16 April 2004

1. "IHD appeals to EU for KONGRA-GEL", 'The European Union's announcement of KONGRA-GEL as a terrorist organization does not serve peace ... on the contrary damages the relatively peaceful atmosphere in Turkey,' says the rights group

2. "UN plan’s good outweighs bad’", Karamanlis finally takes stand, backing Annan proposal but not pressing Cypriots for ‘yes’ vote.

3. "Turkish Cyprus scared to miss European boat", weary of 40 years of division, the Turkish community of Cyprus is just as keen to join the European Union as its estranged Greek Cypriot neighbours are.

4. "Iraq agrees with Turkey on return of 13,000 refugees", Iraq has agreed with Turkey on the return of over 13,000 Turkish refugees in Iraq, local newspaper Al Sabah reported Wednesday.

5. "Seven die in clashes between Turkish troops and Kurdish HPG", the latest violence came amid a spring military offensive against a plethora of illegal armed groups holed up in remote, mountainous southeastern Turkey.

6. "Syrian group slams activist's arrest", a Syrian human rights group yesterday condemned the arrest of a lawyer and leading human rights activist and called for his immediate release.

1. - Turkish Daily News - "IHD appeals to EU for KONGRA-GEL":

'The European Union's announcement of KONGRA-GEL as a terrorist organization does not serve peace ... on the contrary damages the relatively peaceful atmosphere in Turkey,' says the rights group

ANKARA / 16 April 2004 / by Fatma Demirelli

Turkey's leading human rights group, the Human Rights Association (IHD), has appealed to the European Union to revise its recent decision to designate Kurdish KONGRA-GEL group as a terrorist organization, IHD officials said on Thursday.

KADEK describes itself as a group that was established to pursue a non-violent policy for resolution of Turkey's "Kurdish issue," contrary to its predecessors the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) and Kurdistan Freedom and Democracy Congress (KADEK).

Former deputy Leyla Zana, imprisoned for having aledged links to the PKK and whose re-trial has been a high-profile case closely followed by the EU, has also appealed to the EU, demanding that KONGRA-GEL be removed from the terror list, news reports said.

Turkey, as well as the United States, dismissed that KONGRA-GEL was a new group and said it represented nothing but a mere name change on the part of the PKK/KADEK, immediately designating the new group as terrorists. The EU also followed and added the KONGRA-GEL to its terrorist groups' list after revising its list earlier in April.

"We think that the European Union's announcement of the organization named KONGRA-GEL as a terrorist organization and its decision to put the said organization on the list is a decision which does not serve peace ... on the contrary damages the relatively peaceful atmosphere in Turkey," the IHD said in a letter sent to Irish Prime Minister Bertie Ahern, whose country holds rotating presidency of the EU.

The EU decision this month came as a reversal of an earlier policy, insisting that the group should first commit violence in order to be labeled as a terrorist organization. Turkey sees the new group as yet another step on the part of the PKK to evade legal sanctions.

"KONGRA-GEL has a former deputy as its chairman and declared in very clear terms that it would pursue a political, peaceful campaign," said IHD's Chairman Husnu Ondul to the Turkish Daily News. "It is not a mere name change, it represents a process and evolution of the group," he went on.

He said the EU's decision would make it more difficult for peace campaigners and encourage supporters of violence.

"The EU should pursue a policy encouraging disarmament and peace," he said.

The EU terrorist list, which includes individuals as well, was first adopted in December 2001, in wake of the terror attacks on Washington and New York, and is reviewed every six months.

Ondul said there was a dangerous global trend of banning freedoms everywhere in the world on the pretext of fighting against terrorism.

2. - Kathimerini (Greece) - "UN plan’s good outweighs bad’":

Karamanlis finally takes stand, backing Annan proposal but not pressing Cypriots for ‘yes’ vote

ATHENS / 16 April 2004

Greece's political party leaders discussed UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan's proposal for Cyprus's reunification at a meeting chaired by President Costis Stephanopoulos. Three of the four, including Prime Minister Costas Karamanlis, expressed support for the Annan plan with various degrees of emphasis but all said they would abide by the vote of the Cypriot people in next Saturday's referendum.

«During the discussion, useful and important opinions were expressed, all of them with the common aim of serving the national interest,» the presidency said.

Karamanlis expressed support for the Annan plan without urging Greek Cypriots, who are strongly opposed to it, to back it. He also played down the consequences of a «no» vote. He promised that whatever the result, Athens would support the Greek Cypriots and would also back Turkey's bid to join the EU.

On Cyprus, a poll released on Wednesday showed that 78 percent of Greek Cypriots are thinking of voting «no» or will definitely do so, making the result of the April 24 referendum all but inevitable. Polls show Turkish Cypriots are mostly in favor of the Annan plan.

