Droits de l'Homme / Human Rights

European Peace and Democracy Assembly Meets in Düsseldorf

Conforming to the resolution of the European Peace and Democracy Conference held on June 29-30, 2013, the European Peace and Democracy Assembly formed by participating organizations to meet on September 1st, 2013, in Düsseldorf, on the occasion of the International Day of Peace.

The European Peace and Democracy Assembly is composed of 75 participants of which 55 represent different non-government organizations founded by the communities of different origins in exile coming from Anatolia and Mesopotamia: Alevi, Arab, Armenian, Assyrian-Chaldean, Circassian,  Kurdish, Laz, Roma, Greek, Turkish, Yazidi, Sunni, Christian, Muslim and Jewish religions as well as non-believers, men, women and LGBT immigrants and refugees.

There are also 20 personalities of different origins as effective members within the EPDA.

In order to progress its activities, the EPDA will form six different commissions: Truth Commission, Justice and Reconciliation Commission, to work with the European public, a Public Relations Commission, Law and New Constitution Commission, Freedom of Women Commission and Youth Commission, under the assembly.

The EPDA will develope its works in he light of the following Final Resolutions of the Peace and Democracy Conference:

As people who live or forced to live in Europe, together with various political organizations formed by us, we believe that we are part of the dynamics of this process. Therefore we believe that it is a historic responsibility for all ethnic and faith groups who left the country due to the racist, monolithic and destructive policies of the Turkish state from past to present as well as for economic reasons to participate in this process as a specific power.

With our belief that a historic opportunity for peace has appeared with the call of Mr Abdullah Ocalan at the 2013 Newroz, we have decided to join together to make sure that the negotiations progress to a result, to build long-lasting peace, create a free, common and democratic future which will secure the rights and freedoms of all nations and beliefs.

We are at the important stage of the democratic solution and peace process. We would like to declare that our conference will be taking its historic responsibility for peace and democracy as we believe in order to build a common struggle and make unity permanent we need to work in coordination with the conferences that have already taken place in Ankara, Amed and Brussels and the conference scheduled to take place in South Kurdistan at a later date. Hereby, we agree with the decisions and final resolutions of the Ankara and Amed conferences and subscribe to them.

As people living in Europe, we know very well the approach of the European states towards the struggle for democracy and freedom taking place in Turkey. As in the past, the approach of  these countries to the Kurds and Kurdish Question is based on fulfilling their own interests in the region. The decisions taken by Turkey and strategies prepared by them in relation to fighting against terror have been undertaken by the European imperialists. They have provided all sorts of military intelligence and political support to the Turkish state. Therefore those European states where we live became part of the war which was going on for 30 years. Kurds who fight for their national identity, their organizations, and the other organizations opposing the system, have been declared as potential criminals while arbitrary bans implemented with terror lists have been imposed. With this support from the European states, successive Turkish governments imposed anti-democratic policies towards the people and workers in Turkey and attempted to enforce such policies among the immigrant populations living in Europe. Turkey is trying to use Turkish origin immigrants as a base for its bloody policies by manipulating immigration issues. Turkey is trying to lock immigrants into the ghettos in order to prevent them joining social life in the countries where they live, seize their resources, intervene in the life of the people from Turkey and Kurdistan, trying to exacerbate Turkish-Kurdish and Alevi-Sunni polarizations to these areas by agitating Turkish nationalism.

In this context:

1- Our conference believes that in order to progress the negotiation process with no interruption and to reach long lasting peace, a liberal democracy based on pluralism, and equality should be established together with all the institutions; all the ethnic and faith groups should be granted equal rights under constitutional guarantee and democratic self-administration should be established all around the country based on the European Charter for Self Administration. We believe that democratization and establishing peace are inseparable.

2- However, we would like to express our concerns about the recent developments. The peace and democratization process can only progress on the basis of mutual trust. Although the first phase of the three phased action plan completed by the declaration of a ceasefire and the successful withdrawal of the guerilla forces, the second phase has not started yet while hegemonic and authoritarian politics, which became evident during the Gezi resistance, creates serious problems. Trust can only be achieved through mutual steps and only this can make democratic solution and peace process stronger. Therefore, the AKP and Turkish Parliament should comply with their responsibilities in order to start the second phase which is called legal and constitutional process.

3- At this stage, it is essential to create health, security and freedom conditions for Mr Abdullah Ocalan, as well facilitating communications between him and the Turkish parliament, the different delegations representing different communities in order to continue and widen the process. Our conference calls on the AKP government to take all the necessary steps as soon as possible to enable this.

4- The path for democratic politics should be opened in order to use this historic opportunity in favour of the people and the socialization of the negotiation process. Therefore we invite the AKP government to remove all the obstacles before the democratic politics (democratization of law on political parties and elections, abolition of the threshold etc.), to end all the measures limiting rights for freedom of expression, freedom of association, freedom of assembly, media and broadcasting, to create an environment where everybody can access education in the mother tongue, live in every aspect of life using their mother tongues and exercising their beliefs.

5- Therefore we invite the Turkish state to comply with the already ratified UN Charter, International Declaration of Human Rights, European Human Rights Convention, to end human rights violations and  act according to the rule of law, division of powers supported by balance and auditing mechanisms; and invite them to lift all the restrictions on all international conventions such as European Self Administration Charter, Children Rights Charter, Convention for Elimination of the Discrimination Against the Women and to ratify all other conventions concerning humanity and the environment.

6- We request the government to undertake all the legal arrangements and implement them as soon as possible to secure the release of all seriously ill child detainees. In connection with this we call on the government and the parliament to prepare all the necessary laws to allow tens of thousands of victims of coup d’état and dirty war who live in exile to gain all their citizenship rights in order to return their homeland as free citizens.

7- Our conference especially calls upon all the political parties in the parliament to use appropriate political methods and language in accordance with the spirit of the peace while deciding on all the reform laws and adopt them, speed up the democratization and allow the negotiation process to progress to a result. We invite them to abolish the constitution adopted after the military coup while a new and democratic constitution is prepared with the participation all social groups.

8- Our conference submits its request for new faith centres to be protected under the new constitution and assimilation policies implemented by building mosques in Alevi, Assyrian, Armenain and Kurdish villages to be stopped. The new constitution should define the state as a secular entity and abolish the Department of Religious Affairs. Compulsory religion classes should be abolished. All faith centres confiscated by the state should be returned to the faith groups. The decision to name the third bridge in Istanbul as Yavuz Sultan Selim Bridge which in itself is insult against the Alevis should be changed.

9- Our conference believes a free and common future can only be built if we face our past. We believe facing all the genocides including those against Armenians, Asyyrians, Yezidis and people of Dersim alongside massacres in Maras, Corum., Sivas, Gazi and Roboski as well as extrajudicial killings, disappearances and genocides, will allow us to expose all the crimes against the humanity and will be the first pre-condition for bringing justice and long lasting peace. We therefore declare that our conference will spend every effort to face the past, look for the truth and identify the perpetrators and demand justice.

10- Although we are coming from different backgrounds, beliefs and opinions we believe the establishment of democratization will benefit all of us. We all know that the Turkish Republic is not the only place in need of peace and democracy. Our conference believes peace and democracy is needed in the entire region, all four parts of Kurdistan and in the whole Middle East. We therefore call upon the AKP government to stop its intervening and threatening policies towards its neighbours.

11- We also invite European states where we live, European Union and international community to act according to the UN charter. We feel the pain suffered by Kurds in Rojava and the people of Syria deep down in our hearts and declare that we are in solidarity with them and against any kind of intervention. We would like to declare that we will always support the people of Syria in their struggle to create a free, democratic and peaceful future and will be against any kind of intervention.

The European states must stop providing Turkey with the arms and intelligence and the arms trade should stop immediately. Those who are responsible for the massacre in Paris must be uncovered. The ban on the Turkish and Kurdish organizations should be lifted; those who were arrested for their activities must be released.

12- We the participants of the conference see ourselves as components in the peace and democracy process. We do not limit our duty as observers of the negotiation process only but also as active participants. We would like to declare to the democratic public that in order to contribute to the long lasting peace, we will be starting to work to socialise the peace and negotiation process, will bring the other groups who are outside the conference into this struggle and continue to inform the democratic society in Europe.

13- As the participants in the conference we call on all the people from Turkey and Kurdistan, all the institutions set up by them to continue the struggle for justice, equality and democracy in Turkey together, in order to intervene in the peace and solution process together. We would like to stress that we are open to the different views and the only way for differences to be secured is for the victims to act together.

14- as participants in the conference we declare that we have common demands and approach for peace, solution and democratization and we are united in struggle to realize them.  We also declare our common and strong will to work for the socialization and widening of the peace and democratization process, and strengthen our struggle for equality, freedom, labour rights and ecological justice with democracy.

15- Our conference identifies gender issue to be one of the most important issues in the 21st century. We therefore believe the situation of women to be the most dynamic and fundamental to social life and cannot be separated from society. Any act against women is an act against the society. Our conference declares its opposition to any form of attack against women. Our conference embraces equal participation of women at every level of the socialization.

16- Our conference brought together different segments of the people from Turkey and Kurdistan in order to form a strong popular force for a solution, peace and democratization. Therefore our conference sees building local organization for peace as its duty to contribute to long lasting peace and participate in building our democratic future.

Machete-Carrying Man Released Again

Sabri Çelebi, a machete-carrying aggressor who attacked Gezi Park protestors and police officers, has been released this afternoon after his testimony in Istanbul Courthouse.

“A capture warrant issued by Istanbul 1st High Criminal Court only ordered Çelebi’s testimony upon his capture,” advocate Ismail Demirci told bianet.

On July 10, Çelebi left Turkey and returned last night in Sabiha Gökçen International Airport. He was detained right away.

After the completion of his procedures at the airport, he was escorted to police headquarters. This afternoon, he was released upon his testimony at Istanbul Courthouse.

“I have a restaurant and tourism company in Talimhane district. It was economically tight during Gezi incidents,” Sabri Çelebi said in his testimony upon his first detention.

“We went out with bats and machetes in order to push protestors to go home. Our only purpose was to scare them.”

Çelebi’s second release

On July 6, police broke up Gezi Park protestors on Istiklal Avenue who gathered after the appeal “We are going to our park”. During the intervention, Murat Ertik, Şeyhmus Kırmızı, Ahmet Girgin and Sabri Çelebi - 4 local business owners around Talimhane area - attacked protestors with machetes. Machete-carrying aggressors have been detained by the police later on and freed after standing trial.

Other aggressors with bats and sharp knives, Murat Ertik and Şeyhmus Kırmızı, have fled into the crowd. They have reportedly attacked pedestrians. Çelebi has kicked a woman in the back, eyewitnesses said.

The attacks left Kaan Polat injured from his ear and cheekbones. Kayhan Şahan, a vice police commissioner, was also wounded from his hand.

At the same day of attack, Çelebi has been detained around 9:30 pm local time.

Çelebi’s aggression tools have allegedly been cleared from fingerprints at the time of examination.

Prosecutors charged Çelebi with assault and transferred to a court.

Istanbul 30th Peace Criminal Court ruled that there was no need to arrest Çelebi for reasons associated with “the nature and extend of crime, evidence in hand, arrest being a measure, suspect having a permanent residence and no risk for run away.

On July 9, injured protestor Polat and prosecutor Büyükkılıç objected the release order.

Istanbul 1st High Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant upon the objection.

The court also ordered international travel ban and judicial control measures for Murat Ertik, Ahmet Girgin and Şeyhmus Kırmızı - co-workers of Çelebi and suspected of attacking Gezi Park protestors with batons and machetes.

However, it turned out that it was too late for Sabri Çelebi, as he reportedly fled abroad.

On July 7, the court admitted an indictment on 4 individuals who were charged with “assault and resisting officers to hold their duties” (BIA, August 29, 2013)

"L'homme à l'arrêt" des manifestations turques honoré en Allemagne

"L'homme à l'arrêt", un artiste stambouliote devenu icône de la contestation du régime turc en juin, va recevoir un important prix allemand des droits de l'homme, a annoncé le jury lundi.

Erdem Gündüz, danseur et chorégraphe turc de 34 ans, va être récompensé pour "son engagement courageux en faveur de la liberté d'expression et des droits de l'homme" par le prix M100 Media Award, décerné chaque année par un jury de journalistes.

Il s'est fait connaître dans le monde entier en restant sans bouger pendant des heures, le regard fixe, sur la place Taksim d'Istanbul au moment de la contestation du régime islamo-conservateur du Premier ministre Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Il a ainsi incarné une nouvelle forme de protestation pacifique.

Il a entamé son action le 17 juin, deux jours après que la police turque eut fait évacuer par la force le parc Gezi d'Istanbul occupé par les contestataires du régime.

"Avec sa protestation silencieuse, il est devenu l'icône de la résistance pacifique et a fait des émules dans le monde entier", a expliqué le jury de ce prix qui sera décerné le 5 septembre à Potsdam, en banlieue de Berlin, à l'issue d'un colloque international sur les médias.

"Cette année c'est encore un signal clair qui est envoyé, à savoir que la résistance pacifique et sans violence fonctionne", a commenté pour sa part le président du jury, Jann Jakobs, cité dans un communiqué. "Son arme s'appelle la créativité. Ses traits caractéristiques sont le courage et l'endurance".
 L'an dernier, c'est le président de la Banque centrale européenne (BCE), Mario Draghi qui a été récompensé par le M100 Media Award. Parmi les lauréats figurent le dessinateur danois Kurt Westergaard, auteur des caricatures contestées du prophète Mahomet, mais aussi l'ancien ministre français des Affaires étrangères et fondateur de l'ONG "Médecins sans frontières", Bernard Kouchner.

Les violences commises par les forces de l'ordre turques en juin à Istanbul avaient suscité de vives réactions en Allemagne, notamment de la part de la chancelière Angela Merkel. L'Allemagne accueille la plus importante communauté turque à l'étranger.

Fin juillet, dans un entretien à l'AFP, Erdem Gündüz a prédit une reprise du mouvement de contestation à Istanbul à la rentrée, avant des échéances électorales. (AFP, 26 août 2013)

Isolation punishment for prisoner with cancer

ANF spoke to Şehmuz Asi, father of PKK (Kurdistan Workers' Party) prisoner Cihan Asi who has been sentenced to a ten-days solitary confinement despite suffering from cancer.

Hundreds of ill prisoners in Turkish jails are not being released but being subject to solitary confinement as a result of arbitrary treatments and punishments.

One among these ill political prisoners is 32 year-old stomach cancer patient Cihan Asi who was jailed in 2009 after she was arrested at a hospital in Van while seeing a doctor for treatment. Asi was referred to Bitlis E Type prison, despite a report by Bitlis State Hospital which also diagnosed the woman with liver-dilatation. Following two years without any treatment, Asi was was referred to Aliağa Şakran Prison in İzmir  in 2012, a Turkish prison whose authority is known for its torture and right violations.

Asi's father Şehmuz remarks that his daughter is getting worse and worse every passing day, and that she is not being released despite all the applications he made to authorities including IHD (Human Rights Association) Mardin branch as well as the Ministry of Health and Justice.

Şehmuz says that he has learned about her daughter's solitary confinement when he spoke to her last Saturday.

“What is the reason of this much cruelty? The prison administration is sentencing ill prisoners to solitary confinement instead of liberating them from severe prison conditions. This is torture”, the father said. (ANF, August 22, 2013)

International Lawyers: "Stop the oppression on Turkish Bars"

Voicing concerns over increasing attacks against lawyers’ independence in Turkey, the president of the International Association of Lawyers (UIA) has sent a letter to the country’s prime minister, urging Turkish officials to immediately end any action curtailing the independence of the country’s bars.

The letter penned by UIA President Jean-Marie Burguburu was sent to Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on Aug. 5, the Union of Turkey’s Bar Associations (TBB) announced Aug. 21.

In his letter, Burguburu said the UIA has been “regularly alerted over the past months about the increase in attacks against the independence of the legal profession in Turkey,” as he particularly focused on pressures exerted on lawyers of protesters during and after the Gezi Park unrest.

Burguburu reminds ECHR obligations

“We urge the authorities to stop immediately any actions aimed at curtailing the independence of the bars, including unwarranted prosecution, and threats of judicial or administrative reprisals and to respect their obligations under the European Convention on Human Rights to prosecute those responsible for the serious violations of human rights which occurred during the protests,” Burguburu said.

“We would be deeply shocked if the allegations with regards to the position of the authorities sanctioning lawyers for legally exercising their mandate as legal representative of victims are verified. The UIA cannot accept such an attack on the very heart of the profession. Besides, instead of stigmatizing the bars and association of lawyers, the authorities should investigate and prosecute the perpetrators of the misconduct,” he said.

Noting that they “condemned these attacks,” the UIA president said, “Today our concern goes to the situation of the Ankara Bar Association, which is accused of illegally promoting individuals’ accusations against the police,” in an apparent reference to the Gezi protesters.

Burguburu’s letter was also sent to President Abdullah Gül; Justice Minister Sadullah Ergin; Turkey’s permanent representative to the UN in Geneva, Ambassador Oğuz Demiralp; as well as Turkey’s permanent representative to the European Union, Ambassador Selim Yenel. (hurriyetdailynews.com, August 21, 2013)

600 Policemen Attack Deputy Kürkçü, 6 Justice Walkers

Hundreds of policemen have reportedly attacked Adalet Yürüyüşçüleri (Justice Walkers) group last night - a group that initiated a walk on July 19 from the southern province to Istanbul in order to demand the prosecution of those who are responsible for the injuries and killings of protestors during Gezi Resistance.

6 activists have been stopped in front of a military hospital in Gümüşsuyu district by the police as they headed towards Taksim Gezi Park in order to make a press statement, Ahmet Saymadi, People’s Democratic Congress (HDK) assembly member, told bianet.

BDP Mersin province deputy Ertuğrul Kürkçü, on the other hand, said police sprayed pepper gas from close distance, leaving him injured.

Kürkçü: I will follow these traces

"Governor Mutlu’s traces on me. He must be sure that I will follow these traces,” Kürkçü tweeted. Addressing Governor Mutlu regarding last night’s police violence, he shared photos of burns due to pepper gas sprayings.

"Some fell off the stairs"

Around 600 to 700 policemen barricaded in front of a military hospital in Gümüşsuyu district on the way to Taksim Gezi Park, Ahmet Saymadi reported.

“6 activists started a sit-in protest as they were blocked reaching the park. Around 20 to 30 people gathered to support them. They also joined the protest by walking in front of police. Another group of 50 people gathered to support the protests,” he said.

“Then police made some warnings and started to break up protestors by spraying pepper gas. They aimed directly towards me, BDP deputy Ertuğrul Kürkçü and Haluk Ağabeyoğlu.

“Some fell off the stairs as they were running away from police towards Inonu Stadium direction. Around 10:55 pm [local time], we went to Taksim Hospital to learn about the injured.”

Justice Walk took 32 days

On the night of July 19, 4 activists have headed from the southern province of Antalya to walk 1200 kilometers to Istanbul.

Calling their protest Adalet Yürüyüşü (Justice Walk), activists Kadir Cenbek, Batuhan Yücel, Ulaş Çakar and Canberk Apiş aimed to demand justice for those who were killed during Gezi Resistance.

“This walk is faster than the justice, we will prove this,” they said in a statement.

On the way, Batuhan Yücel left the group in Burdur province due to illness. The group organized a commemoration ceremony in Eşkişehir for Ali İsmail Korkmaz and Ethem Sarısülük, reiterating their demand for justice. (BIA, Ekin KARACA, 21 August 2013)

IHD: "872 Right Violations in Turkey’s Prisons in 2013”

Human Rights Association (IHD) Diyarbakır Branch released a report on the human rights violations in Turkey’s Turkey’s eastern and southeasters region prisons within the first 6 months of 2013.

The report emphasized on the ill-treatment and torture practices in Turkey’s Turkey’s eastern and southeasters region prisons, waring that death toll could climb due to sick inmates who are still awaiting for release.

It also went to say that the solitary confinement of PKK leader Abdullah Öcalan contradicted with the ongoing peace process, saying that it must be removed immediately.

Along with his officials Muhterem Süren and Emin Ermin, IHD Diyarbakır Branch Chairman Raci Bilici held a press conference where he claimed that the majority of human rights abuses took place in prisons in Turkey.

“Even though we applied to officials several times concerning human rights abuses, most of our efforts yielded no results or officials didn’t show the willingness to resolve issues. Therefore, Turkey’s prisons have more and more problems."

"Transfers turned into torture"

The report also cited that transfers resumed in 2013, a practice that the report claimed to be used as “an intervention to yield inmates”. Bilici claimed that inmates were frequently subjected to torture and isolation during transfers.

“In a short period of time, the torture policy on inmates turned systematic and aimed to become a pressure mechanism against inmates. As our report points out, we have recieved several complaints concerning torture practices in various prisons."

"At least 450 sick inmates in prisons"

One of the most concerning issues besides from torture and ill-treatment, Bilici continued, is inmates’ health problems.

“There are currently about 450 sick inmates in Turkey’s prisons. Only 9 were released due to their treatment. 4 sick inmates died because of their release denial.”

“Despite judicial reforms and human rights associations’ efforts, only 9 sick patients have been released so far in 2013. 4 sick inmates died because of their release denial.”

“Judicial reforms have serious flaws and are yet to fulfill our demands. It is widely known that Turkey’s Forensics Institute lost its impartiality towards inmates and issued reports in a political fashion.”

“For this reason, we are calling to all official one more time. We keep on hearing death tolls from prisons. This issue must be resolved immediately.  This issue must be resolved not only through judicial reforms but with a realistic approach. All sick inmates must be released immediately. Otherwise, we will keep on hearing sad news from prisons.

He also added that the situation of 150 sick inmates were critical.

“Women inmates in Muş prison held a hunger strike for 14 days to protest the ill-treatment and poor conditions. These protests happen throughout the prisons in the region. There must be a resolution immediately.”

Bilici also reminded that PKK leader Öcalan was frequently subjected to family and advocate visit limitations.

“This is against the spirit of Turkey’s ongoing peace process. This practice has no place in the international law. Isolation on PKK leader must end immediately.”

The report explicitly listed the following human rights violations (872) in Turkey’s eastern and southeasters region prisons within the first 6 months of 2013 as follows: death in prison (4), torture (94), transfer (350), health check-up abuse (73), family visit bans (7), isolation and confinement (99), violation of communication right (6), violation of mother tongue right (1), other (11).  (BIA, August 15, 2013)

Ergenekon suspect’s minor sentence sparks debate

The verdicts regarding the alleged coup case Ergenekon continue to send ripples across the country as the release of Osman Yıldırım, who was involved in several attacks, including the fatal State of Council shooting, caused a new debate to break forth.

Many expressed disappointment over Yıldırım’s release, as a result of a reduction of his eight-year sentence, which stood in contrast to some of the court’s harsher decisions that included 19 life sentences, one of which was handed down to the former Chief of General Staff İlker Başbuğ.

The initial ruling by an Ankara court sentenced Yıldırım to life in prison, after which Yıldırım had threatened the judges, prompting them to file complaints against him, before the cases involving the attack on the Council of State and on the offices of daily Cumhuriyet were merged with Ergenekon.

Yıldırım was accused of involvement in both of the attacks and of aiding Alparslan Arslan, the man who killed Council of State judge Mustafa Yücel Özbilgin over a headscarf ban in the fatal shooting of 2006, by directing him towards the suppliers of explosives and planning the attacks.

The Silivri court gave Arslan an aggravated life sentence on Aug. 5, while Yıldırım was sentenced to eight years and nine months in prison.

The court stated that Yıldırım had offered information regarding the structure of Ergenekon network, which the verdict took to be a terrorist organization, and earned reductions on his sentencing through regulations regarding the suspect’s regret of accusations.

The Aug. 5 verdict trial marked the end of the Ergenekon coup case, which gripped the nation since a manhunt was launched following the discovery 27 hand grenades in an Istanbul house.

Along with İlker Başbuğ, the most senior official tried in the case, other high-profile military and civilian suspects such as retired generals Hurşit Tolon, Veli Küçük and Şener Eruygur as well as journalists Tuncay Özkan and Mustafa Balbay also received long prison sentences. (hurriyetdailynews.com, August 7, 2013)

Roger Waters for Gezi Park resistance with the Wall

It was more than message. Roger Waters, one of the founder of historic band Pink Floyd, not only spoke but showed. Photos of the young men who died during Gezi protests in Turkey were projected on the ''wall'', the wall of one of the songs which makes the band so famous. The Wall is yet to be teared down.

Roger Waters had written a letter to Gezi Park protesters back in June. Here the full text.

To all my friends in Turkey

I am with you! We are with you! You are so right to resist the forces of autocracy and repression. It doesn’t matter who they are.

If I read the Internet right, in your case, you are resisting autocratic religious zealots.

Turkey is your country and we support you and yearn for your freedom, but also, you and your struggle are so important to the rest of the world.

Every time a man or woman or child takes to the streets, and stands up for human rights, for self determination, for democracy, for Mistress Liberty, the rest of the world is in debt.

We are not physically with you in the water cannon’s fire, in the tear gas clouds, but we are with you in spirit.

We applaud your stand for we know it is not easy.

Your great country stands at the gateway between east and west. Constantinople is legend in the history of civilization. Your resistance today may well be a turning point between all of us and a return to the dark ages.

THERE IS NOTHING MORE IMPORTANT THAN WHAT YOU ARE DOING TODAY:

With love, and tears, and huge respect,

Roger Waters

(ANF, August 5, 2013)

La police disperse les manifestants près de Taksim

De violentes échauffourées ont éclaté entre la police et quelques centaines de manifestants faisant une dizaine de blessés samedi soir à Istanbul, sur l'avenue Istiklal près de l'emblématique place Taksim.

Au moins dix personnes ont été blessées et plusieurs dizaines ont été arrêtées par les forces de police, ont constaté des journalistes de l'AFP. La police a également procédé à l'arrestation de commerçants soupçonnés d'aider les manifestants, dans les rues adjacentes à l'avenue Istiklal.

Au moins trois journalistes, dont un photographe de l'AFP, ont été blessés par des billes en plastique lors des échauffourées.

En grand nombre sur toute l'avenue Istiklal et les alentours, la police a tenté de disperser les manifestants en usant de grenades, de gaz lacrymogène et de billes en plastique. Les échauffourées se poursuivaient en milieu de soirée.

Quelque 300 personnes se sont réunies samedi en début de soirée, trois jours après le dernier rassemblement, à l'appel d'organisations non-officielles de soutien au mouvement Gezi, qui a ébranlé la Turquie en juin dernier.

Aux cris de "tous ensemble contre le fascisme", ou "ceci n'est pas une révolte, c'est un mouvement pour nos libertés", les manifestants se sont amassés sur l'avenue Istiklal, cerné depuis la matinée par un important dispositif policier. Le parc Gezi et la place Taksim, épicentres de la contestation et lieux de rassemblements, étaient samedi interdits d'accès au public.

Des incidents identiques s'étaient déjà produits mercredi soir, après que le père d'une des victimes blessées a été interdit de prononcer un discours à Taksim.

Parti en juin dernier de la volonté de sauver les arbres du parc Gezi menacé par un projet d'urbanisme porté par le gouvernement islamo-conservateur de l'AKP, le mouvement s'est mué en une contestation à travers le pays contre le gouvernement de Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

Au cours de ces manifestations, cinq personnes sont mortes et près de 8.000 ont été blessées, selon le dernier bilan de l'Association des médecins. (AFP, 3 août 2013)

Amnesty International Calls For Cyber Protest

Amnesty International released “Back to Taksim”, a statement that called for action to peacefully protest police violence through a cyber platform.

The organization invited activists to symbolically join protests by “logging in from a social media account (Facebook, Twitter or Google Plus) as authorities blocked all physical access to organize demonstrations or protests in Taksim Square area”.

“In order to protest police violence in a peaceful manner and demand for justice, please join our cyber protest and take part in our Taksim Square map,” a statement said.

The statement went on to underscore that organizing peaceful demonstrations and protests were an essential human right.

“Authorities must ensure this right.”

“According to Constitution Article 34, everybody has the right to hold peaceful and non-armed demonstrations and protests without permission.”

The call statement also reminded that this right was especially violated in Taksim Square example. (BIA, August 2, 2013)

AKP Spokesman: "Gezi protesters should be sentenced to life in prison"

Mehmet Ali Şahin, deputy chairman of the ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party), said the “Gezi Park protests should be deemed a crime against the government and punished with life imprisonment,” in a controversial speech during a program on the TRT News channel on Wednesday.

Şahin, referring to the Gezi Park protests which started in late May against a government plan to replace İstanbul's central park with a replica of an Ottoman-era military barracks and turned into a nationwide movement, said: “In my opinion, the protesters aimed to oust the government. Therefore the protests must be assessed within the context of Turkish Penal Code [TCK] Article 312.”

The mentioned article, under the title “Crimes against government,” stipulates aggravated life imprisonment for people who attempt to overthrow or prevent the government from performing its duties.

Main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) Deputy Chairman and spokesman Haluk Koç, commenting on Şahin's statement in a press conference on Thursday, said, “Will you put half of Turkey in prison, Mr. Şahin?”

22 detained in various provinces linked to Gezi protests

In the southern province of Mersin, police staged simultaneous operations at 20 addresses linked to the Gezi Park protests early on Thursday, detaining five people. The suspects are charged with “attending an illegal protest, attacking the police with stones and bats, blocking the roadways and damaging public property” during a demonstration in support of Gezi Park protests on June 1 in Mersin.

Some of the detainees are reported to be members of the Socialist Democracy Party (SDP), while six other suspects are still being sought after they could not be found at their addresses.

In Hatay, another southern province, eight protesters were referred to the Adana Courthouse on Thursday on charges of attending protests on behalf of terrorist organizations and provoking people, after being detained on Tuesday. Seventeen detainees from Hatay were recently brought to the Adana Courthouse and 13 of them were arrested while four were released pending trial.

In a related development, the Ankara Police Department's counterterrorism unit detained nine protesters in five provinces, including Ankara, on Thursday. Seven of them were referred to the Ankara Courthouse for arrest on the same day.

Meanwhile, Süleyman Çelebi, an İstanbul deputy from the CHP, submitted a parliamentary question to Justice Minister Sadullah Ergin, asking, “How many people have been arrested over the last three months just for exercising a constitutional right to attend meetings and demonstrations?”

Çelebi, speaking to the media about his question, said that squares and parks belong to the public and therefore closing them is a violation of fundamental rights and liberties. (TODAY'S ZAMAN, August 1, 2013)

DISK Chairman, Secretary Face Investigation on May Day

Prosecutors launched an investigation on Confederation of Progressive Trade Unions of Turkey (DISK) Chairman Kani Beko and General Secretary Arzu Çerkezoğlu related to this year’s May Day demonstrations.

On May 1, Istanbul Governor’s Office released a statement, saying that no demonstrations would be allowed around Taksim Square area due to the ongoing construction projects.

On the same day, police harshly broke up hundreds of protestors who were attempting to reach Taksim Square through main avenues and back streets.

Prosecutors launched their investigation on May Day Organization Committee members Kani Beko and Arzu Çerkezoğlu for violating Turkey’s Law 2911 on Public Gatherings and Demonstrations.

“Construction holes turned out to be excuse during Gezi”

The very fact that hundreds of thousands people demonstrated around Taksim Square during Gezi Resistance already proved that construction holes were pretexts to block May Day, Çerkezoğlu told bianet.

“May Day closure was not a ‘technical’ reason but rather ‘political’” she said.

“For years, we have been struggling to celebrate May Day in Taksim Square. For the past 3 years, we have celebrated May Day in Taksim Square with a huge crowd. AKP government banned the celebrations pretexting construction and holes despite ECHR verdict.

“Hundreds of thousands people marched in Taksim Square during Gezi Resistance protests. Except the police intervention, nobody got hurt. So it was understood that banning demonstrations in Taksim was not a technical decision but a political one. Taksim Square is a major May Day venue and this can’t be judged.”

Çerkezoğlu and Beko will testify in Istanbul Courthouse today. (BIA, August 2, 2013)

“Everywhere Taksim Everywhere Resistance” Slogan Faces Ban

The Turkish government is reportedly preparing to take measures against soccer fan groups - groups that played a prominent role during Gezi Resistance protests.

Interior Minister Muammer Güler said they are working on a series of regulation to prevent the usage of insults and cheering with political and ideological content across Turkey’s stadiums.

Addressing press inquiries during Sports Workshop, Güler said the following:

“We are including political and ideological cheering in the category of illegal demonstrations and behaviors against sports morality in stadiums. This sort of cheering is already banned with international norms. Soccer clubs have already signed to take necessary precautions in the selling of season tickets. Certainly, we will be on the pursuit.”

He also commented on the inquiries whether they will pass regulations on the issue: “There are regulations on every sort of cheering extending the sports morality. It is obvious that politics and ideology-related cheering is incompatible with the spirit of sports. Insults and anti-sportsman behavior are included in this. The law amendment in on that matter." (BIA, August 1, 2013)

Pression sur les médias / Pressure on the Media

Kurdish politicians to take action after Facebook

Turkey’s Peace and Democracy Party (BDP) vowed on Aug. 29 to start legal action against Facebook after the social networking website’s European director said they banned pages belonging to Kurdish politicians and groups that praise the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK).

The BDP deputy co-chair, Meral Danış Beştaş, said international bodies must take action against the closure of Kurdish groups’ Facebook pages, adding that Facebook had not made any statement over the closure of their party’s or deputies’ pages, daily Radikal reported.

“The ability to exercise freedom of speech must be broadened. The international mechanisms must take action. We will make our applications in this respect. We will make applications on the ground that this decision is unlawful, unacceptable and must be removed immediately,” said Beştaş.

“This is a completely political approach. ... There are plenty of Facebook and Twitter accounts which praise racism and hate speech. But this is not a reason for their closure,” Beştaş said.

Facebook’s director of Facebook Policy in Europe, Richard Allen, has admitted that the popular social networking site actively bans pages belonging to Kurdish politicians or groups that allegedly praise the PKK.

Allan said it was forbidden for users to praise or use the logos of organizations listed as illegal by the European Union and the United States including the PKK, which has been fighting against the Turkish army for nearly three decades, according to a report by daily Radikal.

Allan said the same rule applied to the Irish Republican Army (IRA).

More than 10 pages were shut down between July 6 and Aug. 12 by Facebook, most of which belonged to nationally known Kurdish politicians. In addition, pages belonging to Ötekilerin Postası (The Others’ Post), which defines itself as a minority rights’ alternative news source, were also closed down. Kurdi Muzik (Kurdish Music) and Yeni Özgür Politika (New Free Policy), which focuses on Kurdish politics, were also banned.

Data released by Facebook on Aug. 26 showed that authorities in Turkey submitted 96 information requests covering 173 users and that Facebook provided information in about 45 of those cases. (hurriyetdailynews.com, August 29, 2013)

Red notice issued for sociologist Pınar Selek

Pınar Selek's Kafkaesque battle against the Turkish judicial system appears set to continue, after Interpol issued a red notice for the France-based sociologist. Hürriyet Photo

A red notice has been issued for sociologist Pınar Selek, who was sentenced to life in prison Jan. 24 for her role in an explosion at Istanbul's Spice Bazaar (Mısır Çarşısı) in central Istanbul in 1998, which left seven dead and wounded dozens more.

Interpol’s red notice is “the closest instrument to an international arrest warrant in use today.” Selek currently lives in the French city of Strasbourg and is pursuing her thesis at Strasbourg University. She may now face detention by French police and could be sent back to Turkey as part of the long-running legal battle that has seen her cleared of charges in the explosion on three separate occasions.

Reacting to the red notice, Selek said she was “resisting.” “I’m continuing to be who I am – ‘I’m resisting’ – I have nothing to say other than this,” she was quoted as saying by weekly newspaper Agos.

“I don’t know why they’re still bothering with me this much,” she reportedly told her father, Alp Selek, by phone after the announcement was made, daily BirGün reported.

Alp Selek emphasized that the case was not yet finished. “There is an attempt to make it seem like the case is over, Pınar’s been convicted and she’s gone on the run. However, Pınar is doing her doctorate in France,” he said, adding that his daughter’s legal team was still going to make its defense to the Supreme Court of Appeals and that the case had gone to the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR). “We will continue our battle.”

Pınar Selek also said it remained to be seen whether Interpol or France would act on the red notice.

The academic has undergone a number of legal tribulations since she was first apprehended in 1998 in the wake of the explosion, which the court most recently ruled to be a bomb even though several expert reports had concluded that the blast was caused by a gas leak. After more than a year in prison, she was released in December 2000 but was subsequently subjected to Kafkaesque-like judicial treatment, winning acquittals in the case on three separate occasions, only to be retried. In November 2012, a Turkish court ruled to overturn its previous acquittal, reopening proceedings against her before finally convicting her again in January.

In prison, Selek was allegedly subjected to heavy torture, during which she also refused to name the people she had interviewed during her sociological research on the Kurdish issue.

Given the strong and persistent doubts that the bazaar explosion was actually caused by a bomb, many have speculated that Selek was purposely selected for harsh judicial treatment due to her work on Kurds. (hurriyetdailynews.com, August 28, 2013)

Alerte : Pınar Selek menacée par Interpol?

From: Etienne Copeaux <ec@susam-sokak.fr>
Date: August 28, 2013 11:25:27 GMT+02:00
Subject: Alerte : Pınar Selek menacée par Interpol?

Chers amis et correspondants,

Alors qu'une campagne de soutien à Pınar Selek a été lancée récemment, sous forme de lettres au Ministre turc de la justice, nous avons appris hier soir par son avocate que le tribunal d'Istanbul a requis du ministère de la justice une "notice rouge" à destination d'Interpol - le moyen le plus efficace pour obtenir un mandat d'arrêt international.

Ce matin, la presse turque a confirmé que cette demande a été effectuée.

Désormais, et comme je le craignais depuis janvier, Pınar Selek risque des ennuis avec la police française si les autorités de notre pays désirent, pour une raison ou une autre, plaire à la Turquie.

