SULEYMAN THE MALEFICIENT
The 8th President of the Republic of Turkey, Turgut
Özal died on April 17, 1993, of low blood pressure due to coronary
insufficiency. One month later, on May 16, 1993, Prime Minister
Süleyman Demirel was sworn in as the 9th President of the Republic,
shortly after Parliament elected him in the third round of balloting.
Does this succession mean a fundamental change
in the Turkish politics?
Considering the fact that Özal and Demirel were the
leaders of the two different political parties of the post-Coup period,
respectively the Motherland Party (ANAP) and the Correct Way Party
(DYP), and that these two principal figures of the right wing of the
political fan had, since the restoration of the parliamentary regime in
1983, been at feud with each other, such an expectation could easily be
justified. This quarrel between the two men had developed in very
aggressive and disrespectful terms after Özal made himself elected the
President of the Republic. When Demirel became Prime Minister after the
1991 elections, this feud often led to a serious discordance between
the top two figures of the State on the many vital questions concerning
internal and external affairs.
Nevertheless, a quick look at their political career
and their commitments shows that this quarrel was very far from
being the consequence of a disagreement on the approach to the
country’s major problems. Sharing the same options, they worked
together until the 1980 Coup in a big harmony for about fifteen years.
Since the beginning of their involvement in daily
politics, both sought and obtained the support of the big business and
the United States, adopted and put in practice anti-popular and
anti-democratic policies, distinguished as the fierce enemies of
the working class and the Kurdish movements, based their powers on the
direct or indirect support of the ultra-nationalist and fundamentalist
circles. (See the chronoligical notes in the first page box).
ÖZAL AND
DEMIREL:
THE MEN OF
THE SAME CAUSE
• DEMIREL: Born in 1924, he graduated as engineer in
1949 from the Istanbul Technical University. He was the first Turkish
engineer to be sent to the United States for further study on
irrigation and electrification. In 1955, he was appointed
director general of the State Hydraulic Works Authority (DSI) and kept
his post until the 1960 Coup, after which he was employed as an expert
at the newly created State Planning Organization (DPT). After
completing his military service, he opted for private enterprise and
represented some US companies in Turkey.
• ÖZAL: Born in 1927, he graduated as engineer in
1950 from the Istanbul Technical University. In 1952, he left for the
United States where he studied economics and engineering. After
returning Turkey he worked on hydroelectric power station projects and
became the Deputy General Director of the Electrical Studies and
Research Administration. In 1961, while doing his military
service, he was also charged with working for the establishment of the
State Planning Organization (DPT).
• DEMIREL: At the 1964 Convention of the Justice
Party (AP), the principal right-wing party of the time, he was imposed
by the big business as the future prime minister of the country and, by
using his photo shot together with Lyndon Johnson during his studies in
the USA, was elected party chairman. After having overthrown the
center-left government, the AP formed a coalition government with the
support of other right-wing parties and Demirel became deputy-premier.
One of the first actions of this government was to order the army to
open fire on mine-workers in Zonguldak.
• ÖZAL: He worked at the DPT as a counsellor until
1965.
• DEMIREL: In 1965, following an electoral campaign
based on the promises to develop a liberal economy, to fight the rising
socialist movement and trade unions and to change the relatively
democratic 1961 Constitution, the AP came to power with an absolute
majority and Demirel became prime minister. Under his government, the
democratic organizations and the media underwent an unprecedented
repression, the resistance of the workers and peasants against
anti-social policies were cracked down by force, the neo-fascist and
fundamentalist movements were tolerated to organize, the Grey Wolves
turned into a paramilitary force and the Army developed the Counter
Guerrilla Organization.
• ÖZAL: In 1965, Demirel chose Özal as his special
technical adviser. In 1967, he became the acting under-secretary of the
State Planning Organization. He also acted as the president of the
Economic Coordination Committee, the RCD Coordination Committee and the
European Community Coordination Committee. It is at that period that,
Turgut Özal and his brother Korkut Özal entered in relations with the
World Islam Ligue (Rabitat-ul-Alem-ul-Islam) and played a leading role
in the Islam fundamentalism’s infiltration into the State apparatus.
• DEMIREL: Despite the repression supported by the
big business, the popular resistance gained mass dimensions and tens of
thousands of industrial workers occupied Istanbul for protesting
against new measures aimed to annihilate progressive trade
unions. After the assassination of a number of youth leaders by the
police and the Grey Wolves, some left groups too began to resort to
armed actions. Since Demirel’s government failed to restore “law and
order”, the army intervened and forced Demirel to resign. This
intervention was followed by a bloody repression on the left-wing
forces and intellectuals. The Constitution was modified so as to lift
some democratic guarantees. Three youth leaders were executed. Demirel
and his party did not oppose to these measures, on the contrary they
voted at Parliament for them.
• ÖZAL: After the 1971 Coup, when Demirel was
toppled, Özal preferred to go to the United States and served there as
the special projects adviser to the World Bank. Later, he returned to
Turkey and entered the private sector, joining Sabanci Holding, one of
the two biggest business concerns of Turkey.
• DEMIREL: In March 1975, Demirel founded his first
Nationalist Front (MC) Government between the AP, the neo-fascist
Nationalist Action Party (MHP), the fundamentalist National Salvation
Party (MSP) and the right-wing Republican Reliance Party (CGP). During
this period until 1978, the political violence was triggered again by
the Counter Guerrilla Organization and the Grey Wolves and the country
found itself in a general chaotic atmosphere. When he was accused of
protecting neo-fascist murders, Demirel said, "You cannot get me
to say rightists in this country are committing murder." After a
one-year social-democrat government in 1978-79, he again came to
power in coalition with the neo-fascist MHP in October 1979 and the
terror of the Grey Wolves gained new dimensions.
• ÖZAL: After the foundation of the first MC
Government in 1975, Özal was appointed as the under-secretary of the
Prime Ministry and acting under-secretary of the State Planning
Organization. In the 1977 elections, Özal became a candidate from the
fundamentalist MSP ticket but was not elected. He became for a certain
period the Chairman of the Metal Works Employers’ Union (MESS) and
distinguished himself by his virulent attacks on trade unions. When
Demirel established his sixth Cabinet in 1979 and faced the task of
preparing new austerity measures following the IMF directives, Özal was
again his chief aide. With instructions from Demirel, Özal prepared the
January 24, 1980 austerity package.
The military coup of September 12, 1980 was a
turning point in the political career of these two companions.
