ANKARA: AN ATTACK ON AKIN BIRDAL
Mr. Akin Birdal, President of the Turkish Association for Human Rights (IHD) since 1992, and Vice-President of the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) was seriously wounded on Tuesday 12 May in an attack carried out in his offices by two unidentified persons. The attackers fired thirteen shots at Mr Birdal, who was hit in the chest and the legs. The attackers were able to escape on foot. According to the doctors, Mr Birdal’s life, after major surgery lasting over four hours in a nearby hospital, was finally saved and he is gradually recovering.
According to Husnu Ondul, Mr Birdal’s lawyer, he had recently "received anonymous threats (...) the Turkish State has never provided the police protection asked for by the Association". The Minister of the Interior, Murat Bassesgioglu, for his part, denied these remarks.
An agricultural engineer, long committed to the peaceful struggle for democracy, Mr Birdal, 50 years of age, served a one year prison sentence after the army coup d’état in September 1980. In 1997, he was sentenced to a year’s jail for "separatist" remarks and for "incitement to race hatred". His case is at the moment before the Court of Appeals. He also faces about twenty other charges of "separatist propaganda". Several times accused by several daily papers and Turkish leaders of "acting in support of the PKK", his name had recently been mentioned as one of the people alleged to have supported the PKK in the "confessions" of Semdin Sakik, former commanded of the PKK in Turkey, who had been arrested in Northern Iraq in the course of a Turkish Army operation. Mr Birdal had rejected "all these accusations aimed at discrediting and then eliminating those of us who spoil their sport".
This manner of discrediting opponents by press campaigns orchestrated by the political police (MIT), to hold them up as objects for public hatred as "traitors" or "separatists" before having them assassinated by the death squads is now common practice with the Turkish regime. The Turkish Prime Minister, and his Minister of the Interior, moreover, at first tried to make it seem that Mr. Birdal had been the victim of "an internal settling of the PKK" even though an extreme Right illegal organisation "The Vengeance Brigade" had already claimed responsibility.
The attack, and the overhasty reaction of the Turkish authorities aroused strong feelings in several Western countries, feelings that reflected Mr Birdal’s reputation and respect for his actions. Mr Klaus Kindel, head of the Germany Foreign Office, was the first to react by "deeply deploring" the attack and hoping that the affair would be "rapidly clarified", He specified that he knew this courageous defender of Human Rights, having met him several times, the last time being at Ankara in March 1997. The acting President of the European Union, in a Press statement issued in London said. "We have learnt, with concern and stupefaction, about the cowardly attack on Mr Birdal". The E.U. "condemns this attack" and "strongly supports he statements of the Turkish authorities that all efforts are being made to bring those responsible to book". In Paris, a spokesman of the Foreign Office expressed "France’s feelings" and paid homage to "Mr Birdal’s unfailing struggle for Human Rights". "we want to believe that this event will reinforce the determination, in Turkey, of all those who share this objective, including those in the Government, and who struggle for democratisation" it added. Italy is "indignant" and "deplores" the attack on Mr Birdal, declared the Foreign Minister, who stressed that, for Rome, "The adoption by the Ankara government of European standards of Human Rights is the indispensable precondition for a gradual rapprochement between that country and Europe".
For its part, Greece stigmatises "the authoritarian mechanisms which terrorise the citizens wishing to express their opinions freely in Turkey, which remains a grey democracy, prisoner of these mechanisms". "This attack was a plot against Mr Birdal, but also against democracy and human rights, which are, in practice emptied of all real content in Turkey" the spokesman said.
In Paris, in an open letter to the Turkish President, Suleyman Demirel, Mrs Mitterrand, President of the France- Libertés Foundation and of CILDEKT, expressed her "indignation" in the face of "this atrocious attack, which is part of the wave of persecutions, threats and assassinations of Human Rights defenders" and added "we are obliged to question the capacity of your government to establish a State of Laws in Turkey".
In London, Amnesty International accused the Turkish authorities of having "created the climate" for the attack. "The Turkish authorities have tried persistently to discredit the Turkish Association for Human Rights (IHD) and neither conducted any enquiries nor sentenced the perpetrators of previous attacks on its representatives" says Amnesty’s communiqué, which adds "more than 10 members of IHD have been assassinated since 1991 (...) It appears that these murders have never been the object or any proper enquiry and even that their authors have been protected".
This view is also shared by broad sections of Turkish opinion. Thus for Recai Kutan, President of the islamic Virtue Party, "it is impossible to talk about democracy and Human Rights in a climate in which the President of the Human Rights Association is accused, without any legal grounds, and openly pinpointed as a target to the killers" . This argument was taken up by Aydin Erdogan, IHD’s lawyer "Birdal has been pointed out as a target over the last few days. It was an invitation to murder".
On Thursday May 14, the European Parliament passed a resolution "totally condemning" the attack on Akin Birdal, President of the Turkish Association for Human Rights. The MEPs regard Mr Birdal as "a highly respected human rights activist who has regularly informed the European delegations, ambassadors and a number of Parliaments own members" and who has "faced significant pressure from the Turkish authorities" and "is currently facing a number legal proceedings on account of his human rights activities" (…) "whereas little has been done to bring to justice the perpetrators of attacks on other members of the Human Rights Association" .
The European Parliament "expresses its shock and outrage at the attack on Akin Birdal" and its "concern that the climate brought about by the existing impunity for those responsible for attacks on other members of human rights organisations and journalists has contributed to such an attack taking place" and "calls on the Turkish authorities to ensure that the material and intellectual authors of this, and other similar crimes, are brought to justice" and invites them "to ensure that guarantees are provided for IHD and other human rights NGOs to engage freely in their activities for the defence and promotion of human rights".
In Washington, in a letter dated May 15 and addressed to the Turkish civil and military authorities, with copies to President Clinton, Mrs Albright and Mary Robinson, U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights, 24 American Human Rights ONGs called for the immediate opening of an enquiry into the attack on Akin Birdal perpetrated on May 12 in his Ankara office. The following is the text of the letter:
"The work of Mr. Birdal and the IHD is recognized and respected internationally. Mr. Birdal is Vice-President of the International Federation of Human Rights Leagues (FIDH). As Turkey’s largest human rights monitoring group, the IHD continues to pay a heavy price for its vocal support of human rights and democracy. As you know, more than a dozen IHD offices have been closed by the government, dozens of its members have been killed by death squads, and its leaders face continual legal proceedings. Despite the severe repression and great personal risk, Akin and his colleagues have continued to speak out.
We believe the assault on Akin represents an assault on human rights, democracy and non-violent advocacy. As the leader of a government professing commitment to international human rights standards, it is critical that Akin Birdal’s assailants and others responsible fort the attack be brought to justice. It is further critical that the pervasive hostile atmosphere which fuels such politically motivated attacks be defused so that further bloodshed is avoided.
Again, we urge you to conduct a swift and thorough investigation and to take steps to prevent further attacks on human rights defenders as they carry out their important work".
This letter was signed by, amongst others, the Center for Victims of Torture, Human Rights Alliance, International Human Rights Law Group, World Organisation Against Torture/USA, Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Center for Human Rights, Physicians for Human Rights and Washington Kurdish Institute.
For his part, the American Secretary of State for Human Rights, on May 12, wrote to Akin, who he had met several times. Here is an extract from the letter, published in the Turkish Daily News on May 15:
"I was deeply shock and saddened to learn of the attack on your life this morning. Such acts have no place in democratic society. The United States Government has condemned this attack in the strongest terms and has called upon the Turkish Government to bring to justice the perpetrators of this heinous crime.
I an not alone in believing Turkey owes you a debt of gratitude for your courageous work on behalf of human rights in Turkey. Your group and the human rights NGO community at large in Turkey play a vital role in promoting greater democracy. We continue to urge the Turkish Government to foster an atmosphere where such groups can operate freely and openly without fear of intimidation so that democracy can flourish"
On May 18, Me. Patrick Baudoin, President of the F.I.D.H. went to Turkey where he was able to visit Akin at the Sevgi Hospital in Ankara, In a Press conference he gave on coming out of the hospital, Me. Baudoin indicated that the F.I.D.H. family had "experienced with shock and sadness" the attack on its Vice-President Akin. "We are here to show our support and our solidarity with Akin and the defenders of Human Rights, and to remind the leaders of the country of their responsibilities. We cannot be satisfied merely by soothing words from the Turkish authorities". The FIDH President read to the press the text of his open letter to the Turkish President, S. Demirel, and Prime Minister, M. Yilmaz. As far as the FIDH is concerned, "it is not enough to condemn the attack on Mr. The Turkish authorities must take concrete measures to find the authors of the May 12 attack, to arrest them and bring them to justice in the shortest possible time".
Finally, in the course a flying visit to Ankara, the British Foreign Minister insisted on visiting the President of IHD in his hotel room, essentially to find out how he was and to wish him a speedy recovery. Mr Cook told "We have been watching IHD for a long time. We appreciate the sensitivity that he () has shown of Human Rights issues and his style of work". Stressing that the attack on Mr had provoked adverse reactions in the European Union, the British Minister, whose country is acting President of the Union, showed that all the European countries had condemned this attack. "We will continue to follow the honourable struggle you have waged on the way to developing a human rights culture" Mr Cook assured him, before adding "the Turkish authorities must find the authors of this attack".
