From kurd-l at burn.ucsd.edu  Wed Jul  2 07:37:58 1997
From: kurd-l at burn.ucsd.edu (kurd-l at burn.ucsd.edu)
Date: 02 Jul 1997 07:37:58
Subject: Kurdistan Information Centre Online
Message-ID: <bac1c849.Pine.NEB.3.95.970702014..@burn.ucsd.edu>

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

Dear patriots and friends,

The Kurdistan Information Centre (KIC) is now online with email
and a web page. You may directly contact them at:

Email: kurdistan at burn.ucsd.edu
http://burn.ucsd.edu/~kurdistan

The KIC provides the latest news on the situation in Kurdistan.
The KIC exposes every form of human rights violation and repression
against the Kurdish people.
The KIC informs the public about the political and cultural developments
in Kurdistan.

"Kurdish people throughout southern Turkey, very ordinary, humble
people, have decided they would rather die standing up than spend their
lives on their knees. It was the most extraordinary and inspiring sight
of my life. I hope one day, they have the kind of freedoms we take for
granted." Michael Ignatieff, writer, broadcaster

"The denial of the democratic rights of the Kurds
in Turkey is well-known. Tourists who travel to
Turkey help to prop up the regime."  Tony Benn, MP

Contact info:

Kurdistan Information Centre
10 Glasshouse Yard
London EC1, England

Tel: +44 171 250 13 15
Fax: +44 171 250 13 17


From tabe at ozgurluk.xs4all.nl  Sun Jul  6 09:05:13 1997
From: tabe at ozgurluk.xs4all.nl (tabe at ozgurluk.xs4all.nl)
Date: 06 Jul 1997 09:05:13
Subject: TURKEY INVESTIGATES ALLEGATIONS CILLER SPIED FOR CIA
Message-ID: <bac1c849.m0wktLr.001ASzC@ozgurluk.xs4all.nl>

From: Press Agency Ozgurluk <tabe at ozgurluk.xs4all.nl>
Subject: TURKEY INVESTIGATES ALLEGATIONS CILLER SPIED FOR CIA

 
     TURKEY INVESTIGATES ALLEGATIONS CILLER SPIED FOR CIA
_________________________________________________________________
 
     Copyright 1997 Nando.net
     Copyright 1997 Agence France-Presse
 
 
     ANKARA (July 1, 1997 3:32 p.m. EDT) - A Turkish court
Tuesday opened an inquiry into allegations that former foreign
minister Tansu Ciller spied for the CIA and her husband was a
mafia chief, private television NTV reported.
   
     The state security court action comes after Workers Party
leader Dogu Perincek filed a suit accusing Ciller of "spying on
behalf of the CIA" and her husband of "running a group trained by
the Turkish and Russian mafia."
   
     Perincek's suit was filed with the courts while Ciller's
True Path Party was a partner in the Islamist-led coalition which
collapsed last month under pressure from the army.
   
     The court's action came under laws against disclosing or
selling national secrets to foreign powers, NTV said.
   
     The court can ask the justice ministry to lift Ciller's
parliamentary immunity if it finds enough evidence in its
investigation and can also summon Ciller to make a deposition,
the station said.
   
     Justice Minister Oltan Sungurlu told NTV he was not
"familiar with the case. I have no intention of following this
case because it's a matter for the courts."
   
     Ciller played down the case.
   
     "These are little unimportant things. There's nothing
unusual and it's a continuation of the same things," she said,
referring to other accusations made against her last year.

(Thanx to ANTIFA INFO-BULLETIN)
-- 
Press-Agency Ozgurluk: http://www.ozgurluk.org
The struggle for human right, freedom, justice and democracy in Turkey
and Kurdistan
mailto: info at ozgurluk.org

From english at ozgurluk.xs4all.nl  Mon Jul  7 18:44:13 1997
From: english at ozgurluk.xs4all.nl (english at ozgurluk.xs4all.nl)
Date: 07 Jul 1997 18:44:13
Subject: TDN on the change of government in Turkey
Message-ID: <bac1c849.m3radaqqe7.fsf@ozgurluk.xs4all.nl>

Subject: TDN on the change of government in Turkey
From: Press Agency Ozgurluk <tabe at ozgurluk.xs4all.nl>
Date: 08 Jul 1997 03:33:20 +0200


               8 July,1997, Copyright Turkish Daily News
                                     
    _________________________________________________________________
                                     

                        Domestic News Page contents

                Motherleft promises civilian democracy
                                      

   TDN Parliamentary Bureau
  

   Ankara - The three-party Motherleft minority coalition of Turkey
   promised the country, on Monday, a civilian democracy; that is respect=

   for the rule of law with emphasis on promoting individual and
   institutional freedom, and redoubled efforts to join the European
   Union.
  

   Prime Minister Mesut Yilmaz read the Motherland (ANAP), Democratic
   Left (DSP) and Democrat Turkey (DTP) coalition government's program to=

   Parliament on Monday. Yilmaz emphasized his government's promise to
   seek to firmly establish "a culture of compromise" in Turkey.
  

   The program pledged measures to boost investment and create new jobs
   in the terrorism-torn Southeast.
  

   A general debate on the government program is planned for Thursday and=

   a vote of confidence is scheduled to be held on July 12.
  

   The coalition can call on only 216 of the total 550 seats in
   Parliament. The opposition Social Democrats along with the majority of=

   the 17 independent deputies have pledged to help the coalition survive=

   the confidence vote.
  

Priorities of the Yilmaz government

  8-year schooling
 

   The new government has pledged to extend compulsory primary education
   from the currently required five years to eight years.
  

   "Eight years of uninterrupted, obligatory education will be put into
   practice ... It will be a basic aim [of the government] to train
   people equipped with the knowledge and capability to deal with the
   information age ... and assimilate Ataturk's principles and reforms,"
   the government program said.
  

  EU membership aim reaffirmed
 

   The coalition government promised to persevere with the country's
   drive to win full membership of the European Union (EU).
  

   "Turkey will ensure its rightful place in the new Europe that is being=

   drawn up," the government program read aloud by Prime Minister Mesut
   Yilmaz on Monday said.
  

   The program also promised rapid harmonization of laws to ease the
   customs union between Turkey and the EU that began last year.
  

   Turkey is one of 12 countries awaiting a July 16 European Commission
   judgement on how suitable each is for EU entry.
  

  Privatization and battling inflation are priority
 

   The government program said that jump-starting stalled privatizations
   and fighting inflation were its main economic targets.
  

   "Priority will be given to the struggle against inflation," the new
   program said.
  

   Inflation has been the bane of Turkish governments for more than a
   decade. The annual Consumer Price Index stands at 78 percent.
  

   "Our government will carry out reforms that take into account the
   country's long-term interests and needs and are not just aimed at
   getting by," said the program.
  

   It vowed to speed up the privatization of the banking sector, complete=

   the sale of Turk Telekom and increase revenues by widening the tax
   base and lowering some tax rates.
  

  Same old rhetoric
 

   The new government complained in its program that it has taken over an=

   economy, the balance of which was badly hampered by the previous
   Islamist-led coalition government. The government said it had
   inherited a gaping hole in the budget.
  

   "In the first months of the year, the budget balance has shown a
   deficit of hundreds of trillions of lira and has reached the 720
   trillion lira mark," the government program said.
  

  Cyprus important for Turkish security
 

   Concerning the Cyprus issue, the government program underlined that
   the eastern Mediterranean island was of vital importance for Turkey's
   national security.
  

   The program said the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) will
   be granted support in all fields and by all means.
  

   It further stressed that Turkey would preserve its rights and
   responsibilities in the island as described in the international
   agreements.
  

   "The government will act with the consciousness, not only of the TRNC
   but also of the island's vital importance for the security of Turkey,"=

   the program said.
  

   - Concerning the Cyprus issue, our national cause; the Turkish
   Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) will be granted support in all
   means while our rights and responsibilites sustained by international
   agreements are preserved. The government will act with the
   consciousness not only of the TRNC, but also of the island's vital
   importance for the security of Turkey.
  

   - Our government believes that the issues regarding our vital
   interests in the Aegean Sea should be solved within a constructive and=

   peaceful dialogue, as well as a reciprocal understanding.
  

   - The government will support all initiatives for the restoration of
   permanent peace and stability in the Caucasus region. Within this
   framework, the support for the initiatives in favor of Armenia's
   unconditional withdrawal from the occupied Azerbaijan territories, and=

   the encouragement of the solution of problems between the two
   countries through dialogue, will continue unabated.
  

   - The peaceful and balanced policies toward the Middle East will
   continue, and relations with the Arab and Islamic World will be
   improved. The efforts for the immediate ending of Iraq's territorial
   division will continue within the framework of the United Nations
   resolutions, human rights and international legal principles, while
   the disadvantages suffered as a result of Turkey's internal security
   worries and economic losses are also considered.
  

   - A higher board representated by Turkish citizens living abroad will
   be established in order for their problems to be closely monitored and=

   solved.
  

  Turkey-EU relations
 

   - Turkey's full accession to the European Union (EU) is not just a
   goal, but a right sustained from the international agreements it had
   previously signed. The government will give priority to the balancing
   of the reciprocal benefits in its relations with the EU.
  

   - In order for the completion of the harmonization efforts following
   the signing of the customs union treaty with the EU, a new customs law=

   will be passed, new regulations will be added to the law concerning
   the protection of the intellectual property rights, and Turkey will
   join the international conventions regarding these issues.
  

   - The ongoing talks with a number of Central and Eastern European
   countries on the free trade agreements within the framework of the
   joint trade policies of the EU will be completed, and the endorsed
   agreements will immediately be put into effect.
  

   - Turkey's solid and legal benefits from its relations with the EU,
   including the customs union treaty, will be consolidated with more
   gains, and the government will be emphasizing the fulfilling its
   responsibilities toward the EU.
  

  Education
 

   - The eight-year compulsory and continuous education program will be
   implemented. Since Article 24 of the Constitution stipulates that the
   religious education must be given under the state's auspices,
   mandatory religious education in the elementary and secondary schools
   will continue. In addition, the provision of religious education is up=

   to the consent of individuals or the legal guardians of juveniles.
   Optional Koranic education is left within the responsibility of the
   Directorate of Religious Affairs.
  

   - While converting to the eight-year compulsory education system, the
   earned rights of the pupils receiving apprentice training in
   vocational intermediate schools will be preserved. Vocational training=

   will be given priority during secondary education also.
  

  Economy
 

   - The social security institutions, which came to the brink of
   bankruptcy with deficits worth quadrillions of lira and became unable
   to provide any services, will be restructured for healthy functioning.=

   The shares of these institutions in the public sector borrowing rate
   will gradually be decreased.
  

   - The government will apply economic measures aimed not only at saving=

   the day with short-run expectations, but at the country's long-term
   needs and interests.
  

   - The struggle against inflation will be the priority issue the
   government will try to solve. While trying to permanently reduce the
   public deficit, which is seen as the basic reason for the high
   inflation, the government will make coordinated efforts to discourage
   the expectations of an increase of inflation and to restructure its
   own leading institutions.
  

   - The structural malfunction of the banking system and the its legal
   gaps will be corrected and the goverment will increase its weight in
   the monitoring of the activities of banks.
  

   - The efforts to privatize state-owned owned banks will be
   accelerated.
  

   - The discipline of the public finance will be restored, and the
   practices that stimulate the views that the public resources are
   utilized to satisfy individual desires, will be removed.
  

   - A transparency in the budget will be acquired. The ways in which
   public resources are utilized will be questioned and explained
   clearly.
  

   - Irregular borrowing will be ended, and borrowing will be carried out=

   within the framework of a program which is revealed to the public
   beforehand, and of the given economic balances.
  

   - Non-tax revenues, such as those from privatization, will be given
   priority in order to end the country's economic crisis.
  

   - While the efforts to restructure the administrational and
   controlling mechanisms the State Economic Enterprises (KIT) are
   maintained, the necessary measures to speed up the privatization
   process will be taken.
  

   - While the privatization process is sped up, new legal regulations
   for KIT, which especially preserve their "natural monopoly" status,
   will be implemented in order to prevent the unexpected negative
   consequences suffered as a result of that conversion.
  

   - Licensing in the telecommunications field and the privatization of
   the Turk Telekom Co. will be accelerated with the application of other=

   necessary regulations.
  

   - Tax reform will be the basic goal in order to broaden the narrow tax=

   base by reducing the tax rates in certain fields, and to protect
   taxpayers against high inflation and the practices which collect taxes=

   on incomes which people do not actually earn.
     _________________________________________________________________
                                     

               PM Yilmaz reads government program in Parliament
                                      

     * Independence of the judiciary, battling corruption, eight years of=

       compulsory education, privatization, reestablishing economic
       balances and solving the southeastern problem are the main points
       of the government program
      

     _________________________________________________________________
                                     

   TDN Parliament Bureau
  

   Ankara - The government program read in Parliament by Prime Minister
   Mesut Yilmaz on Monday has signaled that the conservative-led
   coalition will not be a caretaker government taking the country to
   immediate early elections but will instead try to push along a
   considerable political agenda.
  

   The most controversial issues of the Islamist-led Refahyol period,
   such as the eight-year compulsory education, full independence of the
   judiciary and the fight against corruption were all included in detail=

   in the new government's program. It also pledged to curb inflation and=

   re-establish economic balances.
  

   Issues such as privatization, and relations with the European Union
   (EU), which the junior coalition partner Democratic Left Party (DSP)
   had viewed with skepticism, were extensively mentioned in the program.=

   The government promises to privatize and to pursue close relations
   with the EU.
  

   Although an actual date for early elections was not mentioned in the
   government program, a national census, an update of electoral
   registration information, and the right of Turkish nationals abroad to=

   vote in elections, have been included. The program says the government=

   will take the country to elections without disrupting the economy.
  

   _The main points of the government program are as follows: _
  

   - The government will save the country from the political crisis which=

   erupted during the previous Refahyol administration. It will stop
   ethical degeneration and fulfill the societal demand for an end to
   corruption. It will reinstate the reputation of the state
   establishment and strengthen the secular and democratic republic.
  

   - Necessary precautions will be taken to prevent human rights
   violations and fill the gaps in democratic institutions.
  

   - In parallel with Constitutional amendments, the requiredeffort will
   be shown to ensure that civil servants are able to use their right to
   unionize to the full extent.
  

   - Priority will be given to ensure freedom of the press. Necessary
   legislation will be passed to ensure that the press exercises
   self-control. Press institutions will be consulted on revisions to
   existing legislation.
  

   - In order to ensure freedom of the judiciary, the Supreme Council of
   Judges and Prosecutors will be made an independent body. Legislation
   will be passed to guarantee the full independence of judges serving on=

   this panel so that they will exercise their duty in accordance with
   the Constitution, laws and their individual conscience.
  

   - The Parliamentary immunity of deputies and the limitations to
   bringing lawsuits against civil servants are to be narrowed. The
   required legal and Constitutional amendments will be made.
  

   - Organized crime will be prosecuted resolutely.
  

   - The primary principle in preventing corruption is to ensure that the=

   acts of those exercising state power are always open to public audit
   and supervision. Necessary legislation will be passed to ensure
   supervisory bodies are free from all political influence.
  

  The Southeast
 

   - The problems that face Southeastern Anatolia are not ethnic but due
   to geographical and socioeconomic factors, the prevailing feudal
   structure and foreign interference. Separatist terror will be combated=

   resolutely while acting in full compliance with democratic and legal
   principles.
  

   - The significant security problems facing the region will be tackled
   with a view to socioeconomic solutions and international relations.
  

   - New investments will be made in the region and the unjust
   distribution of wealth will be corrected. Government support will be
   given to private business, small-and-medium-size companies and local
   entrepreneurs to invest in agricultural and related industries, and
   manufacturing.
  

   - The public sector will make investments in the region to hasten
   economic growth.
  

   - The problems facing the villagers whose villages have been evacuated=

   will be resolved. Productivity in the region will be improved.
  

   - The students of the closed schools will be enrolled in regional
   boarding schools whose capacities are to be increased.
  

   - All necessary measures will be taken to lift all restrictions
   limiting border trade in the region.
  

   - The competent among village guards will be employed into the
   security forces while the rest will be employed in civilian jobs.
  

   - The special police teams will be brought into a more suitable
   structure.
  

  Foreign policy
 

   - The relations with the United States, Europe, Russia and countries
   in the Asia-Pacific rim will be pursued within the framework of
   alliances or friendship in accordance with mutual interests. Relations=

   with regions such as the Balkans, the Caucasus, and Central Asian
   countries with which Turkey has historical and cultural ties, will be
   developed with its various aspects.
     _________________________________________________________________
                                     

      Asilturk: new coalition's program is all talk and little substance
                                      

     * 'At some points statism strains to socialism and at others
       liberalism strains to capitalism. These cannot be all together,'
       says RP secretary -general
      

     _________________________________________________________________
                                     

   Turkish Daily News
  

   Ankara - Welfare Party (RP) parliamentary group deputy Chairman
   Oguzhan Asilturk likened the new government program to an old
   patched-over sack, the Anatolia news agency reported.
  

   Speaking at a press conference in Parliament, Asilturk claimed the
   Mesut Yilmaz-led government was a minority government despite the
   support of the Republican People's Party (CHP).
  

   "This is a verbose program with little substance in it. What they have=

   said about the eight-year compulsory education system proves that they=

   want to take away the public's right to freedom of belief. The program=

   was dictated to them by those who got them in power. We cannot achieve=

   anything by restricting religious education," said Asilturk.
  

   The RP Secretary-General also claimed that the Council of Ministers
   have already started to argue among themselves. "At some points
   statism strains to socialism and at others liberalism strains to
   capitalism. These cannot be all together," said Asilturk.
  

   He did not find the 35 percent pay rise for the civil servants
   sufficient and added that the Welfarepath government had given a 50
   percent increase last year when they were in power. "The President is
   not objective. He is biased and one sided. If that side succeeds he
   will deem himself successful as well. If that side fails then he will
   feel unsuccessful," said Asilturk adding that those who are certain
   that the new government will pass the vote of confidence will be
   surprised.
  

  Ekinci: 'Voting for this government is voting for state'
 

   True Path Party (DYP) deputy Chairman Hasan Ekinci claimed that the
   55th government was not established by either the nation or the
   parliament, a lack of which crippled it with respect to democracy.
  

   Ekinci, speaking at a press conference, called on parliamentary
   deputies not to give vote of confidence to the 55th government and
   instead, begin the establishment of a new government based on the
   nation's will.
  

   "The 55th government is not established by the nation's will but the
   state's. Deputies voting for this government means that they will vote=

   for the state," he said.
     _________________________________________________________________
                                     

             Southeast study slated for July in Parliament
                                      

     * 'In order to end the bloodshed in southeastern Anatolia, I focused=

       on what other countries had done without giving up their
       territorial integrity,' researcher says
      

     _________________________________________________________________
                                     

    By Saadet Oruc / Turkish Daily News
   

   Ankara - While a recently arrived Motherleft government made a much
   ballyhooed trip to the Southeast, finishing touches are being put on
   an extensive two year study of the region. The report will be
   presented to Parliament in late July, the Turkish Daily News learned.
  

   Prepared by a bureaucratically experienced academician, the study is
   expected to generate controversy and heated debate, in much the same
   manner as previously released reports on this subject have done.
  

   The author of the report while wishing to remain anonymous, told the
   TDN that his aim was to help the new government find solutions to
   problems in the Southeast. The source, who insisted that his study was=

   based solely on personal interest, stated thatin order to better
   understand the situation in southeast Anatolia, he has looked at
   similar conflicts throughout the world.
  

   "In order to end the bloodshed in southeastern Anatolia, I focused on
   what others had done short of separatism," he said.
  

   Recent events have highlighted the issue. Bulent Ecevit, deputy prime
   minister of the coalition government, arrived in Diyarbakir with a
   large group of ministers this weekend and decided that the village
   guard system is to be changed.
  

