From kurd-l at burn.ucsd.edu  Wed Oct 16 13:12:08 1996
From: kurd-l at burn.ucsd.edu (kurd-l at burn.ucsd.edu)
Date: 16 Oct 1996 13:12:08
Subject: Mainstream news on Kurdistan
References: <bac1c849.gate.sNVg8c1w165w@newsdesk.aps.nl>
Message-ID: <bac1c849.Pine.NEB.3.95.961016080..@burn.ucsd.edu>

From: Arm The Spirit <ats at locust.cic.net>

Turkey: Behind Casualty Figures, Mothers Weep For Sons

By Nadire Mater

Istanbul, Turkey (IPS - September 30, 1996) In "Edirnekapi
Martyrs" cemetery, the bodies of soldiers killed in the
12-year-old war against the Kurdish PKK guerrillas are arranged
in accordance with dates of birth. These days, it is the turn of
those who were "born in '76."
     Every week, groups of young men are buried here. But while
official propaganda refers to "patriotic war" against
"terrorists" and glorification of the killed soldiers as
"martyrs", parents of those "martyrs" mostly feel anger and
sadness, not national pride. Whispering in agony, groups of old
women and men gather around ornamented stones erected under the
trees. One old woman "introduces" newcomers to her nephew and
son. There is no hand-shaking among the tombstones here.
     "Look what they've done to my handsome boy", says a woman,
pointing to a tomb.
     The growing number of war casualties in Turkey has resulted
in an unforeseen increase of social consciousness among relatives
of the "martyrs."
     "Son of (former prime minister Tansu) Ciller did his
military service in Istanbul, on the other side of the Bosphorus
near their summer residence", one woman says angrily. "And the
son of General Dogan Gures (former Chief of Staff) has yet to go
for military service."
     Elif Yildirim sobs that Prime Minister Erbakan, Ciller and
President Demirel "all fight for their own careers. But they lie
to us. They should come here and see where these wasted young
heros rest."
     "They say they indemnify us for our lost sons. What
indemnity?" she asks. "How much money would bring back my beloved
one?"
     Turkey has been engaged in a bitter war with the Kurdish PKK
since 1984. The PKK wants autonomy for the country's 15 million
Kurds. Around 250,000 soldiers, 60,000 special police officers
and some 70,000 village guards deployed in 10 southeastern
provinces prosecute this war which has already cost 22,000 lives.
     The military refer to "low intensity warfare" in the
southeast. Officially the Turkish government denies that the
country is at war.
     Turkish youth between ages 19 and 21 who are sent to the
southeast for compulsory military service know better. According
to official figures, 2,762 soldiers have so far lost their lives
in the conflict. Many of them are very young.
     The Turkish state allocates families of those killed "on
duty" in the southeast $333 every three months, their siblings up
to the age of 14 $8.50 monthly, orphaned high school students $15
and university students $27.
     Since the 20-year-old "martyrs" normally do not have
school-going children, most of the funds allocated for orphans go
to siblings of police or army officers.
     "Nothing can cure our agony", sighs a young girl, Songul,
sister of Kemal Kahveci who lost his life just one week before
his day of retirement. "Is there no end to this disaster?" she
asks.
     "When we buried him four years ago we prayed to God that he
would be the last youth to die", she says. "But it never ends,
thousands continue to die."
     The real stories of the relatives of the soldiers who got
killed differ markedly from the media images of "the martyr's
mother" who after every funeral ceremony is quoted in newspapers
as saying, "we have sacrificed a son for the country."
     Although reports of the "martyrs" funeral ceremonies are
usually presented in the media as outpourings of national pride
and public hatred against the "terrorists", detailed coverings of
the lives of "martyrs" themselves or of their families hardly
appear in the mainstream media.
     Particularly on Fridays - the Muslim holy day - the
Edirnekapi Martyr's Cemetery is filled with mothers and widows of
these casualties of war. They stay there the whole day, creating
an unusual community mostly of women who chat with each other,
sometimes crying while caring for the graves of their sons. "We
are here every Friday", says Lutfu Sahinler, chair of Martyr's
Relatives Association, "we are seeking an end to this disaster."
     "Five hundred fifty deputies are seated in the parliament
and I wonder if any of them has ever visited this cemetery, where
daily young people are buried", he tells IPS. "Yet, they are
still trying to exploit our agony."
     "They want the Friday to be declared 'Martyrs' Mothers
Day'", he says. "They expect that we would pour out on the
streets (for nationalist demonstrations), but we will not play
their game", he says.
     Sahinler strokes the tombstone of his son Mahmut, a soldier
who died four years ago as he fought the PKK guerrillas in
Dargecit countryside of the southeast city of Mardin.
     "I have two more sons and they too are ready to die for
their country", he says. "But not like this. When Turkey is at
war with another country, they will fight and me too."
     Sahinler chairs the second, Istanbul-based "Martyr's
Relatives Association", as the first one based in southwest
Denizli is banned by the city governor. "Martyrs die at war.
Since Turkey is not officially at war there is no reason to form
a 'martyr's relatives association'", the governor said,
explaining his decision.
     Abruptly the cemetery is silenced. A group of some 50 people
nears, carrying a big picture of Mehmet, "born '75", and his
coffin covered with a Turkish banner. Occasional sobs are heard.
     "He was shot in the head one and a half months ago in
southeast Elazig", says his grieving father. "He had two more
months before retiring when he was shot."
     Shots are fired into the air, a prayer is offered and then
Mehmet's 14-year-old sister Serife cries out. A man tries to calm
her.
     As the sun dawns hundreds of poor old men and women slowly
leave the cemetery, with their kegs, with bunches of flowers
picked from their sons tombs in their hands, their hearts torn
apart.
     Their numbers grow daily, their confused reactions
uncertain, distress exploited by ultra-nationalists - 'martyrs'
relatives' already comprise a time bomb unlikely to be stopped by
official statements heralding the "inevitable end of terrorists."

Turkey's Kurd Rebel Conflict Spills Into Iraq

Diyarbakir, Turkey (Reuter - October 8, 1996) Turkey's
12-year-old Kurdish rebel conflict spilled over into neighbouring
Iraq on Tuesday and security officials said almost 130 combatants
died in fierce fighting.
     Troops backed by air power killed 118 Kurdistan Workers
Party (PKK) guerrillas in the rugged border area on Tuesday while
11 members of the security forces died in the clashes, Turkey's
southeast regional governor's office said in a statement.
     Thirty other PKK fighters were killed in separate clashes in
other parts of southeast Turkey over the last four days, the
statement said.
     And in the central Turkish province of Sivas, which has a
mostly ethnic Turkish population, 43 rebels were killed in the
past 10 days, a Turkish official said earlier. The province is
not an area of traditional PKK activity.
     No independent confirmation was available of the rebel death
toll, the highest number of guerrilla casualties given by Turkish
officials in recent months.
     "F-16 jets have been taking off from Diyarbakir throughout
the day," a witness in the southeastern city said.
     Deputy Prime Minister Tansu Ciller held talks with armed
forces chief Ismail Hakki Karadayi on northern Iraq, Anatolian
news agency said.
     "Domestic security, the military and political situation in
neighbouring countries and the recent developments in northern
Iraq were discussed," the state-run agency said.
     Heavy clashes frequently break out in the remote border
region. The PKK, fighting for Kurdish self rule, has bases hidden
in the Turkish mountains and just inside Iraq.
     Security sources told Reuters the troops had attacked PKK
rebels entering Turkey from Iraq and then pursued them back
across the border where fighting continued.
     Turkey announced plans last month to set up an anti-rebel
security zone inside Iraq but so far has taken no such action.
The plan was criticised by Baghdad and much of the Arab world as
a threat to Iraqi sovereignty.
     Around 35,000 Turkish troops failed to oust the rebels from
north Iraq in a cross-border operation last year that lasted six
weeks.
     More than 20,000 people have been killed since the
guerrillas took up arms in 1984.
     The conflict costs Turkey around $8 billion a year and has
often marred its dealings with the outside world. Libyan leader
Muammar Gaddafi caused uproar in Turkey by calling for the
foundation of a Kurdish state last weekend.
     Italy told visiting President Suleyman Demirel on Tuesday
that it was concerned about Turkey's human rights record and
hoped it would improve in view of the country's desire to join
the European Union.
     "The Deputy Prime Minister (Walter Veltroni) ...expressed
concern for human rights interventions which have caused worry
and emotion in public opinion and in the Italian parliament," an
Italian government statement said.
     Many allegations of human rights abuses come from the
mainly-Kurdish southeast of Turkey where 10 provinces are under
emergency rule.


From kurd-l at burn.ucsd.edu  Thu Oct 24 20:56:29 1996
From: kurd-l at burn.ucsd.edu (kurd-l at burn.ucsd.edu)
Date: 24 Oct 1996 20:56:29
Subject: War News From Kurdistan
References: <bac1c849.Pine.NEB.3.95.960820104..@burn.ucsd.edu>
Message-ID: <bac1c849.Pine.NEB.3.95.961024001..@burn.ucsd.edu>

From: Arm The Spirit <ats at locust.cic.net>

War News From Kurdistan
Translated By Arm The Spirit From 'Kurdistan-Rundbrief' #21/96

- Tourists Released By The ARGK Are Imprisoned In Batman
- ARGK Military Successes
- ARGK Dismisses Turkish Victory Claims As "Propaganda Lies"
- Warning To The KDP


Tourists Released By The ARGK Are Imprisoned In Batman

Around three weeks ago, three tourists were detained during an ARGK
[People's Liberation Army of Kurdistan] road control and then released a
few days later. Immediately after being freed by the guerrillas, Magdalena
Glowacka from Poland, Christoper Mihael Mrozo from the USA, and Jamel
Karini from Iran were arrested by Turkish police and have been in Batman
prison ever since. On October 4th, they were visited by a lawyer from
Poland who is trying to secure their freedom. 


ARGK Military Successes

On October 1st, a cafe in downtown Elazig, where several soldiers, police,
and special forces were meeting, was attacked by guerrillas. 10 state
forces were killed and 18 others wounded. At the same time, a police patrol
car was fired upon in the town.

