5 July 2001

1. "Turkish prison hunger strike claims 27th victim", a long-running hunger-strike over controversial prison reforms in Turkey has claimed another victim, bringing to 27 the death toll from the protest, a human rights activist said Thursday.

2. "Rights groups urge Turkey to shed light on controversial jail raid", four influential Turkish human rights groups urged the government Wednesday to give full, exact details on a deadly paramilitary crackdown against hunger-striking prisoners and to launch an investigation into anyone found at fault.

3. "British base on Cyprus rocked by riots", Governments condemn violence sparked by plan to build radio mast.

4. "Turkey: Here we go again", even though Turkey and Indonesia are very different countries, they do have something in common: long histories of bad money.

5. "Turkish dam may choke on own waste", a controversial UK-backed dam planned for the River Tigris in Turkey could choke on chemical waste from the irrigation projects that are part of the same scheme.

6. "Israel provides support for GAP", State Waterworks Authority (DSI) 15th Regional Deputy Mustafa Ozgur said, "The reason we are stumbling in terms of irrigation is because of a lack of funds. Israel has provided funds of $165 million for a 18,000-hectare watering project.

1. AFP - "Turkish prison hunger strike claims 27th victim":

ANKARA

A long-running hunger-strike over controversial prison reforms in Turkey has claimed another victim, bringing to 27 the death toll from the protest, a human rights activist said Thursday. Mahmut Gokhan Ozocak, a prisoner on conditional release for health reasons, died in the western Turkish city of Izmir late Wednesday, a spokeswoman for the Turkish Human Rights Association, Turkey's main human rights watchdog, told AFP.

Ozocak,41, began fasting in October 26 last year while he was serving time in Buca prison in western Turkey for membership of an illegal left-wing organization, the Revolutionary People's Liberation Party-Front (DHKP-C), which Ankara accuses of masterminding the hunger strike, she added. He was hospitalized when his condition deteriorated but pursued his fast even after being granted a six-month conditional release in May, she said. His death means that 21 inmates, five relatives of prisoners who joined the strike in solidarity and one former inmate have starved themselves to death since March.The hunger strike, launched in October by mainly left-wing inmates, is in protest at new jails, commonly known as "F-type" prisons, with cells designed to hold a maximum of three people, in contrast to existing jails which have large dormitories for up to 60 people.

The prisoners and human rights activists claim that confinement in smaller units would alienate inmates from fellow prisoners and leave them more vulnerable to ill-treatment and torture by prison staff. Despite the mounting death toll and international pressure, the government has refused to back down on the introduction of the new prisons. Ankara maintains that packed dormitories are the main factor behind frequent riots and hostage-taking incidents in its unruly jails. In December, thousands of paramilitary troops raided scores of prisons across the country in a bid to break the hunger strike during a four-day crackdown which left 30 prisoners and two soldiers dead. The controversial operation has recently come under question with official pathologists' reports contradicting the government's account of how the deaths occurred during the raids, which saw security forces demolishing prison walls to enter prisoners' compounds and using tear gas to subdue those who resisted. Since the raids, more than 1,000 inmates have been transferred to F-type prisons despite a government pledge that the new jails would not become operational until a social consensus had been reached on their introduction. The government recently adopted a series of laws to improve conditions for inmates, but the moves have been brushed aside by rights activists and civic groups as inadequate.

The prison hunger strike has placed Turkey's bleak human rights record in the international spotlight at a time when the country needs to make far-reaching democratic reforms in order to promote its bid for European Union membership.

2. - AFP - "Rights groups urge Turkey to shed light on controversial jail raid":

ANKARA

Four influential Turkish human rights groups urged the government Wednesday to give full, exact details on a deadly paramilitary crackdown against hunger-striking prisoners and to launch an investigation into anyone found at fault. The appeal was made in a joint statement by the Turkish Human Rights Association, the Turkish Union of Medical Doctors, the Turkish Human Rights Foundation and the Association of Contemporary lawyers. The statement came in the wake of official pathologists' reports, widely published in the national press, that contradicted a government account of the December raids on scores of prisons accross the country, in which 30 inmates and two soldiers were killed. "We demand that the truth be revealed to the public, investigations be immediately launched against those responsible and that no one be granted judicial immunity," the statement said.