   Dr. Dogu Ergil and Bulent Tanor are other researchers who have
   compiled reports about problems the Southeast faces under a process of=

   democratization.
  

   Ergil's Turkish Union of Chambers (TOBB) report drew much reaction
   from conservative circles. Bulent Tanor, in his report named
   "Democratization Perspectives in Turkey," prepared for the Association=

   of Turkish Industrialists and Businessmen (TUSIAD), discussed ways of
   furthering democratization in Turkey. The 12-year-plus armed conflict
   in the southeast parts of the country between the outlawed Kurdistan
   Workers' Party (PKK) and the Turkish Army have caused over 20,000
   deaths. Although ways for the problem's solution are often discussed,
   as of yet no concrete steps have been taken.
  

  DYP's report
 

   Not to remain silent during the latest discussion about the problems
   in the Southeast, the former governor of the Emergency Rule Region and=

   True Path Party Deputy Hayri Kozakcioglu is working on another report
   about the Southeast's problems. [QE]
     _________________________________________________________________
                                     

                DSP faces conflict over Emergency Rule
                                      

   TDN Parliament Bureau
  

   Ankara - The Democratic Left Party (DSP) which voted against extension=

   of the state of emergency in nine provinces in Turkey's southeastern
   region when it was in the opposition, is now experiencing some
   difficulties on this issue since it is now a coalition partner.
  

   The fact that the government program contained a statement which said
   the circumstances which would necessitate the removal of Emergency
   Rule had not yet existed, led to criticisms in the segment of the DSP
   parliamentary group meeting which was closed to the press. Bursa
   Deputy Yuksel Aksu said that statement must be deleted from the text
   of the government program. DSP leader Bulent Ecevit said necessary
   efforts would be made to remove Emergency Rule in certain provinces.
  

   Parliament will today debate the government letter requesting the
   extension of Emergency Rule for another four months as of July 30.
   Ecevit said during the DSP group that that decision had been taken
   during the rule of the Refahyol government at the last meeting of the
   National Security Council. Therefore, Ecevit said, it was not possible=

   to make any change in the government letter. Some DSP deputies
   reportedly may not attend the voting over the extension of Emergency
   Rule.

     _________________________________________________________________
                                     

                Human rights groups hold own brand of briefings
                                      

     _________________________________________________________________
                                     

    By M. Akif Beki / Turkish Daily News
   

   Istanbul - Both human rights organizations in Turkey, the Human Rights=

   Association (IHD) and MAZLUMDER, are holding democracy briefings as an=

   alternative to the General Staff's controversial anti-fundamentalist,
   or "irtica," briefings which were recently given to prosecutors,
   judges, journalists, and businessmen.
  

   "Irtica" can be defined in English as reactionary religious
   tendencies.
  

   The Istanbul branch of the IHD started the campaign by giving a
   briefing on human rights and democracy to representatives of
   nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) at the Turkish Journalists'
   Association (TGC) building over the weekend. MAZLUMDER's Istanbul
   branch is planning to hold a similar briefing on the topic of human
   rights and the "irtica" issue soon, and they will be seeking to define=

   accurately just what is meant by "reactionary."
  

   The IHD briefing began by addressing why it was necessary to hold such=

   a meeting.
  

   "Civic society organizations should have raised their voices on behalf=

   of liberal democracy during social and political crisis," the briefing=

   text stressed, "while we lived a situation clearly contrary to that.
   From the end of May to June the General Staff gave a series of
   briefings to various social circles in order to dictate to society its=

   own opinions and solutions."
  

   The explanation of the aim of briefing continued: "These briefings of
   the General Staff were determining the limitations of our whole social=

   life in an unprecedented way. What was voiced during these briefings;
   rights and freedoms which our society needs, or more democracy?
   Exactly none of them were voiced."
  

   According to the IHD, the General Staff was offering a prohibitive
   solution to overcome the so-called crisis, and this militarist
   approach would result in more limitations on rights and freedoms which=

   were already limited. Criticizing the approach of the General Staff,
   the text described the briefing series as an order. "But NGOs failed
   in their responsibility to this command by not voicing the real needs
   and problems of society," the text said.
  

   In this context, the IHD's briefing tried to reply to the question of
   what our society needs in order to live together in peace and freedom.=

  

   In addition to criticism of the General Staff briefings, the closure
   of the IHD's provincial branches in Diyarbakir, Malatya, Izmir, Konya
   and Urfa was condemned by a joint protest action by the IHD and
   MAZLUMDER in front of the latter's branch in Istanbul.
  

   The IHD's branch organizations were closed down by regional governors
   in May and June. Describing the closure decisions as systematic and
   pre-planned pressures on their struggle against human rights
   violations, the IHD Istanbul branch continues to protest the case
   every Saturday at the same place.
  

   Attending the last protest, Istanbul Branch Chairman of MAZLUMDER Sadi=

   Carsancakli condemned the measures against the IHD and called on all
   NGOs to support the struggle for human rights.
     _________________________________________________________________
                                     

                     Ecevit praises harmony in government
                                      

     * DSP leader signals change in Cyprus policy and says government
       determined to institute longer compulsory education
      

     _________________________________________________________________
                                     

   TDN Parliament Bureau
  

   Ankara - Deputy Prime Minister Democratic Left Party (DSP) leader
   Bulent Ecevit commented that the newly formed coalition government was=

   functioning harmoniously and that he hoped the partnership would
   continue through the future.
  

   Addressing the DSP parliamentary group for the first time since the
   government was formed, Ecevit said that the Refahyol (Welfare
   Party-True Path Party) government had put the country through a
   nightmarish period. The DSP leader remarked that they had not
   encountered any problems with their coalition partners in forming the
   Cabinet or the new government's programs.
  

   Pointing out that the government had demonstrated its keen interest in=

   the problems that the eastern parts of the country experience, Ecevit
   said that their first action had been to lift the ban on border trade.=

   He added that the 35 percent pay raise for civil servants planned for
   July 15 was much higher than what had been pledged by their Refahyol
   predecessors.
  

   Alluding to the meetings between Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus
   (TRNC) President Rauf Denktas and his Greek Cypriot counterpart in New=

   York, Ecevit said that international pressures on Denktas were likely
   to intensify. "However, Turkey is determined to face these pressures
   dependent on no one," he assured.
  

   Remarking that President Denktas had been unable to meet with the
   prime minister and foreign minister of the previous government, Ecevit=

   said the new ministers had invited Denktas to Ankara for an official
   state visit.
  

   Ecevit emphasized the change of Turkish strategy toward the Cyprus
   issue and said that the TRNC was as vital for the security of Turkey
   as was Turkey for the security of the TRNC. "Let no one make the
   mistake of putting pressure on Denktas because they will find the
   Turkish state and the Turkish people against them," said the DSP
   leader.
  

   Ecevit also said that the government was determined to implement eight=

   years of uninterrupted compulsory education. He pointed out that the
   Education Ministry and the State Ministry in charge of the General
   Directorate of Religious Affairs were headed by DSP ministers. The
   issue would be resolved through a coordinated effort by both
   government institutions, Ecevit said.
  

   He said there were certain legal obstacles to overcome before the
   educational reform program could be implemented and added that the
   government would send the necessary legislation to Parliament and
   provide for the increase in compulsory education immediately after the=

   upcoming vote of confidence. Criticizing rival center-left Republican
   People's Party (CHP) for attacking the DSP on the issue of compulsory
   education, Ecevit said the CHP had done everything possible to keep
   the proposal for a longer compulsory education in limbo during its
   previous term in government.
  

   "Those who believe we will water down or undermine the compulsory
   education bill are going to be discredited soon. We are very
   determined; our pledge as the DSP and as the government remains," said=

   Ecevit.
  

   He explained that the incremental implementation of compulsory
   education through pilot areas was due to fiscal difficulties. He added=

   that lower socioeconomic neighborhoods would be initially chosen as
   the pilot areas until the program could be applied over time to other
   districts.

--

Press-Agency Ozgurluk: http://www.ozgurluk.org
The struggle for human right, freedom, justice and democracy in Turkey
and Kurdistan

Press Agency Ozgurluk
The struggle for human rights, justice and democracy in Turkey and Kurdistan
http://www.ozgurluk.org

From english at ozgurluk.xs4all.nl  Mon Jul  7 19:00:12 1997
From: english at ozgurluk.xs4all.nl (english at ozgurluk.xs4all.nl)
Date: 07 Jul 1997 19:00:12
Subject: Turkish newspeak: 'Western countries responsible for Cyprus problem'
Message-ID: <bac1c849.m3pvsuqq4j.fsf@ozgurluk.xs4all.nl>

Subject: Turkish newspeak: 'Western countries responsible for Cyprus problem'
From: Press Agency Ozgurluk <ozgurluk at xs4all.nl>

   8 July, 1997, Copyright ? Turkish Daily News
                                      
   Denktas: 'Western countries responsible for Cyprus problem'
                                       
   Turkish Daily News
   
   Ankara - Rauf Denktas, president of the Turkish Republic of Northern
   Cyprus (TRNC) who is in New York for the direct talks with Greek
   Cypriot leader Glafkos Clerides, told the Anatolia news agency on
   Monday that the real responsibility for the 34-year-long Cyprus
   problem lay with the European countries, the United States and
   Britain.
   
   Anatolia quoted Denktas as saying, "If human rights has any meaning
   for them, they should say to stop the injustice which has been brought
   against us for 34 years. If it has no meaning we will understand that
   and evaluate it accordingly."
   
   He said that Western countries had caused the Greek Cypriots to think
   along the same lines as themselves. "Having acknowledged them [Greek
   Cypriots] in a way that is irresponsible they [the West] created this
   injustice, so the responsibility for correcting it belongs to them,"
   the TRNC leader claimed.
   
   "I will tell foreign governments to remind Clerides that his position
   is illegal and his government is not the government of Turks," Denktas
   said.
   
   The TRNC president accused his Greek Cypriot counterpart of speaking
   differently to those inside southern Cyprus. He pointed out that
   behind closed doors Clerides was saying he understood the position of
   Turks, while to his people he maintained that Turkey's guarantee
   should be abolished, that there was only one Cyprus government and
   that he would not discuss the issue of sovereignty.
   
   Denktas questioned what could be achieved in an agreement between the
   two groups on the divided island, saying that if the Greek Cypriots
   had the intention of formulating an agreement they would have done so
   long ago. While he gave hints that Clerides and he could possibly make
   some headway one-on-one, Denktas referred to the political pressures
   faced by his counterpart. "Greek Cypriots are bad neighbors and have
   made us owners of a state. Clerides knows how to talk with us as the
   owner of a state. He is a clever man. But this clever man is
   surrounded by a church that is boiling Cyprus, and extremists. This is
   Clerides' electorate, so he cannot decide alone," Denktas said.
     _________________________________________________________________
 

-- 
Press-Agency Ozgurluk: http://www.ozgurluk.org
The struggle for human right, freedom, justice and democracy in Turkey
and Kurdistan
Press Agency Ozgurluk
The struggle for human rights, justice and democracy in Turkey and Kurdistan
http://www.ozgurluk.org

From english at ozgurluk.xs4all.nl  Wed Jul  9 02:24:11 1997
From: english at ozgurluk.xs4all.nl (english at ozgurluk.xs4all.nl)
Date: 09 Jul 1997 02:24:11
Subject: Turkey: Cartoonist Convicted of Insulting Army
Message-ID: <bac1c849.m37mf0pqbq.fsf@ozgurluk.xs4all.nl>

Subject: Turkey: Cartoonist Convicted of Insulting Army 
From: Press Agency Ozgurluk <ozgurluk at xs4all.nl>
Date: 09 Jul 1997 10:44:41 +0200

Cartoonist Convicted of Insulting Army
                                     
Megak=F6y, Turkey (AP) - A Turkish cartoonist was convicted Tuesday of
insulting the military for publishing a cartoon that depicted the
army's alleged ties to organized crime.
                                       
Ertan Aydin was sentenced to nearly a year in prison for the cartoon
in the leftist daily Emek. "I expressed the people's reaction to those
dirty relations," Aydin said at the hearing.
                                   
In 1994 and 1995, Aydin, 31, spent eight months in prison for cartoons
about police torture. He said he would appeal his latest sentence.
                                   
About 100 Turkish journalists are serving jail terms in prisons nationwide.
 
-- 
Press-Agency Ozgurluk: http://www.ozgurluk.org
The struggle for human right, freedom, justice and democracy in Turkey
and Kurdistan

Press Agency Ozgurluk
The struggle for human rights, justice and democracy in Turkey and Kurdistan
http://www.ozgurluk.org

From english at ozgurluk.xs4all.nl  Wed Jul  9 02:49:27 1997
From: english at ozgurluk.xs4all.nl (english at ozgurluk.xs4all.nl)
Date: 09 Jul 1997 02:49:27
Subject: Turkey: Former Turkish Minister Reveals Army Coup Spying
Message-ID: <bac1c849.m34ta4pq80.fsf@ozgurluk.xs4all.nl>

Subject: Turkey: Former Turkish Minister Reveals Army Coup Spying
From: Press Agency Ozgurluk <ozgurluk at xs4all.nl>
Date: 09 Jul 1997 10:46:55 +0200

(8/7) Former Turkish Minister Reveals Army Coup Spying
                                       
ANKARA, Turkey (Reuter) - Turkey's former Interior Minister Meral
Aksener admitted Tuesday that police spied on the secularist military
to find out about preparations for a possible coup against the
previous Islamic fundamentalist-led government.
                                       
"(Police) intelligence service fulfilled a duty given by the
laws... and democracy," Aksener told a news conference broadcast live
on the NTV television news channel. "It was not something illegal,"
she said.
                                       
Aksener was referring to media accusations that a police intelligence
team bugged the army's telephones and stole secret documents on orders
from the administration of Islamic fundamentalist former Prime
Minister Necmettin Erbakan. She denied giving any specific orders to
spy on the army.
                                       
Aksener, from the conservative wing of the previous coalition, called
for public debate on media reports that an army document allegedly
stolen by police and given to Erbakan may have outlined plans to
topple the government.
                                       
"It must be discussed whether there were coup (preparations) or not in
that document and who was involved in them," she said.
                                       
The new government of Prime Minister Mesut Yilmaz and the army have
announced investigations into the claims. The affair followed months
of bitter disputes between the secularist army and the former
government which collapsed under intense pressure from the
anti-Islamic fundamentalist generals. The powerful military,
self-declared guardians of Turkey's secular order, accused Erbakan's
government of encouraging Islamist extremism in a series of public
warnings which sparked speculation that the generals were preparing a
coup.                                      
                                       
Former police intelligence member Bulent Orakoglu, who is alleged to
have directed spying on the military, was suspended from the police
force Tuesday, Anatolian news agency said.

-- 
Press-Agency Ozgurluk: http://www.ozgurluk.org
The struggle for human right, freedom, justice and democracy in Turkey
and Kurdistan


Press Agency Ozgurluk
The struggle for human rights, justice and democracy in Turkey and Kurdistan
http://www.ozgurluk.org

From english at ozgurluk.xs4all.nl  Thu Jul 10 10:47:19 1997
From: english at ozgurluk.xs4all.nl (english at ozgurluk.xs4all.nl)
Date: 10 Jul 1997 10:47:19
Subject: No Subject Given
Message-ID: <bac1c849.m0wmMzu.001AV9C@ozgurluk.xs4all.nl>

From: Press Agency Ozgurluk <tabe at ozgurluk.xs4all.nl>

Subject: Turkey: Ciller's husband in the spotlight for hand in murder
Mime-Version: 1.0 (generated by tm-edit 7.106)
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII

                                     
             Ciller's husband in the spotlight for hand in murder
                                       
     * CHP Deputy Saglar files a legal complaint against Ozer Ciller for
       involvement in the Topal murder and acquiring classified state
       documents
       
     _________________________________________________________________
                                      
   TDN Parliament Bureau
   
   Ankara - Fikri Saglar, a deputy serving on the parliamentary
   commission investigating the Susurluk scandal, has filed a legal
   complaint against Ozer Ciller, the husband of True Path Party leader
   Tansu Ciller, on charges of instigating the murder of a shady casino
   tycoon and acquiring secret state documents.
   
   Republican People's Party (CHP) Deputy Saglar said the lawyer of Omer
   Lutfu Topal, the so-called "King of Casinos" shot in Istanbul by
   unknown assailants, had told the Susurluk investigative commission
   that Topal's wife suspected Ozer Ciller of being behind the murder.
   
   Giving testimony to a public prosecutor, Topal's wife also said her
   husband always despised and feared Ozer Ciller, alleged CHP Deputy
   Fikri Saglar. In his complaint to an Ankara court, Saglar said:
   "During the investigations of the Susurluk Commission, many witnesses
   testified that Ozer Ciller was involved in illegal activities. I
   believe that his involvement in the murder of Omer Lutfu Topal and his
   relationship with the accused in the Topal case should be
   investigated."
   
   Saglar also said another member of the Susurluk Commission, Yasar
   Topcu of the Motherland Party, had announced that there had been
   telephone calls between the prime minister's residence -- Tansu Ciller
   was prime minister when Topal was murdered -- and Sami Hostan, a shady
   figure indicted for involvement in the Topal murder who is still being
   sought by the police.
   
   "Premeditated murder and instigating murder are described in Articles
   450 and 65 of the Criminal Code. I am of the opinion that Ozer
   Ciller's actions are criminal acts as described in these provisions.
   This is why I requested an investigation to be launched against him,"
   said Saglar.
   
   The CHP deputy also pointed out that Nuri Gundes, Tansu Ciller's chief
   adviser during her tenure as prime minister, had stated that he had
   given intelligence reports prepared by the National Intelligence
   Organization to Ozer Ciller.
   
   Saglar concluded by saying that Ozer Ciller should be brought to trial
   in accordance with Article 132 of the criminal code, for acquiring
   information on secret state documents, since he held no official
   position other than being the then prime minister's husband.

-- 
Press-Agency Ozgurluk: http://www.ozgurluk.org
The struggle for human right, freedom, justice and democracy in Turkey
and Kurdistan
mailto: info at ozgurluk.org
Press Agency Ozgurluk
The struggle for human rights, justice and democracy in Turkey and Kurdistan
http://www.ozgurluk.org

From english at ozgurluk.xs4all.nl  Thu Jul 10 12:05:37 1997
From: english at ozgurluk.xs4all.nl (english at ozgurluk.xs4all.nl)
Date: 10 Jul 1997 12:05:37
Subject: Turkish Police Put Down Prison Riot; 7 Dead
Message-ID: <bac1c849.m3bu4a4xhz.fsf@ozgurluk.xs4all.nl>

Subject: Turkish Police Put Down Prison Riot; 7 Dead 
From: Press Agency Ozgurluk <ozgurluk at xs4all.nl>

(9/7) 
                               By Serpil Karacan
                                       
Megak?y, Turkey (Reuter) - Baton-wielding police Wednesday quelled a
riot at an Megak?y prison in which five people were killed, while two
inmates died in a separate disturbance in a jail in western Turkey.
                                       
"Our ambulances have carried five dead and five wounded from the
Metris prison.  We don't know if there are any more inside," an
Megak?y health board official told Reuters. He had earlier said eight
people died in Metris.

Anatolian news agency quoted Justice Minister Oltan Sungurlu as saying
the men died from inhaling smoke as prisoners set light to matresses
in the jail during the disturbances in reaction to the stabbing of an
inmate Monday.
                                       
"There are no bodies except those who suffocated and the one who was
stabbed," the agency quoted Sungurlu as saying.
                                       
Anatolian said that three of the bodies taken to hospital bore
multiple bruises from blows received. "Those responsible for the
brutality committed putting down the uprising must definitely be
brought to account before the law," said trade union leader Ridvan
Budak.
                                       
Turkish television showed gendarmes beating inmates with batons and
rifle butts and forcing them into a prison van after the riot.

