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A non-government information service on Turkey
Un service d'information non-gouvernemental sur la Turquie

133

12th Year - N°133
November 1987
38 rue des Eburons - 1000 Bruxelles
Tél: (32-2) 215 35 76 - Fax: (32-2) 215 58 60
 Rédacteur en chef: Dogan Özgüden - Editrice responsable: Inci Tugsavul
 


Final act of the electoral farce

TWO THIRDS OF DEPUTIES FOR A THIRD OF THE VOTES


        As expected, Özal's Motherland Party (ANAP), largely thanks to the "double barrier" electoral system, swept back to office on November 29, 1987, with an absolute parliamentary majority. Although its actual share of the popular vote fell from %45.1 in 1983 to % 36.3 Özal's party has won 292 seats in the 450-member National Assembly, that is to say 64.9 per cent, while the opposition parties, despite the 63.3 per cent of the vote, were obliged to be contented with 158 deputies, that is 35.1 per cent of the seats.
        Out of 26,340,265 registered electors 23,964,472 cast a valid vote. While %66.3 of the vote were going to five right-wing parties and %33,3 to left-wing parties, %0,4 were cast for independent candidates.
        Of the seven parties running for elections, only three can be represented in the new National Assembly. Four others have been eliminated from the parliamentary scene.
        Against Özal's ANAP, Professor Erdal Inönü's Social Democrat Populist Party (SHP) was confirmed as the main opposition grouping. With %24.8 of the vote, the party has picked up 99 seats, enough to give it a strong parliamentary voice.   
        As to former social-democrat premier Ecevit, having failed to cross the 10 per cent barrier required for representation of his Democratic Left Party (DSP), immediately announced his decision to retire from politics. He was accused by left-wing forces of refusing all unity or alliance proposals coming from the SHP and allowing the ANAP to obtain carte blanche in Parliament. In fact, in the case of an electoral alliance between SHP and DSP, the ANAP would have been only a few percentage points ahead of the center-left.
        Süleyman Demirel, who like Ecevit has just been released from a political ban, won his return to parliamentary life with his Correct Way Party (DYP)'s %19 of the vote and 59 seats in the National Assembly.
        As for the three other right-wing parties, the Islamic fundamentalist Welfare Party (RP) of Necmeddin Erbakan, another islamic party, Reformist Democracy Party (IDP) of Aykut Edibali, and the neo-fascist Nationalist Labour Party (MCP) of Alparslan Türkes too have failed to cross the barrier.
        Opposition leaders, after the election results are announced, denounced the electoral system which eliminated all the smaller parties and relegated the two main opposition parties with nearly half the national vote to relative impotence. As commented by the Financial Times of December 1st, "the size of Ozal's majority means that the opposition will have virtually no influence and Parliament will play a mainly formal role." However, such a chronic distortion no doubt will erode Özal's moral authority.
        After taking over the government in 1980, the military arrested Demirel, Ecevit, Erbakan and Turkes and banned them from politics. The generals also made Özal deputy premier and put him in charge of applying drastic economic measures imposed by the IMF.
        The generals ruled for three years and stepped down after supervising an elections in 1983 involving only those parties and candidates that they approved.
        Although Ozal was the winner of the 1983 elections with the 45 per cent of the vote, Turkish as well as European democratic forces did not consider Ozal's "victory" legitimate, because former leading politicians were not allowed to participate.
        In September, when Turkey's 26 million voters agreed by a razor-thin majority to allow the banned politicians back into politics, Ozal immediately called new elections, apparently confident that he could prevail over the former politicians, largely thanks to the "double barrier" electoral system that he imposed.
        However, it is not possible to say that the elections were open to the participation of all political currents in Turkey. While the neo-fascist MCP and fundamentalist RP and IDP were being allowed to run, the working class and Kurdish community parties were still outlawed and banned from participating in election. Moreover, two officials of the United Communist Party of Turkey (TBKP) in exile were arrested at the moment of their arrival to Turkey and put under arrest while the neo-fascist and fundamentalist chiefs were freely addressing to voters on the State Radio-TV.
        If this system continues unmodified, it will probably eliminate all the small parties from the parliamentary scene and lead to the establishment of a strong, albeit unrepresentative, two-party system. Özal already hinted that he might try to win over some deputies from the opposition parties to give him the 300 seats necessary to amend the constitution without a referendum. He said that he expected the DYP of Demirel to quickly disintegrate amid defections.
        There are also rumors that, if he can secure a 300-seat majority thanks to possible defections from the DYP, Ozal will impose a "presidential system" by modifying the Constitution and replace General Kenan Evren of whom the 7-year term will end in 1989.
        Nevertheless, the years ahead will be full of many difficulties for the ANAP. First of all, just after the e-lectoral victory, Özal's Government put in practices new drastic economic measures hitting working masses.
        Last elections show that the two parliamentary opposition parties have a strong electoral support in popular masses: the social democrat SHP among the wage-earners of the big cities and the right-wing DYP among the peasants of Anatolia.
        The future legislative elections, normally to be held in 1992 if the circumstances do not impose an early election, no doubt will erode the votes of the ANAP, and the social-democrat SHP, if it can carry out a successful opposition, can come to power with a %10 increase of its votes, thanks to this electoral system and the disintegration of the rival social-democrat DSP.

