5
September 2002
2. "Turkey for expansion of military ties with Iran", Turkish Minister of National Defense Sabahattin Cakmakoglu here on Wednesday announced his country's readiness to expand military ties with Iran, the Iranian Embassy in Ankara announced on Thursday.
3. "Cem: Turkey missed EU train in 1974", New Turkey Party leader Ismail Cem stated that Turkey missed the EU train in 1974 but this does not mean Turkey has missed the EU train altogether.
4. "Two Kurdish activists jailed for supporting Ocalan", a Turkish state security court sentenced two members of a pro-Kurdish party to 45 months in prison Wednesday for supporting Abdullah Ocalan, the jailed Kurdish rebel leader, the Anatolia news agency reported.
5. "Mother tongue still prosecuted", 11 students prosecuted in Adana State Security Court on the grounds that they had submitted petitions for Kurdish optional courses were acquitted whereas 9 students from the same university are still prosecuted.
6. "A second Turkish gate in northern Iraq", the Turkish daily Hurriyet said on Tuesday that Turkey has found a new formula to open a second border gate, in collaboration with Syria and this was following the US rejection of Turkish plans to open a border gate in northern Iraq area.
1. - AFP- "One fourth of Turks set to vote for moderate
Islamists: survey":
ANKARA / September 5, 2002
Almost 25 percent of Turkish voters are set to back a moderate Islamist
party in early elections on November 3, according to an opinion poll
published in the Radikal daily on Thursday. The survey, conducted
among 2,400 people last month, found out that support for the opposition
Justice and Development Party (AK) increased to 24.6 percent, or 5.6
percentage points more than in July.
The only other party clearing the 10-percent national treshold required
to enter parliament was the center-left Republican People's Party
(CHP), which garnered 14.3 percent in the poll.
Support for the CHP, currently outside parliament, also rose by about
five percent from July after it lured to its ranks the popular former
economy minister Kemal Dervis.
All others, including the three parties in Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit's
coalition government, were below the treshold. Only 1.1 percent backed
Ecevit's Democratic Left Party, while his partners, the far-right
Nationalist Action Party and the center-right Motherland, got 6.1
and 3.7 percent respectively. Just short of the threshold was the
opposition center-right True Path Party, which became third at 8.8
percent.
About 20 percent of the voters were undecided, said the survey, which
was conducted by the Konda research company for Deutsche Bank. Many
fear a possible election victory for AK could destablize mainly Muslim
but strictly secular Turkey, whose first Islamist prime minister Necmettin
Erbakan was forced to resign in 1997 as a result of a harsh army-led
campaign.
AK is an offspring of Erbakan's now banned party, but says it has
learned from the past and vehemently rejects the Islamist label, presenting
itself as a pro-Western conservative grouping.
Its rising popularity reflects a growing frustration among the impoverished
masses with the fractured mainstream parties, which have produced
weak governments over the years and failed to resolve economic problems,
observers say. 
2. - IRNA - "Turkey for expansion of military ties with
Iran":
ANKARA / September 5, 2002
Turkish Minister of National Defense Sabahattin Cakmakoglu here on
Wednesday announced his country's readiness to expand military ties
with Iran, the Iranian Embassy in Ankara announced on Thursday.
Cakmakoglu told the Iranian Ambassador to Turkey Firouz Dowlatabadi
that expansion of bilateral ties and exchange of military delegations
between Iran and Turkey would be in the interest of both sides.
Meanwhile, in another meeting, the General Secretary of Turkey's National
Security Council Tuncer Kilinc told Dowlatabadi on Wednesday that
Turkish military and political officials are ready to cooperate with
their Iranian counterparts.
Kilinc said promotion of bilateral ties under present conditions would
be based on new doctrines and relying on strength. He added expansion
of bilateral ties would serve as an important factor for regional
stability and security. The Iranian ambassador, for his part, said
that Iran is ready to expand relations with Turkey.
3. - Turkish Daily News - "Cem: Turkey missed EU train in
1974": 
New Turkey Party leader Ismail Cem stated that Turkey missed the EU
train in 1974 but this does not mean Turkey has missed the EU train
altogether.
Cem taking a seat in the Cebit Eurasia fair in Istanbul, at "e-turkey"
forum said: "Turkey would be very different if Turkey was smart
enough to access the EU in 1974-1975. The EU train has not been missed
but we missed that train that day. A country which accesses the EU
today will not get the support that Greece, Spain and Portugal had
once upon a time. These days opportunities do not exist anymore."
Cem explained his e-Turkey vision in the forum and stated that e-turkey
will be a 24 hour online state: "Five days a week, eight hours
per day working state model will be replaced by a 24 hours state model.
We have to swap to a 24 hour public servicing model," Cem said.
Quality is more important than quantity
Cem, answering questions about ministries indicated that the number
of ministers will be decreased to 18-20 from 36 but this will not
be enough: "It is good to decrease the number but not enough.
Turkey needs quality change not quantity change. If we make a change
in government and in the ministries then the public administration
will lead to form e-turkey."
Cem also pointed out that the criteria for productivity is honesty
and transparency and that e-turkey can only be built up if only these
criteria are put into practice.
Cem did not answer reporters questions about the secret fund.
4. - AFP - "Two Kurdish activists jailed for supporting
Ocalan":
September 4, 2002
A Turkish state security court sentenced two members of a pro-Kurdish
party to 45 months in prison Wednesday for supporting Abdullah Ocalan,
the jailed Kurdish rebel leader, the Anatolia news agency reported.The
pair were the two most senior managers of an Istanbul branch of the
People's Democracy Party (HADEP), which itself risks being banned
for aiding Ocalan's Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK).