In a separate incident two inmates were killed in Alasehir jail in
western Turkey, Anatolian said. The men were fatally stabbed by three
prisoners who used home-made knives
                                       
Prisoners in Turkey are generally held in large, overcrowded
dormitories that can hold 60 to 100 people. Metris, an ex-military
prison, holds 1,200 people despite being built for only 700.
                                       
A spokesman for the prison guards union blamed the riot on poor
conditions and overcrowding in the prison system. "This shows the
rottenness of the system... this event isn't the first and won't be
the last," spokesman Ali Yazici said.
                                       
qA cordon of police stood guard around Metris jail in a rundown
section of the city after the disturbance ended. Two buses full of
police reinforcements and an armored car a long with about 200
prisoners' relatives waited nearby.
                                       
"Calm has been restored," Sungurlu said.
                                       
Gendarmerie police stormed the Megak?y jail early in the morning and
seized control from inmates who had taken a warden hostage and lit
fires in cells Tuesday night.
                                       
Anxious relatives gathered outside. "We haven't been told anything,"
said Murat Anci, whose prisoner son was inside. Another relative
fainted from the heat and stress.
                                       
Anatolian said the cause of the riot was Monday night's fatal stabbing
incident in the jail.  The rioters were jailed for criminal offences
and had no political demands, the agency said.  "I listened to their
requests. They said they wanted better treatment and conditions,"
Anatolian quoted Megak?y governor Ridvan Yenisen as saying after
visiting the prison.

-- 
Press-Agency Ozgurluk: http://www.ozgurluk.org
The struggle for human right, freedom, justice and democracy in Turkey
and Kurdistan
mailto: info at ozgurluk.org
Press Agency Ozgurluk
The struggle for human rights, justice and democracy in Turkey and Kurdistan
http://www.ozgurluk.org

From english at ozgurluk.xs4all.nl  Thu Jul 10 13:16:07 1997
From: english at ozgurluk.xs4all.nl (english at ozgurluk.xs4all.nl)
Date: 10 Jul 1997 13:16:07
Subject: Intelligence scandal shakes Turkey
Message-ID: <bac1c849.m3d8oq4xyy.fsf@ozgurluk.xs4all.nl>

From: Press Agency Ozgurluk <ozgurluk at xs4all.nl>

      10 July,1997, Copyright ? Turkish Daily News
                                
                  Intelligence scandal shakes Turkey
                                       
   Turkish Daily News
   
   Ankara - As the ongoing intelligence scandal shakes the nation, Turkey
   prepares to overhaul its intelligence and security institutions and
   their role in state structure.
   
   The undersecretary of the National Intelligence Organization (MIT)
   toured the office of Prime Minister Mesut Yilmaz and the top-ranking
   officials of the Turkish General Staff.
   
   The capital, which has been shaken by the "mole scandal" controversy
   over alleged intelligence-gathering by the police from the military,
   witnessed a tough new set of orders on Wednesday. MIT Undersecretary
   Sonmez Koksal reported to the office of Yilmaz early in the day.
   Deputy Premiers Bulent Ecevit and Ismet Sezgin also took part in the
   meeting which lasted more than an hour. It was said that Yilmaz also
   received Gen. Ilhan Kilic, the secretary-general of the General Staff.
   Kilic told the reporters that he informed Yilmaz about the agenda of
   the next National Security Council (MGK) meeting which will take place
   on July 25 in Istanbul.
   
   Military sources told the Turkish Daily News that following the talks
   with Yilmaz, Koksal and the generals of the General Staff, including
   the head of the General Staff's intelligence department, reportedly
   discussed the current status of the intelligence and security
   institutions. They also talked about the organizations'
   responsibilities and duties throughout the country.
   
   Sources said Wednesday's meeting was focused on the role of the
   intelligence institutions, adding that there were seven of these
   institutions in Turkey. Responsibility for each of these institutions
   must be completely defined in an effort to prevent any further chaos
   among the intelligence organizations. Further talks, including other
   intelligence bodies, reportedly will be made in coming days, said
   sources.
   
   Meanwhile, the participants who attended the talks with Yilmaz,
   responded neither positively nor negatively to the questions reporters
   posed to them about whether the meeting concerned "the mole affair."
   Only Sezgin and the defense minister spoke after the meeting, saying
   that they had merely evaluated the current situation. They declined to
   comment about former Interior Minister Meral Aksener's remarks that
   there were certain trends in the army that tended toward "junta rule."
   
   At a controversial press conference on Tuesday, Aksener accused the
   West Working Group, a military body set up by the General Staff in
   order to monitor illegal Islamic fundamentalist activities at home and
   abroad of being an illegal organization assisting the military plan a
   possible coup. She also said the security department was responsible
   by Turkish law to gather intelligence against suspicious activities.
   
   The biggest reaction to Aksener's accusations came from the commander
   of the Gendarmerie Forces, Teoman Koman. He stated publicly that
   intelligence gathered by the police was illegal since it was not
   reported to MIT. Koman said the right to gather intelligence for the
   state belongs to the MIT, and police can only collect intelligence
   against individual criminals.
   
   Koman, the former undersecretary of MIT said the recent practice by
   the Security Department, a branch of the Interior Ministry, would take
   place only in countries strictly controlled by the police. He also
   said Aksener would have made a serious procedural error if she found
   out that a separate group within the Armed Forces was trying to launch
   a coup and failed to notarize the appropriate authorities. Koman said
   that if this turned out to be what occurred, she would have to
   directly inform the General Staff.
   
   The Gendarmarie Commander also denied another remark made by Aksener,
   who said that the West Working Group was revealed after the police
   spied on the General Staff documents. Koman said the group was
   publicized much earlier than that and it was first disclosed during
   earlier MGK meetings which were also attended by former Prime Minister
   Necmettin Erbakan.
   
   The General Staff found Aksener to have made serious breaches of
   security on Tuesday, saying she demonstrated how badlystate tradition
   and cohesion among state establishments were hampered and how badly
   non-confidence among state agencies had developed. The General Staff
   also underscored her remarks which were "aimed against the Turkish
   Armed Forces," saying Aksener was apparently being guided by certain
   circles. Although it did not disclose who were Aksener's guides, the
   former interior minister is known to be a close associate of the
   family of former Prime Minister and True Path Party (DYP) leader Tansu
   Ciller.
   
   The statement also said her claims that there was an illegal
   organization within the Armed Forces was unfounded.
   
   The "mole scandal" broke out after several press reports last week
   which revealed that Bulent Orakoglu, the acting chief of the
   intelligence branch of the Security Department, had allegedly spied on
   military documents with the help of a former police officer serving
   his army duty in the intelligence section of Naval Forces
   Headquarters. The reports said the police department was motivated by
   the rumors that the military would organize a coup. After gathering
   the secret documents, Orakoglu submitted to former Minister Aksener a
   report that followed a hierarchical path which ended at the hands of
   President Suleyman Demirel. He later gave the documents to the General
   Staff.
   
   When the spying was uncovered a month ago, the military asked Aksener
   to dismiss Orakoglu, but she sent him to the United States to perform
   obscure and unknown duties. He spent the last few weeks with his
   family. Finally, Orakoglu returned to Turkey on Monday after the
   controversy was publicized.
   
  ANAP's Dedelek: 'Welfarepath in panic'
  
   The Motherland Party (ANAP) deputy chairman Yasar Dedelek criticized
   the former coalition government of Necmettin Erbakan's Welfare Party
   (RP) and Tansu Ciller's True Path Party (DYP) for its involvement in
   the "mole scandal," the controversy over the alleged intelligence
   gathering by the police from the military. He said that members of the
   former government had gone into a panic as their alleged wrongdoings
   are disclosed, and started accusing each other.
   
   "Those who worry about their security, although they might have done
   admirable things in the past, will tap in on others' conversations.
   Such an act is against democratic norms and only seen in
   dictatorships," Dedelek said, referring to the former government's
   involvement in the scandal.
   
   Dedelek spoke at a press conference on Wednesday, saying Prime
   Minister Mesut Yilmaz's government was aimed at bringing tranquility
   and peace and he believed that it would win the vote of confidence in
   Parliament on Saturday by a large majority. He said the people, who
   had encountered many problems for a year, were now in favor of the new
   government. He said the former government failed to solve their
   problems and only exploited religious beliefs. He added that RP had
   also tried to cover up the corruption allegations against its
   coalition partner, DYP.
   
   Dedelek said the method implemented by the former government of
   playing off the military and the police was only seen in fascist and
   nazi periods, adding that spies had penetrated into the state's
   institutions and the telephones of a number of leaders, including
   President Suleyman Demirel, had been tapped.
   
   The ANAP deputy chairman also promised that the new government would
   relax controls on the judiciary. "Everyone will explain their corrupt
   acts before the judges, and our government will help the judiciary to
   work efficiently," he added.
   
  [INLINE] RP's indirect support to Aksener
  
   Meanwhile the Welfare Party (RP) has given an indirect support to
   former Interior Minister Meral Aksener's accusations that the West
   Working Group, -- a military body set up by the General Staff in order
   to monitor illegal Islamic fundamentalist activities at home and
   abroad -- was an illegal organization.
   
   Aksener on Tuesday, said that the West Working Group was carrying out
   activities out of its assigned responsibilities.
   
   At a press conference on Wednesday at the Parliament, RP's deputy
   chairman Ahmet Tekdal said, every state institution should deal with
   its own responsibilities. He was replying to questions by reporters on
   how he assessed the recent tensions between Aksener and the General
   Staff.
   
   "The important thing is the implementation of laws and the compliance
   with the democratic rules. In a place where the laws are supreme there
   is no possibility for any government official or institution carry out
   illegal activities," Tekdal said. He added that all responsibilities
   were specified in the Constitution and no one or institution had any
   right to place oneself into the position of the single ruler of the
   country.
 
-- 
Press-Agency Ozgurluk: http://www.ozgurluk.org
The struggle for human right, freedom, justice and democracy in Turkey
and Kurdistan
mailto: info at ozgurluk.org
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The struggle for human rights, justice and democracy in Turkey and Kurdistan
http://www.ozgurluk.org

From english at ozgurluk.xs4all.nl  Thu Jul 10 14:56:13 1997
From: english at ozgurluk.xs4all.nl (english at ozgurluk.xs4all.nl)
Date: 10 Jul 1997 14:56:13
Subject: Turkey: Rebellion quelled at Metris Prison
Message-ID: <bac1c849.m3en964y6l.fsf@ozgurluk.xs4all.nl>

Subject: Turkey: Rebellion quelled at Metris Prison
From: Press Agency Ozgurluk <ozgurluk at xs4all.nl>

 10 July,1997, Copyright ? Turkish Daily News
  _________________________________________________________________
                                      
                      Rebellion quelled at Metris Prison
                                       
     _________________________________________________________________
                                      
   Turkish Daily News
   
   Istanbul -- The quelling of the Tuesday night rebellion in Metris
   Prison ended with five people dead and ten wounded, said Tum Yargi-sen
   Istanbul Branch Chairman Ali Yazici. The revolt, which started at 9:30
   Tuesday night, ended early Wednesday morning, when security forces
   stormed the section of the prison where the revolt took place. The
   dead and wounded, who were taken to Sagmalcilar State Hospital, were
   all prisoners -- either convicts or those awaiting trial.
   
   The rebellion is alleged to have taken place following the stabbing
   murder of one inmate by other prisoners. The trouble then spread from
   the C and D wards. One section of roof was completely destroyed by
   fire despite the efforts of the fire department.
   
   Yasar Oz, who is one of the defendants in the Susurluk state gang
   scandal, asked prison officials to remove him from the ward because of
   the smoke but, fellow inmates instead held him hostage. Warden
   Muharrem Sarikaya who was also taken hostage by the prisoners was
   rescued.
   
   Yazici said that this was neither the first such occurrence nor would
   it be the last. He called on authorities to do their duty properly.
   
   The inmates are said to have staged the rebellion in order to achieve
   better living conditions at the prison. However, Justice Minister
   Oltan Sungurlu stressed from Ankara that the revolt had no political
   angle to it.
   
   Prison inmates' relatives and friends gathered outside the prison
   walls as word of the revolt spread quickly, but they dispersed after
   being ordered to do so by security forces.
   
   Areas of the prison such as the canteen and administrative offices
   suffered serious damage in the course of the rebellion and fire.
   
  Murder in Alasehir prison
  
   Three inmates were put in one-person cells for stabbing two prisoners
   to death and leaving one other wounded in Alasehir prison on Tuesday
   night.
   
   At 10.30 p.m. Erkan Karadort, Murat Senler and Behcet Beskardes
   attacked and took hostage the two ward guards. The three attackers
   opened the door to the prison clinic with keys stolen from the guards
   and let six of the nine inmates out saying they had no conflict with
   them. They killed two of the remaining three prisoners, Atilla Kilinc
   and Erol Ag, and wounded Ahmet Zeybek.
   
   Alasehir prison officials said Ahmet Zeybek and Erol Ag, who were
   hospitalized in the prison's clinic, had tried to attack visitors
   earlier in the day on Tuesday. Officials did not admit visitors after
   the incident.
   
   Officials said the Justice Ministry was informed about the situation
   and they were now waiting for orders from the ministry.
-- 
Press-Agency Ozgurluk: http://www.ozgurluk.org
The struggle for human right, freedom, justice and democracy in Turkey
and Kurdistan
mailto: info at ozgurluk.org
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The struggle for human rights, justice and democracy in Turkey and Kurdistan
http://www.ozgurluk.org

From english at ozgurluk.xs4all.nl  Thu Jul 10 14:56:14 1997
From: english at ozgurluk.xs4all.nl (english at ozgurluk.xs4all.nl)
Date: 10 Jul 1997 14:56:14
Subject: Kill-file suggestion: <wench@mail.utexas.edu>
Message-ID: <bac1c849.m390ze4mgo.fsf@ozgurluk.xs4all.nl>

Subject: Kill-file suggestion: <wench at mail.utexas.edu>
From: Press Agency Ozgurluk <ozgurluk at xs4all.nl>

who ever you are let me know what your movimiento revolucionario stans
for, I seen and heard terrible things that your comrads have done to my
people, killing, blowing towers, intimidating campesinos etc. if you
stand for something worth knowing let me and let us know what that is  I
do not want any bull-s. excuse my french but in your passages you just
talk about your fears and angers not about what the gente think about
you and your group and what needs to be clarified. atte. un estudiante
de la situacion peruana.



-- 
Press-Agency Ozgurluk: http://www.ozgurluk.org
The struggle for human right, freedom, justice and democracy in Turkey
and Kurdistan
Press Agency Ozgurluk
The struggle for human rights, justice and democracy in Turkey and Kurdistan
http://www.ozgurluk.org

From kurd-l at burn.ucsd.edu  Fri Jul 11 00:19:33 1997
From: kurd-l at burn.ucsd.edu (kurd-l at burn.ucsd.edu)
Date: 11 Jul 1997 00:19:33
Subject: Kurdish Guerrillas Destroy Weapons
Message-ID: <bac1c849.Pine.NEB.3.95.970710191..@burn.ucsd.edu>

From: Arm The Spirit <ats at locust.etext.org>
Subject: Kurdish Guerrillas Destroy Weapons Factory

ARGK Command Camp Press Release

     A successful operation was concluded on July 3, 1997 against
the manufacturing centre for the Turkish army's weapons of mass
destruction at Kirikkale Machine and Chemical Plant by the Urban
Attack Detachment operating under the command of our base camp.
     We exercised our lawful right to self-defence in designating
the Kirikkale Machine and Chemical Plant as a target being the
source of the manufacture of weapons of mass destruction which
the occupying forces of the Turkish army deploy in their so-
called "bombs which will turn the mountains into plains". The
bombs which have been used most recently in the invasion of south
Kurdistan, the slaughter of our people and to destroy the
environment of our homeland have for years been manufactured at
that site. The weapons produced by this same plant since it first
opened have caused the utter destruction of 3000 of our villages,
the slaughter of thousands of our civilians and numerous
extra-judicial killings in violation of the Geneva Convention to
which Turkey is a signatory, and in infringement of the laws
governing armed conflict being unlawfully deployed in an internal
war. This particular type of operation was carried out against a
specific military target in order to eliminate the direct threat
of death which this plant has posed to our people these many long
years, and the operation was successful.
     From this operation it must be taken in the nature of a
warning that even before the newly-forming government starts
work, it is evident that an opportunity for a solution must be
found in order to prevent the escalation of the conflict. Failing
this in the same way that we have proven successful against
military targets our ARGK Urban Revenge Unit possesses the
necessary strength and preparedness to undermine both the economy
as well as the tourism industry. We do not want to escalate the
war. But it is only natural in view of the scale of force being
brought against us that our own response should be effective.
Unless there is some understanding, if these operations do not
cease, if the war should carry on as at present, and the
government fail to take positive steps we will respond even more
effectively and will expand our organisational capacity within
the army and security forces, just as this last operation
illustrates. Our action has also proven successful because it is
at the same time carried out in the spirit of revenge
necessitated by the courageous death in self-sacrifice of Zilan,
a great commander, the massacres of defenceless civilians in
south Kurdistan executed by the fascist Turkish army in
collaboration with the treacherous KDP, and with the tacit
support of the United States and Israel, and for the lives of
those who were deliberately burnt to death in Sivas. It is the
other side which is responsible for the escalation of the war in
deliberate defiance of our appeal for peace and despite the fact
that we are prepared to commence a political dialogue. They seek
to create an even more dangerous situation and status quo in the
south of our country.
     We are warning the government quite openly. The Turkish
people must also be aware that we will not remain silent in the
face of such a dirty and vile war. These bombs are being bought
with the money which at the same time as it squeezes the life out
of the Turkish people are daily deployed to wipe out the Kurdish
people whether in the mountains or in the villages. In this same
sense, this latest operation may serve as a warning that the next
blow will be to tourism, the economy and the full scale
escalation of the war.

ARGK Command Base - July 4, 1997

(Source: Translated from Turkish original by Kurdistan
Information Centre - London, July 1997)

-----

Mainstream News On The Kirikkale Attack

Turkey Receives International Help to Fight Arms Factory Fire

Kirikkale, Turkey (AP - July 5, 1997) Israeli helicopters helped
extinguish the smoldering remains of Turkey's largest weapons
factory Friday, a day after it was flattened by a series of
explosions.
     The blasts killed two people and seriously injured 10
others; 50,000 people were evacuated from the area. Hundreds
spent the night outside on mattresses and blankets.
     "It felt like we were under bombardment", said Aysenur
Unver, clutching her 6-month-old baby. Unver lives just 500 yards
from the plant.
     The ammunition depot at the state-run factory exploded
Thursday, scattering shrapnel and debris as far as three miles
away. A nearby depot housing jet fighter bombs was spared.
     Gov. Behic Celik said the fires were out late Friday
afternoon, but said he is keeping the city closed off until
Saturday.
     Israel sent two helicopters rigged for firefighting and they
poured water on the smoking rubble. Three French fire experts
were assisting and Britain had a helicopter in Cyprus on standby,
the Foreign Ministry said.
     The cause of the blasts was not known. The Kurdistan Workers
Party, which has been fighting for autonomy since 1984, said it
set off the explosions, but the newspaper Hurriyet had three
calls from other groups also claiming responsibility.
     The 50-year-old factory employed 7,000 people and was the
economic mainstay of Kirikkale.


