20 September 2002

1. "Turk Kurdish rebels declare defense zones in Iraq", Kurdish rebels from Turkey declared "defense zones" in regions of Kurdish northern Iraq on Thursday and warned Turkey they would defend them against any attack during possible turmoil in Iraq.

2. "Turkey's top court delays verdict on banning Kurdish party", Turkey's constitutional court has asked for additional information before deliberating on a case that could lead to a ban on the country's main Kurdish party, a court official said Thursday. The move effectively delays a possible verdict in the long-running lawsuit against the People's Democracy Party (HADEP) for alleged links with separatist Kurdish rebels.

3. "EU gives green light to Southern Cyprus' membership", the European Union (EU) Commission gave a green light to Southern Cyprus Greek Cypriot Administration's membership to the union, news portal Abhaber claimed yesterday. (...) Cyprus EU membership an invitation to crisis, Turkish army warns (...)

4. "EU-hopeful Turkey moves to improve detention conditions", Turkey has issued a set of rules outlining detainees' rights and police jurisdiction in a bid to improve its poor human rights record and strengthen its bid to join the European Union, the Turkish press reported Thursday. The rules, published in the official gazette on Wednesday, follow up on a series of key democracy reforms parliament passed last month to bring the country in line with European norms.

5. "Caspian oil project forges ahead", construction work has officially been launched on a multi-billion-dollar pipeline to take Caspian Sea oil from Azerbaijan to Turkey via Georgia.

6. "Supreme Election Board rules on Erdogan today", Supreme Election Board (YSK) is expected today to announce its decision on whether moderate Islamist Justice and Development Party (AKP) leader Recep Tayyip Erdogan might stand in Nov. 3 polls.

1. - Reuters - "Turk Kurdish rebels declare defense zones in Iraq":

TUNCELI / 19 September 2002

Kurdish rebels from Turkey declared "defense zones" in regions of Kurdish northern Iraq on Thursday and warned Turkey they would defend them against any attack during possible turmoil in Iraq.

In a statement certain to anger close U.S. ally Turkey, the Kurdish rebels said they had made the declaration in anticipation of potential U.S.-led strikes on neighboring Iraq.

"During any attack on the region some forces, particularly Turkey, may want to liquidate the People's Defense Forces," the rebels said in a statement quoted by the Germany-based Mezopotamya news agency, close to the guerrillas.

"If either today or tomorrow there is an attack on our defense zones our defense units will immediately respond and will defend themselves to the end," the statement, monitored in the eastern Turkish city of Tunceli, said.

The rebels were known as the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) but now call themselves the Kurdistan Freedom and Democracy Congress or KADEK. They largely withdrew to northern Iraq after Turkey captured their leader, Abdullah Ocalan, in 1999.

The rebels' statement did not say where the zones were, but the group is known to control remote parts of the region. Turkish security sources say the group controls some 40-50 villages in northern Iraq, mostly near the Iranian border.

Thursday's declaration was the latest example of jostling for position in northern Iraq, a region likely to play a major part in any campaign against Iraq.

NATO member Turkey fears Iraqi Kurds, who wrested control of the region from Baghdad after the 1991 Gulf War and are ostensibly protected by a U.S.- and British-enforced "no-fly" zone, may try to set up an independent state in the north in the event of a U.S. attack.

That could spur Turkey's restive Kurds to fight for an ethnic homeland in the region, Turkey fears.

Ankara has in recent weeks traded angry words with Massoud Barzani, leader of one of two Iraqi Kurdish groups that administer the enclave, over the possibility of Turkish troops invading the enclave if the United States hits Iraq.

Turkish forces have been fighting the PKK since 1984 in a conflict that has killed more than 30,000 people. Ankara says the group's name change and recent pledges to abandon their armed struggle for Kurdish autonomy are just meaningless ruses and has pledged to wipe them out.

Turkey already garrisons thousands of troops inside northern Iraq to attack PKK bases in the mountainous region.

Barzani's Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) and the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) have split control of northern Iraq and have frequently clashed with PKK guerrillas.

The KDP and PUK are also seen as potential allies if Washington uses military force to oust Iraqi President Saddam Hussein, whom it accuses of developing weapons of mass destruction.

Ankara has repeatedly asserted its opposition to U.S. military action in Iraq. As well as the fear of a Kurdish push for statehood, a conflict next door could also undermine Turkey's shaky economic recovery from recession.

