11 August 2004

1. "Turkey in Transition", its strong ties with Israel and the U.S. have been strained by the Iraq war, and little improvement is likely as Ankara angles to join the EU Observers can make two further additions to the casualty list of the war in Iraq: Turkish-Israeli ties and U.S.-Turkish relations.

2. "EU will Fund Demining of Cyprus", the European Union will provide 2.5 million euros for the demining of Cyprus. With the project, beginning in the no-man zone in Nicosia, an area of 180 kilometers will be demined. The project is in line with the "Green Line" regulations.

3. "Turkey budget performance meets IMF targets", Turkey’s finance minister on Tuesday announced budgetary data for the first seven months of 2004 that he said showed the country was meeting its IMF-backed targets.

4. "Syria: The authorities must investigate deaths in detention and end torture and ill-treatment", Amnesty International is seriously concerned to learn of the deaths of two Syrian Kurds in one week, both reportedly following torture and ill-treatment in detention by the security forces. The deaths fit into a pattern of torture and ill-treatment of detainees in Syria's prisons and detention centres.

5. "Increasing numbers of Syrian Kurdish refugees in north", a refugee camp opened near the northeastern Iraqi city of Dahuk earlier this year to house Syrian Kurds is rapidly spilling out into surrounding fields as families continue to cross into northern Iraq.

6. "Syria’s cruel intentions", on Aug. 2, the Pentagon moved considerable troops and equipment to the Syrian border to intercept what is believed to be an ongoing threat to the stability of Iraq from insurgents funded by loyalists to Saddam Hussein in Syria.

1. - Businnes Week - "Turkey in Transition":

11 August 2004 / by Stan Crock

Its strong ties with Israel and the U.S. have been strained by the Iraq war, and little improvement is likely as Ankara angles to join the EU Observers can make two further additions to the casualty list of the war in Iraq: Turkish-Israeli ties and U.S.-Turkish relations.

It wasn't so long ago that Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon called Turkey the most important nation in the world to Israel -- after the U.S. But the ardor between these two Middle Eastern democracies is cooling. Ankara has cancelled some business contracts with Israel, according to Mark Parris, a former ambassador to Turkey and now a senior foreign-policy adviser at the law firm of Baker, Donelson, Bearman, Caldwell & Berkowitz in Washington. At a recent luncheon sponsored by the Nixon Center, a Washington think tank, Parris also noted that Israeli Deputy Prime Minister Ehud Olmert was stiffed last month when he tried to see Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

LOOKING TO EUROPE. The falling out is tied to several issues. As Soner Cagaptay, a Turkish expert at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, noted in the Israeli newspaper Ha'aretz, Israel would like a decentralized government to keep Iraq weak. But that possibility could mean an unbridled Kurdish region -- dangerous at a time when the nationalist Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) has renounced its ceasefire with Ankara and increased attacks against Turkey.

Not surprisingly, Turkey would like a strong central government in Baghdad to keep the Kurds in check. And Turkey is outraged at reports that Israel is training Kurds in northern Iraq -- a charge the Sharon government denies. The denials ring true because it doesn't make sense to choose a handful of Kurds over a country with Turkey's size and clout. Yet Ankara apparently is still suspicious, and the issue remains an irritant.

Iraq isn't the only sticking point between Turkey and Israel, however. Cagaptay points out that with Ankara anticipating a yearend invitation to join the European Union, Turkey is aligning its policies with prevailing European views on everything from Iran's nuclear programs to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. This shift in thinking includes taking a less sympathetic view of some of Israel's more aggressive moves to bolster security, such as the attack in May on Rafah in Gaza, which destroyed homes and left dozens dead. Erdogan said Israel's action amounted to state terrorism.

FAILED STRATEGY. Beneath the friction, something more basic may be at work as well. Turkey's governing Justice & Development Party (JDP) has roots in the banned Islamist Welfare Party. While the JDP's leaders are far more secular than their fundamentalist political forbears, they haven't forgotten from whence they came. Ankara consults more with Arab leaders than previous secular governments did, according to Parris. And domestic political considerations, including an anti-Israel press, provide further incentive for getting tough with the country. Inside Turkey, Erdogan's criticism of Sharon is viewed as "not only right but wise," Parris adds.

While Turkish pols may see a benefit from roughing up Israel, it's a serious setback for Jerusalem. Steve Rosen of the American-Israel Public Affairs Committee said at the Nixon Center lunch that a strong Turkish-Israeli relationship is critical for restraining Syria. Keeping Damascus in line is "a cardinal strategic objective for Israel," he says.

The Turkish government's more European outlook has implications for the U.S. as well. It could undermine Bush Administration hopes for a "radical realignment" in the Middle East, according to Geoffrey Kemp, director of regional strategic programs at the Nixon Center. Kemp said at the lunch that the White House had hoped that the Iraqi war would produce three pro-American democracies in the region -- Iraq, Turkey, and Israel. That "would have a profound effect" on reforms in neighboring countries. "It hasn't turned out that way," he noted.

