25 October 2002

1. "Germany's new support for Turkey creating problems for EU", Germany's surprise support for Turkey to begin European Union membership talks has created a potential conflict for the bloc and has been motivated by American pressure on Berlin, analysts say. This new, emphatic backing for Turkey, which has not been allowed to open accession talks until human rights improve, comes after three years of virtual silence, says Heinz Krammer, an expert on Turkey at the SWP foreign policy institute in Berlin.

2. "EU wants reunited Cyprus, but ready to leave Turks in the cold", The European Union wants a reunited Cyprus to join in 2004 but will admit the divided island's Greek-Cypriot government in the absence of a deal, according to draft conclusions of a summit released on Friday.

3. "Turkey warns on admission of divided Cyprus", if European leaders admit a divided island of Cyprus into the European Union, they will be responsible for disrupting the strategic balance of the Mediterranean region.

4. "EU: Turkey's reforms have brought entry negotiations clolser, but no start date yet", the European Union leaders, wrapping up a two-day summit, said Friday Turkey was making good progress in meeting EU membership conditions yet declined to give Ankara what it wants most: a date to begin entry negotiations.

5. "German foundations in Turkey charged with clandestine activities", according to a DGM indictment, there is serious evidence showing that activities of German foundations in Turkey are tantamount to an activity of "legal espionage"

6. “Kurdish Dream of Nation Is a Nightmare for Turkey”, Ankara, a key U.S. ally, fears that a war against Baghdad could spur the ethnic minority in Iraq and brethren in the region to secede.

7. "Turkey Near Completion Of Helicopter Program", Turkey reports that it has nearly completed procurement of the French utility helicopter.

8. "Chairman of HADEP: We can win all the seats of Diyarbakir", interview by Derya Sazak with the Chairman of HADEP Murat Bozlak published in the Turkish daily Milliyet on October 21, 2002 (translated by Kurdish Media).

1. - AFP - "Germany's new support for Turkey creating problems for EU":

BERLIN / 25 October 2002 / by Isabel Parenthoen

Germany's surprise support for Turkey to begin European Union membership talks has created a potential conflict for the bloc and has been motivated by American pressure on Berlin, analysts say. This new, emphatic backing for Turkey, which has not been allowed to open accession talks until human rights improve, comes after three years of virtual silence, says Heinz Krammer, an expert on Turkey at the SWP foreign policy institute in Berlin.

"It's the first important public declaration" of support for Ankara since Germany called for it to be accepted as a candidate for EU membership at the Helsinki summit in 1999, Krammer said. "There can only be one reason" for the silence being broken he said: "US pressure." The change in policy surfaced Wednesday when Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer declared: "As far as we are concerned, we are going to do all we can to get the most positive possible signal," for talks to begin at the EU summit in Copenhagen in December.

Later, a German government official, who refused to be named, said the signal that Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder was expecting was a set date for the start of accession talks to be announced at the summit on December 12-13. The official said it would be "hyprocritical" to keep Turkey waiting as a candidate without ever setting a date for membership negotiations. But the EU wants to announce the financial framework for enlarging the Union from 15 to 25 states in 2004, and as it became apparent that Turkey's talks would complicate matters, Berlin's position softened. By Thursday, sources were saying that German leaders were pushing for a meeting to be arranged at a later date dedicated to the issue.

According to Krammer, Washington wants Ankara more closely linked to the West, but does not want to share the risks nor the costs of that rapprochement. Turkey is a member of NATO and an important strategic bridge with one foot in Europe and the other in Asia. Its Incirlik airbase is also used by US and British aircraft patrolling no-fly zones over Iraq.

Washington's support for Turkey coincides perfectly with Germany's desire to restore relations with its most powerful ally.

Their ties were damaged by Schroeder's very strident and public opposition to sending German troops on any "military adventure" in Iraq. When rumours surfaced in the press this week of American demands to Schroeder listing the conditions under which relations could be improved, both Berlin and Washington denied their existence. But a senior US state department official told AFP that the list, published by the respected Frankfurter Allgemeine newspaper, contained issues that Washington would like Berlin to address. The daily said the demands included promises that Berlin would back Turkey's bid to join the European Union.