-----------------------------------------------------------------
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 on our listserv
called ATS-L. 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
ATS-L Archives: http://burn.ucsd.edu/archives/ats-l
MRTA Solidarity Page: http://burn.ucsd.edu/~ats/mrta.htm
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-----------------------------------------------------------------

 ++++ 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 Jul 11 00:34:06 1997
From: kurd-l at burn.ucsd.edu (kurd-l at burn.ucsd.edu)
Date: 11 Jul 1997 00:34:06
Subject: Kurdish Med-TV Jammed - Foul Play S
Message-ID: <bac1c849.Pine.NEB.3.95.970710193..@burn.ucsd.edu>

From: Arm The Spirit <ats at locust.etext.org>
Subject: Kurdish Med-TV Jammed - Foul Play Suspected

Kurdish Med-TV Jammed
Foul Play Suspected

     Med-TV, the world's only Kurdish language satellite TV,
suffered deliberate, technical interference since July 1, 1997,
the launch date for its new test transmission on Eutelsat. Med's
Director, Hikmet Tabak, believes that only the Turkish government
has both the political motive and the financial and technical
capacity to block the Eutelsat for this lengthy transmission
period.
     Med remained on air. The station could still be received by
viewers in Europe, North Africa and the Middle East by using the
Intelsat transponder, by which Med has broadcast since August
1996. According to Mr Tabak, "The plan was to broadcast
simultaneously on Intelsat and Eutelsat for an indefinite
period."
     The transponder is: ECS 2 F 2 , transponder no. 25 10
degrees east, downlink frequency: 10 971.667 MHz (P-V).
Transmission period: 14:00-23:00 GMT.
     Med has been jammed before. In December 1995, there was a
brief, unexplained interruption in a programme about a proposed
PKK (Kurdistan Workers Party) ceasefire in the civil war between
the Turkish forces and Kurdish separatists. Experts estimated the
cost of creating the interference at more than a million pounds.
     Technical investigation of the jamming continues.
     For a few weeks in July and August 1996, Med was without a
satellite because of the withdrawal of a satellite lease. At the
time, an Early Day Motion in the UK Parliament blamed Turkish
political pressure.
     Med-TV Director, Hikmet Tabak, confirmed today that Med will
continue to broadcast, whatever the political difficulties. "I
told the National Union of Journalists (NUJ) that Med will
broadcast from the moon, if necessary. The Turkish government is
desperate to conceal the truth. The invasion of South Kurdistan
(Iraq) was accompanied by a ban on journalists in the war zone,
but our journalists, in great danger, continued to report. Turks
as well as Kurds now turn on Med-TV because the Turkish
government has silenced free speech."
     Med-TV is privately owned and funded. Its goal is the
promotion of the Kurdish language and culture.

July 2, 1997 - London and Brussels

(Source: Med-TV <http://www.med-tv.be/med>)

-----------------------------------------------------------------
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 on our listserv
called ATS-L. 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
ATS-L Archives: http://burn.ucsd.edu/archives/ats-l
MRTA Solidarity Page: http://burn.ucsd.edu/~ats/mrta.htm
FTP: ftp.etext.org --> /pub/Politics/Arm.The.Spirit
-----------------------------------------------------------------

 ++++ 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 english at ozgurluk.xs4all.nl  Fri Jul 11 04:16:21 1997
From: english at ozgurluk.xs4all.nl (english at ozgurluk.xs4all.nl)
Date: 11 Jul 1997 04:16:21
Subject: Turkish Rights Group Calls for Jail Riot Probe
Message-ID: <bac1c849.m34ta15043.fsf@ozgurluk.xs4all.nl>

Subject: Turkish Rights Group Calls for Jail Riot Probe
From: Press Agency Ozgurluk <ozgurluk at xs4all.nl>

 (10/7) Turkish Rights Group Calls for Jail Riot Probe
                                       
ANKARA, Turkey (Reuter) - A Turkish human rights group Thursday called
for an investigation into police violence during the quelling of an
Megak?y prison riot in which five inmates died.
                                       
"An investigation is essential into those who ordered and carried out
these inhumane acts in open view of the public," a Human Rights
Association (IHD) statement said.
                                                             
Turkish television Wednesday showed gendarmerie police at Megak?y's
Metris prison beating prisoners with batons and rifle butts and
forcing them into a prison van after a riot overnight.
                                       
"Arbitrary violence and attacks are being carried out using state
employees," the IHD said.
                                                    
Anatolian news agency quoted Justice Minister Oltan Sungurlu as saying
the men died from inhaling smoke as prisoners set light to matresses
in the jail after the stabbing of an inmate.
                                       
A spokesman for the prison guards union blamed the riot on poor
conditions and overcrowding in the prison system.
                            
-- 
Press-Agency Ozgurluk: http://www.ozgurluk.org
The struggle for human right, freedom, justice and democracy in Turkey
and Kurdistan
Press Agency Ozgurluk
The struggle for human rights, justice and democracy in Turkey and Kurdistan
http://www.ozgurluk.org

From english at ozgurluk.xs4all.nl  Tue Jul 15 04:03:42 1997
From: english at ozgurluk.xs4all.nl (english at ozgurluk.xs4all.nl)
Date: 15 Jul 1997 04:03:42
Subject: NYT hits Turkey over jailed journalists
Message-ID: <bac1c849.m0wo59e.001AV6C@ozgurluk.xs4all.nl>

From: Press Agency Ozgurluk <tabe at ozgurluk.xs4all.nl>
Subject: NYT hits Turkey over jailed journalists

                                     
                    NYT hits Turkey over jailed journalists
                                       
     * Calls it 'Turkey's shameful distinction'
       
     _________________________________________________________________
                                      
   Turkish Daily News
   
   Washington - Turkey's record on jailed journalists was slammed hard on
   Sunday by the New York Times, which ran both a news story and an
   editorial on the issue.
   
   In the editorial entitled "Turkey, jailer of journalists," the liberal
   daily said "Turkey has the shameful distinction of imprisoning more
   journalists than any country in the world. "The Committee to Protect
   Journalists claims there are 78 journalists, writers and editors who
   are currently in jail in Turkey, most sentenced for disseminating
   separatist propaganda.
   
   "The Turkish Press Council reckons the total may be twice as high,"
   NYT said. Receiving particular attention was the case of Isik Yurtcu,
   who was sentenced to 15 years.
   
   NYT called on Prime Minister Mesut Yilmaz to release the jailed
   journalists and "halt the descent to repression."
   
  Human rights and Turkey
  
   In a related story, Stephen Kinzer highlighted the drama of the
   "Saturday mothers," who gather every Saturday to protest the
   disappearance of their sons or daughters
   
   "This is in many ways a very free country, so free that people can go
   to the polls and change their government whenever they want," Orhan
   Pamuk, Turkey's most prominent young novelist, told Kinzer in an
   interview. "But it is also a country with a horrible human rights
   record. Probably there is no country in the world where this
   contradiction is so sharp and clear."
   
   Quoting Sabri Ergul, an attorney defending the rights of 16 teenagers
   who were tortured in the western town of Manisa, Kinzer pointed to a
   serious charge against the Turkish Interior Ministry.
   
   "The government, especially the Interior Ministry, protects the police
   who torture," Ergul told Kinzer. "They encourage it. They are the ones
   telling the police force to behave this way, so naturally they are not
   in a position to prosecute officers who follow their instructions."
   
   After mentioning that most of these abuse cases are related to
   Turkey's fight in the Southeast against "Kurdish nationalists, "Kinzer
   added the following: "It is generally considered criminal to suggest
   that the army shares responsibility for the carnage there, to advocate
   peace talks or to assert that the government should treat the Kurds as
   a distinct ethnic group that deserves autonomy."
   
  Full text of the NYT editorial, July 13, 1997: Turkey, Jailer of Journalists
  
   "Turkey has the shameful distinction of imprisoning more journalists
   than any country in the world. The New York-based Committee to Protect
   Journalists has compiled a list of 78 reporters, writers and editors
   now in jail, and the Turkish Press Council reckons the total may be
   twice as high. Now that a new government has assumed power, it has a
   timely opportunity to open those prison doors. Doing so would lessen a
   stain on Turkey's reputation and enhance the democratic credentials of
   Prime Minister Mesut Yilmaz's secularist center-right coalition.
   
   "Most of the journalists in prison are charged with disseminating
   "separatist propaganda" or with being members of proscribed
   pro-Kurdish political groups. In fact, under Turkey's broad
   Anti-terrorism Law, journalism itself is criminalized and reporters
   face prison for doing their job. An emblematic case is that of Ocak
   Isik Yurtcu, a prominent writer and former newspaper editor who has
   served three years of a 15-year sentence. Mr. Yurtcu's offense was to
   publish articles about the Turkish Army's scorched-earth campaign
   against Kurdish insurgents in southeastern Turkey.
   
   "Mr. Yurtcu's plight, along with scores of other cases, will be taken
   up this summer by a visiting delegation of journalists, among them
   Terry Anderson and Peter Arnett, at the request of Turkish press
   organizations.
   
   "By responding favorably, Prime Minister Yilmaz would signal a halt to
   Turkey's descent into repression. He would begin to answer critics,
   especially in the European Union, of Turkey's dismal human rights
   record, and would set a different example from his immediate secular
   and Islamic predecessors. This is more than a press issue. For nearly
   a decade Turkey has relied primarily on force to counter Kurdish
   terrorists, without opening a parallel political track for a huge,
   aggrieved ethnic minority. Press freedom is among the casualties of a
   failed strategy, imposed by the military, which Mr. Yilmaz cannot
   change overnight. Yet it is within his power to release jailed
   journalists and decriminalize free speech, an essential precondition
   for an end to Turkey's domestic turmoil. Turkey's friends hope he will
   not let this moment pass."
   
  Full text of Kinzer's story from July 13, 1997 Copyright 1997 The New York
  Times Rights abuses stain Turkey's democratic image
  
   "Turkey -- Every Saturday at noon, as they have done for more than two
   years, about 100 Turks converge on a bustling plaza in downtown
   Istanbul and quietly sit on the pavement.
   
   "There are usually no speeches and no placards. The protesters, mostly
   women, make their point by silently displaying photographs of their
   missing loved ones, although their emotion sometimes boils over into a
   chant, like 'Mothers' anger will strangle the murderers.' After half
   an hour they rise and go their separate ways.
   
   "'Three men in civilian clothes grabbed my husband as he left the
   house one night in 1995,' one of the protesters, Hanim Tosun, 32, said
   on a recent Saturday. 'They were carrying pistols and walkie-talkies.
   We checked the license number of their car and found it was registered
   to the police. That was almost two years ago. We have tried everything
   to find him, but the police tell us nothing.'
   
   "Mrs. Tosun's husband was a street vendor who had served three years
   in prison on charges of collaborating with Kurdish guerrillas in
   southeastern Turkey and had come to Istanbul to start a new life. He
   is now a statistic, one of an unknown number of Turks believed to have
   disappeared while in police custody.
   
   "As Mrs. Tosun and the other 'Saturday mothers' carried out their
   weekly protest, people around them went about their business. At
   nearby kiosks, newspapers carried bold headlines accusing politicians
   of various abuses. Organizers of rightist and leftist parties huddled
   in downtown offices, making plans for the coming election campaign.
   
   "'This is in many ways a very free country, so free that people can go
   to the polls and change their government whenever they want,' Orhan
   Pamuk, Turkey's most prominent young novelist, said in an interview.
   'But it is also a country with a horrible human rights record.
   Probably there is no country in the world where this contradiction is
   so sharp and clear.'
   
   "Turkey's human rights record is the subject of endless debate, not
   only here but also in the Western world. Turkish officials say the
   problem is exaggerated, but it is one of the main reasons why the
   European Union insists on holding Turkey at arm's length and why some
   Westerners consider Turkey to be a difficult partner.
   
   "Many strategists in Washington and in European capitals agree that
   because of Turkey's membership in NATO, its geographical position, its
   history and its role as a defender of secularist democracy in the
   Muslim world, Turkey could become even more important than it has
   been.
   
   "But they also say that before Turkey can become a full partner of the
   West or a desirable model for the new nations of the Caucasus and
   Central Asia, it must resolve nagging questions about the way it
   treats prisoners and dissenters.
   
   "'Human rights and freedom of expression are very important issues for
   the image of Turkey, and they condition many people's reflex reaction
   to questions about Turkey's role in Europe,' said Michael Lake, the
   European Union's envoy in Ankara.
   
   "'This reflex is so strong that it outweighs important perceptions of
   Turkey, such as its strategic importance, its place in the foreign and
   security architecture of Europe, and even its growing importance as an
   economic partner.'
   
   "Hanging over the human rights debate is the war being waged by
   Kurdish nationalists in the Southeast. Most charges of human rights
   abuses in Turkey stem from incidents in that region. As many as 80
   percent of the charges arising in other parts of the country,
   according to several human rights advocates, are somehow related to
   the Kurdish conflict.
   
   "Tens of thousands of people have been killed out there," said Sabri
   Ergul, a member of the human rights committee in Parliament. The
   remains of Turkish soldiers and civilians slain in the fighting 'have
   come back to nearly every town and village in Turkey,' he added.
   'Naturally people are very angry about this. They develop the feeling
   that whatever has to be done to stop terrorism is justified.'
   
   "'Terrorism is the problem of our age, but our age is also the age of
   human rights,' Ergul said. 'The great mistake that is made here is the
   belief that when you combat terrorism, you don't have to respect
   democracy and law.'
   
   "Ergul is involved in one of Turkey's most important torture-related
   cases. He is a lawyer for the families of 16 teenagers who were
   arrested last year for scrawling leftist graffiti on walls and who are
   accused of belonging to subversive organizations in the western town
   of Manisa.
   
   "Although police have admitted that the teenagers confessed to their
   crimes under torture, they were found guilty and sentenced to terms of
   up to 12 years in prison.
   
   "A public prosecutor in Manisa has filed suit against 10 police
   officers accused of having carried out the torture, but the government
   is drawing out the case and seems to hope that it will somehow fade
   away. It is doing the same in another important case, the
   investigation of officers charged in the 1996 beating death of
   journalist Metin Goktepe.
   
   "'The government, especially the Interior Ministry, protects the
   police who torture,' Ergul said. 'They encourage it. They are the ones
   telling the police forces to behave this way, so naturally they are
   not in a position to prosecute officers who follow their
   instructions.'
   
   "Human rights advocates say that besides torture in detention centers
   and the 'mystery killings' of perceived Kurdish nationalists, the
   other principal human rights problem in Turkey is the ban on
   statements deemed to threaten national unity. Laws that forbid these
   statements are applied most often against those who question
   government policy in the Kurdish region.
   
   "It is generally considered criminal to suggest that the army shares
   responsibility for the carnage there, to advocate peace talks or to
   assert that the government should treat the Kurds as a distinct ethnic
   group that deserves autonomy.
   
   "These laws are often used in cases that devastate Turkey's image.
   Last year, for example, one of the country's most beloved cultural
   figures, the novelist Yasar Kemal, was sentenced to a 20-month prison
   term for making pro-Kurdish statements that were interpreted as
   separatist propaganda.
   
   "Kemal's sentence was suspended, as often happens in such cases.
   Nonetheless, human rights advocates say that more than 70 journalists
   and writers are in jail for statements they have made.
   
   "Turkish officials concede that torture is sometimes used in detention
   centers, but they insist that it is not systematic and not sanctioned
   by the authorities. They also assert that laws against separatist
   propaganda must be judged in the context of a civil conflict in which
   terrorism has been used as a principal weapon.
   
   "At a news conference in London last year, Foreign Minister Tansu
   Ciller said that Turkey 'has decided to take a series of measures in
   order to totally eliminate in practice the crime of torture, which as
   a matter of fact is forbidden by our laws.' After she spoke,
   Parliament passed a law cutting the maximum time defendants may be
   held incommunicado to 10 days from 30.
   
   "Perhaps the most illuminating human rights case in Turkey is the
   complex scandal that emerged after a spectacular car crash near the
   western town of Susurluk in November that killed a top police official
   and an escaped heroin smuggler. A pro-government Kurdish clan leader,
   who is also a member of Parliament, survived.
   
   "Questions about what the three men were doing in a car together led
   to accusations of government involvement in smuggling, death squads,
   illegal repression in the Southeast and other crimes.
   
   "But a parliamentary investigation of the scandal fizzled out after
   senior military and civilian leaders signaled that they would not
   cooperate. Many Turks believe responsibility for the crimes reaches so
   high that a full investigation is impossible.
   
   "'I'm glad we had Susurluk,' said Taciser Belge, coordinator of the
   Istanbul-based human rights group Helsinki Citizens Assembly. 'Now
   when we speak about these things, people realize that we're not making
   up stories. Since Susurluk, people understand that when things like
   mystery killings happen, the army and the state are involved. This is
   very new in Turkey.'
     _________________________________________________________________
                                      
              26,473 people killed in Southeast over last decade
                                       
     * Roughly 19,700 rifles, 6,350 pistols, 1,300 rocket launchers,
       11,500 rockets, 15,600 hand grenades and nearly 3.5 million
       bullets have been seized since 1987
       
     _________________________________________________________________
                                      
   Turkish Daily News
   
   Ankara - Since the implementation of Emergency Rule in the
   southeastern part of Turkey in July 1987, 18,019 separatists have been
   killed and 4,209 security forces members and 4,245 civilian people
   have died as a result of clashes and raids.
   
   Reports note that Emergency Rule in the Southeast -- where the
   outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) is engaged in a bloody
   separatist campaign -- was first implemented on July 19, 1987.
   Official statistic information says that during the first six months
   of this period -- up to the end of 1987 -- 51 terrorists were killed.
   
   In 1994 alone, 4,999 separatists died in the conflict, the highest
   level per annum in the decade. In that same year, 1,816 terrorists
   also surrendered to security forces.
   
   Roughly 19,700 rifles, 6,350 pistols, 1,300 rocket launchers, 11,500
   rockets, 15,600 hand grenades and nearly 3.5 million bullets have been
   seized since 1987.
     _________________________________________________________________
                                      
             International press reps meet Ecevit, Baykal, Kalemli
                                       
     * Deputy PM announces imprisoned journalists will be released and
       legal amendments will guarantee wider press freedom
       
     _________________________________________________________________
                                      
   Turkish Daily News
   
   Ankara - Representatives from various international press associations
   who are visiting Turkey to campaign for the release of imprisoned
   journalists met with Deputy Prime Minister and Democratic Left Party
   (DSP) Chairman Bulent Ecevit and Republican People's Party (CHP)
   leader Deniz Baykal and Parliament Speaker Mustafa Kalemli on Monday,
   the Anatolia news agency reported.
   
   Deputy Prime Minister Ecevit announced that the government's first
   step would be to release journalists serving prison terms for their
   writings and said they would then introduce the necessary changes in
   legislation. He stated that journalist Isik Yurtcu would be freed by
   the end of July.
   
   A former journalist himself, Ecevit said the government would try to
   ensure that everyone serving time for expressing their views would
   benefit from the proposed legal amendments and affirmed that they
   would crack down on police mistreatment and abuse of journalists.
   
   Speaking at the meeting, Terry Anderson of the Committee to Protect
   Journalists said Turkey had the highest number of jailed journalists
   in the world and that this level of press restriction was
   unacceptable, even in light of the considerable terrorist activity
   which takes place in Turkey.
   
   In a separate meeting with the international media representatives,
   CHP chairman Baykal said the Press Law needed amendments to guarantee
   full press freedom. He promised the CHP's support if the government
   introduced the needed legislation in Parliament.
   
   Robert Menar, representative of Journalists Without Frontiers, said
   his group did not want to meddle in domestic Turkish politics but
   pointed out that Turkey, as a party to numerous international
   conventions protecting human rights, had to improve freedom of
   expression for its citizens.
   
   Menar called for the immediate release of imprisoned journalists and
   urged that the defendants in the Metin Goktepe case be speedily
   brought before justice. Goktepe had been killed while he was in police
   custody in 1995.
   
   The group lastly met with Parliament Speaker Mustafa Kalemli on
   Monday. During the meeting Kalemli said there was a possibility that
   necessary legislation for the release of jailed journalists could be
   implemented by the end of July. He said Parliament would pass the laws
   for the Turkish people on its own initiative, without bending to
   foreign influence.
   