In a statement to journalists, Karamanlis spoke of Cyprus's accession to the EU on May 1 and how this would help improve the Annan plan. «In the light of (Cyprus's) future in the EU, the positive points may prove stronger than the negative ones. Of course, the final responsibility for their country's future lies with the Cypriot citizens. We will respect their decision fully,» Karamanlis said, sticking to the dogma that Cyprus decides and Greece supports it. «If the plan is not accepted, the expression of popular will must be respected by all. But, in this case, the potential for solving the problem must not be lost... And reunification must be pursued once again, as soon as the suitable conditions are created,» Karamanlis said.

«As for Greek-Turkish relations, they must be improved and strengthened. No one must interpret any expression of the Cypriot people's sovereign will as a precondition or as an obstacle for the development of friendly relations and confidence between Greece and Turkey... Our neighbor will find us supporting it in every effort which brings it closer to the constitutional, political and economic acquis of Europe and brings it closer to Europe,» he added. Karamanlis said that «a united Cyprus remains the big target,» adding, «What is important, irrespective of the result, is to protect the unity of Hellenism but also to keep alive the possibility of solving the Cyprus issue.»

Cypriot President Tassos Papadopoulos, who opposes the Annan plan, ignored Karamanlis's support for it. «The (Greek government's) respect and full support for the decisions of the Cypriot people, as it was categorically expressed today, is for us particularly significant,» he said. At the same time, Papadopoulos's predecessor in the presidency, Glafcos Clerides, told a national congress of the center-right Democratic Rally party that a rejection of the Annan plan by the Greek Cypriots would have dire consequences for Greeks on the island. «I place my hand on the Holy Bible and swear that I make these forecasts without any self interest. I have no property in the occupied territory nor anywhere else and I hope my forecasts are wrong. But I am 85 years old and I prefer to die than to see such an end to the struggles of the Cypriot people,» Clerides said.

PASOK leader George Papandreou expressed satisfaction at the support for the plan, but said the government's delay had harmed the effort for a «yes» vote. «Precious time has been lost from (the talks in) Lucerne to today. And during this time, a climate of confusion, of defeatism, of fear was created,» Papandreou said.

3. - AFP - "Turkish Cyprus scared to miss European boat":

16 April 2004

Weary of 40 years of division, the Turkish community of Cyprus is just as keen to join the European Union as its estranged Greek Cypriot neighbours are.

For Turkish Cypriots it would mean hopes of a better life after decades of economic embargo and poverty.

Separate referendums will be held on April 24 in the two parts of Cyprus on a UN peace plan to reunite the Mediterranean island.

If Cyprus -- split along ethnic lines since 1974 -- is not re-unified by May 1, only the internationally-recognized Greek Cypriot south of the island will join the EU, along with nine other newcomers.

The breakaway Turkish Cypriots will be left out.

"This 40 year-old conflict must be resolved," said Emel Behar, a businesswoman in the Turkish community: "We must join the EU as well."

Cyprus has been divided since Turkey invaded its north in 1974 in response to a Greek Cypriot military coup aimed at uniting the island with Greece.

Emel, 50, remembers well the bloody inter-community violence between Greek and Turkish Cypriots that preceded the Turkish intervention.

She is all for good neighbourly relations with the Greek Cypriot majority. "We're even ready to leave our village and become refugees if we must, for the sake of peace," she said.

Waving olive branches and the flags of a would-be united Cyprus, thousands of Turkish Cypriots demonstrated Wednesday for peace, calling on Greek neighbours to vote yes in the referendum.

The internationally-recognized Greek Cypriots are expected to reject the UN plan, according to surveys.

But they have been promised EU membership regardless of whether a reunification deal is reached with the Turkish Cypriot north.

For most Turkish Cypriots, Europe means above all more jobs, a better life.

The economy of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC), as the region is called, depends wholly on Turkey, which funds it to the tune of 200 million dollars (167 million euros) annually, mainly to pay public officials' wages.

Gross domestic product per capita is about 5,000 dollars, according to official figures, while that of the Cypriot Republic -- covering only Greek Cypriots -- is the richest of the 10 new EU members with annual GDP per capita of 22,000 dollars.

The 10 states set to join the EU on May 1 are Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Slovakia and Slovenia.

Tourism is the main source of revenue in the Turkish Cypriot area. However access is restricted and foreign arrivals must enter by boat or plane via Turkey.

So EU membership as part of a united Cyporus would be a godsend to the Turkish Cypriot community, especially those of the younger generation.