Thanking the British Minister for his highly symbolic visit, the IHD president told him that the attack against him had been organised by those who wanted to distance Turkey from the European Union process, and that he and his colleagues would do everything in their power to make Turkey a democratic country where social peace would be assured. Recalling that his Association (IHD) was presented by some circles as "an enemy of the State", stressed that it only struggled for peace and human rights. "Turkey must be a country that respects the standards of the European Union, where social peace rules and where everyone can express themselves freely. IHD is concerned at Turkey’s reputation for violations of human rights. Together with these actions against me there are efforts to push Turkey, which every day moves further from the E.U. process, out of the process altogether".
This visit gave rise to incidents between leaders of IHD and the police. Despite the objections of the former, three Turkish police, arguing security imperatives, entered Mr Birdal’s room and listened in to his meeting with Mr Cook, who was accompanied by the British Ambassador, David Logan. According to IHD, one of the police recorded the whole conversation. In addition to Mr Cook, Mr received the visit of a delegation of Socialist members of the European Parliament and of the Speaker of the Austrian Parliament, Mr Fischer, who was on an official visit to Ankara. Moreover, in several towns, in particular Ankara and Diyarbekir, thousands of peaceful demonstrators protested against the attack on the IHD president.
All these internal and external pressures have led the Turkish authorities to arrest the executants of the attack. On May 22nd, 6 people implicated in the attack on the Turkish Association for Human Rights (IHD) on May 12 were arrested by the Turkish police. Amongst them are the two executioners, B. Eken and K. Deretarha, who actually fired the 13 shots at, and a gendarmerie warrant officer, Cengis Erserver, stationed at Büyükçekmece, near Istanbul, who is thought to have organised the attack, and several accomplices. In the course of a confrontation, organised on May 25 at the Sevgi Hospital, A. formally recognised the two gunmen. The latter have, in any case, confessed. They told how they had been recruited, introduced to warrant officer Ersever and trained "for 90 days in the Siliviri forest with about fifteen other Ilkucu (extreme right activists) for their future missions". On Erserver’s orders, they came to Ankara 4 days before the attack to spy out the land. Their task was to kidnap to take him to the infamous "death triangle" around Siliver, on the Ankara-Istanbul road to "interrogate" him before ;shooting him down "in the interests of the Great Turkish Nation". According to them, the interview with the IHD president didn’t go according to plan. When became suspicious and tried to turn them out on the grounds of another appointment, they decided to just shoot him. After their crime, they entrusted their arms to an Ankara accomplice then hired a taxi and went to report to Ersever
The Turkish press describes the latter as "Yesil’s right hand man". Yesil, also known as the Terminator or the Angel of Death, is one of the main organisers of the Turkish death squads, operating under a number of aliases on behalf of, and under the protection of the "Special War Office". Over 4,500 civilian murders are attributed to these squads. Proof of Yesil’s close connections with the Gendarmerie Intelligence Department (JITEM) and the political police (MIT) have innumerable times been published in the Turkish newspapers since the Susurluk scandal. One of the police chiefs, Hanifi Avci, former Deputy Director of the Intelligence Department of the National Police General Directorate, who was the source of several of these leaks on the links between some State Departments, the extreme right mafia and gangsters, who was summoned to appear before the State Security Court for "divulging State secrets". declared to the daily paper Hurriyet "If they had listened to me, we could have dismantled all these gangs and rendered them harmless, and there wouldn’t have been any attack on. The people implicated in this attack, in particular Ersever, are Yesil’s men. Transcriptions of phone taps show that Yesil and Erserver talk to one another as much as 20 times a day. They wouldn’t listen to me. Yesil and his men are implicated in so many murders, rackets various forms of trafficking and wander about perfectly freely. As for me, I’m summoned before the courts and threatened with a 15 year sentence for telling the truth and calling for a clean State".
Warrant officer Erserver has acknowledged "with pride" having organised the attack against after "the revelations" attributed to S. Sakik aiming at accrediting the idea that the IHD president was a PKK supported. However, observers consider that he is just a small cog in the wheel and Turkish law will not dare to push its enquiry to the real authors of the orders to kill. The Turkish Prime Minister, Mr Yilmaz, who had solemnly promised to rapidly bring to light all the Susurluk affair and other scandals regarding "unsolved murders" was rapidly obliged to give up. Questioned by the press, the Turkish Minister of the Interior stated that he couldn’t answer questions on Yesil’s whereabouts or even whether he was dead or alive.
THE FRENCH NATIONAL ASSEMBLY’S RECOGNITION OF THE ARMENIAN GENOCIDE GIVES RISE TO ACUTE TENSION WITH ANKARA
ON Saturday May 25, the French National Assembly passed, at its first reading and with the unanimity of all the members present, a Bill presented by the Socialists which stated, in its single Article, "France publicly recognises the Armenian genocide of 1915". Immediately Turkey expressed its "disappointment" and the Turkish media launched a virulent anti-French campaign.
"The decision taken today by the French M.P.s has no other meaning than a falsification of historical facts" stated Turkish President Suleyman Demirel, adding that "Certain Western circles have not forgotten the Treaty of Sèvres … the Ottoman Empire has given birth to 26 States, except for the Armenian and Kurdish, and there never will be an Armenian or Kurdish state in Anatolia … Turkey recognises its enemies (…) If all its enemies unite against Turkey it has the capacity of facing up to them"
The Deputy-Premier, Bulent Ecevit, for his part, stressed that "France seemed to be Turkey’s closest ally in the European Union. We now see we were deceived. It’s a very hard blow". Mr Ecevit describes the Bill as a "deformation of history", whereas the Socialist presenter of the text recalled that "the total of deaths vary between 1,500,000 according to Armenian publications and 800,000 officially admitted by the Turkish Ministry of the Interior in 1919 and accepted by Mustafa Kemal".
In a letter addressed to his French opposite number, Lionel Jospin, the Turkish Prime Minister, Mesut Yilmaz, wrote "the Turkish people cannot accept the use of the term "genocide" to describe the sad events produced during the Great War, and it feels unjustly accused of a crime it has not committed, at a time marked by great suffering on both sides".
Turkey recognises the reality of the massacres but rejects any "genocidal" intention, In the course of a NATO meeting in Luxembourg, the French Foreign Minister, Hubert Vedrine, and his Turkish opposite number Ismail Cem, met on Thursday May 30 1998 to discuss this Bill, Ismail Cem had let it be known that the good Franco-Turkish political and commercial relations would deteriorate if it was finally passed. Pressures are still being applied, since the Senate is due to examine it in the autumn.
For his part, the Turkish Defence Minister, Ismet Swzgin, stressed on Friday 5 June that French companies could be excluded from major Turkish arms contracts adding that "by selecting the countries from which Turkey will buy military equipment, we are taking into account, amongst other things, the extent to which these countries defend our international theses or don’t".
In the first Turkish reprisal in the area of civilian trade, the city of Izmir (Smyrna, third largest city in the country) excluded three French companies from its invitation to tender for the building of a metro line – a contract worth about $ 275 million. Moreover, Izmir decided not to allow the French firms Cegelec and Sofretu to take part in the Trade fair that takes place there every summer. "We will not accept French companies so long as France has not changed its position … They have badly interpreted historical facts" explained Haluk Narbay, spokesman for the city of Izmir. The Directorate General of the Turkish Railways (TCDD) has also re-issued an invitation to tender for 60 locomotives, representing between 1,200 and 2,400 million francs which had been won by the Franco-British consortium GEC-Alsthom, at the end of 1997 in an earlier tender and annulled at the beginning of April for "non-conformity with specifications".
As far as the military sector is concerned, a FF 2,700 million contract between Aérospaciale and Turkey for the production of 10,000 Eryx short range anti-tank missiles was postponed on the eve of its signature. The Franco-German group Eurocopter is at present negotiating a contract worth FF 15 billion for the joint production of 145 Tiger helicopter gunships, and GIAT Industries for the joint production of a thousand Leclerc tanks for FF 25 billion.
Turkish officials have also announced that Thomson CSF would not be able to participate in a public tender valued at about FF 900 million intended to equip the planes of the Turkish Coast Guards. Other military contracts are in danger of suffering from the cooling of relations, since Turkey announced on Thursday 11 June the suspension of all negotiations on defence contract with France, to a total value of $ 10 billion. "Proceedings are under way in the French Parliament regarding this law. So long as these proceedings continue, if there are any thing’s to sign they are suspended till the end of these proceedings" declared Necati Utkan, Turkish Foreign Affairs spokesman.
DOCUMENT: THE TURKISH GOVERNMENT ACKNOWLEDGES THE EVACUATION OF 3,428 KURDISH VILLAGES AND HAMLETS
The Commission on migrations of the Turkish Parliament has just made public a 120-page report on the social, educational and health situation in the South-Eastern provinces. This document recognises the forced evacuation of 3,428 Kurdish villages and hamlets (the official total as of 30/11/1997). below are extracts from this most important document:
villages evacuated, enforced exodus of inhabitants.
According to the enquiry of the super-prefecture (regional super-Governorate) of the State of Emergency region (OHAL) regarding the extent of the evacuation of villages in 1993 and 1994: in the OHAL region (Diyarbekir, Hakkari, Siirt, Sirnak, Tunceli & Van) and the adjoining zones (Batman, Bingol, Bitlis, Mardin and Mus), excluding those people who returned to the 11 provinces in November 1997, the figure for people exiled reached the figure of 378,335 for 820 villages and 2,345 hamlets.