Schroeder was also asked not to oppose NATO support for the United States in the event of an attack on Iraq or block use by US forces of NATO military infrastructure during the operation. It said Washington was also seeking German support for the US plan for a NATO rapid reaction force as part of the US-led war on terrorism. "We all agree that these are good things the Germans should do, but we haven't presented them with any list of demands," the official said.

According to Krammer, Schroeder could be taking "an extreme risk" with domestic policy by offering such strong support for Turkey in an effort to please the United States. His Social Democrats are largely opposed to Turkey joining the EU and no policy exists for the next part of the process; bringing Turkey into the Union, a move which would have to be sold to a sceptical German public. Krammer said a major benefit, however, from offering Turkey a clear path to accession could be to encourage the better integration of the 2.6 million Turks living in Germany.

2. - AFP - "EU wants reunited Cyprus, but ready to leave Turks in the cold":

BRUSSELS / 25 October 2002

The European Union wants a reunited Cyprus to join in 2004 but will admit the divided island's Greek-Cypriot government in the absence of a deal, according to draft conclusions of a summit released on Friday.

The guideline was issued as EU leaders met for the final day of a two-day gathering here that has been dominated by the 15-nation bloc's planned expansion in 2004 to welcome 10 new members, including Cyprus.

"The Union reiterates its preference for a reunited Cyprus to join the European Union on the basis of a comprehensive settlement, and urges the leaders of the Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot communities to seize the opportunity and reach an agreement before the end of the accession negotiations this year," the draft by the EU's Danish presidency said.

Efforts to end the 28-year division of the eastern Mediterranean island have taken on new urgency ahead of a December EU summit in Copenhagen, which will formally invite the new entrants.

However, UN-brokered talks between the rival Greek and Turkish Cypriot leaders have failed to make significant headway.

The EU "will continue to fully support the substantial efforts" of the United Nations, the draft said, and added that the bloc would be happy to welcome the Turkish Cypriots should they choose to reunify with their Greek Cypriot counterparts.

"The European Union will accommodate the terms of such a comprehensive settlement in the Treaty of Accession in line with the principles on which the European Union is founded," the draft said.

But it added: "In the absence of a settlement, the decisions to be taken in December by the Copenhagen European Council (summit) will be based on the conclusions set out by the Helsinki European Council in 1999."

That summit agreed on the principle to admit the Greek Cypriot government in the south of the island, the only part that is internationally recognized.

Cyprus has been divided since 1974 when Turkey seized its northern third in response to an Athens-engineered coup aimed at uniting the island with Greece.

3. - Financial Times - "Turkey warns on admission of divided Cyprus":

BRUSSELS / 25 October 2002 / by Judy Dempsey

If European leaders admit a divided island of Cyprus into the European Union, they will be responsible for disrupting the strategic balance of the Mediterranean region.

The warning by Oguz Demiralp, Turkey's new ambassador to the EU, was made ahead of the crucial EU summit that opened last night in Brussels to debate the costs of admitting 10 new countries, including Cyprus, by 2004. " It will be very hard for Turkey to pursue a productive relationship with the EU," Mr Demiralp said yesterday in an interview. Cyprus, he added, would be "permanently divided" if admitted without a negotiated settlement.

Over the past year, the United Nations has been spearheading direct talks between Glafcos Clerides, Greek Cypriot leader, and his Turkish Cypriot counterpart, Rauf Denktash.

Despite the stalemate, there is still some hope an agreement can be reached before the EU's December summit in Copenhagen where negotiations with 10 new countries are scheduled to be wrapped up. The island has been divided since 1974 when Turkey invaded the northern part after a coup attempt by the Greek junta.

Diplomats yesterday said any successful outcome of the UN-led talks depended on the outcome of Turkey's elections on November 3 and the health of Mr Denktash, recovering from a heart operation in the US.

