15 March 2001

1. "SIS confession in conspiracy", Frederick Forsyth, a recognized writer on the British intelligence agency, said that PKK President Abdullah Ocalan was surrendered to Turkey by the US and Britain.

2. "Is it now the turn for Cizre HADEP?", there is nothing that has not happened to Mehmet Dilsiz, who is working to establish the district headquarters of HADEP in Cizre. When Dilsiz refused to resign after receiving death threats and being subjected to numerous pressures, he was then prohibited from going to the field which he has planted for years.

3. "A Kurdish delegation at European Parliament", a Kurdish delegation started its meetings with European Parliament debuties.The delegation consists of Riza Erdogan, member of the board of Kurdistan National Congress (KNK); Musa Kaval, in charge of European Affairs; Izzet Yildirim, Chairman of Council of Kurdish Associations in Sweden; and Fatma Yasa, representative of Finland Kurdish Association.

4. "Turkey tackles debt-laden banks", Mr Dervis takes his oath before parliament on Tuesday

5. "Listen to the cries of Dersim!", a campaign of "Solidarity with the 2,600-year Culture of Dersim" was begun with the aim of stopping the dams which have begun to be built in the Munzur Valley. A temporary committee established for the campaign aims to become a permanent committee.

6. "Izmir IHD protests F-type prisons", the Izmir Human Rights association says that government officials identified the cell-based system as a room system and this lead to people ignoring the problems in the implementation of the new prison system.


1. - Kurdish Observer - "SIS confession in conspiracy":

Frederick Forsyth, a recognized writer on the British intelligence agency, said that PKK President Abdullah Ocalan was surrendered to Turkey by the US and Britain.

The dimensions of the international conspiracy by which PKK President Abdullah Ocalan was surrendered to Turkey are coming out into the open a little more every day. Frederick Forsyth, an author who has gained worldwide fame with the novels he had written based on information from the British intelligence agency SIS, said that Ocalan was surrendered to Turkey with the approval of the US and Britain.

Frederick Forsyth, who accepted that he had cooperated with the SIS while talking to Yeni Safak newspaper, said that the US and England had taken great interest in the PKK since the beginning. Forsyth said that PKK President Ocalan was delivered to Turkey by the US and British intelligence agencies, the CIA and SIS, respectively, and defended that this was "normal."

Forsyth had the following to say: "They had our approval to give him to the Turks, too. The Turkish secret service is not as strong as our organization and the CIA from the aspect of foreign connections. Additionally, the capture of Ocalan was not something that would effect only Turkey. We and the Americans were closely following the PKK matter because it changed political balances in Turkey. In other words, this was an international matter."

'We made the Kurdish groups fight each other'

Forsyth recalled that Turkey was the only NATO country with a border with Russia and continued to say the following: "There were always relations of direct or inverse proportions between our service, the CIA, and the Turkish secret service. The Kurdish matter was one factor influencing this. The position of the Kurds has been complicated and difficult in every period. After the collapse of the Soviet Union, Saddam Hussein arose as a dangerous power in the region. The West determined their strength against Saddam Hussein and wanted Turkey to stand behind the groups in Northern Iraq. Thus, Turkey drew the KDP closer to itself. The reason for this was political. We and the Americans did not want Turkey to become stronger. Additionally, we also wanted to use the Kurds against Saddam. That is why we cooperated with the Kurds."

Forsyth said that the SIS placed value on Britain's interests, and continued to say the following: "If the support of an organization has been found right for strategic reasons, this will be done without thinking at all. This includes the organization in Turkey. There are two Kurdish groups in Northern Iraq. US and British interests were on the side of them clashing and this struggle continued. The Turkish secret service did this too. It supported the organization it viewed as against the PKK in Northern Iraq."


2. - Kurdish Observer - "Is it now the turn for Cizre HADEP?":

There is nothing that has not happened to Mehmet Dilsiz, who is working to establish the district headquarters of HADEP in Cizre. When Dilsiz refused to resign after receiving death threats and being subjected to numerous pressures, he was then prohibited from going to the field which he has planted for years.

AMED

While there has still been no news of People's Democracy Party (HADEP) Silopi District Chairman Serdar Tanis and District Secretary Ebubekir Deniz, who were detained by the Silopi District Gendarmerie on January 25, pressures and death threats continue against HADEP's Cizre District Chairman Mehmet Dilsiz. In the most recent of these, when Dilsiz refused to resign from the party despite the pressures and death threats, he was obstructed from entering his 1,000-donum (about 250 acres) field in which he has planted cotton for years on the grounds that it is a "forbidden zone."

