From kurd-l at burn.ucsd.edu  Thu Oct  2 09:42:20 1997
From: kurd-l at burn.ucsd.edu (kurd-l at burn.ucsd.edu)
Date: 02 Oct 1997 09:42:20
Subject: Blind Turk Says He's Going to Jail for Sake of Freedom
References: <bac1c849.m3202abqqi.fsf@ozgurluk.xs4all.nl>
Message-ID: <bac1c849.Pine.BSF.3.96.971002035..@burn.ucsd.edu>

From: Arm The Spirit <ats at locust.etext.org>
Subject: Blind Turk Says He's Going To Jail For Sake Of Freedom

_________________________________________________________________
 
     BLIND TURK SAYS HE'S GOING TO JAIL FOR SAKE OF FREEDOM
_________________________________________________________________
 
     The New York Times
     September 26, 1997
 
     By STEPHEN KINZER
 
     ISTANBUL, Turkey -- A blind lawyer has sat in his apartment
for the last few days, waiting for the police to take him to jail
so he can begin serving a 23-year sentence after making a speech
deemed favorable to separatism.
   
     "There is nothing further I can do," the lawyer, Esber
Yagmurdereli, said in an interview in his apartment in Ankara the
other day, soon after a court turned down his final appeal. "I
have told my friends that I will not go into hiding or try to
leave the country. I'm ready to go to jail and wait for a
political decision, for political change, for constitutional
change that will allow me to be freed."
     
     Yagmurdereli's imprisonment is likely to focus further
attention on human rights problems that have kept Turkey out of
the European Union and the informal club of Western democracies
for decades.
     
     In willingly facing his sentence, Yagmurdereli is part of
another Turkish tradition, the determination of some
intellectuals to sacrifice their freedom in an effort to draw
attention to what they consider their country's lack of full
democracy.
     
     "I am not a masochist," he said. "I see this as a patriotic
duty, a way of trying to enlighten my fellow citizens."
     
     The court decision upholding Yagmurdereli's sentence was one
of three that have made headlines in recent days. In the two
other cases, accused gunmen who were charged with membership in
state-sponsored death squads and policemen who were charged with
beating a journalist to death were set free.
     
     The coincidence of these three decisions caused much comment
in political circles and the press, where the existence of the
"deep state," a set of obscure forces that seem to function
beyond the reach of law, has become a major topic of discussion
over the last year.
     
     One leading newspaper reported the three decisions under the
headline "Biggest Crime: To Think." Another published a cartoon
showing the accused gunmen and police officers walking out of a
prison door and Yagmurdereli being ushered in another door. The
caption was, "Deep state protects its own."
     
     This brush with the law is not Yagmurdereli's first. He is
one of a small group of human rights advocates who have
continually challenged Turkey's restrictions on freedom of speech
and press.
     
     Yagmurdereli, 52, who was blinded in an accident when he was
11, holds a law degree and a doctorate in philosophy from one of
Turkey's leading universities. During the 1970s, when Turkey was
consumed by political violence and the military sought to crush
what it viewed as a communist threat, he represented trade unions
and opponents of the government. This marked him as politically
suspicious, and in 1978 he was arrested and convicted of leading
a clandestine revolutionary group.
     
     A report on his trial by the human rights group Amnesty
International said it "failed on a number of counts to conform to
internationally recognized standards governing fair trials." It
said that witnesses against him had withdrawn their charges in
court and that "their statements to the police had been extracted
under torture."
     
     The death sentence passed on Yagmurdereli was later commuted
to life imprisonment, which in Turkey is equivalent to 36 years
in jail. He served nearly 14 years, 7 of them in an isolation
cell.
     
     Only a month after his release in 1991, Yagmurdereli made a
speech asserting that Turkish governments had denied religious
and ethnic groups, specifically the Kurds, rights that are
guaranteed under international law.
     
     "The Kurdish people have revolted for liberty and democracy
for the first time in history and have found their leadership,"
he said. "They have reached the critical stage at which they
reject the oppression and inhuman conditions in which they have
lived for thousands of years."
     
     A court found Yagmurdereli guilty of slandering the Turkish
state and "propagating separatism by supporting and provoking
violence," specifically the guerrilla war being waged by the
Kurdistan Workers Party, or PKK.
     
     "In this speech, part of the country was referred to as
Kurdistan, and the illegal and inhumane activities of the
terrorist PKK were described as the struggle of the Kurdish
people for independence," the verdict said. "We strongly believe
that in this speech, the above-named person has advocated
separatism and praised illegal activities."
     
     The court sentenced Yagmurdereli to a year in prison,
subtracting two months he had served just after the speech. Under
Turkish law, he must now serve 10 months plus the 22 years that
remained on his previous sentence when he was paroled.
     
     "Because the government outlaws the discussion of ideas it
considers hostile, there is no way to open up new avenues, new
designs for the country's future," Yagmurdereli said. "If you try
to have open debate here, you wind up with a prison sentence.
That is what allows the government to try to solve the Kurdish
problem with violence rather than by political means."
     
     Despite his current tribulations, he believes that political
change is imminent in Turkey, and that as a result he will end up
serving no more than a year or two in prison.
     
     "People are much more aware of the restrictions on their
freedom than they were in the past," he said. "Policies which
limit the practice of politics in this country cannot survive
much longer."
 
(via AFIB)

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



From english at ozgurluk.xs4all.nl  Wed Oct  1 12:56:25 1997
From: english at ozgurluk.xs4all.nl (english at ozgurluk.xs4all.nl)
Date: 01 Oct 1997 12:56:25
Subject: Iraq says Turkey threatens flow of shared waters
Message-ID: <bac1c849.m0xGTtm.000CFpC@ozgurluk.xs4all.nl>



 Iraq says Turkey threatens flow of shared waters 
 07:39 a.m. Oct 01, 1997 Eastern 

 By Hassan Hafidh 

 BAGHDAD, Oct 1 (Reuter) - Iraq accused
 upstream neighbour Turkey on Wednesday of
 threatening the flow of the Euphrates and Tigris
 rivers by building dams and urged Ankara to
 reach a water-sharing accord. 

 ``Turkey monopolises the flow of waters of the
 Tigris and Euphrates as dictated by its own
 interest at the expense of Iraq and Syria's
 interest,'' the ruling Baath party newspaper
 al-Thawra said. 

 The Tigris and Euphrates rivers originate in
 Turkey. The Euphrates winds through Syria
 before entering Iraq. The Tigris passes through
 Iraq. 

 ``The country where these rivers rise should not
 monopolise waters of such international rivers
 the way it likes,'' the paper said in an article
 written by Mohammed al-Douri, an Iraqi
 university professor. 

 Al-Thawra said Iraq's concerns on the waters of
 the two rivers were raised by an Iraqi delegation
 currently in Ankara attending an international
 conference on waters opened by Turkish
 President Suleyman Demirel on Tuesday. 

 ``The Iraqi delegation has conducted talks with
 participating delegates explaining Iraq's point of
 view on Turkish projects on the Euphrates and
 Tigris,'' the paper said. 

 Iraq protests have grown since last year when
 Turkey announced a plan worth $1.62 billion for
 its fourth dam on the Euphrates to produce power
 and irrigation for a large chunk of southeastern
 Turkey. 

 Syria and Iraq say the current flow of water from
 Turkey is not enough. Both countries depend
 largely on the waters of the Euphrates and Tigris
 for drinking, irrigation and electricity generation. 

 The paper stressed that dialogue between the
 three countries should continue and a
 comprehensive agreement should be reached. 

 ``If they cannot reach a logical and just solution
 they should resort to other means which are
 known internationally,'' the paper said, adding the
 Arab League should play a role on this. 

 Baghdad is also at loggerheads with Turkey over
 several cross-border operations by Turkish
 troops in northern Iraq. 

 About 15,000 Turkish troops, supported by
 Kurdish militia forces, entered Iraq last week in a
 campaign against Kurdistan Workers Party
 (PKK) guerrillas who operate from the region in
 their fight for self-rule in southeast Turkey. 

 Iraq, Turkey and Syria have held several
 meetings in the past but failed to reach an
 agreement on water-sharing. 

 Ankara and Damascus signed a provisional
 agreement in 1987 under which Turkey allows
 the flow of 500 cubic metres per second to Syria.
 The Syrian government has called for a
 permanent accord. 
List info: english-request at ozgurluk.xs4all.nl


From english at ozgurluk.xs4all.nl  Wed Oct  1 14:42:12 1997
From: english at ozgurluk.xs4all.nl (english at ozgurluk.xs4all.nl)
Date: 01 Oct 1997 14:42:12
Subject: Turkey/WWW: Update on Ozgurluk site
Message-ID: <bac1c849.m0xGWN5.000CFpC@ozgurluk.xs4all.nl>


This is a short note to inform you about the fact that we have updated
our page about Turkey-Contra-Guerrilla-State at
http://ozgurluk.xs4all.nl/contrind/
with a dossier, delivered by the DHKC informationbureau Amsterdam,
about the so called Susurluk incident.


Yours,

-- 
Press Agency Ozgurluk
The Struggle for justice, democracy and human rights in Turkey and Kurdistan
http://www.ozgurluk.org                          
mailto:ozgurluk at xs4all.nl           mailinglists:petidomo at ozgurluk.xs4all.nl
List info: english-request at ozgurluk.xs4all.nl


From kurd-l at burn.ucsd.edu  Thu Oct  2 09:14:57 1997
From: kurd-l at burn.ucsd.edu (kurd-l at burn.ucsd.edu)
Date: 02 Oct 1997 09:14:57
Subject: Turkey/WWW: Update on Ozgurluk site
References: <bac1c849.m0xGWN5.000CFpC@ozgurluk.xs4all.nl>
Message-ID: <bac1c849.Pine.BSF.3.96.971002040..@burn.ucsd.edu>

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

This is a short note to inform you about the fact that we have updated
our page about Turkey-Contra-Guerrilla-State at

http://ozgurluk.xs4all.nl/contrind/

with a dossier, delivered by the DHKC informationbureau Amsterdam,
about the so called Susurluk incident.

-- 
Press Agency Ozgurluk
The Struggle for justice, democracy and human rights in Turkey and Kurdistan
http://www.ozgurluk.org                          
mailto:ozgurluk at xs4all.nl           mailinglists:petidomo at ozgurluk.xs4all.nl
List info: english-request at ozgurluk.xs4all.nl


From english at ozgurlluk.xs4all.nl  Wed Oct  1 18:55:42 1997
From: english at ozgurlluk.xs4all.nl (english at ozgurlluk.xs4all.nl)
Date: 01 Oct 1997 18:55:42
Subject: [Onnik Krikorian <onnik@mailexcite.com>] Selma Tanrikulu
Message-ID: <bac1c849.m3d8lpj6tm.fsf@ozgurluk.xs4all.nl>

Message-ID: <34330130.31A5 at mailexcite.com>
Date: Thu, 02 Oct 1997 02:04:33 +0000
From: Onnik Krikorian <onnik at mailexcite.com>
Reply-To: onnik at mailexcite.com
Organization: One World Multimedia
MIME-Version: 1.0
To: www at ozgurluk.org
Subject: Selma Tanrikulu
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii
Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit

Rojbash

	I am interested in the case of Selma Tanrikulu, the HADEP Diyarbakir
candidate who was recently arrested. 

	If you have any information then please pass it on - I interviewed her
in March and am hoping to get some articles published...


	many thanks,


				ONNIK

List info: english-request at ozgurluk.xs4all.nl


From kurd-l at burn.ucsd.edu  Thu Oct  2 10:22:17 1997
From: kurd-l at burn.ucsd.edu (kurd-l at burn.ucsd.edu)
Date: 02 Oct 1997 10:22:17
Subject: Action Alert For Kurds On Hunger St
Message-ID: <bac1c849.Pine.BSF.3.96.971002051..@burn.ucsd.edu>

From: Arm The Spirit <ats at locust.etext.org>
Subject: Action Alert For Kurds On Hunger Strike In Finland

ACTION ALERT FOR KURDISH HUNGER STRIKE IN FINLAND

(via fax, phone & e-mail)

     Today began the 14th day of a hunger strike by Kurdish
refugees in Finland. One Kurd and one Finnish friend have been on
hunger strike since September 20th, two Kurds joined on Sunday,
September 21st, and 5 Kurds started striking on September 29th. 

     The hunger strike is a protest against the inhumane
practices of the Finnish Foreigner Bureau, which has carried out
a lot of mass decisions to deport Kurds from Turkish-Kurdistan
during the summer of 1997. The decisions lack reason for single
individuals. Mistreated Kurds have been politically active and
they are at risk of being persecuted by the Turkish regime if
returned to Turkey. There are many Kurdish refugees in Finland
and the Finnish Foreigner Bureau should know very well the
situation in Turkey.

     Deported Kurds have made appeals to the Asylum Board, which
usually follows the decisions of Foreigner Bureau. Finland is
known for its hostile refugee policy, one of the tightest in the
Western Europe. Even the European Union, which is closing it's
borders as a whole, has criticized Finnish refugee policy. There
are less than 20,000 refugees in Finland; the 1,000 annual asylum
seekers are not a risk to Finnish welfare.

     The hunger strike is not only for these Kurds, it's also
against the Finnish foreigner policy as whole, it's for all the
asylum seekers from which some have been forced to wait for
decisions, sometimes negative, as much as 5 years. It's also
against the establishing of the "fortress Europe", in which "the
free movement of people" is just a joke for those in a need of
asylum.

     You can increase the pressure against Finnish officials who
have chosen "keeping our nation clean" as their official policy,
thanks to decades of populist rhetoric by politicians. Please
forward this message and participate the protest! 

     The pressure campaign is planned to begin at 11 am CET on
Friday, October 3rd (That means 4.00 am in NY). Please distribute
this message as much as possible before that.

You can send faxes or phone to following address:

Demand a fairer refugee policy from:
 
Finnish Foreigner Bureau
Director, Ms. Mielikki Tenhunen
fax: +358-9-4765-5857 or +358-9-4765-5700
phone: +358-9-476-5500
e-mail: mielikki.tenhunen at sm.vn.mailnet.fi

You can appeal for the Kurds on hunger strike to:

Asylum Board
fax: +358-9-1825-7774
phone: +358-9-18251

The Foreigner Bureau is in the control of:

Minister of Domestic Affairs
Mr. Jan-Erik Enestam
phone: +358-9-(1601 or 478 711)-2800
fax: +358-9-(1601 or 478 411)-2887
e-mail: Jan-Erik.Enestam at sm.vn.mailnet.fi

The Asylum Board is in the control of:

Minister of Justice
Mr. Kari Hakamies
phone: +358-9-(18251 or 478 713)-7500
fax: +358-9-(18251 or 478 713)-7730
e-mail: Kari.Hakamies at om.vn.fi

Thank you for your efforts! I will inform you about the
development of this case.

Antti Rautiainen
antti.rautiainen at pp.kolumbus.fi

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



From english at ozgurlluk.xs4all.nl  Thu Oct  2 10:12:21 1997
From: english at ozgurlluk.xs4all.nl (english at ozgurlluk.xs4all.nl)
Date: 02 Oct 1997 10:12:21
Subject: Action Alert For Kurds On Hunger St
References: <bac1c849.Pine.BSF.3.96.971002051..@burn.ucsd.edu>
Message-ID: <bac1c849.m3raa45c2t.fsf@ozgurluk.xs4all.nl>

Date: Thu, 2 Oct 1997 02:13:28 -0700
Message-Id: <Pine.BSF.3.96.971002051225.21067A-100000 at locust.etext.org>
Reply-To: ats-l at burn.ucsd.edu
From: Arm The Spirit <ats at locust.etext.org>
To: Multiple recipients of list <ats-l at burn.ucsd.edu>
Subject: Action Alert For Kurds On Hunger Strike In Finland

ACTION ALERT FOR KURDISH HUNGER STRIKE IN FINLAND

(via fax, phone & e-mail)

     Today began the 14th day of a hunger strike by Kurdish
refugees in Finland. One Kurd and one Finnish friend have been on
hunger strike since September 20th, two Kurds joined on Sunday,
September 21st, and 5 Kurds started striking on September 29th. 

     The hunger strike is a protest against the inhumane
practices of the Finnish Foreigner Bureau, which has carried out
a lot of mass decisions to deport Kurds from Turkish-Kurdistan
during the summer of 1997. The decisions lack reason for single
individuals. Mistreated Kurds have been politically active and
they are at risk of being persecuted by the Turkish regime if
returned to Turkey. There are many Kurdish refugees in Finland
and the Finnish Foreigner Bureau should know very well the
situation in Turkey.

     Deported Kurds have made appeals to the Asylum Board, which
usually follows the decisions of Foreigner Bureau. Finland is
known for its hostile refugee policy, one of the tightest in the
Western Europe. Even the European Union, which is closing it's
borders as a whole, has criticized Finnish refugee policy. There
are less than 20,000 refugees in Finland; the 1,000 annual asylum
seekers are not a risk to Finnish welfare.

     The hunger strike is not only for these Kurds, it's also
against the Finnish foreigner policy as whole, it's for all the
asylum seekers from which some have been forced to wait for
decisions, sometimes negative, as much as 5 years. It's also
against the establishing of the "fortress Europe", in which "the
free movement of people" is just a joke for those in a need of
asylum.

     You can increase the pressure against Finnish officials who
have chosen "keeping our nation clean" as their official policy,
thanks to decades of populist rhetoric by politicians. Please
forward this message and participate the protest! 

     The pressure campaign is planned to begin at 11 am CET on
Friday, October 3rd (That means 4.00 am in NY). Please distribute
this message as much as possible before that.

You can send faxes or phone to following address:

Demand a fairer refugee policy from:
 
Finnish Foreigner Bureau
Director, Ms. Mielikki Tenhunen
fax: +358-9-4765-5857 or +358-9-4765-5700
phone: +358-9-476-5500
e-mail: mielikki.tenhunen at sm.vn.mailnet.fi

You can appeal for the Kurds on hunger strike to:

Asylum Board
fax: +358-9-1825-7774
phone: +358-9-18251

The Foreigner Bureau is in the control of:

Minister of Domestic Affairs
Mr. Jan-Erik Enestam
phone: +358-9-(1601 or 478 711)-2800
fax: +358-9-(1601 or 478 411)-2887
e-mail: Jan-Erik.Enestam at sm.vn.mailnet.fi

The Asylum Board is in the control of:

Minister of Justice
Mr. Kari Hakamies
phone: +358-9-(18251 or 478 713)-7500
fax: +358-9-(18251 or 478 713)-7730
e-mail: Kari.Hakamies at om.vn.fi

Thank you for your efforts! I will inform you about the
development of this case.

Antti Rautiainen
antti.rautiainen at pp.kolumbus.fi

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



List info: english-request at ozgurluk.xs4all.nl


From kurd-l at burn.ucsd.edu  Thu Oct  2 12:47:42 1997
From: kurd-l at burn.ucsd.edu (kurd-l at burn.ucsd.edu)
Date: 02 Oct 1997 12:47:42
Subject: Kurds Protest In Bonn Against Turki
Message-ID: <bac1c849.Pine.BSF.3.96.971002074..@burn.ucsd.edu>

From: Arm The Spirit <ats at locust.etext.org>
Subject: Kurds Protest In Bonn Against Turkish PM Visit

Kurds Protest In Bonn Against Turkish PM Visit 

     Sept 30 (Reuter) - Around 200 Kurds protested in Bonn's main
government quarter on Tuesday against a visit by Turkish Prime
Minister Mesut Yilmaz to discuss Turkey's ambitions to join the
European Union (EU).
     Waving banners attacking Turkey's human rights record, they
urged German Chancellor Helmut Kohl to refuse any attempts to
negotiate with Yilmaz on Turkey's possible EU entry in talks
scheduled between the two later in the day.
     The Turkish leader was greeted with military honors at
Kohl's chancellery on Monday and a news conference is due to
follow their discussions at 1215 GMT.
     Yilmaz's visit comes amid a sharpening of the Kurds' 13-year
struggle for autonomy in southeastern Turkey. Turkish warplanes
bombed bases belonging to Kurdish rebels in northern Iraq on
Monday, with reports of 242 Kurds killed.
     Turkey says it is fighting a war against the Marxist rebels
of the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), which first took up arms in
1984. More than 26,000 people have died in the rebels'
13-year-old campaign.
     Kurd leaders at the demonstration also cited a ruling last
week by the European Court of Human Rights that Turkish police
beat and raped a woman suspected of links to Kurdish separatists
as evidence of systematic human rights abuses.
     Germany has a strong trading relationship with Turkey and a
Turkish population of two million, but is seen as one of the
European countries most reluctant to allow it to enter the EU.
     Foreign affairs analysts said they expect Yilmaz, who speaks
fluent German, to push for Kohl to back a plan that would allow
negotiations on Turkey's entry into the EU to be sanctioned at an
EU summit in Luxembourg in December.
     While Kohl is expected to warm to Yilmaz's conservative,
market economy beliefs, he is likely to repeat past insistences
Ankara should improve its human rights record and show
flexibility over the Cyprus dispute and over the Kurdish
question.

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



From kurd-l at burn.ucsd.edu  Thu Oct  2 12:48:11 1997
From: kurd-l at burn.ucsd.edu (kurd-l at burn.ucsd.edu)
Date: 02 Oct 1997 12:48:11
Subject: Mainstream News On Recent Turkish I
Message-ID: <bac1c849.Pine.BSF.3.96.971002073..@burn.ucsd.edu>

From: Arm The Spirit <ats at locust.etext.org>
Subject: Mainstream News On Recent Turkish Invasion Of South Kurdistan

Turks Bomb Kurdish Rebels In Iraq

Diyarbakir, Turkey (October 1, 1997) Turkish jets bombed fleeing
Kurdish guerrillas near Iraq's mountainous border with Iran on
Wednesday, Anatolian news agency said.
     The news agency said warplanes bombed the rebels of the
Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) as Turkish troops pursued them
eastward after capturing the PKK's main base at Zab on Tuesday.
     Backed by air power, Turkish forces attacked three other
camps near the Turkish border in an effort to dislodge the
guerrillas, the state-run agency said.
     Witnesses said six F-16 jets took off from a military base
near the city of Diyarbakir in southeastern Turkey heading for
northern Iraq.
     About 15,000 Turkish troops supported by Kurdish militia
forces entered Iraq last week in a push that has angered Baghdad,
which lost control of northern Iraq to Iraqi Kurdish groups after
the 1991 Persian Gulf War.
     Planes have raided PKK targets all week. The PKK uses bases
in north Iraq in its fight for self-rule in neighboring Turkey.
Iraq's Kurdistan Democratic Party is allied with Turkey in this
fight.

-----

13 Kurdish Rebels Killed In Northern Iraq

Ankara, Turkey (AP - September 28, 1997) An Iraqi Kurdish group
allied with the Turkish government said Sunday it had killed 13
Turkish Kurdish rebels in recent clashes.
     Ten other rebels have been injured in the fighting near the
Iraqi-Turkish border, said the radio of the Kurdistan Democratic
Party, or KDP, monitored by Turkey's Anatolia news agency.
     The radio report gave no KDP casualty figures.
     A Turkish military operation involving 20,000 soldiers and
aimed at destroying the camps of autonomy-seeking rebels of the
Kurdistan Workers Party, or PKK, has been under way for a week.
     The KDP recently took sides with the Turkish army against
the PKK.
     A military official said Sunday that 138 rebels had been
killed by Turkish troops. The official, who spoke on condition of
anonymity, said six Turkish soldiers had died in the fighting.
     The rebels launch cross-border attacks at Turkish targets
from bases in northern Iraq, an area which has been taken out of
Iraqi government control since the Gulf War and is now monitored
by Western planes.

-----

Turkey Attacks Kurdish Rebels In Iraqi Territory

By Kelly Couturier

Ankara, Turkey (The Washington Post - September 26, 1997)_Turkish
warplanes bombed rebel Kurd positions inside Iraq today in a new
cross-border offensive that officials said is aimed at preventing
the rebels from regrouping in camps along the border.
     The offensive, launched earlier this week and reportedly
involving an estimated 8,000 ground troops and 100 tanks and
other armored vehicles, is the latest in a series of Turkish
attacks against Kurdish Workers' Party guerrillas on Iraqi
territory over the past few years.
     The latest operation was launched, according to a Foreign
Ministry spokesman, because Kurdish guerrillas who had been
cleared from the area during a large-scale attack last May and
June were trying to reestablish positions along the mountainous
border before the winter sets in. The separatist guerrillas, who
have been waging an armed insurgency in southeastern Turkey since
1984, have often launched attacks from bases in
Kurdish-controlled northern Iraq.
     Military spokesmen were unavailable for comment, but the
government-owned Anatolian news agency reported that jets bombed
15 guerrilla positions near the Iranian and Syrian borders, where
the insurgents reportedly had fled the Turkish attack last
spring. The guerrillas reportedly had filtered back into the
border areas despite efforts to keep them out by an armed Iraqi
Kurdish faction allied with Ankara, the Kurdistan Democratic
Party.
     The new Turkish attack reportedly is aimed at cutting off
the rebels' flight toward Iran and Syria. Turkey has barred
journalists from entering northern Iraq since early this year,
making impossible independent confirmation of official Turkish
statements on the offensive.
     In recent years Ankara has asserted its right, as a matter
of national security, to enter Kurdish-controlled northern Iraq
in pursuit of the guerrillas. More than 26,000 people have been
killed in the 13-year insurgency.
     "Turkey has a terrorism problem originating in northern
Iraq", Foreign Ministry spokesman Sermet Atacanli told reporters.
"We regularly take measures deemed necessary for our security."
He described the latest operation as "routine and limited".
     Baghdad, which has strongly criticized past Turkish
incursions, also protested Ankara's latest move.
     "The Republic of Iraq strongly condemns the new Turkish
military aggression which represents a flagrant violation of
Iraq's sovereignty and territorial integrity", an Iraqi Foreign
Ministry spokesman was quoted as saying by the ruling Baath Party
newspaper al-Thawra.
     Baghdad has been denied authority over predominantly Kurdish
northern Iraq since a U.S.-led "no-fly" zone was set up following
the 1991 Persian Gulf War to protect the Kurdish population from
the regime of Iraqi President Saddam Hussein. The enclave has
been controlled since then by two rival Iraqi Kurdish groups,
which have clashed intermittently, at times drawing Baghdad and
Tehran into the conflict.

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

     




From english at ozgurlluk.xs4all.nl  Thu Oct  2 08:27:44 1997
From: english at ozgurlluk.xs4all.nl (english at ozgurlluk.xs4all.nl)
Date: 02 Oct 1997 08:27:44
Subject: Turkey: We want Duzgun Tekin back!
Message-ID: <bac1c849.m3lo0curr9.fsf@ozgurluk.xs4all.nl>

D?ZG?N TEKIN; TRADE UNIONIST AND DELEGATE FROM THE SECOND SECTION OF
THE TEXTILE UNION SECTION OF THE CONFEDERATION DISK AND A
REVOLUTIONARY WORKER

On October 21, 1995, he left his relatives' house in the G?nesli Evren
district to go to work. After that, nobody heard anything more of
him. Before his disappearance on October 21, he told his family that a
civilian vehicle with the licence plate 34F6676 had been following
him.

There has been no trace of D?zg?n Tekin since October 21, 1995. The
counter-guerrilla state which was exposed by Susurluk made him
disappear. Like all its other crimes, it refuses to admit to this one.

"I lost consciousness and did not know what I was saying. I wanted to
die. Now I know that I will not die, until I have found my son. Even
if I only find his bones, I will lay them out and bury them with my
own hands. We should not have left our village. Why did we come. I
will continue. Let us dig everywhere and search everywhere. If we find
D?zg?n, we will perhaps find all the others. Let us dig in other
places also. I always look at the TV. I have trouble understanding it,
but nonetheless I look at the news every hour. Recently it showed the
'dogs' [ie. the police] beating up a boy. The boy was covered in
blood. I could not sleep for three days. For three days I felt pain. I
thought of my son. The boy had given the victory sign with his hand.

I love you all - the fallen, the prisoners, the disappeared - they are
all my children. Help us to find all the D?zg?ns. The cruelty must
end."

MAY 27, 1997

The confessions made by Kasim Acik in Gebze prison recently have shed
some light on the path that the revolutionaries who have struggled for
the disappeared have been following. After an interrogation of Acik in
Gebze and his admission that he was a counter-guerrilla agent, he was
punished. The confessions of the counter-guerrilla agent also shed
some light on the case of D?zg?n Tekin, who disappeared in 1995. After
he stated that D?zg?n Tekin was first murdered and his body brought to
the rubbish dump at Cadirkent, Acik drew a sketch of the plot of land
on which, according to his information, several people who disappeared
and whose bodies had not been found were murdered.

Accordingly the Platform for Rights and Freedom made an appeal to the
public, to revolutionaries, to democrats, to all progressive people
and to the press and then headed for Cadirkent after permission had
been received to start digging there.

In front of the metro in Aksaray, where the buses were to set off,
there were representatives of various democratic associations, trade
unionists, lawyers and also D?zg?n's family. More than 100 members of
the Platform for Rights and Freedom, as well as unionists from the
DISK/textile branch, the DISK general workers' section, Sen-Sen,
members of the IHD (Human Rights Association), DMP and media people
set off for Kirklareli at 10:15. 

The convoy of two busses, a large bus and private cars was stopped by
the gendarmerie at about 13:42. The gendarmes said to the HHB
(People's Law Office) lawyer Behic Asci that disinterments could only
take place in the presence of a state attorney. After about 20 minutes
the state attorney came and we set out with a gendarmerie escort to
Cadirkent.

It is 14:30. A large plot of land with large and small piles of
rubbish, dismembered animal carcasses and, nevertheless, flowers and
grass growing everywhere. On one hand, the smell of carrion, on the
other the scent of flowers. The first impression was that this would
be a good place to bury people in a shallow grave. Especially if it
was done by the counter-guerrillas who run the state. Nothing could be
heard or seen... It is hard to judge where and how to start digging,
since Cadirkent is so big and impenetrable. The mothers are agitated,
they have tied red bands around their foreheads. This time there is a
difference - on the bands are written in yellow the names of the
disappeared. The cries of woe of the disappeared are etched onto the
brow of each mother.

"I am D?zg?n", "I am Ali", "I am Aysenur", "I am Ayse"... Mother Elif
climbs out of the car with her son D?zg?n's photo in her hand. She
looks around. She cries out: "My D?zg?n! Somebody has made my son
disappear. I have been looking for my son for 17 months... My
son...The state has made him disappear... The state tortures, makes
people disappear and then throws the murdered onto the rubbish
heap. Why, what is this cruelty for. She turns to the soldiers, "Tell
me, what do you say to your mothers?" Then she turns to the
journalists: "Take pictures and send them to Europe. The head of state
and the president should see it. Here I am looking for my son." The
families carried signs in their hands with the inscription "You will
not succeed in dealing with the D?zg?ns by making them disappear",
"The Susurluk state is responsible for disappearances", "A reckoning
will be demanded for the disappearances and massacres". The workers
from Belediye-Is , the trade union of local government workers,
brought banners with the inscription: 

"Disappearances and massacres will not make the D?zg?n Tekins die out"
and "We will let D?zg?n Tekin, who disappeared in police custody, live
on in our struggle - he will be immortal". 

People dispersed on the plot of land and began to search with the help
of a mechanical digger.

This place, described by an agent of the counter-guerr?llas, is a
cemetery. Many people were murdered here. Rohe Harman and Ali Hasan
Ay, who in 1995, a month after D?zg?n Tekin was abducted by the
contraguerrillas, were themselves abducted and were fortunate enough
to escape, gave a description of ground which fits this place. It is
also worth mentioning that bases of JITEM, the Turkish military's
intelligence service, are there, and it carries out its activities in
the nearby town of Tekirdag. People who were tortured in Tekirdag but
managed to escape with their lives also describe this place. The bases
in Tekirdag also show the relevance of Cadirkent.

"IF NOT ALIVE, THEN I WILL FIND HIS CORPSE "

"Since he 'disappeared', I have been looking for my son. I have been
everywhere and knocked on every door. I asked the state authorities,
but they said they did not have him. I come from Dersim and every week
I go with the mothers of the disappeared to Galatasaray. I am looking
for my son, I have never tried hard enough. 'If not alive, then I will
find his corpse,' I think to myself. Bands of killers, secretive
organisations have murdered my son and thrown him on a rubbish heap
somewhere. It is a great pain to me. I raised my children in poverty
and want and they grew up with bare feet and without clothing. We
worked hard and D?zg?n went to school. We could not let him continue
in school because we had no money. I would not have harmed a hair on
his head but now I am searching for his bones on a rubbish dump. 'Ah,
what cruelty', I feel deep pains inside me. On the day he disappeared
I did not know what to say or do. My son is there. Ciller should be
hanged. She had my son murdered and thrown on a rubbish heap. 'Bring
me tools to dig with, my son is here,' I told the state attorney and
the soldiers. 'We have no information,' they said. 'If you don't know,
then who does know?' Can a mother leave her child? If not alive, then
I will find his corpse. We will find them all, all the
'disappeared'. They belong to us. All those who fell belong to us. The
state always murders the revolutionaries. It tortures, burns villages,
kills and throws the corpses on the rubbish heap."


-- 
Press Agency Ozgurluk
The Struggle for justice, democracy and human rights in Turkey and Kurdistan
http://www.ozgurluk.org                          
mailto:ozgurluk at xs4all.nl mailinglists:petidomo at ozgurluk.xs4all.nl
List info: english-request at ozgurluk.xs4all.nl


From english at ozgurlluk.xs4all.nl  Thu Oct  2 08:27:46 1997
From: english at ozgurlluk.xs4all.nl (english at ozgurlluk.xs4all.nl)
Date: 02 Oct 1997 08:27:46
Subject: In the policies of imperialism and oligarchy there is no benefit fo
Message-ID: <bac1c849.m3n2ksurwx.fsf@ozgurluk.xs4all.nl>

IN THE POLICIES OF IMPERIALISM AND OLIGARCHY THERE IS NO BENEFIT FOR
THE PEOPLES OF CYPRUS

The European Union took the decision to begin negotiations with six
countries in 1998, to accept them into full membership. Since Southern
Cyprus is one of these six countries and Turkey is not on the agenda,
this decision, it seems, disappointed the Turkish oligarchy and
government deeply.

On the 23rd anniversary of the occupation of Cyprus carried out by
former Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit, he visited the island on July 20
and announced a declaration on partnership with the president of the
KKTC (Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus) and this is nothing but a
means of showing disappointment. By using the methods of "blackmail"
and "threats" on the subject of solving the Cyprus question, they have
supposedly showed that, they would not accept things quietly.

However, it was not so difficult to guess beforehand how the Cyprus
question would develop. Because in 1995 Turkey made a concession in
their claim that "The Republic of Cyprus cannot be a member of any
organisation, unless both Turkey and Greece are full members of it", a
claim which had been central to Turkish policy since 1960, in order to
be accepted into the Customs Union and to pass over the barrier put up
by the  Greek veto. Turkey accepted the suggestions of the EU in order
to have access to the Customs Union. According to these suggestions,
the EU was declaring to Turkey that "Before a solution to the Cyprus
question, the acceptance of Cyprus into EU membership will be denied,
but the negotiations for  full membership will be started before the
end of 1998." 

This was actually accepting that Southern Cyprus represented the whole
island, because the European Parliament does not recognise the
administration of the KKTC and sees Southern Cyprus as the
representative of Cyprus. Consequently, the Ciller-Karayalcin
government of that time, which accepted the suggestion of "beginning
of membership negotiations with Cyprus", knew that negotiations would
be carried out with the administration of Southern Cyprus.

That is, when they accepted this, they could easily see the oncoming
situation and they were making concessions deliberately.

Because;

Firstly, it was inevitable to make concessions to imperialism to gain
access to the Customs Union. Also, then the oligarchy was hoping the
EU door would be left ajar, for the full membership of Turkey to be
accepted to the Customs Union would make things easier. There were
even great hopes for full membership in the very near future.

Secondly, in domestic politics, the government, especially Ciller,
needed to do "successful" work. It was a great opportunity for them to
be accepted to the Customs Union, to stop the government becoming
worn-out and to regain the support of people. That is why, the
"solution" of offers by imperialism was accepted.

 But now, since they have realised that it is impossible to be
accepted into the EU in the near future, they are trying to use the
Cyprus question as blackmail to show popular opinion that they are
working on the matter and forcing the EU, once again to come to terms
with Turkey.

NEITHER THE ANNEXATION OF KKTC BY TURKEY, NOR THE ACCEPTANCE OF THE
GREEK PART OF CYPRUS INTO THE EU IS A SOLUTION FOR THE PEOPLES OF
CYPRUS

Neither Turkey nor Greece - both of whom see themselves in a position
of primacy as far as imperialism and the solution for the Cyprus
question is concerned - accept a solution which flouts their
interests. Neither of them supports an independent Cyprus where
Turkish and Greek people live in peace and brotherhood and find
solutions together to their own problems.

Imperialism wants to prevent the formula of an independent Cyprus
which could be established by the demands of the peoples of the
island, by joining the EU instead. The most important issue for
imperialism is to keep Cyprus dependent on imperialism.

Secondly, by accepting the Greek part of Cyprus into the EU and
avoiding the KKTC in the beginning, imperialism will be in a position
where it can be more effective and has more control on the solution of
the Cyprus question. The initiation of the negotiations with the Greek
part will affect the Turkish counterpart, and according to the
calculations of imperialism, the Turkish people having great economic
problems, will force a "solution" in order not to be excluded from the
unification of Europe. As a matter of fact, the declaration revealed
by Deputy Prime Minister and State Minister Bulent Ecevit, who went to
the island on July 20, and the president of the KKTC, Rauf Denktas,
did not create a positive impact on the Turkish people of Cyprus
either. The leader of the Republican Turkish Party, Mehmet Ali Talat
stated that, "an autonomy agreement between Turkey and KKTC will not
serve the interests of Turkish people in Cyprus." A similar statement
was made by the leader of the Socialist (Popular) Liberation Party,
Mustafa Akinci, saying; "political annexation is not suitable for the
interests of the Turkish people of Cyprus."

 Thirdly, the solution to the Cyprus question and the EU membership
problem of Turkey became inseparable. By not including Turkey in the
list of candidate countries for EU membership and by making the
decision to initiate negotiations with the Greek part, imperialism,
specifically, imperialism in Europe, wants to force Turkey to make
concessions.