Their relations began to deteriorate when the
military, after having seized power in 1980, deprived Demirel of his
political rights while Özal was chosen as the economic czar of the
country and given the title of Deputy Premier Minister in the
military-backed government. In fact, it was a choice of the
international organizations imposed on the military. The Financial
Times of September 13th, 1980 published the following note from
Washington: “Both the IMF and the World Bank negotiations had been
conducted very closely with a small number of former Demirel’s
advisers, in particular Mr. Turgut Özal. Mr. Özal’s fate will be a
pointer to whether IMF and World Bank relations will continue smoothly
with Turkey.”
In the absence of any parliamentary or trade union
opposition, Özal proposed weeping economic steps which were approved by
the military administration. Thus, the January 24 program, which could
not be fully implemented during Demirel's term because of a strong
popular resistance, was put into effect under the military repression.
Restrictions were imposed on labour rights, while bell-tightening
measures were intensified.
As the Deputy-Premier of the time, Özal shared all
the crimes committed by the military, such as mass arrests, tortures,
unfair mass trials, censorship on the media, lifting trade union
rights, ban on political activities, etc. All repressive decrees of the
military-backed government had the signature of Turgut Özal.
In the mean time, taking advantage of his key post
at the service of the military and of the compulsory absence of Demirel
in daily political life, Özal managed to impose himself as the “brand
new” leader of the Right.
When the military rule lifted the ban on political
party activity and allowed the establishment of new political parties
in 1983, Özal entered daily politics as the founding chairman of the
newly-established Motherland Party (ANAP). Having the support of the
international monetary organizations and the Turkish business and
taking over an important part of Demirel’s electorate as well as that
of the other right-wing political parties, ANAP obtained 211 seats in
the 400-member unicameral Parliament in 1983 elections and Özal became
Prime Minister.
It was this climb of his former aide during his
compulsory absence in politics that turned Demirel into a fierce enemy
of Özal and their quarrel developed for years as a real vendetta. When
Demirel regained his political rights and took over the chair of the
DYP in 1988, he based his electoral campaign on a sole objective:
putting an end to Özal’s power. When Özal was elected the
President of the Republic through ANAP’s votes in Parliament, Demirel,
in an absolute frenzy, swore that the first thing he would do if he
comes to power was to oust Özal from the Presidential Palace.
In fact, this was not an opposition to the
anti-popular and anti-democratic policies of the Özal power. The DYP
always voted in Parliament with the ANAP for the laws and decrees to
maintain the repression.
The 1991 elections, resulted in the defeat of the
ANAP, opened an era where Özal and Demirel had to cohabit, the former
as the President of the Republic and the latter as Prime Minister.
Although this cohabitation was fraught with pitfalls and the feud
between Özal and Demirel broke out into open animosity on more than one
occasion, they continued to share repressive policies in a submission
to the military. Besides, both Özal and Demirel
carried out and even reinforced their reactionary stand by competing
with each other to give concessions to neo-fascist and fundamentalist
movements.
It is why during the Özal’s funeral in Istanbul, the
crowd chanted, "Muslim Turkey" over and over again. Fanatical groups
went further and cried: "Let the chains be broken, let Ayasofya be
opened [as a mosque]", "Karabakh will be a grave for Armenia," "Bosnia
will be a grave for Serbs!" They also tried to silence the band which
was playing the "Funeral March" by shouting "Allahuekber [God is
great]!"
And it is for the same reason that Demirel was
elected the President of the Republic thanks to the votes of the
neo-fascist MHP’s deputies.
As the President of the Republic the first thing
that Demirel made was to attend a religious Friday ceremony in an
Ankara mosque, and the second was to convene the National Security
Council to dictate to the government new repressive plans elaborated by
the military.
EXTRAJUDICIAL EXECUTIONS
Chasing the recent operations throughout the country
against the outlawed Revolutionary Left (Dev-Sol), the police is
accused by mass democratic organizations and political parties,
of deliberately killing the militants, instead of arresting them alive.
According to a recent report by the Human Rights Foundation of Turkey
(TIHV), a total of 2,933 people were killed in the "general atmosphere
of political violence" in Turkey in 1992.
SHP Adiyaman Deputy Celal Kürkoglu, accusing the
police of extrajudicial execution, said on March 30: "We are not saying
that these suspects should be protected. But the duty of the security
forces is to catch them alive, not to kill them. If our security
forces think that they should kill people, because if they are arrested
they will just escape and start shooting again, this is very dangerous
logic."
HEP Sirnak deputy Orhan Dogan: "In our country,
sometimes, the police act simultaneously as judge and executioner. This
means execution without trial. In a world where death sentences are
becoming more and more scarce, killing people like you are hunting
animals strongly contradicts claims of democracy and human rights."
The Chairman of the Contemporary Jurists Association
(CHD), Sanal Sarihan: "The Turkish police know very well the right to
life, which is guarantied not only in the Constitution but also in the
police authorities law, and do not pay enough attention to catching
suspects alive. This gives the impression that all these events have
been carried out deliberately. And, if the power of the police is not
reduced, Turkey, which has been accused of torture, will be faced with
murder allegations."
In response to these accusations, Interior Minister
Ismet Sezgin said on March 28: "Execution without trial is a sophistry.
Those who support this sophistry do not believe in the security forces'
struggle."
TKEP LEADER ARRESTED
The leader of the Communist Labour Party of Turkey
(TKEP), Teslim Töre (54) was arrested in Istanbul on May 7 together
with eight of his comrades, after being on the run for the last 25
years.
Töre was a known figure of the radical left in the
late 1960s and 1970s. He fled to Syria in the late 70s and founded in
exile the TKEP which has no known violent activities.
Töre's family claimed after the arrest that he was
back in Turkey after years of remaining underground to create a legal
party.
Istanbul police interrogated him until May 17,
according to special permission granted by the Istanbul SSC
prosecutor's office.
HEP Deputy Chairman Hatip Dicle said that the
extension of Töre's custody was proof that there was no freedom of
opinion in Turkey.
Amnesty International applied to Turkey for Töre's
safety to insure that he was not tortured.
Meanwhile, the Contemporary Jurists Association
(CHD) and the Human Rights Association of Turkey (IHD) decided to
establish a special commission to enable his release.
"EXCREMENT" CASE AGAINST TURKEY
The European Commission on Human Rights accepted in
January a case against the Turkish Government on grounds that a group
of villagers in 1989 were harassed by security forces and forced to eat
human excrement.
Although Turkey had defended itself by saying that
all judicial procedures had not ended in Turkey and that the victims
still had judicial rights, according to the Commission's decision, the
Ankara Government will have to sit and negotiate with the civilians of
the Yesilyurt Village in Cizre in the coming months for indemnity and
reparations.
