220.E.htm

ANKARA'S HYPOCRISY ON NAZIM HIKMET'S CITIZEN RIGHTS

    In the preceding issue, we reported that despite its promise before the European Commission of Human Rights in 1993, the Turkish Government has not yet officially recognised the citizen rights of two Info-Türk editors, Dogan Özgüden and Inci Tugsavul, who had been deprived of Turkish nationality in 1983 by the decision of the military junta and that Turkish diplomatic missions launched a campaign for discrediting their work in defence of human rights in Turkey. (See: Info-Türk, March-April 1995)
    Until now we have not received any explanation on the matter from the Turkish authorities.
    The Turkish government's hypocrisy concerning citizen rights was confirmed this month on another occasion.
    Culture Minister Ercan Karakas (CHP), on May 2, called on the Prime Ministry to abrogate a 44-year-old decree that stripped renowned poet Nazim Hikmet of Turkish citizenship. Noting in a written request that "this decree has become an anachronism for various reasons connected with the new developments in the world and in our society," Karakas said international quarters and the great majority of the Turkish people wanted the decree cancelled.
    Nazim Hikmet, continuously persecuted by the police for being a communist and imprisoned for more than 12 years, fled Turkey in 1951 and settled in Moscow where he lived in exile until his death on June 3, 1963. He was buried in Moscow.
    This most internationally renowned poet of Turkey was immediately stripped of citizenship after his flight.
    After his request, Karakas said the posthumous reinstating of Turkish citizenship to Nazim Hikmet would be an important milestone in Turkey and claimed to believe that Nazim Hikmet's citizenship would be reinstated and his rests be brought to Turkey until June 3, 1995, the anniversary of his death in exile.
    Contrary to his culture minister's expectation, Prime Minister Tansu Ciller gave no heed to this demand and the 32nd anniversary of Hikmet's death was commemorated in Turkey on June 3, 1995, as his rests were still buried in Moscow.

A LAW FOR CREATING TURKISH LOBBY

    In the meantime, on June 5, the Turkish Parliament adopted a law aiming to encourage Turkish migrants abroad to obtain citizenship of European countries without losing their rights of Turkish citizenship and to create by this means a powerful Turkish lobby in Europe.
    This law was prepared for Turkish citizens in Germany, Austria, Denmark and Sweden where nearly 2.5 million Turkish people live, who have had to give up their Turkish citizenship in order to acquire the citizenship of the country where they live. The authorities of these countries argue that any foreigner cannot be integrated in their society unless they give up their Turkish nationality.
    According to the former law, those who give up their Turkish citizenship could only benefit from the rights which are granted to foreigners in Turkey. For this reason, many Turkish citizens did not want to acquire another citizenship.
    In a view to create a powerful Turkish lobby defending Ankara's policies in Europe by the naturalisation of Turkish citizens, the Turkish Government, by this new law, granted to those who acquired Turkish citizenship by birth but gave up it for naturalisation abroad the rights equal to those of the Turkish citizens living in Turkey in terms of residence, travel, employment and acquiring movable and immovable assets.
    By the new law, they will no longer be required to have completed military service before they seek permission to give up Turkish citizenship.
    However, the law stipulates that these rights will be granted on the condition that the provisions regarding Turkey's national security and public order were not violated by the applicant, a pretext that has been used in the hypocrisy concerning the citizen rights of Nazim Hikmet and Info-Türk editors.
    After the adoption of the law, the Turkish press started a big campaign for instigating Turkish migrants abroad to apply for naturalisation in the countries where they live, arguing that this is a national duty for defending the Turkish State's interests in European countries which permanently show their hostility against Turkey "under the pretext of defending human rights."

188,764 PEOPLE BANNED TO LEAVE TURKEY

    The Interior Ministry announced on June 3, 1995, that currently 188,764 citizens of the Turkish Republic are forbidden to leave Turkey.
    Of these people, 152,702 are prevented from going abroad by the decisions of tribunals and 34,990 for not having paid their taxes.
    According to Interior Minister Nahit Mentese, 1,072 people are refused to get passport for "national security reasons."

TRADE UNION LEADER IN PRISON

    The Chairman of the Aviation Workers' Union (Hava-Is), Atilay Aycin was put in prison in Istanbul on May 16, 1995, for serving his 20-month imprisonment.
    Aycin had been sentenced by the Istanbul SSC to 20 months in prison and TL 21 million in fine by virtue of Article 8 of the Anti Terror Law for having disseminated separatist propaganda four years ago during a meeting against the Anti Terror Law. .
    The verdict was ratified by the Court of Cassation on April 3, 1995, and Aycin was arrested on May 16.
    The Hava-Is Secretary General, Mustafa Yagci said the arrest of the chairman just a strike was being carried out in Havas company aimed to break down the workers' resistance.

99 INTELLECTUALS FACE IMPRISONMENT

    The Istanbul SSC Prosecutor, on June 16, indicted 99 out of 1080 Turkish intellectuals who claimed to be the publishers of the book Freedom of Thought and Turkey, a collection of 11 articles by various authors including Yasar Kemal.
    Kemal's article in the book, which had appeared earlier in the German magazine Der Spiegel, accused the government of suppressing Kurds in south-eastern Turkey. He was charged with promoting Kurdish separatism following the article's publication.
    1080 Turkish intellectuals consisting of artists, writers, journalists and trade union leaders have also claimed to be the publisher of the book and declared themselves responsible for publishing the book in support of Yasar Kemal and Erdal Öz, the real publisher of the book.
    An additional 50,000 have signed petitions declaring their support.
    The prosecutor demand a prison term of not less than four years against each of 99 intellectuals by virtue of Article 312 of the Turkish Penal Code. They are accused of inciting racial hate and hostility in the country.

ATAKÜRT VERSUS ATATÜRK

    One of the distinguished journalists, Ahmet Altan was dismissed from the daily Milliyet after his comment entitled Atakürt (Father of Kurds), in an allusion to Atatürk (Father of Turks), founder of the Turkish Republic.
    In his article, Altan said, "Democracy is for the demands of the Kurds to be accepted, the same demands that we Turks would ask for ourselves if we were living in a country with the name of Kurdiye [Country of Kurds]."
    "Is it worth shedding so much blood and dragging our country into an insolvable situation, just so as not to give the rights that we would demand for ourselves, to people that we consider equal to us?
    "Whoever answers this question negatively and says, 'no, it is not worth it' is the people who want democracy."
    After the publication of this article Altan was told that his services were no longer wanted at the newspaper. The order of dismissal reportedly came directly from the owner of Milliyet and Hürriyet, Aydin Dogan, but the unpleasant job of implementing the decision fell on the shoulders of Ufuk Güldemir, the paper's bright new editor-in-chief.
    Altan's dismissal was followed by the resignations of Güldemir and two other journalists, Can Dündar and Alev Er.
    On the other hand, the Istanbul SSC prosecutor opened a court action against Altan on May 15 with the demand of imprisonment of up to two years.

CONSCIENTIOUS OBJECTORS ON TRIAL

    On June 20, 1995, four Turkish conscientious objectors will have to stand trial again in front of Ankara military court. Mr. Ülke, Mr. Iyidogan, Mr. Demirkiran and Mr. Fersal after having held a press conference together in Istanbul on May 17, 1994, criticising the war in Kurdistan were charged on article 155 of Turkish penal code, "alienating the people from the army."
    In a press release, the European Bureau for Conscientious Objection, reports that the case of the four is followed with a vigorous interest by many human rights organizations in Western Europe. There will be an international delegation monitoring the trial recruited from six European countries.
    "Turkey does not recognise the right to conscientious objection. But instead of persecuting conscientious objectors on ground of their objection to military service, the Turkish state takes them to court for reasons like criticising the armed forces. This is not to give to much publicity to conscientious objection in general. Turkey already encounters enormous problems in recruiting enough of its citizens for the army as young people often try to avoid their military service by not answering to the call up. About 200,000 recruits are estimated to evade the draft at the moment," says the organization.
    (For more information: EBCO Brussels, Tel 648 52 20, Fax 640 07 74).

