News From 'Kurdistan-Rundbrief'

[kurd-l at burn.ucsd.edu]

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

News From 'Kurdistan-Rundbrief', No.19, Vol.10
September 23, 1997

"Freedom For Leyla Zana And All Struggling Women Worldwide!"

     Under this slogan, a coalition of German and Kurdish women's
groups are organizing a women's demonstration in Frankfurt,
Germany on September 27. The march will begin at 11am from the
Alten Oper. Leyla Zana was stripped of her parliamentary immunity
in 1994 and sentenced to 15 years in a Turkish prison for
standing up for the rights of the Kurdish people. A demonstration
under a similar motto on International Women's Day, March 8,
1997, was banned by German authorities.

Leyla Zana Awarded The Oscar Romero Prize

     The leftist-democratic organization 'A Bridge From Rome To
Diyarbakir' has awarded its annual Oscar Romero Prize, handed out
since 1994, to Leyla Zana. Deputy HADEP chairman F. Fidan from
Istanbul accepted the award on her behalf. In 1996, the award was
given to C. Felipe Ximenes, the Nobel Prize winner from East
Timor. (Ulkede Gundem, Aug.23) 

HADEP Office Attacked

     The Gurpinar/Istanbul office of the pro-Kurdish People's
Democracy Party (HADEP) was firebombed on the night of September
7. Office materials and files were destroyed, but no people were
injured in the attack. The local chapters of HADEP and the
socialist party SIP condemned the attack, which was carried out
against people working for peace, democracy, and the coexistence
of peoples. (Ulkede Gundem, Sep.8)

PKK Guerrillas Active In Northern Turkey

     According to a September 8 report by the Reuters news
agency, quoting Turkish sources, a 3,000-man unit of the Turkish
army, along with 400 police officers, have been sent to the three
corners area where the provinces of Sivas, Tokat, and Ordu meet.
Some of these provinces extend to the Black Sea. For the first
time during the 13 years of Kurdish armed struggle, PKK
guerrillas have become active in this area of northern Turkey.
Reports mentioned 50 PKK guerrillas working together with 12
members of the Turkish leftist organization DHKP-C. In the past
few weeks, there have been several attacks on security forces in
the area, according to Reuters.

Village Guards On The Black Sea

     In the area on the Black Sea, especially in the province of
Ordu, Turkish security forces are trying the set up a "village
guard" system similar to the one in Kurdish areas. They have
already handed over weapons to 300 village guards there. As in
Kurdistan, entire villages and hamlets are being evacuated and
their populations forced to move. Herders were prevented from
using their pastures this summer. In Mesudiye, two brothers, aged
16 and 12, were shot by security forces as they attended their
sheep. They were alleged to be supporting guerrillas. For the
past few months, there has been cooperation in Black Sea regions
between the guerrilla forces of the People's Liberation Army of
Kurdistan (ARGK) and the Turkish guerrilla organizations DHKP-C
and TIKKO against the Turkish security forces. (YEK-KOM Bulteni,
Nr.5/97)

(Translated by Arm The Spirit)

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