During a clash in Diyarbakir-Dicle on October 1st, 3 soldiers were killed
and 2 "village guards" arrested by the ARGK. The follwoing day, there were
clashes following a military operation near the village of Cavl, during
which 2 soldiers were killed and 3 others wounded.

That same day, clashes between guerrillas and state forces near the village
of Bulka left 5 soldiers dead and several others wounded. A military post
near the village of Asut in Hakkari province was also attacked.

On October 2nd, the People's Liberation Army of Kurdistan carried out a
road control on the Hakkari-Cukurca road starting at 8:00 in the morning. 8
"village guards" were detained on their way to their posts and their
weapons were confiscated.

Also on October 2nd in Hakkari-Cukurca, around 3km from the border with
South Kurdistan, a group of 1,000 soldiers were attacked by the ARGK during
a military ceremony. 10 soldiers were killed. At around 5:00 in the
evening, guerrillas ambushed state forces responding to this attack,
killing another 6 soldiers. Fighting also lasted all day in the Tepe-Sor
region.

On October 3rd, the People's Liberation Army of Kurdistan ambushed a convoy
of 100 military vehicles from Destan and Ertos, which were on their way as
reinforcements to Cukurca. 9 soldiers were killed.

Also on October 3rd, at around 10:30 pm, a state-owned road construction
site was attacked by the ARGK on the Van-Baskale road. The road building
machinery was burned. A one-hour battle with village guards who were
protecting the site left 1 village guard dead. 

On October 4th, military buildings in the center of Cukurca city in Hakkari
province as well as the Sere Sere and Eris military barracks were attacked
by the ARGK.

That same day, four military units were attacked by the People's Liberation
Army of Kurdistan during an operation near the village of Uzundere. In the
first unit, 14 soldiers were killed, and another 6 soldiers from the unit
in Kimyanus were also killed. Following the clashes, the area was bombarded
from the air, resulting in the death of 1 ARGK fighter.

On October 4th, guerillas ambushed village guards near the village of
Begijine in Semdinli. Casualty figures are not known.

In the Haftanin region on the border with South Kurdustan, the ARGK clashed
with a group of 100-200 soldiers on October 4th. The guerrillas captured
the Benzenili and Serbend hills.

During a clash on Gabar Mountain on October 4th, 10 soldiers were killed,
and between Midyat and Omerli in Mardin province, 2 soldiers were killed
and 3 others wounded.

Near Sele village in the Diyarbakir-Hani region, an ARGK ambush on October
4th left 4 soldiers dead.

That same day there were clashes near Lice during which 1 soldier was
killed and 2 others wounded. Near Ele village in the Agr-Dogubeyazit
region, 7 soldiers and 1 guerrilla were killed during a military operation.
10 soldiers and 3 guerrillas were wounded.

15 soldiers were killed on October 4th on the Dersim-Nazmiye road when the
ARGK attacked a tank and a military vehicle.

During a military operation between Cukurca and Etrus in Hakkari province
on Ocotber 5th, an attack by the People's Liberation Army of Kurdistan left
nearly 50 soldiers dead. Another 13 soldiers were killed when guerrillas
attacked Ercan Hill in the Cukurca region.

On October 6th, state forces were attacked with rockets by guerrillas
during a military operation near the village of Eris in Hakkari-Cukurca. 9
soldiers were killed and 25 others wounded. Another 4 soldiers were killed
near the village of Marufan. The military's operation was then called off. 

In Besan village in Gurpinar region, the ARGK confiscated 500 sheep which
belonged to village guards.

A military operation which began in Gerdi in the Semdinli region at the end
of September was expanded to the villages of Hopi and Ortaklar on the South
Kurdistan border in early October. The ARGK stated that 53 Turkish soldiers
and South Kurdish collaborators were killed in fighting near the border.


ARGK Dismisses Turkish Victory Claims As "Propaganda Lies"

On October 8, 1996, the People's Liberation Army of Kurdistan (ARGK) stated
that all attacks and military operations by the enemy had been without
success and had failed to achieve their goals. Reports carried in the
pro-government media were not reflections of reality. For example, it was
reported that 100 guerrillas were killed on Mt. Ararat, when in reality
only 2 comrades had fallen.

According to another communique issued by the ARGK on October 9th, during
fighting around Etrus, 120 soldiers had been killed during the last 5 days
alone, forcing the Turkish army to retreat in panic. The guerrilla lost 6
dead and 7 wounded. In that same time period, close to 60 soldiers were
killed in the Zagros-Gerdi region, according to the ARGK, with guerrilla
losses standing at 2 dead and 5 wounded. The People's Liberation Army
stated once again that reports in the state media are propaganda and they
offered a list of the names of Turkish army officers who had been killed,
as well as a list of confiscated weaponry.


Warning To The KDP

Duran Kalkan, commander of the ARGK headquarters, has issued a warning to
the KDP [Kurdistan Democratic Party]. Despite talks between the KDP and the
PKK [Kurdistan Workers Party], Dr. Sivan and four other colleagues were
murdered at the end of September, an act which the PKK described as a
planned provocation. Kalkan stated: "We are ready for war, even though we
don't desire it. If the KDP continues with its attacks, we will make use of
our right to self-defense and attack them."

---

Kurdistan-Rundbrief homepage: http://www.berlinet.de/kurdistan


-----------------------------------------------------------------
Arm The Spirit is an autonomist/anti-imperialist information
collective based in Toronto, Canada. Our focus includes a wide 
variety of material, including political prisoners, national 
liberation struggles, armed communist resistance, anti-fascism, 
the fight against patriarchy, and more. We regularly publish our 
writings, research, and translation materials in our magazine and
bulletins called Arm The Spirit. For more information, contact:

Arm The Spirit
P.O. Box 6326, Stn. A
Toronto, Ontario
M5W 1P7 Canada

E-mail: ats at etext.org
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   ++++ if you agree copy these lines to your sig ++++
     ++++ see http://www.xs4all.nl/~tank/spg-l/sigaction.htm ++++



From kurd-l at burn.ucsd.edu  Wed Oct  2 11:20:59 1996
From: kurd-l at burn.ucsd.edu (kurd-l at burn.ucsd.edu)
Date: 02 Oct 1996 11:20:59
Subject: PKK Releases Turkish Army POWs
Message-ID: <bac1c849.Pine.NEB.3.95.961001212..@burn.ucsd.edu>

From: Arm The Spirit <ats at locust.cic.net>

PKK Realeases Turkish POWs

After being held for 15 months, several Turkish army soldiers held as POWs
by the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) were released recently. At least two
of the soldiers were then arrested by the Turkish state immediately after
their release, according to the Kurdistan Information Center (KIZ) in
Cologne, Germany. According to the KIZ:

"During its 12 years of war against the Kurdish people, the Turkish state
has violated all human rights conventions and laws of war. In addition to
violating the rules of war, they don't even protect their own soldiers."

Despite being aware of the usual mode of conduct of the Turkish state, the
PKK annouced it was willing to release its Prisoners of War in accordance
with the Geneva Convention. The PKK requested a mediator to aid in this
process, but the Turkish state refused. Not only did Turkey refuse to speak
to a mediator, the state also arrested a lawyer working for the Human
Rights Association who had agreed to arrange contact with the PKK to secure
the release of the POWs. Following the arrest of human rights activists who
had visited the POWs, family members of detained Turkish soldiers opted to
remain in the PKK's camps rather than return to Turkey.

Turkish army POWs Ismail Basaran and Mehmet Sikilgan were released from PKK
captivity on September 16th after negotiations with the Red Cross in Dohuk
[South Kurdistan - ATS]. Shortly thereafter, both men were arrested by
Turkish security forces. Neither has been heard from since.

(Source: Kurdistan-Rundbrief #19/96)



 ++++ stop the execution of Mumia Abu-Jamal ++++
   ++++ if you agree copy these lines to your sig ++++
     ++++ see http://www.xs4all.nl/~tank/spg-l/sigaction.htm ++++

-----------------------------------------------------------------
Arm The Spirit is an autonomist/anti-imperialist information
collective based in Toronto, Canada. Our focus includes a wide 
variety of material, including political prisoners, national 
liberation struggles, armed communist resistance, anti-fascism, 
the fight against patriarchy, and more. We regularly publish our 
writings, research, and translation materials in our magazine and
bulletins called Arm The Spirit. For more information, contact:

Arm The Spirit
P.O. Box 6326, Stn. A
Toronto, Ontario
M5W 1P7 Canada

E-mail: ats at etext.org
WWW: http://burn.ucsd.edu/~ats
FTP: ftp.etext.org --> /pub/Politics/Arm.The.Spirit
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From kurd-l at burn.ucsd.edu  Fri Oct  4 06:41:17 1996
From: kurd-l at burn.ucsd.edu (kurd-l at burn.ucsd.edu)
Date: 04 Oct 1996 06:41:17
Subject: DHKC: State Massacres Kurdish Priso
Message-ID: <bac1c849.Pine.NEB.3.95.961004012..@burn.ucsd.edu>

From: Arm The Spirit <ats at locust.cic.net>
Subject: DHKC: State Massacres Kurdish Prisoners In Diyarbakir

 
               Date: Mon, 30 Sep 96 15:02 MET DST
 From: DHKC Informationbureau Amsterdam <dhkc at ozgurluk.xs4all.nl>
     Subject: Another fascist massmurder on POW's in Turkey
 
                              -----
 
     30 September 1996
 
     TO THE PUBLIC OPINION
_________________________________________________________________
 
     THE TURKISH STATE COMMITTED ANOTHER FASCIST MASS-MURDER.
  10 PRISONERS KILLED; 13000 POLITICAL PRISONERS ANSWERED WITH
                            RESISTANCE
_________________________________________________________________
 
 
     On September 24, the state committed yet another
mass-murder:
 
     - After the attack on the political prisoners of the DHPK/C
in theBuca-prison in Izmir in September 1995, that cost three
valuable revolutionary lives,
 
     - After the attack on the political prisoners in the
Umraniye prison in Istanbul that cost the lives of another three
comrades from the DHKP/C, in January 1996,
 
     - After the latest hunger-strike of all the political
prisoners in Turkey, coordinated by a central coordination comite
for "Free Prisoners" that unites all revolutionary organizations
in Turkey, that took the lives of 12 comrades from five
organizations,
 
     THE TURKISH STATE MURDERED 10 KURDISH PATRIOTIC PRISONERS IN
THE PRISON IN DIYABAKIR IN KURDISTAN.
 