CILLER FAMILY IN MAFIA CONNECTION

    Allegations of involvement by Mafia groups in illegal construction contracts in tourist resorts in the Aegean and Mediterranean have mounted after the murder of Lütfi Suyolcu, a former mayor of Kusadasi, who was known for his efforts to combat illegal construction in the area under his jurisdiction.
    Following the former mayor's death on May 16, 1995, allegations about involvement by the Mafia, and some ultra-nationalist groups said to have dealings with the Mafia, have become more persistent. Local officials from the governing Correct Way Party (DYP) and the Republican People's Party (CHP) as well as the husband of Prime Minister Tansu Ciller are mentioned in connection with the alleged illegal dealings.
    When the Police Chief in Kusadasi, Salah Coral, and the regional governor Ekrem Özsoy, announced that the allegations of corruption were correct, the rumours gained momentum. These two officials had been transferred from their posts on May 18 — two days after Suyolcu's murder.
    Angered by their dismissal, these two public officials said at the a press conference that there was a "war of land speculation" in the area. They said the people of the area were talking about involvement by two key persons in these dealings, namely Orhan Özbas and Zeki Kücükberber, both of them known to be close to Özer Ciller, the husband of Prime Minister Ciller.
    After the dismissal of Özsoy and Coral, Özer Ciller was seen in Kusadasi with Orhan Özbas, who was accused of acting as an unofficial town governor. Ciller also reportedly met with Kusadasi Mayor Engin Berberoglu.
    In another well-known Kusadasi case, the former manager of Kusadasi Marine, Hadar Mengi, and Ciller's son Mert, were accused of firing weapons from the Ciller's yacht in January. After an investigation, several policemen who accused Mert Ciller were reportedly transferred out of town
    A statement by Aydin Governor Kadir Uysal that "the Mafia exist in Kusadasi, but we cannot do anything," has added new dimensions to the case.
    Kusadasi locals are increasingly at the mercy of criminal syndicates who were attracted to the city by the huge amount of foreign currency and tourism income, some TL 3.5 trillion in 1994.
    There have also been claims not only in Kusadasi, but throughout the whole region, including Bodrum and Fethiye, of cooperation between DYP, CHP and some ultra nationalist Grey Wolves groups in an illegal construction business.
    The daily Cumhuriyet of May 22 reports that the Grey Wolves have been organized in Kusadasi with the assistance of Engin Berberoglu, the present mayor of Kusadasi elected from the CHP.

A KURDISH TV DESPITE ANKARA'S PROTEST

    Parallel to the opening of the Kurdish Parliament-in-exile, a Kurdish TV station in Europe started international broadcasts from Britain on March 30, 1995.
    The Turkish Government has failed in its diplomatic efforts in Britain to ban the MED-TV which is widely regarded not only by the Kurdish migrants in Europe but also in the Turkish Kurdistan.`
    According to the Turkish Daily News of May 16, 1995, sales of satellite dishes have been boosted in southeastern provinces after MED-TV started its broadcast from Britain.
    Spectators in Turkey may receive MED-TV, broadcasting mainly in Kurdish, from the Inter-Sat satellite by mounting dishes on balconies, an operation that costs about TL 11 billion ($250).
    Since its establishment, MED-TV has covered the creation of the Kurdish Parliament-in-exile in Europe and the Turkish Armed Forces' military campaign in northern Iraq.
    The Reuters news agency gave on May 15 the following report on the Kurdish television:
    "Despite the ponderous — some would say boring— nature of the broadcasts, British-based MED-TV has its intensely loyal viewer, and all because the language of choice is Kurdish. 'Every night from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. you can find me right here, chuckling as children draped in the red, yellow and green colours of Kurdish nationalism danced across the screen. Imagine, for the first time in history, we have our own television, which is being broadcast to Kurds all over the world.'
    "Turkish officials are less than pleased about the British-licensed MED-TV, which uses satellite technology to beam from London into Turkey and evade Turkish laws forbidding broadcasts in Kurdish.
    "Turkey, worried MED-TV is being used by the PKK to promote demands for Kurdish autonomy or independence in Turkey, has asked Britain's licensing agency to monitor broadcasts. 'I think this goes against the European conventions on television and human rights, because it stirs up racial hatred and is against the territorial integrity of Turkey,' said an official with Turkey's Supreme Broadcasting Board.
    "Whether it is linked to the PKK or not — MED-TV officials say a wide variety of groups and businessmen are financing the channel — the broadcast certainly gives the PKK another route to spread its message.
    "The television tension is more than a spat over programming. It reflects both the problems Turkey has in suppressing Kurdish identity in the age of technology and open borders, as well as the growing role of the usually wealthier and better educated Kurdish diaspora in Europe.
    "Kurds in Europe, of whom many say they fled repression in Turkey, are becoming a powerful lobby against Ankara's attempts to deny Kurdish cultural rights at home.
    "Kurds set up a 65-seat parliament-in-exile in The Hague in April which includes members of the PKK and the non-violent Democracy Party (DEP) banned in Turkey last year.
    "Kurdish-language education is not allowed in Turkey and books about Kurdish history are often banned under the charge of disseminating separatist propaganda.
    "MED-TV officials acknowledge the broadcasts are aimed to develop a sense of identity among Kurds and say it's about time Kurds had their own TV show."

BAN ON KURDISH AGGRAVATES HEALTH PROBLEM

    Turkish-speaking health personnel face difficulties providing health services in the predominantly Kurdish speaking Southeast, the Turkish Medical Association (TMA) said in a report it published at the beginning of May 1995.
    "Answers to a survey given on this matter by the physicians, midwives and nurses working at the health centres in the provincial centre of Diyarbakir are interesting," the report said. "Physicians mostly believe that they cannot be effective enough as most of the patients do not know Turkish, they know only Kurdish. Midwives and nurses face difficulties with vaccinations, family planning, maternal and child health care and in health education because of the language problem."
    The report also said that midwives and nurses who knew Kurdish said that they were more successful in rendering services.
    The TMA said that more than half of the physicians needed a third person to communicate with patients and more than half of the physicians believe that they cannot be helpful enough to their patients because of the communication problem/
    As a result of the survey, the TMA suggested that physicians working in the region should know socio-economic conditions and learn the patient's language so that they could communicate.
    According to the TMA, third persons also should be employed for communication with the patients in the region.

PKK LEADER CALLS FOR A CEASE-FIRE

    According to a Reuters report from Lebanon's Bekaa Valley, PKK Chairman Abdullah Öcalan called on May 23, 1995, for a cease-fire in the war with Turkey and said he was ready for peace if Ankara was ready for a political solution.
    "I am saying if the Turkish state stops operations against us and if they are ready for a political solution, the we are ready for a cease-fire or peace as an organization," Öcalan said.
    "If Ankara continues its campaign against the Kurdish people, the Kurdish people will fight. The Turkish state should stop all military destruction against us and be ready for a political solution," he added.
    Asked if a 1993 threat he made to wage all-out war on Turkey, including attacks on tourist sites, was still on the PKK agenda, Öcalan replied:
    "Since the Turkish state declare a whole war against us, we are having a whole war against the Turkish state… We are having a war to hurt the Turkish economy and to let it be known internationally that there is a war in Turkey and that the Turkish state is not a tourist area."
    Öcalan, with the PKK red banner behind him, said Turkish forces had destroyed all economic potential in Kurdistan. "They even burn horses and homes… not even Kurdish names are allowed in Turkey," said Öcalan, speaking in Turkish.
    Dismissing Ankara's recent campaign launched with 35,000 troops against his guerrillas in northern Iraq as a failure, Öcalan said he suspected Turkey might repeat the operation. "Our presence in northern Iraq is strong… They [Turkish troops] feel the need to enter northern Iraq to be successful," Öcalan said. "They are preparing a bigger operation. The PKK presence in northern Iraq became larger as a result of the operation. We established many important strategic places. We managed to draw people's attention to us."
    Turkey declared the northern Iraqi campaign, which ended on May 2, as a complete success, saying 555 PKK fighters and 61 soldiers died. Öcalan said Ankara reversed the actual casualty figures.
    Öcalan also warned the Kurdistan Democratic Party of Massoud Barzani against joining Turkish forces in the war against PKK, saying they would be finished if they did.

TENSION WITH GREECE ON TERRITORIAL WATERS

    After the ratification by the Greek Parliament, on June 1, of the 1982 International Treaty that gives Greece the right to extend its territorial waters, tensions re-emerged between Turkey and Greece.
    Turkey has not signed the 1982 Treaty, which gives states the right to extend their territorial waters to 12 miles, on the grounds that the accord makes no reference to the special status of the Aegean Sea. But it went into force last November, one year after being ratified by the required 60 signatories.
    Ankara maintains that any Greek attempt to extend its territorial waters beyond six miles, which is the present situation, would be reason for war. Turkish diplomats say that any extension of territorial waters would turn the Aegean Sea into a Greek lake and make it necessary for Turkish vessels to ask for Greek authorisation for virtually every voyage in the area.
    The debate intensified last year between the two Aegean neighbours and NATO allies when Greece submitted the accord to its Parliament. However, Greece assured Ankara that it had never said that it will extend its territorial waters at a certain date.
    At the parliamentary debate on the accord, Deputy Foreign Minister George Mangakis refrained from saying that they will actually enforce the treaty. "Greece will exercise its rights whenever its interests dictate," he added.
    Tension rose between the two countries when Turkish government announced same day a series of military exercises which it said were pre-planned.
    Greece called the Turkish military exercises in the Aegean "provocative."
    "It seems Turkey is repeating the usual practice of artificial tension and provocation against Greece," government spokesman Evangelos Venizelos told reporters.
    A spokesman for the Turkish Foreign Ministry, however, dismissed the Greek accusation of provocation, saying the operations were routine and had no relevance to the Greek ratification.