Vous trouverez sur mon blog, et encore plus facilement sur le blog dédié à l'affaire Selek le communiqué de Yasemin Öz, son avocate et porte-parole de la plateforme "Nous sommes tous témoins" ainsi que l'article publié ce matin par Hürriyet News.

L'affaire Pınar Selek connaît une nouvelle crise qui dénote l'entrée du gouvernement turc dans une phase de grande fermeté. Le but est de briser Pınar Selek et tous les opposants.

Je vous prie de diffuser ces nouvelles et de rester en contact avec le comité France pinarselek.fr dont voici l'adresse
Justice Pinar <solidaritepinarselek.france@gmail.com>

En participant à la campagne de soutien, prouvons au gouvernement turc que ni Pınar ni aucune des personnes de l'opposition n'est seule dans son combat, que leur combat est connu et soutenu.

Le combat de Pınar est le nôtre, c'est le combat pour la démocratie, en Turquie et chez nous.
 
http://pinar-selek-en-danger.blogspot.fr
http://susam-sokak.fr
http://independent.academia.edu/EtienneCopeaux

"Kurdish TVs Will Be on Air Again With New Channels Soon”

Following the broadcasting license cancellation and 5 million Danish Krone fine, bianet interviewed Erdal Er, a programmer from recently unlicensed Nuçe TV.

“We certainly believe that we will be on air with our new channels soon. We are working on the issue,” he told bianet.
“The court ruling was not a disappointment for us, we were expecting that,” he continued. “But I must add that this is such a shameful ruling in the name of Europe and all its values.”

“Nobody can explain the broadcasting license cancellation of ROJ TV, MMC and Nuçe TV within the limits of justice nor press freedom. Denmark can’t explain this. They put a judicial cloak on an internationally political decision. This is all about it.”

“Kurdish question always marked an item of trade between nations on political, military and economic negotiations. Turkey, U.S. and some European countries reached a decision at the end of a dirty negotiation and closed down our TV network. They decided on Turkey’s favor. It is also very meaningful that they decided in the course of peace process.”

Er claimed that none of their news content included a tiniest clue of public harm or anything that would provoke hatred. 
“Turkey’s sovereign media generally has an anti-Kurdish broadcasting. The public must know what concessions Turkish governments made in order to close down ROJ TV and Nuçe TV since 2004.”

"Nobody will remember Turkey and those who took this decision in a good way. This is their fault. If we are broadcasting under exile circumstances, this is Turkey’s shame."

"Nuçe TV was the voice of people"

Our spectators are used to all sorts of oppressions, Er continued. “We will keep on our struggle though. Therefore, we will follow the free press tradition. We will do what they have done. We certainly believe that we will be on air with our new channels soon. We are working on the issue.”

“We will do this in the name of our roughly 100 colleagues in Turkey, we will do this in the name of all ignored peoples such as Kurds, Alevis, minoroties, Armenians, Roma people, women and the oppressed. Nuçe TV was the voice of people.”

On July 3, Copenhagen City Court have cancelled broadcasting licenses for ROJ TV, Nuçe TV and MMC, ordering each television network to pay 5 million Danish Krone fine.  The aforementioned TV networks were allowed to object against the ruling providing that they paid their fines within 15 days.

However, ROJ TV General Manager Imdat Yılmaz said they filed for bankruptcy as ROJ TV and producer firm Mezopotamya TV were unable to make a payment of 10 million Danish krones (roughly 1.4 million euros).

Who is Edal Er?

Starting his career on Med TV, Erdal Er worked as programmer on Medya, ROJ TV and Nuçe TV. Lastly, he was presenting two programs in Nuçe TV - Aktüel, a daily news show and Soru-Cevap, weekly program. (BIA, Elif AKGÜL, 20 August 2013)

Nuçe TV and MMC have ended broadcast under pressure

Mesopotamia Broadcasting channels Nuçe TV and MMC have ended broadcast as of last night in line with the the verdict of the Copenhagen Municipal Court which revoked the license of Kurdish broadcasters and imposed pecuniary penalty of ten million DKR  on 3 July 2013.

Following a declaration of bankruptcy caused by the pecuniary penalty, the highest ever imposed on a media institution in Denmark, the Kurdish channels said goodbye to their audience with the Kurdish national anthem "Ey Raqip".

On a special program on Nuçe TV one hour before the closure, a number of politicians, women's rights activists, and journalists condemned the repression of the Kurdish media. The program ended with a message to "meet the audience again very soon".

The trial against Roj TV began on 15 August 2011 after the counsel for the prosecution demanded the closure and dispossession of the Kurdish satellite channel. Copenhagen Municipial Court rejected the demand for the disclosure, ruling that there is no legal ground for the revocation of the channel’s license and the seizure of channel’s assets of EUR 20 million. Charging the Kurdish channel with making propaganda for the PKK (Kurdistan Workers’ Party), the court punished Roj TV A/S and Mesopotamia Broadcasting A/S by a pecuniary penalty on the grounds of violating the anti-terror law of Denmark. The license of the channel was however not revoked.

Roj Tv was born as Med Tv on 30 March 1995. On 14 April of that year it broadcast the founding congress of the Kurdish Parliament in exile. Over the years in the four parts of the divided Kurdistan (Iran, Turkey, Iraq and Syria) as well as all over the world the satellite dishes grew like mushrooms to receive the precious signal which was coming from Europe to give the Kurds everywhere images and voices of their country. Med Tv was broadcasting from Belgium and soon Turkish pressures convinced the local authorities to act against the television. In September 1996 with a massive police operation Med Tv is raided, its staff detained, archives seized.

In February 1997 the MGK (Turkish National Security Council) asks once again for the closure of Med Tv. But is after the arrest of the Kurdish leader, Abdullah Ocalan, that things turn for the worst for the television. On 22 March 1999, a month after the capture (as a result of an international plot) of Ocalan in Kenya, the English ITC revokes the license and Med Tv cannot broadcast anymore. But the Kurds don't accept this abuse and open a new television channel, Medya Tv, this time in France. It does not go too well, but a new license is obtained by CTV based in the Vatican. And after a short period it is Denmark that give the new licence. The Kurdish channel begins broadcasting once again, first with the name Mesopotamia Tv and then with the name Roj Tv.

Roj Tv has a very various programming, from news, to in depth investigation programs, from live music programs to live debates. It broadcasts in Kurdish (Sorani, Kurmanci and Zazaki) as well as in Turkish.

Roj Tv is always under attack and pressure since its foundation on 1 March 2004. From the Turkish state to begin with, but also from the United States, which have often act on behalf of the Turkish requests (and pressures) to an often embarrassed and embarrassing silent Europe. The requests are of course for the "immediate closure" of Roj Tv. In 2005 it was the Turkish premier Recep Tayyip Erdogan who, at a press conference in Denmark with his Danish counterpart, suddenly left the room when he saw among the crowd of journalists two Roj Tv reporters. "There is room only for one of us: if they don't leave I will", said an angry Erdogan. And it was him who had to leave the room, after the polite but firm reply by the Danish authorities, "For us freedom of the press is a value to respect and to uphold. We will not censor any journalist". In other words, sorry Prime Minister, but it's you who should go. And Erdogan did leave, but he has been holding a grudge against the Danish government since. Turkey sent Danish judiciary 26 files against Roj TV in 2010.
(ANF, August 19, 2013)

The Tightening Screws on Press Freedom in Turkey

Alev Yaman*

The Turkish media’s lack of coverage of the Gezi Park protests has thrown an unprecedented light on the country’s long-suffering Fourth Estate. Ask any Turkish journalist and they’ll tell you that self-censorship and a lack of media independence are issues that have plagued the industry for decades, with the recent conclusion of the Ergenekon trial serving as a timely reminder of just how much influence the military and deep-state agitators used to exert over the Turkish media (regardless of how deeply flawed the trial process itself was). Nevertheless, there is a growing sense that, in the wake of the Gezi Park protests, things are looking as bleak as ever for the Turkish press, under siege from both direct and indirect governmental pressure.

The Turkish Journalists Union’s (TGS) recent announcement that 22 journalists defiant to the prevalent culture in the Turkish media have been fired and 37 forced to quit over attempted coverage of the Gezi Park protests is a shocking demonstration of the price media workers in Turkey face for not following the unspoken rules of self-censorship. The mainstream media in Turkey is overwhelmingly in the hands of a small club of holding companies and conglomerates with a vested interest in providing the government with positive coverage in order to secure favorable treatment in other areas of their expansive business portfolios (if not to avoid outright sanctions on their businesses for failing to fall into line).

Two of the most prominent journalists to have fallen victim to this ‘solidarity of capitalists’ (as one writer terms it) are Yavuz Baydar, formerly an independent ombudsman for Turkish daily Sabah, and Can Dündar, formerly a columnist for Turkish daily Milliyet and a prominent writer and poet in his own right. Their highly publicized dismissals were an overt demonstration of the growing intolerance towards dissenting and anti-government voices within the media fiefdoms of Turkish tycoons, increasingly concerned with currying government favor. According to Dϋndar, it was Erdoğan Demirören himself, founder of the mammoth Demirören Group, who pulled the plug on Can Dündar’s Milliyet career with a phone call.

Journalists who escape dismissal despite their critical stance towards the government (often as a consequence of working outside the tightly controlled mainstream media) may face direct pressure in the form of costly defamation trials. Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has built a reputation for himself as a prodigious litigator, and is well known for making use of Turkey’s broadly worded defamation laws to pursue his critics through the courts. Undeterred by having made European Court of Human Rights history in a landmark defamation case involving Turkish journalist Erbil Tuşalp, Erdoğan has been racking up lawsuits recently, with novelist and journalist Ahmet Altan, journalist Bekir Coşkun, writer and Islamic thinker Ihsan Eliaçık and novelist and columnist Perihan Mağden and seven high school students among those to have faced legal action from Erdoğan’s lawyers within the past 12 months.

Meanwhile, Erdoğan is considering exporting his litigiousness abroad. In late July, he threatened to sue The Times over a harshly worded open letter that was taken out as an advert by the Atatürkist Thought Association and signed by 30 prominent intellectuals. The letter drew parallels between a rally held by Erdoğan’s supporters and the Nuremberg Rally, dubbed Erdoğan’s rule as ‘dictatorial’ and described the demonstrators in Gezi Park as ‘youngsters wanting Turkey to remain a Secular Republic as designed by its founder Kemal Atatürk’.

Erdoğan accused the paper of ‘renting its pages out for money’, suggesting that the price of The Times’ integrity was equivalent to the money paid to feature the open letter. This statement could hardly be more ironic in light of the cynical media blackout that prevailed during the early days of the Gezi Park protests, when some of Turkey’s mainstream media bosses openly traded journalistic integrity for the promise of government favor.

Erdoğan’s apparent ignorance of this irony speaks volumes about his perception of the role of the media. Smear campaigns conducted by his supporters against journalists critical of the protests – most prominently involving Selin Girit of the BBC and Christiane Amanpour of CNN – are indicative of a growing antipathy towards dissenting media voices amongst Erdoğan’s conservative base, reflecting the prime minister’s own coarse rhetoric this summer. Worryingly, both journalists were accused of being part of a foreign conspiracy, a frequent charge during the dark, unstable days preceding Erdoğan’s rule. A return for the Turkish people to such a paranoid, insular mindset bodes ill at such a critical time, when Turkey is at a crossroads in its march towards democratization and reconciliation with its Kurdish population.

The number of Kurdistan Communities Union (KCK) trials is perhaps the most significant benchmark for Turkish progress. The KCK investigation – initially aimed at bringing down the ‘urban wing’ of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), which has been engaged in armed conflict with the Turkish Army since 1984 – has devolved into a highly politicized witch-hunt of pro-Kurdish politicians, intellectuals, lawyers and journalists. Forty-six journalists are currently on trial in just one of the many branches of the investigation (reportedly the largest single press trial in Europe), mostly working for Kurdish and pro-Kurdish press. The imprecise wording of Turkey’s draconian Anti-Terror Law allows for the implication of those with no links to terrorism or the plotting of violent acts in such investigations. The academic  Büşra Ersanlı faces the same heavy sentence as senior, armed militants, an indication of the absurd outcomes facilitated by the Turkish justice system.

Erdoğan’s AKP administration has had more than a decade to fix this imbalance in Turkey’s anti-terror legislation. Despite repeated attempts at reform in recent years, the desperate situation in relation to these provisions persists.

The government’s intransigence towards media freedom in Turkey can be seen in many other walks of life in the country. There can be no doubt that this contributed to the groundswell of dissatisfaction that led to the Gezi Park movement this summer. As Turkey becomes increasingly polarized, one cannot help but worry about the future of those who chide rather than cheer the government in the Turkish media. (BIA, August 19, 2013)

* Alev Yaman is a human rights advocate, who has worked for various London-based organizations specializing in freedom of expression, migration studies and the rule of law. She is currently working as a Turkey  researcher for English PEN and PEN International.

Facebook ferme ses portes aux Kurdes

Le réseau social Facebook ferme les comptes des personnalités et des partis kurdes, ainsi que ceux des opposants, « dans le cadre d’un accord avec les autorités turques », selon un journal turc, Radikal.

Parmi les pages fermées au cours du mois de juillet figurent notamment le compte du principal parti kurde BDP, ceux des députés de ce parti Hasip Kaplan, Ahmet Türk, Sırrı Süreyya Önder et Ayla Akat Ata, ainsi que les comptes du maire de Diyarbakir Osman Baydemir et de la udéputée Leyla Zana, prix Sakharov.

Le ministre turc de la Communication Binali Yildirim avait déclaré fin juin que « Facebook a une collaboration harmonieuse depuis longtemps » avec les autorités. Une démarche qui n'a pas été accueillie favorablement chez Twitter. Selon le ministre, Twitter a refusé de collaborer.

Le réseau social Facebook a démenti le partage des informations sur ses utilisateurs, lors de la contestation du parc Gezi, qui dure depuis fin mai 2013. Mais les faits sont là.

Selon la journaliste du quotidien Radikal, Ezgi Basaran, le contrôle des autorités sur les réseaux sociaux est de plus en plus visible, surtout ces derniers jours.  Pour elle, Twitter reste toujours solide face à la pression des autorités turques parce qu’il n’est pas encore devenu une société géante qui a un esprit étatique.

Le journal britannique The Guardian avait récemment publié des documents sur les programmes d’espionnage, mis en place par les  services américains. Selon ces documents, l’Agence de sécurité nationale (NSA) et le FBI peuvent facilement accéder aux systèmes de neuf des plus grandes compagnies de l'Internet au monde : Google, Facebook, Microsoft, Apple, Yahoo, Skype, YouTube, AOL, PalTalk… C’est l'ex-analyste de la CIA Edward Snowden a divulgué des informations sur cet espionnage mondial. (Maxime Azadi, actukurde.fr/actualites, 14 août 2013)

Après Gezi, nouvelle vague de licenciements de journalistes critiques

Le 23 juillet 2013, le célèbre journaliste turc Yavuz Baydar est congédié par le quotidien conservateur Sabah, où il occupait depuis de nombreuses années la fonction de médiateur. Le journal a refusé de publier ses deux derniers billets. Le nom de Yavuz Baydar s’ajoute ainsi à la longue liste des journalistes de premier plan licenciés ou poussés à la démission, ces dernières années, dans les principaux médias turcs. Il n’est pas le dernier: le 1er août, le célèbre chroniqueur du quotidien libéral Milliyet, Can Dündar, est remercié à son tour, deux jours après son rédacteur en chef Derya Sazak.

Télécharger les documents interdits

WeFightCensorship présente ici la première chronique de Yavuz Baydar censurée par Sabah, intitulée “Brasses dangereuses dans une eau tourbillonnante”. Le journaliste y dénonce la diabolisation des médias étrangers par une partie de la presse turque, consécutive à la répression du mouvement de protestation “Occupy Gezi”, et appelle à l’apaisement et à la solidarité entre journalistes.

Envoyé à la rédaction de Sabah le 24 juin 2013, ce billet n’est jamais paru. En lieu et place, le rédacteur en chef du journal, Erdal Safak, publie un éditorial cinglant à l’égard de Yavuz Baydar. Affecté, le journaliste se met en congés quelques jours et publie dans le New York Times, le 19 juillet, une tribune dénonçant la responsabilité des patrons de presse dans l’autocensure répandue en Turquie. A son retour, quelques jours plus tard, il propose à la publication un autre billet sur les relations entre médiateur et rédacteur en chef. Billet qui, lui non plus, n’est jamais paru.

Gezi, révélateur de l’autocensure à la turque

Les manifestations du parc Gezi, apparues fin mai 2013 pour défendre l’existence de ce parc municipal d’Istanbul menacé de démolition, se sont rapidement transformées en un mouvement de protestation national contre les pratiques autoritaires du gouvernement de Recep Tayyip Erdogan. A ce mouvement inédit par son ampleur et sa capacité à transcender les profonds clivages de la société turque, les autorités ont répondu par la répression et la criminalisation. Les professionnels des médias, parfois pris à partie par les manifestants, ont fait l’objet de brutalisations et d’interpellations systématiques de la part des forces de l’ordre. Journalistes critiques et utilisateurs des réseaux sociaux ont été présentés comme les chevaux de Troie d’un complot international destiné à mettre à bas le gouvernement. 

D’après le Syndicat turc des journalistes (TGS), pas moins de 22 journalistes ont été licenciés pendant le mouvement de contestation, et 37 autres ont été poussés à la démission. D’autres journalistes ont fait état de chroniques censurées par leur rédaction. Ainsi, le quotidien islamiste Yeni Safak a refusé de publier une chronique d’Isin Eliçin, intitulée “Les forces extérieures et Mehmet Ali Alabora”. La journaliste y critiquait la campagne d’intimidation et de désinformation lancée depuis le 10 juin par son journal à l’encontre de l’acteur Mehmet Ali Alabora, qui avait exprimé sur Twitter son soutien aux manifestants. L’acteur avait été présenté par Yeni Safak comme l’un des dirigeants d’un “complot visant à faire tomber le gouvernement”, ce qui lui avait ensuite valu des menaces. Le 11 juillet, six journalistes ont démissionné collectivement de la nouvelle chaîne privée +1 pour dénoncer l’intervention du patron de la chaîne dans la ligne éditoriale.

Exacerbée par l’extrême climat de polarisation consécutif aux manifestations de Gezi, cette tendance n’est pourtant pas nouvelle. Les licenciements et démissions avec fracas de journalistes de premier plan se sont multipliés ces dernières années. La rédaction du quotidien Aksam “reprise en main” après son changement de propriétaire, en juin 2013 ; Hasan Cemal, chroniqueur de Milliyet contraint à la démission en mars 2013 du fait d’un article polémique sur la question kurde ; Ahmet Altan de Taraf en décembre 2012 ; Aysenur Arslan licenciée de CNN Türk, Andrew Finkel de Today’s Zaman, Banu Güven de NTV, Ece Temelkuran de Haber Türk, Mehmet Altan de Star... Dans le même temps, d’autres journalistes, inconnus du grand public, ont connu des ascensions fulgurantes.

Pour politisé qu’il soit, le paysage médiatique turc a le mérite d’être très divers. Mais cela pourrait ne plus durer très longtemps. Les rédactions ne disposent pas de garde-fous susceptibles de préserver leur indépendance éditoriale et de prévenir l’ingérence des patrons de presse. Une vulnérabilité d’autant plus grande que les principaux titres de presse appartiennent aujourd’hui à des holdings également actives dans des secteurs tels que la construction, la finance, les télécommunications... Secteurs largement dépendants des appels d’offre étatiques. Au fil des années, il est ainsi devenu de plus en plus difficile pour les journalistes turcs de mener des investigations économiques en profondeur. Et pour préserver leurs intérêts économiques dans leurs secteurs d’activité les plus rentables, un certain nombre de patrons de presse pèsent de tout leur poids pour atténuer les critiques de leurs médias à l’encontre du gouvernement.

Le silence de nombreux grands médias turcs aux premiers jours des manifestations de Gezi a brusquement révélé toute l’ampleur qu’avait pris cette tendance croissante à l’autocensure. Un reportage animalier, diffusé par CNN Türk au plus fort des affrontements sur la place Taksim le 31 mai, est devenu emblématique de cet état de fait, à tel point que l’image du pingouin a rapidement symbolisé le journalisme de connivence avec le pouvoir. Une autre chaîne d’information en continu, NTV, a dû présenter ses excuses à ses téléspectateurs pour avoir failli à son devoir d’information. Le contraste entre ce silence initial des grands médias turcs et la couverture en direct des manifestations par plusieurs grandes chaînes internationales a valu à ces dernières des parts d’audience inégalées parmi le public turc. Mais aussi une violente hostilité de la part des autorités et de la presse pro-gouvernementale, prompte à dénoncer leur couverture “disproportionnée” et “partiale”.

Hystérie contre les médias étrangers

Le Premier ministre Recep Tayyip Erdogan, qui discours après discours a dépeint les manifestants comme des “vandales” et des “marginaux” agissant pour le compte d’organisations terroristes ou de spéculateurs internationaux, a fait des médias tels que CNN, BBC et Reuters des cibles privilégiées. “Pendant des jours, vous avez fabriqué de fausses informations. Mais vous voilà seuls avec vos mensonges. La nation n’est pas celle dont vous avez donné l’image au monde”, lançait-il par exemple à leur adresse dans un meeting le 16 juillet. Une partie de la presse turque a emboîté le pas au Premier ministre et dénoncé à son tour les médias internationaux, qui auraient sciemment orchestré une campagne de désinformation contre la Turquie dans le but de ternir l’image du pays, voire de renverser le gouvernement. Ce climat d’extrême défiance n’est pas resté sans conséquence.

Le quotidien Takvim a consacré la couverture de son numéro du 18 juin 2013 à une interview fictive de la journaliste de CNN, Christiane Amanpour. Dans ce pseudo-entretien, titré “La sale confession”, Takvim faisait avouer à la célèbre journaliste que CNN avait délibérément adopté une couverture biaisée des protestations en Turquie, “pour de l’argent” et “sous la pression de lobbies internationaux”. Dix jours plus tard, le quotidien est allé jusqu’à porter plainte contre CNN et Amanpour, les accusant d’avoir dénigré les organes de l’Etat et incité la population à la haine par leur couverture des manifestations et la diffusion de “fausses nouvelles”. Au même moment, une violente campagne contre la correspondante de la BBC Selin Girit, lancée sur Twitter par le maire d’Ankara, a enflammé médias et réseaux sociaux. La journaliste était présentée comme une espionne britannique. (RSF, 14 août 2013)

IPI alarmed over Ergenekon’s journalist imprisonments

The International Press Institute (IPI) expressed concern over the Turkish journalists sentenced to prison terms in the Ergenekon trial, calling on authorities to release them pending appeals, according to an official statement released by the organization.

The recent trials show that the journalists suspected in Ergenekon, who have already spent a long time behind bars, “were detained in retaliation for their work,” according to IPI executive director Alison Bethel McKenzie.

“We have long feared that many of the journalists in Turkish prisons were detained in retaliation for their work, a conclusion that appears bolstered here by the numerous, troubling accusations of due process violations in this case. Given that most of these journalists have already spent years behind bars in connection with these allegations, we urge authorities to release them pending appeals that we anticipate they will file,” McKenzie said.

McKenzie added that previous promises made by Deputy Prime Minister Bülent Arınç with regards to a new judicial package that would address press freedom never came through.

“That package, ultimately, made little progress in that regard, and we urge Turkish lawmakers to enact reforms to ensure that critical reporting on matters of public interest is not conflated with terrorism and that any new Constitution safeguards press freedom and freedom of expression,” McKenzie said.

Journalists currently in jail for Ergenekon charges include Mustafa Balbay, Tuncay Özkan and Hikmet Çiçek, with Balbay and Çiçek receiving 34 and 21 years respectively and Özkan being sentenced to life in prison. (hurriyetdailynews.com, August 7, 2013)

Ekşisözlük Writers Charged With Blasphemy

Prosecutors submitted an indictment to Anadolu 30th Peace Court, charging Sedat Kapanoğlu and 40 account holders with the “blasphemy on the religious values of a society fraction” due to their entries on Ekşisözlük, a popular social media website in Turkey. Site owner Kapanoğlu and other users are facing prison sentences from 6 up to 12 months.

“I don’t want to make an extensive comment on the prosecution as it has yet to begin,”Ekşisözlük lawyer Başak Purut told bianet.

“However, I had a hard time understanding what expressions might have resulted with the aforementioned charges.”

According to an article by Deniz Aydın from Zaman newspaper, the indictment made several references to related ECHR verdicts and EDHR articles.

Some of the highlight from the indictment included [translated by bianet English]:

“Turkish Penal Code Article 216/3 serves the judicial purpose of protecting the sentiments of those who believe in God, religion, prophets, holy writings and sects. Individuals may certainly express their opinions and criticize certain aspects. However, they must do this while not hurting other people’s religious sentiments. Therefore, nobody has the right to damage the respect of others towards their sacred concepts."

In 2010, prosecutors launched an investigation on Sedat Kapanoğlu through Ekşi Technologies and Communications  Ltd - the owner company of Ekşi Sözlük website - upon a complaint submitted by Ali Emre Bukağılı. (BIA, Elif AKGÜL, August 7, 2013)

Why do Facebook and Twitter Shut Down Accounts In Turkey?

Recently, Facebook has reportedly shut down the pages of two alternative news websites (Yüksekova Haber and Ötekilerin Postası), while Twitter suspended several user accounts. 

bianet asked the reason of this recent social media limitations to Erkan Saka, lecturer at Istanbul Bilgi University.

Saka said that the suspension/shutting down of Facebook and Twitter accounts have been executed upon complaints. Claiming that Facebook reacted more politically towards such complaints, Saka said Twitter reacted rather according to an algorithm - a software that suspended accounts based on complaints. 

"Facebook doesn’t scrutinize its content page by page. They only do so upon complaints. On the other hand, they directly intervene pages with pornographic content through an automatic tracking system. When the complaint is regarding a political matter, they make a decision after an investigations."

Reminding that the Facebook page of Ötekilerin Postası has been shut down due to a massive complaint attack for the third time, Saka claimed that Facebook has acted “inconsiderately” towards Ötekilerin Postası.

Saka continued that Twitter's account suspension/shutting down actions were based on an automatic system.

"Twitter suspends accounts like Facebook upon massive complaints. You can object to that decision but it takes time to reactivate them again. This is an automatic process. Twitter mainly targets “egg accounts” which disseminate spam content. However, dissident voices get affected as well,” Saka said.

Saka reminded that activists chose Twitter but said they should also consider other options like open-code social media sites.

“Facebook became notorious due to its content sharing, but Twitter is still resisting to this. Maybe this is the reason why world’s activists are still choosing Twitter. We should still keep in mind that it is a profit-seeking corporation, though.”

"Therefore, internet activists recommend open-code and independent websites. We should remember that there is never 100 percent safety on the web. Those sites, moreover, are not user-friendly. I am trying to benefit from both sides, however, I mostly do my shares through platforms like Twitter. It is partially because you can reach out more people through these venues.

"Ordinary users are also concerned about the privacy of their personal content, but they have to choose popular sites because alternatives are not user-friendly. Therefore, these alternative platforms must be more user-friendly.”  (BIA, Elif AKGÜL, August 7, 2013)

IFJ/EFJ: Severe Sentences for Turkish Journalists in Ergenekon Case

The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) and the European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) have expressed their outrage at the heavy sentences handed out yesterday to 22 journalists involved in the Ergenekon trials in Turkey, stating that the decision is a direct attack on press freedom in the country.

A number of journalists were given lengthy prison sentences at the special trial hearing in Istanbul, ranging from six years to life imprisonment.

Among them was daily newspaper Cumhuriyet journalist Mustafay Balbay, whose case has been ‘adopted' by EFJ affiliate the Finnish Union of Journalists (UJF). Balbay, who has been in prison since September 2008, was given a sentence of 34 years and eight months. Journalist, politician and former Biz TV owner Tuncay Özkan, who helped organise a series of anti-government protests in 2007 and has been supported by EFJ affiliate the Norwegian Union of Journalists (NJ), was given the most severe sentence of life in solitary confinement, without the possibility of a pardon.

"Two weeks ago the Turkish Platform for Freedom of Journalists gathered in Istanbul for the second Congress devoted to journalists' rights and freedom, calling for the release of 64 (now 63) jailed Turkish journalists and hoping the international campaign for the freedom of journalists in Turkey, initiated by the EFJ, would finally be heard," said EFJ Vice President Nadezda Azhgikhina.

"The news about the fresh convictions of Turkish media professionals yesterday was a huge disappointment. We are deeply alarmed and angry at the severe and unprecedented sentences handed out to many of our colleagues in Turkey, a decision which immeasurably undermines the right to freedom of media and free expression in the country."

The court has jailed the journalists because it says they were involved in the so-called Ergenekon plot, a conspiracy allegedly aimed at toppling the government led by Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan's Justice and Development Party (AKP). Defendants faced charges ranging from membership of Ergenekon, an alleged underground terrorist network, to illegally possessing weapons and instigating an armed uprising against the AKP.

Dunja Mijatovic, Representative on Freedom of the Media, for the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), has stated that the severe sentences violate free expression in Turkey and "the country's commitments to develop and protect free media."

The IFJ/EFJ have called on EU institutions to criticise Turkish authorities for the rulings and will be sending them letters calling for action to be taken.

"Throughout the process we warned that this has become a politically motivated trial," said IFJ President Jim Boumelha. "There were so many violations of legal procedure and rights well documented by independent observers, that its credibility came into question. Such long jail terms for journalists who have already spent years in arbitrary preventive detention are unacceptable, and these heavy verdicts confirm the absence of rule of law."

The EFJ has repeatedly called on authorities in Turkey to free the journalists in the Ergenekon court hearing (10.05.13), expressing its concern at the fairness of the trials (12.12.12), and sending delegates (22.11.11) to observe trials, meet with families of the jailed journalists and press the authorities for their release.

For more information, please contact IFJ on + 32 2 235 22 17

Apollinaire (encore) censuré en Turquie

Selon le quotidien turc Hürriyet, la cour d'appel suprême de Turquie a unanimement rejeté l'acquittement de l'éditeur et du traducteur turcs du roman de Guillaume Apollinaire Les exploits d'un jeune Don Juan. Les juges ont estimé que le livre ne pouvait pas être protégé par la liberté d'expression en raison de la perversité de son contenu.

Après la sortie du livre en turc en janvier 2009, Irfan Sanci, propriétaire de la maison d'édition Sel Publishing et le traducteur Ismail Yergüz avaient été poursuivis en justice en raison de la nature explicite de certains passages du livre. En plein procès, Irfan Sanci avait reçu le soutien de ses pairs et obtenu le Prix de la liberté d'édition en novembre 2010. Lui et son traducteur avaient par la suite été acquittés par le tribunal d'Istanbul, l'ouvrage mis en cause étant une oeuvre littéraire.

Mais la cour d'appel suprême de Turquie a invoqué les "relations sexuelles contre nature" décrites dans le livre. Des textes pervers qui ne peuvent être protégés par la liberté d'expression puisque, selon les juges, ils ne sont pas accompagnés d'une "forme d'intrigue" suffisante à leurs yeux. Selon la cour, le livre vise simplement à "exploiter et éveiller les désirs sexuels et nuit à la modestie de la société", et contient "un langage vulgaire et simple." Dès lors, la traduction et la publication du livre "ne peuvent être perçues comme des actes relevant de la liberté d'expression", expliquent les juges, ajoutant que le livre atteint des sommets de perversité. La décision d'acquittement du tribunal d'Istanbul a ainsi été annulée au motif que la liberté d'expression devait inclure "un sentiment de responsabilité". La cour d'appel exige que l'éditeur et le traducteur soient jugés, la peine encourue pouvant aller de six à dix ans de prison.

Les exploits d'un jeune Don Juan, publié pour la première fois en 1911, raconte les aventures d'un jeune homme de quinze ans avec trois femmes, dont l'une d'elles est sa tante. L'autre célèbre roman érotique de Guillaume Apollinaire, Les Onze mille verges, avait déjà été censuré en Turquie début 2010.
(lexpress.fr/culture/livre/turquie)

The Observer: Turkey's lack of democracy is storing up problems

It is proving a long, turbulent summer for Turkish democracy. The chaos of Gezi Park may have abated after judges conveniently stopped building work there; but the fundamental reasons for protest haven't gone away – just as tourists, alarmed by demonstrations spreading far beyond Istanbul, haven't come back. And the crisis of Turkish journalism – too many reporters in prison, far too many sacked for telling their readers what happened in Taksim Square – grows worse, not better, in a climate of fear where even the most distinguished professionals, such as Yavuz Baydar, ombudsman of the daily Sabah, or Derya Sazak, editor of Milliyet, can suddenly find themselves out of a job.

Europe may have tactfully delayed negotiations on the next chapter of Turkey's entrance drive until much later in the autumn. It cannot, though, hide the rot of respect that now dogs Ankara's hopes of EU admission, nor the widespread disillusion with Prime Minister Erdogan's unflinching rhetoric.

Turkey can do better than this; indeed, Turkey was doing much better until Recep Tayyip Erdogan decided to tackle the demonstrators head on. Worse, the tainting of TV and press leaves his AKP government without the credibility it needs to argue its case.

Media baronies are short of trust right round the world; even MPs and ministers in Britain's post-Leveson months lay claim to a higher reputation.

Yet in Turkey, normality is stood on its head. The entrepreneurs and conglomerates who own newspapers and television stations don't pretend to wield independent power. To the contrary, they wriggle quietly under Erdogan's thumb. They own other businesses, too; they need government blessing for development plans, tax treatments, sales permits and the rest. So they know when to keep their heads down – and when to keep their editors in line.

There's no heavy boot of repression here, more a secondary twist from some hidden stiletto. Democracy appears in working order as visitors to the country turn on a television or pick up a paper, but down below trust is gone – and that is a potentially lethal problem.

Mr Erdogan's government has mountainous difficulties of its own: Syrian refugees and instability pouring over its borders; faltering efforts to solve the Kurdish (and terrorist) problem; an economy slowing; a country chronically uncertain whether to find a secular or Islamic future.

In many ways, the AKP and its leader, now elected three times, have much to boast about. Erdogan's Islamic vision has often seemed mild and non-ideological, exactly the blend of hope and pragmatic that Europe and the Middle East need.

But that vision is fading fast as his country creaks at frail seams and the prime minister relies on his electoral mandate (58% last time round) to insist that everything must be done his way.

Functioning democracy depends on far more than ballots in a box. It needs a respect for the rule of law and for a free flow of information. Locking up journalists by the score does not foster that respect.

Seeing 30 brave writers and columnists thrown out of work after Taksim breeds only cynicism. This isn't what Europe means by democracy; and it is not what Turkey should mean by it either. ( The Observer, Sunday 4 August 2013)

Journalist Can Dündar Laid Off From Milliyet

Can Dündar, a prominent journalist whose column recently didn’t appear in Milliyet newspaper, has been laid by the newspaper administration.

Lately, various sources have been speculating about Dündar’s layoff. Dündar himself also told TIME magazine that his column submissions were not published for the past three weeks and he was unable to get a feedback on the issue.

Dündar released a statement on his personal website this afternoon regarding his layoff story:

“When PM said ‘This journalist should be submerge’, it wasn’t a wish but a directive order. The boss has already been disturbed by minister and advisor phone calls. Everybody knew what happened to those who don’t care about phone calls or execute their orders. In the end, the pressures have yielded its results. Derya went first. Now it is me...Fikret has inherited the wreck.

I learned about the layoff during a phone call from Erdoğan Demirören... I was expecting it for a while, so it wasn’t a surprise. It wouldn’t be appropriate to talk about how it was framed... Everybody knows the reason anyway... I am not the first one, and not going to be the last one. Those who gave over 30 years of labor to this profession; Derya, Fikret, I are not important. We are not only losing our jobs, but we are about to lose a profession. To come to that point, we will give many more victims.”

On Tuesday, Derya Sazak, editor-in-chief at Milliyet Newspaper, has been removed from his post. The newspaper administration ordered to replace him with Fikret Bila, another prominent journalist who worked as Milliyet’s Ankara Bureau Chief.

In March, another prominent journalist Hasan Cemal resigned from Milliyet newspaper, saying that his column was not published by the newspaper organization. (BIA, August 1, 2013)

Save Roj TV – independent voice of the Kurds

Peace in Kurdistan Campaign and CAMPACC Statement
1 August 2013

The Danish District Supreme Court took a shock decision on 3rd July to shut down and impose a hefty fine on Kurdish Roj TV and its parent company Mesopotamia Broadcasting accusing them of being guilty of inciting terrorism. The outcome of this appeal case sentenced the broadcasters to pay a fine of 5.2 million Danish kroner each and decided to revoke their broadcasting licenses. Along with Roj TV, Mesopotamia Broadcasting’s MMV and Nuce TV also had their licenses revoked.

The decision has been condemned by many leading Kurdish organisations who regard the move as ‘’politically motivated’’ and evidence of close cooperation between the authorities in Denmark and Turkey, which has long pressured to have the Kurdish news channels closed down.

There is plenty of evidence to support the contention that the decision has political motives. The Turkish ambassador to Denmark, for example, explicitly called on the Danish MFA Undersecretary to take a political decision and shut down Roj TV.[1] Wikileaks cables have also revealed that closure of the broadcaster was used as a bargaining tool to convince Turkey to support former Prime Minister of Denmark Anders Fogh Rasmussen’s bid to become NATO Secretary General.[2] Throughout this period it is clear that Turkey had been pressuring Denmark to close the station.

Roj TV immediately lodged an appeal with the Supreme Court and requested that the revoking of the broadcast licence by delayed until the full appeal process is complete.

Following the verdict, Roj TV’s management board stated that they were willing to take the case all the way to the European Court of Human Rights if need be. “Kurds have been denied free speech in many countries and now also in Denmark,” the board said in a press release. “It is unavoidable that Kurds will see the verdict as demonstrating that [the Danish state] doesn’t want to discuss the actual facts of the situation and that political and other motives were instead at play.”