HOLDING A GRUDGE? Yet even before the war, Ankara had been reassessing its relations with Washington. Turkey's failure to send troops into Iraq demonstrates the impact of that strategic shift, though the U.S. was permitted to use Incirlik Air Base. Indeed, Turkey, once a staunch U.S. ally, is deeply concerned about American intentions and actions in Iraq. Turkish officials fret that the U.S. isn't up to fixing Iraq and fear a U.S. confrontation with Iran and Syria, according to Zeyno Baran, director of international security and energy programs at the Nixon Center. As a result, the Turkish government and population are "feeling close to neighbors it never identified with," she says.

Turkish officials also are upset that the U.S. has done nothing to stem Kurdish terrorists in northern Iraq. "If you're fighting against terrorism, you have to fight against all terrorists," a Turkish embassy official said at the lunch. The Iraqis can't or won't take care of the matter. But Baran says the Turks feel hamstrung because if they attack the Kurds, it could be the death knell of their bid for EU membership.

Don't look for the situation to get better any time soon. Turkish officials have mulled trying to patch things up. Experts say the Turks contend the problem is not Israel or Jews, but the Sharon government. They would like to visit Israel to work things out, but they would have to visit Palestinian leader Yassir Arafat. Sharon opposes that -- even though Turks say the message would not be one of support but rather that Arafat has to go.

FAST TRACK. Nor will the situation between the U.S. and Turkey improve. At the NATO summit, President Bush told Erdogan to bring up the subject of the Kurds with the Iraqis -- which could not have gone down well in Ankara. While Bush may have been relying on the veneer of Iraqi sovereignty to duck the issue, the response may demonstrate Washington is still miffed that Turkey didn't send troops into Iraq and blocked the U.S. army from opening up a front from the Turkish border. Ankara could have the last laugh, though. One wonders how it will respond next time the U.S. needs Incirlik.

Some of this tension probably was inevitable as Islamists gained more clout and Ankara sidled up to the Europeans. But the war in Iraq undoubtedly sped up the unraveling of close ties between Turkey and the countries it once considered most important. It's hard to see how relations will be mended as quickly.

2. - BIA - "EU will Fund Demining of Cyprus":

The European Union will provide 2.5 million euros for the demining of Cyprus. With the project, beginning in the no-man zone in Nicosia, an area of 180 kilometers will be demined. The project is in line with the "Green Line" regulations.

ISTANBUL / 10 August 2004

The European Union (EU) has provided 2.5 million euros in funds for demining a United Nations-controlled (UN) no-man zone in Cyprus.

In a statement, the EU Commission said it held a tender for the demining of an area of 180 kilometers and added the demining process could begin in September.

The EU Representation in Cyprus said the demining would begin in the area in Nicosia and its surroundings. It added that a "Mine Action Department" would be set up in the UN-controlled area in Nicosia.

It will be possible to set up more checkpoints between the two sides of Cyprus when the demining is completed. International demining companies and non-governmental organizations, which have experience working with the UN on demining projects, will take on the mission. The program, funded by the EU through UNDP\UNOPS "Partnership for the Future," will be carried out in cooperation with UNFICYP.

The Cyprus government spokesman said the demining project would strengthen ties between the two communities. He said they welcomed EU's support.

3. - The State - "Turkey budget performance meets IMF targets":

ANKARA / 11 August 2004

Turkey’s finance minister on Tuesday announced budgetary data for the first seven months of 2004 that he said showed the country was meeting its IMF-backed targets.

Kemal Unakitan said the January-July consolidated primary surplus, which excludes interest payments on Turkey’s large debt stock, was 19,109 trillion lira ($13.18 billion), nearing a full year official target of 20,214 trillion.

"The budget figures are going as we planned. We are meeting our targets for the budget deficit and the primary surplus," Unakitan told a news conference.

Sticking to a tight budget to pay down its mountain of debt is a cornerstone of Turkey’s $19 billion loan pact with the International Monetary Fund.

"Turkey will remain committed to fiscal austerity with or without the IMF," the minister said.

The IMF and Turkey have been holding talks on a new three-year economic programme, as the existing pact expires in February 2005.

Analysts welcomed the seven-month budget performance, but warned government against any future slippage from its economic reform drive.

"Fiscal plans remain way ahead of target, complementing the prudent monetary policy, which is obviously goods news for markets," Simon Quijano-Evans from HVB Group said.

"Markets will now want to see whether the encouraging results will be used by the government as an impulse for much needed reforms in social security, rather than providing room for complacency," he added.

In July alone, the primary surplus was 4,069 trillion lira, well above a median forecast of 2,550 trillion lira in a Reuters survey of 10 banks.

The consolidated budget deficit in July was 1,343 trillion lira.

Unakitan also said the rate of interest payments on government debt compared to the total budget and gross national product continued to fall in 2004.

The government is taking revenue-boosting steps to help curb the country’s large current account deficit, and has no problem financing the gap, the minister told the same news conference.

"There is no need for concern on funding the current account deficit...We are watching it carefully. The government is taking its revenue boosting measures," Unakitan said.

He gave no details of the measures, but said tax on consumer loans might be raised.

