From ozgurluk at xs4all.nl Wed Sep 23 03:47:22 1998 From: ozgurluk at xs4all.nl (ozgurluk at xs4all.nl) Date: 23 Sep 1998 03:47:22 Subject: AI: TURKEY Still no proper investigation into "disappearances" References: Message-ID: * News Release Issued by the International Secretariat of Amnesty * International * AI INDEX: EUR 44/27/98 5 JUNE 1998 PUBLIC STATEMENT TURKEY Still no proper investigation into "disappearances" Amnesty International has received no reply from the Turkish Government concerning the "disappearance" of Neslihan Uslu, Hasan Aydogan, Metin Andac[,] and Mehmet Mandal, who were last seen in Izmir on 31 March. This case was raised by the Secretary General Pierre Sane[/] on 27 April in a letter to the Turkish Prime Minister, Mesut Yilmaz, urging that reports of their "disappearance" be promptly and impartially investigated, and findings be made public. Amnesty International also submitted the case to the United Nations (UN) Working Group on enforced and involuntary disappearance. On 20 December 1996 the Turkish Government established the "Bureau for the investigation of Disappearances" but it appears that its real purpose is not to establish the fate of the "disappeared" but to discredit those concerned organizations and people whose call for thorough investigation along the lines indicated by the UN Declaration on the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance is an enduring embarrassment to the authorities. Less than a month after its foundation the Bureau has published its findings on scores of allegations of "disappearance", but these findings consist of one or two lines of official denial that the individual was ever detained. No serious investigations seem to have been carried out. For example, the report mentioned that Tevfik Kusun, who "disappeared" on 29 November 1996 after being taken from the building site where he worked was not held in police custody, but failed to mention that his body was found by a local highway on 7 January 1997. Similarly, the report stated that police archives had no record that Mahmut Mordeniz, who "disappeared" on 28 November 1996, was detained but failed to note that family and others witnessed his detention by people who introduced themselves as police, that a local police unit confirmed that he had been detained, and that his wife also "disappeared" the same day. Such gross omissions, of which these are typical examples, confirm that the Bureau is no more than a publicity exercise. Meanwhile, the Saturday Mothers, who hold a vigil for the "disappeared" in Istanbul city centre once a week, are again suffering police harassment. On 8 May police barred the mothers from reaching their meeting place, and detained several relatives of "disappeared" persons and bystanders, two of whom were beaten . Since then the relatives' traditional place of meeting for silent vigil has been occupied every Saturday by a large contingent of uniformed police officers. Relatives of the "disappeared" are unlikely to abandon their protest until the authorities conduct the thorough and impartial investigations which international standards require. Amnesty International will continue to support those relatives in their quest for an answer, and to press the authorities for information about the fate of Neslihan Uslu, Hasan Aydogan, Metin Anda? Mehmet Mandal and the other scores of "disappearances" which the organization has brought to the Turkish Government's attention since 1991. Background In its letter to the Turkish Prime Minister, Amnesty International also stated that fears that Neslihan Uslu, Hasan Aydogan, Metin Anda? and Mehmet Mandal, have "disappeared" are heightened by that fact that they are know to the police and have reportedly been threatened with death and "disappearance" on numerous occasions. Their lawyers have made inquiries in person to Izmir State Security Court, Izmir State Prosecutor, Police Headquarters and local gendarmerie stations, but were told that the four persons are not held in any of these places. Their names are also not on the registers of Buca and Bergama prisons. Neslihan Uslu, as editor of the journal Devrimci Gen?lik, published in Izmir, has frequently been detained by the police, been subjected to raids and threatened with death and "disappearance". She had told her lawyers that on one occasion during detention the police told her "we will kill you and throw you into a corner and nobody will know about it". She has a number of previous convictions under the Anti-Terror Law for her work as editor of Devrimci Gen?lik and there is an arrest warrant for her issued by Istanbul State Security Court No 5. Hasan Aydogan served 18 months in Kayseri Prison for membership of the Revolutionary People's Liberation Party-Front (DHKP/C) and is wanted to serve an outstanding sentence of three years and nine months for assisting the same organization. Metin Anda? was involved in popular protests against Eurogold, a mining company which is allegedly using cyanide in gold exploration work in the Bergama region. In 1995 he was convicted by Izmir State Security Court of providing assistance to an illegal organization (DHKP/C) and served a prison sentence in Buca Prison. Mehmet Mandal, to Amnesty International's knowledge, has never been detained or prosecuted. Amnesty International has raised previous cases of people with a history of prosecution for DHKP/C membership who "disappeared" -- for example, L?tfiye Ka?ar, who "disappeared" on 11 October 1994. This and several other cases are still unresolved. Article 13 of the UN Declaration on the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance states that relatives of the "disappeared", as well as others with knowledge or legitimate interest, have the right to complain to a "competent and independent State authority" which should have the powers and resources to conduct effective investigation. This includes the power to compel attendance of witnesses, to protect witnesses, to compel the production of relevant documents, and that the findings of such an investigation be made available on request to persons concerned. ENDS.../ ***************************************************************** For further information also See Amnesty International's Urgent Action, Index No: EUR 44/03/97) -- 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 tabe at ozgurluk.xs4all.nl Tue Sep 1 04:18:18 1998 From: tabe at ozgurluk.xs4all.nl (tabe at ozgurluk.xs4all.nl) Date: 01 Sep 1998 04:18:18 Subject: No Subject Given Message-ID: Subject: Turkish police arrest 128 human rights campaigners From: Press Agency Ozgurluk Organisation: Press Agency Ozgurluk X-Url: http://www.ozgurluk.org Mime-Version: 1.0 (generated by tm-edit 7.108) Content-Type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII Date: 01 Sep 1998 12:56:47 +0200 Message-ID: Lines: 37 X-Mailer: Gnus v5.6.42/XEmacs 20.4 - "Emerald" ISTANBUL, Aug 31 (AFP) - Istanbul police Monday arrested 128 human rights activists seeking to celebrate World Peace Day in Turkey's southeast, where Kurds are conducting a separatist insurgency, human rights officials said. The group was halted as it prepared to depart Istanbul in buses for Diyarbakir in southeastern Turkey. Police declared their plans illegal, officials from Turkey's Human Rights Association (IHD) said. The police arrested the 128 people because they refused to disperse after being halted, they said. The arrested included several IHD members and officials from the pro-Kurdish People's Democracy Party, or Hadep. The IHD launched the initiative to organise the Diyarbakir ceremonies on Tuesday "to promote peace" between the Turkish government and the separatist Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK). Monday's arrests followed the announcement Friday night by PKK leader Abdullah Ocalan of an unconditional ceasefire beginning on Tuesday in the 14-year-old war with Turkish government forces. On Saturday, Prime Minister Mesut Yilmaz dismissed Ocalan's ceasefire offer, saying the government would never accept the rebel leader as a negotiating partner. Fighting continued on the eve of the announced unilateral ceasefire, with the PKK killing one soldier in a clash in eastern Turkey Monday and attacking a village near the Iranian border on Sunday. The PKK has been waging an armed rebellion against Ankara in the predominantly Kurdish southeast and east of Turkey since 1984 with the aim of creating an independent Kurdish state. More than 30,000 people have died in the violence. -- 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 ozgurluk at xs4all.nl Tue Sep 1 21:17:18 1998 From: ozgurluk at xs4all.nl (ozgurluk at xs4all.nl) Date: 01 Sep 1998 21:17:18 Subject: US plans to strike Iraq in October Message-ID: Diplomatic sources in Cairo say US has told "France, Russia, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and Egypt that it expect[s] to be supported in military operations against Iraq if Baghdad continued its current status." http://www.arabicnews.com/ansub/Daily/Day/980831/1998083148.html List info: english-request at ozgurluk.xs4all.nl From ozgurluk at xs4all.nl Wed Sep 2 17:42:38 1998 From: ozgurluk at xs4all.nl (ozgurluk at xs4all.nl) Date: 02 Sep 1998 17:42:38 Subject: Turkey's ex-PM Ciller faces new corruption probe Message-ID: ANKARA, Sept 1 (AFP) - A Turkish prosecutor Wednesday launched a fresh probe against conservative former premier Tansu Ciller who has been accused by the finance ministry of corruption. The ministry last week released a report which charged Ciller and her husband amassed assets through illegal means and tax evasion. Acting on the report, the Ankara prosecutor ordered a formal investigation into the finance ministry report, the Anatolia news agency said. Ciller and her husband, Ozer Ciller, may face trial if the prosecutor's preliminary report concludes they are guilty of corruption under Turkish law. But even if the prosecutor seeks Ciller's trial, parliament must first lift her immunity. Following the finance ministry report's release, Ciller denied allegations of corruption, accusing the government of Prime Minister Mesut Yilmaz, her conservative rival, of staging a plot against her. The national assembly in May approved a parliamentary inquiry into the sources of Ciller's wealth. That process is different from the prosecutor's probe launched Wednesday, but both may result in Ciller's trial. If tried, she and her husband may face up to 10 years in prison. Several newspapers reported that Ciller had illegally raised some 20 million dollars while prime minister between July 1993 and March 1996. Accusations include irregularities in the privatisation of some state-run enterprises. She denies the charges. Ciller says the accusations are aimed at affecting her True Path Party's chances in Turkey's planned general elections in April next year. List info: english-request at ozgurluk.xs4all.nl From ozgurluk at xs4all.nl Wed Sep 2 18:42:47 1998 From: ozgurluk at xs4all.nl (ozgurluk at xs4all.nl) Date: 02 Sep 1998 18:42:47 Subject: Turkey: Another 'criminal of conscience' imprisoned. Message-ID: Sept. 2 1998 Another 'criminal of conscience' imprisoned today Ankara - Turkish Daily News Feridun Yazar, a member of the assembly of the People's Democracy Party (HADEP), will go to jail for one year starting today because of his earlier speech made at a general convention of the People's Labor Party (HEP), which was outlawed on Sept. 19, 1992. Yazar will also have to pay a TL 100 million fine. "As we are about to enter the 21st century, Turkey still has uncivilized laws and a country where there is no freedom of speech. Turkey should stop imprisoning scientists, writers and journalists who express their thoughts," Nazmi Gur, the secretary-general of the Human Rights Association, commented on Tuesday. "The legal barriers in front of freedom of thought, freedom of assembly organization and freedom of the press still remain. Although they made promises, the present government has not taken further steps. If Turkey wants to overcome its serious problems, including the Kurdish problem, the barriers to freedom of thought and speech should be removed and an atmosphere of free discussion should be created," Gur said. -- 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 ozgurluk at xs4all.nl Fri Sep 4 20:59:59 1998 From: ozgurluk at xs4all.nl (ozgurluk at xs4all.nl) Date: 04 Sep 1998 20:59:59 Subject: CENSORED FILM TO BE SCREENED IN TURKEY AFTER 17 YEARS Message-ID: CENSORED FILM TO BE SCREENED IN TURKEY AFTER 17 YEARS ISTANBUL, Turkey (AP) -- Ending a 17-year ban, an award-winning film about the ordeal of Turkish prisoners will be shown in Turkish movie houses in November, the late director's wife announced Friday. The co-winner of the Cannes Film Festival's 1982 Golden Palm award, ``Yol'' (Road), by Turkish film director Yilmaz Guney, was screened at a few recent film festivals in Turkey but was never shown to large audiences here. At the time it came out, strict censorship banned anything that might undermined the Turkish state. Under pressure from human rights groups, the government has grown more lenient toward films in recent years. ``Midnight Express,'' which depicted harsh prison conditions and was long banned, was even shown on television. ``Yol,'' which follows a group of inmates on family leave, shows both prisoners and their families suffering at the hands of authorities. Guney, a leftist activist, started directing the film while still serving a 19-year sentence for murdering a prosecutor after a quarrel in a coffeehouse. While still incarcerated, he smuggled out sketches and instructions for the shots. He finally escaped from prison in 1981 and finished the film in Switzerland before dying in exile in 1984. ``We hope that anyone who believes in the freedoms of thought, art and the artist will support this film,'' Fatos Guney, the late director's wife and head of the Yilmaz Guney foundation, which campaigned for the lifting of the ban, said at a news conference Friday. ``Yol'' shared the Cannes award with an American film, ``Missing.'' -- 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 ozgurluk at xs4all.nl Fri Sep 4 22:09:12 1998 From: ozgurluk at xs4all.nl (ozgurluk at xs4all.nl) Date: 04 Sep 1998 22:09:12 Subject: Turkey - Not a Joke: Improving human rights Message-ID: Sept. 4 1998 Improving human rights The National Committee for Human Rights Education gathered on Thursday to prepare a proposal for amending human rights in the country and to define the role of education within such an amendment Ankara - Turkish Daily News The Republic of Turkey was established on the basis of the respect for human rights, said State Minister in Charge of Human Rights Hikmet Sami Turk, speaking at a meeting entitled the "National Committee of Ten Years of Human Rights Education." The meeting convened in the secretariat of the Supreme Coordination Council of Human Rights. "In impressing in people's minds the respect for human rights, education is of great importance. Children must be raised not only to defend their own rights but those of others, as well," Turk said. Reminding his audience that the United Nations has called the years between 1995-2004, "The ten years of human rights education," Turk said that the UN member countries will carry out activities and prepare national programs within this framework. The committee consists of 15 members. The Prime, Justice, Interior, Foreign Affairs, Education, Health and Culture ministries each have a representative in the committee, as well as four members from NGOs dealing with human rights issues and four academicians known for their works in the field. Representatives from the Helsinki Citizens' Association, the UN Turkish Association, the Anatolia Modern Education Foundation and the Action and Research Center for Women's Human Rights along with Professor Ioanna Kucuradi, Professor Tekin Akillioglu, Professor Mesut Gulmez and Associate Professor Oya Ciftci will also be on the committee. At the meeting, Professor Kucuradi was selected as chairwoman for the national committee and Education Ministry representative Mehmet Dugencioglu as deputy chairman. The committee, which will meet every month, will prepare a program proposal stipulating the implementation of the "UN's ten year plan for human rights education." -- 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 ozgurluk at xs4all.nl Fri Sep 4 23:00:30 1998 From: ozgurluk at xs4all.nl (ozgurluk at xs4all.nl) Date: 04 Sep 1998 23:00:30 Subject: Not A joke II: Turkey's anti-terrorism struggle is within constituti Message-ID: Sept. 5 1998 Denizkurdu: Turkey's anti-terrorism struggle is within constitution According to the Justice Minister, his ministry has taken no action concerning the proposed amnesty law. Istanbul - Turkish Daily News "The anti-terrorism struggle in Turkey is being carried out within the framework of the Constitution and under political, administrative and legal supervision," said Justice Minister Hasan Denizkurdu. He was speaking at the opening of the Council of Europe's (CE) Parliamentarian Assembly's Laws and Human Rights Commission Thursday at the Hilton Hotel in Istanbul. He drew a parallel between human rights and the fight against terrorism. "In a country in which terror is widespread and effective, human rights have to be guaranteed without any compromise. However, while doing this, no concessions must be made to terrorism." He acknowledged that there were instances when security forces might have to infringe on human rights in the course of their struggle with terrorism. The Justice Minister pointed out that after World War Two, the countries of Europe had started a process of uniting politically and legally, with the member states settling in democratic regimes. He stated that this process played an important role in bringing human rights forward. Denizkurdu further noted that there were as many as 170 signed agreements and hundreds of decisions taken which had contributed significantly to the unification of the member countries' laws. He emphasized, however, that the greatest impact was the European Human Rights Agreement and the establishment of the European Human Rights Court, because they made the concept of human rights concrete and lasting. The CE parliamentarians' two-day meeting has attracted participants from 40 member countries. Amnesty just a proposal Speaking with reporters following his speech to the CE parliamentarians, Denizkurdu said that his ministry had taken no action over the proposal of an amnesty for prisoners in jail. He pointed out that there was a draft which had been prepared by the Democratic Left Party (DSP) and, according to the Turkish Constitution, it was a matter for Parliament to handle. After Parliament opens following the summer recession, the draft may be put on the agenda. Denizkurdu however made it clear that his ministry was working on finding better ways for those who were in prison to use the rights which they already have. He did say though that if the amnesty bill passes in Parliament, it would not go into force before the beginning of next July and even then it would not apply to all prisoners. -text follows this line-- -- 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 ozgurluk at xs4all.nl Sun Sep 6 05:19:44 1998 From: ozgurluk at xs4all.nl (ozgurluk at xs4all.nl) Date: 06 Sep 1998 05:19:44 Subject: Netanyahu vows increased military cooperation with Turkey Message-ID: ANKARA, Sept 5 (AFP) - Israeli Premier Benjamin Netanyahu will propose a joint regional security system with Turkey during bilateral talks starting Monday, the Turkish daily Milliyet reported Saturday. "We are working to transform the Israeli-Turkish cooperation in the middle east into a regional security system," Netanyahu was quoted by the paper as saying, two days before his Turkish counterpart Mesut Yilmaz is to arrive in Israel. "We (Turkey and Israel) are surrounded by radical regimes that are developing ballistic missiles with non-conventional warheads and that are capable of firing them," he added. "These regimes constitute a serious threat," he said, alluding to Iran, which tested a ground-to-ground missile known as Shahab-3 in late July. Netanyahu said, "I hope that Jordan will participate in the system. I have already discussed the matter with the Crown Prince Hassan." Yilmaz arrives in Israel on Monday as part of a Middle East trip, with meetings also planned in Jordan and in Palestinian territories. It will be the second visit of a Turkish premier in Israel since 1993 and will mark the latest in a series of intensive visits between the two countries, which have boosted cooperation in recent years. Turkey and Israel signed two key military cooperation accords in 1996 over protests by several Arab countries, especially Syria and Egypt, as well as Iran, who say they are threatened by such accords. Netanyahu denied those charges, insisting the joint initiative "constitutes a step towards peace and stability in the region." Netanyahu pledged to boost economic ties with Turkey, calling increased cooperation "inevitable." Annual two-way trade between Turkey and Israel rose by some 30 percent and reached 650 million dollars last year, thanks to a free trade agreement that took effect in the summer of 1997. Asked about the faltering peace process, Netanyhu said he would ask Yilmaz to push Palestinian Authority chief Yasser Arafat to abolish the article in the Palestinian consitution calling for the destruction of Israel. "We want peace," he said. List info: english-request at ozgurluk.xs4all.nl From ozgurluk at xs4all.nl Mon Sep 7 07:01:31 1998 From: ozgurluk at xs4all.nl (ozgurluk at xs4all.nl) Date: 07 Sep 1998 07:01:31 Subject: OMCT - Urgent Actions for POW"s in Turkey Message-ID: TUR 030998 The International Secretariat of OMCT requests your URGENT intervention in the following situation in Turkey. Brief description of the situation: The International Secretariat has received information from reliable sources raising grave fears for the long term health of two Turkish prisoners, as a result of their treatment in Prison. According to information received, Leyla Buyukdag Butuner, a female prisoner of Gebze Prison, (40kms from Istambul) requires urgent medical treatment on her eyes. Unless action is taken urgently it is feared that she will go blind. In a report of the 6th April the Haseki hospital stated that she was suffering from myopic retinal degeneration which confirmed an earlier report and recommended immediate treatment. On 21 July following a deterioration in her sight doctors from the Cerrahpasa Hospital recommended that she receive treatment in the Forensic Medical Centre. The information states that delays in the official procedures are preventing her treatment. The information states that Leyla Buyukdag Butuner is serving a 12 and a half year sentence on charges of belonging to an illegal organisation. It is alleged that, during a series of detentions in the period 1987 - 19= 90, she was subjected to torture. Medical examinations attribute her sight deterioration to the treatment inflicted. Case 2: Having taken part in a lengthy hunger strike in 1996, Mr Ergun Butuner a prisoner of Bayrampasa hospital began suffering from a medical condition known as Wernicke - Korsakoff syndrome. In an examination report of 16th March 1998, the Forensic Council of the Hospital of Bakirkoy recommended that " the execution of the prison term given to him should be suspended". A further examination by the Istanbul Faculty of medicine suggested that his condition was incurable. Given the appalling conditions of Turkish Jails there are grave fears for the long term physical and psychological integrity of Ergun Butuner. In both cases the Turkish Constitution allows the President of Turkey to pardon the prisoners. Furthermore, article 399 of the Code of Criminal Procedure stipulates that if any illness imperils the convicts life the punishment can be suspended until the prisoner recovers. Under present legislation a prison term can be suspended on the recommendation of the Forensic Medicine Institute, however, such formal procedures can take many months indeed years. Action requested: Please write to the Turkish authorities urging them to : i. guarantee the physical and psychological integrity of both Leyla Buyukdag Butuner and Ergun Butuner; ii. order their immediate transfer of the above to an appropriate medical centre in accordance with Turkish law; iii Ensure that such treatment should extend to a period in accordance with their medical need; iii.ensure in all circumstances respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms in accordance with national laws and international standards. Addresses: President Suleyman Demirel, Office of the President, Cumhur Baskanligi, 06100 Ankara. Fax : + 90 312 427 13 30 Telegram : President Demirel, Ankara, Turkey. Prime Minister M. Yilmaz, office of the Prime Minister, Basbakanlik, 06573= Ankara, Turkey. Fax : + 90 312 417 0476 Mrs. Ismail Cem, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Foreign Affairs,= Disisleri Bakanligi 06100 Ankara Turkey. Fax : + 90 312 419 15 47 Mr. Olatan Sungurlu, Minister of Justice, Adalet Bakanligi, 06659, Ankara, Turkey. Fax: + 90 312 417 39 17 Mr. Basegioglu, Ministre de l=92Int=E9rieur, Fax : + 90 312 419 16 64 Geneva, 3 September 1998 Kindly inform us of any action undertaken quoting the code of this appeal in your reply. -- 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 ozgurluk at xs4all.nl Mon Sep 7 07:04:23 1998 From: ozgurluk at xs4all.nl (ozgurluk at xs4all.nl) Date: 07 Sep 1998 07:04:23 Subject: Turkish police detain "pro-PKK" girl street dancers Message-ID: ANKARA, Sept 7 (AFP) - Turkish police detained four girls aged 11 to 15 whom they accused of "street-dancing to collect money" for the armed separatist Kurdish movement, newspapers said Monday. The incident, which caused public outrage, took place last week in the Aegean port of Izmir, the left-wing Istanbul daily Radikal said. It said the girls had set up a charity group organising street dance shows to collect money to help the city's poor. But the four were detained by plain-clothes police while performing in the Karsiyaka district, as the banners of their charity group were painted in red, yellow and green. The three colours are present in the flag of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party, or PKK, which has been waging a separatist war in southeast Turkey for 14 years. The four children were interrogated at a police station for several hours for their possible links with the PKK before being released without charge. Their parents accused the police of brutality and illegal action and are seeking their punishment, Radikal said. But Karsiyaka police chief Unsal Kaya defended the action, saying his officers had the right to investigate matters related to terrorism. He also criticised the parents for letting their children "act like beggars on the streets." List info: english-request at ozgurluk.xs4all.nl From ozgurluk at xs4all.nl Tue Sep 8 06:18:59 1998 From: ozgurluk at xs4all.nl (ozgurluk at xs4all.nl) Date: 08 Sep 1998 06:18:59 Subject: Turkey: State Gangs Like a Garbage Dump Waiting to Explode Message-ID: 30 August , 1998, Turkish Probe issue 294 State Gangs Like a Garbage Dump Waiting to Explode Obstacle Due to state gangs having direct connection with the MIT, it's very hard to sustain the struggle against them. Furthermore, cooperation between the gangs and the politicians represents a real obstacle in weeding out the gangs from the government Connections confirmed Investigations are continuing against two senior MIT administrators, Mehmet Eymur and Yavuz Atac, whose connections with illegal gangs have been confirmed Weeded out Ultra-nationalist gangs, which have been performing dirty work for the MIT for the last 20 years, are collapsing as their connections in government offices are being weeded out Names divulged During an investigation conducted by the Parliamentary Commission concerning the Susurluk incident, Hanefi Avci, the deputy chief of intelligence, divulged connections and the names of senior officials that provide protection to gang leaders KEMAL BALCI Gangs within the state remind me of the Mamak garbage dump, located in the eastern section of Turkey's capital, Ankara. The mountain of garbage that has accumulated through years of governmental neglect has developed into the source of a huge stench in Ankara. Government officials have been unable to perceive the smell; however the dump has steadily became a threat to public health. Smoke created by the occasional fire at the site envelops the blue sky, sending a warning to those in positions of responsibility that if the necessary precautions are not taken within a reasonable period of time, the entire dump will explode like a bomb, and all that filth will blanket Ankara, just like the incident experienced at Istanbul's Umraniye garbage dump. The government is now fully occupied with another source of filth similar to the one in Mamak. The state gangs, which have developed into an enormous problem through years of neglect, emitting the bad odor of a warning signal for a long time, have finally developed into a blaze that has not been able to be extinguished for the last two years, and as a result could not be hidden from the public. If the government continues to neglect the stench and fails to abandon its usual ignorant approach, it will be faced with a "methane" explosion that will claim many lives and, at the very least, will smear filth onto countless people. Two years ago, a traffic accident that occurred in the Susurluk township of Balikesir exposed the existence of a state-mafia-politics triangle. A super-luxurious Mercedes ran full-speed into a truck, killing Chief of Police Huseyin Kocadag, an "ultra-nationalist" gang leader, along with alleged murderer Abdullah Catli and his girlfriend, Gonca Us. True Path Party (DYP) Urfa deputy and clan chieftain Sedat Bucak escaped the accident with some injuries. Special assassination guns, special bullets, forged identifications and false gun licenses signed by Mehmet Agar, the former minister of the interior, were found scattered about the car. The ominous incident, which occurred while a fugitive gang leader and a multiple-homicide suspect, a senior member of the police and a parliamentary deputy were sharing the same vehicle, was instrumental in disclosing the state-mafia-politics triangle. Two years have passed since the accident, but the after-effects of this conspiracy, later called the "Susurluk Gang," are still being felt. The recent arrest of Alaattin Cakici in France made it mandatory for the government to probe the state structure to ascertain the gang leaders' connections within the government. When Cakici was apprehended along with his private guard and his girlfriend, he was carrying a diplomatic passport, which suggested that the Susurluk Gang maintains high-level relationships within the government. Cakici's arrest was carried out as a result of highly confidential cooperation between the National Intelligence Organization (MIT) and the French police. The date of this arrest coincided with the date of a wedding reception arranged for the son of former Interior Minister Agar, whose name has often surfaced in connection with state-mafia cooperation, suggesting that the housecleaning operation was very carefully engineered. The wedding reception was turned into a show of "reconciliation with the government and a purification of the allegations of crime" by Agar. It was announced beforehand that Kenan Evren, leader of the Sept. 12 coup and the ensuing period's president, as well as current President Suleyman Demirel were both invited to be witnesses for the bride and groom. Those who had decided to destroy the gangs within the government, however, arranged for Cakici's being apprehended in France on the same day, preventing the reception from accomplishing its purpose. Upon being informed of the arrest, Demirel changed his mind at the very last minute and did not attend the reception. Once they heard about the arrest, many influential businessman left the reception. Although Cakici was apprehended during the day, the operation was kept secret until 8:30 p.m., the time of the marriage ceremony, seen as a part of the plan. A red diplomatic passport found on Cakici made it inevitable that the state gang would be the target. During an investigation conducted by the parliamentary commission on the Susurluk incident, Hanefi Avci, the deputy chief of intelligence, had divulged connections and the names of senior officials who were providing protection to gang leaders. Avci explained to the commission that the first official to contact Cakici in 1987 was Senkal Atasagun, currently serving as undersecretary of the MIT, and that this relationship had been perpetuated through Yavuz Atac, also a senior official with the MIT. Avci also revealed a connection of a questionable nature between Cakici and Mehmet Eymur of the MIT. Following a brief investigation, it was easily substantiated that the red passport found on Cakici had been illegally prepared and issued by the MIT's Atac. It was also reported that Cakici had travelled to Beijing just to pick up the passport, but Atac later stated that the passport had been delivered to Cakici in Malaysia. Due to his continued affiliation with the mafia, Atac was supposedly "exiled" to Beijing a year ago, where he was able to steal the red passport. Allegations pertaining to this theft were at first vigorously denied by the Foreign Ministry; however it was soon discovered that a passport was in fact missing. It was also indicated that the passport had initially been prepared by Atac to be provided to Mehmet Can Kulaksizoglu, suspected of being the mastermind behind the assassination attempt on Human Rights Association (IHD) Chairman Akin Birdal. While the official procedures are ongoing for the extradition of Cakici, whose name has also surfaced in connection with the assassination of acclaimed columnist Ugur Mumcu, killed by a bomb planted in his car, many other fugitive gang leaders from the ultra-nationalist wing have been apprehended one after another by security forces, every one of whom has been accused of multiple homicides and kidnappings as well as extortion and illegally manipulating state tenders. The National Security Council (MGK), defining the ultra-nationalist wing as a "primary threat," has been instrumental in identifying the proper approach to the issue of gangs. Cakici stayed at the Buyuk Ankara Hotel on Jan. 22-23, 1993 in rooms 704 and 806; Ugur Mumcu was assassinated on Jan. 24. Tevfik Diker, a member of the investigation committee, was able to locate the hotel invoices. It is also reported that on Oct. 31, three days prior to the Susurluk accident, both Agar and Cakici stayed at the Princess Hotel in Kusadasi. According to hotel records, Cakici stayed in Room 1242, while Huseyin Kocadag, Abdullah Catli, and Sedat Bucak were also among the hotel's guests. Cakici's girlfriend, Asli Yaka, the daughter of celebrated designer Canan Yaka and well-known singer Selcuk Ural, was with Cakici at the time of his arrest in France. The friendship between Cakici and Asli Yaka's father is purported to go back many years. Ural's name had previously come to light when underworld personality Tevfik Agansoy was murdered upon Cakici's orders. It has been suggested that it was Ural who informed Cakici of Agansoy's arrival at the Deniz Cafe, the scene of his murder. During the incident, Ural barely saved his life by jumping into the sea; however his female companion was killed, and Ferda Temel, Tansu Ciller's bodyguard who accompanied Agansoy at the time, was injured. Temel was caught red-handed by police only last week in the course of committing extortion with his gang. Cakici was married to Ugur Kilic, the daughter of another mafia leader, Dundar Kilic; however he also had her killed Bursa's Uludag district. Kilic stated that he tried everything in his power to avenge his daughter's death, but his men were unable to locate Cakici anywhere in the world. Kilic indicated that Ural had often visited Cakici when married to his daughter. Avci revealed MIT links a year ago Hanefi Avci, the former deputy chairman of the Security Department's intelligence section, disclosed the mafia's relations with the MIT and named names when he testified at the special Susurluk Commission a year ago. During his testimony, Avci described the establishment of mafia-state relations as follows: "As the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party's (PKK) activities speed up and became more serious, some state officials began to think that the state could not fight effectively enough against PKK members and those who supported the illegal organization by legal means. They began to believe that the PKK should be combatted by making use of illegal methods. For the first time, Cem Ersever, a member of the Gendarmerie's Intelligence and Anti-terror Unit (JITEM), undertook such [illegal] activities. Ersever was killed, along with his girlfriend and bodyguard, and the murderer has not been found. Groups which were meant to operate illegally have been established, particularly in order to fight against the financiers and drug smugglers in Istanbul that have allegedly been financially supporting the PKK. Active elements providing support to the PKK have been silenced [Avci is referring to the murder of Behcet Canturk and Savas Buldan]. However, as the groups later completed their work and there was no concrete base [i.e. enemy] to fight against, these groups, consisting of officials and civilians, engaged in mafia-style illegal activities in order to obtain a profit for themselves." Avci stated that these illegal groups were formed from various state organs and were controlled by various state authorities. The illegally established group within the Security Department was under the authority of then Security Department Chairman Mehmet Agar, Avci said, adding that this group consisted of special policemen, tied to Special Action Department Deputy Chief Ibrahim Sahin, and of civilians associated with retired Lt Col. Korkut Eken. Avci stressed that one head of a similar illegal group within the MIT was Mehmet Eymur. Explaining that these groups had silenced businessmen and drug smugglers of Kurdish origin, such as Behcet Canturk and Savas Buldan, Avci asserted that the bombing of daily Ozgur Gundem, a pro-Kurdish newspaper defending the PKK, had been carried out by them as well. The police and gendarmerie had not yet interfered in the activities of these groups, which then began to extort money from rich businessmen, Avci stressed. Mahmut Yildirim, code-named "Yesil," who has long been sought in connection with various murders, was used by MIT member Eymur and his friends, declared Avci. According to Avci's statements, an escape on the part of Nurullah Tevfik Agansoy (who was later killed at the order of his close friend, Cakici) had been engineered by MIT officer Atac, and the MIT also helped Cakici and his comrades. Avci also attested to the fact that Erol Evcil, a businessmen from Bursa, had hired Cakici on several occasions. Most recently, Evcil agreed to give $2 million to Cakici in order to wipe out people who had prevented him from opening a bank. Avci said that Cakici had spoken to MIT official Atac and that they had devised a plan together to eliminate these people. According to Avci's testimony, Hadi Ozcan, whose name is associated with the Kocaeli gang has also had relations with the MIT. Noncommissioned officer Duran Firat, working at the MIT, was Eymur's representative for his dirty dealings with the illegal gangs and mafia groups, doing Eymur's errands, Avci claimed. Disagreements occurred between Agar's and Eymur's groups concerning the murder of MIT member Tarik Umit and the kidnapping of one Mehmet Ali Yaprak, Avci explained. A certain "political group played a role in the appointment of Orhan Tasanlar" to the Istanbul Security Department, and later, with the support of the gambling mafia, Tasanlar was appointed governor of Bursa, Avci alleged. Eymur always had a leading role The name of Mehmet Eymur initially came to light with the first MIT report in 1987. Being the author of this controversial report, Eymur was subsequently forced to retire on June 10, 1987, and later went into the ice-producing business in Antalya in partnership with retired Lt Col. Korkut Eken, however, this partnership ended in a fight between the two partners. After Tansu Ciller became prime minister in 1995, Eymur was assigned back to the MIT as head of the counter-terrorism office. During the investigations related to the Susurluk incident, Eymur accused Ibrahim Sahin, head of the Special Operations department, and some police officers on the Special Team of being responsible for the murder of Tarik Umit. Eymur also indicated that the murder was committed by Catli at the order of Sahin and pointed out that fugitive Mahmut Yildirim was under Sahin's protection as well. Following Mesut Yilmaz's becoming prime minister, Eymur was removed from his duties and assigned to Washington, however, he was called back to Turkey in June 1998 to consult with investigators on a report against Senkal Atasagun, the undersecretary of the MIT. Eymur's spouse, Janset Eymur, reported that her husband repeatedly had requested to remove Atac from his duties with the MIT due to his affiliation with mafia organizations, and made it known that Atac was leaking confidential information to the mafia. "Despite my husband's efforts, Atasagun always protected Atac. As a result of Atasagun pitting Atac against my husband, Atac walked into my husband's office with a handgun under his belt, resulting in a physical confrontation and a fist fight. Disciplinary action was taken unjustly against my husband, while Atac, on the other hand, was sent abroad by Atasagun with his girlfriend, Neyzi, to conduct an operation with Alattin Cakici," she alleged. Janset Eymur further indicated that these incidents are known by all MIT administrators