16 October 2002

1. "Turkish court allows pro-Kurdish party to take part in election", a high court in Turkey voted Tuesday to allow a pro-Kurdish political party to take part in next month's elections in the country, an senior court official said. The court voted to reject a move by a top state prosecutor, Sabih Kanadoglu, to ban DEHAP, the only pro-Kurdish party to field candidates in the November 3 elections. Kanadoglu had sought the ban because of the DEHAP's lack of overall national representation.

2. "Abdullah Ocalan: I did my best for peace", KADEK President Abdullah Ocalan,in a statement on occasion of the anniversary of October 9 conspiracy, said that all destruction plan had failed, adding: "I have stopped the dirty war and gangs, and kept the Kurds from being killed."

3. "KADEK: No solution without democracy", Duran Kalkan, member of KADEKPresidential Council, stated that some groups in Turkey had been trying to create confusion by economic projects and speeches on war, adding that no problems could be solved without securing democratic appropriations.

4. "Copenhagen is next stop for Turkey’s EU accession saga", at the beginning of this month, Turks were distracted from their forthcoming parliamentary elections, and even the impending war on Iraq.

5. "The EU and the Turkey time bomb", Turkish Foreign Minister Sukru Sina Gurel gave the European Union a warning before it issued its Progress Report on the 13 nations seeking EU membership. "In the case of disappointment [Turkey not receiving a date to begin accession talks], it is inevitable that the negative effects of disappointment will be reflected in Turkish-EU relations," he said. Turkey did not receive a date, and Turkey is a disappointed nation.

6. "Iraqi Kurdish leader makes his case", Barham saleh says he wants democracy, not secession De facto prime minister envisions creation of pluralist federal structure.

7. "Denmark and foreign ministry denies claims on KADEK", Turkish foreign ministry officials and EU officials deny claims that EU term president Denmark answered Turkish official request to ban KADEK negatively.

8. "Torture and its punishment: Problem is not lack of law to prevent torture", the lawyer of 16 youths who were subjected to torture in the Manisa case that took place in the European Union's ordinary report on Turkey's accession to the EU and the chairman of Manisa Bar Association Serhan Ozbek, talking on torture and degrading treatments, said that the problem was not a lack of law to prevent torture and human degrading treatment, the problem was the implementation of these laws to prevent torture.

1. - AFP - "Turkish court allows pro-Kurdish party to take part in election":

ANKARA / 15 October 2002

A high court in Turkey voted Tuesday to allow a pro-Kurdish political party to take part in next month's elections in the country, an senior court official said. The court voted to reject a move by a top state prosecutor, Sabih Kanadoglu, to ban DEHAP, the only pro-Kurdish party to field candidates in the November 3 elections. Kanadoglu had sought the ban because of the DEHAP's lack of overall national representation.

"The DEHAP can take part in the elections," said Ahmet Hamdi Unlu, vice president of the electoral high court, adding that the decision was unanimous. Last week, a Kurdish guerrilla group that for 15 years fought for self-rule in southeast Turkey warned of new war if Ankara bans the DEHAP from the elections.

"War will be inevitable if the means for democratic struggle are ruled out," the Germany-based agency Mesopotamia (MHA) said, quoting Osman Ocalan, a member of the guerrilla group's leadership and brother of its jailed leader Abdullah Ocalan.

2. - Kurdish Observer - "Abdullah Ocalan: I did my best for peace":

KADEK President Abdullah Ocalan,in a statement on occasion of the anniversary of October 9 conspiracy, said that all destruction plan had failed, adding: "I have stopped the dirty war and gangs, and kept the Kurds from being killed."

MHA/FRANKFURT / 15 October 2002

KADEK President Abdullah Ocalan made a statement commending on November 3 elections, party programs, steps towards democratisation, the Kurdish parliament in South Kurdistan, massacres of village guards and the October 9 Conspiracy.

Ocalan stated that the plans to destroy all Kurds had failed. The Kurdish President continued with words to the effect: "Greece tried to drag us into a conflict between Kurds and Turks. Gangs have stifled the guerrilla. They tried to turn guerrilla into another thing. The comrades did not realized the threat of gangs. There were ploys of foreign forces on us, media was hard on us. I have stopped the dirty war and gangs, and kept the Kurds from being killed. On this occasion I call out the Turkish intellectuals: I did my best for peace and unity. They should also do their best and work for unity. And our message to Kurds is as follows: It was a historical conspiracy, from now on we should develop our democratic unity with Kurds, establish our democracy. All Kurds should work for peace and democracy. They should do their best to establish the order of law." Emphasizing that democracy and law were of importance, Ocalan had this to say: "The unity between Kurds and Turks is important. Devlet Bahçeli said 'If Ocalan is in our hand, we will hang him immediately'. It meant the execution of Turkey. It is not patriotism, their real aim is vote. They are organized on the basis of counter-guerrilla, they take their strength from there. They do not love their country."