LAST TANGO IN THE NEVER-ENDING CYPRUS TENSION

    After the European Union confirmed its intention to deal with Cyprus' demand for full membership and hard-liner Turkish Cypriot leader Rauf Denktas was reelected president of the so-called Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, this chronical problem between Turkey and Greece has gained a new dimension.
    In an article published by the daily Sabah on April 25, 1995, foreign affairs commentator Mehmet Ali Birand says:
    "The last tango is about to be danced in Cyprus. For the last time Denktas has been elected president and will remain in office until the year 2000. And, by that time, the fate of the island will have been finally determined, this way or that. We have entered the finale stage of the 'game.'
    "Curiously, to finish that 'game' the [Turkish] Cypriot people have elected - in a somewhat stubborn manner - the very person who started it in the 1950s.
    "The Cypriot people now want a solution? They are fed up with the lack of solution. With the way they have voted in the presidential election they have shown that only Denktas can bring about a solution to the Cyprus problem regardless of how rigid his attitude may be. In the final stage of his political career, Denktas is at a historic cross-roads. And the picture he is faced with hardly inspires hope.
    The United States has all of a sudden started making moves to have Turco-Greek disputes solved as soon as possible and dispel the dangerous clouds casting a shadow on relations between Turkey and Greece. Washington, which supports Turkey significantly in all areas, wants us, in return for that, to speed up developments in Cyprus. Washington believes that Turco-Greek disputes can be solved easily if progress can be achieved in Cyprus.
    "Europe too wants the Cyprus problem definitely solved by the year 2000 when Cyprus's full membership in the EU will be realised. The EU is warning both the Turks and the Greeks. Their message to the Turkish Cypriot community is, 'Unless you came to terms with the Greek Cypriots you will be left out of the EU while the Greek Cypriots become a full member.' And to the Greek Cypriots they are saying, 'Your full membership in the EU may be delayed if you fail to display flexibility to reach an agreement with the Turkish Cypriots.'
    "Thus the United States and Europe do not hide the fact that they will exert pressure to bring about a solution by the turn of the century. The most important card in their hands is the one which involves full membership in the EU. The wheels will start turning during the coming weeks.
    "Denktas sees himself pushed into a dead alley. Never in the history of the Cyprus problem has he been in such a difficult negotiating position. The smallest mistake could mean defeat for the Turkish Cypriot community.
    "Everything must be completed by the time the full membership timetable starts to function at the turn of the century. The Greek Cypriots will try to make sure that negotiations continue until that moment in an effort to portray the Turkish Cypriot community as the 'intransigent party harbouring bad intentions.' Their interests require them to act in that manner.
    "The Turkish side will take initiatives aimed at rendering that Greek Cypriot tactic ineffective and say that the Greek Cypriot side is mainly responsible for the inability to reach a solution. That will be a negotiating process which requires fine-tuning, great flexibility and skill.
    "Cooperation between Lefkosa (Nicosia) and Ankara will be needed, as well as the kind of leadership capable of solving crises when required and making major concessions when required. What will happen in the end? The Turkish side may manage to make the Greek Cypriot side accept a federative state structure and enter the EU as an equal part of Cyprus. In that case they will have gained a lot.
    "Another possibility is that the EU will admit Greek Cypriot Cyprus as a full member before the Turkish side manages to make the Greek Cypriots accept the status they seek. In that case the Turkish Cypriots will be reduced to a minority and will be eroded over the years.
    "If the EU takes such a decision there would also be the possibility of Turkey, as a last resort, annexing northern Cyprus."

A GREENPEACE PROTEST ACTION IN TURKEY

    Greenpeace protesters dammed a stream carrying industrial and human waste into a filthy by on Turkey's Aegean coast on May 16, 1995. "At the moment we are blocking the Meles stream — it is so polluted it is actually bubbling. It stinks," spokesman Adam Woolf told Reuters.
    Some 20 activists from Britain, Australia, Israel, Portugal, the Netherlands and Turkey blocked the stream in the western city of Izmir with a dam of metal poles and wood.
    The United Nations said in a 1993 report that pollution in the bay would "reach a critical point" in two years and lead to the breakdown of the local ecological system.
    Greenpeace scientist David Santillo said it was one of the most polluted bays in the eastern Mediterranean area, and was in danger of worsening from an expected 50 percent increase of Izmir's three million population by the early 2000s.
    Environmental experts say the alarming increase in pollution of the inner bay could soon spread to the outer bay — where they say some 50 percent of Turkey's Aegean fish catches are made — and eventually contaminate the already polluted Mediterranean.
    Greenpeace demanded the immediate completion of Izmir's sewage treatment project, begun in 1969 but showing little progress.
    More than 300 registered industries and companies discharge toxic waste products into the Meles, Greenpeace said in a statement. Sewage from the city's population is discharged into the sea virtually untreated.

$15 BILLION WORTH TURKISH CONTRACTS ABROAD

    According to an official report issued on April 17, 1995, Turkish contractors have had a total of $ 33,130 million worth contracts abroad of which $ 15,095 million are currently underway.
    The report, released by the Prime Ministry, revealed that on-going construction projects in Libya are worth $4,256 million, 28.1 percent of all current projects abroad. Turkey's second largest market is the Russian Federation with ongoing contracts worth $3,897 million
    The other countries where Turkish contractors currently are operational and the worth of their contracts with them in million dollars are given below:
    Belarus 32.6, Ukraina 260, Estonia 43.6, Azerbaijan 348.4, Kazakhstan 1,184.1, Kyrgyzstan 99.2, Uzbekistan 699.4, Tajikistan 53.5, Turkmenistan 1,166.8, Armenia 7.2, Georgia 56.9, Germany 132.8, Iraq 788.4, Israel 12.6, Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus 35.7, Kuwait 387.9, Lebanon 100, Malaysia 53.1, Egypt 24.7, Pakistan 324.1, Romania 163.7, Syria 3.2, Saudi Arabia 958.6, Others 5 million dollars.

TWO MISSING MILITANTS FOUND KILLED UNDER TORTURE

    The discovery of two cases of death under torture in Istanbul has led to a public protest in Istanbul.
    Two left-wing militants, Hasan Ocak and Ridvan Karakoc who were among the leading persons of the Alevi resistance against the police in the Gazi district in March 1995, had disappeared after being taken into custody on March 21.
    Hasan Ocak's body was found buried at the Altinsehir Cemetery and Karakoc's body at the Ikitelli cemetery at the end of May 1995.
    The exhumation of the body of Hasan Ocak on May 19 drew several thousand people who protested the murder. Among the mourners were representatives of all the left-wing organizations, human rights associations as well as the families of other missing persons or the victims of unsolved murders. He was buried to the Gazi Quarter Cemetery.
    Karakoc's lawyers said that they had begun the legal work necessary to remove the body from the Ikitelli cemetery and to bury it according to traditions.
    The Human Rights Association (IHD), at a press conference on May 31, held the government responsible for the killings under torture.
    On June 6, the IHD, launching a campaign against killings under torture and disappearances, disclosed that 412 people have disappeared under custody since the September 12, 1980 military coup. 328 of these cases occurred in 1994 and 77 in the first three months of 1995.

A TURKISH DELEGATION AT THE "TORTURE FAIR"

    The chairman of the Workers' Party (IP), Dogu Perincek, on June 8, 1995, showed State Minister for Human Rights Algan Hacaloglu some video cassettes of Turkish police officials touring "Covert Operations Tools Exhibition" in Britain — dubbed the "torture fair" by the Turkish press.
    Perincek asked the minister whether the government knew of the dispatch of officials to the fair and asked whether Turkey had made purchases of torture apparatus from the fair, and if so, at what cost.
    The left-wing leader also censured Britain for allowing the exhibition.
    After the meeting, Hacaloglu said he would seriously study the allegations but said he could not grasp whether a baton shown on the film was described as a torture instrument or a defensive weapon.