ÖZAL GOVERNMENT'S 18 BLACK SPOTS

        Mr. Süleyman Demirel, former Prime Minister and present chairman of the Correct Way Party (DYP), during his electoral campaign, put in evidence 18 black spots of Ozal's 4-year rule:
        Anarchy and Terror: In the South-eastern Anatolia about one thousand citizens have been victim of political violence. The number of the fallen officers, soldiers and policemen is the highest of the history of the Republic.
        Democratic rights and freedoms: They are still extremely restricted.
        Inflation: Prices have increased by 300% in four years.
        Impoverishment: Working people have been impoverished and poor people get poorer and poorer.
        Purchasing power: The share of workers, public servants, peasants, retired people, widows and orphans in the national income has fallen from 50% down to 37.5%.
        Devaluation of Lira: While Dollar was 280 TL in 1983, its price has climbed up to 1,000 TL in 1987.
        Unemployment: The number of jobless people has considerably increased and the government declared that it is no more obliged to find jobs for them.
        Distribution of income: Turkey has climbed to the 10th rank among the countries of which the distribution of income is most unjust.
        Exploitation of resources: Priorities in this field have been completely such as to create new economic problems.
        Delay of payments: State can no more pay in time the prices of the commodities it buys from producers.
        Debts: The internal and external debts of the State have been doubled and even tripled.
         Social State: The State has lost its characteristic of social state. The share of national education in the state budget has fallen down to 8.63% in 1987 while it was 11.2% in 1983.
        Injustice of Taxing: The principle to tax those wealthier which had been in force since the 19th Century has been suppressed.
        Agriculture: While Turkey was one of the countries which do not import alimentation, she has now to spend each year 1,000 million Dollars for the supply of food.
        Energy: The government has given up to develop the exploitation of the resources of energy and Turkey has become dependent on foreign countries.
        Underdevelopment: 55% of the population still work in agricultural sector and get only 19% of the national income. The per capita GNP of the country is still under the level of 1,000 Dollars though it should have climbed to more than 2,500 Dollars.
        Living standards: Fuel, electricity and telephone have been turned to the means of collecting more taxes. Poor people can no more use them.
        Waste and Corruption: They have been daily practices in public services and the Government does not take any measure to prevent them.