NO TO THE MAY DAY HOLIDAY
Despite the promises of the coalition parties, May
Day was not celebrated as an official holiday this year.
Although some SHP deputies introduced a bill for
recognizing May Day as an official holiday, the majority of the
National Assembly rejected the proposal on March 13. The deputies of
the major coalition partner, DYP, too voted against the bill together
with the deputies of other right-wing parties.
The May Day which was, at a time, an official
holiday celebrated as the Day of Spring and Flowers, and the workers
could, benefiting from this holiday, celebrate their own international
solidarity day with open air demonstrations throughout the country.
After the 1980 coup, the military junta banned all
May Day celebrations and transformed the 1st of May into a working day.
Since the 1st of May was a Saturday this year, the
trade union confederations and left-wing parties organized a series of
open air or closed celebrations in big cities.
However, they were not allowed to meet at the Taksim
Square, the biggest place of Istanbul which had been the scene of mass
May Day celebrations prior to the 1980 Coup. When a group of
about 1000 demonstrators tried to stage a protest march in Istanbul,
police immediately intervened and took many demonstrators into custody.
In Izmir, police detained seven people for failure
to comply with orders at a mass rally in Konak district.
STATE TERRORISM IN MARCH-APRIL
1.3, three cultural associations in the quarters of
Mamak, Sincan and Keciören were closed down by the Ankara Governor's
order on charges of carrying out activities incompatible with their
declared objectives.
1.3, the Izmir SSC sentenced two persons to 3O
months in prison and TL 166 Million ($18,445) in fine for
illegal activities. Three other defendants too were sentenced to TL 166
Million in fine.
2.3, in Denizli, a street hawker named Sahin Sevinc
was beaten by police for having smoked cigarette in street.
2.3, police announced the arrest of 24 alleged PKK
members in Antalya and Izmir.
2.3, in Bursa, eight people were detained for having
participated in the activities of the Communist Worker Movement of
Turkey (TKIH).
3.3, in Yavuzeli (Gaziantep), police detained seven
alleged militants of the Revolutionary Communists' Union of Turkey
(TIKB).
3.3, in Ankara, a protest rally organized by
the sanitary workers was dispersed by police and some protesters
detained.
3.3, unidentified people shot dead Sirin Cesur (29)
in Silvan (Diyarbakir) and Tahir Demir in Nusaybin (Mardin).
4.3, a high school student, Derbas Bekler was shot
dead in Nusaybin by the Hezbollah.
5.3, a police team raiding a house in Nusaybin shot
dead six people, accused of aiding the PKK.
5.3, unidentified people shot dead shopkeeper
Sadik Bitkin and butcher Abdülkerim Biltekin. In Nusaybin and Mehmet
Özcelik in Nusaybin.
5.3, on Batman, teacher Osman Simsek was shot dead
by unidentified gunmen..
6.3, in Istanbul, police raiding a house shot dead
five people. Two leading figures of the Dev-Sol, Bedri Yagan and Gürcan
Aydin are among the victims.
6.3, the Convention of Working Women organized on
the occasion of the World Women's Day in Istanbul was banned by the
governor. When a group of 150 women started a march in protest against
this decision police dispersed them by using force and detained 14
women.
7.3, in Bozova (Urfa), a police team raiding the
house of DYP local chairman Mehmet Gül shot dead his 21-year old son
also named Mehmet Gül. During the autopsy, 61 bullets were found in its
body. His family accused the police to execute Gül without trial.
8.3; in Cizre, a crowd of 2 thousand people gathered
for talking with the HEP deputies were dispersed by the security teams
using force.
8.3, in Ankara, a group of 150 people attempting to
celebrate the World Women's Day in the street was dispersed by police
using force, 12 demonstrators were wounded and 40 detained.
8.3, the local IHD Chairman of Ordu and six other
IHD officials were indicted by the Kayseri SSC Prosecutor for
separatist propaganda. Each faces a prison term of not less than two
years by virtue of the Anti-Terror Law.
13.3, the local IHD Chairman of Istanbul, Ercan
Kanar was indicted for having insulted the State during a press
conference held past year. Facing a 10-year imprisonment, he will be
tried by the High Criminal Court N°2 of Istanbul.
14.3, in Batman, unidentified gunmen shot dead
17-year old Osman Gülkan.
15.3, six people were arrested after police
operations in Iskenderun, Erzin and Dörtyol districts of the province
of Hatay.
15.3, in Istanbul, 20 year-old Harun Cetin was
hospitalized for cerebral trauma after his interrogation at police
headquarters.
16.3, the prosecutor of the Ankara SSC indicted 126
people for having addressed a petition to the UN Representative
in Turkey on April 2, 1992.Facing a prison term of up to five years
each, their trial will begin at the SSC on May 13, 1993. Among the
defendants are many renown journalists, academics, human rights
activists.
16.3, the prosecutor of Istanbul SSC indicted 20
alleged members of the Islamic Movement on charges of having committed
political murders. Two defendants face capital punishment and 18 others
prison terms of up to 22 years.
16.3, unidentified gunmen shot dead Abdurrahman
Alkamis (37) in Diyarbakir and Sabri Kaya (37) in Batman.
17.3, in Siverek (Urfa), an unidentified
person was found assassinated by cutting the throat with traces of
beating and burning on his body.
17.3, in Fethiye (Mugla), a DYP member, Mehmet Yigit
was subjected to torture during his police detention. The traces of
torture were certified by a medical report.
18.3, about 400 people, mainly women and children,
holding a protest march in Izmir were dispersed by police using force.
During the clash, 15 demonstrators and six policemen were wounded.
Police detained more than 50 demonstrators. Same day, another
demonstration at the Aegean University on the occasion of the Halabja
Massacre in Iraq was stopped by police and more than 25 students were
detained.
19.3, in Istanbul, the Association for Solidarity
with the Oppressed (Mazlum-Der) announced that 18 people detained for
the Islamic Movement activities were subjected to torture during their
interrogations.
19.3, in Sirnak, 18-year old Hüseyin Yildirim
alleged that he had been tortured during his 20-day police detention
following a raid on the Ormanici Village on February 18.
He said that police forced him to eat excrement, to drink urine and
fuel oil.
19.3, unidentified gunmen shod dead teacher Faik
Ayaz in Diyarbakir and Nuri Taskin in Silvan.
20.3, the Malatya Section of the IHD was closed down
by the governor's order on pretext of receiving in its office the
people who are not members. Chairman of this IHD section, lawyer Metin
Can had been assassinated last month.
