23
September 2002
2. "Prime Ministry returns Ocalan's file to DGM", Prime Ministry yesterday returned the death penalty file of Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK)'s chieftain inmate, Abdullah Ocalan, to Ankara State Security Court (DGM).
3. "Kurdish instruction in Turkey legalized – bureaucratic hurdles in order to hinder language", the Turkish Minister of Education has issued rules for instruction in Kurdish on a private basis. These are clearly formulated in order to hinder such language classes to the extent possible. Only children older than 12 years of age may learn Kurdish, and only on non-school days. (...) Step Backwards for Turkey: the Turkish establishment – that is, the military, the government, the bureaucracy, and the judicial system, as represented by the Supreme Election Board – has once again made it crystal clear: Whoever does not stand on the basis of the current state ideology can expect to have no chance in Turkish political life.
4. "Erdogan, Erbakan & Bozlak disqualified", AK Party Deputy Chairman Abdullah Gul says the verdicts are a major setback for Turkish democracy and efforts to carry the country into the European Union. (...) Bozlak was the chairman of the pro-Kurdish People's Democracy Party (HADEP) which is expected to win landslide victories in many southeastern provinces. Akin Birdal is the former president of the Turkish Human Rights Association who survived an assassination attempt in the hands of ultranationalist militants. Both Bordal and Bozlan have convictions on sedition charges.
5. "Turkish Islamists' charismatic leader", Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the leader of opposition Justice and Development Party (Adalet ve Kalkinma Partisi, or AK, as it is known in Turkey) is a popular man.
6. "Balkan policing", the European Union looks like missing its solo debut as a peacekeeper. Because of an absurd continuing diplomatic impasse between Greece and Turkey, it seems probable that the EU will not be able to take over Nato's peacekeeping role in Macedonia at the end of next month.
1. - Kurdish Observer - "Forces of democracy cannot be hindered!":
KADEK Council of Leadersreacted to the disqualification of Murat Bozlak and Akin Birdal as candidates and stated that it could not hinder the forces of democracy whose footstep could be heard.
MHA/FRANKFURT / 22 September 2002
Participated by telephone in the "Rojev" program on Medya
TV, Osman Ocalan, KADEK Council of Leaders member, made important comments
on decisions of Supreme Elections Board (YSK), Medya Defence Zones and
the latest state in South Kurdistan. Ocalan reacted harshly to the disqualification
of Murat Bozlak and Akin Birdal as candidates, saying the following:
"KADEK consider them heroes of democracy. And HADEP, EMEP, SDP
and democratic forces under the umbrella of DEHAP should increase their
forces by uniting around them. The assertion should be given more strength.
We believe that it will contribute to the success and struggle."
They do not want the forces of democracy
Drawing attention that "they" did not want the will of forces of democracy to be represented in the parliament, Ocalan pointed out that the YSK rule aimed to keep them from entering into the parliament. The Kurdish leader continued to say the following: "The attempt to keep these two important people from entering into the parliament will contribute to the activities of the forces of democracy. We consider them heroes and believe that the people will claim them."
There is a acute struggle
Ocalan had also this to say: "On the contrary, they should use all opportunities available and wage a powerful struggle. The most important struggle in elections takes place in the fields. They should make resistance, they should not leave the field to the reactionary forces and work hard relentlessly. Reactionary forces defending the existing system has lost their chance to succeed."
Women will succeed in the elections
Osman Ocalan considered the debates on whether the democratic block exceed the national electoral threshold backward and rejected them. The Kurdish leader attracted attention to the majority of the women in the list of the candidates of the block, adding "The elections will end up with the success of women." Ocalan had also this to say: "Women should have more self-confidence. Man does not want to allow women have a place in the system. But DEHAP wants them to play a role in the society and in the process. Women are now in a position to play a leadership role in the democracy."
