From kurd-l at burn.ucsd.edu  Thu Jun 26 03:02:55 1997
From: kurd-l at burn.ucsd.edu (kurd-l at burn.ucsd.edu)
Date: 26 Jun 1997 03:02:55
Subject: War News From Kurdistan
References: <bac1c849.Pine.NEB.3.95.960820104..@burn.ucsd.edu>
Message-ID: <bac1c849.Pine.NEB.3.95.970625220..@burn.ucsd.edu>

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

War News From Kurdistan

(Translated by Arm The Spirit from Kurdistan-Rundbrief, Nr. 12,
Vol. 10, June 17, 1997)

"The Will Be A New Popular Uprising"

     During a live broadcast on MED-TV, PKK [Kurdistan Workers
Party] leader Abdullah Ocalan discussed the military developments
of the ARGK [People's Liberation Army of Kurdistan] from the past
two weeks.
     Since the beginning of the fighting, there had been 9 major
battles between the ARGK and the KDP, who are collaborating with
the Turkish army. The Turkish army lost 199 men, with 44 others
wounded; the KDP lost 196 men, 170 wounded. The ARGK during this
time lost 36 guerrillas, with 18 others wounded in battle. Most of
the ARGK's losses came as a result of heavy air bombardment.
     Also, during the fighting in South Kurdistan, 200 new
fighters joined the ranks of the ARGK guerrillas, and this number
continues to rise. On the KDP side, many paid peshmergas have left
the war zone, and new soldiers from the Barzani tribe are being
sent in to replace them.

ARGK Successes

     As has already been reported in the media, the ARGK was able
to shoot down three Turkish helicopters using SA-7B type rockets.
One of those shot down was transporting 10 or 11 high ranking
Turkish officers. The commander of Turkish forces was forced to
retract his claim that the helicopter had crashed due to
"technical failure".
     More excuses were made in the Turkish media, with the army
claiming that the government was not providing enough resources to
the armed forces for the war. (According to one report from the
Bavarian radio station 'Bayern 5', each day of the invasion is
costing Turkey 30 million dollars.)
     During the first week of June, a total of 158 soldiers,
village guards, state agents, and police were killed by guerrilla
forces, with another 150 wounded. The KDP lost 68 men with another
53 wounded. On the side of the ARGK, 29 fighters were martyred, 12
others wounded. The ARGK also confiscated a large amount of
military equipment.

Attacks And Roadblocks By The ARGK In North Kurdistan

     In various cities over the past week, units of the ARGK have
carried out attacks on state institutions. With the use of heavy
weapons, several buildings were severely damaged. Such attacks
took place in Kulp and Ergani in Diyarbakir province, and in
Gurpinar in Van province.
     In Dicle-Ergani-Genc, 2 soldiers and 2 village guards were
killed in a clash on June 6. During clashes between the army and
the guerrilla on June 8 in Kulp-Lice, 2 soldiers were killed and 3
others wounded. The body of one fallen guerrilla was taken to Lice
by the army. The name of the martyr is not yet known.
     Roadblocks by ARGK units were also carried out in
Hafik-Dogansar in Sivas province and Kozluk in Batman province. In
Niksar-Almus in Tokat province, an ARGK unit took out a radio
relay station, cutting off the station for a period of time.

Heavy Attacks On The Army Throughout All Of Kurdistan

     In Batman, units of the ARGK attacked a building of the state
security police. The facility was heavily damaged. Reports of
deaths or injuries are not yet known. Following the guerrilla
retreat from the area, police carried out a number of raids and
arrested several people, including women and elderly persons.
Police also blocked all roads in the city and checked peoples'
identities.
     Another guerrilla unit attacked the Batman-Hasankefy oil
refinery of the TPAO corporation. There, six workers were told not
to resist as the facilities were set on fire. Several millions of
Turkish lira in damages was caused.
     On the way to a military operation in Nazimiye-Ovacik in
Dersim province, army units were attacked by the ARGK. According
to reports, 10 soldiers were killed and several others wounded.
The administration office of the areas under emergency rule spoke
of only 4 killed soldiers.

South Kurdistan: The Guerrillas Have The Initiative

     One week ago, fighting broke out between the Turkish army/KDP
and the ARGK in the Mt. Priz region. The army and the KDP have
since fled the area.
     In Kanimasi and Atrus, an army/KDP convoy of 50 vehicles was
attacked by the ARGK with heavy weapons. Several cars were hit by
bullets. In the same region, 40 KDP soldiers were attacked,
suffering heavy losses.
     Near Tendurk village in the Atrus region, there was a heavy
battle between the ARGK and the Turkish army on the night of June
8. Clashes with Turkish reinforcements left 9 soldiers dead; the
guerrilla suffered no losses.

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

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

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   ++++ if you agree copy these lines to your sig ++++
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From kurd-l at burn.ucsd.edu  Wed Jun  4 06:46:21 1997
From: kurd-l at burn.ucsd.edu (kurd-l at burn.ucsd.edu)
Date: 04 Jun 1997 06:46:21
Subject: Mainstream News On The PKK
Message-ID: <bac1c849.Pine.NEB.3.95.970604013..@burn.ucsd.edu>

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

PKK To Hit Turkish Tourism, U.S., Israeli Targets 

     BEIRUT, June 2 (Reuter) - The Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK)
on Monday threatened worldwide attacks against Israeli and U.S.
targets if the two countries continued to "support
Turkish massacres against Kurds". 
     PKK central committee member Halil Atas told reporters in a
Beirut suburb -- a bastion of the pro-Iranian Hizbollah guerrillas
-- that the PKK planned attacks against tourist centers in
Turkey and warned tourists of the dangers of spending their
vacations there. 
     "In order to put Turkey in a state of bankruptcy we will hit
its economy and we will especially attack tourist centers. We have
planned specific attacks against such targets," he said. 
     Speaking as Turkey's foray in pursuit of PKK guerrillas in
northern Iraq entered its 19th day, Atas urged countries of the
region to take a decisive stance in order to bring the Turkish
"barbaric attacks" to an end. 
     Meanwhile, Turkish troops backed by artillery, armor and
helicopter gunships continued to consolidate their positions in
northern Iraq. 
     "We will not be responsible for the safety of tourists. We
are warning tourists and we are saying that it is dangerous for
you to go there...Turkey is a dangerous country," Atas said. 
     The PKK also planned attacks against U.S. and Israeli
"non-civilian" targets, he added. 
     "Our plan is to attack Turkish, American and Israeli centers
but not civilians and we are warning them not to support the
massacres taking place against the Kurdish people." 
     The campaign against Kurds was carried out under a strategic
deal between the three countries, he said. 
     "If these countries continue to carry out massacres against
the Kurdish people then these people will make their objective to
hit targets of these countries in the world," he said. 
     Atas urged Arab countries to protest against the invasion,
saying it left little room for the settlement of regional
conflicts. 
     "The issues of the people of the region are linked to the
Kurdish issue and we see the settlement of Middle Eastern issues
as linked to the settlement of the Kurdish question," he said. 
     Atas rejected as "lies" Turkish claims that more than 1,000
PKK fighters had been killed in the latest attack and said the PKK
held as prisoners of war the seven-man crew of a Turkish Cobra
helicopter brought down on April 18. 
     "After 13 years of fighting against Turkey, we know how to
fight this country. Our ability to hit hard at the enemy in our
regions has become stronger," Atas said. 


Rebel Kurds Say Heavy Turkish Troop Losses In Iraq 

     ISTANBUL, June 3 (Reuter) - A pro-Kurdish television channel
on Tuesday reported a Kurdish rebel group as saying it had
inflicted heavy losses on Turkish troops and their allies
taking part in a three-week-old incursion into northern Iraq. 
     A Med-TV spokesman quoted a Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK)
statement as saying that during May the group had killed 791 men
from the opposite side -- Turkish soldiers, their allies in a
"village guard" militia and guerrillas of the Iraqi Kurdistan
Democratic Party (KDP). 
     In the same period, 112 PKK guerrillas were killed, the
spokesman told Reuters from Belgium, where Med-TV is based. 
     At least 10,000 Turkish troops, backed by air power, poured
into northern Iraq on May 14 in pursuit of separatist PKK rebels
who use the region as a base to launch raids into southeast
Turkey. 
     A Turkish military spokesman told Reuters the army had killed
more than 2,000 rebels in the operation so far, but gave no figure
for their own losses. 
     "The operation in northern Iraq is continuing
successfully...Of course when fighting the enemy there will be
some losses," the spokesman said.
     He was commenting on the funeral of five soldiers killed in
fighting with the PKK -- four of them in Iraq -- reported by
state-run Anatolian news agency on Tuesday. 
     The operation has been conducted under a strict news
blackout, making it impossible to confirm the reports
independently. 
     Med-TV said heavy fighting was continuing in northern Iraq
with the PKK launching counter-attacks against the Turkish army
and their KDP allies, retaking a strategic peak from the
army and Pirizdag mountain from the KDP. 
     The Arab League secretariat on Monday condemned Turkey's
military operation in northern Iraq and demanded Turkish forces
withdraw immediately. NATO-member Turkey's Western allies
and Middle Eastern countries have criticized the incursion. 
     A leading PKK member on Monday threatened worldwide attacks
against Israeli and U.S. targets if the two countries continued to
"support Turkish massacres against Kurds". 
     More than 24,000 people have died in 13 years of conflict
between the Turkish security forces and the PKK, who are fighting
for Kurdish autonomy or independence.



From kurd-l at burn.ucsd.edu  Wed Jun  4 06:47:19 1997
From: kurd-l at burn.ucsd.edu (kurd-l at burn.ucsd.edu)
Date: 04 Jun 1997 06:47:19
Subject: Kurds In Australia Protest Invasion
Message-ID: <bac1c849.Pine.NEB.3.95.970604013..@burn.ucsd.edu>

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

Protests Hit Turkish Invasion

     Since the invasion of southern Kurdistan (northern Iraq) by
80,000 Turkish troops backed by tanks and helicopters on May 14, a
series of protests have occurred around Australia.
     Arty Killis and Maurice Sibelle write from Melbourne that
more than 100 people picketed the Turkish consulate on May 30. The
picket was organized by a coalition which includes the Victorian
Kurdish Association, the Turkish Community Resource Centre and the
Australian Turkish and Kurdish Union. 
     At Auburn Town Hall in Sydney on May 25, reports Rupen
Savoulian, 150-200 people attended a seminar to hear associate
professor Haluk Gerger, a veteran human rights activist, speak
about the human rights situation in Turkey. 
     The seminar was organized by the Kurdish Association of
Australia. Professor Gerger's other speaking engagements included
seminars in Melbourne and Canberra. He taught international
relations at Ankara University until he lost his position in 1980
after the military coup. He currently teaches at Darmstadt
University, Germany, as a guest professor. 
     Gerger elaborated on the reactionary and terroristic nature
of the Turkish regime, and said the latest military incursion into
south Kurdistan was typical of the violent character of the
Turkish state. He spoke of the increasing military role of Turkey
(backed by the United States) in the region.
     Gail Lord reports that 200 vocal demonstrators gathered
outside the US consulate in Sydney on May 27 to denounce the
Turkish invasion and US connivance, including the supply of
weapons to the Turkish military.
     In Perth, writes Michael Bramwell, up to 100 Kurdish people
and supporters rallied on May 30 against the Turkish military
attacks on the people of Kurdistan and the Kurdistan Workers Party
(PKK). 
     The protesters marched to Parliament House and the Human
Rights Commission, presenting a protest letter asking for
condemnation of the actions of the Turkish military and
government. Part of the letter stated, "Unless international
pressure is applied, the violation of human rights and civil
liberties of the Kurdish people will continue."
     Sue Bull reports from Canberra that democracy, human rights
and the oppression of the Kurdish people by the Turkish government
were the topics of a lively meeting attended by 50 people on May
27. The forum was organized by the Centre for Middle Eastern and
Central Asian Studies at the Australian National University. 
     The meeting was addressed by Professor Haluk Gerger, who
outlined the terrible human rights record of Turkey towards the
Kurds. 
     The Turkish authorities have shown a complete unwillingness
to find a peaceful political settlement to the Kurdish issue, he
said. In recent years, 3000 Kurdish villages have been destroyed
and some 3 million Kurds forced to flee their homes and seek
refuge in the squalor of big cities. 
     The war against the Kurds distorts Turkish society, Gerger
said. There is no official recognition of a Kurdish identity.
People cannot criticize government actions for fear of punishment.
There are many political murders. 
     Meanwhile, the millions of dollars spent on the war every
year helps corrupt Turkish institutions and intensifies
militaristic and chauvinist values. 
     Gerger argued that there are close links between Kurdish
self-determination and democracy in Turkey. One cannot be achieved
without the other, he told the meeting. 

(Source: Green Left Weekly #277 - June 4, 1997 -
http://www.peg.apc.org/~greenleft/)


-----------------------------------------------------------------
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 ozgurluk at xs4all.nl  Thu Jun  5 07:53:47 1997
From: ozgurluk at xs4all.nl (ozgurluk at xs4all.nl)
Date: 05 Jun 1997 07:53:47
Subject: Turkey/TDN: HADEP under attack
Message-ID: <bac1c849.m3pvu1gm61.fsf@ozgurluk.xs4all.nl>

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

5 June ,1997, Copyright ? Turkish Daily News

DGM sentences HADEP members

* Akcan sentenced to 22 years in prison for pulling down the flag
 
  _________________________________________________________________
  
Turkish Daily News

Ankara- The Ankara State Security Court (DGM) ruled on Wednesday that
the pro-Kurdish People's Democracy Party (HADEP) had links with the
outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) and also sentenced party
officials and members to prison terms for their part in incidents that
occurred at the HADEP congress last year.

The DGM announced that an indictment to close down the party would be
sent to the Court of Appeals (Yargitay) because of the alleged
connection between HADEP and the PKK.

The case grew out of incidents that occurred during HADEP's second
general congress on June 23 last year, when the Turkish flag was torn
down in view of participants and organizers at the meeting.

Yusuf Alatas, HADEP's attorney, said that the result of the trial was
predictable as the case was completely political. Alatas also said
that they would take the case to the European Court of Human Rights.

  HADEP chairman gets six-year jail term
  
Nearly 30 members of HADEP were sentenced to four years in prison for
"assisting the terrorists." The chairman of the party, Murat Bozlak,
and Hikmet Fidan both received a sentence of six years. Bozlak has
reportedly been abroad for some time.

Faysal Akcan, who was accused of pulling down the flag at the
congress, was sentenced to 22 years in prison. Security officials who
were present in the hall during the party congress will also be
indicted on the grounds that they did not show any objections to the
flag being pulled down, court officials said.

The police arrested the leading members of the party shortly after the
congress last year and the prosecutor brought charges against them.

HADEP was established in 1994 after the Democracy Party (DEP) was
closed by the constitutional court for alleged separatism and 13 of
its deputies were expelled from Parliament. Four DEP members are still
imprisoned for having links with the outlawed PKK.

Britain was the only country that sent an observer to follow the
entire trial.

-- 
Press-Agency Ozgurluk: http://www.xs4all.nl/~ozgurluk
Turkey Contra-Guerrilla-State: http://www.xs4all.nl/~ozgurluk/contrind/
Searchable Database: http://www.xs4all.nl/~ozgurluk/ml.html
Grup Yorum: http://www.ozgurluk.org

From kurd-l at burn.ucsd.edu  Fri Jun  6 08:22:07 1997
From: kurd-l at burn.ucsd.edu (kurd-l at burn.ucsd.edu)
Date: 06 Jun 1997 08:22:07
Subject: PKK Central Committee Press Confere
Message-ID: <bac1c849.Pine.NEB.3.95.970606032..@burn.ucsd.edu>

From: Arm The Spirit <ats at locust.etext.org>
Subject: PKK Central Committee Press Conference

PKK Central Committee Press Conference Concerning Turkey's
Invasion Of South Kurdistan

     Halil Atac, a member of the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK)
Central Committee, held a press conference on June 3, 1997 in
Beirut, Lebanon.
     During the press conference, Mr. Atac, who is an ARGK
(People's Liberation Army of Kurdistan) commander, talked about
the Turkish invasion of South Kurdistan (northern Iraq) and said:
"...There is a similarity between this operation and the past
operations. Yet, there are also differences. Especially in the
technical fields. This attack is carried out within the framework
of the agreement between the USA, Israel, and Turkey. Also, there
is a possibility that Saddam is a part of this agreement and the
aim is to end the existence of the PKK. As you all know, 60
thousand Turkish troops, backed with 450 tanks and armored
vehicles, together with Cobra helicopters and warplanes, invaded
South Kurdistan in collaboration with the KDP. They use the
most developed tools of war..." 
     Mr. Atac has continued and said: "...This operation has
entered into its 19th day, yet the Turkish army has not had any
success. At the moment, they are crippled in a swamp. In my
opinion, this operation did not meet with their aims. The first
week was very important for us. We can say that we were successful
this first week, and now we have entered the second stage of the
war..."
     "...Of course, it is possible for many people to ask
themselves,  How can the guerrilla forces stand against such a
massive scale attack?' One should understand the strength of the
PKK. We have been continuously fighting against the Turkish state
for the last 13 years, and we know how to fight. Today, we are
more experienced and have the possibility to launch much more
successful counter-attacks. The Turkish state is heading towards
liquidation, and that is why they use psychological warfare. We
can conclude that this attack has been unsuccessful. The state's
army claims that they have killed 1,800 guerrillas. If one looks
at the reality, they can see the false victory. We have not
suffered such casualties. The Turkish state has been lying about
the war since the beginning of this invasion. This is her
character, when she faces difficulties..."
     "...The alliance between the USA, Israel, and Turkey is
against the PKK. Today, Israel is in need of Turkey and vice
versa. For this reason , they have made a strategic alliance. This
war is not only against the PKK. In long term, it is against the
people of the Middle East. Israel has waged a war against the
Arabs in the past and Israel now wants to stab the Arabs in the
back..."
     During his speech, Halil Atac has called on the peoples of
the Middle East to unite all their forces in order to increase
their voice for the developments in the region and said:
     "...The problem of the people of the region are linked to the
Kurdish issue and we see the solution of all Middle Eastern issues
as being linked to the solution of the Kurdish question..."
     "...The elimination of the PKK means that the region will
come under the control of the USA, Israel, and Turkey. This will
create a danger both for the Arabs and the region where the war
continues..."
     Halil Atac also spoke of the KDP's support for this operation
and said that this party was in its last days and that the KDP was
betraying the Kurdish people:
     "... The history of the KDP is full of treachery. The KDP is
breathing for the last time, as is Turkey. The village guards, who
have been brought from the north of Kurdistan, are giving up their
weapons and are going back to their homes..."
     "...We will make the withdrawal of the Turkish state more
difficult than its advance into our areas..."
     In the mean time, Halil Atac has also released the results of
the war, both in South and North Kurdistan, for May 1997:

Total number of guerrillas killed: 112 (75 killed in South
Kurdistan and 37 in North Kurdistan)

Total number of soldiers, village guards, and KDP members killed:
791 (including 18 high ranking army officers)

Number of wounded soldiers, village guards, and KDP members: 591

Number of persons joining the guerrilla: 331

Number of destroyed panzers, tanks, and armored vehicles: 13

Number of sorties made involving many war planes: 57

Number of civilians killed as a result of air bombings: 13

Number of weapons, different types, confiscated: 60 (including
ammunition)

Number of helicopters shot down: 4

- On the 17th of May: a Sikorsky shot down near Kirmizi Hill;
- On the 18th of May: a helicopter shot down on Serhat Hill, which
crashed on the borderline;
- On the 18th of May: a Super Cobra helicopter shot down on
Sikefta Birindera Hill;

7 KDP-members have been taken as prisoners of war. 

Questions Raised By Members Of The Press

Q: Is the PUK also giving support to Turkey? 

A: The PUK is keeping its silence. At the beginning, they also
allied with Turkey. However, they have not been involved in the
war until now. And they have a positive approach. We hope this
will develop in the coming days. We are aiming to develop a
National Front in order to fight against treachery.

Q: Will the PKK also carry out attacks against the USA and Israeli
military targets?

A: The USA, Israel, and Turkey are the world's most deadly
terrorist forces. These countries have always attacked the
national liberation struggles of the people around the world.
These countries are in our general targets. If these countries
continue their dirty political games towards our national freedom
struggle, in return they will face the hostility of the Kurdish
people.

     Atac also answered a question in regard to the massacre of
civilians in a hospital in Erbil: "In Erbil, there was a hospital,
an office of the Mesopotamian Cultural Centre, and a press bureau.
The KDP and a so-called  Peace Force' carried out an attack
against these institutions killing 9 unarmed civilians in
cold-blood."
     "...The Turkish state is aiming to eliminate the Kurdish
people. For this reason, Turkish colonialism is far more dangerous
than both British and French colonialism. The USA might approach
in the same manner as she approached Vietnam. We will then
continue a long-term war. Already, their forces are in the swamp
of South Kurdistan..."

Q: Are you planning to carry out attacks against the tourism
sector, as your General Secretary, Mr. Ocalan, claimed?

A: Turkey is spending its tourism income on the dirty war. The
tourism sector is among our military targets. We will not be
responsible for any losses.

(Source: Kurdistan Informatiecentrum, Amsterdam - 
http://www.xs4all.nl/~kicadam/)


-----------------------------------------------------------------
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 ozgurluk at xs4all.nl  Fri Jun  6 11:15:41 1997
From: ozgurluk at xs4all.nl (ozgurluk at xs4all.nl)
Date: 06 Jun 1997 11:15:41
Subject: Turkey: The People's Council in Gazi deals with the problems of the
Message-ID: <bac1c849.m3g1uv7g9m.fsf@ozgurluk.xs4all.nl>

Subject: Turkey: The People's Council in Gazi deals with the problems of the people
From: Press Agency Ozgurluk <ozgurluk at xs4all.nl>


"THE PEOPLE MUST BE SHOWN HOW TO TAKE LEADERSHIP"

"THE PEOPLE'S COUNCIL IN GAZI DEALS WITH THE PROBLEMS OF THE PEOPLE"

FEVZI KURTULUS (Singer and songwriter): "I consider the founding of
the people's council to be very positive because the people will
decide for themselves in the future. The state authorities can not
fulfill the demands of the people. At first it was thought that people
wouldn't agree because of their different views. It very important
when people unite on the basis of common goals. With this organising,
the people will see that their liberation is in their own hands.  Such
organisations should be represented by the revolutionaries. It's very
important not to behave in a sectarian way. People of all religious
creeds and political views should be able to participate, except the
people's enemies. Such people's councils, set up in several areas,
should be united in a central committee in the future. We should speed
up this work and strengthen the power of this structure. This is a
time in which the contra-revolutionaries occupy the most important
state positions. I think it is very important to use the democratic
structures and associations. When the people's council determines the
problems in a neighbourhood, it should be thought that the problems
can be solved at the spot. The activities of the people's council in
Gazi is a concrete example for this. I heard from a friend that the
circumcision festivity, organised by the people's council, has shown
very positive results. There was solidarity between people of
different religious creeds. The work of the people's council, led by
revolutionaries, is a first step towards a democratic people's
power. I support this."

ESAT KORKMAZ (Nefes magazine): "I see it as positive and I regard it
appropriate to establish a council for the people. This should be
expanded to other neighbourhoods as well. It should be presented to
the public because it is a good example. One should report about the
necessity and the initiatives of the council and propose to establish
such councils in other neighbourhoods as well.  When people see that
people's councils are established in such densely populated areas and
that the inhabitants get the right to decide, then the necessity of
such councils will be understood. With building a democratic mass
organisation form the bottom up it is shown to the other organisations
what has to be done.  This is an effective activity. This must be
discussed with them because it is important to reach people with ideas
and words. The people's council is an organ where concrete democracy
is exercised. Everybody has the right to express his opinion and
everybody can participate in taking decisions which are implemented as
well. There is a task to make people remember how to act against the
state or a local administration."

IBRAHIM KARACA (poet): "I see in the people's councils that people try
not to stay passive and alone anymore. It is a community where one
meets daily to address the problems one shares. When we look at the
villages we see that this thought is materialised in village
associations and neighbourhood committees.  When we look at the past
we can see that people always united, based on geographical conditions
and natural disasters. Organisations in the cities develop with the
village structures, although such difficulties do not exist in the
cities. Maybe it has to be that way. The natural cause looks like
this: People are capable to organise their own life. They have to
develop their force to make life easier. These forces should
constitute a pressure against the problems the state does not want to
solve. It's the people which will take the decisions in founding the
people's council because the experience the problems every day
themselves. The people can become its own sovereign. In itself it is a
sign of growing up politically when people discuss their everyday
problems. It is very important not to forget politics from the top to
the bottom. People's committees are a step towards democracy. Based on
cultural, health and social problems, the necessity for the people's
council has to be shown."

METIN CELIK (human rights association representative, IHD-Istanbul):
"People's councils are considered to constitute a solution in many
countries where there is an undemocratic system. People try
initiatives to solve their problems. This discussion is going on in
our country now. The point is that the people have adopted these
organisations and that they support them.  We should look at the
legitimacy, not the legality, of such structures. It's a way of
building a democratic culture when people develop good relations among
each other. People should not think to do things only for themselves,
they should surpass this and embrace one another. This is a very
important success for the future, it should be strengthened and
developed further."

ONER YAGCI (writer): "The people try to save the system on their own
initiative.  We are seeing a concrete example of the fact that
politics are distancing from the people and that the people will have
to take their future into their own hands. Most important is the
political vanguard. It is a hopeful example in our chaotic country
when our peoples build their future under good leadership."

ATAOL BEHRAMOGLU (poet): "It is a necessity and a corner stone for
democracy when the people take their problems into their own hands. In
case the people would not have taken their problems into their own
hands, they would just have remained bystanders and voting cattle. The
real and good development of democracy develops on the organisation of
the different peoples. I saw another example of a people's committee
in Fehiye where the representatives from several associations, parties
and also representatives from official commissions founded an
independent neighbourhood committee. The representatives from several
parties in parliament claim they are at the side of the people but in
fact they are totally isolated from the people. I regard the
organising by the people as positive because the parties have to be
forced to work for the people."

