22
October 2002
2. "Iraq's Kurdish Enclave Is Complex", the complexities of Iraq's Kurdish enclave are written in the flags. Green banners are planted by the pro-Western faction that holds the east. Yellow and red symbolize its newfound partner that controls the bulk of the region.
3. "The Kurdish Nation and the nature of Turkey`s Kemalist Regime", although history provides an open book depicting the developing trend of a state, nevertheless open-minded people are still inclined to look onward rather than molding their thoughts and prospects from the accumulated events and memories of the past.
4. "Orthodox Delegation in Turkey", a Greek Orthodox delegation from the United States met on Monday with Turkish foreign ministry officials to lobby for the reopening of a Greek Orthodox theological school that closed in 1971.
5. "Media baron is dark horse in Turkish elections", he's new to politics, but has already held over 100 election rallies; he refuses all interviews, but could still make it into parliament. Cem Uzan, a media baron, is the dark horse in the November 3
6. "Turkish reforms music to Kurds ears", the Kurdish hills are alive with the sound of music now that key changes in Turkey have enabled Kurdish musicians and crooners to come out of the closet. The first notes of change in the wake of landmark democracy reforms agreed by the Turkish parliament in August have begun to be played by the music-mad Kurdish community.
1. - Washington Post Service - "Turkey Negotiates Role in War":
Talks With U.S. Could Put More Troops in Northern Iraq
ANKARA / October 22, 2002-10-22
By Daniel Williams
The United States and Turkey are locked in strenuous negotiations over what role Turkey would play in a war with neighboring Iraq, a conflict that could lead Turkey to inject thousands of additional troops into the volatile Kurdish region of northern Iraq.
Turkey already maintains 2,000 to 5,000 troops in northern Iraq, assigned, in conjunction with Kurdish militias that control the area, to chase remnants of the Kurdish Workers' Party guerrilla force, which seeks autonomy for Turkey's large Kurdish minority.
But Washington may recruit Turkey to police the flow of refugees and guard prisoners of war in case of a conflict with Iraq, whose northern border abuts southeastern Turkey for about 200 miles and would be a logical escape route for defeated Iraqis. Because the Turks want to keep any fleeing Iraqis on the Iraqi side of the border, the plan would require Turkey to increase its military presence in Iraq by thousands of troops, Western diplomats and Turkish officials say.
Such an arrangement is far from being finalized. Moreover, a generally sour outlook here about possible repercussions from the overthrow of President Saddam Hussein is complicating the Turkish-U.S. talks.
Turkey wants to exact a financial reward from any such cooperation. Its economy is in recession, and Turkish officials say that the country would suffer further from a war and its aftermath. Turkey is looking for $4 billion to $6 billion in aid, news reports here say, as well as trade concessions from the United States.
The Turks are also suspicious of the motives of Washington's main helpmates in Iraq, the Kurds in the north. Turkey wants guarantees that the Iraqi Kurds will not establish an independent state, or even achieve a degree of autonomy that could awaken the crushed separatist dreams of Turkey's Kurdish minority.
Gen. Tommy R. Franks, head of the U.S. Central Command, visited Ankara yesterday for talks with top Turkish military officials on a Turkish ground role in any war with Iraq, as well as use of the big Incirlik Air Base in southeastern Turkey for bomb runs over Iraq.
Franks and Gen. Joseph W. Ralston, the supreme allied commander in Europe, met with Gen. Hilmi Ozkok, the Turkish chief of staff, who is scheduled to visit Washington in two weeks. The military dominates Turkey's policymaking body, the National Security Council, and will make the final decision on Turkey's stand. The Americans met for three hours with Turkish officers and discussed "just about everything," a U.S. official said.
Turkish officials have warned that Kurdish efforts to expand the autonomous zone in the north -- now maintained under an umbrella of U.S. and British air patrols -- could prompt Turkey to grab territory for itself. Over the weekend, Turkish Foreign Minister Sukru Sina Gurel warned the Iraqi Kurds "to heed our warnings" against setting up a state.
"Turkish relations with the Kurds ride on thin ice," said a Western diplomat. "It's a big issue."
