9 July 2001

1. "Toll in Turkish prison hunger strike hits 28", a hunger strike over Turkish prison reforms has claimed yet another life, bringing the death toll among prisoners and their supporters to 28, the Turkish Human Rights Association (IHD) said Monday.

2. "'Either peace or tragedy'", PKK President Abdullah Ocalan noted that Turkey had entered a very critical period in which the majority of the people had no faith left in the current policies and in which poverty was increasing by the day.

3. "Belated confession", the US explained its role in the International Conspiracy against PKK President Abdullah Ocalan. It was US officials themselves who explained that the United States was behind the international conspiracy by which PKK President Abdullah Ocalan was surrendered to Turkey.

4. "Turkey and Israel discuss deeper "strategic" ties", Israeli Defense Minister Binyamin Ben Eliezer began a day of talks with Turkish leaders here on Monday to boost the already strong military cooperation between the two allies, which has irked the Arab world.

5. "Iraq condemns Turkish push along border", Iraq on Sunday condemned what it called repeated aggression by Turkey along its border with Iraq, the official Iraqi news agency INA said.

6. "Uneasy truce in war of the Cyprus masts", construction work halted after riots at British base but anger is bound to flare up again.

1. - AFP - "Toll in Turkish prison hunger strike hits 28":

ISTANBUL

A hunger strike over Turkish prison reforms has claimed yet another life, bringing the death toll among prisoners and their supporters to 28, the Turkish Human Rights Association (IHD) said Monday. Ali Koc, 31, died Sunday in an Ankara hospital where he had been taken from Sincan prison in central Turkey.

He was jailed for 12 years and six months in 1995 while an Ankara University student for belonging to the underground People's Revolutionary Liberation Front (DHKP-C) and displaying its posters.

The hunger strike is part of a prison protest against new jails, commonly known as "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. 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 officials.

2. - Ozgur Politika - "'Either peace or tragedy'":

PKK President Abdullah Ocalan noted that Turkey had entered a very critical period in which the majority of the people had no faith left in the current policies and in which poverty was increasing by the day. Ocalan warned that the existing style of politics would not only not lead to any democratic openings for the country but could also deepen the current crisis.

PKK President Abdullah Ocalan said that the existing style of politics dominant in the government, parliament, and political parties had opened the path to a complete blockage and dead-lock in politics, adding that Turkey's current political position could be described as one in which "either peace will develop, or tragic developments will be experienced." Ocalan drew attention to the fact that Turkey was passing through a very critical period and stressed that they would not change their position as long as the smallest flicker of hope remained for peace.

'Not with this style of politics...'

Ocalan also pointed out that the situation of blockage in politics had become even more serious because the democratic forces had not carried out their role during this critical period. Ocalan continued to note the following: "Public opinion polls show that 80 percent of the people have no faith left in the current policies. With this political style, forget about making democratic openings, overcoming the crisis cannot even be secured. The people have been left face-to-face with the danger of hunger. Poverty is increasing with every passing day. If it continues like this, not only hunger but danger to safety of life could even become a problem. In other words, either peace will develop or tragic developments will be experienced."

'The people must prepare themselves'

Ocalan said that in such a societal environment, new 'perpetrator unknown' murders carried out in the name of the state or extra-legal stances towards legal activities would not serve the development of peace, and called for awareness against developments which would put pressure against peace. "The people must prepare themselves to express their democratic mass reaction in the broadest fashion so that events such as Silopi never happen again," Ocalan said.

'Some are still debating hanging'

The PKK President stressed once again that it must not be forgotten that peace does not just arise of itself but develops through struggle and gave the following warning concerning the existence of forces who were in favor of war: "There were certain forces in Turkey who wanted to develop new perpetrator unknown murders; there could be some in the future. Despite our calls for peace, there are still some saying 'let's hang [him], let's cut [him].' Those continuing this with foreign ties are the most concrete evidence of this."

'As long as the smallest light remains...'