Dilsiz said that once he was appointed to the district chairmanship of Cizre, he was first brought to the Gendarmerie command and threatened by two people dressed in civilian clothing who told him, "If you don't leave HADEP, you will lose your life."

"About 10 days after this detention," Dilsiz continued, "two armed people dressed in civilian clothing came to my place of work, put me in a car and brought me to the edge of the Saklam valley near the Syrian border. They said, 'You will leave HADEP. We absolutely will not allow the party to open,' and threatened me." Dilsiz said that a few days after he was released, there was a raid on his home in which it was searched for six hours, and he was subsequently arrested on the grounds that a "wireless and organizational documents" were found. Dilsiz was released a week later after filing an objection.

Dilsiz said that he was called into the Gendarmerie base four days after being released from prison, continuing, "A person dressed in civilian clothing asked me to leave HADEP there. Then they took me to a room where there was the Battalion Commander and two officers. There were also civilians. They threatened me again. When they asked whether or not anyone knew that I had come, I told them that the party and my family knew. Upon that, they told me to go and get lost."

Field now forbidden

Dilsiz said he was threatened over the telephone on February 28, continuing, "The person who called asked me in Kurdish why I did not give up on the party. When I asked who he was, he said, 'I am the Azrail [angel of death] of Serdar and Ebubekir, and I am going to be your Azrail,' and hung up the phone. My phone has been ringing constantly since that day, but no one answers when I pick up the phone."

Dilsiz said that when he refused to bow to the pressures and threats, he was forbidden to enter his large plot of land on which he plants cotton every year. Dilsiz added that the Gendarmerie would be responsible if anything unfortunate befell him.


3. - Ozgur Politika -"A Kurdish delegation at European Parliament":

STRASBOURG

A Kurdish delegation started its meetings with European Parliament debuties.The delegation consists of Riza Erdogan, member of the board of Kurdistan National Congress (KNK); Musa Kaval, in charge of European Affairs; Izzet Yildirim, Chairman of Council of Kurdish Associations in Sweden; and Fatma Yasa, representative of Finland Kurdish Association.

Representatives of Kurdish organizations in Scandinavia expressed that they aimed a lasting dialogue between parliamentarians and the KNK delegation, saying that they wanted to "remind EU that the Kurdish problem not to be undervalued" as Sweden has the EU Chairmanship.

The delegation stated that they talked on matters such as repression on HADEP (Peoples Democracy Party) and IHD (Human Rights Association), disappearance cases, military concentration by Turkish State in South Kurdistan (Iraqi Kurdistan). The group also asked for them not to accept Turkey?s candidacy without taking Copenhagen Criteria into account. The
delegation will continue their meetings.

The Council of Kurdish Associations in Sweden represents 24 associations which have 4300 registered members. Finland Kurdish Association has 1200 members.


4. - BBC - "Turkey tackles debt-laden banks":

Mr Dervis takes his oath before parliament on Tuesday

Turkey's newly installed economy minister Kemal Dervis has unveiled emergency measures to reform the country's troubled banking sector and speed the rapid privatisation of state companies.

The measures are intended to kick-start the country's troubled economy, which reached a state of crisis in February when the government was forced to devalue its currency.

Mr Dervis has announced that an independent board of managers would be created to control three of Turkey's four main state banks.

Turkey's banks have long been a drag on the economy, with losses by the four state banks estimated to be $20bn (£13.6bn) at the end of last year.

A financial burden

Mr Dervis explained that the financial burden on state banks would be transferred directly to the country's budget.

"We will lift these burdens... and thus allow them to work like banks," he said at a news conference in Ankara.

Turkey also plans to merge two of the banks, Ziraat and Emlak.

Earlier on Wednesday, Mr Dervis told union leaders, "There's an emergency situation in the banking sector.

"If we don't get on top of it now we're going to see worse days."

Privatisation

The economy minister also aims to push through a law to sell 51% of state telecom company Turk Telekom.

The Telekom privatisation would be the largest in Turkey's history as the company is expected to be worth as much as $10bn.

Mr Dervis also plans to quickly sell the national airline and two other state companies.
Prior to the news conference, the stock market closed down on the day, losing nearly 4% of its value.

Investors, who were waiting to hear about Mr Dervis' latest measures, have become increasingly nervous about Turkey's mounting debt.

Programme in progress

However, there is no news yet of Turkey's blueprint for reform - a new economic programme supported by the International Monetary Fund.

Mr Dervis, who has recently returned from talks with the IMF in Washington, has said an outline will emerge on Thursday.

But he has made clear that the new programme would need to deal with inflation as high as the 15% it is expected to reach in March and April.