The OHAL regional governorate’s data for the evacuated villages and its breakdown by province is shown in Table I below: (see Page 7)
TABLE II
Provinces Villages Hamlets
Agri : 8 45
Kars : 12 8
Erzurum : 15 -
Erzincan : 17 70
Sivas : 1 -
Sanliurfa : 4 20
Adiyaman : 10 12
Igdir : 9 4
Elazig : 9 19
TOTAL : 85 178
DWELLING CENTERS EVACUATED OUTSIDE THE STATE OF EMERGENCY REGION AND ADJOINING AREAS
Thus the total number of villages evacuated is 906 and hamlets 2,923, that is a total of 3,429/3,828 dwelling centers. There remain some who state that the figures given by the OHAL regional Governorate do not include all the villages evacuated. For example the Member of Parliament for Tunceli Province, Orhan Veli Yilderim, has made the following observations:
* The official statistical data regarding evacuated villages are wrong. For example, in my province the village of Baylik is my home village and today it is empty. Officially it is considered inhabited – yet it’s empty. Yesilkaya, a neighbouring village to that of our mayor, is listed as inhabited. It is empty, The same goes for the village of Çemisgezek; Ulukale is said to be occupied – it is empty. Moreover, in the last case, the State, in order to change the village’s location has assigned the land to expropriation. The village of Ibimahmut, in Mazgirt district, is also empty, though listed as inhabited. I am only listing here villages about which I am certain. (Appendix 1, pp. 201 - 202.)
TABLE III
VILLAGES HAMLETS TOTAL
State of Emergency Region 517 1614 2131
Adjoining Zones 303 731 1034
Other Provinces 85 178 263
Total 905 2523 3428
TOTAL OF DWELLING CENTERS EVACUATED
THE CORRESPONDENT OF THE FRENCH DAILY LIBÉRATION SENTENCED TO 10 M0NTHS JAIL
Ragip Duran, correspondent of the French daily Libération and an editorial writer for the daily Ulkede Gundem, who was sentenced to 10 months imprisonment on December 18 1995 for "terrorist propaganda" (Article 7, clause 2 of the Anti-terrorist Act) was take to prison on Tuesday June 16 1998, to serve his sentence which, with reductions will in fact be 7 months.
Lecturer at the French language at the University of Galatasaray, in Istanbul, where he taught journalistic ethics, this journalist, who had also worked for the BBC and Agence France Presse, had also been sentenced in December 1994 for a background snippet to an interview with Abdullah Ocalan, leader of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) that appeared on, 2 April 1994, in Ozgur Gundem (predecessor of Ulkede Gundem – since banned). The Istanbul state Security Court had not objected to the interview itself, but to the analysis of his remarks in which the journalist had written that Abdullah Ocalan had the stature "of a philosopher and a moralist, as well as his political and military role". The Court of Appeals had confirmed the sentence in 1997 but Mr. Duran and enjoyed a stay of execution, which has since expired.
Ragip Duran, who had been named "journalist of the year" by the Turkish Association for Human Rights in 1991 and received the Freedom of Expression Prize of Human Rights Watch in 1997, commented on his sentences, in an article that appeared in Libération on Tuesday June 16, in these terms:
" My overseas colleagues hadn’t at first believed in the final verdict of the Court of Appeals: "terrorist propaganda"! I tried to explain to the judges and the Public Prosecutor the fundamental difference between information and propaganda. But it was impossible to convince them. Because, in Turkey, the mass media are all more or less propaganda organs of the politico-economic powers that be. They are free to praise the economic policies of the government (95% annual inflation!), public apologetics for the Turkish Army’s violence against the Kurds (More than 25,000 deaths in 14 years) insult the Greeks and Armenians not to say Brussels and, more recently, Paris (supporter of the Armenian terrorists of the ASALA!) – but they are forbidden to question the role and place of the Army in Turkish society and its state, or attempt to understand and make others understand the Kurdish demands …".
In a communiqué on 15 June 1998, the Association Reporters sans Frontières demanded a revision of the sentence and described it as "a serious attack on the freedom of the press (…) deviations of the Anti-Terrorist Act which enable the silencing of certain journalists in Turkey". For its part the Committee for the protection of Journalists (CPJ) stressed the "illegal denial of his (Mr Duran’s) rights to freedom of expression, both as a journalist and as a Turkish citizen".
Mr Duran gave himself up as a prisoner, surrounded by applauding fellow journalists, at the Saray prison, 150, Kms from Istanbul.
THE COUNCIL OF EUROPE HAS FINALLY ADOPTED THE REPORT ON THE KURDS... BUT...
ON Thursday 25 June, the Council of Europe approved the report of its Commission on migration, refugees and population, entitled "Humanitarian situation of Kurdish refugees and displaced persons in South-Eastern Turkey and Northern Iraq".
This report had aimed at "understanding the causes of the major movements of populations, essentially Kurdish, both internal to and coming from South-Eastern Turkey and Northern Iraq, and to evaluate their situation and their humanitarian needs" and called for "the Turkish Government to take such steps that a peaceful outcome could be reached to the armed conflict in which it was engaged in the South East of the country".
At the end of a very lively debate, Directive 545 was adopted. This specifies that the Assembly should "play a more important role in the promotion of peace and reconciliation in the Kurdish regions of South-Eastern Turkey and elsewhere (…) [and] charges its Commission to for the Respect of Member States Commitments’ to examine the question of the Kurdish minority in the context of the procedure to follow regarding Turkey".
After four hours of debate and voting on numerous Turkish amendments, Mrs Vermot-Mangold, reporter of the report, declared "I no longer recognise this completely watered down report". Thus, the idea of an international conference on the Kurdish question, proposed by the reporter was replaced by the sending of a Council Delegation to the region to listen to evidence on the events. Another important point, the final report no longer demands that members of the security forces accused of Human Rights violations be tried, but calls for the trial of "whosoever" should violate human rights, Moreover, the report condemns "the violence and terrorism perpetrated by the PKK" as well as "the evacuation and burning down of villages by the Turkish Armed Forces". The final text nevertheless calls on Ankara to rake measures to enable the Kurds to exercise their cultural and political rights and to disband the government financed "village protector" system.
In the course of the debate Mrs Vermot-Mangold was criticised for "creating a Kurdish problem" and entering into political and not just humanitarian issues. The Turkish delegates described the report as "political, biased and incomplete". They regretted the criticisms made of the Turkish Army which, according to them, were present in the region to protect the villagers. They also talked of "false and selective information",
Amongst the speakers, Lord Judd (UK) stressed the extent that the atmosphere was "tense and impassioned". Mrs Christodoulides (Cyprus) welcomed " the objectivity and political courage " of Mrs Vermot-Mangold’s report "in view of the Turkish delegation’s reaction, which even went to the extent of presenting a counter report and proposing over fifty amendments so as to denature the proposed recommendations" . Mrs Varela (Spain) added that "the Turkish delegation brought a little book to give to the other delegations aimed at contradicting this document and throwing all the blame on the PKK" Mr Brunetti (Italy) quoted eloquent figures from the Turkish Parliamentary Commission of enquiry report, kept under wraps by the Turkish government: 37,000 victims and over 3 million refugees. "It amounts to an exodus of Biblical dimensions whose effects are felt as far away as Italy" he added. Mrs Dumont (France) for her part, took up the terms of the report: "the Kurdish question is no longer a simple internal problem. It has become an international problem of Human Rights which thus concerns the international community", The last speaker also deplored the fact that the civic and political right of the Kurds were scorned "The term is incorrect for to use it implies that they had such rights, In fact these rights don’t exist" she added. Moreover some members of parliament called for the liberation of the Kurdish Members of Parliament, imprisoned in Turkey since 1994,
Mrs Vermot-Mangold was also criticised for not having visited Turkey out of fear for her life. At which Mrs Gelderblom-Lankhout (Netherlands) replied by quoting her own visit in 1994 to the North of Iraq, which involved passing through Turkey: "Who really runs the country – the Army or Parliament? The Army is the subject of many rumours which even go so far as to accuse it of illegal trading in human beings. Do the Turkish Members of Parliament present here really control what is going on in Turkey?"
AS WELL AS...
• HADEP LEADERS SENTENCED TO THREE YEARS AND NINE MONTHS IMPRISONMENT. On Wednesday 6 May 1998 the Ankara State Security Court sentenced six leaders of the People’s Democratic Party (HADEP) to three years and nine months in prison . They were accused of supporting an armed organisation with full awareness of its nature and characteristics. The Court based its decision on documents seized in HADEP offices during a search lest autumn, and particularly on a calendar published by the party which is supposed to show photos of PKK activist, and on a poster of MED-TV, the Kurdish television station broadcasting in Europe, which was found in the office. The prosecutor had requested a 22 year 6 months sentence for the HADEP directors, who are regularly accused of being the political arm of the PKK.
However, on June 18th, the Turkish Court of Appeals quashed, because of "insufficient investigation", the sentence on leaders of HADEP, charged with "supporting an illegal armed organisation". Murat Bozlak, HADEP’s President, and 31 officials and sympathisers of this party, had been sentenced in June 4 1997 to terms varying between four and a half years and six years jail by the Ankara State Security Court. At that time 12 others had been acquitted. Mr Bozlak had been arrested and held in detention for 10 months after HADEP’s Second Congress on June 23 rd 1996 in the course of which the Turkish flag had been removed and replaced by a PKK banner by a sympathiser.