and their spouses, adding that these accusations would be publicized in the near future. She said: "Who issued the red diplomatic passport? Who delegated authority to Cakici, and who is providing protection to Mehmet Kulaksizoglu, the key figure in the attempted murder of IHD Chairman Akin Birdal? And which MIT administrators are protecting characters like Yavuz Atac and Kasif Kozanoglu? All this will eventually be made public." Kozanoglu is known to be a major in the military, and the periodical Aydinlik once claimed that he was the liaison between a special organization established by Ciller and the special state organizations. Kulaksizoglu was found to be the mastermind behind the Birdal assassination attempt and is known to be involved in activities for the revitalization of the illegal Turkish Revenge Brigade (TIT). Semih Tufan Gulaltay, one of the gang leaders involved in the Birdal assassination attempt, stated at a court hearing that Kulaksizoglu had maintained close cooperation with MIT member Atac. "Kulaksizoglu often went to Beijing to visit Atac," disclosed Gulaltay. Another fugitive, Oya Kaya, once told the police that her boyfriend, Kulaksizoglu, was so loyal to Atac that he "would not hesitate to kill his own children if Atac ordered him to do so." Multi-pronged interrogation Gangs within the state were also on the agenda of the National Security Council (MGK) meeting on Monday. An MGK decision to clean up ultra-nationalist gangs was looked at once again. Cakici, an ultra-nationalist gang boss, has been arrested in France. Deputy Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit admitted on Sunday that Atac had provided Cakici's red passport. Atac, a close friend of Cakici, had been "sent into exile" on Oct. 24, 1997, to Beijing. It has been discovered that Cakici went to Beijing in Nov. 1997 in order to get the red passport from Atac. At Prime Minister Mesut Yilmaz's order, Atac was recalled to Ankara. MIT Undersecretary Atasagun, has presented a dossier to Yilmaz which recommends discharging Eymur and Atac from their posts. Another ultra-nationalist gang chiefs, Kursat Yilmaz, has been arrested in Bulgaria. At the same time, Hadi Ozcan has been arrested and is being tried for commanding the Kocaeli gang. The day Cakici was arrested in France, Sedat Peker came to Turkey on a special airplane and surrendered to the police. Peker's interrogation continues. Another detainee, Kasim Gencyilmaz, is being tried for his illegal activities in Ankara and its environs. Due to state gangs having direct connections to the MIT, it is very hard to sustain the struggle against the gangs. And furthermore, cooperation between gangs and the politicians represent a real obstacle in weeding out the gangs from the government. The action initiated against gangs by President Demirel indicating that "the issue should be pursued right to the end" has apparently run into a solid wall. It is not yet known whether the clean-up operation initiated within the MIT be concluded. It is assumed that MIT Undersecretary Atasagun really meant business when he stated that the senior officials having connections with the underworld would all be fired. His approach to the issue has vital importance for Atasagun's professional career. If the operation ends with no result, he will be forced to resign. Until 1992, the MIT had always been administered under an undersecretariat chaired by a general; however this practice was changed by late former President Turgut Ozal. The dirty MIT-mafia cooperation started during the same time period. Many mafia leaders accused of homicides, kidnappings, extortion and of illegally manipulating state tenders were used by the MIT and the entire situation got completely out of control. It is assumed that the Susurluk scandal is the main reason why "resuming the old structure within the MIT and its being placed under the supervision of a general' is often being voiced. -- 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 ozgurluk at xs4all.nl Tue Sep 8 18:23:18 1998 From: ozgurluk at xs4all.nl (ozgurluk at xs4all.nl) Date: 08 Sep 1998 18:23:18 Subject: Turkey, Israel: 'Unprecedented Ties' Message-ID: 30 August, 1998, Turkish Probe issue 294 Copyright Turkish Daily News Turkey, Israel: 'Unprecedented Ties' Portentous development Israeli-Turkish ties are the most portentous development in this area and they have not been impeded by subsequent difficulties in the peace process Harmful link Yet, the Israeli-Turkish link may have a negative impact on the Arab-Israeli peace process, on U.S. influence with the Ankara regime, and on other policies of importance to U.S. interests in the region Historical ties Israeli-Turkish relations are founded on historical cordiality between Turks and Jews, and are motivated by the self-interest of each side Military might The most significant component of the Turkish-Israeli relationship thus far has been military. Landmark agreements on military cooperation in February 1996 and on military industrial cooperation in April 1996 have produced unprecedented military exercises and training, arms sales, and strategic talks Similar or not? Turkish officials described the military cooperation accord as comparable to those Turkey has concluded with many countries. Other agreements, however, have been far less publicized and controversial, and lack comparable 'strategic' significance Trade on rise The civilian dimension of the new partnership is expanding rapidly, spurred by a 1996 Free Trade Agreement and resulting increases in nonmilitary trade. Both countries projected that their trade would grow to $1 billion annually by 2000 Trade off training Israeli pilots are afforded the opportunity to fly in Turkey's expansive airspace, while Turkish pilots benefit from access to Israel's air combat maneuvering instrumentation range in the Negev and training on early warning systems. All airmen gain experience flying over different terrain "This report provides an overview of the unprecedented developments in the relations between two important U.S. allies, Israel and Turkey," says the abstract part of the report prepared by Carol Migdalowitz on Turkish-Israeli relations to be presented to the U.S. Congress. "Agreements reached in the Arab-Israeli peace process from 1993 until 1995 made relations between Israel and its Arab and Muslim neighbors more acceptable in the latter circles. Israeli-Turkish ties are the most portentous development in this area and they have not been impeded by subsequent difficulties in the peace process," it goes on. In the introduction part of the report, it is not ruled out that the policy implications may not be as positive as U.S. officials, who have applauded enhanced ties between two close U.S. allies as contributing to regional peace and security, have suggested. "Yet, the Israeli-Turkish link may have a negative impact on the Arab-Israeli peace process, on U.S. influence with the Ankara regime, and on other policies of importance to U.S. interests in the region," it says. History Israeli-Turkish relations are founded on historical cordiality between Turks and Jews, and are motivated by the self-interest of each side. History may help explain why Turkish-Israeli ties have survived despite the impasse in the Arab-Israeli peace process since 1996 and why some Arab criticism has been both so scathing and without effect. To some extent, Turkish-Arab relations have been more antagonistic than friendly. Turkey used to be the core of the Ottoman Empire, ruler of the Arab domains, and there is residual Arab resentment of this overlordship. Some Arabs hold the Ottomans responsible for failing to stop the growth of the Jewish community in Palestine and thus for bestowing the Zionist presence and Arab-Israeli conflict on the region. Although expressing solidarity with Arabs as a Muslim brother, Turkey believes, however, that the Arabs and Iran have not reciprocated on issues that Ankara considers vital national interests; Cyprus, the Turkish Muslims in the Greek region of Thrace, and the Armenian conquest to territory of Turkic Azerbaijan. Military The most significant component of the Turkish-Israeli relationship thus far has been military. Landmark agreements on military cooperation in February 1996 and on military industrial cooperation in April 1996 have produced unprecedented military exercises and training, arms sales, and strategic talks. The architects are [former] Deputy Chief of the Turkish General Staff Gen. Cevik Bir and Senior Advisor to the Israeli Minister of Defense Ret. Maj. Gen. David Ivri. Military cooperation ranging from joint training exercises, exchange of military observers at each other's exercises, reciprocal port access for naval vessels, and reciprocal training of unarmed military aircraft in each other's air spaces. Concerning the military industry cooperation, the following are mentioned in the report: The reciprocal arms sales, the ongoing modernization of Turkish F-4s with Israeli know-how as well as the modernization project involving Turkish F-5s, the other projects of co-producing Israeli Popeye-I and Popeye-II air-to-surface missiles, Turkish purchase of F-16 fuel tanks from Israel, the Israeli proposal to upgrade Turkish M-69 tanks and sell Merkava tanks to Turkey, Israel's joint ventures with Russian Kamov and Italian Agusta helicopter companies to win a Turkish bid to produce attack helicopter, the sale of Turkish-built armored cars to Israel, and the recent reports of agreement between the two countries to build long-range Arrow anti-aircraft missiles. Each country's unarmed planes exercise in the other's airspace for one week for times a year. Eight Israeli F-16 fighter aircraft first trained in Turkish airspace in April 1996. That June, 12 Turkish planes flew in Israel. Exercises have since occurred regularly. Israeli pilots are afforded the opportunity to fly in Turkey's expansive airspace, while Turkish pilots benefit from access to Israel's air combat maneuvering instrumentation range in the Negev and training on early warning systems. All airmen gain experience flying over different terrain. High level Turkish military and Israeli Defense Ministry officials hold "strategic talks" twice yearly. Turkish officials described the military cooperation accord as comparable to those Turkey has concluded with many countries. Other agreements, however, have been far less publicized and controversial, and lack comparable "strategic" significance. Civilian The civilian dimension of the new partnership is expanding rapidly, spurred by a 1996 Free Trade Agreement and resulting increases in nonmilitary trade. Both countries projected that their trade would grow to $1 billion annually by 2000. It is sometimes assumed that Israel is the main beneficiary of the commercial relationship. Yet, the trade balance favors Turkey. In the first year of the FTA, Turkey sent $391 million exports to Israel, while importing $229 million in goods. At a December 1997 Israeli-Turkish Business Council meeting, some 90 Turkish companies were represented, compared to 40 Israeli ones. In other fields, an agricultural protocol provided for Israel to train technicians from Turkey's huge Southeast Anatolia Project (GAP) and for Israel to establish a demonstration farm in that region. Educational exchanges are increasing, while cooperation in health is anticipated. Israel also is interested in access to oil and gas from Turkey should Turkey's ambition to become a major pipeline route for energy resources from the Caucasus and Central Asia be realized. Turkey's motivations Turkey had been concerned about what it viewed as detrimental repercussions from a possible Israeli-Syrian peace agreement and wanted to be consulted. Regarding that agreement, Turkey first was concerned that a possible redeployment of Syrian troops from the vicinity of the Golan Heights might result in a Syrian military build up along the Turkish border. That agreement between Israel and Syria might lead to a greater Syrian control over activities of the Lebanese Shia Hizbollah guerillas in southern Lebanon. This, Turkey feared, could prompt the United States to remove Syria from the U.S. State Department list of states supporting terrorism before Syria ended its support for the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK). Ankara also sought to send a cautionary message to Damascus about its aid to the PKK, which has been "waging a guerilla war in the southeast of Turkey since 1984." Ankara had become frustrated with Damascus and may have wanted to send it a strong signal by making it feel surrounded by antagonists. Other Turkish grievances include Syrian use of Arab forums en lieu of bilateral negotiations to vent its complaints over Euphrates water-sharing, and pique at Syrian maps which continue to depict the Turkish province of Hatay. There was also some unease that Turkey's abundant water resources might be considered in calculations to facilitate an agreement over water resources in the Golan. Moreover, Turkey needed a response to Greece's policy of encircling it with military agreements, including an unsubstantiated agreement with Syria, which was signed in July 1995, giving the Greek armed forces to Syrian air and naval bases. Finally, the Israeli connection enables Turkey to circumvent U.S. and European arms embargoes, "because of its record of human rights violations, policy toward its Kurdish population, bilateral disputes with Greece, or the unresolved Cyprus issue." Turkey believes these sanctions are the influence of anti-Turkish ethnic lobbies in Congress. Purchase of Israeli arms allows Turkey to avoid strictures of politically conditioned European and U.S. sales, and possibly to mitigate the anti-Turkish policies of governments competing with Israel to sell arms to Turkey. Turkey has also increasingly expressed concern about the potential for proliferation of weapons of mass destruction in its neighborhood, notably in Iraq and Iran. It welcomes the opportunity to collaborate with the Israelis on deterrents such as theater missile defense. Israel's motivations Israel's motivations somehow changed with the government turnover in 1996. Establishing and warming relations with Arab and Muslim nations had been a cornerstone of former Israeli Foreign/Prime Minister Shimon Peres' vision of a "New Middle East." Peres appreciated Turkey's importance in the region and thought that it might serve as a bridge to other Muslim countries, even though Turkey is officially a secular state. By 1996, the Israeli government also may have become frustrated with its peace talks with Syria and wanted to exert pressure on Syria from another perspective. The current Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu echoes Turkey's criticism of Syrian support for terrorism, expressly including both Hizbollah and the PKK. Israel initially perceived Turkey as a bridge to the Arab and Muslim worlds, but also may have wanted to vent its frustrations over what it views as Syria's intransigence in peace talks. Israel has found a more lasting commonality with Turkey on anti-terrorism and in military and civilian trade. Israel also is greatly concerned about Iran's potential to produce weapons of mass destruction. Turkey borders Iran and many assume that Israel planes flying in Turkish airspace gather intelligence on Iran, Iraq, Syria. It is uncertain if Turkey would allow Israel to use Turkish airspace for a strike on Iran's non-conventional weapons infrastructure similar to the Israeli attack on Iraq's Osiraq nuclear facility in 1981. Israel benefits from Syria, Iran and others having to consider the possibility of Turkey providing Israel with intelligence and other non-combat assistance in the event of confrontation. Even though the Israeli Turkish relationship is not one in which either partner is committed to come to the defense of the other in case of a war, it enables Israel to augment its strategic superiority in the region. Finally, the contracts for military sales have boosted Israel's defense industry. Israeli Aircraft Industry has been in particularly bad shape before the F-4 and F-5 contracts, but has been rebuild largely on the strength of the Turkish deals. Domestic criticisms There is only mild domestic dissent in Turkey and Israel over enhanced relations. Some governments in the region have reacted more forcefully. Some Turkish politicians are wary of appearing too pro-Israel and traditionally are very sympathetic to the Palestinians. They are troubled by the impasse in Israeli-Palestinian peace talks and by some of Israel's actions regarding Jerusalem and the West Bank. Deputy Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit and cabinet members from the Democratic Left Party (DSP) articulate this view. The intensity of Arab criticism of Turkey-Israeli relations however, even prompted the powerful Turkish General Staff, the preeminent advocate of ties with Israel, to intercede with some Arab governments, as seen in Chief of General Staff Gen. Ismail Hakki Karadayi's visit to Cairo in December 1997. There were also ambivalent voices from Turkey's 25,000-member Jewish community. Some strongly supported the bilateral ties while some were apprehensive about the dangers of raising their profile through the relationship in the event that it goes wrong, especially given popular Islamist feelings in Turkey. Some non-Jewish Turkish commentators quietly express their concern that the relationship is developing artificially fast and cannot be sustained. They are guarded in their comments, lest the Turkish military react. A few Israeli voices are skeptical. One cautioned against providing Turkey with missiles, fearing that they might ultimately be used against Israel, should Turkey be taken over by a fundamentalist regime. Some in the Israeli Foreign Ministry are reportedly concerned about the Defense Ministry's pace of improving ties with Turkey and disregard of the adverse regional reactions. Regional criticisms Syria, viewing itself as the unstated target of the new allies, has mobilized Arab and Islamic condemnation, reached out to Baghdad to indicate possibilities of a counter-bloc, but eventually opened a dialogue with Turkey. Egypt's reaction has been moderate in bilateral talks with Ankara, but negative in multilateral Arab and Muslim forums. Jordan has attended some Turkish-Israeli events, but has pointedly noted that its actions were in response to invitations from Ankara, not Israel, while peace talks are stalled. Greek officials and some in Cyprus are concerned that Israeli military and intelligence assistance to Turkey might eventually be used against them, and direct their criticism to Jerusalem. The U.S. government views Israeli-Turkish relations positively, as contributing to regional peace and stability. Possible effects on other U.S. policy priorities in the region are not yet clear. The U.S.