The decision comes a delicate time when a peace process between Turkey and the Kurds is continuing and a ceasefire remains in place. Hopes remain high for a positive outcome of the talks that have been opened up between Turkish government representatives and Kurdish leader Abdullah Ocalan.

The issues at stake are high for not only is there a clear principle of freedom of speech involved, the voice of the Kurds should not be stifled at this crucial moment when all sides need to be heard if dialogue is going to have a chance of success. For any lasting peace to be achieved the issues will need to be fully debated by the Kurdish side and the people need to be informed about developments in order to be able to accept any agreements that may emerge. Roj TV is a popular channel among Kurds, whom it provides a reliable source of information and it has been playing a valuable role in informing the audience about key political developments.

The argument that the channel is simply a mouthpiece for Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) propaganda is erroneous and has been refuted by the broadcasters themselves and leading Kurdish organisations who have commented on the ruling such as the KCK and the BDP.

Nevertheless, the Court decision rests on its definition of the PKK as a ‘’terrorist organisation’’ which itself can be open to challenge on several counts. The fact that the PKK is listed by the US, the EU and Turkey is not of itself sufficient to justify the Danish Court’s decision which should not rely on political judgements when deliberating on a legal matter. It is only fair therefore to ask what valid evidence the Court had used which enabled it to come to its decision.  However, even if the close links with the PKK were true, there is in any case a very strong argument for removing the PKK from the terrorism list altogether in view of its commitment to the peace process and the constructive role that its leadership has been playing for several years. The campaign to delist the PKK has actually received a fair amount of support from legal experts and figures who take a close interest in Turkish-Kurdish relations.[3]

Through our familiarity with the programmes put out by Roj TV we are convinced that it is a responsible broadcaster and certainly does not make transmit material that advocates violence. In fact, Roj TV is an extremely important independent television service for millions of Kurdish people and should be allowed to continue broadcasting. The Kurds, who have for too long been denied their basic rights such as the right to freedom of speech by Turkey and other countries in the Middle East, should not now be denied those same rights by a European democracy such as Denmark.

First signatories:

Haldane Society of Socialist Lawyers; Noam Chomsky; John Berger, writer/journalist; Professor Penny Green, International State Crime Initiative, Dickson Poon School of Law. King’s College, London; Mike Mansfield QC, President of Haldane Society of Socialist Lawyers; Roy Greenslade, Professor of Journalism, City University; Professor Bill Bowring, Professor of Law, president of the European Lawyers for Democracy and Human Rights (ELDH); Jeremy Corbyn MP; Louise Christian, human rights lawyer; Margaret Owen OBE, Director, Widows for Peace through Democracy (WPD); Mary Davis, Visiting Professor of Labour History at Royal Holloway, University of London; Radha D’Souza, School of Law, University of Westminster; Richard Harvey, Garden Court International and International Association of Democratic Lawyers Melanie Gingell, barrister, Doughty Street Chambers; Akif Wan,Kurdistan National Congress UK; Tony Simpson, Editor,  The Spokesman, journal of The Bertrand Russell Peace  Foundation; Jonathan Fryer, writer/broadcaster; Karlos Zurutuza, journalist; Anna Bragga, journalist; Isabel Käser, Monocle Magazine/Peace in Kurdistan; Orsola Casagrande, journalist; Dr. Dafydd Iwan, B.Arch., LL.D, Plaid Cymru – The Party of Wales, Past President; Barry White, Campaign for Press and Broadcasting Freedom, EFJ; Jenny Jones AM, Green Group, City Hall, London; Martha Jean Baker, Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom; Kariane Westrheim, Associate Professor, University of Bergen; Maire Daley,Lecturer, The City of Liverpool College; Karthick RM, journalist, TamilNet; Dr Alan Semo, PYD representative in UK; Les Levidow, CAMPACC; Anne Gray, CAMPACC; Saleh Mamon, CAMPACC; Raya Feldman, Hackney Migrants and Refugee Support Group (personal capacity); Mansoor Jaffer, Communication Officer, Kurdish Human Rights Action Group, South Africa; Jean Lambert MEP; Ali Has, solicitor advocate; Ozlem Murray, Kurdish Federation UK; Cigdem Karaalioglu, Kurdish Federation in UK; Arin Banirad, Chair, Kurdish Community Centre; Arman Banirad, Manager, Kurdish Community Centre; Eda Fidan, Social Worker London Borough of Islington Council; Aysegul Erdogan, Kurdish Federation UK & CAMPACC; Dr Janroj Keles, Lecturer London Metropolitan University; Councillor Jonathan Bloch, Liberal Democrats;  Alain Hertzmann, Branch secretary London North West Branch  9708,  UNITEtheunion, UK; Stephen Smellie, Deputy Convenor, UNISON Scotland; David Morgan, journalist/Peace in Kurdistan Campaign; Melanie  Sirinathsingh, Peace in Kurdistan Campaign; Estella Schmid, Peace in Kurdish Campaign & CAMPACC.; Felix Padel, British writer and Professor, Rurual Management, Jaipur, India;  Derwich M.Ferho, President of Kurdish Institute Brussels;  Dogan Ozguden, journalist/Info-Turk Chief Editor; Desmond Fernandes, policy analyst and genocide scholar; Mary Southcott, Political Consultant; Dr Egbert Rooze, Doctor of Theology, Belgium; Filip De Bodt, Community councillour LEEF, Herzele, Belgium; Dr Yussef Anwar Rep of the Kurdish Patriotic Movement in UK; Kani Areef , Postgraduate, UCL; Dr Ozlem Galip, University of Oxford; Hisyar Ozsoy, Assistant Professor of Anthropology/The University of Michigan-Flint, USA; Elke Tindemans, councillour / CD&V.

[1] http://www.wikileaks.org/plusd/cables/06ANKARA1723_a.html

[2] http://kurdishrights.org/2013/07/14/roj-tv-the-victim-of-turkey%E2%80%99s-political-games/

[3] Peace in Kurdistan Campaign and CAMPACC are appealing to the UK, EU and Turkish governments to lift the ban on the PKK. The appeal can be viewed online.

We are still collecting signatures for this statement: If you would like to support it, please get in touch with us using the details below.

For further information contact:

Peace in Kurdistan
Campaign for a political solution of the Kurdish Question
Email: estella24@tiscali.co.uk
http://www.peaceinkurdistancampaign.wordpress.com
Contacts Estella Schmid 020 7586 5892 & Melanie  Sirinathsingh – Tel: 020 7272 7890
Fax: 020 7263 0596

Patrons: Lord Avebury, Lord Rea, Lord Dholakia, Baroness Sarah Ludford MEP, Jill Evans MEP, Jean Lambert MEP, Jeremy Corbyn MP, Hywel Williams MP, Elfyn Llwyd MP, Conor Murphy MP, John Austin, Bruce Kent, Gareth Peirce, Julie Christie, Noam Chomsky, John Berger, Edward Albee, Margaret Owen OBE, Prof Mary Davis, Mark Thomas

Court Issues Red Notice to Seek Writer Doğan Akhanlı
 
Istanbul 11th High Criminal Court reopened the case of Doğan Akhanlı, a writer whose acquittal verdict has been overthrown by Turkey’s Supreme Court of Appeals.

While defense lawyers requested the court to follow the previous acquittal ruling, the court penal issued a red notice for the defendant, saying that the overthrown verdict was against the defendants and defendant’s further remarks needed to be heard. 

“The court requires to hear the defendant again on procedural overthrown rulings. However, we have expressed that our client is unable to attend the hearing. Therefore, the court issued a red notice according to the procedures,” defense lawyer Sennur Baybuğa told bianet.

The hearing was observed by over two dozen people including German author Günter Wallraff, Berivan Aymaz (Green Party), Frauke Bosbach (Left Party), Derya Kılıç, Bernhard von Grunberg (SPD) and social scientist Prof. Dr. Gert Bosbach.

“The labeling of dissident voices as terrorist is common among political powers,” Wallraff told press prior to the hearing.

“The fact that the practice is common worldwide doesn’t reduce the weight of it. On the contrary, it renders the situation more shameful and dangerous. It doesn’t matter if it is China, Russia, turkey, Egypt or the U.S.”

“The government must bring an end to illegal surveillance measures for the sake of thoight freedom and right to be informed. Those who protest governments’ arbitrary measures are neither terrorists or enemy of states. Indeed, they are active democrats who we need throughout the planet."

The next hearing is scheduled to October 4.

What happened?

In 1989, author Erdoğan Akhanlı was ordered to stand trial for charges related to the robbery of a currency exchange office in Eminönü district, Istanbul. Prosecutors charged him with life sentence.

On 10 August 2010, Akhanlı was arrested on his trip to Turkey in order to see his sick father for the last time.

One of the evidence presented in Akhanlı case was a statement by Mustafa Tutum, son of currency exchange office owner, who reportedly identified Akhanlı in 1992.

Tutum was ordered to identify Akhanlı again 19 years after the incident. “I can’t identify him clearly,” he told authorities. He also commented on his identification in 1992, saying that “they didn’t show him this photo 19 years ago.”

On 8 December 2010, Akhanlı was released after 113 days of imprisonment - his father died in the meanwhile.

On 12 October 2011, Istanbul 11th High Criminal Court acquitted Akhanlı on the ground that “no evidence has been acquired in order to suffice for a sentence and consciously find in a credible, precise and doubt-free manner that the defendant has committed the attributed crime, and it was clear that the crime was committed by the defendant”.

However, Turkey’s Supreme Court of Appeals 9th Penal Chamber overthrew Akhanlı’s acquittal ruling on the ground that “the defendant was a terrorist organization member at the time of crime” and “the court need to discuss on former Turkish Penal Code’s article 146/1”. The penal chamber’s ruling also confirmed the life sentence on Akhanlı relying on the related articles. (BIA, August 1, 2013)

Standing Still action for Turkey in 7 cities worldwide

On 28 July 2013, 7 people - symbolising the 7 people who have died during demonstrations against the destruction of Gezi Park in Turkey - stood still for 7 minutes holding the names and photos of the dead, and called on the Turkish government to address violations of freedom of expression and assembly, and police brutality. Click on the gallery below to see photos from simultaneous actions held in Brussels, Bucharest, Caracas, Geneva, London, New York and Toronto.

IFEX supported the call by its member in Turkey, the Initiative for Free Expression: On 28 July, will you stand still for Turkish protesters?

Background:

First used by demonstrators in Taksim Square, standing still in silent contemplation has become an effective symbol of the resistance movement in Turkey. By standing still, you will be sending a strong message to Turkish diplomats that the world expects Turkey to respect freedom of assembly, that it demands justice for those killed, and calls for the immediate release of detained peaceful protesters.

According to data collected by the Turkish Chambers of Medicine and Physicians (as of 24 June 2013), there were injuries in 13 cities where 8121 people went for medical attention in areas where the clashes happened. Of those, 11 lost their eyesight, 104 people have head trauma and 61 people have severe injuries, with two people in critical condition.

Who are the 7 people who have lost their lives during the protests?

Ethem Sarısuluk (27, worker): Shot in Ankara by a police officer on Saturday, 1 June 2013. A park in Ankara (formerly called Çaldiran Park) was renamed in his honour.

Mehmet Ayvalitas (20, worker): Member of the Socialist Solidarity Platform (SODAP), Mehmet was crushed by a police vehicle driving through the crowd during a demonstration in Istanbul on 2 June 2013.

Abdullah Cömert (22, unemployed): A member of CHP (the main opposition party), Abdullah died from a stroke after a blow to his head during a clash in Hatay province on 3 June 2013.

Mustafa Sari (27, police officer): Fell from a bridge while chasing protestors in Adana province on June 5, 2013.

Irfan Tuna (47, worker): After being affected by teargas during demonstrations lasting three days in Ankara, Tuna died of a heart attack on 8 June 2013.

Selim Onder (88, musician): During his visit to the Egyptian Bazaar in Istanbul to buy honey on 31 May 2013, he was subjected to a teargas attack by the police. After having shortness of breath, he died in Izmir province a few days later.

Ali İsmail Korkmaz (19, student): Attacked and wounded (causing a cerebral hemorrhage) on 2 June by unknown people while trying to escape from teargas at the Gezi Park Solidarity actions in Eskişehir, Korkmaz was in emergency services until his death on 10 July.

(https://ifex.org/turkey/2013/07/30/standingstill_gallery/)

 Kurdish Question / Question kurde

BDP opposes Turkey's involvement of Syria intervention

Pro-Kurdish Peace and Democracy Party (BDP) deputy Pervin Buldan has stated that the party would never give the nod to Turkey's involvement in a possible Syria intervention, the signals of which are already being given by the West.

Turkish officials have shown their support to such an intervention into Syria to stop the bloodshed. Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu made it clear early this week that Turkey could join a possible international coalition to take action against the Syrian regime if the UN fails to implement sanctions against the government of Bashar al-Assad, which allegedly recently used chemical weapons against Syrians in south Damascus.

Buldan also said that from the very beginning of the Syrian crisis, the party is against any foreign intervention into Syria.

“In case of any attack on Rojava [Kurdish name given to northern Syria] and other regions populated by Kurds in Syria, the Kurdish people would raise their voices. We are absolutely against such foreign intervention,” Buldan noted, stating that any Turkish involvement in such a scenario in Syria would not be supported by the BDP.

The BDP member joined a demonstration in the Nusaybin district of Mardin to protest the killing of Kurdish people in western Kurdistan.

“Our demonstrations are continuing everywhere. In the case of any attack on Syria, we would also keep up our demonstrations. We could start other type of activities to show our protest in the future [in the case of a foreign intervention in Syria,]” Buldan said, without specifying the nature of these activities.

Evaluating the possible position of the Kurdish Democratic Union Party (PYD) -- a Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) offshoot that has a military presence in northern Syria -- regarding a foreign intervention, Buldan said that "the PYD would surely take a position that would be to the benefit of the Kurdish people in Syria. They would take steps that would protect their territorial acquisitions in the region.”

The PYD is criticized for acting opportunistically to carve out an autonomous region in Syria during the escalating civil war between the Syrian regime and opposition. Some think the PYD has acquired control of western Kurdistan in an agreement with the Syrian regime, allowing the regime to concentrate its battle against the armed Syrian opposition around the interior provinces of Syria. The footsteps of a Western intervention into Syria are promising to show to what degree the PYD is involved itself with the Syrian regime.
http://www.worldbulletin.net/?aType=haber&ArticleID=116237

BDP excluded from consensus on official language

Members from three political parties of the Constitutional Reconciliation Commission, which is working to draft a new constitution for the country, on Wednesday agreed on a constitutional article that defines Turkey's official language as Turkish, while an objection from the pro-Kurdish Peace and Democracy Party's (BDP) has been ignored.

Since the start of this week, the commission has been discussing the preamble of the constitution. The third article, which is about the integrity of the state, its official language, flag, national anthem and capital, began to be discussed by the commission members on Tuesday.

The ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party), the main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) and Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) agreed to keep Turkey's official language as Turkish.

In line with an agreement the parties had previously made, this article was written in green to indicate that a consensus has been reached on it. Articles on which the parties have not reached an agreement are written in red.

The consensus on the article has been possible thanks to the AK Party removing its reservations about referring to Turkish as an official language of the country. The BDP is against the reference of Turkish as the official language, claiming that a state cannot have an official language.

Ahmet İyimaya, a member of the commission from the ranks of the AK Party, said the official language of the state is a subtitle of the Article 3 of the constitution and his party decided to change its attitude towards this article so that an agreement could be reached.

“Parties can make proposals on an article. But when they withdraw their proposals, this does not mean a backward step. The important thing is to do the right thing. Our first proposal was also right. A state cannot have a certain language. The state is an official body,” he said.

The commission also agreed on the first two articles. The first article of the constitution says “The Turkish state is a republic,” while the second article concerns the characteristics of the Turkish Republic.

CHP deputy Atilla Kart, who is also a member of the commission, said the three parties, except for the BDP, agreed on the first three articles of the constitution, which he said were kept the same as in the current Constitution.

So far, the commission, which began its work in October 2011, has reached consensus on 59 articles, while 113 articles of the new constitution have been written with reservations.

The parliamentary Constitutional Reconciliation Commission comprises three members from each of the four political parties in Parliament. It met for the first time in October 2011 and started gathering ideas from various segments of society pertaining to their demands for the country's new constitution. As a result of this input, however, it only managed to begin drafting the articles in May of last year. The commission members differ greatly in their opinion on many topics, an issue that has made it difficult for them to complete the draft. (TODAY'S ZAMAN, August 28, 2013)

La lutte du « Kurdistana Rojava » (Kurdistan occidental)



Avec ses trois millions de Kurdes (peut-être plus, peut-être moins), le Kurdistan syrien, appelé Kurdistan occidental (en kurde: Kurdistana Rojava), deviendra-t-il une réalité géographique, politique et économique ? A l’image du Kurdistan oriental, devenu province autonome du Kurdistan irakien - économiquement et politiquement stable -, arrivera-t-il à se tenir à l’écart de la lutte qui oppose en Syrie sunnites et alévis (entre autres) comme elle oppose en Irak sunnites et chiites ?

Le Kurdistan occidental est, grâce à son organisation politique et d’auto-défense, en ordre de marche même si, aujourd’hui encore, des combats violents s’y déroulent comme à Sêrékaniyé (Rass al-Ain), où les Kurdes font mieux que résister aux brigades liées à Al-Qaïda, soutenues par certaines brigades de l’armée syrienne libre (ASL).

Bien qu’opprimés par le régime de Bachar Al-Assad, les Kurdes de Syrie n’ont pas rejoint pour autant l’opposition syrienne qui refuse obstinément de les reconnaître en tant que peuple. Sur ce point il y a une alliance objective entre les forces antagonistes, le Conseil national syrien (CNS) d’une part, dont le siège est à Istanbul et cornaqué par la Turquie, qui, en continuant d’appeler la Syrie « République arabe syrienne » n’entend pas reconnaître les différents peuples de Syrie et le régime de Bachar al-Assad d’autre part, dont la politique répressive à l’égard des Kurdes allait d’une arabisation forcée jusqu’à la négation identitaire, une partie d’entre eux étant même privés d’état-civil. Les Kurdes vivant au Kurdistan occidental et en Syrie ont vécu longtemps dans l’ombre des évolutions politiques générales et ont été menacés d’extinction.

La révolution du 19 juillet 2012

Les Kurdes de Syrie ont eu, eux aussi, leur « printemps » avec un mouvement révolutionnaire commencé réellement le 15 mars 2011 et gagnant progressivement tout le pays. La date qui a finalement été retenue pour célébrer la mise en place d’un système appelé « autonomie démocratique » est le 19 juillet 2012, jour de la prise de pouvoir à Kobanê. Dans les 3 mois qui ont suivi, des assemblées populaires (« Maisons populaires ») ont été mises en place dans les villes et assurent des services qui étaient jusqu’alors de la responsabilité de l’Etat. Toutes les collectivités locales kurdes sont tombées, les unes après les autres, entre les mains du peuple kurde, hormis celle de Qamişlo, la plus grande ville de la région, toujours tenue par les forces du régime syrien, ainsi que quelques institutions publiques. Les quartiers kurdes de Damas (400 000 habitants) et d’Alep (600 000 habitants) sont organisés sur le même principe mais les bourgades à majorité kurde des alentours restent plus vulnérables. La population civile est régulièrement la cible de groupes djihadistes proches d’Al-Qaïda. Depuis le 31 juillet, révèle la Fédération des Associations kurdes de France, 450 personnes au moins, dont de nombreux enfants, ont été massacrées et près de 350 autres, dont on est sans nouvelles, ont été enlevées. Les populations kurde, mais aussi assyrienne, arménienne, chrétienne, yézidie de villes syriennes, notamment d’Alep et de Damas, tentent de rejoindre les régions contrôlées par les Kurdes : le Kurdistan occidental a vu sa population doubler avec l’afflux des réfugiés, ce qui pose une série de problèmes sanitaires et économiques. De plus, les autorités kurdes se plaignent de n’avoir reçu aucune aide humanitaire de l’ONU dans le cadre du Programme alimentaire mondial (PAM). A toutes ces difficultés s’ajoute la fermeture de la frontière par la Turquie qui pratique l’embargo depuis 2011, sauf pour les groupes djihadistes et autres mercenaires islamistes auxquels elle apporte aide logistique et chemin de repli en cas de nécessité. Les services secrets turcs (MIT) sont à la manœuvre depuis le début du conflit.

L’organisation régionale

L’embargo rappelle de triste mémoire les accords de Lausanne de 1923 qui tracèrent une frontière entre la Turquie et la Syrie en fonction d’un projet de voie ferroviaire devant relier Berlin à Bagdad. Une ville a été coupée par son milieu et est devenue Qamişlo d’un côté et Nusaybin de l’autre. Des tribus, des familles, des dizaines de milliers de Kurdes vivant sur les mêmes terres se trouvèrent séparés par les barrières de barbelés et de mines, entre Kurdistan de Turquie au nord, allant de Gaziantep à Cizre et Kurdistan de Syrie au sud, allant d’Efrin à Dêrik. Isolé, le Kurdistan syrien a trouvé en lui les ressources pour mettre en application le concept « d’autonomie démocratique » et décentraliser la région en 3 subdivisions, dotées d’organisations politiques propres fonctionnant chacune dans le cadre des règles des structures régionales auxquelles elles sont hiérarchiquement rattachées. Toutes ces institutions travaillent au sein d’une même coordination, le Haut Conseil kurde. Les Forces de Défense du Peuple (YPG), officiellement reconnues comme telles depuis 2011, ont des unités décentralisées dans chacune de ces trois régions pour assurer le contrôle et la défense des frontières.

La région de Qamişlo est la plus peuplée (un million d’habitants). On peut lire sur la carte les noms des villes qui la composent (Dêrik, Tilkoçer, Girkê Legê, Tirbespiyê, Qamişlo, Amudê, Dirbêsiyê, Serêkaniyê, Hesekê). C’est aussi la plus riche du Kurdistan occidental avec les ressources pétrolifères de Rimêlan (entre Dêrik et Girkê Legê, à la frontière avec l’Irak). Les trois-quarts des villes sont actuellement sous contrôle kurde.

La région de Kobanê est située juste en face de la plaine de Suruç, au Kurdistan du Nord (Kurdistan de Turquie), dont les villes et villages qui lui font face sont peuplés de Kurdes issus de mêmes familles. Plus de 500 000 Kurdes vivent dans cette région agricole traversée par un des deux fleuves de la Mésopotamie, l’Euphrate. Cette région est sous contrôle kurde.

La Région d’Efrîn (500 000 habitants) est submergée par l’afflux des réfugiés. Cette région est sous contrôle kurde.

Aller au bout du processus

Le Kurdistan occidental a vraiment des atouts pour vivre et se développer :

"le Kurdistan syrien ou Kurdistan occidental est une riche zone agricole grâce à un climat ni trop chaud en été ni trop froid en hiver. Les olives de la région d’Efrin peuvent nourrir toute la Syrie. La région assure la production de blé, maïs, orge, pois chiches, légumes, épices et charbon de bois. La région est également riche en eaux, en pétrole et en gaz. Les deux fleuves historiques, le Tigre [à la frontière irakienne] et l’Euphrate [région de Kobanê], traversent cette partie du Kurdistan, tandis que les puits de pétrole et de gaz se concentrent dans la région de Djezira [Cizre]". (Maxime Azadi, ANF).

La situation géographique et les ressources naturelles ne suffiront pas aux Kurdes du Kurdistan occidental qui, pour réussir, devront d’aller au bout du processus qu’ils ont eux-mêmes décidé : élire une autorité régionale provisoire où toutes les ethnies seront représentées et soumettre à un referendum populaire lors d’élections régionales un contrat social établi entre toutes les parties. Alors on pourra dire, et seulement à ce moment-là, que les peuples du Kurdistan occidental ont établi et construit un système solide sous le nom d’autonomie démocratique.

André Métayer
Président
Amitiés kurdes de Bretagne
http://www.amitieskurdesdebretagne.eu/spip.php?article721&lang=fr

 HPG ready to position for war

People's Defense Center (HSM) member Delal Amed, People's Defense Forces (HPG) Military Council members Bawer Dersim and Gülistan Gülhat issued a press conference at the Media Defense Areas in Behdinan on Monday. The press conference was also joined by 80 guerrillas who have recently finalized their withdrawal from Dersim to Media Defense Areas.

Reading the press statement about the withdrawal of Kurdish guerillas from northern Kurdistan and the democratic resolution process, Delal Amed strongly responded to the allegations of Turkish government and Prime Minister Erdoğan about the withdrawal process.

Amed remarked that the Kurdish Freedom Movement has played an active part and put significant decisions into practice in the new historic process Kurdish people's leader Abdullah Öcalan initiated on 21 March 2013 with an aim to achieve a peaceful and democratic solution to the Kurdish question and democratization in Turkey.

Amed pointed out that HPG has fulfilled all its responsibilities and displayed determination in order for the accomplishment of the democratic resolution process, reminding that the Kurdish movement released the Turkish officials it held on 13 March, announced ceasefire on 23 March and started the withdrawal process on 8 May. Amed noted that the first group of guerrillas withdrawing from northern Kurdistan reached Media Defense Areas on 14 May.

Amed underlined that "In response to our leader's and movement's determination to ensure the advancement of the process, the AKP government has taken no concrete steps so far apart from ending its expansive military operations. Soon after the beginning of the withdrawal process, the government reinforced all military bases and guard posts in northern Kurdistan, replaced the war weary staff and buildings with new ones, started the construction of new posts, enhanced not only the reinforcement of old posts but also the building of dams and roads for the military, employed further village guards and carried out reconnaissance activities with unmanned aerial vehicles in all guerrilla-controlled areas in southern and northern Kurdistan".

Amed remarked that the AKP government has been insisting on not starting the second phase of the resolution process which was supposed to begin in June, adding that the second phase required steps by the government and political bodies in the country. Amed added that nor has the government ended the isolation of Abdullah Öcalan and to brought his health, security and freedom problems to the agenda. Amed noted that the laws bearing hostility against Kurds have also remained unchanged within this process.

Amed criticized the AKP government for ignoring its responsibility for the second stage and trying to lay the burden of its policy and attitude on the Kurdish movement. He also criticized the government for claiming that only 20 percent of guerrillas have withdrawn from Turkish borders so far, and describing guerrillas as "children, women, old or untrained people".

Amed remarked that the Kurdish movement has never avoided displaying transparency since the beginning of the resolution process. He commented the distortion of facts as an attitude wasting the historic opportunity to come up with a solution to Turkey's basic problem, and denying the effort and determination of the Kurdish movement. Amed said the government has also used the Wise People Commission as a propaganda group explaining the process to the public, instead of giving them a role to monitor, follow and resolve the problems in the country.

Amed underlined that the Kurdish movement has made self-sacrifice and left aside its opportunities to enhance the war in order for the achievement of peace and a democratic solution. "However, Turkish Prime Minister Erdoğan's disregarding of all our efforts manifests his lack of goodwill. The Kurdish leader and movement have not ended this process yet, it is still continuing. However, if the AKP government continues to take no steps and brings the process to a deadlock, HPG will be ready to position for war and to step in in an effective manner", he underlined.

Amed continued saying that "We clearly say that we are being sincere and aiming a real resolution. However, those who do not play the same sincerity towards the solution of the historical Kurdish question and intend to let our leader down will be doomed in the face of history and get the answer they deserve. Our people and the public opinion should know that within this historic process, HPG will be fulfilling all its responsibilities and achieve to play its part". (ANF, August 26, 2013)

Des guérillas kurdes iraniens disent avoir tué sept soldats

Des guérillas kurdes iraniens basés dans le nord de l'Irak ont affirmé lundi avoir tué sept soldats iraniens dans des affrontements la semaine dernière près de la frontière.

Le Parti pour une vie libre au Kurdistan (PJAK) a ajouté que deux de ses combattants étaient morts le 22 août lors de combats en territoire iranien dans la zone de Sardasht, peuplée par la minorité kurde, dans ce qui semble être le premier épisode sanglant de ce type entre les deux camps depuis avril 2012.

"Des combats sérieux ont éclaté entre les deux forces (...) conduisant à la mort de sept soldats iraniens", a indiqué le PJAK dans un communiqué précisant que les forces iraniennes avaient "attaqué et ratissé la région près de Sardasht".

Le PJAK, un groupe considéré comme "terroriste" par Téhéran, a connu des affrontements réguliers avec les forces iraniennes, ces dernières ripostant par des bombardements contre les bases arrière du parti dans les zones montagneuses à la frontière du Kurdistan irakien.

Les dernières tensions remontent à avril 2012 lorsque les combattants du PJAK avaient tué quatre membres des Gardiens de la révolution, l'armée d'élite du régime iranien.

Cet incident faisait suite à une offensive des forces iraniennes ayant duré tout l'été 2011 et conduit à la mort de 180 combattants du PJAK ainsi qu'à leur retrait du nord-ouest de l'Iran, avait affirmé Téhéran à l'époque.

Le mois suivant, Téhéran avait assuré que le problème du PJAK était "réglé". (AFP, 26 août 2013)

Hakkari Mayor Convicted to 15 Months of Prison

Hakkari Mayor Bedirhanoğlu has been convicted to 15 months of prison for attending the funeral ceremony of PKK guerrilla Ferdane Kına on August 10, 2012.

bianet retrieved the information from Yüksekova Haber, a local news website that referred its article to Dicle News Agency. 

Yüksekova 2nd Assize Court found Bedirhanoğlu guilty of “attending illegal demonstration or protests and refusing to disperse despite warning and force”, sentencing him to 15 months of prison.

Bedirhanoğlu released a statement, criticizing the ruling.

“On the aforementioned date, I have attended a funeral ceremony in Gever along with BDP Hakkari deputy Adil Zozani. I was convicted to 15 months of prison because of that. Unfortunately attending funerals is punishable [in Turkey].

“I am a mayor, a local politician. I must rather be criticized to not attend a funeral in my region. However, I am convicted to do that. We will never accept this.

“Even though there was no unrest in the funeral ceremony, even though no authority has declared that this ceremony was illegal, even though we only attended a funeral, we have received this sentence. This alone shows how laws in Turkey are compatible with the reality.

“We will take this case to the Court of Appeals. We hope that they will suspend this sentence as it is about an non-punishable act. This is a proof on under what circumstances we are living in Hakkari province. We want the public to know this.” (BIA, August 23, 2013)

Les combats entre Kurdes et jihadistes font rage

De nouveaux combats ont éclaté mardi entre des jihadistes et la principale milice kurde, dans les régions à majorité kurde du nord et de l'est de la Syrie, ont indiqué une ONG et des militants.

Dans la province de Hassaké, dans le nord est de la Syrie, "les combats font rage entre les Comités de protection du peuple kurde (YPG) d'un côté et (les jihadistes) de l'Etat islamique d'Irak et du Levant (EIIL), du Front al-Nosra et d'autres bataillons", a rapporté l'Observatoire syrien des droits de l'Homme (OSDH).

Les combats se déroulaient dans les villages de Dardara, Hmeid, et Jafa et dans ceux entourant la ville stratégique de Ras al-Aïn, près de la frontière turque.

En raison de la violence des affrontements, plus de 30.000 Syriens se sont réfugiés dans la région autonome du Kurdistan irakien depuis jeudi, a annoncé l'ONU lundi, en évoquant un afflux sans précédent en Irak. (AFP, 20 août 2013)

Thousands of Syrian Kurds pour into Iraqi Kurdistan

Plus de 30.000 Syriens se sont réfugiés dans la région autonome du Kurdistan irakien depuis jeudi pour fuir les combats entre Kurdes et jihadistes en Syrie, a annoncé l'ONU lundi, en évoquant un afflux sans précédent en Irak.

"De l'ordre de quelque 5.000 personnes sont arrivées aujourd'hui. Cela porte le nombre (de réfugiés) à 30.000 depuis jeudi", a affirmé à l'AFP Peter Kessler, un porte-parole du Haut Commissariat de l'ONU aux réfugiés (UNHCR).

Pour répondre à cet afflux, le HCR a envoyé 70 camions transportant de l'aide, ainsi que 2.100 tentes, deux entrepôts préfabriqués et des containers d'eau, a détaillé M. Kessler.

"Je n'ai jamais vu quelque chose comme ce qui s'est passé jeudi, samedi et dimanche", a affirmé Emily Dakin, représentante de l'organisation non-gouvernementale américaine International Rescue Committee (IRC) en Irak.

Alors qu'elle explique avoir vu des réfugiés "aussi loin que les yeux pouvaient voir", Peter Kessler a assuré que cette vague de réfugiés était la plus importante depuis novembre 2012, lorsque 9.000 Syriens avaient traversé la frontière vers la Turquie.

"Ils sont effrayés et nerveux", a-t-il ajouté, en soulignant que les réfugiés faisaient état de "combats et de tensions, mais aussi de l'effondrement de l'économie dans leurs régions d'origine".

Selon un journaliste de l'AFP sur place, les Syriens traversant la frontière transportaient avec eux des bagages contenant des vêtements et effets personnels, et embarquaient dans des bus qui les attendaient côté irakien pour les conduire vers des camps de réfugiés.

D'après Emily Dakin, malgré les efforts déployés sur place, équiper les camps en sanitaires et approvisionnement en eau adéquats pourrait prendre jusqu'à un mois.

Les travailleurs humanitaires et les autorités du Kurdistan irakien ont lancé un appel à la communauté internationale réclamant plus de moyens pour faire face "au nombre (de réfugiés) qui augmente constamment", a expliqué Dindar Zebari, adjoint du département des Affaires étrangères de la province autonome du Kurdistan irakien.

Nombre de familles ont été prises au piège des combats qui font rage entre les Kurdes syriens et des jihadistes du Front al-Nosra, en particulier depuis que des milices kurdes ont chassé en juillet des jihadistes de la ville de Ras al-Aïn, à la frontière turque.

Dans le nord-est de la Syrie, les forces du régime s'étaient retirées de la plupart des régions kurdes l'année dernière, laissant les responsables kurdes gérer les affaires locales. Mais les jihadistes liés à al-Qaïda et combattant le régime syrien considèrent ces régions comme stratégiques pour assurer un lien avec leurs frères d'armes en Irak.

Cet afflux soudain de Syriens, en majorité Kurdes, contraste avec le nombre relativement réduit de réfugiés que l'Irak accueillait jusque-là --154.000 selon l'ONU avant le flux débuté jeudi-- comparé aux autres pays frontaliers de la Syrie, Liban et Jordanie en tête.

Au total, près de deux millions de Syriens ont fui le pays depuis le début du conflit.

Les tensions qui traversent le Kurdistan irakien et la crainte de voir le conflit syrien déborder de l'autre côté de la frontière avaient poussé les autorités kurdes irakiennes à fermer la frontière en mai.

Certaines restrictions ont été levées le mois dernier, mais le nombre de personnes autorisées à franchir la frontière était jusqu'alors resté restreint. (AFP, 19 août 2013)

Öcalan asks for enhanced ‘strategic role’ in peace process

The jailed leader of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) has requested an enhanced strategic role in a message conveyed by two deputies of the Peace and Democracy Party (BDP) on Aug. 17.

“I have understood that my role has been seen as rather instrumental until this phase. However, my position must be taken into account as strategic in order to be able to contribute to Turkey’s internal problems or in Syria,” Abdullah Öcalan said in his letter.   

He also welcomed a democratization package prepared by the government, but stressed that the process should be more inclusive. “To move the process forward, I view it as necessary that the government makes concrete steps by preparing democratization packages on democratization with an inclusive methodology,” he wrote.

Earlier, BDP co-chair Selahattin Demirtaş and parliamentary group deputy chair Pervin Buldan visited Öcalan on İmralı island in a meeting that lasted around four hours. It was the ninth visit of a parliamentary delegation to the island since the start of the protests more than eight months ago. The visit came as Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan criticized the slowness of PKK militants' withdrawal from Turkish soil, as well as the BDP's mounting pressure for the government to enact democratic reforms. (hurriyetdailynews.com, August 17, 2013)

Critical two weeks in Kurdish peace process

The peace process on the Kurdish issue is approaching a critical point in next two weeks and the process risks being a missed opportunity for both sides, Peace and Democracy Party (BDP) co-chief Selahattin Demirtaş told a group of journalists recently.

The next 15 days are critical for the future of the peace process the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) government began by starting meetings with Abdullah Öcalan, the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) leader imprisoned for life.

One of the two critical dates set during the meetings of Öcalan and the National Intelligence Organization (MİT) is Sept. 1.

A framework on a solution agreed upon in the meetings of the intelligence delegation and Öcalan should be revealed by Sept. 1 at the latest, according to the Kurdish side.

The second critical date is Oct. 15, which is seen as the deadline for reaching certain agreed concrete goals. Öcalan has a red line about this date. He takes Oct. 15 as the latest time for a legal regulation about the withdrawal of the PKK militants to be made. “If no law is enforced, one [militant] will not return,” said Demirtaş, adding that rapid steps should be taken in the upcoming weeks in this regard as the local and presidential elections might change the agenda after the fall.

“Öcalan is seriously concerned about the possibility that this initiative might fall” and even told the BDP group who met with him not to “dwell on the details or exaggerate problems, such an opportunity might not come again,” Demirtaş added.

“Regional developments might not allow such a process again,” Öcalan believes, according to Demirtaş.

Another reason is that Öcalan has concerns about his health and wants to “solve this issue while he is still alive,” said Demirtaş, adding that Öcalan did not state it openly but this was his impression from the meetings with him.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said work on a democratization package was ongoing and signaled that Parliament might be opened earlier than its scheduled date for this in a speech Aug. 8.