ARRESTS DURING ELECTORAL CAMPAIGN

        During the electoral campaign, all political actions other than those of the seven running parties were not tolerated by security forces.
        While the two officials of the outlawed TKP and TIP were being arrested at the moment when they came to Ankara from exile, the electoral campaign of the socialist candidates who independently participated in elections were very often interrupted or banned by the police.
        On November 26, five workers distributing leaflets for calling the people to a rally of independent socialist candidates were taken into custody. The same day, Mr. Yalcin Büyükdagli, spokesman of the committee for founding a socialist party, was taken to the State Security Court.
        All of them are accused of contravening Articles 141 and 142 of the Penal Code banning "organization and propaganda on the social class basis."
        Furthermore, police announced on November 28 that about a hundred left-wing people had been arrested during the electoral campaign on the suspicion that they might cause some incidents during the voting.
        On September 30, 1987, in Istanbul, police ambushed two alleged Dev-Sol militants and captured one of them after shooting dead the other.
        Besides, the press has reported the following arrests during the last three months:
        7.9, in Istanbul, 10 alleged TKP/B militants.
        13.9, in Istanbul, 8 alleged Dev-Sol militants.
        15.9, in Ankara, 10 alleged members of different left-wing organizations.
        20.9, in Izmir, 18 alleged TKP members.
        28.10, in Ankara, 16 alleged Dev-Yol members.
        29.10, in Agri, five alleged PKK militants.
        30.10, in Istanbul, 8 alleged DHB militants.
        31.10, in Siirt, 20 people accused of helping PKK guerillas.
        4.11, in Mersin, a 58-year-old peasant and his two children on the same charge.
        9.11, in Hakkari, 18 alleged PKK militants.
        10.11, in Kars, 11 alleged PKK militants.
        14.11, in Istanbul, 18 alleged PKK militants.
        20.11, in Diyarbakir, 37 people accused of giving help to PKK.
        On the other hand, while the government was claiming during the electoral campaign that the "separatist movement" was crushed in the Eastern Anatolia, armed confrontations between the Kurdish Guerilla and pro-governmental forces have very often taken place in the front pages of the Turkish press:
        12.10, about a hundred Kurdish militants raid the village of Cobandere in Siirt and shot dead 13 people.
        27.10, in Midyat (Mardin), a Kurdish guerilla group kidnaps and shoot dead a policeman.
        28.10, in Sirnak, a skirmish between Kurdish guerillas and security forces ends in the killing of a soldier and a militant.
        3.11, in Cizre (Mardin), security forces shoot dead seven Kurdish militants and but lose a lieutenant.
        14.11, in Sirnak, Kurdish guerillas, raiding two villages, shoot dead a teacher and kidnap 9 peasants.

DETENTION OF TWO TOP OFFICIALS OF THE UNITED COMMUNIST PARTY OF TURKEY (TBKP)

        Nabi Yagci (alias Haydar Kutlu), secretary general of the Communist Party of Turkey (TKP) in exile, and Nihat Sargin, secretary general of the outlawed Workers' Party of Turkey (TIP), were detained by police when they arrived at Ankara airport on November 16, 1987, with some European communist politicians and journalists after seven years' self-imposed exile in Europe.
        They were whisked away by police shortly after their Lufthansa flight from West Germany landed and taken to police headquarters in the capital.
        A state security official said both men, who fled Turkey at the time of the 1980 military coup, could face up to 15 years in jail if charged and convicted. The Public Prosecutor declared that they have, as leaders of two outlawed organizations, violated several articles of the Turkish Penal Code that prohibits communist propaganda and the formation of a communist party.
        Yagci and Sargin said recently they planned to return to Turkey, where communism has been banned since the mid-1920s, to merge their two groups into a united communist party. Shortly before they arrived, "President of the Republic" Kenan Evren said: "The present situation in Turkey is not suitable for the establishment of either a communist party or a party based on religion."
        European communist politicians accompanying Yagci and Sargin said that they came to ensure democratic freedoms in Turkey through the acceptance of the legal activities of the two Communists.
        Last September, a national referendum lifted, by the narrowest of margins, bans imposed by the military on about 100 political opponents. Public funerals of two left-wing exiles were allowed, although the organizations they represented are banned. Despite this sign of tolerance, Mr. Ozal's response to the return of the two Communists has been uncompromising. A statement from his office blamed Communists for terrorist actions and said the two men would be arrested as soon as they arrived.
        On these arrests, the European Parliament, following a proposal from the Communist Group, on November 19, adopted by 123 votes against 76 and 4 abstentions the following resolution:
        "The European Parliament,
        "A. Whereas Turkey is linked to the EEC by an association agreement,
        "B. having regard to the Turkish Government's decision to hold elections on 29 November,
        "C. having regard to its decision to send a delegation of observers to these elections,
        "D. having regard to the return to Turkey of Mr. Nihat Sargin and Mr. Haydar Kutlu, the Secretary-General of the Turkish Workers' Party and the Turkish Communist Party;
        "E. Whereas a number of national and European parliamentarians decided to accompany Mr. Nihat Sargin and Mr. Haydar Kutlu on their return to Ankara;
        "1. Expresses its concern at the fact that Mr. Nihat Sargin and Mr. Haydar Kutlu were arrested on arrival in Ankara, abruptly separated from the parliamentarians accompanying them and placed in solitary confinement in the city's central commissariat;
        "2. Demands the immediate release of these two people and calls for guarantees that in future they will enjoy freedom of political activity in Turkey with a view to contributing to the establishment of democracy in that country;
        "3. Calls on the Foreign Ministers meeting in European Political Cooperation to make urgent representations to the Turkish Government;
        "4. Instructs its President to make similar representations to the Turkish authorities;
        "5. Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Foreign Ministers meeting in European Political Cooperation, the governments of the Member States, the Turkish Government and the Turkish Grand National Assembly."
        Nevertheless, a few days later, on November 23, the Committee on External Economic Relations of the European Parliament adopted the Protocol to the Association Agreement with Turkey and the Supplementary Protocol which accompanies it (seeking to maintain traditional Turkish exports of fresh lemons and table grapes), in spite of the opposition of the Communist deputy, Mr. Pierre-Benjamin Pranchère, who urged the Committee to delay a vote in the light of the Parliament's resolution on the arrest of communist officials in Ankara.