Western diplomats and Turkish officials say there will be no definitive decision on Turkey's role in Iraq until the U.N. Security Council votes on a resolution designed, from Washington's point of view, to give the United States the authority to use military force. A Turkish decision may also await the results of Nov. 3 parliamentary elections in Turkey, in which Iraq has emerged as a major issue, Western diplomats say.
For Turks, the idea of ending Hussein's rule in Baghdad is an unwelcome distraction from their campaign to join the European Union. In the Turkish view, the country has only recently emerged from a string of knotty regional problems that slowed its progress toward that goal.
One was the battle with Kurdish nationalists that gave Turkey a reputation as a human rights abuser. In the 1990s, conflict in the Balkans provided Turkey with waves of refugees. And Turkish officials argue that the country lost billions of dollars in tourist revenue and trade with Iraq during and after the 1991 Persian Gulf War.
With the Balkans quiescent and Iraq stable, though hemmed in by economic sanctions, Turkey felt it was free to turn its full attention to the EU. With U.S. support, Ankara is trying to persuade the EU to set a date for talks that it hopes would lead to membership. Turkish officials say they want to look west toward prosperity, not south toward conflict.
"We need to keep disruptions away from Turkey," a senior Turkish official said in a recent interview.
"We have gotten along with all kinds of Iraqi regimes," added a senior Foreign Ministry official. "Many would agree that Saddam is not an asset, but we are concerned about a lot of consequences."
"In the Turkish mind," said a U.S. diplomat, "we are creating a mess for Turkey."
With war looming, the Iraqi Kurds have fashioned a proposed constitution for expanded autonomy in a new, federalized Iraq. The Kurdish drive is widely regarded here as a campaign for independence. As a result, war and Kurdish autonomy have become dominant issues in the campaign for parliamentary elections.
Eighteen parties are vying for seats, and politicians with low ratings in opinion polls, notably Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit, are trying to make hay out of Turkish insecurities. "The situation in northern Iraq has gotten out of hand," Ecevit warned recently.
Northern Iraq is under the control of two militia groups -- the Kurdish Democratic Party and the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan. Their enclaves are under the protection of a "no-fly" zone patrolled by U.S. and British warplanes. The overflights bar the Iraqi air force from the area.
Turkey is a partner in the no-fly zone; the U.S. and British planes take off from Incirlik. In addition, the two militia groups help Turkey keep guerrilla remnants of the Kurdish Workers' Party pinned down in the mountains of northern Iraq.
"Those [Iraqi Kurdish] communities' welfare and security have until now been under Turkey's safeguard. If they want to continue like this, then they need to behave accordingly," Gurel, the foreign minister, said over the weekend. "Our presence in north Iraq will continue."
The Bush administration has asserted that there are no plans to split up Iraq. Secretary of State Colin L. Powell recently welcomed the convening of a Kurdish regional parliament as a step toward a "democratic, pluralistic and united Iraq" with the country's "territorial integrity intact."
While seeking Kurdish help against Hussein's government and military, U.S. officials oppose the Kurds' desire to make their regional capital in Kirkuk, the main city in an oil-rich zone of northern Iraq.
The Kirkuk issue in particular has raised Turkish qualms. Turkish officials and newspapers argue that the town is traditionally Turkish and is populated largely by the Iraqi Turkmen minority, an ethnic group that has been dispersed over the years by successive Iraqi governments. A senior Turkish official put the total Iraqi Turkmen population at 2.5 million. The Kurds say they number about 700,000.
Northern Iraq is already a cluttered arena of potentially hostile forces, Western diplomats say. In addition to the Turkish troops stationed in the northernmost reaches, the two militia groups boast a combined force of 50,000 men armed with rifles and antitank weapons.
Hussein maintains divisions of his elite Republican Guard in Mosul and Kirkuk. Baghdad also has established regular forces along the rest of a curved line separating Kurdish autonomous zones from the rest of Iraq. Recent visitors to the area observed construction of earthworks to shelter troops, tanks and artillery.
In the eastern end of the Kurdish zone, along the border with Iran,
about 400 Islamic fundamentalist fighters, including some Arab fugitives
from al Qaeda and Taliban forces in Afghanistan, are holed up in the
mountains. Turkish and Western officials say that group, Ansar al-Islam,
is backed by Iran, one of the latest in a series of efforts by Iran
to make its presence felt in Iraq.