     Security forces committed a gruesome attack at hundreds of
prisoners. Until now, this costed the lives of at least 10
prisoners.  Many were heavily wounded. As a result of the serious
injuries, more deaths are to be expected.
 
     WE CONDEMN THIS MASSACRE! ONE DAY, THE BLOOD SUCKING
REFAHYOL-GOVERNMENT AND THE CONTRA-GUERRILLA-FORCES WILL BE
BROUGHT FOR THE PEOPLES TRIALS, THEY WILL BE PUNISHED FOR THEIR
FASCIST BEHAVIOR. 
 
     In a unified response 13000 political prisoners went in to a
three day's warning hunger-strike. 
 
     When the state does not change it politics another death-
fast will be on the political agenda.
 
     In the Sagmalicar- and in the Umraniye prison the political
prisoners protest the recent massacre by refusing to cooperate
with the daily counting of the prisoners and they refuse to leave
their barracks.
 
     WE CALL UPON OUR PEOPLE, THE WORLDWIDE PUBLIC OPINION AND
ALL DEFENDERS OF HUMAN RIGHT:
 
     In Turkey, the lives of political prisoners are in severe
danger. We have to stop the fascist murderers, Minister of
Justice Sevket Kazan,Min. of Internal Affairs and former
police-commisionar Mehmet Agar, Erbakan, Ciller, the Generals and
the chiefs of police. We have to prevent more murders. Nobody
must support these criminals, help them. The whole world must
condemn these murders. We call upon everybody to take a stand
against this barbaric, inhuman regime.
 
     THE MARTYRS FROM DIYARBAKIR ARE IMMORTAL!
 
     FASCISM CANNOT GET OUR PEOPLES ON ITS KNEES!
 
     OUR PEOPLES WILL BRING THE MURDERERS TO JUSTICE!
 
     DHKC Informationbureau Amsterdam
       __________________________________________________
 
               Visit http://www.xs4all.nl/~ozgurluk
                   For news and information
            about the classwar in Turkey and Kurdistan
                     email: ozgurluk at xs4all.nl
       __________________________________________________
 
 


 ++++ stop the execution of Mumia Abu-Jamal ++++
   ++++ if you agree copy these lines to your sig ++++
     ++++ see http://www.xs4all.nl/~tank/spg-l/sigaction.htm ++++

-----------------------------------------------------------------
Arm The Spirit is an autonomist/anti-imperialist information
collective based in Toronto, Canada. Our focus includes a wide 
variety of material, including political prisoners, national 
liberation struggles, armed communist resistance, anti-fascism, 
the fight against patriarchy, and more. We regularly publish our 
writings, research, and translation materials in our magazine and
bulletins called Arm The Spirit. For more information, contact:

Arm The Spirit
P.O. Box 6326, Stn. A
Toronto, Ontario
M5W 1P7 Canada

E-mail: ats at etext.org
WWW: http://burn.ucsd.edu/~ats
FTP: ftp.etext.org --> /pub/Politics/Arm.The.Spirit
ATS-L Archives: http://burn.ucsd.edu/~archive/ats-l
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From kurd-l at burn.ucsd.edu  Tue Oct  8 02:45:45 1996
From: kurd-l at burn.ucsd.edu (kurd-l at burn.ucsd.edu)
Date: 08 Oct 1996 02:45:45
Subject: Libya Calls For Kurdish State
Message-ID: <bac1c849.Pine.NEB.3.95.961007214..@burn.ucsd.edu>

From: Arm The Spirit <ats at locust.cic.net>

Gadhafi attacks Turkey's policies during Turkish premier's visit

TRIPOLI, Libya (AP) -- Turkey's prime minister
threatened Sunday to leave Libya without signing
a trade deal after Libyan leader Moammar
Gadhafi openly condemned a Turkish crackdown
on ethnic Kurds. 

Gadhafi told Prime Minister Necmettin Erbakan Saturday that
"the state of Kurdistan should take its place in the spectrum of
nations under the Middle Eastern sun." "Turkey should not fight
against people seeking their independence," he said. 

Kurdish guerillas have been fighting for autonomy in Turkey's
southeast since 1984, often staging hit-and-run attacks from
northern Iraq. More than 21,000 people have died in the conflict.

Erbakan appeared shocked by Gadhafi's comments, made in front
of some 50 Turkish journalists accompanying him to Libya. "We
don't have a Kurdish problem. We have a terrorism problem,"
Erbakan said. 

On Sunday, Erbakan struggled to get the Libyans to sign a
document denouncing Kurdish rebel "terrorism." Without such
assurance, he said the Turkish delegation would leave without
signing a previously announced deal to triple trade with Libya. 



 ++++ stop the execution of Mumia Abu-Jamal ++++
   ++++ if you agree copy these lines to your sig ++++
     ++++ see http://www.xs4all.nl/~tank/spg-l/sigaction.htm ++++

-----------------------------------------------------------------
Arm The Spirit is an autonomist/anti-imperialist information
collective based in Toronto, Canada. Our focus includes a wide 
variety of material, including political prisoners, national 
liberation struggles, armed communist resistance, anti-fascism, 
the fight against patriarchy, and more. We regularly publish our 
writings, research, and translation materials in our magazine and
bulletins called Arm The Spirit. For more information, contact:

Arm The Spirit
P.O. Box 6326, Stn. A
Toronto, Ontario
M5W 1P7 Canada

E-mail: ats at etext.org
WWW: http://burn.ucsd.edu/~ats
FTP: ftp.etext.org --> /pub/Politics/Arm.The.Spirit
ATS-L Archives: http://burn.ucsd.edu/~archive/ats-l
-----------------------------------------------------------------



From kurd-l at burn.ucsd.edu  Tue Oct  8 05:25:52 1996
From: kurd-l at burn.ucsd.edu (kurd-l at burn.ucsd.edu)
Date: 08 Oct 1996 05:25:52
Subject: Gaddafi States: Middle Eastern Sun
Message-ID: <bac1c849&v01540b00ae7f7d93c60d@[>

From: akin at kurdish.org (AKIN)
Subject: Gaddafi States: Middle Eastern Sun needs to shine over Kurdistan! 

Headline: Turkey's Erbakan slighted by Gaddafi
Wire Service: RTna (Reuters North America)
Date: Mon, Oct 7, 1996
 Copyright 1996 Reuters Ltd.  All rights reserved.
The following news report may not be republished or redistributed, in whole
or in part, without the prior written consent of Reuters Ltd.

    (Adds quotes, details)
     By Alistair Bell
     ANKARA, Oct 7 (Reuter) - Islamist Prime Minister Necmettin Erbakan's
efforts to take Turkey closer to the Moslem world have been dealt a serious
blow by Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi.
     Main opposition Motherland Party leader Mesut Yilmaz on Monday urged
Erbakan to hand in his resignation to President Suleyman Demirel after
Gaddafi hit at Turkey's Western leanings and treatment of its Kurds at a
joint news conference with Erbakan in Libya.
     "Mr Erbakan should return to Turkey without wasting any time. He
should go straight from the airport to Cankaya (presidential palace) and
submit his resignation," Anatolian news agency quoted Yilmaz as saying.
     Turkish papers quoted Gaddafi as calling for the foundation of a
Kurdish state at Sunday's news conference in the Libyan city of Sirte -- in
direct contradiction to long-standing Turkish policy.
     "Kurdistan should be established. I am talking about the Kurdish
nation. This nation should have its place under the Middle Eastern sun,"
Milliyet quoted Gaddafi as saying. Other papers carried the same quotes.
     Turkey, fighting with separatist Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) rebels
for the last 12 years, strongly opposes Kurdish nationalism. It regards the
PKK as a terrorist group.
     Gaddafi also attacked NATO-member Turkey's close ties to the West and
Israel.
     "We are not happy in general about Turkey's foreign policy," he said.
"Turkey has lost its will. Turkey's future lies not in NATO, U.S. bases and
in repressing the Kurds but in its nobility and its past."
     Under pressure from Turkey's influential military, Erbakan has
backtracked on promises to get rid of a U..S.-led air force that patrols
northern Iraq from a base in Turkey and scrap a military deal with Israel
that has angered the Arab world.
     Islamist Erbakan, on a tour of Egypt, Libya and Nigeria that has been
criticised by Washington and Turkey's secularist elite, sat in awkward
silence during Gaddafi's comments, the press said.
     "We are not surprised by what happened," a Turkish foreign ministry
official told Reuters. "Some people think that flaunting an Islamic
identity is enough to have good relations with Moslem countries," he said.
     The papers said Gaddafi's comments caused a delay in Erbakan's
departure as Turkey tried to convince Libya to agree to denouncing the PKK
in a joint statement at the end of the two-day visit.
     Anatolian news agency said the statement mentioned both the PKK and
terrorism "against Libya and the Arab nation."
     Tripoli also agreed to pay part of $365 million in outstanding debts
to Turkish contractors who had worked on infrastructure projects in Libya,
the agency said.
 REUTER


----
American Kurdish Information Network (AKIN)
2623 Connecticut Avenue NW #1
Washington, DC 20008-1522

Tel: (202) 483-6444
Fax: (202) 483-6476
E-mail: akin at kurdish.org
Home Page: http://burn.ucsd.edu/~akin
----

The American Kurdish Information Network (AKIN) provides a public service
to foster Kurdish-American understanding and friendship




From vd at vd.antenna.nl  Wed Oct  9 18:31:40 1996
From: vd at vd.antenna.nl (vd at vd.antenna.nl)
Date: 09 Oct 1996 18:31:40
Subject: Turkish-War-Resister-Arrested
Message-ID: <gate.HBwJVD1w165w@vd.antenna.nl>