However, this package might be far from meeting the expectations of Kandil and Öcalan. But it might also bring improvements Kurdish people might not reject and might accept despite insufficiencies. The Kurdish movement is not likely to cut all ties with the ongoing process despite such a result coming from the package. Demirtaş said they would work to avoid a return to arms despite all the negative possibilities. Meanwhile, Öcalan will probably withdraw from meetings and say “the state can meet with Kandil” instead, if no progress is reached by Oct. 15, Demirtaş said. (hurriyetdailynews.com, August 18, 2013)

Kurdish National Conference to be held Next Month

An important Kurdish National Conference, aimed at gathering all Kurdish political groups and setting a roadmap for the Middle East’s 30 million Kurds, will convene in the first half of September, its organizers said Thursday.

The Erbil conference had been announced for August 24, but organizers said they would set a new date in September, following disagreements by some groups in Thursday’s meetings.

According to ANF, the Congress could take place on 15-16-17 September. The Preparatory Committee will hold a press conference on Tuesday 20 August in Hewler.

The conference has been in the making for years, but planning began in earnest after Kurdistan Region President Massoud Barzani held talks with political leaders of 39 Kurdish groups across the Middle East last month.

Even though all parties are united in their belief that a National Conference is needed at this time to discuss the Kurdish question in the region, particularly that of Kurds in Syria and Turkey, in Thursday’s meeting some disagreements were visible.

Representatives of the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) seemingly want the conference to be in August, because they intend to direct a message to the Turkish government about their struggle and peace deal early next month.

The PKK wanted to have the backing of all Kurdish parties through the conference before drafting its message.

But Kemal Kirkuk, a senior official of the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) and a major figure in organizing the conference, said that every detail has now been finalized and the date and time will be announced soon.

Saadi Ahmed Pira, a member of the political bureau of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK), said the meeting would probably not be held this month because more time was needed to organize every aspect of the conference.  

“If we want to have a successful conference we have no time for everything this month,” Pira said. He added that August is a month of holidays and foreign guests might not be able to attend.

Meanwhile, committees formed in preliminary meetings have been assigned to set the agenda of the conference.

Representatives of Kurdish parties from Syria, Iran and Turkey – as well as the Kurdistan Regin itself -- will address political, economic and cultural issues in their respective countries and put forward their vision for Kurds in those countries. (RUDAW, August 17, 2013)

Öcalan: Process Can’t Continue Unilaterally

After meeting PKK leader Abdullah Öcalan in prison on Imrali Island, Mehmet Öcalan made a statement, expressing his brother’s remarks “Process won’t continue unilaterally, everybody must know this”.

According to Fırat News Agency (ANF), Mehmet Öcalan set off to Imrali Island to meet his brother yesterday and made a statement upon his return.

“Our meeting lasted 1 hour. The process won’t continue unilaterally, everbody must know this. If any agreement will be made, it happens bilaterally.”

“For the past 6-7 months, my brother Abdullah Öcalan did everything he could. But it won’t last forever. This is my impression, it would be useful to let his lawyers and deputy commissions to visit him soon.

“My brother also condemned the massacres in Syria by Al-Qaeda. This is an inhumane practice. He told me that everybody must know this and it wouldn’t bring any good to the Middle East. He also added that these organizations became a huge problem to the world.”

Along with Mehmet Öcalan, visits included Süleyman Arslan (Öcalan’s uncle) and other inmates’ relatives Felek Cızlamaz and Pervin Oduncu.

On the other hand, Öcalan's advocates Rezan Sarıca, Cengiz Yürekli, Mazlum Dinç and Hüseyin Boğatekin applied to the Bursa Prosecutor’s Office in order to meet their client.

Öcalan’s advocates are expected to set off to Imrali Island and meet their client tomorrow unless the office declined the request.  (BIA, August 14, 2013)

Karayılan: Time for the government to act

People's Defence Center Commander Murat Karayılan said in an interview with ANF that Kurds will not accept the tactics of distraction used by the AKP government.

Karayılan underlined that if negotiations with Kurdish people's leader Abdullah Öcalan will not register any progress a dangerous period awaits the countri.

The senior PKK leader also added that since the historic announcement made by Abdullah Öcalan on Newroz (21 March) and the following steps taken by the guerrilla movement and the Kurdish people, no step have been undertaken by the government except keeping military operations on hold.

Karayılan went on remarking that the government needs to show it is genuine in its pursue of peace and in order to do so it needs to take some steps. The ongoing isolation of Kurdish leader Öcalan, said the senior PKK executive, also leads Kurds to mistrust the seriousness of the government towards the search for a just and lasting peace. (ANF, August 15, 2013)

BDP rally in September to press for Kurdish reforms

Turkey's pro-Kurdish Peace and Democracy Party (BPD) released a statement after its Central Executive Board (MYK) meeting on Thursday, stating that they will rally to push the government for reforms as part of a settlement process aimed to end the decades-old Kurdish problem.

According to the statement, the BDP evaluated the settlement process at its MYK meeting. The settlement process, started by the Justice and Development Party (AK Party) government at the end of last year, was a bid to resolve the country's decades-old terrorism problem by launching negotiations with the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) leader Abdullah Öcalan, who is incarcerated on İmralı Island in the Sea of Marmara.

"The withdrawal is continuing successfully and the process has entered a second stage in which Ankara needs to improve Kurdish rights, and the government must urgently take the necessary steps for democracy, listen to the demands of the people and fulfill the requirements of the second stage,” the BDP said in a statement declaring the new rallies.

To realize its plans, the BDP organized several “Government, Take a Step” rallies last month and has now said more rallies will take place on Sept. 1 in Diyarbakır, İstanbul, Mersin, Adana and many more districts and provinces across the country.

In the statement, the BDP also criticizes the government's policies on the Syrian conflict and blamed the government for supporting the Al-Nusra Front in Syria, which is not constructive for the Kurdish problem in the region. (TODAY'S ZAMAN, August 15, 2013)

13 Kurdes enlevés par les rebelles et remis aux jihadistes

Treize civils kurdes syriens ont été enlevés dimanche par les rebelles dans la province d'Alep (nord) avant d'être remis à des jihadistes qui détiennent désormais en captivité plus de 250 Kurdes dans cette région, selon une ONG syrienne.

Fin juillet, le Front Al-Nosra et l'Etat islamique en Irak et au Levant (EIIL), deux groupes jihadistes affiliés à Al-Qaïda, détenaient plus de 200 civils dans les villages à majorité kurde de Tall Aren et de Tall Hassel, à l'est de la ville d'Alep, selon l'Observatoire syrien des droits de l'Homme (OSDH). Leur sort reste inconnu.

Dimanche, 13 autres Kurdes ont été capturés à un barrage des rebelles dans la localité de Sfeira, proches de ces deux villages et ont été remis aux combattants d'Al-Nosra, selon l'Observatoire.

Des combats opposent jihadistes et Kurdes dans plusieurs régions du nord et nord-est de la Syrie, où les Kurdes aspirent à forger une autonomie.

Les combats ont éclaté après que les combattants kurdes ont chassé à la mi-juillet les jihadistes de la ville de Ras al-Aïn, dans la province de Hassaké (nord-ouest). Depuis, les affrontements font rage entre les deux bords et les jihadistes multiplient attentats et enlèvements à l'encontre des kurdes.

A Tall Aren et Tall Hassel, au moins 26 Kurdes, dont 10 combattants, ont été tués par les jihadistes du 29 juillet au 5 août, selon l'OSDH.

Dans la région d'Alep, qui échappe en majorité au régime de Bachar al-Assad, les rebelles de l'Armée syrienne libre (ASL) sont alliés à ces groupes jihadistes dans leur combat contre le régime.

Dans d'autres régions, comme à Idleb (nord-ouest), l'alliance est moins solide et des combats ont éclaté au cours des dernières semaines entre ASL et jihadistes.

Au début de la révolte en Syrie, les insurgés syriens qui cherchaient désespérément de l'aide face à la puissance de feu de l'armée avaient accueilli à bras ouverts les jihadistes, dotés d'armes sophistiqués et aguerris au combat. Mais cet engouement a laissé progressivement la place au rejet en raison de leur pratique extrême de l'islam et d'arrestations arbitraires.

En outre, selon des experts, les pays occidentaux qui soutiennent la rébellion dite modérée, incarnée par l'ASL, font pression sur celle-ci pour qu'elle se démarque des jihadistes.

Le no 2 de la CIA, Michael Morell, a dit craindre que la Syrie ne devienne un nouveau sanctuaire pour Al-Qaïda, à l'image de l'Irak. (AFP, 11 août 2013)

Massacre de Kurdes en Syrie: les survivants témoignent…

Les survivants du massacre commis par des jihadistes, fin juillet et début août, dans les petites villes de Tall Hassel et Tall Aren, dans la région d’Alep, témoignent des horreurs vécues.

Au moins 70 civils kurdes sans protection ont été massacrés sauvagement sous silence international. Des brigades de l’armée syrienne libre (ASL), soutenue par l’Occident, ont également participé à ce massacre.

Un autre jeune kurde transporté à l’hôpital de Tall Aren, après avoir été blessé par le front Al-Nosra, affilié à al-Qaïda, a été enlevé par le même groupe, puis s’être fait couper la tête en public. Il s’agissait de Xemis Berho, âgé de 23 ans.

Des centaines de civils ont été enlevés, tandis que des milliers d’autres ont dû fuir vers le désert pour sauver leur vie, au moment où les mosquées de Tall Hassel et Tall Aren, sous contrôle des djihadistes, annonçaient que les biens et les femmes kurdes étaient « halal », appelant ainsi au viol et aux nouveaux massacres. Plusieurs femmes seraient violées par ces criminels.

Parmi les civils qui ont réussi à gagner la ville kurde d’Afrin, au Kurdistan occidental, le territoire kurde en Syrie, figurent six femmes d’une même famille : Bézé Abdullah, ses sœurs Emina Kalo, Javahir Kalo, Béshir Kalo et Zahra Kalo, ainsi qu’une jeune femme de 25 ans, Kevser Kalo, accompagnée de six enfants.

« ILS NE SONT PAS HUMAINS »

Une chaine de télévision kurde, Nuce TV, et l’agence de presse Firat News ont  diffusé les témoignages de plusieurs femmes qui ont vécu l’horreur.

Une femme fuyant le massacre et se réfugiant dans la ville kurde d’Afrin, affirme qu’un de ses fils a été tué et un autre a été blessé. « Que puis-je dire ! Ils sont des traitres. Ils sont sans foi ni loi » dit cette femme ne parvient pas à retenir ses larmes.

«Ils ont arrêté mon fils ainé et ont tué mon petit-fils. Un autre a été perdu. Deux de mes enfants sont blessés. Ces gens-là sont des voleurs et criminels » ajoute une femme âgée.

Une autre poursuit : « Les membres du font al-Nosra sont venus de loin pour piller notre pays riche. Ils ont tué  mon fils. Ils ont également arrêté les femmes, en nous disant : vos femmes sont halal et nous allons couper les têtes de vos hommes.

Je n’ai pas pu pris le corps de mon fils. Je ne sais pas où il a été enterré. Ces gens ne sont pas musulmans, ni même humains.  Ils ont coupé les têtes, avant d’appeler les habitants à venir les voir dans des magasins où elles ont été exposées. Est-ce qu’un être humain peut-il faire cela ? »

« ILS ONT COUPE DES TETES DEVANT MES YEUX »

D’autres témoignages ont été collectés dans le camp de Kafardjané, dans la région d’Afrin. Ahmad Haskavi, affirme que trois civils se sont faits couper la tête devant ses yeux à Tall Aren.  « Rékan Skeyf, Mostafa Batushi et Hossein Khemisi sont trois civils qui ont été enlevés dans leurs maisons. Ils avaient été blessés après que les jihadistes ont ouvert le feu au hasard les maisons. Ils (les jihadistes) ont fait passer une corde à travers le cou du Hossein Khemisi, avant de le trainer derrière un véhicule jusqu'à la place de Tall Aren. Mostafa a été frappé à coup de crosse jusqu'à éclatement de son crâne, puis il s’est fait couper la tête, tout comme les deux autres. Je ne croyais pas mes yeux.  Je ne voulais pas croire que les êtres humains pouvaient faire cela. »

UN SILENCE COMPLICE

Impuissants face aux combattants kurdes, les djihadistes ont commis ce massacre sans doute avec des armes et des moyens fournis par des pays étrangers. Aucun pays musulman n’a condamné ce massacre, commis au nom de l’Islam, ni un pays de l’union européenne, « terre des droits humains », et les Etats-Unis. 

LA REVOLUTION KURDE, MODELE DE DEMOCRATIE

Les Kurdes combattent à la fois le régime de Bachar al-Assad et les jihadistes, soutenus par des brigades de l’ASL et des pays étrangers, notamment par la Turquie. Plusieurs associations turques, proches du gouvernement de l’AKP, soutiennent ouvertement les jihadistes et organisent leurs voyages vers la Syrie. De nombreux documents saisis par des combattants kurdes montrent leurs trajets effectués depuis l’Egypte, la Tunisie, la Turquie où les Etats-Unis vers la Syrie.

La position et le rôle des Kurdes au Moyen-Orient se renforcent de plus en plus, malgré la barbarie de ces groupes qui subissent de lourdes défaites et le soutien des pays étrangers.  Aujourd’hui, un Moyen-Orient sans Kurdes n’est plus imaginable. Les Kurdes s’imposent comme un véritable modèle de démocratie, en proposant une confédération démocratique et écologique des peuples du Moyen-Orient. La révolution kurde sera ressentie dans toute la région. (Maxime Azadi, actukurde.fr/actualites, 12 août 2013)

Les Kurdes irakiens prêts à "défendre" ceux de Syrie

Le dirigeant de la région autonome du Kurdistan irakien, Massoud Barzani, a menacé samedi d'intervenir dans le conflit syrien pour protéger la vie des civils kurdes de Syrie.

Le Kurdistan irakien, qui partage une frontière avec la Syrie, est largement autonome et dispose de sa propre force militaire.

Des combats opposent dans le nord syrien des groupes jihadistes hostiles au régime de Damas à des forces d'auto-défense kurdes qui tentent de forger leur propre autonomie dans les zones sous leur contrôle.

Fin juillet, des groupes jihadistes liés au réseau Al-Qaïda ont pris en otages fin juillet environ 200 civils kurdes après de violents combats avec des combattants kurdes dans deux villages du nord-est de la Syrie, selon l'Observatoire syrien des droits de l'Homme (OSDH).

M. Barzani, dans un communiqué, a appelé les partis du Kurdistan irakien à établir la véracité des informations faisant état de l'intention "de terroristes" de tuer des Kurdes en Syrie.

"Si de telles informations étaient avérées, et que des citoyens kurdes innocents, des femmes et des enfants, étaient menacés de mort et de terrorisme, la région du Kurdistan irakien mettra en oeuvre toutes ses capacités pour défendre les innocents", a affirmé M. Barzani.

Les Kurdes, qui comptent pour environ 10% de la population syrienne, ont cherché à se maintenir à l'écart du conflit qui déchire leur pays, mais des combats ont éclaté après que des milices kurdes ont chassé des jihadistes d'Al-Nosra de la ville de Ras al-Aïn, à la frontière turque.

M. Barzani a annoncé le mois dernier que sa région autonome se préparait à accueillir en août une conférence réunissant des partis kurdes d'Irak, de Syrie, d'Iran et de Turquie pour discuter de l'avenir de la région. (AFP, 10 août 2013)

Les jihadistes veulent déclencher une guerre arabo-kurde

Le commandant général des Unités de protection du peuple kurde (YPG), Sipan Hamo, a déclaré que les attaques visant la population civile est la preuve de la défaite des jihadistes, mais aussi de l’effondrement moral. Il a affirmé que des groupes qui se cachent derrière la couverture de l’Islam veulent déclencher une guerre entre Arabes et Kurdes.

Malgré les attaques incessantes et les massacres de civils commis par des groupes, affiliés à Al-Qaïda et de certaines brigades de l’Armée syrienne libre (ASL), les Unités de protection du peuple kurde (YPG) ont déclaré le 7 août un cessez-le-feu pour trois jours à l’occasion de la fête de l'Aïd el-Fitr, marquant la fin du mois de jeûne musulman du ramadan.

CESSEZ-LE-FEU

« Nous déclarons à l’opinion publique kurde, syrienne et mondiale que nous cesserons le feu pendant trois jours à partir de jeudi 8 août. Nos forces resteront dans leurs positions mais ils useront de leur droit de légitime-défense s'ils sont attaqués » a indiqué l’YPG dans un communiqué.

L’YPG a rappelé que des groupes armés, affiliés à Al-Qaïda, qui agissent soi-disant au nom de l’Islam, ont lancé des attaques contre les Kurdes au cours du mois de Ramadan, commettant des massacres de civils.

Quelques heures après cette déclaration, les jihadistes ont attaqué les kurdes dans les régions de Rass al-Ain (Serêkaniyê), Kobani et Guirke Legue, au Kurdistan occidental, le territoire kurde en Syrie. Plus de 20 jihadistes ont été tués par des combattants kurdes qui ont aussitôt riposté « dans le cadre de la légitime défense ».

DE NOMBREUX JEUNES ARABES DANS LES RANGS DE L’YPG

Créée en juillet 2012, les Unités de protection du peuple sont constituées de femmes et d’hommes. Il existe une armée de femmes au sein de l’YPG. Il s’agit de l’Union de Défense des Femmes (YPJ). Des jeunes arabes, assyriens, arméniens, turcomans et tcherkesses rejoignent également les rangs de l’YPG, tout comme à Djarablous où de nombreux jeunes arabes affrontent les jihadistes aux côtés des combattants kurdes.

UN MASSACRE COMMIS SOUS LE SILENCE

Les attaques se poursuivent depuis 16 juillet, au 8e jour du mois de Ramadan. Subissant de lourdes pertes dont plusieurs commandant, les jihadistes se sont massivement livrés à des crimes de guerre et crimes contre l’humanité, en massacrant notamment, entre le 31 juillet et le 1er août, 70 civils kurdes sans protection, en majorité des femmes et des enfants, dans les petites villes de Tall Hassel et Tall Aren, dans la région d’Alep. Aucun pays musulman n’a condamné ce massacre, commis au nom de l’Islam, ni un pays de l’union européenne, « terre des droits humains », et les Etats-Unis.

YPG : IL Y A UN COMLOT PROFOND

Dans une interview accordée à l’agence de presse kurde Firat News, le commandant général de l’YPG affirment que les attaques jihadistes visant les civils sont « le signe et la preuve de leur défaite dans les régions kurdes. »

Il poursuit :

-Cela montre que leurs attaques n’ont pas eu de succès. En visant les civils, ils tentent de se venger des défaites qu’ils sont subies. C’est la preuve de l’effondrement moral.

-Il y a un complot profond et historique derrière ces attaques. Le silence mondial, mais aussi celui de l’opposition et des forces régionales montrent que toutes ces forces jouent un rôle dans ces attaques. Cela montre qu’ils ont un plan commun.

LA TURQUIE UTILISE L’AL-QAIDA

-Des forces régionales et internationales essaient de tirer profit de ces attaques. L’opposition syrienne cherche à gagner du terrain en Syrie, en soutenant les attaques. Le régime syrien tire profit de cette guerre. Il ne veut pas que cette guerre se termine.

-L’objectif final est de faire éclater une guerre arabo-kurde, parce qu’ils veulent transformer des affrontements actuels en une guerre entre les Kurdes et Arabes, entre les sunnites et alaouites pour créer l’image de la future Syrie.

CERTAINS GROUPES DE L’ASL ONT PARTICIPE AUX MASSACRES

-Nous savons depuis le début (du conflit) que la Turquie apporte son soutien à ces groupes. La Turquie utilise l’Al-Qaïda pour parvenir à ses fins. Le but est d’empêcher les Kurdes de vivre librement sur leur terre.

-Certains groupes de l’ASL ont aussi participé à des attaques visant le peuple Kurde, notamment à celles qui ont eu lieu à Derik, à Tall Hassel et à Tall Aren. Les brigades « 303 » et « Ahrar al-Djazira » se sont rangés aux cotés des djihadistes lors des attaques contre les régions kurdes. Dans le passé, certains groupes du Liwa al-Tawhid s’étaient alliés au front al Nosra mais, il a apporté son soutien total pour les massacres de Tall Hassel et Tall Aren.

-L’ASL n’a pas une autorité en Syrie. La force et les responsables de la « vraie » ASL se trouvent à l’étranger. Ceux qui luttent à l’intérieur ne sont pas vraiment attachés aux valeurs (révolutionnaires et humaines). Deux chosent les réunissent : vol de biens et l’Islam. De temps en temps, ils se disent être liés à l’ASL pour obtenir le soutien de pays étrangers.

-Les forces qui agissent soi-disant au nom de l'islam veulent éclater une guerre entre Kurdes et Arabes. Il y a un tel plan depuis le début de la révolution syrienne. Mais grâce à la sensibilité du mouvement kurde du Kurdistan occidental et l’YPG, nous avons empêché d’accomplir ce plan. Cependant, des groupes qui se cachent derrière la couverture de l’Islam, veulent accomplir cet objectif des forces complotistes internationales.

-Nous appelons l’ASL à clarifier sa position face aux attaques visant le peuple kurde.
(Maxime Azadi, actukurde.fr/actualites, 9 août 2013)

PYD call to the international community against ethnic cleansing

The Diplomatic and Foreign Affairs Office of Democratic Union Party (PYD) in Europe released today another appeal to the International Community to protect multi-ethnic communities in Syria.

In the appeal the PYD says that "Kurdish political Parties, organisations and Community members in exile earnestly call International Community to protect the civilians - Kurds, Arabs and other Syrian multi-ethnicities, Assyrians, Armenians, Christians - against the brutal ethnic cleansing attacks taking place against the peacefully co- existing ethnicities in the Kurdish region in Syria".

Since 17 July 2013, al-Qaeda affiliated armed groups,Jabhat al-Nusra and Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, have launched brutal attacks on Kurdish areas and it neighbourhoods in Tel-Abeyd, Serekaniye, Tel- Aran, Tel- Hasel, killing, kidnapping and shelling with heavy weaponry the Kurdish neighbourhoods and calling publically to kill, kidnap and loot Kurds and force them to leave their homes and properties. As a result hundreds of Kurdish civilians have been kidnapped, tortured and their houses have been looted and burned down. These on-going brutal massacres are scattering targeting all Kurdish civilians in Qamishli, Kobani and Afrin areas.

Since 29 July 2013 two Kurdish towns Tel-Aran and Tel-Hasel and its villages of Aleppo, have been under brutal attacks and massacred, hundreds of innocent Kurdish children, women and elderly people have been murdered and beheaded, survivors eye wittinesses conforming that 70 civilians  have been killed and tow civilian beheaded and Kurdish homes have been cruelly looted and destroyed and 300 civilians have being kept hostage and their fate still unknown and thousands vulnerable civilians forcibly fled in horror, since then the both towns are under siege and isolated and there are confirmed  reports that both towns civilians have been subjected of ethnic cleansing and massacres by those terrorist armed groups.         

The statement adds that "These terrorist attacks on civilians, just for their ethnic identity is an act of ethnic cleansing of ethnic communities who have been co-existing peacefully together and to destabilises the Kurdish regions that have been relatively peaceful in an attempt to evict the people and forcibly impose the rules of the ExtremistIslamic state of Iraq and Syria".

The PYD also adds that "These armed terrorist groups which are a major threat to the regional and global stability and peace, have been militarily facilitated by Turkey and supplied by the Gulf States. The recent intervention of six military tanks and hundreds of jihadists from Turkey into Tel-Abeyd, Syria, shows the Turkish involvement in the on-going Syrian sectarian war which neither serves the interests of Syrians nor Turkey and its allies".

The appeal says "The EU and the US should recognise the Kurdish democratic, secular struggle against the Jihadists Al-Qaida which is a major threat to both the US and the EU".

The Kurds and the democratic movement in Syria have successfully managed to administer themselves democratically and peacefully and they have actively sought and contributed to democratic, peaceful change inside Syria. This successful model, adds the statement, shows that Kurds are the major potential player for establishing stability and developing democracy in the region.

The appeal ends saying that "a comprehensive political settlement to be an effective resolution to end the Syrian crisis and its brutal civil war. Therefore we call on the international community, the UN, EU and the USA to protect multi- ethnic communities in Syria and condemn these inhuman massacres and ethnic cleansing of Kurdish people in Syria". (ANF, August 8, 2013)

Kurds call for inquiry into ‘Kurdish Ergenekon'

A petition requesting the establishment of a parliamentary commission to investigate unlawful actions by the government in eastern and southeastern Turkey has triggered demands for a thorough look into what is being called the “Kurdish Ergenekon.”

A series of court verdicts on Monday recognized Ergenekon as a terrorist organization that aimed to overthrow the government and foment chaos in the country.

Peace and Democracy Party (BDP) deputy from Diyarbakır Altan Tan submitted an official petition to Parliament on Tuesday calling for the establishment of a special investigative commission to probe the Ergenekon group's Kurdish connections.  After quoting state officials who discussed Ergenekon's links to the Kurdish political movement, Tan said, “The state hasn't taken any steps toward investigating it although the PKK [Kurdistan Workers' Party] has said several times that it is ready to share its information and knowledge.” Tan added that investigating allegations of the existence of a Kurdish Ergenekon is essential for both Turkish and Kurdish politics and that all documents related to the issue must be made public.

Saying that Ergenekon's illegal activities were not limited to Ankara and İstanbul, Tan argued that the group was also active east of the Euphrates. Tan added that the group is known as “JİTEM” in that region.

Kurdish author Ümit Fırat said that the proper place to seek an investigation into the Kurdish Ergenekon is not Parliament but the courts, as in the Ergenekon trial. Fırat argued that the BDP hasn't taken an interest in the issue and remains indifferent to an investigation, adding that he wonders whether Tan has the support of his party's deputies. “Long before the Ergenekon trial there has been a de facto entity in the [Kurdish] region, almost a unique state,” he said.

Though Fırat said he wants to see the Kurdish Ergenekon brought to light, he added that the outcomes of such an investigation would be dangerous for the state. The existence, he continued, of courageous people committed to the rule of law and a political institution capable of looking into the issue is debatable.

Law Professor from Diyarbakır's Dicle University Vahap Coşkun also said the government committed extensive illegal acts, especially between 1990 and 1995. “Elements within the state have been involved in the unlawful cases in the region,” he said, adding that there hasn't been any serious attempt to address these acts, excepting a few isolated cases like the trial of Col. Cemal Temizöz, the Musa Anter murder case and the JİTEM cases. Such cases, Coşkun said, are important but insufficient to show the extent of Ergenekon's influence in the region.

According to Coşkun, there is a perception among Kurds that while the illegal activities of Ergenekon in the West of Turkey are investigated, the region East of Euphrates is overlooked. Coşkun added that both legal and political will are necessary for a thorough investigation of the Kurdish Ergenekon. “Without political will Ergenekon could not have been brought to account,” he added. (TODAY'S ZAMAN, August 8, 2013)

Police disperse BDP rally in Turkey's restive frontier town

The Peace and Democracy Party (BDP) demonstration in the restive Turkish-Syrian border town of Ceylanpınar late Aug. 4 to support Syrian Kurds attempting to defend themselves against jihadist attacks has been quelled by the police.
 
High profile names such as BDP co-chair Selahattin Demirtaş, BDP Batman deputy Ayla Akat Ata and independent Van deputy Aysel Tuğluk were among the participants in the demonstration. Police told the group that the rally was not allowed. The demonstrators refused to disperse, which prompted the police to resort to tear gas and water cannon to quell the group.
 
Earlier reports said the Şanlıurfa Governor’s Office had forbidden the demonstration, leading prominent BDP deputy Sırrı Süreyya Önder to meet Gov. Celalettin Güvenç.
 
Önder told reporters yesterday that Kurds in Turkey would naturally support their ethnic compatriots in Syria, while adding that it was unnatural to ban such a “democratic” desire.

Ceylanpınar was tense yesterday as a stray bullet fired during clashes in the Syrian town of Ras al-Ayn along the Turkish frontier caused another death.

Ramazan Zeybel, a 43-year-old man and father of 10, was shot in the chest while out shopping ahead of the Ramadan bayram holiday. He was immediately taken to hospital but succumbed to his wounds despite medical intervention.

Zeybel’s death brought the total number of Ceylanpınar residents killed by stray bullets and mortars to four. Following the incident security measures near the frontiers have been increased. (hurriyetdailynews.com, August 4, 2013)

Key Kurdish National Conference Set For August 24

An important Kurdish National Conference, whose aim is to gather all Kurdish political groups and set a roadmap for the Middle East’s 30 million Kurds, will convene in Erbil on August 24.

Committees set up to organize the National Conference decided the date of the conference in a meeting on Thursday.

The committees will not play any role in decision-making and are only assigned to set the agenda and procedures of the conference.

Kurdistan Region President Massoud Barzani met with representatives and leaders of 39 Kurdish parties from Iraq, Iran, Syria and Turkey on July 25 to discuss the National Conference.

The aim of the meeting is said to be to draw a roadmap for the future of Kurds in the Middle East and build closer relations between all parties.

“The Kurds aim to say through this conference that, as a people who have gone through persecution and genocide, they have the same right as every other nation to decide their own future, based on democratic principles and coexistence,” former parliament speaker
Kemal Kirkuki said in an article for Rudaw last week.

The meeting takes place as Kurds in Syria and Turkey face major political developments, with Syrian Kurds contemplating autonomy for their areas and Kurds in Turkey in the middle of a historical peace process with Ankara.

All Kurdish parties have welcomed the initiative and appointed their representatives to attend the conference, including Kurdish opposition groups, which are currently locked in hot rows with the Kurdish Regional Government (KRG) over the draft constitution and election law.

“Our group has already appointed a delegation to attend the conference,” Muhammad Rauf, a senior official from the opposition Kurdistan Islamic Union (KIU), told Rudaw.

Rauf said that political disputes should not come in the way of such an important conference to address the Kurdish question in the region.  “The conference has nothing to do with the current internal problems,” he said.

The Kurdistan Islamic League (Komal) had announced it would boycott the conference, but it said on Thursday that it has decided together with the Islamic Union to send a joint delegation. (Rudaw, August 3, 2013)

La justice turque refuse de rejuger Öcalan

La justice turque a rejeté un recours réclamant un nouveau jugement pour le chef du PKK, Abdullah Öcalan, déposée par ses avocats la semaine dernière, a rapporté vendredi le site internet d'information Bianet.

La 11e chambre criminelle d'Ankara a rejeté la requête par un vote de la majorité de ses juges, a indiqué Bianet, spécialisé dans les questions de droits de l'Homme.

Les avocats de M. Öcalan ont déposé un recours le 27 juillet demandant à ce que leur client bénéficie de nouvelles dispositions du droit pénal turc, votées en avril, qui permettent un nouveau jugement pour les condamnés qui n'ont pas eu la possibilité d'être rejugés en vertu du droit ancien.

Abdullah Öcalan, 64 ans, chef des rebelles kurdes du Parti des travailleurs du Kurdistan (PKK, qu'il a fondé), a été capturé le 15 février 1999 au Kenya au cours d'une opération réalisée par les services secrets turcs.

Il a été condamné à mort en avril 1999 en tant que dirigeant d'une organisation terroriste, mais sa peine a été commuée en réclusion à vie en 2002 après l'abolition de la peine capitale.

Öcalan purge depuis sa peine sur l'île-prison d'Imrali (nord-ouest). (AFP, 2 août 2013)

Le PKK donne jusqu'au 1er septembre à Ankara pour mener des réformes

Le PKK a annoncé mercredi qu'il donnait jusqu'au 1er septembre au gouvernement turc pour prendre des mesures concrètes concernant la résolution du conflit kurde, faute de quoi le mouvement kurde serait contraintsde "se défendre".

"Si aucun pas n'est fait d'ici le 1er septembre, on comprendra que ton objectif n'est pas (de trouver) une solution, mais est l'épuration et le massacre", a déclaré Cemil Bayik, chef de la branche politique KCK du PKK, cité par l'agence de presse kurde Firat.

"A ce moment là, bien entendu, le mouvement de libération et le peuple kurde vont se défendre contre cette épuration. Ils se défendront de la même façon qu'ils ont mené un combat défensif jusqu'à présent", a ajouté M. Bayik.

Le dirigeant kurde a donné des précisions sur les mesures attendues des autorités turques dans le cadre du processus de paix négocié depuis la fin de l'année dernière avec Ankara par le chef emprisonné du PKK, Abdullah Öcalan.

"Notre dirigeant Apo (Abdullah Öcalan) a proposé la création de huit commissions. Il veut que ces commissions soient constituées, qu'elles préparent et présentent au parlement des propositions de loi pour la démocratisation et la résolution" de la question kurde, a affirmé M. Bayik.

Dans le cadre de négociations menées par M. Öcalan, les rebelles kurdes ont déclaré un cessez-le-feu en mars et commencé en mai à se retirer du territoire turc. Ils réclament depuis, en contrepartie, des gestes du gouvernement en faveur de la minorité kurde de Turquie.

Dans un message lu le 21 juillet par un parlementaire kurde qui lui avait rendu visite dans son île-prison d'Imrali (nord-ouest), M. Öcalan avait indiqué que le processus de paix "se poursuit avec sérieux et rigueur".

Mais le chef du PKK a aussi exhorté le Parlement turc a "apporter sa contribution à un règlement historique" du conflit kurde en adoptant avec la rentrée parlementaire, le 1er octobre, une série de réformes démocratiques réclamées par les Kurdes. (AFP, 1 août 2013)

Les Kurdes se préparent pour une réunion historique

Alors que  le Moyen-Orient est en plein phase de changement, les Kurdes de quatre parties du Kurdistan, divisé par des frontières artificielles entre la Turquie, l’Iran, l’Irak et la Syrie, réunissent leur premier congrès national d’ici un mois à Erbil (Hewler).

Un congrès national des kurdes est à l’ordre du jour depuis plusieurs années, mais la conjoncture régionale et internationale ne permettait pas aux Kurdes d’adopter une stratégie commune. Il faut également ajouter les divisions entre les Kurdes qui se sont soldées, dans les années 1990, par des affrontements fratricides, alimentés par des provocations étrangères, notamment celles menées par la Turquie. Aujourd’hui, les conditions d’un tel congrès est plus que jamais favorable.

Le 22 juillet, une réunion préparatoire a été organisée à Erbil, capitale du Kurdistan irakien, avec la participation d’une quarantaine de partis politiques et d’organisations de la société civile. Le président du Kurdistan irakien, Massoud Barzani, le premier ministre de la région Necirvan Barzani, deux dirigeants du Parti des Travailleurs du Kurdistan (PKK), les dirigeants du principal parti légal kurde BDP en Turquie, ainsi que les responsables des kurdes iraniens et syriens étaient présents lors de cette réunion.  Il s’agit d’un pas concret et historique pour le congrès, admettent toutes les parties.

Un comité, composé de 21 personnes, a été créé pour organiser d’ici un mois un congrès national des Kurdes.

UN EVENEMENT HISTORIQUE

On accorde une grande importance à ce congrès pour les Kurdes et le Moyen-Orient. Pour la première fois dans l’histoire, les quatre parties du Kurdistan seront réunis sous une seule bannière. L’élaboration d’une stratégie commune et l’identification d’intérêts communs seront à l’ordre du jour de ce congrès. Le congrès donnera aussi une occasion historique pour redéfinir les relations entre les différentes parties du Kurdistan et créer des mécanismes nécessaires pour faire respecter les décisions prises.

« Grace à ce congrès, les Kurdes déclareront au monde entier le statut sous lequel ils veulent vivre dans chaque pays » a dit Selahattin Demirtas, le co-président du BDP, après la réunion préparatoire.

Les préparatifs de ce congrès ont été accélérés après que le lieder kurde emprisonné Abdullah Ocalan ait lancé le 21 mars le processus de paix pour une solution démocratique à la question kurde en Turquie.  Suite à l’appel d’Ocalan, le PKK a déclaré un cessez-le-feu, avant de lancer, le 8 mai, le retrait de ses combattants.  M. Ocalan a également proposée quatre conférences pour préparer le terrain : une à Ankara, une à Diyarbakir, une à Bruxelles, et la quatrième à Erbil. Les trois premières ont abouti avec succès.

Un membre du comité préparatoire du congrès a affirmé à l’ActuKurde que le congrès sera réuni au cours du mois d’août. La première tache de ce comité a été de créer les commissions nécessaires et de définir les quotas. Parmi les commissions figurent notamment celles de « libération de la femme », «jeunesse », « diplomatie » et de « documents stratégiques nationaux et principes nationaux ».

UN QUOTA DE 40 %  DE FEMMES

Déterminant le nombre de délégués à 500, le comité a également défini un quota de 40 % de femmes pour tous les travaux du congrès, 45 % de partis politiques, 35 % d’organisations de la société civile, 10 % de jeunes et 10 % de personnages indépendants.

La présence des femmes dans tous les domaines est une ligne rouge pour l'Union des Communautés du Kurdistan (KCK), système politique du PKK. Exigeant un quota par sexe, la KCK est dirigée par un système de co-présidence, constitué d’une femme et un homme, comme toutes les autres organisations réunies sous sa bannière. (Maxime Azadi, actukurde.fr/actualites, 1 août 2013)

Minorités / Minorities

“Hate Speech in Media and Discriminatory Discourse”

Hrant Dink Foundation has released its quarterly report on “Hate Speech in Media and Discriminatory Discourse” for the January - April 2013 period. While an increase has been observed in the amount of hate speech content, the report revealed that hate speech targeted less groups. Columnists marked as the biggest hate speech makers in Turkey.

Consisting of 53 pages, the report has two sections. While the first section (Hate Speech in Print Media) covered extensively on content targeting religious and ethnical groups as well as women, LGBTs and other disadvantaged groups, the second section (Discriminatory Discourse in Print Media) covered extensively on BDP and HDK’s Black Sea Region Region through 4 national and 2 local newspapers. 