Necla Yildirim and Abdulvahap Oner were charged last year when police
raided the HADEP office in Istanbul's Kucukcekmece district and discovered
pictures of Ocalan hung in the building as well as banned publications.
The judge said the suspects were disseminating propaganda in favor
of the PKK and found them guilty of "aiding a terrorist organization,"
Anatolia reported.
HADEP is charged with helping the PKK and acting under orders from
the armed group, which waged a 15-year war for Kurdish self-rule in
mainly Kurdish southeast Turkey, with the conflict claiming about
36,500 lives.
The party, which the prosecution wants outlawed, denies the charges.
Heavy fighting in the southeast has significantly declined since 1999
when the PKK heeded a peace appeal from Ocalan and announced it was
laying down its arms to seek a democratic resolution of the Kurdish
issue.
Ocalan, who was sentenced to death the same year, escaped the gallows
last month when the Turkish parliament abolished capital punishment
in peacetime as part of democracy reforms aimed at bringing Turkey
closer to the European Union.
The parliament also legalized broadcasts and courses in the Kurdish
language.
5. - Kurdish Observer - "Mother tongue still prosecuted":
AMED/DIHA / 4 September 2002
11 students prosecuted in Adana State Security Court on the grounds
that they had submitted petitions for Kurdish optional courses were
acquitted whereas 9 students from the same university are still prosecuted.
Although some students have been acquitted of charges of "aiding
and abetting PKK" by submitting petitions for Kurdish optional
courses due to the European Union adjustment laws, some students are
still prosecuted. Such an approach whose criteria could not be understood
can be seen in cases in Adana State Security Court (DGM).
Although some students have been acquitted of charges of "aiding
and abetting PKK" by submitting petitions for Kurdish optional
courses due to the European Union adjustment laws, some students are
still prosecuted. Such an approach whose criteria could not be understood
can be seen in cases in Adana State Security Court (DGM).
11 students of Cukurova University in Adana who had submitted petitions
for Kurdish optional courses were acquitted. Studens Evin Baltas,
Gul Bahat Sel, Menekse Bingol, Ozlem Gulpinar, Deniz Yildirim, Neriman
Karabag, Rukiye Demiroz, Ayfer Ali, Gulistan Taskiran, Hulya Soysal
and Ozlem Caparoglu were present in the hearing in Adana DGM where
they were charged of "aiding and abetting PKK". They were
acquitted on the grounds of Law No. 4771 of the Constitution. And
yet other 9 students were present before the court the other day.
Students Hasan Kilic, Ceyda Cetin, Serok Kasimoglu, Emek Ulas Arslan,
Rojin Aslan, Bilal Aslan, Ibrahim Agaoglu, Mehmet Ali Topal and Erol
Yaman Taskin were heard by State Security Court in Adana. The hearing
was adjourned.
PENALTY FOR SUBMITTING PETITION
On the other hand 7 students in Dicle University were temporarily
expelled for submitting petitions for training in mother tongue. The
police forces have detained a number of students submitting petitions
for training in mother tongue. Then the rector's office has launched
an investigation and finally temporarily expelled 7 of them. The university
administrators stated that if they could submit petitions they would
be expelled permanently.
BAR CHAIRMAN WAS ACQUITTED
Chairman of Tunceli Bar Association Huseyin Aygun was acquitted of
the charges of protesting against the expels of students submitting
petitions. Malatya DGM decided that Huseyin Aygun asked for training
in mother tongue aiming criticism and not for PKK. He has been charged
of "making a statement imposed by PKK".
No identity card to "Robin"
In Diyarbakir Muharrem Erbey went to Diyarbakir General Directory
of Census to register his child as Robin but he was not allowed on
the grounds of Law on Census. Erbey stated that he was turned down
because of strict orders of the Governor "not to register any
Kurdish names" and such a stance was against laws.
"For such bans Article 16 of the Law on Census was shown as justification.
But it is a violation of human rights. The article in question is
valid for only obscene names and names inappropriate to traditions
and not for Kurdish names" said the father. Erbey continued to
say the following: "I shall file an objection petition and carry
my case to Administrativ."
6. - Arabic News - "Hurriyet: A second Turkish gate in northern
Iraq":
4 September 2002 
The Turkish daily Hurriyet said on Tuesday that Turkey has found a
new formula to open a second border gate, in collaboration with Syria
and this was following the US rejection of Turkish plans to open a
border gate in northern Iraq area.
The paper said that the new border gate will be opened by Turkey at
the point where the borders of the three countries Syria, Iraq and
Turkey meets. This will enable having access to the Turkman area directly
and not through the only border gate currently existing that links
between Turkey and Iraq and is controlled by the Kurdistani Democratic
party led by Masoud al-Barazani.
The paper indicated that it is expected that the Syrian prime minister
Mustafa Miro will visit Turkey during this month in order to discuss
the issue of the new border gate in addition to discussing the issue
of building a joint station for natural gas in al- Qamishli area on
the Syrian- Turkish border. Views are unanimous on the importance
of using the Syrian natural gas in the Turkish Ghazi Intab and the
surrounding area.
The paper indicated the proposal made by the Iraqi trade minister
Mahdi Saleh during the visit he made recently to Turkey on the possibility
of putting certain projects between the three countries Syria, Iraq
and Turkey into actual implementation.