Turkish War Resister Arrested

The Turkish war resister and conscientious objector Osman
Murat ?lke, was arrested 7 October 1996 at the order of the
Military Court. More than a year ago, September 1st, he decla-
red at a press conference that he refused to do military
service. He burned his Military Pass and his call up card en
declared not to obey his call up to check in at his regiment
in Bilecik.
There is no legal right to refuse military service in Turkey.
According to article 63 of the military penal code anybody who
evades conscription and is arrested after three months, can be
punished for a minimum of six months and a maximum three
years.
Actually Osman Murat ?lke is not an ordinary draft evader.
As a result of his overt refusal he is charged, according to
the ISKD (Izmir Union of War Resisters'), with article 155 of
the Turkish Penal Code which contents "alienating the people
from the Military Service." 
This article has been used several times against journalists,
peace activists and human rights activists. Persons who criti-
ze (some policies of) the army or who make an appeal to refuse
conscription are summoned for a military court.
This article violates the freedom of speech and makes criti-
cism of the armed forces punishable. It is remarkable that
civilians can be summoned for a military court for this offen-
ce. It's the dominance of the armed forces in Turkish society
and politics that can obstruct any democratic development.
These facts have to been seen in the context of a 12 year long
protracted war by the Turkish army against Kurdish guerrri-
la's.
Anybody who criticizes the militaristic approach of this con-
flict can be sure of prosecution. In the repression of oppo-
nents the human rights are violated systematically by the
Turkish autorities.  
This harsh policy against critics is not only aimed against
those who use violence. Osman Murat ?lke is the chairman of
ISKD, the Union of War Resisters', that is taking part in an
emerging movement of peace activists who is agitating for some
years now against the Turkish army and the war in Turkish
Kurdistan. They condemn the use of violence by all parties and
advocate a politicial solution of the Turkish Kurdish con-
flict.
The order to arrest Osman Murat ?lke dates from 5 September
1995, and was sent from Ankara. It reached the local police
station only on the first of October 1996. He is detained in
Buca prison in Izmir. Turkish prisons are dangerous places to
stay. Protests against living conditions are being held on a
daily bases. The Turkish prisons are notorious as a result of
bad medical service, torture and mistreatment. That is why we
ask everybody to protest against the detention of Osman Murat
?lke with the Turkish autorities. 

                       Campaign Stop de Oorlog in Turkije
                       (Stop the war in Turkey)
                       Postbus 94802
                       1090 GV Amsterdam
                       Tel. 020 - 6680999; fax 020 - 6652422


Send your letter of protest to the following fax addresses

General Staff:                                      90 312 418 53 41
Prime Ministry:                                     90 312 417 04 76
Minister of Justice:                                90 312 417 39 54
Ministry of National                                90 312 324 46 27

Send your solidarity to: 
Izmir War Resisters' Association 
1468 Sok. No 14. 
Alsancak Izmir 
tel: 00 90 232 464 24 92
fax:  00 90 232 464 08 42 
e-mail: osi at info-ist.comlink.de

From kurd-l at burn.ucsd.edu  Fri Oct 11 08:11:44 1996
From: kurd-l at burn.ucsd.edu (kurd-l at burn.ucsd.edu)
Date: 11 Oct 1996 08:11:44
Subject: Washington Kurdish Activist Sentenc
Message-ID: <bac1c849.Pine.NEB.3.95.961011030..@burn.ucsd.edu>

From: Arm The Spirit <ats at locust.cic.net>
Subject: Washington Kurdish Activist Sentenced To Community Service

----------------------------------------------------------------------------
                 American Kurdish Information Network (AKIN)
                               October 9, 1996
                              Press Release #16
                          Telephone: (202) 483-6444
          Attorney Peter A. Schey's Telephone: (213) 388.8693 x 104

                               The Judge Says:
               Mr. Xulam to Work at AKIN Offices for 400 Hours

Kani Xulam, Director of the American Kurdish Information Network, was
sentenced to perform 400 hours community service by United States District
Court Judge, on September 30, 1996. He was told to log his hours at the
American Kurdish Information Network (AKIN) beginning this Monday, October
7, 1996.

Peter A. Schey, Executive Director of Center for Human Rights and Constitutional
Law and the attorney for Kani Xulam, met frequently with the
representatives of the UnitedA at States Department of Justice in order to
arrive at an acceptable disposition of the charges issued by the
government. At the court hearing, Mr. Schey said: "We are very satisfied
with the resolution achieved in the case involving criminal charges leveled
by the United States government against Mr. Kani Xulam. Early allegations
that Mr. Xulam was involved in international arms and drug trafficking were
eventually abandoned and Mr.Xulam pled guilty to only making a false
statement on a passport application."

He went on to say, "We are especially pleased that the Judge expressed an
understanding of the danger of torture Mr. Xulam would face, if  he is
forced to return to Turkey and recommended to the INS that Mr. Xulam not be
deported.  Finally, expressing an understanding for Mr. Xulam's commitment
to the international struggle for Kurdish civil and political rights, the
Judge essentially limited Mr. Xulam's sentence to working at the offices of
the American Kurdish Information Network."

During the hearing the Judge acknowledged and referred to the supporting
statements in letters he had received on Mr. Xulam's behalf from various
civil and human rights organizations including groups such as the Lawyers
Committee for Human Rights, the Center for Victims of Torture, and the
Armenian National Committee of America.

Following his sentencing, Mr. Xulam said: "I wish to thank those who have stood
by me in these difficult times through expressions of support submitted to
the Federal Court and the Immigration and Naturalization Service."
Commenting on his pending case at the Immigration and Naturalization
Service: "I have asked the INS to grant me political asylum. I hope that
the United States government will set aside considerations of its strategic
relationship with Turkey and let the INS adjudicate my application on its
merits. If that is done, I believe my application will be approved, in
which case, I will continue to work for the goal laid out by the AKIN
mission statement of forging a meaningful and lasting friendship between
the peoples of Kurdistan and America."

----------------------------------------------------------------------------
                 American Kurdish Information Network (AKIN)
                        2623 Connecicut Avenue NW #1
                          Washington, DC 20008-1522

                             Tel: (202) 483-6444
                             Fax: (202) 483-6476

                          E-mail: akin at kurdish.org
                    Home Page: http://burn.ucsd.edu/~akin
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
The American-Kurdish Information Network (AKIN) provides a public service to
            foster Kurdish-American understanding and friendship
----------------------------------------------------------------------------



 ++++ stop the execution of Mumia Abu-Jamal ++++
   ++++ if you agree copy these lines to your sig ++++
     ++++ see http://www.xs4all.nl/~tank/spg-l/sigaction.htm ++++

-----------------------------------------------------------------
Arm The Spirit is an autonomist/anti-imperialist information
collective based in Toronto, Canada. Our focus includes a wide 
variety of material, including political prisoners, national 
liberation struggles, armed communist resistance, anti-fascism, 
the fight against patriarchy, and more. We regularly publish our 
writings, research, and translation materials in our magazine and
bulletins called Arm The Spirit. For more information, contact:

Arm The Spirit
P.O. Box 6326, Stn. A
Toronto, Ontario
M5W 1P7 Canada

E-mail: ats at etext.org
WWW: http://burn.ucsd.edu/~ats
FTP: ftp.etext.org --> /pub/Politics/Arm.The.Spirit
ATS-L Archives: http://burn.ucsd.edu/~archive/ats-l
-----------------------------------------------------------------



From kurd-l at burn.ucsd.edu  Wed Oct 16 16:23:47 1996
From: kurd-l at burn.ucsd.edu (kurd-l at burn.ucsd.edu)
Date: 16 Oct 1996 16:23:47
Subject: KDP/PUK Clashes In South Kurdistan
References: <101494150457Rnf0.77b9@schism.antenna.nl>
Message-ID: <bac1c849.Pine.NEB.3.95.961014023..@burn.ucsd.edu>

From: Arm The Spirit <ats at locust.cic.net>

Baghdad warns Kurdish factions to talk through differences

October 13, 1996                           

BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) -- The Iraqi government urged
Kurdish factions Sunday to settle their
differences through talks, after Kurdish rebels
recaptured a northern Iraq city seized last month
by a rival faction backed by Saddam Hussein.

Sulaymaniyah, the region's second-largest city,
was under the control of Patriotic Union of
Kurdistan (PUK) forces as of early Sunday. The PUK
claimed it gained control after a citizens' revolt
that ousted Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP)
troops and the faction's leader, Massoud Barzani.

In Baghdad, the Revolutionary Command
Council and the ruling Baath Party issued this
blunt statement:

"We have consistently given severe warnings in the
past against dealing with foreign powers. We call
upon the parties that have returned to fighting to
expel the foreign forces and not to deal with
them," the council -- chaired by Saddam Hussein --
said.

The statement was referring to the PUK's ties to
Iran. The Iraqi leadership said it was prepared to
invite all parties to peace talks in Baghdad.

Clashes between the two Kurdish factions in August
led Iraq to send forces into northern territory
protected by U.S.-led forces. Washington responded
by bombing Iraqi military sites in the south.

There was no indication Iraqi troops were involved
in the latest fighting.

KDP claims Iranian soldiers among the dead

In a statement, the KDP's office in London
confirmed its forces "evacuated the city to avoid
bloodshed and fighting."

The group claimed Iran had "entered the war" and
that thousands of Iranian Revolutionary Guards,
backed by artillery, had pushed through the border
into Iraq.

Later Sunday, the KDP claimed that it repulsed
Patriotic Union forces west of Sulaymaniyah that
were "relying on heavy Iranian shelling."

"The attackers lost dozens of men and members of
the Iranian Revolutionary Guards were identified
among the dead," the KDP claimed.

But the PUK denied that Iran was involved in
Sunday's takeover. "There is no support from
Iran," PUK leader Julal Talabani told CNN.

There was no immediate comment from Tehran.

'People' expelled rivals

Talabani said the uprising followed three days of
heavy fighting between the Kurdish factions, and
that people throughout the region are now
"revolting and rising against" the KDP.

"The people of Sulaymaniyah revolted and they
..kicked out the forces of Barzani," Talabani
said.