The landing of Ecevit to Cyprus on July 20 and his declaration are a
very suitable step towards the annexation of KKTC and also includes
the blackmail of "if you do not accept me into the EU, I will not make
concessions in my Cyprus policy." The PM, Mesut Yilmaz, by saying
"Without a solution for the Cyprus question and full membership of
Turkey in the EU, the EU membership of Cyprus is out of the question."
Stating their blackmail openly. Ecevit, in his speech given in Cyprus,
says that, "This sort of game and conspiracy increases the necessity
of unifying the  KKTC with Turkey. I say unification, not
annexation. The KKTC, as an independent state, should live
forever. The steps towards unification are possible in the areas of
external security, foreign affairs, economic and financial." 

 A very good example of demagogy. What kind of independence for Cyprus
is mentioned here? Cyprus has been made dependent to Turkey for years
anyway. Which policy of Cyprus could be applied independently? There
is none. Turkey is there with its soldiers, tanks and guns. And now
unification in the areas of foreign affairs, defence, economy and
finance is on the agenda, what remains? The announced declaration has
only one meaning; annexation. Whether they will be successful or not,
it is the matter of another debate, but the only reality is that there
is nothing in it for the interests of the people of Cyprus and there
will not be any. As far as it is made real, the people of the island
will lose whatever they own so far. The oppression and terror of
fascism over the Turkish Cypriots, cruel exploitation, robbery and
plundering will be more intensified. The latest developments are the
proof of it. Income distribution, when the Greek part is compared with
the Turkish counterpart, is unbalanced approximately fourfold against
the Turkish people. That is, after the occupation, The Turkish Cypriot
people became four times poorer when they are compared with their
Greek counterparts. The economy of the KKTC is on the edge of
bankruptcy. It only survives with the help of Turkey, the wages of the
civil servants can be paid with the money borrowed from Turkey. The
intervening of contra-guerrilla mobs and mafia and carrying their
dirty businesses to the island is another major problem for Cypriots.

As a result, it can be said that, neither the acceptance of the Greek
part of Cyprus into EU, nor the "unification" of the KKTC with Turkey
is for the interests of the island's people.

All these policies are planned for the benefits of imperialism, and
the Greek and Turkish ruling classes. The interest of the island's
people is to oppose imperialist policies and stop the dirty deals over
them. Their interest is in bringing about the departure of
imperialism, the Turkish and Greek oligarchy, coming together to solve
their own problems, the sovereignty of people and the reconstruction
of an independent Cyprus. Any other way to solve the problems will
only lead the peoples of Cyprus to slavery.

THE REPUBLIC OF TURKEY-KKTC COMMON DECLARATION 

"The KKTC will continue to stand as independent. In foreign affairs,
to protect the interests of KKTC, a special relation will be
established in between two countries. 

- An attack on the KKTC will be counted as an attack on the Republic
  of Turkey. A common defence doctrine will be formed in between two
  countries.  
- A council of partnership will be established, consisting of
  parliament and related ministries, between the two countries. 
- Economic and financial cooperation between two countries will be
  formed. The KKTC will also have the advantages of the support and
  encouragement which were originally provided by Turkey for the
  development of primary provinces in Turkey. 
- The duty-free zones in both countries will be united. 
- The KKTC will also be able to use the TURKSAT satellite.
- The transportation opportunities to KKTC via Turkey will be expanded.
- Turkey will supply water for the KKTC.
- The relations between Turkey and KKTC will be the same as the
  relations between the Greek part of Cyprus and the EU. 


-- 
Press Agency Ozgurluk
The Struggle for justice, democracy and human rights in Turkey and Kurdistan
http://www.ozgurluk.org                          
mailto:ozgurluk at xs4all.nl mailinglists:petidomo at ozgurluk.xs4all.nl
List info: english-request at ozgurluk.xs4all.nl


From kurd-l at burn.ucsd.edu  Fri Oct  3 11:01:16 1997
From: kurd-l at burn.ucsd.edu (kurd-l at burn.ucsd.edu)
Date: 03 Oct 1997 11:01:16
Subject: Turkey: The Army, Islamism, And Imp
Message-ID: <bac1c849.Pine.BSF.3.96.971003055..@burn.ucsd.edu>

From: Arm The Spirit <ats at locust.etext.org>
Subject: Turkey: The Army, Islamism, And Imperialism

(Article from 'Kurtulus' #41, August 2, 1997)

The Army, Islamism, And Imperialism

     After the accident in Susurluk, the oligarchy went through
one of its most bitter internal fights. A large part of the
population, and the revolutionaries with them, had been trying for
decades to reveal the real face of the state, risking their lives
in doing so. But these sacrifices had not been in vain because as
a result of the gathered experience, the people were able to
recognize the fascist face of the state in Susurluk, a face it had
not seen before. The suspicions of normal people were confirmed in
Susurluk. The TUSIAD (Turkish Employers and Business Association),
a collaborator of the imperialists which is playing now a
different role as usual, offers the state and numerous
institutions programs containing stabilization packages.
     There was rather a large interest in these programs of the
TUSIAD. Essentially, the TUSIAD stated quite clearly that if the
state was not going to be restored by means of new programs, the
system would be in grave danger. The imperialists forced these
views upon the TUSIAD and they have been developed according to
the character of the collaborators. The imperialists and their
collaborators established their political rule through the
established parties. Despite support by the imperialists and the
monopolies, the parties did not succeed in designing a new policy
which would even partly guarantee the stability of the state and
reduce the potential of opposition among the people's masses. So
the imperialists were forced to look for new ways. When the
existing parties do not sufficiently serve the imperialists and
fascism, new parties are founded. The parties which are no longer
of any use are discarded. Most important, the economical and
political profit of the collaborators of the imperialists is right
and the continuation of the system is guaranteed. In this sense,
anything is possible, all methods are allowed. In case Islam is of
any use, Islam will be used as well. When a junta is needed, a
junta will be put in power. If need be, artificial enemies are
depicted and the support by the left within the system is asked
for under the disguise of democracy. Old governments are brought
down with lies and deceit and new governments are formed.
     When the republic was founded, Mustafa Kemal proclaimed the
aim of achieving "the level of a man of culture" and the despotic
methods he used are still applied in another way. All the
bourgeois parties, and even renown fascist parties and generals of
the junta, tried to practice politics as apostles of democracy.
The junta of September 12 [1980], claiming to bring democracy on
the right track again, in fact aimed at liquidating the
revolutionary movement and the opposition forces for which it used
almost all Islamic structures. It was not forgotten to support
them economically and politically to integrate them into the
system. Islamic forces occupied almost all posts in the state
apparatus and the system. Religion is an important force in
Turkey. The state wanted to exploit religion to secure its future
and for the benefit of profit. The state could not use religion as
it pleased with its bureaucratic cadres. Religion as a power of
sustenance has always been under the influence of the sheikhs and
sectarian leaders. Therefore all the politicians, including
Mustafa Kemal and the army, tried to get this power into their
hands by several manoeuvres. Despite several differences, the
Islamic forces were able to rally behind the demand of the
"Sharia". The continuing support by the system parties and the
army and the discussions about religion in politics gave the
religious forces the impression that it was possible to gain power
within the system in a cunning way. They pursued this thought and
made a theory out of it in the end. This development and the
support by the state prevented a radicalization of the Islamic
movement as occurred in other countries. 
     That's why the Islamic organizations never declared the state
to be a direct target of their attacks. It is only natural that
those who do not make the state a concrete target of the struggle
are opposed to those who do attack the state directly, and that
they seek their place in a peaceful coexistence with the state.
The Islamists followed the tradition of "takiyye" (1) which they
have applied for decades and this caused them to form one front
within the system with the state and the fascists, united against
the opposition forces. The coup of September 12 was meant to
protect the system. But it became apparent that this protecting
was not going to be lasting because of the specific nature of the
oligarchy and that the crisis was becoming even worse. The
governments of the oligarchy are aware of the strength of the army
and they often felt it.
     That's why they are eager not to pursue a policy against the
army, looking for ways to establish their own power so that they
wouldn't wake up one morning being interrogated in Zincirbosan.
When they realized that the MIT (National Intelligence Agency),
traditionally subordinated to the army, could not be controlled,
the Ozal government set up an alternative secret service. The
traditional authority of the secret service, until then with the
MIT, now found its counterpart within the police force. The
massacres, provocations, and all kinds of criminal activities,
perpetrated in the past by the MIT, were now carried out by the
police. With the increase of the revolutionary war, the gendarmes
and special units were deployed more and more and the MIT
disappeared out of the picture. The revolutionary war was
spreading across the country and now the contra-guerrilla gangs
emerged. The contra-guerrilla war against the revolutionaries
increased, as did the struggle for profit. This struggle for
profit caused a struggle for power and a discussion of how to
defend the state ideologically.
     The institutions of the oligarchy, the system parties and its
politicians could not find a solution against the people's
struggle. The massacres and the violence, ostensibly carried out
to end terror, didn't work and they backfired. The system parties
couldn't even supply the beginning of a solution and the crisis
deepened. The imperialists and the monopoly bourgeoisie could not
watch idle. The TUSIAD and the MGK (National Security Council)
have openly taken over the role of the parties. To bring the
system parties under their control, as wished by the imperialists,
campaigns were launched and the solution proposals of the TUSIAD
were presented to the public. These TUSIAD programs were only the
beginning. They were to be followed. In the name of stability, the
oligarchic state mechanism had no other solution than violence to
discipline the bourgeois parties. 
     The task of the TUSIAD was taken over by the National
Security Council. Planned by the general staff and supported by
the monopoly capitalists, the public was exposed the propaganda
about a military coup and the Sharia. By creating an artificial
fear for an interim regime and the Sharia, they tried to broaden
their own front to liquidate those parties who could neither
guarantee the stability of the system, nor could be disciplined.
So many bourgeois parties, trade unions, and several so-called
left-wing groups were drawn into the front of the MGK and the
TUSIAD. Because of the active public appearance of these forces,
the fear for the Sharia and a military coup spread. While many
forces took a military coup seriously, the MGK, like a political
party, entered the arena. However, it did not carry out a military
coup, it just increased fear. And so it increased its own
strength. In this phase, neither a Sharia-led state power existed,
nor the danger of a military coup.
     These notions were brought into the discussions as a result
of the inability to guarantee stability by the system parties.
This theory was brought up by imperialism. The political failure
of the system parties and the contra-guerrilla gangs which reached
a stage where they harmed the system and could no longer defend
it, forced the imperialists to implement changes. Otherwise the
revolutionary people's movement would gain strength and the system
would even be more endangered. The Refah Party, portrayed as a
"Sharia danger", did in fact not move outside of the policy of
imperialism and the MGK. To proof itself, Refah and the DYP
carried out massacres and repression without a second thought. But
despite their efforts, the Refah Party and the DYP could not offer
a solution for the instability in the country. Aware of the fact
that its old allies had fulfilled their function, the imperialists
and their collaborators chose the way of liquidating the Refah/DYP
government. Using the Refah Party as a scapegoat, notions like the
Sharia and sectarianism were to be propagated as a danger,
nationalism was to be stimulated - based on Kemalism - and the
Sharia was to be proclaimed public enemy number 1. Thus the system
forces, including some groups, were to be united in the front of
the TUSIAD and the MGK. The DYP, and especially Tansu Ciller, were
to be linked to the contra-guerrilla gangs. The embezzlements,
carried out by all, the executions which could no longer be kept
secret, the massacres, disappearances, and other means of
oppression by the contra-guerrilla gangs were to be blamed on them
in order to keep the hands of the state clean. The imperialists
called the revolutionary struggle in Turkey terrorism and
considered every method which was applied against the
revolutionaries legitimate.
     Until now no government resisted the economic, political, and
military policy of the imperialists, all of them carried out this
policy. The Refah Party and the DYP became consequent
collaborators of the imperialists as well, but because they have
fulfilled their function, they are no longer needed. However,
there is a need for new actors who are able to reduce the
potential of opposition among the people's masses with their
"democracy games" and who are willing to continue oppression and
exploitation in the name of democracy. Despite some manoeuvres by
Refah, applying "takiyye", the MGK, as well as TUSIAD, know that
there is no threat of a "Sharia state". The real problem lies in
the fact that the oligarchy is unable, despite its willingness, to
overcome the present crisis. The place of the Refah Party could be
taken by any other party. Because of the existing dependency, the
crisis, and the ongoing war, no government is able to offer a
solution.
     This crisis will continue, and get worse, until there is a
revolution. Until then, governments will be brought down and new
ones will be formed. Despite the demagogy about democracy and the
claims to oppose the gangs, oppression, violence, and the gangs
will remain, and it will deteriorate. When the imperialists spoke
about democracy, TUSIAD and the MGK immediately began to implement
this policy. Since the Refah Party became a power in itself
because of the support by the state, the state is no longer in the
position to use religion as its tool as it pleases. As a result of
the demagogy of the Refah Party, religion was seen as a possible
road to liberation by broad masses of the poor people. Because the
people's masses cannot see through the collaborationist and
conformist face of the Refah Party, they take side with Refah and
other Islamic fronts on the basis of religious motives, containing
notions like justice, rights, and resistance against cruelty. This
is one of the contradictions between the state and Refah. 
     The state crisis has reached such a dimension that the state
can't even uphold its status quo. Exactly at this point the
essential task of the imperialists and their collaborators comes
into place. Based on Kemalism, Islam, and Europeanization, the
popular masses are channeled. This program, proposed by TUSIAD,
propagates imperialist democracy. The task force of the MGK,
oriented to the West, constitutes a direct message to the
imperialists. And they do not behave unfavorably towards the
TUSIAD program. Although there were initial reactions against the
proposal of TUSIAD to abolish the MGK, the MGK itself pursued the
policy of the imperialists after the imperialists intervened. In
this way the MGK became the main institution considering the
demands for Kemalism, human rights, against embezzlements and
against the gangs, and for the solving of many other problems. And
many forces who had championed these demands became the unarmed
accomplices of the MGK. Defending the thesis that there will be no
military coup in Turkey anymore would surely be false. In a
country which is constantly in a state of crisis, there is always
the danger of a military coup. However, the fact remains:
without the support of the imperialists, nobody would dare to carry
out a military coup. Imperialism has many other alternatives at
its disposal. In the history of the Turkish Republic, the
political parties have always been relatively powerless. The army
and the bourgeoisie were always considered to be the decisive
powers. In the past, a military coup was always seen as a solution
for a crisis, a crisis which is now culminating. 
     The chain of military coups till now has made coups an
ineffective tool. This forced the imperialists to look out for
other possibilities. This is the reason why the MGK started to act
like a political party, without carrying out a military coup. In
place of the army, institutions like the trade unions were used.
They will create the conditions for a coup when they are convinced
that such a coup would bring a solution. The political call of
some left groups and trade unions against a military coup are also
conforming to the policy of the imperialists and TUSIAD. Without
doubt, the "Sharia threat" is nothing more than a planned,
artificial phenomenon. It is known also that the imperialists and
TUSIAD favor a pseudo-democracy, not a military coup. The notion
of a coup was raised by the MGK to unite the forces against the
Sharia. Under this slogan, the left forces were conscribed as
reserve forces of the MGK. The MGK caused the fall of the Refah
party and it put the new ANAP-led government in its place. It's
public knowledge that this government will do nothing for the
people, that it will continue to implement the decisions of the
MGK, and that it will continue the exploitation and cruelties; they
will in fact get worse. Those who gathered around notions like the
Sharia and a coup are accessories to the Mesut Yilmaz government.
Nowadays the supporters of a Sharia state propagate
anti-system slogans, even slogans which are adopted from the
revolutionaries, and they organize the poor segments of the
population.
     Of course, the revolutionaries wage a struggle against the
governments who hide exploitation and oppression behind the mask
of the "Sharia state". But the fundamentalists are not in power,
in organizing the masses they claim to oppose the system, but in
reality they move within the boundaries of this system. It is not
dangerous for the revolutionaries when the fundamentalists take
away the weapon of religion from the state. It is advantageous for
the people when the weapons, abused by the state against the
people, are taken away from the state. In this, it is not
important whether they are loyal to the system or whether they
oppose it. The only thing important is that all those who are in
contradiction to the oligarchy are fighting against the present
state. There are several contradictions in every period of time.
These contradictions cannot all be seen as the main
contradiction.
     The present main contradiction is not the Sharia, it is
imperialism, it is TUSIAD and the MGK. The fundamentalists will
see that they will not achieve their goals with their sly
manoeuvres and their methods of resistance which are in fact loyal
to the state. They will make no progress. With the fall of the
Refah Party, discussions within Islamic circles increased. The
Refah Party will maintain its share in new elections when there
are no provocations. In this phase it will be even more difficult
for the oligarchy to get out of its crisis. The Refah Party,
striving for power, will have to adopt to the imperialist policy
because only then will they have a chance to get in power.
Otherwise it will have to continue its role in the opposition.
When they get in power, according to the conditions of the
imperialists, this will mean for Refah that its demagogy will be
exposed. It will become clear to the people that there is no
difference with the other system parties. With an electoral
victory of the Refah Party, which will lead them to power, new
cadres will emerge within the party who will start to organize and
fight without the system. We as revolutionaries must be aware that
it is not our primary task to fight against the Sharia state, we
will have to act according to our knowledge of how the state and the
Refah Party are using religion as a weapon. The discussions about
a secular state and the Sharia are just artificial debates,
instigated by the imperialists and the oligarchy to solve their
own internal contradictions and to counter the revolutionary
resistance.
     We must advocate a common struggle of all forces which oppose
fascism, imperialism, and the existing state, even when these
forces are Islamists and want a state which is governed by the
Sharia. Of course, there are no similarities between the
revolutionaries and the fundamentalists. But although they are
loyal to the system and although they collaborate with the
imperialists and the state, a large majority of the
fundamentalists speak out against imperialism, exploitation, and
cruelty. We must make an effort to hold them to their words, to
bring them on a line of struggle against the state. The masses
which are now under the influence of the fundamentalists will
eventually see the demagogy of the Islamists in case we act as
said above. Because those who are propagating against the
Europeanization and an imperialist democracy are not the left,
they are the Islamists. They have changed this war into a war
between Christianity and Islam. We will have to take away this
weapon from the fundamentalists as well. 
     We will have to expand our propaganda in the knowledge that
the history and the traditions of our peoples are not those of
imperialism, they are the history and the tradition of the peoples
of the Middle East, the Caucasus, and the Balkans, and we must act
according to the differences in nationality of the Turkish, the
Kurdish, and all other nations.

Notes:
(1) "takiyye" - method used to achieve the establishment of a
Sharia state by which such a state is disguised as a democracy,
leading to an integration within the ruling system. 

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

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



From english at ozgurlluk.xs4all.nl  Fri Oct  3 08:18:22 1997
From: english at ozgurlluk.xs4all.nl (english at ozgurlluk.xs4all.nl)
Date: 03 Oct 1997 08:18:22
Subject: DHKP/C: Unity among the people, fight against imperialism!
Message-ID: <bac1c849.m14t6yki3z.fsf@ozgurluk.xs4all.nl>

Kurtulus nr. 7, 14 September 1996

UNITY AMONG THE PEOPLE, FIGHT AGAINST IMPERIALISM!

Kurds, Turks, Arabs, Persians, all the people in the Middle East!

There is only one way to break the imperialist siege against the
Middle East:

Unity among the people and the fight against imperialism!

Clashes between the KDP and the PUK... Intervention in Iran and
Iraq... Imperialist attack... Occupation attempt by the Turkish
oligarchy... 

The "witches' cauldron" of Northern Iraq is still boiling... 

Who is gaining what? Who feeds from this "witches' cauldron"? Who is
loosing?

The newspapers are writing about "a new order in Northern Iraq". In
reality there is nothing new. There is nothing new for the people. The
developments of the last two months have shattered the military and
political equilibrium. First there were clashed between the KDP and
the PUK. The balance of forces was changing day by day. This caused a
direct military intervention by the imperialists and the states in the
region. 

Iran supported Talabani with troops. Then the army of Iraq intervened
in the zone, forbidden to them by imperialism, at the side of Barzani.
Thereupon imperialism bombed Iraq. 

When we look at the present situation in Northern Iraq, we see that
Barzani has become stronger. But things have become very complex in
the region. The question is: who gained besides Barzani? Has the KDP
really become stronger? Or the Saddam regime? Imperialism? The Turkish
oligarchy, planing an alliance with Barzani?

Countless scenarios about the developments in Northern Iraq were
developed in the press. From "the US knew and accepted that Saddam
crossed the 36th. degree of latitude and marched towards Erbil" to
"Barzani planned all his manoeuvres together with the US and the
Turkish oligarchy"... Parts of these scenarios might contain a certain
degree of truth, but essentially they do not mean a lot for the
Kurdish people and the people in the Middle East. Because there is one
constant factor in these scenarios: the Kurdish people is always the
looser, no matter who planned the events in Northern Iraq and who won.
That's the most important thing for us. We do not have to analyse the
events which are just games of the ruling class, we have to initiate
new developments. The main problem now is how we can make sure that
the Kurdish people and the people in the Middle East are no longer the
losers. 

The Kurdish leaderships who called imperialism to intervene in
Northern Iraq, legitimising it, are responsible as well for the
attacks and the massacres. 

There have been clashes between Barzani and Talabani before. But
because of the status of the "Autonomous Kurdish Federation", Barzani
and Talabani became increasingly dependent on imperialism. On the
other hand they became the official rulers of Northern Iraq, securing
an income for themselves. Therefore the clashes between the two
factions have an economical dimension as well. It is imperialism which
has created this status in Northern Iraq. 

When imperialism introduced this status after the attack against Iraq
in 1991, some believed "imperialism wants to protect the Kurdish
people against Saddam". They even thought that a state of their own,
no matter how and in what form, was "progress". Many - calling
themselves Kurdish patriots - legitimised the presence of the
imperialists in the region for this reason. They agreed to the
presence of the "Hammer Force" (Celik G?c, Special Intervention Forces
of the Turkish Army) and US-military bases in Kurdistan. Neither
Barzani nor Talabani, nor the PKK took position against this nesting
by imperialism in Northern Iraq with the imperialist attack against
Iraq and at a later point. On the contrary, they agreed because of
several reasons. Not even the HADEP-delegates in parliament raised
their voices against the "Hammer Force". 

The results show how many flies were hit by imperialism with just one
strike: 

1. Because of the support of the imperialist manoeuvres by some Kurds,
the anti-imperialist consciousness of the Kurdish people was clouded.
This was the biggest gains which imperialism was able to achieve. 

2. Imperialism further legitimised its policy of attacks and
interventions world-wide.

3. It split the peoples in Iraq, thus hindering the revolutionary
dynamics, dividing the forces which should fight together. 

If imperialism would not have found collaborators, seeing them as
"protectors", would it have been so easy for them? If the Kurdish
people in Iraq would have fought against the imperialist attack
against Iraq together with the people of Iraq, if they would have
fought together afterwards against Saddam for their liberation,
imperialism would not have settled so easy in the region, as if it was
"their fathers house". 

As long as the presence of imperialism continues in Northern Iraq, the
Kurdish people will continue to loose. 

The US attacked Iraq "to save Kuwait" and to "restore world peace.
Under the pretext of "protecting the Kurdish people", this situation
was created in Northern Iraq. Many people, calling themselves
left-wing, revolutionary or patriotic, fell into this trap as well.
The most recent imperialist attack was first legitimised with the
reasoning that Saddam had crossed the 36th. degree of latitude and
that it was an attack against the Kurds. US-imperialism again defended
the Kurds - but this time only a part of them -, the "Kurdish leader"
Talabani immediately agreed to this attack. But in the statement on
behalf of the US-government , issued immediately after the attack, it
was said that the attack was just intended to defend to US oil
interests. US-spokesperson Glyn Davies stated that they only wanted to
protect the oil resources in the south of the region. 

Those who still claim that the US wants peace in the region, or that
they want to protect the Kurdish people, must either be blind, or
collaborating liars. The reasons of the presence and the attacks by
imperialism became quite clear at this point. All progressive,
patriotic forces should re-examine their conduct and their statements
since 1991. 

This open motivation for the imperialist attacks show something else:
as long as imperialism is present in the region and its presence is
considered necessary by the Kurdish leaders, and legitimised, there
will be no liberation and independence of the Kurdish people, nor of
the people in the Middle East. Because a free and independent country
would be dangerous for the imperialists, their oil and their
oil-dollars. After the last attack it has become obvious that if one
trusts imperialism, it will be impossible to achieve independence in a
single corner of the Middle East. 

Of course, there are countries in the world, like Iraq, Libya and
Syria, which are nominally independent. People should ask themselves
why the Middle East is of such an importance to imperialism. Because
60% of the world oil reserves are in the Middle East (added with the
oil in the Caucasus and Iran even 80%). Would it really be possible,
an independent country in this region, accepted by imperialism,
existing without oppression and exploitation? 

Imperialism in the Middle East is more aggressive than anywhere else.
It acts more aggressively against the freedom and independence of the
peoples. Forgetting this for even one moment, means falling into their
hands. The freedom of the peoples in the Middle East can only be
achieved by an offensive struggle against imperialism. Those who try
to make the people believe that there is an alternative, although the
goals of imperialism are obvious, are opposed to the liberation of the
peoples. 

The pillar of the "New World Order" is the incitement of the peoples
against each other to push trough the imperialist interests.

For years imperialism has armed several countries against the "Soviet
and communist threat". Doing so, it strengthened the war industry and
the collaborators became increasingly dependent, politically as well
as economically, on the capitalist regimes. The doctrine of the Cold
War was used for a long time to achieve this. When the revisionist
powers broke down in the Soviet Union and several other states,
imperialism lost it main legitimisation for selling arms. Imperialism
needs a new doctrine to ensure a new boost for the war industry. This
boost is decisive for the entire economy. Under the name of the "New
World Order", imperialism is implementing its doctrine and policy with
a new justification. 

The New World Order is based on two pillars. First, the peoples and
countries are to be set against each other on the basis of
nationalism. And second, imperialist interventions are to be justified
in such a chaotic situation under the pretext of being forced by world
public opinion. Imperialism has been pursuing this policy since 1990.
Its attack against Iraq and the interventions in Northern Iraq by
means of the rapid deployment forces openly show this policy... This
intervention, sold to the public as the liberation of Kuwait from the
occupation by Iraq on the one hand, and as the saving of the Kurds
from the oppression by Saddam on the other, constitutes one of the
most important interventions by imperialism after the
contra-revolutionary conspiracy in the socialist countries. Those who
do not see that these interventions occur to secure the rule of
imperialism over the peoples in the world, legitimise the presence of
imperialism in the Middle East themselves. Imperialism always uses the
local powers that be where it shows its presence and intervenes. The
revolutionary and national forces who could not understand the reason
for the attack against Iraq and the presence of imperialism yesterday,
are now occupying themselves in vain with scenarios to explain the
development in Northern Iraq. The result is quite obvious: the
destruction of the unity of the Kurdish people. The unity of the
Kurdish people with the Arab  and the Persian peoples in Iran and Iraq
has lost. The developments clearly show that we have to put aside
short term calculations and short term political steps. 

The Security Zone of the oligarchy means occupation. 

Turkey, dependent on imperialism in all aspects, participated in the
imperialist attack in 1991 to "give one and take five". But
imperialism does not give away parts of its loot to its semi-colonies
so easily. The period after the war has been a period of increasing
political and economical tensions as well. 

One of the reasons was unquestionably the continuing war in Kurdistan,
or in other words, the "problem of the Kurds". The oligarchy carried
out new manoeuvres in Northern Iraq after the war and it engaged in
new relations to solve its internal political problems. Coalitions
were formed, one time with Talabani, the other time with Barzani,
sometimes with both. These coalitions were used during the border
crossing manoeuvres against the PKK. 

Since 1984, Turkey has been carrying out border crossing manoeuvres.
In some of them, more than 10.000 soldiers participated. But these
border crossing manoeuvres were, from a political and military view,
in fact results of a desperateness and they only increased this
desperateness. Terror, and more terror, is the desperate reaction
against the desire for independence and peace. Statements like "we
have eradicated them", "we have broken their backbone" have been made
so often that these actions can no longer convince people, not even
the rulers themselves. The Security Zone has been the result of this
development. More terror initially caused even more border crossing
attacks, now they have become established policy. 

The intentions of Turkey to occupy Northern Iraq are fully in
compliance with the plans of imperialism to contain the sphere of
influence of Iran and to weaken Saddam. But when this project was to
be carried out, neighbouring countries are Russia voiced their
objections. They did not see this action as an act to secure a zone,
they considered it to be an act of open occupation. The protesting
countries were afraid that there spheres of influence, there fields of
action, were being limited. Their protests and their objections did
not concern the suffering of the Kurdish people and the violation of 
the borders of another country, they only concerned their own
interests. Even without these objections, the setting up and
maintaining of the security zone did rise a lot of problems for the
oligarchy. Initially, the oligarchy intended to strengthen Barzani and
they wanted to settle Turkmenians in this area. But Barzani preferred
to play poker with Saddam and he objected these plans. On the other
hand, the Turkmenians tend to side with Talabani, rather than with
Barzani. However, these are only points of secondary importance, the
situation could change any minute on these slippery soil. The real
reason for the occupation is the attempt to weaken the hope of the
Kurdish people and its struggle. 

What's the situation of the liberation struggle in Kurdistan?

The developments on Kurdish soil, in which numerous countries and
political groups played a role and where only Kurdish blood was spent,
give rise to the question of what the situation of the  liberation
struggle in Kurdistan looks like. What will lead to liberation? The
collapse of Iraq? The collapse of Turkey, or even Syria? And of course
the question: "How will these collaborating, exploiting and
oppressions governments collapse?"

How was it possible for this historic tragedy of the Kurdish people,
the internal feuds and clashes among each other, to continue this
long? 

Why was the Kurdish people unable to liberate itself from the charity
from the neighbouring countries?

The main reasons are the relations and the coalitions with the
occupying countries who have different interests. Suppose, Iran
supports Talabani and Iraq supports Barzani. How do they support, and
why? All the factors which serve the liberation of the Kurdish people
essentially harm the interests of these countries. So why their
support? They support them because this support does not serve the
liberation of the Kurdish people, on the contrary, they become even
more dependent. They offer their support because there are
organisations which betray their own people, who fight against other
Kurdish organisations and who pay the price for this support. If these
forces who sign such pragmatic deals, who in fact invite imperialism,
would not exist, without doubt imperialism, nor the neighbouring
countries would be able to act so easily. 

Another question: who is Barzani, who is Talabani? For whom and in
who's name do they work? Who do they consider to be friends, and who
their enemy? What's their position in the national liberation
struggle?

Without looking at their previous relations and coalitions, it is not
possible to explain the present events in Northern Iraq and it would
not be possible to answer the question about the situation of the
liberation struggle in Kurdistan. 

Does the fate of a people depend on the contradictions between the
imperialists, or the contradictions among the ruling classes/ 

The Kurdish forces in Northern Iraq - Talabani, Barzani and at certain
points the PKK as well - have largely, until now, based their policy
on the contradictions among the imperialists, between the imperialists
and the states in the region, and between the states in the regions.
The balance between these forces was also determined by these
contradictions. This political line has strengthened them for a short
time, but the effects of this policy have weakened them again. 

In the discussions about this theme, it was constantly said: did not
Lenin, Stalin and Mao as well make use of the contradictions between
the imperialists? Yes, that's right. They have used the
contradictions, but they never subordinated their political line to
these contradictions. "Using the contradictions" has nothing to do
with "adjusting the line to the contradictions". When the imperialists
and the collaborating forces are able to push through demands with the
forces which want to use their contradictions, these forces have
become dependent on them. And this is what happened in Northern Iraq.

The war between Iran and Iraq and the situation which followed are an
example of how much these contradictions can be trusted: Iran
supported the Kurds in Iraq during the war, it armed them to fight
against Saddam. After the war, Iraq and Iran marched against the
Kurdish people together. The reward for the "support" has been
Halpaca. In Halpaca and other places in Northern Iraq, thousands of
Kurds were massacred. There are contradictions between Turkey, Iran,
Iraq, Syria and Russia, but as soon as certain developments disturb
their order, they will unite. And a Kurdish state would be a
development against they would unite most easily. Our people have a
saying for this: "One dog does not bite another". 

The freedom of the Kurdish people is only possible in a common
struggle together with the Turkish, the Arab and the Persian people. 

Imperialism and the states in the region view the nationalist line in
the liberation of the Kurdish people as "the lesser evil", compared to
the revolutionary line. That's why this line is sometimes legitimised
and supported by them. This explains the contacts of a state - banning
the word "Kurd" on its own territory  (Turkey) - with parties who
named themselves after Kurdistan (the KDP and the PUK). This also
explains why imperialism, which wants to disarm and liquidate all the
national liberation movements in the entire world, not only does not
attack Barzani and Talabani, it even gives them a state. The
imperialists and the states in the region know that a revolutionary
tendency in the liberation struggle of the Kurdish people which change
the balance in the Middle East to the benefit of the people. This
would be a severe blow to them. 

Imperialism wants to push through its own nationalism world-wide. A
nationalism, not directed against them but against the united struggle
of all peoples. 

The revolutionary line will achieve the liberation of the Kurdish
people together with the people in the countries where the Kurdish
people are living. 

A Kurdish national organisation, not allied to the people in the
countries it is active in, is weakening itself right from the
beginning. As long as there is no common struggle of the Kurds in Iraq
together with the Iraqi people, the Kurds in Turkey with the Turkish
people and the Kurds in Iran with the people in Iran, the ruling
classes in these countries will be able to contain the liberation war
military and politically as well. This can be concluded from the
experiences and the developments of the liberation struggles on a
national basis, waged in all parts of Kurdistan without the people in
the respective countries. The Kurdish people and its fighters should
learn from these experiences at the cost of thousands and tens of
thousands of victims.

The revolution against imperialism and the oligarchy will bring the
liberation of the Kurdish people. 

The experiences of the past have clearly shown: without the struggle
against imperialism and the collaborating states, the liberation can
not be achieved. Barzani and Talabani in Northern Iraq are examples
for this: Barzani unites with Saddam. Who will guarantee that there
will be no new Halapcas tomorrow? Talabani calls the US for support
and threatens: "Otherwise I will look for support in Iran". He flees
for the bandits and seeks refuge with the devil. What can the Kurds
achieve with such a policy? It will not lead to freedom, it leads from
one collaboration to the other.

Even when the states in this region have contradictions with
imperialism, in the end they are exploiters and oppressors as well.
They more or less depend on the imperialists, or they could become so
any moment. Therefore it is a mistake to rely on these states. To
achieve liberation, the Kurdish people has to fight imperialism and
the collaborating regimes which occupy Kurdistan, together with the
people in these countries. 

The revolution against imperialism and the oligarchy will enable the
Kurdish people another way of independence. Nowadays Turkey and Iraq
are so-called independent states, but they exploit their people and
massacre them cruelly. With such an independence, nothing will change
in exploitation. The only thing that will change will be the flag. The
Kurdish people will then be exploited under a Kurdish flag. When we
have to pay such a price for liberation, when thousands of our
children have fallen, and will fall, this liberation must be national
as well as social. The people should be liberated from all
exploitation and oppression. The revolution against imperialism and
oligarchy is also the road to a real independence for the Kurdish
people. 


-- 
Devrimci Halk Kurtulus Cephesi (Revolutionary Peoples Liberation Front)
DHKC Informationbureau Amsterdam
http://www.ozgurluk.org/dhkc                          
List info: english-request at ozgurluk.xs4all.nl


From kurd-l at burn.ucsd.edu  Sat Oct  4 07:38:51 1997
From: kurd-l at burn.ucsd.edu (kurd-l at burn.ucsd.edu)
Date: 04 Oct 1997 07:38:51
Subject: A Symbol Of Internationalism: Short
Message-ID: <bac1c849.Pine.BSF.3.96.971004023..@burn.ucsd.edu>

From: Arm The Spirit <ats at locust.etext.org>
Subject: A Symbol Of Internationalism: Short Biography Of Barbara Kistler

A Symbol Of Internationalism:
Short Biography Of Barbara Kistler

     Barbara Anna Kistler was born on November 21, 1955 in Zurich.
Her parents were workers. She became interested in politics when
she was 16 and began to organize groups and people who were
critical of the ruling system. At age 17, she expressed solidarity
with political prisoners. She also worked in various women's
groups. Her goal was to change the feminist ideas of women through
Marxism-Leninism. She also worked with various anti-fascist
groups. Her most important contact was to the Group Against
Isolation (KGI), which was seeking to build a Communist Party in
Switzerland. She also investigated the situation of communist
movements in other countries. She was especially interested in
movements in developing countries.
     In 1980, she learned from revolutionaries from Turkey who had
fled to Switzerland to escape the military coup. In the mid-1980s,
she came into contact with sympathizers of the TKP/ML [Turkish
Communist Party/Marxist-Leninist]. This led her to study the
program of the TKP/ML more closely. She then became dissatisfied
with life in Switzerland, so she decided to go to Turkey and join
the class struggle under the leadership of the TKP/ML. On May 19,
1991, she was arrested in Istanbul together with her comrades. In
front of the court of the fascist Turkish state, she defended herself
with these words: "You have no right to condemn proletarian
internationalism!" With these words, she condemned Turkish
fascism. She was released on September 16 and returned to
Switzerland. But she only remained there for one month. Then she
went back to Turkey.
     She decided to go to the mountains to join the armed
struggle of TIKKO [Workers and Peasants Liberation Army of 
Turkey], the armed wing of the TKP/ML. In the year 1993 came the
report that she had fallen. Comrade Barbara gave her life in the
leading struggle of the proletariat against fascism, imperialism,
feudalism, capitalism, and all forms of reaction. Her struggle is
our struggle, and she will live on in our struggle. Barbara
Kistler is immortal!

New Democratic Youth - Yeni Demokratik Genclik (YDG)

-----------------------------------------------------------------
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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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 ++++ 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  Mon Oct  6 08:51:19 1997
From: kurd-l at burn.ucsd.edu (kurd-l at burn.ucsd.edu)
Date: 06 Oct 1997 08:51:19
Subject: Mainstream News On PKK Resistance T
Message-ID: <bac1c849.Pine.BSF.3.96.971006034..@burn.ucsd.edu>

From: Arm The Spirit <ats at locust.etext.org>
Subject: Mainstream News On PKK Resistance To Turkey's Invasion

Mainstream News On PKK Resistance To Turkey's
Latest Invasion Of South Kurdistan


Kurd Rebels Say 38 Turkish Troops Killed In Iraq

     ANKARA, Oct 4 (Reuter) - Turkey's rebel Kurdistan Workers
Party (PKK) said on Saturday it had killed 38 Turkish soldiers and
124 members of an Iraqi Kurdish militia allied to Ankara in a
week of fighting in northern Iraq. 
     The PKK said in a statement carried by the pro-Kurdish Dem
news agency that 26 of its own fighters had died in the same
period in the northern Iraq clashes. 
     Some 15,000 Turkish troops backed by air power have been
attacking PKK bases in Kurdish-held northern Iraq since late last
month in an offensive that has angered Baghdad. 
     The rebels, fighting for self-rule in southeastern Turkey,
said Turkish forces had fallen into a trap by entering the
mountains of northern Iraq. "It is the tactic of drawing the enemy
in and then hitting him," the statement said. 
     Turkey on Friday said it has killed 415 PKK members in
northern Iraq since the operation began late last month. 
     Western air patrols over northern Iraq have allowed Iraq's
Kurds to stay out of Baghdad's control since the end of the 1991
Gulf War.
     The United States has told the aircraft carrier Nimitz to
hurry to the Gulf to enforce a similar no-fly zone in southern
Iraq after Iran attacked bases of the Mujahideen Khalq, the main
Iranian opposition group, in Iraq this week, 
     Ankara says neighbours Iran and Syria have also gathered
troops near northern Iraq in an apparent response to Turkey's
operation, its second major cross-border push this year. 
     Inside Turkey, four Kurdish guerrillas and two members of a
state-paid militia were reported killed in a clash on Saturday.