Ocalan said he had viewed it necessary to once again present his position clearly because of the sensitive nature of the period and renewed his insistence on the line of peace. Ocalan said the following on this subject: "I said that I would seek an honorable solution if I see as much hope as the tip of a needle. My search for an honorable solution, for freedom for people's history, identity, culture, and freedom, will continue after this until the end, just as it has until today. I will never change my line as long as I see the smallest light for a historical and meaningful peace, for democratic unity, true brotherhood, and cultural freedom. If I am living, am able to live, in the most difficult conditions, it is for this. I want the role cut out for my own life to be understood this way."

'I am against violence'

Ocalan continued to say the following: "I am stressing once again so that no one misunderstands me that I reject violence, I am against violence in the solution for political and social problems. I want to completely eradicate violence. But for this, respect must be shown for our history, our rights, our identity, and our culture."

'My life involves Turkey's fate'

Ocalan also commented on the death penalty, saying that his own personal situation by itself did not interest him in this matter but that whether or not he lived was a political matter that closely involved the fate of a people, even the fate of all of Turkey. The PKK President called on everyone to see this reality and understand it correctly.

'It will open the path to a great revolution in thought'

PKK President Abdullah Ocalan said that he had completed the first section of his defense, totaling 676 pages, for his case to be heard on August 30 in the European Court of Human Rights. He said that he planned for the second section, which he would prepare in the coming two months, to reach 700 pages. Ocalan said that he would try to open a new line in the intellectual sense in his defense, adding, "I think it will open the path to a great revolution in thought."

Ocalan said that it was still not clear who had given the decision for him to be surrendered to Turkey, but added, "The US's role in the conspiracy is like a second Hiroshima."

The Milosevic event must be followed carefully

The PKK President also commented on the case against former Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic which began recently in the International Tribunal. Ocalan called attention to Milosevic's comment that "England planned developments in Yugoslavia," and said that that situation had similarities to his own from the aspect of England's role. He added that the Milosevic event must be followed carefully.

3. -Kurdish Observer - "Belated confession":

The US explained its role in the International Conspiracy against PKK President Abdullah Ocalan. It was US officials themselves who explained that the United States was behind the international conspiracy by which PKK President Abdullah Ocalan was surrendered to Turkey.

Anthony Blinken, who served as a Special Advisor to President Bill Clinton under the former administration, said that the US secured Ocalan's capture in order to win Turkey's friendship. Blinken made some rather striking statements while answering questions from moderator Mehmet Ali Birand on the Manset (Headline) program on CNN Turk television the other evening.

Clinton knew everything

Anthony Blinken said that Turkey was a very important country because of its geostrategic position and that the US did not want to lose the friendship of this country. Blinken noted that Clinton gave great importance to Turkey and therefore gave every type of support to the Ankara administration within the framework of "the fight against terrorism."

Blinken brought up the subject of PKK President Abdullah Ocalan being handed over to Turkish units in Kenya and said that they themselves had narrowed Ocalan's field of movement from the very beginning. He also said that they relayed information US President at the time, Bill Clinton, on a minute-by-minute basis, thus explaining the former advisor's role in the conspiracy.

Conditional surrender

Blinken also said that the PKK President had been handed over on the basis of an agreement with Turkey. According to Blinken, there were two basic conditions under which Ocalan was surrendered. The first condition was that Ocalan be given a fair and democratic trial. He expressed that although there were some deficiencies in this process, they did not have major objections to the way the process was carried out. The second condition, Blinken said, was finding a solution to the Kurdish problem.

Blinken noted that the PKK had changed its strategy and that the environment of conflict had stopped, and complained that Turkey had still not taken the necessary steps. Blinken said that the changes had made Turkey's job easier and that it was necessary first of all for the political will to solve the problem to be expressed.

Suggestions for a solution

The former Clinton advisor said that Turkey had made no progress in solving the Kurdish problem and made some suggestions for a solution. Blinken said that OHAL (Emergency Rule) administration was unnecessary and indicated it was necessary to grant freedom for Kurdish broadcasting and education. Blinken said there was no security of life in the region and said it was absolutely essential that freedom of expression be secured.