AYDIN ILGAZ (Cinar publications): "Civil organisations have to be set
up in Turkey so people can express their different views in
public. The powers that be have not allowed such organisations till
now. The freedom and the democracy we hope for starts with the freedom
of expression. The word "democracy" was already mentioned by the
ancient Romans and it is still discussed. But sadly I have to say that
we are already in the 20th. century and there is still no democracy in
our country. We have been talking about it since 1940 but it is
obvious that many artists and intellectuals have spent their lives in
prison are were forced out of the country. The powers that be only
want to allow their own views. Peace will begin with releasing the
"thought criminals" from jail. What I mean with the people's councils
is that the people are supported by organisations to realise
policy. The only road to democracy starts with education and culture
and it can only develop with freedom of expression."

SERDAR CETIN (Shop owner in Adana Ziyapasa): "At present the relation
between the people and the government is tense. The government does
not see its tasks, it forms coalitions to protect its position and to
cover its dirty deals. The people concluded that it is up to
themselves to realise the fulfilment of its needs. Therefore the
people of the committees in Gazi and Zuebeyde Hanim came together to
solve their problems of education, health, as well as the social and
cultural ones, in solidarity. Such people's committees should be seen
as an example and they should be set up in the other parts of Turkey
as well. With the uniting and solidarity of the masses, a people's
parliament should be established as an alternative to the Turkish
parliament. I think that such civic organisations have a positive
effect for our country."

FERUDUN OEZKAN (worker): "It's very nice when there is no difference
made between people. We want people's committees all over the
country. I want the people to live in freedom and I do not believe the
government can solve the problems in our neighbourhood. But I really
believe that the people can solve the problems with the people's
committees in solidarity and unison. I want all the oppressed people
to see such people's committees as something. The successes of the
people's committees to be published in the press and on television
because a lot of people have not heard about it. It's really fine that
the people's committee was established. We believe that the people can
solve their problems like in Gazi when they unite and act in
unison. The population of Gazi is living in self-determination. I want
support campaigns all over the country. I wish the people's committee
a lot of success."

RUHAN MAVRUK: "There is a solution for every problem. The people can
solve its solve, using its own dynamics. Gazi is a neighbourhood in
which the Alevites are being oppressed and where the people live under
police repression. That's why all neighbourhoods need renewal among
the people. The most important is to bring the people together. It's a
very important approach for the left groups to gather in an
alternative front. And it is a positive development towards solidarity
because the people in Gazi urgently need the establishment of a
people's council. Peoples of different cultures gather in a people's
council and this will strengthen them against the games of the
capitalists. The people have to be educated further and we have to
ensure that the people can live of their work. I wish that people's
council are set up in other neighbourhoods as well. I call upon all
the artists to co-operate with the development of culture within these
councils."

PEMBE DENIZ (from the neighbourhood of Yurt, a housewife): "When the
people's councils really solve the problems like you say, then they
should be set up in other cities of Turkey as well. When they are
really open to all, this would be a beneficial event. When the
problems of a neighbourhood are being solved by it, and when the
councils are open to all, the people in Gazi have done a really useful
job. The government does not care about us. They are fighting each
other.  The government can not solve our problems. I wish the people's
council a lot of success."

WE WILL PURSUE THE PROBLEM OF ELECTRICITY SUPPLY UNTIL IT IS SOLVED!

Q: You, as the electricity commission of the people's council, have
been working for a while now. To begin with, what kind of electricity
problems are there in your neighbourhood.?

A: The electricity in our neighbourhood is constantly interrupted. The
transformer in our neighbourhood is not sufficient, looking at the
number of people. The cables, as well as the high voltage supply, do
not suffice. That's why there are often interruptions and the
electricity is cut off, harming the small merchants and craftsmen. The
employers can not even accept enough orders to pay the workers. They
can not serve their clients in time. That's why this is so harmful to
us. Electric machines in the houses break down. Families without a
high income, can not afford new machines. The electricity in our
neighbourhood is interrupted more and more. so the people react
because they want these problems solved.

Q: What work have you done as a commission?

A: To begin with we invited the small merchants to our meeting. Some
200 small merchants attended. We discussed how we could solve these
problems. After we formed a commission we decided to visit the area
director of the TEK (the Turkish Electricity Institute). We went there
as a commission and talked to the responsible person. We spoke about
our precarious situation and informed us about their work. This visit
was then evaluated during the meeting of the people's council. We
started a petition and decided to make a second visit. In a short time
we gathered more than 2000 signatures. We went to the TEK again and
this time we spoke to the director. There were also individual people
who talked about this issue. But because we went there as a commission
we were able to convince them this was a serious and urgent issue. The
director saw we would not give up. He invited the merchants into his
room and told them he would address the problem. He promised they
would build a transformer as soon as possible. We set an ultimatum of
4 weeks for this.

Q: Were there results after your visit?

A: Yes, we were able to achieve a result. The transformer for Zuebeyde
Hanim, for which we had waited for a year, was finished. The building
of 2 transformers in Gazi is still going on, but the power
interruptions in Gazi have become less frequent.

Q: What has to be done to solve the electricity problem completely?

A: We will see an improvement when the two transformers are
finished. But more transformers will have to be build because our
neighbourhood is becoming bigger and bigger. The cables should be
placed underground, or isolated, because they are not protected
against the rain. This causes a lot of damages as well. The high
voltage cables should be joint between Davutpasa and
Yesilpinar. Davutpasa is a large area and this causes problems as
well. We want to solve this. We will continue our work as a
commission, together with the people. When our report is finished, we
will present it to the city council.

Mehmet Karagoez, a member of the sports commission, informs us about
his work: "We will address sports with a new spirit."

Q: What have you done as the sports commission of the people's council
and how will you go on?

A: There are many youngsters in our neighbourhood. We have no sport
clubs or facilities, the youngsters are playing in the streets. In the
winter, they can not play because there are no indoor facilities. But
the number of billiard-halls and Gameboy-halls increases. That's why
we decided to established a sporting club with a new spirit. We
decided this in the people's council and we had a meeting with the
clubs in our neighbourhood. We met with the representatives of
Bueyuekkoey, Igdelikoey, Cavdarkoey, Dogu Spor and the Youth
Association Club and we decided we would set up a strong club which
would represent our neighbourhood. Every club selected a
representative. We will address the sports department and the city to
get rid of the existing obstacles.


Q: You mentioned "a new spirit", what do you mean by that?

A: When we say "sport", people usually think about football. We want
to organise other sports as well, for example athletics, table tennis,
basketball, volleyball etcetera. Furthermore we want to get rid of the
idea that only men can be active in sports, we want the women to
participate as well. We want all to participate. We want tournaments
to be organised in which the young, as well as the elderly,
participate. Our people should be no mere bystanders, watchers.  They
should be active as well. We are doing sports for the benefit of our
health, for solidarity and dignity. We want to keep away sports from
alcohol, gambling, drugs and other negative influences. We set up
rules for this.

An opinion about the people's council in Gazi: "It's normal for Gazi
to set the example."

DENIZ TEZTEL (Cumhuriyet): "Our population is a population which fears
organising. Probably we are afraid that the political organisations
want to dominate them. The education of our families and the
government made us fear organising. Besides, after the coup of
September 1980 it became punishable to be a member of an
organisation. When we mention the word "organisation", they say to us:
"This is outside the legal organisation. "The DISK (Revolutionary
Workers Unions Confederation", for example, was declared illegal after
the coup, although it was an important union organisation at the
time. Political parties were labelled illegal organisations. Although
16 years have passed since the military coup, we are still afraid to
express our view - even in parliament.  Under these circumstances, we
are of course afraid to be organised. But rights and freedom can only
be gained by organising. A physician, a student, a journalist, a
worker or an inhabitant of a neighbourhood can not push through his or
her rights alone. The people's council is a step in the right
direction to secure the rights of the people in Gazi and Zuebeyde
Hanim. The inhabitants of these neighbourhoods have realised the most
difficult steps. But they still have a difficult job to do. Some label
the people's committee as an unlawful organisation. Some say: "It will
do us no good". Of course these are the people who know about the
strength of organising and they are afraid of this. These are their
words. With the attempt to get rid of such political thoughts, the
people's committees have set a difficult task for themselves. The
first chapter of the people's council's regulations shows how
difficult it will be. It states that all matters have to be discussed
to reach a decision and that the council is an organisation which does
not make a difference on the basis of religion, beliefs and origin. It
is a democratic association. I hope the people's council does not make
the same mistake as other democratic organisations. I hope the
people's council will not build committees for every small detail and
has endless discussions without any outcome. I also hope that those
who realise that they are not making any contribution step out of
it. The decisions should be taken to put pressure on the state. I hope
that all associations who work for rights and freedom support the
people's council, in stead of resisting it."

HALUK GERGER (journalist and writer): "It is up to the people to
organise those who do not succeed on their own, or who do not want to
get organised. At present there is a organisational crisis among the
ruling classes in Turkey. But the revolutionaries do not take
initiatives to solve the people's problems. Every structure which
represents an initiative for the people, is revolutionary. Gazi is a
neighbourhood in which a people's council was formed which uses the
expressions "Free Istanbul" and "Free Turkey". It should be considered
to be completely natural that the first example stems from Gazi."

MUNZUR PEKGUELEC (chairman of the DISK-Leather Branch): "We want to
express that the unorganised people are slaves, they should become a
strong force. This organisation should be aimed against the serious
oppression, because we know that the powers that be defend their
position with violence. Such organisations should be established
everywhere. I support the people's council in Gazi because it was
formed, based on the problems which were witnessed there. I believe
that these efforts will be of a benefit for the people in case they
are applied consciously and purposeful."

-- 
Press-Agency Ozgurluk: http://www.xs4all.nl/~ozgurluk
Turkey Contra-Guerrilla-State: http://www.xs4all.nl/~ozgurluk/contrind/
Searchable Database: http://www.xs4all.nl/~ozgurluk/ml.html
Grup Yorum: http://www.xs4all.nl/~ozgurluk/gyindex.html

From kurd-l at burn.ucsd.edu  Fri Jun 13 09:08:18 1997
From: kurd-l at burn.ucsd.edu (kurd-l at burn.ucsd.edu)
Date: 13 Jun 1997 09:08:18
Subject: Turkey: The People's Council in Gazi deals with the problems of the
References: <bac1c849.m3g1uv7g9m.fsf@ozgurluk.xs4all.nl>
Message-ID: <bac1c849.Pine.NEB.3.95.970613040..@burn.ucsd.edu>

From: Arm The Spirit <ats at locust.etext.org>
Subject: Turkey: The People's Council In Gazi Deals With The Problems Of The People

"The People Must Be Shown How To Take Leadership"

The People's Council In Gazi Deals With The Problems Of The People

FEVZI KURTULUS (singer and songwriter): "I consider the founding
of the people's council to be very positive because the people
will decide for themselves in the future. The state authorities
can not fulfill the demands of the people. At first it was thought
that people wouldn't agree because of their different views. It
very important when people unite on the basis of common goals.
With this organizing, the people will see that their liberation is
in their own hands. Such organizations should be represented by
the revolutionaries. It's very important not to behave in a
sectarian way. People of all religious creeds and political views
should be able to participate, except the people's enemies. Such
people's councils, set up in several areas, should be united in a
central committee in the future. We should speed up this work and
strengthen the power of this structure. This is a time in which
the contra-revolutionaries occupy the most important state
positions. I think it is very important to use the democratic
structures and associations. When the people's council determines
the problems in a neighborhood, it should be thought that the
problems can be solved at the spot. The activities of the people's
council in Gazi is a concrete example for this. I heard from a
friend that the circumcision festivity, organized by the people's
council, has shown very positive results. There was solidarity
between people of different religious creeds. The work of the
people's council, led by revolutionaries, is a first step towards
a democratic people's power. I support this."

ESAT KORKMAZ (Nefes magazine): "I see it as positive and I regard
it appropriate to establish a council for the people. This should
be expanded to other neighborhoods as well. It should be presented
to the public because it is a good example. One should report
about the necessity and the initiatives of the council and propose
to establish such councils in other neighborhoods as well.  When
people see that people's councils are established in such densely
populated areas and that the inhabitants get the right to decide,
then the necessity of such councils will be understood. With
building a democratic mass organization form the bottom up it is
shown to the other organizations what has to be done. This is an
effective activity. This must be discussed with them because it is
important to reach people with ideas and words. The people's
council is an organ where concrete democracy is exercised.
Everybody has the right to express his opinion and everybody can
participate in taking decisions which are implemented as well.
There is a task to make people remember how to act against the
state or a local administration."

IBRAHIM KARACA (poet): "I see in the people's councils that people
try not to stay passive and alone anymore. It is a community where
one meets daily to address the problems one shares. When we look
at the villages we see that this thought is materialized in
village associations and neighborhood committees. When we look at
the past we can see that people always united based on
geographical conditions and natural disasters. Organizations in
the cities develop with the village structures, although such
difficulties do not exist in the cities. Maybe it has to be that
way. The natural cause looks like this: People are capable to
organize their own life. They have to develop their force to make
life easier. These forces should constitute a pressure against the
problems the state does not want to solve. It's the people which
will take the decisions in founding the people's council because
the experience the problems every day themselves. The people can
become its own sovereign. In itself it is a sign of growing up
politically when people discuss their everyday problems. It is
very important not to forget politics from the top to the bottom.
People's committees are a step towards democracy. Based on
cultural, health and social problems, the necessity for the
people's council has to be shown."

METIN CELIK (Human Rights Association representative,
IHD-Istanbul): "People's councils are considered to constitute a
solution in many countries where there is an undemocratic system.
People try initiatives to solve their problems. This discussion is
going on in our country now. The point is that the people have
adopted these organizations and that they support them.  We should
look at the legitimacy, not the legality, of such structures. It's
a way of building a democratic culture when people develop good
relations among each other. People should not think to do things
only for themselves, they should surpass this and embrace one
another. This is a very important success for the future, it
should be strengthened and developed further."

ONER YAGCI (writer): "The people try to save the system on their
own initiative.  We are seeing a concrete example of the fact that
politics are distancing from the people and that the people will
have to take their future into their own hands. Most important is
the political vanguard. It is a hopeful example in our chaotic
country when our peoples build their future under good
leadership."

ATAOL BEHRAMOGLU (poet): "It is a necessity and a corner stone for
democracy when the people take their problems into their own
hands. In case the people would not have taken their problems into
their own hands, they would just have remained bystanders and
voting cattle. The real and good development of democracy develops
on the organization of the different peoples. I saw another
example of a people's committee in Fehiye where the
representatives from several associations, parties, and also
representatives from official commissions founded an independent
neighborhood committee. The representatives from several
parties in parliament claim they are at the side of the people but
in fact they are totally isolated from the people. I regard the
organizing by the people as positive because the parties have to
be forced to work for the people."

AYDIN ILGAZ (Cinar publications): "Civil organizations have to be
set up in Turkey so people can express their different views in
public. The powers that be have not allowed such organizations
until now. The freedom and the democracy we hope for starts with
the freedom of expression. The word 'democracy' was already
mentioned by the ancient Romans and it is still discussed. But
sadly I have to say that we are already in the 20th century and
there is still no democracy in our country. We have been talking
about it since 1940 but it is obvious that many artists and
intellectuals have spent their lives in prison or were forced out
of the country. The powers that be only want to allow their own
views. Peace will begin with releasing the 'thought criminals'
from jail. What I mean with the people's councils is that the
people are supported by organizations to realize policy. The only
road to democracy starts with education and culture and it can
only develop with freedom of expression."

SERDAR CETIN (shop owner in Adana Ziyapasa): "At present, the
relation between the people and the government is tense. The
government does not see its tasks, it forms coalitions to protect
its position and to cover its dirty deals. The people concluded
that it is up to themselves to realize the fulfilment of its
needs. Therefore the people of the committees in Gazi and Zuebeyde
Hanim came together to solve their problems of education, health,
as well as the social and cultural ones, in solidarity. Such
people's committees should be seen as an example and they should
be set up in the other parts of Turkey as well. With the uniting
and solidarity of the masses, a people's parliament should be
established as an alternative to the Turkish parliament. I think
that such civic organizations have a positive effect for our
country."

FERUDUN OEZKAN (worker): "It's very nice when there is no
difference made between people. We want people's committees all
over the country. I want the people to live in freedom and I do
not believe the government can solve the problems in our
neighborhood. But I really believe that the people can solve the
problems with the people's committees in solidarity and unison. I
want all the oppressed people to see such people's committees as
something. The successes of the people's committees needs to be
published in the press and on television because a lot of people
have not heard about it. It's really fine that the people's
committee was established. We believe that the people can
solve their problems like in Gazi when they unite and act in
unison. The population of Gazi is living in self-determination. I
want support campaigns all over the country. I wish the people's
committee a lot of success."

RUHAN MAVRUK: "There is a solution for every problem. The people
can solve its problems using its own dynamics. Gazi is a
neighborhood in which the Alevites are being oppressed and where
the people live under police repression. That's why all
neighborhoods need renewal among the people. The most important is
to bring the people together. It's a very important approach for
the left groups to gather in an alternative front. And it is a
positive development towards solidarity because the people in Gazi
urgently need the establishment of a people's council. Peoples of
different cultures gather in a people's council and this will
strengthen them against the games of the capitalists. The people
have to be educated further and we have to ensure that the people
can live off their work. I hope that people's council are set up
in other neighborhoods as well. I call upon all the artists to
co-operate with the development of culture within these
councils."

PEMBE DENIZ (from the neighborhood of Yurt, a housewife): "When
the people's councils really solve the problems like you say, then
they should be set up in other cities of Turkey as well. When they
are really open to all, this would be a beneficial event. When the
problems of a neighborhood are being solved by it, and when the
councils are open to all, the people in Gazi have done a really
useful job. The government does not care about us. They are
fighting each other. The government can not solve our problems. I
wish the people's council a lot of success."

We Will Pursue The Problem Of Electricity Supply Until It Is
Solved!

Q: You, as the electricity commission of the people's council,
have been working for a while now. To begin with, what kind of
electricity problems are there in your neighborhood?

A: The electricity in our neighborhood is constantly interrupted.
The transformer in our neighborhood is not sufficient, looking at
the number of people. The cables, as well as the high voltage
supply, do not suffice. That's why there are often interruptions
and the electricity is cut off, harming the small merchants and
craftsmen. The employers cannot even accept enough orders to pay
the workers. They cannot serve their clients in time. That's why
this is so harmful to us. Electric machines in the houses break
down. Families without a high income cannot afford new machines.
The electricity in our neighborhood is interrupted more and more.
So the people reacted because they want these problems solved.

Q: What work have you done as a commission?

A: To begin with we invited the small merchants to our meeting.
Some 200 small merchants attended. We discussed how we could solve
these problems. After we formed a commission we decided to visit
the area director of the TEK (the Turkish Electricity Institute).
We went there as a commission and talked to the responsible
person. We spoke about our precarious situation and they informed
us about their work. This visit was then evaluated during the
meeting of the people's council. We started a petition and decided
to make a second visit. In a short time we gathered more than
2,000 signatures. We went to the TEK again and this time we spoke
to the director. There were also individual people who talked
about this issue. But because we went there as a commission we
were able to convince them this was a serious and urgent issue.
The director saw we would not give up. He invited the merchants
into his room and told them he would address the problem. He
promised they would build a transformer as soon as possible. We
set an ultimatum of 4 weeks for this.

Q: Were there results after your visit?

A: Yes, we were able to achieve a result. The transformer for
Zuebeyde Hanim, for which we had waited for a year, was finished.
The building of 2 transformers in Gazi is still going on, but the
power interruptions in Gazi have become less frequent.

Q: What has to be done to solve the electricity problem
completely?

A: We will see an improvement when the two transformers are
finished. But more transformers will have to be built because our
neighborhood is becoming bigger and bigger. The cables should be
placed underground, or isolated, because they are not protected
against the rain. This causes a lot of damages as well. The high
voltage cables should be joint between Davutpasa and Yesilpinar.
Davutpasa is a large area and this causes problems as well. We
want to solve this. We will continue our work as a commission,
together with the people. When our report is finished, we
will present it to the city council.

"We Will Address Sports With A New Spirit!

Mehmet Karagoez, a member of the sports commission, informs us
about his work.

Q: What have you done as the sports commission of the people's
council and how will you go on?

A: There are many youngsters in our neighborhood. We have no sport
clubs or facilities, the youngsters are playing in the streets. In
the winter, they cannot play because there are no indoor
facilities. But the number of billiard halls and game arcades
increases. That's why we decided to established a sporting club
with a new spirit. We decided this in the people's council and we
had a meeting with the clubs in our neighborhood. We met with the
representatives of Bueyuekkoey, Igdelikoey, Cavdarkoey, Dogu Spor,
and the Youth Association Club and we decided we would set up a
strong club which would represent our neighborhood. Every club
selected a representative. We will address the sports department
and the city to get rid of the existing obstacles.

Q: You mentioned "a new spirit". What do you mean by that?

A: When we say "sport", people usually think about soccer. We want
to organize other sports as well, for example athletics, table
tennis, basketball, volleyball, etc. Furthermore, we want to get
rid of the idea that only men can be active in sports. We want the
women to participate as well. We want all to participate. We want
tournaments to be organized in which the young, as well as the
elderly, participate. Our people should not be mere bystanders,
watchers. They should be active as well. We are doing sports for
the benefit of our health, for solidarity, and for dignity. We
want to keep away sports from alcohol, gambling, drugs, and other
negative influences. We set up rules for this.

It's Normal For Gazi To Set The Example

An opinion about the people's council in Gazi.

DENIZ TEZTEL (Cumhuriyet): "Our population is a population which
fears organizing. Probably we are afraid that the political
organizations want to dominate them. The education of our families
and the government made us fear organizing. Besides, after the
coup of September 1980, it became punishable to be a member of an
organization. When we mention the word 'organization', they say to
us: 'This is outside the legal organization.' The DISK
(Revolutionary Workers' Unions Confederation), for example, was
declared illegal after the coup, although it was an important
union organization at the time. Political parties were labeled
illegal organizations. Although 16 years have passed since the
military coup, we are still afraid to express our views - even in
parliament. Under these circumstances, we are of course afraid to
be organized. But rights and freedoms can only be gained by
organizing. A physician, a student, a journalist, a worker, or an
inhabitant of a neighborhood cannot push through his or
her rights alone. The people's council is a step in the right
direction to secure the rights of the people in Gazi and Zuebeyde
Hanim. The inhabitants of these neighborhoods have realized the
most difficult steps. But they still have a difficult job to do.
Some label the people's committee as an unlawful organization.
Some say: 'It will do us no good.' Of course these are the people
who know about the strength of organizing and they are afraid of
this. These are their words. With the attempt to get rid of such
political thoughts, the people's committees have set a difficult
task for themselves. The first chapter of the people's council's
regulations shows how difficult it will be. It states that all
matters have to be discussed to reach a decision and that the
council is an organization which does not make a difference on the
basis of religion, beliefs, or ethnic origin. It is a democratic
association. I hope the people's council does not make the same
mistake as other democratic organizations. I hope the people's
council will not build committees for every small detail and has
endless discussions without any outcome. I also hope that those
who realize that they are not making any contribution step out of
it. The decisions should be taken to put pressure on the state. I
hope that all associations who work for rights and freedom support
the people's council instead of resisting it."

HALUK GERGER (journalist and writer): "It is up to the people to
organize those who do not succeed on their own, or who do not want
to get organized. At present there is a organizational crisis
among the ruling classes in Turkey. But the revolutionaries do not
take initiatives to solve the people's problems. Every structure
which represents an initiative for the people is revolutionary.
Gazi is a neighborhood in which a people's council was formed
which uses the expressions 'Free Istanbul' and 'Free Turkey'. It
should be considered to be completely natural that the first
example stems from Gazi."

MUNZUR PEKGUELEC (chairman of the DISK-Leather Branch): "We want
to express that the unorganized people are slaves, they should
become a strong force. This organization should be aimed against
the serious oppression, because we know that the powers that be
defend their position with violence. Such organizations should be
established everywhere. I support the people's council in Gazi
because it was formed based on the problems which were witnessed
there. I believe that these efforts will be of a benefit for the
people if they are applied consciously and purposeful."

-- 
Press-Agency Ozgurluk: http://www.xs4all.nl/~ozgurluk
Turkey Contra-Guerrilla-State:
http://www.xs4all.nl/~ozgurluk/contrind/
Searchable Database: http://www.xs4all.nl/~ozgurluk/ml.html
Grup Yorum: http://www.xs4all.nl/~ozgurluk/gyindex.html


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



From ozgurluk at xs4all.Nl  Sun Jun  8 12:33:31 1997
From: ozgurluk at xs4all.Nl (ozgurluk at xs4all.Nl)
Date: 08 Jun 1997 12:33:31
Subject: Turkey/Israel: Israel, Turkey to jointly produce 'Popeye' missile
Message-ID: <bac1c849.m33eqs29gj.fsf@ozgurluk.xs4all.nl>

Subject: Turkey/Israel: Israel, Turkey to jointly produce 'Popeye' missile
From: Press Agency Ozgurluk <ozgurluk at xs4all.Nl>

## > *Weiterleitung aus /CL/NAHOST/PALAESTINA*
## >
## >      Nachricht erstellt am 06.06.97 von G.LANGE at LINK-GOE.de
## >
>*************************************************************************




       *Israel, Turkey to jointly produce 'Popeye' missile*

 HAIFA (AFP) - Israel and Turkey have agreed to jointly produce a
 sophisticated air-to-ground missile in a deal worth around $100
 million, officials said Sunday.

 The Popeye II missile would be a smaller and more advanced version
 of Israel's existing Popeye I missile and should be ready for
 delivery in about three years, said Noah Shahar, a spokesman for
 the Israeli state defense contractor Rafael.

 The new missile is expected to have a range of about 150 kilometres.

 Turkey has already purchased 50 Popeye I missiles to equip a fleet
 of F-4 fighterjets currently being upgraded by Israel aircraft in-
 dustries, Rafael's mother company.