Kurdish Rebels Kill Gendarmerie Police In Turkey 

     DIYARBAKIR, Turkey, Oct 3 (Reuter) - Kurdish guerrillas have
killed five gendarmerie policemen in an eastern Turkish province
despite government confidence that the rebels are losing steam
after 13 years of conflict.
     The troops died when Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) rebels
launched a rocket attack on Thursday night on a gendarmerie post
in the eastern province of Van, near the Iranian border, a
security official told Reuters on Friday.
     Two rebels died in the clash, the official said. He said the
assailants were thought to have entered Turkey from Iran.
     Parliament on Thursday lifted a 10-year state of emergency in
three southeastern provinces where the government says it is
winning the fight against the rebels. One of the provinces,
Bitlis, borders Van.
     Emergency rule, in force since 1987, gives security forces
sweeping powers to curb the guerrillas. It remains in place in six
other provinces.
     Fighting has continued in the province of Mardin since
emergency rule was lifted last year. At least five civilians have
been killed there in the last two months, Kurdish journalists say.
     The pro-Kurdish daily Ulkede Gundem on Friday quoted rights
activist Cemil Aydogan as saying that rights violations have not
ended in Mardin.
     "Despite Mardin being taken out of the implementation (of
emergency rule), the rights abuses have continued," Aydogan said.
     The Anatolian news agency said the guerrillas killed a member
of a state-paid militia in the province of Hakkari, near the
border with Kurdish-held northern Iraq.
     Last week, Turkish troops backed by air power pushed into
northern Iraq in a cross-border operation designed to hit the PKK
before winter makes the rugged mountains impassable. 
     The guerrilla group said fighting was still going on around
its main camp in northern Iraq, which Ankara said it had captured
earlier this week.
     More than 26,000 people have died in fighting between troops
and the PKK, which took up arms in 1984 to back its demand for
self-rule in the southeast.

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



From kurd-l at burn.ucsd.edu  Mon Oct  6 09:29:49 1997
From: kurd-l at burn.ucsd.edu (kurd-l at burn.ucsd.edu)
Date: 06 Oct 1997 09:29:49
Subject: Kurds Still On Hunger Strike In Fin
Message-ID: <bac1c849.Pine.BSF.3.96.971006042..@burn.ucsd.edu>

From: Arm The Spirit <ats at locust.etext.org>
Subject: Kurds Still On Hunger Strike In Finland

Kurds Still On Hunger Strike In Finland

Please keep sending faxes! There's no information about the results yet, but
officials from the Foreign Bureau visited the strikers on Friday, maybe just
because they were afraid for their jammed fax.

Antti Rautiainen
ANTTI.RAUTIAINEN at PP.KOLUMBUS.FI

-----
ACTION ALERT FOR KURDISH HUNGER STRIKE IN FINLAND

(via fax, phone & e-mail)

Today began the 14th day of a hunger strike by Kurdish
refugees in Finland. One Kurd and one Finnish friend have been on
hunger strike since September 20th, two Kurds joined on Sunday,
September 21st, and 5 Kurds started striking on September 29th. 

The hunger strike is a protest against the inhumane
practices of the Finnish Foreigner Bureau, which has carried out
a lot of mass decisions to deport Kurds from Turkish-Kurdistan
during the summer of 1997. The decisions lack reason for single
individuals. Mistreated Kurds have been politically active and
they are at risk of being persecuted by the Turkish regime if
returned to Turkey. There are many Kurdish refugees in Finland
and the Finnish Foreigner Bureau should know very well the
situation in Turkey.

Deported Kurds have made appeals to the Asylum Board, which
usually follows the decisions of Foreigner Bureau. Finland is
known for its hostile refugee policy, one of the tightest in the
Western Europe. Even the European Union, which is closing it's
borders as a whole, has criticized Finnish refugee policy. There
are less than 20,000 refugees in Finland; the 1,000 annual asylum
seekers are not a risk to Finnish welfare.

The hunger strike is not only for these Kurds, it's also
against the Finnish foreigner policy as whole, it's for all the
asylum seekers from which some have been forced to wait for
decisions, sometimes negative, as much as 5 years. It's also
against the establishing of the "fortress Europe", in which "the
free movement of people" is just a joke for those in a need of
asylum.

You can increase the pressure against Finnish officials who
have chosen "keeping our nation clean" as their official policy,
thanks to decades of populist rhetoric by politicians. Please
forward this message and participate the protest! 

The pressure campaign is planned to begin at 11 am CET on
Friday, October 3rd (That means 4.00 am in NY). Please distribute
this message as much as possible before that.

You can send faxes or phone to following address:

Demand a fairer refugee policy from:

Finnish Foreigner Bureau
Director, Ms. Mielikki Tenhunen
fax: +358-9-4765-5857 or +358-9-4765-5700
phone: +358-9-476-5500
e-mail: mielikki.tenhunen at sm.vn.mailnet.fi

You can appeal for the Kurds on hunger strike to:

Asylum Board
fax: +358-9-1825-7774
phone: +358-9-18251

The Foreigner Bureau is in the control of:

Minister of Domestic Affairs
Mr. Jan-Erik Enestam
phone: +358-9-(1601 or 478 711)-2800
fax: +358-9-(1601 or 478 411)-2887
e-mail: Jan-Erik.Enestam at sm.vn.mailnet.fi

The Asylum Board is in the control of:

Minister of Justice
Mr. Kari Hakamies
phone: +358-9-(18251 or 478 713)-7500
fax: +358-9-(18251 or 478 713)-7730
e-mail: Kari.Hakamies at om.vn.fi


From english at ozgurlluk.xs4all.nl  Mon Oct  6 15:11:50 1997
From: english at ozgurlluk.xs4all.nl (english at ozgurlluk.xs4all.nl)
Date: 06 Oct 1997 15:11:50
Subject: US and double standards: Iran is not allowed, Turkey can do what she
Message-ID: <bac1c849.m3en5yv9ec.fsf@ozgurluk.xs4all.nl>

October 6, Reuters

US Accused of Raising Tensions

DUBAI - The United States has needlessly raised tensions in the Gulf by
rushing an aircraft carrier to the region, one of the leading newspapers
in the Gulf said Sunday. 

U.S. Defense Secretary William Cohen last week ordered the carrier
Nimitz to skip a port call in Singapore and move to the Gulf "at best
speed" in response to Iranian air raids on bases inside Iraq run by armed
opposition exiles. 

At the same time, Washington told Tehran Iranian aircraft could be shot
down if they violated the flight ban. 

The carrier's group of seven warships is now due to arrive in the Gulf to
join existing U.S. naval forces in the waterway by the middle of October,
four or five days earlier than originally scheduled. 

"The U.S. already has an operational force in the region to patrol the
'no-fly zone' inside Iraq, so Nimitz could have got to the region a few days
later than planned without creating a crisis," Gulf News said in an
editorial. 

The English-language daily said the 'no-fly zone' was a controversial
ban imposed by the United States and Britain against Iraqi air attacks on
the minorities living in the north and south of the country. 

"It amounts to a questionable curtailment of Iraq's sovereignty and must
not be used to threaten the territorial integrity of the country," Gulf News
said. 

It said the way the United States enforced the no-fly zones -- one in the
north declared in 1991 to protect Kurds and one in the south imposed in
1992 after Iraqi air force raids on Iraqi Shi'ites -- was a major reproach
in itself. 

"Why is Turkey being allowed to violate Iraq's sovereignty by flying into
the 'no-fly zone' in the north of Iraq and attacking its Kurdish rebels
from the air and on the ground without any action being taken by the
U.S.?" Gulf News asked. 

"If and when the Nimitz sails into the Mediterranean to warn Turkey
against violation of the 'no-fly zone' in the north, then American
credibility will be better served than it is now." 

An Iranian official Sunday called the U.S. move an "act of desperation." 

"The dispatch of the USS Nimitz aircraft carrier to the Persian Gulf is an
attempt to misportray the Persian Gulf as a trouble spot," Iranian foreign
ministry spokesman Mahmoud Mohammadi told the official IRNA news
agency. 
-- 
Press Agency Ozgurluk
The Struggle for justice, democracy and human rights in Turkey and Kurdistan
http://www.ozgurluk.org  
mailto:ozgurluk at xs4all.nl mailinglists:petidomo at ozgurluk.xs4all.nl
List info: english-request at ozgurluk.xs4all.nl


From kurd-l at burn.ucsd.edu  Tue Oct  7 08:16:06 1997
From: kurd-l at burn.ucsd.edu (kurd-l at burn.ucsd.edu)
Date: 07 Oct 1997 08:16:06
Subject: Basque Trial Fails To Sway Pro-ETA
Message-ID: <bac1c849.Pine.BSF.3.96.971007030..@burn.ucsd.edu>

From: Arm The Spirit <ats at locust.etext.org>
Subject: Basque Trial Fails To Sway Pro-ETA Youth

[On October 6, 1997, the trial against 23 leading members of the
Basque political party Herri Batasuna (HB) was delayed following
a motion by the defense to dismiss the present bench of three
judges due to bias; one judge's daughter works at the Interior
Ministry, which designed the prosecution against HB. If the 23
members of HB's 'Mesa Nacional', or national directorate, are
convicted, then the party's entire leadership would be thrown
into prison for 8 to 16 years. The charges of supporting
terrorism are based on the distribution of an HB election video
which featured a masked member of the armed organization ETA
reading a proposal for a peaceful solution to the Basque
conflict. ETA proposed a binding referendum on the issue of
independence for Euskadi, the Basque country, with both the
guerrillas and the Spanish central state pledging to respect the
outcome of the vote. Spain not only failed to respond to this
peace gesture, authorities banned the video from being shown and
filed terrorism charges against the leadership of HB. The trial
should resume in two or three weeks. Basque homeland and freedom!
- Arm The Spirit, October 7, 1997]


Basque Trial Fails To Sway Pro-ETA Youth

     BILBAO, Spain (October 6, 1997 Agence France-Presse) -
Spain's landmark anti-terrorism trial of 23 Basque separatist
politicians does not deter for many young Basques who see it as
one more ordeal in the struggle for their people's freedom.
     The trial of the leadership of the extremist political party
Herri Batasuna for their alleged collaboration with the armed
separatist group ETA, was postponed shortly before it opened in
Madrid Monday.
     It is expected to resume in a week or so.
     Typical are the feelings of Olatz, a 21-year-old leader of
the Jarrai youth movement, considered the breeding ground for
ETA, which since its formation in 1959 has fought to carve out an
independent homeland in Spain's Basque country with bombings and
attacks that have left hundreds dead.
     Olatz and her friends have been honed by the world of
"herriko tabernas", cafes patronized by Basque separatists in the
tortuous alleyways of old Bilbao where pro-ETA graffitti spares
no wall.
     The photographs of jailed ETA militants hang like heroes on
the walls next to posters declaiming "imperialist Spain" or
urging patrons to fight on for the cause.
     Her face set in a hard glare, Olatz, a sociology and
politics student whose whole family belongs to the separatist
movement, proclaims she is an "abertzale -- or radical separatist
-- since birth".
     She, like other Jarrai members, is obsessed with the Herri
Batasuna trial, which was delayed after a failed defense attempt
to get the presiding Supreme Court judge removed on grounds that
he had links to the Madrid government.
     It is the first time the entire leadership of Herri Batasuna
-- a legal party which claims 12 to 15 percent support of the
Basque electorate -- has been put on trial.
     While the trial is backed by most of Spain's political
class, which feels it is time to end Herri Batasuna's
"complicity" with the ETA, the trial has only riled Basque youth
who plan what Olatz said would be a series of "peaceful" actions
in support of the defendants.
     Jarrai, whose name means "continue" in Basque, officially
denies involvement in criminal acts but is regularly accused by
authorities of fomenting the urban violence that is endemic in
the Basque country.
     Its members are dubbed "ETA puppies" by the local press,
which accuses them of tossing Molotov cocktails at every turn.
     Olatz claims she has been hit "thousands of times" by police
truncheons during Jarrai demonstrations in the three years since
she joined, and has lost count of the number of Jarrai friends
arrested or jailed.
     "In my class alone, there have been two this year," she
said.
     During the trial, the group has promised to stage student
strikes and political rallies in every village in the three
provinces of the Basque region which have enjoyed autonomy from
Madrid since 1980.
     A key event is planned for Friday, a "borroka eguna" or day
of struggle -- a vague Basque term that has often translated into
clashes on the street.
     Olatz however contends that "street battles are spontaneous
and have always existed in the Basque country". She insists that
Jarrai does not organize such violence and thus cannot predict
when it will erupt.
     "The violence will not disappear as long as the thing
causing it remains: unemployment, social injustice, the
impossibility for youth to express itself, and repression
demonstrated by this trial against the HB leadership," she said.
     For Olatz, the Herri Batasuna trial is "the latest attempt
by the government to finish with Basque separatism, after the
dirty war and the calls to lynch HB militants".
     The "dirty war" refers to allegations of government
involvement in anti-terrorist death squads blamed for the murder
of at least 22 Basque separatists in the 1980s.
     The Herri Batasuna trial stems from party election rallies
in 1996 at which videotapes were broadcast showing hooded men
defending ETA. It got the party leadership charged with
collaborating with an armed group.
     But for Olatz, the video at the center of the case contained
"the only peace offer ever formulated in the Basque conflict".
She defended ETA as "people engaged in a struggle who have shown
generosity and sacrifice".
     The 11 fatal attacks blamed on ETA this year in no way alter
Olatz' opinion, including the July killing of municipal
councillor Miguel Angel Blanco Garrido, kidnapped then executed
two days later.
     It was his killing that fueled the current mood, sparking
national outrage and sending six million people on to the streets
to denounce terrorism.
     But for Olatz, "the responsibility lies with the government,
which would not agree to regroup ETA prisoners in Basque jails,"
the condition laid down for the councillor's release.

-----------------------------------------------------------------
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
ATS Archive: http://www.etext.org/Politics/Arm.The.Spirit
-----------------------------------------------------------------

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


From english at ozgurlluk.xs4all.nl  Tue Oct  7 11:59:12 1997
From: english at ozgurlluk.xs4all.nl (english at ozgurlluk.xs4all.nl)
Date: 07 Oct 1997 11:59:12
Subject: DHKP/C - Turkey: The History of our Party II
Message-ID: <bac1c849.m1yb45o1a5.fsf@ozgurluk.xs4all.nl>

THE RENEGADES OF DEVRIMCI YOL AND THE DEVELOPMENT OF OUR MOVEMENT

Through the efforts of some elements, former sympathisers of the
THKP-C in prison, the KSD was founded, the Kurtulus Sosyalist Dergisi,
the Socialist Liberation Magazine), initially criticising the THKP-C.
Later they defended their theory of social-imperialism and they
increasingly denounced their own past, engaging themselves more and
more in Aydinlik. Later the groups of Acil and the MLSPB crystallised
from its left deviations. Furthermore a group emerged around the
Devrimci Genclik (Revolutionary Youth) paper, with its roots in Ankara
and with a leadership of former THKP-C responsibles. 

They stood up against the deviations from the left and the right and
they propagated the view to establish once more the ideological unity
of those who had participated in the unified struggle of the THKP-C in
the past. With this view, they did not stay indifferent - like the
other left and right groups - towards the problems of the youth and
other segments of the population. This view, that ideological unity
will be reached in time, and the idea of founding the THKP-C again was
attractive to us, the new generation. It was our greatest wish to
organise life, to discuss it in the context of the notion of
organisation and organised struggle, to convince each other, to
establish a just analysis of our past and present. That's why
relations were established with sincere feelings and it was tried to
bridge the distance, aiming at unification. 

Another position, the signs of a rather right-wing view, could be seen
in the first editions of the paper Dev-Genc already. Although we
criticised all this already during that time, we were unable to
achieve a positive result . 

On the contrary, approaches marked by prejudices and keeping a
distance were common. They persisted in not taking organised steps in
practice and they tried to force a spontaneous right-wing line upon
us. We weren't even a group, the lowest level of organising. And their
efforts for the so much spoken about ideological unity were almost
null and void. Despite all our pressure and our attempts to give form
to the militant struggle, and although our earlier attempts to
establish a militant practice positively influenced the masses, the
leadership of this group reacted in a negative way. They constantly
tried to force us into a spontaneous and right-wing line in different
ways. Furthermore, they had no clear view in their own ranks how, for
example, the process of becoming a party should look like, how
problems should be tackled in theory and practice, etcetera...

Day by day, the development became more obvious, the attacks kept
increasing.

Having to confront this development in an organised way, to stand up
against the attacks, growing up step by step in the organised
struggle, we became aware of this in a painful way. But the Ankara
group did not show any haste. They were so indifferent towards the
number of young people who had put all their hopes in them, a number
which must not be underestimated, that they addressed their own
personal problems, competing for legitimacy when they were released
from prison, in stead of addressing the problems of the struggle. 

It seemed we were together with the Ankara DG-group, but essentially
the differences in the practice of both groups, Istanbul and Ankara,
and the different views how to solve occurring problems, continued.
And the Ankara group did not make an effort to create an ideological
unity, to end the differences between both groups. Their only goal was
to take the line of legality, forcing this line upon us. 

Finally, in 1977, they came with a draft for a program, albeit after
some pressure, which should form the basis for ideological unity. In
this draft, again the different views emerged about many items such as
the evaluation of the THKP-C, the reorganisation in those days, the
PASS, organisation etc. It was said that this was just a draft, that a
lot had to be discussed and that points which were objected would be
corrected,  they claimed to essentially agree with us about the
problems. 

We were happy that finally, be it late, ideological unity had been
achieved. 

A periodical press organ was to be published and it was decided that
the program was to be explained to the readers, clarifying the
progress of ideological unity. It was agreed that the organisation was
transferred to a central level and that the struggle was to be
intensified. 

>From the day we started our relations with the DG-group, they tried to
force their will upon us, they looked down at us, they did not take
the young generation seriously, they were bureaucratic, legalistic and
they showed a spontaneous right-wing line in almost all their views.
Despite all this we thought that ideological unity was going to be a
longer process and we decided to continue the struggle, without
loosing our common sense and ripeness. 

But our common sense, our desire for the THKP-C unity and our
willingness to sacrifice only met deaf ears. The oligarchy had killed
their revolutionary dynamics. Revolutionary principles and values were
lost, revolutionary politics were replaced by bourgeois ones. They had
become ageing bureaucrats who desired order. Everything and everyone
was just a means to achieve this goal. 

When the draft of the program was published as "Devrimci Yol Program",
we saw that not a single point we objected to had been corrected. A
large majority of the masses, influenced and led by us, and our
sympathisers were furious. The Ankara group showed the THKP-C,
ideological unity and the plans for the future in a right-wing light.
Their theoretical views were in accordance with their right-wing
practice. 

At this point we had to either go through the process of unification,
have the points we disagreed upon corrected without giving in, or we
had to leave the publications and the approaches as they were, making
an end to the process of ideological unity. 

Without clarifying the points we agreed or disagreed upon, without
showing that two different systems were defended, that there were two
different views about the strategic problems of vital importance, a
break would have been a cheap solution which would have a negative
influence on the unity of the party. We could not choose this road. 

Despite the games of bourgeois diplomacy and the deviousness, we had
to increase our efforts - even though it would be difficult and
painful - and we had to be prepared for treason. We had seen in what
way the old guard had taken the path of treason. But we were without
prejudice. We asked the authors why the points we disagreed on and
which should have been corrected had not been changed in the definite
print. The answer was a curious one, even childish, it had been a
printing error, all of the points were going to be discussed and
corrected in future editions of the magazine. Another seemingly
responsible person said he didn't know why it was written in such a
way because he shared our views. Bourgeois diplomacy was grinning at
us in these answers. But despite all this, we had to wait till the
points of the program were published and there was no other way to
push on the discussion.


Although the ideological unity in the program went a step forward, the
Devrimci Yol magazine did not fulfil the task of finalising this
ideological unity. Although some time had past, the pages were filled
with everyday problems and they tried to keep us at bay. When we
protested, they said "Just wait a little bit longer". Devrimci Yol was
looking for a beneficial moment to force their personal ideological
views upon us. Because of this attitude, nothing was done to implement
the decision to take steps for the centralisation of the joint
organisation to achieved the expansion of the struggle. The question
"why" was not answered. In stead, they began to place their own people
as Devrimci Yol cadres, to establish personal contacts and they
propagated their personal right-wing line to put people against us in
case of a split. The purpose of their planning became obvious. The
problems which "should be published" were not published as a result of
a bourgeois diplomacy. To publish the problems before establishing
their own party-political organisation could have meant their end.
Until then the slogan was "We are defending the THKP-C" and this was
the only way for them to gather the THKP-C potential. Or that's how it
looked like anyway. Despite all their attempts of party politics, all
their apparent games with us - which we saw clearly and which we were
aware of, we held back and insisted in bringing to the open the
different views. The reactions of our sympathisers became stronger,
the situation could not go on like this and it demanded our
intervention. 

While the attacks by the civic and official fascists increased day by
day, the road could already been seen which would lead from the state
of emergency of the oligarchy to a new military junta. The attacks
became larger and heavier. But Devrimci Yol was not an organisation
which could stand the enemy attacks, it did not even know what to do
against these attacks and it did not posses any perspective of what
tactics had to be used in the struggle. And they stubbornly evaded the
confrontation of how to wage the struggle, how to render the terror of
the state and the fascists ineffective, how to render the tactics of
the enemy to frighten and pacify the masses by means of provocative
acts ineffective. Without doubt, we wanted to fulfil our task towards
the revolution and the people with the perspective and the
responsibility of the THKP-C. We wanted to do so with all our strength
and we did not want to go into the struggle unprepared. But this was
not the same as the work of an organisation which had already taken
the necessary steps on a central level and which knew what had to be
done. 

MayDay 1977 constitutes a clear example of the development of the
revolutionary movement in Turkey and the acts of the oligarchy against
this revolutionary movement. Using the same example, one can see the
neglect, the ignorance about the enemy and the distorted simple
mindedness and attitude of a left which was used by the oligarchy.
During this phase, the opportunist and revisionist left had split up
into pro-Soviet, pro-China and pro-Albania lines. The enemy had become
a twin brother and they accused each other of being a "Maoist Grey
Wolf" and a "social-fascist". The revisionist were repeating every
word by the CPSU (the Communist Party of the Soviet Union), and those
who were on the side of Albania and China acted like novices of the
ALP (Albanian Labour Party) and the CPC (Communist Party of China).
The ideological struggle between the socialist countries and their
attitudes in practice were caricaturised and reflected upon our
country during the initial phase of the struggle. This has led to the
bloodshed of revolutionaries and a redirection of the goal of the
struggle. Week before MayDay, the oligarchy spread its propaganda of
"blood will flow" and "there will be confrontations among the left"
and they cleared the road for their planned confrontation and
massacre. In this, they used the behaviour of a left which
demonstrated it was  prepared to fight and confront one another, if
need be to shed blood. 

The left played along with the provocations of the oligarchy. While
the reformists claimed they would "not allow the Maoist Grey Wolves to
the MayDay square", the leftist opportunist block spew its threats
like "Whatever the cost, we will reach the rallying square". The
warnings of our movement for provocations were ignored, they continued
their statements, clearing the way for the provocations by the
oligarchy. 

Using the demagogy that the opportunist wanted to fight their way to
the MayDay meeting, the contra-guerrilla was able to realise its
planned massacre by opening fire upon the hundreds of thousands of
people who gathered at the MayDay square, killing 36 revolutionaries
and patriots. When the opportunists and revisionists were spewing
their threats, they felt strong but when the massacre was carried out
they could not even protect their own masses. In great panic, they
tried to save their own lives, including the "Ankara group". Only
DEV-GENC, which remained on the square, showed an organised conduct
and they waged an armed resistance against the contra-guerrilla. They
showed their courage by marching against the tanks in one block, by
preventing an even bigger massacre by shooting back, reducing the
panic. DEV-GENC prevented that people trampled each other. DEV-GENC
did not lower its banners and flags. At the point when they believed
they could do no more, they retreated in an organised and disciplined
manner. Far remote from revolutionary responsibility and
consciousness, many opportunists and revisionists added another guilt
to the ones they already had - the massacring of the people. While the
oligarchy published their headlines like "Did we not tell you so?",
for days the opportunists and the revisionists, in their shock and
their fear for the people's reaction, did not dare to visit the
democratic organisations, they did not dare to move among the masses.
But this was just a temporary phase. These organisations, not having
the notion to carry out the revolution in our country, not trusting
their own strength, working like sections of other organisations, can
not change in a short time. After days, when the public learnt that
the contra-guerrilla had been responsible for the massacre, they
entered the political arena again and they continued their mutual
brawls. 

MayDay 1977 and the massacre which occurred clearly showed that the
opportunists and the revisionist left offer a tool to the provocations
of the contra-guerrilla because of their conduct. Another important
lesson is that they posses a sharp tongue and a mastery in instigating
a fight, but that they do not trust themselves when faced by enemy
attacks, neither do they believe in the people. 

A revolutionary organisation, a revolutionary movement, an independent
identity can only be formed after analysing the revolution in the
country, considering its characteristics and the universal and local
differences. Organisations which stubbornly look at examples of
organising  in other countries will act in this country like a flag,
changing with the winds. That's why they will not find the right line.
And that's why they can not avoid to be used by others. When we said
so then, nobody took us seriously and everybody acted like he pleased.
Because we did not follow the Soviet, the Chinese or the Albanian
communist party, because we criticised their mistakes and deviations,
they ironically called us "the defenders of the middle road". Surely,
there is no middle road in Marxism-Leninism. We firmly stand on the
foundation of Marxism-Leninism, the other are based on opportunism and
revisionism, that's the main difference. This main difference is so
striking that it almost always shows and people are led into
catastrophe, shocked when they realise that the parties they have
followed are denouncing them. For the same reason, these movements 
will easily deviate to the right in difficult times, and in time they
will come to an agreement with the government. In those days, these
truths made no sense for these groups. But the revolutionaries,
fighting since 1974, have recognised these truths. 

Even if the opportunists and revisionists gain a certain strength by
strictly copying and following their favourite line, they can loose
this strength as easily because it has not been gained in struggle.
There is no real strength behind them, when they are confronted with a
severe blow, they turn to the system or they get marginalised. Their
notion neither incorporates creativity, nor originality. Copying,
remaining outside of the process, opposing the increased struggle by
the revolutionaries means, objectively seen, taking the same stand as
the forces of the system. This opposition against all struggles which
are not waged by themselves, especially against the armed struggle
against the system, is inconceivable. They do as they please, for
unimaginable reasons they oppose all activities of an organisation
which wages the armed struggle and they try to weaken it, even
destroying it. All which seems incomprehensible in their conduct
should essentially be interpreted as a defence of the system. There is
no Chinese Wall between their statutes and those of the system itself.


MayDay 1977 has shown which policy the oligarchy will apply in the
future against the revolutionaries and the people. The situation of
the left, seen form the necessity of the class war, has learnt us a
valuable lesson. These necessities have to be met unconditionally.
This role should have been taken by the remaining unity and the first
issue of the Devrimci Yol magazine. Although a year went by, one could
not detect a real effort, neither to organise the movement, nor to
establish a ideological unity. 

We decided to take a last step to solve this stuck situation in which
no statement showed any effect and in which we could not see a
perspective anymore. We decided to start a discussion with all the
honoured cadres who lead the masses and who had carried the burden of
leadership since 73-74. These cadres laid down their tasks for a
undetermined period in order to exercise pressure, and they stated:
"All these problems must be discussed immediately, either these
discussions will lead to a result, or our activities under the name of
Devrimci Yol will cease because of these unclearities and this
consciousness". 

The editors of Devrimci Yol were very pleased because of our decision.
They began to replace our comrades with their own people from Ankara,
they started to bring everything under their control, applying their
right-wing views. These people were alien to the reality of our
struggle and our militant line. With their bureaucratic minds, they
discussed every theme, whether they knew anything about it or not.
They gave orders, they despised people and they received the
appropriate reactions. Our cadres, trained with the perspectives of
the THKP-C, could essentially see no difference in this situation
between the KSD and the other opportunist views. Their practice,
denouncing the line of the THKP-C, prevented  a further masking of
their real views. The editors of Devrimci Yol tried to use the fact
that we had laid down our tasks to hasten the liquidation. Our last
attempt of an approachment did not bring a positive result, but the
demolishing of the facade of the liquidation attempts by Devrimci Yol
was hastened. As long as they had to reckon with our criticism of the
right-wing line of Devrimci Yol, they did not have the courage to
openly show their views, inspired by civic society, and their notions,
taken from the civic society magazine "Birikim" (Experience). It was
necessary to discuss the problems, remaining in the group, in a
framework which established ideological unity, to achieve the THKP-C
unity and the centralise the potential, even though the Devrimci Yol
movement was no organised structure. And it was such a platform,
Devrimci Yol was afraid of, which they fled for. It was not their
problem to defend the views of the THKP-C and to organise unity. The
chief-editor only worried to build up a closed movement, step by step,
which would in time open up. A legalistic, bureaucratic right-wing
movement of renegades, based on the views of the civic society. A
structure of cadres, an according organisation and tactics of refusal
had to be developed in this direction. That's why important questions
were not discussed, no answers were given and the movement was brought
in a state in which it could not be prevented to drift in whatever
directions, based on a spontanist line. The only obstacle for the
chief-editor was constituted by the opposing Marxist-Leninist cadres
who carried the inheritance of the THKP-C. Without removing these
cadres, they could impossibly go ahead with their ideology, their
organisation and practice. That's why all their efforts were
concentrated on removing this obstacle ideologically and physically. 

Evaluating the new developments, a last meeting took place with the
editors of Devrimci Yol. A solution for the situation was to be looked
for. But they insisted, thinking that the obstacle had been removed,
that we had to accept their views. The split, or rather the
liquidation of Devrimci Yol, had become inevitable. The editors of
Devrimci Yol decided to use MayDay 1978 as a demonstration of strength
to show  the left public opinion and the people that apparently were
no conflicts within Devrimci Yol and that they held power in all
regions and areas. All efforts to achieve unity had failed and at that
time a split had become the only solution. Our cadres all over the
country decided to cross this liquidation game of Devrimci Yol, we
decided to show our strength and we would not allow them to lie to the
people and the revolutionary public. 

All the renegades of Devrimci Yol were busy with the preparation for
MayDay 1978. But all of the people in Turkey and the left were to see
clearly that Istanbul and many cities of Anatolia did not share the
views of Devrimci Yol. Tens of thousands of workers, youngsters, civil
servants and people from several segments of the population rejected
the slogans and banners of Devrimci Yol and with great discipline they
gathered behind a huge red and yellow banner with the text "Our road
is the road of Cayan". The Devrimci Yol renegades had come from Ankara
with tens of thousands of people and now they were left with a group
of 40-50 people. The leading renegades became furious and they started
their provocations because the result of their year long bourgeois
policy, the result of their swindle was not as they had wished. Their
provocative attitude went as far as looking for a fight, and they even
drew their weapons. Only because of our common sense, our ripeness,
our consciousness and our conduct, appropriate to the historical
phase, prevented that their provocations achieved the result they
desired. 

The meeting and the demonstration of MayDay 1978 had been a result in
which we, not acting as Devrimci Sol yet, clearly demonstrated to our
people that we had got rid of the renegades, that it was us who
defended the inheritance of the THKP-C, and that we no longer belonged
to Devrimci Yol. In this way, the attempts by Devrimci Yol to mask and
distort the events, according to the motto "there are no problems
within the movement, a small group which broke away is responsible",
were exposed as lies and forgeries. 

The split between the people and the left had become concrete. Now we
were faced with the task to explain the reason for this split to the
people, we had to offer them our perspectives and our notions. We had
to complete them with the help of an appropriate training and we had
to clean the organisation, the ideology and the policy from the
Devrimci Yol influences by taking it in our own hands. 

Oppression and terror kept increasing and the more or less "civil
state of emergency" developed more and more into an official state of
emergency. It was obvious that this development was leading towards a
military junta. We had to overcome our internal lack of organisation,
develop a new perspective according to the armed struggle, leave the
spontanist legalist line of Devrimci Yol and get rid of its remains.
The legalist attitude, developed under conditions of less oppression
and terror, was more and more left behind. The liquidation attempts
and the bourgeois policy of Devrimci Yol had cost us years. Now, under
conditions of oppression and still influenced by parts of the ideology
of the Devrimci Yol renegades, however still fighting together with
them, organising and waging war, we had to take another step to look
at all questions of the revolution and to build an organisation which
would not deviate, neither to the right, nor to the left, whatever the
circumstances. 

We could only realise a new organisation and a new consciousness
successfully by increasing our own training and working at our
consciousness on the basis of an internal democracy. In our movement,
we had to look carefully at the internal democracy and a largest
possible participation, especially in the phase of becoming a party.
Participation, ideological unity, the spirit of a new growth and the
stabilisation of our new steps would go hand in hand. 

There was no chance for the development of a movement which does not
trust its own cadres and which does not look for solutions together.
To develop a future and to convince different segments of the
population in different phases, we had to pursue a policy which was
based on the growth of the cadres and the improvement of the ties with
the people's masses.

>From this perspective, the movement initiated a discussion about our
split with Devrimci Yol, our criticism, the attitude of refusal by the
renegades and about what had to be done. For this, a meeting of all
cadres in Turkey - around 50 - was organised. As a result of this
meeting, it was decided unanimously that a liquidation would not be
allowed, the heritage of the THKP-C would be defended, and we would
re-organise as soon as possible on all levels from this perspective as
a autonomous and independent organisation. We would enter the
political arena and prepare a draft brochure about these views and
spread it among the cadres. 

Very soon, the brochure "The renegades in Devrimci Yol and the
revolutionary line" was prepared, discussed, voted on and published. 

During this time we re-organised in the regions and a central organ of
the youth was established under the name DEV-GENC. Other task were
taken on quickly as well. 

The circles of Devrimci Yol decided in a great panic to attack our
cadres and sympathisers. They tried to hinder our development and stop
the discussion by means of beatings, wounding people, traps, the
banning of discussions, campaigns of lies, smears and all other
conceivable methods. However, Devrimci Yol could not prevent the
discussions and stop its own "loss of blood". To hold on to what was
left in their hands, they hurriedly started to come into the open with
their right-wing views, based on the "civic society: Now there was
nobody left in Devrimci Yol anymore who really opposed these
right-wing views. Own cadres were developed and ideological key-points
were determined, based on the views, published in the main writings of
Devrimci Yol. With violence, they tried to suffocate discussions in
the earliest stages. Despite all the attacks and the smear campaigns,
the views and the practice of DEVRIMCI SOL spread like a wave across
the country. Devrimci Sol, now present in the political arena, had
promised to defend the heritage of the THKP-C and it would keep up the
flag of the struggle. 

Now there is a revolutionary left on the soil of Turkey and Kurdistan.

The enemy and opportunism aimed all their arrows at our movement. We
worked at showing almost everywhere that we are an organisation that
would render the fascist terror ineffective by increasing the struggle
against the official and the civic-fascist terror.

-- 
Devrimci Halk Kurtulus Cephesi (Revolutionary Peoples Liberation Front)
DHKC Informationbureau Amsterdam
http://www.ozgurluk.org/dhkc                          
List info: english-request at ozgurluk.xs4all.nl


From english at ozgurlluk.xs4all.nl  Wed Oct  8 09:28:48 1997
From: english at ozgurlluk.xs4all.nl (english at ozgurlluk.xs4all.nl)
Date: 08 Oct 1997 09:28:48
Subject: The only way for Kurdistan: Revolution
Message-ID: <bac1c849.m167r8p6u8.fsf@ozgurluk.xs4all.nl>

Kurtulus no. 47, 20 September 1997

The only way for Kurdistan: Revolution

"Demirel's reality"

"I don't agree that there is a Kurdish problem in Turkey, there is
rather a terrorist problem"... This view is not new amongst the
oligarchy in Turkey. For years it has been repeated literally by
politicians and the military. Last week it was repeated again. The
context in which this sentence was said is interesting: it was
Demirel's answer to a statement by HADEP (Halkin Demokrasi Partisi,
Democracy Party of the People) chairman Bozlak during his visit to the
prime minister's office in the context of his "HADEP Dialogue Tour".
This statement by Demirel was classified as "unexpected" by especially
the Kurdish nationalists. "If this is meant seriously, the Turkish
state is not taking the peace calls seriously", the indignant Kurdish
nationalists said. Must this view, repeated time and again for 40
years, be repeated once more to come to this conclusion? So why does
one wonder? Because it has been the same Demirel who stated in 1991:
"Yes, we do recognise the reality of the Kurds". 

In 1991, the representatives of the HEP (Halkin Emek Partisi, Workers
People's Party) joint the list of the SHP (Sosyal Demokrat Halkci
Partisi, Social Democratic People's Party) for the elections and
entered parliament as SHP delegates. Because of the votes won by the
HEP representatives, the SHP were confident to enter a coalition with
the DYP. The above mentioned statement was made by Demirel as the
leader of this coalition. This statement was taken very seriously and
the expectations were accordingly. These expectations could also be
heard when the SHP entered the elections. What happened then? The
coalition made sure that the people were put under more pressure than
before.  Because said Demirel is a loyal representative of the
oligarchy. Every time he governs, he makes sure that more blood is
shed. 

