7 September 2001

1. "Selcuk says Turkey needs 'brand new' constitution", Turkey must scrap its "police regulation" like constitution and introduce a new social contract, one of the top judges of the country said.

2. "Turkish MPs to resume work this month for constitutional reform", Turkish lawmkers will be summoned back to work this month to take up a constitutional reform package to help the country prepare for possible EU membership, the Turkish parliament's speaker said Thursday.

3. "Greece and Turkey: history of hate", current tensions between Greece and Turkey over illegal immigrants are merely the latest manifestation of a long history of mutual distrust and animosity between the two countries.

4. "EU enlargement chief regrets Turkish Cypriot move", the European Union's top enlargement official said on Thursday he was disappointed at a decision by Turkish Cypriot leader Rauf Denktash not to return to U.N.-sponsored talks on the future of the divided island.

5. "Arrests for Peace Day continue", arrests of HADEP members continue. Abdurrahman Dogar, a member of Party Assembly was arrested on the grounds that he made a statement in HADEP Tatvan district premises for the September 1 World Peace Day, and 4 party members in Kars and 6 people in Amed including a member of Mothers for Peace were arrested.

6. "Constitutional reform package gets full support from Parliament", all parties vow full support but MHP hints at reservations.

1. - Turkish Daily News - "Selcuk says Turkey needs 'brand new' constitution":

Turkey must scrap its "police regulation"-like constitution and introduce a new social contract, one of the top judges of the country said.

The call came amid preparations by the three-way coalition government of Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit to push through Parliament later this month a 37-article package amending the 1982 military-scissored constitution, which is criticized both at home and abroad for having undemocratic clauses.

Sami Selcuk, the chief justice of the Court of Cassation, the highest court of appeals, said it would be a waste of time to try to improve the current constitution of the country by making patches to it through amendments.

"Our people ... want a faultless, defect-free constitution adopted by open discussion and free will. ... We should not waste time with amendments and meet this just desire," said Selcuk in a speech marking the start of the new judicial year, a ceremony participated in by reformist President Ahmet Necdet Sezer, a former to judge of the Constitutional Court, Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit, much of the Cabinet and the administrative elite of the country.

"We should appear before the world with a brand new constitution. We should integrate with supranational law," he stressed.

"So long as we don't create a new fully democratic constitution, in which the state promises to protect freedoms and rights ... neither the individual, nor the state, nor democracy can flourish," he underlined.

The chief justice of the Court of Cassation backed Turkey's bid to join the European Union in his speech and said the country would gain international respect if it codified a new national charter.

"We should enter the EU to make history, to take our place at the centre of civilization and to achieve contemporary democracy," he said.

The three-way coalition government hopes that by reforming the constitution it will push Turkey closer to its goal of joining the EU. The union has called on Turkey to make legal and constitutional reforms including ending the ban on the use of the Kurdish language in broadcasting and education, and the removal of the death penalty.

But these changes could face opposition from within the government, whose nationalist wing argues that lifting the ban on Kurdish could threaten national unity.

Nationalist deputies have argued that Kurdish separatist chief Abdullah Ocalan must be executed before the death penalty is abolished. Ocalan now awaits a European Court of Human Rights ruling on his appeal of his death sentence.

Selcuk also opposed the articles of the constitution that stipulated the closure of political parties if they did not conform to the Constitution.

The amendments to 37 articles include easing the ban on Kurdish language broadcasting and education and making it more difficult to outlaw political parties.

In democracies, Selcuk stressed, the closure of political parties must be the last option. He said that in the last 33 years 23 political parties were closed by the Constitutional Court in Turkey whereas in Europe the closure of political parties was an exceptional practice and in principle Europe was against such a practice.

"A party closure verdict is very much like death penalty verdict against people," Selcuk, an opponent of death penalty, said, adding: "Just like the death penalty that exists in the Constitution but is a violation of the fundamentals of the right to live, the closure of political parties exists in the Constitution in a manner devastating the freedom to organize. This is an odd situation."

He said if Turkey wanted to have a more participationist democracy, it must eradicate the provisional Article 15 of the Constitution and amend the laws on political party activities and the elections.

The chief justice also stressed that "like in many other countries" citizens should be given the right to challenge the constitutionality of legislations by Parliament at the Constitutional Court.

2. - AFP - "Turkish MPs to resume work this month for constitutional reform":

ANKARA

Turkish lawmkers will be summoned back to work this month to take up a constitutional reform package to help the country prepare for possible EU membership, the Turkish parliament's speaker said Thursday. "I will issue an official call Friday for parliament to convene on September 17" before their summer recess ends on October 1, parliament speaker Omer Izgi told reporters, the Anatolia news agency reported.