Our right to defence became legitimate
Osman Ocalan commented on Medya Defence Zones. "There is an international pressure on Turkey. And domestic forces struggle to create a more democratic Turkey. On the other hand an armed attack on Iraq is on the agenda. Such an attack will destroy the statue of the Middle East existing for a century. A new statue will be established in place of the old which has not given a place to Kurds. But Kurds should put forth their will" said the Kurdish leader.
Emphasizing that it was not yet clear as to whether Kurds had a place within the statue, Ocalan continued to say the following: "All the Kurdish forces are needed to play a part in the solution process. All the Kurdish forces, whether it is KADEK, PUK or KDP, should participate in the process. The problems can be solved only by every force playing its role well. KADEK is the most powerful among them. It will be a grave mistake to exclude it. But KADEK is determined not to be excluded. It declares it to the world. And KADEK is for unity of the Kurdish forces. It is ready to solve the Kurdish question."
We are the solving force
Calling attention that in such a state a number of forces could be a threat too, Ocalan continued to say the following: "If KADEK military forces want to take part in the process powerfully some steps should be taken. The first step is that we declare that we have a legitimate right to defence. Nobody can take it from us. The right to defence is the bases of democracy. The declaration is first of all the right to defence. It is not an aggression. We say that in the areas we have defined as fields of defence, we will defend us till the end and react harshly." The Kurdish leader stressed that they were ready for a dialogue and continued as follows: "For it the road is clear. A drive to defend ourselves on the one hand, a message saying that we will take part in the process on the other. We can a political force in one place and helping force in the other."
Proposal to KDP and Turkey
The Kurdish leader emphasized that it was not yet clear whether USA would succeed on attack against Iraq. Stating that USA had fears about a counter attack, Ocalan pointed out that meanwhile Kurds were trying to find a way to establish a dialogue. Ocalan listed their proposals as follows: Turkey should not make threats of destruction, nor KDP should say "Kurdistan would be a grave for Turkish soldiers'. Turkish and Kurdish people cannot live apart from each other but a destruction mentality cannot be accepted. We believe that with everybody doing their best for dialogue unity and peace can be developed and real democracy can be secured in the region."
The Kurdish leader also commented on PUK, reminding the
special war of PUK against KADEP. Ocalan ended its talk by saying the
following: "IF PUK leaves its stance and takes steps twords a Kurdish
unity." 
2. – Turkish Daily News - "Prime Ministry returns Ocalan's file to DGM":
ANKARA / 21 September 2002
Prime Ministry yesterday returned the death penalty file of Kurdistan
Workers' Party (PKK)'s chieftain inmate, Abdullah Ocalan, to Ankara
State Security Court (DGM).
In line with the law amendment lifting death penalty, Ocalan's dossier was sent back to the DGM through the Justice Ministry. Ankara DGM is expected to handle the dossier within two weeks, while it is reported that the court may either decide on the dossier or hold a hearing for it.
According to the law amendment that cleared Parliament in August, death penalties were changed into life imprisonment, while those who were convicted of crimes of terror, will not be able to benefit from any amnesties or conditional releases.
Ankara DGM sentenced Ocalan to death on June 29, 1999
because of his activities aiming to divide the state by his organization.
Supreme Court of Appeals upheld DGM's verdict on Nov. 25, 1999. Ocalan's
dossier was first sent to Parliament and then the Justice Ministry,
which delivered the dossier to the Prime Ministry finally.
3. - Neue Züricher Zeitung / Kurdish Media - "Kurdish instruction in Turkey legalized – bureaucratic hurdles in order to hinder language":
20 September 2002 (*b)
The Turkish Minister of Education has issued rules for instruction
in Kurdish on a private basis. These are clearly formulated in order
to hinder such language classes to the extent possible. Only children
older than 12 years of age may learn Kurdish, and only on non-school
days.