The oligarchy pursues a Kurdish policy from its own perspective. This
policy is accompanied by several kinds of demagogy and a fake
democracy. When this is overlooked, one gets blinded by the pseudo
democracy. The Kurdish nationalists took the bourgeois parties and
politicians seriously, based on this pseudo democracy. This policy
promises "heaven on earth", but practice is contrary. How do we react
to such promises? Should we satisfy ourselves with the hope that these
promises will be kept in the future? Now is the moment that we see the
real faces of Demirel, Yilmaz and Boyner. Neither the Kurdish problem,
nor the democratic struggle benefit of the HADEP, playing along on the
political level. Only because the HADEP is a legal party, she does not
have to integrate in bourgeois politics. Under the motto "Search for
Dialogue", the HADEP visited Demirel, Yilmaz and Cindoruk .Visiting
Ecevit was not deemed "important and useful". The importance of a
dialogue with Demirel and Yilmaz is questionable. The HADEP stated
after the meeting that it had been useful and all went
positively. What can have been so useful and positive? In the name of
the Kurdish people, the HADEP visits Demirel who labels the struggle
of the Kurds as terror, who massacres, oppresses and burns down
villages. And the HADEP remains silent about all this. This conduct
can not be explained by claiming that the HADEP uses parliament only
as a means to achieve a goal. This conduct is quite clearly bourgeois
politics of a bourgeois party. Either you should not have gone to this
meeting, let alone remain silent. You should have stood behind the
liberation struggle. Or you should stop claiming to represent the
Kurdish people. When parliament is used as a means to achieve a goal,
one should not act in a way that the hopes of the people for the
fulfilment of empty promises are fanned. Revolutionaries or Kurdish
nationalists should, when they use elections for parliament or similar
platforms, use them for the benefit of the people and fight for its
freedom.


-- 
Devrimci Halk Kurtulus Cephesi (Revolutionary Peoples Liberation Front)
DHKC Informationbureau Amsterdam
http://www.ozgurluk.org/dhkc                          
List info: english-request at ozgurluk.xs4all.nl


From kurd-l at burn.ucsd.edu  Sat Oct 11 02:23:15 1997
From: kurd-l at burn.ucsd.edu (kurd-l at burn.ucsd.edu)
Date: 11 Oct 1997 02:23:15
Subject: The only way for Kurdistan: Revolution
References: <bac1c849.m167r8p6u8.fsf@ozgurluk.xs4all.nl>
Message-ID: <bac1c849.Pine.BSF.3.96.971010210..@burn.ucsd.edu>

From: Arm The Spirit <ats at locust.etext.org>
Subject: The Only Way For Kurdistan: Revolution

(Article from 'Kurtulus' No.47, September 20, 1997)

The Only Way For Kurdistan: Revolution

"Demirel's Reality"

     "I don't agree that there is a Kurdish problem in Turkey,
rather there is a terrorist problem." This view is not new
amongst the oligarchy in Turkey. For years it has been repeated
literally by politicians and the military. Last week it was
repeated again. The context in which this sentence was said is
interesting: it was Demirel's answer to a statement by HADEP
(Halkin Demokrasi Partisi, People's Democracy Party)
chairman Bozlak during his visit to the prime minister's office
in the context of his "HADEP Dialogue Tour". This statement by
Demirel was classified as "unexpected", especially by the Kurdish
nationalists. "If this is meant seriously, the Turkish state is
not taking the peace calls seriously", the indignant Kurdish
nationalists said. Must this view, repeated time and again for 40
years, be repeated once more to come to this conclusion? So why
does one wonder? Because it was been the same Demirel who stated
in 1991: "Yes, we do recognize the reality of the Kurds." 
     In 1991, the representatives of the HEP (Halkin Emek
Partisi, People's Labor Party) joint the list of the SHP (Sosyal
Demokrat Halkci Partisi, Social Democratic People's Party) for
the elections and entered parliament as SHP delegates. Because of
the votes won by the HEP representatives, the SHP were confident
to enter a coalition with the DYP. The above mentioned statement
was made by Demirel as the leader of this coalition. This
statement was taken very seriously and the expectations were
accordingly. These expectations could also be heard when the SHP
entered the elections. What happened then? The coalition made
sure that the people were put under more pressure than before. 
Because Demirel is a loyal representative of the oligarchy.
Every time he governs, he makes sure that more blood is shed. 
     The oligarchy pursues a Kurdish policy from its own
perspective. This policy is accompanied by several kinds of
demagogy and a fake democracy. When this is overlooked, one gets
blinded by the pseudo-democracy. The Kurdish nationalists took
the bourgeois parties and politicians seriously, based on this
pseudo-democracy. This policy promises "heaven on earth", but
practice is contrary. How do we react to such promises? Should we
satisfy ourselves with the hope that these promises will be kept
in the future? Now is the moment that we see the real faces of
Demirel, Yilmaz, and Boyner. Neither the Kurdish problem, nor the
democratic struggle, benefit from the HADEP playing along on the
political level. Just because the HADEP is a legal party it
does not have to integrate in bourgeois politics. Under the motto
"Search for Dialogue", the HADEP visited Demirel, Yilmaz, and
Cindoruk. Visiting Ecevit was not deemed "important and useful".
The importance of a dialogue with Demirel and Yilmaz is
questionable. The HADEP stated after the meeting that it had been
useful and all went positively. What can have been so useful and
positive? In the name of the Kurdish people, the HADEP visits
Demirel who labels the struggle of the Kurds as terror, who
massacres, oppresses, and burns down villages. And the HADEP
remains silent about all this. This conduct cannot be explained
by claiming that the HADEP uses parliament only as a means to
achieve a goal. This conduct is quite clearly bourgeois politics
by a bourgeois party. Either you should not have gone to this
meeting, let alone remain silent, or you should have stood behind
the liberation struggle. Or you should stop claiming to represent
the Kurdish people. When parliament is used as a means to achieve
a goal, one should not act in a way that the hopes of the people
for the fulfilment of empty promises are fanned. Revolutionaries
or Kurdish nationalists should, when they use elections for
parliament or similar platforms, use them for the benefit of the
people and fight for its freedom.

-- 
Devrimci Halk Kurtulus Cephesi (DHKC)
Revolutionary People's Liberation Front
DHKC Information Bureau - Amsterdam
http://www.ozgurluk.org/dhkc                          
dhkc at ozgurluk.xs4all.nl


From kurd-l at burn.ucsd.edu  Thu Oct  9 11:06:19 1997
From: kurd-l at burn.ucsd.edu (kurd-l at burn.ucsd.edu)
Date: 09 Oct 1997 11:06:19
Subject: Kurdish Hunger Strike In Finland Is
Message-ID: <bac1c849.Pine.BSF.3.96.971009053..@burn.ucsd.edu>

From: Arm The Spirit <ats at locust.etext.org>
Subject: Kurdish Hunger Strike In Finland Is Over

Kurdish Hunger Strike In Finland Is Over

     Kurdish asylum seekers finished their hunger strike
yesterday, October 8, 1997, after having written commitment from
the Finnish Asylum Board and the Finnish Foreigner Bureau to
investigate their asylum applications independently and in decent
time. (The Asylum Board is a second-degree court to where
complaints about the decisions of Foreigner Bureau are sent.)
This was a compromise, to be sure, but the 6 Kurds and their
Finnish friend who were driven to hospital were definitely eased,
having speant 19 days outside in the windy and humid sea weather
with almost zero degree temperature which had caused them severe
health effects: diarrhea, low blood pressure, and infected
wounds. The number of strikers varied, with the maximum number
being 14, and on Wednesday there were 11.  
     Pressure from Finland and foreign countries influenced
strongly Finnish officials. After the fax campaign started, a
delegation from the Foreigner Bureau visited the hunger strikers.
The leader of the Asylum Board talked for hours with the strikers
by telephone, several MPs visited strikers, and the final
culmination was the visit of the Minister of Domestic Affairs on
Tuesday evening in which he promised that written commitments
from officials would be sent the day after. After the written
commitments were received, the hunger strike finished.
     Maybe the victory was more psychological than concrete. The
methods of the Foreigner Bureau were strongly put on question,
and the best possible treatment is guaranteed for the Kurds who
went on hunger strike. The situation was difficult from the very
beginning, and the Foreigner Bureau was able to wash their hands
because the complaints are an area of the Asylum Board, and the
Asylum Board, thinking themselves to be an absolutely independent
and objective dispenser of laws, hates to be pushed and is also
severely backlogged up with tens of cases from other just as
desperate people. Still, there is a danger that officials now
think themselves to be saved and will continue their inhumane
working practices as before. But this was only the first round,
and if necessary, the asylum seekers will continue their pressure
towards the officials who are making illegal decisions and
mocking their commitment to international treaties.
     Thanks once again for all who have sent faxes and made phone
calls! Activism works!

Antti Rautiainen
antti.rautiainen at pp.kolumbus.fi    

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



From kurd-l at burn.ucsd.edu  Thu Oct  9 11:21:08 1997
From: kurd-l at burn.ucsd.edu (kurd-l at burn.ucsd.edu)
Date: 09 Oct 1997 11:21:08
Subject: List Of Groups Designated Terrorist
Message-ID: <bac1c849.Pine.BSF.3.96.971009055..@burn.ucsd.edu>

From: Arm The Spirit <ats at locust.etext.org>
Subject: List Of Groups Designated Terrorist By The U.S.

List Of Groups Designated Terrorist By The U.S. 

WASHINGTON, Oct 8 (Reuter) - Following is a list of the groups
designated by the United States on Wednesday as foreign terrorist
organizations: 

Abu Nidal Organization (ANO) - Palestinian 

Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG) - Filipino 

Armed Islamic Group (GIA) - Algerian 

Aum Shinrikyo (Aum) - Japanese 

Euzkadi Ta Askatasuna (ETA) - Basque 

Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine - Hawatmeh
Faction (DFLP) - Palestinian 

HAMAS (Islamic Resistance Movement) - Palestinian 

Harakat ul-Ansar (HUA) - Pakistani 

Hizbollah (Party of God) - Lebanese 

Gama'a al-Islamiyya (Islamic Group, IG) - Egyptian 

Japanese Red Army (JRA) - Japanese 

al-Jihad - Egyptian 

Kach - Jewish 

Kahane Chai - Jewish 

Khmer Rouge - Cambodian 

Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) - Turkish Kurdish 

Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) - Sri Lankan 

Manuel Rodriguez Patriotic Front Dissidents (FPMR/D) - Chilean 

Mujahedin-e Khalq Organization (MEK, MKO) - Iranian 

National Liberation Army (ELN) - Colombian 

Palestine Islamic Jihad - Shaqaqi Faction (PIJ) - Palestinian 

Palestine Liberation Front - Abu Abbas Faction (PLF) -
Palestinian 

Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) -
Palestinian 

Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine - General Command
(PFLP-GC) - Palestinian 

Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) - Colombian 

Revolutionary Organization 17 November (17 November) - Greek 

Revolutionary People's Liberation Party/Front (DHKP/C) - Turkish 

Revolutionary People's Struggle (ELA) - Greek 

Shining Path (Sendero Luminoso, SL) - Peruvian 

Tupac Amaru Revolutionary Movement (MRTA) - Peruvian


From kurd-l at burn.ucsd.edu  Thu Oct  9 12:20:12 1997
From: kurd-l at burn.ucsd.edu (kurd-l at burn.ucsd.edu)
Date: 09 Oct 1997 12:20:12
Subject: Fasting For Leyla Zana In Washingto
Message-ID: <bac1c849.Pine.BSF.3.96.971009065..@burn.ucsd.edu>

From: Arm The Spirit <ats at locust.etext.org>
Subject: Fasting For Leyla Zana In Washington, D.C.

American Kurdish Information Network (AKIN)
Press Release #29
October 20, 1997
(202) 483-6444

The Plight Of The Kurds Sparks A Fast

     A group of Kurds and their American friends who believe in
nonviolence will begin a fast for peace and the freedom of Leyla
Zana on October 20, 1997, in front of United States Capitol
Building. They will host a press conference at 4 p.m. on the
grassy area at the east front across from the Senate side.
     In Iran, Iraq, and Turkey, Kurds are discriminated against,
tortured, and murdered for speaking their own language, teaching
their children Kurdish customs and history, and most of all,
instilling in them a sense of identity.
     The purpose of the vigil is direct: to arouse a sense of
urgency within the United States Congress and the White House
regarding the plight of the Kurds and the unjust imprisonment of
Leyla Zana.
     Leyla Zana was a duly elected member of the Turkish
Parliament. She addressed the United States Congress on the
treatment of Kurds in Turkey and found those same words at the
heart of a Turkish indictment. The Turkish government labeled her
testimony "treasonous" and sentenced her to fifteen years in a
Turkish prison. Today she shares her cell, and her dreams of
Kurdish freedom, with a convicted murderer.
     The fasters and their supporters are grateful to the 138
members of the United States Congress who have become part of a
Congressional request urging President Clinton to seek Leyla's
immediate and unconditional release from prison.
     By denying themselves nourishment, the fasters endeavor to
share Leyla Zana's torment and urge the Congress and the Clinton
Administration to obtain her release.

----
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  Thu Oct  9 13:46:30 1997
From: kurd-l at burn.ucsd.edu (kurd-l at burn.ucsd.edu)
Date: 09 Oct 1997 13:46:30
Subject: Kurdish Refugee Faces Deportation F
Message-ID: <bac1c849.Pine.BSF.3.96.971009081..@burn.ucsd.edu>

From: Arm The Spirit <ats at locust.etext.org>
Subject: Kurdish Refugee Faces Deportation From Canada To Iran

DATE: October 4, 1997

FROM: James C. Kennedy, MD, Ph.D.
      Department of Oncology
      Queen's University
      Kingston, Ontario K7L 3N6
      CANADA

      telephone     (613) 544-2631, ext. 4529#
      fax           (613) 544-9708
      e-mail        kennedyj at post.queensu.ca
=======================================================

     We are trying to prevent the deportation to Iran of a young
Kurdish refugee, on the grounds that he faces certain
imprisonment and torture and possible execution if Canada hands
him over to the Iranian authorities.
     His lawyer has asked me to try to obtain letters and
documents from authoritative sources, to support the claim that
the refugee would be placed in very serious danger if deported.
The relevant factors are summarized below.

(1) He is an Iranian Kurd.

Do Kurds receive special attention from the security forces if
they are deported back to Iran? If so, are there any supporting
documents?   

(2) He was an active member of a Komela group while in Iran. The
Iranian authorities presumably now know that he was active in
Komela, since one of his group was arrested and interrogated by
security forces. Realizing that he would soon be named under
torture, he escaped from Iran and became a refugee. 

What is the attitude of the security forces toward Komela? Is
Komela banned? Have any Komela members been imprisoned, tortured,
or executed merely for being members or suspected members? Are
there any supporting documents that give names and dates?  

(3) He escaped from Iran without obtaining official permission.

What happens to those who leave Iran without permission, and are
then deported back? What about Kurds or Bahai who are returned
from Turkey? Are there supporting documents?

(4) He was accepted as a UN-certified refugee (refugee under the
"Convention").

We have asked the UNHCR for a letter stating that he was accepted
as a "refugee under the Convention" for valid reasons, and that
those reasons are still valid. 

What is the attitude of the Iranian authorities toward those who
seek and obtain status as a "refugee under the Convention"? Are
they considered to be guilty of insulting or bringing disrespect
upon Iran or its rulers? If so, what is the usual punishment for
such a crime? Are there any supporting documents? 

(5) He was accepted by Canada as a permanent resident. While in
Canada, he was convicted on a drug charge, imprisoned, granted
early parole as a person judged unlikely to re-offend, and then
ordered deported back to Iran.

What happens to those who have been convicted and punished for a
drug-related crime committed outside of Iran, if they are
deported back to Iran? Are they punished again? Any
documentation?
 
(6) It appears that Canada may have informed Iran about the
refugee at this point, since he was asked to sign a document
prepared by Citizenship and Immigration Canada which stated that
he had been charged with murder. No such charge had been made in
Canada, and to the best of his knowledge no such charge had been
made in Iran before Citizenship and Immigration Canada
decided to deport him.

What is likely to happen to a person who has been charged with
murder by Iranian authorities when those authorities know that
the charge is false? Is such a charge evidence that the Iranian
authorities plan to deal harshly with him? Are there documents
which show that Iranian authorities often bring false charges
against people whom they want to imprison or execute for
other reasons?

(7) The Iranian authorities will be notified by Canada when he is
deported. They will be told the date, the time of arrival, and
the flight number. They will know that he is being deported as "a
danger to the public in Canada", and they may be told that he was
convicted on a drug charge. He probably will be sedated during
the flight, to minimize the possibility of escape or suicide. 

     If all of the above factors are considered as a whole, what
is the probability that this refugee will be (a) imprisoned? (b)
tortured? (c) executed? 

     Unfortunately, we need the letters and documents very
quickly, within one week if possible, since that is the deadline
imposed by Citizenship and Immigration Canada. The refugee's
lawyer will try to obtain an extension of time, but it is not
certain that this will be allowed. Documents that are available
on the Internet are acceptable.  
     Letters should be addressed to Citizenship and Immigration
Canada, but sent to the refugee's lawyer. Anything that is sent
directly to Citizenship and Immigration Canada is likely to be
lost in the system, especially since we have not provided the
refugee's name.

The lawyer is:
Lorne Waldman (Marie-Claude Rigaud)
281 Eglinton Avenue E.
Toronto, Ontario M4P 1L3
CANADA
telephone: (416) 482-6501
fax: (416) 489-9618
e-mail: Lawald at web.apc.org

========================================================

     The present situation is summarized as follows. In January
1996, the Minister of Citizenship and Immigration stated that she
was of the opinion that the refugee was "a danger to the public
in Canada", and ordered him deported. A very good immigration
lawyer volunteered his services without fee, obtained an
injunction to postpone the deportation, obtained leave to
challenge Citizenship and Immigration in Federal Court, and won
his case. The judge said that the process used by Citizenship and
Immigration was so flawed that he had to disallow their
deportation order. The refugee was then released on bail.
However, as is their custom when they lose a case,
Citizenship and Immigration started the whole process again, and
last week informed the refugee that they were going to hold
another inquiry as to whether he was "a danger to the public in
Canada". They told him that he had the right to submit any
documents that he considered relevant (deadline for
submission two weeks). This does not mean that they will consider
those documents relevant, or even consider them at all. However,
this is the best chance that he has. 
     The process used by Canada for these deportation orders
involves serious violations of human rights which have been
condemned by the Canadian Bar Association, the United Nations,
Amnesty International, and numerous Canadian human rights
organizations. However, the process continues to be
used routinely.
     Step (1) - The Minister of Citizenship and Immigration
declares that she is of the opinion that the refugee in question
is "a danger to the public in Canada". Her opinion can not be
appealed, since it is merely an opinion and not a formal ruling
by a judge or tribunal. The immunity of her opinion to appeal has
been confirmed by a recent ruling of the Federal Court of Appeal.
Step (2) - An employee of Citizenship and Immigration states that
the refugee will not be in serious danger if deported back to his
or her country of origin. The data upon which this statement is
based and the reasoning used by the employee to arrive at this
conclusion is not revealed to the refugee or his lawyer. Legal
challenges to this policy of secrecy have not been successful. 
     Analysis of cases in which refugees have been ordered
deported indicates that neither Step (1) nor Step (2) can be
taken very seriously. Refugees have been ordered deported for
very minor crimes - for example, "mischief", or for drug offences
that led to a sentence of one day in jail and a suspended
sentence of one year. Also, refugees who have already been
sentenced to death in Iran have been ordered deported. You can
see that we have a serious human rights problem in Canada. Any
help or advice that you can give will be deeply appreciated. 

======================================================


From english at ozgurlluk.xs4all.nl  Fri Oct 10 06:43:25 1997
From: english at ozgurlluk.xs4all.nl (english at ozgurlluk.xs4all.nl)
Date: 10 Oct 1997 06:43:25
Subject: Turkey/Journalism: Metin Goktepe update
Message-ID: <bac1c849.m3afghu489.fsf@ozgurluk.xs4all.nl>

Murder Witness Says Turkish Police Beat Journalist
                                       
AFYON, Turkey, Oct 9 (Reuter) - A witness in a controversial Turkish
murder case on Thursday identified policemen defendants as the
officers he had seen beating leftist journalist Metin Goktepe who
later died of his wounds.

"I saw eight or ten policemen beating him. Goktepe fainted but they
carried on beating him," witness Deniz Ozcan told the court in the
Western town of Afyon.
                                       
Ozcan said eight of the 11 police defendants present in the tense
courtroom had beaten Goktepe, who was found dead from blows to the
head hours later.

Goktepe was one of scores of people rounded up for identity checks in
January 1996 after the funerals of two left-wing prisoners.

Another witness said police had beaten many people in the sports hall
to which the detainees had been taken. "Everyone was being hit," Ali
Ekber Palabiyik said.

A defence lawyer described the witnesses' testimony as "lies." No
official plea is needed under Turkish law.

Allegations of police torture and brutality in Turkey are common but
convictions rare. The charges cause friction between Turkey and its
Western allies.

The hearing took place under heavy security with human rights
protesters encamped outside the court chanting and waving banners.

The case has been delayed after being transferred to different
provinces from Megak?y for what officials described as security
reasons. Rights activists say the moves were part of attempts to keep
the case out of the public eye.

The court adjourned until its next hearing in November and decided to
stage a reconstruction of the events leading to Goktepe's death.

-- 
Press Agency Ozgurluk
The Struggle for justice, democracy and human rights in Turkey and Kurdistan
http://www.ozgurluk.org                          
mailto:ozgurluk at xs4all.nl mailinglists:petidomo at ozgurluk.xs4all.nl
List info: english-request at ozgurluk.xs4all.nl


From english at ozgurlluk.xs4all.nl  Fri Oct 10 19:29:34 1997
From: english at ozgurlluk.xs4all.nl (english at ozgurlluk.xs4all.nl)
Date: 10 Oct 1997 19:29:34
Subject: Turkey: Another Arrest in Susurluk Case
Message-ID: <bac1c849.m3u3epf3oo.fsf@ozgurluk.xs4all.nl>

   11 October,1997, Copyright ? Turkish Daily News

                       Another Arrest in Susurluk Case
                                       
     * Ali Fevzi Bir, the former partner murdered Casino King Omer Lutfu
       Topal and one of the key persons of the Susurluk case was
       arrested. During his interrogation, Bir emphasized the importance
       of Topal.
       
     _________________________________________________________________
                                      
    By Hakan Aslaneli / Turkish Daily News
    
   Istanbul - The notorious underworld father Ali Fevzi Bir, who was
   being sought after the Susurluk accident which occurred after his
   business partner Omer Lutfu Topal was killed, has been put in prison.
   Bir, alias "Alico", is claimed to be a drug dealer and was brought to
   the State Security Court charged with being a partner of Topal in
   illegal business and attempted crimes. After being interrogated by the
   public prosecutors Aykut Cengiz Engin and Ahmet Gurses at the State
   Security Court, Bir was taken to the Sariyer courthouse. He was sent
   to Metris prison after reciving another charge at the Sariyer
   courthouse for having his name involved in the murder of his old
   partner Topal.
   
   After the special team police who were defendants in the Susurluk case
   were freed, sending Ali Fevzi Bir to prison -- reports vary as to
   whether he was arrested or surrendered -- nonethless seems likely to
   follow the suspicious pattern of the previous defendants.
   
   The pattern is this: persons claimed to have committed almost all
   types of crimes including being part of the Susurluk gang, having made
   unfair profits, and dealing drugs are seen to flee first, then
   surrender and go to court --then they are found innocent by the court.
   A majority think Bir will also prove to be one of these persons. It
   was learned that Bir, who was interrogated for one week at the
   Istanbul police department after he was arrested, refused all the
   charges against him and stated he had done his job within the law.
   Five to nine years of imprisonment is being sought for Bir on the
   grounds that he has attempted to commit crimes. Yet it is presumed he
   will probably be released within three to five months.

-- 
Press Agency Ozgurluk
The Struggle for justice, democracy and human rights in Turkey and Kurdistan
http://www.ozgurluk.org                          
mailto:ozgurluk at xs4all.nl mailinglists:petidomo at ozgurluk.xs4all.nl
List info: english-request at ozgurluk.xs4all.nl


From english at ozgurlluk.xs4all.nl  Sun Oct 12 09:12:57 1997
From: english at ozgurlluk.xs4all.nl (english at ozgurlluk.xs4all.nl)
Date: 12 Oct 1997 09:12:57
Subject: Turkish prosecutor has demanded death penalty for PKK leader Ocalan
Message-ID: <bac1c849.m3oh4xf36s.fsf@ozgurluk.xs4all.nl>

   11 October, 1997, Copyright ? Turkish Daily News

      Turkish prosecutor has demanded death penalty for PKK leader Ocalan
                                       
     * DGM prosecutor, meanwhile, demanded prison terms, up to eight
       years, for pro-Kurdish DEP deputy Zubeyir Aydar and Mahmut Kilinc,
       writer Yalcin Kucuk and Professor Fikret Baskaya, on grounds of
       disseminating separatist propaganda, being sympathetic to and
       supporting the PKK
       
     _________________________________________________________________
                                      
   Turkish Daily News
   
   Ankara - The office of the Ankara State Security Court (DGM)
   prosecutor issued court proceedings, on Friday, against the outlawed
   Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) leader, Abdullah Ocalan. Ocalan is
   being accused of making separatist propaganda speeches and of damaging
   the country's territorial integrity, in his statements on the pro-PKK
   Med-TV. The DGM is demanding the death penalty for Ocalan.
   
   The DGM prosecutor, meanwhile, demanded prison terms, up to eight
   years, for pro-Kurdish DEP deputies Zubeyir Aydar and Mahmut Kilinc,
   writer Yalcin Kucuk and Professor Fikret Baskaya, on grounds of
   disseminating separatist propaganda and of being sympathetic to and
   supporting the PKK.
   
   The DGM's four page indictment, prepared by Prosecutor Hamza Keles,
   which accuses Med-TV of being the voice of the PKK, says that the
   defendants participated, either personally or by phone, in a Med-TV
   program aired on Nov. 3 and commended the separatist PKK's activities.
   The indictment also quotes Ocalan as saying that he had planned some
   terrorists activities. Med-Tv has continued its broadcasts from abroad
   despite Turkey's demand that European countries not allow this station
   to broadcast from their territory.
   
   The court session to hear the prosecutor's demand will start on Oct.
   13. An arrest warrant has already been issued for PKK leader Ocalan.
   
   The PKK, headed by Ocalan, is engaged in a bloody separatist campaign,
   against the Turkish government, since 1984 in the southeast of Turkey.

-- 
Press Agency Ozgurluk
The Struggle for justice, democracy and human rights in Turkey and Kurdistan
http://www.ozgurluk.org                          
mailto:ozgurluk at xs4all.nl mailinglists:petidomo at ozgurluk.xs4all.nl
List info: english-request at ozgurluk.xs4all.nl


From english at ozgurlluk.xs4all.nl  Sun Oct 12 15:12:40 1997
From: english at ozgurlluk.xs4all.nl (english at ozgurlluk.xs4all.nl)
Date: 12 Oct 1997 15:12:40
Subject: AI: Turkey bulletin
Message-ID: <bac1c849.m3k9fix65y.fsf@ozgurluk.xs4all.nl>

+------------------------------------------------------+
+     AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL URGENT ACTION BULLETIN     +
+     Electronic distribution authorised               +
+     This bulletin expires: 9 November 1997.          +
+------------------------------------------------------+

EXTERNAL                                 AI Index: EUR 44/70/97
                                         9 October 1997

EXTRA 133/97         Fear of "disappearance" / Fear of torture

TURKEY               Omer Kose, aged 33
                     Mehmet Coskun, aged 50
                     Huseyin Taskin, aged 49
                     Mustafa Taskin, aged 39
                     Mehmet Taskin, aged 53
                     Ali Pala, aged 52
                     Hasan Temel, aged 38              

Seven Kurdish villagers are being held in incommunicado
detention, where it is feared they are facing torture during
interrogation.  Their detentions have not been acknowledged by
the authorities, raising further fears that the detainees may
also be at risk of "disappearance".

On 30 September 1997 soldiers and Special Operations Team members
[heavily armed police units trained for close combat with members
of the illegal armed Kurdish Workers' Party, PKK, and operating
under the control of the Interior Ministry] raided Bademli
village in the Dicle district of Diyarbakir province. They
reportedly assembled all the male inhabitants in the village
centre and detained the seven Kurdish villagers named above. 

When attempts to establish the detainees' whereabouts were
unsuccessful, an application for information was submitted to the
prosecutor's office at Diyarbakir State Security Court, where
detentions should be registered. However, on 9 October the
prosecutor's office denied that the seven villagers were being
held, heightening concern for their safety.

BACKGROUND INFORMATION

Procedures laid down in the Turkish Criminal Procedure Code for
the prompt and proper registration of detainees, and for
notification to their families, are almost universally ignored.
Lack of prompt registration and notification is extremely
distressing for the families of detainees, and creates conditions
in which "disappearances" and torture can occur.

People suspected of offences under the Anti-Terror Law can now
be held in police custody without access to family, friends or
legal counsel for up to four days. This period may be increased
to 10 days in the six provinces currently under State of
Emergency, and to seven days in the rest of Turkey during which
detainees would have to be granted access to a lawyer.

Most victims of "disappearance" and extrajudicial killings in
rural areas are Kurdish villagers who refuse to join the village
guard system, established originally as a civil defence force
against PKK attacks on their own village. Today the 60,000
village guards form a paramilitary force deployed in operations
against other villages and even incursions into northern Iraq,
identification checks at road blocks and interrogations. In
theory membership is voluntary, but in practice villagers are
often put under pressure to join. If they refuse, they are
accused of supporting the PKK and risk reprisals by the security
forces. If they join, they are at risk of reprisals by the PKK.

+-----------------------------------------------------------+
+ Supporters of Amnesty International around the world are  +
+ writing urgent appeals in response to the concerns        +
+ described above. If you would like to join with them in   +
+ this action or have any queries about the Urgent Action   +
+ network or Amnesty International in general, please       +
+ contact one of the following:                             +
+                                                           +
+      Ray Mitchell, ua at amnesty.org.uk (UK)                 +
+      Scott Harrison, sharrison at igc.apc.org (USA)          +
+      Guido Gabriel, ggabriel at amnesty.cl.sub.de (Germany)  +
+      Marilyn McKim, mmckim at amnesty.ca (Canada)            +
+      Xavier Zeebroeck, xzeebroek at aibf.be (Belgium)        +
+      Anne Nolan, ua at amnesty.iol.ie (Ireland)              +
+-----------------------------------------------------------+


-- 
Press Agency Ozgurluk
The Struggle for justice, democracy and human rights in Turkey and Kurdistan
http://www.ozgurluk.org                          
mailto:ozgurluk at xs4all.nl mailinglists:petidomo at ozgurluk.xs4all.nl
List info: english-request at ozgurluk.xs4all.nl


From kurd-l at burn.ucsd.edu  Mon Oct 13 01:25:02 1997
From: kurd-l at burn.ucsd.edu (kurd-l at burn.ucsd.edu)
Date: 13 Oct 1997 01:25:02
Subject: Metin Goktepe Trial Update
Message-ID: <bac1c849.Pine.BSF.3.96.971012200..@burn.ucsd.edu>

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

Murder Witness Says Turkish Police Beat Journalist

     AFYON, Turkey, Oct 9 (Reuter) - A witness in a controversial
Turkish murder case on Thursday identified policemen defendants
as the officers he had seen beating leftist journalist Metin
Goktepe who later died of his wounds.
     "I saw eight or ten policemen beating him. Goktepe fainted
but they carried on beating him," witness Deniz Ozcan told the
court in the Western town of Afyon.
     Ozcan said eight of the 11 police defendants present in the
tense courtroom had beaten Goktepe, who was found dead from blows
to the head hours later.
     Goktepe was one of scores of people rounded up for identity
checks in January 1996 after the funerals of two left-wing
prisoners.
     Another witness said police had beaten many people in the
sports hall to which the detainees had been taken. "Everyone was
being hit," Ali Ekber Palabiyik said.
     A defense lawyer described the witnesses' testimony as
"lies". No official plea is needed under Turkish law.
     Allegations of police torture and brutality in Turkey are
common but convictions rare. The charges cause friction between
Turkey and its Western allies.
     The hearing took place under heavy security with human
rights protesters encamped outside the court chanting and waving
banners.
     The case has been delayed after being transferred to
different provinces from Megakoy for what officials described as
security reasons. Rights activists say the moves were part of
attempts to keep the case out of the public eye.
     The court adjourned until its next hearing in November and
decided to stage a reconstruction of the events leading to
Goktepe's death.

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


From kurd-l at burn.ucsd.edu  Mon Oct 13 01:26:03 1997
From: kurd-l at burn.ucsd.edu (kurd-l at burn.ucsd.edu)
Date: 13 Oct 1997 01:26:03
Subject: Another Arrest In The Susurluk Case
Message-ID: <bac1c849.Pine.BSF.3.96.971012200..@burn.ucsd.edu>

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

Another Arrest In Susurluk Case

Ali Fevzi Bir, the former partner murdered Casino King Omer Lutfu
Topal and one of the key persons of the Susurluk case was
arrested. During his interrogation, Bir emphasized the importance
of Topal.

By Hakan Aslaneli
Turkish Daily News - October 11, 1997

     Istanbul - The notorious underworld father Ali Fevzi Bir,
who was being sought after the Susurluk accident which occurred
after his business partner Omer Lutfu Topal was killed, has been
put in prison. Bir, alias "Alico", is claimed to be a drug dealer
and was brought to the State Security Court charged with being a
partner of Topal in illegal business and attempted crimes. After
being interrogated by the public prosecutors Aykut Cengiz Engin
and Ahmet Gurses at the State Security Court, Bir was taken to
the Sariyer courthouse. He was sent to Metris prison after
receiving another charge at the Sariyer courthouse for having his
name involved in the murder of his old partner Topal.
     After the special team police who were defendants in the
Susurluk case were freed, sending Ali Fevzi Bir to prison -
reports vary as to whether he was arrested or surrendered -
nonetheless seems likely to follow the suspicious pattern of the
previous defendants.
     The pattern is this: persons claimed to have committed
almost all types of crimes including being part of the Susurluk
gang, having made unfair profits, and dealing drugs are seen to
flee first, then surrender and go to court - then they are found
innocent by the court. A majority think Bir will also prove to be
one of these persons. It was learned that Bir, who was
interrogated for one week at the Istanbul police department after
he was arrested, refused all the charges against him and stated
he had done his job within the law. Five to nine years of
imprisonment is being sought for Bir on the grounds that he has
attempted to commit crimes. Yet it is presumed he will probably
be released within three to five months.

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


From kurd-l at burn.ucsd.edu  Mon Oct 13 08:57:48 1997
From: kurd-l at burn.ucsd.edu (kurd-l at burn.ucsd.edu)
Date: 13 Oct 1997 08:57:48
Subject: Turkey Wants Death Penalty For Abdu
Message-ID: <bac1c849.Pine.BSF.3.96.971013034..@burn.ucsd.edu>

From: Arm The Spirit <ats at locust.etext.org>
Subject: Turkey Wants Death Penalty For Abdullah Ocalan

Turkish Prosecutor Has Demanded Death Penalty For PKK Leader
Ocalan
          
Turkish Daily News - October 11, 1997

     Ankara - The office of the Ankara State Security Court (DGM)
prosecutor issued court proceedings on Friday against the
outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) leader, Abdullah Ocalan.
Ocalan is being accused of making separatist propaganda speeches
and of damaging the country's territorial integrity in his
statements on the pro-PKK Med-TV. The DGM is demanding the death
penalty for Ocalan.
     The DGM prosecutor, meanwhile, demanded prison terms, up to
eight years, for pro-Kurdish DEP deputies Zubeyir Aydar and
Mahmut Kilinc, writer Yalcin Kucuk, and Professor Fikret Baskaya
on grounds of disseminating separatist propaganda and of being
sympathetic to and supporting the PKK.
     The DGM's four page indictment, prepared by Prosecutor Hamza
Keles, which accuses Med-TV of being the voice of the PKK, says
that the defendants participated, either personally or by phone,
in a Med-TV program aired on Nov. 3 and commended the separatist
PKK's activities. The indictment also quotes Ocalan as saying
that he had planned some terrorists activities. Med-Tv has
continued its broadcasts from abroad despite Turkey's demand that
European countries not allow this station
to broadcast from their territory.
     The court session to hear the prosecutor's demand will start
on Oct. 13. An arrest warrant has already been issued for PKK
leader Ocalan.

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


From kurd-l at burn.ucsd.edu  Mon Oct 13 14:35:17 1997
From: kurd-l at burn.ucsd.edu (kurd-l at burn.ucsd.edu)
Date: 13 Oct 1997 14:35:17
Subject: Interview With Kani Xulam, AKIN
Message-ID: <bac1c849.Pine.BSF.3.96.971013085..@burn.ucsd.edu>

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

Amy Goodman Interview With Kani Xulam, Director Of The American
Kurdish Information Network (AKIN)

Pacifica Radio, "Democracy Now"
October 6, 1997

[edited for grammar and space]

AMY GOODMAN: Thousands of Turkish soldiers continued their
intervention in northern Iraq this weekend as part of a massive
two-week military assault on Kurdish rebel forces. The Turkish
army claims that 415 rebels have been killed and says only 6
soldiers have died. For the last 13 years Kurdish rebels have
been fighting for an autonomous homeland in southeastern Turkey,
in a war that has cost some 28,000 lives. Apart from repeated
invasions of northern Iraq, the Turkish government has in recent
years evacuated and shut down 2,500 villages to cut off potential
guerrilla support. Meanwhile, internationally renowned Kurdish
activists have been given harsh prison sentences inside Turkey.
One such case is that of Leyla Zana, a journalist and
parliamentarian who has been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize
by the European Parliament. She is currently in the fourth year
of a 15-year prison sentence in Turkey.

We're joined right now by Kani Xulam. He's the director of the
American Kurdish Information Network, a group that aims to foster
Kurdish-American friendship and understanding. He's based in
Washington DC. Welcome to "Democracy Now".

KANI XULAM: Thank-you. I'm happy to be here.

AMY GOODMAN: Kani, can you tell us first, what is happening in
the U.S. Congress around Leyla Zana, the only Kurdish woman
elected to the Turkish Parliament, and who actually spoke before
Congress?

KANI XULAM: Since May 6, 1997, a "Dear Colleague" letter has been
circulating in the House [of Representatives] every Tuesday, and
to date 136 members of Congress have agreed to sign it. The
letter will be sent to President Clinton on October 30, 1997 and
we hope to have more signatures by then. To get the numbers [of
signatures] higher, a group of Kurds and their American friends
in Washington will be launching a fast on October 20, the day
that Leyla Zana was elected to Parliament in Turkey. It has been
six years [since her election]. The Kurdish people elected her to
the Parliament; the government of Turkey took away that mandate
from her. So we want to undertake the fast to honor the Kurdish
people's will and to honor her election to the Parliament.

AMY GOODMAN: Is it true that the reason that she got the 15-year
sentence is that the State Security Court of Turkey cited her
testimony before [the U.S.] Congress as an act of treason?