The Court of Appeals confirmed the sentence of 22 years 6 months passed on Feysal Akcan, the young sympathiser who had taken down the Turkish flag, although the Public Prosecutor, Atila Atalay had asked for a stiffer sentence.
• TURKEY CONDEMNED TWICE BY THE EUROPEAN COURT FOR HUMAN RIGHTS. The European Court for Human Rights, sitting on May 25th 1998, found Turkey guilty in two separate cases
In the case of the banning of the Socialist Party, the Court found that Turkey had violated the European Convention on Human Rights’ clauses regarding freedom of Association (to which it is signatory) by banning the former, founded in 1988 and banned by the Turkish Constitutional Court for having "made a distinction between the Turkish and Kurdish nations in a way detrimental to the territorial integrity of Turkey".
The Court found that nothing justified the banning of a group that made no use of violence, even if its political arguments did irritate the authorities. "The banning of the Socialist Party (SP) was out of proportion to its declared purpose and, consequently, useless in a democratic society" it ruled. It awarded damages of 50,000 francs to the SP President, Ilhan Kirit, and to Dogu Perinçek, former SP President. The Court, which had made a similar ruling in January 1998 regarding the banning of the Unified Communist Party of Turkey, stressed that it could not order the annulment of the aforesaid bans on the Parties.
In the case of Uzeyir Kurt, a young Kurd from the Bismil region, reported missing ever since his arrest in November 1995, following clashes between the Turkish security forces and the PKK, the Court ruled that Turkey had violated Article 5 of the Convention and awarded and awarded $ 40,000 damages, to Koceri Kurt, the victim’s mother by way of compensation.
On June 9th, 1998, barely two weeks later, the European Court found Turkey guilty of Human Rights violations in two more cases. In the first case, the Court ruled that Turkey had violated the right to free expression as well as the right to an independent and impartial trial in the case of Ibrahim Incal, one of the leaders of the People’s Labour Party (HEP) in Izmir, who was sentenced to six months and twenty days jail and fined, for having had political leaflets printed criticising the town halls administration.
In the second case, the Court ruled that Ankara had not carried out sufficient investigations into a complaint by Selih Tekin, a journalist with the Kurdish daily Ozgür Gündem, who was arrested in February 1993 for "presumption of threats against ‘village protectors’", tortured at the Gendarmerie station of Dersinu, then at Derik, before being released.
The Court decided to award Ibrahim Incal 30,000 French francs ($5,000) damages and 15,000 francs legal costs, and Selih Tekin £25,000 ($35,000) damages and £15,000 legal costs and expenses.
• EDUCATION IN KURDISTAN. In an interview published in the Turkish Daily News, the Secretary of State responsible for the South-East Project (GAP), Mehmet Salih Yildirim, made some remarks regarding the present educational situation in the Kurdish provinces:
"There are many problems on the educational level. The illiteracy rate in the region is 60% and in South East Anatolia it reaches 65%. Of the women, 61% can’t read or write and half of them can’t speak Turkish. Now its up to us to take stock … We have to be realistic – 32% of the schools in the region are closed, 45% of the primary school teachers appointed refuse to take up their jobs". Asked about the question of the Kurdish language, he retorted that he did not think that "education in Kurdish was really indispensable".
If the situation in Batman, a Kurdish town in the region, was considered, out of 223 schools that were closed, only 23 were able to open in the course of the year. In the countryside round Batman, 163 rural primary schools remain closed, 31 of them because of population displacement. Of 4,000 village school children, more than half, 2,559 have been unable to gain access to any education.
• COURSES IN KURDISH ARE STlLL OUTLAWED IN TURKEY. Yilmaz Camlibel, president of the Foundation for Research and Kurdish Culture (KURT-KAV) and Mehmet Celal Baykara, member of the foundation, were acquitted by the Turkish court on Tuesday, May 5, 1998. They had been accused of giving lessons in Kurdish, the teaching and spreading of which are forbidden in Turkey. The had accused risked two years in prison if declared guilty.
The Court showed clemency because it took into consideration the fact that the courses were private and not open to the public at large. Questioned by the Associated Press, Mr. Camlibel declared that the prosecutor did not intend to appeal the decision but that the Foundation was forbidden to continue its Kurdish courses. He then added that they were determined to win and recalled that in another affair the Foundation is suing the National Education Ministry for Kurdish courses to be permitted.
•SEVERAL RADIOS BANNED FROM THE AIR AND ONE DAY SUSPENSIONS FOR SOME TV NETWORKS. The Turkish Audio-visual High Council (RTUK), equivalent to the French Higher Audiovisual Council, decided, in the course of its meetings of the 11th to 16th June, to sentence several radio and TV stations. Thus, Metro FM of Diyarbekir has been forbidden to broadcast for a whole year as from 10 July 1998 for "endangering the territorial integrity and the sovereignty of the Turkish Republic"; Radio Karaçadag at Sanliurfa will be interrupted as from 19 October 1998 for as year for "incitement to violence, to terror and ethnic differences and broadcasting programmes that create feelings of hate within the nation" . The same reason was given for banning the 6 month ban on "Radio Demokrat" at Izmir and "Radio Arkadas" at Adana. In addition, the TV networks Show TV and ATV were banned for one day, the first for have broadcast news items on a trial before the verdict had been pronounced, the second for having broken clauses in the law regarding the right of reply. Finally the KTV network of Konya was also banned for one day and Cine-5 an its subsidiary Show TV again suspended for one day.
Elsewhere, The offices of the pro-Kurdish daily Ulkede Gundem were attacked on Thursday 21 June 1998. A bomb exploded at the daily’s offices, causing serious material damage. In a communiqué dated 22 June 1998, Reporters sans Frontières denounced the fact that "since the paper’s distribution in he region, in December 1997, the paper’s staff have been subjected to constant pressure from the local police" and calls for "the immediate opening of an enquiry so that light be brought to bear on this attack".
• APRIL’S SCORE OF HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATIONS IN TURKEY. The April figures for Human Rights violations, made public on May 26 are as follows:
| "Unsolved" murders | | 12 |
| "Extra-judicial" executions, deaths from torture or during preliminary detention | | 9 |
| Actions against civilians | | 2 killed, 28 injured |
| "Disappearances | | 4 |
| People tortured | | 70 |
| People held for preliminary detention | | 5.579 |
| Number of people arrested and charges | | 117 |
| Number of societies, Trade Union organisations and publications closed down | | 8 |
| Number of publications seized or forbidden | | 22 |
| Number of people detained for "crimes of opinion" | | 133 |
Things were hardly any better in May, judging by the figures published on June 25th by the Human Rights Association Mazlum Der (Islamist)
| "Unsolved" murders and suspicious deaths | | 17 |
| On the spot executions, death as a result of torture and deaths in detention | | 8 |
| Death in combat | | 197 |
| Wounded | | 58 |
| Deaths following actions against civilians | | 9 |
| Wounded | | 3 |
| Number of people killed by mines or bombs | | 5 |
| Wounded | | 10 |
| Number of people tortured | | 118 |
| Threats of accusations of spying, kidnappings and declared "missing" | | 15 |
| Number of arrests | | 180 |
•THE EUROPEAN HUMAN RIGHTS PRIZE AWARDED TO THE TURKISH FOUNDATION FOR HUMAN RIGHTS. The seventh European Human Rights Prize, awar-ded every three years by the Council of Europe, has given joint recognition to the Turkish Foundation for Human Rights (IHV), Clara Lubich, founder of Italy’s Focolare Movement and the Committee for the Administration of Justice (CAJ) of Northern Ireland, in line with a recommendation of the organisation’s Parliamentary Assembly. Instituted in 1980, this honorary prize aims at "highlighting the merits of a person, group of people, institution or non-governmental organisation which has worked for the promotion of Human Rights in accordance with the principles of personal freedom, political freedom and the pre-eminence of the law". Among those previously honoured are the International Commission of Jurists (CIJ) in 1980, the Medical Section of Amnesty International in 1983, Messrs. Raul Alfonsin and Christian Broda in 1986, Mr Lech Walesa and the International Helsinki Federation for Human Rights in 1989, Mr Ermacora and Médecins sans Frontières in 1992 and, finally, Messrs. Sergei Kovalyov and Raoul Wallenberg in 1995.
The Council of Ministers of the Council of Europe commented on its choice in these terms: "the Turkish Foundation for Human Rights has played an exceptional role in defending Human Rights in Turkey, over the last seven years. Its purpose and function have been to apply the universal values recognised by the international conventions in the field and to contribute to the struggle for the elimination of torture and other violations of Human Rights".
The Prize giving ceremony is planned for September 2, 1998, at the Council of Europe, in the course of a symposium organised to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
This recognition nevertheless failed to prevent the Turkish authorities from closing down, on Wednesday 17 June, the private Center for the Rehabilitation for the Victims of Torture, located at Diyarbekir and created by the Turkish Human Rights Foundation with the support of the Copenhagen based International Council for Rehabilitating Victims of Torture. Five days after its opening, the Center was ordered to close its doors by about fifteen police on the grounds that the authorisation to open was not in conformity… "They don’t want any witnesses, nor Human Rights defenders in South-Eastern Turkey" said Nazmi Gur, of the Turkish Association for Human Rights in Ankara. The majority of Human Rights violations occur in Kurdistan, where a war has been ravaging the region for the last 14 years. Torture is also everyday practice in prisons and local police stations,
The bulk of Human Rights violations occur, in fact, in Kurdistan where, a war has been ravaging the region for the last 14 years. Torture is also an everyday affair in the prisons and police stations.