According to the report,

* Compared to the same period in 2012, a slight rise has been observed in the amount of hate speech. According to the report, the distribution of hate speech cases in 2012 were listed as follows: First quarter (114), Second quarter (101) and Third quarter (97). In the first quarter of 2013, 104 hate speech cases were observed.

* Even though the number of hate speech articles have been on the rise, a slight fall was observed regarding the the number of targeted groups. Out of 17 groups who were targeted in 2013, some were not targeted more than once. 12 groups, on the other hand, have been targeted more than once.

* 3 groups have been subjected to hate speech due to ethic background. Other targeted groups included religious background (6), national identity (4).

* The majority of hate speech content appeared on national newspapers. Out of 104 hate speech cases, 94 (90 percent) appeared in the national media on 13 different national publications and 10 (9.61 percent) appeared in local newspapers.

* Similarly with previous terms, it appeared that most hate speech cases were observed in columns. The distribution of different types of material with hate speech included: columns (74), news articles (27), book review (1). Under “Media Archive” category, 2 publications were cited.

* Hate speech was mostly observed in the following national newspapers: Milli Gazete (21 publications, 20.19 percent), Ortadoğu (19 publications, 18.26 publications), Yeni Akit (13 publications, 12.5 percent), Yeni Mesaj (11 publications, 10.57 percent), Yeni Çağ (11 publications, 10.57 percent) and Anayurt (5 publications, 4.8 percent).

* The groups that attracted most hate speech included Armenians,, Jewish and Christians. As a primary or secondary figure, Greeks and Kurds have also been subjected to hate speech.

* Hate speech cases took a dive among persons and institutions compared to national, ethnic, religious groups. However, a rise has been observed concerning hate speech toward pro-Kurdish BDP.  It was also observed that hate speech on Kurds have risen dramatically. BDP's trip to Black Sea Region marked as the most targeted event.

* The number of hate speech content cases among local media took a dive as well. However, the report cited: "Considering the incidents and the effect of coverage during BDP's trip to Black Sea Region, it can be said that the low numbers can do not point out a significant quality.”

* 12 hate speech cases have been observed towards LGBT and women. The distribution of types of material included columnists (2), news articles (9), letter to the editor (1).  

* No changes have been observed regarding the words used to describe homosexuality. It was depicted with words like “perverted”, “deviant”. The report also reached the following conclusion on the case: “It could be said that hate speech towards LGBTs and women have found an easier way to sneak into news discourse.” (BIA, August 23, 2013)

Lynch Attempt on Trans People in Ankara

A group of 30 people reportedly assaulted on trans sex workers in Ankara’s Iskitler district last night. According to officials from Pembe Hayat LGBTT Solidarity Organization, two trans women are currently being hospitalized.

The incident took place towards 10 pm local time last night by a crowd of mixed crowd of men and women. The group assaulted trans sex workers with bats and gas sprays. While several women have reportedly been injured, some automobiles belonging to trans people were also damaged.

The assaulting group arrived in Iskitler by 4 automobiles, Pembe Hayat advocate Ahmet Toköz claimed. Eyewitnesses have also reported license plates to police authorities. License plates have been declared as fake by the police.

Toköz continued as follows:

“The passive attitude of police officers towards what’s going is raising fears that similar assaults can continue in the near future.

“Police authorities and judicial system are required to show the maximum efforts on finding culpable individuals and not awarding them with impunity. Otherwise, it will hold the government as the perpetrators of this cruelty. The principle of respect to human rights will also be violated.”

Rumors say that a fraction of aggressors might have been involved in the 2006 Eryaman Incident. (BIA, August 19, 2013)

Istanbul foundation demands list of ‘coded’ Armenians

Nazaret Özsahakyan, the chairman of a foundation in Istanbul, demanded the Interior Ministry release all the lists of “coded” Armenians, Armenian-American daily Asbarez reported on its website Aug. 12.

The chairman of the Holy Trinity Episcopal Foundation in Turkey asked the Turkish Interior Ministry for a list of the Armenians codified as ethnic minorities in legal records.

Özsahakyan, the chairman of the Armenian church foundation located in Istanbul’s Balıkçıköy neighborhood, demanded the list of the Armenians categorized under the “race code” from the Interior Ministry.

A debate over the “race codes” was raised on Aug. 1 after Armenian-Turkish daily Agos reported on an official document penned by the Istanbul Provincial Education Directorate, revealing that Turkey’s population administration system had been recording with “race codes” citizens who have Anatolian Greek (Rum), Armenian and Jewish origins. People with Anatolian Greek (Rum) origins were classified with a “one,” Armenian origins with a “2” and Jewish origins with a “three.” Turkey’s Interior Ministry had confirmed that minorities in the country were given codes depending on which community they belonged to since the Ottoman period and that such information was sent to the Education Ministry.

In his request, Özsahakyan said the church needed the list of Armenians residing in the Istanbul region for the upcoming elections at the foundation.

“Since 1923, the Armenian community has been marked with code number ‘two’ in the population registers; the records are available at your agency. It is mainly the voters in the Sariyer region that elect [members of] the Bolajikyo (Balıkçıköy) Holy Trinity Episcopal Foundation. The Armenian community members of Sariyer are the main voters of our church’s foundation. But we are planning to conduct the election outside of the region as well, including also the voters currently residing in Istanbul in order to allow for a more democratic poll. Hence, pursuant to the Law on Information, we request you provide the Armenian community’s list, which bears the code number ‘two,’” Özsahakyan’s request is quoted as saying. (hurriyetdailynews.com, August 14, 2013)

Syriac families returned Turkey facing problems

A total of 12 Syriac families living in European countries have returned to Turkey, settling in the southeastern province of Mardin’s Midyat district despite fears for their security.

The Syriac families settled in the village of Elbeğendi, 100 kilometers away from Midyat, and referred to as Kafro by Syriacs. The families hold double citizenship, keeping their Turkish citizenship as they migrated to European countries from Turkey years ago.

İsrail Demir, a member of one of the Syriac families, said in a recent interview that they had built their houses in Kafro close to each other due to security fears.

Demir told the Hürriyet Daily News that they had decided to return Elbeğendi village where their ancestors once lived saying that “each tree grows in its own soil; we wanted to live on our own soil.”

Attacker is free: Demir

Demir said he was attacked twice on his property last year when he urged a migrant not to damage his wheat fields.

“This person attacked me just because I urged him on not to damage my wheat field. This person is still free. I have been subject to another attack too. If there is democracy, how could this person be free? I have told the governor and prosecutor that I do not feel safe here. EU Minister Egemen Bağış wished me a speedy recovery, but these are not important to me as long as the attacker walks free,” said Demir, speaking of his fears over security while living in Turkey.

Demir said many Syriac and Christian families left Mardin and other parts of Turkey back in 1970s due to the difficulties they faced in those years.

“My father was shot in 1972. I migrated to Istanbul in 1977 after this incident. In 1979, I left Turkey for Germany,” said Demir. Recalling that in 2001, the Turkish government led by late politician Bülent Ecevit called on Syriacs to return to Turkey, Demir said the families started to debate this issue for several years since then. After several meetings, they decided to return to their ancestors’ village, said Demir.

“There are still [unresolved] problems in this country [Turkey]. The difficulties of democracy, human rights and religion…,” said Demir.

Demir also criticized the situation of their monasteries recalling that the Mor Gabriel Monastery’s legal situation was not clear yet. “Turkey will not be rich or poor with the land of Mor Gabriel. They are doing this because they don’t want us here,” he added.

Demir said that other Syriacs would not return to Turkey if those returned could not enjoy their rights as citizens. He said they gave lands to the villagers in exchange for the land that they built their houses on in Elbeğendi village, saying that the state only provided water and electricity to their houses.

He said they were having problems with the European countries they were living in saying that they were accused of tax evasion because of building houses in Turkey. (hurriyetdailynews.com, Vercihan Ziflioğlu, August 9, 2013)

La Belgique a son mémorial du génocide assyrien

Après l’Australie, les Etats-Unis, l’Arménie et la France, c’est en Belgique qu’un nouveau mémorial pour le génocide assyrien Seyfo, perpétré par l’Empire ottoman en 1915, a été érigé. Dimanche 4 août, à Banneux, l’inauguration officielle du monument a été l’occasion de faire mémoire des atrocités et du nettoyage ethnique de 1915 mais aussi de rappeler que la politique négationniste de la Turquie est encore d’actualité.

Dans la mémoire collective du peuple assyrien, le mot Seyfo rappelle les atrocités et les nettoyages ethniques organisés de façon systématique et subis durant le génocide. Avec la participation de plusieurs centaines de personnes venues de Belgique, de plusieurs autres pays européens et des Etats-Unis, la cérémonie d’ouverture a commencé par le dévoilement du monument, un bloc de 12 tonnes en pierre du pays, sculpté entièrement par l’artiste assyrien Mouché Malké. Monseigneur Avgin Aydin, Evêque de l’Eglise Syriaque Orthodoxe, Monseigneur Aloys Jousten, Evêque de Liège ont procédé à sa bénédiction en compagnie de l’Abbé Leo Palm, recteur de Banneux et beaucoup d’autres représentants ecclésiastiques de l’Eglise Syriaque Catholique, de l’Eglise Syriaque Maronite, de l’Eglise Protestante Unie de Belgique, de l’Eglise Assyrienne d’Orient, de l’Eglise russe orthodoxe de Liège.

Plusieurs orateurs ont défilé à la tribune pour réclamer la reconnaissance du génocide Seyfo par la République de Turquie, état héritier de l’Empire ottoman. Comme Fatrus Gabriel, de l’Institut Syriaque de Belgique… « Il s’agit d’un monument pour la paix ! L’artiste a gravé une colombe tuée pour commémorer nos martyrs. […]Nous espérons que ce monument apportera sa petite pierre à l’édifice afin que le génocide assyrien (syriaque) soit reconnu, avant tout par l’Etat turc ou du moins par d’autres pays démocratiques. Ainsi les blessures transmises de génération en génération pourront se cicatriser petit à petit pour que la paix soit rétablie entre les peuples concernés« .

De son côté, Sabri Atman, président de Seyfo Center International, a lancé un appel aux dirigeants de la Turquie leur demandant d’arrêter leur politique négationniste. « La République de Turquie est bâtie sur les nettoyages ethniques systématiques des peuples Assyriens(Syriaques), Arméniens et Grecs du Pont de 1915. L’Empire ottoman est responsable de la disparition physique de 1.500.000 Arméniens, plus de 500.000 Assyriens(Syriaques) et 300.000 Grecs du Pont« , a-t-il ajouté.

Un appel suivi notamment par Michel de Lamotte, député à la Région Walonne et par Dominique Drion, conseiller à la Province de Liège et délégué par Melchior Wathelet, Secrétaire d’Etat à l’Energie et à la Mobilité.

AL/Institut Syriaque de Belgique/Seyfo Center
(http://info.catho.be/2013/08/06)

Syriacs continue battle over religious buildings

Mardin’s Syriacs will continue their legal battle after Mor Gabriel, seeking to reclaim their rights to Syriac Catholic Patriarchate land and the Mor Efrem Monastery.

Despite a decree signed in 2011 to return property taken away from them, minorities have yet to take their lands back. Münir Üçkardeş, a member of the Mardin Syriac Catholics Foundation, said the Constitutional Court had ruled against them, who will take the issue to the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR).

“We are sons of this country, we don’t want to complain about our country [to international institutions],” Üçkardeş told the Hürriyet Daily News during an Aug. 5 iftar dinner where members of minorities gathered and presented their problems to state officials. “If [Turkish institutions] step back from the mistake, we could withdraw from taking the issue to the ECHR.”

Controversial status

The Directorate General of Foundations head Adnan Ertem said some developments could happen in the Mor Gabriel case, but the other buildings exceeded the body’s authority.

“As the Directorate General of Foundations, it is impossible for us to respond to all problems,” Ertem told the Daily News. “Issues of expropriation are subjects of general law, so there is not much we can do about the patriarchate land.”

Mor Gabriel is a 1,700-year-old monastery located in Mardin’s Midyat district. In 2008, the Forestry Ministry, the Land Registry Office and the villages of Yayvantepe, Çandarlı and Eğlence sued the monastery for allegedly occupying their fields. The court recognized the monastery as an “occupier,” after which the case was brought to the ECHR.

Ertem also criticized the community for “not appealing between 1940 and 1960,” noting that legally, appeals should have been made in the 10 years following the expropriation, and once this term is exceeded, it leads to foreclosure. “Minority communities should self-criticize on that issue,” he said.

Ankara has been working on the return of Syriac Orthodox and Catholic Patriarchates to Turkey from Damascus and Beirut, respectively.

“Ankara is making a call to patriarchs and probably mulling returning the lands by allocating them, without giving the ownership,” Üçkardeş said. “However, our patriarchs will not return on such conditions.”

Currently, both the patriarchate land, which includes a church, and the Mor Efrem Monastery are in poor condition. Books, paintings and icons are not treated well and need to be treated well in order to avoid irreparable damage.

“It breaks our hearts,” Üçkardeş said. (hurriyetdailynews.com, Vercihan Ziflioğlu, August 8, 2013)

Minorities in Turkey tagged by ‘race codes’

An official document penned by the Istanbul Provincial Education Directorate has surfaced, revealing that Turkey’s population administration system has been recording citizens who have Armenian, Jewish or Anatolian Greek (Rum) origins with secret “race codes.”

The Armenian-Turkish weekly newspaper Agos published as its headline story on Aug. 1 a report on an official document that openly states “citizens with Armenian origin are coded with ‘2.’” The implementation is reported to have been in place since 1923, the foundation year of the Turkish Republic.

A Turkish citizen’s mother whose origin is Armenian requested to register her child at an Armenian kindergarden, but the school responded by asking her to prove she had the “2 code” in order to check that she had not changed religion, according to the document. In Turkey, only minority communities’ members can register their children at minority schools, according to the education law.

The document, sent from the Istanbul Provincial Education Directorate to the Şişli District National Education office, stated that “since 1923, the secret code of Armenians is ‘2’ on identity registration certificates,” according to the Agos report.

“Since 1923, identity registration certificates have a secret ‘race code,’” the document added.

The family’s lawyer, İsmail Cem Halavurt, said the struggle to register children at the Armenian kindergarden was still continuing.

“We are now waiting for an official document saying, ‘Yes, your race code is 2, you can register at an Armenian school,’” Halavurt told the Agos.

Interior Ministry officials were not available for comment when approached by the Hürriyet Daily News, and referred reporters to the Directorate General for Population and Citizenship Affairs, which is a body working under their own ministry.

An official from the population administration told daily Radikal that the practice was being conducted “to allow minority groups use their rights stemming the Lausanne Treaty,” signed between Turkey and Western countries, which led to the establishment of the modern Turkish Republic.

As part of the practice, Greeks were coded 1, Armenians were coded 2, and Jews were coded 3. Other minorities or groups are not coded, the official told daily Radikal.

While there was no immediate official response to the report, opposition parties’ lawmakers harshly criticized the alleged document.

“If this is true, it is fatal. It must be examined. I will bring this onto Parliament’s agenda,” Sezgin Tanrıkulu, deputy head of the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP), told the Hürriyet Daily News.

Altan Tan, a deputy of the Peace and Democracy Party (BDP), stated that there had long been such allegations, but they were always denied by the authorities. Tan urged Interior Minister Muammer Güler to make a statement on the issue.

“If there is such a thing going on, it is a big disaster. The state illegally profiling its own citizens based on ethnicity and religion, and doing this secretly, is a big catastrophe,” Tan said. (hurriyetdailynews.com, August 2, 2013)

Inauguration d'un monument rappelant le génocide assyrien en Belgique

Un nouveau monument sera inauguré le 4 août prochain sur le site du sanctuaire de Banneux. Il émane de la communauté assyrienne syriaque qui veut ainsi évoquer le génocide dont fut victime cette communauté en 1915, au même titre que les Arméniens sur le territoire de l'Empire ottoman.

Ce monument sera implanté à la mémoire des victimes de 1915 en Turquie, à l'époque de l'Empire ottoman. "A partir de l'été 1915, il y eu différentes exactions contre tous les peuples chrétiens se trouvant sur le territoire de l'actuelle Turquie" explique Pierre Gabriel, représentant de l'institut syriaque en Belgique. "Il s'agit essentiellement de massacres de groupes, de déportations, de conversions forcées à l'Islam, de mariages forcés et autres exactions de ce style-là".

Un génocide nié par l’État turc mais reconnu notamment par la Suède et l'Australie, mais pas encore officiellement par la Belgique, et qui fit environ 2 millions 700 000 victimes, dont 750 000 assyriens syriaques. Le monument sera là pour rappeler ces faits: "Ce que nous espérons, c'est bien sûr que ce monument puisse apporter sa petite pierre à l'édifice pour la reconnaissance du génocide spécifique pour les assyriens syriaques. Nous espérons aussi que ce monument serve de relais pour les générations futures afin que l'on n'oublie pas ce qui s'est passé en 1915".

Quant au choix de Banneux, il s'explique par le fait qu'il s'agit d'un site religieux chrétien et un lieu de pèlerinage important pour les assyriens syriaques.

http://www.rtbf.be/info/regions/detail_banneux-inauguration-d-un-monument-rappelant-le-genocide-armenien?id=8059599

Politique intérieure/Interior Politics

CHP Leader: ‘Turkey’s partiality’ adds to bloodshed in region

The Turkish government’s biased approach in regional foreign policy is one of the main factors behind the escalating bloodshed in the “Islamic world,” the main opposition leader has said, while also slamming Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan for crying in front of cameras, which he described as “pitiful.”

The remarks from Republican People’s Party (CHP) leader Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu came in a speech delivered in the town of Bayat in the western Anatolian province of Afyonkarahisar, which he was visiting on the 91st anniversary of the “Great Offensive” against Greek forces during the War of Independence.

Despite the government’s self-proclaimed foreign policy of “zero problem with neighbors,” Kılıçdaroğlu said Turkey was no longer friends with any of its neighboring countries, including Iran, Iraq and Syria. He described the use of chemical weapons in Syria as “a crime against humanity,” while claiming that the only place in the world that was scene of such bloodshed was the Islamic world.

“Such blood is not shed anywhere else. But it is shed in the Islamic world. Why? We are taking sides,” he was quoted as saying by the Anadolu Agency. “We are training them in Turkey, sending them away to kill his sibling. Isn’t it a shame, a sin?” Kılıçdaroğlu’s words were referring to claims that Syrian rebels have been secretly given military training in Turkey, which have been constantly denied by the Turkish government. In addition to the government’s policies, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan himself was a personal target for Kılıçdaroğlu, who criticized Erdoğan’s shedding of tears live on television on Aug. 22. Erdoğan cried over an Egyptian father’s letter to his daughter, who was killed by the security forces in Cairo.

After listening to a prerecorded video of the letter being read out, he sat speechless for a few moments with tears in his eyes. Crying in front of cameras does not suit the prime minister of the Republic of Turkey, and such crying was a sign of desperation and pitifulness, Kılıçdaroğlu said. “The Republic of Turkey is a proud state. A proud man is the man who resolves problem of his country and whom we respect, no matter who he is. Arriving at the point of deadlock, falling into a position of gradual loneliness in the world, being dressed down by everybody, and then crying on television screens, do not befit the prime minister of the Republic of Turkey,” he said, adding that “reason should prevail” while governing a state. (hurriyetdailynews.com, August 23, 2013)

Turkey’s political parties divided over ‘red lines’ in charter

A long delayed row over the first four “irrevocable” articles of the Constitution, marking all four political parties’ “red lines,” has been revived at a recent meeting of the Parliament’s Constitution Conciliation Commission, with parties appearing strongly inclined to stand their ground.

Eventually, the parties could not attain a consensus during the session on Aug. 21, as deep cracks among the four parties were once more and strikingly highlighted during debates.

At the meeting, both the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) and the Peace and Democracy Party (BDP) insisted that there cannot be “irrevocable” articles in a Constitution, while the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) and the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) demanded to keep the status quo.

The first three “irrevocable” articles of the Constitution, and the fourth one declaring them irrevocable, define the characteristics of the Republic, classified as a “democratic, secular and social state,” amid regulating the integrity of the state, the official language, flag, national anthem and capital.

During the session, AKP deputy Mustafa Şentop argued that there should be no irrevocable articles in the new Constitution, a view backed by BDP’s Meral Danış Beştaş.

“We are drafting a civilian Constitution. In a civilian Constitution, there cannot be irrevocable articles. There was no such thing in the first three constitutions. Are you claiming ownership of a regulation by generals in ’82,” Şentop said, deeming the 1982 Constitution currently in effect a “product of a coup.”
The current 1982 Constitution is a legacy of the Sept. 12, 1980 coup. It had replaced the Constitution of 1961, which also had been drafted following a military coup.

In support, Bengi Yıldız, another BDP deputy, deemed the first four articles a “societal engineering project.”

‘Atatürk nationalism’

“We are against the ‘Atatürk nationalism’,” Yıldız said, referring to the official nationalism of Turkey since the founding of the Republic by Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, which is also dubbed as “official Kemalist nationalism.”

“We are against the definition of Turkish state and nation. These do not include Kurds,” Yıldız added.

On the opposite, CHP deputy Atilla Kart and MHP deputy Faruk Bal gave examples from European countries to note that irrevocable articles exist in advanced countries as well and they must be conserved.

The ruling AKP has resisted withdrawing the presidency proposal, a longtime ambition of the party and Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, until there is tangible progress in drafting, including the first four articles. Şentop reiterated that for them to withdraw the proposal, the draft should be shaped first, and that they wanted to see the “attitude” of the opposition on the first four articles.

“It is not possible for us to accept such approach. We see this as a cheap understanding of politics,” Kart said, speaking to reporters following the meeting.MHP’s Bal also affirmed that they would not allow an amendment in the first four articles, and this was their red line.

The Commission will meet again on Aug. 23, yet a consensus is still unlikely. Nevertheless, the parties seem determined to stay at the table.  (hurriyetdailynews.com, August 22, 2013)

AKP and BDP in row over Kurdish peace bid

An already delicate process to resolve the decades-old Kurdish question is becoming more troubled by the day, with counter-statements from the government and the Kurdish political figures now accusing each other of not fulfilling promises given.

While the government is criticizing the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) for prolonging the withdrawal of its militants into northern Iraq, the Peace and Democracy Party (BDP) is firing back against the government over its reluctance to announce the democratization package. BDP’s co-chairperson Selahattin Demirtaş’s statement that the government should make its package public on Sept. 1, and legislate it before Oct. 15, caused a fresh rift between the two.

“There are steps to be taken, we will take these. ‘Take it until this date.’ We have not taken these steps because the terrorist organization or the BDP wanted them, and we will not after this point,” deputy leader of the Justice and Development Party (AKP) Mehmet Ali Şahin said in an interview with the Anadolu Agency on Aug. 18.

Şahin chose to speak vaguely of the contents and the timing of the package. “As far as I have learned, it is presented to Mr. Prime Minister. Maybe it comes up on the agenda of the Central Executive Board [MYK] meeting to be held next Monday, maybe our related friends and our Mr. Prime Minister will inform us at the MYK. Since I am not a part of that commission, I have no information on the contents,” Şahin reiterated.
Şahin also repeated Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s previous statement about how the first phase, the withdrawal of the armed forces of the PKK, has not been completed.

“The promises on leaving Turkey have not been fulfilled. In a very simple sense, it is such that 20 percent, and these are children, old women and such. Apart from this, ‘withdrawal’ is not the case,” Erdoğan has said, as daily Hürriyet reported on Aug. 17. A day after Demirtaş’s remarks, BDP deputies have once again visited Abdullah Öcalan, the imprisoned leader of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) on August 17, and delivered his message where he affirmed that the negotiations continued.

“Meetings and negotiations we have with the state delegations continue. Until this stage, I gave meaning to my position to be valued as an instrument, but from now on, my position must evolve from being instrumental into a more strategic position,” Öcalan was reported as saying.

“I think that for the process to proceed healthily, the government too must take practical steps on democratization with democratization packages which will be prepared through a participatory method,” Öcalan added.

CHP questions peace process

In the meanwhile, the deputy group chair of the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP), Muharrem İnce has held a press conference in his party’s provincial organization in Ordu, where he posed ten questions on the peace process.

İnce’s questions included the position of Öcalan in the peace process, the status of the PKK, and why a laying down of arms is not included in withdrawal among others.

“Why is the solution reduced solely to Abdullah Öcalan? Does this 30-year-long trouble of Turkey only concern Abdullah Öcalan? His amnesty, his house arrest, health, ideas? Is this process only about the future of Öcalan?” and “Is the PKK included in the Syrian process knowingly?” were among the most notable of İnce’s questions.

İnce also argued that the AKP would not introduce a general amnesty which would cover Öcalan, but instead they would make amendments to the Law on Execution. “This is how they deceive the nation. If they say ‘general amnesty,’ those who are freed will be able to talk. Those who are arrested today too will be able to talk without fear. But when they amend the Law on Execution, even if they are freed, they will be afraid that they can be arrested again.” (hurriyetdailynews.com, August 19, 2013)

Erdogan accuse le PKK et exclut toute amnistie générale

Le Premier ministre Recep Tayyip Erdogan a accusé les rebelles kurdes de ne pas avoir quitté la Turquie comme prévu et a exclu toute amnistie générale, selon des déclarations citées samedi par la presse.

"Les promesses faites (par le Parti des travailleurs du Kurdistan, PKK) sur un retrait de territoire turc n'ont pas été remplies. Seuls 20% (des rebelles) ont quitté la Turquie et ce sont surtout des femmes et des enfants", a-t-il dit.

Dans le cadre de négociations menées depuis la fin 2012 avec le chef du PKK emprisonné à vie, Abdullah Öcalan, les rebelles kurdes ont déclaré un cessez-le-feu en mars et commencé en mai à se retirer du territoire turc. Ils réclament depuis, en contrepartie, des gestes du gouvernement en faveur de la minorité kurde de Turquie.

Dans ce contexte M. Erdogan a exclu catégoriquement une "amnistie générale" en faveur des rebelles du PKK qui pourrait aussi comprendre Öcalan.

Le gouvernement islamo-conservateur travaille sur un projet législatif qui pourrait faire l'objet d'un vote en septembre au Parlement.

"Il n'est absolument pas question d'une amnistie générale", a insisté M. Erdogan, soulignant qu'une autre revendication des Kurdes, l'enseignement de la langue kurde à l'école, n'était pas non plus d'actualité.

"Cette question n'est pas à notre agenda pour l'instant, ni à l'école (publique) ni dans les établissements privés", a dit M. Erdogan.

Celui-ci a cependant souligné que le paquet de réformes comporterait "quelques surprises" dont il n'a pas dévoilé la teneur.

Le PKK a donné jusqu'au 1er septembre à Ankara pour aller de l'avant dans les réformes démocratiques, menaçant sinon de reprendre éventuellement les armes. (AFP, 17 août 2013)

Deputy PM rejects song for lyrics mentioning 'rakı'

Turkey’s Deputy Prime Minister Bülent Arınç asked a local singer not to sing the folk song “Vardar Ovası” because the song contained the word “rakı” in the lyrics in a meeting with the Bursa-based Balkan Immigrant’s Culture and Support Association, or Bal-Göç, on Aug. 9.

A local folk singer, Fahriye Güney, asked Arınç for support to attend cultural events abroad, during the deputy prime minister’s visit to Bal-Göç for Eid-el-Fitr. Arınç asked Güney to sing and evaluated her performance.

When some people in the room asked Güney to sing the famous Balkan song “Vardar Ovası” (Vardar Valley), Arınç said jokingly that “this song’s lyrics include rakı [a local alcoholic beverage]. Sing a different song.” “Sing it when I am not here,” he added. Güney skipped the song and sang a different one upon Arınç’s demand.

However, Arınç posted a tweet in 2011 saying that he was listening to the song with pleasure.

“Atatürk’s favorite songs are playing. My wife and I are listening that magnificent song ‘Vardar Ovası’ with great pleasure,” he wrote.  (hurriyetdailynews.com, August 10, 2013)

Parliament may re-open to pass reform package

Turkey's Parliament may reconvene early from its summer recess to pass a reform package that includes laws to expand Kurdish rights, Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdoğan said on Thursday, a move crucial to resolving a 28-year conflict.

Kurds want legislative reforms to address long-standing grievances, what they see as the next step in a peace process after the terrorist Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) declared a ceasefire and began withdrawing fighters to bases outside Turkey earlier this year.

"Our friends are now completing their work on the articles, and hopefully we will announce our democratisation package aimed at the new period. It's possible parliament will reopen early," Erdoğan told reporters.

Kurdish-language education, changes to anti-terror laws, reducing the electoral threshold from 10 percent and expanding local governance are among the reforms, Selahattin Demirtaş, head of parliament's pro-Kurdish Peace and Democracy Party (BDP), said late last month.

The BDP wants to see reforms passed by mid-October, he said.

Parliament, dominated by Erdoğan's Justice and Development Party (AK Party), adjourned for summer recess last month. It is scheduled to start on Oct. 1.

Erdoğan's government has been in talks with Abdullah Ocalan, the PKK's jailed leader, since late 2012 in what is seen by many in Turkey as the best chance yet at ending a conflict that has killed more than 40,000 people, mainly Kurds, since 1984.

The PKK, which Turkey, the United States and the European Union list as a terrorist organisation, took up arms in a campaign to carve out an independent homeland in the mainly Kurdish southeast but has scaled back its demands to greater cultural rights and political autonomy for Turkey's Kurds.

Kurds make up about 20 percent of Turkey's population of 76 million people. After the modern Turkish Republic was formed in 1923, Kurds were not recognised as a distinct ethnicity and were barred from using their language in the public realm. (Reuters, August 8, 2013)

Main opposition leader: "Ergenekon trial rulings illegitimate"

Turkish main opposition leader Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu has slammed the severe sentences announced in the Ergenekon trial verdict Aug. 5, calling the court’s rulings “illegitimate.” Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) leader Devlet Bahçeli also joined Kılıçdaroğlu in voicing strong criticism of the verdict, which he described as a "murder of law."

“The rulings of the specially authorized courts are not legitimate from a legal, political or moral point of view. The rulings handed down by these courts are illegitimate,” the Republican People’s Party (CHP) head said in his first remarks after the verdict denouncing the special authority of the Courts for Serious Crimes, which deal with terrorism-related cases.

The special courts were abolished last year, but the ongoing Ergenekon and Balyoz (Sledgehammer) coup plot cases were not affected by Parliament’s decision.

“In democracies, individuals are not tried in special courts linked to the political authority but in normal, independent courts which believe in the rule of law,” Kılıçdaroğlu said.

“These courts don’t distribute justice. Because they are courts under the instruction of the political authority and intend to fulfill their orders. The notion of rule of law is not valid for these courts,” he added.

Two CHP deputies, journalist Mustafa Balbay and former Ankara Chamber of Commerce chairman Sinan Aygün received 34 years and eight months and 13 years and six months of prison respectively. Another CHP deputy Mehmet Haberal, who was first sentenced to 12 years and six months in prison, was subsequently released for time served during the trial.

Earlier, Aygün said Kılıçdaroğlu “did not expect so many life sentences.”

Kılıçdaroğlu was surprised for high number of life imprisonments, Aygün told reporters after the meeting.

'National conscience is bleeding': MHP leader

The leader of the second opposition party in Parliament, Bahçeli also said the sentences were "incompatible with legal principles."

"The sentences handed down by Istanbul's 13th High Criminal Court have no doubt made the national conscience bleed and were incompatible with legal principles," Bahçeli said in a written statement, adding that the Turkish Armed Forces were dangerously "battered and humiliated."

"The sentencing of precious individuals who have served as chief of general staff or obtained the opportunity to be in the top echelons of the Turkish Army is a murder of law," he added.

Bahçeli also called for the "rectification of the abnormal sentences and reestablishment of justice" during the appeal process.

"It is clear that this [verdict] is the result of politicized justice. If injustice is not removed and objectivity not ensured, Turkey's social and political structure will not be rescued from chaos and deadlock," his statement also said. (hurriyetdailynews.com, August 5, 2013)

AKP and MHP insist on keeping poll threshold clause

Members of Parliament’s Constitution Conciliation Commission have failed to agree on a new charter article regarding the election system in the country.

While the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) and the opposition Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) insisted in a panel meeting on Aug. 1 that the article should be kept as is, the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) and the Peace and Democracy Party (BDP) suggested that the article should be changed.

Article 67 of the current Constitution reads: “The electoral laws shall be drawn up in such a way as to reconcile the principles of fair representation and consistency in administration.” The reference to “consistency in administration” serves as the constitutional basis to have a 10 percent election threshold in the laws.

As Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan says the threshold should be kept at 10 percent, the ruling AKP and MHP want to include the article without changes in the new charter. The two parties believe having a high threshold is necessary “to avoid a new era of coalition governments.” (hurriyetdailynews.com, August 2, 2013)

Erdogan University advertisement reveals fixing in academic employment

A university named after Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan mistakenly published the names of academics seemingly pre-selected to fill vacancies there in an ad that appeared in Turkish media on Thursday.

According to media reports, a university employment advertisement specifies the conditions and requirements of academic positions to be filled in various departments.

But scandalously, the names of academics who are apparently being considered for the positions also appeared in the ad, as well as some notes regarding their academic career profiles.

In the notes regarding a vacancy in the faculty of medicine, there is the name of the academic under consideration for the job and it also says that the candidate still has some problems in his academic career.

The university later said the ad was published mistakenly. (TODAY'S ZAMAN, August 1, 2013)

Forces armées/Armed Forces

Turkish Army rotated missiles towards Syria

The Turkish foreign minister has said Turkish army was ordered to retaliate against any threats coming from the Syrian side as allies are considering to take punitive military strikes against Syrian targets as a response to chemical attacks believed to be carried out by the Syrian regime near a Damascus suburb last week.

Ahmet Davutoğlu told reporters on Wednesday that Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has authorized army to change its engagement rules and take decisive military action against any threats coming from Syria since its warplanes were downed by Syria last summer.

Davutoğlu’s remarks came amid reports that Turkey has rotated its ground-to-ground missiles towards Syria in the southern province of Hatay.

Turkey, which has a 900-kilometer border with Syria, hosts half a million refugees from the two-and-a-half year conflict and is braced for a new influx should Western powers strike.

As Turkey is readying itself for a possible military operation against Syria, the Turkish army has deployed a number of missiles in Hatay's Kırıkhan district. The army has rotated Stinger and I-Hawk missiles towards Syria.

US President Barack Obama and his European and Middle Eastern allies have blamed Bashar al-Assad for last week's killing of hundreds of civilians and are drawing up plans for punitive military action.

Turkey has emerged as one of Assad's most vocal critics and has been a staunch supporter of the opposition fighters. It has spent around $2 billion sheltering refugees, according to Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.

Turkey's nearly two dozen camps are home to about 200,000 refugees while 300,000 others live in rented accommodation across Turkey.

Davutoğlu spoke about the necessity to take an action for “our brothers” killed in Syria, including by chemical weapons and  he said all options remain on the table. He added that he hopes to see United Nations Security Council to come up with a decision that will end the bloodshed in Syria but a response is required if the Security Council fails to act.

Davutoğlu noted that Turkey has taken all necessary military measures in the most effective way against threats coming from Syria and that Turkish army has successfully realized punitive actions against Syrian targets as a response to even a single bullet that hit Turkey.

The foreign minister said no one should doubt Turkey’s power and the capabilities of Turkish army when it comes to defending itself.  (TODAY'S ZAMAN, August 28, 2013)

La Turquie prête à rejoindre une coalition contre la Syrie

La Turquie est prête à rejoindre une coalition internationale dirigée contre la Syrie en réaction à l'attaque chimique du 21 août, même en l'absence de consensus à l'ONU, a affirmé lundi son ministre des Affaires étrangères Ahmet Davutoglu.

"Si une coalition est formée contre la Syrie lors de ce processus, la Turquie en fera partie", a déclaré M. Davutoglu dans un entretien accordé au quotidien Milliyet paru lundi.

Des experts de l'ONU vont débuter lundi une enquête sur l'attaque présumée à l'arme chimique conduite près de Damas, la capitale syrienne.

"Après cette inspection, les Nations unies doivent prendre une décision sur des sanctions. Nous avons toujours privilégié une action sous couvert de l'ONU et avec la communauté internationale", a indiqué M. Davutoglu dans Milliyet.

"Si une telle décision n'est pas prise, d'autres options sont sur la table. Quelque 36 ou 37 pays discutent déjà de ces options", a-t-il poursuivi.

Médecins sans frontières a affirmé samedi que 355 patients "présentant des symptômes neurotoxiques" étaient décédés le 21 août après l'attaque dans trois hôpitaux de la région de Damas, sans pouvoir "confirmer scientifiquement la cause de ces symptômes".

Se basant sur des rapports médicaux, l'Observatoire syrien des droits de l'Homme (OSDH) a lui comptabilisé plus de 300 morts par gaz toxique, dont des dizaines de rebelles. L'opposition affirme que 1.300 personnes sont mortes dans cette attaque chimique.

Le régime de Damas dément formellement avoir perpétré l'attaque avec des gaz toxiques.

Les pays occidentaux étudient une option militaire, contre laquelle les deux alliés de Damas, l'Iran et la Russie, les ont mis en garde.

Résolument hostile au président Bachar al-Assad, la Turquie, qui accueille près de 500.000 réfugiés syriens sur son sol, exhorte depuis mercredi la communauté internationale à agir très fermement contre son régime.

"Depuis le début, la Turquie estime que la communauté internationale ne doit pas rester indifférente aux massacres perpétrés par le régime Assad", a insisté lundi M. Davutoglu, "ceux qui commettent des crimes de guerre et des crimes contre l'humanité doivent absolument être punis".

"Lorsqu'on regarde ce qui se passe en Syrie, on voit que le régime Assad utilise des méthodes qui vont bien au-delà des actes inhumains et des massacres commis en Bosnie" dans les années 1990, a conclu le ministre turc. (AFP, 26 août 2013)

Turkey readies for Syria intervention with NATO-backed coalition

As speculation on whether or not chemical gas was used in a recent attack in Syria -- killing more than 1,000 and injuring many more in Damascus -- rang alarm bells globally, Ankara, along with a NATO-backed international coalition, has started to ready itself against a possible intervention in Syria.