"We are expecting that this will happen
everywhere."

The United Nations confirmed that KDP forces had
withdrawn from Sulaymaniyah. Gualtiero Fulcheri,
senior U.N. coordinator for Iraq, said it appeared
the Iraq-backed KDP left without putting up a
serious fight and that PUK forces were now in
complete control of the town.

Backed by Iraq, the KDP offensive in northern Iraq
in late August and early September led to the
takeover of the regional capital of Irbil and
placed most of the region under Barzani's control,
including Sulaymaniyah.

Both PUK and KDP seek autonomy from Iraq, but they
are largely divided on issues concerning Iran and
how to deal with Saddam Hussein while pushing for
autonomy.



-----------------------------------------------------------------
Arm The Spirit is an autonomist/anti-imperialist information
collective based in Toronto, Canada. Our focus includes a wide 
variety of material, including political prisoners, national 
liberation struggles, armed communist resistance, anti-fascism, 
the fight against patriarchy, and more. We regularly publish our 
writings, research, and translation materials in our magazine and
bulletins called Arm The Spirit. For more information, contact:

Arm The Spirit
P.O. Box 6326, Stn. A
Toronto, Ontario
M5W 1P7 Canada

E-mail: ats at etext.org
WWW: http://burn.ucsd.edu/~ats
FTP: ftp.etext.org --> /pub/Politics/Arm.The.Spirit
ATS-L Archives: http://burn.ucsd.edu/~archive/ats-l
-----------------------------------------------------------------

 ++++ stop the execution of Mumia Abu-Jamal ++++
   ++++ if you agree copy these lines to your sig ++++
     ++++ see http://www.xs4all.nl/~tank/spg-l/sigaction.htm ++++



From kurd-l at burn.ucsd.edu  Wed Oct 16 09:36:50 1996
From: kurd-l at burn.ucsd.edu (kurd-l at burn.ucsd.edu)
Date: 16 Oct 1996 09:36:50
Subject: Kurdistan Pecae Festival In Europe
Message-ID: <bac1c849.Pine.NEB.3.95.961010215..@burn.ucsd.edu>

From: Arm The Spirit <ats at locust.cic.net>

A Successful "Kurdistan Peace Festival"

More Than 70,000 Kurds From Europe Celebrate In Cologne

On Saturday, September 21, 1996, around 70,000 people, mainly Kurds,
gathered in Colgone, Germany for the annual "Kurdistan Peace Destival".
There should have been tens of thousands more, but their busses, as is
usually the case before Kurdish events, were stopped at the German border.
In a Europe without borders, barriers are quickly raised whenever Kurds are
on the move.

Just how interested Europe is in "peace" was demonstrated only days before
the festival when political police raided the offices of the Kurdish
satellite station MED-TV, the Kurdistan Parliament in Exile, and other
Kurdish offices. These raids were carried out in conjunction with the
Turkish state's intelligence agency. Now, as is normal, Europe is trying to
discriminate against the Kurds, though no evidence whatsoever has ever been
presented to link Kurdish political groups with the organized drug trade.

Shortly before these police raids, the European Court had convicted Turkey
for destroying Kurdish villages and ordered damages be paid to the former
inhabitants.

It was against this political background that the fesitval took place. In
addition to the political chill in Europe, Saturday's visitors also had to
contend with an unusually cool summer. But the music-filled program soon
allowed everyone to dance themselves warm. A variety of music groups
performed at the fesitval, from tradition Kurdish music to more modern,
pop-styles. A number of foreign groups, including a Basque cultural group,
also performed.

Due to the transportation problems at the border, the start of the festival
had to be delayed by two hours, and the unusually cold weather forced some
people to leave early. Unfortunately, some groups were not able to perform
before 8pm when the festival ended.

Due to political persecution, Kurdish cultural is heavily influenced by
politics. This was made very clear at the festival. Many speeches told of
the oppression of the Kurdish people and their national liberation
struggle. Spectators waved flags of the ERNK (National Liberation Front of
Kurdistan) and the PKK (Kurdistan Workers Party). A taped message from PKK
leader Abdullah Ocalan was played, as were messages from a variety of
persons and parties from all over Europe. The messages from HADEP, the
imprisoned DEP MPs, and other political prisoners were especially well
received.

Message From PKK Prisoners In Turkey To The Kurdistan Peace Festival

        "We are living in a time which is of historical importance for the
free future of our people. The present time is of the utmost importance for
our human dignity, our identity and freedom, and the creation of our
democratic and socialist future.
        "Every day we bear witness to the heavy casualties which our
guerrillas in the mountains are inflicting upon the enemy. In the tradition
of Hayri, Kemal, Mazlum, and Ferhat, resistance is growing among the tens
of thousands in Turkey's prisons. The resistance of our heoric people,
despite repression and cruelty in all of Kurdistan, the destruction of
villages and houses, as well as daily massacres, will one day result in
victory.
        "The present time is marked by glaring facts. It is now clear where
the imperialist powers, and their collabors in the traditional leadership
who don't posses their own power, wish to lead our people.
        "Our people need not submit to this. No matter how strong the enemy
may be, nothing can withstand an organized and well-led popular will. Now
it is up to us to demonstrate this. Now is the time for us to show our
strength. 
        "We must give our hearts, our minds, and our souls for a free Kurdistan!
        "We feel that the 4th Annual Kurdistan Peace Festival will play an
important role in this process."

On behalf of the PKK Prisoners of War in the jails of Turkey and Kurdistan,

Sabri Ok, Can Yuce, and Muzaffer Ayata

(Translated and edited by Arm The Spirit from 'Kurdistan-Rundbrief' #20/96)



 ++++ stop the execution of Mumia Abu-Jamal ++++
   ++++ if you agree copy these lines to your sig ++++
     ++++ see http://www.xs4all.nl/~tank/spg-l/sigaction.htm ++++

-----------------------------------------------------------------
Arm The Spirit is an autonomist/anti-imperialist information
collective based in Toronto, Canada. Our focus includes a wide 
variety of material, including political prisoners, national 
liberation struggles, armed communist resistance, anti-fascism, 
the fight against patriarchy, and more. We regularly publish our 
writings, research, and translation materials in our magazine and
bulletins called Arm The Spirit. For more information, contact:

Arm The Spirit
P.O. Box 6326, Stn. A
Toronto, Ontario
M5W 1P7 Canada

E-mail: ats at etext.org
WWW: http://burn.ucsd.edu/~ats
FTP: ftp.etext.org --> /pub/Politics/Arm.The.Spirit
ATS-L Archives: http://burn.ucsd.edu/~archive/ats-l
-----------------------------------------------------------------



From kurd-l at burn.ucsd.edu  Wed Oct 16 15:41:15 1996
From: kurd-l at burn.ucsd.edu (kurd-l at burn.ucsd.edu)
Date: 16 Oct 1996 15:41:15
Subject: No Subject Given
Message-ID: <bac1c849.199610140121.VAA23909@l>

From: Arm The Spirit <ats at etext.org>

Ismet Govenc Murdered In Police Custody

Ismet Govenc (30), arrested in Istannul on October 3rd, was found dead on
October 6, 1996 in Esenler-Istanbul. An autopsy releaved he had been shot
to death. Ismet Genc was an active member of TIYAD (Solidarity Association
for Relatives of Political Prisoners) and had been repeatedly arrested by
police and threatened. Ismet's brother, arrested that same day, has been
released.

Ismet Govenc is the latest victim of the inhumane Turkish state. On August
20th of this year, TIYAD members Senem Adali (22) and Muhammed Kaya were
shot and killed by police in their Istanbul apartment.

(Source: Informationszentrum fuer Freie Voelker, Cologne)

Visit http://www.xs4all.nl/~ozgurluk
For news and information about the classwar in Turkey and Kurdistan
email: ozgurluk at xs4all.nl



 ++++ stop the execution of Mumia Abu-Jamal ++++
   ++++ if you agree copy these lines to your sig ++++
     ++++ see http://www.xs4all.nl/~tank/spg-l/sigaction.htm ++++

-----------------------------------------------------------------
Arm The Spirit is an autonomist/anti-imperialist information
collective based in Toronto, Canada. Our focus includes a wide 
variety of material, including political prisoners, national 
liberation struggles, armed communist resistance, anti-fascism, 
the fight against patriarchy, and more. We regularly publish our 
writings, research, and translation materials in our magazine and
bulletins called Arm The Spirit. For more information, contact:

Arm The Spirit
P.O. Box 6326, Stn. A
Toronto, Ontario
M5W 1P7 Canada

E-mail: ats at etext.org
WWW: http://burn.ucsd.edu/~ats
FTP: ftp.etext.org --> /pub/Politics/Arm.The.Spirit
ATS-L Archives: http://burn.ucsd.edu/~archive/ats-l
-----------------------------------------------------------------


From WRI-AG.FOEGA at OLN.comlink.apc.org  Thu Oct 17 06:08:00 1996
From: WRI-AG.FOEGA at OLN.comlink.apc.org (WRI-AG.FOEGA at OLN.comlink.apc.org)
Date: 17 Oct 1996 06:08:00
Subject: Turkish Conscientious Objector in Military Prison
Message-ID: <6J1TNgyx.TB@oln-68.oln.comlink.apc.org>

Content-type: text/plain; charset=iso-8859-1
Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit

WRI-AG der FoGA                            Tel.: +49-441-203864
Brahmweg  178                              Fax: +49-441-2489661
D- 26135 Oldenburg      email: WRI-AG.FOEGA at OLN.comlink.apc.org
---------------------------------------------------------------
This is a press release from Izmir War Resisters Association,  
forwarded by WRI-AG der FoGA. Please take action!!