2. - Associated Press - "Iraq's Kurdish Enclave Is Complex"
IRBIL, Iraq / October 21, 2002
By BRIAN MURPHY
The complexities of Iraq's Kurdish enclave are written in the flags.
Green banners are planted by the pro-Western faction that holds the east. Yellow and red symbolize its newfound partner that controls the bulk of the region.
More than 30 other groups fly a host of different colors -- from old-school communists with their hammer and sickle on a red background to the all-black insignia of Islamic militants accused of links to al-Qaida.
Throw in a supporting cast of minorities, such as Turkmens and Christian Assyrians, each unfurling their own emblems.
This kind of rainbow is not a welcome sight for those trying to stabilize and organize the Kurds' U.S.-protected haven in northern Iraq.
"This place is a giant puzzle," said Hatab Bakogli, political officer for the Iraqi National Turkmen Party, which seeks strong links with Turkey as its ethnic motherland. "It's not just so simple as saying, `The Kurdish area is against Saddam.' We can be against each other."
The gamut of loyalties and perspectives -- some overlapping, others at odds -- complicate the task confronting Iraqi Kurds and others in the semi-autonomous area: pulling together before a possible U.S.-led war targeting Saddam Hussein's regime.
A return of internal Kurdish squabbles could tear apart any potential post-Saddam government. How Kurds define their borders and political status will be closely watched by neighbors led by Turkey, which has threatened to challenge any steps for greater autonomy among the 3.5 million people in the Iraqi Kurdish zone.
For the moment, the buzz words are unity among Kurds and federation with the rest of Iraq.
The two main groups -- the dominant Kurdistan Democratic Party and the smaller Patriotic Union of Kurdistan -- fought each other for power and land in the mid-1990s. But they have reconciled. Their leaders met this month in a high-profile display of cooperation.
All establishment officials read from the same script: there is no bid for independence_ only a type of federation within Iraq.
The messages may be about standing together, but the reality suggests something less cohesive in the region wedged between Turkey, Iran and Syria.
The various factions are still highly insular and suspicious.
In the administrative capital Irbil, the Democratic Party displays red and yellow flags and police cadets' badges depict party chief Masoud Barzani. In Patriot Union territory stern portraits of leader Jalal Talabani adorn checkpoints.
The big factions watch each other for any signs of stress in the goodwill after a three-year truce. And they both watch Saddam for signs of infiltration.
An official with Barzani's party said several spies for Saddam are known. "We keep an eye on them," said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity. "It's the old cat-and-mouse game of espionage."
Some militias are setting their own hard-line course.
The fundamentalist Islamic group, Ansar al-Islam, rules a small patch along the Iranian border that U.S. authorities claim is a haven for some fugitive al-Qaida loyalists. Washington makes other strong allegations: that crude chemical weapons tests have been conducted on the territory of Ansar al-Islam, or Supporters of Islam.
At a garrison outpost -- marked by the group's black flag -- fighters would not allow an Associated Press reporter to proceed to the stronghold village of Biyara. The militiamen claimed no knowledge of al-Qaida ties, but said cross-border help comes from Iranian supporters. The Iranian government denies any link to the group.
Their huts held a range of weapons: automatic rifles, hand grenades, mortars and rocket-propelled grenades. A pile of books included texts on Islamic holy war and martyrdom.
Dark slashes were drawn over newspaper photos of mainstream Iraqi Kurdish leaders.
"It's a small group, but any faction that has weapons can cause problems," said Adbul Ghanite al-Bazaz, a Muslim cleric who leads the more moderate Islamic Movement of Kurdistan.
His party maintains a private militia and controls about 200 mosques, he said. Its symbol is a gun barrel and bayonet rising from a Quran.
"We want a federation with Iraq with all the voices here to be heard," said al-Bazaz. "It would be a mistake to leave anyone out."
Top officials strongly object to any proposals to dilute the region's self-rule, which now includes a parliament, police forces and a telecommunications company. Kurdish leaders also want to expand their authority to nearby oil-rich areas now under Saddam's control -- a move that Turkey promises to fight.
Turkey considers the oil-producing regions around Kirkuk and Mosul an ethnic Turkish heartland. It also worries a bigger and richer Iraqi Kurdish enclave could encourage Turkish Kurdish rebels who launched a battle for autonomy in the 1980s.