MASS TRIALS AND CONDEMNATIONS

        Despite the claim of return to democracy, both martial law tribunals and state security courts continue to judge and condemn political prisoners.
        10.9, the public prosecutor claims prison terms up to 15 years for 101 defendants of the trial of TKKKO (Liberation Army of Northern Kurdistan) at the State Security Court of Istanbul.
        6.10, the military prosecutor claims capital punishment for 580 defendants of the Dev-Sol (Revolu-tionary Left) trial carried on at the martial law court of Istanbul since 1980. As for 623 other defendants, they all face different prison terms.
        7.10, the martial law court of Ankara condemns a member of the TDY (Way of Turkish Revolution) to capital punishment and another to life-prison.
        11.10, two defendants of the DHB (Revolutionary Union of People) Trial are condemned to life-prison and two others to 16-year prison terms each by the Martial Law Court of Ankara.
        25.10, the Military Court of Cassation approves four capital punishments, three life-imprisonments  and 51 different prison terms for the defendants of the TKP/ML Trial.
        27.10, the trial of 722 alleged members of Dev-Yol (Revolutionary Path) enters its sixth year at the Martial Law Court No.1 of Ankara. 236 of the defendants face capital punishment. Lawyers estimate that the trial, with the procedure applied by the military justice, cannot end before 1989.
        29.10, the Military Court of Cassation approves the prison terms up to 16 years and 8 months for 104 defendants of the TKP Trial. The condemnation of 100 other defendants are overruled.
        5.11, the military prosecutor claims 30 capital punishments at the TKP/ML Trial at Martial Law Court of Istanbul. 163 other defendants the same trial face prison terms up to 15 years.
        13.11, four women are brought before the State Security Court of Istanbul on the charge of adhering to the TKP. They face 10-year prison term each.
        26.11, the Military Court of Cassation approves seven capital punishments and 16 different prison terms for the far-right MHP activists.

TORTURE AND ILL-TREATMENT

        The daily Cumhuriyet of October 18, 1987, reported that Ibrahim Oztürk, detained in Istanbul on October 10, died after being brutally beaten at police center during his interrogation.
        On November 5, 1987, Mrs. Seviye Köprü, defendant of the TKP Trial in Izmir, said at the State Security Court that she had been violated by policemen during her interrogation at police center.
        It was reported on November 10, 1987, by the press that Aziz Biltekin died after his interrogation at a police center in Izmit.
        In Ankara, during a political trial at the State Security Court on November 8, 1987, defendants alleged that they had been tortured during their police interrogation. On this declaration, the chief judge of the court, Mr. Ekrem Celenk said: "We are sick of listening to torture allegations for eight years. Do not abuse your right to defense for voicing your claims." Defendant Senal Sarihan countered: "Yes, everybody is sick of talking of torture, but torturers do not!"