2. - AFP - "Turkey's top court delays verdict on banning Kurdish party":

ANKARA / 19 Sept 2002

Turkey's constitutional court has asked for additional information before deliberating on a case that could lead to a ban on the country's main Kurdish party, a court official said Thursday. The move effectively delays a possible verdict in the long-running lawsuit against the People's Democracy Party (HADEP) for alleged links with separatist Kurdish rebels.

At their sitting on Thursday, the panel of judges decided to ask the prosecution for more details on some of the evidence presented in the case, the court's deputy head Hasim Kilic told the Anatolia news agency. Once Turkey's chief prosecutor Sabih Kanadoglu provides the required information, a court official will prepare a report summarising the arguments of the prosecution and HADEP, Kilic said.

HADEP has been on trial since 1999 on charges of acting under the orders of the Kurdistan Workers party (PKK) -- which waged a 15-year bloody war for Kurdish self-rule in southeast Turkey -- and serving as a rebel propaganda tool. HADEP, which campaigns for a peaceful resolution to the Kurdish conflict, denies the charges. In a bid to ensure that its members can run in early general elections scheduled for November 3, HADEP has teamed up with its sister organisation (DEHAP) and two minor groupings.

Under the alliance, the members of the parties will all run under the name of DEHAP in the November 3 polls. HADEP is not represented in parliament after failing to clear the 10-percent national threshhold in the 1999 elections, but the party clinched a number of townships in Turkey's mainly Kurdish southeast in local elections in the same year.

Turkey removes Kurdish mayor from office

ANKARA / 19 Sept 2002

Turkey's highest administrative court on Thursday removed from office a Kurdish mayor, citing his conviction for sedition, Anatolia news agency reported. Sahabettin Ozaslaner, the mayor of the eastern city of Van, told Anatolia that he would appeal the ruling and might also apply to the European Court of Human Rights.

"I have been removed from office without presenting my defense," said Ozaslaner, who is a member of the pro-Kurdish People's Demoracy Party (HADEP). The agency said the court based its decision on Ozaslaner's conviction for "inciting hatred on racial differences" in pro-Kurdish remarks he made at a party congress in 1998.

The Turkish law bars those convicted under the said article from standing in elections. The court said the conviction had deprived Ozaslaner of his eligibility and he could not continue holding his office, which he won in local elections in 1999, according to Anatolia.

3. - Turkish Daily News / AFP - "EU gives green light to Southern Cyprus' membership":

ANKARA / TDN / 20 September 2002

The European Union (EU) Commission gave a green light to Southern Cyprus Greek Cypriot Administration's membership to the union, news portal Abhaber claimed yesterday.

According to the Cyprus progress report of the commission, it was claimed that the Greek Cypriot Administration fulfilled all accession criteria and that there was no obstacle left to its membership.

Offering praise for the Greek Cypriot Administration's successful performance in membership negotiations, the report underlines that there were not any problems on the negotiation topics except for a few minor issues and agriculture matters.

Mentioning about the political situation on the island, the report stressed that there was no progress toward a solution on the island. The report also attributes to the Helsinki decision reading that "solution would not be a precondition for membership."

Recalling that the EU called on the Turkish side a while ago, the report claims that Turkish Cypriot President Rauf Denktas gave a negative response to this call. The report criticizes the Turkish Cypriot Administration for putting obstacles to the nongovernmental organizations who support that Turkish Cypriots should become close to the EU.

EU: We will not evaluate Cyprus in a different context

Jean Christophe Filori, spokesperson of the EU Commissioner responsible for enlargement Gunther Verheugen, said that they would not evaluate Cyprus' membership in a different context.

Stressing that the EU commission is about to conclude its negotiations with 10 candidates, Filori said that the commission would give a positive signal regarding the membership of candidates except Turkey, Romania and Bulgaria. "However, leaders will have the final say in Copenhagen summit," he added.

Meanwhile, Denmark term president spokesperson Samuel Magid noted that it was hard to put forth a view regarding the start of negotiations with Turkey prior to the Copenhagen Summit. He added. that the practice of EU reforms by Turkey would shape the decision of the EU.