The reform package was drawn up by a special commission formed of members from the five parties in parliament and foresees amendments to 37 articles of the constitution in a step to bring Turkey closer to its dream of EU membership. Among the amendments in the draft, which can still be changed before it reaches the parliament floor, is a clause to lift the death penalty except in times of war, an immminent threat of war and for crimes of terrorism, thus excluding condemned Kurdish rebel leader Abdullah Ocalan.

The draft also proposed the lifting of a ban on using "forbidden languages" in the expression and dissemination of thought, which could allow the free use of Kurdish in the media. It also envisaged the introduction of tighter criteria to ban a political party and the inclusion of more civilian members to the country's top policy-making body, the military-dominated National Security Council.

Other proposals aim to improve freedom of expression, expand workers' rights to unionize and limit the president's powers. The government is aiming to adopt the reforms before the European Commission -- the EU's executive arm -- wraps up in November an annual report on Turkey's progress towards membership. Turkey's Deputy Prime Minister Mesut Yilmaz, who is in charge of the EU portfolio, had previously warned that a delay in the package's adoption could lead to a serious breakdown in Turkish-EU ties. Izgi's announcement came in the wake of a call by Turkey's top juror to draw up a brand new constitution, describing efforts to amend the existing one as "waste of time".

"I want a new and flawless constitution. Why don't we make a new constitution now when all the conditions are right?" Sami Selcuk, the head of Turkey's appeals court, told a ceremony to mark the beginning of the new judicial year. He added that a constitution which guarantees individual rights and obliges the state to protect them would "earn Turkey more respect in the world".

"We should not waste time with the amendments," he said. Turkey was declared an EU membership candidate in December 1999 and is now obliged to meet the European Union's criteria on human rights and democracy before it can start accession talks.

3. - CNN - "Greece and Turkey: history of hate":

LONDON / by Paul Sussman

Current tensions between Greece and Turkey over illegal immigrants are merely the latest manifestation of a long history of mutual distrust and animosity between the two countries.

That history can be traced right the way back to ancient times, long before Greece and Turkey even emerged as independent states.

The region currently occupied by the two nations, existing as it does at the juncture of Europe and Asia, has for thousands of years served as a battleground between the forces of East and West.

The psyches of both peoples have in many ways been forged by this enduring sense of conflict, of being on opposite sides of a profound cultural fault line.

This is perhaps especially true of the Greeks, who have always had a strong appreciation of the exploits of their ancient ancestors in battling the (as they see it) despotic powers of the East.

The Trojan wars, for instance, and the epic 5th Century BC clashes between the Greek city states and invading Persians --culminating in the legendary Greek victories at Marathon (490 BC), Salamis (480 BC) and Plataea (479 BC) -- still retain a surprising resonance for modern Greeks.

Likewise the history of the Greek Byzantine Empire, which for many centuries stood as the only bulwark between the worlds of Islam and Christianity.

If millennia of attrition provide the wider context for strained Greco-Turkish relations, however, its specific roots lie in more modern times.

In the 15th century the Turkish Ottoman Empire overran mainland Greece and most of the Greek Islands, initiating almost 300 years of Muslim occupation.

Although Ottoman rule, especially in the early years, was less brutal than has often been made out, it was certainly onerous, involving high taxation and occasional acts of appalling violence (30,000 Greeks were massacred when the Ottomans captured Cyprus in 1570).

The occupation, which ended with the Greek War of Independence of 1821-28, had a profound effect on the Greek people, engendering a sense of hatred and distrust of Turks that lasts to this day.

Turkish opinion, too, has been marked by the brutalities of history. The Greek War of Independence started with numerous massacres of Turkish civilians, most infamously at Tripolista in 1821, where 12,000 Turks died (the Turks responded by slaughtering 25,000 Greeks on the island of Chios).

The entire modern Turkish state, indeed, is in a sense based on anti-Greek sentiment, since its founder, Musafa Kemal Ataturk (1881-1938), first came to power by repelling the 1919-21 Greek invasion of Asia Minor.

Today the animosity between the two peoples is played out primarily on the island of Cyprus, an independent republic until 1974 when Ankara invaded and established the Turkish Republic of Cyprus in the northeast of the country, where the population was predominantly ethnic Turkish.

The Greeks, supported by the international community, have refused to recognise the Turkish Republic.

The Turks, for their part, have refused to back down, creating a source of permanent tension in the region (not so long ago the Greek foreign minister referred to Turks as "bandits, murderers and rapists," to which the Turkish foreign minister responded by branding him a "psychopath.")

Turkey's application to join the 15-member EU has likewise highlighted ill-feeling between the two nations, with Greece, already a member, vigorously opposing any Turkish involvement.