"We will not allow a pseudo-state in the bosom of Turkey," Turkish Foreign Minister Sukru Sina Gurel said last week.
Iraqi Kurdish leaders have tried to assure Turkey that they don't want independence. But the dreams on the streets are different.
"I won't be happy until we have a country of our own," insisted Delshad Rahim, 21.
A map in the Irbil bazaar shows the ultimate aspiration of ultra-nationalists:
a country for Kurds spanning from Syria's Mediterranean shore to northeastern
Iran.
3.- KurdishMedia - "The Kurdish Nation and the nature of Turkey`s Kemalist Regime":
October 20, 2002 / by Simko Kader
Although history provides an open book depicting the developing trend of a state, nevertheless open-minded people are still inclined to look onward rather than molding their thoughts and prospects from the accumulated events and memories of the past. Many states and governments in the world have had their share of wrongdoing that qualify as crimes against the victims. However, at some point most of them have realized their guilt and made serious efforts to improve their records and develop a conscientious attitude with regard to their manipulation of power and treatment of others.
Since the turn of the20 th century, diverse ideological regimes were formed which left their marks on the process of economical and socio-political evolution of mankind. Some diminished or lost grounds due to the incompatibility of their principles and practices with the natural needs and aspirations of the people, while others gained momentum for their better skills to harmonize their ideologies with the wishes of the people.
There also formed outdated ideological regimes that were more concerned with racial and cultural superiority than the peaceful co-existence and the economical prosperity of the people. To maintain power and influence, some were indulged in the blundering of the national wealth of their countries in a race to form larger armies and obtain the most devastating weapons. These weapons were frequently used to brutalize the opposition and suppress the wishes of the citizens for democratic rights, as well as invading and/or threatening the neighboring countries.
Besides the tyrannical regime of Saddam Hussein in Iraq, the Kemalist regime in Turkey is another example that fits in the category of racist and nationalist regimes in the Middle East. The nature and behavior of these two regimes have undoubtedly influenced the shaping up of the ill-fated political spectrum in that region. It has contributed in polarizing all the regional states. Whether pro-West, Islamist or nationalist, they all share the description of being repressive, totalitarian, militarist or autocratic. By Western standards, they are all foreign to democratic principles and behavior. The ominous birth of many misfit fundamentalist and extremist groups (Al-Qaeda terrorist organization being an example) is also the by-product of the ideologies (such as the Arab Baathist and the Turkish Kemalist) that are of an oppressive nature and serve to breed conflict and encourage war and aggression. It is not a surprise that the interests of these insidious ideologies often converge. Being similar in many ways, the survival of their embracing regimes seem to depend on one another.
As a NATO member, the stand of the Turkish State should naturally be in contrast with the stand of the Iranian, Iraqi and the Syrian regimes on the issues that are critical to NATO's values and interests. However, while the possibility of the demise of the Iraqi regime is increasing, so are the efforts of the Turkish State to enhance her relations with these neighboring regimes in an effort to salvage the regime of Saddam Hussein and prevent the establishment of a true democracy in Iraq. One reason is her fear of the possibility that such a regime will be politically too modern and progressive not to undermine the credibility of the Turkish Kemalist regime. Added to that is the Turkish greatest fear of the probability that the Kurdish nation will gain some degree of influence, "No matter how righteous that may be" in the aftermath of a regime change in Iraq. To this effect, the threat-laden reactions of the top Turkish officials that are aimed at the Kurds of South Kurdistan have reached hysterical levels and their controversial statements are flying all over the place.
Not being able to develop a coherent stand while desperate to pursue an unrealistic temptation to maintain the middle ground (one that enables them to enjoy a cozy relation with both the NATO countries and the repressive regimes of the Middle East) in the conflict, underlines the fact that the Turkish rulers neither enjoy a clear political identity nor a proper understanding of the requirements of the new world and its evolving trend.
Blindly obsessed with a magical passion for racial supremacy, the discrepancy of the Kemalist ideology with the concept of democracy is steadily becoming more apparent to the onlooker. The alleged marriage of democracy with Turkish Kemalism or Arab Baathism is comparable to blending killer poison with a healing medicine as a "bizarre" cure to the ill health of the Turkish and/or Arab nations. With the absence of free choice, the divided Kurdish Nation is caught up in this ridiculous environment of primitive regional politics.