The rights groups also called on Justice Minister Hikmet Sami Turk to order investigations at once or to resign if he cannot or is unwilling to do so. The controversial dawn jail raids were launched in a bid to end a hunger strike begun in October by mainly left-wing inmates protesting at the introduction of new, high security jails. But the four-day operation failed to halt the protest, which is still ongoing and has claimed 26 lives so far. According to the forensic pathologists' report, six of the inmates were killed in an Istanbul jail by police using excessive quantities of tear and nerve gas. This contradicts government claims that five of the women set fire to themselves and that a sixth was suffocated by smoke. Prisoners did not fire at security forces, as the government had claimed in justification of its heavy-handed assault, the report said, adding that the shots had been fired from outside the jail.

In a statement Tuesday, the justice and interior ministries criticized the publication of the report in the press as meddling in an ongoing judicial process. The prisoners' hunger strike is in protest at new "F-type" prisons, which consist of cells holding a maximum of three people, in contrast to existing jails with large dormitories for up to 60 people. Prisoners and human rights activists claim that confinement in smaller units would alienate inmates from fellow prisoners and leave them more vulnerable to ill-treatment and torture by prison officials. Despite the mounting death toll from the protests and international pressure, the government has refused to back down on the introduction of the new prisons on the grounds that the packed dormitories are the main factor behind frequent riots and hostage-taking incidents in its unruly jails. Ankara recently adopted a series of laws to improve jail conditions but the moves have been brushed aside by rights activists and civic groups as insufficient.

3. - The Guardian - "British base on Cyprus rocked by riots":

Governments condemn violence sparked by plan to build radio mast

Jennie Matthew and Jamie Wilson in Akrotiri
and Richard Norton-Taylor

The British and Cypriot governments yesterday united in condemning bloody riots, prompted by the building of a radio mast branded a serious health hazard by protesters, which have shaken Britain's military presence on the Mediterranean island.

Cypriot President Glafcos Clerides lambasted an MP for inciting the violence, while the British high commissioner to Cyprus described the MP as "a medical monkey stuck up a stick".

In a night of unprecedented violence against the sovereign British bases, about 1,000 Greek Cypriot demonstrators clashed with 140 riot squad officers, drawn from the police and the British army.

The riot was provoked by the arrest of a Cypriot MP, Marios Matsakis, who is leading a campaign to halt plans to erect a 190-metre radio mast in the Akrotiri salt lake in one of the island's two British sovereign base areas.

Environmentalists fear the electromagnetic field created by the antenna will cause child cancer and ruin the natural habitat of the lake, frequented by pink flamingos in winter and spring.

Mr Matsakis, a former state pathologist and paratrooper in the Territorial Army, was arrested for illegal entry and causing criminal damage to the fence around the site on Tuesday afternoon.

In the riot that followed, 34 base police officers, 10 British soldiers and five protesters were injured. Twenty people were taken to hospital and a car carrying British tourists was ambushed on the road to Akrotiri.

About 35 vehicles were torched and Episkopi police station ransacked. Computers and furniture were smashed, windows broken and blood smeared the floor.

A live phone-in on national television urged people to travel down to the military base to send a clear message to the British.

Women, children and MPs were among the protesters, who attacked Britain's military presence on the island, rather than addressing the environmental concerns.

British police commander John Guy yesterday condemned the violence as disgraceful. "I watched defenceless police officers attacked for no reason other than trying to do their lawful duty," he said. "I watched while missiles were thrown and people struck on the head. People were kicked, dragged out of the crowd and kicked. If that is not criminal and hooligan, I do not know what is."

Arrests are expected to be made in the next couple of days, helped by television footage of the rioting.

Yesterday, the protest at Akrotiri was peaceful with around 200-300 villagers and their families holding banners saying "No to Antennas of Death". They were joined by MPs from the Cyprus parliament's environment committee and members of the main opposition party, the leftwing AKEL.

Cyprus and Britain have enjoyed a close relationship since the former colony was granted independence in 1960. Diplomats denied that the friendship had taken a knock as a result of the violence.

President Clerides said in a statement: "The Cyprus government condemns the actions of Mr Matsakis, which led to last night's unacceptable trouble. The government also condemns the actions which incited the incidents and expresses its sorrow for the injuries and damages caused by the protesters."

The president is a decorated RAF Spitfire fighter pilot who was shot down twice by the Germans during the second world war.