Washington, however, has been pursuing its own agenda, applying as much pressure as possible on EU capitals, particularly Berlin, to give Turkey some date for starting accession negotiations as well as mediating in the Cyprus talks.

Washington's interest stems from its close relationship with Ankara, anchored on Turkey's strategic role in an unstable region, now more uncertain than ever as the US seeks support for a military attack against Iraq which borders with Turkey. "The US sees Turkey in the EU from a strategic point of view, a perspective not shared by the Europeans," said Mr Demiralp.

Turkey became a candidate member in 1999 but EU diplomats said it was too early to offer Turkey a date because it did not yet meet the "Copenhagen Criteria" which sets out preconditions for talks that include the rule of law, civilian rule and the end of torture.

Mr Demiralp disagreed, insisting Turkey had made substantial progress to justify a date for starting accession negotiations. The influence of the military was misunderstood, he said. On issues related to torture and re-trials, it was only a matter of time before legislation was either amended or implemented. "If the EU does not give us a date in Copenhagen, it will be more than a disappointment for Turks," said Mr Demiralp. "It will be a deception."

4. - AP - "EU: Turkey's reforms have brought entry negotiations clolser, but no start date yet":

BRUSSELS / 25 October 2002 / by Robert Wielaard

The European Union leaders, wrapping up a two-day summit, said Friday Turkey was making good progress in meeting EU membership conditions yet declined to give Ankara what it wants most: a date to begin entry negotiations.

In Ankara, Foreign Minister Sukru Sina Gurel said his country would "review" relations with the EU if no such date was set within the year.

"In the event that the European Union does not take a decision to start negotiations with Turkey within 2003, Turkey-EU relations will suffer greatly and Turkey will be forced to review all aspects of its relations with the EU," Gurel told the Anatolia news agency.

In a draft summit conclusion, the 15 EU leaders said Turkey has taken "important steps" to meet political and economic membership criteria.

It said that process "has brought forward the opening of accession negotiations with Turkey."

Crucially, however, it set no date for negotiations to begin in line with a recent report by the European Commission (news - web sites) that said Turkey lacked the necessary freedoms of expression, religion and association.

Turkey was declared an EU candidate in 1999, with 12 other nations. It has been pushing the EU to open membership negotiations - to no avail.

The EU leaders are to formally invite Cyprus, Malta and eight East European neighbors to join the EU at a Dec. 12-13 summit in Copenhagen, Denmark.

"The final decision on Turkey is in December," Danish Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen, who chaired the summit, said.

Candidate nation Cyprus has problems directly linked to Turkey. The EU wants the Greek and Turkish sides of the Mediterranean island to join, but United Nations-sponsored reconciliation talks are deadlocked.

In their draft text, the leaders held out a carrot: if the Turkish Cypriots come into the EU with their Greek counterparts, the EU will provide a special aid package of 200 million euros ($195 million) in the 2004-2006 period.

On Thursday, EU foreign affairs chief Javier Solana urged the leaders to give Turkey a "sign of hope."

The United States has urged the EU to open up to the Turks at a time when Washington needs Turkey as a key NATO-ally and Muslim nation in the war on terrorism.

In August, the Turkish parliament abolished the death penalty in peacetime, granted rights to minority Kurds and took steps to ease press restrictions - all long-standing demands of the EU.

5. - Turkish Daily News - "German foundations in Turkey charged with clandestine activities":

According to a DGM indictment, there is serious evidence showing that activities of German foundations in Turkey are tantamount to an activity of "legal espionage"

ANKARA / 25 October 2002

An Ankara State Security Court (DGM) indictment charged German foundations in Turkey with "clandestine activities against security of the Turkish state", seeking up to 15 years in jail for executives of these foundations and some Turkish nationals allegedly cooperating with them in undercover activities.

Konrad Adaneur Foundation Turkey Representative Wulf Schonbohm, Heinrich Boell Foundation Turkey Representative Figen Fatma Ugur, Frederich Ebert Foundation Chairman Hans Schumaher, Frederich Noumann Foundation Turkey Representative Wolfgang Sachsenroeder are accused in the indictment of "secret alliance against the security of state", under Article 171 of the Turkish Penal Code (TCK).