 "The first stage of the project was to sell the Turks the Popeye I
 for their F-4s which are being upgraded," Mr. Shahar told AFP.
 "There is now an understanding with two Turkish firms to continue
 the production of the Popeye II jointly."

 News of the deal came two weeks after Turkish Defence Minister
 Turhan Tayan and the deputy chief of Turkey's army, General Cevik
 Bir, made separate visits to Israel in the latest sign of growing
 military cooperation between the two states.

 During Gen. Bir's visit, Israel, Turkey and the United States
 agreed to organise joint naval manoeuvres in the Mediterranean
 later this year.

 Turkey's Islamist prime minister, Necmettin Erbakan, who has tried
 to put the brakes on military ties with Israel since coming to power
 last year, announced last week that the joint navy manoeuvres had
 been indefinitely postponed.

 But he was quickly overruled by the staunchly secular military and
 defence establishment in Turkey.

Jordan Times, 19. 5. 97

                                * * *


  A WRITER for Al Dustour called  for an Egyptian-Iranian-Syrian
  alliance to counter the emerging power of  the Turkish-Israeli
  alliance which is clearly directed  against the  Arab Nation's
  interests. Yasser Zaatreh said  that the Arab alliance  should
  enlist the backing of Russia and China in warding  off the Is-
  raeli-Turkish  threat  and must seek help  from  the  European
  Union to have more say in the Middle  East affairs rather than
  leave the arena for the Americans. The  writer  said the  Tur-
  kish-Israeli alliance seeks to  force Syria to stop  demanding
  the  return  of  its  occupied territories  and to curtail the
  rising power of Iran, a project that is being implemented with
  Washington's backing and blessings. The Turkish premier should
  not appear  to  be part of  this conspiracy and should give up
  the present Turkish government coalition  and  so stop the de-
  terioration  in  his  Islamic  party's  credibility,  demanded
  the writer. He said that by being in the opposition ranks, the
  Islamists  would  be  in  a  stronger position to  counter the
  army's moves and its alliance with the Jewish state.

Jordan Times, 18. 5. 97

                              * * * * *
## CrossPoint v3.02 ##


-- 
Press-Agency Ozgurluk: http://www.xs4all.nl/~ozgurluk
Turkey Contra-Guerrilla-State: http://www.xs4all.nl/~ozgurluk/contrind/
Searchable Database: http://www.xs4all.nl/~ozgurluk/ml.html
Grup Yorum: http://www.xs4all.nl/~ozgurluk/gyindex.html

From kurd-l at burn.ucsd.edu  Mon Jun  9 05:21:19 1997
From: kurd-l at burn.ucsd.edu (kurd-l at burn.ucsd.edu)
Date: 09 Jun 1997 05:21:19
Subject: HADEP Under Attack
Message-ID: <bac1c849.Pine.NEB.3.95.970609001..@burn.ucsd.edu>

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

Court Sentences HADEP Members;
Akcan Sentenced To 22 Years In Prison For Pulling Down Turkish
Flag

     Ankara - The Ankara State Security Court (DGM) ruled on
Wednesday that the pro-Kurdish People's Democracy Party (HADEP)
had links with the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) and
also sentenced party officials and members to prison terms for
their part in incidents that occurred at the HADEP congress last
year.
     The DGM announced that an indictment to close down the party
would be sent to the Court of Appeals (Yargitay) because of the
alleged connection between HADEP and the PKK.
     The case grew out of incidents that occurred during HADEP's
second general congress on June 23 last year, when the Turkish
flag was torn down in view of participants and organizers at the
meeting.
     Yusuf Alatas, HADEP's attorney, said that the result of the
trial was predictable as the case was completely political. Alatas
also said that they would take the case to the European Court of
Human Rights.
     Nearly 30 members of HADEP were sentenced to four years in
prison for "assisting the terrorists." The chairman of the party,
Murat Bozlak, and Hikmet Fidan both received a sentence of six
years. Bozlak has reportedly been abroad for some time.
     Faysal Akcan, a youth was accused of pulling down the flag at
the congress, was sentenced to 22 years in prison. Security
officials who were present in the hall during the party congress
will also be indicted on the grounds that they did not show any
objections to the flag being pulled down, court officials said.
     The police arrested the leading members of the party shortly
after the congress last year and the prosecutor brought charges
against them.
     HADEP was established in 1994 after the Democracy Party (DEP)
was closed by the constitutional court for alleged separatism and
13 of its deputies were expelled from Parliament. Four DEP members
are still imprisoned for having links with the outlawed PKK.
     Britain was the only country that sent an observer to follow
the entire trial.

(Source: Turkish Daily News, June 5, 1997)

-- 
Press-Agency Ozgurluk: http://www.xs4all.nl/~ozgurluk
Turkey Contra-Guerrilla-State:
http://www.xs4all.nl/~ozgurluk/contrind/
Searchable Database: http://www.xs4all.nl/~ozgurluk/ml.html
Grup Yorum: http://www.ozgurluk.org

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



From kurd-l at burn.ucsd.edu  Mon Jun  9 05:22:02 1997
From: kurd-l at burn.ucsd.edu (kurd-l at burn.ucsd.edu)
Date: 09 Jun 1997 05:22:02
Subject: Turkey Says Kurds Hit Two Helicopte
Message-ID: <bac1c849.Pine.NEB.3.95.970609002..@burn.ucsd.edu>

From: Arm The Spirit <ats at locust.etext.org>
Subject: Turkey Says Kurds Hit Two Helicopters With Missiles

Turkey Says Kurds Hit Two Helicopters With Missiles 

June 6, 1997

     ANKARA, June 6 (Reuter) - A Turkish military spokesman said
on Friday that Kurdish rebels had used sophisticated anti-aircraft
missiles to shoot down two army helicopters on a mission in
northern Iraq.
     General Erol Ozkasnak said the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK)
rebels had for the first time gained access to such weaponry, from
countries which Turkey accuses of supporting the rebels. 
     "This is the first time two of our helicopters have been shot
down," Ozkasnak told reporters at a news conference broadcast on
live television. 
     Ozkasnak said the separatist PKK rebels had used SA-7
missiles to bring down a Cougar troop carrier, with 11 officers
and soldiers on board, earlier this week, and a second, smaller
Super-Cobra attack helicopter on May 18. 
     His comments marked the first public confirmation by the
military of PKK claims they had successfully deployed mobile
anti-aircraft missiles against Turkish forces. 
     "Since 1992, the PKK has wanted to get hold of SA-7
missiles...We have informed the foreign ministry five times that
primarily the governments of Iran, Syria, Armenia, Greece and
Cyprus have been providing the terrorist organization with these
weapons," Ozkasnak.
     "This is a serious danger to the Turkish armed forces."
     Ozkasnak, the military headquarters general secretary, said
the rebels were believed to have some 50-60 of the Russian-made
weapons in the northern Iraq region. 
     Thousands of Turkish troops, backed by air power, poured into
northern Iraq on May 14 in a big cross-border operation against
bases of the PKK, fighting for independence or autonomy in
southeast Turkey. 
     The military spokesman said 2,252 guerrillas had been killed
in the operation and an array of armaments captured. Ninety-five
Turkish security force members have been killed and 244
wounded, he said. 
     The rebels put losses by the army and its Iraqi Kurd allies
at almost 800 men.
     The PKK has ordered 2,500 guerrillas to head for the
mountainous border areas from the Arbil region of northern Iraq,
Syria, Iran and Europe, according to Ozkasnak. He said the
operation would continue until the rebel presence in the region
was destroyed. 
     The incursion has been conducted under a news blackout,
making independent confirmation of reports impossible. 
     The operation has attracted condemnation from the Arab League
secretariat and a demand that Turkish forces withdraw immediately.
Some of NATO-member Turkey's Western allies and the United Nations
secretary-general have criticized the operation. 
     Security officials said on Friday the Turkish armed forces
killed 27 PKK rebels in separate clashes in eastern Turkey. It did
not say when the clashes took place. 
     The emergency rule governor's office in the southeastern city
of Diyarbakir said the guerrillas were killed in fighting in the
provinces of Van, Bingol, Sirnak and Tunceli. 
     More than 24,000 people have died in 13 years of conflict
between the security forces and the rebels. 

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



From kurd-l at burn.ucsd.edu  Tue Jun 10 01:21:45 1997
From: kurd-l at burn.ucsd.edu (kurd-l at burn.ucsd.edu)
Date: 10 Jun 1997 01:21:45
Subject: An Announcement From AKIN
Message-ID: <bac1c849.Pine.NEB.3.95.970609201..@burn.ucsd.edu>

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

Dear Friends,

Our book, Free Leyla Zana!, finally is finished and now is on line.  
Check our page to download it! 

We ask that you take a look at it.  A copy of the letter to President 
Clinton by four members of the House is now circulating in the United 
States Congress. We ask that you contact your representatives to call 
either Marie Reitmann of Congresswoman Furse (202.225.0855) or Kelley 
Currie of Congressman Porter (202.225.4835) to register their support for 
this initative.  

We thank you for your interest in the Kurds.

AKIN


----
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 Press  Tue Jun 10 04:45:34 1997
From: Press (Press)
Date: 10 Jun 1997 04:45:34
Subject: CIA in Turkey
Message-ID: <bac1c849.m0wbP8H.001ATlC@ozgurluk.xs4all.nl>

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


The following report was sent to us by email. We don't have any clues
regarding sources but we decided to publish it anyway because of the
main contents

Magazin GEHEIM/ TOP SECRET Magazine
Redaktion/Editorial
c/o Michael Opperskalski
Postfach (P.O.Box) 270324 in 50509 K?LN
BR Deutschland - Germany
Tel: 49-(0)221-175755 (& Fax)
FAX: 49-(0)221-1703980 (& Mailbox, letter box No.1)
E-Mail (Att.: M.Opperskalski): 106612.2257 at compuserve.com

Press Release No. 3/97

CIA in Turkey

US foreign policy, both overt and covert, is administered through what
is known as the country team concept. This country team, nominally
headed by the Ambassador, is composed of the highest-ranking Foreign
Service Officer within a given country, including the CIA's Chief of
Station (COS). His job is to concretize the often vague platitudes
issued by Washington. The CIA's role in all this, of course, is the
implementation of clandestine aspects of foreign policy, a role that
has been unquestioned until today.

Bureaucratically speaking, the Agency's clandestine network at the
covert operations it sprawns operate under the Directorate of
Operations - better known as Clandestine Services - section of the
Central Intelligence Agency. Two of the Agency's other three
Directorates, Management and Services, and Science and Technology, are
largely used by Clandestine Services. The key figures, at least in an
operational sense, within the CIA infrastructure are known as Chief of
Stations (COS). Usually located within the US embassy compound, Chiefs
of Station are charged with maintaining, creating, and exploring the
infrastructure within a given country. CIA intelligence within
political parties, civic associations, student groups, labor unions,
media, the military, and other government agencies can accurately be
described as a web with the Chief of Station at its center.

The Department of State usually provides the COS and other CIA
personnel with cover stories, hiding them among real Foreign Service
officers, and providing them with diplomatic immunity. In many
countries, CIA personnel are found in the US Embassy's 'political'
section.

The range of covert actions available to the CIA is limitless where a
strong infrastructure exists; it can even include such 'simple'
exercises as spray painting rightwing slogans on walls. Most actions
are approved by staff within the Directorate of Operations, with only
the larger and more expensive ones going to the National Security
Council (NSC) or the Forty Committee for approval. Two categories of
covert operations exist: Psychological Warfare and Paramilitary
Operations. Psychological Warfare Actions, as defined by former CIA
officer Philip Agee, include propaganda (also known simply as media),
work in youth and student organizations, work in labor organizations
(trade unions etc.), work in professional and cultural groups and in
political parties. He goes on to define paramilitary sabotage as
infiltration into denied areas, sabotage, economic warfare, personal
herassment, air and maritime support, weaponry, training and support
for small armies.

The world-wide infrastructure maintained by the CIA intervenes in the
affairs of other nations on a daily basis, not from time to time as
the National Security Council may direct.

In Turkey the CIA cooperates closely with the ruthless
"Counterguerilla forces", the Turkish intelligence network (especially
MIT) and the army in order to suppress the progressive, democratic and
revolutionary forces and furthermore wage a systematic warfare against
the Kurdish national movement. This cooperation includes - from the
CIA' side - the lecturing of torture methods, collecting strategic
information - internally and externally - on the progressive,
democratic and revolutionary forces in Turkey and the Kurdish national
movement. Therefore the CIA network in Turkey can be seen as a corner
stone of the extreme reactionary and repressive anti-democratic regime
in Turkey serving US-interests in the region.

CIA agents in Turkey working under diplomatic cover

Embassy in Ankara
Clunan, James L.
Turkey 1996
most probably CIA's Chief of Station; liaison to "Counterguerilla
Forces"


McKennan, John B.
Turkey 1996
Liaison to MIT

Turner, Hugh J. jr
Turkey 1996


Representative of the US military intelligence service (DIA), also
with strong links to the "Counterguerilla Forces", involved in the
warfare against the Kurdish national movement:


Maj. Gen. John Welde
Turkey 1996

US consulate in Istanbul
Dion, Jerrold Mark
Portugal 1961-64; Malaysia 1964-66;Indonesia 1970-73; Turkey 1996
Most probably CIA's Chief of Base

Mack, Evelyn M.
Turkey 1996

Harmon, William R.
Turkey 1996

Terpstra, Donald
Turkey 1996

US consulate in Adana
Pennington, Joseph S.
Turkey 1996

From ozgurluk at xs4all.nl  Tue Jun 10 11:21:03 1997
From: ozgurluk at xs4all.nl (ozgurluk at xs4all.nl)
Date: 10 Jun 1997 11:21:03
Subject: ANTIFA INFO-BULLETIN, Grey Wolves International Terror Network
Message-ID: <bac1c849.m3bu5e5sit.fsf@ozgurluk.xs4all.nl>

Subject: ANTIFA INFO-BULLETIN, Grey Wolves International Terror Network
From: Press Agency Ozgurluk <ozgurluk at xs4all.nl>

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        |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
        |||                                           |||
        |||             A  N  T  I  F  A              |||
        |||                                           |||
        |||   I  N  F  O  -  B  U  L  L  E  T  I  N   |||
        |||                   _____                   |||
        |||                                           |||
        |||  * News * Analysis * Research * Action *  |||
        |||                                           |||
        |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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                              *****
 
||/\|/\|/\|/\|/\|/\|/\|/\|/\|/\|/\|/\|/\|/\|/\|/\|/\|/\|/\||/\||  
|| * --  SPECIAL --  *  -- June 10, 1997 -- * -- EDITION -- * ||
||\/|\/|\/|\/|\/|\/|\/|\/|\/|\/|\/|\/|\/|\/|\/|\/|\/|\/|\/||\/||
               
 
                       * SPECIAL EDITION *
                              _____
_________________________________________________________________
 
                `TURKEY: A CONTRA-GUERRILLA STATE'
_________________________________________________________________
 
                                *
 
          * THE CONSORTIUM FOR INDEPENDENT JOURNALISM *
       http://www.delve.com/consort/archive/consort1.html
 
 * Vol. 2, No. 14 (issue 40) - Washington, D.C. - June 16, 1997 *
 
                              -----
_________________________________________________________________
 
          ON THE TRAIL OF TURKEY'S TERRORIST GREY WOLVES
_________________________________________________________________
 
                         By Martin A. Lee
   
   
     In broad daylight on May 2, 50 armed men set upon a
television station in Istanbul with gunfire. The attackers
unleashed a fusillade of bullets and shouted slogans supporting
Turkey's Deputy Prime Minister Tansu Ciller.
   
     The gunmen were outraged over the station's broadcast of a
TV report critical of Ciller, a close U.S. ally who had come
under criticism for stonewalling investigations into collusion
between state security forces and Turkish criminal elements.
   
     Miraculously, no one was injured in the attack, but the
headquarters of Independent Flash TV were left pock-marked with
bullet-holes and smashed windows. The gunfire also sent an
unmistakable message to Turkish journalists and legislators:
don't challenge Ciller and other high-level Turkish officials
when they cover up state secrets.
   
     For several months, Turkey had been awash in dramatic
disclosures connecting high Turkish officials to the right-wing
Grey Wolves, the terrorist band which has preyed on the region
for years. In 1981, a terrorist from the Grey Wolves attempted to
assassinate Pope John Paul II in Vatican City.
   
     But at the center of the mushrooming Turkish scandal is
whether Turkey, a strategically placed NATO country, allowed
mafiosi and right-wing extremists to operate death squads and to
smuggle drugs with impunity. A Turkish parliamentary commission
is investigating these new charges.
   
     The rupture of state secrets in Turkey also could release
clues to other major Cold War mysteries. Besides the attempted
papal assassination, the Turkish disclosures could shed light on
the collapse of the Vatican bank in 1982 and the operation of a
clandestine pipeline that pumped sophisticated military hardware
into the Middle East -- apparently from NATO stockpiles in Europe
-- in exchange for heroin sold by the Mafia in the United States.
   
     The official Turkish inquiry was triggered by what could
have been the opening scene of a spy novel: a dramatic car crash
on a remote highway near the village of Susurluk, 100 miles
southwest of Istanbul. On Nov. 3, 1996, three people were crushed
to death when their speeding black Mercedes hit a tractor and
overturned. The crash killed Husseyin Kocadag, a top police
official who commanded Turkish counter-insurgency units.
   
     But it was Kocadag's company that stunned the nation. The
two other dead were Abdullah Catli, a convicted fugitive who was
wanted for drug trafficking and murder, and Catli's girlfriend,
Gonca Us, a Turkish beauty queen turned mafia hit-woman. A fourth
occupant, who survived the crash, was Kurdish warlord Sedat
Bucak, whose militia had been armed and financed by the Turkish
government to fight Kurdish separatists.
   
     At first, Turkish officials claimed that the police were
transporting two captured criminals. But evidence seized at the
crash site indicated that Abdullah Catli, the fugitive gangster,
had been given special diplomatic credentials by Turkish
authorities. Catli was carrying a government-approved weapons
permit and six ID cards, each with a different name. Catli also
possessed several handguns, silencers and a cache of narcotics,
not the picture of a subdued criminal.
   
     When it became obvious that Catli was a police collaborator,
not a captive, the Turkish Interior Minister resigned. Several
high-ranking law enforcement officers, including Istanbul's
police chief, were suspended. But the red-hot scandal soon
threatened to jump that bureaucratic firebreak and endanger the
careers of other senior government officials.
   
 
GREY WOLVES TERROR
 
     The news of Catli's secret police ties were all the more
scandalous given his well-known role as a key leader of the Grey
Wolves, a neo-fascist terrorist group that has stalked Turkey
since the late 1960s. A young tough who wore black leather pants
and looked like Turkey's answer to Elvis Presley, Catli graduated
from street gang violence to become a brutal enforcer for the
Grey Wolves. He rose quickly within their ranks, emerging as
second-in-command in 1978. That year, Turkish police linked him
to the murder of seven trade-union activists and Catli went
underground.
   
     Three years later, the Grey Wolves gained international
notoriety when Mehmet Ali Agca, one of Catli's closest
collaborators, shot and nearly killed Pope John Paul II in St.
Peter's Square on May 13, 1981. Catli was the leader of a
fugitive terrorist cell that included Agca and a handful of other
Turkish neo-fascists.
   
     Testifying in September 1985 as a witness at the trial of
three Bulgarians and four Turks charged with complicity in the
papal shooting in Rome, Catli (who was not a defendant) disclosed
that he gave Agca the pistol that wounded the pontiff. Catli had
previously helped Agca escape from a Turkish jail, where Agca was
serving time for killing a national newspaper editor. In addition
to harboring Agca, Catli supplied him with fake IDs and directed
Agca's movements in West Germany, Switzerland, and Austria for
several months prior to the papal attack.
   
     Catli enjoyed close links to Turkish drug mafiosi, too. His
Grey Wolves henchmen worked as couriers for the Turkish mob boss
Abuzer Ugurlu. At Ugurlu's behest, Catli's thugs criss-crossed
the infamous smugglers' route passing through Bulgaria. Those
routes were the ones favored by smugglers who reportedly carried
NATO military equipment to the Middle East and returned with
loads of heroin.
   
     Judge Carlo Palermo, an Italian magistrate based in Trento,
discovered these smuggling operations while investigating arms-
and-drug trafficking from Eastern Europe to Sicily. Palermo
disclosed that large quantities of sophisticated NATO weaponry --
including machine guns, Leopard tanks and U.S.-built Cobra
assault helicopters -- were smuggled from Western Europe to
countries in the Middle East during the 1970s and early 1980s.
   
     According to Palermo's investigation, the weapon delivers
were often made in exchange for consignments of heroin that
filtered back, courtesy of the Grey Wolves and other smugglers,
through Bulgaria to northern Italy. There, the drugs were
received by Mafia middlemen and transported to North America.
Turkish morphine base supplied much of the Sicilian-run "Pizza
connection," which flooded the U.S. and Europe with high-grade
heroin for several years.
   
     [While it is still not clear how the NATO supplies entered
the pipeline, other investigations have provided some clues.
Witnesses in the October Surprise inquiry into an alleged
Republican-Iranian hostage deal in 1980 claimed that they were
allowed to select weapons from NATO stockpiles in Europe for
shipment to Iran.
   
     [Iranian arms dealer Houshang Lavi claimed that he selected
spare parts for Hawk anti-aircraft batteries from NATO bases
along the Belgian-German border. Another witness, American arms
broker William Herrmann, corroborated Lavi's account of NATO
supplies going to Iran.
   
     [Even former NATO commander Alexander Haig confirmed that
NATO supplies could have gone to Iran in the early 1980s while he
was secretary of state. "It wouldn't be preposterous if a nation,
Germany, for example, decided to let some of their NATO
stockpiles be diverted to Iran," Haig said in an interview. For
more details, see Robert Parry's Trick or Treason.]
   
 
A VATICAN MYSTERY
 
     Italian magistrates described the network they had uncovered
as the "world's biggest illegal arms trafficking organization."
They linked it to Middle Eastern drug empires and to prestigious
banking circles in Italy and Europe. At the center of this
operation, it appeared, was an obscure import-export firm in
Milan called Stibam International Transport. The head of Stibam,
a Syrian businessman named Henri Arsan, also functioned as an
informant for the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, according
to several Italian news outlets.
   
     With satellite offices in New York, London, Zurich, and
Sofia, Bulgaria, Stibam officials recycled their profits through
Banco Ambrosiano, Italy's largest private bank which had close
ties to the Vatican until its sensational collapse in 1982. The
collapse of Banco Ambrosiano came on the heels of the still
unsolved death of its furtive president, Roberto Calvi, whose
body was found hanging underneath Blackfriar's Bridge in London
in June 1982. While running Ambrosiano, Calvi, nicknamed "God's
banker," served as advisor to the Vatican's extensive fiscal
portfolio.
   
     At the same time in the mid- and late 1970s, Calvi's bank
handled most of Stibam's foreign currency transactions and owned
the building that housed Stibam's Milanese headquarters. In
effect, the Vatican Bank -- by virtue of its interlocking
relationship with Banco Ambrosiano -- was fronting for a gigantic
contraband operation that specialized in guns and heroin.
   
     The bristling contraband operation that traversed Bulgaria
was a magnet for secret service agents on both sides of the Cold
War divide. Crucial, in this regard, was the role of Kintex, a
Sofia-based, state-controlled import-export firm that worked in
tandem with Stibam and figured prominently in the arms trade.
Kintex was riddled with Bulgarian and Soviet spies -- a fact
which encouraged speculation that the KGB and its Bulgarian
proxies were behind the plot against the pope.
   
     But Western intelligence also had its hooks into the
Bulgarian smuggling scene, as evidenced by the CIA's use of
Kintex to channel weapons to the Nicaraguan contras in the early
1980s.
   
     The Reagan administration jumped on the papal assassination
attempt as a propaganda opportunity, rather than helping to
unravel the larger mystery. Although the CIA's link to the arms-
for-drugs traffic in Bulgaria was widely known in espionage
circles, hard-line U.S. and Western European officials promoted
instead a bogus conspiracy theory that blamed the papal shooting
on a communist plot.
   
     The so-called "Bulgarian connection" became one of the more
effective disinformation schemes hatched during the Reagan era.
It reinforced the notion of the Soviet Union as an evil empire.
But the apparent hoax also diverted attention from extensive --
and potentially embarrassing -- ties between U.S. intelligence
and Turkey's narco-trafficking ultra-right.
   
     Fabrication of the conspiracy theory might have even
involved suborning perjury. During his September 1985 court
testimony in Rome, Catli asserted that he had been approached by
the West German BND spy organization, which allegedly promised
him a large sum of money if he implicated the Bulgarian secret
service and the KGB in the attempt on the pope's life.
   
     Five years later, ex-CIA analyst Melvin A. Goodman disclosed
that his colleagues, under pressure from CIA higher-ups, skewed
their reports to try to lend credence to the contention that the
Soviets were involved. "The CIA had no evidence linking the KGB
to the plot," Goodman told the Senate Intelligence Committee.
   
 
FRIENDS OF THE WOLVES
 
     Duane "Dewey" Clarridge, the CIA station chief in Rome at
the time of the papal shooting, had previously been posted in
Ankara. Clarridge was the CIA's man-on-the-spot in Turkey in the
1970s when armed bands of Grey Wolves unleashed a wave of bomb
attacks and shootings that killed thousands of people, including
public officials, journalists, students, lawyers, labor
organizers, social democrats, left-wing activists and ethnic
Kurds. [In his 1997 memoirs, A Spy for All Seasons, Clarridge
makes no reference to the Turkish unrest or to the pope
shooting.]
   
     During those violent 1970s, the Grey Wolves operated with
the encouragement and protection of the Counter-Guerrilla
Organization, a section of the Turkish Army's Special Warfare
Department. Headquartered in the U.S. Military Aid Mission
building in Ankara, the Special Warfare Department received funds
and training from U.S. advisors to create "stay behind" squads
comprised of civilian irregulars. They were supposed to go
underground and engage in acts of sabotage if the Soviets
invaded.
   