20.3, police announced the arrest of 25 alleged
Dev-Sol militants in Istanbul and five alleged members of the Ekim
(October) Movement in Izmit..
21.3, a shepherd named Haydar Yaskiran, shot by a
special security team in Pazarcik (Maras) on November 10, 1992 died in
a hospital of Ankara.
23.3, in Batman, Hezbullah gunmen assassinated
Felemez Dündar (37) and street hawker Abdurrahman Acar.
24.3, police raiding a house in Istanbul shot dead
three leading Dev-Sol members, Yalcin Arikan (35), Avni Turan (38) and
Recai Dincel (36).
27.3, during last police operations 32 alleged PKK
members were arrested in Mersin, 10 in Gebze and 12 in Adana.
27.3, in Istanbul, five people were arrested as they
were distributing a special issue of the monthly Emek.
29.3, in Ergani (Diyarbakir), 30 people were
detained during police operations.
30.3, Cizre Mayor Hasim Hasimi was taken into police
custody together with three other persons.
30.3, the Karaman sections of three trade unions,
Egit-Sen (education), Tüm Saglik Sen (sanitary) and Egitim Is
(education) were closed down by a court decision. The Agri section of
the Bem Sen (municipal workers) was also closed down by the order of
governor.
31.3, in Diyarbakir, 36 people were arrested for PKK
activities.
1.4, in Istanbul, police arrested seven people for
fundamentalist activities.
2.4, in Adana, 14 people have been detained for PKK
activities in last few days.
3.4, in Mersin, Adnan Yerden said that he had been
tortured after being detained for distributing the review Iscilerin
Sesi.
4.4, five students, Selma Genc, Mesude Basigüzel,
Nuriye Coskun, Ali Akkaya and Ercan Toprak who were detained in
Istanbul as they were distributing the review Emek on March 27 alleged
that were tortured and sexually harassed at police custody.
5.4, in Ankara, six students were arrested during a
series of police raids in last days.
5.4, in Batman, Ramazan Toprak (20) was assassinated
by unidentified gunmen.
6.4, political detainees at the Malatya Prison
started a hunger-strike in protest against ill-treatment.
6.4, in Gaziantep, a series of police raids resulted
in the arrest of nine people.
7.4, in Rize, six high school students were arrested
for participating in a campaign in favour of the restitution of poet
Nazim Hikmet's Turkish citizenship. After their release, the detainees
alleged to have been tortured.
8.4, 45 Kurdish peasants from the Güclükonak Village
of Sirnak appealed to to European Commission on Human Rights with the
claim that they had been tortured after the raids on their village in
February during which a girl named Abide Ekin. The peasants said in
their petition: "The security forces gathered all male population of
the village in a place and subjected to torture until evening. As the
torture was being carried on, the soldiers shot dead all domestic
animals in the village and destroyed our houses. All our
belongings were set on fire. A peasant named Ibrahim Ekinci died later
because of the torture."
8.4, university student Semra Sürücü was sentenced
by a criminal court of Istanbul to one-year imprisonment for insulting
Atatürk.
8.4, in Istanbul, a demonstration in protest against
the murder of Ferda Civelek by police was dispersed by security forces
and thirty people were detained. In Adana, five people were put under
arrest for having distributed a political tract on April 4.
9.4, about a thousand inhabitants of the village
Kelekci in the province of Diyarbakir were forced by the security
forces to leave this village. Diyarbakir deputy Sedat Yurttas said the
deported villagers were living under unbearable conditions in the city
of Diyarbakir. Besides, the inhabitants of the villages Köprübasi,
Kursunlu and Degirmen in the same province too received the order to
leave these villages in one week.
9.4, former Siirt chairwoman of the Human Rights
Association (IHD), Evin Aydar was refused to leave the country for a
visit to Tehran. She is the wife of Kurdish deputy Zübeyir Aydar.
9.4, in Kocaeli, six people were detained for
participating in the actions of the Worker-Peasant Liberation Army of
Turkey (TIKKO).
10.4, the Kiziltepe chairman of the People's Labour
Party (HEP), Seyh Davut Yalcinkaya, and his brother Halim Yalcinkaya
were assassinated by unidentified gunmen as they were leaving their
house.
11.4, in Tatvan, 19 out of 25 people who had been
detained at the end of March were placed under arrest by a local
criminal court.
11.4, in Nusaybin, tradesman Seyfi Aslan (30) was
assassinated by unidentified gunmen.
12.4, a political detainee, Mülkiye Dogan was found
killed in his cell at the Urfa Prison. He was under arrest for
participating in PKK activities.
12.4, police reportedly detained more than ten
people in Izmir during a series of security operations.
13.4, police reportedly took into custody 16
university students during security operations in Ankara.
13.4, in Istanbul, the Popular Houses of Yeni Bosna
and Pendik were closed down by the governor's order. So, the
number of the closed popular houses in Istanbul rose to nine.
14.4, the Istanbul SSC began to try 18 people
accused of having participated in the actions of the
Dev-Sol/Revolutionary Armed Units (SDB). Sixteen of the defendants face
capital punishment. At the opening of the trial, the defendants
attempted to open a banner, but the security officers took them out by
using force.
14.4, in Izmir, 18 alleged members of the Union of
Young Communists (GKB) were detained by police.
14.4, security forces took in custody 12 people in
Kayseri, three in Antalya and five in Ankara for illegal activities.
15.4, new hunger strikes were stared by 84 political
detainees in the Nevsehir Prison and by eleven in the Konya Prison.
15.4, in Izmir, police detained 30 university
students protesting against the the executions without trial.
17.4, the governor of Malatya banned the "Day for
Respect to Democracy", organized by the Musical Group Kizilirmak. on
grounds that some incidents might occur during this meeting.
16.4, the lawyers of the youths detained in Izmir on
charges of GKB activities claimed that their clients were subjected to
torture at police center.
16.4, security forces detained 24 people in
Diyarbakir for PKK activities and ten in Hatay for fundamentalist
organization.
18.4, police announced the arrest of 36 people in
Istanbul PKK activities.
19.4, security forces detained 14 alleged PKK
activists in Siverek and 12 people in Kayseri for participating in
Dev-Sol activities.
20.4, the Association for Freedoms (Özgür-Der)
announced that many people detained in Ankara after a police raid on
the office of the review Tavir were subjected to torture and sexual
harassment.
21.4, the trial of three persons accused of
attempting to assassinate a businessman began at the Istanbul SSC. The
prosecutor demands capital punishment for the defendants.