"My freedom is the freedom of the Kurdish people"

Ocalan said that the commute of capital punishment handed down on him to life imprisonment was important, adding the following: "Death sentence that since Gilgamesh has been the fate of Kurds is put an end. And the life imprisonment is the life imprisonment of the Kurdish people. My freedom depends on the freedom of the Kurdish people. If we are to be free, we will be so together, we will catch the freedom together. I have criteria, I have truths. I do not make concessions from these truths. The process has proven my rightness." The Kurdish leader emphasized on the importance of non-governmental organizations and their activities and studies, continuing with words to the effect: I have said Tigris and Euphrates Historical and Ecological Foundation. There can be also organizations on health, production and consumption. There are a number of universities of foundations. You can establish one. You can teach Kurdish. It is not true to leave these subjects to the state. You must prepare projects. You must establish non-governmental organizations, otherwise you cannot make politics, your politics will be politics of land-lords, of sheikhs. You can enlighten the people only with non-governmental organizations. You can eliminate the feudality with them. The people expect it from you, lead the people. Establish cultural, linguistic and ecological schools. You should solve the education in Kurdish problem. We have more than four thousand lawyers, thousands of intellectuals. If every one of them went to villages, there would already be terrific gains. Democracy can be developed only as such. Kurds need democracy more than a state."

"I respect laws"

Emphasizing that democracy and law were interconnecting, Ocalan had this to say: "I have not spoken in a simple law language. It would be an insult. The political will of the Kurdish people is more important for me than everything else. I respect laws. The President of the Constitution Court and the President of the Republic try to come to the line of law. They try to limit the line of Tansu Ciller and the like in the special war. But those who try to get benefits from the line of war make effort to confuse democracy and law. But defence at the Auropean Court of Human Rights, debates is a resurrection for the Kurdish law. The laws passed on August 3 has proven my rightness. Some argue that I have abandoned the Kurdish values here. But I have worked for these values from the very beginning."

"Turkey failed"

Ocalan stated that those who had insisted on democratisation succeeded, and those who had not been able to accept the transformation failed. The Kurdish leader drew attention that MHP (a fascist party) lost its strength because of its resistance to democratisation. Ocalan said the following: "If they (meaning political leaders) accepted my projects they would not lose and Bulent Ecevit would be able to pass the national electoral threshold as well as Mesut Yilmaz and Devlet Bahceli. If they opened the ways for democratisation, for cease-fire, for guerrilla coming to their home, they would come to power again. But their plight is clear."

"May DEHAP successful"

The Kurdish leader stated that the Labor, Peace and Democracy Platform could pass over the electoral threshold easily and continued to say the following: "They try to make CHP the first party. Therefore their efforts to disqualify DEHAP is gaining momentum. DEHAP represents the unity of peoples. It opens a window to democratic society. May DEHAP successful."

"Do not give opportunity to village guards"

Commending on massacres by village guards, Ocalan said: "Village guards commit crimes against our people. These looters, not policemen, not soldiers. In past Hizbullah was responsible. These attacks is an effort to intimidate people. They should not be given opportunity. I am extremely distressful about these attacks, and offer my condolences to the suffering families."

Kurds most needs democracy

KADEK President Abdullah Ocalan stressed that Medya Defence Zones declared in South Kurdistan by KADEK should be open to all friendly forces, saying that there were important to abolish feudal authority. Ocalan concluded his words by saying the following: "Barzani and Talebani are still been deceived by England. The ploy played in 1920s is still tried to be played. We must act as a kill-joy. Kurds are in need of democracy, what is to be done is a democratic structure. I am not against a federal state in South but it should be democratic. USA tries to democratise the Middle East for its own interests. But it is not democratisation in essence. We must take a democratisation that respect the real demands of its own people as a goal. A parliament in which KDP and PUK represent themselves fifty fifty is incomplete and does not represent democratic will. This parliament declared war against us in 1992 as it was not democratic. Everybody must come together in defence areas and work for a democratic Iraq and a democratic Middle East."