BLACK CELEBRATION OF APRIL 5 ECONOMIC MEASURES

    "The Turks are celebrating today a long year of pain, suffering, failure, lies, political greed and indecency. An invisible hand—certainly not Adam Smith's—has been stealing from their economic welfare for a year now. And it appears that it will be doing so for at least the next 12 months."
    The analyst on economic matters of the Turkish Daily News, Burak Bekdil, in his article of April 5, 1995, qualifies in these terms the one-year result of the April 5, 1994, economic measures taken by Prime Minister.
    The article goes on as follows:
    On April 5, 1994, there was economic dynamism, high inflation, unfair income distribution, excessive (foreign and domestic) borrowing and unstable financial markets.
    On April 5, 1995, there is economic slump, hyper-inflation, worse income distribution, larger domestic borrowing but a forced curb on foreign borrowing, more jobless people around but seemingly stable financial markets.
    Only few people will believe that so much pain in terms of economic well-being is worth piling up some international reserves, which may disappear in a fortnight in case of another foreign currency turmoil; or worth reporting a record high surplus on the current account when this is of no practical use to the suffering masses.
    At the end of the first year of what Turkish Prime Minister Tansu Ciller refers to as a comprehensive economic recovery program, the national economy is trapped by possibly the worst combination of economic evils; triple digit inflation with rapidly shrinking economic activity. The latest figures are a 144.3 percent year-on-year inflation rate (March), six percent drop in gross national product (1994) and 27 percent fall in per capita income (1994).
    On April 5, 1994, the prime minister, herself a professor of economics, argued to 60 million Turks that what her coalition government was unveiling that day was a miracle tonic which would cure Turkey's macro-economics disequilibria "from the second half of 1994." For this to happen, she said, there was some sacrifice to be made but the future was theirs, things would eventually come up roses.
    If the April 5 set of decisions was a recovery program, as the Professor claimed, their final objective must be price stabilisation and economic growth, none of which has been attained so far. It therefore appears that "the package" was nothing more than a wave of price hikes serviced with a number of seemingly serious policy decisions, which were in fact a tentative policy option with no practical applicability. There is the "ethics" aspect of the entire controversy. The prime minister's presentation of the April 5 rescue plan reveals that her true intentions were not to correct the macro-economics disequilibria but to "draw a fake picture which would maximise her chances of being re-elected when time came for elections." "...An improvement in the Turkish economy will be seen in the second half of 1994. Inflation will drop sharply and economic balance will be re-established," she told a news conference on April 5, 1994. What was actually seen in the second half of last year was stagflation pure and simple.
    She further argued when presenting the program, "We will not stop the economy. An export-based growth will continue." No, "they" did not stop the economy, it was probably the "Greek provocateurs" who pushed the Turkish economy into six percent plunge...
    She explained what would happen if "they" did not take those measures. "...If we don't take these measures, inflation will surge over 100 percent and we will be heading towards a Latin American experience with shrinking economy and thousands of jobless people..."
    How accurate! Not the beginning of the sentence, but the part which starts after "if we don't take these measures." Yes, the Turkish prime minister was perfectly accurate in that... Having recalled what her textbooks said in the United States, Ciller said an expected decline in domestic demand for consumer goods as a result of the measures would deter producers from raising prices further.
    She also promised freezing public sector price hikes at least until the end of the year (1994).
    So, one could conclude, if none of the private sector and the public sector price makers would raise prices, inflation would diminish sharply. But it did not. Then, one wonders, was it the PKK, the ERNK, or the notorious provocateurs from a hostile state, who have been pushing up the general level of prices in Turkey?
    Ciller was smiling with confidence while announcing, on April 5, that the Central Bank would be granted full autonomy and that it would be freed gradually from the burden of financing the budget deficit.
    Turkey's "fully autonomous Central Bank" has recently been subject to tough bargaining between the two partners of the coalition government for its control. Ciller's understanding of autonomy is probably different from a global criteria. Perhaps, Ciller is right, that an autonomous central bank can sometimes be "shared" by political parties, that the global understanding is wrong. After all, she was trained in a respected college of the superpower...
    The Turks must not only feel concerned over their loss of economic well-being in the past and most likely in the near future. What they must feel most betrayed is the political greed that even the charming smile on the face of their prime minister cannot hide from the public.

EP MEMBERS CALLED "PROSTITUTES" BY A TURKISH MINISTER

    Three leading women members of the European Parliament have been called "prostitutes" by Turkish State Minister Ayvaz Gökdemir after their mission to Turkey.
    The three — Pauline Green, leader of the Parliament's Socialist Group, Green Group leader Claudia Roth and European Radical Alliance leader Catherine Lalumière, dubbed by the Turkish press as Euro-Amazons — visited Turkey in May for talks on human rights and customs union issues.
    The minister was reported to have told an election meeting that he rejected calls for the release of jailed Kurdish MPs in Turkey. He was reported to have said: "We are not going to release these traitors for the sake of the prostitutes of Europe who have come to us, I do not even know as what. May God have mercy on us and save us from these coalition partners."
    Thereupon, the three EP members lodged a formal protest with Turkish Prime Minister Tansu Ciller. In a letter on June 8, the three told Ciller: "Our visit to Turkey had the aim of increasing understanding between Europe and Turkey. Unfortunately, such inflammatory and personally insulting remarks can only serve to destroy such efforts and have no place in normal democratic relationships."
    They called on Ciller to dissociate herself from the remarks. "We expect a personal apology from the Minister concerned," they added.
    As a sign of protest, they refused to attend a reception given by Turkish Foreign Minister Erdal Inönü during his visit to Brussels.
    Turkish Premier Ciller, in a reply to the three, disassociated herself from the remarks and said, "I am extremely distressed by what has happened. I thought that none of my Ministers would make such remarks and that I was extremely pleased with our recent exchange of views. In any case, such derogatory views, if uttered, are extremely distasteful and certainly can not represent the opinion of neither my government nor myself. I am truly saddened by this regrettable incident and look forward to the strengthening of our dialogue."
    As for Gökdemir himself, he has continued to insult the Three despite a press release issued on June 9 for calming the reaction.
    In his news release, Gökdemir said, "Although I have not made any statements that would denigrate the honour and pride of those persons, I am dismayed that they were hurt by an erroneous and misguided report. I apologise for this result stemming from a misunderstanding if it will assuage their feelings. However, I would like to underline the responsibility incumbent on the press as regards reporting, as well as the necessity for our European friends to be as sensitive in the attitude and statements concerning Turkey."
    Despite the grudging nature of this apology, Ciller has not taken any concrete measure to leave this minister out of his cabinet.
    According to the daily Cumhuriyet of June 14, 1995, Gökdemir, at his talk with Ciller on the matter, said, "I did not say 'orospu' (prostitute) for them, but I said 'kahpe' (harlot)." So, Ciller considered this explanation sufficient and kept the minister at his post.
    The Speaker of the Turkish National Assembly, Hüsamettin Cindoruk, in a press declaration, defended the Minister and accused the European deputies of provoking justifiable reactions by the Turkish part.
    Moreover, as if rewarded, State Minister Gökdemir was taken by President Süleyman Demirel to Kazakhstan during his official visit there.
    Gökdemir is known as one of the most hawkish figures of the Turkish extreme-right movement and called "Commando Ayvaz." Prior to the 1980 military coup, he had been the General Director of Secondary Education and placed many Grey Wolves in educational institutions. After the coup, he became the director of a private college owned by the brother of Demirel. Later on, he was welcomed by the DYP and, after the last election, entered the Government.

TURKEY'S TRADE IN ARMAMENT

    Turkey has recently come out as one of the biggest dealer of armament in the world.
    According to official US figures provided by the Defence Security Assistance Agency (DSAA), Turkey was the second largest buyer of US "defence articles and services" for the fiscal year 1994, which ended on September 30, 1994.
    According to the DSAA, Turkey bought $2.194 billion worth of Foreign Military sales (FMS) items, following Israel which purchased $2.447 billion worth of US arms in 1994.
    On the other hand, Turkey has increased its sale of arms in recent years.
    In addition to the sale of 40 F-16 fighters produced by Turkish War Industry to Egypt and F-16 spare parts to Kuwait, Qatar and Pakistan, the State-owned Machinery and Chemicals Company (MKE) has boosted sales of a wide range of arms from artillery pieces and mortars, to machine guns, infantry rifles and ammunition to 38 different countries. MKE's exports exceeded $15 million in 1994, and the company officials said this year's target was to export arms and military equipment worth $20 million.
    It is reported that Peru and Ecuador have used light arms imported from Turkey in their border clashes earlier this year.
    MKE's biggest export deal worth $13 million over four years has been concluded with Norway and includes the sale of 5,250 MG-3 machine guns.
    To protest Turkish Army's incursion into northern Iraq Norway had put an embargo on arms sales to Turkey. Ankara retaliated by putting Norway in the "Red List" barring Norwegian companies from entering Turkey's future arms deals. However, a MKE spokesman said on May 23, 1995, "The arms embargo Norway recently imposed against Turkey has not affected our sales. We have received no orders from the related Turkish authorities to stop the sales."

US CHOPPERS USED AGAINST KURDS

    Amnesty International, in a new report on May 18, 1995, criticised the Turkish Government for using US-made Sikorsky and Super Cobra helicopters against Kurdish guerrillas.
    "Recent reports indicate that some types of US. military equipment supplied to Turkey may have been used by Turkish security forces to commit human rights violations against innocent civilians, "the report said.
    In addition to one case of "Ali Karaca" who was reportedly "tortured by the local gendarmerie and then placed in a helicopter," AI said it "also received other reports indicating that helicopters were used to ferry troops in village raids in which 'disappearances' occurred."
    Turkey will receive in 1996 a $450-million loan from the United States according to the Foreign Military Financing (FMF) program as well as $100 million from the Economic Support Fund and $103 million for an Excess Defence Article grant.
    The AI report asks Turkey to send a public statement from the highest authorities stating their "absolute opposition to torture," to eliminate incommunicado detention, to investigate the outlined charges according to international standards, to prohibit the use of statements extracted under torture, to repeal Article 8 of the Anti-terror Law and to provide adequate compensation to victims of human rights violations.
    The report, "Human Rights and US. Security Assistance," also detailed "grave human rights violations" committed by the PKK. The AI report mentions that "in December 1994 the PKK committed to abide by Common Article 3 of the Geneva Conventions of 1949, which forbids ill-treatment or killing of civilians or prisoners of war. In January 1995 the PKK reaffirmed this pledge. Despite these assurances, however, the PKK continues to violate human rights."
    The Turkish Government refuses to acknowledge or discuss the PKK's commitment to the Geneva Convention since it does not recognise a "terrorist group" as a legitimate interlocutor in any legal process.