     Similar Cold War paramilitary units were established in
every NATO member state, covering all non-Communist Europe like a
spider web that would entangle Soviet invaders. But instead of
preparing for foreign enemies, U.S.-sponsored stay-behind
operatives in Turkey and several European countries used their
skills to attack domestic opponents and foment violent disorders.
Some of those attacks were intended to spark right-wing military
coups.
   
     In the late 1970s, former military prosecutor and Turkish
Supreme Court Justice Emin Deger documented collaboration between
the Grey Wolves and the government's counter-guerrilla forces as
well as the close ties of the latter to the CIA. Turkey's
Counter-Guerrilla Organization handed out weapons to the Grey
Wolves and other right-wing terrorist groups. These shadowy
operations mainly engaged in the surveillance, persecution and
torture of Turkish leftists, according to retired army commander
Talat Turhan, the author of three books on counter-guerrilla
activities in Turkey.
   
     But the extremists launched one wave of political violence
which provoked a 1980 coup by state security forces that deposed
Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit. The Turkish security forces cited
the need to restore order which had been shattered by rightist
terrorist groups secretly sponsored by those same state security
forces.
   
 
COLD WAR ROOTS
 
     Since the earliest days of the Cold War, Turkey's strategic
importance derived from its geographic position as the West's
easternmost bulwark against Soviet communism. In an effort to
weaken the Soviet state, the CIA also used pan-Turkish militants
to incite anti-Soviet passions among Muslim Turkish minorities
inside the Soviet Union, a strategy that strengthened ties
between U.S. intelligence and Turkey's ultra-nationalists.
   
     Though many of Turkish ultra-nationalists were anti-Western
as well as anti-Soviet, the Cold War realpolitik compelled them
to support a discrete alliance with NATO and U.S. intelligence.
Among the Turkish extremists collaborating in this anti-Soviet
strategy were the National Action Party and its paramilitary
youth group, the Grey Wolves.
   
     Led by Colonel Alpaslan Turkes, the National Action Party
espoused a fanatical pan-Turkish ideology that called for
reclaiming large sections of the Soviet Union under the flag of a
reborn Turkish empire. Turkes and his revanchist cohorts had been
enthusiastic supporters of Hitler during World War II. "The
Turkish race above all others" was their Nazi-like credo. In a
similar vein, Grey Wolf literature warned of a vast Jewish-
Masonic-Communist conspiracy and its newspapers carried ads for
Turkish translations of Nazi texts.
   
     The pan-Turkish dream and its anti-Soviet component also
fueled ties between the Grey Wolves and the Anti-Bolshevik Bloc
of Nations (ABN), a CIA-backed coalition led by erstwhile fascist
collaborators from East Europe. Ruzi Nazar, a leading figure in
the Munich-based ABN, had a long-standing relationship with the
CIA and the Turkish ultra-nationalists. In the 1950s and 1960s,
Nazar was employed by Radio Free Europe, a CIA-founded propaganda
effort.
   
     When the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991, the shifting
geopolitical terrain created new opportunities -- political and
financial -- for Colonel Turkes and his pan-Turkish crusaders.
After serving a truncated prison term in the 1980s for his role
in masterminding the political violence that convulsed Turkey,
Turkes and several of his pan-Turkish colleagues were permitted
to resume their political activities.
   
     In 1992, the colonel visited his long lost Turkish brothers
in newly independent Azerbaijan and received a hero's welcome. In
Baku, Turkes endorsed the candidacy of Grey Wolf sympathizer
Abulfex Elcibey, who was subsequently elected president of
Azerbaijan and appointed a close Grey Wolf ally as his Interior
Minister.
   
 
THE GANG RETURNS
 
     By this time, Abdullah Catli was also back in circulation
after several years of incarceration in France and Switzerland
for heroin trafficking. In 1990, he escaped from a Swiss jail
cell and rejoined the neo-fascist underground in Turkey.
   
     Despite his documented links to the papal shooting and other
terrorist attacks, Catli was pressed into service as a death
squad organizer for the Turkish government's dirty war against
the Kurds who have long struggled for independence inside both
Turkey and Iraq. Turkish Army spokesmen acknowledged that the
Counter-Guerrilla Organization (renamed the Special Forces
Command in 1992) was involved in the escalating anti-Kurdish
campaign.
   
     Turkey got a wink and a nod from Washington as a quid pro
quo for cooperating with the United States during the Gulf War.
Turkish jets bombed Kurdish bases inside Iraqi territory.
Meanwhile, on the ground, anti-Kurdish death squads were
assassinating more than 1,000 non-combatants in southeastern
Turkey. Hundreds of other Kurds "disappeared" while in police
custody. Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International and the
European Parliament all condemned the Turkish security forces for
these abuses.
   
     Still, there was no hard evidence that Turkey's security
forces had recruited criminal elements as foot soldiers. That
evidence surfaced only on Nov. 3, 1996, when Catli' died in the
fateful auto accident near Susurluk. Strewn amidst the roadside
wreckage was proof of what many journalists and human rights
activists had long suspected -- that successive Turkish
governments had protected narco-traffickers, sheltered terrorists
and sponsored gangs of killers to suppress Turkish dissidents and
Kurdish rebels.
   
     Colonel Turkes confirmed that Catli had performed
clandestine duties for Turkey's police and military. "On the
basis of my state experience, I admit that Catli has been used by
the state," said Turkes. Catli had been cooperating "in the
framework of a secret service working for the good of the state,"
Turkes insisted.
   
     U.S.-backed Turkish officials, including Tansu Ciller, Prime
Minister from 1993-1996, also defended Catli after the car crash.
"I don't know whether he is guilty or not," Ciller stated, "but
we will always respectfully remember those who fire bullets or
suffer wounds in the name of this country, this nation and this
state."
   
     Eighty members of the Turkish parliament have urged the
federal prosecutor to file charges of criminal misconduct against
Ciller, who currently serves as Turkey's Foreign Minister, as
well as Deputy Prime Minister. They asserted that the Susurluk
incident provided Turkey "with a historic opportunity to expose
unsolved murders and the drugs and arms smuggling that have been
going on in our country for years."
   
     The scandal momentarily reinvigorated the Turkish press,
which unearthed revelations about criminals and police officials
involved in the heroin trade. But journalists also have been
victims of death squads in recent years. The violent attack on
Independent Flash TV was a reminder. Prosecutors have faced
pressure, too, from superiors who are not eager to delve into
state secrets. Thus far, no charges have been lodged against
Ciller.
   
     Across the Atlantic in Washington, the U.S. government has
yet to acknowledge any responsibility for the Turkish
Frankenstein that U.S. Cold War strategy helped to create. When
asked about the Susurluk affair, a State Department spokesperson
said it was "an internal Turkish matter." He declined further
comment.
 
                                *
   
     Martin A. Lee's book on neo-fascism, The Beast Reawakens,
     will be published by Little, Brown in July.
   
     (c) Copyright 1997
 
                              -----
 
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                                *
 
    [AFIB EDITOR'S NOTE: For archival materials from a multitude
     of sources documenting the "Susurluk Affair" and its
     implications for Turkey's "contra-guerrilla state" please
     visit the web links listed below. Press Agency Ozgurluk is
     an excellent resource! For material on "Operation Gladio"
     and the creation of right-wing death squads within the
     context of NATO's "stay behind" anticommunist European
     network, visit the searchable database of "STATEWATCH". 
 
     For additional material on "Gladio" and the state-
     security/fascist convergence, see: Henrik Kruger, "The Great
     Heroin Coup: Drugs, Intelligence & International Fascism,"
     1980, Boston, South End Press; Stuart Christie, "Stefano
     Delle Chaiaie: Portrait of a Black Terrorist," 1984, London,
     Refract Press; Michael McClintock, "Instruments of
     Statecraft: U.S. Guerrilla Warfare, Counterinsurgency,
     Counterterrorism," 1992, Pantheon Books, New York; Serdar
     Celik, "Turkey's Killing Machine: The Contra-Guerrilla
     Force," Kurdistan Report #17, February - March 1994,
     <http://burn.ucsd.edu/~ats>; Arthur E. Rowse, "Gladio: The
     Secret U.S. War to Subvert Italian Democracy," CovertAction
     Quarterly, Washington, D.C., Summer 1994, Number 49; for the
     role of "Gladio" players in the Argentine "dirty war" see,
     Martin Edward Andersen, "Dossier Secreto: Argentina's
     Desaparecidos and the Myth of the `Dirty War,'" 1993,
     Westview Press, Boulder]
 
                                *
 
                       PRESS AGENCY OZGURLUK:
                   http://www.xs4all.nl/~ozgurluk
                  TURKEY - CONTRA-GUERRILLA STATE:          
              http://www.xs4all.nl/~ozgurluk/contrind/
                         SEARCHABLE DATABASE:
               http://www.xs4all.nl/~ozgurluk/ml.html
                 GRUP YORUM: http://www.ozgurluk.org
 
                                *
 
                            STATEWATCH:
              http://www.poptel.org.uk/htbin/dbsearch/
 
 
*              *              *              *              *
 
                    ANTIFA INFO-BULLETIN (AFIB)
                        750 La Playa # 730
                  San Francisco, California 94121
                  E-Mail:  tburghardt at igc.apc.org
 
     On PeaceNet visit ANTIFA INFO-BULLETIN on pol.right.antifa
     or by gopher --> gopher://gopher.igc.apc.org:7021/11/europe
 
     On PeaceNet visit BACORR's <women.clinicdefense> conference. 
     For subscription information e-mail Wendi Jones,
     wjones at igc.org
 
     AFIB & BACORR text files can also be found on the following
     sites:
                           
                         ARM THE SPIRIT
 WWW:gopher://locust.cic.net:70/11/politics/Arm.The.Spirit/BACORR
     FTP: ftp.etext.org --> /pub/politics/Arm.The.Spirit/BACORR
     FTP: ftp.etext.org -->
     /pub/politics/Arm.The.Spirit/Antifa/Antifa.Info-Bulletin
 
          INSTITUTE FOR ALTERNATIVE JOURNALISM (AlterNet)
             http://www.alternet.org/an/demworks/html
          gopher://gopher.igc.apc.org:70/00/orgs/alternet
 
     +:+:+:+:+:+:+:+:+:+:+:+:+:+:+:+:+:+:+:+:+:+:+:+:+:+:+:+:+:+
     +:        A N T I F A   I N F O - B U L L E T I N        +:
     :+                                                       :+
     +:          NEWS * ANALYSIS * RESEARCH * ACTION          +:
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          ++++ stop the execution of Mumia Abu-Jamal ++++
   ++++ if you agree copy these 3 sentences in your own sig ++++
  ++++ see: http://www.xs4all.nl/~tank/spg-l/sigaction.htm ++++



-- 
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 kurd-l at burn.ucsd.edu  Tue Jun 10 23:18:47 1997
From: kurd-l at burn.ucsd.edu (kurd-l at burn.ucsd.edu)
Date: 10 Jun 1997 23:18:47
Subject: ANTIFA INFO-BULLETIN, Grey Wolves International Terror Network
References: <bac1c849.m3bu5e5sit.fsf@ozgurluk.xs4all.nl>
Message-ID: <bac1c849.Pine.NEB.3.95.970610180..@burn.ucsd.edu>

From: Arm The Spirit <ats at locust.etext.org>
Subject: ANTIFA INFO-BULLETIN, Grey Wolves International Terror Network

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|| * --  SPECIAL --  *  -- June 10, 1997 -- * -- EDITION -- * ||
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                       * SPECIAL EDITION *
                              _____
_________________________________________________________________
 
                `TURKEY: A CONTRA-GUERRILLA STATE'
_________________________________________________________________
 
                                *
 
          * THE CONSORTIUM FOR INDEPENDENT JOURNALISM *
       http://www.delve.com/consort/archive/consort1.html
 
 * Vol. 2, No. 14 (issue 40) - Washington, D.C. - June 16, 1997 *
 
                              -----
_________________________________________________________________
 
          ON THE TRAIL OF TURKEY'S TERRORIST GREY WOLVES
_________________________________________________________________
 
                         By Martin A. Lee
   
   
     In broad daylight on May 2, 50 armed men set upon a
television station in Istanbul with gunfire. The attackers
unleashed a fusillade of bullets and shouted slogans supporting
Turkey's Deputy Prime Minister Tansu Ciller.
   
     The gunmen were outraged over the station's broadcast of a
TV report critical of Ciller, a close U.S. ally who had come
under criticism for stonewalling investigations into collusion
between state security forces and Turkish criminal elements.
   
     Miraculously, no one was injured in the attack, but the
headquarters of Independent Flash TV were left pock-marked with
bullet-holes and smashed windows. The gunfire also sent an
unmistakable message to Turkish journalists and legislators:
don't challenge Ciller and other high-level Turkish officials
when they cover up state secrets.
   
     For several months, Turkey had been awash in dramatic
disclosures connecting high Turkish officials to the right-wing
Grey Wolves, the terrorist band which has preyed on the region
for years. In 1981, a terrorist from the Grey Wolves attempted to
assassinate Pope John Paul II in Vatican City.
   
     But at the center of the mushrooming Turkish scandal is
whether Turkey, a strategically placed NATO country, allowed
mafiosi and right-wing extremists to operate death squads and to
smuggle drugs with impunity. A Turkish parliamentary commission
is investigating these new charges.
   
     The rupture of state secrets in Turkey also could release
clues to other major Cold War mysteries. Besides the attempted
papal assassination, the Turkish disclosures could shed light on
the collapse of the Vatican bank in 1982 and the operation of a
clandestine pipeline that pumped sophisticated military hardware
into the Middle East -- apparently from NATO stockpiles in Europe
-- in exchange for heroin sold by the Mafia in the United States.
   
     The official Turkish inquiry was triggered by what could
have been the opening scene of a spy novel: a dramatic car crash
on a remote highway near the village of Susurluk, 100 miles
southwest of Istanbul. On Nov. 3, 1996, three people were crushed
to death when their speeding black Mercedes hit a tractor and
overturned. The crash killed Husseyin Kocadag, a top police
official who commanded Turkish counter-insurgency units.
   
     But it was Kocadag's company that stunned the nation. The
two other dead were Abdullah Catli, a convicted fugitive who was
wanted for drug trafficking and murder, and Catli's girlfriend,
Gonca Us, a Turkish beauty queen turned mafia hit-woman. A fourth
occupant, who survived the crash, was Kurdish warlord Sedat
Bucak, whose militia had been armed and financed by the Turkish
government to fight Kurdish separatists.
   
     At first, Turkish officials claimed that the police were
transporting two captured criminals. But evidence seized at the
crash site indicated that Abdullah Catli, the fugitive gangster,
had been given special diplomatic credentials by Turkish
authorities. Catli was carrying a government-approved weapons
permit and six ID cards, each with a different name. Catli also
possessed several handguns, silencers and a cache of narcotics,
not the picture of a subdued criminal.
   
     When it became obvious that Catli was a police collaborator,
not a captive, the Turkish Interior Minister resigned. Several
high-ranking law enforcement officers, including Istanbul's
police chief, were suspended. But the red-hot scandal soon
threatened to jump that bureaucratic firebreak and endanger the
careers of other senior government officials.
   
 
GREY WOLVES TERROR
 
     The news of Catli's secret police ties were all the more
scandalous given his well-known role as a key leader of the Grey
Wolves, a neo-fascist terrorist group that has stalked Turkey
since the late 1960s. A young tough who wore black leather pants
and looked like Turkey's answer to Elvis Presley, Catli graduated
from street gang violence to become a brutal enforcer for the
Grey Wolves. He rose quickly within their ranks, emerging as
second-in-command in 1978. That year, Turkish police linked him
to the murder of seven trade-union activists and Catli went
underground.
   
     Three years later, the Grey Wolves gained international
notoriety when Mehmet Ali Agca, one of Catli's closest
collaborators, shot and nearly killed Pope John Paul II in St.
Peter's Square on May 13, 1981. Catli was the leader of a
fugitive terrorist cell that included Agca and a handful of other
Turkish neo-fascists.
   
     Testifying in September 1985 as a witness at the trial of
three Bulgarians and four Turks charged with complicity in the
papal shooting in Rome, Catli (who was not a defendant) disclosed
that he gave Agca the pistol that wounded the pontiff. Catli had
previously helped Agca escape from a Turkish jail, where Agca was
serving time for killing a national newspaper editor. In addition
to harboring Agca, Catli supplied him with fake IDs and directed
Agca's movements in West Germany, Switzerland, and Austria for
several months prior to the papal attack.
   
     Catli enjoyed close links to Turkish drug mafiosi, too. His
Grey Wolves henchmen worked as couriers for the Turkish mob boss
Abuzer Ugurlu. At Ugurlu's behest, Catli's thugs criss-crossed
the infamous smugglers' route passing through Bulgaria. Those
routes were the ones favored by smugglers who reportedly carried
NATO military equipment to the Middle East and returned with
loads of heroin.
   
     Judge Carlo Palermo, an Italian magistrate based in Trento,
discovered these smuggling operations while investigating arms-
and-drug trafficking from Eastern Europe to Sicily. Palermo
disclosed that large quantities of sophisticated NATO weaponry --
including machine guns, Leopard tanks and U.S.-built Cobra
assault helicopters -- were smuggled from Western Europe to
countries in the Middle East during the 1970s and early 1980s.
   
     According to Palermo's investigation, the weapon delivers
were often made in exchange for consignments of heroin that
filtered back, courtesy of the Grey Wolves and other smugglers,
through Bulgaria to northern Italy. There, the drugs were
received by Mafia middlemen and transported to North America.
Turkish morphine base supplied much of the Sicilian-run "Pizza
connection," which flooded the U.S. and Europe with high-grade
heroin for several years.
   
     [While it is still not clear how the NATO supplies entered
the pipeline, other investigations have provided some clues.
Witnesses in the October Surprise inquiry into an alleged
Republican-Iranian hostage deal in 1980 claimed that they were
allowed to select weapons from NATO stockpiles in Europe for
shipment to Iran.
   
     [Iranian arms dealer Houshang Lavi claimed that he selected
spare parts for Hawk anti-aircraft batteries from NATO bases
along the Belgian-German border. Another witness, American arms
broker William Herrmann, corroborated Lavi's account of NATO
supplies going to Iran.
   
     [Even former NATO commander Alexander Haig confirmed that
NATO supplies could have gone to Iran in the early 1980s while he
was secretary of state. "It wouldn't be preposterous if a nation,
Germany, for example, decided to let some of their NATO
stockpiles be diverted to Iran," Haig said in an interview. For
more details, see Robert Parry's Trick or Treason.]
   
 
A VATICAN MYSTERY
 
     Italian magistrates described the network they had uncovered
as the "world's biggest illegal arms trafficking organization."
They linked it to Middle Eastern drug empires and to prestigious
banking circles in Italy and Europe. At the center of this
operation, it appeared, was an obscure import-export firm in
Milan called Stibam International Transport. The head of Stibam,
a Syrian businessman named Henri Arsan, also functioned as an
informant for the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, according
to several Italian news outlets.
   
     With satellite offices in New York, London, Zurich, and
Sofia, Bulgaria, Stibam officials recycled their profits through
Banco Ambrosiano, Italy's largest private bank which had close
ties to the Vatican until its sensational collapse in 1982. The
collapse of Banco Ambrosiano came on the heels of the still
unsolved death of its furtive president, Roberto Calvi, whose
body was found hanging underneath Blackfriar's Bridge in London
in June 1982. While running Ambrosiano, Calvi, nicknamed "God's
banker," served as advisor to the Vatican's extensive fiscal
portfolio.
   
     At the same time in the mid- and late 1970s, Calvi's bank
handled most of Stibam's foreign currency transactions and owned
the building that housed Stibam's Milanese headquarters. In
effect, the Vatican Bank -- by virtue of its interlocking
relationship with Banco Ambrosiano -- was fronting for a gigantic
contraband operation that specialized in guns and heroin.
   
     The bristling contraband operation that traversed Bulgaria
was a magnet for secret service agents on both sides of the Cold
War divide. Crucial, in this regard, was the role of Kintex, a
Sofia-based, state-controlled import-export firm that worked in
tandem with Stibam and figured prominently in the arms trade.
Kintex was riddled with Bulgarian and Soviet spies -- a fact
which encouraged speculation that the KGB and its Bulgarian
proxies were behind the plot against the pope.
   
     But Western intelligence also had its hooks into the
Bulgarian smuggling scene, as evidenced by the CIA's use of
Kintex to channel weapons to the Nicaraguan contras in the early
1980s.
   
     The Reagan administration jumped on the papal assassination
attempt as a propaganda opportunity, rather than helping to
unravel the larger mystery. Although the CIA's link to the arms-
for-drugs traffic in Bulgaria was widely known in espionage
circles, hard-line U.S. and Western European officials promoted
instead a bogus conspiracy theory that blamed the papal shooting
on a communist plot.
   
     The so-called "Bulgarian connection" became one of the more
effective disinformation schemes hatched during the Reagan era.
It reinforced the notion of the Soviet Union as an evil empire.
But the apparent hoax also diverted attention from extensive --
and potentially embarrassing -- ties between U.S. intelligence
and Turkey's narco-trafficking ultra-right.
   
     Fabrication of the conspiracy theory might have even
involved suborning perjury. During his September 1985 court
testimony in Rome, Catli asserted that he had been approached by
the West German BND spy organization, which allegedly promised
him a large sum of money if he implicated the Bulgarian secret
service and the KGB in the attempt on the pope's life.
   
     Five years later, ex-CIA analyst Melvin A. Goodman disclosed
that his colleagues, under pressure from CIA higher-ups, skewed
their reports to try to lend credence to the contention that the
Soviets were involved. "The CIA had no evidence linking the KGB
to the plot," Goodman told the Senate Intelligence Committee.
   
 
FRIENDS OF THE WOLVES
 
     Duane "Dewey" Clarridge, the CIA station chief in Rome at
the time of the papal shooting, had previously been posted in
Ankara. Clarridge was the CIA's man-on-the-spot in Turkey in the
1970s when armed bands of Grey Wolves unleashed a wave of bomb
attacks and shootings that killed thousands of people, including
public officials, journalists, students, lawyers, labor
organizers, social democrats, left-wing activists and ethnic
Kurds. [In his 1997 memoirs, A Spy for All Seasons, Clarridge
makes no reference to the Turkish unrest or to the pope
shooting.]
   
     During those violent 1970s, the Grey Wolves operated with
the encouragement and protection of the Counter-Guerrilla
Organization, a section of the Turkish Army's Special Warfare
Department. Headquartered in the U.S. Military Aid Mission
building in Ankara, the Special Warfare Department received funds
and training from U.S. advisors to create "stay behind" squads
comprised of civilian irregulars. They were supposed to go
underground and engage in acts of sabotage if the Soviets
invaded.
   
     Similar Cold War paramilitary units were established in
every NATO member state, covering all non-Communist Europe like a
spider web that would entangle Soviet invaders. But instead of
preparing for foreign enemies, U.S.-sponsored stay-behind
operatives in Turkey and several European countries used their
skills to attack domestic opponents and foment violent disorders.
Some of those attacks were intended to spark right-wing military
coups.
   
     In the late 1970s, former military prosecutor and Turkish
Supreme Court Justice Emin Deger documented collaboration between
the Grey Wolves and the government's counter-guerrilla forces as
well as the close ties of the latter to the CIA. Turkey's
Counter-Guerrilla Organization handed out weapons to the Grey
Wolves and other right-wing terrorist groups. These shadowy
operations mainly engaged in the surveillance, persecution and
torture of Turkish leftists, according to retired army commander
Talat Turhan, the author of three books on counter-guerrilla
activities in Turkey.
   
     But the extremists launched one wave of political violence
which provoked a 1980 coup by state security forces that deposed
Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit. The Turkish security forces cited
the need to restore order which had been shattered by rightist
terrorist groups secretly sponsored by those same state security
forces.
   
 
COLD WAR ROOTS
 
     Since the earliest days of the Cold War, Turkey's strategic
importance derived from its geographic position as the West's
easternmost bulwark against Soviet communism. In an effort to
weaken the Soviet state, the CIA also used pan-Turkish militants
to incite anti-Soviet passions among Muslim Turkish minorities
inside the Soviet Union, a strategy that strengthened ties
between U.S. intelligence and Turkey's ultra-nationalists.
   
     Though many of Turkish ultra-nationalists were anti-Western
as well as anti-Soviet, the Cold War realpolitik compelled them
to support a discrete alliance with NATO and U.S. intelligence.
Among the Turkish extremists collaborating in this anti-Soviet
strategy were the National Action Party and its paramilitary
youth group, the Grey Wolves.
   
     Led by Colonel Alpaslan Turkes, the National Action Party
espoused a fanatical pan-Turkish ideology that called for
reclaiming large sections of the Soviet Union under the flag of a
reborn Turkish empire. Turkes and his revanchist cohorts had been
enthusiastic supporters of Hitler during World War II. "The
Turkish race above all others" was their Nazi-like credo. In a
similar vein, Grey Wolf literature warned of a vast Jewish-
Masonic-Communist conspiracy and its newspapers carried ads for
Turkish translations of Nazi texts.
   
     The pan-Turkish dream and its anti-Soviet component also
fueled ties between the Grey Wolves and the Anti-Bolshevik Bloc
of Nations (ABN), a CIA-backed coalition led by erstwhile fascist
collaborators from East Europe. Ruzi Nazar, a leading figure in
the Munich-based ABN, had a long-standing relationship with the
CIA and the Turkish ultra-nationalists. In the 1950s and 1960s,
Nazar was employed by Radio Free Europe, a CIA-founded propaganda
effort.
   
     When the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991, the shifting
geopolitical terrain created new opportunities -- political and
financial -- for Colonel Turkes and his pan-Turkish crusaders.
After serving a truncated prison term in the 1980s for his role
in masterminding the political violence that convulsed Turkey,
Turkes and several of his pan-Turkish colleagues were permitted
to resume their political activities.
   