Istanbul, 19 September Turkish Education Minister Necdet Tekin confirmed on Wednesday the intention of his government to give permission soon for instruction in the Kurdish language in private schools. A directive to this effect, which lays out the conditions for these courses, has reportedly been presented to the Prime Minister for his signature, declared the minister. The legalization of instruction in Kurdish in Turkey had been introduced in August, as the Parliament in Ankara passed a series of reforms with a view toward accession to the EU [European Union]. Included among these was the right of the Kurdish minority to receive instruction in its native tongue, and to have access to Kurdish-language media.
According to press reports, the official circular cites 16 conditions for the legalization of Kurdish instruction on a private basis. Instruction may only be provided by Turkish citizens. Since Kurdish was prohibited in Turkey until recently, and since it is not taught in universities, there will likely be too few qualified teachers for the near future. Students must have completed primary school and be between 12 and 18 years old. They will be able to attend Kurdish courses only on weekends or during school vacation periods. They must also prove in advance, with a medical certification, that they are neither mentally or physically handicapped.
“Ethnic” clothing, however defined, is prohibited during the courses. For the Education Minister, this circular sets out the “basic principles of instruction in the languages and dialects that the Turkish people use in their daily lives”. But for, Abdullah Demirtas, the Chairman of the Teachers’ Union in Diyarbakir, it is a stillborn child. He says that, on paper, the government is permitting Kurdish courses, but in practice, he says, instruction under these conditions is “simply impossible”.
Step Backwards for Turkey
21 September 2002 (*b)
The Turkish establishment – that is, the military, the government,
the bureaucracy, and the judicial system, as represented by the Supreme
Election Board – has once again made it crystal clear: Whoever
does not stand on the basis of the current state ideology can expect
to have no chance in Turkish political life. The various attempts at
a democratic opening of the Kemalist system have thus once again been
blocked. Turkey stands once again where it stood in 1997, when the Islamists
were forced out in a “soft Putsch”.
The banning of the Islamist Recep Tayyip Erdogan from the election is first of all a signal to the Turkish public. Based on arguments that are clearly untenable from the juridical standpoint, it affects not only a single unwelcome politician, but also the entire Islamist movement in Turkey. The latter has once more been branded as alien or hostile to the state. Yet it is still the most important oppositional current, and Islamists run the local administrations in many cities. According to public opinion polls, Erdogan’s party [the Justice and Development Party] represents almost a quarter of the Turkish electorate, and is thus the strongest single political force in the country. It will not be possible in the long run to marginalize it.
Yet a further signal is aimed at the European Union: With this ruling, Turkey has taken itself out of the running for membership until further notice. For it has now been demonstrated that, by EU standards, Turkish democracy is still not “ripe”. That concern over Islamists and their rights forces this conclusion, however, is not without irony. For the problem with Islam and Islamism remains unresolved, both in Ankara and in Brussels.
These two questions will thus continue to be asked: Will Turkey ever succeed in integrating the religious factor in politics? And is the European Union really prepared to take a predominantly Muslim country into its predominantly Christian association?
* a) Translated from German; originally published in Neue Zuericher Zeitung of 20 September 2002, by Kurdish Media. Original German text available at: http://www.nadir.org/nadir/initiativ/isku/AKTUELL/2002/38/127.htm)
* b) Editorial on the banning of Recep Tayyip Erdogan
from running for the Turkish parliament, from the Neue Zuercher Zeitung
of 21 September 2002, translated from German by Kurdish Media. Original
German text available at http://www.nadir.org/nadir/initiativ/isku/AKTUELL/2002/38/161.htm)
4. - Turkish Daily News - "Erdogan, Erbakan & Bozlak disqualified":
AK Party Deputy Chairman Abdullah Gul says the verdicts are a major setback for Turkish democracy and efforts to carry the country into the European Union.
ANKARA / 21 September 2002
Turkey's Supreme Elections Board (YSK) on Friday disqualified popular
former Istanbul Mayor Tayyip Erdogan, former Islamist prime minister
Necmettin Erbakan, pro-Kurdish leader Murat Bozlak and leading human
rights activist Akin Bordal as candidates in the upcoming November 3
elections ending days of suspense.