The 72-page indictment has been prepared by former Ankara DGM Chief Prosecutor Nuh Mete Yuksel, who was sacked from this post earlier this week after exposure to the public of a sex scandal. A higher panel of judges confirmed that a videotape showing him together with a woman was not fake.

In addition to foundations' executives, Oktay Konyar, a representative for a group of residents from the Aegean town of Bergama protesting a transnational company that attempted to use cyanide while extracting gold in the hills of the town, former Mayor of Bergama Safa Taskin and former Istanbul Bars Association Chairman Yucel Sayman are also implicated in the indictment.

"German political foundations have been assigned to carry out activities against the integrity of our country and the secular republic and have formed an alliance with their Turkish partners," said Yuksel's indictment.

It said these foundations were professing to be nongovernmental organizations, but they were indeed "an effective tool of German foreign policy", sponsored by the German state.

"These foundations will help Germany attain its long-term political goals in developing countries but they will not have to abide by set methods for official foreign policy activities," it said and added that foundations intervened in internal affairs of countries they are operating in.

"For instance, supporting a certain political party or opposition groups is not something that diplomatic representatives can do. State-foundation mechanism is introduced precisely for this purpose. The objective is to forge ties with regime opponents and political risk will be kept low in this way."

It went on to say: "It is clear that German party foundations, despite the fact that they are attached to different political parties, are state NGOs carrying out political activities under supervision of German ambassadors. That their activities are meant to intervene in domestic affairs of a country and even to gain influence over the administration of the country they operate has been admitted by these foundations' executives."

According to the DGM indictment, there is serious evidence showing that these activities are tantamount to an activity of "legal espionage."

It said a German organization called FIAN worked effectively to organize a protest of Bergama's residents against gold mining in the town and argued that these efforts of FIAN, backed by the German state, could not be explained on environmental grounds.

"German foundations focus on ethnic, religious and sectarian differences in Turkey and attempt to deepen them in an effort to weaken the nation-state," it claimed and went on that their ultimate aim was the establishment of a federal regime in Turkey in the place of the centralized administration.

6. – The Los Angeles Times – “Kurdish Dream of Nation Is a Nightmare for Turkey”:

Ankara, a key U.S. ally, fears that a war against Baghdad could spur the ethnic minority in Iraq and brethren in the region to secede.

ANKARA / 25 October 2002 / by Jeffrey Fleishman

Many messy sideshows are expected in a war to topple Saddam Hussein, but few will be more dangerous than in the mountains of northern Iraq, where Turkey's national security will collide with Kurdish dreams of a homeland.

As diplomats bicker over the language of U.N. resolutions, tensions are hardening along the 220-mile Turkish-Iraqi border. Tents are being shipped in for refugees as the Turkish government prepares for possible deployment of thousands more troops. These forces, according to Western diplomats and Turkish military analysts, probably would seize control of northern Iraq shortly after missile strikes on Baghdad, to prevent the creation of a Kurdish state.

The focus is on the future of 3.5 million Kurds who are protected from Iraqi troops in the "no-fly" zone in the north. For generations, the Kurds have wanted their own country, and, with the protection of U.S. planes, they have formed a de facto state in the mountains. The prospect of an independent Kurdistan emerging from war's ashes, however, is unacceptable to Turkey, which has spent billions fighting separatists among its own 13 million Kurds.

"If the Kurds declare an independent entity, it wouldn't last more than a couple of days," one Western diplomat said. "The Turkish army will go in and shut it down. How would the U.S. respond? What's more important to the U.S. -- an independent Kurdistan or a valuable, strategic ally like Turkey?"

The dilemma is sensitive for Washington. More than 50,000 Iraqi Kurd fighters could help defeat the Iraqi president. But Washington's relationship with the Kurds is angering Turkey, a North Atlantic Treaty Organization partner with airbases and staging grounds for U.S. forces. Turkey is pressuring the U.S. to make participation in the war more palatable by reining in the Iraqi Kurds and by providing economic aid to offset costs Turkey cannot afford.