3. - Ozgur Politika - "KADEK: No solution without democracy":

Duran Kalkan, member of KADEKPresidential Council, stated that some groups in Turkey had been trying to create confusion by economic projects and speeches on war, adding that no problems could be solved without securing democratic appropriations.

MHA/BRUSSELS / 15 October 2002

Participated by telephone in the "Acilim" program on Medya TV the other day, KADEK Presidential Council member Duran Kalkan commented on the latest situation before the elections and effort to disqualify DEHAP. Kalkan stated that some groups in Turkey had been trying to create confusion by economic projects and speeches on war. "Without democracy it is impossible to solve any of the economic problems" said the Kurdish leader, emphasizing that in cesa that a real democracy was secured neither economic problems of toiling masses could be solved nor injustice could be eliminated. He also pointed out that neither possible US attack on Iraq nor the situation in South were new and said the following: "We must see the timid behavior of those who do not have strength to get anything from people and who will be taught a lesson by toiling masses on November 3. They cannot say it frankly, they cannot say Iraq question, they set forth South Kurdistan. They try to cancel elections by setting democrat people in Turkey into action, by bringing the situation in South like the Kurdish state etc. as the first item on the agenda. It is a ploy."

"There is no threatening situation in South"

Duran Kalkan emphasized that there was no threatening situation in South", continuing with words to the effect: "Everything has developed under their control. It has been so for ten years. It should be seen as a threat against democratisation." The Kurdish leader made some warnings too: "Democratic process should not be interrupted otherwise Turkey will face with more grave problems. Disintegration will be deepened. There is such a threat, it should be seen. Turkish politicians should abandon their anti-Kurdish stance. Some of their utterances are impossible to accept. Devlet Bahceli said almost insulting things about Diyarbakir. He should learn that he cannot get anything by throwing threats. War barons yell for war, they make separatism, they despise Kurds and reject them. An Anti-Kurdish stance is revived, they bring war into the agenda. The real separatism and gang is this. In case that it is not prevented and these discourses establish themselves in people's minds, Turkey's future will be in threat."

"Not too late"

Kalkan drew attention that war demands were extremely dangerous as far as people was concerned, saying that the one and only way to develop Turkey was democratisation and as a part of it the solution of the Kurdish question.

The Kurdish leader stated that labor, peace and democracy platform had proven how the Kurdish people yearned for democracy and freedom. Kalkan had also this to say: "Some of the groups did not participate in the alliance. But it is not too late. Everybody who considers himself/herself a leftist can participate in it. It will contribute to the revolution for democracy and freedom. But without it nobody can say a word about being a democrat and leftist."

"Hindrances will lead to other ways"

Commending on efforts to keep DEHAP from entering into the elections, Kalkan said that they believed that there would not be an adverse rule and such a movement could not be prevented. In case of disqualification, elections would be anti-democratic, said he. Kalkan continued to say the following: We do not want to express it, but if the process of democratic transformation is blocked, there will be other ways on the agenda. If workers, toilers and women do not participate even in the elections, what will they do? Are they forced to be outside the system, to resort to other ways. It is absolutely separatism. It means failure of Turkey. If they do that, responsibility of the consequences that will result from this situation will belong to them."

Noting that in spite of efforts to keep DEHAP from entering into the elections, every section of the society, women, youth and old, had its important duties, Kalkan called on them to show their initiative more powerfully. Kalkan continued with words to the effect: The most effective way to make a stand against war threats, clogging the democratic process is to develop massive initiative and to be more sensitive. Masses should cry that elections cannot be postponed, claim the democratic process and consider the elections a stage of it. In this sense the Kurdish people reveal a heroic democratic will. Nobody should be afraid of it. The platform should extend its sphere of influence. The demands for democracy and freedom both in Turkey and Kurdistan should be brought together. And big cities like Istanbul and Izmir should be added to it. It carries a great potantial, a potential for freedom and democracy. It is the duty of all of those who consider themselves democrats and who believe in having a ability to lead the people."

4. - The Daily Star (Lebanon) - "Copenhagen is next stop for Turkey’s EU accession saga":

16 October 2002

At the beginning of this month, Turks were distracted from their forthcoming parliamentary elections, and even the impending war on Iraq.

Instead they awaited Oct. 9, the date the European Commission was due to announce whether Turkey had fulfilled the conditions asked of it by the European Union (EU), and thus be eligible to start accession talks.