KANI XULAM: Yes, it is. The indictment reads, a speech here, a
speech there; an appearance here, an appearance there. On May 17,
1993 she appeared before the Helsinki Commission in the United
States Congress. The lawmakers in this country invited her to
come and testify about the situation, the ongoing conflict that
you referred to earlier. At that time, when she testified, she
was talking about the destruction of 300 villages. Earlier you
pointed out that 2,500 villages had been destroyed. She called on
the lawmakers to intervene; she called on the U.S. government to
intervene, to be a voice of peace and to change the debate on the
Kurdish question from war to peace, from violence to
non-violence. Unfortunately, her plea fell on deaf ears and the
conflict has gotten worse. Death is a common occurrence in
Kurdistan and she is now serving the fourth year of a 15-year
sentence.

AMY GOODMAN: You, yourself, Kani Xulam, are Kurdish. What is your
story? How did you end up in the United States?

KANI XULAM: I left the oppression that is ongoing in Kurdistan in
1980. Its roots go back to 1924 when the Turkish Republic was
founded by the then-leader of Turkey, [Mustafa Kemal] Ataturk.
He, unfortunately, adopted an ideology from Europe, the concept
of the nation-state, and implemented it as such that it turned
[Turkey] into a racist state, a chauvinistic state, where the
Kurdish language was banned overnight. The names of Kurdish towns
were changed. All Kurdish names became illegal.

I left for Canada. I stayed there for a while and then I came
here. In the late 80s and early 90s the news would come in and it
was ugly. My own village was destroyed. The loved ones that I
knew would disappear. We diaspora Kurds in America got together
and decided that I should be here in Washington. It was 1993. As
you pointed out in your opening statement, we're hoping to change
the policy on the Kurdish question from war to peace. We're also
trying to foster Kurdish-American friendship and understanding.

AMY GOODMAN: Can you explain how it is that over the last two
weeks the Turkish military has resumed the bombardment of
northern Iraq? Now, hasn't the UN declared this a "no-fly" zone
and if Iraq ever goes up into this area and bombs they're
seriously internationally denounced? How is it that the Turkish
military can go in and bomb this area?

KANI XULAM: Very good point. Last year on August 31 when Saddam
[Hussein] moved a couple thousand of his troops to intervene,
U.S. missiles were fired. It became the CNN, Washington Post, New
York Times news. Whereas now, and last May, Turkish troops moved
in, bombed the place, and nothing was done. Literally, green
lights were given to the Turks. It's a double standard. Because
Turkey is a U.S. ally and a NATO member, and "a friend", Turkey
gets away with murder. It does everything with impunity. If
Saddam, as you said, goes in there, then the UN mechanism is
implemented and he is chased out. We believe neither Saddam nor
Turks should be there. The Kurds should be allowed to go on with
their lives, if possible, free.

AMY GOODMAN: Where did the Turkish military get the planes used
to bomb northern Iraqi Kurdistan?

KANI XULAM: You know, there is a book that just came out by John
Tirman called "The Spoils of War". I haven't had a chance to read
the whole book, but I looked through a couple of chapters. Most
of the weapons that Turkey uses against the Kurds in this war
come from the U.S., [for example] F-16 fighter planes, Scorsky
helicopters. John Tirman talks about the Connecticut helicopter
factories that are literally supplying Turkey with the "deadly
birds" that have decimated the Kurdish lands. The destruction
that goes on, the free fire zones...entire regions in northern
Kurdistan (in southeast Turkey) have been turned into free fire
zones. They literally go in and shot at anything that moves. It's
an environmental disaster as well as a humanitarian disaster.

AMY GOODMAN: We're talking with Kani Xulam, the director of the
American Kurdish Information Network, which is based in
Washington DC. This, in light of what's been happening in
Kurdistan over the last two weeks, the thousands of Turkish
soldiers who are continuing their intervention into northern
Iraq, and also in light of the 136 U.S. Congress members who have
signed a petition calling for the unconditional release of Leyla
Zana, the only Kurdish woman elected to the Turkish Parliament,
where her protest began as a housewife, then as a journalist, and
later as a parliamentarian, and then she was put in jail as a
result of testifying before the U.S. Congress...Now, we had a
chance over the past few days to talk to Leyla Zana's husband,
Mehdi Zana. Can you tell us a little about him before we play the
tape of his plea for his country?

KANI XULAM: Mehdi Zana is a very well known figure in Kurdish
politics. He was the mayor of Diyarbakir, the largest Kurdish
city in southeast Turkey, northern Kurdistan. In 1980, a military
coup took over the civilian authority in Turkey. He was arrested
immediately and put in jail, the Diyarbakir military prison. That
prison has a very somber, a very sad place in the history of the
Kurdish struggle for civil rights, for political rights. Mehdi
chronicled some of those tortures in his book called "Journal of
Barbarity". It's now translated into English as "Prison Number
Five". So he was very well known. He was arrested and given [the
sentence of] life in prison, and later because of the pressure by
Amnesty [International], because of the pressure by the Western
mayors...he was released. Today, he is living in exile. Just two
or three months ago the government of Turkey handed him another
sentence of one year in prison for writing poetry, basically for
violating the so-called "freedom of expression" laws in Turkey.
Now he's living in exile in Sweden. He cannot go back and see his
wife.

AMY GOODMAN: Well, we recorded a statement that was translated
into English that Mehdi Zana had written a few years ago and we
asked him to read it himself...but we really wanted to play it in
his own words, since our philosophy at "Democracy Now" is for
people to speak for themselves...

[Note: Amy Goodman spoke over the statement in places, but to
conserve space and to facilitate reading of this passage, the
following is a direct transcription of Mehdi Zana's statement.]

MEHDI ZANA: My name is Mehdi Zana. I am 57 years old. For the
last 35 years, I have fought for the Kurdish rights in Turkey.
Never a violent person, I have spent 16 years of my life in
Turkish prisons because of opinions and pacifist struggle for my
people. I am one of the few miraculous survivors of the sinister
Diyarbakir prison, where so many of my companions died under
torture. My eyewitness account of the unspeakably brutal and
sadistic torture proceedings is included in the publication
"Journal of Barbarity" currently being translated from Turkish to
French. I owe my survival to the mobilization of public opinion
in the West, to NGOs and to the Western mayor colleagues who
never left me alone in my darkest hours.

I say "colleagues" because I was the mayor of Diyarbakir, the
politico-cultural capitol of Turkish Kurdistan. The population of
the city, which amounted to 400,000 inhabitants in 1977, had
elected me mayor by direct universal suffrage. The military coup
of September 12, 1980 dissolved my municipal council. I was
subsequently jailed, to be released years later in 1991. Since
then, I have been jailed again, twice, and have also been barred
from politics for the rest of my life.

I am an independent Kurdish activist. I have a Kurdish message
for you. The Kurds are in danger. They are being slaughtered.
Many are evicted from their homes. Kurdish women are insulted and
raped by Turkish soldiers. Kurdish intellectuals are
assassinated. It is a tale of sorrow and anguish. One that is in
search of the advocates of humanity for the Kurds. Thank you.

AMY GOODMAN: ...and that is Mehdi Zana speaking to us this
weekend. He is in exile after being imprisoned in Turkey. If he
were to return he is threatened with a jail sentence, although he
has been in jail many times in Turkey...Mehdi Zana, a Kurdish
activist, poet, and writer. His wife is Leyla Zana who is
currently serving a 15-year prison sentence in Turkey. And our
guest has been Kani Xulam, the director of the American Kurdish
Information Network. I want to thank you for making the
connection for us to get this statement from Mehdi Zana. Let me
ask, if people are interested in the Kurdish cause, where can
they call? How can they get information?

KANI XULAM: We have a website as well. It is at
http://www.kurdistan.org. We have an office in Washington and an
office in Los Angeles. [We are] the American Kurdish Information
Network. The acronym is AKIN. If they call Washington for
information our number is (202) 483-6444...

AMY GOODMAN: ...(202) 483-6444. And one final question: If you
had an independent Kurdistan, where would it be geographically?

KANI XULAM: It would be in the heart of the Middle East. The
rivers Tigris and Euphrates would go through it and it would
cross them as well. It would be as large as the states of
California and New York together. It would be a viable state if
it were ever allowed to get on its feet.

AMY GOODMAN: Kani Xulam, of the American Kurdish Information
Network, thank you very much for being with us.

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

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

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


From english at ozgurlluk.xs4all.nl  Mon Oct 13 21:57:14 1997
From: english at ozgurlluk.xs4all.nl (english at ozgurlluk.xs4all.nl)
Date: 13 Oct 1997 21:57:14
Subject: Turkey: Fascist pigs and prisonriots
Message-ID: <bac1c849.m3g1q5ezlp.fsf@ozgurluk.xs4all.nl>

14 October,1997, Copyright ? Turkish Daily News
  
	Ankara marks 74th anniversary as Turkey's capital

  * _President Demirel: _'Ankara is the symbol of the Turkish people's
 independence struggle and its resurrection after years of war'
 
  _________________________________________________________________
  
Turkish Daily News

Ankara - Ankara on Monday marked the 74th anniversary of becoming
Turkey's capital with various celebrations and ceremonies
commemorating the Turkish Liberation War, which culminated with the
establishment of the modern Turkish Republic and Ankara being declared
as its capital, the Anatolia news agency reported.

In a message released for the occasion, President Suleyman Demirel
stated that Ankara was the symbol of the Turkish people's independence
struggle and its resurrection after years of war. Ankara has been
rapidly developing since 1923 and has become an important center of
culture, education, industry, commerce and health, Demirel said.

In a separate statement, Prime Minister Mesut Yilmaz said that the
citizens of Ankara would sustain their efforts to maintain the capital
as a modern and contemporary city, following Ataturk's example.

Defense Minister Ismet Sezgin, in his message to mark the occasion,
noted that Ankara was the pivot of the unique Turkish revolution and
of Turkey's orientation to the West.

Ankara Governor Erdogan Sahinoglu and Ankara Mayor Melih Gokcek,
together with Forth Army Corps Commander Tamer Akbas, visited
Anitkabir early in the day, laying wreaths and signing the memorial
book.

Sahinoglu and Gokcek later attended a ceremony at the Ataturk Monument
in Ulus. As Sahinoglu called on the Turkish people for integrity and
solidarity, Gokcek pledged better services for Ankara residents,
including a healthier environment, improvement in transportation and
acceleration of the construction of natural gas lines.

Other ceremonies, attended by high-level officials, were held at the
Ankara Citadel, Anitpark, Kalaba Anatolian High School and the Zafer
Bazaar.
  _________________________________________________________________
  
  Magic Solution to the Prison Riot

  * The riot which resulted in a fire in the B 10 ward of Bayrampasa
 Prison was stopped by the magic prosecutor, Necati Ozdemir.
 
  _________________________________________________________________
  
 By Hakan Aslaneli / Turkish Daily News
 
Istanbul - The gendarmes went into the wards of Bayrampasa Prison to
make their routine search over the weekend. A riot broke out early on
Sunday morning because of the harsh treatment which the gendarmes
meted out to the B 10 ward prisoners convicted of murder, theft and
drug dealing.

The 64 prisoners in the ward set the beds and the quilts on fire after
locking the doors from their side. The fire which grew bigger because
the gendarme and the wardens were unable to cope with it brought the
64 people inside face to face with death.

Necati Ozdemir, known as the magic prosecutor of Bayrampasa Prison,
went into the B 10 ward to speak with the prisoners after the gendarme
and the guardians left. Ozdemir took Hasan Malkoc and Siddik Gunduz,
the leaders of the 1,000 prisoners being housed Block B, to the ward
which was on fire. The prosecutor risked death to speak with the
prisoners but managed to persuade them to halt their riot after a
45-minute bargaining session. Ozdemir and those accompanying him were
saved from being burned by a hairpin and rushed out of the B 10 ward
with the 64 prisoners. The fire was extinguished when the firemen
arrived.

  Prior to the event
  
The riot the Bayrampasa Prison was started by the death of prisoner,
Mustafa Keskin in a heroin coma in the special section of the prison
two days previously. The death from a heroin crisis caused events that
led to violent fightingbetween the gendarme and the prisoners.

The first spark to the flame was given when the gendarme beat the
prisoners with their rifles, claiming that heroin was being sold
inside. Later the same gendarme men started beating the prisoners with
their rifles while the 64 prisoners in Block B were being transferred
normally to other prisons. This caused the riot that brought the fire.

Thus smoke rose from the prison where the winds of amity had been
blowing for one year because Bayrampasa Prison's magic prosecutor,
Necati Ozdemir, who was the responsible civil servant of all those
serving there had not had the authority to to interrupt the soldiers.
  _________________________________________________________________

-- 
Press Agency Ozgurluk
The Struggle for justice, democracy and human rights in Turkey and Kurdistan
http://www.ozgurluk.org  
mailto:ozgurluk at xs4all.nl mailinglists:petidomo at ozgurluk.xs4all.nl
List info: english-request at ozgurluk.xs4all.nl


From english at ozgurlluk.xs4all.nl  Mon Oct 13 21:57:52 1997
From: english at ozgurlluk.xs4all.nl (english at ozgurlluk.xs4all.nl)
Date: 13 Oct 1997 21:57:52
Subject: Imperialist media and facts: Fighting Rages Between Kurds in N Iraq
Message-ID: <bac1c849.m3en5peyx7.fsf@ozgurluk.xs4all.nl>

 (17:35) Fighting Rages Between Kurds in N Iraq

                                       
                                       
                                By Leon Barkho
                                       
                                       
BAGHDAD, Oct 13 (Reuters) - The United Nations said on Monday fierce
fighting was raging between rival Kurdish groups in northern Iraq on
several fronts in the buffer zone separating their militias.
                                       
                                       
Eric Falt, spokesman for Iraq's U.N. coordinator, described the
situation as "serious" but declined comment on whether the fighting
was hampering distribution of humanitarian supplies under Iraq's
oil-for-food deal with the United Nations.

"It appears to be the most serious outbreak of violence in one year,"
Falt told Reuters. He said fighting erupted early this morning between
the guerrillas of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) under Jalal
Talabani and militias of the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) of
Massoud Barzani. "It (fighting) is continuing right now and on several
fronts," Falt said.

He gave no details on casualties or the number of people displaced as
a result of the clashes. Falt said the fighting had affected the
movement of U.N. relief workers in the area, and the battle zone,
extending from the town of Haj Omran on the Iranian border down to
Dokan Dam, was off limits to U.N. personnel.

"The U.N. office of the humanitarian coordinator in Arbil has
restricted movement of personnel to essential travel only in this
zone," he said.

He said it was too early to tell what impact the current fighting will
have on delivery of relief supplies to Iraqi Kurds.
                                       
Falt said so far the fighting had not extended to the cities of Arbil
and Sulaimaniya, two major Kurdish strongholds in the area.

Last year the KDP, under pressure from PUK forces, asked President
Saddam Hussein's military help to oust the PUK from the city of
Arbil. Baghdad recaptured Arbil for the KDP, prompting the United
States to launch missile strikes against air defence targets in
southrn Iraq.
                                       
Last month the KDP's Barzani asked Turkish troops to intervene to
offset gains in the region made by the Turkish Kurdistan Workers Party
(PKK), which wants autonomy in south-east Turkey and uses bases in
northern Iraq for its armed struggle against Ankara.

The United Nations said on Sunday the Turkish incursion into northern
Iraq and inter-Kurdish feuding had hampered U.N. relief operations in
some parts of the region.
                                       
Iraq's Kurdish region is divided into two zones -- one under the
domain of Barzani and the other controlled by Talabani.

A U.N. document made available to reporters on Sunday said the Turkish
incursion had displaced about 10,000 Kurds. It said some 90,000 others
had been displaced by inter-Kurdish feuding in 1996.

In Ankara the KDP said in a statement that the PUK had launched a
"major offensive" against it. A PUK official confirmed the clashes but
said his group had only acted in self-defence.

"A large force of PUK (fighters) supported by heavy weapons attacked
KDP positions," the KDP statement said. The KDP has been fighting with
Turkish troops against the PKK in northern Iraq in recent weeks.

The United States maintains a no-fly zone over northern Iraq to
protect the Kurds from possible attacks by Iraqi armed forces.

The Kurds broke from Baghdad's rule after the 1991 Gulf War which
ousted Iraqi troops from Kuwait.


-- 
Press Agency Ozgurluk
The Struggle for justice, democracy and human rights in Turkey and Kurdistan
http://www.ozgurluk.org                          
mailto:ozgurluk at xs4all.nl mailinglists:petidomo at ozgurluk.xs4all.nl
List info: english-request at ozgurluk.xs4all.nl


From kurd-l at burn.ucsd.edu  Tue Oct 14 10:47:04 1997
From: kurd-l at burn.ucsd.edu (kurd-l at burn.ucsd.edu)
Date: 14 Oct 1997 10:47:04
Subject: KDP/PUK Fighting Resumes In South K
Message-ID: <bac1c849.Pine.BSF.3.96.971014023..@burn.ucsd.edu>

From: Arm The Spirit <ats at locust.etext.org>
Subject: KDP/PUK Fighting Resumes In South Kurdistan

Fighting Rages Between Kurds In Northern Iraq

By Leon Barkho
     
     BAGHDAD, Oct 13 (Reuters) - The United Nations said on
Monday fierce fighting was raging between rival Kurdish groups in
northern Iraq on several fronts in the buffer zone separating
their militias.
     Eric Falt, spokesman for Iraq's U.N. coordinator, described
the situation as "serious" but declined comment on whether the
fighting was hampering distribution of humanitarian supplies
under Iraq's oil-for-food deal with the United Nations.
     "It appears to be the most serious outbreak of violence in
one year," Falt told Reuters. He said fighting erupted early this
morning between the guerrillas of the Patriotic Union of
Kurdistan (PUK) under Jalal Talabani and militias of the
Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) of Massoud Barzani. "It
(fighting) is continuing right now and on several fronts," Falt
said.
     He gave no details on casualties or the number of people
displaced as a result of the clashes. Falt said the fighting had
affected the movement of U.N. relief workers in the area, and the
battle zone, extending from the town of Haj Omran on the Iranian
border down to Dokan Dam, was off limits to U.N. personnel.
     "The U.N. office of the humanitarian coordinator in Arbil
has restricted movement of personnel to essential travel only in
this zone," he said.
     He said it was too early to tell what impact the current
fighting will have on delivery of relief supplies to Iraqi Kurds.
Falt said so far the fighting had not extended to the cities of
Arbil and Sulaimaniya, two major Kurdish strongholds in the area.
     Last year the KDP, under pressure from PUK forces, asked
President Saddam Hussein's military help to oust the PUK from the
city of Arbil. Baghdad recaptured Arbil for the KDP, prompting
the United States to launch missile strikes against air defense
targets in southern Iraq.
     Last month the KDP's Barzani asked Turkish troops to
intervene to offset gains in the region made by the Turkish
Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), which wants autonomy in south-east
Turkey and uses bases in northern Iraq for its armed struggle
against Ankara.
     The United Nations said on Sunday the Turkish incursion into
northern Iraq and inter-Kurdish feuding had hampered U.N. relief
operations in some parts of the region.
     Iraq's Kurdish region is divided into two zones, one under
the domain of Barzani and the other controlled by Talabani. A
U.N. document made available to reporters on Sunday said the
Turkish incursion had displaced about 10,000 Kurds. It said some
90,000 others had been displaced by inter-Kurdish feuding in
1996.
     In Ankara the KDP said in a statement that the PUK had
launched a "major offensive" against it. A PUK official confirmed
the clashes but said his group had only acted in self-defense.
     "A large force of PUK (fighters) supported by heavy weapons
attacked KDP positions," the KDP statement said. The KDP has been
fighting with Turkish troops against the PKK in northern Iraq in
recent weeks.
     The United States maintains a no-fly zone over northern Iraq
to protect the Kurds from possible attacks by Iraqi armed forces.
     The Kurds broke from Baghdad's rule after the 1991 Gulf War
which ousted Iraqi troops from Kuwait.

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

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



From english at ozgurlluk.xs4all.nl  Wed Oct 15 16:28:03 1997
From: english at ozgurlluk.xs4all.nl (english at ozgurlluk.xs4all.nl)
Date: 15 Oct 1997 16:28:03
Subject: DHKP/C: We will defeat the real terrorists in our country!
Message-ID: <bac1c849.m1lnzulkyh.fsf@ozgurluk.xs4all.nl>

WE WILL DEFEAT THE REAL TERRORISTS IN OUR COUNTRY

The foreign secretary of the USA, Madeleine Albright, recently
announced that she had put our organisation on the "terrorists list"
again. Furthermore Albright called upon all countries in the world to
take the same measures under their own judicial rules.

The USA tries to twist history with such statements.

It was the USA which occupied Korea and massacred the people. 

It was the USA which turned Vietnam into a blood bath. 

They are the supporters of fascist dictatorships in Latin America,
Asia, Africa and elsewhere in the world who left behind millions of
dead bodies.

All sorts of torture, applied in the neo-colonies in the world, are
first tested in the laboratories of the CIA.

It's them who support the degenerated order of exploitation and
tyranny by all political, diplomatic and military means. 

They are responsible for the hunger and poverty in the world. 

They dropped tons of bombs on the Arab people, burying them alive in
the desert. 

And it was revealed that they carried out tests with radio-activity on
their own citizens only yesterday. 

The USA and the other imperialist countries are the biggest, most
organised and wide spread terror organisations whose arms reach
everywhere. 

They can't make anybody but themselves believe that the revolutionary,
patriotic and anti-imperialist organisations and liberation movements
are "terrorist organisations". This state of affairs is not a new
development for our movement. 

We are fighting imperialism, we are fighting for the liberation of our
peoples. Our existence is a great threat to imperialism. This explains
their aggression. We state here once again: We will continue to fight
until liberation and we will gain freedom and independence for our
peoples. We will crush the imperialist bases, we will clear our
occupied soil from the occupiers and break the chain of exploitation
and tyranny by the biggest terrorists in the world.  

Our peoples know very well that we will not be held back by massacres,
any kind of list, threats and prisons. And imperialism will find it to
its cost.

Revolutionary People's Liberation Front
European representation
10 October 1997


NOUS ALLONS CHASSER DE NOS TERRES LES V?RITABLES TERRORISTES

La ministre des affaires ?trang?res des Etats Unis Madeleine Albright
a r?cemment d?clar? qu'elle reprenait notre organisation dans la
"liste des terroristes". Albright a ?galement appel? tous les pays ?
faire de m?me dans le cadre des travaux de r?formes p?nales.

Par ce genre de d?clarations, le gouvernement US cherche ? tourner le
cours de l'histoire ? son propre compte.

Qui sont donc les vrais terroristes?

Ceux qui ont occup? la Cor?e et qui ont d?chir? les peuples.

Ceux qui ont fait du Vietnam une mar?e de sang.

Ceux qui ont appuy? toutes les dictatures fascistes d'Am?rique latine,
d'Afrique et d'Asie laissant derri?re eux des millions de cadavres.

Les tortures pratiqu?es dans tous les pays n?o-coloniaux de la plan?te
ont d'abord ?t? exp?riment?es dans les laboratoires de la CIA.

Ce sont ceux qui soutiennent dans notre pays un syst?me ignoble,
exploiteur et tyrannique par tous les moyens politiques, diplomatiques
et militaires.

Ils sont les responsables de la famine et de la mis?re.

Pendant la Guerre du Golfe, ce sont eux qui ont lach? des tonnes de
bombes sur les peuples arabes et qui ont enterr? vivants des milliers
d'hommes dans le d?sert.

Ce sont eux qui hier encore ont op?r? des essais radioactifs sur leurs
propres citoyens.

Les Etats Unis et autres pays imp?rialistes sont les organisations
terroristes les plus grandes, les plus organis?es et les plus
tentaculaires.

En accusant les organisations r?volutionnaires, patriotiques et
anti-imp?rialistes ainsi que les mouvements de lib?ration d'?tre des
organisations "terroristes" ils ne peuvent convaincre nulle autre
qu'eux-m?mes.

Du point de vue de notre organisation, cette ?v?nement ne constitue
aucunement une nouveaut?. Nous combattons l'imp?rialisme pour la
lib?ration de nos peuples. Notre existence constitue donc un grand
danger pour l'imp?rialisme. C'est ainsi notre existence-m?me qui rend
celui-ci agressif.

Nous d?clarons une nouvelle fois:

Nous allons combattre jusqu'? la lib?ration et nous allons gagner la
libert? et l'ind?pendance de nos peuples. Nous allons chasser les
bases imp?rialistes, nous allons d?barrasser nos terres de ses
envahisseurs et nous allons briser les cha?nes de l'exploitation et de
l'oppression qui sont l'oeuvre des plus grands terroristes de ce
monde. Nos peuples savent que les massacres, les listes de
proscription, les menaces et les prisons ne peuvent nous faire
reculer. L'imp?rialisme l'apprendra aussi.

   
Front R?volutionnaire de Lib?ration de Peuple
Repr?sentation europ?enne
10 octobre 1997

-- 
Devrimci Halk Kurtulus Cephesi (Revolutionary Peoples Liberation Front)
DHKC Informationbureau Amsterdam
http://www.ozgurluk.org/dhkc                          
List info: english-request at ozgurluk.xs4all.nl


From kurd-l at burn.ucsd.edu  Thu Oct 16 09:59:38 1997
From: kurd-l at burn.ucsd.edu (kurd-l at burn.ucsd.edu)
Date: 16 Oct 1997 09:59:38
Subject: DHKP/C: We will defeat the real terrorists in our country!
References: <bac1c849.m1lnzulkyh.fsf@ozgurluk.xs4all.nl>
Message-ID: <bac1c849.Pine.BSF.3.96.971016044..@burn.ucsd.edu>

From: Arm The Spirit <ats at locust.etext.org>
Subject: DHKP/C: We Will Defeat The Real Terrorists In Our Country!

We Will Defeat The Real Terrorists In Our Country!

     The foreign secretary of the USA, Madeleine Albright,
recently announced that she had put our organization on the
"terrorists list" again. Furthermore, Albright called upon all
countries in the world to take the same measures under their own
judicial rules.
     The USA tries to twist history with such statements.
     It was the USA which occupied Korea and massacred the
people. 
     It was the USA which turned Vietnam into a bloodbath. 
     They are the supporters of the fascist dictatorships in
Latin America, Asia, Africa, and elsewhere in the world which
left behind millions of dead bodies.
     All sorts of torture, applied in the neo-colonies in the
world, are first tested in the laboratories of the CIA.
     It's them who support the degenerated order of exploitation
and tyranny by all political, diplomatic, and military means. 
     They are responsible for the hunger and poverty in the
world.
     They dropped tons of bombs on the Arab people, burying them
alive in the desert.
     And it was recently revealed that they carried out tests
with radio-activity on their own citizens.
     The USA and the other imperialist countries are the biggest,
most organized, and most widespread terror organizations whose
arms reach everywhere.
     They can't make anybody but themselves believe that the
revolutionary, patriotic, and anti-imperialist organizations and
liberation movements are "terrorist organizations". This state of
affairs is not a new development for our movement. 
     We are fighting imperialism, we are fighting for the
liberation of our peoples. Our existence is a great threat to
imperialism. This explains their aggression. We state here once
again: We will continue to fight until liberation and we will
gain freedom and independence for our peoples. We will crush the
imperialist bases, we will clear our occupied soil of the
occupiers, and we will break the chain of exploitation and
tyranny by the biggest terrorists in the world.
     Our peoples know very well that we will not be held back by
massacres, any kind of list, threats, or prisons. And imperialism
will find it to its cost.

Revolutionary People's Liberation Front (DHKC)
European Representation
October 10, 1997

-- 
Devrimci Halk Kurtulus Cephesi (DHKC)
Revolutionary People's Liberation Front
DHKC Information Bureau - Amsterdam
http://www.ozgurluk.org/dhkc


From kurd-l at burn.ucsd.edu  Thu Oct 16 06:58:07 1997
From: kurd-l at burn.ucsd.edu (kurd-l at burn.ucsd.edu)
Date: 16 Oct 1997 06:58:07
Subject: PKK Commander Warns Of Economic War
Message-ID: <bac1c849.Pine.BSF.3.96.971016014..@burn.ucsd.edu>

From: Arm The Spirit <ats at locust.etext.org>
Subject: PKK Commander Warns Of Economic Warfare

Kurd Rebels Warn Of Economic Warfare 
 
     TUNCELI, Turkey, Oct 15 (Reuters) - Kurdish guerrillas have
threatened to attack economic targets and kill public employees
in their campaign for self-rule in southeastern Turkey. 
     Leading Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) commander Semdin Sakik
told the Kurdish Med-TV in a taped interview shown on Tuesday
night that the rebels would bomb the energy, textile and
transport sectors. 
     "We will attack energy transmission lines all over Turkey,
bridges, factories, airports, oil and gas installations and
textile factories in (the southern area of) Cukurova," he said. 
     Tourist targets would also be included in the attacks. 
     "We will attack tourist sites especially in the
Mediterranean region in order to put an end to tourism in Turkey.
Our target is not the tourists, but to destroy tourism and the
flow of money into Turkey," Sakik said.
     "We will attack every sector that provides money for the
treasury," said Sakik, known as "Fingerless Zeki" after blowing a
thumb off while firing a rocket in northern Iraq. 
     The guerrillas have only partially carried out previous
threats of economic warfare on Turkey.
     Turkey's conservative-led government has said it will give
economic incentives for investment in the mainly-Kurdish
southeast, the country's poorest region. 
     Sakik said the guerrillas would target leading bureaucrats
and civil servants as well as the families of high-ranking
military officers.
     "Civilians might die because only guns can speak when the
bullets are being fired," said Sakik, a hardline senior PKK
military commander with a reputation for ferocity.
     Turkey has offered a hefty bounty for the capture -- dead or
alive -- of the notorious guerrilla commander who has eluded
frequent capture attempts by Turkish troops.
     A Med-TV spokesman declined to say where the interview,
which took place in a well-furnished room, was filmed.
     Turkey says PKK leader Abdullah Ocalan is based in Damascus
or the Syrian-controlled Bekaa valley in Lebanon.
     More than 27,000 people have been killed in the 13-year-old
conflict. Around 15,000 Turkish troops have begun slowly pulling
out of northern Iraq this week after a month-long operation
against PKK bases there.
     Turkish forces killed 35 PKK guerrillas in three days of
clashes in the southeastern province of Diyarbakir, officials of
the emergency rule governor's office said on Wednesday. No
military casualties were mentioned.
     Sakik said the rebels would show their true strength in
attacks on throughout Turkey.
     "If necessary,...we will attach bombs to ourselves and
launch suicide attacks," he said.
     Last year, the PKK used women pretending to be pregnant to
stage suicide attacks which killed several policemen.

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



From kurd-l at burn.ucsd.edu  Thu Oct 16 11:15:15 1997
From: kurd-l at burn.ucsd.edu (kurd-l at burn.ucsd.edu)
Date: 16 Oct 1997 11:15:15
Subject: New Attack On South Kurdistan
Message-ID: <bac1c849.Pine.BSF.3.96.971016060..@burn.ucsd.edu>

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

New Attack On South Kurdistan

     For the second time this year, the Turkish army has invaded
South Kurdistan. On the night of September 25, 1997, around
30,000 Turkish soldiers and 1,500 village guards crossed the
Iraq border. More than 150 tanks, armored vehicles, and Cobra
helicopters from Hakkari and Sirnak, as well as F-16 bombers from
Malatya and Diyarbakir, supported the invasion.
     For days, Turkey bombarded the border region as Turkish
troops were transported across the border. In areas controlled by
the KDP, the Turkish army moved from Cizre-Hubur on the road from
Dohuk towards Zaho just 50km from the border with Syria. The
Turkish army tried along to way to build bridges over difficult
ravines, but they were unsuccessful. They faced heavy resistance
along the way, prompting the Turkish army to send in special
units from Elazig, Urfa, and Bolu, as many as 20,000 men more.
     As with the previous invasion of South Kurdistan, Turkey's
military commanders stated that they had been called in to help
by Massoud Barzani, feudal chief of the KDP-Iraq. Over the past
three months there had been heavy fighting between the KDP and
the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK). The day before the invasion,
the Reuters news agency had reported heavy KDP losses.
Immediately following Turkey's invasion, Barzani declared that he
would give the PKK one month to leave the area. Turkey also
advanced into areas controlled by Talabani's PUK near the border
with Iran, the area where a future oil pipeline is to be built
from Iraq passing through major gas and oils fields. The Turkish
General Staff also declared that it wanted to wipe out the PKK's
bases in the area before winter. The goal was the headquarters in
the Zap region. This task is now to be handed over to the KDP and
the village guards. The last time Turkey tried this, 4 of its
helicopters were shot down, resulting in the deaths of some
officers.
     The PKK's guerrillas have retreated from their camps into
the mountains. Despite Turkey's claims of heavy guerrilla losses,
a radio station of the KDP reported only 13 PKK losses after four
days of the invasion. In Turkey itself, PKK units attacked the
home bases of the invading troops and the lines of supply. In
downtown Hakkari, one army base was surrounded and fired upon for
four straight hours. In the region between Diyarbakir and Bingol,
several military bases were attacked, as was a special unit base
in Elazig. Turkey is suffering problems in its rear during the
invasion, since they only left behind 60 tanks in the Diyarbakir
region.
     More news coming soon...

(Translated by Arm The Spirit from 'Kurdistan-Rundbrief' Nr.20,
Vol.10 - October 7, 1997)

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



From kurd-l at burn.ucsd.edu  Thu Oct 16 12:15:00 1997
From: kurd-l at burn.ucsd.edu (kurd-l at burn.ucsd.edu)
Date: 16 Oct 1997 12:15:00
Subject: News From 'Kurdistan-Rundbrief' Nr.
Message-ID: <bac1c849.Pine.BSF.3.96.971016070..@burn.ucsd.edu>

From: Arm The Spirit <ats at locust.etext.org>
Subject: News From 'Kurdistan-Rundbrief' Nr.20

Kurdistan Is A Mine Field

     According to the Antep section of the Human Rights
Association (IHD), Kurdistan is being turned into a mine field.
In particular, the 700-km border with Syria, which has been mined
since 1951, continues to take human lives. A total of 10,600
people have been killed in mine explosions there since 1951, and
over 9,500 hectares of land cannot be cultivated. (Ozgur Politika
- August 18, 1997)

More Than 100 Members Of The U.S. Congress Demand Freedom For
Leyla Zana

     More than 100 members of the Congress of the United States
have signed a letter to President Bill Clinton, calling on the
U.S. government to work towards the release of Kurdish
parliamentarian Leyla Zana. In a TV broadcast on September 12,
Congressman Bob Filner (D) defended the letter against criticism
from Turkish viewers. (AKIN)

International Arms Bazaar In Ankara

     An international arms bazaar hosted in Ankara, Turkey was
visited by 60 delegations from 25 countries. A total of 219
foreign and domestic firms displayed their wares. The following
is a breakdown of the countries represented by weapons makers at
the bazaar: Turkey, 69; USA, 44; Germany, 22; France, 16; Israel,
13; Great Britain, 10; Italy, 8; Russia, 6; Spain, 6; The
Netherlands, 3; Slovakia, 3; Canada, 2; China, 2; Pakistan, 2;
Bulgaria, 2; Switzerland, 2; UAE, 2; Ukraine, 1; Hungary, 1;
Indonesia, 1; Japan, 1; Luxembourg, 1; Poland, 1; Romania, 1.
(Ulkede Gundem - September 24, 1997)

3-Day Protest Hungerstrike

     A joint call was issued by political prisoners from the PKK,
TDKP, Direnis Hareketi, MLKP, TKP-ML, TIKB, and the DHP in the
Nevsehir Type-E prison for a 3-day protest hungerstrike. The
prisoners are protesting against: the new cell system which the
government wants to introduce; poor prison conditions; the
insults by guards who accompany prisoners during health checks;
and the confiscation of magazines and books. (Ulkede Gundem -
September 26, 1997)

Hungerstrike Ended After 32 Days

     A hungerstrike by political prisoners in Malatya was ended
after 32 days. A statement from the striking prisoners stated
that their demands had been met. These included: an end to
restrictions on lawyers' visits; the delivery of printed matter;
an end to restricted visiting hours; visits between male and
female political prisoners; better health provisions; no more
prisoner transfers. (Ulkede Gundem - September 25, 1997)

(Translated by Arm The Spirit from 'Kurdistan-Rundbrief' Nr.20,
Vol.10 - October 7, 1997)

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



From english at ozgurlluk.xs4all.nl  Thu Oct 16 06:43:06 1997
From: english at ozgurlluk.xs4all.nl (english at ozgurlluk.xs4all.nl)
Date: 16 Oct 1997 06:43:06
Subject: Labourstruggle in Turkey
Message-ID: <bac1c849.m3wwjdkf6j.fsf@ozgurluk.xs4all.nl>

THE 10th. DISK CONGRESS

In the weekend of 12-14 September, the DISK (Revolutionary Workers'
Trade Union Confederation) held its 10th. congress. Sadly enough it
can be said that, looking at the way things went during and after the
congress, the confederation should be renamed in trade union
confederation to defend to interests of the National Security Council.

This is even more regrettable because the DISK could, in the first
years after its founding in 1967 as a split of the state trade union
T?rk-Is, be called a real revolutionary trade union, leading the
revolutionary mass struggle of those years for a socialist Turkey,
against (American) imperialism. 
The DISK had millions of member in those days. But gradually the
confederation took a more moderate course and more and more it came
under the control of the state. When the last revolutionary board
member, Kemal T?rkler, was murdered at the end of the 70's, the
avant-garde role it had played was actually finished. The basis was
more revolutionary than the leadership since then. Kemal T?rkler was
the last representative of the revolutionary workers' movement in the
time prior to the military coup of 1980, representing the large
revolutionary workers' movement of that time which saw syndicalism as
a weapon for the revolution in stead of an organ of consultation with
the employers. 
The murder of Kemal T?rkler wasn't able to end the revolutionary
atmosphere in the country and this led to the third coup in 30
years. After the coup, the DISK was banned, its possessions were
confiscated, officials and members were thrown in jail. The present
chairman, Ridvan Budak, was the chairman of the textile union in those
days and he too went to jail. The military pursued a policy in which
good behaviour in jail was rewarded with release. Ridvan Budak quickly
grasped the message and he founded a choir which sang Moslem
songs. The military saw he posed no threat to the fascist order and he
was released in 1984. After his release he joint the social democratic
SODEP and he soon became a board member.