U.S. Army Gen. Tommy Franks met with Turkish military officials this week to discuss what role their nation would play in an Iraq invasion. The talks came as Turkish leaders expressed reluctance to join a conflict that would destabilize the region and create more economic turmoil. And they complained that Washington has sent mixed messages about its intentions for war and has provided no plan for the aftermath of any ouster of Hussein's regime.

The Turks want a clear signal from Washington that the Iraqi Kurds will be held in check. Turkey already has 3,000 to 5,000 troops in northern Iraq to contain the remnants of the Kurdistan Workers Party, or PKK, rebel group that fled Turkey after a cease-fire in 1999. In one possible scenario, these soldiers, along with thousands of others, would seal off northern Iraq, preventing the escape of Iraqi soldiers and allowing the Turks to crush any Kurdish move toward independence.

The Iraqi Kurds appear to sense the risks of declaring independence too soon after a war. Members of their two main political parties -- the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan and the Kurdistan Democratic Party -- have been shuttling to Ankara, the Turkish capital, in recent weeks in efforts to calm tensions. The Kurds say they are only seeking an autonomous enclave in a postwar Iraqi federation.

"We want a federal structure to safeguard our people so that no government in Iraq can conduct war or genocide against us," said Safeen M. Dizayee of the Kurdistan Democratic Party. "We want to keep Iraq unified.... So long as Kurds do not have the ambition of an independent state, it should not bother our neighbors."

But it does. Turkey worries that the Iraqi Kurds will claim independence in the chaos of war. "That is the nightmare scenario," said Ilnur Cevik, editor of the Turkish Daily News.

The Kurds are this region's orphans. Nearly 22 million Kurds are scattered across Turkey, Iraq, Syria and Iran. They have longed for an independent homeland, but language, political infighting and the Middle East's existing borders have made it impossible.

Turkey fears that if Iraqi Kurds are granted too much autonomy or independence, it will stoke similar aspirations among its own Kurdish population. More than 37,000 people, mostly Kurds, were killed and hundreds of villages were destroyed in Turkey's 15-year war with the PKK. Iran also is worried that its 6 million Kurds will become restive.

The prospect of granting Iraqi Kurds a special status could incite unrest among ethnic populations across the region, said Hasan Koni, a political science professor at Ankara University.

"When you look at the Middle East, you are looking at a place of ethnic tribes," Koni said. "If one tribe gets a federation, they'll all want federations and this means a whole resettlement of the Middle East will occur. If you give something to one ethnicity, you have to give it to all. This is the danger."

The Turkish government is also loath to accept an independent Kurdistan carved out of Iraq that would include the oil-rich towns of Mosul and Kirkuk, once part of the Turkish Ottoman empire and a rallying cry for Turkish nationalists.

"Turkey will not tolerate the Kurds controlling the oil fields because that will give them economic power, which will lead them to independence," said Armagan Kuloglu, a retired Turkish general and Middle East analyst. He is urging that Turkish forces push 200 miles into northern Iraq to protect Kirkuk.

Turkey doesn't like the idea of another war in its neighborhood. Lost trade from economic sanctions against Iraq has cost Turkey between $40 billion and $60 billion over the last decade. This nation of 67 million has a 35% inflation rate and a $210-billion debt. The economy will suffer further if war brings an estimated 350,000 Iraqi refugees streaming toward Turkey, most of whom will be kept in camps the Turkish military will control within Iraq.

"So," Kuloglu said, "Turkey has to have something from the U.S. for taking part in this costly war."

U.S. and Turkish officials are negotiating a $4-billion to $6-billion military aid package for Ankara. Turkey is requesting more U.S. investment. And it has asked for Washington's help in Turkey's entry into the European Union and in securing low-interest loans from the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank.

