but one of internal
security.

    But the opposition and many of the media have suggested the report was
influenced by Turkish Prime Minister Tansu Ciller in a bid to pave the way
for democratic reforms. Her office has denied this.

    The report said support for the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) guerrillas
would weaken if Ankara heeded Kurds' social and economic grievances and
tolerated pro-Kurdish sentiments.

Agreement Reached on December Elections and Terror Law Change
    By Hidir Goktas

    ANKARA, Turkey (Reuter) - Turkish Prime Minister Tansu Ciller's
government Monday proposed easing a freedom of expression law that could
clinch a trade deal with Europe just ahead of early elections it plans for
December.

    The government put forward a bill to parliament to soften the
anti-terrorism law's tough article 8, often used against peaceful advocates
of Kurdish rights.

    European Parliament members have urged changing or scrapping the law in
exchange for them ratifying a customs union pact between Turkey and the EU. A
vote on the lucrative deal is due by the end of the year.

    Ciller's True Path Party (DYP) and the social democrats sent a joint bill
to parliament suggesting general elections on Dec. 24, ahead of polls
scheduled for next October, Anatolian news agency said.

    The anti-terrorism bill, a copy of which was obtained by Reuters,
proposes that the penalty for ``separatist propaganda'' be decreased to a
maximum of three years from the current five.

    It also leaves the door open for jail terms to be suspended or converted
into a fine and for sentences to be applied retroactively.

    It was unclear whether the proposed changes would be enough to satisfy
the rights-conscious European Parliament.

    The catch-all article has been used to imprison scores of writers and
journalists for their comments on the country's Kurdish problem.

    Its definition of separatist propaganda includes perceived support for
Kurdish cultural and political rights and criticism of the fight against
Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) guerrillas.

    The article 8 bill might be debated within a week, parliamentary sources
said, but there was no immediate indication of whether it would be approved.

    The election date proposal is to go before parliament's constitution
committee Tuesday, Anatolian said.

    Ciller's right-wing minority government, which lost a vote of confidence
eight days ago, is still in power on a caretaker basis.

    She has agreed with the social democrats to revive their right-left
coalition which collapsed last month after a row about domestic security and
human rights.

    ``The (coalition) preparations are going well. Hopefully we'll shake
hands at the end of it,'' social democrat leader Deniz Baykal told the ATV
television station.

    The two parties have virtually agreed to the terms of a new alliance to
take the country to early general elections.

PKK Loses Six in Shootout
      DIYARBAKIR, Turkey, Oct 23 (Reuter) - Turkish troops killed six rebels
of the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) in overnight clashes in the southeast,
security officials said on Monday.

    The emergency rule governor's office in Diyarbakir said in a statement
that soldiers had killed three PKK rebels in Sirnak province and one each in
the provinces of Bingol, Tunceli and Diyarbakir in separate clashes.

    It gave no military casualties.

    More than 18,000 people have been killed in the PKK's 11-year fight for
autonomy or independence in southeast Turkey.

Suspended sentence over Kurd satire in Turkey
     ANKARA, Turkey (Reuter) - A Turkish journalist was given a
20-month suspended sentence Wednesday for a satire on the
Kurdish problem that fell foul of laws on freedom of expression
criticized by the West, Anatolian news agency said.
     The Istanbul state security court suspended the sentence
against columnist Ahmet Altan for five years ``on the belief
that he will not commit the crime again and because of his place
in society,'' it said.
     Altan's satire, in the Milliyet newspaper, was entitled
``Atakurd'' and imagined what Turkey would be like today if the
country's founder Kemal Ataturk had been a Kurd. Ataturk, who
died in 1938, is still widely revered by Turks.
     Altan left Milliyet in a row over the article and now writes
for another newspaper.
     His lawyer denied the charge, under Article 312 of the penal
code, of ``provoking enmity and hatred by displaying racism or
regionalism,'' Anatolian said.
     Article 312 is one of several laws Turkey uses to jail
journalists and others for perceived criticism of the
government's handling of an 11-year-old Kurdish rebel campaign.
     The European Parliament is seeking an easing of Turkey's
restraints on freedom of expression before it ratifies a customs
union between Ankara and the European Union set for next year.

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 * Origin: APS Amsterdam (aps.nl), bbs +31-20-6842147 (16:31/2.0)