Turkey, which has already reinforced its defensive measures against any chemical attack along the Syrian border due to the threat of chemical weapons in the war-torn country, has started extra exercises in its southern provinces of Hatay, Kilis, and Şanlıurfa as a measure to contain any chemical attacks from Syria.

An upcoming meeting of senior military officials of the US, Turkey and other Western allies to discuss Syria, debates that 400 tons of arms have been sent into Syria from Turkey to strengthen the hand of the opposition against Syrian regime forces, and a meeting of US President Barack Obama with his top military and national security advisers over Syria all indicate that something is being cooked up behind closed doors for a possible intervention in Syria after more than two years of conflict in the country.

As tension runs high in the politically fragile region due to the chemical gas debate, a senior Turkish military official is scheduled to join his allied counterparts in Jordan to discuss the possible ways to respond to allegations of chemical-weapons use in Syria. Beside US and Western allies, Saudi Arabia and Qatar, two of the staunchest supporters of the Syrian opposition forces fighting against the regime, were also expected to join the meeting.

This was not the first time top military officials have met to discuss the situation in Syria. However, this meeting gained new urgency due to the chemical attack debate, which has dominated headlines of media outlets for days.

Following the attack, Turkish President Abdullah Gül said that the international community should take concrete steps to prevent further bloodshed in Syria, while Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan slammed the UN for its inaction.

After the debate on whether or not chemical gas was used in a recent attack in Syria hit the international community's agenda, the international media claimed that 400 tons of arms were sent into Syria from Turkey to boost the opposition's chances against Syrian regime forces.

According to a Reuters report, an opposition source said that the Gulf-financed shipment, which crossed from the Turkish province of Hatay, was one of the single biggest arms shipments to reach rebel brigades since the uprising against embattled Syrian President Bashar al-Assad turned violent two years ago. However, the report's claims were denied by Turkish diplomatic sources.

While reports of the shipment hit headlines, Obama met with his top military and national security advisers to hash out options for responding to the alleged use of chemical weapons in Syria amid increasing signs that the regime was behind the attack against civilians.

Meanwhile, according to a spokesperson for British Prime Minister David Cameron, the US President, who was reluctant to launch a war against Syria, and Cameron have agreed that chemical-weapon use by al-Assad's forces would merit a "serious response.”

Although Washington has been reluctant to intervene in Syria's civil war, the reports of the killings of civilians in the latest attack seems to have put pressure on the US to take action after it mentioned a year ago that chemical weapons would be a "red line" for the United States.

In a move that indicates the US is getting itself ready for the option of an armed strike against Syria, Washington is repositioning naval forces in the Mediterranean.

US Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel said that Obama has asked the Defense Department to prepare options for all contingencies. "We have done that, and we are prepared to exercise whatever option -- if [the president] decides to employ one of those options,” he told reporters.

The White House declined to list what options were discussed at Saturday's meeting, saying that it was in coordination with international partners and was gathering details to ascertain what occurred in the conflict-torn country.

Kerry, Davutoğlu discuss Syria amid mobilization in region

Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu spoke to US Secretary of State John Kerry on Saturday to discuss ways to respond to an alleged Syrian gas attack, the US State Department said on Saturday.

Davutoğlu, who recently came together with his Western counterparts in Berlin, Rome and London, increased phone calls with regional and Western counterparts over the chemical attack in Syria.

Davutoğlu has also called on Russia and Iran, the two staunchest supporters of the Syrian regime, to stand against the chemical attacks.

Iran, al-Assad's key Middle East ally, warned Washington against crossing Syria's own "red line,” saying this would have "severe consequences.”

"America knows the limitation of the red line of the Syrian front and any crossing of Syria's red line will have severe consequences for the White House," Massoud Jazayeri, deputy chief of staff of Iran's armed forces, was quoted by the semi-official Fars news agency as saying.

He was responding to weekend statements by Western officials regarding the possibility of military intervention in Syria.

Syrian authorities have also warned against any military action over a suspected chemical weapons attack in the country, saying this would “inflame the Middle East.”

Al-Assad's government has accused insurgents of firing the chemical weapons "as a last resort" to try and provoke foreign intervention on their side.

Syrian Information Minister Omran Zoabi, in remarks released by the official news agency SANA late on Saturday night, said that any US-led military action would be "no picnic.”

"US military intervention will create a very serious fallout and a ball of fire that will inflame the Middle East," Zoabi said. (TODAY'S ZAMAN, August 25, 2013)

Soldier to be charged with terror in leak case in Turkey

The family of the gendarme accused of leaking secret documents on the Reyhanlı bombings-linked terrorist activities in the southern province of Hatay, will be tried at a special authority court as a terror suspect, according to his lawyer.

Sivas Fifth Training Brigade Command Military Court took a decision of non-jurisdiction in suspected gendarmerie officer Utku Kalı’s trial on Aug. 15 and sent the case to Samsun High Criminal Court which is authorized under the fight against terror law.

Ceren Kalı, sister and lawyer of Utku Kalı, said that they hoped that her brother would to be tried without arrest by the Samsun High Criminal. He is under arrest on charges of “escaping” “obfuscating the evidences” and “breaking the military order,” said Ceren Kalı, adding that if he was tried in a civilian court “breaking the military order” would not be an excuse for arresting him.

An indictment approved by the military court demanded a 25-year-sentence for Utku Kalı for “exposing and providing the state’s secret documents.”

Lawyer applied to Constitutional Court

Ceren Kalı told a press conference that they had applied to the Constitutional Court after their objections to the trial without arrest were not approved.

Ceren Kalı said she issued criminal complaints against the prison officials about the maltreatment he was facing, such as being searched naked after every meeting with his lawyers or family. She also said her brother was suffering from serious depression because of the cruel treatment and he did not have access to fair treatment. (hurriyetdailynews.com, August 23, 2013)

Suspicious Death of Alevi Youngster Under Compulsory Drafting

Muharrem Al (21), a private under compulsory military drafting, has reported committed suicide in Şırnak. Unsatisfied with military officials’ inconsistent statements, Al’s parents demanded a second autopsy. 

Moreover, Al family and friends set up a tent in Izmir’s Narlıdere Democracy Square, campaigning for the truth behind Al’s death.

“I don’t believe that my son can commit suicide,” Ismail Al said.

“He was feeling very upbeat and talking about all the nice things he wanted to experience once his service is over. On the second day of the Eid, police came to our apartment and asked about him. We have become restless and called his military unit. They told us that they were unable to tell anything at the moment and they would call us later. Then we learned about the death of our son. His commanders are making inconsistent statements.”

Uğur Çiftçileli, Al’s cousin, said the following:

“Why do they hold on to the death body and alert us only 10 hours later? One of the commanders say that he was killed on the scene, while the other claim that he died in the hospital. Their words are not credible to us.”

Members of Izmir Bar Association and Human Rights Foundation pledges to follow the case by appointment requests to Interior and Defense Ministries.

Similar statements on the follow-up of the case have been proclaimed by Abdül Batur, Izmir Narlıdere district mayor.

Completing his preliminary training in Tokat province 48th Infantry Unit, Al was transferred to a military unit in Ballı, Şırnak province two weeks ago.

Al was found dead in his barrack due to gun wounds inflicted by a rifle. Following an autopsy in Diyarbakır Military Hospital and burial ceremony in Narlıdere Cemevi in Izmir, Al was buried in Izmir. (EKN/BM)

* bianet compiled this article from BirGün and sendika.org

** According to bianet statistics, at 974 people have been reported to commit suicide under their compulsory military drafting since 2002. (BIA, August 14, 2013)

Deadly “Joke” in another barracks

Cihan Özmen, a compulsory drafted soldier who was serving in Tabantepe 48th Motorized Infantry Brigade’s 5th Commando Team Security Assistance  Unit Headquarters, has lost his life after a controversial incident.

According to Yüksekova Haber, Cumali Akınlar, a private registered in Hakkari province, accidentally fired his rifle from a 2 meter distance while “joking” with his fellows Cihan Özmen and Erkan Yıldırım. Cihan Özmen, a private registered in Antep province, died due to gun wounds that inflicted his chest.

Testifying to military prosecutors, Cumali Akınlar has been transferred to 7th Army Headquarters Military Court for his arrest.

Following the first hearing, the court arrested Akınlar for the “probable willing homicide”. (BIA, August 13, 2013)

The Army Releases Statement on Ergenekon Verdict

Turkish Armed Forces (TAF) released a statement on yesterday’s Ergenekon trial verdict. “We are feeling and sharing the grief of our longtime co-workers and their family members” said the statement. It also reminded that they were keeping a close-eye on with the investigation and prosecution.

Highlights from the statement included [translated by bianet English]:

"Istanbul 13th High Criminal Court issued a verdict yesterday on the trial of some active-duty and retired Turkish Army officers - a trial publicly known as Ergenekon trial.

“TAF members are keeping a close-eye on the aforementioned investigation and prosecution, while they are trying to avoid misunderstandings with extreme patience, vigilance and reason. 

“We are feeling and sharing the grief of our longtime co-workers and their family members.

"As we always have so far and we will in the future, TAF believes that the aforementioned prosecution will result in a precise and justifiable verdict within the framework of fair tribunal principle.” (BIA, August 6, 2013)

Severe punishments in Ergenekon coup plot trial

Turkey's former Chief of General Staff İlker Başbuğ was sentenced to life in prison as an Istanbul court handed down severe punishments to the suspects in the Ergenekon coup plot trial.

The court handed down a double aggravated life sentence to Turkish Council of State attacker Alparslan Arslan.

Journalist Tuncay Özkan, retired general Veli Küçük and lawyer Kemal Kerinçsiz were sentenced to aggravated life sentences, while Workers' Party leader Doğu Perinçek received 117 years in prison.

Retired colonel Fikri Karadağ and retired general Hasan Ataman Yıldırım also received aggravated life sentences.

Retired General Hurşit Tolon was also sentenced to life in prison.

The court handed down life sentences to the retired generals Hasan Iğsız and Nusret Taşdelen, as well as retired colonel Fuat Selvi.

Republican People's Party (CHP) Deputy Mehmet Haberal was sentenced to 12 years and six months in prison while another CHP deputy, Mustafa Balbay, was sentenced to 34 years and eight months in prison.

CHP Deputy and former Ankara Chamber of Commerce Chairman Sinan Aygün was handed 13 years and six months in prison.

Retired colonel Arif Doğan was also sentenced to 47 years. Both Veli Küçük and Arif Doğan were accused of founding and leading a terrorist organization and  trying to overthrow the government.

The court sentenced lieutenant colonel Mustafa Dönmez 49 years in prison. Dönmez has previously made the news when auhtorities refused to permit him to travel by sea for the funeral ceremony of his son for fear he could make an escape.

Writer Yalçın Küçük was also sentenced to 22 years and six months in prison.

On similar charges, the court sentenced  former head of the Higher Education Board of Turkey (YÖK) Kemal Gürüz to 13 years and 11  months, historian Mehmet Perinçek, who is the son of Doğu Perinçek, to six years, and alleged mob leader Sedat Peker was given a 10 year sentence. Former North Sea Field Commander Mehmet Otuzbiroğlu was sentenced to 20 years and 6 months.

Journalist Erol Manisalı was sentenced to nine years. Author Ergün Poyraz was handed down a 29 years and four months sentence while journalist Güler Kömürcü was sentenced to seven years and six months.

Workers’ Party (İP) executives Hayrettin Ertekin was sentenced to 16 years, Hikmet Çiçek was sentenced to 21 years and nine months. The party's lawyer Emcet Olcaytu received 13 years and two months.

Former rectors Ferit Bernay and Mustafa Abbas were each sentenced to ten years in prison.

Bedirhan Şinal, a suspect of the attack on daily Cumhuriyet, was sentenced to 18 years and eight months in prison.

Former police chief Adil Serdar Saçan was sentenced to 14 years in prison. Former mayor Gürbüz Çapan received one year.

Retired general İsmail Hakkı Pekin was sentenced to seven years, journalist Adnan Bulut were sentenced to six years. Adnan Türkkan and Alaaddin Sevim were sentenced to ten years, according to verdict.

21 suspects were released from the Ergenekon coup case as the announcement of the verdict continues at the Silivri Courthouse.

The case was dismissed for three suspects who had died during the course of the Ergenekon trials.

Before the verdict was announced, Mustafa Balbay said the government aimed to “hide away the case from the public.”

“A warm autumn is coming. They want to take over this case. We will not let it happen. This case is political. They want to hide away the case from the public,” Balbay said. 

The case, which began in 2007 with the discovery of 27 hand grenades in a house in Istanbul, has seen some of the country’s most prominent figures detained and arrested, including the likes of former Chief of General Staff Gen. İlker Başbuğ, CHP deputies Mehmet Haberal and Mustafa Balbay and journalists Tuncay Özkan and İlhan Selçuk.

A total of 275 suspects, 66 of them under arrest, were awaiting rulings this morning. Some 33 indictments have been submitted in the course of the Ergenekon trials, which saw over 130 witnesses testify at hearings. (Agences, August 5, 2013)

Government asserts control over the Army with new commanders

Turkey appointed new military commanders on Saturday in an overhaul of its top ranks that underlined the government's control over armed forces which once dominated political life.

NATO's second largest army is facing multiple challenges as conflict in neighboring Syria spills across the border and a peace process with Kurdish militants looks increasingly fragile.

Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan, who chaired the Supreme Military Council meeting, has eroded the army's power since his Islamist-rooted AK Party first came to power in 2002. The secularist military staged three coups between 1960 and 1980 and pushed the first Islamist-led government out of office in 1997.

The council decides on promotions and retirements of top officers every year at its three-day August meeting and had been expected to make major changes at this week's gathering.

The forced retirement of paramilitary gendarmerie force commander General Bekir Kalyoncu, who had been the leading candidate to take over land forces, was the most unexpected of the Council's decisions.

Media reports said Ankara was opposed to Kalyoncu leading the country's land forces as he was regarded as a government critic and his name had cropped up in testimony in the trial of the alleged Ergenekon conspiracy against Erdogan's government. A verdict on that trial is scheduled for Monday.

Instead, General Hulusi Akar was given the job and, according to custom, would be expected to replace General Necdet Ozel as overall armed forces head in 2015.

The General Staff also announced on its website the appointment of Vice-Admiral Bulent Bostanoglu as commander of the navy, Lieutenant General Akin Ozturk as head of the air force and General Servet Yoruk as commander of the gendarmerie.

The Council's decisions were announced after approval by President Abdullah Gul.

Two years ago, a major upheaval in the military - when the chief of staff and three other generals quit - allowed Erdogan to install a chief of staff of his choice, General Ozel, and relations between government and military have since improved.

A series of judicial investigations of military officers have undermined morale in the Turkish armed forces in recent years.

Last September, a Turkish court sentenced more than 300 military officers to jail for plotting to overthrow Erdogan almost a decade ago in the so-called Sledgehammer plot.

Among defendants facing a verdict in the Ergenekon trial on Monday is retired General Ilker Basbug, chief of staff between 2008 to 2010, who is accused of being among the leaders of what was prosecutors say is a shadowy arch-nationalist group. (Reuters, August 3, 2013)

Verdict attendu lundi dans le procès du complot Ergenekon

La justice turque s'apprête à rendre lundi son verdict dans l'affaire du réseau putschiste Ergenekon, premier d'une longue série de procès controversés visant depuis cinq ans à déjouer des complots supposés contre le gouvernement islamo-conservateur.

Plusieurs dizaines d'accusés, dont des généraux, des journalistes et des chefs de la pègre, sont écroués depuis 2007 et jugés depuis octobre 2008 dans le cadre de ce procès dénoncé par l'opposition laïque comme une chasse aux sorcières visant à faire taire les critiques contre le gouvernement du Premier ministre Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

Parmi les 275 prévenus, 66 sont actuellement emprisonnés. L'affaire est jugée par un tribunal de Silivri, à une cinquantaine de kilomètres à l'ouest d'Istanbul.

Le réseau Ergenekon, du nom d'une vallée mythique d'Asie centrale d'où serait issu le peuple turc, est accusé d'avoir tenté de favoriser un coup d'Etat militaire contre M. Erdogan, un ancien islamiste au pouvoir depuis 2002, en semant le chaos dans le pays par des attentats et des opérations de propagande.

L'acte d'accusation prévoit de lourdes peines contre les putschistes présumés, dont la prison à vie pour 64 d'entre eux, devant répondre du crime de "tentative de renversement de l'ordre constitutionnel par la force".

Parmi les accusés figure l'ex-chef d'état-major, le général Ilker Basbug, qui a dirigé l'armée turque entre 2008 et 2010. Il rejette toutes les accusations portées contre lui.

Deux prévenus, Mustafa Balbay et Mehmet Haberal, ont été élus députés du principal parti d'opposition (CHP, pro-laïcité) en 2011, pendant leur détention, et sont toujours emprisonnés.

Le réseau a été mis au jour en juin 2007 lors d'une opération anti-terroriste dans un bidonville d'Istanbul. Des armes et des explosifs ont été découverts, première étape d'une longue enquête qui a conduit à la rédaction de 23 actes d'accusation successifs --plusieurs milliers de pages-- finalement réunis dans un même procès.

Plusieurs autres procès contre des groupes de conspirateurs supposés ont par ailleurs été ouverts après Ergenekon, comme Kafes (la cage), qui prévoyait selon l'acte d'accusation des attentats contre des membres des minorités chrétiennes, où encore Balyoz (masse de forgeron), ciblant spécifiquement l'armée.

Premier procès à atteindre un verdict, Balyoz a surpris par la sévérité des peines prononcées: les juges ont condamné en septembre près de 300 officiers à des peines de 16 à 20 ans de prison, portant un coup sévère au prestige de l'armée turque.

L'armée, qui pendant des décennies s'est voulue la gardienne des valeurs laïques de la République turque, a renversé trois gouvernements élus depuis 1960 et forcé un gouvernement pro-islamiste à la démission en 1997.

Pour certains observateurs libéraux ou proches de la mouvance islamo-conservatrice au pouvoir, Ergenekon et les autres procès contre des complots s'inscrivent dans les efforts du gouvernement pour limiter les intrusions de l'armée dans la vie publique et instaurer l'Etat de droit.

Mais pour les défenseurs de l'héritage politique de Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, fondateur de la Turquie moderne et laïque, et certains militants des droits de l'Homme, ces procès sont surtout un montage visant à écarter du champ politique les opposants pro-laïcité.

Ces critiques remettent notamment en cause la validité des preuves apportées et le recours à des témoignages anonymes.

Les autorités turques ont d'ores et déjà renforcé les mesures de sécurité devant le tribunal de Silivri, doublant les barrières métalliques et les rivant au sol, dans la crainte de violences à l'énoncé du verdict, selon l'agence de presse Dogan.

El le gouverneur de la province d'Istanbul, Hüseyin Mutlu a prévenu vendredi les sympathisants des accusés --attendus par millliers-- qu'ils ne seraient pas autorisés à manifester devant le tribunal lundi.

"Tous les regroupements et les foules qui se constitueront à Silivri seront considérés comme illégaux", a affirmé M. Mutlu durant une conférence de presse, soulignant que la police et la gendarmerie seraient déployées sur les lieux.

Le gouverneur a aussi indiqué que seuls les prévenus, leurs avocats, les journalistes et les parlementaires seraient autorisés à entrer dans le tribunal. (AFP, 2 août 2013)

Affaires religieuses / Religious Affairs

Al Nusra organizing young people in Diyarbakır

Following the recent attacks and massacres targeting Kurds in Rojava, militants of the al-Qaeda affiliated al-Nusra Front are now attempting to lay hands on Kurdish youths in the main Kurdish city of Diyarbakır.

The police are conniving at the activities of the organization which is trying to bring new militants in by deceiving the high school and university students, saying that “We are God's soldiers and the Kurds in Syria are disbelievers”.

Kartal family in Diyarbakır received an interesting answer from the police when they made a complaint about the al Nusra militants' efforts to organize children in the city. Police told the family that they were aware of the organization's activities and that they could intervene them only in the event that it is added to the list of “terrorist organizations”.

Mehmet Kartal, who is trying to save his brother from the hands of the organization, told that his family had applied to police after they found out that their son was in contact with militants of al-Qaeda affiliated groups.

Kartal, criticizing the attitude of the police, said that; “Our people know how dangerous the al-Qaeda organization is, and that it is still massacring people in Iraq and other countries and carrying out suicide attacks. Their religious perspective is entirely based on war and they are openly terrorizing the religion. Besides, we know how cruel they have been in their attacks against Kurdish people in Rojava in recent months. They declare Kurds disbelievers and attack them. It was again this murderer organization which bombed the martyrs' monument in Halabja two years ago. As a Muslim citizen having done researches in the sociology of religion, I feel ashamed of al-Qaeda militants. We must expel these people  from Kurdish cities in response to their efforts to dominate the Middle East and its perspective which targets the honor of Kurds. We mustn't allow them to deceive our youths and to send them to their deaths”.

Kartal called on all Kurdish families to protect their children from these murderer organizations. (ANF, August 21, 2013)

Thousands take to streets after Egyptian massacre

Members of civil society groups, human rights organizations and the general public poured into the streets across Turkey to protest the massacre perpetrated by the Egyptian army on Wednesday.

Hundreds gathered outside the Egyptian Embassy in Ankara and a crowd led by Turkey's Humanitarian Aid Foundation (İHH) and Freedom Association (Özgür-Der) staged a protest in İstanbul's Taksim on Wednesday, while thousands more marched in various provinces.

The Civil Servants' Trade Union (Memur-Sen), several groups that want to show solidarity with Egypt and the Muslim world and many individuals chanted slogans outside of Egyptian Embassy in Ankara. Protesters held placards reading such things as “Greetings to Morsi and the resistance,” a reference to ousted Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi and “Pro-coup ambassador, leave Turkey,” directed at the Egyptian ambassador to Turkey.

Protesters said in a statement: “The Egyptian army in fact killed humanity while killing hundreds and injuring thousands of Muslims. There are imperialist powers like United States, Israel and Russia behind the massacre.”

Another group of nearly 1,000 people that attempted to march from Galatasaray High School to İstanbul's Taksim Square in order to protest the bloodbath in Egypt was stopped by the police. Protesters shouting slogans such as “Those who remain silent against the coup are complicit in this crime,” staged a sit-in and marched to Tünel Square afterwards.

Members of various non-governmental organizations also gathered in Saraçhane Park in İstanbul's Fatih district on Wednesday. Demonstrators showed support for the Egyptians who have been resisting the coup that ousted President Mohammed Morsi last month, holding both the flags of Egypt and Turkey.

Bülent Yıldırım, chairman of the Humanitarian Aid Foundation (İHH), who was among the group in Saraçhane Park, said that not only İhvan, also known as the Muslim Brotherhood, but various circles have been resisting the results of the coup.

Many protesters, including women and children stayed in the park until late at night.

Residents of Gaziantep organized a protest on Thursday in support of victims in Egypt that was led by 25 non-governmental organizations, including İHH and Human Rights and Solidarity with the Oppressed (MAZLUMDER) and was attended by thousands. The group gathered in Kırkayak Park in Gaziantep and marched to Balıklı Park, shouting pro- Morsi slogans and calling for the international community to take action.

Anatolian Youth Association (AGD) members in Konya province performed a funeral prayer in absentia for Egyptians who have lost their lives in the post-coup violence on Wednesday, after staging a protest.

In the İnegöl district of Bursa province, around 400 people held a protest in a mosque yard following a prayer on Wednesday night and nearly 100 people also protested in İzmir. (TODAY'S ZAMAN, August 15, 2013)

Des jihadistes retiennent en otages environ 200 civils kurdes

Des groupes jihadistes liés au réseau Al-Qaïda ont pris en otages environ 200 civils kurdes après de violents combats avec des combattants kurdes dans deux villages du nord-est de la Syrie, pays en proie à la guerre, selon une ONG syrienne mercredi.

Les "combattants du front Al-Nosra et de l'Etat islamique en Irak et au Levant (EIIL) ont pris le contrôle du village de Tall Aren dans la province d'Alep et assiègent un autre village proche, Tall Hassel. Ils ont pris en otages environ 200 civils parmi les habitants des deux villages", a précisé l'Observatoire syrien des droits de l'Homme (OSDH) dans un communiqué.

Selon le président de l'OSDH, Rami Abdel Rahmane, les affrontements ont "éclaté dimanche à l'aube après l'appel d'un des chefs de l'EIIL à aller affronter la brigade kurde" relevant de l'Armée syrienne libre (ASL), la principale composante de la rébellion qui combat les troupes du régime de Bachar al-Assad.

Les jihadistes ont alors lancé un assaut contre le siège d'un bataillon de cette brigade à Tall Hassel tuant son chef, a-t-il précisé à l'AFP. L'assaut a provoqué de violents combats entre kurdes et jihadistes dans ces deux villages qui ont coûté la vie jusqu'à mercredi à "16 kurdes dont 11 combattants" et à 10 jihadistes dont un dirigeant d'Al-Nosra, selon l'OSDH qui s'appuie sur un large réseau de militants et sources médicales en Syrie.

Depuis deux semaines, de violents combats opposent dans le nord et le nord-est syrien les jihadistes aux combattants kurdes qui ont réussi à chasser les islamistes de plusieurs secteurs, le plus important étant la localité de Ras al-Aïn, frontalière avec la Turquie.

Ces combats ont fait des dizaines de morts des deux côtés, alors que la Syrie est dévastée par une guerre civile entre régime et rebelles déclenchée par une révolte populaire durement réprimée par le pouvoir depuis mars 2011.

Plus de 100.000 personnes ont péri dans le conflit, selon l'ONU. (AFP, 1 août 2013)

Socio-économique / Socio-economic



Multicolored stairs in İstanbul repainted gray

A flight of multicolored stairs in an İstanbul neighborhood was repainted gray overnight allegedly by municipality workers on Friday.

A 64-year-old engineer, Hüseyin Çetinel, had recently painted the stairs in the Fındıklı neighborhood of Beyoğlu in different colors. Çetinel, who heard about the repainting, went to the area on Friday, which has now become an attraction for reporters. Çetinel told reporters that he had heard about the change from security guards at a nearby building. “I am really sad to see such a terrible change. I did not paint the stairs to make a political statement or on behalf of any political group,” he stressed.

Although it is not yet clear who repainted the stairs, eyewitnesses told Çetinel that they saw municipality workers leaving the area early Friday morning.

Çetinel, who painted the stairs in a week with the help of his son-in-law, said: “Yesterday the stairs were glossy and colorful. Now, as you can see, they are the color of ash.” Stating that everything in nature is colorful, Çetinel said it does not make sense to repaint them in gray.

Çetinel is not considering repainting the stairs.

Meanwhile, the Beyoğlu Municipality has rejected claims that they were the ones who repainted the stairs after news about the incident went viral, especially on social media. (TODAY'S ZAMAN, August 30, 2013)

Nervosité des marchés fragilisés par la Syrie

Les marchés turcs étaient particulièrement fragilisés mercredi par les craintes d'une intervention en Syrie, la livre turque (TL) continuant de glisser face au dollar et la bourse ouvrant à la baisse.

Mercredi matin, la monnaie nationale est une nouvelle fois tombée à un niveau historiquement bas, s'échangeant à 2,060 pour un dollar à 05H00 GMT avant de se reprendre légèrement à 2,0527.

La veille, la livre a plongé également à des niveaux records, à 2,0382.

La Bourse d'Istanbul qui a chuté de 4,73% mardi à la clôture dans le sillage des marchés mondiaux, a commencé la journée de mercredi avec un recul de plus de 2% cumulant ses pertes (-6% la semaine dernière).

L'économie turque traverse déjà une période difficile depuis que la Réserve américaine (Fed) a annoncé en mai son intention de réduire ses injections de liquidités, qui a entraîné une dépréciation des monnaies de nombreux pays émergents.

Et a ce marasme est venu s'ajouter la perspective d'une opération militaire internationale contre la Syrie, voisine de la Turquie, où le régime est accusé d'avoir utilisé des armes chimiques contre sa population.

Alors que sa monnaie chute de plus en plus, en raison notamment d'une importante fuite de capitaux, essentiels à la Turquie qui en est très dépendante, la Banque centrale turque a mis en place des mesures de resserrement.
 Elle a ainsi relevé deux fois depuis juillet on taux de prêt au jour le jour et injecté plus de 8 milliards de dollars sur les marchés depuis juillet afin de stabiliser sa monnaie.

Son président Erdem Basci a voulu rassurer mardi les marchés, déclarant que la Banque centrale disposait actuellement d'environ 40 milliards de dollars de réserves vendables.

"Nous défendrons fermement la livre (...). Les pertes dans les cours de change ne seront que temporaires", a-t-il insisté, sans cependant convaincre les analystes.

Depuis l'annonce de la Fed, la monnaie turque a chuté de plus de 10% (1,80 TL pour 1 USD en mai). (AFP, 28 août 2013)

Middle East Technical University Resists to Road Construction

Middle East Technical University (METU) students have set up tents and launched a protest against the planned road construction between Anadolu Boulevard  and Konya province, as construction workers have advanced towards METU campus and forest.

Activists claim that the aforementioned road will go through the periphery of METU forest.

Around 2 pm local time on Sunday, METU students joined forced with the Gezi Parker forum from Çiğdem Mahallesi - the neighborhood through which the road will continue. The gathering was also attended by Çayyolu and Anıtpark forum groups.

Demonstrators have set up their tents adjacent to METU main gate A4. Around 7 pm local time the same day, a team of riot police arrived to the scene along with a TOMA.

Activist released a statement, saying that they will not allow the construction to go through METU campus. “We will resist,” students said.

Later on, police warned activists, saying that “they would intervene unless tents are removed”. Students responded the call positively, deciding to resume their protest without tents.

“Sky is all we need,” some students cheered. While police withdrew, activist called for solidarity through social media on behalf of ODTU Resistance.

On August 19, dozens of people from METU Alumni Association, METU students and 100. Yıl Forum have protested on the steps of Turkey’s Preservation Council of Natural Heritage Council in Ankara. 

Demonstrators have tied up red ribbons on the trees in METU forest which they claimed soon to be cut due to the road construction. The same day, protestors have called for a second protest on August 25 with a slogan “Bring your tent, protect your forest/neighborhood”.

“According to Constitution Article 56, the protection of environment is the duty of government and people. We are executing our constitutional duty,” activists said in a statement.

Pressures from Ankara Metropolitan Municipality 

Since 2008, Ankara Metropolitan Municipality have reportedly had efforts to construct a road through METU forest.

In 2008, the municipality ordered the demolishment of 45 university building, saying that they were “constructed without permission”. It also issued a 1.8 million lira (roughly 800.000 euros) fine.

METU President’s Office have taken legal action against the ruling in 45 different cases, finally proving that the demolishment orders have no judicial grounds.

On 25 May 2013, METU President Prof. Dr. Ahmet Acar released a statement, saying that the planned road construction consisted of two divisions - one of which was cancelled by court and other was left by METU. 

The statement went on to say that the municipality made a new construction plan where natural and archeological sites could be protected providing that the road will continue through tunnels.

“The construction could be accepted within that plan,” the statement said. (BIA, August 26, 2013)

La nervosité persiste sur les marchés, la livre turque glisse

La turbulence qui a gagné les marchés financiers en Turquie à l'instar d'autres pays émergents, a persisté vendredi avec la devise nationale tombant pour la deuxième journée consécutive à un niveau historiquement bas face au dollar.

A la clôture vendredi soir, la livre, tombée jeudi à un niveau record face au billet vert (1,9912) depuis que la Réserve américaine (Fed) a annoncé en mai son intention de réduire ses injections de liquidités, a franchi pour la première fois la barre des 2 livres (TL), à 2,010 TL.

La livre s'est reprise à 1,9910 après que la Banque centrale turque, qui avait vendu 200 millions de dollars mercredi et 350 jeudi, eut écoulé de nouveau vendredi 350 millions de dollars par adjudication de devises afin d'enrayer la baisse de la monnaie locale.

Depuis l'annonce de la Fed, la monnaie turque a chuté de plus de 10%

La Bourse d'Istanbul qui a perdu plus de 5% depuis mercredi, a clôturé légèrement à la baisse vendredi soir (-0,54%).

Pour répondre aux turbulences qui affectent les économies émergentes, la banque centrale turque a décidé mardi d'augmenter une nouvelle fois l'un de ses taux directeurs, celui du prêt au jour le jour, de 7,25% à 7,75%. Elle l'avait déjà relevé, en juillet, de 6,50% à 7,25%.

Elle a également prévu d'injecter au moins 100 millions de dollars chaque jour sur les marchés pour tenter de stabiliser la monnaie.

Après l'Inde et le Brésil, la Turquie voit ainsi, malgré ces mesures d'urgence, la chute de sa devise s'accélérer, victime de sorties de capitaux massives.

Les investisseurs s'inquiètent du déficit de sa balance courante, supérieur à 5% du PIB, ce qui la rend très dépendante des financements étrangers.

Depuis début juin, les autorités monétaires turques ont vendu près de 8 milliards de dollars pour soutenir la monnaie locale. Mais ces interventions ont eu jusque-là des effets très limités.

Les taux se sont également envolés: sur le marché obligataire, le taux des emprunts à 10 ans de la Turquie est monté à 10,01% jeudi, contre 9,53% mercredi. Vendredi, il s'établissait à 10,1%.

Après des pics impressionnants de 9,2% en 2010 et 8,5% en 2011, la croissance s'est nettement essoufflée avec une envolée des prix et de ce fait des chiffres d'inflation.

Ankara espérait 4% en 2013 mais cette prévision va sans doute être révisée, comme celle pour l'inflation qui s'établissait à 8,8% en juillet en glissement annuel. (http://www.lesechos.fr, 23 août 2013)

La livre turque toujours sous pression malgré une hausse des taux

La livre turque était toujours sous pression mercredi, tombant à son plus bas niveau face à un panier de référence euro/dollar en dépit d'une nouvelle hausse d'un de ses taux directeurs par la banque centrale turque.

Le panier euro/dollar a atteint mercredi les 2,30 livres turques (TL), un pic historique, le billet vert s'échangeant à 1,9572 TL (1,9492 la veille) et l'euro à 2,6192 (2,5985 mardi).

Pour faire face aux turbulences qui affectent les économies émergentes, la banque centrale a augmenté mardi l'un de ses taux directeurs, celui du prêt au jour le jour, de 7,25% à 7,75%. Elle l'avait déjà relevé en juillet de 6,50% à 7,25%.

"Ce resserrement monétaire additionnel sera maintenu jusqu'à nouvel ordre", a déclaré mercredi le chef de cette institution monétaire, Erdem Basci, dans un communiqué.

Il a en outre annoncé qu'au moins 100 millions de dollars seraient injectés quotidiennement sur les marchés pour tenter de stabiliser la devise nationale.

"A partir d'aujourd'hui, un minimum de 100 millions de dollars sera mis sur le marché à 16h00 heure locale (13h00 GMT) les jours où ce resserrement monétaire sera appliqué", a ajouté M. Basci.

A l'instar des autres places émergentes comme l'Inde ou le Brésil, la Turquie souffre d'un emballement de l'inflation et d'une fuite des capitaux sous l'effet de la fin prévisible des injections massives de liquidités pratiquées par la Réserve fédérale américaine (Fed) pour soutenir la croissance aux Etats-Unis.

Les autorités monétaires turques ont vendu 6,5 milliards de dollars pour soutenir la monnaie locale depuis début juin. Mais ces interventions ont eu des effets très limités et la livre s'est dépréciée de près de 9% face au billet vert depuis mai.

La Turquie a également été victime de la récession en Europe, son principal partenaire commercial, et reste plus que jamais dépendante d'investissements directs de la part de l'étranger, car sa balance des paiements est déficitaire de 55 milliards de dollars (41 milliards d'euros) par an. (http://www.lesechos.fr , 21 août 2013)

Çarşı Ignores Ban, Keeps Gezi Spirit in Stadium

Çarşı soccer fan group chanted a series of Gezi Resistance slogans on the first official game of Beşiktaş against Trabzorspor in Turkey’s Super League.

“Everywhere Taksim, Everywhere Resistance” chanted roughly 50,000 supporters. Among other chants included “Spray tear gas / Take off your helmet, leave your baton / Let’s see who is real gentleman” - a chant created by Çarşı fans during Gezi Resistance.

On July 31, Interior Minister Muammer Güler said they were working on a series of regulations to battle against political and ideological cheering in Turkey’s stadiums.

On August 11, Youth and Sports Minister Suat Kılıç said “whoever turns stadiums into venues of violence and political demonstration will pay its consequences”.

At 9:45 pm local time last night, the game between Beşiktaş and Trabzonspor resulted with the victory of home team by 2-0. (BIA, August 19, 2013)

Turkish Wrestler Grounded For Racism

International Federation of Associated Wrestling Styles (FILA) has barred Turkish wrestler Rıza Kayaalp from attending tournaments for a period of six months due to his racist tweets and insults on Gezi Resistance protestors in Turkey. “We will not have our kid wasted,” Turkey’s Wrestling Federation said.

During Turkey’s Gezi Resistance, Kayaalp sent several aggressive tweets including “You left the ground to Armenians, God punish you damn chapulliers”, “Armenian people are celebrating that they have occupied Taksim Square and insulted Turkey easily”, “I will f..k your protests, you traitors”.

Many complaints have reportedly been filed regarding Kayaalp to FILA, as well as International Olympics Council (IOC). 

According to Habertürk newspaper, FILA found Kayaalp’s remarks racist three weeks ago, barring him from attending tournaments for a period of six months.

On the other hand, Kayaalp has recently been chosen as the flag holder athlete for Turkey in the opening ceremony of Mediterranean Games - an international olympic event that has been hosted by Turkey this year. 