Ever since the 1963 Ankara Declaration, Turkey has been preparing itself for the day it becomes a member of the European club. With every step forward, the press trumpets, “We’re Europeans now!” That is what happened when Turkey signed its customs agreement with the EU in 1995, and again when it was put on the list of countries eligible for membership at the 1999 Helsinki summit.

And with every measure it introduced aimed at complying with EU conditions, Ankara requested that Brussels draw up a definite timetable for its eventual membership.

“We have never seen anything like this,” one EU official complained. “The moment Turkey fulfils the Copenhagen criteria, accession talks will begin. But you (Turks) are pressuring us prematurely. Last year, you asked for conditions of entry, and this year you want to know when talks will start. You are impatient and want to jump the queue. You say, ‘We have done our bit, and now it is Europe’s turn.’ You think that a step or two are enough, when in fact you have a very long way to go. But nevertheless, you accuse us (of obstructing Turkey’s membership) and create misplaced expectations among your people and unnecessary tensions.”

There is no doubt that Turkey has indeed taken big and important steps toward complying with EU criteria. The constitutional amendments passed by Parliament last summer were historic in every sense of the word, and met fundamental European requirements. Turkey abolished capital punishment and recognized for the first time the existence of a Kurdish ethnic minority in the country, and its right to use the Kurdish language in broadcasting and education.

What made these amendments even more important was that they caused a serious government crisis that ultimately led to the call for general elections on Nov. 3. That was seen as a signal to Europe of Turkey’s determination to overcome obstacles impeding the start of talks.

Ankara appreciated that it had to do more to meet the requirements laid out in the EU’s accession partnership agreement and in the Copenhagen criteria. But the sheer scale of the recent constitutional amendments, and their ratification the day before the European Commission was due to announce its decision, raised hopes that Turkey would be given a firm date for the start of accession talks, and left to comply with the other conditions later.

Ankara cannot claim to have been genuinely disappointed that no date was announced. But it has developed a habit of voicing its anger after every disagreement with the EU, and warning that any negative European reaction could impact on Turkey’s domestic politics and bolster those forces opposed to the country joining Europe on European terms.

The same thing happened this time, with Speaker Omer Izgi saying that if the EU did not exist, Turkey could form a different union of equal clout. Turkey is “a big, strong nation, a leader in its region. It could easily create a ‘Turkish Union,’” he said.

Deputy Prime Minister and Motherland Party (ANAP) leader Mesut Yilmaz also expressed anger. As the minister in charge of European affairs, any perceived setback to Turkey’s accession bid reflects badly on him, as well as on his party at the November elections. The latest opinion polls suggest Yilmaz and ANAP stand little chance of returning to Parliament.

“They want to prolong the process. This is unjust,” Yilmaz charged. “Yes, we do have many deficiencies, but the commission’s report exaggerated them. The other candidate countries have their deficiencies as well, but that did not prevent the EU from starting accession talks with them.”

Questioning the EU’s motives, Yilmaz said that it had earmarked 350 million euros ($343 million) in aid for Turkey for 2006, while granting Poland and Romania 950 million and 650 million euros respectively. “The aid is not important per se, but it does reveal the intentions of the EU toward Turkey,” he said.

Yilmaz added that the EU’s Dec. 12 summit in Copenhagen would determine whether the EU would move the process of Turkish accession forward or put it in reverse. He said the commission’s Oct. 9 report was ambivalent, and gave the Turkish public the impression that the EU was not interested in accepting Turkey as a member. “This decision will be reflected in next month’s election,” he warned.

The report had drawn attention to the continuing use of torture and restrictions on freedom of expression, association and organization in Turkey (where some 1,000 intellectuals ­ including Kurdish MPs ­ are serving time in jail merely for expressing political opinions).

It also concluded that religious groups do not enjoy full freedom of worship, and pointed to the massive influence exercised by the army on political life, judging that recent changes to the composition of the National Security Council did not go far enough toward complying with the Copenhagen criteria.

In addition, the report faulted the Turkish judiciary for not putting in practice the amendments to Articles 159 and 312 of the penal code. It cited the disqualification of the leader of a political party (meaning Justice and Development Party leader Recep Tayyip Erdogan) from contesting elections, as being at odds with the spirit of reform.

But the EU’s commissioner for enlargement, Gunther Verheugen, rejected the charge that Europe was closing its doors to Turkey, or that it was planning to offer the Turks a “special” ­ inferior ­ status within the EU. He said Turkey had made great strides over the past 18 months, and would be welcomed as a full member once it carries out the reforms required of it.