"There's a lot of unemployment here," said 26 year-old worker Ufuk Anter. "If we were reunited and joined the EU together the economy would be the first to profit.".

"I want to become a citizen of the European Union for the sake of my future and my children," said 46 year-old farmer Ramazan Demir. He blames the lack of a solution to the partition for chronic economic ills in his community, choked by embargos.

"I hope Cyprus will join the EU united to ensure a more prosperous life for my family," said Mustafa Mehmetoglu, a young worker.

But there are Turkish Cypriots who also resist the idea of reunification and refuse to abandon places they have been living in for decades, as the UN peace plan would have some Turkish Cypriots do.

Sevilay Ozyukselen works in a shop in a community that would be ceded back to Greek Cypriot control.

"I'm not against joining the EU," she said: "But a refugee? Never!"

The question of the Turkish Cypriots and the EU has another dimension.

The community's backer Turkey itself wants to join the EU, and has been a formal candidate for EU membership since 1999.

EU leaders will decide in December whether the mainly Muslim country has made sufficient progress in meeting the "Copenhagen criteria", a set of political and economic standards, which include respect for democratic rule and human rights, to begin accession talks.

4. - Xinhua (China) - "Iraq agrees with Turkey on return of 13,000 refugees":

BAGHDAD / 14 April 2004

Iraq has agreed with Turkey on the return of over 13,000 Turkish refugees in Iraq, local newspaper Al Sabah reported Wednesday.

Iraq agreed to return the refugees belonging to the Turkish Workers Party, and meanwhile asked for Turkish guarantees to their safety in future, said the paper which is close to the US-led coalition.

In the mean time, Iraq is trying to agree with Iran on the return of Iranian refugees, the report said.

"Iraq is conducting talks with the Iranian side to reach a similar agreement that allows the return of the Iranian refugees from Mujaheedin Khalq organization," said Minister of Immigrants Mohammed Jassim Khudhair.

He emphasized that if the Iranian government refused to give guarantees other than the pardon it issued, Iraq would submit the case to the United Nations to take necessary actions.

Thousands of Turkish and Iranian citizens belonging to anti-government groups have been taking shelters in Iraq for years.

5. - Reuters - "Seven die in clashes between Turkish troops and Kurdish HPG":

TUNCELI / 14 April 2004

The latest violence came amid a spring military offensive against a plethora of illegal armed groups holed up in remote, mountainous southeastern Turkey.

Four Turkish soldiers and three Kurdish militants were killed and nine soldiers wounded on Tuesday in a clash on Gabbar mountain as part of a week-long drive by security forces backed by air power.

The operations were focused on Siirt and Sirnak provinces, once a stronghold of separatists of the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) to the south of Tunceli.

The PKK launched an armed campaign for an ethnic homeland in Turkey's mainly Kurdish southeast in 1984. More than 30,000 people, most of them Kurds, have died in the conflict, which tailed off after the 1999 arrest and imprisonment of PKK leader Abdullah Ocalan.

6. - Gulf News - "Syrian group slams activist's arrest":

DAMASCUS / 16 April 2004

A Syrian human rights group yesterday condemned the arrest of a lawyer and leading human rights activist and called for his immediate release.

Aktham Naisse, chairman of the Committees for the Defence of Democratic Liberties and Human Rights in Syria, was arrested Tuesday after he was summoned by military agents for questioning in the port city of Latakia.

No reason was given for his arrest. A statement issued by his group Wednesday said he was being held at a prison in northwestern Syria.

"This is a violation of human rights in Syria," said a statement by the Human Rights Association in Syria.

The HRAS, another active human rights group in Syria, urged authorities to "stop all security violations and harassment against human rights activists in Syria." It called for Naisse's immediate release.

Hassan Abdul Azim, who heads the independent Syrian National Democratic Gathering, a pro-democracy group, said Naisse's detention was "unwarranted" and "an encroachment upon the basic freedoms of any citizen." He said if there was any justification for his arrest, he should be brought before a court.

Naisse and his group have been campaigning for political reform and the repeal of Syria's state of emergency laws. Last month he organised a rare and bold protest outside parliament, which security agents quickly broke up. He and other activists were detained for a few hours and then released.

His arrest came two days after he issued a report accusing authorities of arresting more than 1,000 Kurds in a continuing campaign against the Kurdish minority. In the report, Naisse called for an immediate halt to the state's "terrorist and illegal practices" against the Kurds.

The crackdown against Kurds began following clashes between Kurdish rioters and Syrian security forces in the country's northeast last month in which 25 people were killed and more than 100 hurt.

President Bashar Al Assad, who took office in 2000, has released hundreds of political prisoners and, initially, allowed political groups to hold small gatherings indoors.