PRICE OF BEING TORTURED

        A Criminal Court in Aydin, at the trial of three political detainees on October 2, 1987, agreeing that the defendants had been tortured by police during their interrogation, adjudged that the State should pay to each of them 125,000 TL (125 dollars) as indemnity. However, the defendants declared that the sum is ridiculous and they would appeal to the Court of Cassation.

PROTEST ACTIONS FOR AND BY PRISONERS

        Protesting against the ill-treatment, 19 political detainees in Adana and 39 in Mersin special prisons of Type E went on hunger-strike, respectively on 5 and 7 November 1987. They complain of the restriction on their parents' visits, unrespect to hygienic conditions, ban on the introduction of some publications into prison. They said that when they are talking with their parents during visits, at least three or four prison guards listen to their conversations.
        On the other hand, on November 19, 1987, in Istanbul, seven political prisoners, in a protest against being taken handcuffed and chained to the he State Security Court, undressed themselves before the judges. On this action, they were brutally beaten by police.
        On November 25, the State Security Court sentenced 11 other detainees to prison terms up to 5 months for having resorted earlier to protest actions of same kind.
        On November 21, the Association for Solidarity with the Parents of Arrested and Convicted People (TAYAD) organized an evening entitled "Freedom in Our Hands". But the evening was banned at the last moment by the order of the Governor of Ankara.
        The campaign for a general amnesty and lifting of capital punishment launched on October 4, 1987, by the Human Rights Association of Turkey (IHD) has been extended over all the country and to the foreign countries. Thousands of people participate in collecting of signature in favour of general amnesty and lifting of capital punishment.
        At the beginning of the campaign, the IHD announced that at least 250,000 people have been detained and many of them tortured since the proclamation of martial law in 1979.
        According to a report issued by the Council of Europe, Turkey keeps the first rank among the 21 member countries as regards the number of prisoners. Out of 52,718 prisoners 42.6 percent are the people who are not yet condemned and attend the court's decision.
SUPPRESSION OF THE RIGHT TO WORK

        The General Staff Headquarters announced on October 21, 1987, that 4,891 civil servants, considered "suspects", had been fired from their posts between 1980-83. Although the ban on 3,406 of them has been lifted later on, 1,485 are still considered "inadmis-sible".
        According to the press reports of October 28, the practice of security investigation hit thousands of candidates for civil services. For example, the National Education Ministry (MEB) has engaged 11,444 new teachers for primary and secondary schools. But, only 865 of them have been allowed to take post by the Intelligence Unit of the Ministry while the security investigation is still going on as regards 10.579 other candidates. Due to this repressive practice, many primary and secondary schools cannot start their educational programme.
        The daily Hürriyet of November 2, 1987, reports that the intelligence units consider "inadmissible" for public posts even those who have non-political relations with left leaning people.