23.4, in Kayseri, a 80-year old grandfather, Bekir
Kocak was shot dead by soldiers when he entered by error into a
military zone.
23.4, in Istanbul, Mehmet Ceylan announced after his
release that he had been tortured at police station during his
interrogation.
23.4, in Seydisehir, 24 people were detained for
fundamentalist activities.
23.4, in Istanbul, an alleged Dev-Sol member,
Ibrahim Yalcin was assassinated by a police team who opened fire
without calling him to surrender..
23.4, unidentified assailants assassinated teacher
Alihan Han (42) in Diyarbakir and Halil Pekacar in Batman.
24.4, Vehbi Gündüz (36) was assassinated by
unidentified gunmen in Mus.
25.4, in Istanbul, security forces announced the
arrest of seven Dev-Sol members and eight other people allegedly
belonging to the People's Liberation Forces (HKG).
26.4, Haci Ibrahim Dilek, detained on March 20, 1993
at the village of Baristepe in Midyat was found assassinated on the
road Midyat-Gercüs.
26.4, the members of the Group of Intellectuals'
Initiative seeking a peaceful solution for the Kurdish Question were
attacked by village protectors at the village of Tepecik in Bismil.
Composed of human rights activists, deputies and university professors,
the group was forced to leave Tepecik under the fire opened by the
protectors.
26.4, police announced the arrest of nine PKK
activists in Ankara, four persons in Adana and three in Bitlis.
27.4, in Mersin, police detained three people for
aiding the PKK.
28.4, Prime Minister Demirel said that the
government would not support a bill stipulating the suppression of
capital punishment. He claimed that the capital punishment is a
dissuasive measure for keeping law and order in a country such as
Turkey where the rate of criminality is high.
28.4, security forces detained a total of 23 persons
during a series of operations in the districts of Diyarbakir.
29.4, the Bursa officials of the Human Rights
Association (IHD) were indicted by the prosecutor of the Istanbul SSC
for having organized a solidarity evening on January 10. They will be
tried on charges of anti-militarist propaganda and activities.
29.4, security forces detained 25 people in Elazig
and 17 in Ergani (Diyarbakir).
29.4, the trial of 32 alleged Dev-Sol members began
at the Istanbul SSC. 17 of the defendants face capital punishment and
others prison terms of up to 25 years.
29.4, worker Mahmut Haneyaz (26) was assassinated by
unidentified gunmen.
30.4, security forces raiding a house in Istanbul
shot dead two university students, Sengül Yildiran and Ugur Yasar
Kilic. Eye-witnesses accused the police of opening fire without calling
the suspects to surrender.
30.4, the prosecutor of the Ankara SSC started a
legal proceeding against HEP Chairman Ahmet Türk for having
participated in a press conference by PKK leader Öcalan.
30.4, in Düzce, ten university students were
detained by police. In Ankara, police announced the arrest of 38
alleged Dev-Sol militants.
TWO JOURNALISTS KILLED
Recently, two more journalists have been victims of
the ungoing violence against the media in Turkey.
On March 13, in the town of Silvan (Diyarbakir
province), 53-year old Ihsan Karakus, owner of the newspaper Silvan was
shot dead by unidentified gunmen as he was going to his office in the
morning.
On May 20, the Bergama correspondent of the daily
Hürriyet, Ercan Gürel was shot dead by unidentified people. Police
attributed the murder to a personal matter between the journalist and
his murderers.
So, the number of the assassinated journalists in
the period of the Demirel Government rose to 17. The following is the
complete list of the assassinated journalists reported by the TIHV:
Halit Güngen, Diyarbakir, 18.2.1992
Cengiz Altun, Batman, 24.2.1992
Izzet Kezer, Cizre, 23.3.1992
Bülent Ülkü, Bursa, 1.4.1992
Mecit Akgün, Nusaybin, 2.6.1992
Hafiz Akdemir, Diyarbakir, 8.6.1992
Cetin Ababay, Batman, 29.7.1992
Yahya Orhan, Gercüs, 29.7.1992
Hüseyin Deniz, Ceylanpinar, 9.8.1992
Musa Anter, Diyarbakir, 10.9.1992
Kemal Aktay, Hani, 9.11.1992
Hatip Kapçak, Mazidagi, 18.11.1992
Namik Taranci, Diyarbakir, 20.11.1992
Ugur Mumcu, Ankara, 24.1.1993
Kemal Kilic, Urfa, 18.2.1993
Ihsan Karakus, Silvan, 13.3.1993
Ercan Gürel, Bergama, 20.5.1993
ON THE DEATH OF A JOURNALIST
As the assassination of journalists was going on, a
40-year old journalist died at the end on March 1993 of a heart attack.
Although any journalist at the same age may die of heart attack in any
country, the early death of Veli Yilmaz has a particular signification.
Yilmaz was a journalist who set a record in a
particular field, a record which no one may ever better. He was
condemned to spend 748 years in prison after the 1980 Coup. He was kept
in prison for 11 years until the adoption of a law stipulating
conditional release of some political prisoners.
Ilhan Selcuk, columnist of the daily Cumhuriyet,
commented this death in his article of April 1st in following terms:
"Do you know any other country where the editor of a
magazine has been given a 748-year prison sentence?
"Veli Yilmaz was a journalist, but was not working
for a big newspaper. He was on the editorial staff of a socialist
magazine. It was one of the magazines described as 'marginal.' After
doing time in prison for 11 years, Veli Yilmaz was released two years
ago. His daughter Hazal was 1 year old when he was put into prison.
"Was it his heart that killed him? According to the
medical report he died of a heart attack. Yet, does that explain
everything? When he was in prison, Veli Yilmaz took part in a number of
hunger strikes. he remained on a hunger strike for a total period of
six and a half months.
"Veli Yilmaz did not die. He was killed. There are
times when we fail to see a clear picture of ourselves in the mirrors.
The mirror gets clouded over. Then we wipe it clean to be able to see
our face clearly.
"There are times when the image we see in the mirror
when we wipe it clean resembles that of a person with a criminal
record. The collective image of society in the mirror may resemble a
lot the photograph of a criminal in the police files.
"He was given a total of 748 years in prison on a
number of counts. Would you not be curious to know what articles
warranted this kind of sentence? I think that those articles must be
collected in a book and that the book must be displayed in a museum of
humanity so that the future generations too can read it. On the cover
of the book there should be an inscription: In Anatolia in the 20th
century a journalist was condemned to 748 years in prison because of
these articles."