-Israeli Free Trade Agreement and the Arms Export Control Act may be implicated in individual Israel-Turkish deals. Regional Turkey, not Israel, has been the predominant target of Arab and Iranian opposition to the Turkish-Israeli romance. History has bequeathed some antagonism to Arab-Turkish relations. Due in part to this legacy, reaction in the region to the Israeli-Turkish relationship has been largely negative. In general, Turks care little about Arab opinion relating to its developing ties with Israel, with some civilian politicians more concerned than the military proponents of the relationship. Syria Reflecting its position as an unstated target of the Turkish-Israeli collaboration, Syria has taken the lead in voicing opposition and in marshalling regional concern. It engineered a June 1996 Arab summit resolution calling on Turkey to reconsider its military accord with Israel. In December 1997, Syria's ally Iran hosted an Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC) summit where a resolution called for reconsideration of military cooperation with Israel. Turkey was not named in the resolution, but it is the only Muslim country that cooperates with Israel militarily. President Suleyman Demirel departed from the summit early. Summit attendees reportedly were appalled that Israeli Defense Minister Yitzhak Mordechai was visiting Turkey at the same time as their meeting. Syrian Foreign Minister Faruq Al-Shara charged that the agreement was "a very dangerous development." He told some Arab foreign ministers in June 1997 that the Turkish-Israeli military cooperation "constitutes a threat to the security of Arab countries and stability in the Middle East." Vice President Abd al-Halim Khaddam called it a "satanic alliance" aimed at giving Israel and Turkey regional hegemony under U.S. cover. He argued that the planned January 1998 Israeli-Turkish-U.S.search and rescue exercise only encouraged Israel to continue its aggression and was a conspiracy against Arab and Islamic states, mainly Syria, Iraq and Iran. Syrian and other Arab officials and commentators categorically rejected assurances that the exercise was not a war game. Turkish-Israeli ties probably are among the reasons for improved relations between Syria and Iraq. In May and June 1997, Damascus made overtures to Baghdad to give the impression that a regional counter bloc to the Turkish-Israeli connection was conceivable. Borders between Syria and Iraq were opened for the first time in 16 years, a Syrian trade delegation visited Baghdad, ministerial visits were exchanged and discussions led to a July 1998 decision to reopen oil pipelines from Iraq to Syria and Lebanon. In 1998, Syria has shifted its approach, softened its rhetoric slightly and begun a dialogue with Turkey. In February, Damascus received a Turkish Foreign Ministry official. In March, the Syrian and Turkish foreign ministers met on the sidelines of an OIC meeting, which did not issue a statement on Turkish-Israeli cooperation for the first time since 1996. In May there were unconfirmed reports that Syria had closed down a PKK camp near Damascus as a goodwill gesture. In July, Adnan Omran, the undersecretary of the Syrian foreign ministry visited Ankara ostensibly to prepare for a visit by Turkish Foreign Minister Ismail Cem to Damascus. Syrian media said that Syria had conditioned talks on outstanding issues such as the PKK and Euphrates River water-sharing and on Turkey delaying military cooperation with Israel. That cooperation may be so important to Turkey now, however, that it will probably continue to stymie a productive dialogue with Damascus. After the Syrian official's visit, Cem noted that the atmosphere had not yet been created for him to visit Damascus. During a July 7 visit to Israel, Cem declared, "Despite the harsh criticism against us in the Arab world over our special relations with Israel, we have no intention of sacrificing these relations or lowering their profile." Egypt Egyptian officials have accepted Turkey's explanations of ties with Israel in bilateral meetings with Turkish military and civilian leaders. In pan-Arab concaves or when not in the company of Turks, however, Egypt as leader of the Arab world, has been more disapproving of Israeli-Turkish relations and sympathetic to the concerns of its Arab brother, Syria. Foreign minister Amr Musa has said that the Turkish-Israeli relationship will have negative consequences on the strategic situation in the region. Jordan Jordan has a peace treaty with Israel and friendly ties with Turkey. It sent an observer to the Israel-Turkey-U.S. search and rescue exercise in January 1998. A high-ranking Jordanian military officer attended the semiannual Israeli-Turkish strategic talks in May 1998. The extent to which Jordan lends its presence to such activities gives the developing Turkish-Israeli relationship a broader regional gloss and lends credence to those who say it could be a force for regional peace and stability. Palestinian authority Palestinian officials have stated their lack of opposition to intensified Turkish-Israeli ties, but also have indicated that they would like Ankara to use its influence with Israel to advance the peace process. Greece Greece's difficult bilateral relationship with Turkey is largely responsible for its negative reaction to developing Turkish-Israeli ties. Unlike the Arabs, Greece has focused its displeasure on Israel as much as on Turkey. Foreign Minister Pangalos, initially put it diplomatically, noting that he did not want Turkey to exploit its military cooperation with Israel to "create a certain impression." By February 1998, however, Pangalos was describing the Turkish-Israeli relationship "an alliance of wrongdoers that brings us to a cold war situation." He later registered unease that Israel would provide Turkey with intelligence and technology that could be turned against Greece. Greece's Defense Minister Akis Tsohatzopolous seems to characterize Israel's choice of Turkey as wrongheaded and urges Israel to look toward the European Union instead. Cyprus Since the Turkish-Israeli accords, Cypriot officials have made "friendly representations" to Israel concerning Israeli violations of Cypriot airspace but have accepted Israel's explanations that violations are unintended. Some in the Cypriot media, however, charge that Israeli planes may gather intelligence for Turkey on the new Cypriot air base at Paphos that Israeli technology will be used to jam Cypriot radar in the event of a Turkish attack on Cyprus's Russian S-300 missiles, now scheduled for delivery in November 1998. Israel officially takes no position with regard to the dispute between Turkey and Cyprus and has denied what it considers the most offensive charges such as helping Turkey train to attack Cyprus. Implications for the US Policy The United States government officially approves of its two close allies bettering their ties. The State Department has been supportive stating that enhanced relations between Israel and Turkey contribute to regional peace and security. It considers the rapprochement helpful to both parties and to the United States. For its part, the Defense Department actively participated in January 1998 trilateral Reliant Mermaid search and rescue exercise with Turkey and Israel at which Jordan was an official observer and depicted the exercise as routine. DOD also may see Turkey's relations with Israel as a way to help it justify to Congress arms transfers to Turkey. The U.S. State Department has devoted considerable time and effort trying to achieve a comprehensive Arab-Israeli peace. Yet, the Arabs' generally negative view of the Turkish-Israeli association and how it changes the regional strategic balance could have a potentially adverse impact on the peace process. Israeli-Turkish relations serve to emphasize their differences from and with Arab neighbors, rather than common goals. If Turkish-Israeli cooperation seriously motivates Syria to reach out to Baghdad, then continued containment of Iraq might be undermined. Finally, if Turkish-Israeli relations adversely affected the United States' ability to influence the Israeli government, they might have a similar effect on Washington's dealings with Ankara. Some U.S. policy priorities are probably lower on Israel's scale of priorities regarding its relations with Turkey. Thus, Turkey's alliance with Israel might eventually lead to a diminishing of Turkey's deterrence to U.S. views on issues such as improving Greek-Turkish bilateral relations, resolving the Cyprus issue, correcting Turkey's human rights record and promoting Turkish democratization. This is not to say that the U.S. policies would benefit from Turkey's isolation. For example, the United States has encouraged Turkey's relations with the European Union, which often reinforces U.S. policy perspectives on issues. Legislation Congress has shown interest in evolving Israeli-Turkish relations, but the Israeli-Turkish tie has not been specifically addressed in legislation. However, several U.S. laws may have to be taken into account by Israel and Turkey as their relationship grows. Turkish businesses may seek to use the Israel-Turkey Free Trade Agreement to gain access to the U.S. market via the U.S.-Israel Free Trade Agreement (June 11, 1985). Most of Turkey's exports to the United States already are subject to low tariffs because of Turkey's Most-favored Nation trade status. It would be difficult for Turkish businesses to secure economic benefit from the U.S.-Israel trade regime. Congressional approval is required for the transfer of items valued over $14 million. The U.S. munitions list includes military hardware and software, as well as technological knowledge, manuals, etc. The Act, therefore, applies to all U.S. munitions list items that the United States has ever transferred to Israel and that Israel might transfer to Turkey. Israel has reportedly demonstrated the largely U.S.-funded Arrow missile technology to the Turks and was said to have made a preliminary inquiry to the Pentagon about a possible sale to Turkey. The Department of Defense informed the Israelis, due to the concern over technology transfer, that it would prefer them not to sell the Arrow to Turkey. Israeli officials deny that the formal step of a Memorandum of Understanding with Turkey for the Arrow was ever taken. The Turks are considering collaborating with the Israelis in the development of other anti-missile systems as well as purchasing U.S. Patriot missiles. The prospect of the latter sale may have been a factor in U.S. disapproval of an Israeli-Turkish deal involving the Arrow. The Turks, however, may simply want a proven weapon and not one still in trials like Arrow. U.S. permission also will be required for Israel to transfer technology to Turkey for co-production of Popeye II missile. -- 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 I.MUSA at NADESHDA.comlink.apc.org Tue Sep 8 13:40:00 1998 From: I.MUSA at NADESHDA.comlink.apc.org (I.MUSA at NADESHDA.comlink.apc.org) Date: 08 Sep 1998 13:40:00 Subject: News Bulletin and Action Alert Message-ID: <70S0016Dg2B@forum.nadeshda.gun.d> The Free Arab Voice in cooperation with EBAL (http://www3.sympatico.ca/ebal). Please circulate the following to your friends, but if you don't want to receive our messages, please email us. This issue of the Free Arab Voice/Ebal contains three topics: 1 - Secret information leaked from a clandestine meeting of top Zionists in the Clinton administration. 2 - Muslims & Christians face common oppressive "Israeli" measures. 3 - Action to lift the embargo off Iraq planned for June ############################################################# 1 - Secret information leaked from a clandestine meeting of top Zionists in the Clinton administration: It's no secret that the Clinton administration is filled with staunch Zionists at the highest levels. Examples include the baby-killer Madeline Albright (Secretary of State), the Secretary of Defense Cohen, the Head of the National Security Council Samuel Berger, Dennis Ross, the special envoy in charge of mideast negotiations, And numerous others. Well as it turned out, right after the accidental collision a few months ago of two "Israeli" helicopters headed for South Lebanon to kill and maim a few dozen civilians, the top Zionists in the Clinton Cabinet were deeply disturbed because of the mishap and the ensuing death of several dozen "Israeli" paratroopers.. So they decided to get together to take decisive action and dole out punishment !!! The Free Arab Voice/Ebal was privy to the first reports that transpired from that highly secretive affair: The attendees resolved to use their power and leverage to slap God's name ON THE TERRORIST LIST!! (3AZ WAJAL) Our sources in the Arab League indicated that client regimes, especially in the Arab Peninsula and the Palestinian National Authority, were very jubilant and threw big celebrations when they were informed recently of the decision: "They believe that it will strengthen their hand against the internal opposition as they can simply claim to their religious populations now, if anyone dares to question them, that they're only ignoring all ethical codes of conduct because they have to go along with Washington and the codes of 'international legitimacy'" :( ******************************************************************** 2 - Muslims & Christians face common oppressive "Israeli" measures: Contrary to what the mainstream media in the U.S. and elsewhere maintains, it is not just a few 'Islamic extremists' who are against the so-called 'peace process' in Palestine today. Opposition to the occupation and all its manifestations is widespread across a large spectrum of the Palestinian population. This stems from the harsh realities of daily oppression that everyone reels under. The Free Arab Voice/Ebal has received the following news wire which illustrates that point: 'BEIT EL. WEST BANK (CNS) - An Israeli military court has ruled that a Catholic student from Bir Zeit University remain in custody to face charges of stone throwing and membership in an (unnamed) illegal organization @#$%^&*. Nader Jalal Khoury, 21, was arrested March 31 on the Allenby Bridge as he crossed back from Jordan. Khoury had been sent to Amman, Jordan, from the West Bank where he resides, by FR. EMIL SALAYTA to renew the Passport of another parishioner and to bring back religious material. FR. Salayta is a Roman Catholic priest from the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem'. For more on this, and what you can do to help with regards to Mr. Khoury's situation, please contact: LabibKobti at aol.com ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ 3 - Action to Lift The Embargo Off Iraq Planned @ June: I - On June 10th, a campaign of simultaneous events calling for an end to UN/US sanctions against Iraq is planned by Voices in the Wilderness, an American organization based in Chicago, Illinois. The basic idea is to have as many cities and towns as possible participate on June 10 with a picket, vigil, or demonstration in front of a UN or US government facility, or a media center. 'At every event, participants will call for a complete lifting of sanctions'. Please contact Kathy Kelly: kkelly at igc.apc.org OR Rob Mapes: rmapes at shrike.depaul.edu In this context, we in the Free Arab Voice would like to applaud these two Americans who are bravely challenging the mainstream, and setting an example for what Arab-Americans should be doing more aggressively, and in larger numbers. Come on Arab-Americans, the least you can do is email your support to Kathy & Rob, even if you can't actively participate in next month's events !!! II - Between the 26th & 30ieth of June, the Iraq Action Coalition (IAC) is planning 'Teach-Ins for Iraq', to educate the American public about the plight of the Iraqi people and to call for an end to unjust sanctions. 'The Teach-Ins would culminate in mass phone-calls on the 30ieth of June to the UN Security Council. The demand: the immediate lifting of the blockade on the people of Iraq'. To learn more about the Teach-Ins and what they involve, please contact: Rania Masri rmasri at leb.net, also visit the IAC WebSite http://leb.net/IAC/ Dear friends, brothers & sisters, we have many Arab states under siege in this Zionist new world order. Iraq is probably suffering the most, but Libya and Sudan are also suffering, not to mention the Palestinians who have been under an extended cruel curfew, Lebanon and Syria, which seems to be next on the list. We believe that regardless of any differences of opinion that may exist, it is extremely crucial that we cooperate in lifting sanctions against all civilian populations anywhere as a tool of collective punishment. We have a special responsibility towards Arab and Islamic countries though, because that's where we come from, and because they seem to be especially vulnerable to discriminate sanctions in these Zionist times. When some of those same countries participated in sanctions against Iraq, they weakened themselves and set themselves up for similar punishment. Let's not repeat the same mistake again under any pretext, including 'they started this..'. We need to work together, then we can make a difference. III - The Free Arab Voice received the following message: 'Dear friends, As a result of the embargo on Iraq, the medical schools are in need of medical journals starting from the year 1990 up till now. The Arab-American Democratic Committee calls upon you for help. Please donate and send to the Committee's address (below), as much as you can, to help the medical schools and students. God Bless the Peace Makers, Ibrahim Ebeid Please circulate and ask your friends.' For more information on how you can help with this, please email Ibrahim Ebeid maricaro at worldnet.att.net or write to: Arab American Democratic Committee P.O.Box 3053 Guttengerg, NJ 07093 U.S.A ###################################################### If you, or your organization, has any events or activities that you would like publicized, please email us at the addresses below. ebal at sprintmail.com , alloush at okstate.edu From ozgurluk at xs4all.nl Wed Sep 9 06:11:00 1998 From: ozgurluk at xs4all.nl (ozgurluk at xs4all.nl) Date: 09 Sep 1998 06:11:00 Subject: Turkey: postponement of Gazi Incidents triall Message-ID: Frustration over postponement of Gazi Incidents triall Sevigen: `If the trial goes on like this the public conscience will be hurt. It has not been possible to bring the evidence to court for a year. The witnesses are under pressure' Ankara - Turkish Daily News The 12th session of the Gazi Incidents trial convened on Tuesday in the Black Sea city of Trabzon. The Gazi neighborhood in Istanbul was the scene of clashes between police and Alawite Muslims on May 12-13, 1995, during which 22 people were killed. The trial of 20 policeman accused of involvement in the deaths of seven people is being carried out three years after the killings. Trabzon Criminal Court Judge Kaya Gulec decided that the trial should be postponed until Oct. 2 and that two of the accused, Adem Albayrak and Mehmet Gundogan, would remain in prison, the Anatolia news agency reported. Republican People's Party (CHP) Deputy Mehmet Sevigen, who attended Tuesday's session, afterwards made a statement in front of the court. "If the trial goes on like this the public conscience will be hurt. It has not been possible to bring the evidence to court for a year. The witnesses are under pressure. The government should take necessary measures for the witnesses to testify in Trabzon. We are following this trial until the end because the Gazi Trial is a public trial," he said. -- 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 ozgurluk at xs4all.nl Wed Sep 9 17:39:05 1998 From: ozgurluk at xs4all.nl (ozgurluk at xs4all.nl) Date: 09 Sep 1998 17:39:05 Subject: Israel, Turkey deny reports of military drills Message-ID: ANKARA, Sept 9 (AFP) - Turkey and Israel separately denied on Monday press reports that the two countries were planning to conduct joint military maneuvers soon. Recent Turkish press reports suggested that Ankara and the Jewish state were preparing for joint airborne and naval maneuvers in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. But an Israeli diplomat here told Turkey's Anatolia news agency that no such drills had been planned. "No joint exercises, airborne or naval, are in the agenda of the two countries," said Amir Maimon, councellor at the Israeli embassy. Turkish foreign ministry spokesman Necati Utkan said: "We have no information that joint airborne maneuvers will be held with Israel." Utkan, however, said joint Turkish-Israeli naval exercises could be possible, although they were not imminent. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu invited Turkey to join a regional security system during talks this week in Jerusalem with Turkish counterpart Mesut Yilmaz, prompting protests by several Arab countries. Egypt, Iraq and Syria all denounced the regional security system plan and developing military ties between Turkey and Israel. Ankara and the Jewish state deny charges that their cooperation targets Arab interests. The navies of Turkey and Israel, as well as the United States, held their first joint naval exercises off the Israeli coast in January. Following decades of dormant relations, Turkey and Israel have boosted their military cooperation after signing two key accords in 1996. List info: english-request at ozgurluk.xs4all.nl From ozgurluk at xs4all.nl Wed Sep 9 17:45:43 1998 From: ozgurluk at xs4all.nl (ozgurluk at xs4all.nl) Date: 09 Sep 1998 17:45:43 Subject: Turkey: State-Mafia-gangs Infiltrate Hospitals Message-ID: 9 September,1998, Copyright ? Turkish Daily News Has Health Minister Dr. Ozsoy turned a blind eye to the miserable situation in our hospitals? The 'gang' receives information about bids the hospital will open from informers inside the hospital. It then eliminates the proposals of other companies who submitted bids. Later, it establishes a fake company and enters its own bid EMEL AKTUG TDN - Parliament Bureau When I decided to write for the Turkish Daily News, I decided not to write anything about "mafia, terror or gangs." I said to myself, "There are experts on these subjects; they should write about them instead." But when the gangs start to infiltrate our hospitals, I couldn't resist. Although politics is my expertise, I can't help but write about the situation at the Ankara State Hospital, because I have tried for 17 years to help this hospital improve and to become a fully-equipped facility. My involvement with the Ankara Hospital started during the 1960 revolution. The National Union Committee (MEK), the administration at that time, wanted to merge the Ankara Hospital and the Gulhane Military Hospital. The famous Kudret newspaper at which I worked was against this. I say "famous" because during the 1960 revolution, it was the only newspaper that was against the MEK and the only one who defended the rights of Democratic Party members. If one compares the population in those days to that of today, no newspaper in our time has achieved a circulation equal to Kudret's. The MEK's decision was incorrect. Instead of merging Ankara Hospital with Gulhane Military Hospital, the MEK had the option of implementing the Gulhane Military Medicine Academy (GATA) project. The late Adnan Menderes, who was hung following the coup, prepared this project years ago; unfortunately, he was not able to see it to fruition. We went to court over our published reports about the MEK. At last the MEK changed its decision and decided to establish GATA. We did a great job. Today GATA is providing health service to military officials and their families, and the Military Medical Faculty is training doctors. They are carrying out various scientific studies and rendering a vital service to the Turkish people. Briefly, this is how I became acquainted with the Ankara Hospital. Afterwards, hospital officials consulted me for assistance and support, which I gave. In those days it was a 200-bed hospital, and we organized various events to raise money for the hospital. In order to raise money, the late Turkish classical music singer Zeki Muren gave several concerts. He did not ask for money, not even for his orchestra. We gradually bought the land surrounding the hospital. Today, the hospital has become a 520-bed health institution. For the first time in Turkey, an isotope laboratory has been established from donations. (A radioactive isotope laboratory examines hormone levels in the body. It also enables examinations of the liver and the thyroid gland.) After all our efforts on behalf of the hospital, we now find it infiltrated by a gang. When I first got involved with the hospital, the head doctor was ophthalmologist Abidin Ara. The late Dr. Ara worked day and night at the hospital. The head doctors who came after Ara were all honest people. Last week Assistant Professor Dr. Demokan Erol resigned from his duties, as he could no longer resist the gang's pressure. He is a professional doctor and, like the late Dr. Ara, an honest administrator. How does the gang work? The gang receives information about bids which the hospital will open from informers inside the hospital, and it eliminates proposals submitted by other companies for the bid. Later the gang forms a fake company and enters its own bid. Dr. Erol became aware of this situation and informed the Health Ministry. However, he got no response. If a bid was won by a company other than the gang's, this bid was then cancelled by the Health Ministry. This has happened more than once. In the end, members of the gang succeed in winning the bid after several fraudulent maneuvers. It would be better if they had at least bought the correct equipment after winning the bid. However, medical testing kits imported by the fake company from Europe had been thrown in the garbage there because the dates on the medical kits had expired. The expiration dates were erased from the kits by the fake company or new dates were put in. Naturally, hospital doctors started to use these testing kits. However, as the kit dates had expired, the data provided by the kits were incorrect. Either the blood tests were repeated or treatment based on the kits' data was administered to the patient. Later, the hospital realized the situation and kits worth trillions of lira were disposed of. Imagine the situation. This is MURDER. Those who wanted to earn illicit income are gambling with human lives, and they should pay the price. Now we ask Health Minister Dr. Halil Ibrahim Ozsoy, who received his specialization from Ankara Hospital, the following questions: 1- Why didn't he evaluate the warnings of Dr. Erol? Why didn't he examine the reports of the inspectors? 2- Is it true that within the gang there are Motherland Party (ANAP) administrators, and is it true that family relations are involved? 3- What is the relationship of ANAP officials and deputies to the gang that the newspapers have been writing about? We intentionally do not give any names. We are keeping those names confidential. 4- What kind of measures have been taken against the company who imported the expired kits? It is possible to expand on these questions. Other hospitals have started to experience situations similar to that of Ankara Hospital. Now we have a question for Prime Minister Mesut Yilmaz. Yilmaz talks about the war he has opened on gangs everywhere he goes. But how will he combat the gangs that are claimed to be in his own party? -- 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 ozgurluk at xs4all.nl Wed Sep 9 18:55:13 1998 From: ozgurluk at xs4all.nl (ozgurluk at xs4all.nl) Date: 09 Sep 1998 18:55:13 Subject: Holbrook and the KLA Message-ID: http://home1.gte.net/pribich/kosovo/holb&kla.htm List info: english-request at ozgurluk.xs4all.nl From ozgurluk at xs4all.nl Thu Sep 10 18:56:51 1998 From: ozgurluk at xs4all.nl (ozgurluk at xs4all.nl) Date: 10 Sep 1998 18:56:51 Subject: Turkey warns Iraqi Kurd faction against "anti-Turkish activities" Message-ID: ANKARA, Sept 10 (AFP) - Turkey on Thursday warned an Iraqi Kurd faction which it fought in northern Iraq last year against "anti-Turkey activities and rhetoric." Turkish foreign ministry officials met with a delegation from the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) shortly after Ankara became aware of "anti-Turkey" statements by PUK leader Jalal Talabani, an official said. The official did not say what exactly had annoyed Ankara, but Talabani was quoted Thursday in an Arabic-language newspaper as saying that Turkey's military presence in northern Iraq could lead to a long-term division similar to the situation in Cyprus. "We are asking for an explanation and advising them to keep away from anti-Turkey activities and rhetoric," the official said. The three-man PUK delegation, headed by politbureau member Fuad Masoem, was in Turkey for normalisation talks after last year's clashes between the two sides. But the visit was apparently marred by Talabani's statements to the London-based Al-Hayat. "The Turkish intervention in Iraq is dangerous because, in our opinion, it threatens Iraqi sovereignty and territorial integrity and could have dire consequences if Turkey's incursions continue," Talabani told Al-Hayat. Talabani said Turkey was using the Turkoman community in Iraqi Kurdistan as a pretext to step up its operations in northern Iraq. "We fear that Ankara will exploit this situation to create a new Cyprus in the region, and I think the Iraqi government is realizing the dangers of Turkey's policies," he said. Cyprus has been divided into Greek- and Turkish-Cypriot sectors since a 1974 Turkish invasion which followed a coup in Nicosia backed by Athens. Some 35,000 Turkish troops are still based in northern Cyprus. Turkey has launched several military incursions into Kurdish-held northern Iraq in pursuit of Turkish Kurd rebels, while at the same time calling for the protection of Iraqi Turkomans. The PUK delegation's talks follow a visit to Ankara last week by Massud Barzani, leader of the rival Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) allied with Turkey, and come ahead of planned peace talks between Barzani and Talabani in Washington next week. Turkish army units fought alongside the KDP against the PUK in northern Iraq last autumn. The KDP has been allied with the Turkish military since May 1997 to fight the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), Turkish Kurd separatists with bases in northern Iraq. The latest round of fighting between Iraqi Kurds erupted in late 1997 when the KDP repulsed a PUK offensive with the help of Turkish troops. Ankara accuses Talabani of aiding the PKK, while the PUK in turn charges Turkey with killing scores of civilians in its area in air attacks last year. The rival Iraqi Kurd groups have controlled northern Iraq in defiance of Baghdad since the 1991 Gulf war. But their partnership collapsed in 1994 due to rows over power-sharing and tax revenue, and more than 3,000 people have been killed in intermittent fighting since then. List info: english-request at ozgurluk.xs4all.nl From ozgurluk at xs4all.nl Sat Sep 12 05:56:06 1998 From: ozgurluk at xs4all.nl (ozgurluk at xs4all.nl) Date: 12 Sep 1998 05:56:06 Subject: Turkey: Incirlik strike breaks duration record despite new AF offer Message-ID: 09 Sep 1998 Newsgroups Incirlik strike breaks duration record despite new AF offer by Master Sgt. Jesse Hall 39th Wing Public Affairs INCIRLIK AIR BASE, Turkey (AFNS) -- The Turkish Harb-Is labor union has rejected the Air Force's latest offer, which included an increase and restructuring of the pay package. The rejection means that on Sept. 5, Incirlik broke the base's strike duration record of 44 days set in 1969. The Air Force increased its wage offer in an effort to end the six-week-old strike and at the union's request, repackaged its wage and benefits package to more closely resemble the 1996 labor agreement. The new offer lowered the pay raise from 30 to 17 percent, but increased cost-of-living adjustments. The deal also contained four quality of life payments of $400 and a signing bonus of $400. Previously, on Aug. 28, the Air Force increased its offer, raising the proposed pay raise from 17 to 20 percent. "The wage and benefits of the total package, taking inflation into account, well exceed what both parties mutually agreed to in 1996. The offer also reflects a 32 percent increase from the Air Force's initial wage and benefit offer," said John Steenbock, Incirlik's director of civilian personnel. In an effort to improve negotiations, the Air Force last week paid union employees bonuses stemming from the former labor agreement. The bonus is equivalent to 30 days of base pay for strike-exempt employees, or about $740 for an employee with 14 years experience. Steenbock said the actual bonus for striking employees will be reduced by about one-third to reflect days on strike. Both sides met Sept. 1, but union negotiators rejected the latest offer and negotiations have yet to resume. The union is asking for a 37 percent pay raise, seven cost of living adjustments, four $400 quality of life bonuses, and a signing bonus of about $720. Incirlik residents continue to cope without several recreational, eating and service-oriented facilities, including the base exchange, commissary and shoppette, during the strike. (Courtesy USAFE News Service) List info: english-request at ozgurluk.xs4all.nl From HEMIN at 3LANDBOX.comlink.apc.org Sun Sep 13 11:51:00 1998 From: HEMIN at 3LANDBOX.comlink.apc.org (HEMIN at 3LANDBOX.comlink.apc.org) Date: 13 Sep 1998 11:51:00 Subject: Antisemitismus unter migrantinnen Nr:1 Message-ID: <70l5K6qYZoB@term-49.3landbox.comlink.apc.org> Content-type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1 Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit Befor wir mit dem Beitrag beginnen, ist es zwingend erforderlich auf die Problematik, die damit zusammenh?ngt hinzuweisen: Uns ist bewu?t dieser Beitrag bzw. bestimmte Teile davon in jeder denkbaren und undenkbaren Variante von der deutschen Linken als Entlastungzeugnis benutzt werden wird, um die These eines allgemeing?ltigen universal vorhandenen Antisemitismus zu eliminatorischen Antisemitismus zu relativieren. Wir haben lange ?berlegt ob wir diesen Diskurs in Deutschland unter uns MigrantInnen leisten k?nnen. Der forlieginde Text ist in einigen Teilen ?ber 1 Jahr alt (mit ausnahmen einiger aktuellar Erg?nzungen). Nach dem zus?tzliche Ereignissen dazu gekommen sind, haben wir entschieden die Ver?ffentlichung doch vorzunehmmen. Wenn wir schon den Anspruch erheben "R?cksichtlos" zu sein, dann ist es nur folgerichtig dementsprechend zu handeln. Wir geben zu, da? unsere Zur?ckhaltung u.a. darauf zur?ckzuf?hren ist, da? wir das Ausma? der "Germanisierungstendenzen" innerhalb der MigrantInnen, inbesondere der Linken, untersch?tzt haben. Die "multikulturelle Volksfront" am 24.M?rz 1997 in der ehemalige A6 hat uns was besseres gelernt. ANTISEMITISMUS UNTER MIGRANTINNEN Wie w?re es zu erwarten? Man/Frau kann ohne Spur Scham oder Selbstekel gleichzeitig antirassistisch und antisemitistisch sein.Die Grobheit des Ph?nomens deckt kaumseine Ungeheuerlichkeit. Hier in Deutschland, wo der Rassismus grassiert und wo sich eine besondere Tradition in der "L?sung" dieser "Frage" bis heute verfolgen l??t. st??t man auf die Koexistenz zweier verwandte, jedoch sich entgegenstellender Ph?nomene. Sich zu AntirassistInnen und Anti-AntisemitInnen zu erkl?ren, geh?rt zum kulturellen Code der heutigen Gesellschaft, ist Bestandteil einer herbeigeredeten "Zivilgesellschaft". Eine grobe Analyse l??t erkennen, da? heute die Front'zwischen Philosemiten und Antisemiten (beide geferlich f?r die Juden), Zwischen Ausl?nderfreunden und ausl?nderfeinden (beide geferlich f?r "Ausl?nder " und Juden) verl?uft. Diese Unterschide lassen sich noch mehr verfeinern: es gibt diejenigen, die MigrantInnen m?gen aber antisemitisch und diejenigen, die philosemitisch aber rassistisch sind etc. Und es gibt MigrantInnen, die sich eifrig bem?hen deutscher als die Deutschen zu sein und keine hemungen dabei haben, andere MigrantInnen (Fl?chtlinge und vor allem Roma) aus Deutschland oder wenigsten asu der eigenen Wohngegend rausschmei?en zu wollen.Wie geschehen in Frankfurt/Gallus, als unter einem rassistischen Pamphet, initiiert von deitschen einwohnerInnen auch MigrantInnen ihre Unterschrift darunter setzten. Der vorhin genante kulturelle Code l??t sich in allen politschen und sozialen geselschaftlichen Sph?ren beobachten. Insbesondere in der Theorie bekennen sich die Linken und Fortschrittlichen - wie es immer wieder in Linksjargon hei?t- zu Antisemitismus und Anti-Antisemitismus und phlegen es, sich in diesem Sinne immer wieder betont zu artikulieren. Zwischen Unterstellung und Schlechts-Gewissen-Saffen, verff?gen sie hier ?ber ausreichende Mittel, ihren Gegnern den Mund zu dichten. Dies erfolgt vor allem dank der Theorie. Jedoch in der Praxis und im allt?glichen p?litischen Diskurs und handeln, sieht die Realit?t ganz anders aus. Wir m?chten die Mehrheit der linksorientierten MigrantInnen zu diesen Kreisen z?hlen. Ein aktuelles Beispiel: im Rahmen der Mobilisierung f?r die Demo in Babenhausen/Hessen letzten Sontag (18 Mai 1997) gegen den antisemitischen Brandanschlag, haben wir den neue Hoffnungstr?ger der t?rkischen Linken, die ?DP, angeschprochen. "Wir k?nnen doch nicht ?berall in Deutschland, wo Brandanschl?ge stattfinden, hingehen" war die stereotype Antwort. Nun das Problem ist zum einen, da? sie bisher nirgendwo zu sehen waren und zum zweiten haben sie nicht das geringste Interesse gezeigt, ?ber den Fall mindestens informiert zu werden. Somit ist der Werdegang auch der neuen Formationen der linken MigrantInnen vorprogramiert. MigrantInnen: AntirassistInnen und AntisemitInnen? - Wie geht sowas? MigrantInnen, die hier von Rassismus der Deutschen Betrofen sind, greifen zur geschichtlichen antirassistischen Argummentation, um gegen Deutsche und deren Rassismus vorzugehen.Rassismus ist jedoch auch unter denen, die selbst von Rassismus betroffen sind, vorhanden und nachweisbar. Je nach Herkunft und Hautfarbe werden genau die Grenzen weitergezogen, die von Deutschen bereits vorgegeben wurden. Und sie fallen meist auf fruchtbaren Boden. Die rassistische Einstellung von MigrantInnen l??t sich deutlich vom global vorherschenden Nationalismus und Klassenbewu?tsein unterscheiden. Um in den Augen der Deutschen iein bi?chen mehr Achtung zu bekommen, k?mpft jedeR um die Stelle des eigenen Ichs innerhalb der MigrantInnen- Hierarchisioerung, die van den Deutschen konstruiert und immer wieder gef?rdet wird. In den verschiedenen MigrantInnen-Vereinen findet seit Jahren eine intensive Pflege der "eigenen Kultur" (was auch das sein mag) statt, die immer mehr den Vorstellungen und Klischees des Deutschen Bedarf entspricht, als tats?chlich die eigenen Traditionen und geschichtliche Entwiklung wiederzuspiegeln. Griechen tanzenSirtaki und essen Souvlaki, Spanier tanzen Flamenco und essen Paella usw. Auch wenn all das in den L?ndern und orten, woher die Menschen auch kommen, l?ngst nicht mehr der Realit?t entspricht oder einfach ?berholt ist, wird hier in Deutschland auf vielf?ltige Art und Weise daran festgehalten, durch deutsche Beh?rde und Institutionen gef?rdet und durch das "ausl?nderfreuntliche" Publikum mit Begeisterung angenommen. Infolge dessen geh?rt auch bei den Linksradikalen Gruppen/Vereine die o.g. Klischeephlege zum Standardrepertoir, nat?rlich verpackt asl "internationale Solidarit?t", "gemeisamer Kampf" etc. Wir meinen, da? diese selektive und eingeengte Wahrnehmung unserer Existenz hier und heute ein reaktion??res, kulturalistisches und kulinarisches Gebilde f?rdert. Anstatt dies zu bek?mpfen bzw. zumindest in Frage zu stellen was f?r ein Schei? da abl?uft, wird eifrig von Seiten der Betroffenen MigrantInnen mitgemacht. Mann/Frau will es sich mit den Deutschen nicht verscherzen Besonders Fatal wird es dann, wenn MigrantInnen anfangen, im Buhlen. um die Gunst der Deutschen, mit dem Finger auf ihre eigenen Ressentiments und verurteile gegen?ber andere MigrantInnen -Gruppen zu zeigen. So werden z.B.SchwarzafrikanerInnen, Roma und Cinti, InderInnen, AfghanerInnen, Pakistani und MarokkanerInnen auf die untersten Stufen der IntermigrantInnenhierarchie von schon privilegierteren MigrantInnen verwiesen und dort gehalten. Die politische Bevormundung findet hier im Kleinen genauso statt wie sie es von Deutschen im Gro?en am eigenen Leibe erfahren haben. Immer wieder wird in ihrem Namen besprochen und gehandelt; dabei aber l??t man/frau sie kaum zu Wort kommen. . ## CrossPoint v3.1 ## From ozgurluk at xs4all.nl Sun Sep 20 21:01:40 1998 From: ozgurluk at xs4all.nl (ozgurluk at xs4all.nl) Date: 20 Sep 1998 21:01:40 Subject: AI: Turkey: Police persecution of silent protest Message-ID: News Service 172/98 AI INDEX: EUR 44/41/98 4 SEPTEMBER 1998 PUBLIC STATEMENT http://www.amnesty.org/news/1998/44404198.htm Turkey Saturday Mothers' vigil under threat Amnesty International is calling on the Turkish Government to halt immediately police harassment and detentions of the Saturday Mothers in Istanbul, who have recently been the target of increasing police persecution aimed at silencing their peaceful protest. On 8 May their sit-in in front of Galatasaray high school was forcibly barred by police who detained 12 people. On 22 August the police occupied the Mothers' customary sit-in space with police buses and detained and harassed the participants when they tried to hold their vigil at a space opposite. On the morning of 29 August, the city centre reportedly was teeming with plainclothes and uniformed police. They surrounded participants walking towards the meeting place and ordered them to disperse. They also beat and detained officials of the Human Rights Association who invoked the right to free expression and peaceful assembly. After a violent assault, the police detained more than 150 other people. Several elderly Mothers reportedly fainted and one of them, Hanife Yildiz, had to be taken to hospital. Of the people detained on that occasion, five lawyers were released the same day, while 100 others were released only three days later. About 58 were held for four days. It is not known whether charges will be brought against them. The Saturday Mothers are relatives of people who have "disappeared" in police custody since 1991. For more than three years they have been holding a silent vigil every Saturday in the city centre of Istanbul demanding government action to clarify the fate of their missing relatives. They demand that the Turkish authorities comply with international standards on "disappearances". Under the UN Declaration on the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance the authorities are obliged to carry out prompt, thorough and impartial investigations into every report of "disappearance". To Amnesty International's knowledge, no investigations satisfying these criteria have been carried out yet. The "Bureau for the Investigation of Disappearances", established by the Turkish Government in December 1996, appears to be no more than a publicity exercise, aimed at deflecting attention from the real issue and at discrediting those who demand genuine investigations "Disappearance" is a human rights violation inflicted not only upon the victims, but also upon their families. Not knowing whether they are dead or alive causes untold suffering to their relatives. Amnesty International will continue to do all it can to support them in their demand for serious investigation and calls on the international community to do the same. (See also Public Statement TURKEY: Still no proper investigation into "disappearances", dated 5 June 1998, AI Index: EUR 44/27/98, News Service 106/98) Source: Amnesty International, International Secretariat, 1 Easton Street, WC1X 8DJ, London, United Kingdom -- 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 ozgurluk at xs4all.nl Sun Sep 20 21:29:26 1998 From: ozgurluk at xs4all.nl (ozgurluk at xs4all.nl) Date: 20 Sep 1998 21:29:26 Subject: SHOCKING OLD WAYS DIE HARD IN TURKEY Message-ID: SHOCKING OLD WAYS DIE HARD IN TURKEY DESPITE DRIVE TO END POLICE TORTURE _________________________________________________________________ THE GUARDIAN Friday, 11 September 1998 http://reports.guardian.co.uk/articles/1998/9/11/21112.html By Chris Morris in Izmir Vedat Zencir carefully turned the small handle. "This one is for electric shocks... and that one over there", he said, moving across the dimly-lit room, "is for hanging a suspect from the wall - like this." In the small, humid basement of Izmir's newest and most unusual museum, a grisly array of torture implements is unceremoniously displayed - a cage, a few chains and some nasty- looking bits of wire. Situated on a quiet side street in an old part of town, the privately-financed Freedom of Expression Museum also contains a collection of books and newspapers banned by state censorship, as well as photographs of writers and artists in jail. The Turkish government has declared 1998 the Year of Human Rights and has just announced new measures to try to stamp out the use of torture in custody. But this dingy Izmir basement is a reminder of the potential dangers still facing those who step out of line. "We want to remind visitors what can happen here when people express their opinions", said Mr Zencir, the museum spokesman. "Torture still takes place - everybody knows it." The museum was criticised in some quarters when it first opened, but the authorities have left it alone. It is both an example of the growth in grassroots human rights activism and a reminder of how far the movement has to go. Turkey is an increasingly-free society, with a flourishing media scene and an argumentative parliament. Some subjects, however, remain taboo. The catch-all "crime" of "inciting hatred" is regularly used to imprison anyone speaking out in favour of rights for the Kurds, or radical Islamic politics. Turkish officials tend to fall back on the old argument that as their constitution guarantees human rights, there is no real problem. A consultative council has been set up to overhaul the state's response to human rights abuse, but progress has been slow. "Sometimes you can have good laws but bad implementation," admitted the human rights minister, Hikmet Sami Turk. "That's why we're concentrating on human rights education." Police academies and military schools now include human rights lectures as part of their basic training and the government says it is committed to change. But the message has yet to filter down to some parts of the state security system. Last week in Izmir, zealous police officers arrested four young girls aged between 11 and 15, who were dancing on a city street to raise money for homeless children. Their crime was to paint their collection boxes red, yellow and green - the colours of Kurdish nationalism used by the PKK rebel movement. "Our European friends should show some understanding - we are moving in the right direction," said Mr Sami Turk defensively. Turkey certainly has a more accountable system than some of its neighbours, such as Syria, Iran and Iraq. None of them, however, wants to join the European Union. It is by western European standards that Turkey will be judged. For Emrah Sait Erda, it is all rather academic. He is one of a group of young people from the Izmir region who say they were tortured by the police two years ago, during 11 days of detention. He subsequently spent more than a year in jail before being freed. He is still waiting for the justice system to issue a verdict against the officers involved. Sitting with his friends on a sea wall overlooking Izmir's busy harbour, he shrugged when asked about the Year of Human Rights. "It sounds rather comic to me," he said. "It's just a promise... and Turkey is a land of promises." Copyright Guardian Media Group plc. 1998 ***** Thanx to AFIB -- 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 ozgurluk at xs4all.nl Sun Sep 20 21:30:46 1998 From: ozgurluk at xs4all.nl (ozgurluk at xs4all.nl) Date: 20 Sep 1998 21:30:46 Subject: Turkey: Gangs against gangs Message-ID: Turkish Probe Gangs Against Gangs New gangs : Every day, a new gang is added to those already existing in Turkey. Some are small and others are large; some small ones collaborate with the state, while others within the state collaborate with outside gangs. Forming gangs seems to be the most popular profession of the year 30 gangs : There are about 30 different gangs with around 2,000 members that the police are trying to disband or destroy in Turkey at the present time Historic moment : This is a historic moment for Turkish gangs. All the important gang leaders have been caught. This is the first time in the history of Turkish gangs that all important gang leaders find themselves incarcerated at the same time HAKAN ASLANELI The famous proverb, "Tell me your friend and I will tell you who you are," has recently been changed in Turkey to "Tell me your gang and I will tell you who you are." There was a high level of public interest in details about gangs once their involvement in the Susurluk accident of Sept. 4, 1996 was discovered. The "profession of gang formation" became a separate area of research. The following questions were raised: What is a gang? Who are the gang members? Are they as important in Turkey as they seem? The answer to these questions is evident in the response of the few gangs that sprout up in Turkey every day. Their appearance seems to say, "Yes, we are here, and we are even bigger than you imagine." While the gangs spread to different parts of the state like a viral disease, we are sometimes given the impression that they are being seriously pursued. Yet they continue to grow and to plant the flags of victory on their newly won fortresses. Recent developments revealed that the police, intelligence service and special action team, supposedly the front guard in the battle against gangs, actually cooperate with them. We now have enough of an idea about the "fight against the gangs." In Turkey, fighting gangs means not only cultivating secret relations with them but also assisting and supporting them. When we look at the history of gangs in Turkey, we see that they existed as early as the Ottoman period. When dynasties used to rule the country, the gangs took their stand on dynastic issues, working either for or against the reigning sultan. Throughout Ottoman history, gangs proved that they could be highly effective and even change the history of the country. Gangs were able to survive by adapting to changing conditions and lost only little of their power. They still play an important role in shaping Turkish history today, just as they did during the Ottoman Empire. The gangs have learned the lesson that they sometimes need to keep a low profile and wait for more auspicious times. They wait for conditions under which their operations will have the most impact. By making the right move at the right time, they then get what they want. Disappearing from the scene when the democratic process is interrupted in Turkey (when the military stages a coup), gangs resume their work when the civilians take over, and they nonchalantly continue to practice their profession. There are about 30 different gangs with around 2,000 members that the police are trying to disband or destroy in Turkey at the present time. First and foremost are the gangs led by Sedat Peker and Huseyin Baybasin. The man with the golden prayer beads Peker never lets go of his golden prayer beads, not even when he is on a television program. He certainly ranks first among gang leaders to have indelibly marked the history of Turkish gangs. Peker's most important characteristic is his youth. He is only 28 years old and known as part of the ultranationalist mafia. Peker's star started to rise in 1994, when he was the leader of a street gang. Certain groups which noticed his boldness and recklessness decided to use him for their own purposes. Peker started to make money by utilizing his knack for collecting checks and promissory notes from businessmen and taking a certain percentage in commissions. The more money he made, the more followers he had, to the point that he became a truly intimidating figure in the underground world. A large number of famous businessmen, industrialists, artists and soccer players waited in line for Peker's services. Peker's office became the place to go for people who felt that they were treated unfairly and who knew that they would never be compensated through official channels. While a number of public personages cultivated good relations with Peker, these stories did not appear in the press, since the gang leader had helped a number of press magnates "fix" their problems. After a long career in the underground world, Peker's gang was disbanded after the Anasol-D government came to power. When Peker took a special plane from Romania to Turkey and surrendered to Turkish police forces, many people heard his name for the first time. He appeared on the scene just as people were talking about the collapse of the gangs following the capture of Kursat Yilmaz and Alaattin Cakici. But while the public knew of Yilmaz and Cakici, Peker was a completely new figure since he had succeeded in hiding his identity and using a pseudonym for years. Defining himself as part of the ultranationalist mafia and a "hard-core Turkist," Peker not only cultivated good relations with a number of politicians and high-level officers in the police forces, but also collaborated with them. He got support even within the state for his claims that "whatever he did was for the good of Turkey and the people," rising to the same level of Turkey's most important public figures in a short period. After 1995, Peker delegated the minor work to the new gangs and started to make himself known in the awarding of state contracts. Turkish businessmen knew that to receive a state contract, they had to cultivate good relations with a gang, and their first choice was Peker, whose star was on the rise. Peker's strategy was to have his men deal with the rival candidates, after which the intimidated businessmen and industrialists would simply withdraw. Awards were granted as if they were presents. Of course, Peker and his friends were amply compensated for their labors. Peker, who came from a poor family and started life with almost nothing, acquired a wealth in money and property at the age of 28 of which he could never have dreamed. He is presently being held in prison in Istanbul, but one of his close friends believes that it will not be long before he is released. The Baybasin gang Another person to have made his mark in the history of Turkish gangs is Huseyin Baybasin. Starting in the 1970s, his name always came first among drug smugglers. The son of a family from Lice, Baybasin started business with small-scale smuggling of heroin and hashish, after which he was joined by his siblings and other relatives, and the business became international. The Baybasin gang successfully defied the police for a number of years, although it smuggled raw materials for its drugs from such places as Pakistan, India and Iran, processing them in laboratories built in the district of Lice. Baybasin became one of the wealthiest men not only in Turkey but in the world. Yet his fate changed with the coming to power of Mesut Yilmaz's government. Yilmaz wanted to change Turkey's image as a country trafficking in drugs, so one of his first steps as prime minister was to give instructions to his interior minister, Murat Basesgioglu, asking him to capture the major drug smugglers, first among whom was Baybasin. The efforts of Turkish security forces and their European counterparts yielded fruit after five months, and a joint operation revealed all the members of the Baybasin gang in countries where they had been in hiding. Baybasin, who was the owner of the ship that was captured in the Mediterranean in 1992 carrying a staggering amount of base morphine, was caught in the Netherlands, while his partners and relatives Giyasettin, Nizamettin, Abdullah and Mehmet Baybasin were also captured in the same country. The dawn operation The police operation was directed by Turkey and was conducted simultaneously in the Netherlands, Germany, Britain, Italy and Belgium. When members of the Baybasin gang, sleeping in their beds at 7:00 a.m. on March 27, awoke to see the police officers in front of them, they of course were stunned. The gang's leaders Huseyin and Giyasettin Baybasin and their men were captured early in the morning in the Netherlands. Nizamettin Baybasin was caught at 7:08 a.m. in Germany; Abdullah and Mehmet Sirin Baybasin and their men were captured at 7:08 a.m. in Britain; and the rest of the Baybasin gang was caught in Turkey at 7:00 a.m. Because of the time difference, all the countries taking part in the operation adjusted their time to Turkish time. Staying up all night to direct the international "Dawn Operation," Basesgioglu held a press conference the next day, proclaiming that this was the end of the Baybasin gang. The gang had made a great deal of money by poisoning Turkey and the world for about 30 years, and the members are now awaiting trial in the countries in which they were captured. Basesgioglu stated that the Baybasin operation had taken months because it was a highly sensitive matter. Furthermore, the police wanted to find out the total value of the gang's wealth and the names of all individuals with whom they had connections. All business locations, real estate and bank accounts belonging to the Baybasin gang were traced, and security experts from Turkey and Britain started an investigation. Possible connections between the Baybasin gang and Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) leader Abdullah Ocalan are being investigated, since it has been found out that the gang lent financial support to the PKK and its media representative, MED TV. Besides its influence in southeastern Turkey, it is also claimed that the Baybasin gang is involved in the tourism sector in the Aegean and Mediterranean regions. According to other reports, the gang opened hundreds of foreign exchange offices, automobile sales outlets and parking lots for money-laundering purposes. Rich in property A special committee was formed to find out the exact amount of property owned by the Baybasin gang. A six-member team from the Turkish security forces started to work together with the IRT of the Netherlands. The work was conducted secretly and revealed that the Baybasin gang had a lot of property in the Netherlands, Britain, Romania, Germany and Belgium. The Baybasin gang had three large pieces of land, two furniture companies, one large house and five luxury cars in the Netherlands, according to information received in Turkey. A court in the Netherlands started to investigate this property's retail history. In Belgium, a large house purchased by one of Baybasin's men for DM 600,000 was seized by the police. It was also found that one hotel, one house and three different companies had been bought by the Baybasin gang for purposes of money-laundering. The police and the Ministry of Justice in Germany revealed a car worth DM 50,000, a piece of land with a company built on the premises worth DM 400,000 and DM 30,0000 in cash, while in Romania, $1.5 million in cash, $70,000 worth of land and a number of luxury cars owned by the Baybasin gang were discovered. In Turkey, the investigations were conducted with the assistance of the Financial Crimes and Smuggling Office. Three experts conducting research mainly in Izmir and Istanbul investigated the Baybasin gang's bank accounts. Besides the money held in the bank, it was found out that the gang owned a house, a business building and car worth a total of DM 800,000. In Istanbul, the gang owned 48 business and residential locations. Only the tip of the iceberg While the property and cash of the Baybasin gang in Germany, Britain, Belgium, Italy and Turkey are being carefully scrutinized, it is most likely that what has been revealed so far is only the tip of the iceberg. The gang was involved in drug trafficking for almost 30 years, and its wealth is measured in millions of dollars. Gang members were arrested and tried numerous times on charges of drug smuggling, but they would be released shortly afterwards. In statements to the press, the gang had said that it had bought off the judiciary. Now, while experts try to determine the property, connections and partners of the Baybasin gang, another team has been assigned to find out exactly who were the collaborators in the judiciary. And Cakici... The public began to hear more about Alaattin Cakici toward the end of the 1980s. By marrying Ugur Kilic, daughter of the famous mafia godfather Dundar Kilic, Cakici made a direct entry into the world of the "godfathers." He cultivated close relations with people who were known to have made their wealth during the Ozal period and whose main occupation was to live off state revenues. Cakici functioned as an intermediary in the relations of these people and in their dealings with the state, and used the money he made to form a group of triggermen "ready to die for him." Cakici's job, which was simply money extortion, grew bigger in time. He had his opponents wantonly shot by his men. When Turkish police started to search for Cakici because of the crimes he had committed or masterminded since the beginning of the 1990s, he deemed it wiser to flee the country. Engin Civan, a renowned "prince" from the Ozal period who gained further notoriety through the Civangate affair, was shot by Cakici's trigger man, while Cakici's wife Ugur was shot and killed in Uludag by her husband's men. Later on, Cakici had some disagreements with his former partner, Tevfik Agansoy, and had three of his men shoot Agansoy in Istanbul's Bebek district. Even when he lived a great distance from Turkey, Cakici continued to be Turkey's worst nightmare. In the meantime, the Interpol issued a red bulletin to search for Cakici. He was mentioned during an Interpol meeting in India recently, causing some tension among the Turkish and American delegates. Authorities from the Turkish Interpol applied to the FBI twice for the capture of Cakici, showing as evidence his street address in the United States, telephone numbers, bank accounts and three fake identity cards. However, the FBI showed no interest whatsoever in this issue and made no efforts to catch Cakici, raising the question in people's minds of who was really protecting Cakici. The impossible happened The top person in the history of Turkish gangs, holder of four different passports -- one of which is a diplomatic red passport -- has finally been caught. Cakici was recently captured in Nice where he is currently being held in prison. Just like the other gang leaders, Cakici was caught as a result of the determined attitude of the Anasol-D government. Even Cakici could not believe that he would be caught, since it is very likely that he has collaborators in various levels of the government. He said after his capture that his statements would be no less than earthshaking if he talked. Indeed many people were seized by panic after he was captured, thinking that he might really talk. This is a historic moment for Turkish gangs. All the important gang leaders have been caught. This is the first time in the history of Turkish gangs that all important gang leaders find themselves incarcerated at the same time. This moment will certainly become part of the historical record of Turkish gangs. Now that the major gang leaders have been caught and Turkey can take a deep breath, the country is getting ready to meet its new gang leaders. "Welcome" to the new Cakicis, Baybasins and Pekers. -- 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 ozgurluk at xs4all.nl Mon Sep 21 12:27:30 1998 From: ozgurluk at xs4all.nl (ozgurluk at xs4all.nl) Date: 21 Sep 1998 12:27:30 Subject: USA: Are we aiding Turkish repression? Message-ID: /** disarm.armstra: 465.0 **/ ** Topic: (Code of Conduct) Are we aiding Turkish repression? ** ** Written 8:05 AM Sep 18, 1998 by Kpowers at cdi.org in cdp:disarm.armstra ** The Washington Times Editorial Section Letters Monday, September 14, 1998 p. A19 Are we aiding Turkish repression? By Jennifer Washburn Right now, there is a startling document sitting on Secretary of State Madeleine Albrights desk, awaiting her signature. The document, from her advisors, recommends that she approve the sale of 80 armored personnel carriers and 60 armored crowd-control vehicles (with water cannons) to Turkeys Anti-Terror and Anti-Riot Police, both of whom have well-documented histories of committing human rights abuses and torture. The timing of the sale couldnt be worse. In the last two weeks alone, Turkish police have violently disrupted peaceful protests and detained over 300 demonstrators. In one incident, police wielding batons and truncheons beat and detained more than 100 activists calling for a peaceful solution to Turkeys 14-year-old civil war with the PKK, a militant Kurdish opposition group. In another, police attacked and detained some 100 Saturday mothers protesting the disappearances of their loved ones. Amnesty International has