   Kalemli complained that many international groups which had previously
   arrived in Turkey to campaign for wider civil liberties had done so
   with a domineering attitude and praised the media representatives for
   supporting their Turkish colleagues without interfering in domestic
   politics.
   
   An international campaign has been launched to assist the Turkish
   Press Council in lobbying for the release of Turkish journalists
   serving prison terms for their writing. Among the associations
   participating in the campaign are the Committee to Protect Journalists
   (CPJ), Journalists Without Frontiers, the International Press
   Institute (IPI), World Press Freedom Committee, International
   Newspaper Publishers Federation and the International Journalists'
   Federation.
   
   The press representatives will visit imprisoned journalist Isik Yurtcu
   on Wednesday and present him with the 1996 International Press Freedom
   Award.
   
   A top-level meeting between press associations, legal experts and
   officials from the Justice Ministry is scheduled for Wednesday to make
   way for the release of imprisoned journalists.
   
   The meeting, to be chaired by Justice Minister Oltan Sungurlu, will be
   attended by Chairman of the Turkish Journalists' Association (TGC)
   Nail Gureli, Press Council President Oktay Eksi, President of the
   Federation of Bar Associations Eralp Ozgen, head of the Istanbul Bar
   Association Yucel Sayman and various law professors.
   
   The TGC announced that its proposal to make a temporary amendment in
   the Press Law to facilitate the release of journalists had found
   support among all the parties in Parliament. In the written statement,
   the TGC said they were not asking for a pardon of the journalists and
   that their release represented a reversal of undemocratic practice.
     _____________________________________________________________
Press Agency Ozgurluk
The struggle for human rights, justice and democracy in Turkey and Kurdistan
http://www.ozgurluk.org

From english at ozgurluk.xs4all.nl  Thu Jul 17 08:14:57 1997
From: english at ozgurluk.xs4all.nl (english at ozgurluk.xs4all.nl)
Date: 17 Jul 1997 08:14:57
Subject: Jailed Turkish editor calls for freedom of all prisoners
Message-ID: <bac1c849.m37mepyaz5.fsf@ozgurluk.xs4all.nl>

Subject: Jailed Turkish editor calls for freedom of all prisoners
From: Press Agency Ozgurluk <ozgurluk at xs4all.nl>


Jailed Turkish editor calls for freedom of all prisoners of conscience

 2.48 p.m. EDT (1848 GMT) July 16, 1997

 By Yalman Onaran, Associated Press

 SARAY, Turkey (AP) ? A former newspaper editor jailed for articles
 published in his paper called Wednesday for the release of all
 prisoners of conscience in Turkey.

 Ocak Isik Yurtcu received an international press freedom award from a
 group of Western journalists visiting him in jail in this small town
 west of Istanbul.

 "I accept this award on behalf of all journalists fighting for the
 freedom of press and of expression throughout the world,'' Yurtcu
 said in the Saray prison's small library during the presentation.

 "I hope that not only journalists but all those imprisoned for their
 thoughts can win their freedom.''

 Yurtcu, editor of the defunct pro-Kurdish daily Ozgur Gundem, is
 serving the fourth year of a 16-year sentence for publishing
 "separatist propaganda.''

 He could not attend the Committee to Protect Journalists' award
 ceremony in New York last November, so it came to him.

 Terry Anderson, vice chairman of CPJ, presented the 1996 award to
 Yurtcu. Anderson is a former Associated Press bureau chief held
 hostage for nearly seven years by Islamic militants in Lebanon.

 "I know that your actions have been not just for yourself but on
 behalf of all Turkish journalists and all Turkish citizens,''
 Anderson said after handing him the plaque.

 The delegation of Western journalists, led by Anderson, met with
 Turkish officials Sunday and Monday. Prime Minister Mesut Yilmaz
 pledged the government would take immediate steps to annul the law
 that holds editors responsible for articles published in their
 newspapers, freeing Yurtcu. Most jailed journalists in Turkey are
 charged with crimes related to the 13-year war against Kurdish
 separatists, which has killed more than 28,000 people.

-- 
Press-Agency Ozgurluk: http://www.ozgurluk.org
The struggle for human right, freedom, justice and democracy in Turkey
and Kurdistan
Press Agency Ozgurluk
The struggle for human rights, justice and democracy in Turkey and Kurdistan
http://www.ozgurluk.org

From english at ozgurluk.xs4all.nl  Fri Jul 18 06:43:41 1997
From: english at ozgurluk.xs4all.nl (english at ozgurluk.xs4all.nl)
Date: 18 Jul 1997 06:43:41
Subject: Turkey's Ciller accused of CIA link
Message-ID: <bac1c849.m3n2nkqy8c.fsf@ozgurluk.xs4all.nl>

From: Press Agency Ozgurluk <ozgurluk at xs4all.nl>


Thursday July 17 10:59 AM EDT 

Turkey's Ciller accused of CIA link

ANKARA, July 17 (UPI) _ The Turkish military prosecutor's office is
investigating allegations that ex-prime minister Tansu Ciller has been
working for the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency.

The private TV channel NTV said the probe is related to accusations by
Dogu Perincek, the leader of ultra-leftist Labor Party, that Ciller
had been spying for CIA.

Perincek, talking earlier to reporters, said he had sound evidence and
documents to support his allegations against Ciller who served as
prime minister from 1993 to 1995 _ Turkey's first woman to hold the
post.

If charged and found guilty Ciller would face a minimum 15 years in
prison under article 133 of the Turkish Penal Code.

The allegations were denied categorically today by the press attache
at the U.S. Embassy, Margarete Schmidt.

Asked about the allegations, Ciller told the Anatolian Agency she had
nothing to say except: ``Shame on those who do not brush off such type
of allegations.''

The agency said the military prosecutors had started the investigation
with the approval of Gen. Ismail Hakki Karadayi, chief of general
staff.

Ciller had been the deputy prime minister and foreign minister in the
Islamist-led coalition whose prime minister, Necmettin Erbakan,
stepped down last month under pressures from the armed forces.

The military accused Erbakan and his Islamist Welfare Party of trying
to overturn Turkey's rigidly pro-secular and pro-Western rule.

He was replaced by Mesut Yilmaz who formed a multi-party secular
coalition that received vote of confidence from Parliament Saturday.

Copyright 1997 by United Press International. 

--
Press-Agency Ozgurluk: http://www.ozgurluk.org
The struggle for human right, freedom, justice and democracy in Turkey
and Kurdistan
Press Agency Ozgurluk
The struggle for human rights, justice and democracy in Turkey and Kurdistan
http://www.ozgurluk.org

From english at ozgurluk.xs4all.nl  Fri Jul 18 07:02:25 1997
From: english at ozgurluk.xs4all.nl (english at ozgurluk.xs4all.nl)
Date: 18 Jul 1997 07:02:25
Subject: Turkey: Circle tightens: Military probes spy allegation against Cill
Message-ID: <bac1c849.m3lo34qxmc.fsf@ozgurluk.xs4all.nl>

Subject: Turkey: Circle tightens: Military probes spy allegation against Ciller
From: Press Agency Ozgurluk <ozgurluk at xs4all.nl>

   Circle tightens: Military probes spy allegation against Ciller
 5.19 p.m. EDT (2119 GMT) July 17, 1997

 By Zeynep Alemdar, Associated Press


 ANKARA, Turkey (AP) ? Turkey's former prime minister, already dogged
 by allegations of corruption, was stung Thursday by accusations that
 she spied for the United States.

 Tansu Ciller and the U.S. Embassy
 in Ankara quickly denied allegations
 that she has been providing information on Turkey's
 policies to the CIA since 1967. 

 "Any suggestion of a clandestine relationship between Mrs.
 Ciller and the United States is completely false,'' embassy
 spokeswoman Margarete Schmidt told The Associated
 Press. 

 Turkish newspapers said the armed forces chief of staff
 ordered a military prosecutor to look into the allegations. 

 "She's trapped in a circle which is getting smaller
 everyday,'' wrote Fatih Cekirge, a political columnist for the
 daily Sabah. 

 Ciller said the accusations damage Turkey's integrity, and
 she criticized the military for opening the investigation. 

 "Shame on anyone who does not discard these allegations,''
 she said. 

 A U.S.-educated economist, Ciller served as Turkey's first
 woman prime minister from 1993-96. She was deputy
 premier in the Islamic-led coalition government that
 resigned last month under pressure from the military. 

 The investigation appears to be another legal move against
 members of the former Islamic-led government. 

 The military arrested the police intelligence chief of the
 former government Wednesday, accusing him of spying on
 the navy. The former interior minister is being investigated
 on similar charges. 

 As a member of parliament, Ciller has legal immunity.
 However, parliament could lift that protection and she could
 face up to 15 years in prison if convicted on charges of
 jeopardizing Turkey's domestic and international interests. 

 The allegations were first made by Dogu Perincek, the
 leader of the small leftist Labor Party. He claimed the CIA
 paid her $100,000 a year for information about Turkish
 domestic and military policies concerning the United States.
 Perincek claimed her code name was "Rose of Istanbul.'' 

 He alleged she offered her services to the CIA when she
 was 21, after graduating from the U.S.-run Robert College
 in Istanbul. 

 Ciller and her husband, Oser, also have been hounded by
 allegations of corruption and drug smuggling. In January, a
 German judge accused her of having close contacts with
 two Turks convicted in his court of drug smuggling. 

 But the Welfare Party blocked earlier investigations in
 parliament after she joined forces with it. But the defection
 of nearly 40 deputies from her True Path party has left the
 alliance without the majority it needs to stop another
 inquiry. 

 The new government is expected to launch a fresh
 corruption investigation.     
-- 
Press-Agency Ozgurluk: http://www.ozgurluk.org
The struggle for human right, freedom, justice and democracy in Turkey
and Kurdistan
mailto: info at ozgurluk.org
Press Agency Ozgurluk
The struggle for human rights, justice and democracy in Turkey and Kurdistan
http://www.ozgurluk.org

From kurd-l at burn.ucsd.edu  Sun Jul 20 19:52:18 1997
From: kurd-l at burn.ucsd.edu (kurd-l at burn.ucsd.edu)
Date: 20 Jul 1997 19:52:18
Subject: Ozgur Politika (Kurdish Daily News)
Message-ID: <bac1c849.Pine.NEB.3.95.970718212..@burn.ucsd.edu>

From: Arm The Spirit <ats at locust.etext.org>
Subject: Ozgur Politika (Kurdish Daily News) Weekly Bulletin #37

Ozgur Politika (Kurdish Daily News) Weekly Bulletin #37 - June
12-19, 1997 

No Mercy For KDP

     Violent clashes are continuing as the Turkish military
occupation of South Kurdistan enters its second month. Both the
Turkish army and KDP have suffered heavy casualties in the last
few days. The KDP are reported to have lost almost a whole
company of peshmerga in the Kurejahro area south of the Zab
valley. Another group of KDP peshmerga is reported to have been
surrounded by ARGK guerrillas in the nearby mountains.
     ARGK attacks have been continuing for two weeks on KDP
forces around the strategically important town of Haji Omran near
the Iranian border. It is also claimed that the KDP is engaged in
clashes with Hizbullah forces in the same area. Many KDP fighters
are reported to be leaving the front as they realise the war may
continue for some time.
     In ten separate ambushes in the Ertos area on Wednesday
(June 11) more than 40 Turkish soldiers are reported killed.
(June 13, 1997)

"Peace With The People" Plan From Ensarioglu

     Minister of State Ensarioglu has held a press conference to
announce government projects to support education, health and the
private sector. The Minister said: "We have presented a project
to the government concerning the Kurdish question. I particularly
want peace with the people".
     Ensarioglu added that the construction of 46 boarding
schools were continuing in the [Kurdish] region. He also said
hospitals would be opened in Erzurum, Van and Diyarbakir.
     Ensarioglu said his idea of "Peace with the people" had
always been deliberately misunderstood and continued: "They said
I was proposing a general amnesty for the PKK. Such a thing has
never occurred to me. I thought: What do the people want? There
are 5,000 people on trial because they gave bread [to the PKK]. I
said: 'We are pushing these people into the PKK'. We put them
inside and in 5 or 6 years they come out as militants".
     Ensarioglu also reminded the press conference he was in
favour of broadcasts in Kurdish, saying: "65-70% of women over 35
and 50% of men over 50-60 in the region do not speak Turkish. I
have suggested that the GAP TV broadcast 2 or 3 hours of Kurdish
and Zaza so that we can reach these citizens. We have to explain
what the PKK does. What are our policies as state? We must say
'send your children to school', we must explain population
planning. This is the only way to reach the people".
     A reporter asked the Minister if he had explained his ideas
at the National Security Council (NSC), to which Ensarioglu
replied: "I didn't attend the NSC meeting. I have told the
President." (June 14, 1997)

Attack On Prisoners In Erzurum

     Two inmates were seriously injured in an attack carried out
by prison officers and soldiers on PKK detainees in Erzurum
prison on June 4. The prisoners were holding a five-day hunger
strike in protest at the Turkish army's occupation of South
Kurdistan. Zulkuf Ak and Yusuf Peker were seriously injured and
25 others suffered less serious injuries. This assault follows a
similar attack on prisoners in Malatya prison last week. (June
12, 1997)

A "Legitimate" And Modern Coup...

     The Turkish press announced the [General Staff] briefings
under headlines such as "5 to the Coup". According to the media
the countdown had begun and if the government did not resign a
coup was bound to take place. Was the press, which frequently
says it is democratic, opposed to such a development and
advocating a civilian solution? I'm afraid not. Milliyet printed
a photocopy of article 85 of the internal rules of the Turkish
armed forces with the caption: "This article has been the
legitimate support for two coups." The press, declaring a coup
legitimate before it even happens, then talk about democracy.
Since the extent of Aydin Dogan's [owner of Milliyet and
Hurriyet] share of military contracts became known the reason for
his newspapers and TV channels' coup support has been understood.
Furthermore, Turkey is to invest 10 billion dollars in its
defence industry in the next decade. This fact has sharpened some
appetites, including that of the generals.
     Some people claim that the military has no need to carry out
a coup since the army is able to achieve all its goals through
other means. This is a superficial approach. The military is
still far from achieving all its goals. Its plans to defeat the
Kurdish movement have failed. Despite burning 3,000 villages and
3,500 killings by "unknown killers" they have not been able to
destroy the guerrilla movement, nor have they been able to bring
the Kurdish masses within the confines of the system.
     One reason for the generals' insistence on economic
investment in Kurdistan stems from the wish to rein the Kurdish
people into the system.
     The generals also know very well that the Islamic movement
cannot be dealt with by issuing briefings. They know they must
disperse the organisation and "rehabilitate" the Islamist base in
the same way as the left was treated after the 1980 coup. The
generals do not want Refah, whether in power or in opposition.
The tension between the military and Islamists also stems from
competition between growing Islamist capital and existing
monopolies. 
     Turkey is in need of a new social contract that is based on
pluralism. Only such a project can save Turkey. The dynamic hub
of this project are the Kurdish movement and the Turkish left.
The military are taking Turkey to a disaster.
     The invasion of the south has failed already. A significant
number of commanders died in the helicopter shot down. Heavy
losses have been sustained in the Zab and other areas. The
operation has also isolated Turkey politically.
     Barzani has called for a cease-fire on several occasions. On
June 13, PKK President Abdullah Ocalan stated the PKK was
prepared to accept a cease-fire based on equality and freedom. It
will be no surprise if Barzani accepts these terms, given that he
has not received the support he expected from Turkey.
     It has emerged that there were four Israeli officers in the
helicopter shot down in the Zab area. This demonstrates that the
occupation is also an Israeli one. The political and military
success of the Kurdish movement may lead to significant
developments in the region. While the PKK has repeated that it is
ready for a political solution, on the Turkish side talk is still
of the motherland and flag. (Source: "8th Day" by Huseyin Kalkan
- June 16, 1997)

Turkish Army Not Withdrawing, It Is Being Driven Out

     Clashes between the ARGK and Turkish army and KDP forces are
continuing as Turkish forces begin a partial withdrawal.
     It is reported that Turkish and KDP forces are finding it
difficult to retreat on account of land mines laid by guerrillas.
30 land mines have exploded in the last week in the Gare area. 6
KDP members were killed in a guerrilla ambush in the Barzan area.
     On June 14, 9 village guards were killed near Catak in Van
province in a clash with guerrillas. A Turkish helicopter was
forced to withdraw after a missile was fired by the guerrillas.
(June 16, 1997)

Guerrilla Victory

     As the Turkish army, which has suffered a heavy defeat,
begins to withdraw from South Kurdistan, PKK President Abdullah
Ocalan declared a guerrilla victory and called on the KDP, some
other Kurdish parties and village guards to abandon their
treachery. Ocalan spoke by telephone on MED-TV on Sunday evening
(June 15) and said if the KDP, other parties and village guards
abandoned their treachery the PKK would halt its war against
them. Ocalan said: "The defeat of the invaders is a source of
great happiness for the people of Kurdistan". Ocalan stressed
that problems between the Kurds had allowed the Turkish army the
room to breathe and permitted it to undertake the invasion. He
pointed out that if the war continued the KDP would suffer a
heavy defeat and added: "You are entirely surrounded and you will
not be able to go to outside states as before. They won't accept
you"...."Whatever they may have done in the past if they stop
supporting the enemy and honestly approach the Kurdish people we
are open to unity".
     Abdullah Ocalan also called on village guards to give up
their weapons saying: "We don't want the village guards to die.
Many have been killed, most of them were left to die by Turkish
troops. The village guards should realise that a new policy has
evolved in Turkey and soon they will be abandoned".
     Abdullah Ocalan said the guerrilla struggle would intensify
in the north and emphasised that the Turkish state had no
alternative to a political solution to the Kurdish issue. (June
17, 1997)

Kurdish Women Hold Large Protest In Amsterdam

     7,000 Kurdish women from all over Europe held a rally in
Amsterdam yesterday (June 16) to protest against the Turkish
invasion of South Kurdistan. The rally was organised by YAJK
(Free Women of Kurdistan), to coincide with the 57th European
Union Summit being held in Amsterdam. The women carried banners
with slogans such as "The occupying Turkish state must withdraw
from Kurdistan", "Turkey must not be allowed into the EU". The
women also carried a large figure of Tansu Ciller with a syringe
to illustrate her involvement with the drugs Mafia. (June 17,
1997)

Guerrillas Capture 13 Village Guards in Lice

     On the evening of June 15, ARGK guerrillas attacked the town
of Lice in Diyarbakir province and took 13 village guards
prisoner. The guerrillas infiltrated the Sum neighborhood of the
town and captured one village guard, with whose assistance they
then captured another and then lay in wait for 7 more to arrive.
The guerrillas then went to the houses of four more village
guards and then left the town. As they left they opened fire with
heavy weapons at guard huts outside a marble factory belonging to
Halis Toprak [a well-known Turkish businessman]. Both the huts
and the factory were hit, but no information is available
concerning casualties. More than 100 people in Lice were forced
to become village guards in order to guard the factory after it
was opened at a state ceremony a few months ago. (June, 17 1997)

Barzani Threatens Massacre Of Refugees

     Following the massacre carried out by KDP forces in Hewler
(Erbil) at Massoud Barzani's orders on May 16, Barzani has now
threatened to carry out another massacre.
     Barzani talked about eradicating civilians who fled to South
Kurdistan from Turkish oppression while addressing around 3,000
Turkish troops and KDP peshmerga in the Gare area on Monday, June
16.
     Local sources report that following Barzani's speech KDP
members harassed patriots in the Atrush refugee camp. It is
reported that one refugee, Mehmet Ahmet, died, and two people
were wounded when peshmerga fired at a group of refugees who had
left the camp to collect wild plants. Two refugees, Halit Musa
and Hasan Omer, are reported to have been abducted by the KDP.
(June 18, 1997)

Hatip Dicle Sentenced For Letter

     Ex-DEP President and MP Hatip Dicle has been sentenced to 4
months imprisonment on account of a letter he sent from Ankara
prison to PKK prisoners on hunger strike. Dicle was found guilty
of making "separatist propaganda" by Ankara No. 2 State Security
Court. Hatip Dicle's lawyer, Sedate Aslant, said propaganda had
not been made since the letter had not been passed on to the
prisoners by the Cankiri prison authorities. The State Prosecutor
said Dicle had demanded POW status for the prisoners and made
statements challenging the territorial integrity of Turkey in his
letter. Hatip Dicle said: "I believe that three years before the
21st century people should not be prosecuted on account of their
ideas". (June 18, 1997)

KDP In Desperate Straits

     As the Turkish army continues to withdraw from South
Kurdistan ARGK guerrillas have stepped up their attacks on the
KDP. The ARGK Press Office announced that the guerrillas had
launched the "first revenge attack" on the KDP in the Coman and
Haji Omran area. Many KDP peshmerga are reported to have died in
the attacks on June 16. KDP members are also reported to be
fleeing the town of Kanimasi. Some KDP members have taken local
patriots with them to protect themselves. (June 18, 1997)

"Turkey Has Lost The War"

     The PKK's defeat of the Turkish state in South Kurdistan has
led to new discussions in Europe as well as in Kurdistan and
Turkey. Military sources in Europe are pointing out that the
PKK's use of effective weapons such as missiles has changed the
course of the war and that from now on the political process will
develop in a way advantageous to the Kurds.
     A most striking example of this is an article in the
influential German newspaper Suddeutsche Zeitung by Wolfgang
Kogdl. Under the headline "Apo is Floating on Air", Kogdl wrote
that the PKK had prevented Turkey from establishing a buffer zone
in South Kurdistan with the collaboration of the KDP. The article
continued saying Turkey was trying to conceal its heavy defeat
from public opinion in Turkey and compared the situation in
Kurdistan to the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan, saying: "When
the Afghan Mucahideen first fired their Stinger missiles it was
understood that the Russians had lost the war". (June 19, 1997)

[The Weekly Bulletin Ozgur Politika is published by the Kurdistan
Information Center & Ozgur Politika.]