BRITISH JOURNALIST ARRESTED IN TURKEY
A British freelance journalist, Andrew Norman Penny,
39, was arrested on May 15 by local authorities while entering Turkey
from the Habur border gate at the Iraqi border.
Both he and a Turkish writer and journalist, Faik
Bulut, were taken under custody for allegedly possessing illegal
Kurdish documents and video tapes. However, the Turkish journalist, who
works for the daily Özgür Gündem, was released after it was determined
that he had no connection with the incident.
An official reportedly said they suspected Penny was
acting like a courier for the outlawed PKK rather than a journalist.
The British National Union of Journalists (NUJ)
issued a statement on May 17 accrediting Penny as a bona fide
journalist and appealed for his immediate release, noting that the PKK
literature this journalist was carrying was part of his work.
Earlier, a Turkish court sentenced a German
journalist, Stefan Waldberg, to 45 months in jail on April 28 for
working as a messenger for the PKK.
Another German reporter, Michael Enger, of the
German television ZDF, was taken into custody last November under the
same circumstances, but the authorities set him free a day later.
In March, a Turkish journalist and writer, Prof.
Yalcin Kücük, was detained for 36 hours at the Istanbul airport after
police seized PKK literature, his interviews and video recordings.
Kücük's belongings and all results of his professional work, were later
given to the state-run Turkish television to be presented in the form
of a propaganda campaign against the organization. He is currently at
court with the TRT, demanding TL 200 million ($20,000)in compensation
for the seizure and use of his work.
IFJ MISSION TO TURKEY
Concerned about conditions for media freedom and
violations against journalists for a number of years, the International
Federation of Journalist (IFJ) sent a mission to Turkey on March
14-22, 1993.
The Mission members were Robert Bakker, IFJ
Honourary Treasurer; Leena Paukku, Secretary for International Affairs
for the Union of Journalists in Finland, and Lee Woodyear, IFJ Human
Rights Officer. Jan-Willem Bertens, Member of the European Parliament
from the Netherlands was an observer on the mission.
In Turkey, the Mission met with the IFJ member union
in Turkey, the Journalists' Trade Union of Turkey (TGS), and with local
journalists, foreign correspondents, journalists' associations, the
Turkish Press Council, human rights groups and government officials.
On the base of its observations in Turkey, the
Mission made public the following analyses and recommendations in a
ten-page special report entitled Media Freedom in Turkey: Time for
Dialogue:
"• Journalists working in Turkey, and especially in
the south east, are under intolerable pressure. There is no free-flow
of information in the south east of Turkey where censorship, however
defined, prevails. Journalists cannot freely undertake their
professional activities.
"Recommendation: The Turkish Government must be more
vociferous in condemning all attacks against journalists in Turkey. The
Government must work harder to create an environment in the south east
where journalists' rights are respected and where journalists can
undertake their professional activities with a minimum of interference.
"• The Mission deplores the actions of senior
representatives of Turkish Government in condemning bona fide and
recognised working journalists as 'militants.' In so doing these
officials undermine the fabric of press freedom in the country.
Questioning the identity of recognised reporters encourages security
forces to be suspicious of all journalists. This creates a climate of
intimidation and fear for media in the region and puts journalists at
physical risk.
"Recommendation: All members of the Turkish
Government and official representatives must respect the definition of
a journalist as it is set down along international standards by
representative journalist organisations in Turkey. Journalists are
independent professionals who should not depend upon Government license
or authority in order to carry out their work.
"• Many journalists and journalists organisations in
Turkey are frustrated by the lack of practical solutions to the present
crisis. On the other hand, many government ministries and officials
consider they have been unjustly attacked for not doing more to protect
journalists. Communication between journalists and the authorities,
whether military, police or political is not open and, in many cases,
is unacceptably tense.
"Recommendation: The Mission recommends that urgent
action should be taken to restore a coherent and sensible dialogue
between the authorities and media professionals. In order to assist
this process a one week symposium should be held this year in
Diyarbakir to address the problems facing journalists in Turkey and
especially in the south east. The Mission welcomes the support already
received for this suggestion, from the IFJ member union, the
Association of Journalists in the south east, the Turkish Press
Council, the Prime Minister, the Minister of the Interior, the
Emergency Governor of the south east, and others. The Mission believes
that the symposium must include on its agenda, at least one day of
talks between journalists with military officials, police officials and
government officials.
"• There is a paucity of information outside of
Turkey concerning daily violations against journalists in Turkey and
especially in the south east. Many journalists in the south east
regularly receive threats. many of the 14 journalists killed in this
region had received threats before they were killed.
"Recommendation: The Mission recommends that
the Executive Committee of the International Federation of Journalists
and organisations working through the International Freedom of
Expression Exchange (IFEX) seek to establish, in Istanbul or
Diyarbakir, a half-time position, through the professional
organisations in Turkey, for someone to monitor information on
violations against journalists and the media. This information could
then be distributed to journalists and human rights organisation in
Turkey and to the international community through IFEX.
"• Solidarity between journalists and journalist
organisations and between publishers and publishers organisation in
Turkey is not as strong as it could be. Many journalists and publishers
in Turkey live and work in conditions where they are constantly fearful
of their physical safety. The Mission noted that little attention was
given to the death of Ihsan Karakus, the owner and editor of a local
paper in Silvan, who reportedly was known as an independent journalist.
"Recommendation: The Mission calls on professional
organisations of journalists and publishers in Turkey to coordinate
their efforts to fight the violent censorship in the country.
Coordinated demonstrations, joint investigative missions and pooling of
limited resources by publishers and journalists could assist in the
present crisis. The vital interests of both journalists and publishers
would be served by such co-ordination and solidarity."
PEN STATEMENT AT THE UN
International PEN made an oral statement on killings
and arrests of writers and journalists in Turkey to the United Nations
Commission on Human Rights in February.
The statement called on the UN to encourage the
Turkish authorities to investigate the killing of journalists in Turkey
and to bring those found responsible to justice.
PEN's statement also declared its concerns about
decree number 3713 (the so called Law to Fight Terrorism) which it
believes is being used to censor and imprison writers and journalists
for the peaceful expression of their views.
International PEN also expressed its concern at the
widespread powers accorded to police in the mainly Kurdish southeast
region of Turkey by the state of emergency regulations in operation
there.
US REPORT ON HUMAN RIGHTS IN TURKEY
Turkey "still denies" full human rights to its
citizens, despite democracy in the country being "stronger” than it was
10 years ago, a group of U.S. scholars and human rights activists
agreed in a panel on April 5 held in Washington
The panel was organized by the U.S. Commission on
Security and Cooperation in Europe (CSCE), made up of 18 members of
Congress and one representative each from the departments of State,
Commerce and Defense.