 PRESSURE ON INTELLECTUAL LIFE

        8.11, Hasan Selim Acan, responsible editor of political review Halkin Kurtulusu, is condemned once more, so the total prison term to which he has sentenced up to now rises to 331 years. Moreover, he still faces 100-year prison for some other press trials. Of the same review, three other responsible editors, Veli Yilmaz, Osman Tas and Mustafa Yildirimtürk have been condemned respectively to 748, 660 and 155 years prison terms.
        9.11, Dr. Arslan Yüzgün's book, Women with Blue Identity Cards, is confiscated on the pretext of being harmful to public moral.
        11.11, 30 students of the Middle East Technical University (ODTÜ) are tried before the State Security Court of Ankara for having organized without authorization a rally to protest against new rules of student dormitories. They face prison terms of up to three years.
        21.11, the student associations of the Aegean University in Izmir claim at a press conference that political police very often proposes to some students to be informer in return of some advantages. One of those students attempted to commit suicide as a result of a nervous breakdown caused by this proposal.
        24.11, the publisher of the youth review Ogrenci Postasi, Serhat Simsek, the correspondent of the youth review Yarin, Zekeriya Aytemur, and two other students are arrested by police for voicing some democratic demands of the youth.
        25.11, Mrs. Fatma Yazici, responsible editor of the weekly 2000'e Dogru, is condemned to one-year prison term by a criminal court in Istanbul for having published an article which is considered unrespectful to Prophet Mohammed. The same journalist is also tried before the State security Court of Istanbul for having published Atatürk's words on the Kurdish Question.
        26.11, in Ankara, the Administrative Court begins to deal with the case opened by Mr. Süleyman Ege, publisher of the Bilim ve Sosyalizm Yayinlari, against the Prime Ministry. 133,607 books of this publication house were destroyed in 1982 by the Izmit Paper Mill on the order of Ankara Martial Law Command. Reminding that there was not any court decision for the destruction of the books, Ege requests an indemnity of 240,000 Dollars. The defence lawyer of the Prime Ministry claims that martial law commanders had the authority to have any book destroyed even if it is not object of any legal proceeding.
        27.11, the National Educational Ministry orders all public schools to exclude Molière's Le Bourgeois Gentilhomme, Voltaire's Candide and Camus' La Peste from school libraries on the ground that they contain some anti-Turkish and anti-Islamic sentences.
        29.11, daily Günaydin's copies are confiscated throughout the country on grounds that it contravenes electoral bans.

PROSECUTION OF RELIGIOUS ACTIVISTS

        Amnesty International issued on November 10, 1987 a detailed report on the prosecution of religious activists in Turkey.
        The number of people prosecuted for their religious activities in Turkey increased substantially during 1987, according to AI.
        "At Istanbul State Security Court alone 44 trials of 128 defendants began during the first seven months of 1987. Secularity (separation of religion and state affairs) is one of the founding principles of the Turkish Republic and anti-secular tendencies have been prosecuted under Article 163 of the Turkish Penal Code since its introduction in 1926. This article has never been used to prosecute those using violence and these defendants should not be confused with members of militant Muslim groups operation in Turkey and other countries.
        "In 1983 the maximum sentence for an offence under Article 163 was more than doubled to 15 years' imprisonment. In February 1987 a draft amendment to the Penal Code provided for a maximum punishment of life imprisonment.
        (According to the daily Cumhuriyet of July 30, 1987, the State Security Court of Istanbul, since its foundation in 1984, has, in 7 different cases, sentenced 10 defendants to 32 years' and 11 months' imprisonment, to seven years' and eleven months' compulsory residence and to 20,380 TL fine in total.)
        "Those on trial include participants in peaceful demonstrations, members of legal political parties, journalists and writers as well as members of Islamic brotherhoods. A main target for persecution were leading members of Islamic associations among Turkish workers abroad, mainly based in the Federal Republic of Germany. Although these associations are legal outside Turkey their members are prosecuted once they enter the country.
        "For example, Hasan Damar, Secretary General the association Milli Görüs (National Vision) in the FRG until 1982, was arrested when he entered Turkey on October 27, 1986 and sentenced by Ankara Criminal Court to 25 months' imprisonment with bail set at 500,000 TL ($500). Although the sum was paid, Hasan Damar was not released because in the meantime Ankara State Security Court had issued an arrest warrant on similar charges.
        "Amnesty International considers all people imprisoned for the non-violent expression of their beliefs to be prisoners of conscience.
        "Compared to the thousands of allegations of torture in detention Amnesty International receives from Turkey, there are relatively few allegations of torture and ill-treatment of religious activists in police custody. But it has been alleged that Hüseyin Kurumahmutoglu died in July 1987 after he had been beaten by a guard in Mamak Military Prison (Ankara) for refusing to take off his prayer cap.