In the beginning of the 90's, the DISK was re-founded again and its
possessions were returned, albeit under the condition that it's
political line was to be controlled by the National Security Council.
To Ridvan Budak, this condition was no problem at all and he rose to
become chairman of this parody of a trade union confederation. And in
the meanwhile he became extremely rich. How much the DISK is on the
line of the National Security Council became obvious half a year ago
when representatives of the DISK went to the European parliament to
plead for a quick EU-membership of Turkey and less criticism against
the human rights violations in Turkey. The DISK also played a major
role in the "soft coup" against the Refah Party and the transformation
of the broad protest in society against the collaboration of the army,
the government and the Mafia which became obvious after the so-called
Susurluk affair,  into a protest against the Moslem government,
orchestrated by the army and the National Security Council. 

The 10th. congress.

Illustrative for its present character, the 10th. congress of the DISK
was held in a 5-star hotel and there was a massive police presence to
protect the congress against left-wing demonstrations. In the weeks
prior to the congress, especially the militants of the Revolutionary
Workers' Movement (DIH) protested against the present state of affairs
within the DISK, staging actions against the harmonious ties  with the
National Security Council and the statutory rules of the congress. The
DIH is an organisation of revolutionary workers within the DISK,
organised semi-illegal by necessity. The DIH has to right to put
forward candidates for the board and it has a voting right on
congresses et cetera. The DISK leadership considers the DIH to be a
burden and does everything in its power to get rid of it.

The 10th. congress was a special one because the contradictions
between the board and the real representatives of the workers in
Turkey became apparent quite clearly. 

Duzgun Tekin's mother spoke about her disappeared son, a DISK member,
and the lack of interest and effort of the DISK regarding the
disappearances. She was totally neglected by the board. 

When the DIH candidate, Erol Ekici, having the statutory right to
address the congress, took the microphone to speak about the real
problems of the workers movement in Turkey, the contra-guerrilla and
its practice of disappearances, torture, blood baths and daily
repression, the board tried to disconnect the microphone. When this
failed, thanks to the resistance of the DIH militants, the board just
left the conference room. 

The statutes of the DISK regarding the possibility to send
representatives to the congress came under heavy fire. As bizarre as
it may sound for a trade union confederation, the present statutes
rule that the amount of contribution money determines the number of
representatives that can be sent to the congress by an affiliate
union. The more money, the more votes. The speech by Ridvan Budak was
interrupted by workers who were unable to sent delegates because of
lack of money.

The most important measure on the agenda was the liquidation of nine
regional chapters of the Genel-Is (General Union). These chapters were
a thorn in the flesh of the National Security Council and the board of
the DISK because of their militant position in the class struggle. The
Genel-Is congress had rejected the liquidation of their chapters. But
a few days after the congress, the board announced that the chapters
had been disbanded by them singlehandedly. The resistance against this
decision is still going on and it remains unclear how this relates to
the general statutes of the DISK itself. The last word about this has
not been said yet. 

Interesting in the liquidation of these nine union chapters is the
collaboration of the board members from the ?DP and the HADEP. It's
only logical that the powers that be want the nine most militant
chapters if the Genel-Is closed., it's in their character, but where
lies the interest of the HADEP and the ?DP to collaborate in this
decision? The general board of the Genel-Is is in the hands of an
alliance of the ?DP, the HADEP, the DIH (each with one representative)
and three CHP members (social democrats). When the liquidation of the
chapters was voted on, three votes went against, three supported
liquidation, and one vote abstained. The ?DP supported liquidation,
and the HADEP representative abstained, thus effectively helping the
DISK board because the chairman's vote was decisive and he, Atilla
?ngel, voted for the liquidation of the nine most militant chapters of
the Genel-Is...

Another consequence of the congress was the expulsion of several
active members because of their militant stance. Most striking is the
expulsion of Mehmet Karaguz, chairman of the liquidated 2nd. chapter
of Genel-Is. Initially there were five reasons given for his
expulsion: 1. He had signed an newspaper announcement to commemorate
the murder of  DISK leader Kemal T?rkler by fascists. 2. He allegedly
had misuse union property (a telephone) for the campaign against the
disappearance of DISK member Duzgun Tekin. 3. He refused to co-operate
in the sale of the building of the chapter. (He refused to hang out a
"For Sale" sign) 4. He protested the sacking of an union activist in a
newspaper advertisement. 5. He refused to co-operate in distributing a
joint statement by the employers' association TISK and the DISK
against the Refah government.

When these facts were revealed, protests came in from all over Turkey
and the board came up with a statement that these had not been the
reasons for the expulsion. However, they failed to disclose what their
reasons were till now...

Summarising, it can be said that the board succeeded in pushing
through the measures and appointments it desired but never before have
they been in such problems with the grass root membership. The board
will have to explain to the members why they went against the congress
will not to liquidate the Genel-Is chapters. The number of members
will fall even further because of the undemocratic behaviour of the
board and its collaboration with the National Security Council
regarding the Susurluk case.

The ?DP has been unmasked as a party which fits in the long tradition
in Turkey of parties which claim to be left and independent, but who
in fact do as they are told by the National Security Council. 

The HADEP will have to explain why it didn't vote against the wish of
the National Security Council. Does it want to show that it is in for
a dialogue?

-- 
Press Agency Ozgurluk
The Struggle for justice, democracy and human rights in Turkey and Kurdistan
http://www.ozgurluk.org                          
mailto:ozgurluk at xs4all.nl mailinglists:petidomo at ozgurluk.xs4all.nl
List info: english-request at ozgurluk.xs4all.nl


From english at ozgurlluk.xs4all.nl  Thu Oct 16 09:31:53 1997
From: english at ozgurlluk.xs4all.nl (english at ozgurlluk.xs4all.nl)
Date: 16 Oct 1997 09:31:53
Subject: Turkey/DHKP/C The History of our party III
Message-ID: <bac1c849.m167qxheww.fsf@ozgurluk.xs4all.nl>

THE STATE OF EMERGENCY AND THE MASSACRES OF FASCISM AGAINST THE PEOPLE

Before the junta, the oligarchy introduced the state of emergency as a
transition phase. Under these circumstances we were faced with the
task to organise the masses and step up our resistance. The
opportunistic and revisionist block were perplexed when the state of
emergency was proclaimed. They withdrew in a political silence for
months and watched the developments. Our movement evaluated the
situation and announced the military coup. This situation demanded
readiness and we called upon all anti-fascist and anti-imperialist
forces to unite their forces and join the resistance. 

With the massacre in Maras, the oligarchy opened a new chapter. They
intended to intimidate the revolutionary-democratic forces and push
them into passivity. 

We had to prevent to consequences, the massacres by fascism, the
tactics of intimidation and provocations between the Sunni and
Alevites etc., the provocations on a religious and ethnic level. It
was the oligarchy's aim to move the confrontations and provocations
into the areas where our Alevi and Sunni people were living together.
The opportunist left remained indifferent towards these developments
which were going over from fascist terror to open fascism. The endless
talk about unity of these organisations resulted, months later, in
insults and conflicts and superfluous calls for a front which might
exist in name, but didn't in reality. Those who can not stand up
against the enemy in the political arena, who are always having
difficulty to maintain their existence, are playing a game with the
masses by exploiting their desire for unity to keep their own heads
above water. That was the reason why are calls, "unity can only exist
in the struggle, unity will be achieved by stepping up the struggle in
all areas", remained unanswered. 

While the left remained silent and confused about the massacre of
Kahramanmaras and the declaration of the state of emergency, Devrimci
Sol carried out occupations of colleges, schools, factories and other
workplaces, based on the "masses" and revolutionary violence. These
actions included tens of thousands of people. A manifold of illegal
actions were carried out nation-wide and fascist centres were
destroyed. 

While we continued our efforts to render the tactics of fascism to
intimidate the masses futile and to realise a revolutionary order on a
sound basis, we were confronted by a new and heavier attack by the
oligarchy. 

The massacre by fascism, carried out on 16 March at the University of
Istanbul, was a first sigh that fascism intended to carry out large
massacres in Istanbul as well. The left, remaining cold towards this
massacre, could not understand what fascism was planning and what is
was and it cleared the road for its tactics, leading to the massacre
of Maras. 

With the massacre of Kahramanmaras by the oligarchy, the people -
already intimidated because of the daily executions of revolutionaries
and democrats by civic fascists - became split and divided, ethnic and
religiously determined confrontations, that is to day artificial
conflicts, were created to divide this country, to incite a civil war
and to destroy the revolutionary people's forces. 

Especially the Alevites war harshly attacked and presented as
communists, because this made it easier to get the Sunni on a
contra-revolutionary line. The failing practice and policy of the
left, solely directed at the Alevite religious creed, facilitated the
job of the oligarchy to get the Sunni on a line which was loyal to the
state. From now on it was no secret that there would be more massacres
like the one in Maras. Especially the cities of Elazig, Malatya,
Sivas, Tokat, Corum and Amasya had the  suitable characteristics to
carry out massacres there and to divide the people. 

>From 1974, the oligarchy incited the civic fascists against the
revolutionary potential and the people. From the point the civic
fascists were insufficient, the state intervened itself. The main
target of the civic and the official fascists was to crush the class
struggle, despite all the side effects. 

The oligarchy continued the civic fascist attacks, protected by the
state, and propagated its neutrality despite this fact that, trying to
distort the consciousness of the people with a so-called "conflict
between the left and the right". And it can be said that they were
partly successful with this demagogy. One of the reasons for this
success was that the opportunist and revisionist left interpreted the
attacks by the civic fascist as independent from the state and that
they saw them as attacks, merely carried out by the fascist MHP and
its organisations. Many left-wing groups saw the MHP like this, they
did not see that it was a party which was especially created and
controlled by the CIA and the contra-guerrilla. Therefore they
complained by the state, believing- pious wishes - that the fascist
attacks would stop. The ostensibly most active left groups said that
they could only pursue a defensive line, serving the security of the
masses. The declare war against the fascist centres, active resistance
and mobilising the masses against the fascists were seen by them as
"letting yourself to be provocated and terror". Although the strategy
of the organisation "Revolutionary Path" (Devrimci Yol) was based on
the people's war - according to their own statements -, it led them to
open revisionism. Whatever is said, these views were shared by all,
from the reformist to the opportunist groups. They opposed
revolutionary violence, aimed against fascism, and they criticised
those who resisted actively. The representatives of this thought
distanced themselves from organising the armed people's struggle
against fascism and when the repression and the violence increased,
large numbers of the left dropped their theories and surrendered to
fascism. 

It was predictable that those who did not judge the situation on the
basis of a Marxist-Leninist ideology would bow and surrender to
organised fascism and the fascist methods and tactics. However, under
the circumstances of those days and when all were preaching their own
theses of "people's struggle-armed uprising", it was impossible to
tell this to the people. That it was the truth was seen be all ten
years later. These left groups who had no confidence in their own
strength, who were unable to judge the reality in the country
correctly, drew and nourished their theories mainly from revisionism
and the ideology of the civic society. These deviant tendencies did
not overlook the integration in the system when their former
supporters, from which they drew their strength and whom they trusted,
became less and less. 

RISING FASCIST TERROR AND THE DEVELOPING STRUGGLE IN THE CITIES AND IN
THE RURAL AREAS

The massive attacks by the civic fascists refuted the demagogy of
"conflicts between the left and the right" of the state and they
developed into a situation of permanently increasing attacks by the
fascist state. The state could not prevent that the people's masses
developed a political consciousness and sided with the
revolutionaries. And when they could not achieve results by using
massacres, open fascism was their last resort. 

We had to prevent the fascist attacks, we had to ruin their plans,
cross their games of "divide and rule" and we had to extend our
organisation, prepare for the phase of open fascism and increase the
struggle in a situation in which all the freedoms, restricted before
anyway, were totally abolished and in which the attacks and operations
by the enemy constantly increased. 

Devrimci Yol, become more and more spontanistic, did not deliver one
voluntary contribution regarding strategic and tactical programs and
because of them, years war lost in which strategic steps would have
been possible. While open fascism was approaching, we were far away
from serious organising to at least secure survival and continuation
of the struggle. Before everything else, we were a young organisation
and we lacked necessary experience and professionality. What we had
achieved till then, what still had to be done and what had to be
understood absolutely, were things, one might say, we learnt while
confronted with the arrogance of the opportunists and traitors.

Because of the treason by the former revolutionaries, the
revolutionary movement was faced by the danger to fight under the
circumstances of open fascism without sufficient preparation. Despite
years of struggle, we were far remote from realising the line of
people's struggle in practice, to organise the masses in the cities
and in the rural areas and to convince the people to fight. After
positive results by the "Armed Struggle Units against Fascist Terror",
we had to introduce these in the rural areas as well. That's why we
sent armed units in strategically beneficial areas in Kurdistan and
the Black Sea region. The armed units were not yet able, technically
nor considering equipment, to start an urban guerrilla. The
revolutionary history of Turkey did not have any experience in this
field which we could have accepted as legacy and on which we could
have built. The armed units had to live in the rural areas and gather
experience by directly facing the tactics of fascism. As long as
possible, they should take precautions, gather experience and avoid
attacks against the enemy forces. Only in case of an attack, they
should have the perspective to protect themselves. In the field of
urban guerrilla, our armed units - although we did not define them as
urban guerrilla, had gathered considerable experience. Now it was
possible to organise the urban guerrilla, based on the experiences of
the armed units which could be called professional. But in this phase
which pointed in the direction of open fascism and in which the enemy
forces were strengthening in the cities, we absolutely had to find
ways to spread in the rural areas to provide air for our cadres in the
cities. Defeat and suffocation of the struggle in the cities would
have been inevitable if this strategic line had not been deepened. 

REVOLUTIONARY JUSTICE AGAINST FASCIST TERROR

The masses already witnessed in those days what our revolutionary
justice meant. The massacres by fascism, against women, children and
the elderly, and the arbitrary bomb attacks against residential areas
created chaos. As the latter builders of revolutionary power,
revolutionaries have to react sensitively regarding revolutionary
justice, notwithstanding the circumstances. Guided by this line, which
distinguishes us from the rest of the left, we even made a difference
between the guilty and the non-guilty when we attacked police
stations. Nobody was shot, only because he was a member of the state
forces. Among the state forces, we found the guilty who shot our
comrades and we punished them. 

For example, the fascist gendarmerie chief commander Erdal G?r?c?
arrested a group of comrades who had distributed leaflets. Although
our comrade H?seyin Aksoy surrendered, he was shot by Erdal G?r?c?.
Thereupon we announced during a campaign in this area that we would
punish the fascist Erdal G?r?c? in all cases. He was found later and
punished. In the context of our actions in the "Campaign against
Imperialism, Fascism, Price Increases and Unemployment" against
speculators, a oil truck was confiscated and handed over in people's
property. The policemen of the Sisli police station attacked. Three
policemen opposed the killing of our comrade H?seyin Tas, only the
fourth policeman, Ismail Top, advocated the murder. Because our
comrade H?seyin Tas was standing in front of a barricade, he had no
possibility to escape and was mortally hurt by the bullets, fired from
Ismail Top's gun. 

The policemen, knowing about our view of revolutionary justice, gave
us the name of the guilty policeman. The guilt of Ismail Top was made
public to the people, he was found later and punished, without the
other policemen getting harmed. 

Many other examples could be listed. Such a way of operating can be
considered a luxury in these days when the struggle has taken another
form and has increased. But at the birth of a revolutionary movement,
achieving acceptance among the people, of which the cadres have
internalised revolutionary justice and in which the justice of
revolutionary power is reflected in the thoughts, this has played a
mayor role. 

The developments of these thoughts lead to the following: one chooses
friends and enemy more carefully, friends are valued more, the masses
are better organised, people are listened to better and confidence in
the own strength increases. Those who have a contrary view about this
can, if in possession of power and the state apparatus, not
distinguish correctly between the guilty and the non-guilty, they will
apply contra-revolutionary methods more and more, and they will not
respect the other revolutionary forces. The weapons are determining
their policy, their own non-revolutionary line is disguised by the
revolution and they apply terror against the people. Although they
might achieve temporary successes this way, internally they nourish
mistrust. These developments will lead to an increasing
contra-revolutionary attitude. 

Many left-wing groups, far remote from the thoughts of
Marxism-Leninism and revolutionary justice, opposed us as
opportunists, reformists and Kurdish nationalists. In stead of using
their energy and strength against the enemy, they directed themselves
against revolutionaries and patriots and they destroyed these people. 

This situation among the left and the nationalist groups facilitated
the work of the oligarchy, the preparations for open fascism. The
groups who had no confidence in their way of organising, in the
ideological and armed struggle, liquidated each other, because they
did not want to leave a strength behind which could have criticised
their policy... This reached such a level that in some places, the
politicised segments of the population became demoralised, just
because of this reason, their confidence was broken, and they left the
revolutionaries. The people could not see them as the future anymore
and they questioned their capability to take power. Our movement
basically trusted its own strength to organise the people and to
increase the struggle. The view to wipe out the left from the arena
first, to then start the struggle against the oligarchy shows a lack
of ideological confidence. Even against those groups who massacred our
supporters and cadres, no revenge was sworn, in stead it was tried to
expose these forces in front of the people. In these attacks by the
left, Kemal Karaca was killed by the Kurtulus Sosyalist Dergisi, the
MLSPB killed Mehmet B?ck?n and the 10-year old son of our supporter,
the TKP-ML murdered Mustafa Albayrak and Aydinlik killed Turgut
Ipcioglu. Many comrades and supporters were beaten, many escaped
assassination attempts, were wounded and sometimes saved from being
killed by coincidence. Despite these murders of our comrades, our
movement showed great ripeness and insisted that there should be no
blood shed from revolutionaries. They called upon all left groups to
oppose this fight, to prevent these fights, to look for solutions and
establish a commission, approved by all groups, to go through the
problems and find a solution. But the left rejected these proposals
and was responsible that blood of revolutionaries continued to be shed
until the coup of 12 September. 

AND THE TRAITORS OF AYDINLIK

The summit of hostile attitude of opportunism towards our movement was
formed by Aydinlik (PDA) with their contra-revolutionary attacks. With
the slogan "Neither America, Nor Russia" and the theory of
"social-imperialism", the Aydinlik opportunists to over the paternity
of the ideology of the opportunist left. Their revisionist thoughts
did not aim at investigating imperialism from the perspective of
Marxism-Leninism, the took the national bourgeoisie as the basis for
their propaganda and erected even thicker walls between themselves and
the revolutionaries. The Aydinlik group, behind the scenes of this
tendency, directed the people's masses to false targets, more and more
they started to play a provocative collaborator's role for the
oligarchy, their systematic attacks, together with the oligarchy, were
directed against the revolutionary forces. The resistance against
fascism was seen as a conflict between the right and the left and the
USSR were made the target of the people's masses. Thus they disguised
the real imperialism and proclaimed: "The greatest danger is
social-imperialism". 

This view therefore supported the stationing of the 4th. Army Corps at
the border with the Soviet Union as a defence against an attack by the
USSR. The champions of this theory labelled all left forces (except
Devrimci Yol) as "misguided left" and they adopted a
contra-revolutionary line. Aydinlik was present as a counter-force at
every resistance against fascism and imperialism. They reached a point
of protecting the fascists and opposing the revolutionaries at the
colleges, in the streets, the factories and the villages. They tried
to justify their stand with the argument: "Anarchism is pushing
national unity into chaos" and "a provocation by social-imperialism".
Everywhere where there were reactions against the national hymn, were
there were protests against chauvinism, they raised the nationalist
flag, together with the forces of the oligarchy.

Their view about the American imperialism was as follows: "The most
dangerous imperialist, that is to say the imperialism of Russia, is
hiding", and in this way they wanted to re-direct the struggle against
imperialism.

For years, this provocative group hid behind a "leftist" mask. It was
the lengthened arm of the oligarchy, but it enjoyed an acceptance in
the left arena. Parallel to the increasing attacks by the oligarchy,
it attacked the growing revolutionary resistance to bar the developing
struggle. That's why they started their provocations and they attacked
the revolutionaries. 

Turgut Ipcioglu, a gymnasium pupil and a leading cadre of DEV-GENC,
was shot in November 1978 because he tried to stop the provocations.
In Elazig and other cities, they opened fire upon many comrades,
protected by the police. Our comrades were targeted and betrayed to
the police. This attitude was not only directed against our movement.
All organisations which waged an armed struggle were targets of such
attacks. One of their targets was the PKK. The PKK was, according
Aydinlik, "the MHP of Kurdistan" and therefore everything was
justified. The persistence in this view and the contra-revolutionary
attitude showed their real face and these could no longer be tolerated
by the left. Thereupon our movement called upon all revolutionary and
patriotic forces to expose this view together. But the left did not
answer this call. On our own strength, we succeeded to expose this
view to the people in the colleges and other areas and we prevented
their provocations. Although the majority of the left remained silent
about our attitude towards Aydinlik, they distanced themselves from it
and they avoided relations with them. The only exception was Devrimci
Yol. It did not take a position and continued to carry out activities
together with Aydinlik. Aydinlik was aware of the reformist closeness
to Devrimci Yol regarding the view about the USSR. Mainly Aydinlik
felt close to Devrimci Yol because of its practice which was close to
the system and because of the lack of a power perspective and they
tried to win them for their side. The roots of the friendship between
Devrimci Yol and Aydinlik are located in this closeness between their
lines. 

Aydinlik had internalised the bourgeois ideology and they waged a
struggle against the revolutionaries. When the revolutionary struggle
and the attacks by the oligarchy increased, Aydinlik understood that
there were plans made for a future junta and they recklessly increased
their attacks against the revolutionaries. In publications like "The
Unknown Left" and "49 Left Groups" in the daily newspaper Aydinlik,
they mainly reported the addresses and names of those who defended the
armed struggle to the oligarchy.

Aydinlik repeatedly emphasised that they would not attack the system
and that they did not have any problem with the government.
Furthermore they put the national character of the governments of
those days first, putting up theses like the one that the real threat
was coming from Russia and that all Third World countries had to
create one united front against social imperialism and they offered
the bourgeois parties a national coalition. The entire left, which
rejected this view, was presented as "misguided leftists and
provocateurs" and they asked fascism to take measures. With this
policy, Aydinlik disturbed all and showed that they defended an even
more chauvinist line than the MHP fascists. Aydinlik intended to proof
themselves to the oligarchy. Despite their good services, some aspects
did not quite please the oligarchy, such as some of their magazines
(like the one about the contra-guerrilla). And when they found
themselves in Mamak, to pay for these disturbing magazines, they made
an effort to proof to the oligarchy what good services they had
rendered and how heroically they had led the struggle against the
anti-system left. 

After the publication of the "The Fake Left", almost the entire left
distanced itself from Aydinlik and the contacts with it were broken
off. In general Aydinlik orientated itself to the "national
bourgeoisie". The position of our movement towards the provocative
policy of Aydinlik has not changed. In the important points, it has
been proven right  to keep this position, following our principles. In
the years that followed, the opportunists began to flirt again with
the contra-revolutionaries. They forgot that Aydinlik had betrayed
revolutionaries, they forgot its real role which was to harm the
struggle, derail it, even though they appeared with different faces.

This position does not only concern the provocative line of Aydinlik,
it is also directed against the opportunists and the revisionists who
unbalance the struggle and who try to diffuse the political line. This
is the moment in which the foundation for ideological and
organisational independence is laid. Those who have not past the tests
will be judged. Depending on where the wind is coming from, they will,
once turning to the left, then turning to the right, choke in their
short-term gain seeking policy.

THE FIRST CONSPIRACY, VACANCIES IN OUR MOVEMENT AND THE VICTORY OF OUR
NOTION OF DEMOCRACY

When the state of emergency was proclaimed, when the massacres against
the population, the fascist terror and the operations of the military
and the police became harder and when the oligarchy had to take
measures to establish open fascism, we entered the political arena. We
surpassed the organisational problems and took the mission on
ourselves to lead our peoples and to increase the struggle. But those
who could not understand this mission and our historical and political
split from Devrimci Yol, slowly began to show their real, right, faces
and they switched to stubbornness.

Despite its right-wing position and ideological-organisational
unclearities, Devrimci Yol did have a broad basis. With this basis
they were able to impress the opportunists, make them servile, and
they increased there attempts to isolate our movement from the left.
They did not shrink back from physical attacks. On the other side the
boots of the 12th. of September could be heard....

Those who were not more as a mere bush fire, dreaming that the
revolution was just around the corner, were startled when they
realised that we were continuing the heritage of the THKP-C, that we
were continuing straightforwardly, without deviating to the left or
the right. They were scared because they saw that this heritage was
not, as the opportunist-revisionist left tried to portray the THKP-C,
the heritage of a movement with just a limited number of people who
were just carrying out a few armed actions. On the contrary. We are a
mass movement which unites the masses and revolutionary violence and
continues the road of our conviction with determination. To bring our
movement of the road the came up with totally different and devious
calculations and they organised a conspiracy. There were 3 persons who
had been assigned in new areas of our movement and who had taken sides
with us since the beginning of the split with Devrimci Yol. But
apparently they had never really understood the reason for the split
and they saw the revolution and being a revolutionary as some kind of
hobby. Although they were active in different regions and had no
contact with each other, they met without informing the movement and
the concocted a plot. It could be questioned whether these persons had
internalised the revolution or not, and then we are not even talking
about the fact whether or not they were able to lead a group or
organisation. Because this requires political courage, something they
lacked. It was Ertugrul K?rkc? who injected this courage into them and
who sang songs of praise about imperialism during the THKP-C trials,
who crept for fascism and who claimed that they had been used as
puppets in a game. 

After Ertugrul K?rkc?, who had not cared for the revolutionary
struggle for years, saw that the THKP-C and its armed struggle were so
big that they did not fit his small world, he made a U-turn, forgot
all the provocation theories of imperialism and started to give
interviews in the bourgeois press like "the THKP-C was a revolutionary
movement", thus attempting to re-enter the political arena. At first
he flirted with the Kurtulus, then with Devrimci Yol. But he did not
concretely engage in either. Although he was smudged, he intended to
restore his name by using the THKP-C. He tried to justify himself and
he tried to present himself as a force by drawing the THKP-C to his
side. The conspirators within our movement offered him an opportunity
to do so. The theories they championed were very interesting. They
emphasised that Devrimci Yol, Devrimci Sol and Kurtulus should unite
because there were no fundamental differences in their roots. Of
course, this view was not according to the way of thinking of Devrimci
Sol. The aim was to eclectically unite Devrimci Yol and Kurtulus and
to destroy Devrimci Sol in this process. Despite the statement of E.
K?rkc?, "the THKP-C was a revolutionary movement", his right-wing
views within the Kurtulus scene and his judgement of the THKP-C were
known. When one realises what point the revolutionary struggle had
reached and thinks about the dimensions of the clear front which had
been built, it become obvious that these artificial theories could not
gain ground. 

Because the representatives of these theories were stemming from our
movement, this attack was mainly directed against us. Looked at from a
different angle, it was also a direct attack against the Kurtulus
Sosyalist Dergisi and Devrimci Yol, independent from Ertugrul's will,
because it were not Devrimci Yol and Kurtulus Sosyalist Dergisi who
were being discussed, it was us who were at the centre of the
discussion. If these people had really had the intention to unite
these three political structures, they would have continued their
tasks within the organisation, they would not have conspired and left
the organisation, they would have staid and become the ideological
champions of these thoughts. However, they met in secrecy, they
disclosed the relations of our organisation and chose the way of a
split, without even thinking it necessary to inform the responsible
mechanisms. 

As a young, newly established movement which still carried the marks
and the sediments of the past, we realised that we would leave these
behind in time and that we had to continue our road. 


-- 
Devrimci Halk Kurtulus Cephesi (Revolutionary Peoples Liberation Front)
DHKC Informationbureau Amsterdam
http://www.ozgurluk.org/dhkc                          
List info: english-request at ozgurluk.xs4all.nl


From english at ozgurlluk.xs4all.nl  Thu Oct 16 10:02:31 1997
From: english at ozgurlluk.xs4all.nl (english at ozgurlluk.xs4all.nl)
Date: 16 Oct 1997 10:02:31
Subject: Turkey/DHKP/C The hoistory of our party III - completion
Message-ID: <bac1c849.m17mbdofg6.fsf@ozgurluk.xs4all.nl>

We had to go through more of these abuses and wrongdoings, caused by
the Devrimci Yol culture, in different ways. Furthermore, the left was
totally split in this period. Devrimci Sol had to occupy its place in
the political arena and we had to overcome the mentioned problems. We
had to proof that we would honour the name Devrimci Sol and that we
had a mission outside of the known left. We had to make this
difference clear in our way of life, way of work, our view about
actions, in everything.

We did not discover openness because of Gorbatsjov. We were a movement
which represented trust in our cadres, especially the young cadres,
and which saw collective participation as a way of education. Because
of this basis of trust we presented these conspiracy activities by
means of a brochure to our cadres and sympathisers. The conspiracy
gang called itself a "platform" a couple of months later, but they
were unable to draw people to their side. They were confronted by our
indignant cadres and sympathisers and suffered complete defeat. These
elements in our movement, trusting their charisma, rapidly started to
look for a safe harbour for themselves. One of them sought refuge with
Devrimci Yol, the other with Kurtulus Sosyalist Dergisi. And the third
one tried, thinking about his personal gain, to organise a gang to
make money fast by robberies, among others. However, this gang soon
dissolved because of internal conflicts. Later one of three returned
to civic society after a short while in prison and the other two chose
for a life in exile in Europe. The revolutionary build up of our
movement, our understanding of democracy and our policy of trust to
our cadres had proven themselves in practice and the cadres had had
the honour of making the movement their own. This feeling of unity
would accompany us through our history, it was to create a new spirit
and a new understanding against the internal and external enemy and
against all conspiracies. Our cadres and sympathisers, who went
through a test with this conspiracy, clearly showed that there was no
room in our movement for forming cliques and for conspiracies, that we
would crush them under all circumstances and that we would maintain
our ideological purity. This result became an important criterion as
well that makes clear to anybody, whatever the position within the
movement, who tries to divert the line of our movement to the right or
the left, who plans the formation of cliques and conspiracies, has no
chance of survival.

After the complete defeat of his conspiracy, the old-timer E. K?rkc?
kept his silence. Not recognising the reality of our movement, he had
to take the blow that he could not afford a second attempt and he
preferred to go through life as a petite-bourgeois intellectual. 

>From now on, Devrimci Sol possessed the strength to continue its path,
to overrun all the pacifists, bureaucrats and old-timers who's
revolutionary dynamics were gone, who were led by personal worries, to
overrun them in case they would attempt to force their rooted views
upon the young cadres and force the revolutionary movement to a
standstill.


-- 
Devrimci Halk Kurtulus Cephesi (Revolutionary Peoples Liberation Front)
DHKC Informationbureau Amsterdam
http://www.ozgurluk.org/dhkc                          
List info: english-request at ozgurluk.xs4all.nl


From english at ozgurlluk.xs4all.nl  Fri Oct 17 04:58:19 1997
From: english at ozgurlluk.xs4all.nl (english at ozgurlluk.xs4all.nl)
Date: 17 Oct 1997 04:58:19
Subject: Kurtulus: The anti-terror laws in Europe
Message-ID: <bac1c849.m1afg8d2tc.fsf@ozgurluk.xs4all.nl>

Kurtulus no. 50 
11th october 1997

The anti-terror laws in Europe

Anti-terror laws are on the agenda in every European country. Today a
new anti-terror law is about to be voted on in Belgium.  This is not a
new situation. All over the world there are special laws by
imperialists or fascist dictators against revolutionary or liberation
movements. Most of them are even called the same thing: "anti-terror
laws".
All of them criminalise liberation movements in a way that offends
against even the warped system of justice in these countries, all of
them "condemn" and "sentence" them in a special way. Their aim is to
fight against a revolutionary organisation or a liberation movement
that is struggling against the state. To eliminate those movements and
organisations, they do things which show that "bourgeois democracy" is
a fairy tale.
German imperialism was one of the first among Europe to take steps in that
direction. As with Paragraph 129, revolutionary organisations faced a lot of
special anti-democratic legislation. In the 1950s the Communist Party of 
Germany [KPD] was forbidden by the German state and
condemned to be inactive after a long period of illegality. In this
period Paragraph 129 was used against revolutionaries. This paragraph is 
similar to paragraphs 168 and 169 of the Turkish penal laws. Instead of the
expression "armed gangs", in the Turkish laws the expression "criminal 
gangs" is used. 
But in 1976 this paragraph was found to be insufficient and an
appendix (129a) was created. In the same years, using a lot of new
laws and rules, opinions and actions against the state and especially
organised actions were viewed as a crime.In this period the state put
political prisoners in isolation cells and held them under conditions
of "white torture". Also, it became legal to prevent relatives and
lawyers of the political prisoners from visiting them. Laws
particularly used against the Red Army Fraction and the 2 June
Movement were later used against the liberation movements of the
neo-colonialist countries. In the time of the Intifada it was used
against the Palestine liberation movement, in the period of the
Nicaraguan revolution against the Sandinistas. After the occupation of
the Turkish consulate in Cologne to protest against the new Turkish
constitution, it was used particularly against the Party-Front.  What
is the Paragraph 129a about? According to that law, it is a
"terrorist" crime to support the views of a "terror" organisation, to
make propaganda for such an organisation. It is a serious crime to be
a member of such an organisation.  And a member of a "terror"
organisation can be sentenced for the crimes of another member in the
same cruel way.
The practice of the anti-terror law in Germany has shown an important
and for a bourgeois state quite natural tradition: The anti-terror
law, which on paper was neutral, was in practice only used against
left-wing and revolutionary people and organisations. Up to now not a
single fascist has been sentenced under this law.
In the tradition of that state another thing is quite interesting: The
state tries to eliminate the possibility of foreigners being
politically active.  
Refugees who came to Germany for political reasons are not allowed to
act on behalf of the situation in their mother country or to support
groups that do so. But those rules were always a little vague and
"soft". They weren't so useful for the state. But if it is necessary
to use them against views that are a threat for the state, there is no
hindrance to using them anyway.  The most concrete example of the
recent past is the attempt to silence the Peruvian MRTA [Tupac Amaru
Revolutionary Movement] representative in Europe. Isaac Velasco was
forbidden by a court to organise meetings, speak to the public or act
politically in any way.  On the other hand the work of the police and
the state security forces (secret services) was largely organised in a
united manner. Together with the Maastricht Treaty and the open
borders, the contract of Schengen legitimised the collaboration of
police and state security forces, especially against foreigners,
revolutionary organisations and liberation movements. But there was
one problem to be solved: not all the countries that signed the
Maastricht Treaty also signed the contract of Schengen.  But after
they signed the Amsterdam Treaty last summer it is no longer necessary
to sign the contract of Schengen. For example, Greece, which resisted
signing the contract of Schengen, agrees to all the points of the
contract of Schengen by signing the Amsterdam Treaty.
Belgium, which signed the contract of Maastricht as well as Schengen,
is about to prepare an anti-terror law similar to the common ones. In
reality there is no important left-revolutionary power against the
state in Belgium. In other words, Belgium, which gave bourgeois
democracy a model to follow, sees the liberation movements and the
revolutionary organisations of the world as its real enemy.
In short, the developments in Europe show how reactionary and
aggressive the imperialists have become.


-- 
Devrimci Halk Kurtulus Cephesi (Revolutionary Peoples Liberation Front)
DHKC Informationbureau Amsterdam
http://www.ozgurluk.org/dhkc                          
List info: english-request at ozgurluk.xs4all.nl


From english at ozgurlluk.xs4all.nl  Fri Oct 17 05:13:04 1997
From: english at ozgurlluk.xs4all.nl (english at ozgurlluk.xs4all.nl)
Date: 17 Oct 1997 05:13:04
Subject: Turkey: mainstream news on the war against the people
Message-ID: <bac1c849.m33em0bnq9.fsf@ozgurluk.xs4all.nl>

Oct. 17 1997
 
 Arslan: Village guard system will remain

  _________________________________________________________________
  
Turkish Daily News

Ankara - Emergency Rule Regional Governor Aydin Arslan said on
Thursday that gossip was being intentionally spread against village
guards and the "special team." Arslan said that the village guard
system would remain even if the emergency rule was lifted.

In an interview with the Anatolia news agency, Arslan pointed out that
at present, emergency rule was in force in six provinces. He said so
far more than one thousand village guards had lost their lives in the
clashes between the security forces and the outlawed Kurdistan
Workers' Party (PKK). He noted that the village guard system was
regulated according to the Law on Villages and that it was not a
system affiliated to the Law on Emergency Rule.

About the "special team," Arslan said it was a force consisting of
volunteers from the police organization. He continued that those
people were on duty for the welfare and the peace of the people in the
region and that they had been working for the indivisible integrity of
the country, the flag and the nation. He said that the gossip
fabricated against the special team and the village guards aimed at
upsetting their morale.

Referring to the actions carried out by the illegal organization in
Turkey's Black Sea region, Arslan said that since the terrorist
organization had suffered considerable loss in the eastern region and
thus weakened, it may have gone to the Black Sea region in order to
deflect attention.

-- 
Press Agency Ozgurluk
The Struggle for justice, democracy and human rights in Turkey and Kurdistan
http://www.ozgurluk.org  
mailto:ozgurluk at xs4all.nl mailinglists:petidomo at ozgurluk.xs4all.nl

List info: english-request at ozgurluk.xs4all.nl


From english at ozgurlluk.xs4all.nl  Fri Oct 17 18:27:19 1997
From: english at ozgurlluk.xs4all.nl (english at ozgurlluk.xs4all.nl)
Date: 17 Oct 1997 18:27:19
Subject: Turkey/REVOLUTIONARY WORKERS MOVEMENT
Message-ID: <bac1c849.m190vrrhyo.fsf@ozgurluk.xs4all.nl>

--Multipart_Sat_Oct_18_03:13:51_1997-1
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1
Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit

A CALL FOR SOLIDARITY WITH THE WORKING CLASS IN TURKEY TO THE WORKING
CLASS EVERYWHERE AND TO ALL WHO ENGAGE THEMSELVES FOR DEMOCRACY AND
FREEDOM

1. In Turkey, the only union which opposes fascism, the DISK
(Revolutionary Trade Union Confederation) is going through a phase of
severe liquidation.  The unionist who do not bow for the regime, who
do not obey the directives of the generals and bosses, were expelled
from the union and the regional chapters of the union which do not
conform to the standards of the contra-guerrilla are being shut
down. This liquidation is ordered by the MGK (National Security
Council), the leading staff of the oligarchy in Turkey and the
liquidation is led by the MGK-unionists in the leadership of the DISK.

2. This is a struggle, led by the MGK-unionists, against the
revolutionary unionists. At the top: Ridvan Budak, who was re-elected
as DISK-chairman by the last congress, and his crew. Their target is
the liquidation of the DISK which has always, since 1960, been a
militant organisation, fighting for democracy for the working class
against the oligarchy. 