"There is no question that Turkey has made great
strides," said Maru Sue Hafner, the commission's deputy staff director
and general counsel, who chaired the hearing. "But why have 12
journalists been killed, and no serious investigation been made into
their deaths?"
Mark Epstein, a former State Department
scholar-in-residence, said "Torture persists, especially in the first
few days of police detention, and whether Turkey can accommodate itself
to Turkish cultural and political rights remains a question."
Maryam Elahi of Amnesty International: "We are
asking that the government of Turkey recognize the current problems in
the human rights arena, and set out to implement safeguards in order to
end torture and comply with its obligations under the international
human rights treaties to which it is a state party. The United States,
as a friend of the Turkish people, has a serious responsibility to urge
the Turkish government to abide by its international obligations."
Lois Whitman, deputy director of Helsinki Watch:
"Prime Minister Demirel's coalition government, installed in November
1991, has not kept its promises of human rights improvements. The
overall human rights picture has, in fact, deteriorated rather than
improved."
Whitman said that Helsinki Watch has recommended to
the U.S. Government that it end all military and security assistance to
Turkey until that country "no longer manifests a consistent pattern of
gross human rights violations."
Turkey is the third largest recipient of U.S. aid,
receiving loans of $450 million in military assistance and $125 million
in economic support grants for the 1993 fiscal year.
PRESSURES ON THE MEDIA IN MARCH-APRIL
1.3, the Derik correspondent of the daily Özgür
Gündem, Salih Tekin said that he had been tortured by police after his
detention on February 16.
1.3, the performance of a Kurdish play, Mirin ü
Jiyan (Life and Death), by the Jiyana Nü Theatre in Ankara was banned
by the governor.
5.3, Prof. Ilhan Arsel's book Intellectual and
"Intellectual" and two weeklies, Haftalik Telgraf and Siyasi Cizgi were
confiscated by the decision of a local penal court in Istanbul.
6.3, in Istanbul, two journalists of the daily
Hürriyet, Beyhan Tolan and Kürsat Yilmaz were detained as they were
covering the police attack on a women group protesting against the ban
of the Convention of Working Women and the films in their cameras were
destroyed.
6.3, in Ankara, two journalists of the daily
Hürriyet, Selcuk Senyüz and Mehmet Oguz Senol, were beaten by police as
they were covering the police attack on a group celebrating the World
Women's Day.
9.3, the latest issues of three reviews, Medya
Günesi, Direnis and Azadi, were confiscated by the Istanbul SSC for
separatist propaganda.
9.3, the Van office of the weekly Azadi was raided
and searched by police. After the operation, the weekly's
correspondent, Hakan Kartal was taken into custody.
10.3, the Istanbul SSC began to try Professor Yalcin
Kücük for an interview that he made with PKK leader Öcalan in December
1992. He faces imprisonment of up to five years for separatist
propaganda.
11.3, poet Hüseyin Karatas was sentenced by the
Istanbul SSC to 20 months in prison and TL 41 Million ($4,556) in fine
for his poetry book entitled Dersim: The Story of a Revolt. Publisher
Sevki Ömeroglu too was sentenced to a fine of TL 1,016,028,000
($122,889) by virtue of the Anti-Terror Law.
12.3, For their words on the Kurdish question
published by the monthly Demokrat, Ömer Agin and Ahmet Zeki Okcuoglu
were sentenced to 8-month imprisonment each by the Istanbul SSC.
The court also sentenced the review's publisher, Hikmet Kocak, to TL
100 Million ($11,111) in fine, and the responsible editor Engin Günay
to six months in prison and TL 50 Million ($5,556) in fine by virtue of
the Anti-Terror Law.
12.3, the owner of the fortnightly Medya Günesi,
Cemal Özcelik was arrested for an article on the military operations in
Kurdistan. He will be tried by virtue of Article 8 of the ATL. 19
out of the review's 25 issues have been confiscated by the Istanbul SSC.
15.3, the latest issues of the reviews Mücadele and
Genc Kurtulus were confiscated by the Istanbul SSC for separatist
propaganda.
15.3, the responsible editor of the defunct
daily Günes, Isik Yurtcu was arrested for not having paid a fine to
which he had been sentenced for an article.
17.5, a book fair organized in Afyon by the Islamic
publishing houses was raided by police and some books were confiscated.
18.3, the responsible editors of the reviews Newroz
and Emek, respectively Hasan Lekesiz and Garip Töre were arrested in
Istanbul for distributing Newroz posters.
18.3, the Malatya office of the weekly Azadi was
raided by police and many documents inside confiscated.
20.3, N°51 of the weekly Gercek and N°24 of the
fortnightly Devrimci Proletarya were confiscated by the Istanbul SSC
for separatist propaganda and praising some outlawed organizations.
22.3, N°26 of the fortnightly Medya Günesi was
confiscated by the Istanbul SSC for separatist propaganda.
28.3, the latest issues of the reviews Yeni Ülke,
Devrimci Proletarya, Emegin Bayragi and Mücadele was confiscated by the
Istanbul SSC in virtue of Articles 6, 7 and 8 of the ATL.
28.3, the Diyarbakir office of the monthly Newroz
was raided and destroyed by unidentified people.
1.4, the last issue of the magazine of strip cartoon
Eroskop was confiscated by a penal court for obscene publication.
2.4, journalist Haluk Gerger was indicted by the
Ankara SSC Prosecutor for his article on Kurdish Question published by
the daily Özgür Gündem on September 15, 1992. He faces imprisonment of
up to five years.
3.4, the last issues of the reviews Azadi, Yeni Ülke
and Mücadele were confiscated by the Istanbul SSC for separatist
propaganda.
4.4, publisher Ünsal Öztürk was indicted by the
Ankara SSC for making propaganda of terrorist organizations by
publishing a book entitled The Bosphorus Occupation concerning a
student action at the Bogazici University. He is also indicted for the
same book by a penal court in Ankara on charges of praising
terrorist acts and by a criminal court on charges of insulting security
forces. In three cases, Ünsal faces prison terms of up to eleven years
in total.
5.4, Fatma Karabacak, responsible editor of the
weekly Newroz, was sentenced by the Istanbul SSC to a 5-month
imprisonment and a fine of TL 41 Million ($4,556) for an article
concerning the Newroz incidents of 1992. The owner of the review,
Hüseyin Alatas too was sentenced to a fine of TL 83 Million ($9,222)
for the same article.