7. - The Middle Est Newsline - "Turkey Near Completion Of Helicopter Program":

ANKARA / 25 October 2002

Turkey reports that it has nearly completed procurement of the French utility helicopter.

Officials said that so far 27 out of 30 AS-532 Cougar helicopters have been delivered to the Turkish military. The helicopters were produced in a joint project between France's Eurocopter and the state-owned Turkish Aerospace Industries.

Turkey expects to receive all of the Cougar aircraft by the end of the year, officials said. They said 20 Cougars will be allocated to the Turkish Air Force and the rest to the army.

The program, called Phoenix-II, was launched in 1997 and began with the first two helicopters being produced in France. The remaining aircraft are being manufactured in TAI's facility in Ankara.

8. - Milliyet / Kurdish Media - "Chairman of HADEP: We can win all the seats of Diyarbakir":

Interview by Derya Sazak with the Chairman of HADEP Murat Bozlak published in the Turkish daily Milliyet on October 21, 2002

25 October 2002 / translated by Mutlu Civiroglu for Kurdish Media

People's Democracy Party HADEP will enter the elections under the banner of Democratic People's Party DEHAP. Despite the efforts of the chief prosecutor of the Supreme Court, the High Election Board (YSK) opened the way. What is the possibility of a party entering the parliament, which is mainly strong in South East and mostly addressing to Kurdish votes? Will you be able to pass the threshold?

Unfortunately, it's not happening without any negative events towards us in each of the elections. In 1995 and 1999 HADEP had entered the elections, in spite of hard conditions we had quite hopeful results. The last time, our vote was around 5 %. HADEP was in a situation to enter the November 3 elections however when in the parliament the decision of the elections were passed, the Prime Minister claimed that HADEP's enter to the parliament will be risky and made heavy accusations against us and an anti HADEP front was created against us. After that speech, our court case was brought to agenda again.

There is no need to tension in Turkey. On the contrary we want peace and ease. We believe that the Constitutional Court will not close down our party but in case of any possibility we withdrew HADEP from the elections. We are participating in the elections from the lists of DEHAP.

When was DEHAP established? And did it join to 1999 elections?

DEHAP established in 1997. No. It is the first time we are taking part in the elections under the roof of DEHAP.

Q. The Public Prosecutor argued that DEHAP lacks overall national representation?

A. That was rejected. There are not any obstacles in front of DEHAP to take part in the elections. We had already begun the electoral process.

Q. What would have happened if the High Election Board (YSK) had confirmed the Public Prosecutor's objection?

A. The elections would be cancelled; there wasn't any other way. A political party cannot be alone removed from the voting paper. DEHAP finished its organisation in 63 provinces, despite this, Public Prosecutor's move created a paradox and a negative impact on the voters. All of them remained below the 10% threshold. We are working in all over Turkey.

Q. What is the latest situation regarding DEHAP?

A. Before the electoral works began, our percentage was around 8-9 %. Since September 28, I am travelling continuously; we are very comfortable in this election. We want to decrease the 10 % threshold for the sake of democracy; it is no longer a problem for us. When you look at the coalition parties, who didn't want to decrease the 10 % national threshold; according to the polls it is clear that they won't be able to pass this threshold. If we enter the parliament, we will either abolish the threshold or draw it to a reasonable proportion, we will change the Laws of Political Parties and Elections. We will end the hegemony of the leaders. Our problem is not the threshold, more than that it is whether or not there will be fair elections. In the South East no one has been able to stand up and say, "where are you going?"

Q. Isn't there pressure of gendarme or police?

A. So far there isn't. We hadn't been able to go many villages in 1999 and our convoy was fired on. But mainly we can go to all areas of Turkey like other parties. I hope and wish this nice atmosphere continues until the end of the elections and the same positive atmosphere reflects on the poll boxes as well. If we are believe in the will of people and respect of democracy, this is what it should be.