•THE PUBLICATION OF A BOOK DESCRIBING TURKEY AS A "NARCO-STATE" AROUSES ANKARA’S ANGER. The Turkish authorities have sharply criticised a book, "The Turkish Mafia", published in May 1998 by Frank Bovenkerk and Yucel Yesilgöz, two criminologists of the University of Utrecht (Netherlands). The Turkish Embassy at the Hague branded "racist" the work which maintains that the Turkish mafia "consists of a number of networks of criminals who work openly under the auspices of the government and different political movements". The Turkish authorities accused the authors of trying to denigrate Turkey.
•70,157 TURKISH CITIZENS ARE FORBIDDEN TO LEAVE THE COUNTRY. In reply to a question from the M.P. F. Saglar, the Turkish Minister of the Interior indicated that 70,157 Turkish citizens are forbidden to leave the country. 45,678 of them because they owe money to the Treasury, , 22,673 by order of the courts and 1,806 on the orders of the Ministry of the Interior "because it would be inconvenient for the country’s security". In Turkey, citizens sentenced for political reasons, including and, indeed especially for "crimes of opinion" loose all their civic rights. They cannot be elected to any office and, moreover, cannot travel abroad.
• THE CARDIFF SUMMIT: NO REAL PROGRESS FOR TURKEY. After the E.U.’s snub to Turkey in December 1997, at the time of the Luxembourg summit, which had refused to include Ankara in the "candidacy process", undertaken with 10 countries of Eastern and Central Europe plus Cyprus, the Cardiff summit of European leaders, that met on Tuesday 16 June, should have initiated some bridge building with Turkey. However, the campaign initiated by London and Paris didn’t have much effect as the Franco-British proposals were blocked by Greece and the only step forward was a reference to "proposals" that the European Commission intends to make to unfreeze the 375 million ECUs of aid promised to Turkey and blocked by Greece for several years.
"We wanted to show that Turkey belongs to the European family (…) I hope that the Turkish authorities have understood the message from Cardiff" declared Jacques Santer, President of the European Commission.
Giving a measured welcome to the results of the Cardiff summit, the Turkish Foreign Minister, Ismail Cem, declared "I cannot say that it was a great success. But there are some positive developments". He added that Ankara would take into account the good will shown by certain countries of the E.U.
Earlier, Turkey had sulked and refused to participate in the Council of Association, planned for May 25th, in Brussels. "The conditions required for holding such a meeting do not exist. The text on Turkey which would be debated during the Council envisaged a deepening of relations between Turkey and the European Union, but lays down certain political conditions. We cannot accept them (the conditions)" a Turkish spokesman stated to AFP. "The preliminary conditions that they put forward for the application of "a European strategy for Turkey" are the same as those formulated by the Union at the end of April" he added, referring to the E.U. communiqué of April 29, calling on Turkey for improvements in its relations with Greece, in the Cyprus conflict and in the area of human rights.
In effect, Turkey blocks all political questions and only wants to discuss economic and financial co-operation, and in particular the unfreezing of financial aid of 375 million ECUs ($ 412.5 million) envisaged at the time of the Customs Union agreement that came into effect in 1996. As each stands firm on their position, Turco-European dialogue has been stalled for some time.
• GENERAL KARADAY’S VISIT TO MOSCOW. The Turkish Generals now take charge themselves of those diplomatic missions they consider important for the country’s security. In this spirit, the Chief of the Turkish Armed Forces General Staff, General Karaday, effected a highly publicised visit to Moscow as from May 18, in the course of which he met his Russian opposite number, the Minister of Defence and the leaders of the armaments industry.
According to the Turkish daily Milliyet, which devoted the front page of its May 20 issue to him, the Turkish General indicated that Turkey might buy KA-50 and DA-52 Russian helicopters, as well as T-80 tanks and perhaps MIG-29 and SU-27 planes if Russia agreed not to sell S-300 missiles to Cyprus. The Russian leaders suggested that cancellation of the con tract to sell S-300s was not impossible. In other words all depends of Russo-Turkish horse trading.
In the course of his visit, the Chief of the Turkish General Staff also asked the Russians to stop delivering missiles and military technology to Syria and Iran and not to tolerate PKK activity on their territory. He put forward the idea of the creation of a Russo-Turkish rapid reaction force to intervene in trouble spots and crises of common interest, especially in the Caucasus, an idea that apparently was well received by the Russian leaders. However, important conflicts of interest and historical disputes between Turkey and Russia make difficult the development of any significant co-operation between the two countries, even supposing that the Americans, who also have a say in Turkish foreign policy, accepted such co-operation.
• ANKARA AND OSLO COME CLOSER TOGETHER. The conservative government of Norway is preparing to sell penguin missiles to Ankara after three years of tension between the two countries. The purchase of these missiles, produced by Kongsberg, form an important part of the negotiations that Ankara is conducting to acquire eight American S-70 Seahawk navy helicopters for a total of $ 200 million – 12 others are envisages for the year 2002. Relations between Norway and Turkey had been frozen in 1995 when Oslo imposed an embargo on arms sales to Ankara in response to Human Rights violations by Turkey which, in Turn, put Norway on its "red list" of countries excluded from Turkish contracts. 35 Penguin missiles should have been bought, initially, for a total of about $ 35 million.
•TURKEY RECALLS ITS AMBASSADOR TO SWITZER-LAND. Already in conflict with its neighbours – Greek, Cypriot, Syrian, Iraqi, Iranian and Armenian, and cold shouldered by several European capitals and Moscow, Turkey has even managed to quarrel with the very neutral Swiss Confederation. It has recalled its Ambassador to Berne "for consultations", we learnt from diplomatic sources in June 22nd. The reason given: the city of Zurich had refused to rent two building to the Turkish consul who, has to move and can find nowhere to stay. According to the city, it is the citizens of the quarters concerned that refuse to have a Turkish consular representative as neighbour because of the "danger of disturbances". They raise, in this connection, the murder, in 1994, of a Kurdish demonstrator before the gates of the Turkish Embassy in Berne, gunned down by shots from inside the building by Turkish police – a murder that has remained unpunished because of diplomatic immunity but has nevertheless shocked Swiss public opinion as to the violent customs of the Turkish State – including abroad. Hence the refusal of Swiss citizens to accept official Turkish representatives as neighbours.
At the same time, the Mayor of Lausanne rejected a Turkish request to celebrate the 75th anniversary of the Treaty of Lausanne, signed in July 1923 in that city. The Turks consider there is "a Swiss plot against the unity of Turkey"… In the Mayor’s eyes, this Treaty, which is the basis of International recognition of the Turkish state, is also the text that consecrated the partition of Kurdistan and the denial of rights to the Armenians. The mayor has publicly declared that he is ashamed for his city’s connection with it. The Turco-Swiss quarrel seems likely to last some time.
BRIEFLY – THE PRESS REVIEW
CLASHES BETWEEN POLICE AND DEMONSTRATORS IN ISTANBUL: 74 wounded. (AFP, 1 May, 1998), p. 1.
THE SPEAKER OF THE GREEK PARLIAMENT CRITICISES THE FAIRY TALE OF A TURKISH "RACE". (AFP, 1 May, 1998), p. 1.
TURKEY/1ST MAY: A DEMONSTRA-TOR BEATEN UP IN ISTANBUL. (AFP, 1 May, 1998), p. 2.
FIRGHT AGAINST THE PKK ORGANISATION. (Turkish Anadolu Agency, 2 May, 1998), p. 2.
SEMDIN SAKIK INTERROGATED BY JITEM (GENDARMERIE INTELLIGENCE SERVICE). (Turkish Daily News, 2 May, 1998), p. 3.
US REPORT: THE PKK ENJOYS GREEK SUPPORT. (Turkish Daily News, 2 May, 1998), p. 4 - 7.
SYRIA STILL ON THE AMERICAN LIST OF "SPONSORS OF TERROR". (Turkish Daily News, 2 May, 1998), p. 7 - 9.
IRAN CLAIMS THE RIGHT TO ATTACK REBEL BASES IN IRAQI KURDISTAN. (Reuters, 2 May, 1998), p. 10.
THE U.S. PUSHES THE EUROPEAN UNION TO STRERCH OUR ITS HAND TO TURKEY. (International Herald Tribune, 2 May, 1998), p. 11.
15 KURDISH REBELS KILLED IN THE EAST BY THE TURKISH ARMY. (AFP, 4 May, 1998), p. 11.
IRAN DESCRIBES THE AMERICAN ACCUSATIONS AS "PROPAGANDA". (AFP, 3 May, 1998), p. 12.
MEHMET ALI BIRAND, A TURKISH JOURNALIST CAUGHT BY THE
KURDISH QUESTION. (La Croix, 3 May, 1998), p. 13.
ANKARA PROTESTS TO ATHENS ABOUT THE IMPENDING OPENING OF A PKK OFFICE. (AFP, 4 May, 1998), p. 13.
LIBERATE TURKEY. (Washington Post News, 5 May, 1998), p. 14-15.
THE TURKISH COURT ACQUITS THE TWO ACCUSED IN THE CASE OF THE KURDISH LANGUAGE COURSES. (Associated Press, 5 May, 1998), p. 15.
THE "STAR" OF SUSURLUK (MEHMET AGAR) WINS A VICTORY. (Turkish Daily News, 6 May, 1998), p. 16-17.