4. - AFP - "Turkey and Israel discuss deeper "strategic" ties":

ANKARA

Israeli Defense Minister Binyamin Ben Eliezer began a day of talks with Turkish leaders here on Monday to boost the already strong military cooperation between the two allies, which has irked the Arab world. "I came here ... definitely to deepen and strengthen the relations between both countries," Ben Eliezer said ahead of a meeting with his Turkish counterpart Sabahattin Cakmakoglu. "The main purpose of this visit is to strengthen the strategic ties between the two countries and to promote joint projects between the security establishments," he added.

Mainly Muslim but strictly secular Turkey has been Israel's chief regional ally since 1996 when the two signed a military cooperation accord, much to the anger of most Arab countries and Iran. Eliezer's visit followed joint exercises between the air forces of Turkey, Israel and the United States in central Turkey last month, the latest in a series of joint military drills in the past several years. Joint defense industry projects were also high on the agenda of the talks. "We will make an evaluation of our defense industry ties, which have recently significantly grown in number and scope," Cakmakoglu said. "We hope this visit will give a new momentum to our bilateral, military and defense industry ties," he added. The two ministers said they would also discuss the tense situation between Israel and the Palestinians, whose demands for statehood are supported by Turkey.

"We ask our Turkish friends to join efforts in reducing violence and regional threats and in acting in order to stabilize the area," Ben Eliezer said. Despite its close relations with Israel, Turkey has heavily criticized the Jewish state for using excessive force against the Palestinians, with whom it maintains full-fledged diplomatic ties. Ben Eliezer was also scheduled to meet with Turkish chief of staff Huseyin Kivrikoglu, Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit and President Ahmet Necdet Sezer before leaving Ankara late on Monday.

5. - Reuters - "Iraq condemns Turkish push along border":

BAGHDAD

Iraq on Sunday condemned what it called repeated aggression by Turkey along its border with Iraq, the official Iraqi news agency INA said.

"Turkish troops have launched a new military aggression on northern Iraq," Deputy Prime Minister Tareq Aziz said in a letter to Arab League Secretary General Amr Moussa carried by INA.

"Fifty (Turkish) tanks mounted on vehicles had entered the north over the period from June 17 to 19 and moved towards Arbil. And across the same point 40 tanks entered Iraq and headed towards Dahuk and Zakho, and a number of them were stationed at Bamarni," said Aziz, who is also acting Foreign Minister.

"Repeated aggression (in the north) represents a violation of the sovereignty of Iraq's land ... and runs contrary to good neighborly relations," Aziz said.

"It is regrettable that the Turkish government is still justifying its continued aggression on Iraq by flimsy pretexts, alleging that its troops are chasing groups threatening Turkey's security, which is incorrect," he added.

Aziz urged Moussa to intervene and ask the Turkish government to stop such provocative and irresponsible practices and respect Iraq's sovereignty and territorial integrity.

The remote mountainous enclave of northern Iraq has been outside Baghdad's control since the end of the 1991 Gulf War and is controlled by two rival Iraqi Kurdish groups.

Turkey allows NATO military aircraft to use its soil as a base for patrols of northern Iraq's post-Gulf War no-fly zone. In return, its forces regularly cross the border to pursue Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) guerrillas -- with little Western opposition.

Two Iraqi Kurdish groups -- the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) and the rival Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) -- have controlled much of northern Iraq since wresting the region from Iraqi control after the Gulf War.

6. - The Guardian - "Uneasy truce in war of the Cyprus masts":

Construction work halted after riots at British base but anger is bound to flare up again

For the British policemen whiling away their final years before retirement on the island paradise of Cyprus it all came as a bit of a shock.

The military enclaves have seen their share of trouble, but since the troops were banned from the tourist meccas of Ayia Napa and Limassol where they were prone to run riot, on occasion with murderous consequences, things have quietened down considerably.

The odd violent row between neighbours, a spot of community policing in the Greek Cypriot villages within the British Sovereign Bases territory, but rarely anything to stop them from getting home in time to enjoy a gin sling as the sun sinks over the horizon.