Izmir War Resisters Association         tel.: 0090 232 464 2492
1468 Sok. No. 14  Alsancak - Izmir       fax: 0090 232 464 0842
                                 email: OSI at info-ist.comlink.de


                                                   October, 16th

TURKISH CONSCIENTIOUS OBJECTOR OSMAN MURAT ULKE HAS BEEN PUT INTO  
MILITARY PRISON UNDER INHUMAN CONDITIONS

Dear friends,

  Conscientiuos objector Osman Murat Ulke has been put into the  
Mamak Military Prison, Ankara, on October 14th, Monday, after he  
was questioned by the prosecutor of the Military Court of General  
Staff. In the prison he refused to wear military uniform and  
other military obligations. And because of this, he was isolated  
from other prisoners (all of them are military persons and  
charged with military crimes) and kept in an isolation room where  
there is not even a bed, but there are lots of mouses.
  He started a hunger strike because of inhuman conditions on  
October 15th, Tuesday. Normally, the management of a prison  
should give water with sugar and salt to a hunger striker. But  
the management of Mamak Military prison refused to give water to  
Osman Murat Ulke. This will call ill-health very quickly and  
might be resulted with death in just a few weeks.
  Because of his disobedience, the discipline court of the prison  
gave him solitary confinement for five days. The solitary  
confinement will begin on October 17th, Thursday. In the end of  
the sentence they will ask Osman wether he accepts to wear  
uniform or not. And when he refuses the same period might begin  
again.
  These informations has come from our lawyers who have seen  
Osman today (October 16th, Wednesday). They said that his morale  
was good and he was decided to resist. Also the lawyers wanted  
the management of the prison to give water with sugar and salt  
and the management replied that they would probably do this. But  
we can recieve the exact informations tomorrow (Thursday). Every  
day at least one lawyer will go to see him (Except for the  
weekend when the lawyers are not allowed.).

Please;
- continue to send protest messages to General staff an
  ministries
  - General Staff:                     +90 312 4185341
  - Prime Minister Necmettin Erbakan:  +90 312 4170476
  - Minister of Justice Sevket Kazan:  +90 312 4173954
  - Minister of Defence:               +90 312 3244627
- send protest messages to Turkish consulates and embassies
- send letters to Osman Murat Ulke
- send letters to the management of Mamak Military Prison, there
  is now fax machine as fas as we know, but you can send letters
  - which do not depend on the daily situation - including the
  message that you are concerned of Osman Murat Ulke (The address
  is: Mamak Askeri Cezaevi, Ankara, Turkey)
- try to activate organisations and persons who could have a
  strong influence on the turkish state; I mean parlamentarians
  etc.
- inform national and international press

Greetings,
Serdar Tekin
Izmir War Resisters Association
-----------------------------------------------------------
Graswurzelrevolution    Kaiserstra?e 24     26122 Oldenburg
Tel.: 0441/2489 663                     Fax:  0441/2489 661
-----------------------------------------------------------
## CrossPoint v3.0 ##

From warresisters at gn.apc.org  Thu Oct 17 12:23:42 1996
From: warresisters at gn.apc.org (warresisters at gn.apc.org)
Date: 17 Oct 1996 11:23:42 +0000 (GMT)
Subject: War resister on hunger strike
Message-ID: <APC.2.0.4a152692.5ea@gn.apc.org>

TURKEY: OSMAN MURAT LKE IN SOLITARY CONFINEMENT, 
ON HUNGER STRIKE
 
On Monday, 14 October, Turkish war resister Osman Murat lke was
transferred to Mamak Military Prison, Ankara. Because he has refused
to wear a uniform, he is now being held in isolation in a
small mouse-infested cell without a bed.
 
On Tuesday, 15 October, Osman began a hunger strike. 
 
On Wednesday, 16 October, the prison disciplinary court sentenced
Osman to five days of solitary confinement, beginning the next day.
At the end of this five days, Osman will again be ordered to wear
a military uniform.  And when he refuses, again he will probably
be punished. 
 
Initially the prison management refused to give Osman water with
sugar and salt, the normal practice with hunger strikers. However,
on Wednesday, they told Osman's lawyers that they would probably
do this.
 
Osman can be held for two months without trial (two months is the
minimum sentence for "alienating the people from the military",
Article 155 of the Turkish Penal Code, under which he is charged).
He would then face being sent to a military unit where he would
refuse to soldier and become liable to further punishment.
 
The Izmir War Resisters' Association, of which Osman is president,
is asking peace groups to send urgent faxes to the following numbers:
 
Numbers for protest faxes: 
      The office of the Prime Minister              +90 312 417 04 76
      The General Staff                             +90 312 418 53 41
      Minister of Justice                           +90 312 417 39 54
      Ministry of National Defence                  +90 312 324 46 27
      Ministry of the Interior                      +90 312 318 17 95
 
They also ask peace groups to contact parliamentarians and press,
and to send messages directly to Osman in prison.
 
Osman's prison address:
     Mamak Askeri Cezaevi
     Ankara
     Turkey
 
Background:
Osman burnt his military papers in public on 1 September 1995 but
was not detained until 8 October. Initially he was held in civilian
prisons in Izmir and then in Ankara. 
 
Article 155 of the Turkish Penal Code ("alienating the people from
military") has been widely used against critics of the army and
military operations.  It carries a maximum sentence of two two years
imprisonment. 
 
Osman burnt his military papers a few days after a previous trial
under Article 155.  Osman, who has stated that "no coercive measure
can ever make me a soldier", took his stand as a conscientious
objector in order "to activate the self-will of individuals against
a war machine which clearly has no conscience".
 
Turkey's system of conscription for military service makes no
provision for conscientious objection.  There are huge numbers of
draft evaders in Turkey, avoiding conscription into the war in the
south-east.  In contrast, Osman is emphatic that he is not a draft
evader but a resister.
 
Support messages to Izmir War Resisters' Association:
      Savas Karsitlari Dernegi Izmir 
      1468 Sok. No.14  
      Alsancak - IZMIR
      tel: 00-90-232-464 24 92                                
      fax: 00-90-232-464 08 42
      e-mail: osi at info-ist.comlink.de
 
War Resisters' International 
5 Caledonian Road 
London N1 9DX 
England
tel: +44 171 278 4040
fax: +44 171 278 0444
email: warresisters at gn.apc.org

From kurd-l at burn.ucsd.edu  Tue Oct 22 07:27:38 1996
From: kurd-l at burn.ucsd.edu (kurd-l at burn.ucsd.edu)
Date: 22 Oct 1996 07:27:38
Subject: AKIN: Muhammed Was Born 6 Days Too
Message-ID: <bac1c849.Pine.NEB.3.95.961022023..@burn.ucsd.edu>

From: Arm The Spirit <ats at locust.cic.net>
Subject: AKIN: Muhammed Was Born 6 Days Too Late

Muhammed Was Born 6 Days Too Late

The Turkish newspaper headlines read, "twelve," a reference to the number
of inmates who were dying due to hunger strikes over prison conditions in
the days leading to the agreement of July 28, 1996.  The night before, on
July 27, 1996, the Turkish Justice Minister Sevket Kazan would agree to end
the impasse between his government and the prisoners by giving in to their
demands.

The papers also noted the guarded jubilation of the Kurdish and Turkish
crowds who had gathered at the gates of Turkish prisons across the country.
 Dampening their enthusiasm for the good news was the statement by the
Justice Minister himself: "This night [July 27, 1996] this thing had to
finish and everyone should be happy."  He was making a reference to the
birth of prophet Muhammed in Mecca some 1400 hundreds years ago.  The pious
Turkish Muslim Minister wanted to do good.

For the relatives of the twelve inmates who became a pile of bones and
dry-skin the birth of prophet Muhammed was 6 days too late.  A Reuters wire
report had noted the death of the first Turkish inmate as early as July 21,
1996.  It took eleven more deaths and the lapse of countless agonizing
hours for Minister Kazan and his government to come up with an historically
"meaningful" date for an end to the most serious hunger strike in the
history of the Turkish republic.

This was a heavy blow to the image that Turkey wishes to convey to the
world outside of its borders.  Claims that, "Few countries are changing
faster or more positively than Turkey," a phrase from a paid Turkish
advertisement in the Washington Post, are sounding hallow with news of
untimely and horrible deaths of Kurdish and Turkish political prisoners.
New evidence of atrocities is surfacing with an alarming rate.

When the crisis was over, people across the country were grateful
especially to the prominent writer, Yasar Kemal, the popular musician,
Zulfu Livaneli, and a member of the Turkish parliament, Mukadder Basegmez,
for bridging the gap between the inmates and the Minister representing the
government.  They had worked tirelessly to stop the pain and the sufferings
of the inmates and their families.  Even before they could rest on their
laurels, they were asked to tackle the larger Turkish crisis, the Kurdish
question, for an equally auspicious ending.

Recent developments in the Kurdish region of Turkey put the prospects of a
peaceful resolution of the conflict beyond the realm of possibility.  When
many in Turkey thought the crisis of the prisoners were over, the news
about the raid in the notorious Diyarbakir prison hit the papers with the
death of ten additional Kurdish inmates, apparently killed by the members
of the Turkish security forces, on September 25, 1996.  Many others, badly
beaten, were taken to the hospital listed in critical condition.

Death is becoming a way of life in Turkey.  The Turkish Human Rights
Foundation notes that 17.4 people die of political violence on a daily
basis.  On October 1, 1996, as the Amnesty International launched its
worldwide campaign to highlight the human rights abuses in Turkey, the wire
reports noted another story, again from Diyarbakir, this time about the
death of four school teachers at Hantepe, a Kurdish village, in the heart
of the troubled Turkish Kurdistan.

The ever-obedient Turkish press quoted Necati Bilican, the Super Governor
of the Kurdish emergency region, by saying that these teachers were killed
by the Kurdish rebels.  The foreign journalists, mostly discouraged and
sometimes outright barred from the region, reiterated the same line by
accusing the members of the ARGK, the People's Liberation Army of
Kurdistan, of the atrocious deed.
        
On the same day, BBC Radio had the commander of Turkish-Kurdish rebel
forces Cemil Bayik on the air to comment on the nature of the Turkish
accusations that his forces had committed the killings.  Mr. Bayik
categorically denied the charges.  He accused the Turkish government of
complicity in the murders.  He stated that the government forces had
committed this dirty deed to coincide with the Amnesty campaign to portray
itself as a victim in the Kurdish-Turkish conflict.  He ended his
statement: "We are a signatory to the Geneva Conventions; our forces are
under strict orders not to kill civilians."