The board decided that the four could not be candidates according to the strict sedation laws of Turkey.
Court sources told the Turkish Daily News that according
to article 76 of the Constitution the four had committed crimes against
the state that barred them from becoming candidates. The court course
also said article 11 of the elections law ruled that even if a person
is pardoned for committing a crime under article 312 of the penal code
which deals with sedition he or she cannot become a candidate. 
Erdogan is the chairman of the Justice and Development Party (AK Party)
which is running way ahead of all the other parties in the public opinion
polls. If he had been permitted to run in the elections he was slated
to become Turkey's next prime minister.
Erbakan, is the former prime minister who was toppled
in 1997 after a military led campaign. His Welfare Party was closed
by the Constitutional Court and later Erbakan was banned for five years.
Later he was also convicted on Islamic sedition charges. Bozlak was
the chairman of the pro-Kurdish People's Democracy Party (HADEP) which
is expected to win landslide victories in many southeastern provinces.
Akin Birdal is the former president of the Turkish Human
Rights Association who survived an assassination attempt in the hands
of ultranationalist militants. Both Bordal and Bozlan have convictions
on sedition charges. 
Recep Tayyip Erdogan said this week he would fight on with his Ak Party
even if the board barred him from Parliament.
Abdullah Gul, the deputy chairman of the AK Party who is regarded as
leading candidate to become prime minister in the absence of Erdogan
if the party wins in the elections told TDN after hearing the verdict
of the board "this is a blow to our democracy. Turkey has pushed
itself into a tight corner. It's image has bene hurt."
He said the verdict shows that Turkey "is not so
free after all" and added "this resembles the days when politicians
were being vetoed. " He was recalling the vetoes of the military
administration prior to the 1983 elevations when Turkey returned to
semi-civilian rule after the 1980 coup. The military has disqualified
three major parties and dozens of candidates prior to the elections.
"How will they carry Turkey into the European Union with such bans?"
asked Gul.
The AKP, drawing on anger over economic hardship, is far ahead of squabbling mainstream parties that struggle in surveys to garner the 10 percent needed to enter parliament.
The gap may well narrow in six weeks, but a one-party AKP government cannot be ruled out. Markets appear less fearful of religious tenets invading politics than of AKP's inexperience in government compromising a $16 billion IMF crisis pact.
Erdogan, who served four months of a 10-month sentence for sedition in 1999, has done everything he can to make his peace with the "Deep State" -- a nebulous coalition of interests embracing the army, establishment politicians and judiciary.
He is very aware of the suspicions of a staunchly secularist army that led a powerful pressure campaign in 1997 to drive from power Turkey's first Islamist-led government of Erbakan. He denies the party is Islamist and takes extra care to prevent his supporters from displaying any kind of Islamic reflexes.
Erdogan received a 1998 conviction for publicly reading a poem including the lines: "The mosques are our barracks, the domes our helmets, the minarets our bayonets and the faithful our soldiers..."
The article 312 of the penal code under which he was convicted
has been changed as part of a package of rights reforms passed in pursuit
of Turkey's EU membership ambitions. But the court disregarded the reforms.
5. - BBC - "Turkish Islamists' charismatic leader":
20 September 2002
Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the leader of opposition Justice and Development
Party (Adalet ve Kalkinma Partisi, or AK, as it is known in Turkey)
is a popular man.
Opinion polls have given him an approval rating of more than 20% and he had been tipped to win early elections on 3 November.
He is a charismatic politician from a poor background.
Born in 1954 his father was a coastguard in the city of Rize on Turkey's Black Sea coast.
He was 13 when his father has decided to move to Istanbul hoping to give his five children a better upbringing.
But as a teenager, Recep Tayyip had to sell lemonade and sesame buns on the streets of Istanbul's rougher districts.
He attended an Islamic school and played professional football. He has a degree in management from Istanbul's Marmara University.
Joining Islamist movement
There he met Necmettin Erbakan, and entered Turkey's Islamist movement.