        Christian Minorities

        "Amnesty International has also received a few reports of court proceedings against Christian individuals and groups.
        "In June and July 1984 thirty-one adherents of the Jehovah's Witness faith were taken into custody in Ankara and subsequently charged under Article 163. Eleven of them were formally arrested. In December 1984, 23 defendants were sentenced; 18 to four years', two months' imprisonment and five to six years', eight months' imprisonment. The sentences were not confirmed by the Appeal Court and the defendants, who were released in June 1985, had to be retried. Finally in April 1987 the Panel of Judges at the Appeal Court ruled that all the defendants had to be acquitted, thereby acknowledging that the Jehovah's Witness faith was a legal religious group of no threat to the secular nature of the State.
        "On 27 January 1987 ten people charged with membership of, and propaganda for, a Protestant group were taken into police custody in Ankara. After some days they appeared at Ankara State Security Court and were released. Subsequently the charges were dropped.

PROSTITUTION INCREASED AT 6,259%

        One of the indicators of the deterioration of living conditions in a country is no doubt the rise of the number of the prostitutes. According to a survey carried out by the Sociology Section of the Aegean University, appeared on the daily Milliyet of November 8, 1987, the number of the registered prostitutes, with a rise at 6,259%,  has climbed up to 338,000 in 1987 while it was 5,400 in 1980. Many of these women are considered by their families as a wage-earner and not repudiated as it was before. After their daily professional activities, they lead a normal family life with their husbands and children.
        The same newspaper reported in its September 8, 1987 issue that about 20,000 of these women prostitute as "call girls" and those who have relations with businessmen or rich foreign tourists get up to 1 million Turkish Liras (1000 US dollars) for each "affair".


4 MILLION CHILDREN AT THE LABOUR MARKET

        A police raid on the Bafra market place where children below fifteen years old are "hires" to employers for a period as laborers has drawn attention once more to the fate of the children of poor families.
        The police held eight children about to be taken away by their employer, and the fathers who had brought the children to be "hired" in return for amounts of from TL 20,000 ($20) up to TL 40,000 ($40) per month according to their abilities. The two fathers "caught" said: "Not even grass grows in our village. What can we give these children to eat if they don't work?" and added that they had also worked this way when they were children.
        "We feel like slaves, the better the money the harder the work. After the goodbyes with our kin we have no idea of what will happen to us until the end of the contract," said 14-year-old Ulget Gürcü and 11-year-old Bekir Erol.
        According to an article of the daily Cumhuriyet of September 11, 1987, about 4 million children at the school age cannot continue their secondary education because of the poverty of their families and are obliged to work as wage-earner. What is more, many children have to work as apprentice, shepherd or hawker even at the age of primary school though the primary education is obligatory in Turkey.

RECENT DATA ON TURKISH IMMIGRATION

        - Turkish workers in the FRG have sent 48,950 million DM to their country in a 27 years period, since 1960 up to first half of 1987.
        - The number of the Turkish workers who are employed in the FRG is, according to the data issued by the German National Education Ministry, 499,000.  With their spouses and children, the total Turkish population in the FRG is 1,434,000. As for the Turkish youths following a vocational education in this country, their number has been 19,717 in 1983, 20,777 in 1984 and 21,664 in 1985. Besides, 256,000 Turkish children are at primary schools, 18,284 at secondary schools, 13,205 at high schools, 23,500 at the schools for handicapped children and 6,332 at evening schools.
        - In the last four years 3,020 Turkish nationals have been naturalized in the FRG.
        - The Daily Telegraph reported that the FRG, with a view to covering the lack of native soldiers  is planning to recruit immigrant youths for the German Army (Bundeswehr) and to charge them in a Foreigners Legion to be set up.
        - The number of the enterprises set up by Turkish in the FRG has climbed to 25,000 with a total investment of 2.04O million dollars in 1987 while it was 22,000 in last year.
        - The number of the mixed marriages between Turkish women and German men fell to 1,312 in 1985 while it was 3,982 in 1981. The number of the marriages between Turkish women and men in 1985 is 4.025.
        - The number of the births of Turkish children in the FRG has also shown a decrease by falling to 25,171 in 1984 while it was 43,498 in 1977.
        - The application of the system of inciting jobless immigrant workers to return to their country has not resulted in success as it was attended. According to the data by the end of September 1987, only 140 out of 7,342 jobless Turkish immigrants have applied for benefitting from the premium offered by the Belgian Government. 25.8 million Belgian Francs have been paid to those who returned to Turkey. The number of Turkish immigrant workers in Belgium, including the jobless ones, is 32,500.