There are signs of a very slight thawing in the relationship. When a massive earthquake hit the Turkish town of Izmit in August 1999, killing almost 2,000 people, Greek rescue teams were among the first on the scene.

When another earthquake hit Athens a month later, Turkish teams repaid the compliment by rushing to help.

While it was a hopeful sign, however, it will take a lot more than an earthquake to bring an end to the centuries of mutual antipathy and mistrust that have blighted relations between the two peoples.

4. - Reuters - "EU enlargement chief regrets Turkish Cypriot move":

BRUSSELS

The European Union's top enlargement official said on Thursday he was disappointed at a decision by Turkish Cypriot leader Rauf Denktash not to return to U.N.-sponsored talks on the future of the divided island.

The EU, which recognizes only the Greek Cypriot government in Nicosia, is anxious to end the decades-old division ahead of Cyprus' accession to the Union in the next few years.

"I am very disappointed that Mr Denktash has not accepted the U.N. Secretary General's invitation to talks on September 12," EU Enlargement Commissioner Guenter Verheugen said in a statement.

"The Commission considers that the window of opportunity for reaching a solution before accession remains open and encourages all interested parties to undertake all efforts with this aim in view," he said.

On Wednesday, Denktash repeated his insistence that talks could only resume if he was recognized as the equal of Greek Cypriot leader Glafcos Clerides, who is president of the internationally recognised government of Cyprus.

The continuing division of Cyprus has sorely complicated relations between the European Union and Turkey, another EU candidate country. Turkey is the only country to recognise Denktash's breakaway administration.

On Wednesday, disregarding Verheugen's advice, members of the European Parliament adopted a report which warns Turkey that its membership bid would be ended if it annexed Turkish-speaking northern Cyprus when the island joins the bloc.

Ankara reacted angrily to the report, saying it had never had any plans to annex northern Cyprus.

The EU would prefer a resolution of the Cypriot issue before accession but also says it would admit a divided island if necessary. EU member Greece has made clear it would not accept any enlargement of the bloc without Cyprus.

Twelve countries, mostly from ex-communist eastern Europe, are locked in negotiations on EU membership. Turkey, though an official candidate since 1999, has yet to begin talks due to worries over its human rights record and stance on Cyprus.

5. - Kurdish Observer - "Arrests for Peace Day continue":

Arrests of HADEP members continue. Abdurrahman Dogar, a member of Party Assembly was arrested on the grounds that he made a statement in HADEP Tatvan district premises for the September 1 World Peace Day, and 4 party members in Kars and 6 people in Amed including a member of Mothers for Peace were arrested.

HADEP (People's Democracy Party) members subjected to a gush of detentions and arrests. 11 people including member of Party Assembly Abdurrahman Dogar was arrested the other day. Dogar who has been detained because of a press statement in Tatvan was brought before prosecution office together with HADEP Tatvan administrators Ramazan Genc and Selahattin Akgun. Dogar was arrested whereas Genc and Akgun were released to be tried without arrest. Dogar was qut into Tatvan Prison.

M. Nezir Karabas, HADEP Bitlis Provincial Chairman, denounced the arrest, reminding that 11 administrators and members including Tatvan District Chairman Husamettin Akdogan have been arrested before on the grounds that they sold invitations. Emphasizing that detention of a member of party assembly of a political party on the grounds that he made a press statement was a political decision, Karabas said, "Moreover the statement has been made in the party premises. At such a point in time at which the people expressed its wish for peace, anti-democratic and repressive practices are not for the benefit of anybody."

4 arrests in Kars

On the other hand 4 party members including HADEP Provincial Chairman of Youth Wings Burhan Bolum were arrested because of activities in the September 1, World Peace Day. Attacking against the peace-lovers who congratulated the peace day, the police forces detained 23 people including HADEP administrators the other day. 19 of them were released yesterday whereas 4 detainees were arrested. Their names are as follows: Burhan Bolum, HADEP Kars Provincial Chairman of Youth Wings, and members Ersin Urper, Serhat Bayrambey and Turan Bayrambey.

Detentions include a mother for peace

In Amed 59 people out of 65 who have been detained in the Peace Day were released where other 6 people including Emine Ozbek, member of Mothers for Peace Initiative who says "I will demand peace even if I am killed" were arrested.

On the other hand 30 people including HADEP Diyarbakir provincial administrators who were detained on August 31 and September 1 are still under detention in Diyarbakir Security Directorate.

Condolence is banned!

House of Zeynel Durmus, a HADEP member who lost his life on the assault against the activities on September 1 was visited by a number of visitors. More than 500 people visited his home in Topacli (Siveske) in Nusaybin district of Mardin whereas military blockage in the village was not lifted. Military forces every now and then controlled the identity cards of the visitors but HADEP Istanbul Provincial Chairman Dogan Erbas protested against the control and made the soldiers go away from the house. After Durmus's body was taken to Nusaybin road controls were intensified in Mardin and its districts and it has been learned that a number of vehicles were prevented to go to the village.