Kurdistan Information Center & Ozgur Politika
10 Glasshouse Yard
London EC1A 4JN, England
Phone: 0044 (0)171 250 1315
Fax: 0044 (0)171 250 1317
E-mail: kurdistan at burn.ucsd.edu
WWW: <http://burn.ucsd.edu/~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 on our listserv
called ATS-L. 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
ATS-L Archives: http://burn.ucsd.edu/archives/ats-l
MRTA Solidarity Page: http://burn.ucsd.edu/~ats/mrta.htm
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 ++++ 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 Jul 24 16:41:50 1997
From: kurd-l at burn.ucsd.edu (kurd-l at burn.ucsd.edu)
Date: 24 Jul 1997 16:41:50
Subject: We're Still Here...
Message-ID: <bac1c849.Pine.NEB.3.95.970724114..@burn.ucsd.edu>

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

A few computer problems over the last few weeks have slowed down our
kurd-l list. But we're still here and should be back with
several news article on the struggle in Kurdistan soon.

Sincerely,
ATS

----
For A Free And Independent Kurdistan!
KURD-L Archives - http://burn.ucsd.edu/archives/kurd-l




From english at ozgurluk.xs4all.nl  Fri Jul 25 06:52:23 1997
From: english at ozgurluk.xs4all.nl (english at ozgurluk.xs4all.nl)
Date: 25 Jul 1997 06:52:23
Subject: (Turkey) Program from the Revolutionary Peoples Liberation party onl
Message-ID: <bac1c849.m3n2nbnt16.fsf@ozgurluk.xs4all.nl>

Subject: (Turkey) Program from the Revolutionary Peoples Liberation party online
From: Press Agency Ozgurluk <ozgurluk at xs4all.nl>

Dear Friends and Comrades,
We are happy to announce the fact that we finaly managed to get the
political program of the "Revolutionary People's Liberation Party"
from Turkey online in the english language. 

It can be found at the DHKP/C homepage at http://www.ozgurluk.org/dhkc

Venceremos!

-- 
Press-Agency Ozgurluk: http://www.ozgurluk.org
The struggle for human right, freedom, justice and democracy in Turkey
and Kurdistan
Press Agency Ozgurluk
The struggle for human rights, justice and democracy in Turkey and Kurdistan
http://www.ozgurluk.org

From english at ozgurluk.xs4all.nl  Fri Jul 25 07:48:53 1997
From: english at ozgurluk.xs4all.nl (english at ozgurluk.xs4all.nl)
Date: 25 Jul 1997 07:48:53
Subject: WP: Former Turkish Leader Under Fire
Message-ID: <bac1c849.m3pvs7gpji.fsf@ozgurluk.xs4all.nl>

From: Press Agency Ozgurluk <ozgurluk at xs4all.nl>
Subject: WP: Former Turkish Leader Under Fire

Former Turkish Leader Under Fire

Military, Political Parties Revive Corruption
Charges Against Ciller

By Kelly Couturier
Special to The Washington Post
Friday, July 25, 1997; Page A27
The Washington Post 

ANKARA, Turkey?Since the collapse last month of the
pro-Islamic government that she helped bring to power,
former prime minister Tansu Ciller has come under heavy
fire from Turkey's secular establishment.

Opponents, led by the military but including political
opposition parties, are angry about her alliance with the
Islamic movement and are armed with plenty of corruption
allegations against her, both old and new.

Reports last week that a military prosecutor had begun
investigating allegations that Ciller worked for the CIA was
the latest salvo in a concerted attack against the former
prime minister, who was seen as a charismatic leader who
would lead Turkey into a modern secular society.

Ciller was deputy prime minister under the pro-Islamic
ruling coalition but had been prime minister in two other
coalition governments between 1993 and 1996. A
U.S.-educated professor of urban economics, she was
Turkey's first female leader and enjoyed favor among
foreign governments eager for signs that Turkey was
aligning with the West.

State prosecutors also are looking into allegations against
Ciller's husband, Ozer Ciller. He has been implicated in the
slaying of a casino owner, and accused of harboring
criminals in the couple's farmhouse in an Aegean resort
town and of acquiring secret state documents.

The renewed allegations against the Cillers come amid
signs that Turks are becoming fed up with their politicians,
many of whom are perceived as corrupt or self-serving.

Ciller has been dogged by corruption allegations for years,
including accusations that she and her husband used her
office to enrich themselves illegally.

But as a member of parliament she is immune from
prosecution and has always managed to create political
alliances within the assembly. Those alliances have
protected her from attempts by her political foes to get her
immunity lifted so she could stand trial on corruption
charges.

Today, however, Ciller is out of office. Her year-old coalition
with pro-Islamic leader Necmettin Erbakan -- an alliance
she agreed to after being cornered by corruption
allegations by Erbakan's Welfare Party -- collapsed in
mid-June.

The coalition, the country's first experiment with a
government led by a religious party, broke under heavy
pressure from the powerful military, which is the guarantor
of the secular Turkish political system established in 1922.
The military accused the coalition of fueling a subversive
religious-based movement aimed at overturning the
country's secular tradition.

With her True Path Party out of power and battered by a
steady stream of defections, Ciller appears more vulnerable
to the charges that are being heaped against her, analysts
say.

"Both the impunity with which she manipulated the political
system and the aura of invincibility that forced opponents to
refrain from attacking her for fear of retribution are gone,"
said Bulent Ali Riza, an analyst at the Washington-based
Center for Strategic and International Studies. "It is
therefore all too likely that the Cillers will finally have to face
the legal as well as the political music."

Several grass-roots campaigns calling for clean
government have sprung up in the wake of a huge
corruption scandal that broke last November, revealing ties
among politicians, police officers and known criminals. 

The new government led by Mesut Yilmaz has vowed to
help end corruption and "fulfill the societal demand for an
end to corruption," by "ensuring that the acts of those
exercising state power are always open to public audit and
supervision."

Turkey seems to be at a turning point, says political
scientist Metin Heper.

"We are now very seriously starting to think about how our
political system can be improved, how we can develop a
political elite of competent, honest, responsible people," he
said.

Despite the odds, Ciller is known as a tenacious political
survivor, and many believe she will be able to outlast her
current difficulties.

Fikri Saglar, a lawmaker who appealed to prosecutors to
investigate Ozer Ciller, doesn't rule out the possibility that
Tansu Ciller will be able to find enough lawmakers to
protect her parliamentary immunity. Saglar points out that
Ciller maintains, at least for the moment, the support of the
Welfare Party, the largest party in the assembly.

Ciller, who has struck a defiant tone, has angrily denied the
charges that she spied for the CIA.

"Shame on anyone who does not discard these
allegations," she said.

A U.S. Embassy official also denied the claims. "Any
suggestion of a clandestine relation between the United
States government and Mrs. Ciller is completely false,"
spokeswoman Margarete Schmidt said.

The military, according to press reports, will investigate
charges made over the past year by far-left politician Dogu
Perincek, who says he has documents supporting his
allegations that Ciller has been working for the U.S.
intelligence agency since 1967.

Ciller would face a minimum 15-year prison sentence if the
investigation ends in espionage charges being filed. Such a
crime falls under military jurisdiction because it involves
national security.

The announcement of the military investigation against
Ciller follows last week's arrest of Bulent Orakoglu, the
police intelligence official in the former government.
Orakoglu is accused of spying on the navy to find out
whether preparations were being made for a coup.

Former interior minister Meral Aksener, a close Ciller aide,
also is being investigated in connection with the spying
case. 

The months-long tension between the former government
and the military had fueled speculation that the armed
forces were planning a takeover if the government didn't
resign. 

   ? Copyright 1997 The Washington Post Company
-- 
Press-Agency Ozgurluk: http://www.ozgurluk.org
The struggle for human right, freedom, justice and democracy in Turkey
and Kurdistan
Press Agency Ozgurluk
The struggle for human rights, justice and democracy in Turkey and Kurdistan
http://www.ozgurluk.org

From kurd-l at burn.ucsd.edu  Sun Jul 27 14:22:21 1997
From: kurd-l at burn.ucsd.edu (kurd-l at burn.ucsd.edu)
Date: 27 Jul 1997 14:22:21
Subject: DHKP Political Program Online
Message-ID: <bac1c849.Pine.NEB.3.95.970727092..@burn.ucsd.edu>

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

Dear Friends and Comrades,

We are happy to announce the fact that we finaly managed to get the
political program of the Revolutionary People's Liberation Party (DHKP)
from Turkey online in the English language. 

It can be found on the DHKP/C homepage at
http://www.ozgurluk.org/dhkc

Venceremos!

(Source: Press-Agency Ozgurluk, http://www.ozgurluk.org)

----
For A Free And Independent Kurdistan!
KURD-L Archives - http://burn.ucsd.edu/archives/kurd-l



From english at ozgurluk.xs4all.nl  Mon Jul 28 02:57:02 1997
From: english at ozgurluk.xs4all.nl (english at ozgurluk.xs4all.nl)
Date: 28 Jul 1997 02:57:02
Subject: Turkey: Eurogold Update
Message-ID: <bac1c849.m367tv5wuo.fsf@ozgurluk.xs4all.nl>

From: Press Agency Ozgurluk <ozgurluk at xs4all.nl>


Friday July 25 10:56 AM EDT 

Turkey asks Eurogold to delay mining until verdict

By Ercan Ersoy 

ANKARA, July 25 (Reuter) - Turkey has asked a Canadian-Australian gold mining
firm to postpone operations until a court determines whether its use of cyanide was
hazardous to local villagers, Environment Minister Imren Aykut said on Friday. 

``I talked with the officials of Eurogold yesterday (Thursday) and told them of the
government request that they postpone their operations until the Council of State has
made its final decision on their operations,'' Aykut told Reuters. 

Earlier, a senior government minister who declined to be identified told Reuters the
government decided on Monday to halt Eurogold's operations until a final decision had
been made by the Council of State, the top administrative body in Turkey. 

``There is no decision by the government to halt or suspend Eurogold's operations,''
Aykut said. 

``The residents of Bergama have become oversensitive to the
developments about the issue. So that is why we asked the company to
postpone its operations to bring to an end provocations created among
the residents,'' she said.

Eurogold told her it needed some days to discuss the matter with its
parent companies, she said.

Eurogold, a $46-million joint venture between Canada's Inmet (INM.TO)
with a share of 66.7 percent and Australia's Normandy Mining
(NDY.AX)with 33.3 percent, has been trying to overcome legal and
public protests since it was set up in 1989.

``We will discuss the matter again with the company next week,
probably on Tuesday or Wednesday,'' Aykut said.

Local residents, some politicians and environmentalists have staged a
series of protests at the Eurogold mine in the western town of Bergama
because of its use of cyanide leaching in gold production.

``There are now psychological and sociological aspects of their mining
operation. We cannot overlook the people's demands. Therefore we will
wait for the court decision,'' Aykut said.

``I tried to explain to the company that we can make up for material
losses but we cannot make up for losses of human life, which we cannot
afford,'' she said.

Jack Testard, general manager of Eurogold, told Reuters on Thursday
night that neither Eurogold nor its parent companies had been informed
of any government suspension.

A Eurogold official who declined to be named told the Anatolian news
agency on Thursday production was scheduled to begin in November.

But the Council of State is still studying a lower Turkish court
ruling that using cyanide and storing its waste after use could be
dangerous and should be stopped.

Company officials have said Bergama reserves are estimated at 1.38
million tonnes at 11.7 grammes per tonne with an identified mineral
resource of 2.98 million tonnes at nine grammes per tonne, totalling
860,000 ounces.

-- 
Press-Agency Ozgurluk: http://www.ozgurluk.org
The struggle for human right, freedom, justice and democracy in Turkey
and Kurdistan
Press Agency Ozgurluk
The struggle for human rights, justice and democracy in Turkey and Kurdistan
http://www.ozgurluk.org

From english at ozgurluk.xs4all.nl  Mon Jul 28 03:22:12 1997
From: english at ozgurluk.xs4all.nl (english at ozgurluk.xs4all.nl)
Date: 28 Jul 1997 03:22:12
Subject: Turkey/TDN:  Metin Goktepe: Journalist murdered in detention
Message-ID: <bac1c849.m34t9f5wde.fsf@ozgurluk.xs4all.nl>

Subject: Turkey/TDN:  Metin Goktepe: Journalist murdered in detention 
From: Press Agency Ozgurluk <ozgurluk at xs4all.nl>

26 July,1997, Copyright ? Turkish Daily News

Metin Goktepe: Journalist murdered in detention

  _________________________________________________________________
  
Evrensel newspaper correspondent Metin Goktepe, 27 years of age, who
was detained on Jan. 8, 1996 along with about 1,000 people during the
funeral of Riza Boybas and Orhan Ozen (prisoners who were beaten to
death during the incidents that took place in the Umraniye Special
Prison on Jan. 4, 1996), lost his life on the same day.

The incident that resulted in the killing of Goktepe developed as
follows: Goktepe, who went to the Alibeykoy Cemetery at noon on Jan. 8
in order to cover the funeral, was detained by police who blockaded
the region. Goktepe was beaten and taken to the Eyup Closed Sports
Hall. He was kept at the sports hall for a while, reportedly felt sick
there, and then was taken somewhere else by the police.

During contacts of lawyers for Evrensel with police authorities and
the Eyup public prosecutor, it was stated that Goktepe was being
detained and that he would be released in the evening unless there was
a legal sanction. But no news of Metin Goktepe came.

An unknown person who was detained and then released, called the
Evrensel newspaper around 8:00 p.m. and reported that Goktepe had been
beaten to death. At the initiative of lawyers for the paper, the fact
that Metin Goktepe had been killed was exposed. Making a statement
about the incident, Eyup Public Prosecutor Erol Can Ozkan claimed that
Goktepe, after having been released on the evening of Jan. 8, had been
found dead in a park 100 meters from the Eyup Closed Sports Hall at
around 8:00 p.m. Later on, however, it was found out that Goktepe's
corpse was not found in the park but in front of a buffet close to the
sports hall.

Results of an autopsy showed that internal bleeding in Goktepe's brain
and tissues, which occurred as a result of the blows to the head and
body, had caused his death. On the autopsy report, it was noted that
there were traces of blows on the body but no signs of and bullet or
knife wounds. (*1)

The murder of Goktepe provoked widespread protest. As well, certain
state officials also made statements admitting that he had been killed
in detention. Holding a press conference on Jan. 16, Adnan Ekmen, the
state minister responsible for human rights, declared that Goktepe had
been detained by the police and murdered in detention. Prime Minister
Tansu &#128;iller stated that Goktepe "was detained by the police."
Meeting a group of journalists on Jan. 22, &#128;iller said, "It has
been determined that Metin Goktepe was detained. Related to what
happened afterwards, the investigation is underway." Answering a
question, &#128;iller also said that the official statement stating
that "Metin Goktepe fell off the wall and dropped dead" was not true.

Certain witnesses came out of the woodwork related to Metin Goktepe's
having been beaten by the police while he was under detention. Ceyhun
Emre Dagdelen, Ilhan Ucar, Deniz Ozcan, Ali Ekber Palabiyik, Kemal
Ertas and Aynur Akdeniz -- people who had all witnessed Goktepe's
treatment by police in detention -- testified at the Eyup Public
Prosecutor's Office. (*2) Their testimonies claimed Goktepe was
"ruthlessly beaten."

  Investigations:
  
As a result of the investigation launched after Goktepe's murder, 24
security officers (including a security chief) who were thought to
have played a roll in the killing, were detained on Jan. 22. It was
then declared on January 23rd that the detained security officers were
tortured and that consequently four policemen taken ill and were
hospitalized. One of the policemen hospitalized, Coskun Ozturk, was
claimed to have suffered brain trauma. (*3)

After the Interior Ministry 's probe into the killing of Goktepe, one
security chief, three commissioners and 14 police officers related to
the case were found guilty and suspended from duty on Jan. 23. It was
also found that seven people in addition to Goktepe had been beaten by
the police the same day and this situation was documented through
medical reports.

Informing the journalists about the investigation, a security
authority said, "That day all the detainees were beaten. Metin Goktepe
was the person who objected to the beating the most. Therefore, he was
the one who was beaten the most. This is the reason why he had been
beaten so hard; it was neither because of the fact that he worked for
the newspaper Evrensel nor that he was a journalist. If he had been a
lawyer or of another profession, and if he had again objected to the
beating, the outcome would most probably have been the same."

The names of the 14 security officers suspended from duty are as
follows: Mehmet Isbitiren (security chief), Battal Kose (security
chief), Mehmet Uysal (superintendent), Suayip Mutluyar, Burhan Koc,
Saffet Hizarci, Fedai Korkmaz, Ilhan Sarioglu, Murat Polat, Selcuk,
Bayraktaroglu, Fikret Kayacan, Metin Kusat, Tuncay Uzun and Yalcin
Aydeniz. It was determined that Goktepe had been detained in line with
orders from security chief Mehmet Isbitiren; beaten by the police
officers named Suayip Mutluyar, Burhan Koc, Saffet hizarci, Fedai
Korkmaz, Ilhan Sarioglu, Murat Polat and Selcuk Bayraktaroglu; and
left to die from his wounds by police officers Fikret Kayacan, Metin
Kusat and Tuncay Uzun. In the investigation report, Eyup Security
Director Ali Aydin Aydemir was accused of "neglecting to perform his
duty and concealing Metin Goktepe's death." Security Chief Battal Kose
was accused of "not taking the necessary precautions to protect the
lives of detainees," and Memduh Unsal and Yalcin Aydeniz were accused
of "beating some of the detainees."