Millions of Kurds who tune to the BBC Radio for their world news heard
their side of the story.  The Turkish radio, television and the print media
for days played the government line accused the rebels of the atrocious
misdeed for their listeners.  Lost in these barrages of accusations are the
daily concerns of average Kurds and average Turks who pay a price sometimes
with their lives to be citizens of a country ruled by individuals who
refuse to hear the voices of reason.

Writers, such as Yasar Kemal, who have gone on record for calling this war
an organized crime, who are adored both by the Turks and the Kurds and who
represent the conscience of the country need to be heard in this
Kurdish-Turkish conflict.

In the meantime, is anyone aware of an important day in the life of prophet
Muhammed or any other sage for an auspicious beginning in Turkey's most
serious crisis, the Kurdish question, since its inception?


----
American Kurdish Information Network (AKIN)
2623 Connecticut Avenue NW #1
Washington, DC 20008-1522

Tel: (202) 483-6444
Fax: (202) 483-6476
E-mail: akin at kurdish.org
Home Page: http://burn.ucsd.edu/~akin
----

The American Kurdish Information Network (AKIN) provides a public service
to foster Kurdish-American understanding and friendship




From kurd-l at burn.ucsd.edu  Tue Oct 22 07:28:50 1996
From: kurd-l at burn.ucsd.edu (kurd-l at burn.ucsd.edu)
Date: 22 Oct 1996 07:28:50
Subject: Jash Fighting Continues In South Ku
Message-ID: <bac1c849.Pine.NEB.3.95.961022023..@burn.ucsd.edu>

From: Arm The Spirit <ats at locust.cic.net>
Subject: Jash Fighting Continues In South Kurdistan

Kurd Fighting Mars Peace Bid In Northern Iraq

RANYA, Iraq (Reuter) - Iraqi Kurdish forces which had been supported by
President Saddam Hussein fled an advance by their Kurdish rivals as fierce
fighting Monday marred a renewed U.S. bid to bring the two warring parties
together. 

The Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP), backed two months ago by Iraqi troops
and tanks when it took the main north Iraq city of Arbil from the rival
group, withdrew in panic from Ranya, a town it had captured only at the
weekend. 

Thousands of KDP fighters also abandoned an assault on a strategic dam when
they came under heavy artillery fire from the opposing Patriotic Union of
Kurdistan (PUK) militia. 

"We came across very heavy resistance and we are evaluating the situation,"
local KDP commander Abduljelil Seili told Reuters in Ranya. He and his men
abandoned the town several minutes later. 

The clashes in north Iraq took place amid U.S. efforts to restart peace
talks between the factions and prevent Iraq or Iran filling a power vacuum
caused by the chaos. 

Senior U.S. diplomat Robert Pelletreau met with KDP leader Massoud Barzani
just over the border in Turkey Monday. 

Pelletreau said Barzani looked positively on a U.S.-proposed cease-fire
with Jalal Talabani's PUK to "permit stability in the area for establishing
an end to the fighting." 

He warned against any military involvement by Iran or Iraq in the fighting. 

"The United States would regard that as a negative development that could
have very negative consequences," he told reporters after meeting with
Barzani for more than three hours at a Turkish military base in the border
town of Silopi. 

Fighting between the two factions since August has allowed Saddam to
restore some of his influence in northern Iraq and effectively ended the
U.S. military, aid and intelligence presence in the mountainous Kurdish
region. 

Barzani tipped the balance of power in his favor in late August by joining
with Iraqi troops and tanks, prompting U.S. reprisal missile strikes on
military targets in southern Iraq. 

Barzani, who has threatened to call again on Baghdad's help, accuses
Talabani of receiving military aid from Iran. Tehran and Talabani deny the
charge. 

There has been no obvious sign of Iranian or Iraqi forces in clashes that
have criss-crossed the region this week. 

PUK shells exploded 100 yards behind KDP fighters fleeing the important
Dukan Dam Monday, witnesses said. 

Jeeps carried the bodies of dead KDP fighters from the front after a failed
attempt to capture the dam and march on the PUK stronghold city of
Sulaimaniya. 

Shopkeepers in Ranya closed their shutters and residents ran home or
gathered in side streets ahead of the PUK's expected entry to the town. 

Pelletreau, U.S. assistant secretary of state for near eastern affairs,
said he would have a better idea of how the peace bid was going after a
meeting with Talabani set for Tuesday in Ankara. 

"Obviously agreement requires agreement of more than one party," Pelletreau
said. 

The Kurds broke from Baghdad at the end of the 1991 Persian Gulf War and
set up a power-sharing parliament in Arbil that essentially collapsed in
December 1994 when Talabani's forces took control of the city. 

Fighting that continued sporadically after that was over control of Arbil
and the distribution of revenues from the KDP's makeshift oil trade across
the Turkish border. 

Washington brokered two meetings in Ireland last year between the Kurdish
groups but no solid settlement was reached. 


-----------------------------------------------------------------
Arm The Spirit is an autonomist/anti-imperialist information
collective based in Toronto, Canada. Our focus includes a wide 
variety of material, including political prisoners, national 
liberation struggles, armed communist resistance, anti-fascism, 
the fight against patriarchy, and more. We regularly publish our 
writings, research, and translation materials in our magazine and
bulletins called Arm The Spirit. For more information, contact:

Arm The Spirit
P.O. Box 6326, Stn. A
Toronto, Ontario
M5W 1P7 Canada

E-mail: ats at etext.org
WWW: http://burn.ucsd.edu/~ats
FTP: ftp.etext.org --> /pub/Politics/Arm.The.Spirit
ATS-L Archives: http://burn.ucsd.edu/~archive/ats-l
-----------------------------------------------------------------

 ++++ stop the execution of Mumia Abu-Jamal ++++
   ++++ if you agree copy these lines to your sig ++++
     ++++ see http://www.xs4all.nl/~tank/spg-l/sigaction.htm ++++



From kurd-l at burn.ucsd.edu  Wed Oct 23 11:06:42 1996
From: kurd-l at burn.ucsd.edu (kurd-l at burn.ucsd.edu)
Date: 23 Oct 1996 11:06:42
Subject: www.kurdistan.org
Message-ID: <bac1c849.Pine.NEB.3.95.961022220..@burn.ucsd.edu>

From: Arm The Spirit <ats at locust.cic.net>

The homepage of the American Kurdish Information Network (AKIN)
can now be reached at http://www.kurdistan.org


From kurd-l at burn.ucsd.edu  Wed Oct 23 11:07:13 1996
From: kurd-l at burn.ucsd.edu (kurd-l at burn.ucsd.edu)
Date: 23 Oct 1996 11:07:13
Subject: How To Kill A Political Party
Message-ID: <bac1c849.Pine.NEB.3.95.961022211..@burn.ucsd.edu>

From: Arm The Spirit <ats at locust.cic.net>

How To Kill A Political Party

By AKIN

Tomorrow, October 23, 1996, the Turkish State Security Court will open its
trial in Ankara of 41 members of Turkey's pro-Kurdish People's Democracy
Party, HADEP.  Nuh Mete Yuksel, the prosecutor for the Turkish government,
wants to see the top officials of this party, including its president,
Murat Bozlak, behind bars for as many as 22 years. 

Unless a miracle happens, the accused will witness the curtailment of
their civil liberties for years to come.  They will join the ranks of
thousands of others in Turkey who have been forced into prisons because
they desire to make the country they love a better place for all. 

The trial is unprecedented in the history of the Turkish republic.  It
owes its origins to an incident that took place on June 23, 1996, the
convention day for the HADEP followers.  Some 30,000 people, mostly Kurds,
had gathered in Ankara to elect new officers and a president. 

According to various accounts, a masked youth lowered the Turkish flag
that was hung on the wall of the hall.  Turkish reporters videotaped the
incident and played the scene for days to come.  Turhan Dayan, the
Education Minister denounced the act and decreed the last week of June
1996, as "Flag Week."  Homes, businesses and government offices were
ordered to fly flags. 

On the convention floor itself, the act was denounced as well.  The fallen
flag was raised and hung on the podium facing the crowd.  This gesture
unfortunately was not noted in the Turkish press.  The business of the
day, the election of the various party members was completed.  Murat
Bozlak, the former president of HADEP was elected to the top job
unopposed.  As the convention delegates were getting ready to leave, the
Turkish police closed the exits and arrested 70 individuals, the highest
ranking party officials, including the president elect. 

To those familiar with Turkish politics, the response of the authorities
may seem unduly harsh.  It is not something that one would expect to see
in a country that claims to be a democracy, flaunts its membership in NATO
as an invaluable asset, and insists that it be accepted into the European
Union because as Turkey's foreign Minister Tansu Ciller put it recently at
a Washington National Press Club briefing, Turkey's institutions of civil
society are more robust than the newly liberated countries in Eastern
Europe. 

And yet the flag incident is a page out of pre Ceausescu Romania.  A
political party that advocates a peaceful solution to the Kurdish-Turkish
conflict is silenced on the flimsiest of charges, forcing millions of its
members to lose faith in the efficacy of the democratic change.  Wronging
so blatantly a party with millions of followers bodes ill for the growth
of pluralism in the multi ethnic Turkey.

HADEP is the third Kurdish political party in Turkey to be pushed into the
abyss.  On June 7, 1990, the Kurds formed the People's Labor Party, HEP,
to voice their political aspirations through elected office.  After a
tumultuous start, with 18 members elected to serve in the Turkish
parliament, the party was forced to shut down its doors on July 14, 1993.

A successor Kurdish party, the Democracy Party, DEP was formed.  That too
was targeted by the authorities.  Mehmet Sincar, an elected member of DEP
was murdered on September 4, 1994.  Four of his friends, Leyla Zana, Hatip
Dicle, Orhan Dogan and Selim Sadak were tried in State Security court each
receiving sentences of fifteen years in jail.  Six others, anticipating
arrests and lengthy prison terms, fled the country and sought refuge in
Europe as political refugees.  The remaining deputies simply resigned or
changed parties lest they too be an address to a merciless bullet.  RIP
sign went up for the second Kurdish party on June 16, 1994.