Turkey's 'saviour'

All eyes are focused on Mr Dervis, a former World Bank official, as he attempts to pull his country out of the mire.

Some of Turkey's local newspapers are already optimistic and have hailed him as Turkey's saviour.

Mr Dervis was appointed the economy "super-minister" by Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit on 2 March, shortly after Turkey was forced to devalue its currency.

The spectacular devaluation of the Turkish lira, which has since lost more than 30% of its value, was triggered by the mass exodus of foreign investors.

The loss of confidence had been sparked by a public row between the prime minister and President Ahmet Necdet Sezer over tackling corruption in the banking sector:


5. - Ozgur Politika - "Listen to the cries of Dersim!":

A campaign of "Solidarity with the 2,600-year Culture of Dersim" was begun with the aim of stopping the dams which have begun to be built in the Munzur Valley. A temporary committee established for the campaign aims to become a permanent committee.

VIENNA

The "Solidarity with the 2,600-year Culture of Dersim" campaign has been initiated in the Austrian capital of Vienna to stop the dams that are being built in the Munzur Valley. In a meeting held to introduce the campaign, it was noted that the Munzur Valley was faced with the danger of total destruction and the decision was reached to "be in communication with the Munzur solidarity committees established in various places."

The temporary committee established for the campaign held a meeting at the 7th Vienna Amering Haust in Vienna. The various methods by which the Turkish state was waging war against Kurdistan were discussed at the meeting, and it was said that it was necessary to consider the dams planned for the Munzur Valley as part of this war. The committee said that it would not be possible solve the dam problem while ignoring the social and revolutionary developments in North [Turkish] Kurdistan, adding, "Of the 2,600 years of its history that we know, Dersim has up until today always opened its arms to revolutionaries, given its children, stood at the side of those in the right, and been subjected to massacres because of these. Now, they want to destroy the [natural] beauty of this geography which has such a social and revolutionary side."

The committee said that it had not been established with a simple, narrow, and regional mentality, adding, "Our campaign is an honorable standing up for the social, political, and historical dimensions. This [dam] project, more than the production of energy, foresees the economic, cultural, historical, demographic, ecological, and geological massacre of the region." The committee noted that the organizers of the campaign were not only people from Dersim (Tunceli). Criticizing the insensitivity being displayed towards the danger of the destruction of Dersim, the committee said, "Listen to the cries of Dersim!"

"The problem of the destruction of Dersim is the problem of all mass parties and all organizations and associations working for such aims as nature and wildlife protection," the committee said, calling on all aware organizations, people, and institutions to show sensitivity on this issue.

The Temporary Committee for the "Solidarity with the 2,600-year Culture of Dersim" campaign said that it would transform itself into a permanent committee and that it had decided that the campaign, under Turkey Coordinator Celal Turna, would turn into an initiative together with all solidarity with Dersim committees in every field. It was also decided at the meeting to have a report on the subject prepared by experts in the teaching field in Kurdistan, Turkey, and abroad, stressing the importance of the production of scientific documents.

At the end of the meeting which lasted for about three hours, it was announced that the Permanent Committee would be holding regular meetings.


6. - Turkish Daily News - "Izmir IHD protests F-type prisons":

The Izmir Human Rights association says that government officials identified the cell-based system as a room system and this lead to people ignoring the problems in the implementation of the new prison system

IZMIR

Izmir Human Rights Association (IHD) members organized a meeting in Cumhurriyet Square to protest the implementation of the cell-based F-type prisons which was launched three months ago. The group says that the implementation of the F-type prison system means isolation of the inmates.

Supporting the 280 inmates who have been on a death fast for 147 days and the 800 inmates who have been on a hunger strike to protest the implementation of the cell-based F-type prisons, to demand annulment of the State Security Courts (DGMs) and formation of a commission that would include doctors, lawyers, prisoners' relatives and representatives of nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) who would inspect the prisons, IHD members said that the implementation of the F-type prison system was incongruous with the international agreement Turkey has signed.

According to an IHD statement, Article 16 of the Struggle Against Terrorism Law allows the implementation of the F-type prison system. But this system isolates the inmates because they are not able to have conversations with each other. The IHD said that government officials identified the cell-based system as a room system and this lead to people ignoring the problems in the implementation of the new prison system.

Pointing out that the death fasts and hunger strikes which have been ignored are continuing, the statement said: "The inmates on death fasts and hunger strikes have passed the 147th day. The health conditions of the inmates have been getting worse day-by-day. Some have lost consciousness and health problems from which they cannot recovered have appeared on these inmates."

The IHD members said that the government should not ignore all these problems in the prisons and should resolve them before there are any deaths.