Federation: We will not let our kid go wasted

According to an article by Radikal newspaper, Turkey’s Wrestling Federation President Hamza Yerlikaya has said they have launched a legal process upon the news coverage and allegations.

Resembling Kayaalp’s situation to those who are standing trial, Yerlikaya said the following:

“There is neither any findings nor documents nor complaining parties nor official evidence to ground these allegations. But he is receiving a penalty. There is something unlawful here. Our kinds has no racist speech here. These are tweets sent by third parties. It is not even that certain. 

“The complaint submitted to FILA included distorted statements. Those words have not been used by him. We haven’t even made our defense yet. And no official order has been sent to us. We haven’t been given a chance to appeal either.

“If there is racist speech, we will be the first ones to confront these. Give me all these racist statement if there are any, I will issue the first penalty.

“We will not have our kid wasted. We are behind him. We believe to his innocence profoundly. We will take whatever legal action to possible.

“That accused person is my athlete. He is committed to his country and nation. He lives with this sentiments and has achieve some many accomplishments. We will ask the meaning of this penalty.

“We are demanding an official statement from FILA on the ground of the penalty according to its disciplinary code. There is an upcoming world wrestling championship on September 15. Nobody has the right to spoil the motivation of one of our distinguished national athletes.” (BIA, August 12, 2013)

Relations turco-européennes / Turkey-Europe Relations

Manifestation à Bruxelles contre toute intervention prématurée en Syrie

A l'appel du comité contre l'ingérence en Syrie, plus d'une centaine de manifestants, selon l'estimation de la police de Bruxelles-Ixelles, environ 250, selon les organisateurs, se sont rassemblés, mercredi, de 17 à 19 heures, place de la Bourse, à Bruxelles, contre la possible intervention en Syrie des Etats-Unis, de la France et de la Grande-Bretagne.

"Tous unis pour la paix en Syrie", scandent les jeunes militants présents. "Cette attaque chimique peut venir de groupuscules islamiques et peut servir de prétexte pour partir en guerre, se questionne Nel, un étudiant de l'ULB. Il ne faut pas prendre cette décision de façon précipitée. Comme l'histoire contemporaine le montre, une intervention militaire peut envenimer la situation et ajouter un tas de morts sur un tas de morts. Quand on voit la division au sein des membres du Conseil de sécurité des Nations unies concernant la Syrie, je crains une escalade dans cette zone du monde particulièrement sensible."

Le philosophe Lieven De Cauter, président du Brussells Tribunal, fondé à l'invasion en Irak, prône également une solution politique, plutôt que militaire. "En tant qu'être humain et humaniste, je considère l'emploi d'armes chimiques comme une ligne rouge. Mais, le droit international est une ligne rouge qu'on ne peut franchir sans risquer de se perdre. L'histoire de la Libye et de l'Irak démontre qu'une intervention peut détruire un État, mais ne peut pas en bâtir." Il préconise d'attendre le rapport des experts concernant l'attaque chimique. (Belga, 28 août 2013)

Nouvel appel du CIS

Dès demain (jeudi) à 17h, nous nous réunissons devant l'ambassade des Etats-Unis, violeur en chef du droit international et champion du monde en matière d'utilisation des armes de destruction massive contre les populations civiles.

Nous vous ferons parvenir prochainement le communiqué de presse du Comité contre l'ingérence en Syrie (CIS) qui reprend nos positions contre l'intervention armée en Syrie.

A demain pour celles et ceux qui le peuvent.

Manifestation kurde samedi à Bruxelles

Les États-Unis, la France,  le Royaume- Unie, la Turquie et leurs alliées se préparent pour une intervention militaire en Syrie. Cette intervention suscitera qu’à plus d’effusion de sang et de violence sans aucune perspective sur une solution pacifique et durable pour tous les citoyens Syriens, quel que soit leur religion, ethnie ou idéologie. La Syrie n’est pas le terrain de jeu des forces internationales mais faudrait être une société multi-ethnique, multi religieuse et tolérante.

Nous vous appelez sincèrement à prendre part à une marche de solidarité pour la paix et la démocratie en Syrie et pour l’autonomie les Kurdes. Les Kurdes forment la deuxième ethnie en Syrie. Dès le déclenchement de la guerre civile ils ont choisi pour une solution pacifique et négociée. En cas d’une intervention militaire ils craignent de payer le prix fort pour suivre leur propre route. Des dizaines de mille se sont déjà enfuis pour la violence génocidale des « allies » occidentale dans la région Kurde. Nous demandons en plus, explicitement, l’arrêt du soutien militaire et politique aux groupes fondamentalistes, liés à l’Al-Qaeda, qui sèment la mort en Syrie et les régions Kurdes

Élevez votre vois contre le chaos en Syrie !

Samedi 31/08 - Gare du Nord, Bxl - Rassemblement : 14h00 Départ : 15h00

Entendez la voix des Kurdes pour la paix et la démocratie !
(kib@skynet.be , 27 août 2013)

Ruling AKP opens office in Brussels

The ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) is set to open its first office abroad in the de facto EU capital Brussels, according to daily Sabah.

The move abroad is strongly supported by Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, who sees the new Brussels location as a significant element in Turkey’s relation with the union, daily Sabah reported.

The office, which will be the ruling party’s first one outside the Turkish borders, aims to strengthen the Turkish presence in the capital. The planning of the new office has been ongoing since early March.

AKP benches see the Brussels move as a way to carry the party’s messages better to the heart of the European Union. The offices will also strengthen the party’s lobbying attempts in the EU capital.

The new office was also prompted by the recent change in regulations, which allows nationals abroad to vote in elections and referendums.

Over 2.5 million Turkish nationals living in various European countries will no longer need to travel to Turkey to vote. (hurriyetdailynews.com, August 19, 2013)

RTL: La dérive autoritaire d'Erdogan inquiète

De lourdes peines ont été prononcées lundi contre les "putschistes" du réseau Ergenekon, dans un procès très politique, dénoncé par les opposants du gouvernement islamo-conservateur de l'AKP.

C'est une nouvelle démonstration de la dérive autoritaire qui s'est jouée en Turquie, sous l'égide du désormais contesté Recep Tayyip Erdogan, fondateur du Parti de la justice et du développement (AKP), et Premier ministre depuis 2003.

Lundi, la justice turque a en effet tranché, et requis de lourdes peines à l'encontre des 275 présumés membres du réseau putschiste Ergenekon - accusés d'avoir fomenté un coup d’État militaire contre Erdogan en 2007. Journalistes, généraux à la retraite, intellectuels... tous auraient participé à l'élaboration d'une campagne terroriste, formant le projet d’attentats et d'actes de propagande au niveau national.

Cette même année 2007, les attentats s'étaient multipliés à travers le pays et Recep Tayyip Erdogan avait rebondi sur cette menace en durcissant la loi de lutte contre le terrorisme. Le concept a alors été défini "de manière très large, étendant les prérogatives des forces de sécurité et alourdissant les peines encourues", rappelle Élise Massicard, directrice de l'Observatoire de la Vie Politique Turque (OVIPOT), dans L’état du monde 2007 (La Découverte).

Lundi, 16 condamnations à la prison à vie ont, ainsi, été prononcées, dont celle de l'ancien chef d'état-major des armées en 2008-2010 - nommé par Erdogan lui-même -, le général Ilker Basbug, pour "tentative de renversement de l'ordre constitutionnel par la force".

Cette sentence confirme également la triste palme d'or du pays en matière de liberté de la presse : la Turquie est considérée par Reporters sans Frontières comme la première prison au monde des journalistes. Muustafa Balbaj, journaliste et directeur du bureau d'Ankara du quotidien kémaliste La République, a pour sa part écopé de 34 ans de prison, accusé d'être le "bras droit médiatique" du réseau Ergenekon. Ce dernier avait, par ailleurs, été élu député en 2011 sur les listes du principal parti d'opposition, le Parti républicain du peuple (CHP), rappelle Libération.

Face à ce verdict, l'universitaire Ahmet Insel déplore, toujours dans les colonnes de Libération, "une logique pénale qui ne vise pas seulement les auteurs d'actes répréhensibles, mais cherche à combattre ceux que le pouvoir considère comme ses ennemis". Et le chercheur d'ajouter : "Nous sommes passés en quelques années d’un régime de tutelle militaire, où l’armée avait le pouvoir mais restait au second plan, à un pouvoir direct, toujours plus hégémonique et autoritaire de l’AKP."

Cette affaire marquera donc elle aussi, après la vague contestataire de juin, le symbole d'une lutte entre l'actuel pouvoir et une grande partie de l'opinion, composée, notamment, des élites laïques. Et éloigne encore un peu plus le mythe du "modèle turc". (Eléonore Taicher, http://www.rtl.fr, 6/08/2013)

US, EU avoid commenting on Ergenekon verdicts

The U.S. and the European Union declined to comment Aug.5 on the verdicts of Turkey's Ergenekon coup plot case that resulted in several aggravated life sentences for high-ranking army officials including a former chief of staff general while acknowledging concerns over the manner in which the judicial process was held.
 
"We won’t comment on any eventual outcome of an appeal, but we’ll continue watching the process," a deputy spokesperson of the U.S. State  Department, Marie Harf, said during a daily press briefing, adding that the U.S. would continue watching the issue.
 
Harf stated that the U.S. acknowledges Turkish citizens' serious concerns regarding the length of the trial process as well as the lack of transparency in this trial and the manner in which these verdicts and sentences were reached.
 
"We’re following the media reports of the verdicts and the severity of the sentences in this case which are being handed down," she said.
 
EU concerned for judicial process
 
The European Union, for its part, avoided commenting on the substance of the individual court rulings, in a statement by the Commission, while expressing concern in the light of European standards over the way the judicial process was carried out in Turkey, as a candidate country.
 
“The EU has indicated on a number of occasions its concerns over the rights of the defense, the lengthy pre-trial detention and the excessively long and "catch-all" indictments [indictments that are too general],” the statement read.
 
The verdict trial for the Ergenekon case was held Aug.5 at Istanbul’s Silivri Courthouse and ruled for severe punishments to be imposed on a total of 275 suspects at the end of the five-year process. (hurriyetdailynews.com, August 6, 2013)

Turquie-USA-OTAN / Turkey-USA-NATO

Ankara insatisfaite d'une action limitée, veut un changement de régime

Le Premier ministre turc Erdogan s'est déclaré insatisfait vendredi d'une possible action militaire limitée contre la Syrie, accusée d'avoir perpétré des attaques aux armes chimiques contre son peuple, estimant que toute intervention devait avoir pour objectif un changement de régime dans ce pays.

"Une opération limitée ne peut nous satisfaire", a-t-il dit à la presse, citée par la chaîne d'information NTV.

"Une intervention doit se faire comme ce qui s'est produit au Kosovo. Une intervention d'un jour ou deux ne suffira pas. L'objectif doit être de contraindre le régime à abandonner" le pouvoir, a-t-il estimé.

Après le coup de théâtre jeudi à Londres, où le Parlement a rejeté une intervention militaire, et face à l'impasse à l'ONU, Washington a dit pouvoir compter sur des alliés comme la France, la Ligue arabe et l'Australie.

Le secrétaire d'État américain John Kerry a évoqué vendredi une action "limitée" contre la Syrie et parlé d'une réponse militaire "ajustée" et qui ne serait pas "infinie" dans le temps, sans troupes au sol.

Le ministre turc des Affaires étrangères Ahmet Davutoglu a affirmé que selon les renseignements collectés par les services secrets turcs, il n'y avait plus aucun doute que le régime syrien était responsable de l'attaque chimique du 21 août près de Damas.

La Turquie, pays de l'Otan, qui a rompu avec le régime syrien, son ex-allié, s'est engagée à rejoindre une coalition anti-Damas, même sans consensus à l'Onu.

Les Etats-Unis et la France ont affiché leur détermination à agir en Syrie devant l'accumulation des preuves sur la responsabilité du régime dans l'attaque aux armes chimiques du 21 août, Barack Obama évoquant une action militaire "limitée".

Le président Barack Obama s'est ainsi longuement entretenu avec son homologue français François Hollande vendredi après-midi avec qui il s'est entendu pour "envoyer un message fort" à la Syrie afin de dénoncer l'usage des armes chimiques, a déclaré la présidence française.

A Paris, on estime que le refus de Londres d'intervenir en Syrie ne change pas la position de la France, "proche alliée et amie" des Etats-Unis, qui souhaite une action "proportionnée et ferme" contre le régime de Damas, selon François Hollande.

Ankara va beaucoup plus loin: Le premier ministre Recep Tayyip Erdogan veut un changement de régime, déclarant qu'"une opération limitée ne peut nous satisfaire". (AFP, 31 août 2013)

Manifestation devant l'ambassade des Etats-Unis à Bruxelles

A l'appel du comité contre l'ingérence en Syrie (CIS), environ 80 personnes, selon l'estimation de la police de Bruxelles-Ixelles, ont manifesté, jeudi, à 17 heures, devant l'ambassade des Etats-Unis, boulevard du Régent, à Bruxelles, contre une intervention en Syrie.

"Yankees go home ! " "Tous unis pour la paix en Syrie ! " Les manifestants ont agité banderoles, pancartes et drapeaux pour faire entendre leurs messages aux représentants diplomatiques des Etats-Unis à Bruxelles. Ils s'opposent à une éventuelle intervention américaine et prônent une négociation politique.

Bahar Kimyongur, porte-parole du CIS, reproche à la France, à l'Angleterre et aux Etats-Unis de parler d'intervention avant d'avoir les conclusions du rapport sur l'attaque à l'arme chimique du 21 août à l'est de Damas. "Connaissant tous les sales coups menés par l'impérialisme étasunien pour nous embarquer dans ses guerres, nous ne croyons pas en sa version des faits. Car nous n'avons pas oublié la 'fiole à jus de pomme' agitée par Colin Powell au Conseil de sécurité des Nations Unies pour nous convaincre que Saddam Hussein possédait des armes chimiques prêtes à l'emploi et ainsi justifier l'invasion de l'Irak. Il y a dix ans, cette mascarade a coûté la vie à 1,5 million d'Irakiens, soit dix fois plus de victimes que dans le conflit qui ravage la Syrie depuis 30 mois. Le coup de bluff de Powell a ensuite déclenché une guerre civile devenue depuis, une véritable campagne de génocide d'Al Qaïda envers les chiites d'Irak." (Belga, 29 août 2013)

Communiqué de presse de la CIS

Le 21 août dernier, une attaque à l'arme chimique menée par une force non identifiée sur le front est de Damas a coûté la vie à plusieurs centaines de personnes, dont de nombreux enfants.

Le trio France-Angleterre-USA a immédiatement accusé le gouvernement syrien sans la moindre preuve, sans attendre non plus les conclusions de la mission d'enquête de l'ONU déployée dans les zones touchées par l'attaque chimique.

Washington a aussitôt été rejoint par ses alliés wahhabites, par le régime d'Erdogan et bien sûr par Israël.

Connaissant tous les sales coups menés par l'impérialisme étasunien pour nous embarquer dans ses guerres, nous ne croyons pas en sa version des faits.

Car nous n'avons pas oublié la « fiole à jus de pomme » agitée par Collin Powell au Conseil de sécurité des Nations Unies pour nous convaincre que Saddam Hussein possédait des armes chimiques prêtes à l'emploi et ainsi justifier l'invasion de l'Irak.

Il y a dix ans, cette mascarade a coûté la vie à 1,5 millions d'Irakiens, soit dix fois plus de victimes que dans le conflit qui ravage la Syrie depuis 30 mois.

Sans compter les mutilés, les déplacés, l'assassinat ou la fuite des cerveaux, la destruction de l'économie et du patrimoine culturel.

Le coup de bluff de Powell a ensuite déclenché une guerre civile devenue depuis, une véritable campagne de génocide d'Al Qaïda envers les chiites d'Irak.

Quand on comptabilise les victimes irakiennes, on constate qu'il y a presque autant de morts dans l'Irak soi-disant « pacifiée » que dans la Syrie en guerre.

Mais, curieusement, personne ne se préoccupe de l'Irak.

Aucun dirigeant européen ne s'indigne de la terreur d'Al Qaïda en Irak qui tue chaque jour près d'une centaine d'innocents.

Cette indifférence est compréhensible : Al Qaïda poursuit le sale boulot des forces américaines et sert les intérêts de nos Etats dans la région.

Les attentats barbares d'Al Qaïda permettent en effet d'affaiblir l'Etat irakien, allié de la Syrie et de l'Iran, les deux ennemis jurés de l'Occident car ils menacent Israël, son poste avancé dans la région.

C'est pourquoi, nous ne sommes pas surpris d'apprendre que les Etats-Unis et leurs alliés éprouvent une soudaine compassion pour les enfants syriens et veulent même les venger en punissant leurs présumés assassins à coups de missiles.

N'est-ce pas touchant de la part des champions du monde de l'utilisation des armes de destruction massive sur des populations civiles ?

Souvenons-nous de la tendresse américaine envers les enfants d'Hiroshima et Nagazaki pulvérisés par la bombe atomique.

Souvenons-nous des enfants vietnamiens, cambodgiens et laotiens agonisant sous le Napalm et l'agent orange de l'armée américaine.

Souvenons-nous comme les USA ont fermé les yeux devant le gazage des Kurdes à Halabja par l'armée irakienne, comme ils ont massacré des innocents à l'uranium appauvri en Irak et au phosphore blanc en Palestine.

En clair, non seulement, les Etats-Unis et ses alliés n'ont nullement le droit d'intervenir en Syrie mais en plus, ils n'ont aucune légitimité morale.

Pour finir, nous tenons à rappeler qu'en Syrie, le régime n'est pas le seul à détenir des armes de destruction massive.

Hormis les innombrables preuves vidéo prouvant la possession et l'utilisation par les rebelles de produits toxiques mortels, soulignons également que les poignards des groupes takfiri comme Al Nosra et l'EIIL constituent elles aussi des armes de destructions massives.

Citons entre autres les centaines de Kurdes massacrés dans le Nord de la Syrie par Al Qaïda, les centaines d'alaouites égorgés par ces mêmes terroristes dans les montagnes de Lattaquié, les centaines de sunnites exécutés à Khan Al Assal, les dizaines de chrétiens tués à Marmarita dans la province de Homs et les chiites du village de Hatlah à Deir Ez Zor exterminés jusqu'au dernier.

Les poignards d'Al Qaïda, ne sont-ils pas eux aussi des armes de destruction massive lorsqu'ils exécutent près de 2.000 personnes en un seul mois ?

En défendant la solution de paix en Syrie, nous n'oublions pas toutes les victimes des bombardements de l'aviation et de l'artillerie syrienne, ni les rebelles ou les civils pro-rebelles torturés et exécutés par les milices loyalistes.

Nous le condamnons avec la même énergie que les crimes commis par les rebelles tout en nous interrogeant sur le rôle de nos gouvernements dans la dégénérescence de ce conflit.

Car si le conflit syrien est devenu aussi sordide, c'est aussi parce que nos gouvernements ont habilement accentué les tensions dans ce pays jusqu'à le faire éclater.

Nos dirigeants ont soutenu un camp, entraînant ainsi la radicalisation de l'autre camp.

L'Occident croyait en une victoire facile des rebelles face au régime de Damas.

Mais la résistance des forces loyalistes lui a montré qu'il s'était trompé.

A présent, l'Occident n'a d'autre choix que de convaincre ses protégés de la rébellion syrienne de s'asseoir à la table des négociations.

A ce stade du conflit syrien, la paix n'est donc plus une option.

Elle est une nécessité pour tous les belligérants, pour le peuple syrien et au-delà, pour l'humanité entière.

Kimyongür: "They killed a member of my family in Syria"

August 27, 2013, we received tho following message from Bahar Kimyongür:

Today, the lifeless body of the alawite Sheikh Badr, a relative on my mother’s side, appeared in some social media.

Al Nusra thugs tortured and killed this defenseless old man who carried love and wisdom in his heart.

Furthermore, I have the list of all the men, women and children that Nusra terrorists slaughtered in the alawite villages of Lattakieh :

- They cut the throat of Jafar Al Sheikh, 4 years old, in the village of Nabata.
- They eviscerated a pregnant woman in Hamboushiyeh.
- A woman killed herself with a kitchen knife in order to escape from her cruel fate after having seen her husband killed by Nusra.
- All 40 inhabitants of the hamlet of Harrata were murdered with swords just because they were alawite.
- In the village of Barouda, 33 persons were slaughtered with knives like sheep. Among them: 13 children and 9 women

Despite all this orgy of barbarism, after the massacre, speaking to the inhabitants of the neighboring villages sheikh Zulfikar, the brother of sheikh Badr reported his brother’s testimony as follows:

Let these words be my testament
If on television you see one of our symbols and our sanctuaries profaned, if they burn my body while insulting me or if they cut me into pieces, do not take vengeance.
Do not return blow for blow. Do not cause harm to anyone. Do not show any sectarian reaction. Sectarianism is a trap set for us.
Our morality rejects sectarianism. We have never provoked sectarianism. Even the most cowardly act will not drag us into that error.
I beg of you : in the name of the memory of Sheikh Fadhel (the youngest of the Ghazali brothers, deceased several years ago and honored by the community NDT) let us categorically reject sectarianism.

(English translation revised by Diana Johnstone)

Manifestation à Bruxelles pour la paix en Syrie

Les Etats-Unis, la France et la Grande Bretagne s'apprêtent à attaquer la Syrie.

Ils sont prêts à ignorer les Nations Unies et ce, quels que soient les résultats de l'enquête de l'ONU sur l'utilisation des armes chimiques en Syrie.

Une fois de plus, l'Occident fait passer ses intérêts avant ceux du peuple syrien.

Or, il est évident que seul un dialogue et un accord politique pourront mener à la fin du conflit en Syrie

A fortiori, toute intervention militaire aggravera la situation en Syrie, accroîtra le nombre de victimes et de réfugiés et entraînera la déstabilisation de toute la région.

C'est pourquoi, nous disons:

- les pourparlers entre les différentes parties en conflit doivent reprendre au plus vite
- la Belgique doit se tenir à l'écart de toute escalade militaire
- tous les efforts doivent être consentis pour trouver une solution politique.

Manifestation:
Mercredi 28 août 2013 de 17h à 19h devant la Bourse de Bruxelles

Premiers signataires: Intal - vrede vzw - COMAC - Comité contre l'ingérence en Syrie (CIS) - LEF - PTB
(bahar_kimyongur@yahoo.fr, 28 août 2013)

Entretiens Obama-Erdogan sur la Syrie et l'Egypte

Le président américain Barack Obama et le Premier ministre turc Recep Tayyip Erdogan se sont entretenus par téléphone mercredi de la situation en Syrie et en Egypte, a annoncé la Maison Blanche.

Lors de cet entretien, à la demande de M. Erdogan, les deux dirigeants ont "discuté des dangers constitués par les extrémistes étrangers en Syrie, et sont convenus de l'importance de soutenir (une opposition) unifiée et large", a précisé la présidence américaine dans un communiqué.

Ces discussions sont intervenues alors que Barack Obama a annoncé mercredi sa décision de débloquer 195 millions de dollars supplémentaires pour les Syriens affectés par le conflit dans leur pays, portant à plus d'un milliard de dollars au total l'aide humanitaire américaine dans cette crise.

Le conflit syrien a fait plus de 100.000 morts en 28 mois, et 1,8 million de Syriens sont réfugiés dans des pays voisins, où les craintes augmentent de voir la guerre civile syrienne déborder.

A Washington, le N°2 de la CIA Michael Morell a affirmé que la guerre civile en Syrie constituait la principale menace contre la sécurité des Etats-Unis, disant craindre que ce pays ne devienne un nouveau sanctuaire pour Al-Qaïda.

MM. Obama et Erdogan ont également discuté de la situation en Egypte, où une médiation de Washington et Bruxelles n'est pas parvenue à dénouer la grave crise politique qui secoue le pays depuis la destitution par l'armée du président islamiste Mohamed Morsi début juillet.

Le nouveau pouvoir a menacé de disperser par la force les partisans de M. Morsi, mobilisés au Caire, faisant craindre un nouveau bain de sang.

"Le président et le Premier ministre ont exprimé leur inquiétude face à la situation en Egypte et leur engagement commun à soutenir une solution démocratique et fédératrice", déclare la Maison Blanche. (AFP, 8 août 2013)

US representatives criticize PM Erdoğan’s ‘anti-semitic’ statements

Forty-six U.S. representatives have written a letter to Turkish President Abdullah Gül criticizing some of Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s statements which they described as “anti-semitic,” daily Hürriyet reported.
 
The letter requested Gül to publically condemn “the anti-semitic rhetoric” of government officials.
 
The signatories noted that another letter had been written a few months ago asking Erdoğan to retract his statements that compared Zionism to a “crime against humanity,” without success.
 
They also argued that Erdoğan’s accusations of an “interest rate lobby” engineering the Gezi protests were implicitly targeting Jews, recalling that Deputy Prime Minister Beşir Atalay had openly stated that a “Jewish diaspora” was behind the recent unrest in Turkey.
 
The letter was prepared on the initiative of Rep. Brad Schneider (D-Illinois), Rep. Randy Weber (R-Texas), Rep. Lois Frankel (D-Florida) and Mark Meadows (R-North Carolina) and signed by congressmen from both the Democrat and Republican parties, the report said.  (hurriyetdailynews.com, August 1, 2013)

Relations régionales / Regional Relations

PYD leader doubts Assad guilty of Damascus attacks

Syrian President Bashar Assad would not be “so stupid” as to use chemical weapons close to Damascus, the leader of the country’s largest Kurdish group said.

Saleh Muslim, head of the Kurdish Democratic Union Party (PYD), said he doubted the Syrian president would resort to using such weapons when he felt he had the upper hand in the country’s civil war.

He suggested last Wednesday’s attack, which the opposition says was carried out by government forces and killed hundreds of people, was aimed at framing Assad and provoking an international reaction. Assad has denied his forces used chemical weapons.

“The regime in Syria ... has chemical weapons, but they wouldn’t use them around Damascus, 5 km from the (U.N.) committee which is investigating chemical weapons. Of course they are not so stupid as to do so,” Muslim told Reuters.

At the time of the incident, U.N. experts were already in Syria to investigate three previous alleged chemical attacks dating from months ago.

Muslim’s PYD, which has well-armed and effective militias, has clashed with Assad’s forces as well as rebels, but has allowed both to move through its territories during the war.

Some rebels and rival Kurdish groups accuse it of having been close to the state, a position Muslim disputes. He said Kurdish areas the PYD controlled were under attack from Al-Qaeda-linked rebels.

Muslim suggested “some other sides who want to blame the Syrian regime, who want to show them as guilty and then see action” lay behind the chemical attack, which has led to speculation that Western countries will order a military response.

He said that if the U.N. inspectors found evidence Assad was not behind the gassing and the rebels were, “everybody would forget it.”

“Who is the side who would be punished? Are they going to punish the emir of Qatar or the king of Saudi Arabia, or Mr. [Recep Tayyip] Erdogan of Turkey?” Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Turkey have all strongly condemned Assad and backed the rebels.

Kurdish militias have sought to consolidate their grip in northern Syria after exploiting the chaos of the civil war over the past year by seizing control of districts as Assad’s forces focused elsewhere.

The PYD said in July it aimed to set up a transitional council and their emerging self-rule is starting to echo the autonomy of Kurds in Iraq. (REUTERS/Abo Alnour Alhaji)

Nouvelles accusations d'Erdogan et la réponse de Bernard-Henri Lévy

Le Premier ministre turc Recep Tayyip Erdogan a, une nouvelle fois, critiqué dimanche Israël ainsi que le philosophe français Bernard-Henri Lévy qu'il accuse d'avoir joué un rôle dans le renversement du président égyptien Mohammed Morsi.

"En 2011 lors d'une conférence, l'ancienne ministre israélienne (des Affaires étrangères, aujourd'hui ministre de la Justice) Tzipi Livni et un soi-disant intellectuel français débattent de la possible arrivée au pouvoir des Frères musulmans en Egypte", a-t-il dit lors d'un discours à l'université de sa ville natale de Rize (nord-est).

"On voit comment par quelles manoeuvres le pouvoir a été destitué en Egypte par les propos de ces participants" qui lors du séminaire se sont inquiétés de l'accession au pouvoir des Frères musulmans, a estimé M. Erdogan, dénonçant le régime militaire dans ce pays qui a "volé les voix" du peuple égyptien.

"Ces gens manifestent uniquement pour défendre l'honneur de leurs suffrages", a insisté le Premier ministre turc qui soutient les Frères musulmans.

Depuis plusieurs jours, M. Erdogan multiplie ses critiques envers Israël et l'intellectuel français les accusant d'avoir fomenté le "coup d'Etat" du 3 juillet dernier en Egypte pour destituer le président Mohammed Morsi, provoquant l'indignation d'Israël et des Etats-Unis. Les deux parties ont rejeté les accusations qualifiées "d'agressives, d'infondées et de fausses" par la Maison Blanche.

Dans un entretien publié samedi par le journal d'opposition turque Cumhuriyet*, Bernard-Henri Lévy (BHL)a estimé que le Premier ministre turc "délire (...) Oui, franchement, tout le monde, en France, aux Etats-Unis, se tord de rire".

BHL a, par ailleurs, confirmé ses déclarations sur les Frères musulmans qui "confisqueraient le pouvoir à des fins idéologiques; qu'ils établiraient, pas à pas, un Etat religieux totalitaire (...) Bref, qu'ils aboliraient cette démocratie naissante qui leur avait permis de s'emparer du pouvoir".

A propos de la Turquie, l'intellectuel français a affirmé que pour que le pays "retrouve des relations normales avec ses partenaires naturels, c'est-à-dire avec les démocraties et donc, en particulier, avec Israël, il faudra qu'il tourne la page Erdogan".  (AFP, 25 août 2013)

*) L'interview de Bernard-Henri Lévy a été publiée dans son intégralité le 26 août 2013 par La Règle du jeu . (cliquer ici).

Tariq Ramadan calls international community to act on Egypt

Philosopher Tariq Ramadan (named by the Times as one of the first 100 most influential people) has issued an appeal for urgent civil society mobilization to stop the massacre in Egypt.

"The situation in Egypt is growing worse by the day and by the hour. - writes Ramadan - Anything can happen. Even though the threat of civil war has yet to materialize, we must take all possible outcomes into account and act accordingly. It appears that the power structure—civilian and military—disagree on strategy. Some would like to eradicate the Muslim Brotherhood (MB) while others would prefer that it survive without power, the better to maintain the illusion of a pluralistic and democratic future. But they agree on one thing: their only opponents are the “Muslim Brotherhood”, who they demonize as “terrorists” and “extremists.” Repression is now driving radicalization, which in turn will be used to justify further repression. It will not be the first time contemporary Egypt has witnessed such a vicious circle".

In the appeal Tariq Ramadan writes: "Opponents of the coup d’État, led by the MB, have taken peacefully to the streets and continue to demonstrate despite the state of emergency and repression. Their weeks-long resistance has been, and must continue to be, non-violent despite the provocations of the Armed Forces and the police, whose tactics are well known: mass or targeted executions, delinquents (known as baltagiyya) in the pay of the authorities used to attack demonstrators, in addition to firebombing of Coptic churches to create divisions and stoke sectarian rage (Sadat and Mubarak perfected the same technique)".

The appeal continues by stating that "It is imperative, as non-violent demonstrations continue, for civil society of all political stripes opposed to violence and to the military, to create a common front focused on clear, courageous and realistic demands".

According to Ramadan "A national civil coalition bringing together secularists, Islamists, Copts, women, young activists must be prepared to enter into dialogue with the authorities and to demand:

• An end to repression;
• Liberation of all political prisoners, leaders and party members, which would lead to the immediate end of demonstrations;
• A roadmap for restoration of civilian political authority and a negotiated political and electoral timetable".

Civil society, ends the appeal "must today make its voice heard, must reject the lie that the Armed Forces are arrayed against the Islamists alone. What is at stake is the democratic future of Egypt, something that the Armed Forces can never protect. Civil society must examine its past errors and work together to find a way out of the crisis. To be a passive, non-violent observer of violence is indirectly to choose violence". (ANF, August 22, 2013)

Erdogan: Israël derrière la destitution de Morsi

Le Premier ministre turc Recep Tayyip Erdogan a affirmé mardi qu'Israël se trouvait derrière la destitution en Egypte par l'armée du président Mohamed Morsi.

Le gouvernement intérimaire installé par l'armée en Egypte a dénoncé des déclarations "sans fondement et qu'aucune personne sensée ne peut croire", assurant que la "patience de l'Egypte arrivait à sa limite".

"Vous savez ce qu'on dit en Egypte, que la démocratie ne se fonde pas sur les urnes. Qui se trouve derrière cela: Israël", a dit M. Erdogan à Ankara lors d'une réunion de son parti, issu de la mouvance islamiste, de la justice et du développement (AKP).

M. Erdogan a étayé sa thèse en affirmant que lors d'un forum en France avant les élections de 2012 qui ont conduit au pouvoir les Frères musulmans de M. Morsi, "le ministre (israélien) de la Justice et un intellectuel juif utilisent ces termes: +Même si les Frères musulmans remportent les élections, ils n'en sortiront pas vainqueurs, car la démocratie ne repose pas sur les urnes".

La Turquie a vivement condamné la destitution du président Morsi et a opté pour un ton très ferme pour réagir à la répression menée par les forces de sécurité égyptiennes contre des rassemblements de soutien au président islamiste déchu.

La Turquie a rappelé son ambassadeur au Caire, ce à quoi l'Egypte a riposté par le rappel de son ambassadeur en poste à Ankara, signe d'une dégradation des liens bilatéraux, traditionnellement bons.

M. Erdogan avait fortement renforcé les liens entre son pays et l'Egypte sous la présidence de M. Morsi, Ankara ayant fait du Caire l'un de ses partenaires privilégiés dans sa stratégie d'influence régionale.

Les Etats-Unis, Israël et le Canada dénoncent les propos d'Erdogan

La Maison Blanche a condamné mardi les propos du Premier ministre turc Reçep Tayyip Erdogan, pour qui Israël aurait orchestré la destitution du président égyptien Mohamed Morsi début juillet.

Ces propos sont très "agressifs, sans fondements et faux", a affirmé un porte-parole de la présidence, Josh Earnest.

Le bureau du Premier ministre israélien Benjamin Netanyahu a qualifié mardi soir d'"absurde" les propos du Premier ministre turc Reçep Tayyip Erdogan, pour qui Israël a orchestré la destitution du président égyptien Mohamed Morsi début juillet.

"Ces déclarations du Premier ministre turc sont absurdes", a dit à l'AFP un responsable de ce bureau, refusant de faire d'autres commentaires.

Les "propos du dirigeant turc ne méritent pas de réactions", avait auparavant déclaré à l'AFP un autre responsable israélien, qui a requis l'anonymat.

Le Canada a pressé mardi le Premier ministre turc Reçep Tayyip Erdogan de retirer ses propos "incendiaires" affirmant qu'Israël serait derrière la destitution du président égyptien Mohamed Morsi début juillet.

"J'espère que le Premier ministre turc va faire ce qui s'impose et retirera ses remarques offensantes et incendiaires", a déclaré le ministre des Affaires étrangères John Baird sur Twitter.

Les propos de M. Erdogan "accusant Israël d'être impliqué dans le renversement du Président (Mohamed) Morsi sont profondément décevants et complètement faux", a ajouté M. Baird, dont le gouvernement est l'un des plus proches alliés de l'État hébreu. (AFP, 20 août 2013)

La maladie grave des rebelles syriens

Bahar Kimyongur

On l'observe et le dit depuis le début du conflit syrien. Les principaux groupes rebelles syriens sont atteints d'une maladie grave : le racisme ethnique et confessionnel.

Leur discours suinte la haine envers tout ce qui est différent.

Durant la semaine qui vient de s'écouler, les groupes dit rebelles ont massacré des femmes et des enfants alaouites dans les villages surplombant Lattaquié, des chrétiens à Wadi Nassara dans le gouvernorat de Homs, des kurdes êzidis au village d'Assadiya sur la route de Hassaké, des chiites à Noubbol et Zahra et des Kurdes (pourtant sunnites) dans la plupart des zones contrôlées par les Unités de protection du peuple kurde (YPG).

Ici, la vidéo terrifiante de l'exécution de deux enfants chiites par les l'Etat islamique d'Irak et du Levant dans le Nord d'Alep : http://www.syriantube.net/6210.html

Au même moment, deux soldats loyalistes ont été capturés vifs dans un endroit inconnu et interrogés avant d'être exécutés.

Les bourreaux ont filmé l'interrogatoire:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=4gYiSCGvJ7A

Dès le début, le premier bourreau demande compulsivement:
- De quelle confession es-tu ?
Le soldat capturé a à peine le temps de répondre "alaouite" qu'il reçoit un coup au visage, puis deux gifles.
- Quelle confession? insiste le bourreau.
- "alaouite" répète le prisonnier.
La victime est à nouveau roué de coups. Il se redresse.
Le deuxième bourreau s'y met:
- Nous n'avons pas bien entendu. Répète !
La victime guère impressionnée dit encore : "- alaouite".
Nouveaux coups au visage.
"Je jure par dieu que nous allons tous vous brûler avec la maison des Assad" peste le deuxième bourreau...

A la vue de ces images de tortures, on comprendra sans doute mieux pourquoi des millions de Syriens issus de toutes les communautés se sentent protégés par le gouvernement de Damas, pourquoi l'autre Syrie, celle que nos médias s'obstinent à boycotter, résiste avec tant d'ardeur aux assauts des milices takfiries et génocidaires soutenues par Washington et ses partenaires stratégiques (France, Angleterre, Turquie, royaumes du Golfe et Israël).

Rassemblements pro-Morsi en Turquie

Des milliers de manifestants se sont rassemblés samedi à Istanbul et Konya (centre) à l'appel d'organisations pro-islamistes en faveur du président égyptien déchu Mohamed Morsi, conspuant les "massacres" du régime militaire.