On Feb. 8, the Istanbul Provincial Administrative Board decided that a
trial should be held concerning the 14 security officers linked to
Metin Goktepe's beating and death, and against the 34 police officers
up on charges of beating other detainees who also witnessed the
journalists' murder.(*4)

On Feb. 15, a decision was made to begin a parliamentary probe of the
incident. This decision was made in Parliament with the unanimous vote
of participating deputies. (*5)

On April 11, the Council of State ratified the proposal of the
Istanbul Provincial Administrative Board. According to this decision,
a trial was to begin against the 34 police officers on charges of
beating the other detainees present during the murder of Goktepe. A
prison sentence of three months to 3 years was being requested for
each defendant under Article 245 of the Turkish Penal Code. (*6)

The reports prepared by inspectors from the Ministry of Interior
Affairs and the Security General Directorate investigating the killing
were discussed at the Interior Ministry's Higher Disciplinary Board.
In a meeting on Oct. 1, the board discharged from duty the then
Ey&#129;p District Security Director Ali Aydin Aydemir on charges that
he had been "guilty of neglect on the first hand in the death of Metin
Goktepe." As a result of the investigation, 20 police officers were
"deprived of their rights" for 24 months. In addition, of the 16
police officers against whom a trial was launched in connection with
the murder of Goktepe, 14 were discharged from the profession on Oct.
14.

  Prosecution
  
The suit filed against 48 police officers in connection with the
killing of Metin Goktepe was to start in Istanbul Penal Court No. 6
July 15, 1996. However, the Supreme Court decided early that same
month that the trial should be held outside Istanbul "for security
reasons." Istanbul Penal Court No. 6, without holding a hearing on the
15th, sent the file to Aydin. Also, it was decided that the trial must
be put aside until September since the file was sent to the Aydin. As
well, the yearly judicial vacation was going to interfere.

During the trial, a sentence of six months to three years in prison
(under Article 228 or the Turkish Penal Code on charges of
"malpractice") was requested for Mehmet Isbitiren, one of the security
chiefs of the Istanbul Security Directorate who had ordered Goktepe to
be detained.

The following police officers faced sentences of five to 15 years in
prison on charges of "unintentional murder" and "murder while
concealing the assailant": Security Chief Seydi Battal Kose, Suayip
Mutluyar, Saffet Hizarci, Fedai Korkmaz, Murat Polat, Burhan Koc,
Ilhan Sarioglu, Selcuk Bayraktaroglu, Fikret Kayacanlar, Metin Kusat
and Tuncay Uzun.

Police officers facing sentences of three months to three years in
prison (under Article 245 of the Turkish Penal Code on charges of
"malpractice") for having beaten the other detainees at the Eyup
Sports Hall include: Security Chief Korkmaz Karasihoglu, Deputy
Superintendent Memduh Uysal, Emin Aksoy, Muhtafa Bayrak, Mehmet
Akkose, Ali Dagtekin, Fazli Sen, Sadik Orhan, Yusuf Kulmac, Senol
Ozturk, Onder Oruc, Yalcin Aydeniz, Ergun Akbalik, Ibrahim Ozcelik,
Sukru Keskin, Baris Aktas, Ibrahim Kilinc, Ismail Akgul, Yucel
Karamizrak, Dogan Aslan, Alpay Torun, Ahmet Baskurt, Volkan Katar,
Erkan Yakinlar, Mehmet Yavuz, Erkan Oz, Atilla Gongor, Salih Sirli,
Osman Dagli, Nedim Yilmaz, Taner Ozdil, Ismail Guneysu, Mehmet Ayhan,
Mustafa Duru, Coskun Ozturk, Recep Adiguzel.

The trial launched against 48 police officers began at Aydin Penal
Court on Oct. 18. The accused police officers did not participate in
the first hearing. Four lawyers for the defendants and, as the
intervening party, 13 people -- including the family of Metin Goktepe
-- were at the hearing. The hearing, which was attended by 59 of the
317 intervening lawyers, was watched by about 500 people, including
representatives of the foreign and Turkish press institutions.

At the hearing, the Goktepe family demanded that the police officers
held responsible for the killing of Metin Goktepe be arrested and that
the trial be held in Istanbul. The Goktepe family also demanded that
Orhan Tasanlar (then Istanbul security director), the vice security
directors, and the then interior and justice ministers be prosecuted.
The court rejected the demand that the police officers should be
arrested. After journalists who witnessed the detention of Goktepe
were heard, the trial was postponed to Nov. 29.

On Nov. 8, the trial of the 48 police officers was transferred to
Afyon. Following the first hearing (held at the Aydin Penal Court Oct.
18), the Court Board applied to the Supreme Court asking that the
trial be held in another province. The Supreme Court decided that the
trial should be held in another province since "security could not be
maintained as there were numerous schools in the vicinity of the
court." The trial which was at that time scheduled continue in Afyon
on Nov. 20 was postponed on the grounds that "the case file had not
reached the court."

In the police officers' trial, witnesses took the stand at the
Istanbul Eyup Penal Court No. 1 on Nov. 19. Ali Fahri Ozer, who was
working at the Eyup Closed Sports Hall on the date concerned, said he
had seen two police officers trying to wash someone's face who had
"bruises." Ozer, who said that the officers and he had taken this
person to the hall and had given him food, said, "Then I compressed
his face with a piece of cotton. I picked up the material and left the
hall at 5:00 p.m. as I finished my work. After this, the two police
officers took that person out. The next day, I learned that a
journalist had been killed and I understood that the person I had seen
the previous day was Metin Goktepe. The name of one of the police
officers was Tuncay."

In the meantime, 11 police officers who had been suspended from duty
for murdering Metin Goktepe were reinstated. The Security Directorate
appealed to Interior Ministry on Dec. 25, 1996, demanding that the
police officers should be reinstated and saying "the trial will take a
long time." Security Chief Seydi Battal Kose, security officers Suayip
Mutluer, Burhan Koc, Saffet Hizarci, Fedai Korkmaz, Ilhan Sarioglu,
Murat Polat, Selcuk Bayraktaroglu, Fikret Kayacanlar,Metin Kusat and
Tuncay Uzun were reinstated with the approval of Interior Minister
Meral Aksener on Dec. 27th.

However, Aksener said on Jan. 15 that the transaction related to
reinstating the police officers had been canceled and the police
officers were once again suspended from duty. The interior minister,
in her statement in connection with news stories, claimed that the 11
officers had to be reinstated under Article 142 of the Law on Civil
Servants numbered 657, but that the same officers were suspended again
on Jan. 14 under Article 140 of the same law.

Out of the 48 defendant police officers, 11 testified on Jan. 24,
1997. In the hearing held, which was closed to the press at the
Istanbul Eyup Penal Court No. 1, SecurityChief Seydi Battal Kose,
police officers Suayip Mutluyar, Burhan Koc, Saffet hizarci, Fedai
Korkmaz, Ilhan Sarioglu, Murat Polat, Selcuk Bayraktaroglu, Fikret
Kayacanlar, Metin Kusat, Tuncay Uzun -- all of whom are prosecuted on
charges of "intentional murder" and "murder while concealing the
assailant" -- rejected the accusations against them. In the meantime,
an official complaint was lodged against Tuncuy Sezgin, presiding
Judge of the Eyup court, for his having "secretly" received the
testimonies of the police officers on Jan. 24.

The Contemporary Jurists Association (CHD) Legal Commission and
Goktepe's family submitted the official petition against the attorneys
for the defendants and Judge Sezgin to the Prosecutor's Office on Jan.
28. Goktepe's lawyer, Kamil Tekin, Surek recalled that the
complainants, intervening parties and intervening lawyers were not
heard when testimonies were received.

The officers' trial continued at Afyon Penal Court on Feb. 6.
Following the press conference held prior to the hearing, roughly
2,000 people from various cities across Turkey marched by, shouting
slogans as they passed the Afyon Sports Hall where the closed hearing
was being held. Pictures of Metin Goktepe and banners that read, "This
Heart Will Not Stop" and "Free Press Cannot Be Silenced" were hung in
the hall in which the hearing was held. Extensive security measures
were at the trial.

The accused policemen did not attended the hearing; 90 lawyers
supporting the family of Metin Goktepe and five lawyers for the
defendants attended. The Court Board, composed of Kamil Serif, Ibrahim
Demirtas and Nuran Yalinbas, gave journalists 15 minutes inside to
cover the hearing. Then the presiding judge asked the gendarmes to
take the journalists to the auditorium. After this, the journalists
held a sit-in, protesting the decision to have them removed.
Spectators supported them with applause.

The court board did not accept two attorneys from Belgium who came to
participate as intervening lawyers. After the submission of a document
to the board by intervening lawyers which stated that the police
officers who were said to be suspended from office had continued to
work outside Istanbul, Deniz Ozcan, a witness, testified that he could
identify the police officers who had beaten Metin Goktepe. Lawyers for
the defense objected to Ozcan as a witness on the grounds that "he was
a member of an illegal organization." The Court Board decided that a
letter should be written to the Eyup Penal Court No. 1 to arrange for
the accused officers to meet with Ozcan. The board said the arrest
demand would be evaluated after this meeting, and announced it would
send letters to the Istanbul Governate and the Security General
Directorate in order to learn the addresses of the defendant police
officers. The trial was then postponed to April 11.

The trial continued at Afyon Penal Court on that date. The accused
police officers, once again, did not attend the hearing. The trial was
not held at the sports hall this time, but at the courthouse, and a
dispute arouse when people were crammed into the small court.
Presiding Judge Kamil Serif rejected intervening lawyers' demands that
the trial be held in a larger hall, however, Serif implied that the
place of the hearing had been changed without his consent, saying, "If
it were up to me, I would have accepted your demand." The lawyers said
that his words indicated the intervention of executive power from the
judiciary, and requested the withdrawal of the "court delegation" from
the trial. Judge Serif interpreted this demand as one of "rejection of
the judge," and decided to send the case file to the Bolvadin Penal
Court for evaluation.

(1*)Metin Goktepe was buried in Istanbul on Jan. 11, after a ceremony.
Around 10,000 people participated in the funeral which lasted six
hours. Those attending the funeral walked a 12-kilometer stretch of
road to get to the Esenler Cemetery, where Goktepe was to be buried.
After the funeral, police stopped a bus which was carrying people who
had attended the ceremony and detained about 40 people.

(2*) Witnesses were subjected to persecution. For example; Ali Ekber
Palabiyik (who runs a restaurant) declared on Jan. 23 that the police
started to threaten him after he became a witness in the trial. Deniz
Ozcan (17 years), a high-schooler who had seen the incidents that
resulted in Goktepe's death, disclosed on March 25 that he had been
detained twice because of this, and had been threatened by the police
and followed continuously.

(3*) Coskun Ozturk (27 years) declared on Jan. 24 that he was
"tortured in detention" and filed an official complaint at the
Istanbul Public Prosecutor's Office after having been released. A
medical report proving his inability to work for seven days was issued
for Ozturk, who applied to the Prosecutor's Office through the
mediation of his lawyer, Omer Yesilyurt, from the Sisli Etfal Hospital
where he was treated. Stating that he had been beaten and insulted
continuously while in detention, Ozturk demanded security directors
Mustafa Candan and Deniz G"kcetin be punished.

(4*) The Provincial Administrative Board saw no need for a trial on
charges of "neglecting duty and attempting to conceal the death of
Metin Goktepe" to be launched against Eyup Security Director Ali Aydin
Aydemir.

(5*) The report of the Parliamentary Research Commission was heard
during the parliamentary session of Oct. 15. During the session,
political party spokespersons expressed their parties' opinions.

(6*) If the trials launched conclude in conviction, the sentences to
be passed will be significantly commuted, for "the real assailant is
undetermined." For example, a death sentence would be commuted to 20
years in prison, a life sentence to 16 years, and a 24 years sentence
to 12 years.

-- 
Press-Agency Ozgurluk: http://www.ozgurluk.org
The struggle for human right, freedom, justice and democracy in Turkey
and Kurdistan
Press Agency Ozgurluk
The struggle for human rights, justice and democracy in Turkey and Kurdistan
http://www.ozgurluk.org

From english at ozgurluk.xs4all.nl  Mon Jul 28 04:19:24 1997
From: english at ozgurluk.xs4all.nl (english at ozgurluk.xs4all.nl)
Date: 28 Jul 1997 04:19:24
Subject: Think tank: 'Turkey could help Israel fight Syria and Iran'
Message-ID: <bac1c849.m33eoz5w18.fsf@ozgurluk.xs4all.nl>

Subject: Think tank: 'Turkey could help Israel fight Syria and Iran'
From: Press Agency Ozgurluk <ozgurluk at xs4all.nl>

Think tank: 'Turkey could help Israel fight Syria and Iran'

  * Mentions Israeli air strikes deep into Iran and Syria
 
  _________________________________________________________________
  
 By Ugur Akinci / Turkish Daily News
 
Washington - A military strategic analysis issued by the Washington
Institute for Near East Policy detailed the possible repercussions of
the military cooperation agreement signed between Turkey and Israel in
February and August 1996. The possibilities mentioned are not the kind
that will gladden many hearts in Tehran and Damascus.

The Policy Watch paper on Turkish-Israeli Military Cooperation penned
by military analyst Michael Eisenstadt said Turkish cooperation may
enable Israeli jets to launch strikes against Iranian nonconventional
targets near Tehran, as well as create serious difficulties for Syria
on land, sea and air in case of a war over the Golan Heights.

  Dimensions of cooperation
  
Eisenstadt said the Turkish-Israeli military cooperation agreement,
although its exact contents are still a secret, consisted of
"protocols regarding officer exchanges, visits by military
delegations, naval port calls, access to training areas, joint air and
naval training, cooperation in the areas of counter-terrorism and
border security, and defense industrial cooperation. In addition,
Israel and Turkey are believed to have strengthened longstanding
intelligence ties."

  Striking Iran
  
After mentioning the frequently reported Israeli-Turkish cooperation
on upgrading Turkish Phantom F-4s and Popeye missiles, etc.,
Eisenstadt explained the ways in which Turkey may be helping the
Israeli Air Force get ready for deep strikes into Iran:

"The air force training exchange agreement calls for Israeli aircraft
to train in Turkey four times a year. During the first visit, in April
of last year, eight Israeli F-16 fighters spent a week at Akinci air
base near Ankara. Such visits are mutually beneficial. They enable the
Israelis to gain experience flying long-range missions over
mountainous areas (a skill that would be necessary for missions over
Iran), and provide greater opportunities for overland training than
are available in a small country like Israel. This enables pilots to
refine their competitive skills, since it is much harder for pilots to
visually identify enemy aircraft over land than over water.

"Israel has reportedly established intelligence listening posts [along
the Turkish-Iran border], and Turkish cooperation would greatly
facilitate Israeli air strikes on Iran's nonconventional weapons
infrastructure, much of which is located near Tehran. (Israeli
aircraft could stage from and/or refuel over Turkey, greatly
increasing their striking range)," Eisenstadt said.

  Intelligence links
  
Israel and Turkey were also previously reported to share intelligence
data concerning their mutual adversaries, like Syria. "Israel is also
reportedly helping Turkey to secure its border against Kurdish PKK
[Kurdistan Workers' Party] terrorists operating from bases in Syria,
Iraq, and Iran, drawing on its own experience in securing its border
against terrorists in South Lebanon."

  Hitting Syria
  
The paper said Syria has much to consider now in case of a future war.

"Though neither agreement signed thus far is believed to contain
provisions for joint contingency planning or war-fighting, the
possibility that Turkey could assist Israel in wartime is a
complicating factor Syria has to consider. In the future, President
Assad will have to face the possibility of fighting Israel in the
Bekaa and/or the Golan, while looking over his shoulder toward
Turkey."

Turkey does not have to participate in a war to help Israel.The two or
three divisions located near Homs and Aleppo that are earmarked to
reinforce the Bekaa and Golan in wartime, Eisenstadt said. Just by
tying up those Syrian troops in north, like it did Iraqi troops during
Gulf War, Turkey can again help Israel, Eisenstadt said.

  Air help
  
Turkey could also help the Israeli Air Force in war against

_Syria: _

"In the air, Turkey could allow damaged Israeli aircraft to land at
Turkish air bases and permit Israeli combat search-and-rescue crews
trained to snatch downed pilots to operate from its soil. This would
allow the Israeli Air Force to be more aggressive and take greater
risks when attacking targets in northern Syria."

"It could likewise allow Israeli attack helicopters, aircraft, and
commandos hunting Syrian Scud Missile launchers in northern and
central Syria to operate from Turkish staging areas, and it could
allow Israel to use the series of air bases that run parallel to its
border with Syria for combat missions, raising the possibility of
attacks against Syria by way of its 'weak underbelly.' This could
compel Syria to reorganize its air defenses -- oriented primarily to
deal with Israeli threats from the southwest or west -- to enhance
coverage of the north of the country. Thickening air defense coverage
in the north will mean thinning coverage of the center and southwest
of the country."

"For its part, Turkey might exploit the opportunity offered by a war
to launch air strikes on PKK targets in Syria," he added.

  Not realistic now
  
The Washington institute analysis concluded that such scenarios,
although not realistic currently, still will have a psychological
impact on the adversaries in the region. Turkey could still help
Israel through passive support and intelligence sharing, and providing
refuge for damaged Israeli aircraft and warships, for example.

"[Current] political realities rule out Israeli aircraft and warships
operating from Turkish territory in wartime. Turkey would gain little
by openly supporting the Israeli war effort, which would make Turkey a
target for Syrian retribution (i.e. more terrorism) and Arab political
censure. Turkey is, therefore, more likely to quietly render
assistance to the Israeli war effort, providing intelligence, missile
early-warning data, and refuge for damaged Israeli aircraft or
warships. In this way, it will help Israel punish a troublesome
neighbor and gain the good will of Israeli political and military
leaders without incurring major risks."

"To the degree that this enhances Israeli (and Turkish) deterrence, it
will have a tangible impact on the balance of forces in the region,
even if current political and military realities preclude a formal
alliance between the two countries," the analysis concluded.
  _______________________________________________________________
-- 
Press-Agency Ozgurluk: http://www.ozgurluk.org
The struggle for human right, freedom, justice and democracy in Turkey
and Kurdistan
Press Agency Ozgurluk
The struggle for human rights, justice and democracy in Turkey and Kurdistan
http://www.ozgurluk.org

From english at ozgurluk.xs4all.nl  Mon Jul 28 18:37:39 1997
From: english at ozgurluk.xs4all.nl (english at ozgurluk.xs4all.nl)
Date: 28 Jul 1997 18:37:39
Subject: Reuters: Water in Palestine
Message-ID: <bac1c849.m3iuxu63l9.fsf@ozgurluk.xs4all.nl>

From: Press Agency Ozgurluk <ozgurluk at xs4all.nl>
Date: 29 Jul 1997 03:37:22 +0200

  
 Israel, PLO find water rift too hard to bridge

  * The water dispute stems from disagreements over who should control
 Israel's water resources, which lie mainly under Palestinian land
 
  _________________________________________________________________
  
 By Cynthia Johnston / Reuters
 
Ain Arik, West Bank- Peace with Israel was supposed to bring running
water to Iman Abu Saffa's West Bank home.

She gets 60 television channels piped into her house but her tiny
village is still dry.

"We hope that some day we'll have running water," Abu Saffa said,
balancing a bucket of well water on her head with one hand and holding
her two-year-old daughter Razan by the other.

"That's what they (the Palestinian Authority) promised, but we haven't
seen anything."

While politicians bicker about the status of Jerusalem and a future
Palestinian state, experts on both sides say there will be no peace
until the water problem is solved.

More than half of West Bank Palestinian towns do not have water piped
in, Palestinian officials said.

Villagers drink from wells and collect rain in rooftop tanks for
washing.

In the dry summers, they buy water that is often polluted at
exorbitant prices from green tractor trucks.

About 130,000 religious Jews live on West Bank land amid two million
Palestinians. They make up less than 10 percent of the population, but
use 80 percent of the water, according to Palestinian and independent
assessments.