3. The last DISK congress, on 12 September, was held secret for the
workers themselves. 300 delegates and a limited number of guests met
in the 5-star Dedeman Hotel in Istanbul. The workers themselves did
not have the opportunity to follow the congress, but government
representatives and employers were invited as guests of honour. Ridvan
Budak was elected as chairman again by the congress. Even the date on
which this congress was held was interesting: 12 September is the
anniversary of the military junta of 1980. And the MGK-unionists, in
stead of uttering even one word against the junta, invited as many
state representatives as guest speakers as possible. They even
postponed the opening of the congress by one day so prime-minister
Mesut Yilmaz could participate. The MGK-unionists arranged a massive
police presence to protect the congress against the workers. This is
the first time such a treason occurred in the DISK. It was also the
first time in the history of the DISK that such an open battle was
witnessed of one class against the other. The candidate for the chair
of the revolutionary workers was granted only 5 minutes to address the
congress and his microphone was disconnected just like that. And a 
former prime-minister and chairman of a regime party held a one and a
half our speech against the workers at this workers' congress... Until
now the DISK congress has always been held in a sports stadium with
the participation of some 10.000 workers. Despite the protests by the
workers, which went on for weeks, this last congress was held in a
5-star hotel. The reasons: firstly achieving a moral blow of
MGK-unionism against the militant tradition of the DISK and sending a
message of co-operation to the oligarchy. Secondly: waging a battle
against the workers, not on the workers' level but on the "field" of
the bourgeoisie because this stage was far to small for the workers.
And this nest of capital didn't suit the workers at all. In this way
the MGK-unionists found a possibility to silence the opposition of the
workers and they prevented that their cruel collaboration with the
contra-guerrilla regime was publicly held accountable. They decided to
start the liquidation within the DISK and they needed a congress
without participation of the workers to do this. 

4. The first attack after the DISK congress took place against the
second largest and most dynamic union within the DISK, the
Genel-Is. All regional chapters of this union were closed down on
orders from the top. 13 unionists of these chapters were expelled. Two
months ago, a congress to decide the statutes of this union blocked
this conspiracy attempt. Afterwards, three board members carried out
this conspiracy anyway, ignoring the union statutes and the congress
decisions... The reason: these regional chapters were the ones which
carried the dynamics of the working class, they reflected its will
directly. The MGK-unionists wanted to liquidate revolutionary unionism
to get rid of the pressure, exercised by the workers. 

5. The chairman of the 2nd. chapter (and the strongest) of the
Genel-Is, Mehmet Karag?z, was expelled from the union for three
months. Memhet Karag?z is a well-known workers' leaders who has led
large workers' resistance. He was expelled from the union because he
did not join the disgrace of the MGK-unionists.  His person was used
to punish all workers and unionists who refused to bow for the methods
of the contra-guerrilla. 

6. Mehmet Karag?z was expelled because of the following "crimes"

 a. He had ordered an announcement to commemorate the DISK chairman
 Kemal T?rkler, murdered in 1979 by the contra-guerrilla. The
 announcement stated: "His murderers must be looked for in Susurluk".
 b. He made the union telephones available for the search of the body
 of the textile union activist D?zg?n Tekin, kidnapped by the security
 forces and made "disappeared". 

 c. He had supported the unionist and organisation specialist of the
 Genel-Is, Aynur Karaaslan, on behalf of the union. 
 d. The MGK-unionists wanted to sell the building of the 2nd. chapter
 to block the union work of the members. Therefore they wanted to
 attach a 4 meter long banner to the front of the building with the
 text "For sale". Memhet Karag?z prevented this.

 e. The MGK-unionists and the DISK chairman, Ridvan Budak, wrote a
 pamphlet, together with the employers associations, against the
 Refah-Yol government, supporting a new government. They wanted to have
 this pamphlet distributed in the factories and workplaces, but Mehmet
 Karag?z and the civic workers refused to participate in this disgrace.

 f. Mehmet Karag?z criticised the "Social Economic Council" which the
 DISK leadership, the employers and the government wanted to establish,
 as well as its intrigues against the workers. (The government has a
 the largest vote in this council, followed by the employers, the
 workers on the other hand, only have minor influence. This council was
 to affirm the bitter recipe of the rich at the cost of the
 workers. The unions had to share the consequences, not only the rich.)

7. Mainly responsible 

The Main respocibles for this liquidation within Genel-Is are its
chairman, Atilla ?ngel, the secretary-general Muharrem Kurt and the
director if the finance department, Nurettin Dincer. These liquidators
bowed for the contra-guerrilla and betrayed the workers. Board member
Abd?lkerim Timur, who always behaved progressive, contributed to the
liquidation by abstaining although his vote coul have crossed the
plans.


8. Why this liquidation? 

- Fascism in Turkey can make use of the so called "Social Economical
Council", controlled by the MGK. It supposedly has to "bring together"
the government, employers and workers. The MGK-unionists and the
leadership of the DISK want the DISK to participate in this council.
But they see themselves confronted by the resistance of the workers
and the progressive unionists. - Ridvan Budak & Co. wanted to use the
workers in the operation to change the government. Again they met the
resistance of the workers. Ridvan Budak & Co. did not succeed in using
the workers for their scheme. - Ridvan Budak takes upon himself the
task of a diplomatic missionary in the name of "the democratic
Turkey", together with the representatives of the employers by
supporting the entrance of Turkey in the European Union. As chairman
of a union confederation, he shamelessly works for the oligarchy in
Turkey by getting political and economical support. The MGK-unionists
know that they have to destroy the organised and militant workers
movement, or at least they'll have to weaken it.

9. The liquidation has started

The liquidation of the DISK has already started, beginning with the
Genel-Is. How grave this liquidation may be, and even though the
forces of fascism are behind it, to prevent this liquidation - even
changing it into a honourable struggle against the MGK-unionism - is
in our hands. They will meet with the workers.

INTERNATIONAL WORKING CLASS... OUR SISTERS AND BROTHERS...
WE EXPECT YOUR SUPPORT AND SOLIDARITY. GIVE US YOUR STRENGTH. WE
EXPECT YOU TO PROTEST THE - CONTINUING LIQUIDATION OF THE DISK, - THE
SHUTTING DOWN OF THE REGIONAL CHAPTERS, - THE EXPULSION OF MEHMET
KARAG?Z FROM THE 2ND CHAPTER OF THE GENEL-IS, AND WE EXPECT YOU TO
EXERCISE PRESSURE TO ACHIEVE THE WITHDRAWAL OF THE EXPULSION ORDERS. 

USE THE RIGHT TO ASK QUESTIONS ABOUT THE REASONS AND THE ACTUAL FACTS.
LONG LIVE THE SOLIDARITY BETWEEN THE WORKERS! WE ARE WORKERS, WE ARE
RIGHT, WE WILL WIN!

DISK Headquarters:     Tel: 0090 - 212 - 5048083
   Fax: 0090 - 212 - 5061079
Genel-Is Headquarters: 	Tel: 0090 - 312 - 391547
   Fax: 0090 - 312 - 3091046/47
Genel-Is, 2nd. chapter:	Tel & Fax: 0090 - 212 - 5207565

REVOLUTIONARY WORKERS MOVEMENT


--Multipart_Sat_Oct_18_03:13:51_1997-1
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII

Devrimci Halk Kurtulus Cephesi (Revolutionary Peoples Liberation Front)
DHKC Informationbureau Amsterdam
http://www.ozgurluk.org/dhkc                          

--Multipart_Sat_Oct_18_03:13:51_1997-1--
List info: english-request at ozgurluk.xs4all.nl


From english at ozgurlluk.xs4all.nl  Fri Oct 17 20:11:46 1997
From: english at ozgurlluk.xs4all.nl (english at ozgurlluk.xs4all.nl)
Date: 17 Oct 1997 20:11:46
Subject: Mainstream News - Turkish court cancels Eurogold mine
Message-ID: <bac1c849.m0xMP1j.000CG7C@ozgurluk.xs4all.nl>

--Multipart_Sat_Oct_18_04:54:06_1997-1
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII

  
 Turkish court cancels Eurogold mine

  * Contradictory messages about the cyanide-leaching method seem to
 confuse the locals of Efemcukuru. One of the protestors from
 Bergama said that grazing cows around the mine were dying
 
  _________________________________________________________________
  
TDN with wire dispatches

Ankara - A landmark decision, greatly rejoiced by the local people of
Bergama, will force the Canadian-Australian gold mining firm, Eurogold
Madencilik AS, to revise its methods. The Administrative Court
announced on Friday that it has cancelled that part of its process
that utilizes the controversial cyanide-leaching method. This method
is used in the post-mining decomposition process.

"The process of allowing the operations of a gold mine that utilizes
the cyanide-leaching method is not consistent with the public
interest. For that reason, the court decided unanimously on Oct. 15 to
cancel the process subject to this case," the court said in its final
verdict.

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

Eurogold has not produced gold so far at the mine near Ovacik village
of Bergama township. The lawsuit was originally filed by approximately
700 residents in the region against the Environment Ministry who gave
the project the go ahead.

"The court's verdict must be implemented without a delay and work at
the mine must be stopped. The government has given its authority on
this mine to Environment Minister Imren Aykut who has earlier vowed to
take steps in line with the verdict," villagers' lawyers said in a
statement.

"No court decision has been forwarded to us and our lawyers are
looking into the matter," a Eurogold official in Turkey told Reuters.

  Locals of Bergama warn other towns in the region
  
Locals of Bergama, who have been raising their voices against the
cyanide-leaching method, were in Efemcukuru, a small town of Menderes
near Izmir, to inform villagers of the town about the dangers
associated with the system. Four buses with approximately two hundred
people from 17 towns of Bergama were stopped by the gendarmes at the
entrance of Efemcukuru. Arguments ensued with the gendarmes who
insisted on preventing the people from entering the town.

Oktay Konyar, the President of the board stated that they had come to
Efemcukuru to warn the people about the dangers of cyanide-leaching
methods and examine the environmental massacre done by the corporation
that would run the gold mine.

Mehmet Yilmaz, a geology engineer at TUPRAG, gave information about
the gold mine to prevent the growing discussion between the locals and
the gendarme. He said TUPRAG had been undertaking works in Efemcukuru
since 1992 and denied that they were harming the environment. Stating
that it would be dangerous for 200 people to see the gold mine, Yilmaz
offered to take a group of representatives into the mine. Then the
locals protested against the TUPRAG engineer with slogans such as
"Turkey won't be Africa! Eurogold will leave, this job will
disappear!"

  Examining the gold mine
  
The gendarmes who had barricaded the entrance of Efemcukuru permitted
a delegation of 15 people to visit the gold mine headed by Mehmet
Yilmaz.

"People have always thought that we were protesting only for
ourselves. We are against the cyanide-leaching method in general. We
want to inform people about this method. They use the same system in
here as well. They cut the trees to speed up the method. Civil society
organizations must act against these mines and warn people," said the
President of the Environmental Board of Bergama.

But the contradictory messages about the cyanide-leaching method seem
to confuse the locals of Efemcukuru as well. One of the locals stated
that officials from the TUPRAG took them to visit the Etibank
facilities, which uses the same method to dig for silver, in the
Tavsanli town of Kutayha and showed them video tapes that depict the
use of the same system in the United States, Germany and Africa.
Meanwhile, one of the protestors from Bergama stated that the locals
of Tavsanli said grazing cows around the mine were dying.

Halil Sagdic, the Elderly Council of the Ovacik town stated that they
were not against gold mining, but the decomposition process, for which
the cyanide is being used, should only be utilized far from the towns.
"The cyanide pools are very close to our homes, land and water
sources. The mine area is approximately 10 kilometers away from the
Balcova dam. The drinking water of Izmir will be under the threat of
cyanide in a short time," said Sagdic.


--Multipart_Sat_Oct_18_04:54:06_1997-1
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII

Press Agency Ozgurluk
For justice, democracy and human rights in Turkey and Kurdistan!
Website: http://www.ozgurluk.org  
mailto:ozgurluk at xs4all.nl 
mailinglists: petidomo at ozgurluk.xs4all.nl
--Multipart_Sat_Oct_18_04:54:06_1997-1--
List info: english-request at ozgurluk.xs4all.nl


From kurd-l at burn.ucsd.edu  Tue Oct 21 02:07:03 1997
From: kurd-l at burn.ucsd.edu (kurd-l at burn.ucsd.edu)
Date: 21 Oct 1997 02:07:03
Subject: Kurds And U.S. Friends Fast Outside
Message-ID: <bac1c849.Pine.BSF.3.96.971020205..@burn.ucsd.edu>

From: Arm The Spirit <ats at locust.etext.org>
Subject: Kurds And U.S. Friends Fast Outside Congress

Kurds And U.S. Friends Fast Outside Congress 

Oct. 20, 1997

     WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Four Turkish Kurds and two Americans
began an open-ended fast outside Congress Monday to publicize the
plight of the Kurds and of imprisoned Turkish Kurd
parliamentarian Leyla Zana.
     The fasters said they would drink only electrolyte -- water
with minerals to maintain the balance in their bodies -- for as
long as they could keep going.
     Kani Xulam, director of the Washington-based American
Kurdish Information Network and one of the fasters, said they
were not making specific demands because they did not seek
confrontation with the Turkish government.
     But in the unlikely event that the Turks do agree to release
Zana, they will call the fast off, he added.
     The fast is timed to coincide with the sixth anniversary of
the day Zana was elected to parliament. Zana, 36, was jailed for
15 years for treason in 1994 partly because of testimony she gave
to the Helsinki Commission of Congress.
     The two fasting Americans are Kathryn Cameron Porter,
president of the Human Rights Alliance and wife of Rep. John
Porter, an Illinois Republican, and Linnaea Melcarek, 23, who
works with Xulam's group. The other Kurds were Ferda Beyrikan,
Dara Rizgari, and New York City grocer Amed Kozlu.
     More than 20 million Kurds live in a mountainous region
spread across Turkey, Iran, Iraq, and Syria. In Turkey, about
27,000 people have been killed in a separatist campaign waged by
the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK).
     Supporters of the Kurds say they are the largest ethnic
group in the world without their own state.
     They have enjoyed widespread support in the United States,
especially since Iraqi President Saddam Hussein incurred the
wrath of Washington by invading Kuwait in 1990.
     In 1995, 144 members of the House wrote to President Clinton
asking him to raise the case of Zana with the Turkish
authorities.
     But Turkey is also a NATO ally of the United States, which
sees Ankara as a valuable counterweight to Iraq and Iran.
     In speeches launching the fast, activists including Bianca
Jagger and Rep. Bob Filner, a California Democrat, urged Clinton
to try again.
     "I am participating because of my frustration with my own
government. I have tried everything possible to turn our policy
around, to see that the United States stands for what it
supposedly stands for," said Kathryn Cameron Porter.
     "This country (has) put its trust in the generals of the
Turkish military rather than in Kurdish representatives who long
for democratic ideals," added Xulam.
     The fasters will spend about 10 hours a day outside Congress
and spend the nights at a downtown church. They will also march
to the White House and back once a day.


From kurd-l at burn.ucsd.edu  Wed Oct 22 10:50:02 1997
From: kurd-l at burn.ucsd.edu (kurd-l at burn.ucsd.edu)
Date: 22 Oct 1997 10:50:02
Subject: Kurds And U.S. Friends Fast Outside
References: <bac1c849.Pine.BSF.3.96.971020205..@burn.ucsd.edu>
Message-ID: <bac1c849.Pine.BSF.3.96.971022042..@burn.ucsd.edu>

From: Arm The Spirit <ats at locust.etext.org>
Subject: Kurds And U.S. Friends Fast Outside Congress

Kurds And U.S. Friends Fast Outside Congress 

October 20, 1997

     WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Four Turkish Kurds and two Americans
began an open-ended fast outside Congress Monday to publicize the
plight of the Kurds and of imprisoned Turkish Kurd
parliamentarian Leyla Zana.
     The fasters said they would drink only electrolyte -- water
with minerals to maintain the balance in their bodies -- for as
long as they could keep going.
     Kani Xulam, director of the Washington-based American
Kurdish Information Network and one of the fasters, said they
were not making specific demands because they did not seek
confrontation with the Turkish government.
     But in the unlikely event that the Turks do agree to release
Zana, they will call the fast off, he added.
     The fast is timed to coincide with the sixth anniversary of
the day Zana was elected to parliament. Zana, 36, was jailed for
15 years for treason in 1994 partly because of testimony she gave
to the Helsinki Commission of Congress.
     The two fasting Americans are Kathryn Cameron Porter,
president of the Human Rights Alliance and wife of Rep. John
Porter, an Illinois Republican, and Linnaea Melcarek, 23, who
works with Xulam's group. The other Kurds were Ferda Beyrikan,
Dara Rizgari, and New York City grocer Amed Kozlu.
     More than 20 million Kurds live in a mountainous region
spread across Turkey, Iran, Iraq, and Syria. In Turkey, about
27,000 people have been killed in a separatist campaign waged by
the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK).
     Supporters of the Kurds say they are the largest ethnic
group in the world without their own state.
     They have enjoyed widespread support in the United States,
especially since Iraqi President Saddam Hussein incurred the
wrath of Washington by invading Kuwait in 1990.
     In 1995, 144 members of the House wrote to President Clinton
asking him to raise the case of Zana with the Turkish
authorities.
     But Turkey is also a NATO ally of the United States, which
sees Ankara as a valuable counterweight to Iraq and Iran.
     In speeches launching the fast, activists including Bianca
Jagger and Rep. Bob Filner, a California Democrat, urged Clinton
to try again.
     "I am participating because of my frustration with my own
government. I have tried everything possible to turn our policy
around, to see that the United States stands for what it
supposedly stands for," said Kathryn Cameron Porter.
     "This country (has) put its trust in the generals of the
Turkish military rather than in Kurdish representatives who long
for democratic ideals," added Xulam.
     The fasters will spend about 10 hours a day outside Congress
and spend the nights at a downtown church. They will also march
to the White House and back once a day.

(For more information, contact akin at kurdish.org)



From english at ozgurlluk.xs4all.nl  Tue Oct 21 05:45:10 1997
From: english at ozgurlluk.xs4all.nl (english at ozgurlluk.xs4all.nl)
Date: 21 Oct 1997 05:45:10
Subject: Turkey: another human rights activist placed under arrest
Message-ID: <bac1c849.m3201f1eem.fsf@ozgurluk.xs4all.nl>

Oct.21 1997

Yagmurdereli placed under arrest by police

  _________________________________________________________________
  
Turkish Daily News

Istanbul - Lawyer, writer and human rights defender Esber Yagmurdereli
told the press, "I will not surrender, let the police come and take
me," just after the Supreme Court of Appeals upheld a lower court's
sentencing. He was arrested by police following his appearance on the
television show "Teke Tek" Sunday night and taken to Gayrettepe Police
Headquarters.

Monday Yagmurdereli appeared before the Istanbul State Security Court;
however, the necessary legal formalities had not been carried out so
he was sent instead to the Kadikoy Justice Court. There it proved
impossible to find essential documents related to his being put in
prison to serve a 23-year sentence imposed on him. The Kadikoy
Prosecutor has since applied to Samsun where the decision to imprison
Yagmurdereli was originally taken. In the meantime the latter will
stay at the Public Security Branch Directorate in Gayrettepe,
Istanbul.

The original sentence, 36 years, was handed down by the Samsun Serious
Crimes Court where he had stood trial for "trying to change the
constitutional order at the point of a gun." In 1986 that sentence was
upheld by the Supreme Court of Appeals and he served 13.5 years before
being given a conditional release on August 1, 1991.

Subsequently Yagmurdereli was sentenced to 10 months in prison because
of a speech he made in Sisli's Abide-i Hurriyet Square which was
judged to be separatist. He is expected to have to serve the ten-month
sentence as well as the remaining 22.5 years of the previous sentence
for having violated the terms of his conditional pardon.

Yagmurdereli has made it clear in an interview with the TDN that he
does not wish to benefit from any special pardon since he would rather
that the entire problem of people being sentenced for crimes of
thought were eliminated; if his imprisonment would help that process,
he was more than willing to go to prison.

-- 
Press Agency Ozgurluk
For justice, democracy and human rights in Turkey and Kurdistan!
Website: http://www.ozgurluk.org  
mailto:ozgurluk at xs4all.nl 
mailinglists: petidomo at ozgurluk.xs4all.nl
List info: english-request at ozgurluk.xs4all.nl


From kurd-l at burn.ucsd.edu  Wed Oct 22 10:49:57 1997
From: kurd-l at burn.ucsd.edu (kurd-l at burn.ucsd.edu)
Date: 22 Oct 1997 10:49:57
Subject: Turkey: another human rights activist placed under arrest
References: <bac1c849.m3201f1eem.fsf@ozgurluk.xs4all.nl>
Message-ID: <bac1c849.Pine.BSF.3.96.971022042..@burn.ucsd.edu>

From: Arm The Spirit <ats at locust.etext.org>
Subject: Turkey: Another Human Rights Activist Arrested

Yagmurdereli Placed Under Arrest By Police

Turkish Daily News - October, 21 1997

     Istanbul - Lawyer, writer, and human rights defender Esber
Yagmurdereli told the press, "I will not surrender, let the
police come and take me," just after the Supreme Court of Appeals
upheld a lower court's sentencing. He was arrested by police
following his appearance on the television show "Teke Tek" Sunday
night and taken to Gayrettepe Police Headquarters.
     Monday Yagmurdereli appeared before the Istanbul State
Security Court; however, the necessary legal formalities had not
been carried out so he was sent instead to the Kadikoy Justice
Court. There it proved impossible to find essential documents
related to his being put in prison to serve a 23-year sentence
imposed on him. The Kadikoy Prosecutor has since applied to
Samsun where the decision to imprison Yagmurdereli was originally
taken. In the meantime, the latter will stay at the Public
Security Branch Directorate in Gayrettepe, Istanbul.
     The original sentence, 36 years, was handed down by the
Samsun Serious Crimes Court where he had stood trial for "trying
to change the constitutional order at the point of a gun". In
1986 that sentence was upheld by the Supreme Court of Appeals and
he served 13.5 years before being given a conditional release on
August 1, 1991.
     Subsequently Yagmurdereli was sentenced to 10 months in
prison because of a speech he made in Sisli's Abide-i Hurriyet
Square which was judged to be separatist. He is expected to have
to serve the ten-month sentence as well as the remaining 22.5
years of the previous sentence for having violated the terms of
his conditional pardon.
     Yagmurdereli has made it clear in an interview with the TDN
that he does not wish to benefit from any special pardon since he
would rather that the entire problem of people being sentenced
for crimes of thought were eliminated; if his imprisonment would
help that process, he was more than willing to go to prison.

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


From kurd-l at burn.ucsd.edu  Thu Oct 23 02:03:51 1997
From: kurd-l at burn.ucsd.edu (kurd-l at burn.ucsd.edu)
Date: 23 Oct 1997 02:03:51
Subject: Turkey Establishes Buffer Zone In S
Message-ID: <bac1c849.Pine.BSF.3.96.971022205..@burn.ucsd.edu>

From: Arm The Spirit <ats at locust.etext.org>
Subject: Turkey Establishes Buffer Zone In South Kurdistan

Turkey Establishes Buffer Zone In Northern Iraq

Associated Press, 10/22/97

     ANKARA, Turkey (AP) - Turkey's military has started
occupying a strip of northern Iraq to block cross-border raids by
Iraq-based Turkish Kurdish rebels, a newspaper reported today.
     The daily Hurriyet quoted an unidentified Cabinet member as
confirming that Turkey had 8,000 soldiers in the newly created
buffer zone.
     "The Turkish armed forces has undertaken the necessary
measures in the region," Deputy Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit told
Hurriyet, without elaborating.
     Ecevit had said earlier that the government was considering
creating a buffer zone along the 198-mile border.
     Baghdad lost direct control over northern Iraq after the
Gulf War. A U.S.-led alliance monitors a no-fly zone to keep
Saddam Hussein's troops away from the region, controlled by rival
Kurdish groups.
     Kurdish rebels fighting for autonomy in Turkey's southeast
have taken advantage of the power vacuum, setting up bases in
northern Iraq to launch attacks at Turkish targets.
     Turkish troops have gone into northern Iraq repeatedly in
the last few years to try to wipe out the rebels. But each time
troops leave, guerrillas return to the mountainous terrain.
     The buffer zone was apparently established following
Turkey's latest military operation in northern Iraq, when it sent
about 16,000 soldiers across the border earlier this month.
     Although it was not clear how much of the country Turkey
might be occupying, earlier talk had suggested a buffer zone
about six miles deep.
     There was no word on how long the Turkish troops might stay.
     Hurriyet said Turkey also placed surveillance equipment
purchased from the United States and Israel at the border to
monitor the Kurdish rebels' movements.
     Since 1984, the Turkish-Kurdish conflict has killed more
than 28,000 people.

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



From kurd-l at burn.ucsd.edu  Thu Oct 23 11:35:03 1997
From: kurd-l at burn.ucsd.edu (kurd-l at burn.ucsd.edu)
Date: 23 Oct 1997 11:35:03
Subject: Turkey Jails Human Rights Activist
Message-ID: <bac1c849.Pine.BSF.3.96.971023062..@burn.ucsd.edu>

From: Arm The Spirit <ats at locust.etext.org>
Subject: Turkey Jails Human Rights Activist For 23 Years

Turkey Jails Blind Rights Activist For 23 Years 

     ANKARA (October 23, 1997 Reuters) - Turkey jailed a blind
52-year-old human rights activist for up to 23 years for
advocating a peaceful end to the country's bloody Kurdish
conflict, Anatolian news agency said.
     The justice ministry sent Esber Yagmurdereli to Cankiri
prison, 60 miles northeast of the capital Ankara, the state-run
agency said late on Tuesday.
     Yagmurdereli was sentenced to 10 months in jail in September
for a speech he made in 1991 calling for a peaceful end to the
Kurdish conflict, now 13 years old.
     The 10-month term was added to 22 years of an earlier
suspended sentence that was automatically reactivated following
his second conviction last month.
     Yagmurdereli's arrest sparked on Monday a condemnation from
Germany, which has a Turkish population of some two million. The
German foreign ministry described the event as a "further setback
for freedom of expression and tolerance in Turkey".
     The Turkish foreign ministry on Wednesday dismissed the
condemnation, saying the jail term was a decision of an
independent judicial body, the agency said.
     "It does not matter whether other authorities like it or
not. No official body is in a position to comment about decisions
of independent and free courts," the agency quoted ministry
spokesman Omer Akbel as saying.
     Ankara's shaky human rights record has drawn sharp criticism
from the West.
     Turkish author Yasar Kemal, who received a prestigious
German literary award earlier this week, said he would fight for
Yagmurdereli's release. "I will keep up my struggle for human
rights and democracy in Turkey," Anatolian quoted him as saying.
     German Foreign Minister Klaus Kinkel issued a fresh warning
to Turkey on Wednesday, saying Ankara's ambitions to join the
European Union would remain blocked unless it improved its rights
record.
     "Turkey knows that the route to Europe only follows a
significant improvement in the human rights situation there,"
Kinkel said in a statement after Tuesday's sentencing to a jail
term of human rights campaigner Akin Birdal.
     The 13-year-old bloody conflict between Turkish troops and
Kurdish separatist rebels, fighting for self-rule in the
southeast, has claimed 27,000 lives in the country so far.
     The U.S.-based Committee to Protect Journalists said in a
statement faxed to Reuters on Wednesday that 45 journalists were
now held in Turkish prisons, up from 78 in July, after 
the government issued a partial amnesty for imprisoned 
reporters in August.
     All but five of those released were set free after
completing their sentences, the committee said.

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



From kurd-l at burn.ucsd.edu  Fri Oct 24 06:42:30 1997
From: kurd-l at burn.ucsd.edu (kurd-l at burn.ucsd.edu)
Date: 24 Oct 1997 06:42:30
Subject: South Kurdistan: Turkey Is Using Na
Message-ID: <bac1c849.Pine.BSF.3.96.971024012..@burn.ucsd.edu>

From: Arm The Spirit <ats at locust.etext.org>
Subject: South Kurdistan: Turkey Is Using Napalm And Splinter Bombs

South Kurdistan: Turkey Is Using Napalm And Splinter Bombs

     In a recent interview with Med-TV, Cemil Bayik, commander of
the People's Liberation Army of Kurdistan (ARGK), discussed the
military situation in South Kurdistan. Because Turkey had not
achieved its military objectives following its May 14, 1997
invasion of South Kurdistan, this time they attacked with 
better-trained forces, Bayik said. In total, this invasion involves
50,000 Turkish troops and village guards, backed by 300 tanks and
grenade launchers. The mountains have been under constant air
bombardment, and the areas of Kurejahro and Metina were attacked
with napalm, while splinter bombs were detonated over the areas
of Sikefta Brindara, Metinan, and the Kurmanc mountains. The
fighters of the KDP no longer have any strength to carry out
their own activities; in the day to day fighting in South
Kurdistan, the ARGK is now facing only the Turkish military,
Bayik explained.
     Bayik went on to say: "All the friends of our people, and
our people itself, must know that our liberation struggle, under
the leadership of Abdullah Ocalan, started with nothing and has
continued to strengthen until today. In the future, we will
become even stronger. No one should doubt that. All of our
liberation fighters are convinced that this struggle is not just
for themselves, rather for all the peoples of the region. The
enemy continues to spread national and international propaganda,
spreading lies about the number of fallen guerrillas. No one
should take these figures seriously or worry about them."

(Source: 'Kurdistan-Rundbrief' Nr.21, Vol.10 - October 21, 1997)

-----------------------------------------------------------------
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 english at ozgurlluk.xs4all.nl  Fri Oct 24 07:40:57 1997
From: english at ozgurlluk.xs4all.nl (english at ozgurlluk.xs4all.nl)
Date: 24 Oct 1997 07:40:57
Subject: Fascism in Turkey - Torture of Childeren - Manisa Update
Message-ID: <bac1c849.m34t67ck6u.fsf@ozgurluk.xs4all.nl>


(23/10) Turkish Police Defy Court Order

MANISA, Turkey (AP) - In a trial laying bare Turkey's human rights
problems, 10 police officers accused of torture have defied a court
order to show up for their trial.

The court has refused to order them arrested and has not ordered any
punishment for their continued refusal to attend the trial, which has
been going on for a year now.  

On Wednesday, the court ruled that their accusers, 15 youths aged 15
to 21, would have to identify their attackers from photographs.
Turkey is widely criticized for human rights abuses, including torture
by the s ecurity forces. Security officials are rarely punished. Their
trials often last years and, when convicted, they generally get
brief, suspended sentences.
  
The youths say they were tortured while in police custody in 1995 in
Manisa, 30 miles east of the Aegean port of Izmir.  They were arrested
by police for allegedly putting up political slogans and kep t in jail
for a year while their trial went on.  They were eventually convicted
of belonging to an outlawed leftist group and given lengthy prison
sentences.  

A similar case involving police officers accused of beating a
journalist to death became a rallying cry for human rights advocates.
After domestic and international outcry, the officers were finally
arrested and forced to attend their trial.


For background information on this case see:
http://www.ozgurluk.org/pub/manisa.html

-- 
Press Agency Ozgurluk
For justice, democracy and human rights in Turkey and Kurdistan!
Website: http://www.ozgurluk.org                          
mailto:ozgurluk at xs4all.nl 
mailinglists: petidomo at ozgurluk.xs4all.nl
List info: english-request at ozgurluk.xs4all.nl


From english at ozgurlluk.xs4all.nl  Mon Oct 27 06:36:15 1997
From: english at ozgurlluk.xs4all.nl (english at ozgurlluk.xs4all.nl)
Date: 27 Oct 1997 06:36:15
Subject: TURKEY: Prisoners Of Conscience Lined Up For Jail Terms
Message-ID: <bac1c849.m3lnzfssq8.fsf@ozgurluk.xs4all.nl>

/* Written  3:09 PM  Oct 26, 1997 by newsdesk in igc:ips.english */
/* ---------- "TURKEY: Prisoners Of Conscience Lin" ---------- */
       Copyright 1997 InterPress Service, all rights reserved.
          Worldwide distribution via the APC networks.

                      *** 23-Oct-97 ***

Title: TURKEY: Prisoners Of Conscience Lined Up For Jail Terms

By Nadire Mater

ISTANBUL, Oct 23 (IPS) - ''It is all very clear. I am going to
prison,'' said coolheaded prisoner of conscience Esber
Yagmurdereli, on his way to start a 23 year jail sentence this
week.

The veteran peace campaigner, blind since the age of 11, had been
sentenced to ten months in jail earlier this year for comments
made during a speech in 1991. At that time he had just been
paroled after serving 13 years of a 33 year sentence; the second
offence reactivates the 23 year term still legally outstanding.

Yagmurdereli, 53, was finally rearrested as he left the national
Kanal D radio studios after joining a talk show on 'freedom of
conscience'. He was transferred Wednesday to Cankiri high security
prison, 600 kilometres to the east of Istanbul.

The day before fellow rights activist Akin Birdal, chairman of
the country's leading Human Rights Association (IHD) was sentenced
to a year in prison for allegedly ''inciting hatred and division'' --
placing him at risk of arrest and jail, a day before a scheduled
appointment with the country's justice minister.

The day before that, several hundred miles away, Yagmurdereli's
fellow peace campaigner, veteran Turkish novelist Yasar Kemal was
being honoured with a peace prize from German president Richard
von Weizsacker.

''Turkey is an inconceivable country,'' Kemal told the Frankfurt
audience. ''Is it a dictatorship or a democracy? I am still unable
to guess.''

The German government condemned Yagmurdereli's arrest. ''This is
a negative step regarding the degree of freedom of expression and
tolerance in Turkey,'' said German foreign ministry deputy
spokesman Marcus Ederer. Yagmurdereli's plight was also due to be
raised as am 'urgent issue' at the European Parliament, Thursday.

''Turkey knows that the route to Europe only follows a
significant improvement in the human rights situation there,''
said German foreign minister Klaus Kinkel. ''Without the basic
right to express one's opinion, the path remains barred.''

Even members of the Turkish government appealed for clemency.

''His imprisonment, not only for humanitarian reasons but also
for juridical reasons will tarnish Turkey's reputation
internationally,'' said minister of state Husamettin Cindoruk,
leader of the Democratic Turkey Party. ''Immediate amendments in
the procedures law should be implemented.''

The charges are all related to the Turkish state's relentless
efforts to jail or silence critics of its bloody war in the
country's south east. The 13 year war against the guerrillas of
the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) has claimed more than 27,000
lives and displaced more than a million civilians.

Kemal has vowed to leave Turkey ''if they jail Esber,'' who has
been detained under special orders by minister of justice Oltan
Sungurlu.

''The minister says there is no chance of Yagmurdereli's release
in the near future,'' said Birdal, who met Sungurlu a day after
his own hearing in court sentenced him to a year in jail.

Sungurlu denied charges that Yagmurdereli was being held as far
away from the domestic and international eye as possible. ''He may
be transferred to any prison he wishes,'' he reportedly told
Birdal.

Kemal and Yagmurdereli joined hands in 1996 in a bid to halt a
protest hunger strike that led to the deaths of 12 political
prisoners. He was also well known for his part in organising the
'Million Signatures For Peace' petition earlier this year.

Yagmurdereli was sentenced to 36 years in jail in 1978 for
allegedly leading a clandestine armed leftist group, accused of
organising bank robberies, arson and sabotage. Under special
orders from the ministry of justice he spent his first nine years
in solitary confinement.

''More than 1,000 letters sent to me during those nine years
remained under my pillow, until when I was allowed to contact
other prisoners who would read them for me,'' Yagmurdereli
recalls.

''During all those years I did not know what had happened in the
outside world at home and overseas. The only thing I could do was
to rely on my own self and use my memory in the most efficient
way.''

Trained in music and literature in special schools Yagmurdereli
composed musical works, poems and wrote plays in prison. His play,
Scorpion, was scheduled to be staged next month. ''I regret I will
be absent from the first night,'' Yagmurdereli told journalists as
he was taken to prison.

''I realised that my cell was full of scorpions when one day a
guard killed one of them,'' he recalled. ''I visited the prison
doctor and complained. He replied: 'I have been here three years
and no one has complained before. So the scorpions must be
harmless'.''

Yagmurdereli's only son, Ugur, was born two months after his
father's arrest, and he was only allowed to touch his face nine
years later.

''Press freedom equals democracy,'' said prime minister Mesut
Yilmaz Tuesday. ''Turkey will stride toward democracy with respect
to human rights and press freedom.'' Figures show that Turkey is
striding backwards, slowly: the number of prisoners of conscience,
jailed authors and writers, in Turkey rose to 150 in the first
half of 1996 from 121 in 1995 and 100 in 1994.

The prisoners include Kurdish parliamentarians Leyla Zana and
Hatip Dicle and sociologist Ismail Besikci. Besikci, 53, doyen of
Turkey's ''criminals of conscience'' is serving his 15th year in
prison. He has served several jail terms for his views on the
Kurdish separatist question.

His latest stint began in 1991. Already condemned to a total of
100 years in jail, Besikci is threatened with another 104
additional years for other cases pending against him in the State
Security courts.

Yagmurdereli also refuses to accept special privileges and has
formally stated that he will not accept a pardon on the grounds of
either ill health or his disability. (END/IPS/NM/RJ/97)


Origin: Amsterdam/TURKEY/
                              ----

       [c] 1997, InterPress Third World News Agency (IPS)
                     All rights reserved

  May not be reproduced, reprinted or posted to any system or
  service outside  of  the  APC  networks,  without  specific
  permission from IPS.  This limitation includes distribution
  via  Usenet News,  bulletin board  systems, mailing  lists,
  print media  and broadcast.   For information about  cross-
  posting,  send   a   message  to   <online at ips.org>.    For
  information  about  print or  broadcast reproduction please 
  contact the IPS coordinator at <online at ips.org>.



List info: english-request at ozgurluk.xs4all.nl


From english at ozgurlluk.xs4all.nl  Mon Oct 27 06:36:15 1997
From: english at ozgurlluk.xs4all.nl (english at ozgurlluk.xs4all.nl)
Date: 27 Oct 1997 06:36:15
Subject: TURKEY: Prisoners Of Conscience Lined Up For Jail Terms
References: <bac1c849.m3lnzfssq8.fsf@ozgurluk.xs4all.nl>
Message-ID: <bac1c849.m3iuujssiv.fsf@ozgurluk.xs4all.nl>

/* Written  3:09 PM  Oct 26, 1997 by newsdesk in igc:ips.english */
/* ---------- "TURKEY: Prisoners Of Conscience Lin" ---------- */
       Copyright 1997 InterPress Service, all rights reserved.
          Worldwide distribution via the APC networks.