US REPORT CONFIRMS THE USE OF ARMS

    The Clinton administration said on June 2 that it was highly likely that US-origin equipment had been used in support of Turkish operations to evacuate and/or destroy villages in Southeast Anatolia, but upheld Turkey's right to use those weapons for "self-defence and for internal security."
    In a report submitted to the Congress appropriations committees, the US State Department maintains that Ankara has not, so far; been able to address its "internationally recognized obligation to provide for those who are displaced."
    The report notes that more than 4,000 applications claiming torture were filed by human rights organizations between 1991 and 1994, but adds that Turkey had taken a number of steps to stop the practice.
    It also notes that extrajudicial killings, known as "mystery killings," occurred at a high rate until the end of 1994 — the total exceeding 2,000 over the past three years — but subsequently had decreased.
    The Human Rights Watch (HRW) immediately criticised the US State Department report on Turkey, for its failure to admit that burning villages was "a policy of the Turkish government."
    "The Human Rights Watch regrets the State Department's statement that it has no clear idea of how villages came to be evacuated," a press release from the organization said. "The State Department's lack of precision about the evacuation campaign suggests a desire to avoid giving offence to the Turkish government which denies employing such tactics.
    The HRW claimed that the precise circumstances of individual evacuation are very clear. "Field research conducted by HRW in Turkey on forced evacuations and statements by Turkish government officials document that the majority of the estimated 1400 villages and hamlets forcibly evacuated in southeastern Turkey were the result of a government-sponsored counterinsurgency campaign," the NGO said.
    It also said that it held the Turkish government responsible for the majority of forced evacuations and destruction of villages, usually carried as a punishment for refusal to join the village guard system or for a pro-PKK village that provides the PKK with logistic or personnel support.
    While the PKK has killed civilians and committed extensive human rights violations, their attacks on settlements are usually targeted against so called "village guard" villages, a minority of villages in the area, it said.
    The HRW called on the State Department to continue its investigation into this matter and to update this report concerning the use of US manufactured weapons in all deployments in southeastern Turkey, especially in village evacuations.

TURKEY PLACED SOUTH AFRICA ON RED LIST

    In a response to the decision by South African Government to suspend arms sales to Turkey, the Ankara Government has placed this country on a "red list" of arms suppliers.
    South Africa had suspended at the beginning of May 1995 arms sales to Turkey because of Ankara's military incursion into northern Iraq.
    "We consider this an outrageous decision and attribute it to the past links with the African national Congress (ANC)," a Turkish diplomat said to the Turkish Daily News of May 23, 1995.
    This comment on a past link with the ANC is regarded as a thinly-veiled reference to Turkey's belief that the ANC, particularly in its days as a resistance group, had ties with the outlawed PKK. When Nelson Mandela, prior to the all-race elections that installed him as president, declined to accept the Atatürk Award offered to him by Turkey in 1992, some Turkish circles attributed this to the influence of the PKK on the ANC.
    The "red list" is a Foreign Ministry euphemism meaning that the country in question is "black listed" as an arms supplier. A red-listed country is not allowed to enter arms tenders in Turkey nor sell any military equipment to Turkey.
    Although the arms trade between Turkey and South Africa is negligible, Turkey has considered this country as a potential supplier and has sounded out some South African arms suppliers on the sale of Reoivak helicopters and cluster bombs.

REPORTS ABOUT TURKEY FOLLOW ON ANOTHER

    "Turkey's relations with the Western world are nearing an abyss with each passing day. We are playing with fire," said foreign affairs commentator Mehmet Ali Birant in his June 5, 1995, article in the daily Sabah.
    We reprint below the main parts of this article:
    "The only thing the western countries want from us is to keep our pledges and comply with the international agreements we have signed. In other words, they want us to respect fundamental human rights and democratic principles. They are not asking anything else from us.
    "They are not demanding concessions or trying to teach us how to govern our own country. Even the people who as a rule perceive a conspiracy behind every door, now seem to have begun to see this fact.
    "In international relations, at first, seemingly insignificant statements are made. Then the tone and content of the statements change. Then reports get issued. When the international wheels start to turn, the country against whom these statements are being made, either moves immediately to prevent these wheels from turning or finds itself in a humiliating position caught between the wheels.
    "Turkey is rapidly moving towards these cross-roads. Reports about the country follow on another. These reports signal serious preparations ahead. When such reports get issued, after a while they are used as the basis for the moves to be made. Turkey's 'appointment' with the West is scheduled for the autumn. According to the 'scenario' Turkey will be debated at various international forums from September to the end of the year.
    "The European Parliament will debate, as of September, whether the European Union-Turkey customs union arrangement should be ratified. The decision on this issue will be taken during the November-December period at the latest.
    The Council of Europe will debate during its next session, which begins in the autumn, whether to accept the credentials of the Turkish parliamentarians. During the same period, the issue will also be raised of whether Turkey should be placed under scrutiny.
    "The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe will discuss matters such as whether Turkey should be placed under closer scrutiny and whether more frequent delegations should be sent to Turkey.
    "The United States Congress will debate during the September-November period whether military credits to Turkey should be suspended, or even whether an embargo should be imposed on arms shipments to Turkey.
    "And the reports, which those arguing in favour of Turkey or against Turkey will use during these debates, are ready. The United States' State Department and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe have published their reports on Turkey. The European Parliament and the Council of Europe are currently preparing their own reports. This is the way the mechanism is operating.
    "Only Turkey can abort this plan. The only thing Turkey should do is to complete the reforms which the government has on so many occasions promised to make, the very reforms which are cited in the government program. These are the reforms the government has promised to its own people as well as to the representatives of all these foreign countries and international organisations."

EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT WARNS AGAIN TURKEY

    The European Parliament, which previously froze its joint parliamentary committee with Turkey, passed a resolution on June 15, 1995, saying it would not ratify the EU-Turkey Customs Union if their terms were not met.
    The parliament, in its resolution which will be submitted to the Cannes summit of the European Union , "…renews its opposition to the customs union with Turkey while Kurdish members of parliament are imprisoned and the rights of the Kurdish people are not recognized."
    The Turkish Government rapping the resolution maintained that linking the lucrative deal with other factors would not benefit any of the sides.`
    "It is sad that the European Parliament keeps this issue on the agenda despite our repeated statements that under the principle of separation of power, neither the Turkish Parliament nor the government can influence the judiciary," Foreign Ministry spokesman Ömer Akbel said.
    However, it is well known that the legal proceeding against DEP deputies was started on the provocative declarations by Prime Minister Tansu Ciller treating them as "traitors" which openly influenced the judiciary.

OSCE AND WEU REPORTS ON TURKEY

    Recently, the parliamentary assemblies of the West European Union (WEU) and the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) have prepared highly critical reports about the situation of human rights in Turkey.
    The WEU report concludes:
    "A solution to the Kurdish Question is only possible by the recognition of a kind of political and administrative autonomy within the framework territorial integrity of Turkey. Otherwise, this question will continue to threaten the security and stability in Turkey and to limit the possibilities of Turkey to apply balanced security and defence policies and to be integrated in European institutions.
    "The Turkish Government, refusing to recognise ethnical identities, aggravates the question as to threaten the security of the State.
    "It is the right and task for the Turkish Government to defend its people against terrorism. However, Turkey should admit that the question of Kurdish nationalism cannot be solved by military operations.
    "Turkey is carrying on violence against civilian people and discriminating them during its operations against Kurdish separatists in the Southeast. Torture, murders and other violations of human rights conduct the people to separatist movement and even to the PKK.
    "The continuation of the Turkish Army's occupation in Cyprus constitutes one of the biggest obstacles before the solution of the Cyprus problem."
    The OSCE report concludes:
    "Turkish authorities are approaching to the Kurdish Question by the claim that there was no Kurdish Question, but the question of terrorism.
    "Turkey undergoes big suffer and economic losses because of the PKK terrorism. Therefore, all OSCE member countries should help Ankara against terrorism and for the defence of the territorial integrity of Turkey.
    "There are allegations about the use of violence and torture in the fight against terrorism. Security forces are held responsible in a part of these allegations.
    "Although the Turkish Government takes measures for preventing torture and ill-treatment, it also should be vigilant in the application of these measures."