7.4, in Nazilli, the owners of four private radio
stations, Atilla Toraman (Radio Özlem), Orhan Narin (Radio Nazar),
Mustafa Subakan (Radio Gün) and Filiz Güven (Radio Venus) were arrested
by a penal court for unauthorized broadcasting.
8.4, the former responsible editor the monthly
Newroz, Celal Albayrak was sentenced by the Istanbul SSC to five months
in prison and TL 41 Million ($ 4,556) for separatist propaganda.
9.4, the former responsible editor of the weekly
Hedef, Elanur Kaya was sentenced by the Istanbul SSC to a 5-month
imprisonment and a fine of TL 41 Million ($4,556) for some articles
published in 1991. The owner of the review, Emel Atici too was
sentenced to a fine of TL 83 Million ($9,222) for the same articles.
11.4, the Court of Cassation approved a five-month
imprisonment and a fine of TL 41 Million ($ 4,556)given against Kamil
Ermis, responsible editor of the monthly review Deng. A fine of
TL 83 Million ($ 9,222) against Hikmet Cetin, owner of the
review, was approved as well.
12.4, Ümit Oguztan, author of three books, Queen
Sisi, The Lesbian and the Immorals, fled Turkey and reportedly seeks
political asylum in France. He had been sentenced to a fine of TL 4
Billion ($ 444,444) in total for obscene publication. Since he could
not pay this sum, he was to be imprisoned.
12.4, the last issue of the review Devrimci Proleter
Genclik was confiscated by the Istanbul SSC for separatist propaganda.
15.4, the last issues of three reviews, Direnis,
Newroz and Toplumsal Dayanisma, were confiscated by the Istanbul SSC
for separatist propaganda.
15.4, three journalists, Nurdogan Aydogan (Özgür
Gündem), Aslan Türk and Serpil Yildirim (Özgür Halk) were taken into
custody when they were in front of the Ankara office of the HEP.
17.4, the issue N°17 of the review Yeni Insan was
confiscated by the Istanbul SSC for Besikci's article entitled "Turkey
is not really independent."
19.4, the security forces raided the Ankara office
of the review Tavir and destroyed the material inside. After this raid,
police detained about 80 people in Ankara.
23.4, the Elazig correspondent of the daily Zaman,
Erdogan Atilgan was arrested for having taken photos of a trial without
an authorization by the judge.
26.4, in Bursa, police detained thirty people
distributing the special May Day issue of the review Kurtulus.
27.4, the owner of the daily Özgür Gündem, Yasar
Kaya, and two TV reporters who interviewed him, Nese Düzel and Ahmet
Altan, were indicted by the Istanbul SSC for separatist
propaganda. Each faces a prison term of up to five years et fine
of TL 100 Million ($ 11,111)
27.4, the coordinator of a private TV, Ozcan Ertuna
was sentenced by the Censorship Board to a fine of TL 30 Million ($
3,333) for broadcasting a TV film considered "obscene."' If Ertuna does
not pay the sum, the board will start a court action against him.
28.4, the responsible editor of the review
Devrimci Proletarya, Naile Tuncer was sentenced by the Istanbul SSC to
11 months in prison and TL 90 Million ($ 10,000) for two articles that
she published. The review's owner, Hacer Demirkiran too was sentenced
to TL 183 Million ($ 20,333) by the same court.
28.4, the Court of Cassation approved the
imprisonment of 3 years and 9 months against German journalist Stefan
Waldberg who had been arrested on October 29, 1992 on charges of
carrying PKK documents into Turkey. Benefiting from a conditional
release he will remain in prison for 20 months.
29.4, the monthly Devrim was confiscated by the
order of the Istanbul Governor and the local newspaper Güneydogu by the
penal court of Urfa for separatist propaganda.
29.4, the responsible editor of the daily Zaman,
Servet Engin was sentenced to a 10-month imprisonment for having
republished an article which had been the object of another
condemnation after its first publication.
MILITARY ORDERS TO UNIVERSITIES
The National Security Council, on April 12, sent a
classified document to Turkish universities, asking them to be "more
sensitive on national problems" and to send the Council regular monthly
reports.
"The Higher Education Board (YÖK) has not been
successful in the psychological operations area, and this has caused a
certain uneasiness," the secret document says.
It asks the academicians to research subjects
pertaining to national security and publish their findings. The
following are the main points of the Council's orders:
"More scientific work is published on Turkey at
foreign universities than those in Turkey. The universities in the
country fail to attach adequate importance to intelligence activities.
The work of those academicians who have worked against the state are
being taught at the universities. The dialogue between the YÖK
president and the universities is inadequate. Universities should not
teach the works of those persons considered harmful. Close contacts
should be established with international organizations, and university
senates should take protest decisions (against the decisions adopted by
these organizations) when required. Orders related to psychological
operations should be given verbally and not in writing, and the
progress in this area should be monitored. Conferences should be staged
against separatist and subversive circles."
EXTRADITION OF A TUNISIAN ACTIVIST
A Turkish tribunal decided to extradite Tunisian
political activists, Riyadh ben Amor Makhlouf, arrested in Turkey on
January 29, 1993. Currently waiting in Kirikkale prison for a final
decision to be passed by the Turkish Government, Makhlouf claims he
will be tortured to death if extradited to his country. "I am not an
ordinary criminal, but one of the top members of an organization who
battled against the dictatorship in Tunisia," he said.
Istanbul newspapers and the Human Rights Association
of Turkey (IHD) are campaigning for Ankara to prevent Makhlouf's
extradition.
GARBAGE EXPLOSION IN ISTANBUL
An explosion at the Umraniye garbage dump in
Istanbul on April 28 killed more than 30 people. This tragic event due
to the explosion of methane gas accumulated in the dump is a new proof
of the irresponsible attitude of the State officials which take no heed
of the environmental and human concerns.
Umraniye dump is the second biggest on the Asian
side of Istanbul, a city of 10 million people, and the garbage of
millions of people in Umraniye, Usküdar, Kadiköy, Beykoz and Maltepe is
dumped there.
Umraniye is one of the poorest districts of Istanbul
suffering many un planned urbanization problems. Although an
Environment Ministry regulation stipulates that a garbage dump can only
be built a minimum of 1 kilometre away from any settlement area, and
that the accumulated methane gas must be released into the atmosphere,
the greater Istanbul mayor Nurettin Sözen has never respected these
rules.
Moreover, Umraniye Municipality had won court cases
against neighbouring municipalities in order to prohibit them from
dumping garbage in Umraniye, but has not succeeded in enforcing these
rulings.