Turkish observers say any decision to start accession talks with Ankara would be more political than technical in nature, and believe that before deciding, EU leaders are awaiting the outcomes of several developments:

1. The Nov. 3 elections: hard-line secularist elements in the Turkish establishment are claiming that if an Islamist-nationalist coalition wins, the door to EU membership will be slammed shut. It is clear that those behind these rumors fear losing their seats in the next Parliament, and are trying to use scare tactics to gain votes.

2. Cyprus: Europe can use the date of accession talks as a means of putting pressure on Turkey not to obstruct Cyprus’ membership of the EU ­ and to facilitate a solution to the conflict over the island.

3. The EU also wants to pressure Turkey into removing its objections to the creation of a European army.

4. Europe has not yet made a strategic decision to admit Turkey in its ranks ­ with all the geographic, demographic and political implications that would have.

The next stop for Ankara will be Copenhagen on Dec. 12.

Mohammad Noureddine is an expert on Turkish affairs. He wrote this commentary for The Daily Star

5. - The Asia Times - "The EU and the Turkey time bomb":

ISTANBUL / 15 October 2002 / by Simon Allison

Turkish Foreign Minister Sukru Sina Gurel gave the European Union a warning before it issued its Progress Report on the 13 nations seeking EU membership. "In the case of disappointment [Turkey not receiving a date to begin accession talks], it is inevitable that the negative effects of disappointment will be reflected in Turkish-EU relations," he said. Turkey did not receive a date, and Turkey is a disappointed nation.

"Yes, we are all bitter," said one editorial. "We feel Turkey needs much more encouragement and incentives from the EU. The democrats who have been pushing for reforms have been left empty-handed, while the anti-EU lobby will now be up in arms, saying 'I told you the EU couldn't be trusted'."

The situation is exacerbated by the fact that Greek Cyprus (that distinction is always made in Turkey) has been given a date for accession - 2004 - along with Estonia, Lithuania, Latvia, Poland, Hungary, Slovakia, the Czech Republic, Slovenia and Malta. The European Commission also accepted the aspirations of Romania and Bulgaria to join in 2007.

Turkey's EU rebuff - it was urged to do more in the human rights field and increase civilian control over the military - is being reflected in political opinion polls. The Islamist Justice and Development Party is leading the more moderate secularist and pro-EU Republican People's Party by some 10 percentage points, with a matter of weeks to go before the November 3 national elections.

From the point of view of the EU, there are a number of reasons why it is not embracing Turkey with open arms. Its 72 million population is 90 percent Muslim, and although it is at present an open, secular nation, there is a fear that this could change, given the polarization of nations and religions in the current climate of the global war against terrorism. Also, if Turkey is admitted, the EU would suddenly have spilled over Europe's natural boundaries, and share a common border with Iran, Iraq and Syria.

And centuries-old prejudices are hard to overcome. Perhaps when Austrian Chancellor Wolfgang Schussel said that Turkey was "not mature enough" to join the EU, there were lingering memories of the day 500 years ago when the advancing Ottoman "hordes" were repulsed - just barely - at the gates of Vienna, after a three-month siege. And many Europeans are most reluctant to take into their fold a nation where the name Attila is still given to children - after the brave and successful Hun leader.

The EU is also waiting on the results of the November elections as it will be even less well disposed to accepting Turkey if the Justice and Development Party does emerge as the core of a new coalition government. The party is led by Tayyip Erdogan, who was once jailed for 10 months for "inciting people to enmity and hatred" on religious grounds, and thus is ineligible to be part of any government that his party might form. He can, however, be "prime minister in proxy", and his party's conservative religious stance clearly scares the Christian governments of Europe.

But the EU is playing a potentially dangerous game. Its refusal to give Turkey any definite sign that it will be accepted into the grouping has already started to disaffect those who are behind Turkey's recent, and domestically controversial reforms, such as abolishing the death sentence and allowing education and broadcasts in Kurdish. Turkey could also review its relations with the EU, including the Customs Union that grants preference to EU firms in Turkey's big market.

Foreign Minister Gurel has also warned that the refusal to even consider Turkey's entry to the EU would seal the division of Cyprus between the internationally-recognized Greeks in the south and the Turks in the north if it admits Cyprus without a deal to reunite the island. Turkey has threatened to annex the north if the southern part of Cyprus is admitted as representing the entire island. Such a development could once again pit Greece and Turkey against one another. Following recent rapprochement between the two, Greece broke with past policy to proclaim support for Turkey's bid for EU membership.