documented extensive use of torture by at least six branches of the Anti-Terror police. At the Istanbul branch alone, more than 30 individuals were tortured from 1996-1998. The story of this weapons deal is a shameful story indeed. If it werent for an important change in U.S. arms export law, authored by Sen. Patrick Leahy and approved by Congress last year, virtually no one outside the State Department would know anything at all about this controversial sale. The Leahy amendment mandates that no funds authorized under the Foreign Operations Appropriations Law - which includes a sizable chuck of U.S. military assistance and aid - shall be granted to any foreign security unit that is credibly linked to serious human rights violations. Oddly enough, however, earlier this May, the State Department quietly approved an export license for the armored vehicles, made by AV Technologies of Michigan, despite the infamous reputation of the Turkish police. Because State considered the vehicles non-lethal - even though they are easily mounted with guns - the licenses were quickly approved. Not only that, special financing was arranged through the Export-Import Bank, totalling $38 million in U.S. taxpayer-backed loans. Ironically, it was this financing, authorized under the Foreign Operations Appropriations law, that ultimately made the sale subject to Leahys human rights restrictions. This sale would have proceeded completely routinely, but for the Leahy Amendment, notes a source familiar with the deal. Completely routinely? Unfortunately, its true. Older U.S. laws prohibiting arms sales to gross and consistent violators of human rights are frequently ignored in an effort to boost exports. Over the last decade, in fact, 85 percent of U.S. arms exports to the developing world went to countries our own State Department deems undemocratic. And Turkey, which last year received over $1 billion worth of American weapons, relies on the United States for 80 percent of its arms imports. This despite the fact that in 1995, a State Department report confirmed that Turkey regularly uses U.S. weapons to commit human rights violations, particularly in the southeast where Turkey has bombed and depopulated over 3,000 Kurdish villages. When Amnesty International discovered, entirely by accident, what was happening with the pending weapons sale at State, a furor erupted. Only months earlier, Assistant Secretaries of State John Shattuck and Marc Grossman had held meetings with human rights groups and weapons makers to inform them that a pending sale of $3.5 billion worth of attack helicopters to Turkey would be conditioned on verifiable improvements in Turkeys human rights practices. If the Turkish helicopter sale was to be conditioned on human rights, why werent the armored vehicles? Furthermore, why werent the vehicles ever discussed? Belatedly, Mrs. Albrights advisors have recommended that human rights conditions be attached to the armored vehicle sale. At a minimum, Mrs. Albright should approve these basic conditions. But she should also recognize that end use monitoring is useless unless Turkey is forced to comply. New York Times reporter Stephen Kinzer was recently detained for 10 hours after trying to report on conditions in the southeast, and, in 1995, the State Department faced similar restrictions trying to investigate the end use of U.S. weapons. Ultimately, we can and must do better. Bipartisan legislation known as the Code of Conduct on Arms Transfers, sponsored by Reps. Cynthia McKinney and Dana Rohrabacher, would automatically restrict U.S. arms exports and military training to any country that is undemocratic, abuses the human rights of its citizens, or engages in acts of aggression against its neighbors. If the U.S. intends to promote democracy and human rights in the post-Cold War world, then this legislation is what is needed to bring our own arms export policies in line with our most cherished beliefs. ---------------------------------------------- Kurt Powers Center for Defense Information 1779 Massachusetts Ave., NW Suite 615 Washington, D.C. 20036 (202) 332-0600, x.135 kpowers at cdi.org ** End of text from cdp:disarm.armstra ** /** disarm.armstra: 466.0 **/ ** Topic: (Code of Conduct) Keeping weapons out of the hands of abusers ** ** Written 8:06 AM Sep 18, 1998 by Kpowers at cdi.org in cdp:disarm.armstra ** The Washington Times Editorial Section Letters Thursday, September 17, 1998 p. A2 Keeping weapons out of the hands of abusers by, Rachel Stohl, Center for Defense Information Jennifer Washburns article, Are we aiding Turkish repression? was right on track. The sale of 80 armored personnel carriers and 60 armored crowd-control vehicles to Turkey not only is detrimental to the human rights situation in Turkey, but also is a bad idea for sound U.S. conventional arms-control policy. Supporting the Code of Conduct on Arms Transfers is a necessary step, but given the political climate now, it is highly unlikely that Congress will pass it in the near future. As an alternative, the United States should implement a new policy to eliminate loan guarantees for foreign sales by U.S. contractors. Foreign governments and groups that purchase U.S. weapons should be required to pay cash. Eliminating the Pentagons loan-export-guarantee program can keep weapons out of the hands of many potentially abusive customers. Furthermore, all sales or grants of U.S. weapons systems to nondemocratic governments and those with records of persistent human rights violations should be banned, regardless of the existence of a code of conduct. Such transactions are morally unsound for a global leader. ---------------------------------------------- Kurt Powers Center for Defense Information 1779 Massachusetts Ave., NW Suite 615 Washington, D.C. 20036 (202) 332-0600, x.135 kpowers at cdi.org ** End of text from cdp:disarm.armstra ** *************************************************************************** This material came from the Institute for Global Communications (IGC), a non-profit, unionized, politically progressive Internet services provider. For more information, send a message to igc-info at igc.org (you will get back an automatic reply), or visit their web site at http://www.igc.org/ . IGC is a project of the Tides Center, a 501(c)(3) charitable organization. *************************************************************************** -- 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 ozgurluk at xs4all.nl Mon Sep 21 12:29:33 1998 From: ozgurluk at xs4all.nl (ozgurluk at xs4all.nl) Date: 21 Sep 1998 12:29:33 Subject: Turkey: Saturday Mothers' vigil under threat Message-ID: * News Release Issued by the International Secretariat of Amnesty * International * News Service 172/98 AI INDEX: EUR 44/41/98 PUBLIC STATEMENT Turkey: Saturday Mothers' vigil under threat Amnesty International is calling on the Turkish Government to halt immediately police harassment and detentions of the Saturday Mothers in Istanbul, who have recently been the target of increasing police persecution aimed at silencing their peaceful protest. On 8 May their sit-in in front of Galatasaray high school was forcibly barred by police who detained 12 people. On 22 August the police occupied the Mothers' customary sit-in space with police buses and detained and harassed the participants when they tried to hold their vigil at a space opposite. On the morning of 29 August, the city centre reportedly was teeming with plainclothes and uniformed police. They surrounded participants walking towards the meeting place and ordered them to disperse. They also beat and detained officials of the Human Rights Association who invoked the right to free expression and peaceful assembly. After a violent assault, the police detained more than 150 other people. Several elderly Mothers reportedly fainted and one of them, Hanife Yildiz, had to be taken to hospital. Of the people detained on that occasion, five lawyers were released the same day, while 100 others were released only three days later. About 58 were held for four days. It is not known whether charges will be brought against them. The Saturday Mothers are relatives of people who have "disappeared" in police custody since 1991. For more than three years they have been holding a silent vigil every Saturday in the city centre of Istanbul demanding government action to clarify the fate of their missing relatives. They demand that the Turkish authorities comply with international standards on "disappearances". Under the UN Declaration on the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance the authorities are obliged to carry out prompt, thorough and impartial investigations into every report of "disappearance". To Amnesty International's knowledge, no investigations satisfying these criteria have been carried out yet. The "Bureau for the Investigation of Disappearances", established by the Turkish Government in December 1996, appears to be no more than a publicity exercise, aimed at deflecting attention from the real issue and at discrediting those who demand genuine investigations "Disappearance" is a human rights violation inflicted not only upon the victims, but also upon their families. Not knowing whether they are dead or alive causes untold suffering to their relatives. Amnesty International will continue to do all it can to support them in their demand for serious investigation and calls on the international community to do the same. ...ENDS/ (See also Public Statement TURKEY: Still no proper investigation into "disappearances", dated 5 June 1998, AI Index: EUR 44/27/98, News Service 106/98) -- 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 ozgurluk at xs4all.nl Wed Sep 23 03:24:53 1998 From: ozgurluk at xs4all.nl (ozgurluk at xs4all.nl) Date: 23 Sep 1998 03:24:53 Subject: Mother of mentally handicapped man says son was tortured Message-ID: 22-09-98 Mother of mentally handicapped man says son was tortured Istanbul-Turkish Daily News The mother of a mentally handicapped man charged Monday that two security officials tortured her son at a suburban Istanbul police station on Sept. 13. In a news conference held at the Human Rights Association's (IHD) Istanbul branch, Pekire Caglayan questioned why police arrested her son, Metin Caglayan, and tortured him at the Caglayan district police station. "Almost everybody in the Caglayan district is aware of Metin's illness, and I want the policemen to say why they arrested my son. There are wounds on Metin's body that prove he was tortured in the station for two hours," she continued. Metin Caglayan, who was present at the news conference but who had difficulty in speaking, said that the two policemen arrested him while he was playing with his friends on the street and tortured him in the jail. IHD officials said they had filed a complain with the public prosecutor's office on the matter. -- 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 ozgurluk at xs4all.nl Wed Sep 23 09:21:38 1998 From: ozgurluk at xs4all.nl (ozgurluk at xs4all.nl) Date: 23 Sep 1998 09:21:38 Subject: Turkey: New Book on Crimes of Tancu Ciller Message-ID: 09-22-98 NEW BOOK ADDS TO TROUBLES OF TURKEY'S FALLEN FIRST FEMALE PREMIER SUZAN FRASER, Associated Press Writer ANKARA, Turkey (AP) -- Once seen as just the modern, educated person to lead her country forward, the woman who rose to become Turkey's first female premier has fallen from grace. Hurt first by corruption allegations, then by an unpopular alliance with an Islamic party, Tansu Ciller's once formidable popularity is taking further hits from a new book that portrays her as a politician without scruples. ``Masked Lady,'' by Faruk Bildirici, a journalist with the anti-Ciller Hurriyet daily, hit Turkey's bestsellers' list as soon as it was published in July. Based on extensive interviews, the book depicts Ciller as a scheming, stubborn woman driven by a lust for power. ``People had a need to know Mrs. Ciller,'' Bildirici said in a television interview. It claims Mrs. Ciller and her husband, who acknowledge having no savings in the early days of their marriage, became rich through shady business deals in a collapsed bank and a housing development scheme, swindling even their closest friends. According to the book, Mrs. Ciller allegedly helped herself to money from a government discretionary fund for personal expenses, including paying thousands of dollars to a New York hotel after her son allegedly wrecked the presidential suite. The Cillers have not commented publicly on the book; Mrs. Ciller has denied past allegations of corruption and blamed them on political opponents trying to end her career. ``When she first started, Tansu left the image of a young, beautiful, intelligent, pro-secular, modern person with knowledge of economic issues,'' wrote Turker Alkan, a columnist for daily Radikal. ``The Tansu image now consists of ... a bad-intentioned person capable of cooperation with the devil.'' A U.S.-educated economist, Mrs. Ciller beat more experienced politicians to take the helm of Turkey's male-dominated society in 1993. She served until 1996, when she formed an alliance with the Islamic party despite earlier assurances that she would save Turkey from radical Islam. The alliance, under which she was deputy premier, marked her downfall. The coalition was ousted from power under pressure from the staunchly pro-secular military. Many of her colleagues left the party in protest. ``She had uttered the harshest words against (the Islamic party) in her election campaigns,'' Bildirici wrote. In the end, ``she preferred to forget what she had said.'' Mrs. Ciller has survived several corruption probes in Parliament with the help of her Islamic coalition partners. But opponents have opened a new investigation into an unaccounted-for increase in her wealth. In the meantime, prosecutors have turned to her husband, Ozer Ciller, who is battling accusations of tax evasion and unaccounted wealth. The couple have millions of dollars in assets in Turkey and in the United States. The book claims the masking of the real Tansu Ciller started even at her birth -- Bildirici alleges Ciller's father altered her birth date to hide her illegitimacy, making her three years younger than the 52 years she states. But he rejects accusations that the book is all negative. ``The book says she has an IQ of 160 -- which I think is something to be proud of,'' he said. -- 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 ozgurluk at xs4all.nl Wed Sep 23 15:52:28 1998 From: ozgurluk at xs4all.nl (ozgurluk at xs4all.nl) Date: 23 Sep 1998 15:52:28 Subject: RKL: Solidarity with DHKP-C Message-ID: We call on all democratic, anti-imperialist, communist and revolutionary forces to support this declaration of solidarity. We were asked for this declaration by the oppressed comrades and it had been drafted in co-operation with them to provide them with an effective tool to organise a campaign of defence. *********************** September 1998 Declaration of Solidarity Repeal the Ban of Kurtulus and DHKP-C in Germany! Last August the German federal minister of interior affairs Kanther declared to ban the magazine Kurtulus ("Liberation") and the organisation DHKP-C (Revolutionary Peoples Liberation Party-Front). This is a heavy blow against one of the most important currents of the revolutionary left in Turkey. Just during the past years DHKP-C has gained many supporters, especially in the slums of the big cities. They were participating in building the local ?People?s Councils? that are the strongest expression of social revolutionary mass movements in the metropoles of Turkey today. This ban is just the last consequence of the harassment and the repressive measures that had already forced the paper into semi-illegality and DHKP-C de facto into illegality. The blow against the paper is an enormous problem also because a significant part of its funding depends on sales in Germany. The German government with this step once more proves its collaboration with the dictatorial regime in Turkey that is based on the army to a significant extent, that army being an integral part of the Nato. Even worse, the German government in this case even supersedes Turkey: In spite of numerous attempts of the justice administration and police measures, Kurtulus has never been banned or prevented from being published in Turkey since 1986. Germany tramples on her proclaimed constitutionality. Neither Kurtulus nor DHKP-C have violated even capitalist laws in Germany. If that would be the case, according to the law a lawsuit should be expected, providing the accused with an opportunity to defend themselves. Nothing of the kind ever happened. Kurtulus was just banned by decree. The prosecution of the anti-fascist youth movement and of revolutionary organisations of the exploited and oppressed countries shows: The Federal Republic of Germany is the unlawful state, not the German Democratic Republic, the latter in spite of its degeneration was still anti-fascist and non capitalist. German imperialism is trying in various fields to cast off the limitations that were imposed after the defeat in World War II, economically, politically and militarily as well. They want to regain their old spheres of influence by any means necessary. The destruction of Yugoslavia instigated by Germany, are aimed at gaining control over the Balkans, the Nato expansion to the East is aimed at the curbing of Russia's power. In Turkey "one of the most important imperialist bulwarks in the Middle East" any social, political and of course military opposition is to be smashed. Germany fully and generously supports the Turkish regime in their genocide against the Kurds with hundred thousands killed and millions of refugees to smash the Kurdish national liberation movement as well as in their actions against the social revolutionary opposition that is supplied with fresh forces by the exploited and oppressed masses due to the constant deterioration of their situation. All democratic and even more all anti-imperialist, communist and revolutionary forces have to condemn the repressive and anti-democratic measures of the German government. We declare our full solidarity with Kurtulus and DHKP-C in their struggle against our common enemy "Imperialism" and we will fight for the abrogation of the ban and for the restoration of democratic rights. Long live revolutionary struggle against imperialism! Supporters so far: International Leninist Current (BIK/Germany, RKL/Austria, VO/Italy) Komitee f?r Antiimperialistische Solidarit?t (Committee for Anti-Imperialist Solidarity / Austria) MIR (Movement of the Revolutionary Left of Chile / Austria) ************************************ International Leninist Current (ILC) Corriente Leninista Internacional (CLI) Internationale Leninistische Stroemung (ILS) Permanent Bureau / Oficina Permanente / Staendiges Buero c/o RKL PF 325, A-1060 Wien Austria Tel / Fax +43/1/504 00 10 ilc at comports.com www.comports.com/ilc -- 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 ozgurluk at xs4all.nl Thu Sep 24 05:41:54 1998 From: ozgurluk at xs4all.nl (ozgurluk at xs4all.nl) Date: 24 Sep 1998 05:41:54 Subject: Fugitive gangster claims "gang within Turkish state" Message-ID: 23 September,1998, Copyright ? Turkish Daily News Imprisoned godfather Kursat Yilmaz breaks silence with statement to TDN Fugitive gangster claims "gang within Turkish state" HAKAN ASLANELI Istanbul - Turkish Daily News In a signed, typewritten statement to the Turkish Daily News, Kursat Yilmaz, the fugitive gangster who was arrested in Bulgaria last month, defied high-level public officials and claimed that an organized gang existed within the Turkish state. Yilmaz, who has up until now made no statements to the press, chose the TDN to break his silence. Although he has been accused of being one of the big wigs of the checque-promissory note mafia in Turkey, Yilmaz denied he was a mafia godfather or a member of an organized crime ring. He said he was only someone who loved his country. He claimed that an organized gang existed within the Turkish state. "Its members were hostile to me because I did not collaborate with them," he asserted. Yilmaz, who is presently being kept in a closed jail, said that the time had come to speak and that his statements would wreak havoc in the state. Yilmaz said that the reports published in the press after his arrest had not been truthful. Full text of Kursat Yilmaz's statement The following is the full text of Kursat Yilmaz's statement: "In light of the latest developments, I found it necessary to inform the Turkish public. I see that the people who were always following me and had tried to reach me through intermediaries are now entering the political arena posing as heroes of democracy. These people, who were not ashamed to be involved in all kinds of theft and corruption, are now trying to teach ethics to society. These impostors, who for years deceived the Turkish people with their lies, are now claiming to be absolutely untainted. They slander my character with libels like "mafia" and "mafia