Cyprus EU membership an invitation to crisis, Turkish army warns

ANKARA / AFP / 19 Sept 2002

A senior Turkish army commander warned Thursday of a "security crisis" on the divided island of Cyprus if the EU grants membership to the internationally-recognized Greek Cypriot administration. "Granting the Greek Cypriots EU membership would disrupt peace and stability in Cyprus and the eastern Mediterranean," the commander of Turkish land forces, Aytac Yalman, said upon arrival in the Turkish-held north of the island for a three-day visit.

"It would drag the eastern Mediterranean into a permanent security crisis," General Yalman added, according to the Anatolia news agency. The Greek Cypriot government in the south of the island -- recognized as the sole legitimate government of Cyprus -- is a front-runner for EU membership when the European Union determines its enlargement in mid-December. The breakaway Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) is only recognized by Turkey, which keeps around 35,000 troops there.

The EU says it will admit Cyprus as a member with or without the reunification of the island, a position which Turkey and the Turkish Cypriots categorically oppose. Turkey, which is a struggling EU candidate itself, has threatened to annex the TRNC if the island joins the EU before a settlement. Yalman accused the Greek Cypriots of continued armament, which he said was a sign "they were getting ready for a new adventure", an apparent reference to intercommunal violence of the 1960s.

"Turkey and its armed forces are determined and ready to fulfill their historical obligations any time," he said. "The Turkish army will continue to support the Turkish Cypriots' justified and courageous struggle for existence." Turkish Cypriot leader Rauf Denktash and his Greek Cypriot counterpart Glafcos Clerides have been engaged in peace talks since January to reunify the island, but have made no progress so far. Denktash and Turkey want the island to be reunified within a confederation of two states, while the Greek Cypriots and the United Nations favor a federation of Greek- and Turkish-Cypriot zones.

Cyprus has been divided since 1974, when Turkey seized its northern third in response to an Athens-engineered coup in Nicosia seeking to unite the island with Greece. A driving force behind the Greek Cypriots' campaign to join the EU has been to guarantee the island's security and block any further encroachment by the Turkish army.

4. - AFP - "EU-hopeful Turkey moves to improve detention conditions":

ANKARA / 19 Sept 2002

Turkey has issued a set of rules outlining detainees' rights and police jurisdiction in a bid to improve its poor human rights record and strengthen its bid to join the European Union, the Turkish press reported Thursday. The rules, published in the official gazette on Wednesday, follow up on a series of key democracy reforms parliament passed last month to bring the country in line with European norms.

Under the changes, police will read detainees their rights and inform them of the charges against them when they are taken into custody. Those arrested will be allowed to call a relative to inform them of their detention, the liberal daily Radikal reported. The rules limit detention periods to four days and have made it obligatory to seek a court order to extend it, it added. Another change gives detainees the right to see a doctor without a security officer being present as was earlier the case, Radikal said.

The rules aim to prevent alleged torture and disapperances, two of the main human rights violations Turkey stands accused of by Western allies and rights organizations. Ankara's poor human rights record is seen as one of the main obstacles to its long-standing bid to join the European Union.

Turkey says it has met the political criteria required to open accession talks with the European Union with last month's adoption of democracy reforms, which also abolished the death penlty and granted the country's Kurdish minority cultural rights. It has been pressing the pan-European bloc to set a date for accession negotiations by the end of the year. The Union has welcomed the reforms but said it will watch closely how they are implemented.

5. - BBC - "Caspian oil project forges ahead":

18 September 2002

Construction work has officially been launched on a multi-billion-dollar pipeline to take Caspian Sea oil from Azerbaijan to Turkey via Georgia.

It is the first major pipeline from the vast Caspian oilfields to bypass Russian territory.

The Turkish and Georgian presidents, along with their Azeri counterpart, took part in a ceremony to lay the inaugural section of the pipeline at the Sangachal terminal, near the Azeri capital, Baku.

"This project guarantees peace, security and stability in the region, and still further unites three countries and three peoples", Azerbaijan's President Haidar Aliev said.

The three regional leaders were joined by American Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham, whose presence signalled the US Government's strong support for the project.

"This project is one of the most important energy undertakings from America's point of view as well as for this region," Mr Abraham said earlier.

He said such projects would contribute regional strength and international energy security for mutual benefit.

But speaking in New York ahead of the ceremony in Azerbaijan, Russian Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov said oil supplies coming from the Caspian were not sufficient to make the project economically viable.

And he warned against efforts to exclude Russia from regions where he said it had historical interests.