GREECE REJECTS TURKEY’S PROTEST OVER THE PKK. (AFP, 5 May, 1998), p. 17.
NO PKK REPRESENTATION IN GREECE, ACCORDING TO THE ERNK, WHICH ACCUSES TURKEY. (AFP, 5 May, 1998), p. 17.
MR. DEMIREL ACCUSES SYRIA OF TURNING THE ARAB WORLD AGAINST TURKEY. (AFP, 5 May, 1998), p. 18.
SYRIA’S TERRITORIAL AIMS ON TURKEY: "A FIT OF MADNESS" ACCORDING TO MR. YILMAZ. (AFP, 7 May, 1998), p. 18.
GREECE AND THE PKK. (Turkish Daily News, 5 May, 1998), p. 19.
THE IHD SUPPORTS BIRDAL. (Turkish Daily News, 5 May, 1998), p. 19.
TWO GENERALS CALLED TO GIVE EVIDENCE IN AN ARMS AND DRUG TRAFFICKING CASE. (AFP, 5 May, 1998), p.
PRIME MINISTER SMITIS REPRIMANDS
PANFALOS OVER THE PKK OFFICE IN ATHENS. Greece is preparing to close down the PKK office in athens, but this will take time, states a Turkish source. (Turkish Daily News, 6 May, 1998), p. 20-21.
IRAQ IS STILL CHEATING. (International Herald Tribune, 8 May, 1998), p. 21.
THE PKK STILL HAS 5,300 ARMED ACTIVISTS, ACCORDING TO THE ARMY. (AFP, 8 May, 1998), p. 21.
TAREK AZIZ ACCUSES WASHINGTON OF PREVENTING THE LIFTING OF THE SANCTIONS.(AFP, 8 May, 1998), p. 22.
PETER GALBRAITH’S (DEFENDER OF THE KURDS AND BOSNIACS IN THE U.S.) SMALLEST STAGE. (The Economist, 9-15 May, 1998), p. 23.
IRAQ ACCUSES TURKEY OF MONOPOLISING THE WATERS OF THE TIRGIS AND THE EUPHRATES. (AFP, 11 May, 1998), p.
A NEW ISLAMIST PARTY CREATED IN TURKEY. (AFP, 11 May, 1998), p. 24.
99 PKK REBELS KILLED IN TWO WEEKS BY THE ARMY, ACCORDING TO ANKARA. (AFP, 11 May, 1998), p. 24-25.
THE CHIEF ODF THE KURDISH REBELS IN TURKEY PROPOSES COOPERATION TO ARMENIA, (AFP, 10 May, 1998), p. 25.
IRAQ STATES THAT IT IS CONDUCTING DISCUSSIONS WITH THE KURDISH REBELS. (Reuters, 10 May, 1998), p. 25-26.
AKIN COMES OUT FROM AMAJOR OPERATION IN A CRITICAL CONDITION. (AFP, 12 May, 1998), p. 26-27.
THE IHD ACCUSES THE STATE OF THE ATTACK ON BIRDAL, THE GOVERNMENT AUTHORITIES CONDEMN THE ATTACK. (Turkish Daily News, 13 May, 1998), p. 27-28.
KLAUS KINKEL DEPLORES THE ATTACK ON AKIN BIRDAL. – A defender of Human Rights execrated by the establishment. – THE EUROPEAN UNION DENOUNCES "THE COWARDLY ATTACK" ON BIRDAL. – The French Ambassador condemns the attack on Birdal – Amnesty accuses Ankara of having encouraged the attack. – A TURKISH HUMAN RIGHTS ACTIVIST SHOT. – Athens stigmatises "the authoritarian mechanisms" in Turkey. – Italy "indignant" at the attack on Birdal. – AN ATTACK ON A DEFENDER OF HUMAN RIGHTS EXACERBATES POLITICAL TENSION IN TURKEY. – An extreme Right organisation claims responsibility for the armed attack. – the President of the FIDH will meet A. Birdal in Ankara on Monday. –. (AFP, Washington Post News, 12 May; AFP,. 13 May; Le Monde 14 May; AFP, 15 May, 1998), p. 29-32.
THE DEMONISATION OF IRAQ IS WEARING THIN. (Le Monde, 15 May, 1998), p. 33.
BUCAREST FEARS "ILLEGAL ACTIONS" OF THE PKK ON ITS SOIL. (AFP, 15 May, 1998), p. 33-34.
THE PKK HAS A BILLION DOLLARS IN SYRIAN BANK ACCOUNTS. The PKK leaders also has $26 million in the Syrian Commercial Bank. (Turkish Daily News, 15 May, 1998), p. 34
DOCTORS STATE BIRDAL’S CONDITION IS IMPROVING. (Turkish Daily News, 15 May, 1998), p. 35.
THE PKK LEADER ACCUSES ATATÜRK OF GENOCIDE AGAINST THE GREEKS. (Turkish Daily News, 15 May, 1998), p. 36.
THE TURKISH EMBASSY IN WASHINGTON CONDEMNS THE ATTACK ON BIRDAL. (Turkish Daily News, 15 May, 1998), p. 36-37.
THE TURKISH PRESIDENT ACCUSES THE EUROPEANS OF SEEKING TO DIVIDE TURKEY. (AFP, 16 May, 1998), p. 37.
THE PKK ACCUSES TURKEY OF WANTING TO "DESTABILISE" THE KURDS OF RUMANIA. (AFP, 16 May, 1998), p. 37-38.
A CALL BY THE FIDH FOR A GUARANTEE OF HUMAN RIGHTS. (AFP, 18 May, 1998), p. 38.
FOUR CHILDREN KILLED BY AN EXPLODING GRENADE. (AFP, 17 May, 1998), p. 38.
AN IRANIAN STATE ORGANISATION PRAISES A PRO-KHAMENEI RALLY. (CNNinteractive, 17 May, 1998), p. 39.
DESPITE SECURITY MEASURES SOME KURDS FORCE THE DOORS OF UNO. – Faced with the International press, and in the presence of Hilary Clinton, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, Mary Robinson, have to leave to meet the Kurdish demonstrators. (Tribune de Genève, 16-17 May, 1998), p. 40-41.
ROBIN COOK IN ANKARA ON TUESDAY TO TRY AND THAW RELATIONS. (AFP, 18 May, 1998), p. 41.
A HUMAN RIGHTS ORGANISATION CALLS ON TURKEY TO INTERVENE. (International Herald Tribune, 19 May, 1998), p. 42.
THE U.S. AND THE EUROPEAN UNION MAKE PEACE ON THE MATTER OF TRADE WITH IRAN. (International Herald Tribune, 19 May, 1998), p. 42-43
THE ATTACK ON BIRDAL: 6 PEOPLE IN DETENTION. (AFP, 22 May, 1998), p. 44.
THE TURKISH POLICE DETAINS 5 PEOPLE OVER THE ATTACK ON THE HUMAN RIGHTS ACTIVIST. (Internati-onal Herald Tribune, 23-24 May, 1998), p. 44.
A BOMB ATTACK AGAINST THE MHP (NEO-FASCIST). (Turkish Daily News, 23 May, 1998), p. 44-45.
IRAQ PROTESTS TO EGYPT OVER THE ARABO-KURDISH DIALOGUE IN CAIRO. (Turkish Daily News, 23 May, 1998), p. 45.
SO BIRDAL WASN’T SHOT BY PKK TERRORISTS. Doesn’t the Prime Minister realise that he loses credibility, at home and abroad, by making contrdictory and incorrect declarations? (Turkish Daily News, 23 May, 1998), p. 46.
ONE YEAR IN OFFICE FOR KHATAMI, TENSION IS RISING IN IRAN, THE HARDLINERS ATTACK THE LITTLE STEPS TOWARDS AN OPEN SOCIETY. (International Herald Tribune, 25 May, 1998), p. 47.
SCENES OF KURD-HUNTS IN SYRIA. (Marianne, 25 May, 1998), p. 47.
BIRDAL INDENTIFIES HIS AGGRESSORS. (Turkish Daily News, 25 May, 1998), p. 48.
ARABS ABD KURDS MEET IN A FORUM REJECTED BY IRAQ. (Reuters, 27 May, 1998), p. 49-50.
A TURKISH MARMY HELICOPTER SAID TO HAVE CRASHED, ONE DEAD. (Reuters, 23 May, 1998), p. 50.
THE U.N. CONDEMNS TURKEY’S LATEST INCURSION INTO IRAQ. (BBC, 23 May, 1998), p. 51.
KURDISH REFUGEES FROM TURKEY DISPLACED TOWARDS THE IRAQI INTERIOR. (Reuters, 26 May, 1998), p. 51.
RUSSIA IS CONCERNED AT TURKISH MILITARY ACTIONS IN IRAQI KURDISTAN. (Inter-Tass, 27 May, 1998), p. 51.
AN ARABO-KURDISH DIALOGUE ORGANISED FOR THE FIRST TIME IN CAIRO. (AFP, 27 May, 1998), p. 52.
THE TURKISH PRESS MAKES REVELATIONS ON THE LINKS BETWEEN THE GENDARMERIE AND THE MAFIA GANGS. (Le Monde, 27 May, 1998), p. 53.
THE UNITED STATES REDUSES THEIR FORCES IN THE GULF. (International Herlas Tribune, 28 May, 1998), p. 53.