RACIST AND XENOPHOBIC ACTS AGAINST TURKS

        22.4, in Norheim (FRG), Skindheads met for celebrating the anniversary of Adolph Hitler's birth attack a group of Turkish youths. During the quarrel continuing up to morning twelve people are wounded and police arrest 8 skinheads.
        24.4, in Bielefeld (FRG), the local of Turco-Islamic Cultural Association is set on fire by unidentified persons.
        25.4, in Gröplingen (FRG), a Turkish local is put on fire, and a Turkish grocery is bombed on the same night.
        4.5, in Oberhausen (FRG), Skinheads, during a rally that they hold, attack a group of Turkish workers listening to their speeches. Instead of Skinheads, police take into custody seven Turks.
        5.5, in Hamburg (FRG), a 39-year-old Turkish worker, Musa Eker, is shot dead with four bullets while he is coming home from mosque. He had three children and his wife is pregnant.
        5.5, in Wetzlar (RFG), a Turkish club is attacked by 20 masked racists. During the raid carried out by using fire-arms and destroying all furnitures, the club owner is gravely wounded.
        6.5, the Interior Ministry of the State of Niedersachsen (FRG) announces that the racist aggressions have considerably increased in 1986. Police registered 25 acts of aggression against political refugee campings and foreigners' dwellings in Hannover, Melle and Gronau.
        20.5, in Ingolstadt (FRG), a building inhabited by seven Turkish families is put on fire for a second time by unidentified persons.
        11.6, in Montargis near Paris (France), two policemen shot dead a 14-year-old Turkish teenager on pretext that he drove a stolen car.
        15.6, in Langen (FRG), a group of Neo-nazi FAP members paint racist slogans such as "Foreigners, Out!" and "Germany to Germans!" on the walls of schools, public buildings and bus-stops.
        18.6, in Berlin, a Turkish bakery is set on fire by unknown people.
        3.7, the German weekly Der Spiegel reports that some floppydisks containing games provoking anti-Turk feelings are widely distributed and sold. One of these games is entitled "Feast of Hostility against Turks in the Buchenwald Camp" and carries the inscription "Copyright: Hitler and Hess" and the swastika. Another floppydisk contains an "Anti-Turk Test".
        6.7, in Berlin, a group of Skinheads attack Turks during a feast. They wound some of Turks as well as six policemen. After this aggression, four of the wounded policemen resign.
        9.7, according to the daily Frankfurter Rundschau, neo-nazi groups mail racist tracts to private addresses of foreigners in the cities of Göttingen and Hamel (FRG). Signed by Oskar Hinzmann, local chief of the Neo-nazis, the tracts say: "If you do not leave Germany after having received this tract, nothing can prevent the disaster you will meet with!"
        29.7, in Vienna (Austria), a Turkish grocery is set on fire on the night by unknown persons.
        26.8, in Kiel (FRG), four Skinheads attack a Turkish group returning from a marriage ceremony and wound 6 out of eleven. A grievly wounded 50-year old Turkish women, Elif Yilmaz, is placed in hospital. Police take three Skinheads into custody.
        8.9., in Hamburg (FRG), a band of young Germans raid a Turkish disco and beat eight Turkish youths of whom two are taken to hospital. In retaliation for this aggression, one of the beaten Turkish youths wounds a German at the place of incident.
        15.9, in Hannover (FRG), a group of Skinheads raid a Turkish club by shouting "Germany will be grave for foreigners. There is no place for cannibals in this country!".
        23.9, a Turkish mosque in the city of Herne (FRG) is destroyed by unidentified persons.
        27.9, in Hannover (FRG), a group of Skinheads raids a Turkish club and attacked the clients inside. When Turkish clients resist against their aggression, they go out and break into pieces the windows, causing so to a damage of 30,000 DM. They attack also the policemen trying to halt the confrontation and wound two of them. Thirteen skinheads carrying arms are taken into custody.
        15.10, again in Hannover, another group of Skinheads attack a Turkish club and provoked a bloody quarrel.
        26.10, in Hildesheim (FRG), a 5-year old Turkish girl is found strangled after being violated by unidentified persons.