Political considerations

The Caspian Sea is thought to hold the world's third largest oil and gas reserves - much of it still untapped.

The project was first proposed eight years ago, but has been delayed by arguments about whether enough oil will flow through the pipeline to make it financially viable.

The line is intended to transport more than a million barrels a day from Azerbaijan's oil fields through the Caucasus republic of Georgia to the Turkish port of Ceyhan.

The 1,750 kilometre (1,090 mile) pipeline to the Mediterranean was chosen in preference to two other routes to the Gulf, or the Black Sea, which would have taken the oil via Iran or Russia.

Both would have been shorter and cheaper, but were not politically acceptable to Washington.

Construction of the pipeline, which is estimated to cost about $3bn, is expected to be completed by early 2004, with pumping of oil due to begin the following year.

It is thought that the pipeline will eventually transport oil from Kazakhstan, too.

6. - Turkish Daily News - "Supreme Election Board rules on Erdogan today":

ANKARA / 20 September 2002

Supreme Election Board (YSK) is expected today to announce its decision on whether moderate Islamist Justice and Development Party (AKP) leader Recep Tayyip Erdogan might stand in Nov. 3 polls.

Erdogan has struggled to lift a political ban and return to politics after serving jail time in 1999 for "inciting religious hatred" in a speech he gave while serving as Istanbul mayor. Supreme Court of Appeals this week barred Erdogan from the ballot, but the YSK has the final say in who can stand in the November 3 election.

"We will definitely reach a decision tomorrow," YSK head Tufan Algan told reporters yesterday. "The latest will be Friday night," Algan said.

Erdogan's political hopes were revived following an EU-inspired liberalization of a law that limits free speech, known as Article 312, under which he was convicted in 1998.

Algan said the YSK would take into account changes made to the law, part of a reform effort to meet EU political criteria. "Article 312 was reorganized and rewritten. Of course the situation will be evaluated within the article's new capacity," Algan said.

Algan emphasized that the situation of every candidate was different from one another, adding that a ruling on a candidate could not be shown as an example for another candidate.

Meanwhile, AKP yesterday appealed to the European Court of Human Rights to suspend the Supreme Court of Appeals' decision on Erdogan.

AKP deputy chairman Abdullah Gul, who is labeled as the strongest heir to the AKP throne, said yesterday that they expected the YSK to decide in line with the people's expectations.

If the YSK bars Erdogan from running for Parliament he cannot become prime minister even if his AKP emerges with the most number of seats in the assembly.

When asked whether he would be the chairman of the party if Erdogan is barred from running for Parliament, Gul noted that they did not think of an alternative to date. He emphasized that the AKP believed that they would run for the election with Erdogan.

The AKP rose from the ashes of the Virtue Party, banned for fundamentalist activity, but Erdogan rejects the Islamist label and says his party backs Turkey's European Union candidacy and multi-billion dollar International Monetary Fund programme.

Erbakan objects to Konya electoral board's decision

Algan earlier said that he would announce the rulings on Erdogan, Necmettin Erbakan, leader of the defunct Welfare Party (RP), Murat Bozlak, leader of pro-Kurdish People's Democracy Party (HADEP) and Akin Birdal, former chairman of Human Rights Association at the same time.

Meanwhile, Erbakan's lawyers yesterday presented the YSK a petition objecting to the decision of Konya Electoral Board, which rejected Erbakan's candidacy. Erbakan's lawyer Yasar Gurkan told reporters that he believed that the YSK would admit their objection and overturn the Konya electoral board's decision.

When asked whether Erbakan's application delayed their decision, YSK head Algan noted that this objection also affected the delay of their decision on these candidates.

Konya electoral board on Tuesday rejected former pro-Islamic Premier Necmettin Erbakan's application to run for Parliament in the Nov. 3 elections.

Meanwhile, Supreme Court of Appeals yesterday overturned a State Security Court (DGM) decision erasing the criminal record of Necmettin Erbakan. Erbakan, who led Turkey's Islamic movement for three decades, was banned from politics for five years in 1998 after a court closed his Welfare Party for violating this mainly Muslim country's secular laws. The ban expires in 2003.

Erbakan insisted the ruling only prohibits him from joining political parties and applied to run as an independent in the central Turkish city of Konya, a traditional stronghold of pro-Islamic parties.