RECOGNITION OF THE 1915 GENOCIDE: JOY AMONGST THE ARMENIANS, FURY IN ANKARA. (AFP, 29 May, 1998), p. 54-55.
YILMAZ: "YESIL" IS BEHIND BIRDAL ATTACK. The Prime Minister said that a semi-official information had been given to him by the National Intelligence Organisation (MIT) regarding the "death" of Yesil. (Turkish Daily News, 29 May, 1998), p. 55.
MILLER WARNs OF A "STRONG AMERICAN RESPONSE" IF THE TURKS STRIKE THE S-300S. (Turkish Daily News, 29 May, 1998), p. 56.
THE NATIONAL ASSEMBLY PROCLAIMS: "FRANCE RECOGNISES THE ARMENIAN GENOCIDE OF 1915". – The government is worried about Ankara’s reactions after the vote in favour of a symbolic resolution. (Le Monde, 30 May, 1998), p. 57.
TURKEY WARNS THE FRENCH AUTHORITIES. (Le Monde, 30 May, 1998), p. 57.
THE FRAGILE AWAKENING OF THE TURKISH PEOPLE. – Turkish intellectuals recognise the 1915 genocide with indifference to their freedom and safety. The CRDA has joined with the Kurdish Institute of Paris to allow them to speak. – "RECOVER OUR HONOUR". – An interview with Ragip Zarakoglu. – A PEN AND THE TRUTH AS SOLE WEAPON. (France-Armenie, May, 1998), p. 58-60.
ARMENIA: THE END OF A TABOO. – TURKEY CALLS ON FRANCE TO DROP THE BILL ON THE ARMENIAN GENOCIDE. (International Herald Tribune, 29 May; Le Monde, 31 May, 1998), p. 60.
VIOLENT CLASHES BETWEEN TURKS AND KURDS AT MONTPELLIER: FIVE INJURED. (Associated Press, 2 June, 1998), p. 61.
THE TURKISH PRESS DENOUNCES THE "FRANCE’S KISS TO THE ARMENIANS". (Le Monde, 2 June, 1998), p. 61.
ANKARA PROTESTS FIRMLY AGAINST A REPORT ON THE KURDS. (AFP, 4 June, 1998), p. 61-62.
THE REPORT WILL REJECT IRAQ. The UNO arms inspector will cite Iraq’s non repect of its obligations. (International Herlad Tribune, 2 June, 1998), p. 52-63.
HADEP INCREASES ITS SECURITY MEASURES AFTER DEATH THREATS BY BIRDAL’S AGGRESSORS. (Turkish Daily News, 3 June, 1998), p. 64.
THE PRESIDENTS OF IHD AND DBP ON TRIAL FOR SUPPORTING THE PKK. A charge sheet prepared by the Public Prosecutor of the State Security Court states that Birdal and Karakoç had praised the PKK during a press conference in Rome. (Turkish Daily News, 3 June, 1998), p. 64.
THE EXPERTS CHARGED WITH DISARMING IRAQ DEFEND THEIR ACTIONS BEFORE UNO. (Le Monde, June, 1998), p. 65.
IRAN ADOPTS THE "TERRORIST" GAMBLE OF BOMBIMG A SITE OCCUPIED BY ELITE GUARDS. (Internat-ional Herald Tribune, 4 June, 1998), p. 65.
TURKEY: THE EXTREME RIGHT RENEWS ITS TOUGH METHODS. A young demonstrator victim of an attempt to throw him our of a window in Istanbul, a student beaten to death in the town of Bolu; another stabbed in Malayata: the extreme Right party of "Grey Wolves" (MHP) seems to have opted for a strategy of violence – and the authorities close their eyes. (Le Courrier de Genève, 4-10 June, 1998), p. 66-67.
TENSE DAYS BETWEEN ANKARA AND PARIS. After the vote by the French National Assembly for a Bill recognising the Armenian genocide, the Turkish press denounces "a dangerous game". (Le Monde, 5 June, 1998), p. 67.
FREEDOM OF THOUGHT ON TRIAL. – THE STATE SECURITY COURT: "Writing is more dangerous than helping the PKK". Intellectuals: "It must be possible to express ideas freely – the present criminalisation forbids one to think". (Turkish Daily News, 5 June, 1998), p. 68-69.
THE EUROPEAN HUMAN RIGHTS PRIZE IS GIVEN TO THE FOUNDATION FOR HUMAN RIGHTS IN TURKEY. (Turkish Daily News, 5 June, 1998), p. 69.
KURDISH REBELS HAVE KILLED 40 TURKISH AND KDP SOLDIERS . (Associated Press, 5 June, 1998), p. 70.
TURKEY INTENSIFIES ITS EFFORTS TO BLOCK THE ARMENIAN BILL. A Parliamentary delegation is going to Paris on Monday to seek support for defeating the Bill. (Turkish Daily News, 5 June, 1998), p. 70-71.
A "LITTLE TURKEY" IN THE HEART OF PARIS. (Le Monde, 6 June, 1998), p. 71-72.
50,000 KURDS DEMONSTRATE IN DORTMUND. (AFP, 6 June, 1998), p. 73.
TURKEY CONSIDERS A REPORT THAT BRANDS IT AS A "NARCO-STATE" IS "RACIST". (AFP, 8 June, 1998), p. 73.
THE U.N. SECURITY COUNCIL REMAINS DIVIDED ON IRAQ. (Le Monde, 7-8 June, 1998), p. 74.
THE MAYOR OF TEHERAN DENOUNCES HIS ACCUSERS. (International Herald Tribune, 8 June, 1998), p. 75.
FIRST TURKISH REPRISALS AGAINST FRANCE. – Ankara ripostes to the French parliament’s recognition of the Armenian genocide. (Le Tribune, 8 June, 1998), p. 76.
DOUB;E CONDEMNATION FOR TURKEY IN THE HUMAN RIGHTS COURT. (AFP, 9 June, 1998), p. 76-77.
THE WRITER FARAJ SARKOUHI CONSIDERS THAT THE IRANIAN PRESIDENT MUST ACCELERATE THE REFORMS. (Le Monde, 9 June, 1998), p. 77.
STRANGELY ALIKE: OPPRESSORS IN TURKEY AND IN IRAN. (International Herald Tribune, 9 June, 1998), p. 78.
TURKEY EXCLUDES FRANCE FROM A MAJOR DEFENCE CONTRACT. (Turkish Daily News, 10 June, 1998), p. 78-79.
MR. FABIUS: THE VOTE ON THE ARMENIAN GENOCIDE IS NOT AIMED AT TODAY’S TURKEY. – Turkey boycotts France. (Reuters 9 June; Le Figaro, 12 June, 1998), p. 79, 82.
TURKEY: THE STATE INFILTRATED BY ARMED GANGS. – The attack on the President on the Tirkish Human Rights Association has shown that mafia organisations, infiltrated into the State, are still as active as before the Susurluk accident, which revealed their existence. (Courrier International, 11-17 June, 1998), p. 81-82.
IRAQ: THE THIEVES OF BAGHDAD ARE HAVING A FIELD DAY. – A house quietly dismantled and sold off in pieces; a luxurious hearse stolen, with the corpse it contained, the owner of the vehicle negociating with the corpse; the Iraqi capital is laughing over the exploits of its delinquents. (Courrier International, 11-17 June, 1998), p. 81-82.
DANISH REPRESENTATIVES CON-DEMN THE ATTACK ON BIRDAL. (Turkish Daily News, 13 June, 1998), p. 83.
IRAN USES THE PKK TO MOP UP THE ETHNIC KURDS. (Turkish Daily News, 13 June, 1998), p. 83.
NO INTEREST IN HUMAN RIGHTS IN THE ISTANBUL FRENCH LANGUAGE COLLEGE OF GALATASARAY. (Turkish Daily News, 13 June, 1998), p. 83-84.
ATHENS REMAINS TOUGH ON ANKARA’S DEMAND FOR MEMBERSHIP OF THE EUROPEAN UNION. (International Herald Tribune, 12 June, 1998), p. 84.
A TURKISH JOURNALIST GOES TO JAIL FOR HAVING INTERVIEWED A KURD. (International Herald Tribune, 12 June, 1998), p. 84.
THE TURKS SUSPEND A CONTRACT FOR THE PURCHASE OF FRENCH MISSILES. (International Herald Tribune, 12 June, 1998), p. 84.
THE DEBATES ON THE BUILDING OF NEW MOSQUES RELAUNCHED. (Turkish Daily News, 15 June, 1998), p. 85.
THE PKK ITS PLANS FOR SURVIVAL IN THE POST ASSAD PERIOD. (Turkish Daily News, 15 June, 1998), p.
TEN MONTHS JAIL FOR AN ARTICLE. – Ragip Duran (alias Musa Akdemir) was sentenced for his writings on the leader of the Kurdish separatists. – Our correspondent in Turkey jailed today in the prison of Saray. – R. Duran: "I DO NOT FEEL AT ALL GUILTY". (Libération,, 16 June, 1998), p. 86-88.
ARMENIA -TURKEY: LEST WE FORGET. (Elles, 15 June, 1998), p. 88.
IRAQ AND UNOREACH AN UNDERSTANDING ON THE DISARMAMENT CALENDER. (Le Monde, 16 June, 1998), p. 88.
AN AMERICAN JUDGE CLEARS THE WAY FOR AID TO A TERRORIST GROUP. (Reuters, 15 June, 1998), p. 89.