Despite all the political anarchy and economical stress that Turkey is currently undergoing, her military and government leaders are trying again to make use of the Kurdish cause to deceive their citizens and divert their attention from the real issues that matters to them most. In a dire economical situation, the standard of living of the average people in Turkey continues to degrade and their country is debt ridden and dependent on the outside help to make it from one day to the next day.
Nonetheless, thanks to the fascist blood that flows in the veins of their ultra-nationalist political leaders as freely as ever, the majority of the Turks are sedated with a false doze of nationalist pride and deceived into a passive mode of political attitude (one that warrants the acceptance of the Kemalist views and conducts). Indeed, it is very disturbing to see that such a reality does exist today, "especially" in the vicinity of the civilized Europe. How on earth, one should expect the EU to accommodate a country that suffers from such a jumble of political mentality!
Turkish Fascists are ever active in pursuing their legendary scaremongering
tactics notably more so when they are desperate to win more votes
to justify the legitimacy of the Kemalist ideology. They portray the
Kurdish cause as a major national threat aimed at Turkey's interests
and her future survival as an entity. While they are indulging in
anti-Kurdish rhetoric and malicious propaganda, they are also ignorant
of the sentiments of the entire Kurdish population of which more than
twenty millions live in Northern Kurdistan "South and Southeast
Turkey".
Having been used to look down on them and taking them for granted,
the Turkish rulers seem to be inconsiderate of the grave consequences
that inhibit in such a belligerent behavior.
More than ever, the Kurds today are well aware of their tragic history that has been written with the blood and suffering of their many millions who have lost their lives and were consumed by the barbaric treatments of the forces and governments of their occupier states. If one can fairly describe the emotions of the Kurds, "It is a mixture of deep anger, frustration and sense of grievances". Such emotions will only gain momentum, as the Kurds become increasingly aware of the contrast between their occupier states and the civilized nations.
Kurdistan is a God given land that is rich with vital resources such as water, oil and much more. If it weren't for the ever-long presence of her brutal and inhuman occupiers, it would have been the land of peace, happiness and prosperity for all the Kurds (with much extended benefits to their neighbors and beyond). As the picture of reality becomes more complete in the minds of the Kurds, their determination also grows stronger for getting back what has been long taken away from them by the most brutal beings.
Unless, all the claims about democracy, human rights and civilized values are meant only for the benefit of selected nations, the Kurdish nation must be entitled to the same right of distinct identity, ancestral land, freedom and independence exactly as the English, French, Germans, and all other free nations are.
Promotion of global peace and democracy, as well as the fight against terrorism can never achieve success if it is not backed up by consistent commitment to extend the same universal rights to all the nations. Dividing nations into favorable and unfavorable categories "based on certain short or long term strategic interests of the superpowers" will be viewed as a double standard approach that on its own merit will breed multiple causes for failure.
In view of the critical situation in the Middle East, Kurdish political leaders have often expressed themselves short of the aspirations of the Kurdish nation. To soften the anger of their occupier regimes, they have been proven prone to making unnecessary compromises at the expense of the Kurdish cause. These leaders may have their own personal ways or that of their individual political parties of handling the Kurdish cause, but it does not mean necessarily that they have the mandate from the Kurdish nation to make prime decisions on her behalf. Critical agreements that contribute in shaping the destiny of the Kurdish nation must reflect the wishes and the aspirations of the majority of the Kurds wherever they may be.
An eventual free Kurdish nation and an Independent Kurdistan is what the vast majority of the Kurds understand and accept "most certainly" to be their natural right. They are well aware that there are no civilized excuses to prevent them from having it. Such a destiny is a must for as long as the Kurds continue to exist. Any critical step taken along the way must represent a building block to such an end.
It is in the interest of the regional and global peace and prosperity for all the occupier states of Kurdistan to come to terms with reality. They should learn to digest and accept for the Kurds the same fundamental rights that they have accepted for their own nations. By all modern and civilized standards, persisting on oppressing the distinct identity and the natural rights of any nation is an antiquated behavior that warrants the disgust of all those who have taste and respect for democratic principles and human rights. Controlling over 40 million Kurds by the force of terror and repression "undoubtedly" is against good human nature and ethical values. Repressive policies and attitudes will not have a happy ending for any one. It also constitutes a sound recipe for the self-destruction of the oppressor nations.