     In 1992, the colonel visited his long lost Turkish brothers
in newly independent Azerbaijan and received a hero's welcome. In
Baku, Turkes endorsed the candidacy of Grey Wolf sympathizer
Abulfex Elcibey, who was subsequently elected president of
Azerbaijan and appointed a close Grey Wolf ally as his Interior
Minister.
   
 
THE GANG RETURNS
 
     By this time, Abdullah Catli was also back in circulation
after several years of incarceration in France and Switzerland
for heroin trafficking. In 1990, he escaped from a Swiss jail
cell and rejoined the neo-fascist underground in Turkey.
   
     Despite his documented links to the papal shooting and other
terrorist attacks, Catli was pressed into service as a death
squad organizer for the Turkish government's dirty war against
the Kurds who have long struggled for independence inside both
Turkey and Iraq. Turkish Army spokesmen acknowledged that the
Counter-Guerrilla Organization (renamed the Special Forces
Command in 1992) was involved in the escalating anti-Kurdish
campaign.
   
     Turkey got a wink and a nod from Washington as a quid pro
quo for cooperating with the United States during the Gulf War.
Turkish jets bombed Kurdish bases inside Iraqi territory.
Meanwhile, on the ground, anti-Kurdish death squads were
assassinating more than 1,000 non-combatants in southeastern
Turkey. Hundreds of other Kurds "disappeared" while in police
custody. Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International and the
European Parliament all condemned the Turkish security forces for
these abuses.
   
     Still, there was no hard evidence that Turkey's security
forces had recruited criminal elements as foot soldiers. That
evidence surfaced only on Nov. 3, 1996, when Catli' died in the
fateful auto accident near Susurluk. Strewn amidst the roadside
wreckage was proof of what many journalists and human rights
activists had long suspected -- that successive Turkish
governments had protected narco-traffickers, sheltered terrorists
and sponsored gangs of killers to suppress Turkish dissidents and
Kurdish rebels.
   
     Colonel Turkes confirmed that Catli had performed
clandestine duties for Turkey's police and military. "On the
basis of my state experience, I admit that Catli has been used by
the state," said Turkes. Catli had been cooperating "in the
framework of a secret service working for the good of the state,"
Turkes insisted.
   
     U.S.-backed Turkish officials, including Tansu Ciller, Prime
Minister from 1993-1996, also defended Catli after the car crash.
"I don't know whether he is guilty or not," Ciller stated, "but
we will always respectfully remember those who fire bullets or
suffer wounds in the name of this country, this nation and this
state."
   
     Eighty members of the Turkish parliament have urged the
federal prosecutor to file charges of criminal misconduct against
Ciller, who currently serves as Turkey's Foreign Minister, as
well as Deputy Prime Minister. They asserted that the Susurluk
incident provided Turkey "with a historic opportunity to expose
unsolved murders and the drugs and arms smuggling that have been
going on in our country for years."
   
     The scandal momentarily reinvigorated the Turkish press,
which unearthed revelations about criminals and police officials
involved in the heroin trade. But journalists also have been
victims of death squads in recent years. The violent attack on
Independent Flash TV was a reminder. Prosecutors have faced
pressure, too, from superiors who are not eager to delve into
state secrets. Thus far, no charges have been lodged against
Ciller.
   
     Across the Atlantic in Washington, the U.S. government has
yet to acknowledge any responsibility for the Turkish
Frankenstein that U.S. Cold War strategy helped to create. When
asked about the Susurluk affair, a State Department spokesperson
said it was "an internal Turkish matter." He declined further
comment.
 
                                *
   
     Martin A. Lee's book on neo-fascism, The Beast Reawakens,
     will be published by Little, Brown in July.
   
     (c) Copyright 1997
 
                              -----
 
            CONSORTIUM ON-LINE OR MAIL SUBSCRIPTIONS
   
     For only $10, you can access The Consortium On-Line for 1
year (26 issues).  That comes to about 38 cents per issue.
    
     To receive your On-Line/mail subscription to The Consortium,
just call us with your Visa or Mastercard at 1-800-738-1812. You
will receive passwords for the first two months over the phone.
   
     The Consortium is also available as a bi-weekly newsletter.
For an annual rate of $34 or a six month rate of $24 you will
receive The Consortium newsletter through the mail. Each
newsletter subscription also comes with free Web access for a
year and the opportunity to purchase copies of Robert Parry's
books for a special reduced price of $10 each.
      
     Archive passwords come in the mail with the issues.
 
     If you would prefer, you can mail us a check for $10 for on-
line subscription or $34 for one year by mail ($24 for six
months) made payable to:
 
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           Comments, Questions or Responses, Please E-Mail:
                       rparry at ix.netcom.com 
 
                                *
 
    [AFIB EDITOR'S NOTE: For archival materials from a multitude
     of sources documenting the "Susurluk Affair" and its
     implications for Turkey's "contra-guerrilla state" please
     visit the web links listed below. Press Agency Ozgurluk is
     an excellent resource! For material on "Operation Gladio"
     and the creation of right-wing death squads within the
     context of NATO's "stay behind" anticommunist European
     network, visit the searchable database of "STATEWATCH". 
 
     For additional material on "Gladio" and the state-
     security/fascist convergence, see: Henrik Kruger, "The Great
     Heroin Coup: Drugs, Intelligence & International Fascism,"
     1980, Boston, South End Press; Stuart Christie, "Stefano
     Delle Chaiaie: Portrait of a Black Terrorist," 1984, London,
     Refract Press; Michael McClintock, "Instruments of
     Statecraft: U.S. Guerrilla Warfare, Counterinsurgency,
     Counterterrorism," 1992, Pantheon Books, New York; Serdar
     Celik, "Turkey's Killing Machine: The Contra-Guerrilla
     Force," Kurdistan Report #17, February - March 1994,
     <http://burn.ucsd.edu/~ats>; Arthur E. Rowse, "Gladio: The
     Secret U.S. War to Subvert Italian Democracy," CovertAction
     Quarterly, Washington, D.C., Summer 1994, Number 49; for the
     role of "Gladio" players in the Argentine "dirty war" see,
     Martin Edward Andersen, "Dossier Secreto: Argentina's
     Desaparecidos and the Myth of the `Dirty War,'" 1993,
     Westview Press, Boulder]
 
                                *
 
                       PRESS AGENCY OZGURLUK:
                   http://www.xs4all.nl/~ozgurluk
                  TURKEY - CONTRA-GUERRILLA STATE:          
              http://www.xs4all.nl/~ozgurluk/contrind/
                         SEARCHABLE DATABASE:
               http://www.xs4all.nl/~ozgurluk/ml.html
                 GRUP YORUM: http://www.ozgurluk.org
 
                                *
 
                            STATEWATCH:
              http://www.poptel.org.uk/htbin/dbsearch/
 
 
*              *              *              *              *
 
                    ANTIFA INFO-BULLETIN (AFIB)
                        750 La Playa # 730
                  San Francisco, California 94121
                  E-Mail:  tburghardt at igc.apc.org
 
     On PeaceNet visit ANTIFA INFO-BULLETIN on pol.right.antifa
     or by gopher --> gopher://gopher.igc.apc.org:7021/11/europe
 
     On PeaceNet visit BACORR's <women.clinicdefense> conference. 
     For subscription information e-mail Wendi Jones,
     wjones at igc.org
 
     AFIB & BACORR text files can also be found on the following
     sites:
                           
                         ARM THE SPIRIT
 WWW:gopher://locust.cic.net:70/11/politics/Arm.The.Spirit/BACORR
     FTP: ftp.etext.org --> /pub/politics/Arm.The.Spirit/BACORR
     FTP: ftp.etext.org -->
     /pub/politics/Arm.The.Spirit/Antifa/Antifa.Info-Bulletin
 
          INSTITUTE FOR ALTERNATIVE JOURNALISM (AlterNet)
             http://www.alternet.org/an/demworks/html
          gopher://gopher.igc.apc.org:70/00/orgs/alternet
 
     +:+:+:+:+:+:+:+:+:+:+:+:+:+:+:+:+:+:+:+:+:+:+:+:+:+:+:+:+:+
     +:        A N T I F A   I N F O - B U L L E T I N        +:
     :+                                                       :+
     +:          NEWS * ANALYSIS * RESEARCH * ACTION          +:
     :+                                                       :+
     +:     RESISTING FASCISM    *  BY ALL MEANS NECESSARY!   +:
     +:+:+:+:+:+:+:+:+:+:+:+:+:+:+:+:+:+:+:+:+:+:+:+:+:+:+:+:+:+

-----------------------------------------------------------------
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 kurd-l at burn.ucsd.edu  Tue Jun 10 23:30:37 1997
From: kurd-l at burn.ucsd.edu (kurd-l at burn.ucsd.edu)
Date: 10 Jun 1997 23:30:37
Subject: Free Puerto Rico: All Out To The U.
Message-ID: <bac1c849.Pine.NEB.3.95.970610181..@burn.ucsd.edu>

From: Arm The Spirit <ats at locust.etext.org>
Subject: Free Puerto Rico: All Out To The U.N.

Freedom For Puerto Rican Political Prisoners And POWs!
Independence For Puerto Rico!

All Out To The United Nations

     On June 19, 1997 the colonial case of Puerto Rico will once
again be discussed before the United Nations Decolonization
Committee. Since 1972, the case of Puerto Rico has been on this
Committee's agenda. However, indications are that after 25 years,
the island's status will no longer be discussed by this body.
Meanwhile, in the United States Congress, the Young Bill, "The
United States-Puerto Rico Political Status Act", recently passed
a committee of the House of Representatives. Its purpose? To hold
a referendum in 1998, as the "legitimate" answer to the 100 year
colonial dilemma of Puerto Rico, thus avoiding the decolonization
process established by international law.
     The United Nations, and now the United States Congress, are
apparently in accord in exposing the colonial nature of the case
of Puerto Rico. The Young Bill states:

     "In the period 1950-1952, Congress authorized, amended, and
then approved a constitution for Puerto Rico's local government,
which is now called the 'Commonwealth of Puerto Rico', without
altering the territory's fundamental economic, political, and
legal relationship with the United States.
     Full self-government for Puerto Rico is attainable only
through establishment of a political status either without or
within United States sovereignty, under which Puerto Rico is no
longer an unincorporated territory subject to the plenary
authority of Congress arising from the Territorial Clause."

     In 1964 the United Nations approved Resolution 1514XV,
upholding the right of colonized people to self-determination and
independence:

     "The subjection of peoples to alien subjugation, domination
and exploitation constitutes a denial of fundamental human
rights, is contrary to the Charter of the United Nations and is
an impediment to the promotion of world peace and cooperation.
     All peoples have the right to self-determination; by virtue
of that right they freely determine their political status and
freely pursue their economic, social and cultural development.
     Immediate steps shall be taken, in trust and
non-self-governing territories or all other territories which
have not yet attained independence, to transfer all powers to the
peoples of those territories, without any conditions or
reservations, in accordance with their freely expressed will and
desire without any distinction as to race, creed or colour, in
order to enable them to enjoy complete independence and freedom."

     But the Young Bill fails to deal with the release of the
Puerto Rican Political Prisoners and Prisoners of War, who are in
jail precisely for their role in trying to solve the problem of
colonialism in Puerto Rico. In their joint statement to the Young
Committee Hearings in Puerto Rico, the Puerto Rican Political
Prisoners stated:

     "At this juncture, we want to express our disposition to
participate in reaching a just and dignified political solution
to our colonial problem. If the U.S. Congress and the executive
branch of the U.S. government desire to reach a political
solution through a truly democratic process, we are disposed to
participate in that process which is necessary for reconciliation
to take place, for healing one hundred years of wounds to begin.
     This process could best begin with a gesture of goodwill on
the part of the U.S. government, in releasing us from prison so
that the inclusive process includes those of us who have
sacrificed all for that which every nation, including Puerto
Rico, is entitled - independence from colonialism."

     The majority of the Puerto Rican Political Prisoners have
endured inhuman treatment and isolation in U.S. jails for more
than seventeen years.
     They are not murderers yet they have spent more time in
prison than the average murderer. They are not rapists yet they
have spent more than twice the time in prison than the average
rapist. Their crime is their passion for freedom, their love and
commitment to see their nation stand sovereign among the nations
of the world.
     On June 19 and 20, The National Committee to Free Puerto
Rican Prisoners of War and Political Prisoners is calling on all
freedom loving people to stand in vigil in front of the United
Nations Building (42nd & 1st Ave.); to fast in support of the
Puerto Rican Political Prisoners; and to join family, friends,
religious supporters and activists for two days of activities in
support of unconditional amnesty for the Puerto Rican Political
Prisoners and independence for Puerto Rico.

Points Of Unity:

1. Unconditional Amnesty For The Puerto Rican Political Prisoners
And Prisoners Of War

2. Independence For Puerto Rico

3. Affirmation Of The Right Of The Puerto Rican Diaspora To
Participate In The Decolonization Process Of Puerto Rico

All of the following activities will take place outside the
United Nations Building in New York City (42nd St. & 1st Ave):

Vigil & Fast: June 19 & 20; (June 19, 8:00 am to conclusion of
hearings which may last into June 20)
Ecumenical Religious Service: June 19, 10:00 am
Rally at the UN: June 19, 4:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. (speakers &
cultural presentations)

Convoked and sponsored by The National Committee to Free Puerto
Rican Prisoners of War and Political Prisoners and the Interfaith
Prisoners of Conscience Ministry (IPOC). Co-sponsored by Comite
Pro Derechos Humanos de Puerto Rico.

To co-sponsor, or for more information call : (773) 278-0885 or
send email to: prpowpp at aol.com

Buses will leave from Chicago on Wednesday, June 18, 1997 at 6:00
p.m. Transportation will also be available from other cities.

Contact your local National Committee Chapter:

Ann Arbor, MI: (313) 971-1539
Boston, MA: (617) 296-4512
Chicago, IL: (773) 278-0885
Cleveland, OH: (216) 631-2051
New York, NY: (212) 427-3874
Orlando, FL: (407) 322-7010
Philadelphia, PA: (215) 227-0894
St. Paul/Minneapolis, MN: (612) 639-1836
San Francisco, CA: (415) 285-4452

(Source: The National Committee to Free Puerto Rican Prisoners of War and
Political Prisoners <prpowpp at aol.com>)

-----------------------------------------------------------------
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 kurd-l at burn.ucsd.edu  Wed Jun 11 12:59:02 1997
From: kurd-l at burn.ucsd.edu (kurd-l at burn.ucsd.edu)
Date: 11 Jun 1997 12:59:02
Subject: Launching Of TamilNet News Service
Message-ID: <bac1c849.Pine.NEB.3.95.970611061..@burn.ucsd.edu>

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

An Announcement From TamilNet:

TamilNet Launches World Wide Web Services

We are happy to announce the launch of the TamilNet website on the net. You
can view the WWW at www.TamilNet.com. Amongst other useful informations
this page contains news that is updated very often, book reviews,
conference information and links to several news sources.

TamilNet is an independent electronic media that brings you news and views
from the homeland of Eelam Tamils, North and East of Sri Lanka. Our
services include a Mailinglist and online publishing on world wide web.

The TamilNet site has been launched to reveal to the world a tragedy that
is taking place on the island of Sri Lanka, where the Tamil people are
being subjected to attack on a genocidal scale by the Sri Lankan government.

In the past few years, the Sri Lankan military has set about destroying the
very fabric of the Tamil nation, under the lofty claim of 'fighting
terrorism'. The genocide takes place under a complete blanket of censorship.

The censorship conceals the utter destruction of the Tamil homelands and
prevents the world from witnessing the agony of the Tamil people.

The censorship also allows the Sri Lankan government to issue its
propaganda without fear of international condemnation.

TamilNet will work to reveal the dreadful events taking place in the Tamil
homelands to the international community, and to challenge the
misconceptions about the Tamil people's demand to exercise their political
rights.

TamilNet will continue to do this until the international community,
including the international press, government observers, human rights
organizations, and the citizens of the world are allowed to FREELY visit
the Tamil homelands and see the truth for themselves.

We hope you will find our site informative. We earnestly hope that you will
support the Tamil people in their efforts to exercise their political
rights and to live peacefully as equal citizens of the world.

To give our visitors some background ..... When the British colonized the
island of Ceylon several hundred years ago, there were two distinct nations
on the island, the Tamil nation in the North and East, and the Sinhala
Nation in the South. For convenience of administration, the British
combined the two distinct nations and administered the island from Colombo,
the capital of the Sinhala nation.

Since the island of Ceylon became independent of British rule in 1948, the
Sinhalese dominated governments have had a constricting grip on the Tamil
people. Systematic racist discrimination has been legislated using
'democratic' means: the Sinhala nation uses its numerical superiority to
vote in governments that enforce Sinhala supremacy.

The Sri Lankan military is also overwhelmingly Sinhalese. It has been
responsible for atrocities and mass murder on an unprecedented scale. It's
brutality has drawn protests from many governments and human rights
organizations, which it contemptuously ignores.

In 1977, the Tamil people, in desperation, voted overwhelmingly for a party
that called for a separate Tamil State to be created, called Tamil Eelam
(the name of the ancient Tamil nation). This was the last free and fair
election in the Tamil homelands.

Unlike in Canada and the United Kingdom, where the RIGHT TO SELF
DETERMINATION of the Quebec, Scottish and Welsh nations is enshrined in
their respective constitutions, Sri Lanka reacted with characteristic
brutality and unleashed a wave of terror against the Tamil people.

The Tamil youths' frustrations led to the formation of armed resistance to
Sinhala military violence and eventually to an armed campaign to secure the
Tamil nation's right to self determination.

The war has been raging for many years. Over 50,000 Tamil civilians have
been killed in indiscriminate or deliberate attacks by the Sinhalese army.
The towns and villages of the Tamil homelands have been devastated, and
over a million Tamils have become refugees or are internally displaced.

They are being punished for simply demanding their legitimate political
rights as defined by the United Nations' Charter.


We hope to hear your feedbacks to serve you better.

Thanking you,

TamilNet Administration




From Press  Wed Jun 11 08:35:20 1997
From: Press (Press)
Date: 11 Jun 1997 08:35:20
Subject: New URL for Press-Agency Ozgurluk
Message-ID: <bac1c849.m0wbpJF.001AUIC@ozgurluk.xs4all.nl>

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

We are very happy to inform you that recently we got our own domain.
The new URL for Press-Agency Ozgurluk from now on is:
http://www.ozgurluk.org

When you know that ozgurluk means freedom, you must agree with us that
it is a nice name :)

Please be so kind and update you bookmarks, links etc. and tell your
friends about us.

At our new site you will find information on Human Rights in Turkey,
The peoples revolutionary liberationstruggle in Turkey, led by the
DHKP/C, a press-ticker on Turkey, a multilangual searchable database
on the struggle in Turkey and Kurdistan, a page with links on these
struggles on which you can submit your URL online, Music from Grup
Yorum, etc. etc.

Support the struggle for human rights, justice and democracy in Turkey
and Kurdistan!

-- 
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 kurd-l at burn.ucsd.edu  Wed Jun 11 21:08:07 1997
From: kurd-l at burn.ucsd.edu (kurd-l at burn.ucsd.edu)
Date: 11 Jun 1997 21:08:07
Subject: New URL for Press-Agency Ozgurluk
References: <bac1c849.m0wbpJF.001AUIC@ozgurluk.xs4all.nl>
Message-ID: <bac1c849.Pine.NEB.3.95.970611160..@burn.ucsd.edu>

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

New URL For Press-Agency Ozgurluk

We are very happy to inform you that recently we got our own domain.
The new URL for Press-Agency Ozgurluk from now on is:
http://www.ozgurluk.org

When you know that ozgurluk [in Turkish] means freedom, you must agree
with us that it is a nice name. :) 

Please be so kind and update you bookmarks, links etc. and tell your
friends about us.

At our new site you will find information on Human Rights in Turkey,
The peoples revolutionary liberationstruggle in Turkey, led by the
DHKP/C, a press-ticker on Turkey, a multilangual searchable database
on the struggle in Turkey and Kurdistan, a page with links on these
struggles on which you can submit your URL online, Music from Grup
Yorum, etc. etc.

Support the struggle for human rights, justice and democracy in Turkey
and Kurdistan!

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

-----------------------------------------------------------------
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 dhkc at ozgurluk.org  Wed Jun 11 09:59:08 1997
From: dhkc at ozgurluk.org (dhkc at ozgurluk.org)
Date: 11 Jun 1997 09:59:08
Subject: open letter to AKIN on the commemoration of the death fast in Turkey
Message-ID: <bac1c849.m37mg1ywro.fsf@ozgurluk.xs4all.nl>

Subject: open letter to AKIN on the commemoration of the death fast in Turkey's prisons in the summer of 1996
From: DHKC Informationburea Amsterdam <dhkc at ozgurluk.org>


TO THE ORGANISERS AND PARTICIPANTS IN THE COMMEMORATION OF THE DEATH
FAST IN TURKEY'S PRISONS IN THE SUMMER OF 1996


In the invitation to a commemoration ceremony in memory of those who
fell in the Death Fast of 1996, several statements were made which did
not correspond to the truth. The Death Fast in the summer of 1996 was
an action by several revolutionary organisations in Turkey, which lost
12 dead on the road to victory. Inside this alliance of revolutionary
organisations the PKK was not represented, because it refused to take
part. The 12 and not 14 dead of the Death Fast were all members of
revolutionary organisations in Turkey and not members or supporters of
the Kurdish national liberation movement.

 Individually they were:

Aygun Ugur - TKP (ML) - died on July 21, 1996
Altan Berdan Kerimgiller - DHKP-C - July 23, 1996
Ilginc ?zkeskin - DHKP-C - July 24, 1996
H?seyin Demircioglu - MLKP - July 25, 1996
Ali Ayata - TKP (ML) - July 25, 1996
Mujdat Yanat - DHKP-C - July 25, 1996
Tahsin Yilmaz -TIKB - July 26, 1996
Ayce Idil Erkmen - DHKP-C - July 26, 1996
Hicabi Kucuk - TIKB - July 27, 1996
Osman Akg?n - TIKB - July 27, 1996
Yemliha Kaya - DHKP-C - July 27, 1996
Hayati Can - TKP (ML) - July 28, 1996

The Death Fast was carried out in order to bring Turkey?s
contra-guerrilla regime to its knees morally and politically, to take
the struggle of Turkey?s peoples against the fascist regime forward to
revolution to bring nearer the establishment of people?s power. On
this road to revolution, the Death Fast was a major step for which a
high price was paid, a victorious battle in an ongoing war. The
organisers and most of the people invited to make speeches at the
commemoration are perfectly conversant with these facts. The fact that
they are nonetheless persisting in misrepresenting the Death Fast and
seeking to inscribe its victims and victories on their own banners
shows that they do not take the liberation of all the peoples of
Turkey seriously, but instead are exploiting the struggle and
readiness for sacrifice shown by those who fell in the Fast to advance
their own narrow aims. Based on such an attitude, a commemoration of
those who fell in the Death Fast is not a ceremony worthy of those who
died, but rather an act of larceny committed against the martyrs and
the ideals for which they fought.

	We call upon those responsible for the commemoration to change
their attitude and issue a public correction of the false statements
to which we have drawn attention.

        
With friendly greetings,

DHKC Information Bureau, Amsterdam

You can find additional information about the Death Fast of the summer
of 1996 on our website under Death Fast Updates
-- 
DHKC Informationburea Amsterdam
http://www.ozgurluk.org/dhkc
dhkc at ozgurluk.org

From dhkc at ozgurluk.org  Thu Jun 12 06:30:34 1997
From: dhkc at ozgurluk.org (dhkc at ozgurluk.org)
Date: 12 Jun 1997 06:30:34
Subject: open letter to AKIN on the commemoration of the death fast in Turkey
References: <bac1c849.m37mg1ywro.fsf@ozgurluk.xs4all.nl>
Message-ID: <bac1c849.m32068j70u.fsf@ozgurluk.xs4all.nl>

Subject: Re: open letter to AKIN on the commemoration of the death fast in Turkey's prisons in the summer of 1996
From: DHKC Informationburea Amsterdam <dhkc at ozgurluk.org>

--Multipart_Thu_Jun_12_15:14:54_1997-1
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII

Hello,

Just to keep you posted and to put an end on the discussion. This is
the reply we received from AKIN.


--Multipart_Thu_Jun_12_15:14:54_1997-1
Content-Type: message/rfc822

Date: Thu, 12 Jun 1997 08:32:37 -0400 (EDT)
Message-Id: <199706121232.IAA08891 at mail.clark.net>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"
To: dhkc at ozgurluk.org
From: akin at kurdish.org (American Kurdish Information Network (AKIN))
Subject: Re: open letter to AKIN on the commemoration of the death fast in Turkey's prisons in the summer of 1996

Dear Friends,

This is in response to your open letter to AKIN on the first year
anniversary of the death fast in Turkey's prisons in the summer of 1996.

We stand corrected.  You are right about who took part in that fast and
none were members of the PKK.

The Committee Against Repression in Kurdistan (CARIK), an organization of
some American friends of Kurdish struggle in San Francisco is putting
together this event.  They asked us if we would simply distribute their
press release to the AKIN list.  We said said; we usually do that for all
the organizations that support us.  We should have read it too.

You should also note that the Press Release says that CARIK is organizing
the event.  We have forwarded your statement to them.  We apologize for the
mistake on our part and hope CARIK will do the same.

Greetings from the battle fields of life.