TURKEY SANCTIONED IN STRASBOURG

    The European Court of Human Rights, delivering its first ruling in complaints against Turkey, ordered Ankara on June 8 to pay damages and legal costs, totalling to $6,000 for each, to two Turkish politicians.
    The Chairman of the defunct Unified Communist Party of Turkey (TBKP), Nihat Sargin, and the Secretary General, Nabi Yagci (alias Haydar Kutlu) had been unnecessarily kept under detention for two and a half years as they underwent trial to be acquitted eventually.
    The two were arrested on their return to Turkey in November 1987 after years of self-exile. During their trial, widely followed abroad, they complained of maltreatment under police custody.
    They were charged with a series of crimes including advocating rule by a social class, inciting public hostility and harming Turkey's reputation.
    The European court said it had rejected the Turkish Government's grounds for not releasing the two men earlier, which was that they could escape.
    "The court pointed out that the danger of an accused's absconding could not be gauged solely on the basis of the severity of the sentence risked," it said in a statement.
    In a second case, the European court ordered damages of $6,000 to Sadi Mansur, an Iranian convicted of drug-trafficking who spent nine a half years in jail during lengthy trial proceeding.
    The cases were among several against Turkey moving through Europe's rights watch-dog system, which includes the European Commission of Human Rights.
    In the first six months of 1995, the Commission declared admissible a total of 27 cases presented by Turkish nationals with the assistance of the Human Rights Association of Turkey (IHD) and the Kurdistan Human Rights Project (KHRP).
    The allegations concern issues of extra-judicial and arbitrary killings, a "disappearance" in custody, torture and the destruction of villages.

AN AMNESTY OFFICIAL DEPORTED

    An Amnesty International representative, Helmut Oberdiek, was deported from Turkey at Istanbul's Atatürk Airport on June 7 on the grounds that he was declared "persona non grata" by the Turkish government in December 1994.
    Oberdiek was appointed by Amnesty International to look into the events leading to the deportation of Jonathan Sugden, the previous chief of Amnesty's Turkey desk who has been "accused" of providing support to the outlawed PKK.
    Oberdiek was allegedly conducting investigations for the past 10 days before he was picked up by police in Adana on June 5 and sent to Germany two days later.
    In an interview by telephone to the Turkish Daily News from Germany, on June 10, Oberdiek said he was taken away by three plainclothes policemen from his hotel room in Adana to be interrogated.
    "They did not say I was being detained. They just said 'you have to come with us.' Then they took me to the police department dealing with aliens," Oberdiek said.
    "There they told me that it was illegal for me to enter Turkey and I asked them which authority had taken this decision. They did not want to tell me at first but later said it was the Ministry of Interior."
    Indicating that he received privileged treatment while in detention Oberdiek said he was not put into prison. "I was just made to wait in a room and later taken to the department dealing with terrorism. For eight hours we argued with the policemen there. In other words it was not like a questioning. But they held me responsible for all the mistakes made by European governments. My personal belongings and notes were gone through separately by every policeman there. My real concern is that those whose names are in my notes may be under some threat," he said.
    Oberdiek who has entered Turkey on many occasions and who lived in Ankara for a year in 1991 with an official residence permit, said that his numerous requests to contact a lawyer or to use the telephone to make a call had been denied.
    He was later sent to Istanbul by bus under police guard. Two policemen brining him to Istanbul remained with him until he boarded the plane at the airport to leave the country.


CILLER: ENEMY OF THE PRESS

    Turkish Prime Minister Tansu Ciller takes part among the 10 "enemies of the press" announced by the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) on the occasion of the World Press Freedom Day on May 3, 1995.
    The other nine "enemies of the Press" are reportedly Abu Abdul Rahman Amin, leader of the GIA in Algeria; Radovan Karadzic, Bosnian Serb "president"; Emomali Rakhmanov, President of Tajikistan; Sani Abacha, President of Nigeria; Than Shwe, Prime Minister of Myanmar (Burma); Mobutu Sese Seko, President of Zaire; Hafez al-Assad, President of Syria; Fidel Castro, President of Cuba and Lee Kuan Vew, former Prime Minister of Singapore.
    In a press release, the CPJ says that collectively they are responsible for the deaths of nearly 100 journalists and are holding more than 100 others in jail. "Some of these individuals are notorious for their ruthlessness and violence, while others have championed legal restrictions on press freedom," said CPJ executive director Bill Orme.
    For Tansu Ciller, the CPJ says: "Turkey holds more journalists in prison than any other country in the world. CPJ documented 74 such cases at the end of 1994. Most were imprisoned for reporting allegedly sympathetic to the Kurdish separatist cause. Prime Minister Ciller has yet to act on her stated commitment to reform vague yet draconian statutes that prohibit open press coverage of the Kurdish conflict and of Kurdish culture."

DAY OF ACTION ON TURKEY

    The Writers in Prison Committee (WIPC) of International PEN held an international day of action on Turkey on May 5, spotlighting the case of writer Yasar Kemal, who went to trial that day.
    PEN centres around the world sent letters to the Turkish Government, lobbied Turkish embassies and publicised the situation of writers in Turkey.
    Kemal was charged with "disseminating separatist propaganda" for an article, "Campaign of Lies, which was published in the German magazine Der Spiegel in January.
    Kemal also faces charges for the reprinting of the article in an anthology entitled Turkey and Freedom of Expression, and for another article, The Dark Cloud over Turkey, also featured in the anthology and in Index on Censorship. The charge in the latter case is said to be for "inciting racism."

PRESSURES ON CHRISTIAN VILLAGES

    The Assyrian Democratic Organisation (ADO) announced on June 6 that four Christian Assyrians from the village of Geznag (Cevizagac) in Tur Abdin, native region of this Christian minority of Turkey, were arrested on May 9 by the Turkish Army on pretext that they collaborated with the PKK.
    These Assyrians, Eprim Diril, Mesih Diril, Ishak Diril and Metin Yaramis, are native of village of Mehre (Kovankaya), destroyed by the Turkish Army in June 1994, and had to migrate to the village of Geznag.
    The sons of Eprim and Mesih Diril, Zeki and Ilyas have disappeared since May 1994. The brother of Ishak Diril was the mayor of the village of Mehre and has been in prison since June 16, 1994.
    In the village of Geznak remain only seven Assyrian families composed of women and children alone.
    The ADO also reports that the Christian village of Marbobo is under permanent pressure of pro-government Islamic fundamentalist group of Hizbullah and the villagers are not allowed to work in on their cultivated fields.
    By these practices, the Turkish Army and the Hizbullah aim to force the remnants of the Assyrian community to leave the country by abandoning their properties to local Muslim landowners.
    ADO together with other Assyrian organizations called on the Turkish Government to stop the destructive practices of the Turkish Army and the Hizbullah in Tur Abdin.