Ilnur Cevik, editor-in-chief of the Turkish Daily News says, "If the EU doors are shut to Turkey, the militants will gain an upper hand and that will have serious repercussions in all fields and may even go as far as to threaten peace and security in the eastern Mediterranean. With Turkey completely out of the EU, with the Greek Cypriots in, we have a recipe for a serious confrontation between Turkey and Greece."

And Ankara is well aware that the EU is not Turkey's only option. Given its strong Muslim population and the fact that it is geographically 90 percent Asian, the country could look east, rather than west. "Stronger relations with Russia and Iran could be considered alternatives to European Union membership," said Turkey's National Security Council Secretary General Tuncer Kilinc. The EU might regret its prevarication should this happen. Just hypothetically: what kind of influence might a Turko-Russo-Iranian alliance have on the world? It could upset the status quo, with the potential to become a counterbalance to the US. Warm water ports, vast resources, nuclear weapons, probably the support of the Arab world as well. Could we be looking at another Cold War?

That's the extreme, and highly unlikely, option. But it's undeniable that the position of the West with regard to the war on terror and Iraq would become a lot more difficult without Turkish support and cooperation. Turkey is the US's only North Atlantic Treaty Organization ally bordering Iraq, and about 100 British and US fighter jets are already based at Incirlik airfield. Further, Ankara has also agreed that certain bases in the south of the country may be used as a staging point for an invasion of Iraq. These bases are of vital importance for the US, with Saudi Arabia ruled out and Jordan doubtful over whether it will allow its facilities to be used. Turkey, though, has expressed strong opposition to war in the region as it is worried particularly about the possibility of a separate Kurdish state being established in Iraq the aftermath of the war, which would probably lead to agitation from Turkey's Kurdish minority, who have similar aspirations.

It has been 75 years since the establishment of the Turkish Republic. Since Kemal Ataturk, who has almost a demi-god status in Turkey to this day, abolished the fez and the veil and enforced a new Western dress code. But Turkey has done as much as it is likely to do - it is now up to the EU to decide whether to accept Turkey as a full European nation, or accept the consequences of rejecting it. Turkey must get its carrot, or it could be Europe facing the stick.

6. - The Daily Star - "Iraqi Kurdish leader makes his case":

Barham saleh says he wants democracy, not secession De facto prime minister envisions creation of pluralist federal structure

16 October 2002 / by Hadi Khatib

Northern Iraq’s Kurdish community is readying for participation in a federal democratic government following an anticipated US led-attack to displace the regime in Baghdad, a senior Iraqi Kurdish official says.

As Iraqis cast their votes in a referendum Tuesday to “endorse” Saddam Hussein’s rule for another seven-year term, Kurdish factions have their eyes set on self-rule in a federal system, not the stability of a regime that has treated them as second-class citizens and subjected them to repeated ethnic cleansing, Barham Saleh told The Daily Star in an interview Sunday in Damascus.

Saleh, the prime minister of the Iraqi Kurdish administration and a member of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK), spoke at length of his people’s growing aspirations to participate in the decision-making of a democratic Iraqi government.

During a recent trip to Washington where Iraqi opposition groups met with senior US officials ­ including Vice-President Dick Cheney and Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld ­ Saleh said he was told that “the United States has made the decision for a regime change in Iraq, but that it is not interested in replacing one dictator with another.”

Saleh said he welcomed Washington’s apparent commitment to a democratic, pluralistic Iraq, but added that he wanted to “work hard with my Iraqi compatriots to make sure that we have the right outcome for all of our people.”

Throughout the interview, Saleh stressed the Kurdish community’s commitment not to engage in any separatist activity that would challenge Iraq’s territorial integrity.

“Ten years ago when we embarked on this endeavor of establishing self-governed territories that we liberated from Iraq, many Iraqi Arabs and many of our neighbors felt that this was a step toward dividing Iraq and Kurdish calls for establishing a federal Iraq were a recipe for the dismemberment of the Iraqi state, but this couldn’t be further from the truth,” Saleh said. “Kurdish self-government need not be a theme as a separatist proposition; on the contrary, it could be seen as an asset for the Iraqi democratic movement.”

As for other Kurds in Iran and Turkey, Saleh said that “the Kurdish people are one nation … but we have been divided for decades, and I think people have come to acknowledge and realize that this is our fate.”