But on Tuesday night that all changed. With virtually no warning a mob of Greek Cypriots laid waste to the police station at Episkopi in the worst rioting in the British controlled enclaves since their creation when the island was given independence in 1960.

The riots followed the arrest of Marios Matsakis, a renegade Cypriot MP protesting at the British decision to begin construction of 190-metre communications antennae despite the fears of nearby villagers that they are a health hazard.

In the violence at the station where Mr Matsakis was being held cars were set on fire, buildings wrecked and more than 40 policemen injured. The cost of the damage was estimated at more than £300,000.

The police were clearly bewildered by the ferocity of the attack. Officers, most of them Cypriots employed by the British, were stripped of jewellery, wallets, mobile phones and other valuables while lying on the ground after being hit by missiles, including rocks.

"It was worse than anything I faced during the miners' strike," one officer said.

The protesters dispersed only after Mr Matsakis was released and extra troops were brought in wielding water cannon and firing tear gas canisters.

The rioting has clearly dented the confidence of the British police officers. But more importantly for the British government, the decision to go ahead with construction of the masts before consultation with the Cypriots over emissions had been completed has added to a worrying trend of hostility towards Britain's most important strategic military bases overseas.

The British have tried to play down the significance of what happened on Tuesday. Instead they have laid the blame squarely at the door of Mr Matsakis, a local television station they accuse of inciting the rioting, and criminal gangs.

But they are clearly rattled. At the dusty entrance to RAF Akrotiri yesterday a sign on a blackboard read: "Due to the current internal security situation only essential trips off base are to be made."

Mr Matsakis and the British base authorities are no strangers to one another. Despite the fact he spent several years in the territorial army while living in Britain, the pathologist has been a strident opponent of the presence of sovereign British territory on the island more than 40 years after independence.

The MP has mounted numerous protests and has been arrested by British police on two previous occasions. Both times a firearm was found in his car. But until now his demonstrations have attracted only 10 or 20 supporters.

Arrested

The build-up to this week's trouble began on Monday when the MP, with a TV camera crew in tow, made a foray to the top of one of Akrotiri's existing antennae, where he planted a Cypriot flag. On Tuesday he was arrested after cutting through the perimeter wire. As news of his arrest spread, the mob surrounded the police station.

Around 400 were from the village of Akrotiri, a tiny settlement next to the salt lake where the masts are being built. The others, according to Chief Constable Eric Vallance, were an assortment of groups including well known criminal "faces" from the village of Trachoni, a former refugee camp set up in 1974 for Greeks fleeing the Turkish invasion of the north of the island.

According to Mr Vallance, the British police have targeted criminal gangs in the village in recent months, and Tuesday night was their revenge.

But whatever the motivations of those involved, Mr Matsakis has found a rich vein of discontent with which to undermine the British. During his brief detention he is said to have compared himself to Gregoris Afxentiou, the Eoka hero burned to death when British troops threw a flaming torch into his hideout during the war of independence.

The Cypriot government condemned the violence and has made clear that the bases are not an issue. But many Cypriots see the British presence as a colonial footprint that should be erased, not least because the bases occupy prime development sites.

Poison

"We have had enough," one Akrotiri villager said.

"The British do what they want. They pollute us with their planes, they stationed nuclear weapons here in the past and now they say they will put up antennae that will poison the whole area."

Privately the British are seething that the Cypriot authorities have not been more supportive over the building of the antennae. Comments by the foreign minister, Yiannakis Cassoulides, that Britain should not have gone ahead with building work until consultation with the government had been completed were seen as particularly unhelpful.

For now the situation appears to have cooled, although for the past two days the British have been preparing defences for another demonstration against the masts planned for last night.

The British high commission announced on Thursday that construction had been stopped for "practical reasons" and that consultation with the Cypriot government over emissions would continue.

But as the masts are a key part of Britain's eavesdropping armoury in the volatile areas of the Balkans and the Middle East, the stoppage is certain to be only temporary. And when construction starts again the whole pot could boil over once more.