TWO-MONTH STATE TERRORISM

    1.5, HADEP Elbistan chairman Hüseyin Koku, kidnapped on October 20, 1994, by unidentified assailants, is found assassinated at the district of Pötürge in the province of Malatya.
    2.5, a group of parents of prisoners carrying on a sit-in at the CHP headquarters in Ankara in solidarity with hunger-strikers of the Yozgat Prison are taken into police custody.
    2.5, the villages of Gevrik, Gazikusagi and Nanikusagi in the province of Tunceli which had already been evacuated on September 17, 1994, are destroyed by security forces by burning houses.
    3.5, the villages of Aydinlik, Yeni Cakmak and Cagli in the province of Batman were reportedly evacuated by security forces and many houses in the villages destroyed by setting fire.
    3.5, in Istanbul, HADEP member Muzaffer Kizilgedik claims to have been tortured for eight days at a police station after his detention on April 17. The torture traces are certificated with a medical report issued by the Capa University Hospital.
    3.5, the Ankara SSC sentences 17 Dev-Sol defendants to different prison terms of up to 36 years.
    3.5, in Pasinler, 9-year old Ercan Görme falls victim of an explosion as playing with a hand-grenade he found near to a military barrack.
    3.5, at the Elbistan Prison, gendarmes and guards raid wards of political prisoners and wound ten inmates. In protest against this brutality, 180 political prisoners start a hunger-strike.
    4.5, security forces detain HADEP deputy-chairmen Hikmet Fidan and Sahabettin Özaslaner as well as four other party members in Ankara and Hatay on charges of being members of an illegal organization.
    5.5, in Samsun, a penal court sentences 13 trade union officials to 18 months in prison and TL 780,000 each for a meeting they organized on November 13, 1994.
    5.5, in Diyarbakir, Vehbi Deniz is assassinated by unidentified gunmen.
    6.5, the security forces raiding the village of Büyükyurt in the province of Tunceli destroy all houses by setting on fire. Besides, the inhabitants of the village of Büyükyurt are given a 15-day deadline for leaving their houses.
    7.5, a HADEP founder, Tahir Tan claims to have been tortured by police after his detention on April 29 in Ankara.
    9.5, in Diyarbakir, Hasan Ezer is shot dead by unidentified gunmen.
    10.5, IHD Adana Chairman Metin Celik accuses the security forces of carrying out arbitrary arrests and raids on the houses of Kurdish families.
    11.5, neo-fascist MHP militants stab to death Muharrem Saritepe and wound his son, Ünal Saritepe.
    11.5, in Bingöl, 8-year old Ercan Bingöllü falls victim of the explosion of a mine laid by security forces. Same day, in Hozat, four children are seriously wounded at a mine explosion.
    14.5, unidentified gunmen shoot dead Haci Semsettin in Nusaybin.
    15.5, in Mardin, 60-year old Abdülkerim Kaya who was kidnapped on May 13 is found assassinated near to the village of Isikdere.
    15.5, the Malatya SSC sentences a member of the Revolutionary People's Liberation Party/Front (DHKP/C), Mustafa Karaagac, to life-prison and 11 other members to different prison terms of up to 18 years. Same day, the Istanbul SSC sentences two members of the Revolutionary Communists' Union of Turkey (TIKB) to 12 years and six months in prison each.
    16.5, in Dargecit, a tractor driver, Yusuf Celik falls victim of the explosion of a mine laid by security forces.
    18.5, the Court of Cassation ratifies the sentence against IHD Deputy-Chairman Sedat Aslantas for his speech at a meeting of the association on October 24, 1992. Aslantas was sentenced by the Ankara SSC to three years in prison and TL 150 million in fine. Arrested on December 5, 1994, he is already in the Ankara Central Prison.
    18.5, in Silvan, the village of Kurucayir is raided by security forces and the inhabitants are forced to leave their village in one week. In Cukurca, the villages of Caglayan and Cinarli are evacuated by force.
    21.5, in Adana, a pregnant woman named Saniye Özkaya claims to have been tortured and sexually harassed at the Police Headquarters. She also claims to have witnessed a 11-year old boy, R.Ü., being tortured by police.
    21.5, in Nusaybin, the villages of Dogus, Yandere, Kuskaya, Kuru, Tandir and Kücükkardes have reportedly been evacuated by security forces in last ten days. During the operation, two houses are burnt. Besides, the inhabitants of the villages of Acik, Yavru and Ilkadim of the same district as well as the village of Yaprak of the Lice district are ordered to leave their villages in two weeks.
    22.5, a police team raiding a house in Adana shoots dead two youths, charged with preparing a political action.
    23.5, IHD Bursa chairman Muhammed Aydin and six other officials of the association are tried by a military court of the General Staff Headquarters in Ankara for a meeting they organised on January 10, 1993. Each faces a prison term of not less than three months.
    23.5, in Elazig, IHD official Fevzi Kazim Sökmen and his two friends are taken into police custody.
    23.5, in the Elazig Prison, 95 political detainees start a hunger strike in protest against bad prison conditions and pressures.
    24.5, two IHD top officials, Günseli Kaya and Dervis Altun are indicted by the Izmir Public Prosecutor for having organized a press conference in Izmir on March 11, 1995. Each faces a prison term of up to three years.
    24.5, in Istanbul, a building occupied by the local offices of the Republican People's Party (CHP), the Correct Way Party (DYP) and the Nationalist Action Party (MHP) is destroyed by the explosion of a bomb placed by unidentified people.
    25.5, security forces arrest 12 members of the Revolutionary Communist Party of Turkey (TDKP) in Adana and 17 members of the Marxist-Leninist Communist Party/Foundation (MLKP/K) in Istanbul.
    25.5, in Batman, four children named Mehmet Emin Olcay, Halil Geyik, Abdurrahman Aktas and Mehmet Emin Ergin, and four people, Hüseyin Olcay, Medeni Isikli, Hasan Simsek and an unidentified person, fall victim of a bomb explosion.
    25.5, at the village of Özdemir in Igdir, the house of Mehmet Aras, a PKK defendant in Erzurum prison, is raided by six gunmen. The assailants also shoot dead his wife, Songül Aras, and his four children.
    27.5, the Diyarbakir SSC Prosecutor indicts 26 alleged members of the Hizbullah for having participated in 88 armed attacks resulted in the death of 54 people. Eleven of the defendants face capital punishment.
    28.5, in Antalya, HADEP member Nevzat Sagnic claims to have been tortured after his detention on May 14. In Ankara, HADEP Deputy-Chairman Sahabettin Özaslaner, detained on May 4, claims that he was tortured at police centre.
    28.5, in Bursa, 740 Post Administration employees are tried by a penal court for participating in a protest action on November 24-25, 1994. Each faces a prison term of up to one year.
    28.5, in Midyat, Süleyman Kaplan who was kidnapped two days earlier by unidentified assailants is found assassinated.
    28.5, in Bismil, the hamlet of Horozlu is evacuated by security forces and all of the houses are destroyed by fire.
    29.5, in Sivas, 24 people including IHD members Musa Demir, Cevdet Aktas and Fahri Sener, are detained on charges of taking part in an outlawed organization.
    29.5, in Diyarbakir, unidentified gunmen shoot dead Firat Acar and Hakki Akbalik.
    29.5, in Nusaybin, Süleyman Yalcin who was kidnapped in the village of Bakacak by unidentified assailants is found killed near to the village.
    29.5, the Ankara SSC sentences six members of the Revolutionary Communist Party of Turkey (TDKP) to prison terms of up to 12 years and six months.
    30.5, in Istanbul, Recep Coban claims to have been tortured at the Üsküdar Police Station to where he was taken as the suspect of a theft.
    30.5, the trial of the IHD Istanbul Chairman Ercan Kanar and six other officials of the association, Seref Turgut, Salahattin Okcuoglu, Zeynep Baran, Kamber Erkocak, Tonguc Aslan and Cevriye Aydin began at the Beyoglu Penal Court N°5. The defendants face a prison term of up to three years each for separatist activities. The prosecutor also demands the closure of the IHD Istanbul section for an indefinite period.
    30.5, HADEP Izmir office is attacked by unidentified assailants throwing a Molotof cocktail. HADEP officials accuse Grey Wolves of the attack.
    31.5, in Ankara, 52-year old Ali Yilmaz, hospitalised after his five-day detention at a police station, dies in the Numune Hospital. The family of Yilmaz accuses the superintendent of having tortured him to death.
    31.5, in Söke, eleven people are detained by police on charges of leading MLKP-P activities.
    1.6, in Adana, two unidentified gunmen wound HADEP member Izzettin Görnü. His son Ekrem Görnü had been assassinated on August 24, 1992, at another armed attack.
    1.6, in Siirt, gendarmes opening fire on a bus wound the driver, Metin Cetin. When the driver loses the control, the bus overturns causing to the death of three women and wounding nine women.
    2.6, in Istanbul, Ridvan Karakoc who disappeared after his detention on February 20, 1995, is found killed and buried in a graveyard. His family accuses the police of having killed Karakoc under torture. The funeral of the victim is held with the participation of more than 5 thousand people. After the ceremony, security forces detain more than 20 people.
    3.6, the prosecutor of the Diyarbakir SSC indicts six people for participating in PKK activities. Each faces a prison term of up to 15 years.
    4.6, three HADEP officials, Mehmet Zeynettin Ünay, Melik Aygül and Abdullah Akin are detained by police during a raid on a house in Diyarbakir.
    4.6, in Elbistan, the detention of two married women by police leads to a popular reaction and more than 1000 people stone the police headquarters and put police cars on fire.
    5.6, in Mersin, Abdullah Önen is shot dead by unidentified gunmen.
    5.6, security forces have detained more than 40 HADEP members during a series of repressive operations in Izmir.
    6.6, the Workers' Party (IP) Chairman Dogu Perincek is sentenced by the Ankara SSC to two years and four months in prison and TL 58 million in fine for his electoral speeches prior to legislative elections. Perincek had earlier been sentenced by the same tribunal to a 2-year imprisonment and a fine of TL 50 million, but the Court of Cassation considering the penalty insufficient ordered to try again him.
    7.6, security forces raiding the village of Dedeagac in Tunceli destroy many houses by setting on fire.
    7.6, the Istanbul SSC sentences five persons to life-prison for having participated in Dev-Sol activities.
    7.6, in Kozluk, farmer Hadi Baran, kidnapped earlier by unidentified assailants, is found killed and his eyes picked out.
    9.6, a convoy of 100 cars carrying HADEP Chairman Murat Bozlak and hundreds of party members to Batman for a meeting is stopped twice by security forces. Gendarmes opening fire into the air search all cars and interrogate all the passengers.
    9.6, in Kiziltepe, a special security team raiding a house shoots dead two alleged PKK sympathisers and wounds some other people.
    10.6, the Minister of Interior, Nahit Mentese, in reply to a question in Parliament, says that security forces have evacuated 213 villages and hamlets entirely and 42 partially in Diyarbakir.
    11.6, in Siverek, shepherd Haci Ali Kemik is shot dead by unidentified gunmen.
    12.6, the Military Prosecutor of the General Staff Tribunal indicts two officials of the Anti-War Association (SKD) for the press conference they held in Izmir on January 16, 1993. Ayse Tosuner and Nazmiye Zencir will be tried by the military tribunal on charges of leading campaign against military service.
    12.6, the Ankara SSC sentences seven people to different prison terms of up to 28 years for pro-PKK activities.
    13.6, IHD Adana Chairman Metin Celik and 11 IHD members are taken in custody for having putting on walls a poster concerning disappeared persons.
    13.6, in Siirt, a woman named Meclise Tegen is killed at the explosion of a mine laid by security forces.
    15.6, a penal court of Istanbul starts to try lawyers Aysegül Sentürk, Mukaddes Alatas, Kerime Gökdemir and Ali Kaplan, all members of the IHD, for having held a press concerning bad prison conditions conference in front of the Bayrampasa Prison in Istanbul. Each faces a prison term of up to three years on charges of unauthorised meeting.
    16.6, in Batman, Mahmut Yildiz and Hasan Ilter are assassinated by unidentified assailants.
    17.6, in Bitlis, Enver Özcan falls victim of the explosion of a mine laid by security forces.
    18.6, in Adana, Süleyman Ciftci whose house was raided on June 16 by police claims to have been tortured during his police custody.
    18.6, the former mayor of Hakkari, Sükrü Calli, and DEP member Hüseyin Ümit are taken into police custody.
    19.6, the Ankara SSC prosecutor opens a court action against two HADEP deputy-chairmen, Hikmet Fidan and Sahabettin Özaslaner as well as two party officials, Seyhmuz and Ferhan Türk. Accused of being PKK members, the four face each a prison term of up to 15 years.
    19.6, prior to a workers' action for a democratic constitution and trade union rights, police detain, on the order of the Interior Minister Mentese, seven trade union officials, Yildirim Kaya (Egitim Sen chairman), Selami Cicek (Turizm Sen chairman), Cengiz Baydali (Yapi Yol Sen chairman), Aziz Yildirim, Alper Öztürk, Kemal Ünal and Hasan Hayir.