"A Bas Al-Sissi", chef des armées, "Morsi au pouvoir !", ont notamment scandé les quelque 4.000 manifestants réunis sur l'esplanade de la mosquée neuve du quartier d'Eminönü, à Istanbul, a constaté un photographe de l'AFP.

Brandissant des drapeaux de l'Egypte, les manifestants ont aussi appelé le monde musulman à "venir en aide au peuple égyptien massacré".

Près de 10.000 personnes ont également manifesté leur soutien au président islamiste déchu à Konya, un fief islamiste, a rapporté l'agence Dogan.

La Turquie a durci très fortement le ton envers l'Egypte, rappelant son ambassadeur au Caire après la répression sanglante des Frères musulmans mercredi.

Depuis, des manifestations quotidiennes pro-Morsi sont organisées dans les grandes villes de Turquie.

L'Egypte a répliqué en rappelant aussi son ambassadeur en Turquie pour consultations.

Le Premier ministre turc Recep Tayyip Erdogan, chef du parti de la Justice et du développement, issu de la mouvance islamiste, avait fortement renforcé les liens entre son pays et l'Egypte sous la présidence de Mohamed Morsi, élu en juin 2012, Ankara ayant fait du Caire l'un de ses partenaires privilégiés dans sa stratégie d'influence régionale.

Erdogan fustige l'ONU, l'UE et l'OCI

Le Premier ministre turc Recep Tayyip Erdogan a fustigé samedi le Conseil de sécurité de l'ONU, l'Union européenne et l'Organisation de la coopération islamique (OCI), leur reprochant de ne pas avoir condamné la répression en Egypte contre les manifestants islamistes.

"Je le dis très clairement, le Conseil de sécurité des Nations Unies n'a plus le droit de se regarder dans un miroir, tellement il a honte, car il n'a pu condamner ce qui se passe en Egypte", a déclaré M. Erdogan lors d'une cérémonie de réaménagement urbain à Bursa, dans le nord-ouest de la Turquie.

"Je dis la même chose pour l'Organisation de la coopération islamique et l'Union européenne", a poursuivi le Premier ministre turc.

Les membres du Conseil de sécurité de l'ONU se sont contentés de souhaiter jeudi, à l'issue de consultations sur la crise en Egypte, que "les parties en Egypte fassent preuve d'un maximum de retenue".

"Ceux qui restent muets face aux développements en Egypte approuvent les massacres par leur silence et s'enlisent dans le sang qui coule dans ce pays", a lancé M. Erdogan, accusant une nouvelle fois d'inaction la communauté internationale.

La Turquie a opté pour un ton très ferme pour réagir à la répression menée par les forces de sécurité égyptiennes contre des rassemblements du président islamiste destitué Mohamed Morsi. Cette répression qui a fait depuis mercredi des centaines de morts a été largement dénoncée par les pays occidentaux.

La Turquie a rappelé son ambassadeur au Caïre, ce à quoi l'Egypte a riposté par le rappel de son ambassadeur en poste à Ankara.

M. Erdogan, chef du Parti de la justice et du développement (AKP), issu de la mouvance islamiste, avait fortement renforcé les liens entre son pays et l'Egypte sous la présidence de Mohamed Morsi, élu en juin 2012, Ankara ayant fait du Caire l'un de ses partenaires privilégiés dans sa stratégie d'influence régionale. (AFP, 17 août 2013)

Au moins 18 morts dans une offensive d'Al-Qaïda

Des jihadistes d'Al-Qaïda ont lancé une nouvelle offensive dans les régions à majorité kurde du nord de la Syrie, faisant au moins 18 morts et poussant de nombreux habitants à fuir, a annoncé samedi l'Observatoire syrien des droits de l'Homme (OSDH).

L'assaut visait à reprendre Ras al-Aïn, une ville stratégique reprise en juillet aux jihadistes par les Kurdes.

Selon un militant kurde, Havidar, l'offensive s'inscrit dans l'objectif plus global pour l'Etat islamique de l'Irak et du Levant (EIIL) de s'emparer du nord de la Syrie afin d'y établir un "califat" à cheval sur l'Irak et la Syrie.

Cette région a été abandonnée l'an dernier par l'armée régulière aux combattants kurdes, selon l'OSDH, qui s'appuie sur un large réseau de militants à travers le pays.

"Des combats intermittents se poursuivent dans la région d'Asfar Najjar et dans les environs de Tal Halaf", a précisé Havidar, joint par l'AFP via internet, ajoutant que des habitants fuyaient "en masse" vers la Turquie voisine.

Selon l'OSDH, un infirmier et un ambulancier du Croissant-Rouge kurde, ainsi que cinq combattants kurdes et 11 jihadistes ont trouvé la mort dans les combats.

Dans la province de Homs (centre), les rebelles ont attaqué le poste de contrôle d'une milice pro-régime dans une région à majorité chrétienne, tuant six civils et cinq miliciens, selon l'OSDH.

L'agence officielle Sana a pour sa part affirmé que toutes les victimes étaient des civils.

De nombreux chrétiens habitent à Wadi Nassara, une vallée à l'ouest de Homs près du célèbre château croisé le Krak des chevaliers, qui est aux mains des rebelles. La population a triplé dans cette vallée qui accueille beaucoup de chrétiens de Homs et des environs.

Vendredi, les violences ont fait au moins 182 morts en Syrie, selon le bilan quotidien de l'OSDH. Seize personnes, dont quatre enfants, ont ainsi été tuées par des obus de l'armée dans le quartier d'Al-Kalassé, à Alep.

Amnesty International a dénoncé la détention de deux opposants de l'intérieur arrêtés le 18 juillet dans la ville côtière de Tartous, qualifiés de "prisonniers de conscience". Le peintre Youssef Abdelké et Adnane al-Débés sont membres du Parti d'action communiste (interdit) et du Comité de coordination pour le changement national et démocratique (CCCND), qui rejettent la militarisation de la révolte et l'intervention de forces étrangères. (AFP, 17 août 2013)

Erdogan fustige l'Occident sur l'Egypte; l'ambassadeur rappelé

Le Premier ministre turc Recep Tayyip Erdogan a appelé jeudi le Conseil de sécurité de l'ONU à se réunir "rapidement" pour évoquer l'Egypte, fustigeant l'"hypocrisie" de l'Occident face au "très grave massacre" survenu la veille dans ce pays.

"Le Conseil de sécurité des Nations unies doit rapidement se réunir pour discuter de la situation en Egypte", a-t-il dit devant la presse à Ankara, estimant que tous les pays membres du Conseil devraient donner leur feu vert à une telle réunion.

"Ceux qui ne disent pas +oui+ à une telle réunion ne pourront jamais rendre compte de leur décision devant l'Histoire", a-t-il estimé à l'aéroport de la capitale turque avant de partir pour une visite de travail au Turkménistan.

Le chef du gouvernement islamo-conservateur turc a dénoncé un "très grave massacre" des forces de l'ordre lors de la dispersion mercredi en Egypte des partisans du président déchu Mohamed Morsi.

"C'est un très grave massacre (...) visant le peuple égyptien qui ne faisait que manifester pacifiquement", a-t-il dit.

M. Erdogan, chef du parti de la Justice et du développement (AKP, issu de la mouvance islamiste) à dès le début qualifié de "coup d'Etat" la destitution par l'armée du président Morsi, issu des rangs des Frères musulmans, provoquant la colère de la nouvelle direction au Caire.

La Turquie rappelle son ambassadeur

La Turquie a rappelé pour consultations son ambassadeur en Egypte, a annoncé jeudi le ministère turc des Affaires étrangères, après la violente répression lancée la veille par les forces de sécurité égyptiennes contre des manifestants favorables au président déchu Mohamed Morsi.

"Notre ambassadeur a été rappelé pour discuter des derniers développements qui se déroulent en Egypte", a déclaré à l'AFP un porte-parole du ministère turc.

L'ambassadeur turc Huseyin Avni Botsali doit revenir vendredi au Caire, a-t-il ajouté.

Auparavant, le Premier ministre turc Recep Tayyip Edogan, qui soutient le président égyptien déchu Mohamed Morsi et son mouvement des Frères musulmans, avait appelé à une réunion urgente du Conseil de sécurité des Nations unies consacrée au "massacre" qui a lieu en Egypte.

"C'est un très grave massacre (...) visant le peuple égyptien qui ne faisait que manifester pacifiquement", a-t-il insisté. (AFP, 15 août 2013)

Ankara dénonce le "massacre" en Egypte

La Turquie a fermement dénoncé l'intervention sanglante de la police égyptienne mercredi contre les partisans du président déchu Mohamed Morsi, exhortant la communauté internationale à faire cesser le "massacre" et craignant que l'Egypte ne devienne une nouvelle Syrie.

"La communauté internationale, le Conseil de sécurité de l'ONU et la Ligue arabe en tête, doit immédiatement passer à l'acte pour faire cesser ce massacre", souligne dans un communiqué le service de presse du Premier ministre islamo-conservateur, Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

M. Erdogan, chef du parti de la Justice et du développement (AKP, issu de la mouvance islamiste), ainsi que le président Abdullah Gül ont dès le début qualifié de "coup d'Etat" la destitution par l'armée du président Morsi, issu des rangs des Frères musulmans, provoquant la colère de la nouvelle direction au Caire.

Le document souligne que l'attitude conciliante de la communauté internationale à l'égard du "coup d'Etat" en Egypte "n'a fait qu'encourager l'actuel gouvernement en vue de son intervention d'aujourd'hui (mercredi)".

M. Gül a pour sa part dénoncé une opération "inacceptable" de la police égyptienne contre les partisans de M. Morsi, qui a tourné au bain de sang, craignant que la situation en Egypte ne dégénère en conflit comme en Syrie.

"Ce qui s'est passé en Egypte, cette intervention armée contre des civils qui manifestent, est absolument inacceptable", a déclaré le chef de l'Etat devant la presse à Ankara, exhortant toutes les parties à l'apaisement.

M. Gül a dit redouter une situation qui pourrait virer au "chaos" en Egypte.

"Nous voulons rappeler à tout le monde comment les violences avaient commencé chez notre voisin" syrien, où fait rage une guerre civile meurtrière, a-t-il poursuivi, appelant une nouvelle fois à la libération du président déchu et à l'organisation dans les plus brefs délais d'élections "transparentes" en Egypte.

"Ce qui m'effraie c'est que l'Egypte sombre dans un chaos inextricable (...), la voie dans laquelle s'engouffre l'Egypte est une impasse", a ajouté le président turc.

Le chef de la diplomatie turque, Ahmet Davutoglu, qui s'est entretenu au téléphone avec ses homologues allemand, saoudien et qatari de la situation en Egypte, a critiqué l'inaction de l'Occident face aux événements dans ce pays musulman.

"Ceux qui ne sont pas au bon endroit aujourd'hui, ne peuvent donner une leçon de démocratie dans l'avenir", a-t-il estimé sur son compte Twitter.

Plusieurs manifestations ont eu lieu en Turquie à l'appel d'organisations islamistes pour soutenir les partisans de M. Morsi.

A Istanbul, environ 2.000 personnes ont manifesté sur l'esplanade de la mosquée Fatih, brandissant des posters du président égyptien déchu.

Sur une banderole on pouvait notamment lire "Al-Sissi va-t-en!" à l'adresse du général Abdel Fattah al-Sissi, nouvel homme fort de l'Egypte et chef de l'armée.

A Ankara, environ 300 personnes ont conspué devant l'ambassade d'Egypte l'opération de la police au Caire contre les partisans de M. Morsi qui a fait plus de 120 morts.

Les relations entre la Turquie et l'Egypte s'étaient fortement renforcées sous la présidence de Mohamed Morsi, Ankara ayant alors fait du Caire l'un de ses partenaires privilégiés dans sa stratégie d'influence régionale. En septembre 2012, M. Morsi avait été un invité de marque au congrès de l'AKP. (AFP, 14 août 2013)

Pilotes turcs enlevés: mise en garde de la Turquie au Liban

Le chef de la diplomatie turque Ahmet Davutoglu a mis en garde mardi son homologue libanais contre les "répercussions négatives" du rapt de deux pilotes turcs à Beyrouth la semaine dernière.

Selon un communiqué des Affaires étrangères libanaises, le ministre Adnane Mansour a reçu un appel de M. Davutoglu au sujet des pilotes de la Turkish Airlines enlevés vendredi près de l'aéroport de Beyrouth dans une zone majoritairement chiite, contrôlée notamment par le Hezbollah, un allié du régime syrien.

Lors de la conversation, "Davutoglu a fait part à Mansour de sa profonde préoccupation au sujet du kidnapping" et lui a indiqué que cela pourrait "avoir des conséquences négatives sur les relations entre les deux pays".

Le groupe qui a revendiqué le rapt des pilotes demande à la Turquie d'user de son influence auprès des rebelles syriens qu'elle soutient, pour obtenir la libération de neuf pèlerins chiites libanais kidnappés en Syrie en mai 2012.

M. Mansour lui a répondu que son pays "rejetait tout rapt sur son territoire", a loué les "solides relations" bilatérales et l'a assuré que les autorités libanaises faisaient "tous les efforts possibles pour obtenir la libération des deux pilotes", selon le communiqué.

La veille, la Turquie a annoncé la fermeture de son centre culturel et son bureau commercial à Beyrouth. Ankara a appelé ses ressortissants à quitter le Liban, et ceux comptant s'y rendre à annuler leur voyage à moins d'un "impératif vital".

En outre, selon l'ambassadeur turc à Beyrouth, depuis mai, le bureau de la Turkish Airlines (qui se trouvait au centre ville) a été transférée vers l'aéroport international de Beyrouth, à la suite de manifestation de parents des neuf otages libanais en Syrie, pays en proie à la guerre civile.

Un groupe inconnu, le "groupe des visiteurs de l'imam al-Rida" --du nom d'un imam vénéré par les chiites-- a revendiqué le rapt des pilotes. (AFP, 14 août 2013)

Deux pilotes de la Turkish Airlines enlevés à Beyrouth

Des hommes armés ont enlevé vendredi à Beyrouth deux pilotes de la Turkish Airlines afin que leur pays contraigne les rebelles syriens à relâcher neuf chiites libanais qu'ils détiennent depuis mai 2012.

Peu après, la Turquie, qui soutient la rébellion syrienne face au régime de Bachar al-Assad, a appelé ses citoyens à quitter le Liban et à ceux comptant s'y rendre à annuler leur voyage à moins d'un "impératif vital".

La Turquie va retirer une partie de ses troupes de la mission de maintien de la paix des Nations unies au Liban, ont annoncé samedi des sources en Turquie et à l'ONU, qui excluent un lien entre cette décision et l'enlèvement de deux pilotes turcs.

"Environ 250 personnes de la force du génie militaire ne seront prochainement plus actifs dans la Finul (force intérimaire des Nations Unies déployée dans le sud du Liban)", a déclaré à l'AFP une source diplomatique turque qui a requis l'anonymat.

Selon une source de sécurité, quatre hommes armés circulant à bord de deux voitures ont enlevé les deux pilotes qui se trouvaient dans un bus se rendant de l'aéroport vers un hôtel en ville. Le rapt a eu lieu dans une zone majoritairement chiite, contrôlée par les mouvements Amal et Hezbollah.

Les sept autres passagers sont repartis vers Istanbul.

"Les hommes armés ont affirmé aux membres d'équipage que ce rapt était lié à la situation des otages libanais" en Syrie, a expliqué à l'AFP l'ambassadeur de Turquie à Beyrouth, Inan Ozyildiz.

D'après une source gouvernementale libanaise, un accord prévoyait que tous les otages libanais soient libérés ces jours-ci pour la fête musulmane du Fitr. Mais les ravisseurs sont revenus sur leurs engagements et prévoient de ne libérer que deux otages, contre 134 femmes relâchées par le régime syrien à la demande de Beyrouth.

Le président libanais Michel Sleimane, dans un entretien téléphonique avec son homologue turc Abdullah Gül, a condamné le rapt et assuré que "des efforts sérieux étaient en cours pour localiser l'endroit où se trouvaient les pilotes turcs, s'assurer de leur sort et tout faire pour les libérer", selon la présidence.

M. Gül a pour sa part "rappelé les efforts entrepris par son pays pour libérer les otages d'Azaz" et assuré que ces efforts se poursuivaient afin que les otages "puissent rentrer dans leur famille le plus tôt possible".

Le ministre turc des Affaires étrangères, Ahmet Davutoglu, a appelé pour sa part les autorités libanaises à prendre "toutes les mesures pour la sécurité des citoyens (turcs) vivant au Liban", lors de conversations téléphoniques avec le Premier ministre Najib Mikati et d'autres responsables libanais.

"Je lui ai dit que nous faisions tout notre possible pour identifier les ravisseurs et libérer" les pilotes, a déclaré M. Mikati à l'AFP.

Hayat Aawali, épouse de l'un des otages en Syrie, a affirmé "soutenir" le rapt "dans ce cas précis. Nous félicitons ceux qui l'ont fait. Nous les remercions car (...) nous ne pouvions pas le faire nous-mêmes".

Dans un communiqué diffusé sur une chaîne libanaise, mais dont l'authenticité n'a été confirmée, un groupe inconnu, le "groupe des visiteurs de l'imam Ali al-Rida", a revendiqué l'enlèvement des pilotes.

L'imam Ali al-Rida est l'un des plus vénérés par les chiites (766-818). C'est au retour d'une visite sur sa tombe en Iran que les pèlerins libanais chiites ont été enlevés dans le nord de la Syrie. Les femmes du groupe ainsi que deux hommes ont depuis été libérés.

"Nous annonçons que le capitaine Murat Akpinar et son co-pilote Murat Agca sont nos invités jusqu'à la libération de nos frères (...). La Turquie est directement responsable de la liberté" des otages libanais, a dit le groupe.

Interrogé par l'AFP après cette revendication, un porte-parole du ministère turc des Affaires étrangères a affirmé que son pays n'avait "rien à avoir" avec l'enlèvement des Libanais en Syrie et qu'Ankara faisait son possible "pour obtenir leur libération", dans un souci humanitaire.

Les familles des pèlerins enlevés avaient maintes fois manifesté devant les locaux de Turkish Airlines à Beyrouth, appelant Ankara à user de son influence auprès des rebelles pour qu'ils soient relâchées.

L'enlèvement des Libanais avait été revendiqué à l'époque par un homme se présentant comme Abou Ibrahim et se disant membre de l'Armée syrienne libre (ASL, rébellion), mais l'ASL a nié toute implication.

Selon leurs ravisseurs, les otages libanais sont des membres du Hezbollah, qui combat aux côtés de l'armée syrienne contre les rebelles.

Le Liban subit les contrecoups de la guerre en Syrie avec des violences fréquentes à la frontière et une montée des tensions communautaires. (AFP, 9 août 2013)

L’embargo international contre les Kurdes en Syrie

Le Programme alimentaire mondial de l'ONU (PAM) affirme avoir distribué des vivres à 2,4 millions de personnes à travers la Syrie au mois de juillet, au lieu des 3 millions prévus. Sauf la région kurde qui n’a reçu aucune aide humanitaire de l’ONU.

Le Kurdistan occidental, le territoire kurde en Syrie, est sous l’embargo de la Turquie depuis le début de la révolte, lancée en mars 2011. Ce pays a fermé ses portes aux Kurdes, tout en les laissant ouvertes aux combattants d’Al-Qaïda et ceux de l’armée syrienne libre (ASL) qui reçoivent un soutien militaire et financier depuis la Turquie.

A l’intérieur du pays, des groupes affiliés à Al-Qaïda et des brigades de l’ASL ont fait alliance contre les Kurdes. Depuis 16 juillet, les combats font rage entre ces groupes, soutenus et armés par des pays étrangers, et les combattants Kurdes.

La dimension de l’embargo international est visible sur un tableau de l’aide « humanitaire », publiée dans le rapport du PAM. Il s’agit plutôt d’un tableau de la « discrimination » et de «l’embargo ».

Selon la porte-parole du PAM à Genève, l’agence est en dessous de ses objectifs initiaux, n’ayant réussi à atteindre que 2,4 millions de personnes en Syrie au mois de juillet, au lieu des 3 millions prévus. La porte-parole Elisabeth Byrs affirme que l’agence espère pouvoir remédier à ces lacunes et atteindre au mois d'août cet objectif des trois millions. « Mais cette situation d'insécurité et ces violences redoublées, notamment dans certaines zones comme Homs, Alep et Al Hasakeh ont entraîné des retards » dit-elle pour expliquer cette situation.

Selon le PAM,  la région d’Al Hasakeh qui comprend le Kurdistan occidental n’a reçu aucune aide, alors qu’il s’agit de la région la plus stable en Syrie, mais qui a besoin de nourriture en raison des frontières et des routes fermées, tant à l'extérieur qu'à l'intérieur.

Il n’y a aucun risque pour acheminer des vivres dans la région kurde, si ce n’est pas un embargo imposé par des forces internationales et régionales, afin de briser la résistance de ce peuple qui a adopté la « troisième voie » dans le conflit syrien, pour une autonomie démocratique au sein d’une « confédération des peuples du Moyen-Orient ». (Maxime Azadi, actukurde.fr/actualites, 6 août 2013)

Condoléances de l'Arménie après la mort d'un berger turc

L'Arménie a présenté ses condoléances à la Turquie après la mort d'un berger turc, abattu à la frontière entre les deux pays, a annoncé vendredi le ministère de l'Intérieur.

"Le ministère arménien de l'Intérieur a adressé un message à la partie turque pour faire part de ses condoléances à la suite de cet incident et espère que ce genre d'événements ne se reproduira plus", a annoncé le service de presse du ministère.

Des responsables turcs ont rapporté que Mustafa Ülker, un berger du village d'Akyaka (province de Kars, nord-est), situé près de la frontière arménienne, avait été abattu tôt jeudi par des militaires arméniens alors qu'il tentait de récupérer une de ses bêtes passée en territoire arménien.

"A ce moment là, il y a eu un usage disproportionné de la force", a affirmé le gouverneur de Kars, Eyüp Tepe, dans un communiqué, cité par l'agence de presse Dogan.

L'agence de presse russe Itar-Tass a toutefois indiqué de son côté que des gardes-frontières russes, qui sont déployés en Arménie depuis la chute de l'URSS, pourraient avoir tiré sur le berger, après que celui-ci eut ouvert le feu contre eux.  (AFP, 2 août 2013)

Un berger turc abattu par des soldats arméniens à la frontière

Un berger turc a été abattu tôt jeudi par des militaires arméniens alors qu'il tentait de récupérer une de ses bêtes passée en territoire arménien, a rapporté jeudi l'agence de presse Dogan, citant des responsables locaux.

Mustafa Ülker, un berger du village d'Akyaka (province de Kars, nord-est), près de la frontière arménienne, a franchi la ligne de démarcation dans la nuit pour récupérer un de ses animaux.

"Mais à ce moment là, il y a eu un usage disproportionné de la force. Il est abattu par les autorités arméniennes et il meurt un peu plus tard", a affirmé le gouverneur de Kars, Eyüp Tepe, dans un communiqué cité par Dogan.

Une délégation de fonctionnaires turcs s'est rendue dans la matinée en Arménie pour tenter de récupérer le corps du berger, a indiqué le gouverneur.

La Turquie a fermé sa frontière avec l'Arménie en 1993, en solidarité avec son voisin et allié azerbaïdjanais, après la prise de contrôle par l'Arménie du Nagorny-Karabakh, une enclave peuplée d'Arméniens en territoire azerbaïdjanais.

L'Arménie et la Turquie ont conclu en octobre 2009 un accord historique pour établir des relations diplomatiques et rouvrir leur frontière commune, après des décennies d'hostilités ayant pour origine les massacres d'Arméniens en 1915 à la fin de l'empire ottoman, qu'Erevan qualifie de génocide.

Mais la ratification de cet accord n'a pas eu lieu, ni par Ankara ni par Erevan, la Turquie la liant à la résolution du conflit du Nagorny-Karabakh. (AFP, 1 août 2013)

Chypre et la Grèce / Cyprus and Greece

Turkish Cypriot politician's oath of allegiance to ‘Federal Cyprus’
 
A TURKISH Cypriot politician kicked up a storm during the swearing-in ceremony in the breakaway regime’s ‘parliament’ when she deviated from the ‘official’ script and among others pledged allegiance to a ‘federal Cyprus’.

While taking the oath of office with other lawmakers, MP Doğuş Derya, of the opposition Republican Turkish Party-United Forces, read a statement that was different from the official text.

As reported by Turkish Cypriot media, in her made-up oath Derya swore dedication  “to the principles of the rule of law and human rights…and not to forego the vision of the establishment of a federal Cyprus.”

She also pledged to fight against “victimization” of any person on the grounds of language, religion, ethnicity, class, gender and sexual orientation.

But the ‘speaker’ did not allow Derya to finish reading her statement, and the session went into recess.

After a pause of five minutes, the assembly was reconvened and the new members of ‘parliament’ continued to take the oath.

The speaker ruled that Derya’s first oath was invalid and requested that she retake the oath. Derya went up to the rostrum and read the official oath, which reads: “I do swear upon my honour and dignity that I shall preserve the existence, rights and sovereignly (sic) exercised powers of the State within the United Cyprus Republic; that I shall be bound by the principle of the supremacy of law and by the principles of a democratic secular state, social justice and the principles of Atatürk; that I shall work for the welfare and happiness of my people; that I shall not depart from the ideal that every citizen must benefit from human rights and that I shall remain loyal to the Constitution.”

The TRNC’s ‘constitution’ defines the ‘Turkish Cypriot State’ as “one of the two Constituent States of the United Cyprus Republic” and “based on the political equality, bi-zonality and equal status of the two Constituent States, representing the distinct identity of Turkish Cypriots and their equal political status in a bizonal partnership. It is a secular state based on the principles of human rights, democracy, representative republican government, social justice and the supremacy of law.”

Whereas Derya’s move prompted a harsh reaction from the parliament ‘speaker’ and other deputies, it also drew applause from some MPs and members of the public.

A known feminist activist, Derya later said the official oath had a male-dominated tone that does not reflect pluralism.

She told reporters that while she does not reject the official oath, she had wanted to share her ‘conscience’ with the public.

Derya’s centre-left Republican Turkish Party-United Forces (CTP-BG), the leading opposition party for most of the past four years, won snap elections in the Turkish Cypriot community late last month, The CTP had been in opposition until mid-June, when the National Unity Party’s four-year rule was ended by an internal split. The CTP then formed a caretaker administration under Sibel Siber, the first female head of ‘government’ in the north. (http://cyprus-mail.com, August 18, 2013)

Un Allemand arrêté en Grèce pour espionnage présumé

Un Allemand de 72 ans a été arrêté sur l'île grecque de Chios (est de la Mer Égée) pour espionnage présumé pour le compte de Turcs non identifiés, a annoncé samedi la police.

"Pendant au moins trois ans, il a photographié des camps et d'autres infrastructures des forces armées grecques et vendu ces documents à des Turcs", assure le communiqué de la police.

Au moment de son arrestation, l'Allemand avait deux appareils photo contenant des photos des camps militaires de l'île.

Au cours de la perquisition de sa maison de Chios où il a passé quatre ans, la police a trouvé des ordinateurs et des téléphones portables, des cartes et des lunettes intégrant un appareil photo.

Selon la police, le suspect a prétendu qu'il avait été recruté pendant l'été 2010 pour transmettre des photos et qu'il était payé de 500 à 1500 euros par mission. (AFP, 3 août 2013)

Opération policière en Grèce contre les militants présumés du DHKP-C

Plusieurs Turcs arrêtés mardi en Grèce au cours d'un vaste coup de filet assorti d'une importante saisie d'armes sont soupçonnés d'appartenir au Parti-Front de libération du peuple révolutionnaire (DHKP-C), a annoncé jeudi la police.

Deux hommes respectivement âgés de 51 et 48 ans arrêtés à Athènes sont recherchés par les autorités turques pour leur appartenance au DHKP-C. Un autre Turc, âgé de 55 ans, était recherché par Interpol en Turquie pour acte terroriste. Tous trois étaient possession de documents d'identité falsifiés ou volés, selon un communiqué de la police grecque.

Ils font partie de la vingtaine de personnes interpellées depuis mardi dans une vaste opération des services antiterroristes grecs.

Six hommes, trois Turcs d'origine kurde et trois Grecs, ont notamment été interpellés sur un bateau au large de l'île de Chios en mer Egée, se dirigeant vers la Turquie voisine, en possession d'une grande quantité d'armes et d'explosifs.

Des drapeaux portant le sigle du DHKP-C, organisation d'obédience marxiste-léniniste, ont aussi été retrouvés sur l'embarcation. Les six hommes ont été déférés mercredi au Parquet de Chios pour notamment "activité terroriste", "possession et transport d'explosifs et de bombes".

D'autres interpellations et perquisitions ont eu lieu à Athènes, Thessalonique (nord) et Corinthe (sud).

La presse turque a récemment accusé la Grèce d'abriter des terroristes et le quotidien Zaman a publié un article intitulé "Des terroristes abrités par la Grèce pourraient s'en prendre à des intérêts turcs et américains", suscitant de vives réactions des autorités grecques. (AFP, 1 août 2013)

Immigration / Migration

Pourquoi faut-il s'opposer à l'extradition de Bahar Kimyongür ?

Message du Clea - jeudi 22 août 2013

Le citoyen belge, Bahar Kimyongür, risque d'être extradé par l'Espagne vers la Turquie dans les semaines qui viennent...

Terrorisme ?
Que reproche exactement à Bahar Kimyongür la Turquie ?

Autoritarisme ?
Quel est l'état de la démocratie aujourd'hui dans ce pays ?

Complicité ?
Quelles relations entretient la Belgique avec l’État turc ?

Un «dossier spécial» de la revue Ensemble ! (téléchargeable via le lien qui suit) interroge ces trois problématiques.

Il se compose d'un article démontant, une à une, les accusations de terrorisme proférées par la Turquie à l'encontre de B. Kimyongür, d'une motion de la CNAPD contre l'extradition de notre compatriote et d'un carnet de voyage au cœur de la révolte qui secoue actuellement l'Anatolie.

•«Dossier spécial» de la revue Ensemble ! n° 79

Le mensuel Angle d'Attac consacre un numéro entier à la violence exercée ces derniers mois par le gouvernement de Recep Tayyip Erdogan sur les manifestants de la Place Taksim.

Découvrez dans ce pdf, une enquête photographique à couper le souffle sur le mouvement social sans précédent qui fleurit aujourd'hui en Turquie.

•Angle d'Attac : Retour à Taksim

L'État turc –qui s'acharne à terroriser ses opposants politiques– et notre pays développent une étroite collaboration policière.

L'article à lire ici, publié par Info-Türk, témoigne du caractère symbolique de l'affaire Kimyongür.

•L'Union européenne, courroie de transmission de la répression turque ?

Aujourd'hui, Bahar Kimyongür est en Belgique.
Demain, le justice espagnole statuera sur son sort.
Après-demain, il sera peut-être aux mains des autorités turques...
Dès maintenant, vous pouvez «dire la vérité»,
en diffusant ce courrier électronique autour de vous.

Un autre geste utile : pour contribuer au paiement des frais d'avocats et des déplacements à Madrid que Bahar Kimyongür sera obligé d'effectuer, nous vous invitons à verser une aide financière sur le compte du CLEA
BE47 3630 0542 6380
avec, comme message, «Solidarité Bahar !»

La diaspora kurde se réorganise en Europe

La diaspora kurde a adopté des nouvelles formes d’organisation au cours du 19e congrès de la confédération des associations kurdes en Europe (KON-KURD) qui a changé de nom.

Réunissant douze fédérations et 175 associations sous sa bannière à travers l’Europe, la confédération kurde est devenue « le Congrès des kurdes européens pour une société démocratique » (KCD-Ewrupa), à l’image du congrès pour une société démocratique au Kurdistan de Turquie, une vaste plateforme d'associations et mouvements kurdes.

Organisée sous différentes formes d’associations, la diaspora kurde réponde ainsi aux changements qui l’entourent et s’adapte au nouveau processus de paix, lancé à l’initiative du leader kurde emprisonné en Turquie, Abdullah Ocalan, pour résoudre le problème kurde.

DES CENTRES COMUNAUTAIRES

Ces nouvelles formes d’organisation ont été confirmées lors du 19e congrès de la KON-KURD, tenu les 6 et 7 juillet à Bruxelles. Désormais, le KCD n’est pas seulement une organisation chapeau pour des associations kurdes, mais aussi pour de multiples formes d’organisations ; femme, jeunesse, éducation, culture, sport, économie, religion, professionnel…

Dans cette perspective, des centres communautaires démocratiques seront ouverts dans chaque pays, ce qui signifie que les Kurdes changent leur mode d’organisation, soit des centres communautaires démocratiques au lieu des associations et des fédérations.

UN QUOTA DE 40% POUR LES DEUX SEXES

Le congrès a adopté un système de coprésidence. Son conseil exécutif est constitué de 57 personnes dont 22 femmes. Il se définit comme une organisation de masse pacifiste, démocratique, défendant la liberté et l’égalité. Dans tous ses organes, assemblées et commissions, il exige un quota de 40% pour les deux sexes. Le congrès envisage également de mener des recherches sur la langue et la culture du peuple kurde, et veut ouvrir des académies, institutions, assemblées et des commissions.

Concernant ce changement, le co-président de la Fédération des associations kurdes en Allemagne (YEK-KOM), qui rassemble 70 associations, affirme qu’il ne s’agit pas « d’une décision prise soudainement ».

« Nous discutons sur ce sujet depuis longtemps avec des responsables associatifs, des politiciens et des experts. Ce que nous avons conclu : le changement et la restructuration sont indispensables » ajoute le co-président Yüksel Koç,

Pour le co-président de la Fédération des associations kurde en France (FEYKA), Mehmet Ülker, le but de changement est d’inclure un public plus large. Cette fédération comprend vingt associations à travers la France.  L’organisation au sein d’une association ne répond plus aux besoins de la communauté kurde, selon Mehmet Ülker, qui dit vouloir inclure dans ce système les différentes formes d’organisation.

Les Kurdes s’organisent autour d’un système de contre-pouvoir. Refusant de vivre avec la tradition de l’Etat et l’Etat-nation, le mouvement kurde propose des autonomies pour tous les peuples et les cultures du Moyen-Orient, ainsi qu’une confédération des peuples qui serait meilleure solution pour pouvoir vivre ensemble et dans la paix, sans frontière.  (Maxime Azadi, actukurde.fr/actualites, 19 août 2013)

La justice française libère le KNK membre Adem Uzun

Le membre du conseil exécutif du congrès national du Kurdistan (KNK), Adem Uzun, a été libéré vendredi 9 août sous surveillance judiciaire, après avoir passé plus de dix mois dans la prison de la « Santé » à Paris.

Le politicien kurde Adem Uzun est sorti de la prison, dans la soirée du vendredi 9 août. Il avait été arrêté le 6 octobre 2012 dans un bar de Monparnasse, suite à un complot organisé pour le compte des services français.

« Nous savions depuis le début qu’il s’agissait d’un complot organisé » a-t-il déclaré à l’ActuKurde, après sa libération.

La version officielle de son arrestation le décrit comme le commanditaire politique d'un absurde trafic d'armes de Paris vers le Kurdistan irakien.

« Nos rencontres n’étaient pas secrètes » a-t-il souligné, affirmant que, pendant sa détention, il a demandé une enquête sur les personnes qui ont organisé le rendez-vous avec lui. « Mais, ils n’ont pas été interrogé pendant près d’un an » a-t-il dénoncé.

Selon des informations fiables obtenues par le site d’information « ActuKurde », Adem Uzun a été la victime d’une machination politico-judiciaire organisée par le même personnage qui a piégé  Ziad Takieddine pour le compte de la justice française, un dénommé Noël Delarosa qu’en réalité s’appelle Noël Dubus. Ce qui renforçait le soupçon de l’existence d’une "cellule" au sein des services français qui organise sur commande de véritables provocations à commettre des infractions pour piéger des cibles politiques prédéfinies.

Après qu’ils aient récemment été entendus par le juge dans le cadre de l’enquête, j’ai été libéré car, leurs déclarations concordaient avec les miennes, a dit Adem Uzun.

On ignore si c’était bien Noel Dubus qui a été entendu. Une source kurde avait récemment affirmé qu’il sera interrogé dans l’affaire Adem Uzun. (Maxime Azadi, actukurde.fr/actualites, 9 août 2013)

Un bateau de clandestins sombre en Turquie: 24 morts

Au moins 24 personnes ont trouvé la mort dans le naufrage tôt mercredi d'un navire transportant des immigrés clandestins au large des côtes turques, probablement à destination de la Grèce, a rapporté l'agence de presse Dogan.

Les garde-côtes turcs ont reçu vers 02H00 locales (23H00 GMT mardi) un appel de détresse du capitaine du bateau, annonçant que son embarcation était en train de couler avec 30 passagers à son bord, à une dizaine de milles nautiques (environ 15 km) du village de Tavakli (province de Canakkale, nord-ouest), selon l'agence.

Les garde-côtes, arrivés sur les lieux avec quatre bateaux légers, un hélicoptère et un avion, ont retrouvé les cadavres de 24 personnes et secouru 12 migrants clandestins encore vivants, a indiqué Dogan.

Un précédent bilan faisait état de 18 morts.

Les recherches se poursuivaient mercredi.

La destination du navire était probablement l'île grecque de Lesbos, proche d'Ezine, estimaient les autorités.

La Turquie est une route importante de l'émigration clandestine d'Asie et d'Afrique vers l'Europe. Des immigrants clandestins venus d'Afrique et du Proche-Orient y sont régulièrement arrêtés et les naufrages en mer sont assez fréquents.

La Grèce a récemment construit une barrière barbelée sur une portion de sa frontière terrestre avec la Turquie dénuée d'obstacles naturels, ce qui a redirigé les flux migratoires vers les îles grecques situées à quelques encablures des côtes turques en mer Egée orientale. (AFP, 1 août 2013)

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