Turkish Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit recently reacted angrily to reports that the PUK and the Kurdish Democratic Party (KDP), the two leading Kurdish factions, had held talks on a federal solution. But Saleh said he believes that despite the rhetoric, more and more Turks are coming to realize that for Iraq to remain united, the Kurds of Iraq, as well as other communities there, have to be given the right to exercise their political freedom within the Iraqi state.

“However, we still have work ahead of us in terms of convincing Turkey and other neighbors that our notion of democracy and federalism are consistent with the territorial integrity of Iraq and are prerequisites for stability and peace in that region,” Saleh said.

According to Saleh, Kurdish self-rule in the northern “no-fly zone” near the Iranian and Turkish borders has undergone a tremendous social and democratic transformation after inheriting a territory with no economic infrastructure and no agriculture following the Gulf War, which led to the UN Security Council’s adoption of Resolution 688 to protect the Kurds following the withdrawal of US troops from the region.

Saleh said that since 1991, the number of Kurdish schools had increased from 804 to 2,700, and the number of physicians had grown from 549 to 1,800, serving a community of 3.5 million living within a 45,000-square kilometer area.

“Something different is taking root in Iraqi Kurdistan, in the de facto middle of the Islamic Middle East, because this is a part of the world with no notion of democracy, where we have been ruled by tyranny,” he said.

Such laws as “polygamy and honor killing, crimes not punishable before, are now banned and offenders are severely punished,” Saleh said, adding that women’s movements have been actively calling for more reforms. “A civil society is rising out the ashes of war, but for this to become real, we need a democratic Iraq, and this remains very limited, so long as Iraqi tanks are about an hour away from Sulaymaniyah.”

He acknowledged, however, that a US attack on Iraq could have dire consequences: “The United States points to the enormity of the task ahead and I hope that the next step concludes with the least destruction to the Iraqi economy.”

But he also indicated a special interest in the Kirkuk area, whose oilfields Baghdad has tried to secure by force.

“Kirkuk has been the scene of the most brutal campaign of ethnic cleansing, or ‘Arabization’ applied on Kurds, Turkmens, Assyrians and other residents who have eventually been evicted from their homes and lands by the government and replaced by Arab tribes from central and southern Iraq who took possession of their lands and their homes,” Saleh said.

Iraq cannot be at peace, he added, unless the problems of parts of Iraqi Kurdistan that have been the scene of ethnic cleansing are redressed.

So, what type of federal government does Saleh envision?

“Certainly, US federalism, Spain’s federalism and the British political system are all examples we can draw from, but I think what we would be looking for will have to be unique for Iraq,” he said.

Kurdish self-government with administrative powers in parts of the territories that are historically Iraqi Kurdistan, the use of a legislative and executive body and authority concerning economic management of the region were the fundamental prerequisites Saleh listed.

“Consistent with our Iraqi identity, we need to be part of the decision-making process in Baghdad. We want to be seen as Iraqis and dealt with as Iraqis, and we will not accept to be second-class citizens,” he added.

Saleh also reiterated the need for Kurds to preserve their strong heritage, but not through nationalism, which he described as “limited and limiting. Nationalism and being a Kurd is not the end game and will not provide food, clean water and electricity in areas subject to genocide.”

7. - Turkish Daily News - "Denmark and foreign ministry denies claims on KADEK":

16 October 2002

Turkish foreign ministry officials and EU officials deny claims that EU term president Denmark answered Turkish official request to ban KADEK negatively.

EU officials indicated that the EU presidency has not made such a decision and did not answer an request officially. A Source stated that news claiming "there is not enough evidence that KADEK is the continuation of PKK," is baseless.

Turkish foreign ministry officials denied such claims declaring that they would have known if there was a letter with such content but there is non whatsoever.

Turkey asked the EU to put the PKK on its lists after the sept. 11 event in the U.S., the EU after a long debate put PKK on the list but the PKK changed its name to KADEK. Turkey requests the EU to put KADEK on the terrorist organization lists.

8. - Turkish Daily News - "Torture and its punishment: Problem is not lack of law to prevent torture":

IZMIR / 16 October 2002 / by Serdar Alyamac

The lawyer of 16 youths who were subjected to torture in the Manisa case that took place in the European Union's ordinary report on Turkey's accession to the EU and the chairman of Manisa Bar Association Serhan Ozbek, talking on torture and degrading treatments, said that the problem was not a lack of law to prevent torture and human degrading treatment, the problem was the implementation of these laws to prevent torture.

Ozbek said: "We have to accept that legal and administrative applications are bigger obstacles than the problems caused by legal articles in the laws in the democratization process. If Turkey becomes a democratic country, she would be democratic with her judiciary."