AKIN


----
American Kurdish Information Network (AKIN)
2623 Connecticut Avenue NW, Suite # 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

-- 
DHKC Informationburea Amsterdam
http://www.ozgurluk.org/dhkc
dhkc at ozgurluk.org

--Multipart_Thu_Jun_12_15:14:54_1997-1--

From kurd-l at burn.ucsd.edu  Thu Jun 12 06:47:55 1997
From: kurd-l at burn.ucsd.edu (kurd-l at burn.ucsd.edu)
Date: 12 Jun 1997 06:47:55
Subject: Turkey: Troops Will Stay In Iraq To
Message-ID: <bac1c849.Pine.NEB.3.95.970612014..@burn.ucsd.edu>

From: Arm The Spirit <ats at locust.etext.org>
Subject: Turkey: Troops Will Stay In Iraq To Fight Rebels

Turkey: Troops Will Stay In Iraq To Fight Rebels

Army Contends Cross-Border Offensive Has Already Caused Severe
Kurdish Losses

By Kelly Couturier
Special to The Washington Post
Thursday, June 12, 1997; Page A25
The Washington Post 

     ANKARA, Turkey, June 11 -- With tens of thousands of troops
still in northern Iraq after nearly a month of hunting down
Kurdish separatists, Turkey has shrugged off an outcry from
neighboring countries and asserted it will stay in Iraq as long as
it takes to wipe out the rebels.
     The Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), a group that has
waged a guerrilla insurgency in southeastern Turkey since 1984, by
most accounts has suffered heavy losses in personnel and
destruction of Iraq-based command-and-control and communications
capabilities during the Turkish offensive, the largest such
operation since April 1995.
     A Turkish military spokesman, Gen. Erol Ozkasnak, said that
as of late last week 2,250 rebels and 95 Turkish troops, including
13 officers, had been killed. The PKK said it has killed 791 on
the Turkish side.
     Ozkasnak said Turkish troops, backed by air power and aided
by a paramilitary village guard force and a collaborating Iraqi
Kurdish faction, have cleared several large PKK camps along
a wide swath of Iraqi territory between the city of Zakhu and the
Iranian border. An estimated 5,000 guerrillas were based in the
camps.
     Western and Iraqi sources have attributed the success of the
operation to the Turkish army's improved intelligence and
counter-insurgency methods and the cooperation of the Kurdistan
Democratic Party, the Kurdish Iraqi faction led by Massoud
Barzani. But Western analysts expressed skepticism about Turkey's
casualty figures. The Turkish military has refused to
allow journalists into the region unaccompanied, making
independent confirmation of its reports impossible.
     Turkey has long complained that the lack of Iraqi government
authority in the Kurdish enclave in Iraq, which is monitored by
U.S. and British aircraft, has enabled the PKK to dig in and
set up camps near the border, from where they launch attacks into
Turkey. Iraqi troops were banned from the Kurdish enclave by the
allies after the Persian Gulf War to protect the Kurdish
population.
     Subsequent fighting by rival Iraqi Kurdish factions that
control the enclave resulted in a breakdown of authority that
allowed the PKK to flourish, according to Turkish officials. With
no one apparently able to secure the border on the Iraqi side, the
Turkish military increasingly assumed the task, entering at will
over the past several years, mostly for quick strikes. 
     The military said it hopes its new cooperation with Barzani's
forces will alleviate the need for future costly large-scale
crossborder operations -- the current one already has cost over $2
million, according to the army. But the generals are not only
retaining the right to reenter Iraq, they have in recent weeks
sharpened their stance against neighbors that are known to harbor
the rebels. 
     Having crippled the PKK inside Turkey, officials in Ankara
say they are increasingly frustrated with the continued presence
of guerrillas in Syria, Iran and other neighboring countries. "We
tried diplomacy and it doesn't work," said a Turkish official of
Ankara's repeated calls to Syria and Iran to stop providing
shelter and aid to the PKK, a claim both countries deny but which
is backed by Western intelligence. 
     With its patience for diplomacy depleted, and the military
assuming an ever more prominent role in domestic and foreign
policymaking, Ankara appears increasingly inclined to use the
strong-arm tactics of a regional power that has the second-largest
armed forces in NATO, according to analysts.
     Although its cross-border military activity has focused on
northern Iraq, with the heaviest concentration of PKK, Western
sources say Turkey has on occasion bombed PKK targets
in Syria and Iran and could be expected to do so again if it deems
it necessary. 
     The new get-tough approach by the military contradicts and
overrules the policy of conciliation toward Turkey's Islamic
neighbors tried by Prime Minister Necmettin Erbakan since taking
office a year ago. Erbakan, the first Islamic-oriented party
leader to come to power in Turkey, is locked in a bitter public
standoff with the nation's generals, who accuse him of steering
the country away from its 74 years of secular, pro-Western
policies.
     The top brass has generally ignored the prime minister in
carrying out the northern Iraqi operation -- Erbakan reportedly
was not briefed about the operation until it had begun -- and
it has ignored growing criticism from the Arab world over Turkey's
deepening military and political ties with Israel.
     Turkey and Israel have signed military cooperation accords
over the last year under which Israeli jets train in Turkish air
space and Turkish military pilots receive Israeli training in
electronic warfare. An additional defense industry cooperation
agreement calls for Israel to upgrade Turkey's F-4 Phantom
warplanes, and Israel is now seeking to sell missiles, tanks
and early warning aircraft systems to Turkey. 
     The PKK, whose leader, Abdullah Ocalan is believed by some to
be based in Syria, has begun echoing the Syrian line against
Turkish-Israeli cooperation, threatening terrorist attacks
against Turkish, American and Israeli targets in response to the
Turkish operation.
     Turkey has responded to Syrian and Libyan attempts to rally a
collective Arab front against it with a stream of harsh public
accusations against Damascus and Tehran. 
     In a briefing last week, spokesman Ozkasnak accused Syria,
Iran and other countries of equipping the PKK with the
antiaircraft missiles that have downed two Turkish army
helicopters in the 3-week operation in Iraq.
     "Our intelligence units have verified that Syria primarily,
but also Iran, Greece, southern Cyprus and Armenia have been
playing a role in equipping the PKK separatist terrorists
with missiles and training them," he said. 
     The missiles that brought down a Super Cobra on May 18 and a
French-German made Cougar on June 4 were Russian made SA-7Bs that
had been acquired in Armenia and brought to Iraq via Iran,
Ozkasnak said. Thirteen Turkish soldiers, including 10 officers,
died in the attacks. 
     Greece, Armenia and Iran denied the Turkish spokesman's
claims.

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



From ozgurluk at xs4all.nl  Thu Jun 12 06:32:32 1997
From: ozgurluk at xs4all.nl (ozgurluk at xs4all.nl)
Date: 12 Jun 1997 06:32:32
Subject: Comite To Protect Journalists on Turkey
Message-ID: <bac1c849.m3yb8ghs1b.fsf@ozgurluk.xs4all.nl>

Subject: Comite To Protect Journalists on Turkey
From: Press Agency Ozgurluk <ozgurluk at xs4all.nl>


When the Turkish government in March announced a plan to coordinate
the release from prison of some of the many journalists who have been
convicted under the country's infamous anti-terror law, Turkish
journalists greeted the announcement with skepticism. Given Turkey's
dismal press freedom record under the government of Prime Minister
Necmettin Erbakan, and that of his predecessor, Tansu Ciller, the
journalists' skepticism is well-founded: Turkey, according to
information CPJ documented in January, holds 78 journalists in its
prisons--more than any other country.

On March 27, the daily H?rriyet unveiled the government proposal,
following an interview with State Minister L?tf? Eseng?l, who was
assigned to oversee a "limited amnesty" of imprisoned
journalists. According to H?rriyet, Eseng?l will serve as liaison
between the foreign, justice, and interior ministries, which will work
together to amend several controversial articles of the anti-terror
law that have frequently been used to imprison journalists for their
independent coverage of the government's 12-year conflict with Kurdish
insurgents.

Prisoners would be released, according to H?rriyet, following the
parliament's approval of the amended legislation--a process that could
take many months, according to some journalists. It remains unclear
what specific changes to the law would be proposed and how those
changes might affect journalists now in prison.

The announcement of the plan followed a series of verbal forays in
March from European Union (EU) members who assailed Turkey's poor
human rights record and expressed doubt that Turkey was prepared for
EU membership. The criticism reached a climax on March 27, when German
Foreign Minister Klaus Kinkel said in Ankara that "Turkey will not
become a member of the European Union in the foreseeable future"
because of its failing record on human rights, including its many
shortcomings with regard to "freedom of opinion."

Since the March 27 announcement, officials--including Eseng?l--have
not mentioned the initiative. "Whenever the European Union puts
pressure on Turkey over human rights," observed one Turkish human
rights activist, "[Foreign Minister] Tansu Ciller mentions a package
of reforms and then nothing happens." A prominent Turkish journalist
referred to the move simply as a "make-up effort for the European
Union," which the government has little intention of enacting.

The decision to move forward on the proposed amnesty, however, may
well be beyond the control of the current Welfare-True Path coalition
government. The coalition's increasing political vulnerability has
moved it toward collapse--a situation which casts serious doubt on its
ability to take any decisive action in the near future.

CPJ intends to continue its efforts on behalf of imprisoned
journalists in Turkey. During a one-hour meeting on Jan. 23 with
Nuzhet Kandemir, the Turkish ambassador to the United States, a CPJ
delegation discussed the journalists' plight and delivered an appeal
urging the release of Ocak Isik Yurt?u, editor of Ozg?r G?ndem.
Yurt?u, a winner of CPJ's 1996 International Press Freedom Award, is
currently serving a 15-year prison sentence. The appeal was signed by
more than 300 journalists, media executives, and human rights
activists.

-- 
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 kurd-l at burn.ucsd.edu  Fri Jun 13 06:56:18 1997
From: kurd-l at burn.ucsd.edu (kurd-l at burn.ucsd.edu)
Date: 13 Jun 1997 06:56:18
Subject: U.S. Supports Turkey Action In Iraq
Message-ID: <bac1c849.Pine.NEB.3.95.970613015..@burn.ucsd.edu>

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

U.S. Supports Turkey Action In Iraq 

     WASHINGTON, June 12 (Reuter) - The United States expressed
support for Turkey's military incursion against Kurdish guerrillas
in northern Iraq on Thursday, saying "there is a job to be
done" there.
     The statement came as thousands of Turkish troops, backed by
air power, continued a four-week-old incursion into northern Iraq
against PKK bases used for raids into southeast Turkey. 
     "The Turks have, we believe, reason to be concerned about the
actions of the PKK (Kurdistan Worker's Party) and the threat that
the PKK poses to southeastern Turkey. We accept that. Turkey's an
ally. And we have no reason to question the need for an incursion
across the border," State Department spokesman Nicholas Burns
said. 
     The United States has been assured the military action will
be of limited duration and scope, he told a news briefing. 
     "There is a job to be done. Once that job is finished, I'm
sure that the Turkish military will go back across the border into
southeastern Turkey," he said. 
     The United States considers the PKK a terrorist group. Turkey
is a NATO ally. 
     Fifteen Kurdish guerrillas and five government troops were
killed on Thursday in clashes in eastern Turkey, Turkish security
officials said. 
     It was not known when the Turkish troops would withdraw, but
empty military trucks and buses began entering northern Iraq on
Thursday morning through Turkey's southeastern Habur border
gate, witnesses said. 
     Turkish officials said earlier the troops would pull back
when the PKK presence was rooted out from the troubled region. 
     More than 24,000 people have died in 13 years of conflict
between Turkish security forces and the PKK, which is fighting for
independence or autonomy in the mainly Kurdish southeast. 
     Burns said incursions into northern Iraq have "become an
annual exercise in Turkey's fight against a terrorist
organisation. And if you look at past incursions, this one is not
longer than past incursions."
     He said the 1995 incursion lasted "many months" and added: "I
don't know how long this one will last, but we have been assured
it will be limited in scope and duration."

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



From ozgurluk at xs4all.nl  Sun Jun 15 10:59:13 1997
From: ozgurluk at xs4all.nl (ozgurluk at xs4all.nl)
Date: 15 Jun 1997 10:59:13
Subject: Kani Yilmaz about to be extradited to Germany !
Message-ID: <bac1c849.m3pvtniw9n.fsf@ozgurluk.xs4all.nl>

Subject: Kani Yilmaz about to be extradited to Germany !
From: Press Agency Ozgurluk <ozgurluk at xs4all.nl>

From: inan at dircon.co.uk
Message-ID: <33A40CB2.669B at dircon.co.uk>
Date: Sun, 15 Jun 1997 18:39:30 +0300
Reply-To: inan at dircon.co.uk
Organization: Kurdistan Information Center
MIME-Version: 1.0
To: ozgurluk at xs4all.nl
Subject: Re: Kani Yilmaz
References: <33A3F483.5C45 at dircon.co.uk> <m3u3izizvm.fsf at ozgurluk.xs4all.nl> <33A40231.4152 at dircon.co.uk> <m3rae3ixtn.fsf at ozgurluk.xs4all.nl>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=iso-8859-1
Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit

On hearing the decision of the British Law Lords not to refer the
Kurdistan Liberation Front's European representative Kani Yilmaz
extradition case to the appeal court, meaning his imminent extradition
(latest 26 of June 1997) to Germany Kani from his prison cell in
Belmarsh said: 

"This decision has nothing to do with me personally. It is a reflection
of the British governments attitude to the national liberation struggle
of the Kurdish people." 

We are asking people to urgently protest to the British home secretery
Jack Straw asking him not to extradite Kani Yilmaz and to immediately
release him so he may continue his diplomatic work in the search for a
peaceful and political solution to the Kurdish question.

Below is a sample of a letter writen by a friend of the Kurdish people
in protest at Kani's extradition order. We urgently appeal to all Kurds
and friends of the Kurdish people to protest at this action of the
British government. Please immediately fax protests to the Home Office
Minister:
Rt Hon Jack Straw MP
Fax: 0044 (0)171 273 3965

Address:

The Home Secretary
Rt Hon Jack Straw MP
Home Office
50 Quwwn Anne's Gate
London SW1H 9AT
England


____________________________________________________________

Kurdistan Solidarity Committee 
Trade Union Group.
10 Glasshouse Yard
The Barbican
London EC1A 4JN.
Tel 0171 250 1315
Fax 0171 250 1317

16th June 1997

Dear Home Secretary,

In Nov 1993 I went on a trade union human rights delegation to South
East Turkey (NW Kurdistan), where I witnessed with my own eyes scenes
that I can only describe as scenes I have seen on television and films
about the Jewish experience in Nazi Germany. 

Over a period of 11 days in the Kurdish areas of Turkey I talked with
hundreds of people who all told of the same terror being inflicted on a
massive scale on the civilian Kurdish population. There was a feeling of
fear in every street and office. Intelligence teams followed us
everywhere we went. At night time in the hotel in Diyarbakir gunfire
could be heard. Curfews meant everybody was inside before dark to avoid
?contra guerrilla hour?, where Kurdish activists were extra judicially
murdered.

In one town we travelled to, Batman, you could literally smell the
repression. Over 20 police literally pushed us down the street not
allowing us to speak with anyone. From the fear in people eyes you
didn?t need to speak to them. We stayed the night and again the guns
started. All night periodic firing with soldiers and civilians with guns
wandering the streets outside. Over 11 people were reported killed the
next day in the local press. Victims of killings by ?unknown
perpetrators?, meaning the state. 

We waited 2 days in Diyarbakir for a driver to take us to a town called
Lice (pronounced Leejay) which we were told by human rights activists
had been burnt down by Turkish soldiers. We passed 4 sets of road
blocks, pleasantly smiling at the hooded soldiers who aggressively
questioned us. Just when we were thinking we wouldn?t get there, as no
western human rights delegation had been before, even the prime minister
was stopped from coming, we arrived in the town. Every single house had
been burnt. Millions of bullets holes of all sizes everywhere, rows of
burnt out shops in a town which had boasted a population of over 20,000.
?Ten people were burnt alive in that room? we were told. An old man took
us into his burnt out house, silent, tears welled up in his eyes. I felt
physically sick, outside his burnt shell of a house he kissed my hand
and put it to his forehead, tears rolling down his face he pleaded 
?Please, tell the world what they are doing to us here.?

A couple of days later, back in Diyarbakir we visited the IHD (Human
Rights Office). Again an old man reporting that his village called
Agilli (Birik in Kurdish) had been burnt down. That he had been
returning with a friend from tending some sheep when he saw 3 trucks of
Turkish soldiers coming to the village. All the villagers had been
dragged into the village square and three placed against a wall and
shot. Then the whole village was burnt to the ground. He asked us to go
there. We called a Kurdish newspaper who sent two journalists and we
went with him. He took us over hills, down dirt roads, over countryside
avoiding the soldiers  roadblocks. We eventually got to a village next
to his village. It was still burning. We spoke to the women who had
fled, they told us all the men had been taken by the soldiers.

We decided to drive into the village. When we arrived in the muddy
square I remember an old Kurdish women who had been rescuing what she
could from her smouldering house, astonished to see us there, she
couldn?t believe her eyes and ran to us pleading ?Get back in your van
and leave here they will kill you, quick you still have time!? With that
we looked up and two soldiers in balaclavas appeared and were pointing
their guns and shouting at us. We were detained for 27 hours, the
journalists were tortured etc etc....

This story is not unique, many thousands of  Kurdish villages and towns
in South East Turkey continue to be razed in such ways. Millions of
refugees filling the cities. Barbarism and state repression detailed by
every International human rights group continuing in a country that is a
NATO member and who recently entered into the Customs Union. And yet
international silence prevails. 

Every democratic avenue has been closed to the Kurdish population in
Turkey.  4 democratically elected Kurdish MPs of the now banned DEP
(Democracy Party) remain in jail. Only recently 31 members of the HADEP,
(Peoples Democracy Party) the only legal Kurdish party were jailed
simply for being present at an annual congress where a young man pulled
down the Turkish flag and pulled up the flag of the PKK, he got 22 1/2
years for this crime. The PKK are supported by the majority of the
population in NW Kurdistan (SE Turkey) and massively in the west of
Turkey where millions of Kurds have fled from the repression in
Kurdistan.

Only recently we have heard that Winston Churchill knew of the
culminating genocide of the Jews in Germany , yet did nothing. Some
people would say that in modern times such a cover up would be
impossible. Yet the silence continues. 

Shamefully from the new Labour Government too. A government that boasts
putting ?human rights at the heart of British foreign policy?, while at
the same time supporting Turkey?s entry to the Customs Union, selling
weapons to Turkey and about to extradite Kani Yilmaz the European
political representative of the Kurdistan Workers Party, a sick and
tragic joke.  Especially when you know of the genocidal policies of the
Turkish state towards the Kurds. 

Luckily we do not have the same fear of speaking out in this country as
people do in Turkey. A fear that has come from extra judicial killings,
disappearances, jailings, torture and systematic human rights abuses. 

Kani Yilmaz was hung upside down from a Turkish military helicopter,
scars surround his mouth where he was extensively tortured in Turkish
prisons for demanding Kurdish rights and refusing to be silenced. He
came here to seek a peaceful and political solution to the war in his
country. Instead of welcoming the representative of the largest, longest
suffering, oppressed stateless nation in the world, and listening to
what he had to say, he was arrested and thrown into a dark and
friendless British prison. A crime against humanity in itself. And a
crime that I believe you protested against at the time.

All the facts in this case point to Turkey requesting and assuming help
from their  NATO allies in this policy of denial of the Kurdish reality.
Above all the legal wranglings, Kani Yilmaz is a political prisoner.
There is no evidence for the crimes he is accused of in Germany. 

Please don?t be an accomplice in this dirty cover up that I honestly
believe will come to haunt all European countries who have been involved
in it. 

You have to ask yourself the question. If, with hindsight, a Jewish
resistance fighter had been jailed by a Conservative Government when he
came to England to speak to the British parliament about the racist and
fascist policies of the Nazi Party towards the Jews, and you were in a
position to free him and hear his story, would you of?

Of course you would. Please look closely at the case of Kani Yilmaz, for
it is the case of the Kurds in Turkey.  

Don?t let a civil servant or intellegence officer tell you he is a
terrorist. Nelson Mandela was called a terrorist, but in reality he was
the leader of a people. Kani Yilmaz is a similar case. Please don?t
continue to persecute and silence him. Release him, apologise to him and
allow him to continue  his political and diplomatic work to seek support
for a negotiated peaceful settlement to the ?dirty war? being
perpetrated against his people in Turkey.

Yours sincerely,


Marc Adiyaman


-- 
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 Press  Mon Jun 16 07:15:58 1997
From: Press (Press)
Date: 16 Jun 1997 07:15:58
Subject: Germany: Neo-Nazies attack Turks
Message-ID: <bac1c849.m0wdcNH.001ASzC@ozgurluk.xs4all.nl>

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

 
 Neo-Nazies attack Turks

  _________________________________________________________________
  
Reuters

Berlin - Eastern German youths shouting "Heil Hitler" clashed with
Turkish grocers in Rostock late on Saturday and another group of
right-wing extremists severely beat an asylum-seeker from Togo, police
said on Sunday.

A police spokesman in Rostock said about 10 youths between the ages of
16 and 20 tried to attack the Turkish shopkeepers. But the grocers
fought them off with metal pipes, leaving two of the extremists
seriously injured.

The spokesman said the group had earlier been spotted and warned by
police for chanting "Heil Hitler" and "Germany for Germans" in the
centre of Rostock, which is about 150 km (90 miles) north of Berlin.

The city was the scene of one of Germany's most violent racist attacks
by right-wing extremists in 1992, when they led local residents in
throwing petrol bombs at buildings housing asylum-seekers.

Authorities in the nearby town of Warnemuende said a group of
right-wing extremists had beaten and kicked the asylum-seeker from
Togo with their heavy boots. The man was taken to hospital.

Police said one suspect was detained. Tests showed he had been
drinking.
  _______________

-- 
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 Press  Mon Jun 16 07:16:00 1997
From: Press (Press)
Date: 16 Jun 1997 07:16:00
Subject: Turkey: Journalist arrested at KESK meeting
Message-ID: <bac1c849.m0wdcJo.001ASzC@ozgurluk.xs4all.nl>

From: "Press Agency Ozgurluk <Press Agency Ozgurluk" <ozgurluk at xs4all.nl>
Subject: Turkey: Journalist arrested at KESK meeting

16 June,1997, Copyright ? Turkish Daily News

Journalist arrested at KESK meeting

  * _KESK: _Sliding scale is economic terror
 
  _________________________________________________________________
  
Turkish Daily News

Antalya - Ali Yasar, correspondent of the newspaper Sosyalist Iktidar
(Socialist Power) was arrested in Antalya on Saturday at a meeting
organized by the Confederation of Public Sector Labor Unions (KESK).

When Ali Yasar resisted police who want to confiscate his film, he was
bundled into a police car and take to Antalya's Security Headquarters.
The police officer who gave the order for his arrest claimed that
Yasar had taken photographs of police on duty at the meeting and said,
"We were just going to develop the film to see if it contained
anything dubious and give it back."

Speaking at the meeting, KESK General Director Siyami Erdem repeated
the organisation's opposition to a sliding scale wage system and its
demand for free collective bargaining. "With the sliding scale, they
want to impose economic terror on public sector workers," he alleged.
Pointing out the the Welfare Party - True Path Party coalition
government had already applied the sliding-scale to 700 thousand
public workers and that it now wanted to extend it from July onwards
to civil servants in the public sector, Siyami Erdem continued his
speech like this: "The sliding scale is supposed to be a method of
increasing wages and salaries at the same rate as inflation. They want
to deceive workers by using political games and false figures to show
a low inflation rate. With the sliding scale, they want to make the
misery we have suffered up to now something automatic."

KESK General Director Erdem stated that as well as failing to provide
any economic security for workers, the sliding scale was an attack on
free collective bargaining, which had represented a political victory
for the working class, and on labor union organisation. Siyami Erdem
claimed that the bill for the economic and political crisis being
suffered in Turkey was being presented to the working class and said,
"The solution of the problems in Turkey is possible with the
replacement of the regime of gangs by the supremacy in the country of
peaceful policies based on human rights and freedoms."

-- 
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 ozgurluk at xs4all.nl  Mon Jun 16 07:45:45 1997
From: ozgurluk at xs4all.nl (ozgurluk at xs4all.nl)
Date: 16 Jun 1997 07:45:45
Subject: Germany: Law violations during demonstrations will be a reason for d
Message-ID: <bac1c849.m3u3iytxzu.fsf@ozgurluk.xs4all.nl>

Subject: Germany: Law violations during demonstrations will be a reason for deportation
From: Press Agency Ozgurluk <ozgurluk at xs4all.nl>


- Law violations during demonstrations will be a reason for deportation

Foreigners who participate in illegal demonstrations have to expect
possible deportation in the future.  This change in the law was passed by
a mediation committee comprising members of both Bundestag and Bundesrat.
>From now on illegal actions during demonstrations will be considered an
urgent reason for deportation, even without a trial.  The government
spokesperson on issues relating to foreigners, Mrs. Schmalz-Jacobsen,
expressed regret that the new law will also affect the children of
foreigners who have been living in Germany for a long time.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------
|          GermNews :  http://www.mathematik.uni-ulm.de/germnews             |
|          DE-NEWS  :  http://www.mathematik.uni-ulm.de/de-news              |
------------------------------------------------------------------------------


From ozgurluk at xs4all.nl  Mon Jun 16 07:50:22 1997
From: ozgurluk at xs4all.nl (ozgurluk at xs4all.nl)
Date: 16 Jun 1997 07:50:22
Subject: RSF: Turkey 1997 Report
Message-ID: <bac1c849.m3yb8atyjp.fsf@ozgurluk.xs4all.nl>

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

Edited/Distributed by HURINet - The Human Rights Information Network
---------------------------------------------------------------------
ZONE Europa and the former Soviet Union

Turkey

     A journalist was beaten to death by police at the start
     of 1996, but the trial of his killers is dragging on.
     Dozens of other journalists were tortured in detention
     and more than 200 were arrested or jailed. The year
     1996 opened in Turkey with the killing by police on 8
     January of Metin Goktepe, a young reporter for the
     extreme-left daily Evrensel. The officers' guilt has
     been established and the murder has aroused a wave of
     indignation in Turkey and abroad. The policemen have
     been put on trial, but the proceedings have been slowed
     by adjournments and changes of venue for security
     reasons. The Goktepe trial well reflects the state of
     press freedom in the country; a degree of democracy
     does exist, as evidenced by the freedom with which the
     established media discuss politicians, but officialdom
     still tolerates behaviour hostile to freedom of
     expression in the name of protecting the state and its
     servants. The media scene is still dominated by a few
     press groups which own the major dailies and privately
     owned television channels. A trial of strength is under
     way between these media and the coalition government
     led by prime minister Necmettin Erbakan's Refah
     (Prosperity) Islamic party. The government unveiled a
     bill in November to amend the press law, which includes
     a provision to "prevent publication of false
     information liable to affect the political or financial
     prestige of the state, cause panic or provoke the
     people". The draft law, which sparked an outcry in the
     press, would however do little to change the situation
     of the myriad partisan publications, mainly pro-Kurdish
     and/or extreme-left, which are already being hit harder
     than ever by the provisions of the criminal code and
     the antiterrorism law.