In London, Tony Blair's spokesman said: "We obviously condemn absolutely the violence and vandalism that took place overnight. We carried out an environmental assessment that showed the levels of electromagnetic emissions are within EU-Cyprus norms and would pose no danger to local people".

He added: "We have been assiduous in consulting local people, so we would condemn it absolutely. There's absolutely no reason for it."

The foreign secretary, Jack Straw, denied Britain was at fault. "These bases are British sovereign bases, British territory and we have always worked cooperatively with the Cyprus government," he said. "The Cypriot government have been consulted about these changes and a huge amount of effort has gone in to consult the local people and to satisfy them that these transmissions are safe," Mr Straw insisted.

British high commissioner Edward Clay described Mr Matsakis as "a medical monkey up a stick". He was referring to the MP's seven-hour vigil aloft an aerial at Akrotiri on Monday.

But Mr Matsakis was unrepentant, igniting fears that clashes are far from over. "We shall protest and protest and protest. And I repeat, over my dead body will they install this antenna," he said.

Nicosia and London are still negotiating the future of the antenna, supposed to be fully operational by 2003.

A British study in 1997 claimed there was no adverse health risk from the radio mast. But Cyprus will conduct further tests on radiation emissions; the British have promised to scrap the project if any danger is detected.

"The issue of the antenna continues to be dealt with by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs directly with the British government," said the president.

He added: "Despite the negative stance of the British bases authorities there was and there still is room for the continuation of consultations with the British government.

"There was no reason for the interference of Mr Matsakis".

Nicosia says it will not block the communications network, provided an independent study shows there will be no adverse effect on the environment.

Cypriot government spokesman Michalis Papapetrou has offered to foot the £500,000 damage bill, but sovereign base area spokesman Rupert Greenwood said it would be met by the British taxpayer.

4. - The Forbes Magazine - "Turkey: Here we go again":

Steve H. Hanke

Even though Turkey and Indonesia are very different countries, they do have something in common: long histories of bad money. When Turkey joined the International Monetary Fund in 1947, 2.8 Turkish lira would fetch one U.S. dollar. Now it's 1.2 million lira. That's a depreciation of 429,000 times against the dollar. The Indonesian rupiah is even worse off. Since Indonesia's independence in 1949, the rupiah has depreciated more than 2.9 million times against the dollar.

The two nations share another dubious distinction. They are both economic protectorates of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and its misbegotten micromanaging. This micromanaging has failed to stabilize their currencies and economies and has pushed Indonesia to the brink of chaos.

To encourage exchange-rate stability, the fund had Indonesia float the rupiah in August 1997--and the rupiah since has lost 78% of its value against the dollar. Among other things, the collapse of the rupiah destroyed the balance sheets of countless private businesses that were laden with dollar-denominated debt. It also left Indonesia's banking system insolvent. Forced to recapitalize the banks, Indonesia has seen its public debt jump from 30% of gross domestic product before the crisis to 120%. Consequently, Indonesia is in a debt trap, with an incredible 35% of governmental revenues going to pay interest on the debt.

That's not all. The IMF also requires Indonesia to completely overhaul its governmental operations and restructure its economy, something the fund knows little about. Needless to say, little popular support exists for this. The only result is an unstable political environment in Jakarta. Amid lawlessness and separatist rebellions, President Abdurrahman Wahid faces possible impeachment. And a restive military eyes a power grab.

The IMF's quasi-revolutionary reform program was designed by bureaucrats in Washington, D.C., and imposed on Indonesia from the top down. History has shown that reform programs that resulted in major economic transformations have been from the bottom up. All were homegrown and pushed through by local leaders, whatever you may think of them: Pinochet in Chile, Thatcher in the U.K., Reagan in the U.S. and Deng in China.

Unfortunately, the IMF used the same cookie cutter to design the Turkish program that it did for Indonesia's. Sure enough, the floating of the lira on Feb. 22 has led to a lira devaluation of 43% against the dollar. The collateral damage has been enormous. Balance sheets are tattered; many businesses and banks have crumbled. The economy is contracting rapidly, and the government is in a debt trap even more viselike than Indonesia's.

Turkey's latest agreement with the IMF, signed on May 15, gives it $8 billion more from the fund, bringing the total to $19 billion. To get that money, Turkey must impose on its population a batch of changes dictated in excruciating detail half a world away, ranging from massive privatizations to subsidy cuts. Some of the IMF's mandates have actually required Turkey to amend its constitution.