"We need more water," said Tsvi Amit, a farmer at the Peza'el
settlement in the Jordan Valley, one of the West Bank's driest.

"I am a farmer, and that's what I want," he said, adding that he has
enough water for only half his crops.

Peza'el has started using drip irrigation to conserve water, but Amit
says it is on the verge of economic ruin because of a disastrously
small grape harvest and the water shortage.

Palestinians have little sympathy. While Peza'el pipes in drinking and
irrigation water, villagers in Ain Arik drink and irrigate their
fields with water taken manually from the village well.

Farmers gather the water from a mossy concrete pool that holds the
green run-off. Village boys swim in it.

"There is no single Israeli settlement without water, and they have
good water and good pipes," said Abdul-Rahman Tamimi, director of the
Palestinian Hydrology Group, a non-governmental organization
monitoring the water supply in the West Bank and Gaza.

"This is increasing tensions between the two countries," he said.

  Dispute over who owns water
  
The water dispute stems from disagreements over who should control
Israel's water resources, which lie mainly under Palestinian land.

Palestinians say land is inseparable from the water that lies beneath
it. They say the water is theirs.

But Israelis say they have a historical right to the water, which they
have been tapping for decades.

"It's going to be difficult," said Uri Shamir, a water expert who
spent five years on the Israeli team negotiating the issue with the
Palestinians.

"Water resources don't always conform to political boundaries," he
said, adding that the sides would have to share.

One of the difficulties, Tamimi said, was getting the politicians to
understand the problem.

"There is a water shortage, and there is a large demand for water, and
some Palestinian minister is talking about bringing 50 million
tourists to Bethlehem," Tamimi said.

"If each of them goes to the bathroom once a day, they need three
million cubic meters of water...That's just to flush the toilets. It's
a disaster."

At the same time, both sides say that when talks on a permanent peace
settlement finally roll around, it will be easier to solve the water
problem than to find a solution for the status of Jerusalem and a
future Palestinian state.

They have already reached a temporary agreement giving Palestinians
some extra water until a final agreement is worked out. But Tamimi
said it was not enough.

"The Palestinian villagers cannot wait," he said.

  Economic hardships for Palestinians
  
The water shortage has created an economic crisis for Arab villages in
Gaza and the West Bank, which now cultivate only three percent of
their farmland, down from more than a quarter 30 years ago, the
Palestinian Hydrology Group said.

The well water is drying up slowly, and Palestinians depend on a new
Israeli-Palestinian water committee to get permission to dig new
wells.

But that committee has not met since last February, and no new wells
have been dug.

"Water is not the dream any more. The approval to find water is the
dream now," Tamimi said. "They (the Israelis) reduced the
opportunities for self-sufficiency in food."

The decrease in cultivated land comes as travel restrictions imposed
by Israel have forced unemployment rates to nearly 40 percent in the
West Bank and 60 percent in Gaza, according to the Palestinian
Monetary Authority.

Most Palestinians, who make an average $652 a year, cannot afford to
buy $13 tanks of water every two weeks.

Not only is tank water expensive, it could be dangerous. In Gaza,
Tamimi said, the fresh water isn't much better.

"Gaza is a disaster area. They drink water unfit for human beings, and
even in some areas like Khan Yunis, they drink water unfit for
agriculture," he said, adding that it was polluted with chemicals and
pesticides.

When the Palestinian Authority took over in parts of the West Bank and
Gaza under interim peace deals, it promised to pipe water to the
villages but progress was snagged by crises in Israel-PLO
negotiations.

At the well in Ain Arik, an elderly village woman bends over from the
weight of two blue buckets of water.

"Are you here to bring water to my house?" she asks a reporter,
balancing herself on a wooden cane.

Tamimi said running water would not come soon.

"There is enough water," he said. "But there is no goodwill."

-- 
Press-Agency Ozgurluk: http://www.ozgurluk.org
The struggle for human right, freedom, justice and democracy in Turkey
and Kurdistan

Press Agency Ozgurluk
The struggle for human rights, justice and democracy in Turkey and Kurdistan
http://www.ozgurluk.org

From english at ozgurluk.xs4all.nl  Wed Jul 30 21:22:04 1997
From: english at ozgurluk.xs4all.nl (english at ozgurluk.xs4all.nl)
Date: 30 Jul 1997 21:22:04
Subject: Turkey asks Eurogold to delay mining until verdict
Message-ID: <bac1c849.m3bu3j97qb.fsf@ozgurluk.xs4all.nl>

Subject: Turkey asks Eurogold to delay mining until verdict
From: Press Agency Ozgurluk <ozgurluk at xs4all.nl>
Date: 31 Jul 1997 06:16:28 +0200


Friday July 25 10:56 AM EDT 

Turkey asks Eurogold to delay mining until verdict

By Ercan Ersoy 

ANKARA, July 25 (Reuter) - Turkey has asked a Canadian-Australian gold
mining firm to postpone operations until a court determines whether
its use of cyanide was hazardous to local villagers, Environment
Minister Imren Aykut said on Friday.

``I talked with the officials of Eurogold yesterday (Thursday) and
told them of the government request that they postpone their
operations until the Council of State has made its final decision on
their operations,'' Aykut told Reuters.

Earlier, a senior government minister who declined to be identified
told Reuters the government decided on Monday to halt Eurogold's
operations until a final decision had been made by the Council of
State, the top administrative body in Turkey.

``There is no decision by the government to halt or suspend Eurogold's
operations,'' Aykut said.

``The residents of Bergama have become oversensitive to the
developments about the issue. So that is why we asked the company to
postpone its operations to bring to an end provocations created among
the residents,'' she said.

Eurogold told her it needed some days to discuss the matter with its
parent companies, she said.

Eurogold, a $46-million joint venture between Canada's Inmet (INM.TO)
with a share of 66.7 percent and Australia's Normandy Mining
(NDY.AX)with 33.3 percent, has been trying to overcome legal and
public protests since it was set up in 1989.

``We will discuss the matter again with the company next week,
probably on Tuesday or Wednesday,'' Aykut said.

Local residents, some politicians and environmentalists have staged a
series of protests at the Eurogold mine in the western town of Bergama
because of its use of cyanide leaching in gold production.

``There are now psychological and sociological aspects of their mining
operation. We cannot overlook the people's demands. Therefore we will
wait for the court decision,'' Aykut said.

``I tried to explain to the company that we can make up for material
losses but we cannot make up for losses of human life, which we cannot
afford,'' she said.

Jack Testard, general manager of Eurogold, told Reuters on Thursday
night that neither Eurogold nor its parent companies had been informed
of any government suspension.

A Eurogold official who declined to be named told the Anatolian news
agency on Thursday production was scheduled to begin in November.

But the Council of State is still studying a lower Turkish court
ruling that using cyanide and storing its waste after use could be
dangerous and should be stopped.

Company officials have said Bergama reserves are estimated at 1.38
million tonnes at 11.7 grammes per tonne with an identified mineral
resource of 2.98 million tonnes at nine grammes per tonne, totalling
860,000 ounces.

-- 
Press-Agency Ozgurluk: http://www.ozgurluk.org
The struggle for human right, freedom, justice and democracy in Turkey
and Kurdistan
mailto: info at ozgurluk.org

Press Agency Ozgurluk
The struggle for human rights, justice and democracy in Turkey and Kurdistan
http://www.ozgurluk.org

From kurd-l at burn.ucsd.edu  Thu Jul 31 04:17:17 1997
From: kurd-l at burn.ucsd.edu (kurd-l at burn.ucsd.edu)
Date: 31 Jul 1997 04:17:17
Subject: 100 Members Of U.S. Congress Seek F
Message-ID: <bac1c849.Pine.NEB.3.95.970730231..@burn.ucsd.edu>

From: Arm The Spirit <ats at locust.etext.org>
Subject: 100 Members Of U.S. Congress Seek Freedom For Leyla Zana

American Kurdish Information Network (AKIN)
For Immediate Release (#27)					             
Contact:  Kani Xulam
July 24, 1997
Tel:  (202) 483-6444

100 Members of Congress Seek Freedom for 
Imprisoned Kurdish Parliamentarian

	To date, 100 members of the House of Representatives have agreed 
to sign a bipartisan letter to President Clinton urging him to "raise 
[Leyla] Zana's case with the Turkish authorities at the highest level 
and seek her immediate and unconditional release" from prison in Turkey.

	The only Kurdish woman ever elected to the Turkish Parliament, 
Leyla Zana was stripped of her parliamentary immunity and arrested in 
March 1994, and later sentenced to 15 years in prison on charges of 
treason. Zana had received 84% of the vote in October 1991 from her 
almost entirely Kurdish constituency in southeastern Turkey.

	The initiators of this effort are Rep. Elizabeth Furse (D-OR), 
Rep. John Porter (R-IL), Rep. Esteban Torres (D-CA), and Rep. Frank Wolf 
(R-VA).

	As a member of Parliament, Leyla Zana served as a leading 
spokesperson for Kurds dissatisfied with the Turkish government's 
longstanding policy of legally and brutally oppressing its Kurdish 
minority, which numbers 15 to 20 million people and comprises as much as 
one-third of Turkey's entire population.

	As a Parliamentarian, Zana testified before the Helsinki 
Commission of the U.S. Congress in May 1993 regarding the human rights 
situation facing Kurds in Turkey.  The Turkish government later branded 
this testimony treasonous and used it to convict her.

	In her testimony, Zana had expressed a desire for a negotiated 
settlement to the conflict in her homeland.  Zana explained the years of 
sheer destruction in southeastern Turkey had transpired "because of our 
inability as political leaders -- both Turkish and Kurdish -- to sit 
down and negotiate an end to this enduring Kurdish question with candor 
and respect to the rights of the Kurds."

	More than four years after Leyla Zana testified before Congress, 
the conflict in southeastern Turkey rages on with no end in sight.  Zana 
had asked Congress to "side with the democratic forces and 
help...expedite the work of nonviolence."  She was imprisoned for these 
comments.  Now, 100 members of Congress have risen up in support of 
Leyla Zana and her call for peace, justice, and human dignity.

	An alphabetical list of the 100 members of Congress who have 
already agreed to sign the letter to President Clinton follows:

Rep. Elizabeth Furse (D-1st OR)
Rep. John Porter (R-10th IL)
Rep. Esteban Torres (D-34th CA)
Rep. Frank Wolf (R-10th VA)
Rep. Neil Abercrombie (D-1st HI)
Rep. Gary Ackerman (D-5th NY)
Rep. Bob Andrews (D-1st NJ)
Rep. Michael Bilirakis (R-9th FL)
Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D-3rd OR)
Rep. David Bonior (D-10th MI)
Rep. George Brown (D-42nd CA)
Rep. Sherrod Brown (D-13th OH)
Rep. Ken Calvert (R-43rd CA)
Rep. Walter Capps (D-22nd CA)
Rep. Julia Carson (D-10th IN)
Del. Donna Christian-Green (D-VI)
Rep. Gary Condit (D-18th CA)
Rep. Christopher Cox (R-47th CA)
Rep. William Coyne (D-14th PA)
Rep. Danny Davis (D-7th IL)
Rep. Peter DeFazio (D-4th OR)
Rep. Diana DeGette (D-1st CO)
Rep. William Delahunt (D-10th MA)
Rep. Ron Dellums (D-9th CA)
Rep. Peter Deutsch (D-20th FL)
Rep. Lloyd Doggett (D-10th TX)
Rep. Eliot Engel (D-17th NY)
Rep. Anna Eshoo (D-14th CA)
Rep. Lane Evans (D-17th IL)
Del. Eni Faleomavaega (D-AS)
Rep. Vic Fazio (D-3rd CA)
Rep. Bob Filner (D-50th CA)
Rep. Floyd Flake (D-6th NY)
Rep. Mark Foley (R-16th FL)
Rep. Barney Frank (D-4th MA)
Rep. Bob Franks (R-7th NJ)
Rep. Sam Gejdenson (D-2nd CT)
Rep. Wayne Gilchrest (R-1st MD)
Rep. Luis Gutierrez (D-4th IL)
Rep. Tony P. Hall (D-3rd OH)
Rep. Maurice Hinchey (D-26th NY)
Rep. Tim Holden (D-6th PA)
Rep. Darlene Hooley (D-5th OR)
Rep. Stephen Horn (R-38th CA)
Rep. Steny Hoyer (D-5th MD)
Rep. William Jefferson (D-2nd LA)
Rep. Marcy Kaptur (D-9th OH)
Rep. Sue Kelly (R-19th NY)
Rep. Joseph Kennedy II (D-8th MA)
Rep. Patrick Kennedy (D-1st RI)
Rep. Carolyn Kilpatrick (D-15th MI)
Rep. Ron Klink (D-4th PA)
Rep. Dennis Kucinich (D-10th OH)
Rep. Tom Lantos (D-12th CA)
Rep. James Leach (R-1st IA)
Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee (D-18th TX)
Rep. John Lewis (D-5th GA)
Rep. Sander Levin (D-12th MI)
Rep. William Lipinski (D-3rd IL)
Rep. Nita M. Lowey (D-18th NY)
Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-16th CA)
Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-14th NY)
Rep. Thomas Manton (D-7th NY)
Rep. Edward Markey (D-7th MA)
Rep. Robert Matsui (D-5th CA)
Rep. Joseph McDade (R-10th PA)
Rep. James McGovern (D-3rd MA)
Rep. Cynthia McKinney (D-4th GA)
Rep. Michael McNulty (D-21st NY)
Rep. Martin Meehan (D-5th MA)
Rep. Carrie Meek (D-17th FL)
Rep. Robert Menendez (D-13th NJ)
Rep. Patsy Mink (D-2nd HI)
Rep. Joe Moakley (D-9th MA)
Rep. Constance Morella (R-8th MD)
Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-8th NY)
Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC)
Rep. David Obey (D-7th WI)
Rep. John Olver (D-1st MA)
Rep. Major Owens (D-11th NY)
Rep. Frank Pallone (D-6th NJ)
Rep. Michael Pappas (R-12th NJ)
Rep. Ed Pastor (D-2nd AZ)
Rep. Glenn Poshard (D-19th IL)
Rep. Lynn Rivers (D-13th MI)
Rep. Lucille Roybal-Allard (D-33rd CA)
Rep. Bobby Rush (D-1st IL)
Rep. Loretta Sanchez (D-46th CA)
Rep. Bernard Sanders (I-VT)
Rep. Christopher Shays (R-4th CT)
Rep. Brad Sherman (D-24th CA)
Rep. Louise Slaughter (D-28th NY)
Rep. Christopher Smith (R-4th NJ)
Rep. Pete Stark (D-13th CA)
Rep. Edolphus Towns (D-10th NY)
Rep. James Traficant (D-17th OH)
Del. Robert Underwood (D-GU)
Rep. Nydia Velazquez (D-12th NY)
Rep. Melvin Watt (D-12th NC)
Rep. Lynn Woolsey (D-6th CA)


----
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



From english at ozgurluk.xs4all.nl  Thu Jul 31 06:36:07 1997
From: english at ozgurluk.xs4all.nl (english at ozgurluk.xs4all.nl)
Date: 31 Jul 1997 06:36:07
Subject: Turkish Journalists Protest Police Beatings
Message-ID: <bac1c849.m367tr8j3l.fsf@ozgurluk.xs4all.nl>

Subject: Turkish Journalists Protest Police Beatings
From: Press Agency Ozgurluk <ozgurluk at xs4all.nl>

 (30/7) Turkish Journalists Protest Police Beatings
                                       
Megak?y, Turkey (Reuter) - Turkish journalists in Megak?y Wednesday
protested the beating of their colleagues by police during an Islamist
demonstration in Ankara.
                                       
Around 200 reporters gathered outside the headquarters of the Turkish
journalists' association in Megak?y shouting: "The free press will not be silenced."
                                       
Five journalists were taken to hospital after being attacked by police
and protesters as thousands of Islamists protested against secularist
education plans on Tuesday.  
Police officers launched baton attacks at television
cameramen. Several suffered head wounds. One reporter had a trouser
leg ripped off by a police dog.
                                       
Prime Minister Mesut Yilmaz expressed his regret over the
incidents. "In the name of the government I want to say get well to
the journalists who were injured during the events in Ankara," Yilmaz
said at a news conference. "That such an unfortunate event should come
to pass while we are in power is a cause of sadness," he said.
                                       
Ankara's governor said Wednesday three policemen had been suspended in
connection with the beatings.
                                       
The Islamists were demonstrating against government plans to curtail
religious education, a move strongly backed by the country's largely
secularist media. The Interior Ministry said reporters would hold
another protest against the beatings later on Wednesday in Ankara.

-- 
Press-Agency Ozgurluk: http://www.ozgurluk.org
The struggle for human right, freedom, justice and democracy in Turkey
and Kurdistan
Press Agency Ozgurluk
The struggle for human rights, justice and democracy in Turkey and Kurdistan
http://www.ozgurluk.org

From kurd-l at burn.ucsd.edu  Thu Jul 31 15:05:52 1997
From: kurd-l at burn.ucsd.edu (kurd-l at burn.ucsd.edu)
Date: 31 Jul 1997 15:05:52
Subject: Mehdi Zana Sentenced For Freedom Of
Message-ID: <bac1c849.Pine.NEB.3.95.970731100..@burn.ucsd.edu>

From: Arm The Spirit <ats at locust.etext.org>
Subject: Mehdi Zana Sentenced For Freedom Of Expression

American Kurdish Information Network
Press Release #26						        
Contact:  Noah A. Weiss
July 18, 1997								  
Tel:  (202) 483-6444

Husband Of Imprisoned Kurdish Parliamentarian
Sentenced To Another 10 Months In Prison

	On Monday, July 14, Mehdi Zana, husband of imprisoned Kurdish 
Parliamentarian Leyla Zana, was sentenced to 10 months in prison in 
Turkey for spreading "separatist propaganda" in a book of poetry he 
authored.  Mehdi Zana has already served several prison sentences 
spanning 15 years for previous activities the Turkish government has 
deemed treasonous or separatist in nature.  His wife currently is in her 
third year of a 15-year sentence on similar charges of treason stemming 
from her own freedom of expression.
	Mehdi Zana's sentencing comes only days after Mesut Yilmaz, 
Turkey's new Prime Minister, announced he would work with the Parliament 
to ease Turkey's strict freedom of expression laws.  
	Mehdi Zana has long advocated improved social, cultural, and political 
rights for Kurds living in Turkey.  He was first imprisoned in 1980 
following the military's overthrow of a democratically elected 
government.  At the time, Mr. Zana was Mayor of Diyarbakir, a city in 
southeastern Turkey comprised entirely of Kurds.
	Despite his numerous arrests, Mr. Zana has been well received in the 
West, particularly in Europe, where he accepted the 1995 Sakharov Peace 
Prize from the European Parliament on behalf of his wife, Leyla.  Mr. 
Zana was later imprisoned in 1994 following testimony he gave before the 
European Parliament's Subcommittee for Human Rights.
	In January 1996, Klaus Hansch, President of the European Parliament, 
said to Mr. Zana, "We remember you as an upright person who castigated 
violence and injustice in Turkey but appealed for nonviolence and 
fraternity between Kurdish and Turkish citizens."
        Currently, Mr. Zana lives in exile in Sweden.  Should he return to 
Turkey to visit his imprisoned wife (87 members of Congress have joined 
an initiative calling for Leyla Zana's "immediate and unconditional 
release" from prison), Mehdi Zana too will be imprisoned.
	Freedom of expression is at the heart of democracy.  Turkey, however, 
claims to have a democracy without freedom of expression.  More 
journalists are imprisoned in Turkey than any other country in the world. 
 Unfortunately, journalists are not the only ones unable to express 
themselves freely:  so are the Zanas!


----
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

----
For A Free And Independent Kurdistan!
KURD-L Archives - http://burn.ucsd.edu/archives/kurd-l