KURDISH REBELS KILL THREE TURKISH PARAMILITARIES. (Reuters, 15 June, 1998), p. 89.
RAGIP DURAN TAKES THE ROAD TO JAIL. (Turkish Daily News, 16 June, 1998), p. 90.
WHILE THE ARMY IS HOLDING AN EXTRAORDINARY SESSION. – The Armed Forces Supreme Council has decided to meet only a month before its regular bi-annual meeting at the end of July to draw attention to its sensitivity over the growing threat of fundamentalism. (Turkish Daily News, 16 June, 1998), p. 90-91.
A TURKISH JOURNALIST ESCORTED BY HIS COLLEAGUES TO JAIL . (AFP, 16 June, 1998), p. 91.
A MEDICAL TREATMENT CENTRE FOR TORTURE VICTIMS IN DIYARBEKIR IS CLOSED BY THE POLICE. (AFP, 18 June, 1998), p. 92.
GREECE BLOCKS A EUROPEAN UNION GESTURE OF AID TO TURKEY. – Clinton’s appeal is rejected by Athens. (International Herald Tribune, 17 June, 1998), p. 92-93.
IRAN: THE AMERICAN EMBARGO SLACKENS. (Courrier International, 18-24 June, 1998), p. 94-95.
THE EUROPEAN HUMAN RIGHTS PRIZE AWARDED TO THE TURKISH FOUNDATION FOR HUMAN RIGHTS, (Gamk, 17 June, 1998), p. 95-96.
THE KURDISH QUESTION IN THE TURKISH PARLIAMENT’S AGENDA. (Gamk, 17 June, 1998), p. 96.
A TURKISH COURT QUASHES A JUDGEMENT REGARDING THE PRO-KUDISH PARTY HADEP. (Reuters, 18 June, 1998), p. 96-97.
THE JAILING OF A WELL KNOWN TURKISH JOURNALIST UNDERLIGNS THE ARBITRARY NATURE OF THE RESTRICTIVE PRESS LAWS. (Human Rights Watch, 18 June, 1998), p. 97-98.
CYPRUS DENOUNCES THE VISIT OF TURKISH JETS TO THE ISLAND. (International Herald Tribune, 19 June, 1998), p. 98.
GREEKS AND TURKS DESPATCH FIGHTER PLANES TO CYPRUS. (Le Monde, 20 June, 1998), p. 99.
ACCORDING TO MR. BUTLER, IRAQ REFUSES TO DISCUSS "PRIORITY QUESTIONS". (Le Monde, 20 June, 1998), p. 99.
THE TURKISH AMBASSADOR TO SWITZERLAND RECALLED FOR CONSULTATIONS. (AFP, 22 June, 1998), p. 99-100.
THE COUNCIL OF EUROPE WILL DEBATE THE KURDISH REFUGEES. (Reuters, 22 June, 1998), p. 100.
AKIN BIRDAL DECLARES TO TDN: "I WILL CONTINUE ON MY WAY".
(Turkish Daily News, 22 June, 1998), p. 101-103.
THE COUNCIL OF EUROPE’S REPORT SETS OF A LIVELY DEBATE. (Turkish Daily News, 22 June, 1998), p. 104.
TURKS POURING INTO PARIS TO PROTEST AGAINST "THE RERSOLUTION ON THE ARMENIAN GENOCIDE". (Turkish Daily News, 22 June, 1998), p. 104.
THE DETAINEES ON THE SOUTHERN COAST. (Libération, 22 June, 1998), p. 105.
UNO AUTHORISES BAGHDAD TO IMPORT PETROCHEMICAL EQUIPMENT. (Le Monde, 21 June, 1998), p. 105.
"THE JOURNALIST RAGIP DURAN MUST BE RELEASED AT ONCE". (Amnesty International, 23 June, 1998), p. 106.
THE MUSEUM AND ART GALERY OF CRIMES OF THOUGHT IS OPENING. (Turkish Daily News, 23 June, 1998), p. 106-108.
THE IRANIAN LEADER IGNORES PROTESTS TO CONTINUE HIS CAMPAIGN OF REFORMS. (International Herald Tribune, 23 June, 1998), p. 108.
TURKEY RECALLS ITS AMBASSADOR TO PROTEST AGAINST THE SWISS REFUSAL to allow Turkey to celebrate the 75th anniversary of the Treaty of Lausanne in that town. (International Herald Tribune, 23 June, 1998), p. 108.
TURKEY ON A TIGHTROPE: DESPITE A COALITION GOVERNMENT, THE PRIME MINISTER HAS SUCCEEDED IN INTRODUCING SOME MODEST REFORMS WRITES JOHN BARHAM. (Financial Times, 23 June, 1998), p. 109-110.
YILMAZ CASTS THE DICE OF GENERALS ELECTIONS. (Financial Times, 23 June, 1998), p. 110,
NOURI’S RESIGNATION CANSIDERED A SETBACK FOR KHATAMI. (Financial Times, 23 June, 1998), p. 111-112.
A REPORTER FINDS TRACES OF IRAQI GAS. – The discovery of shell fragments contradicts Baghdad’s declarations. (International Herald Tribune, 24 June, 1998), p. 112-113.
THE KURDISH ADVANCE TOWARDS SELF-DETERMINATION IS PERCEIVED AS A PERPETUAL PROBLEM. (RFE/RL, 24 June, 1998), p. 113-114.
THE COUNCIL OF EUROPE STUMBLES OVER THE KURDISH PROBLEM. (AFP, 25 June, 1998), p. 114.
ISRAEL-IRAN:THE RACE TO NUCLEAR WEAPONRY IS RELAUNCHED. (Courrier International, 25 June, 1998), p. 115-116.
AN "ISLAMIC BOMB" WOULD BE OF NO HELP TO THE ARABS. (Courrier International, 25 June, 1998), p. 116-117,
KURDISH REFUGEES: GREECE FOR A "CODE OF CONDUCT". (Reuters, 25 June, 1998), p. 117.
FIVE KURDISH ACTIVISTS BROUGHT BEFORE AN ANTI-TERRORIST MAGISTRATE. (Associated Press, 24 June, 1998), p. 117.
REPORT: "IRAQ, SYRIA AND IRAN USE THE PKK TO MOP UP THE KURDS. Intelligence sources state that Iraq has supplied large quantities of arms to the PKK. (Turkish Daily News, 26 June, 1998), p. 118.
THE PRO-TURKISH LOBBY SEEKS ANNULMENT OF THE ARMENIAN RESOLUTION. (Turkish Daily News, 26 June, 1998), p. 118-119.
THE KURDISH MEMBER OF PARLAIMENT FOR DIYARBEKIR TRIES TO OBTAIN FINANCIAL SUPPORT FOR THE RECONSTRUCTION OF EVACUATED VILLAGES. (Turkish Daily News, 26 June, 1998), p. 119-120.
THE DIYARBEKIR CENTRE FOR THE REHABILITATION OF VICTIMS OF TORTURE CLOSED BY THE TURKISH AUTHORITIES. (Gamk, 27 June, 1998), p. 121.
DOCUMENT : THE TURKISH PARLIAMENT RECOGNISES THE EVACUATION OF 3,428 KURDISH VILLAGES AND HAMLETS. (Gamk, 27 June, 1998), p. 121.
A MUTUAL INCOMPREHENSION PERSISTS BETWEEN TURKEY AND THE FIFTEEN. (Le Monde, 27 June, 1998), p. 121-122.
THE ENIGMA OF IRAN: THE SEARCH FOR A CULTURAL MELTING POT. (International Herald Tribune, 27 June, 1998), p. 123-124.
TUEKISH TROOPS ARE ENTRENCHED IN NORTHERN IRAN. (Turkish Daily News, 29 June, 1998), p. 124.
THE LEADER OF AN ISLAMIC EMPLOYERS ORGANISATION BEFORE THE COURTS. (AFP, 29 June, 1998), p. 125.
TEN KURDISH REBELS KILLED BY THE TURKISH ARMY IN SOUTH-EAST ANATOLIA. (AFP, 28 June, 1998), p. 125.
THE ISRAELI-TURKISH AIR PARADES ARE A THREAT, ACCORDING TO DAMASCUS. (AFP, 29 June, 1998), p. 126.
SOUTH-EAST: THE MGK RECOMMENDS AN EXTENSION OF THE STATE OF EMERGENCY. (AFP, 29 June, 1998), p. 126.
PARLIAMENT LAUNCHES A 3RD ENQUIRY AGAINST THE PRIME MINISTER FOR CORRUPTION. (AFP, 30 June, 1998), p. 126.
BEGINING AND POSTPONEMENT OF THE TRIAL OF A FORMER PKK COMMANDER IN DIYARBEKIR. (AFP, 30 June, 1998), p. 127.
NECMETTIN ERBAKAN TRIED FOR AHVING INSULTED THE CONSTITUTIONAL COURT, – ERBAKAN CHARGED WITH DEFAMING THE CONSTITUTION. (AFP, Turkish Daily News, 30 June, 1998), p. 127-128.
GREECE BOTHERS TURKEY. – By reopening the question of Turkey’s candidature, the French and British have only succeeded in arousing an uncompromising Greece. (France-Armenie, 30 June, 1998), p. 128.
THE ARMENIAN GENOCIDE: THE VOTING AT THE NATIONAL ASSEMBLY. – Hysteria in Turkey. (France-Armenie, 30 June, 1998), p. 128.
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Sunday, 22 November 2008