His first brush with the law came after the military coup of 1980.
Mr Erdogan's boss in the city's transport authority, a retired colonel, told him to shave off his moustache. Erdogan refused and had to quit the job.
His political career in the Welfare Party, as the Islamists' party was known until it was banned in 1998, was developing fast.
In 1994, Mr Erdogan became the mayor of Istanbul.
Even his critics admit that he has done a good job, making Istanbul cleaner and greener.
Most people consider him uncorrupt - unlike many other Turkish politicians.
His background and commitment to Islamic values also appeal to most of the devout Muslim Turks who have been alienated by the state.
Conviction
Mr Erdogan was convicted in 1998, accused of inciting religious hatred.
The accusation was based on the fact that he publicly read a poem including the lines: "The mosques are our barracks, the domes our helmets, the minarets our bayonets and the faithful our soldiers..."
He was sentenced to 10 months in jail, but was freed after four - however, because of his criminal record he was barred from standing in elections.
Mr Erdogan and his lawyers have argued that recent changes made to Turkey's legislation regulating freedom of speech render his conviction invalid.
New image
Mr Erdogan has disavowed his hard-line Islamic views of the past and is trying to recast himself as a pro-Western conservative.
He does not insist on leaving Nato and says Turkey's membership in the European Union is a necessary and useful step.
He is not opposed to women entering government offices and schools without headscarves - though when asked if his wife would wear a headscarf to an official reception, he simply said he just wouldn't take her there.
Many secular-minded Turks and, of course, the generals, look at Mr Erdogan's new found moderation with suspicion.
Mr Erdogan is said to speak no foreign languages and to know little about outside world or economics. Many fear he might change his views again when he comes to power.
"If Erdogan were to become prime minister, I think the military would take an attitude of 'wait and see'," one diplomat said.
"Erdogan knows what will happen if he oversteps a
line."
6. - Financial Times - "Balkan policing":
20 September 2002
The European Union looks like missing its solo debut as a peacekeeper. Because of an absurd continuing diplomatic impasse between Greece and Turkey, it seems probable that the EU will not be able to take over Nato's peacekeeping role in Macedonia at the end of next month.
This will not be a tragedy for Macedonia. It held a largely trouble-free election last Sunday and Nato is preparing to keep its small contingent on in the Balkan country. But it will be a pity for the EU, which needs to show greater firmness and unity of purpose in regional security, particularly with the Bush administration becoming more dismissive of European allies.
Ever since the EU agreed to minimise military duplication with Nato by relying on the latter's planning and facilities wherever possible, Turkey, inside Nato but outside the EU, has posed conditions. The chief of these is that the EU should not use Nato assets to serve the interests of Greece, a member of both organisations, against Turkey. Last year the UK and the US secured reassurances that satisfied Ankara but not, of course, Athens. Greece, with an eye on Cyprus - slated soon to join the EU - demanded reciprocal assurances that no Nato assets would be used against an EU state.
In Macedonia, the EU would only be replacing some 750 lightly armed Nato troops acting in support of civilian observers. This hardly requires heavy Nato back-up. But the EU wants to act in step with Nato for reasons of principle and practice; Macedonia is the main logistics route for the larger Nato peacekeeping force in neighbouring Kosovo. There is also no question that peacekeeping has been a good investment in Macedonia and should be continued. A small peacekeeping force has helped prevent Macedonia's Albanian-Slav tensions erupting into the serious conflicts that broke out in Bosnia and Kosovo, where larger Nato forces are still stationed.
Greece and Turkey, which both have a strong stake in security
in their Balkan neighbourhood, should not make EU peacekeeping a victim
of their mutual suspicion. Greece currently chairs the EU's security
and defence planning committee and should behave accordingly. Turkey
cannot afford to let the peacekeeping dispute negate other advances
it has made towards EU membership. And, in the wider context, neither
should want to give a sceptical Bush administration more cause to believe
that America's allies cannot be trusted even with minor peacekeeping
duties.