6. - Turkish Daily News - "Constitutional reform package gets full support from Parliament":

All parties vow full support but MHP hints at reservations

The constitutional reform package has been presented to the Parliamentary chairman by the Democratic Left Party (DSP), the True Path Party (DYP), the Motherland Party (ANAP), the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) and the Justice and Development Party (AKP) -- led by Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Of the 289 signatures supporting the proposal, 114 belonged to the MHP, 90 to the DSP, 82 to ANAP, two to the AKP and one to the DYP -- which is that of Acting Head of Parliamentary Group Turhan Guven. Other members of the AKP and the DYP are expected to submit their signatures to the Parliamentary chairman at a future date.

Prepared by the Parliament Accord Commission, the package proposes amendments to be made concerning 37 articles of the Constitution.

Upon the making of the law proposal, made up of 38 articles including the article in force, Parliamentary Chairman Omer Izgi is expected to hold an extraordinary session on Sept. 17. According to the Constitution, only the proposed constitutional amendments will be discussed during the extraordinary session due to the fact that the session will be held for that reason. The new judicial year is to begin on Oct. 1.

Other than the administrative parties and the main opposition party, the DYP, the newly established AKP and the Saadet Party (SP) have also announced their support for the amendments. Whereas the AKP declared full support, the SP stated that it would not sign the law proposing constitutional amendments but would support them. Acting Head of the AKP Parliamentary Group Mehmet Ali Sahin spoke on behalf of his party, saying they had no reservations for supporting the packet. Sahin answered a question asking whether the AKP would request legal measures to be taken, concerning the lifting of party Chairman Erdogan's ban arising from Article 312 of the Turkish Penal Code (TCK), as criteria for support with the words: "We do not intend to bargain using this subject. They are two different things."

The extraordinary session to be held on Sept. 17 will first witness the discussion of the package in the Constitutional Commission. According to the Constitution, if the package is approved by the Commission then it will be voted in the Parliament's General Assembly twice with 48 hours in between the two votings. A minimum of 367 yes votes are necessary for the package to be accepted without need for a referendum. A number of votes between 330-367 makes a referendum inevitable. Secret ballots are expected to result in the acceptance of the package, if all parties keep their promises. However, some parliamentarians are expected to "change their minds" on certain articles.

Despite the fact that the package was prepared with contributions of all party representatives and that all parties have announced full support, makeovers by the Constitutional Commission are expected on some critical articles

The August meeting of the State Security Council (MGK) advised some constitutional amendments proposed by the Accord Commission to be "matured." The military wing of the MGK is said to have doubts about the proposed changes to Articles 14, 26 and 28 of the Constitution. It is also stated that the MHP might reject proposals concerning Kurdish broadcast and the death penalty and might bring this to the attention of the Constitutional Commission.

The package had been prepared keeping in mind the declarations of Turkey made in the National Program prepared for Turkey's full membership to the European Union. The clause in Article 14 of the Constitution, governing "The prevention of the abuse of basic rights and freedoms", stating that "Punishment of people infringing these articles and those encouraging others to infringe them is to be governed by law" had been deleted by the package. It has been reported that the military wing of the MGK claimed that the constitutions of EU countries contain similar articles. The military wing is also said to support terms similar to "encouragement and provocation" to be put in the Article 14.

Changes in Article 26, entitled "Freedom of spreading and revealing thoughts," deletes the clause saying, "A language forbidden by law cannot be used in the expression and spreading of thoughts." The clause of Article 28, entitled "Freedom of press", saying, "A language forbidden by laws cannot be used for broadcasting" was deleted as well. Both changes propose the ban of broadcasting in Kurdish to be lifted. Apart from the military's hesitations concerning the subject, the MHP is also expected to demand changes in this proposal.

In the changes made in Article 38, towards which the MHP has sensitivities, the term saying, "Death penalties can not be issued other than in the situations of war, near war crimes and those of terrorism." The articles of Protocol No. 6 were cited as reasons for this change. The change justifies the capital punishment of Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) leader Abdullah Ocalan.

Concerning Article 87 of the constitution, governing Parliament's authority, the term stating that Parliament is allowed to make decisions regarding amnesty has been deleted. Some lawyers claim that this change may lead Ocalan to be forgiven whereas others claim the opposite. The MHP is expected to reject the acceptance of such a change.

Another important aspect of the package is that it lifts the article stating that criticism can not be directed against legal measures taken during the Sept. 12, 1980 military coup, claiming they infringe on the Constitution.