                      *** 23-Oct-97 ***

Title: TURKEY: Prisoners Of Conscience Lined Up For Jail Terms

By Nadire Mater

ISTANBUL, Oct 23 (IPS) - ''It is all very clear. I am going to
prison,'' said coolheaded prisoner of conscience Esber
Yagmurdereli, on his way to start a 23 year jail sentence this
week.

The veteran peace campaigner, blind since the age of 11, had been
sentenced to ten months in jail earlier this year for comments
made during a speech in 1991. At that time he had just been
paroled after serving 13 years of a 33 year sentence; the second
offence reactivates the 23 year term still legally outstanding.

Yagmurdereli, 53, was finally rearrested as he left the national
Kanal D radio studios after joining a talk show on 'freedom of
conscience'. He was transferred Wednesday to Cankiri high security
prison, 600 kilometres to the east of Istanbul.

The day before fellow rights activist Akin Birdal, chairman of
the country's leading Human Rights Association (IHD) was sentenced
to a year in prison for allegedly ''inciting hatred and division'' --
placing him at risk of arrest and jail, a day before a scheduled
appointment with the country's justice minister.

The day before that, several hundred miles away, Yagmurdereli's
fellow peace campaigner, veteran Turkish novelist Yasar Kemal was
being honoured with a peace prize from German president Richard
von Weizsacker.

''Turkey is an inconceivable country,'' Kemal told the Frankfurt
audience. ''Is it a dictatorship or a democracy? I am still unable
to guess.''

The German government condemned Yagmurdereli's arrest. ''This is
a negative step regarding the degree of freedom of expression and
tolerance in Turkey,'' said German foreign ministry deputy
spokesman Marcus Ederer. Yagmurdereli's plight was also due to be
raised as am 'urgent issue' at the European Parliament, Thursday.

''Turkey knows that the route to Europe only follows a
significant improvement in the human rights situation there,''
said German foreign minister Klaus Kinkel. ''Without the basic
right to express one's opinion, the path remains barred.''

Even members of the Turkish government appealed for clemency.

''His imprisonment, not only for humanitarian reasons but also
for juridical reasons will tarnish Turkey's reputation
internationally,'' said minister of state Husamettin Cindoruk,
leader of the Democratic Turkey Party. ''Immediate amendments in
the procedures law should be implemented.''

The charges are all related to the Turkish state's relentless
efforts to jail or silence critics of its bloody war in the
country's south east. The 13 year war against the guerrillas of
the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) has claimed more than 27,000
lives and displaced more than a million civilians.

Kemal has vowed to leave Turkey ''if they jail Esber,'' who has
been detained under special orders by minister of justice Oltan
Sungurlu.

''The minister says there is no chance of Yagmurdereli's release
in the near future,'' said Birdal, who met Sungurlu a day after
his own hearing in court sentenced him to a year in jail.

Sungurlu denied charges that Yagmurdereli was being held as far
away from the domestic and international eye as possible. ''He may
be transferred to any prison he wishes,'' he reportedly told
Birdal.

Kemal and Yagmurdereli joined hands in 1996 in a bid to halt a
protest hunger strike that led to the deaths of 12 political
prisoners. He was also well known for his part in organising the
'Million Signatures For Peace' petition earlier this year.

Yagmurdereli was sentenced to 36 years in jail in 1978 for
allegedly leading a clandestine armed leftist group, accused of
organising bank robberies, arson and sabotage. Under special
orders from the ministry of justice he spent his first nine years
in solitary confinement.

''More than 1,000 letters sent to me during those nine years
remained under my pillow, until when I was allowed to contact
other prisoners who would read them for me,'' Yagmurdereli
recalls.

''During all those years I did not know what had happened in the
outside world at home and overseas. The only thing I could do was
to rely on my own self and use my memory in the most efficient
way.''

Trained in music and literature in special schools Yagmurdereli
composed musical works, poems and wrote plays in prison. His play,
Scorpion, was scheduled to be staged next month. ''I regret I will
be absent from the first night,'' Yagmurdereli told journalists as
he was taken to prison.

''I realised that my cell was full of scorpions when one day a
guard killed one of them,'' he recalled. ''I visited the prison
doctor and complained. He replied: 'I have been here three years
and no one has complained before. So the scorpions must be
harmless'.''

Yagmurdereli's only son, Ugur, was born two months after his
father's arrest, and he was only allowed to touch his face nine
years later.

''Press freedom equals democracy,'' said prime minister Mesut
Yilmaz Tuesday. ''Turkey will stride toward democracy with respect
to human rights and press freedom.'' Figures show that Turkey is
striding backwards, slowly: the number of prisoners of conscience,
jailed authors and writers, in Turkey rose to 150 in the first
half of 1996 from 121 in 1995 and 100 in 1994.

The prisoners include Kurdish parliamentarians Leyla Zana and
Hatip Dicle and sociologist Ismail Besikci. Besikci, 53, doyen of
Turkey's ''criminals of conscience'' is serving his 15th year in
prison. He has served several jail terms for his views on the
Kurdish separatist question.

His latest stint began in 1991. Already condemned to a total of
100 years in jail, Besikci is threatened with another 104
additional years for other cases pending against him in the State
Security courts.

Yagmurdereli also refuses to accept special privileges and has
formally stated that he will not accept a pardon on the grounds of
either ill health or his disability. (END/IPS/NM/RJ/97)


Origin: Amsterdam/TURKEY/
                              ----

       [c] 1997, InterPress Third World News Agency (IPS)
                     All rights reserved

  May not be reproduced, reprinted or posted to any system or
  service outside  of  the  APC  networks,  without  specific
  permission from IPS.  This limitation includes distribution
  via  Usenet News,  bulletin board  systems, mailing  lists,
  print media  and broadcast.   For information about  cross-
  posting,  send   a   message  to   <online at ips.org>.    For
  information  about  print or  broadcast reproduction please 
  contact the IPS coordinator at <online at ips.org>.


List info: english-request at ozgurluk.xs4all.nl


From english at ozgurlluk.xs4all.nl  Mon Oct 27 08:12:11 1997
From: english at ozgurlluk.xs4all.nl (english at ozgurlluk.xs4all.nl)
Date: 27 Oct 1997 08:12:11
Subject: Turkey/DHKP-C: The history of our Party - Part 5
Message-ID: <bac1c849.m1zpnvywpu.fsf@ozgurluk.xs4all.nl>

THE WAR IS REORGANISED 
THE YEARS OF DETERMINATION AND RESISTANCE

The operations and arrest increased day by day and the movement kept
loosing strength. The junta succeeded, already during the first six
months, to deliver serious blows to all the organisations, including
ours. Moral fell to a all time low and panic was caused. Our
resistance and armed struggle against the junta during the first six
months caused a lot of sympathy among the Turkish people and those who
were left behind by their organisations which left the country under
the pretext of a "withdrawal tactic". A lot of people from several
political groups joint our movement because they wanted to
fight. However, we lacked the possibilities and the organisation to
send them into the struggle, to organise them.

And at the beginning of November 1981, all of the 2nd. Central
Committee members, except for the political responsible person who was
abroad, were arrested. The political responsible person of the 2nd. CC
was comrade Niyazi. And when he was arrested as well, in November
1981, the movement entered a new crisis. The strength to fight had
fallen considerably. The leadership of the movement was in the hands
of comrades in lower positions. There was a gap within the movement,
even though it did not look that way from the outside. Several people,
who could no longer be held under direct control and who believed the
movement's authority was in their hands, hastily began to gather the
separated contacts and instead of continuing the struggle, they began
to agitate, based on their own personal fears. After the
demoralisation, present anyhow because of the junta, which befell our
potential and our cadres, they helped the junta in increasing its
psychological superiority and spreading fear because of their
indecisive and fearful conduct, not trusting the leaders of the
organisation. The continuous efforts by some comrades were not
sufficient to overcome this situation. Pasa G?ven, on the other hand,
who was sent abroad to intervene in some difficulties, completely
forgot his original mission and he lost himself in the quagmire of the
existence of a refugee, drifting away in the direction of treason. 

Hundreds of our cadres and sympathisers were in prison. 

The possibility to intervene in events from within the prisons was
difficult, or even absent, seen the repression which was applied
inside the prisons. Despite the efforts of comrade Haydar Basbag and
another group of comrades to continue the existence as an organisation
and to confront the junta on the armed level as well by starting
actions on a lower level, we were far off reaching our goal. But the
determination was kept  to stay inside the country, to continue the
resistance, and the junta received an unexpected answer on 15 March,
1982, during the main trial. The campaign which was launched from the
outside, "The Junta can not condemn the revolutionaries", was heard
even inside the State of Emergency Courts. It was a time of a major
silence, no movement, and the junta claimed it had "intimidated the
revolutionaries and the masses". Its rule was stabilised in all
areas. In defending our organisation in the courts and condemning the
junta during a time in which our sympathisers and cadres were
surrounded by the junta, we showed the people in Turkey that the
revolutionary struggle would be continued, that this would not change
because we were imprisoned by the junta, that they could not make us
renounce our beliefs. Our slogans, presented once again to the
democratic public and the people and all of the left gave them a
tremendous moral support. The leaders and the cadres of almost all the
organisations, except for those who had fled the country, were in
prison. The junta had learned from events in the rest of the
world. They knew they could only temporarily stop the struggle by
means of arrests and death sentences. And because they knew that a
much more dangerous, a more revolutionary struggle, could emerge in
the end, they started a major propaganda war against the detained
revolutionaries by claiming that especially the leading cadres had
surrendered to the existing order, that they were repenting. Now they
wanted to intimidate the people, force them into submission,  by means
of psychological warfare because repression and terror had failed. We
had to cross this game. Even though we were imprisoned, we had to
resist, not only to save personal pride, we had to find forms of
resistance and ways to inform the people about our resistance. We had
to make public that we would keep our thoughts about the revolution
alive despite everything and that fascism would never defeat us. We
had to avoid ways and a conduct which would enable the junta to
present the revolutionaries in a wrong light, at the end of their
strength. The resistance had to become more as the resistance of just
a few revolutionaries. The prisons, filled with thousands and
thousands of revolutionaries and patriots had to become strongholds of
resistance, showing the junta that they could never be forced into
submission. By informing the people's masses about our resistance, we
had to create a new euphoria and a new morale, starting again with our
organisation. A movement which doesn't resist will drift to the right
because it looses all its moral views and ideals and it will return to
the existing order. That's predictable. But primarily, although we
were in prison, although we had witnessed many defeats, we had to keep
our faith, we had to take care of our wounds and get on our feet again
to lead the struggle which was waged by the people's masses. To
achieve this, we had to wage a determined and resolved resistance. To
neutralise the psychological superiority of the junta, to maintain our
existence as an organisation and in order to prevent that our people
would be influenced by right-wing, reformist and obscure imperialist
theories in these conditions of defeat, we had to erect high walls
around ourselves, we had to motivate our people for the struggle, we
had to train them but the obvious and impressive effects would only be
seen years later by them. In this way, our struggle was to build a
stable bridge between us and the people, carrying us into the
future. Those who were unable to see the future, who didn't believe in
it, refrained from building this bridge and they were unable to
prevent their own end. 

A party can have its leadership, all its fighters and cadres
imprisoned, it can witness major defeats.

These are the tests for the revolutionaries. Those who pass their test
successfully will have no difficulties to build a bond with their
people. We had to change the dock of fascism into a witness stand from
which we would exclaim our truth, the revolution, and from which we
would condemn fascism. We wrote the brightest pages of our
organisation's history with our resistance in jail, with the docks we
used as witness stands of the revolution, with the way were dealt with
the problems in the  police stations, the way we stood above them, the
way we organised a practice which supported people to stand on their
feet again, becoming an example for all the prisoners. The biggest
effort and work in writing those pages was done by Abdullah Meral,
Haydar Basbag and Hasan Telci who didn't hesitate to sacrifice their
lives for their organisation. I commemorate them with great
confidence, respect and love. 

And when comrade Haydar Basbag was arrested in the summer of 1982 as
well, we were completely in the dark about the general state of the
movement and who was taking care of the leadership. After a comrade
managed to escape from prison in that time and he took over the
responsibility, the contacts were restored again.

Now it was attempted to deal with the state of affairs of the movement
from inside the prisons, with help from the outside. The decision was
made that our movement still possessed a considerable potential and
that the line of resistance could be continued with a suitable way of
organising. During that period, the cadres discussed the state of the
movement and the made a general analyses of how to bridge this period
in the best way possible. The movement was not able in that time to
realise a stable tactic of retreat. Retreat is a tactic which can only
be realised by an organised force. We did not possess this kind of
organisation. By  December 1982, the Americanist fascist junta
succeeded to install its institutions through the entire country,
eliminating almost all revolutionary, patriotic organisations -
especially the armed ones - which constituted a kind of
opposition. Trade unions were banned, intellectuals and many others
were arrested or silenced. And the junta wanted to extend its power
base by making the people -forced to remain silent with violence -
vote for a constitution which would legalise overt fascism. Now there
was no opposition movement left which could pose a hindrance to this
junta program, this could be realised. The plebiscite for the
constitution was an important step in this direction. Among the left,
people generally favoured the view to say no to the constitution, to
boycott the elections, or to make the vote invalid. But the left
didn't have the strength to realise this. While our movement was in a
phase of rebuilding, we had to take a stand about the serious item of
making the people sensitive about the plebiscite. Therefore we started
a campaign, in the country and abroad, on the basis of "No to the
fascist constitution". We tried to politicise the masses by propaganda
and proclaimed that a vote against the constitution was a vote against
fascism. Although we were unable to carry out actions in the country
on a higher level, propaganda was made in several ways. The action
which put its mark on the campaign and which roused the most attention
among the people's masses and world public opinion was the occupation
of the general consulate in Cologne and the hostage taking of its
employees. We had to apply regular pressure on our people abroad,
force them, before something movement and this action could be
realised. Every reason, every hindrance to abort the action was
removed. Weapons, necessary for the action, were sent from
Turkey. Although this action was carried out abroad, it showed it was
possible to carry our movement's policy to our people under all
circumstances. It showed one can expose fascism, if the conditions
require it, abroad as well when the necessary measures are taken. In
this field it has the characteristic of showing a different
perspective of militancy and determination. How strong the attacks by
imperialism against us may have been, they didn't succeed in reducing
the effect and the importance of this action. 

The protests against the fascist constitution and our efforts to call
the people's masses to say no to the constitution were continued also
in prison and in court. Our view about the constitution was expressed
in the docks of the oligarchy and proclaimed to the people, carried to
the outside.

At that time, the prisons had given themselves an important
mission. Opportunism, neglecting the facts that we were imprisoned and
the developments in the country and he special situation our movement
was in, and they  acted solely on the basis of there personal
worries. They tried to get such nonsense on the agenda like "the
prisons are not the central organ, it's impossible to make policy from
there which would influence people on the outside". These statements
were of no use to the struggle, they just were evidence of an attitude
which was caused by fascism, portraying the imprisonment of the
revolutionaries as an imprisonment of normal criminals. 

The prisoners of our movement showed an honourable attitude during the
developments in our country, according to their possibilities. They
tried to bring the policy of our organisation to the people and they
tried to influence and steer our organisation on the outside. This
attitude was internalised so much that positions were taken - even
about international affairs - under extreme difficult
circumstances. We can say that the first and only comprehensive
evaluation of the occupation of the Lebanon by Israel was ours, we
were the first in the world to determine a position, despite the
severe punishment. It were our prisoner's voices, in front of the
fascist judges, who condemned American imperialism and Israel, who
expressed their solidarity with the Palestinian people and who stated
that the fascist junta was a collaborator in these massacres and
attacks. These positions in world affairs, this resistance and the
idea to be able to maintain a living bond with the people, destroyed
the plans of the junta. Their aim was: "Take them in prison, silence
them, make them fear so much they won't dare to show themselves
anymore, force them to adjust to the system". A prisonership like that
of the members of Devrimci Sol doesn't occur much in the world, it's
not a normal prisonership, neither does it allow itself to be forced
in a status of prisoners of war. The prisoners of Devrimci Sol do not
bend, they do not remain silent, it's a new form of prisonership. We
could say the prisoners of Devrimci Sol are "Free Prisoners". The
attitude and the resistance of the Devrimci Sol prisoners influenced a
large spectrum of the left in a short time, reaching to the democratic
intellectuals. Although many tried to copy it, they did not
succeed. This is an aspect of our history which deserves much more
attention. 

Under the circumstances in prison we went through a phase in which we
did not have the possibilities yet to talk and discuss with our
comrades. That's why we thought of evaluating the conditions in our
country in a more suitable time, with the participation of more
cadres. But our comrades on the outside, confronted with many
questions, forced us to evaluate in order to prevent a wrong
position. It was presented as "Evaluation 1983" to the comrades,
discussed and finished. Of course it showed many shortcomings. 

The state the left and Kurdish nationalism was in, became shockingly
apparent, some written and oral drivel left aside, during the
constitution plebiscite in 1982. They didn't even have the slightest
form of organisation and strength. Dozens of organisations had gone to
Europe, taking a form which forced upon them. Misleading the people's
masses and their supporters with the propaganda slogan "Fighting
against fascism", they tried to collect money for ammunition and one
manifestation was organised after the other. Months and years passed
by. Looking at its appearance, the entire left, and even the
nationalistic PKK, seemed reasonable and matured. But when they were
hit by the sledge hammer of fascism, they suddenly changed. Arrogant,
displeased with everybody, looking at everybody as an hindrance for
the struggle and therefore as an enemy which had to be destroyed,
labelling all as "three to five morally inferior people", as servants
of the exploiter-Kemalists, even as contra-guerrilla, the PKK
theorised about the liquidation of the others, agreeing with DY. This
organisation, responsible for the death of dozens of revolutionaries,
started its front activities, without having gone once through any
kind of serious self-criticism, with the words "The people's masses in
Turkey and Kurdistan can not be organised by any left
structure". Separated from the reality in the country, fleeing the
country with the cadres in panic after total defeat, they were not
able to build a front against fascism in the country itself, nor
building a unity of strength and action with certain principles and
rules abroad. What did the situation look like? The left didn't see
the real meaning of fascism and the revolutionary struggle, they had
not overcome the positions of the petite-bourgeois opposition. Their
leadership did not posses a consciousness, no will to power. The left
was confused and shocked, their organisation only consisted of
political refugees, but still they acted like head teachers. 

The left had lost its psychological supremacy because of the
Americanist fascist junta, its dynamics were dwindling. Separated more
and more from the home soil because of their refugee existence, they
increasingly lost the positive characteristics they possessed at least
in part previously. Step by step, they decayed, influenced by the
European ideology of the "civic society", of Trotzkists and anarchist
tendencies, they started to label themselves as democratic,
propagating this line. That's why they are responsible for the loss of
hundreds of cadres who still wanted to fight for the revolution, be it
on a wrong line or a just one, they bear responsibility for the
dissolution of the organisations. 

Those who didn't fulfil their mission of leaders in the struggle
against fascism, perfected the theory of the escape from war. They
caused thousands of revolutionaries and patriots to conform to the
system. The question of  "objectively or subjectively" has no meaning
anymore with such a result. The important fact is that entire
organisations dissolved and thousands of revolutionaries were
destroyed. These organisations bear the responsibility for this. Now
these people, after harming thousands of people, after giving false
hope to the people, act as if nothing ever happened and they only take
care of their own benefit, integrating in the system. Now we have to
call them by their real name, and that name is treason, treason
against the revolution and the people. Sooner or later the people in
Turkey will have to demand justice and accountability for this
treason. 

We have often said that this "sensational" front, built up from
abroad, would only be a foreign front, having almost no contact with
the country itself. As a result of 12 September, it as just an
artificial and temporary occasion. At the end, this front just
collapsed without achieving anything. Of course, we were aware this
left, convinced of themselves in their petite-bourgeois arrogance,
wouldn't listen to us. However, it was our task to tell the truth, to
warn the people in Turkey, the left and our supporters. That's why
we've written the brochure "About the Front" in which we made clear
our position. 

We emphasised that a left which truly intents to fight fascism
shouldn't waste its time with things which can't be realised and it
should stop to mislead the people with false claims and statements. We
stated that it was our task to leave the dividing points aside and
that we had to agree on a anti-fascist, anti-imperialist program,
aimed against the junta, based on the views we shared, and that we had
to realise this program in a unity of strength and action. Our calls
were condemned to remain unanswered because they did not have such
problems as fighting in the country itself.

After long discussions, a program was prepared in which they did not
believe themselves, not a single point was realised in practice and
then they started to accuse each other, especially DY and the PKK. Not
a single sign of the front was left. It was pointless to say: "We
proposed this". Everybody knew what game was being played. 

They were so irresponsible, they didn't even make the effort to
explain to the people why they dissolved, why they were unable to
realise a program they all agreed on. Life will show where this
irresponsibility, this lack of character, will lead these
organisations. Of course, we drew the animosity of this left, chained
in the bourgeois ideology, upon ourselves when we made their deceiving
and lying face public by telling the truth. 

We will now shortly address the situation of the PKK which took over
the leadership with their front, without a party, later putting a
radical left line of struggle into practice. Prior to 12 September,
the PKK was in conflict with all the nationalist Kurdish organisations
and with all the left groups. There were also conflicts with traitors
inside their own organisation. These conflicts had cost them a lot of
strength and the suffered a crushing defeat. Thereupon they left the
country in panic. 

Although the PKK leadership portrays this as an "orderly retreat", we
all know, as they do themselves, that the truth is different. The PKK
went through their defeat, witnessed by the left in Turkey in general
after 12 September, prior to the coup. 

The PKK had lost strength and they brought their leaders abroad. They
lost morale because after 12 September, the fascist terror in
Kurdistan imprisoned thousands of cadres, sympathisers and plain
Kurdish people in concentration camps. The events after the coup also
showed that the fleeing of the PKK was no orderly retreat at
all. During this phase, the PKK almost everywhere, in the prisons, in
Turkey and abroad, witnessed weakness and demoralisation. 

Before 12 September, the PKK had physically liquidated the other
leftist groups, making a theory out of it. Because of these attacks,
the entire left excluded the PKK but they increased their
irresponsible behaviour by labelling several organisations as
contra-revolutionary. 

They did not leave a fighting force behind in the country which would
have been able to deliver a blow against fascism. At that time it was
the paramount task to prevent the institutionalisation of the 12
September fascism, to defeat fascism. But the PKK did not participate
in this struggle. 

The PKK, eager to free itself from its subjective situation, gaining
new morale, pretended to admit that mistakes had been made in the past
to slightly open the door to the left again. 

The left was weak and didn't plan to act at all. They claimed they had
always been prepared. That's how this front emerged, existing in name
but not in reality. 

When this front emerged, we stated that the PKK, despite their wrong
tactics and a wrong line, was a radical movement which was destroying
the provocation theories of the revisionists and that they therefore
deserved support. We also stated that the real mission of the PKK was
radicalism but that this radicalism would be lost when they remained
in this pacifist front. After the pacifist front was dissolved, the
PKK returned to its course, considered its situation as being a good
one, and in August 1984, they made a large leap forward. The PKK likes
to portray itself as the only force, after this leap, which resisted
the 12 September fascism. This is a deliberate distortion of reality. 

By August 1984, the junta had paralysed all the forces of opposition,
the constitution of 1982 had been approved in a plebiscite and there
had been elections in 1983. The program of the junta to return to
democracy was going full steam ahead. Looked at from this perspective,
the emerging of the PKK was no tactic which crossed the program of 12
September fascism. 

Without doubt, there are more facts which influenced the people's
masses and the left from which lessons can be learnt on several levels
to gain a new dynamic. 

But all this can not change the truth that the PKK did not fight
against the !2 September fascism, that they left the country prior to
the coup, that they - like the rest of the left - looked from a
distance hoe overt fascism institutionalised itself. The truth is that
the PKK, by participating in the opportunistic front, distracted the
people. 

DIFFICULT YEARS, SACRIFICE, ALLEGIANCE AND TREASON

In January and February 1983, at a time when the movement had not been
rebuilt yet, we were against faced with a large operation. Almost
everywhere where we were partly organised, a lot of our comrades,
including many leading cadres, were arrested and a lot of our assets
and  resources fell in enemy hands. This operation made us loose us
morale, we lost almost all our fighting strength and we even worried
if we were able to continue the organisation with those who remained
outside. 

The Central Committee member P.G., who was abroad, only took care of
his personal worries. More and more he distanced himself from his
revolutionary identity and the reality in our country. The operations
in our country, the martyrs and the resistance of the prisoners did
not interest him anymore. There was no support for the struggle in our
country coming from abroad. In stead of contributing economically or
morally, the organisation abroad rather became a burden for the
organisation in the country. 

It was important to gather the remaining contacts and to continue our
organisation, although we had lost a lot of our strength. The
responsibility had to be handed over the remaining trustworthy
comrades, even though they had less experience. This was necessary to
gather strength once again and to make a new step forward. 

In this phase Sabo took over the responsibility for the movement outside. 

Her closest confidant was G?lcan who had shown a generally positive
attitude till then. These comrades took the responsibility upon
themselves in this time, the hardest for our movement. Almost all
contacts had been discovered or unreliable. Almost nothing was left
from the money, the weapons, support bases and hierarchy. We mainly
had unorganised people, mostly in Istanbul and other cities, who had
not been arrested, potential contacts which we did not know well, and
there was a rural guerrilla unit which was inactive at that time. 

It was a difficult task for our comrades to gather all these contacts,
to re-organise and create new possibilities for the movement. Our
comrades  enthusiastically accepted this task, despite their
inexperience and despite the heavy burden this task constituted. They
did not doubt they would fulfil this task. 

By taking over responsibility on the highest level, Sabo would quickly
learn the art of leadership in this process with her sense of
responsibility, her trust and awareness. 

She had to find out to do the right thing, based on her own knowledge,
her sense, intelligence and experience, without anybody showing her
the way. 

Although she was supported from inside the prisons, this support was
only limited and not on a regular basis. When she took over
responsibility, only few people Sabo had contact with knew her real
identity. In this phase of our movement, women in our ranks were not
yet able, like they are now, to proof themselves in the struggle. The
tendency to look down at women, only using them in secondary tasks,
was the view of a male dominated society. When she made contacts and
took over leadership, she had to fight this reality and fight for
recognition. 

It was a time in which there was no money for paying the rent, nor for
the bus. By limiting our collective spending in prison, we were able
to support her and help her to manage for a while. We asked all the
prisoners we could reach in the prisons in Istanbul for addresses of
relatives and acquaintances whose apartments could be used, at least
for a while, and we passed those on to the outside. This, at least
partly and temporarily, prevented our comrades standing on the
street. We could give many more examples and report of heroic acts,
sacrifice and dramatic events, but that's not necessary. We mentioned
these examples to enable a better understanding of that time. 

The difficulties of the revolution, not mentioned in theory and not
becoming apparent, were so numerous that it is impossible to explain
them with the classic and known theories and schemes. Sometimes it's
even impossible to explain them in simple text. When these
particularities of a revolutionary movement are not put into words,
are not grasped into notions, but when it is tried to press them into
theoretical schemes, this will inevitably lead to a deviation from the
revolutionary line. 

Sabo proposed a suicide action,  in which she was to participate
herself, to continue the struggle against the junta on the highest
level. But it's impossible to achieve important results with suicide
actions. Most important was to re-group the organisation. That's why a
suicide action was rejected. We will always remember Sabo because of
her unselfishness and her loyalty to the movement.

The responsible person abroad, P.G., ignored the order to return to
Turkey by denying his task abroad  had been finished. While our
friends had no money for a place to sleep or the bus, he took money
from them, without warning them, and sent it to his wife and family in
Turkey. He took his wife, needed in the organisation in Turkey, abroad
without asking the comrades. This breach and treason was continued,
disregarding all ethical values. This traitor, leading the cadres
abroad, took money from our sympathisers by misleading them with
stories of a coming fight which never to come. He used the
organisation's money for his own purposes. He was up to his neck in
honourless activities of organised crime, using the name of the
organisation. P.G. was going to account for his treason and he would
have to pay the price. He did not fulfil the tasks which were given to
him. In these difficult times for our movement, he did not want to
co-operate with our younger and more inexperienced comrades. He made
use of the fact that our leading comrades were in prison and he
exploited his charisma towards our comrades. He thought he didn't have
to anything, that he could use our movement's property as he
liked. Nobody could stop him. We as prisoners couldn't act. First we
had to create the conditions to learn what was going on abroad. We
didn't know what was going on exactly. Once in a while, the friends
got hold of our magazine which was published abroad. Although it
appeared under the conditions abroad, its contents were miles apart
from the reality in Turkey, it was a primitive piece of paper,
published pro forma. We had to gather in Turkey at first. Our friends
outside the prison could not solve the problems abroad at short
notice. Our young and inexperienced people developed a ripeness in a
short time, a ripeness which normally took years. By living and
learning in this phase, they started to evade police control. 

The junta continued its program of transition to democracy. Nothing
was hindering this program. After the junta, albeit with some
difficulty, had the constitution of 1982 approved in a plebiscite, it
saw no danger in, so to speak in the honeymoon of victory, holding
elections in 1983. The atmosphere in which these elections were going
to be held, the quality of the existing bourgeois parties, the bans,
the impatience of the bourgeois parties which already existed for
decades, this all clearly showed the results these elections were
going to have. The regime, which could not last in the form of a junta
for a long time because of several fundamental internal and external
factors, tried to find ways and means for its political and economical
aims by cheating the public with elections. Although the elections
increased the political sensibility of the masses, it was an action
which required a standpoint of the revolutionary organisations. It was
attempted to reach the people by making our standpoint clear in court
and from inside the prisons, by distributing leaflets, brochures and
handbills outside and by applying classic methods. There was no party
for the people to vote for, to support. To convince the masses and to
expose the fake elections of the junta, we clarified our view: "Do not
go to the polling boxes, boycott the elections, there are no parties
or persons worth your votes and support". Of course, this was not an
active boycott. But it was a boycott, even if it was a passive
one. Our organisation still existed, despite the difficult times. In
this phase, we took some people from the guerrilla units in the
mountains of Dersim to the city to carry out armed actions there. Some
of them committed betrayal and fled. The inertia in the land, the
standstill, not fulfilling the tasks against fascism, this all
increased the fear. When this fear was added to the increased
oppression in the cities, betrayal was inevitable. 

In all the phases of difficulty and loosing strength of our movement,
provocateurs and traitors emerged who wanted to destroy the movement
from within. One of these traitors, emerging at that time and later
punished, was Ali Akg?n. Before the putsch of 12 September, Ali Akg?n
was responsible for the Mediterranean area. He was criticised for not
implementing the program and the decisions of the movement, for his
egoistic notions, for mixing up affairs in his former region, and for
abusing movement property. The Mediterranean area was important to us
because progress could be expected there. But because of Ali Akg?n's
anarchism, his stubbornness and egoistic behaviour, many parts of our
program could not be realised there. Prior to 12 September, he was
asked to seriously account for his acts. It became obvious that he was
not sincere. He was supposed to go directly to his region to report to
the committee there. But on the second day of his stay in the region,
he attempted - without warning the organisation and after lying to the
region committee - to break into a jeweller's shop. They were all
arrested. Because of their guilt, all were demoted to normal
sympathisers and their tasks were taken away from them. In 1982, he
used the opportunity of a joint escape action of several organisations
to escape from the prison in Elazig with two of our comrades. The
decision to let Ali Akg?n participate in the escape was taken by the
concerned organisation because of his severe prison sentence. Although
there are other stories, Ali Akg?n split from our two friends after
the escape because of personal problems and other reasons. He behaved
individualistic. The other comrade took over responsibility in the
movement. Ali Akg?n sent a message to prison, expressing his
opposition towards this comrade and asking for the responsibility to
be handed over to himself. Remembering of his misbehaviour in the past
and his position, we stated that we had made him a normal sympathiser
who can't take on responsibility and that he had to proof himself
first. But he, valueing himself very much like some petite-bourgeois
do, did not listen to the decision of the movement. He found three or
four petty criminals who had no contact with the movement and who
needed money. Together they committed theft, robberies and all kind of
dirty Mafia crimes. He continued his life as a gangster, not
fulfilling a revolutionary task anymore. Comrades on the outside and
comrades who were arrested during operations in 1983 stated that Ali
Akg?n was not arrested during the operations in January 1983 although
the police did have the opportunity. While our people were in conflict
with the police everywhere at that time, Ali Akg?n walked among the
policemen freely. With a loose lip, he spread around that he was the
real Devrimci Sol and he exposed all the cadres he knew, or suspected
of being cadres. He explains the fact that he is not touched by the
police by stating that they are afraid of him. Now the hopes of the
oligarchy to split our movement are on this traitor. While Ali Akg?n
walked around, claiming that "we are the real Devrimci Sol", our
comrades on the outside had almost no contact to the traitor P.G. He
tries to legitimise his own treason and he starts to co-operate with
Ali Akg?n. The two agree to split the movement. To realise this plan,
Ali Akg?n prepares to go abroad. He stays at the house of a
sympathiser of the DHB. One day the police shows up and summons the
DHB sympathiser to come to the police station. Ali Akg?n panics when
he sees them and he tries to escape by jumping out of the window, but
he is arrested. The gang he has gathered around himself splits from
him and they dissolve. The traitor P.G. has played his last card and
decides to return to the system. In fact it weren't just P.G. and Ali
Akg?n who planned this conspiracy. The real people behind it were the
oligarchy and the opportunists. Opportunism can not accept that al its
efforts to split the movement have failed once again and it uses all
the opportunities to show its animosity. The theatre they play when
the traitor Pasa G?ven and Ali "the Barbarian" are punished is the
result.

-- 
Devrimci Halk Kurtulus Cephesi (Revolutionary Peoples Liberation Front)
DHKC Informationbureau Amsterdam
http://www.ozgurluk.org/dhkc                          
List info: english-request at ozgurluk.xs4all.nl


From english at ozgurlluk.xs4all.nl  Tue Oct 28 06:55:07 1997
From: english at ozgurlluk.xs4all.nl (english at ozgurlluk.xs4all.nl)
Date: 28 Oct 1997 06:55:07
Subject: Turkey, Generals and football
Message-ID: <bac1c849.m37maygdyw.fsf@ozgurluk.xs4all.nl>

Besiktas Apologize to Generals for Toshack
                                       
Megak?y, Oct 27 (Reuters) - Besiktas soccer club apologised to
Turkey's powerful generals on Monday for remarks by their Welsh coach
John Toshack over an injury to the team 's top striker in army
training, Anatolian news agency said.
                                       
"The board of directors and the technical committee and all our
sportsmen apologise for the misunderstanding and extend our thanks to
the Turkish armed forces for all the support they have given us to
date," the Besiktas statement said.
                                       
The row started on Friday after Oktay Derelioglu was injured during
army training while doing his military service.

Oktay scored the winner in Besiktas' 1-0 European Cup Champions'
League victory over Gothenburg last week and also hit two goals in a
3-1 victory over Paris St Germain in the same competition earlier in
the month.

"The like of this has not been seen anywhere in the world before. Even
the communist regimes of 30 years ago looked after their sportsmen
better," the Turkish daily Hurriyet quoted Toshack as saying.

Hurriyet said the chiefs of general staff contacted the club's board
of directors, telling them to warn Toshack and if necessary sever his
ties with the Turkish first division side.

Pressure from the generals, responsible for three coups between 1960
and 1980, was widely seen to have led to the resignation of Turkey's
first Islamist prime minister in June.

"The concern of our trainer Toshack who was upset by the situation was
unnecessarily exacerbated," the statement said.

Besiktas are second in Champions' League group E after the wins
against PSG and Gothenburg and second in the Turkish league

-- 
Press Agency Ozgurluk
For justice, democracy and human rights in Turkey and Kurdistan!
Website: http://www.ozgurluk.org                          
mailto:ozgurluk at xs4all.nl 
mailinglists: petidomo at ozgurluk.xs4all.nl
List info: english-request at ozgurluk.xs4all.nl


From gscreen at hotmail.com  Tue Oct 28 07:30:16 1997
From: gscreen at hotmail.com (gscreen at hotmail.com)
Date: 28 Oct 1997 07:30:16
Subject: Osman's Trial Has Been Concluded
Message-ID: <bac1c849.19971028152949.16132.qmail@hotmail.com>

>>From: osi at info-ist.comlink.apc.org (War Resisters Ass. Izmir)
>>X-Gateway: ZCONNECT UC cl-hh.comlink.de [DUUCP BETA vom 15.08.1997]
>>Subject: TURKEY: Osman's Trial Has Been Concluded
>>Date: 25 Oct 1997 20:17:00 +0200
>>
>
>>
>>Dear Friends,
>>
>>The last hearing of Osman Murat Ulke's trial was held on October 23. 
He  
>>was charged with four "offences":
>>
>>First: Applying tricks in order to avoid military service. The judge  
>>denied that he was applying tricks and replaced it with "continuing  
>>disobedience in the military unit". Osman was sentenced to 5 months 
for  
>>this.
>>
>>Second: Desertion. After he was released in the end of December '96 he  
>>officially had to go to the military unit but of course he didn't. So, 
he  
>>became a "deserter". He was sentenced to 5 months for desertion.
>>
>>The third and fourth charges are not worthy to mention here and 
include  
>>legal details. For these third and fourth charges he was sentenced to 
a  
>>fine of 625.000 TL (nearly 6,5 DM).
>>
>>So, totally Osman was sentenced to 10 months imprisonment and 625.000 
TL  
>>fine.
>>
>>According to the law of execution he has to stay in prison 40 percent 
of  
>>this 10 months and he has already fulfilled the sentence while the 
trial  
>>was going on. So, normally he had to be released on October 23, but he 
was  
>>kept because of his second "desertion" after he was released on May 
29. As  
>>like his previous desertion, he was released to go the military unit 
and  
>>he didn't on May 29. So, a new trial is expected because of that  
>>desertion. You can write to Osman to the previous address, he is 
waiting  
>>for letters:
>>
>>1. Taktik Hava Kuvvetleri Komutanligi
>>Askeri Cezaevi
>>Eskisehir - TURKEY
>>
>>
>>Jan Brauns and Christiane Moecker from German Peace Society (DFG-VK) 
and  
>>Barbara Neppart from Amnesty International came to observe the trial 
but  
>>they were not allowed to get in.
>>
>>That's all for now.
>>
>>Greetings
>>
>>**************************************************************************
>>Izmir Savas Karsitlari Dernegi                      Tel: + 90 - 232 - 
464
>24 92
>>Izmir War Resisters' Association                    Fax: + 90 - 232 - 
464
>08 42
>>                                           e-mail: 
osi at info-ist.comlink.de
>>## CrossPoint v3.02 ##
>>
>>
>                                  
>                                           
>War Resisters' International 
>5 Caledonian Road, London N1 9DX, Britain
>Phone: +44 171 278 4040
>Fax: +44 171 278 0444
>Email: warresisters at gn.apc.org



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