Q. You mean the conditions are much better than in 1999?

A. Yes. For example I as the Chairman of HADEP was in prison in1999. Many of our friends were arrested. Our party cadres and members were deprived of any possibilities for the elections in all over Turkey. Now, all of us are working. If it goes on like this, I believe we can easily pass the threshold. In the South East, East and in metropolitan cities like Istanbul our votes will increase.

Q. How many votes did you receive in past elections from Istanbul?

A. 210 thousand

Q. What is your expectation in November 3?

A. 1 million

Q. How is the situation in the South East?

A. Look, let me give you an example from 1999; last time we couldn't get the votes we expected from rural areas. While our party received 65 % of all votes in Kiziltepe (of Mardin Province) city centre, we only received 1800 of

48 000 votes, which means only 3 %. They were saying to our voters "do not vote for HADEP". Where were the votes going? In 1995 to Welfare Party (RP) and in 1999 to Virtue Party (FP) as a reaction to pressures against HADEP.

While we won 70 % of the votes in Diyarbakir city centre, due to the decrease in the villages this percentage fell down to 48 %. I just came to Istanbul from the (Kurdish) region, there is a wonderful interest in DEHAP, we will receive our real votes this time.

Q. What about Diyarbakir?

A. We can make 10-0 (There are 10 seats in parliament from Diyarbakir)

Q. Isn't DEHAP finally an ethnic party built on the Kurdish Identity like HADEP?

A. Your power in South East is not delivered equally in other parts of Turkey. You are seen as a "Kurdish Party". We said many times; neither HADEP nor DEHAP, from whose lists we enter the elections, are not parties who are organized on an ethnic base. We are not a Kurdish Party; we are a party of Turkey who wants to embrace 70 million people.

Of course, the Kurds too as the citizens of this county are people whom we want to embrace as well. We accept that there are different people who belong to different cultures, who speak different languages and who have different beliefs. This is our richness. When evaluating in a logical way, this situation is the power of Turkey. What a pity, we misinterpret this and deny all the sub identities.

The fire burns where it falls; in the South East there was a conflict for years, but the suffering was not only there but also all over of Turkey. In my opinion, the Kurdish Question is not only HADEP's or DEHAP's but it is the problem of all parties who call themselves "Party of Turkey". If we are seen as a Kurdish Party only for our sensitivity to the Kurdish Question, aren't these parties in a separatist position as parties of Turkey who remain very indifferent to this issue? Everybody who calls himself a citizen of this country should be sensitive in these matters.

Q. If you enter the parliament, what will you do different from other parties?

A. The parliament recently took very important steps in the framework of European Union Adoption Laws, which were also related to the Kurdish Question. The conflicts stopped in the (Kurdish) Region and Turkey began to breath comfortably. We weren't able to travel before, we weren't able to go out at nights in Diyarbakir but now I came to Van from Hakkari at night, there were no problems.

Although people are poor and unemployed, they demand peace; a poor woman with her 7 months old baby came to me and said "I want peace and brotherhood", because she doesn't want to go back to past! Everybody living in Turkey and all the politicians have to hear this voice. Death penalty was abolished; it made an important contribution to social peace and opened the path for the European Union process. The rights of education and broadcast in mother tongue are very important steps. Emergency Rule (OHAL) is being abolished too, the Village Guard System should be lifted and the state should facilitate the forcibly migrated people.

Q. What will you do about Leyla Zana and other 4 former MPs?

A. We say, "Just practice the law". European Court of Human Rights has made a decision, which says that there wasn't a fair trial... Compensation was paid to them, this is all. Before, the way to hold a retrial to have a new judgement was closed, now after the last European Union Adoption Laws; it was made possible to do that [to hold a new trial]. However the impletion was postponed for one year in order not to release the MPs. If there is a judgement, they will be released immediately...

Q. When will they be released in normal conditions?

A. In year 2005

Q. Is the indirect message of Ocalan from the Imrali prison about the elections being discussed in the (Kurdish) region?

A. No. I have not heard anything.

Q. If we come back to the elections, doesn't it mean that the political privileges of HADEP or DEHAP which they use in elections are being taken away from them after the softening of the political atmosphere in the South East?