     Journalists killed

     On 8 January 1996, Metin Goktepe, a reporter on the
     extreme-left daily Evrensel, was covering the burial in
     Istanbul of two political prisoners killed in jail. He
     was arrested by riot police at a roadblock because he
     "talked too much". He was taken to the Eyup sports
     complex and given a preliminary beating. He fainted,
     but was revived and beaten again by his torturers. He
     was left where he lay with no medical attention and
     died that afternoon. The autopsy report concluded that
     "death resulted from cerebral haemorrhage caused by a
     head wound". On 16 January, the human rights minister,
     Adnan Ekmen, publicly admitted: "It is clear that Metin
     Goktepe was arrested and that he was killed while in
     detention. The fatal incident occurred in the Eyup
     sports complex, under police control and protection."
     The interior ministry opened an inquiry, and on 22
     January the then prime minister Tansu Ciller promised
     that "the guilty men will be found". The Istanbul
     administrative council gave the go-ahead on 8 February
     for charging 48 police officers, at least 11 of them
     with direct involvement in the journalist's death. A
     17-year-old student, Deniz Ozcan, told a press
     conference at the Istanbul human rights association on
     25 March that he had been arrested and tortured twice,
     in February and March, since Metin Goktepe's death
     because of evidence he had given in the case. On 11
     July, a few days before the date set for the opening of
     the trial on 15 July, Deniz Ozcan was again kidnapped
     by men he said were plain-clothes policemen, who
     tortured him to make him retract his evidence. On 15
     July the trial was immediately transferred, for
     "security reasons", from Istanbul to Aydin, near Izmir,
     600 kilometres south-west of Istanbul. The first
     substantive session of the trial opened at Aydin
     criminal court on 18 October -- without the accused
     policemen. No legal action has yet been taken against
     the Istanbul police chief at the time of the murder,
     Orhan Tasanlar, who has since been transferred to
     Bursa. After a one-day hearing the Goktepe trial was
     adjourned to 29 November. On 8 November, the supreme
     court of appeal decided to move the trial to Afyon,
     again 600 kilometres from Istanbul and again for
     "security reasons". The second hearing was scheduled
     for 6 February 1997.

     Journalists missing

     On 9 May 1996, Mustafa Genc, Adana correspondent for
     the monthly Barikat, and a friend disappeared in
     Istanbul. During the night police searched his home in
     Osmaniye. Mustafa Genc spent 11 years in prison after
     the military coup in September 1980 for belonging to an
     illegal organisation.

     Journalists tortured

     Despite official assurances to the contrary, torture is
     still current practice in Turkey, especially by
     antiterrorist units that keep an especially close watch
     on journalists working for the pro-Kurdish and
     extreme-left press. According to the International
     Human Rights Federation, 1,412 people were tortured
     during detention in 1995. At least 31 journalists
     suffered this fate in 1996. On 8 January 1996, Malik
     Corlu, a journalist with Partizan Sesi, was held by
     police in the Eyup sports complex in Istanbul as he was
     covering the burial of two political prisoners killed
     when a jail mutiny was put down. He said he was freed
     shortly after Metin Goktepe was taken away in an
     ambulance, probably already dead (see above). He was
     given a certificate at Haseki hospital attesting that
     he had been tortured. Taylan Turkmen, the Evrensel
     correspondent in Adana, was arrested by police on 16
     February while he was on a reporting mission at Urfa.
     He was held for two hours in police headquarters, where
     he said he was beaten with truncheons, insulted and
     threatened with death after he said he was a
     journalist. His films and notebook were confiscated. On
     26 March, Muammer Kalkan was arrested by police as he
     was leaving the offices of Proleter Halkin Birgili
     because was "in possession of seized and banned
     magazines". The next day, the magazine's proprietor,
     Hidir Sari, was also taken into custody when he went to
     the police station to ask about Muammer Kalkan. When
     the journalist was released two days later he told
     about the torture he had suffered: "They submerged me
     naked in cold water for half an hour. Then the chief
     superintendent made me lie on the floor and kicked me.
     Eight or ten policemen beat me until I lost
     consciousness. I was revived and dressed, then beaten
     again and put back in the water. The superintendent dug
     his thumbs in behind my ears and twisted, and showed me
     to the other detainees, saying: 'Take a good look. He
     is a communist, a traitor. The police are a mafia and I
     am the godfather'". On 28 March, Muammer Kalkan was
     taken before the local prosecutor, who ordered his
     release. The police doctor gave him a certificate
     describing his injuries and a seven-day leave of
     absence from work. At three in the morning on 3 May,
     police arrested four young women journalists on
     Alinteri, Mehtap Kurucay, Sabiha Budak, Filiz Ozturk
     and Incigul Basel. They were mistreated during the
     arrest and taken to the antiterrorist section of
     Istanbul central police station (Aksaray). Two hours
     later, Incigul Basel was taken to the intensive care
     unit of Capa Tip Fakultesi hospital with head injuries.
     She said she had been beaten and sexually molested when
     she was arrested. Then at the Aksaray political police
     department she was blindfolded and beaten again. The
     other three journalists were released on 19 May. Mehtap
     Kurucay said she too had been tortured.

     Journalists jailed

     On 1 January 1997, at least nine journalists were still
     held in Turkish prisons for their opinions or because
     of their work -- Naile Tuncer, Isik Yurtcu, Salih Bal,
     Guray Ulku, Muteber Yildirim, Hasan Ozgun, Ismail
     Gunes, Ali Toprak and Hatice Onaran. As always, it is
     difficult to give an estimate of the exact number of
     journalists in jail because there are so many of them.
     At least 100 journalists were jailed (for more than 48
     hours) in 1996, although this figure may well be an
     underestimate. We have selected the following cases: On
     17 January 1996, Hasan Ozgun, former Diyarbakir
     correspondent of the now-defunct daily Ozgur Gundem
     (closed in 1994), was sentenced to 12-1/2 years in
     prison by the Diyarbakir state security court (CSE). He
     was charged under article 168/2 of the criminal code
     with being a member of the Kurdistan Workers' Party
     (PKK), on the basis of political tracts found in his
     office. He has been in jail since 9 December 1993, when
     police raided Ozgur Gundem (see 1994 Report). His
     sentence was confirmed by the supreme court of appeal
     at the end of October 1996. On 26 January, Isik Turtcu,
     a former editor of Ozgur Gundem who has been held in
     prison since 28 December 1994, was sentenced to a
     four-year jail term and a fine of 400 million Turkish
     lira (TL) (3,600 dollars) by the Istanbul CSE. He had
     already been found guilty in 1994 on the same charges
     (articles published in the 21, 22 and 26 September 1992
     issues) but the court ruled that his sentence should
     not be reduced despite the reform of the antiterrorist
     law, because there was a risk he would "commit a crime"
     if he were released. On 2 February, Isik Yurtcu was
     sentenced to a year in prison and a fine of TL 100
     million (900 dollars) by the Istanbul CSE for other
     articles published in Ozgur Gundem in 1992.Hatice
     Onaran, former editor of Devrimci Cozum, was arrested
     on 19 March when her 4-1/2-year sentence under the
     antiterrorist law became effective. She was jailed at
     Gebze prison for infractions of articles 312 and 159 of
     the criminal code and articles 6, 7 and 8 of the
     antiterrorist law. Ertan Aydin, cartoonist on the
     extreme-left daily Evrensel, was arrested on 15 April,
     when a ten-month sentence came into effect, and was
     jailed at Istanbul's Bayrampasa prison on 19 April. The
     offending cartoon, published in the pro-Kurdish daily
     Ozgur Gundem in 1994, criticised the seizure of works
     by the sociologist Ismail Besikci at the Istanbul book
     fair. The charge, under article 159 of the criminal
     code, was "insulting the legal status of the state".
     Ertan Aydin served four months of his sentence and was
     released from prison on 14 August. He was immediately
     held for another hour and a half without explanation at
     an Istanbul police station. He still faces two other
     charges, one for a cartoon showing a police box in the
     form of a dog kennel and a courtroom sketch with the
     judge represented as Mehmet Agar, a former police chief
     turned justice minister. On 24 May, Gul Dogan, a
     journalist with Ozgur Gelecek, was arrested for
     "attempting to take part" in a demonstration held in
     the Tuzla neighbourhood of Istanbul at the tomb of a
     person killed during riots on 1 May. She was freed on
     15 August without being either questioned or put on
     trial. She was accused of "belonging to an armed group"
     under article 168/2 of the criminal code. Abdullah
     Kaplan, the Demokrasi bureau chief in Elazig, and two
     reporters, Turabi Sen and Nurcan Turgut, were held in
     police custody for ten days after being arrested on 28
     June. On 5 July, they were formally jailed. They
     appeared before the Malatya CSE on 22 August charged
     under article 169 of the criminal code with "belonging
     to an illegal organisation". Turabi Sen was freed.
     Abdullah Kaplan and Nurcan Turgut were jailed at
     Elbistan prison in the south-eastern city of Maras.
     Nurcan Turgut was kept in prison. On the night of 11-12
     July, Istanbul political police arrested Evrensel
     journalists Mustafa Kara, Zafer Kitik and Mehmet Fatih
     Yurt, at Mustafa Kara's home in Beyoglu. They were
     taken for questioning to the antiterrorist headquarters
     in Istanbul. They were not told why they had been
     arrested. Zeynal Danaci, a reporter with the Adana
     bureau of Kizil Bayrak, was jailed at Ekisehir prison
     on 13 August. He had been arrested the day before as he
     was leaving the office to go home. He was accused of
     resisting arrest. On 20 August, Ozgur Halk editor Inan
     Perisan was jailed at Istanbul's Bayrampasa prison on
     20 August on the orders of the Istanbul prosecutor, and
     transferred three days later to Sakarya. He was charged
     under article 8/1 of the antiterrorist law for an
     article published in usse 67 of the paper, which was
     seized under the same order. Mehmet Fatih Yesilbag,
     former editor of the pro-Kurdish daily Ozgur Gundem
     (from October to November 1993), was jailed at
     Bayrampasa prison at the end of August for articles
     published in October 1993. His currently serving time
     for "insulting the legal status of the state" under
     article 159 of the criminal code and faces several
     possible sentences under article 8 of the antiterrorist
     law. On 17 October, Alper Gormus, former editor of the
     weekly Aktuel, was jailed at Ayvalik, 500 kilometres
     south od Istanbul, after being convicted by the
     Istanbul CSE of "press propaganda for an illegal
     organisation" under article 7/1 of the antiterrorist
     law. The article complained of was an interview
     published on 16 December 1993 in issue 128, under the
     headline "The PKK is the party of Turkey", with an
     Islamic leader who called for the authorities to
     negotiate with the Kurdish armed movement. On 20
     October, Reha Magden, who wrote the story, pointed out
     in an article in Demokrasi that no legal action had
     been taken against him, even though his signature
     appeared under the interview. Alper Gormus was released
     on 19 December. Muteber Yildirim, a Demokrasi
     journalist and secretary of the Istanbul branch of the
     contemporary journalists' association (CGD), was jailed
     for ten months at Bayrampasa prison on 20 November for
     an article published on 22 December 1994 in Ozgur Ulke
     headed "Action in the street for the general strike".
     Her sentence, which includes a fine of TL 433,000 (four
     dollars), was confirmed by the supreme court of appeal.
     She was convicted under law 2822 on strikes and
     collective bargaining and under article 312/1 of the
     criminal code ("praising a crime") by an Istanbul
     police court. At the same trial, the then editor of
     Ozgur Ulke, Mensure Yuksel, was fined TL 2 million (20
     dollars).

     Journalists arrested

     At least 109 journalists were arrested and held for
     less than 48 hours in 1996, a figure which is probably
     an underestimate. We have selected the following cases:
     On 23 March 1996, police charged 300 students occupying
     Ankara university campus. Meryem Akpinar, of the weekly
     Atilim, and Cengis Aslan, of Gencligin Sesi, were
     beaten and detained by plain-clothes policemen. Necibe
     Savaska, a British citizen and journalist working for
     Atilim, was also violently arrested and was later taken
     to hospital. Kemal Ertas, of Partisan Sesi, Cemal
     Gokcamoglu, of Kanal 6 and Serkan Cinier, of Interstar,
     were wounded. The police confiscated their
     videocassettes and films. Gulmisal Basal, of the weekly
     Ozgur Gelecek, received a head injury and a broken
     finger during his arrest. He was released on 25 March.
     Pervin Abduloglu, of Alinteri, was held in custody. A
     correspondent for the American agency Associated Press,
     Burhan Ozbilici, was punched and kicked by policemen.
     He said: "I was watching the action from a distance
     when police wielding truncheons suddenly attacked
     journalists. I saw a cameraman fall down covered in
     blood. Then a policeman shouted: 'There, there's
     another journalist!' and they attacked me as I was
     trying to leave the campus". Ulku Guney, the interior
     minister, called on the AP correspondent in person to
     apologise. On 28 March, media representatives invited
     to attend a cabinet meeting turned up wearing yellow
     helmets as a sign of protest. After the meeting, the
     culture minister and government spokesman assured
     journalists that they would no longer be the victims of
     "unjustified attacks". Irfan Kurt, of the daily
     Evrensel, was arrested at Alibeykoy, Istanbul, on 22
     May, on his way to a news conference. His car was
     stopped at a riot police roadblockand he was forced to
     get out. He was arrested without explanation and taken
     to Atif Odul police station, where he was held for
     seven hours.On 8 June, police broke up the weekly
     demonstration held in Istanbul's Galatasaray
     neighbourhood by the families of people who have
     "disappeared". More than 13 journalists were hit and/or
     arrested. Mehmet Guc, of the privately owned television
     channel ATV, Devrim Sevimay, of the daily Cumhuriyet,
     Necdet Akdemir and Sevil Erdogan, of the extreme-left
     daily Evrensel, Sevil Erol, of Siyah Beyaz, and Kadir
     Biricik and Sukran Can, of the pro-Kurdish daily
     Demokrasi, were held in police custody. Six journalists
     with the extreme-left weekly Atilim and one from the
     monthly Devrimci Emek were also arrested. Musa Agacik,
     of the mass-appeal daily Milliyet, was wounded in the
     leg. Shortly afterwards, Istanbul deputy police chief
     Resat Altay apologised to the journalists and ordered
     their release that evening. Meanwhile, during the
     demonstration, police hit journalists who tried to get
     past roadblocks to cover the protest, and arrested them
     when they organised their own sit-down protest. All
     these journalists were also released that evening. Two
     days later, the interior minister made a public
     apology, but added that "crowd control measures always
     involve high risks for journalists". Evrensel
     journalists Mete Karakil, Cengiz Simsek and Baris
     Erbektas were arrested by Istanbul police on 19 June
     while they were covering the arrest of hunger-striking
     friends and relations of political prisoners. The same
     day in Ankara, Fehmi Calmuk, of the daily Aksam, and
     Ahmet Takan and Noyan Inal, reporter and cameraman for
     the privately owned television channel Interstar, were
     arrested while they were covering a closed-doors
     meeting at which the Islamic party Refah and the True
     Path Party were discussing the formation of a coalition
     government. They were released four hours later. On 10
     October, while they were covering a student
     demonstration, Baris Erbektas, of Evrensel, and Hasan
     Ogun Ozdemir, of Demokrasi, were held by police for an
     hour on the pretext that "they had no yellow [press]
     card" and had entered the university campus "without
     authorisation". On 22 October, the local Radyo
     Karacadag in the south-east city of Urfa, which had
     been ordered to stop broadcasting on 23 and 24 October,
     was raided by police who sealed the offices and
     arrested the general manager, Mehmetcan Toprak,
     programme director Hikmet Tasdemir and three staffers,
     Luftu Sarac, Omer Karatas and Turan Cihanbeyli. They
     were all released on 24 October. Thirteen journalists
     with Kizil Bayrak were arrested on 5 November. They are
     Canan Kaya, Ozcan Atas, Safter Korkmaz, Ali Eflek,
     Bulent Lacin, Gonca Donmezer, Yeliz Cabuk Cunyet
     Tiskaya, Beyazit Ekiz, Zulfu Ceyhan, Huseyin Turkmen,
     Duygi Tuna and Gungor Yalcintas. On 6 November, Filiz
     Kocali, editor of the women's monthly magazine
     Pazartesi, and Arzu Erkol, a journalist with the
     extreme-left weekly Ozgur Atilim, were arrested by riot
     police while they were covering student demonstrations
     in Istanbul's Beyazit Square. They said police simply
     ran identity checks on them, but Arzu Erkol was beaten
     while being arrested. Erol Malkoc, Bahri Colak and
     Gonul Sayginer, of the Kizil Bayrak bureau in Ankara,
     were arrested on 29 November and held in police custody
     for two days. On 4 December, Demokrasi reporter
     Zulfikar Ali Aydin was arrested at the literature
     faculty of Istanbul university after interviewing the
     dean. He was released by the prosecutor's office two
     days later.

     Journalists attacked

     At least 45 journalists were attacked in 1996. We have
     selected the following cases: On 8 January 1996,
     reporter Mustafa Erdogan and cameraman Tuncay Alpi,
     from the private television station ATV, who were
     covering the burial of two political prisoners in
     Istanbul (see above), became worried about Metin
     Goktepe, who had been supposed to join up with them.
     Tuncay Alpi explained: "We followed the cars going to
     the sports complex and climbed on a shed to film. The
     police started to insult us and throw stones at us to
     make us get down, then dragged us into the sports hall
     and beat us up. They confiscated our cassettes and
     cameras before throwing us out." On the night of 19-20
     January, Aykut Tuzcu, proprietor of the Gaziantep local
     paper Sabah, was shot at as he was parking his car
     outside his home. He escaped unhurt. He said he did not
     know who his assailants were. Aykut Tuzcu's car was
     blown up on 24 February 1992. Responsibility for the
     bombing was not claimed. On 20 March, the Kurdish New
     Year's Eve (Newroz), students organised a demonstration
     at Diyarbakir university. Police broke it up violently
     and attacked two local cameramen, Hakim Cetiner, of Can
     TV, and Salih Dundar, of Metro TV. Their films were
     confiscated. Armed men in a car shot at the offices of
     the daily Hurriyet in Istanbul on the night of 17-18
     April. Bullets shattered fourth-floor windows but
     no-one was hurt. Responsibility for the attack was not
     claimed. Bekir Bayram, Giresun correspondent for the
     daily Tirkiye, was beaten up by policemen at the end of
     April, for no apparent reason. He had to stay off work
     for two days. On 11 June, Zeynel Salt, an Ozgur Gelecek
     reporter, was kidnapped as he was on his way to visit
     prisoners in Istanbul's Bayrampasa prison. Four men
     bundled him into a red Fiat then beat him for three
     hours before dumping him on a building site. They took
     his working papers, camera and press card.Arif Caya, a
     cameraman with the privately owned television channel
     Ege TV, was beaten by police breaking up a
     demonstration in Izmir on 2 July to commemorate the
     1993 Sivas massacre, when Islamic extremists burned
     down a hotel, killing 37 people (see 1994 Report). Arif
     Caya's left arm and foot were broken. Necati Aygin, a
     reporter for Cumhuriyet, and Dilek Eski, a local
     journalist, were also injured by police. On 15 July,
     Istanbul police broke up a demonstration in support of
     hunger-striking prisoners. They deliberately hit nine
     journalists: Kaan Saganak, Alper Turgut and Hatice
     Tuncer, of Cumhuriyet, Efe Erdem, of Milliyet, Yuksel
     Koc, of Global, Ifan Kurt and Muhittin Erdogan, of
     Evrensel, Sevil Erdogan, of Siyah Beyaz, and Saban
     Dayan, a photographer for the German news agency
     Version. Saban Dayan said: "The police grabbed me for
     no reason and damaged my camera. When I protested, more
     policemen gathered round and punched and clubbed me,
     slitting my lip". Police seized cameras and burned
     films. When reporters sought refuge in of offices of
     the Turkish journalists' association, police followed
     them in and threatened the secretary-general, Leyla
     Tavsanoglu. They hit Yuksel Koc and Sevil Erdogan. Ifan
     Kurt and Muhittin Erdogan were arrested but released
     soon afterwards. Saban Dayan and Muhittin Erdogan were
     off work for three days and Ifan Kurt for one day. All
     three lodged a complaint with the prosecutor's office,
     but no action was taken. A demonstration was organised
     on 6 October in Istanbul's Taksim Square by
     extreme-left parties and organisations to protest
     against the deaths of ten political prisoners in
     Diyarbakir jail. Nearly 60 people were detained by the
     police and journalists were brutally kept away from the
     scene. Alper Turgut of Cumhuriyet, Serhat Oguz, of
     Milliyet, and Ifan Ucar, of Demokrasi, were hit by
     police. On 26 October, journalists rushed towards the
     riot police headquarters in the southern city of Adana
     which had just been bombed, supposedly by the PKK.
     Police came to grips with them and Murat Dogukanli, of
     Milliyet, was taken unconscious to the nearest
     hospital. Mehmet Ali Yilmaz, a reporter for the
     privately owned television channel Kanal 7, and his
     camaeraman Mazul Dayanan were briefly detained.

     Journalists threatened and harassed

     At least 24 journalists were threatened or harassed in
     1996, which is a minimum figure as so many
     newsgatherers are threatened and harassed by
     individuals, members of the security forces and
     political activists. We have selected the following
     cases: On 1 May 1996, The Malatya bureau chief of the
     extreme-left weekly Ozgur Gelecek, Akiner Caglar, was
     approached by police at nine in the morning outside his
     home. He said the officers told him that, if he cared
     about his children, he had a choice between
     "cooperating", "leaving Malatya" or "taking the
     consequences". The offices of the daily Evrensel were
     searched on 16 July by Istanbul police, on the grounds
     that "a suspect person has entered the building".
     Officers, who had no search warrant, combed the
     building with guns in their hands, and left an hour
     later saying they would make a report to their
     superiors.In the evening of 24 August, Diyarbakir
     police raided the premises of the local television
     station Can TV during a live debate on "The Kurdish
     problem and peace". Officers entered the studio and
     interrupted the programme. Those taking part were
     arrested, plus the chairman of the debate, Cuneyt
     Alphan.

     Administrative, legal and economic pressure

     Legal action was taken against journalists working for
     at least 29 Turkish media between 1 January and 31
     December 1996: Ada (at least 2 cases), Akit (2), Atilim
     (5), Aydinlik (1), Cumhuriyet (1), Demokrasi (1)
     Devrimci Genclik (1), Ekimler (1), Evrensel (4), Hedef
     (2), Interstar (1), Jiyana Nu (1), Leman (3), Milliyet
     (1), Odak (1), Ozgur Gundem (8), Ozgur Halk (1), Ozgur
     Ulke (3), Ozgur Yasam (2), Partisan Sesi (1), Radio
     Demokrat (1), Roza (1), Savasa Kasi Baris (2), Selam
     (1), Show TV (3), Turkish Daily News (1), Yeni Politika
     (1) and Yeni Yuzyil (2). On 7 February 1996, Cemal
     Serik was sentenced by the Istanbul CSE to 16 months in
     prison and a fine of TL 133 million (1,200 dollars) for
     an article published in the pro-Kurdish daily Ozgur
     Ulke on 28 October 1994. The trial opened in mid-April
     of the privately owned television station Interstar for
     "insulting the personal rights" of Tansu Ciller, leader
     of the True Voice Party and former prime minister. Cem
     zan, the proprietor, Ardan Zenturk, programme director,
     and journalists Engin Ardic, Ozgan Ertuna, Mustafa
     Ozden Akbal, Dilek Cansevgisi, Orhan Cem Sasmaz and Nur
     Sakarya, face maximum sentences of two years three
     months under articles 428/1, 273 and 80 of the criminal
     code, for programmes broadcast between 6 September and
     12 October 1995. On 9 May, the leader writer of the
     daily Yeni Yuzyil, Ali Bayramoglu, was acquitted by the
     Istanbul CSE. He and editor Ismet Berkan had faced
     maximum sentences of six years in prison for
     "incitement to racial hatred" under article 312 of the
     criminal code. Ali Bayramoglu had written an editorial
     headed "Why has Ahmed Altan been sacked?", referring to
     the dismissal of a leading Milliyet columnist who was
     sentenced on 18 October 1995 to 20 months in prison
     plus a fine for a piece headed 'Ataturk' on 17 April
     1995 (see 1996 Report). This controversial editorial
     was the reason for his dismissal from the mass-appeal
     daily. He now works for Yeni Yuzyil. A one-year
     sentence passed on Kutlu Esendemir, publishing manager
     of the humorous weekly Leman, by a Beyoglu court was
     reduced by an Istanbul appeal court on 18 October to
     ten months, which was suspended because of his "good
     behaviour during the hearings". His conviction was for
     "insulting the legal status of the state and the armed
     forces" in an article published on 7 July 1996, headed
     "The prisons are vomiting death". On 1 November, an
     Ankara court acquitted the English-language Turkish
     Daily News of "insulting the state and the prestige of
     the armed forces". At the request of the army chief of
     staff, legal proceedings had been taken against editor
     Ilnur Cevik and journalist Hayri Birler over an article
     published on 9 February 1996 headed "The army polls the
     political crisis", referring to a survey that the army
     was said to have ordered from a polling institute. The
     next day the Turkish Daily News published a denial by
     the army. The two journalists had faced a maximum
     sentence of six years. Justice minister Sevket Kazan, a
     member of the ruling Islamic party Refah (Prosperity),
     unveiled a bill on 18 November to amend the press law.
     It sparked an outcry in the press which saw it, as
     Milliyet said, as "a step towards dictatorship". The
     draft law includes a provision "prevent publication of
     false information liable to affect the political or
     financial prestige of the state, cause panic or provoke
     the people". Publications breaking this law would be
     liable fines up to 90 % of average sales receipts
     during the previous month. Radio and television
     stations would face fines ranging from the equivalent
     of 50,000 to 200,000 dollars.