Ozbek stressed that it was a universal truth that a right taking place in law was not efficient to use that right: "We have also to provide that citizens may use their right practically and these rights should be taken into law actually. Unfortunately, there is not much reason to be optimistic about this in Turkey. Constitutional, legal arrangements, international agreements have been lost in the dark labyrinth of applications in Turkey."

According to the Copenhagen political criteria, in the countries to be member of the EU should have stable and institutional democracy, the superiority of law and the State of Law, the respect of human rights, said Ozbek and added that however the existence of all these were not enough, it should be implemented without interruption.

"As a matter of a fact, the European Human Right's Commission and European Court have insisted this; 'Turkish law is at a level to compensate the injustice subjected to, however, this mechanism to process this law is not run,' at their verdicts they made at the cases about Turkey. Furthermore, the passive attitudes of judiciary institutions on the verdicts and laws were not implemented and blamed at the verdict."

Talking about the Criminal Trial Procedure Law (CMUK), Ozbek said that CMUK has been changed more than 40 times: "It is known that there are new regulation under the extension of the National Program. Despite this, it is impossible to say CMUK regulating the procedure from the detention to court has exactly been implemented. As Manisa Bar, we are making research on the CMUK's implementation, we are going to release the results soon. This research shows that the judiciary and administrative implementations is progressing on the contrary of the aim of the law." Ozbek added, "While, according to Articles 153 and 154 of CMUK, real authority in the investigation belongs to Public Prosecutors, this authority has been used by police."

Stating that torture has been prohibited in the constitution and was called a crime in the Turkish Penal Code (TCK), Ozbek said: "Furthermore, Turkey has approved the United Nation's Agreement Prohibiting Torture, Human Degrading Treatments and European Agreement for Preventing Torture. Besides these agreements, new regulations on torture were made in the law, but despite all these, the situation in Turkey was not changed."

Stressing the ECHR accepted the applications on torture prohibition and human rights violations because of no efficient investigation in Turkey's jurisprudence, Ozbek said ECHR criticized Turkey for not carrying out Article 243 and 245 of the TCK efficiently.

Giving examples on human rights violations and jurisprudence applications of officials involved in torture, Ozbek said: "According to the official information, 48 gendarmes were judged of torture crimes within the last five years; 9 percent of these were sentenced and 22 percent of them were acquitted. However, 781 out of 5,000 applications made to ECHR against Turkey took place in the gendarmerie territory. According to the information given by the Interior Ministry, between 1995 and 1998, lawsuits involving 557 policemen charged of torture was brought and lawsuits involving 2,851 policemen charged of human degrading treatment were brought. Only ten out of the 557 policemen were sentenced for subjecting people to torture and 84 out of 2,851 policemen were also sentenced of degrading treatment. But, 84 policemen who were sentenced of degrading treatment escaped the punishment because of the 'Postponement Law' legislated in December 2000. Furthermore, an amnesty on officer's discipline punishment was launched in 1999. On the other side, according to research on information given by the Interior Ministry, only 3 percent of policemen who were charged of subjecting torture have been punished and none of them were dismissed."

Manisa Case: A symbol

The Manisa case known as the case of ten policemen who subjected 16 youths to torture took place in the European Union's ordinary report on Turkey's accession to the EU. The Manisa case is a sociological case that can be taught in schools.

In the Manisa case, the authority of the primary investigation belongs to the Republic Prosecutor, all legal procedures under detention and testimony of these 16 youths were realized by those policemen who were previously appointed in the Emergency Rules Governorship (OHAL). Another point in the Manisa case is that all these policemen who tortured the 16 defendants were not taken out of duty and all these suspects were on duty during the case. Because of this, during judging these 10 suspects, an efficient procedure was not followed up and the suspects had used their rights to defend themselves in order to take this case to overtime. But notifications from the court unfortunately could not reach some of these suspects, who were on duty.

"Seeing torture or degrading treats in any part of the world should not be a pretext. If there is a crime committed, it should be judged and punished. The Manisa case started in 1995 and the case has been going on for about seven years. The Supreme Court has made definite that the suspect police officers subjected the 16 youths to torture, for that reason the court should punish the suspects.

However, the case has been postponed many times due to the court notification problem. The overtime on the crime is seven and a half years. If the court makes a verdict, there would be another process. It is certain that after the verdict of the court, the suspects would apply to the Supreme Court and the case would be extended. The time remaining ahead would not be enough to sentence these suspects probably."