It is prudent that the Kemalist Turkish rulers will learn to abandon
their language and behavior of terror and intimidation in dealing
with the Kurdish nation. They need not to threaten the Kurds with
their large army and superior weapons. Regardless of their fewer resources,
the Kurds today don't wish to sit back and be savagely brutalized
by their barbaric occupiers. If they have to, they will fight back
and fight very hard with every means possible.
4. - Associated Press - "Orthodox Delegation in Turkey":
ANKARA / 22 October 2002-10-22
By SELCAN HACAOGLU
A Greek Orthodox delegation from the United States met on Monday with Turkish foreign ministry officials to lobby for the reopening of a Greek Orthodox theological school that closed in 1971.
Turkey, a predominantly Muslim country, is under increasing international pressure to reopen the Halki Greek Orthodox Theological School, which it closed under a law that put military and religious education under state control.
``I think in the interest of theological education, opening the school of Halki would be a positive thing for everybody,'' Anthony Limberakis, the national commander of the Order of St. Andrew, told The Associated Press after the meeting at the foreign ministry.
The European Union, which Turkey aspires to join, has also called on Turkey to reopen the seminary.
Asked how Turkish officials responded, Limberakis said: ``They understand our position ... as concerned Orthodox Christians of America.''
Turkish officials were not immediately available for comment.
On Tuesday, the delegation is scheduled to visit Heybeli island, or Halki in Greek, off Istanbul, where the seminary is located.
The Ecumenical Patriarchate in Istanbul dates from the Orthodox Greek Byzantine Empire, which collapsed when the Muslim Ottoman Turks conquered the city in 1453. Istanbul, then called Constantinople, was the capital of the Byzantine empire, and thus the heart of Greek culture for more than 1,000 years.
Although few Greek Orthodox Christians remain in overwhelmingly Muslim
Turkey, Bartholomew's patriarchate is still based in Istanbul and
directly controls several Greek Orthodox churches around the world.
5. - AFP - "Media baron is dark horse in Turkish elections":
ISTANBUL / Oct 21, 2002
by Jerome Bastion
He's new to politics, but has already held over 100 election rallies;
he refuses all interviews, but could still make it into parliament.
Cem Uzan, a media baron, is the dark horse in the November 3
The 42-year-old "golden boy" was little more than a controversial
businessman until July 10 when he surprised the country by declaring
on his own Star television channel that he was entering politics to
save the country.
With just two weeks to go to the election, his Young (Genc) Party
has come from nowhere to claim some 10 percent of voting intentions
and third place in the polls, just behind the pro-Islamic Justice
and Development (AK) Party and the social-democratic Republican People's
Party (CHP).
Ten percent of the vote would propel his party into parliament."He's
waged a very clever campaign: He's added up all the frustrations of
each category of voters and has weaved promises out of them even though
he knows he couldn't keep a 10th of them," says Bulent Akaracali,
a member of parliament for the Motherland Party.
His coming to power would be "a catastrophy", he adds.
"No more taxes on medecine, on food, on books, well on life!"
Uzan tells cheering crowds as he whirls around the country aboard
his private helicopter.
"A plot of land and a house for all those who don't have one
thanks to 30-year loans," says the candidate whose campaign is
backed by fawning coverage from his television stations and newspaper.
His rhetoric also plays heavily on nationalism as he accuses the International
Monetary Fund of "sucking the blood out of Turkey". He has
promised to rid the country of its meddling.
His carefully-staged rallies and televised images depict him in a
sea of Turkish flags. His party's own standard, a double-moon crescent,
is similar to that of the nationalist action party (MHP) from which
he has drawn many erstwhile supporters.
Paradoxically, the media baron who made a fortune by breaking a government
monopoly on television in the 1990s gives no television interviews.
This doesn't stop him from appealing to voters by way of commercial
messages in cinemas or by text-messaging customers of his own Telsim
portable
phone company.
"Competing newspapers ignore him for fear he might come to power
and settle
scores with them," according to an editor at the Hurriyet newspaper
group who
wished to remain anonymous.