Anticipating the pending closure of their party, the Kurds had formed a
new party, HADEP, on May 11, 1994.  When Murat Bozlak addressed the HADEP
convention for the second time as a free man, he spoke of the murder of
105 Kurdish and Turkish party members by shadowy groups since June 7,
1990.  These Kurds and Turks believed in the democratic process but were
silenced by the guns of assassins.  The day after his arrest, three of the
returning HADEP delegates were also murdered just outside of Kayseri on
their way home to the troubled southeast.

Violence begets more violence.  Kurds who make up 25 to 30 % of the
country's population, are becoming impatient with the abuse of their duly
elected representatives.  Some have retreated into cynicism.  Others are
supporting the armed struggle, the Kurdish rebels, the PKK.

The claim that the institutions of civil society are robust in Turkey
proper may be true but in Turkish Kurdistan they are definitely not
working.  Amnesty International recently undertook a worldwide campaign to
highlight the abuses that are taking place in the country.  Pierre Sane,
Secretary General of AI startled his Turkish hosts on October 1, 1996, in
Istanbul, Turkey when he asked, "Why doesn't the Turkish Government take
steps to protect its citizens from its security forces?  The international
intergovernmental organizations also have a responsibility here: the
Council of Europe, the Organizations for Security and Cooperation in
Europe (OCSE) and the United Nations (UN) know what Amnesty International
knows about torture, killing[s] and disappearance[s] - why do they choose
not to act?" 

The name of the United States government should have been on the list as
well.  Washington is the principal supplier of arms to Ankara.  And yet,
at the State Department the word is: "Business As Usual." 

----
American Kurdish Information Network (AKIN)
2623 Connecticut Avenue NW #1
Washington, DC 20008-1522

Tel: (202) 483-6444
Fax: (202) 483-6476
E-mail: akin at kurdish.org
Home Page: http://www.kurdistan.org
----

The American Kurdish Information Network (AKIN) provides a public service
to foster Kurdish-American understanding and friendship.

-----------------------------------------------------------------
Arm The Spirit is an autonomist/anti-imperialist information
collective based in Toronto, Canada. Our focus includes a wide 
variety of material, including political prisoners, national 
liberation struggles, armed communist resistance, anti-fascism, 
the fight against patriarchy, and more. We regularly publish our 
writings, research, and translation materials in our magazine and
bulletins called Arm The Spirit. For more information, contact:

Arm The Spirit
P.O. Box 6326, Stn. A
Toronto, Ontario
M5W 1P7 Canada

E-mail: ats at etext.org
WWW: http://burn.ucsd.edu/~ats
FTP: ftp.etext.org --> /pub/Politics/Arm.The.Spirit
ATS-L Archives: http://burn.ucsd.edu/~archive/ats-l
-----------------------------------------------------------------

 ++++ stop the execution of Mumia Abu-Jamal ++++
   ++++ if you agree copy these lines to your sig ++++
     ++++ see http://www.xs4all.nl/~tank/spg-l/sigaction.htm ++++





From kurd-l at burn.ucsd.edu  Thu Oct 24 21:01:51 1996
From: kurd-l at burn.ucsd.edu (kurd-l at burn.ucsd.edu)
Date: 24 Oct 1996 21:01:51
Subject: Repression Against MED-TV Continues
Message-ID: <bac1c849.Pine.NEB.3.95.961024021..@burn.ucsd.edu>

From: Arm The Spirit <ats at locust.cic.net>

Repression Against MED-TV Continues

DEM News Agency - London, October 12, 1996

Following the police raids on MED-TV on September 18th, the Belgian
authorities arrested Mr. Haydar Agbaba, Ms. Zeynep Gezik, Mr. Zana Serin,
and Ms. Hurriyet Ozarslan for alleged financial irregularities. MED-TV has
denied these charges.

Mr. Hikmet Tabak, the director of MED-TV, condemned the arrests: "These
operations show that the Belgian authorities are bowing to political
pressure from the Turkish government."

On October 10th, a court ordered that all those detained be released, but
in a shocking development, all four were immediately re-arrested after
walking outside the prison. They were again put into custody, this time on
charges of entering Belgium illegally.

The director of MED-TV stated: "When the authorities could not substantiate
their allegations of money laundering, they made up these arguments to
justify their failed police raids. These attacks are a heavy blow to
freedom of expression and freedom of the press in the European Union. The
goal of MED-TV, which the Turkish government opposes, is to preserve and
promote the Kurdish language. The European Parliament and the Council of
Europe have many times expressed their support for minority languages.
MED-TV deserves their support."

On Tuesday, October 15th, a court extended the detention order for the
imprisoned MED-TV executives by another two weeks.

(Translated by Arm The Spirit from 'Kurdistan-Rundbrief' #21/96)


-----------------------------------------------------------------
Arm The Spirit is an autonomist/anti-imperialist information
collective based in Toronto, Canada. Our focus includes a wide 
variety of material, including political prisoners, national 
liberation struggles, armed communist resistance, anti-fascism, 
the fight against patriarchy, and more. We regularly publish our 
writings, research, and translation materials in our magazine and
bulletins called Arm The Spirit. For more information, contact:

Arm The Spirit
P.O. Box 6326, Stn. A
Toronto, Ontario
M5W 1P7 Canada

E-mail: ats at etext.org
WWW: http://burn.ucsd.edu/~ats
FTP: ftp.etext.org --> /pub/Politics/Arm.The.Spirit
ATS-L Archives: http://burn.ucsd.edu/~archive/ats-l
-----------------------------------------------------------------

 ++++ stop the execution of Mumia Abu-Jamal ++++
   ++++ if you agree copy these lines to your sig ++++
     ++++ see http://www.xs4all.nl/~tank/spg-l/sigaction.htm ++++



From kurd-l at burn.ucsd.edu  Fri Oct 25 07:15:58 1996
From: kurd-l at burn.ucsd.edu (kurd-l at burn.ucsd.edu)
Date: 25 Oct 1996 07:15:58
Subject: Collaborators Clash, Then Observe T
Message-ID: <bac1c849.199610250614.CAA11126@l>

From: Arm The Spirit <ats at etext.org>
Subject: Collaborators Clash, Then Observe Truce

Kurdish Factions Clash, Then Observe Truce

DEGALA, Iraq [sic] (Reuter) - Rival Kurdish factions clashed for five hours
near a northern Iraqi town Thursday but later appeared to be adhering to a
U.S.-brokered cease-fire following two months of sporadic fighting in the
region. 

Witnesses said the Baghdad-backed Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) and the
Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) traded shots near the town of Degala
after the PUK launched an attack in mid-morning. But fighting halted in the
afternoon. 

The State Department had earlier announced a cease-fire between the warring
factions that was to take effect at midnight Iraqi time. 

"There were orders to that effect on the ground yesterday," Shazad Said,
the PUK's Turkey representative, said early Thursday. 

"We have not got any more reports of fighting after midnight," said Faik
Nerweyi, Ankara spokesman for the KDP. 

But at around the same time in northern Iraq, fighting started with the PUK
firing Katyusha rockets and artillery at KDP positions near the KDP-held
Degala, while KDP forces responded with heavy machine-gun fire. Neither
group advanced from their positions and the fighting ended after five
hours. 

"We would have brought in our heavy weapons but the PUK stopped," leading
KDP commander Roj Nuri Shuwayis told Reuters. 

U.S. envoy Robert Pelletreau secured an agreement to halt the fighting from
the two factions' leaders at separate meetings in Turkey this week. 

But a Western diplomat in Ankara said earlier Thursday there might be a
delay before the cease-fire would take hold: "It will take a little time
for the orders to filter through." 

A U.N. official in KDP-controlled Degala said the fighting made it
impossible to organize a relief convoy to the PUK-held town of Koy Sanjak,
19 miles to the east. 

"We can't go through because of the firing. We have enough food for the
starving people of Koy Sanjak but we can't get through to help them," a
senior U.N. official said in Degala. 

The renewal of hostilities has undermined U.S. efforts to end the conflict
between the two Kurdish factions which has threatened to draw in Iran and
Iraq. 

Iraqi newspapers have urged the Kurds to abandon the U.S. effort and
instead come to Baghdad for peace talks. 

"The warring Kurdish parties should leave aside playing with the vicious
foreign card and start national dialogue (in Baghdad) to end their bloody
fighting," said al-Thawra, newspaper of the ruling Baath party. 

Massoud Barzani's KDP, which had threatened to call on Iraq again for help,
accuses Iran of backing Talabani's PUK. Both Tehran and the PUK deny the
charges. 

The latest bout of fighting erupted at the end of August when the KDP
called on Baghdad's forces for help in taking control of the main regional
city of Arbil, which had been in PUK hands since late 1994. 

Many cease-fires between the two groups have been called and broken since
fighting first flared up in late 1994. But a diplomat in Ankara involved in
the latest peace bid said he was confident the factions would lay down
their arms. 

Delegations from the warring parties were due to meet in the Turkish
capital next week to move the peace process forward. 


-----------------------------------------------------------------
Arm The Spirit is an autonomist/anti-imperialist information
collective based in Toronto, Canada. Our focus includes a wide 
variety of material, including political prisoners, national 
liberation struggles, armed communist resistance, anti-fascism, 
the fight against patriarchy, and more. We regularly publish our 
writings, research, and translation materials in our magazine and
bulletins called Arm The Spirit. For more information, contact:

Arm The Spirit
P.O. Box 6326, Stn. A
Toronto, Ontario
M5W 1P7 Canada

E-mail: ats at etext.org
WWW: http://burn.ucsd.edu/~ats
FTP: ftp.etext.org --> /pub/Politics/Arm.The.Spirit
ATS-L Archives: http://burn.ucsd.edu/~archive/ats-l
-----------------------------------------------------------------

 ++++ stop the execution of Mumia Abu-Jamal ++++
   ++++ if you agree copy these lines to your sig ++++
     ++++ see http://www.xs4all.nl/~tank/spg-l/sigaction.htm ++++