A. No. In the most trouble times, we defended the Kurdish Question and paid price. People in the region know this struggle very well. I wish, the other parties too, had defended the problems of the South East like us. We don't consider any party as a competitor to us. The chairman of TKP (Turkish Communist Party) became candidate from Diyarbakir. AKP (White Party), CHP (Republican People's Party), ANAP (Motherland Party), they are all working but their expectation was that DEHAP would be prevented from the elections and they7 would share our votes. They are praying for our not passing the threshold. We will enter the parliament and in most of the cities in the region, we will give no seats to the other parties. We are very determined.

Q. How will the religion factor effect the elections?

A. The role of Sheikhs, Aghas and feudalism are not as strong as before. The understanding of "Master Sheikh came, let me go and kiss his clothes, not only my vote but also my children be sacrificed" collapsed. There is an enormous change in the region; familial ties and the traditional impact of Muslim conservative circles will turn towards to different political parties and candidates. The overwhelming part of the people has taken DEHAP's side now.

Q. How will your entering to the parliament effect the process of European Union?

A. It will make a very important contribution. We see the future of Turkey within the European Union. Our first job will be getting a date (for candidacy process) in Copenhagen.

Q. How do you evaluate the developments in Northern Iraq? What do you think about the Kurdish Parliament and the possible attack against Iraq?

A. We don't believe that external interventions are beneficial. We don't approve the Saddam administration, to confirm his regime means forgetting the massacre of 5,000 Kurds in Halabja. Iraq is not the matter of this day; again it is not the first time that the matter of the (Kurdish) parliament is coming to the agenda. These groups were given passports in Ozal's time and good relations were created with them. Today, this situation is exaggerated and being used before the elections; blustering speeches are being made, by saying that "there is a Kurdish State being established, it will divide us as well, we won't allow it"

Q. If a Federation or a Kurdish State is established in Northern Iraq, how is the South East effected from this? Will our Kurdish citizens want to separate in the course of the time?

A. No. I know the region very well. It won't happen, it is an unnecessary fear. We don't want a war, the Saddam regime must be removed by Iraq's own domestic dynamics. If there will be a new formation, a democratic administration or a federation won't harm Turkey. It doesn't mean a separate Kurdish state. A solution within territorial integrity of Iraq, a structure like Germany who has a centred government might be established.

Such a solution is much better than Saddam's regime. Our Kurdish citizens living in Turkey are not in favour of a separate state. They do not have ideas like secession or independence. They demand their democratic rights within the territorial integrity of Turkey. The people on the mountains will not come down by long speeches!

Q. Are you prepared (for the parliament)?

Believe me, DEHAP entering the parliament will add colour to the parliament. Let nobody worry about us; representatives of DEHAP will work for the economical development of the country and a Turkey without any prohibitions. They will be the true defenders of the secular, democratic republic. Sometimes, some officials make statements on behalf of the state, mentioning that, "there are 5 000 armed PKK militants waiting and they are a potential threat for the security". This is a correct evaluation, that is true that 5 000 militants exist; [500 of them are inside of our borders, others in Northern Iraq] but we must solve this problem.

Q. Are you proposing an amnesty?

A. The solution is that the parliament should take courageous steps. The essential problems of Turkey cannot be solved by fear or hesitation.

Q. How will it be done?

A. In our opinion, the legal arrangements should be prepared to provide the disarmament of those people. It cannot be provided by long blustering speeches. When a legal arrangement is made, it is possible that the youth carrying arms on the mountains can come as well. This is possible. The heavy penalties prevent them to come, and the confession law is not a solution. There should be a general amnesty.

Q. Won't this initiative be criticized?

A. We are not making pro-Kurdish propaganda, we are participating in the elections with the representatives addressing to all of Turkey. We are the party, which has given the largest place to women. We have 103 female candidates, most of whom are in very top ranks, only in Diyarbakir we have 3 women candidates who are in delectable ranks. We must change our view of women.

Mutlu Civiroglu is the Former Coordinator of HADEP International Relations