TWO-MONTH PRESSURE ON THE MEDIA

    3.5, Tunceli correspondent of the dailies Cumhuriyet and Milliyet, Ferit Demir is reportedly kidnapped by PKK militants on April 30 on the road Tunceli-Pertek. [He is freed on May 12].
    3.5, the Court of Cassation ratifies the sentences against writer Yalcin Kücük and publisher Hikmet Kocak given by the Istanbul SSC. The latter had sentenced Kücük to two years in prison and TL 250 million in fine for his book entitled Talks in the Kurdish Garden, and Kocak, the director of Basak Publishing House, to six months in prison and TL 50 million in fine.
    4.5, a two-year imprisonment and a fine of TL 400 million against Medya Günesi editor Nurettin Yüksekkaya is ratified by the Court of Cassation. The higher court also ratifies a 30-day ban on the periodical's publication.
    4.5, the publication of the periodical Jiyana Nû is banned by the decision of a penal court in Istanbul.
    6.5, IHD Gaziantep Chairman Imam Özharat is indicted by the public prosecutor for his declaration published by the local newspaper Özgür Gaziantep. To be tried by a penal court, Özharat faces a prison term of up to one year for having criticised Turkish Army's operation in Northern Iraq.
    10.5, in Adana, two 12-year old children, S.A. and E.P., claim to have been tortured after their detention on May 6 for having distributed Kurdish review Welate Me.
    12.5, the Elazig office of the daily Yeni Politika is raided and searched by police who also detain two correspondents, Songül Zengin and Nurcan Turgut.
    15.5, the periodical Devrimci Emek, N°30 is confiscated by the Istanbul SSC for separatist propaganda.
    15.5, cartoonist Ertan Aydin is jailed in Salihli for purging his ten-month imprisonment. He had been condemned by a criminal court for one of his cartoons published by the daily Özgür Gündem on December 15, 1992.
    16.5, the publisher of the defunct daily Özgür Ülke, Hasan Kücükoba is sentenced by a criminal court of Istanbul to one-year imprisonment by virtue of Article 159 of the Penal Code.
    17.5, police authorities refuse to deliver a passport to writer Edip Polat who was invited by the International PEN to attend a meeting in London on the poets and writers in prison. Polat purged a 18-month imprisonment for his book entitled To Newroz We Turned Dawns and was released on January 20, 1995. Polat was honoured as a PEN member as he was in prison.
    17.5, the Istanbul SSC sentences two journalists, Hidir Göktas and Metin Gülbay, to 20 months in prison and TL 333 million in fine each for their book entitled The New World Order and Turkey, published past year. The publisher of the book, Hasan Basri Ciplak too is sentenced to 5-month imprisonment and a fine of TL 42 million. The book contains a series of interviews with political party leaders.
    18.5, three periodicals, Partizan Sesi N°17, Özgür Halk N°55 and Hedef N°43 are confiscated by the Istanbul SSC for separatist propaganda. A book entitled The Resistance of Gazi: Stone, Hart and Barricade too is confiscated by the same court.
    21.5, a responsible editor of the defunct Özgür Ülke, Murat Sarac is taken into police custody in Adana.
    23.5, the publisher of the dailies Yeni Günaydin, Süper Tan and Ekonomik Bülten, Bekir Kutmangil is shot dead by three gunmen.
    26.5, the last issues of the periodicals Atilim, Dayanisma and Sosyalist Kadin are confiscated by the Istanbul SSC by virtue of Articles 6 and 8 of the ATL and Article 312 of the Penal Code.
    27.5, the Court of Cassation ratifies a sentence against the chairman of the Bandirma Popular House, Mehmet Özdemir. He had been sentenced to 20 months in prison and TL 208 million in fine for an interview he gave to the daily Özgür Gündem in June 1993. After the ratification of the sentence, Özdemir is put in the prison of Bandirma.
    27.5, the first issue of a new Kurdish review, Ronahi, published in the place of the banned periodical Denge Azadi, is confiscated by the Istanbul SSC.
    28.5, in Istanbul, a new popular cultural house opened at the Gazi Quarters is raided by police who also detain four members of the musical group Yorum, Kemal Sahir Gürel, Ufuk Lüker, Hakan Atak and Özcan Sahver.
    31.5, the issue N°2 of the periodical Ronahi is confiscated by the Istanbul SSC for separatist propaganda.
    1.6, in Istanbul, the former secretary of the IHD Istanbul Section, lawyer Eren Keskin is jailed to serve his two-year imprisonment that was ratified by the Court of Cassation. Eren was sentenced by the Istanbul SSC to two years in prison and TL 250 million in fine for one of his articles published by Özgür Gündem on June 14, 1993.
    2.6, a Yeni Politika editor, Mehmet Sanli Ekin is taken in custody by police raiding his house. Same day, four correspondents of the same newspaper, Mustafa Sav, Adil Denk, Bahattin Yildiz and Metin Dag as well as the defunct Özgür Gündem's Mardin correspondent Nezahat Özen are detained in Diyarbakir.
    3.6, the periodicals Partizan Sesi N°18 and Atilim N°34 are confiscated by the Istanbul SSC for separatist propaganda and praising outlawed organizations.
    4.6, the Istanbul SSC confiscates the periodical Ronahi N°3 by virtue of Article 312 of the Penal Code.
    6.6, two journalists of the Kurdish review Welate Me, Editor Mehmet Gemsiz and Publisher Aynur Bozkurt is tried by the Istanbul SSC by virtue of Article 8 of the ATL. During this first sitting, Mehmet Gemsiz refuses to answer the judge's questions in Turkish and talks only in Kurdish. Thereupon, the tribunal decides to place under arrest.
    6.6, the editor of the periodical Atilim, Aslihan Yücesan is placed under arrest by the Istanbul SSC for some articles and photos published on May 27, 1995.
    8.6, a former editor of the periodical Kizil Bayrak, Ayse Öztürk is sentenced by the Istanbul SSC to six months in prison and TL 50 million in fine. The tribunal also decides to ban the publication of the review for one month.
    8.6, the Izmir office of the Mesopotamia Cultural Centre is raided and closed down by police. During the operation, 25 people inside are interrogated and three persons taken into custody.
    9.6, the editor of the weekly Express, Yücel Göktürk is indicted by the Istanbul SSC Prosecutor for a report about torture practice that he published on April 22, 1995. He is accused of having contravened Article 6 of the ATL.
    10.6, the first issue of a new Kurdish newspaper, Roj, is confiscated by the Istanbul SSC for separatist propaganda.
    12.6, two periodicals Ronahi N°4 and Hedef are confiscated by the Istanbul SSC for separatist propaganda.
    13.6, it is reported that since the beginning of its publication on April 13, 54 out of 61 issues of the new daily Yeni Politika have been confiscated by the Istanbul SSC by virtue of articles 6 and 8 of the ATL and article 312 of the Turkish Penal Code.
    14.6, Assistant Professor Fikret Baskaya, after having served a 15-month imprisonment for his book entitled The Bankrupt of Paradigm - Introduction to the Criticism of the Official Ideology, is released from the Haymana Prison.
    14.6, the Istanbul SSC starts to try two journalists of the periodical Cagdas Zülfikar, publisher Gülnur Aslan and editor Ali Yegin by virtue of Article 8 of the ATL. Each faces a prison term of up to five years.
    15.6, the daily Evrensel is confiscated by the Istanbul SSC for having reprinted an article about the PKK originally published by The Military Review in the USA.
    16.6, the program director of Interstar TV, Ardan Zentürk, and three program producers, Nafiz Akyüz, Bahri Kayaoglu and Seyda Acikkol are taken into police custody for having broadcast some revelations about political murders by unidentified persons.
    19.6, the periodical Ates Hirsizi N°7 is confiscated by a penal court of Istanbul on charges of insulting the Turkish Republic. Ronahi N°5 is confiscated by the Istanbul SSC for separatist propaganda.