Turkey's new economic czar, Kemal Dervis, remains popular, but the fund's top-down dictates do not garner the same support. Not surprisingly, its program is roiling Turkey's political waters. The removal of tobacco subsidies required the forceful hand of Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit. The cost was high: His political coalition has begun to unravel. Yuksel Yalova, the state minister for privatization who attempted to delay the subsidy removal bill, subsequently resigned. Most recently, Sadettin Tantan, the interior minister and leader of Turkey's anticorruption drive, quit the cabinet. Turkey's powerful military is primed to take over.

With luck, Turkey won't sink as deep as Indonesia, where even the IMF has temporarily thrown in the towel. For one thing, there is grassroots support building for a Turkish currency board, which would lock the lira to the euro. Dervis won't rule out either a board or scrapping the lira altogether and installing the euro as the national currency. And since Turkey occupies a vital strategic position as a nato staging area, maybe the IMF will wise up and let the Turks initiate their own sound-money strategy. That's a big maybe.

Steve H. Hanke is a professor of applied economics at The Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore and chairman of the Friedberg Mercantile Group, Inc. in New York.

5. - The New Scientist - "Turkish dam may choke on own waste":

A controversial UK-backed dam planned for the River Tigris in Turkey could choke on chemical waste from the irrigation projects that are part of the same scheme.

This warning is made in an environmental impact assessment commissioned by the UK government, which is being asked to underwrite a UK company that is the lead contractor on the project.

The Ilisu dam is one element in a massive regional development programme for the impoverished south-east Anatolian region of Turkey. It will generate hydroelectricity, while other dams provide irrigation water for agriculture.

But the 500-page assessment, published on Tuesday, warns that nitrogen and phosphorus in fertiliser washing from up to 500,000 hectares of irrigated fields will feed the growth of toxic algae in the reservoir.

The pollution is likely to cause "serious eutrophication" of the Ilisu reservoir. The report says that "appropriate mitigation measures" to cut pollution entering the reservoir "are indispensable".

And the assessment, by a team of independent consultants, warns of potentially serious repercussions for people living downstream of the dam. It says that during the filling of the reservoir, "water shortages downstream might have dramatic consequences not only for people but also for ecosystems."

Kurdish problem

The dam is intended to provide peak-load electricity for eastern Turkey. This means its turbines will be opened and closed several times a day, causing "sudden changes in temperature and dissolved oxygen" downstream, as well as rapid flow changes, says the report. This could damage fisheries.

Two years ago, the then UK industry minister Stephen Byers said he was "minded" to approve export guarantees that would allow the construction company Balfour Beatty to join the project. But he set a series of conditions intended to alleviate the environmental downside of the project and its impact on the 60,000 mostly Kurdish people who would be affected.

And he said steps needed to be taken to ensure adequate flow of water downstream, including to neighbouring states Syria and Iraq.

The new report does not rule on whether the £1.25 billion project should be allowed to proceed. But it underlines that most of these issues remain unresolved. Byers' successor Patricia Hewitt has asked for public comments on the report's findings.

Balfour Beatty said today that the company "is neither the promoter nor the sponsor of the project", and backed the report as "the proper opportunity for fully-informed comment from interested parties."

6. - Turkish Daily News - "Israel provides support for GAP":

State Waterworks Authority (DSI) 15th Regional Deputy Mustafa Ozgur said, "The reason we are stumbling in terms of irrigation is because of a lack of funds. Israel has provided funds of $165 million for a 18,000-hectare watering project.

"In the plains of Harran a 121,000-hectare area has been made available for irrigated agriculture. While efforts to gain foreign funding are continuing, operations planned to be finished by 2010 have been ongoing in order to open an area of 151,000 hectares to irrigated agriculture, despite the lack of funding," said Ozgur.

Watering in underground pipe system

Because of problems that have occurred in the 121,000-hectare canal irrigation system, mainly due to breakages in the irrigation, it is planned that the 151,000-hectare area will be watered using an underground pipe system, which is estimated to reduce water losses by around 10 percent, Ozgur said, adding that drainage canals will bring the rising water levels under control.

In addition to Ozgur's explanation, the Southeastern Anatolia Project (GAP) administration reported the project, which started in 1995, will cause an agricultural boom and income from the project has been estimated at $3 million.