Forbes magazine says Uzan's family is one of the richest in the country.
The man himself, who has been compared by some to Italy's Prime Minister
Silvio Berlusconi or a younger version of former US presidential candidate
Ross Perot, spends lavishly on his campaign.
His family immigrated early in the last century from Bosnia and his
father made a fortune buiding football stadiums and hydro-electric
power plants.
Cem and his 34-year-old brother Hakan then expanded into the media
and telephone business.
The family is now being sued by Motorola and Nokia for some 2.5 billion
dollars for debts owed to them by Telsim. The telephone giants accuse
the Uzan family of fraud.
Many here suggest this and other judicial troubles are the reasons
behind Uzan's sudden political quest. A seat in parliament brings
with it immunity from prosecution.
"To win political protection, he's not afraid of spending 200
to 300 million dollars," according to one sitting member of parliament
who refuses to give his name.
Leaders of the small Renewal Party (YDP) publicly accuse Uzan of having
bought their party by paying off founding members to avoid setting
up his Genc party from scratch.
6. - AFP - "Turkish reforms music to Kurds ears":
ISTANBUL / October 22, 2002
by Jerome Bastion
The Kurdish hills are alive with the sound of music now that key
changes in Turkey have enabled Kurdish musicians and crooners to come
out of the closet.
The first notes of change in the wake of landmark democracy reforms
agreed by the Turkish parliament in August have begun to be played
by the music-mad
Kurdish community.
Following the quasi-recognition of the Kurdish language by the authorities,
and the ground-breaking step of legalizing language courses and broadcasts
in Kurdish, the Kurdish music industry is reportedly experiencing
a boom.
Not so long ago Turkey dealt with anyone supporting Kurdish culture
by charging them with separatist propaganda and throwing them into
jail.
Indeed, feelings against Kurdish people still run high in Turkey where
Kurdish rebels have waged a bitter and violent 15-year campaign for
self-rule in the southeast of the country.
But in the IMC market in Istanbul, the heart of music production in
the city and a haven for music publishers and record shops, all that
has been temporarily forgotten, with sales of Kurdish music rocketing.
"Before, people were frightened, the police could turn up at
any moment and demand that the radio or cassette be turned off,"
said a manager of music company Umut Plak in Istanbul, who preferred
not to be named.
"Now the taboo has gone and the market is going through the roof.
There are so many amateur singers who have been waiting for this moment
to show themselves," he said.
He said sales had risen 20 percent since the new laws were passed.
Music company Asanlar Muzik recently said it had chalked up a nine-fold
jump in sales in cassettes of Kurdish music in the southeast of the
country between June and August alone.
In June, out of 50,000 units sold, only 5,000 were of Kurdish music.
In August 70,000 units were sold in all, with a staggering 45,000
of them Kurdish titles.
"I'm convinced that if the laws remain in place the market is
going to benefit hugely, there's massive potential", says Cabbar
Baris, the head of Kom, a company specialising in sales of Kurdish
music.
He said eighty percent of the cassettes in his catalogue have, at
one time or another, been banned in the southeast of the country.
He reckons the appearance of new radio and television stations will
not only increase demand for music, but will also provide new advertising
possibilities.
The street vendors who hawk music in the capital now no longer complain
of being hassled "at least twice a month" said the Umut
Plak manager.
He proudly exhibited the first two laser video discs charting the
history of Kurdish songs, one by Kemale Xani, the other by Salih Dilovan,
which came on the the market only two months ago.
Before, there was simply no demand.
However, some fear a backlash by Turkish nationalists whose representatives
in parliament fought tooth and nail to stop the reform measures going
through.
Mehmet, a buyer of Kurdish music, was gloomy about the future, saying
Kurds would think twice about marketing themselves as Kurdish singers
because of the
bad feeling.
"Anyway, the greatest Kurdish artists sing in Turkish, like Ibrahim
Tatlises, Ozcan Deniz, and Izzet Altunmese, because they would never
have got on television and would never have made it to the top if
they had sung in Kurdish", he said.
One person to buck that trend is the most popular variety singer in
the country, Sezen Aksu, who started singing in Kurdish almost as
soon as the ink
was dry on the reforms, brushing aside attacks from nationalists.