father." The Turkish people should know that I am neither a mafia member nor a godfather. I am only an honorable child of Turkey who will not permit injustice. Until today, I have never been involved in any shady deals, neither secretly nor openly. I have not associated with persons or institutions that tried to involve me in their dark affairs in one way or another. In fact, it was for this reason that they tried to destroy me more than once with their base games. Today, I am imprisoned in a foreign country for a crime that I did not commit. The real cause of this case is the effort of those people who were not able to use me for their dark designs to keep me imprisoned with a life sentence. It is the effort of the people who control the system to annihilate the people whom they cannot use. This country belongs to all of us, but we question the functioning of the state. As long as the system is not reformed and my country is not governed by the law, human rights and justice, I and others like myself who oppose injustice will continue to wage this struggle, even at the risk of death. And the people who suck the blood out of this nation will surely be held to account. "A short time ago, I was imprisoned in a foreign country. From the first day, I observed the seriousness of a state apparatus at every level. And it is a bitter fact that in my country, the state is governed like a clan, by incompetent people. Of course, I will continue to talk whenever it is appropriate and timely. "Whom did they want me to kill? Who took bribes from whom? Who used whom for which purposes? "Look at the politicians who claim to be pure. Strange enough, their relatives (excluding only a few) are incredibly rich. Is this a coincidence? Look at the last 70 years in the history of my country. You will see 250 families who are the so-called rulers, but actually divide the country's wealth, exploit it and suck the blood out of it; 250 families that never change. Just two-hundred and fifty families comprised of these individuals, their siblings, nieces and nephews, spouses and children. Now, the nation has become aware of everything. The press also mentions these things from time to time. People who were looting the state at every level turned into ferocious lions against a child who stole three kilograms of baklava out of hunger. Now it is their turn. Right or wrong, we paid for what we did. Now it is time for the people who plunder the state to pay the penalties. The Turkish nation should know that their twisting and turning is out of fear of having to give accounts and pay penalties. Those people who planted enmity among the people and devised cruel civil war scenarios, who brought shame on civil servants and workers, who plunged 50 million people into poverty and wretchedness, who brought this nation that was united for a millennium to the point of division, who tortured the people in order to dishonor it, who cruelly destroyed every individual whom they couldn't manipulate and who presented an obstacle to their dark plots, people who acquiesce in all these and people who give the instructions should know that their weapons were ineffective and their calculations were wrong. Three people brought the country to this point, is that what they want us to believe? "Some people revolt against injustice by the pen, others like myself, with their heart. Now I call once again on those people who called us mafia and strove to gain votes through cheap heroism, and to their cohorts. If you want to fight against the mafia, first look in the mirror, but do not break the mirror to save face, destroy yourselves, then perhaps we as a nation can get out of this filth. Will you not do so? We will see...! -- 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 ozgurluk at xs4all.nl Thu Sep 24 21:07:17 1998 From: ozgurluk at xs4all.nl (ozgurluk at xs4all.nl) Date: 24 Sep 1998 21:07:17 Subject: Turkey: IHV to receive European Human rights Prize 1998 Message-ID: IHV to receive European Human rights Prize 1998 Ankara - Turkish Daily News The Human Rights Foundation of Turkey (IHV) has been awarded the European Human Rights Prize 1998 by the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe, following a proposal by the Parliamentary Assembly. The IHV shared the prize, given once every three years, with Mrs. Chiara Lubich, the founder of the International Focolari Movement (Italy) and "Committee on the Administration of Justice" (Northern Ireland). In previous years, persons and organizations including the International Commission of Jurists, Amnesty International Medical Section, Lech Walesa, International Helsinki federation of Human Rights, Raul Alfonsin, Raoul Wallenberg, Sergei Kovalyov were awarded the prize. The Award Ceremony of the European Human Rights Prize took place in the Parliamentary Session of the European Council on Sept. 22 in Strasbourg. In addition to Yavuz Onen, the president of IHV, Leni Fischer, president of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council Europe and Giorgios Papandreu, chairman-in-office of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe gave speeches. Onen, in his speech, gave a short history of the IHV, which was established in 1980 after the military coup, and said, "We started the organized human rights struggle in Turkey with the families of extrajudicially murdered, tortured persons, persons killed or disabled under torture, disappeared persons, prisoners and we started this struggle especially with mothers." Indicating that they knew that killings, violence and oppression awaited them, Onen said that fourteen members of the Human Rights Association (IHD) in Turkey were killed by unknown assailants. Mentioning the assassination attempt on Akin Birdal, president of the IHD, in May, Onen said that branches of their and IHD's organizations had been closed down and they had been and were still being prosecuted in many trials. "I would like to announce before all of you that we will continue our struggle for the protection and improvement of human rights together with our staff and volunteers, and with international solidarity," said Onen in a speech made after he received his prize. The IHV was previously awarded the following prizes Human Rights Prize by the French Government in 1991. International Freedom Award by the International Centre for Human Rights in 1991. Sakharov Freedom Fund Annual Award by the Sakharoz Freedom Fund Governing Board in 1994. Roger Baldwin Medal of Liberty Award by the Lawyers Committee for Human Rights in 1994. Law Group Partners Award by the International Human Rights Law Group in 1995. Honorary Award by the Progressive Journalists Association in 1995. -- 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 ozgurluk at xs4all.nl Thu Sep 24 21:21:44 1998 From: ozgurluk at xs4all.nl (ozgurluk at xs4all.nl) Date: 24 Sep 1998 21:21:44 Subject: Turkey-Stategangs, more revelations Message-ID: 24 Sept. 1998 Asik, Cakici affair haunts Motherland Alleged involvement of State Minister Eyup Asik in fugitive gangster Alaattin Cakici's attempts to evade police creates a fresh headache for the ruling party Ankara - Turkish Daily News An alleged telephone conversation between State Minister Eyup Asik and a notorious Turkish gang leader recently captured in France has opened a fresh wound in the minority coalition government and placed the ruling Motherland Party (ANAP) of Prime Minister Mesut Yilmaz in an extremely difficult position. "It's obvious that we are facing an extremely extraordinary situation. I should say, I am following the developments with amazement," acting Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit, the junior partner of the ruling minority coalition government, told reporters Wednesday after a private TV channel aired the alleged conversation between Asik and Alaattin Cakici. Asik was quick to declare as fabrication Wednesday the tape-recorded alleged telephone conversation between himself and Cakici which demonstrated that he had helped the notorious gangster evade police operations to capture him. Acknowledging that he did speak with Cakici, the state minister claimed that the telephone conversation aired by the TV channel was "assembled" and denied the charges. Asked whether there was a need for Asik to tender his resignation or whether he would ask the minister to submit his resignation, Ecevit, pointing out that the prime minister was out of the country, said he would not take any action against Asik in his capacity as acting prime minister and would leave the decision to Yilmaz on his return. Yilmaz, who came to power on a pledge to clean the state of the gangs that first surfaced with the notorious Susurluk incident three years ago, an incident that involved a police chief, a mafia leader and a conservative politician, is on record vowing to do whatever is required if any of his ministers were proved to be collaborating with underground figures. President Suleyman Demirel, on the other hand, adopting a cautious approach, said charges against Asik have to be proven before any action against the minister could be taken. "If the mafia, the gangs, have entered the state, the state will pull them out," he said. The president said that, if the charges against Asik could be proved, "then some other things will develop but I will not comment further on allegations." However, Justice Minister Hasan Denizkurdu, an independent, noted that Asik has publicly declared that he had talked with Cakici and has also promised to inform the State Security Court prosecutor about the telephone conversation with the gangster. "If what appeared in the press and if what's reported elsewhere constitutes a crime then I can assure you that Asik will be tried like an ordinary citizen," the minister said. "Everyone is equal before the law, irrespective of his or her position, religion, color or race," he said. He recalled that Asik has asked Parliament to lift his immunity. The True Path Party (DYP), which suffered serious headaches while in office in coalition with the now-closed Islamist Welfare Party (RP) during the Susurluk incident, was quick to demand Asik's resignation from the government. DYP deputy parliamentary group chairman Turan Guven claimed that it was impossible for Asik to have talks Cakici without the knowledge and consent of Prime Minister Yilmaz. Meanwhile, Meral Aksener, the interior minister of the former DYP-RP coalition government, declared that if claims that she helped Cakici evade police were proven then she would quit politics. Guven also vowed that, if any of the charges against Aksener could be verified, the party would take the appropriate action against the former minister. The Republican People's Party (CHP), on whose outside support the current minority government is surviving, also demanded that Asik be relieved of his ministerial duties. CHP leader Deniz Baykal said he believed Yilmaz would take the appropriate action against Asik. "He should anyhow," he added. While Baykal was talking discreetly, other leading officials of the CHP were more open. Deputy party leader Onur Kumbaracibasi said that if the prime minister keeps Asik in the government then the CHP would review whether or not it would continue supporting the minority coalition. The controversy It was the Channel D broadcasted tape-recorded conversations between Alaattin Cakici and Eyup Asik, the right hand man of Mesut Yilmaz, the previous day. In the cassette, Cakici is heard addressing Asik as "my brother" and asking about Mesut Yilmaz's attitude toward him. Cakici says that Asik had asked him to move to another place and personally assisted him, and expresses surprise at continuing attempts toward his arrest. Asik accepted that the voice on the tape was his and faces strong pressure to resign. The cassette contains allusions to a female minister who helped Cakici, whose identity has been revealed as Meral Aksener, former minister of interior of the Refahyol government. Aksener stated that these claims were part of a plot against her, saying that if her relations to Cakici were proved she would resign, even quit politics. In a press meeting at the Ceylan Intercontinental Hotel yesterday, Aksener said that she received the cassette two days ago, and that ANAP, who knew of it in advance, made a public statement to defend itself, using Channel D. Suggesting that the programme on Channel D was one-sided and sought to save Asik and ANAP, Aksener said that Mesut Yilmaz should resign right away. The telephone conversation between Cakici and Asik Cakici: Remember, you told us to move then and that's what we did. Asik: Haa... Cakici: This is the part that makes me sad. Asik: Let me tell you something. I sent messages to you with a couple of more people. I also talked with Enis. Cakici: Then... For example, they say that he calls somebody... Beside the person whom we know (Mesut Yilmaz)... When he says that "he should not come here in one piece, he should come dead"... Of course, I felt very sad... Because we ... to Mr. Yilmaz... Asik: It is impossible. Cakici: And then I realized that I had not caused any harm. I just helped Mr. Yilmaz. Asik: The man they called to the USA. Let me give him a call... Let me call him here... Let me see what he knows... What does he say... What happened over there... Cakici: Brother, I immediately changed places when you asked me. I went up, to Canada. I waited for a couple of months. Then I went back. In other words... Asik: The police officer from Artvin is here. Not Selcuk... Something like Demiralp... I cannot remember his name now. Something like Selcuk. Senturk Demiralp... Cakici: I give importance to you. I can not say anything for Mesut Yilmaz. Remember that he suffered blows before. Mr. Yilmaz does not like the men who serve him. -- 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 ozgurluk at xs4all.nl Fri Sep 25 20:50:59 1998 From: ozgurluk at xs4all.nl (ozgurluk at xs4all.nl) Date: 25 Sep 1998 20:50:59 Subject: Turkey:Workers' Party (IP) Chairman arrested Message-ID: 09-26-98 Ankara - Turkish Daily News Dogu Perincek taken into custody Ankara - Turkish Daily News Workers' Party (IP) Chairman Dogu Perincek, General Secretary Mehmet Bedri Gultekin and four other party members were taken into custody because a connection between the IP and the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) was discovered after an investigation by the Ankara State Security Court (DGM). According to the Anatolia news agency, Ankara DGM Prosecutor Nuh Mete Yuksel ordered that the headquarters and all branch offices of this party across the country be searched as a part of the inquiry, which began last year. The examinations uncovered three unregistered guns in the IP's headquarters and one unregistered gun in the IP's office in Mamak, Ankara. IP Chairman Dogu Perincek, General Secretary Mehmet Bedri Gultekin and three other party members from party headquarters and one party member from the IP office in Mamak were taken to the Anti-Terrorism Department of the police at 1:00 p.m., on Wednesday. It was stated that interrogation of the detainees could take three to four days. -- 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 ozgurluk at xs4all.nl Fri Sep 25 20:51:57 1998 From: ozgurluk at xs4all.nl (ozgurluk at xs4all.nl) Date: 25 Sep 1998 20:51:57 Subject: State Mafia in Turkey: The Primeminister Message-ID: 25 September,1998, Copyright ? Turkish Daily News Yilmaz tries to save his neck in the Asik syndrome DYP says the PM should quit while CHP says Yilmaz should understand that there is no cure for death Ankara - Turkish Daily News The "Asik syndrome" has begun to plague Prime Minister Mesut Yilmaz. While the True Path Party (DYP) demanded the resignation of the prime minister, the Republican People's Party (CHP) said the premier should understand that he cannot save himself in attempting to save State Minister Eyup Asik. As legal investigations into alleged telephone conversations between State Minister Asik and gang leader Alaattin Cakici, imprisoned in France and who faced court for the first time in Nice on Thursday, were launched yesterday with Channel D Editor Ugur Dundar handing over the controversial cassette recordings to the office of the Istanbul State Secrutiy Court prosecutor, Prime Minister Mesut Yilmaz left New York, where he was attending the U.N. General Assembly, to the aid of his minister. He says he does not believe Asik did anything wrong. Yilmaz believes that Asik may be facing a plot which would eventually be directed at himself as the prime minister. The prime minister claims that the diligent and determined drive of his government to rid the state of organized crime and mafia gangs has irritated those groups. "They want us to resign," he said, recalling that over the past several months his government succeeded in placing five notorious gang leaders behind bars. The support given to Asik by Prime Minister Yilmaz, however, further infuriated both the opposition parties and the CHP, on whose outside support the minority coalition government is surviving. The main opposition Islamist Virtue Party (FP) and the True Path of former Prime Minister Tansu Ciller declared that Asik should immediately resign. The CHP, on the other hand, claims that Yilmaz was trying to save Asik in a bid to prevent his own political demise. "There is no cure for death. If Yilmaz is trying to save Asik in order to save himself, he need not worry," CHP leader Deniz Baykal said, adding, "If there is a reason for him to be removed (from the prime ministry), he will go anyhow." A DYP spokesmen underlined that Asik could not have acted independently and that all contacts between the controversial minister and Cakici were within the full knowledge and consent of Yilmaz himself. "Prime Minister Mesut Yilmaz must resign because he had ties with fugitive mafia godfather Alaattin Cakici," Deputy leader of the True Path Party (DYP) Hayri Kozakcioglu declared on Thursday. Kozakcioglu told a news conference in Istanbul that it was Yilmaz not State Minister Asik who was responsible for enabling Cakici to flee from justice. Asik is the state minister of government monopolies. Police arrested Cakici, a former right wing hit man accused of extortion, attempted assassination and murders, earlier this month in southern France. Newspapers on Wednesday gave full verbatim text of a wiretapped telephone conversation between Cakici and Asik, in which the minister acknowledged he had tipped off the gangster about his imminent arrest and had him taken safely out of Turkey. "Asik is not the man responsible for this affair. He was just used. The one who is responsible is the head of the government," Kozakcioglu charged. "Yilmaz must step down." He also accused Asik of being "the minister responsible for criminal gangs and not the state monopolies." -- 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 tabe at ozgurluk.xs4all.nl Tue Sep 29 11:51:11 1998 From: tabe at ozgurluk.xs4all.nl (tabe at ozgurluk.xs4all.nl) Date: 29 Sep 1998 11:51:11 Subject: Turkey: Tear gas for Saturday-mothers Message-ID: A short update on the struggle of the mothers of the disappeared in Turkey, the "Saturday-others". Saturday, 26 Sept. Istanbul - Galatasaray - the 176. Week the mothers were again subjected to heavy police attacks. The Police used tear gas and arrested 22 persons, under it two children. 150 persons were attending the rally Ankara - at 12.30 o'clock the rally of the the Saturday mothers started. Here it was the 44. time the Saturday mothers went in to the streets. This time the most important subject of the rally was the worsening situation inside the prisoners. Here there were no arrests. It looks like the Turkish state is determined to wipe out the protests from the Saturday-mothers. When we receive more information we will inform the public opinion. -- 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 ozgurluk at xs4all.nl Tue Sep 29 19:07:40 1998 From: ozgurluk at xs4all.nl (ozgurluk at xs4all.nl) Date: 29 Sep 1998 19:07:40 Subject: Turkey Warns U.S. Message-ID: Tuesday September 29 6:36 PM EDT Turkey Warns U.S. To Butt Out ANKARA, Turkey (AP) _ Turkey protested a U.S. diplomat's criticism of a jail sentence given Istanbul's Islamic mayor for reading a religious poem, saying Tuesday its ally should stay out of its domestic affairs. ``We consider comments by a foreigner on a verdict by Turkey's highest judicial authority as an intervention into our internal affairs,'' the Foreign Ministry said. The Foreign Ministry registered its objections with the U.S. Embassy in Ankara, the capital. U.S. Consul-General Carolyn Huggins met Monday with Mayor Recep Tayyip Erdogan, saying afterward that his prosecution served to ``weaken confidence in Turkish democracy.'' Erdogan, who was seen as a future leader of Turkey's Islamic movement, received a 10-month prison sentence for reading a strident religious poem at a December rally. The sentence, upheld by an appeals court last week, means a lifetime ban from public office. -- 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