     Obstacles to the domestic free flow of information

     Between 1 January and 31 December 1996, at least 39
     media were suspended for periods varying between a few
     days and several months, or closed or suspended
     indefinitely, under either anti-terrorist laws or those
     regulating the audiovisual media (*): Akinci Yolu (at
     least once), Alinteri (2), Atilim (3), ATV* (1) Cine 5*
     (1), Demokrasi (2), Demokrat Radyo* (1), Devrimci Cozum
     (1), Devrimci Genclik (1), Dost FM* (indefinite
     suspension), Ekim Gencligi (1) Ekim TV* (1) Emekcinin
     Alinteri (1), Evrensel (4), Flash TV* (1), FM12*
     (indefinite suspension), Halkin Birligi (1), Hedef (2),
     Interstar* (2), Kanal D* (7), Kanal 6* (2), Kanal 50*
     (1), Kizil Bayrac (2), Odak (1), Ozgur Genclik (1)
     Ozgur Halk (1), Partizan Sesi (1), Proleter Halkin
     Birligi (1), Radyo Ekin (closure), Radyo Gercek*
     (infefinite suspension) Radyo Gol* (indefinite
     suspension), Radyo Karacadag (2), Radio Mozaik* (1),
     Ronahi (closure), Selam (1), Sev Radyo* (1), Show TV*
     (4), Sok Radyo* (1) and Sosyalizm Yolunda Kizil Bayrak
     (1). Issues of at least 53 dailies, weeklies or monthly
     magazines were seized under the anti-terrorist law: Ada
     (at least once), Akinci Yolu (1), Alinteri (9), Atilim
     (3), Aydinlik (3), Deng (1) Devrimci Cozum (3),
     Devrimci Emek (1), Direnis (1), Emek (2), Emekcinin
     Alinteri (3) Evrensel (9), Express (1), Genc Direnis
     (1), Genclik (1), Gencligin Sesi (2), Haftalik Aydinlik
     (1), Halk Icin Kurtulus(1), Hedef (4), Hevi (1),
     Kahraman (1), Kaldirac (2), Kervan (2), Kurtulus (5),
     Milliyet (1) Nu Roj (4), Odak (5), Oncu Partizan (3),
     Oncu Yurtseverr Genclik (1), Ozgur Atilim (2), Ozgur
     Gelecek (12), Ozgur Genclik (3), Ozgurluk (2) Partisan
     (2) Partisan Genclik (2), Partisan Sesi (10),
     Perspektif (1), Proleter Dogrultu (2), Proleter Halkin
     Birligi (10), Reheval (2), Roj (1), Ronahi (61), Savasa
     Karsi Baris (1) Sodak (1), Sosyalist Iktidar (2), Soz
     (3), Tavir (1), Tempo (1), Uzun Yuruyus (1), Yeni
     Demokrat Genclik (3), Yeniden Newroz (3) and Yeni
     Dunaya Icin (2). We have selected the following cases:
     On 10 January, number 218 of the extreme-left daily
     Evrensel was seized by the Istanbul CSE under article 5
     of the antiterrorist law, for an article headed
     "Evrensel will not keep silence" recounting the
     circumstances surrounding the death of Metin Goktepe
     (see above). The paper was accused of "pointing out
     police officers as targets for terrorist organisations,
     by publishing their names". The daily Evrensel was
     suspended for 75 days by the Istanbul CSE on 9 May for
     printing an interview with an army officer who
     confessed anonymously that the army was carrying out
     exactions in the south-east of the country. Evrensel
     was charged under article 312 of the criminal code
     covering "incitement to hatred". On 15 July, the prime
     minister, Necmettin Erbakan, intervened to ban the
     privately owned television station Interstar from
     broadcasting a report on hunger-striking prisoners.
     Police entered the studio 15 minutes before the evening
     newscast, acting under article 25 of law 3984 covering
     radio and television: ["When national security is
     clearly threatened or when there is a risk of a serious
     breach of the peace, the prime minister may intervene
     to prevent a programme being broadcast"]. The
     pro-Kurdish weekly Ronahi was definitively closed down
     in October by an Istanbul court for "separatist
     propaganda". According to Ronahi, 61 out of the 72
     issues it had published in 1996 had been seized. The
     weekly has had three proprietors and five editors. On
     15 October, the Istanbul CSE ordered the confiscation
     of that day's issue of Evrensel, for "insulting the
     armed forces" in an article on village guards, under
     the headline "The headhunters' pay has been raised".
     The daily stopped publishing on 31 October. The
     management said 60 issues had been seized and 78
     lawsuits had been filed against the paper, 19 of which
     resulted in acquittals. Suspensions had totalled 125
     days. The Turkish radio and television council (RTUK)
     decided in November to suspend the privately owned
     television station Kanal D for three days, from 30
     November to 2 December, and its sister channel Show TV
     for two days. The suspensions were for broadcasting
     images evoking homosexual relations.

     Obstacles to the international free flow of information

     On 14 January 1996, Ritva Ronnberg, correspondent for
     the privately owned Swedish television channel TV4, was
     arrested by police in Diyarbakir. She was reporting on
     the return to Turkey of a Kurdish family expelled from
     Sweden. She was held in custody for two hours and asked
     to translate the content of her videocassette. Her
     tapes were returned to her and she was allowed to leave
     the police station, followed by plain-clothes officers.
     On 23 May, Leena Reikko, correspondent for Finnish
     radio and television, YLE, was held in custody for six
     hours with her Turkish cameraman, Kemal Gokalin. She
     was arrested by the Istanbul antiterrorist police in
     the offices of the pro-Kurdish Popular Democratic Party
     (HADEP). Her videocassettes were returned two days
     later, but the police had erased some passages of her
     curtainraising report on the international "Habitat"
     conference, including an interview with an elderly Kurd
     exiled to Istanbul. Ebru Donmezoglu, who works for the
     Greek news agency ANKA, was hit by police in Ankara on
     6 July. She was in a park near the scene of a
     demonstration backing prisoners on hunger strike when
     she saw policemen beating someone. They attcked the
     journalist when they saw she was taking notes.

Reporters Sans Frontieres

-- 
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 ozgurluk at xs4all.nl  Thu Jun 19 19:13:32 1997
From: ozgurluk at xs4all.nl (ozgurluk at xs4all.nl)
Date: 19 Jun 1997 19:13:32
Subject: AKIN: Turkish Military Claims Another Victim:  The Prime Minister
Message-ID: <bac1c849.m3en9yc9kh.fsf@ozgurluk.xs4all.nl>

Subject: AKIN: Turkish Military Claims Another Victim:  The Prime Minister
From: Press Agency Ozgurluk <ozgurluk at xs4all.nl>

	
Press Release # 24					                   
Contact:  Noah A. Weiss
Tel:  (202) 483-6444
June 19, 1997								 

Turkish Military Claims Another Victim:  The Prime Minister

Yesterday, Necmettin Erbakan, the Islamist Prime Minister of Turkey,
resigned in response to the most recent threat by generals in the
military to use force to overthrow the coalition government.  The
outgoing Prime Minister, whose party received a plurality of the vote
in the most recent elections, said, ?I resigned because I am a true
patriot.?  Unless one is well-versed in Orwellian double talk, one
would think a true patriot would fight for the choice the people
mandated rather than succumb to a self-appointed ?guardian? of the
state.  

Lest it needs repeating, in true democracies, the military is not in
the business of dictating to civilian governments how they should
conduct themselves.  In Turkey, unfortunately, the military has
dictated again and, not for the first time, spineless politicians have
surrendered their mandate to the top brass.  A NATO ally and darling
of armchair policy-makers in Washington, Turkey has been teetering on
the edge of self-destruction for some time now.  Mehmet Altan, one of
Turkey?s most insightful journalists, has compared Turkey?s situation
to a bus going downhill without any breaks.  

The roots of this crisis go back to the early 1980s.  It began when
the Kurds, who had been denied recognition in the constitution of the
country, demanded improved social, cultural, and political rights.
Many were killed, many others fled the country, and some took up arms
to fight the central government.


The military thought it had an antidote for the Kurdish clamor.  They
began establishing religious schools in an effort to undermine the
rising tide of Kurdish nationalism (remember:  religion is the opium
of the masses).  Unwittingly, the generals opened the way for the rise
of political Islam.  In the 1995 elections, disillusioned Turks and
Kurds, who had witnessed the imprisonment of their political leaders
in 1994, voted significantly for Erbakan, giving his party a plurality
of the vote.

Favoring the Islamists over the Kurds has created the present impasse.
True friends of Turkey would not endorse the military?s success in
deposing the Islamist Prime Minister but urge it to declare peace with
the Kurdish minority of the country and respect the religious
preferences of its peoples.  As the Austrian diplomat Metternich
suggested, entrusting the ship of the state to the military will only
bring stagnation and disaster.  

The U.S. cannot afford to condone the military?s latest interference
in the democratic process in Turkey.  Therefore, Secretary of State
Madeleine Albright must confront Turkey?s military leaders just as she
has confronted other leaders throughout the world.

----
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

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

From kurd-l at burn.ucsd.edu  Fri Jun 20 02:22:30 1997
From: kurd-l at burn.ucsd.edu (kurd-l at burn.ucsd.edu)
Date: 20 Jun 1997 02:22:30
Subject: AKIN Press Release #23
Message-ID: <bac1c849.Pine.NEB.3.95.970619205..@burn.ucsd.edu>

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

American Kurdish Information Network
Press Release #23
June 9, 1997

Jailing Of Kurdish Party Leaders Shows Absence Of "Democracy" In
Turkey

     On Wednesday, June 4, 31 members of the Kurdish People's
Democracy Party (HADEP) in Turkey, including its chairman Murat
Bozlak, were sentenced to as many as 6 years in jail for alleged
ties to the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), a guerrilla
movement fighting for improved social, political, and cultural
rights for Kurds in Turkey.
     This is the most recent incident in the Turkish government's
continual effort to prevent any democratic or peaceful resolution
to the "Kurdish question" from occurring in Turkey. It is also the
first step in the Turkish government's effort to ban HADEP, just
as the government banned HADEP's predecessors, DEP in 1994 and HEP
in 1993, and expelled 13 DEP Parliamentarians, jailing 6 of them
for their "separatist speech".
     Though HADEP has never advocated violence or outright
separatism, the Turkish government insists it serves as a front
organization for the PKK. Instead, HADEP serves as an outlet for
those Kurds who seek not to bear arms but rather a peaceful and
democratic resolution to the increasingly
violent Turkish-Kurdish conflict.
     Since 1984, military conflict has taken the lives of more
than 30,000 people, has destroyed 3,100 Kurdish villages, and has
displaced 3 million Kurds within Turkey.
     Kurds peacefully seeking the same basic human rights granted
to so much of the world's population have as their only option the
HADEP party. And now, in conjunction with the military's efforts
to fight the PKK in the mountains of Kurdistan, the Turkish
government has initiated an effort to shut down this last
alternative for peace.
     The jailing of 31 members of HADEP starkly contrasts the
Turkish government's proclamations of a budding and stable
democracy. For democracy in Turkey to blossom, all political
parties, especially those espousing the improved rights of
one-third of Turkey's population, must be allowed their political
freedom.
     Before the Turkish political system can truly be called a
democracy, the government must attain a peaceful solution to the
"Kurdish question"; one major step towards this goal is the
recognition of HADEP as a legitimate political party.
     For the sake of democracy in Turkey, these 31 members of
HADEP should be released and HADEP should be allowed to
participate in Turkish politics free from the oppression and
intimidation it faces today.

----
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 kurd-l at burn.ucsd.edu  Fri Jun 20 02:25:07 1997
From: kurd-l at burn.ucsd.edu (kurd-l at burn.ucsd.edu)
Date: 20 Jun 1997 02:25:07
Subject: Britain Approves The Extradition Of
Message-ID: <bac1c849.Pine.NEB.3.95.970619205..@burn.ucsd.edu>

From: Arm The Spirit <ats at locust.etext.org>
Subject: Britain Approves The Extradition Of Kani Yilmaz To Germany

Britain Approves The Extradition Of Kani Yilmaz To Germany

     On hearing the decision of the British Law Lords not to refer
the National Liberation Front of Kurdistan's (ERNK) European
representative Kani Yilmaz extradition case to the appeal court,
meaning his imminent extradition (June 26, 1997) to Germany, Kani
said the following from his prison cell in Belmarsh:
     "This decision has nothing to do with me personally. It is a
reflection of the British government's attitude toward the
national liberation struggle of the Kurdish people." 
     We are asking people to urgently protest to the British Home
Secretary, Jack Straw, asking him not to extradite Kani Yilmaz and
to immediately release him so he may continue his diplomatic work
in the search for a peaceful and political solution to the Kurdish
question.
     We urgently appeal to all Kurds and friends of the Kurdish
people to protest at this action of the British government. Please
immediately fax protests to the Home Office Minister:

Rt. Hon. Jack Straw MP
Fax: +44 0171 273 3965

Address:
The Home Secretary
Rt. Hon. Jack Straw MP
Home Office
50 Queen Anne's Gate
London SW1H 9AT
England

----
Kurdistan Solidarity Committee 
Trade Union Group
10 Glasshouse Yard
The Barbican
London EC1A 4JN
England

Tel: +44 0171 250 1315
Fax: +44 0171 250 1317

(From: inan at dircon.co.uk)

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



From kurd-l at burn.ucsd.edu  Fri Jun 20 06:05:49 1997
From: kurd-l at burn.ucsd.edu (kurd-l at burn.ucsd.edu)
Date: 20 Jun 1997 06:05:49
Subject: Book Review: "My Encounters With Ku
Message-ID: <bac1c849.Pine.NEB.3.95.970620005..@burn.ucsd.edu>

From: Arm The Spirit <ats at locust.etext.org>
Subject: Book Review: "My Encounters With Kurdistan"

(A review of Jonathan C. Randal's book on the Kurds and Kurdistan)

The Follies Of The Kurds

     I looked forward to reading Jonathan C. Randal's newest book,
"After Such Knowledge, What Forgiveness? My Encounters with
Kurdistan". I was curious to know how a Washington Post
reporter would view my homeland. Would his projections as an
outsider collide with mine or would they be similar to what I know
for virtue of being a Kurd? An activist, I also was hoping to
learn some lessons to help me advance the cause of the Kurds.
     What emerged was a picture political in nature. The struggle
of southern Kurds in northern Iraq figured prominently in the
pages. The tragic Kurdish figures of Mullah Mustafa Barzani, Jalal
Talabani and Massuod Barzani lead the fortune of the Kurds to hell
on earth several times over. The writer wonders if misfortune is
part of the Kurdish genes.
     The senior Barzani is described as both a commendable figure
and a pitiful one. In his forties, he fights on his own against
great odds, earns his people's respect and, though he is forced to
flee to the Soviet Union, he becomes a myth, a legend, a symbol of
Kurdish resistance to tyranny of all kinds. In his sixties, he
fights again, but, this time, on the shoulders of the United
States, Iran and Israel.  The result is a tragedy of monumental
proportions:  the Kurds are sold to Iraq, the butchers of Baghdad,
and a slaughter ensues.
     One would think one gets wiser as one gets older in life. But
the senior Barzani -- Randal makes clear -- loses to the
machinations of his adversaries more so later than before. When
Henry Kissinger and the Shah of Iran offer him help to gain his
objectives for their own ends, he believes they mean goodness for
the Kurds.  In Algiers in 1975, they deliver him and his people to
the to the Iraqi envoy, Saddam Hussein.
     The most telling statement in the book comes from the senior
Barzani himself. A Palestinian woman confronts him and asks why he
is dealing with the state of Israel, the pariah state in the
Middle East. He says, "I am [read, we are] like the blind
beggar[s] outside of Sulaimaniyah mosque." To the outstretched
hands, not liberty but the blood of the Kurdish martyrs and the
tears of their families are poured.
     Whether one is a Kurd or not, one cannot help but feel
profound remorse for the travails that befell the old man of
Kurdish nationalism. The Shah of Iran has pushed him and his
people into the abyss, yet Barzani can only ask him for refuge. 
The wily Secretary of State, Henry Kissinger, notes that covert
operations are not missionary undertakings and rejects even a visa
to the ailing Kurd whose health requires urgent care in the United
States.
     There is also suspense in the book. After some outcry from
the friends of the Kurds, the senior Barzani is allowed to come to
the U.S. for his treatment. During the next several years, the
Middle East goes through changes and Barzani makes plans to return
to Iran on March 2, 1979. However, the day before his planned
departure, he dies of "natural" causes. Or does he?
     The stories of other Kurdish leaders, Jalal Talabani, Massuod
Barzani, Abdurahman Kasemlou and Abdullah Ocalan, are lighter,
less engaging and, to a certain degree, wanting. Talabani and the
junior Barzani are doing nothing different and are committing the
same follies as the old man. The aftermath of the Gulf War, their
experiment in self-rule, and their present impasse with one
another make abundantly clear the absence of any new thinking on
their part.
     Mr. Randal accurately expresses a great admiration for the
late Kurdish leader, Abdurahman Kasemlou, who was gunned down by
Iranian assassins in Vienna in 1989.  He was worldly, urbane and
rather articulate, and at ease in several languages. He understood
politics to be an art of compromise and tread the treacherous
waters of the Middle East with elan. Or did he? A man of his
caliber should not have failed himself; he did. And, he also
failed the Kurds. His loss was incalculable.
     Criticism galore, on a few occasions admiration, but in
general an aloofness grips Mr. Randal when he tackles Abdullah
Ocalan, leader of the Kurdish resistance movement in Turkey. 
Immediately, you notice his agreement with the Turkish chorus
arguing that this Kurdish maverick is a Marxist, marches to the
beat of a different drum, commands devotion and is a look-a-like
of Stalin.
     Mr. Randal clearly argues that Ocalan is not who the Kurds
need and his choice would be someone closer to Mr. Kasemlou. This
unsolicited advice is a mistake, for societies are living
organisms that respond to the stimuli surrounding them.
     After what Saddam, Ataturk and the Shah have done to the
Kurds, expecting democracy in Kurdistan remains only a beautiful
dream. Kurds will have to first unite under an iron fist, if you
will, and then opt for democracy and pluralism. Putting the cart
before the horse will provide them with nothing if not more
misery.
     Many countries in the West, due to their imperial designs,
and all the countries in the Middle East, because of their
colonial interests, are in agreement to deny a place in the sun to
the Kurds. Worse, in Iraq and in Turkey, the powers that be prefer
dead Kurds to the live ones.
     Off all Kurdish factions, Turkish Kurds pose the greatest
threat to the stability of the region. They defy their oppressors
and the imperial powers to boot. So, it is much easier for Mr.
Randal to say they are an enigma wrapped in a mystery. For a vast
majority of Kurds, however, they represent the hope for freedom
and liberty.  Such optimism is absent in Mr. Randal's reflections
on the Kurds.
     In all, the book is a good one, for it sheds light on a part
of the world kept in darkness.
     One other thing, Mr. Randal believes the word "imperialism"
no longer applies and to speak of it is to betray one's naivete. 
Unfortunately, he is wrong. Imperialism is with us because of
capitalism and the Kurds view it as a cancer on their lives equal
to the racism of the countries which have jurisdiction over them.

Kani Xulam
June 17, 1997

----
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 ozgurluk at xs4all.nl  Sat Jun 21 12:30:46 1997
From: ozgurluk at xs4all.nl (ozgurluk at xs4all.nl)
Date: 21 Jun 1997 12:30:46
Subject: Turkish fascism: Kurtulus-bureau bombed/employees arrested/fear for
Message-ID: <bac1c849.m3vi37kbhy.fsf@ozgurluk.xs4all.nl>

Subject: Turkish fascism: Kurtulus-bureau bombed/employees arrested/fear for dissapearance
From: Press Agency Ozgurluk <ozgurluk at xs4all.nl>

The fascist Turkish Contra-Guerrilla-State committed another crime.

Today, Saturday June 21 1997, the Kurtulus-bureau in Ankara in the
Izmirstreet 3-10, was bombed by the Contra-Guerrilla. 

The bureau was seriously damaged, we did not receive any information
from our friends in Ankara.

According statements from eye-witnesses there were many ambulances in
front of the building. Our friends that worked in the Ankara-branch of
the Kurtulus-weekly were arrested. The entrance of the building is
still blocked by the police.

We have no idea about the situation of our friends. Also our lawyers
receive no information from the police.

Ovunc (O(")vu(")nc) Bilge and Volkan Aydin, two Ankara correspondents from the
Kurtulus, managed to call their lawyers from inside the building after
the bomb exploded. Both of them were arrested but the police does not
admit this. This is the usual prologue to a new case of
"dissapearance".

Protest-addresses:

Addresses :

President S?leyman Demirel, Office of the President, Cumhur
Baskanligi, 06100 Ankara. Telegram : President Demirel, Ankara,
Turkey.

Prime Minister Necmettin Erbakan, office of the Prime Minister,
Basbakanlik, 06573 Ankara, Turkey. Fax : + 90 312 417 0476

Mrs. Tansu Ciller, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Foreign
Affairs, Disisleri Bakanligi 06100 Ankara Turkey. Fax : + 90 312 419
15 47


Contactadres in Europe:

Informationszentrum f?r Freie V?lker 

Kalkarer Str. 2 50733 K?ln
Tel: 0221-760 76 56
Fax: 0221-760 28 87
e-mail: informationszentrum at kurtulus.com 
http://www.wiwi.uni-  frankfurt.de/~schrader/info.htm

-- 
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 kurd-l at burn.ucsd.edu  Mon Jun 23 06:35:54 1997
From: kurd-l at burn.ucsd.edu (kurd-l at burn.ucsd.edu)
Date: 23 Jun 1997 06:35:54
Subject: Kurdish Student Union Press Release
Message-ID: <bac1c849.Pine.NEB.3.95.970623013..@burn.ucsd.edu>

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

Kurdish Student Union Of England, Scotland, Wales And Northern
Ireland Press Release

     The Kurdistan Students Union was established to put an end
to the lack of proper organisation amongst Kurdish students in
Britain. Our aim is to bring together all Kurdish students and
also non-Kurdish students. We will do our best to deal with
problems faced by Kurdish students in this country.
     On May 14, 1997, the Turkish army invaded South Kurdistan.
The Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) is a puppet of America,
Israel and Turkey. They are engaged in their last act of
collaboration in betraying the Kurdish nation. Turkey, by
invading South Kurdistan, has made its biggest mistake in the
history of the Turkish Republic. Invading South Kurdistan with
dreams of recreating the Ottoman Empire, the Turkish army has
been shocked by the determination of the Kurdistan Workers Party
(PKK) guerrilla resistance. Middle Eastern countries have
demanded the immediate withdrawal of the Turkish forces. The
status quo in the region has been upset. The morale of the
Turkish army has collapsed following the shooting down of its
helicopters. The guerrillas have halted the Turkish army in the
mountains. The Turkish forces are trying to retreat but have been
surrounded by the guerrillas and are suffering heavy losses. This
has led to a psychological crisis and the Turkish soldiers have
no confidence in their officers.
     Kurdistan has become a graveyard for the Turkish state and
the KDP. History has proved the struggles of the Vietnamese and
Cuban peoples to be just. Today, the Kurdish nation is waging a
just and legitimate struggle against imperialism. The invasion of
South Kurdistan is a historical opportunity for the Kurdish
nation to unite. We, as Kurdish students in Britain, condemn the
Turkish invasion and the treachery of the KDP. We wholeheartedly
support the resistance of the Kurdish people lead by the PKK
against the invasion and we condemn the betrayal of the KDP.

Turkish Troops Out Of Kurdistan!
Peaceful Political Solution To The Kurdish Question!

June 20, 1997

If you would like to join the KSU or would like further
information please contact the address below.

Kurdish Student Union Of
England, Scotland, Wales And Northern Ireland
c/o 10 Glasshouse Yard
London, EC 1A 4JN
England
Tel: 0171 - 250 1315
Fax: 0171 - 250 1317

*****************************************************
Kurdistan Information Center
E-mail: kurdistan at burn.ucsd.edu
Kurdistan Report Online
http://burn.ucsd.edu/~kurdistan
-----------------------------------------------------
Our daily newspaper Ozgur Politika is on the net
Ozgur Politika: http://www.kurdit.se/op/
*****************************************************

-----------------------------------------------------------------
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 kurd-l at burn.ucsd.edu  Wed Jun 25 00:57:19 1997
From: kurd-l at burn.ucsd.edu (kurd-l at burn.ucsd.edu)
Date: 25 Jun 1997 00:57:19
Subject: DHKC Rocket Attack On Turkish Tortu
Message-ID: <bac1c849.Pine.NEB.3.95.970624195..@burn.ucsd.edu>

From: Arm The Spirit <ats at locust.etext.org>
Subject: DHKC Rocket Attack On Turkish Torture Center

"Centers Of Torture Are Not Out Of Reach"

Attack On The Headquarters Of The Contra-Guerrilla In Vatan
Cadesi/Istanbul

     On June 16, 1997, a rocket was fired at the police
headquarters building in Vatan Cadesi, Istanbul. This police
building is the main torture center in Istanbul. The Revolutionary
People's Liberation Front (DHKC) claimed responsibility for the
attack. The two guerrillas who fired the rocket were able to flee
from the scene following the attack. A statement released by the
DHKC stated: "At 5:15 pm on June 16, we fired a rocket at the
headquarters of the state security forces in Istanbul, one of the
most important institutions of the fascist state. We were able to
make our escape without losing any of our fighters. Despite their
security precautions, we will always find those who murder our
people, and if necessary, we will carry out dozens of similar
actions."

(News from Press-Agency Ozgurluk, http://www.ozgurluk.org;
Translated by Arm The Spirit)

-----------------------------------------------------------------
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 ++++