Turkey’s current account gap widened to $8.881 billion at the end of May, exceeding a full-year official target of $7.6 billion.

The gap has unsettled markets and the central bank said on Friday measures might be needed to rein in the deficit.

Unakitan also said Turkey would beat its IMF-backed economic target of 5 per cent for 2004.

4. - AI - "Syria: The authorities must investigate deaths in detention and end torture and ill-treatment":

11 August 2004

Amnesty International is seriously concerned to learn of the deaths of two Syrian Kurds in one week, both reportedly following torture and ill-treatment in detention by the security forces. The deaths fit into a pattern of torture and ill-treatment of detainees in Syria's prisons and detention centres.

Ahmad Ma'mu Kenjo, a 37-year-old father of three, is reported to have died on 3 August from a brain haemorrhage resulting from severe head injuries received in a beating by a security patrol in Ras al-'Ayn, north-eastern Syria, in late March, and by further beatings to the head sustained while detained incommunicado at an unknown location during April and May. The initial head wound - reportedly perpetrated by officers of Military Intelligence (al-Mukhabarat al-'Askariya) or of Political Security (al-Amn al-Siyassi) - was said to have caused severe head pains and serious brain damage - as a result of which he was released. He died at home. It is believed that Ahmad Ma'mu Kenjo was never charged with an offence; however, his brother Husayn Kenjo is currently held in 'Adra Prison, near Damascus, on charges connected to his alleged involvement in the Qamishli events in mid-March.

On 1 or 2 August, Ahmad Husayn Hasan (named in some reports as Ahmad Husayn Husayn) reportedly died in custody at the Military Intelligence Branch in al-Hasaka, also in north-eastern Syria, having been detained incommunicado since his arrest on 13 July. Ahmad Husayn Hasan, a father of four, was from al-Malikiye (known as Deyrek in Kurdish) near the borders with Iraq and Turkey, and is believed to have died due to torture. Military Intelligence officers told Ahmad Husayn Hasan's family that his body was buried at Tel Ma'teb cemetery, without allowing anyone to see the body or to have a post-mortem conducted. It is believed that Ahmad Husayn Hasan was never charged with an offence. He was reportedly a sympathiser of the Kurdish Democratic Union Party, on organisation closely linked to the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK).

The above cases fit in with a consistent pattern of torture and ill-treatment of detainees by the Syrian security forces, and reports of increasing ill-treatment of Kurdish detainees, including children, since March. In 2004 alone, Amnesty International has received information on the deaths in custody of eight Syrians, of whom five were Syrian Kurds. No investigation is known to have been carried out into the deaths.

Amnesty International calls on the Syrian authorities to establish an independent and impartial investigation into the deaths of Ahmad Ma'mu Kenjo and Ahmad Husayn Hasan, and into all recent deaths in custody in accordance with international standards. Amnesty International also calls upon the authorities to prosecute anyone found responsible for torture and ill-treatment, and to compensate the families of those who died as a result of torture and ill-treatment.

Background

Amnesty International has documented 38 different types of torture and ill-treatment reportedly used against detainees in prisons and detention centres in Syria. It is believed that most of these forms of torture and ill-treatment continue to be used, and indeed that new methods are being used.

5. - IRIN - "Increasing numbers of Syrian Kurdish refugees in north":

DAHUK / 9 August 2004

A refugee camp opened near the northeastern Iraqi city of Dahuk earlier this year to house Syrian Kurds is rapidly spilling out into surrounding fields as families continue to cross into northern Iraq.

The camp, 20 km north of Dahuk on the road to Zakho, was originally opened in 1999 to house 200 Iraqis seeking sanctuary from Saddam Hussein's administration in the Kurdish-controlled north.

Today, according to camp authorities, there are some 47 Syrian families and 57 single men, a total of 362 people. The refugees said they left Syria due to worsening conditions. However, aid agencies say that some have also recently returned home.

With a line of buildings set up next to one of the former Baathist administration's old military forts, the camp has accommodation for 27 families. Others are living in tents.

"The flow of refugees across the border has slowed, but shows no signs of stopping", camp director and refugee, Nawzad Hamid Abdullah told IRIN in Dahuk. "All refugees smuggled themselves across the border, so statistics on their numbers are not exact. But we know of 11 families who have crossed in July."

Regardless of when they arrived, the stories told by refugees are near identical. The majority said they came from in and around the eastern Syrian city of Qamishli located in northeastern Syria, which erupted into inter-ethnic violence this March during a football match between a Syrian Kurdish team and one traditionally supported by the country's Baathists.

"Inter-ethnic tensions had been on the rise since the beginning of the war against Saddam," said Mohamed Seyed Omar, a shepherd from Qamishli. "When Iraqi Kurds helped the Americans, we were branded traitors."

Khabat Derk was present at the match. "They were shouting 'Death to the Kurds, long live Saddam, long live Fallujah," he said, referring to the central Iraqi city at the heart of the anti-Coalition insurgency. "At least three Kurds were shot dead in the stadium."

The deaths led to Kurdish rioting and, on 12 March, a huge protest in Qamishli against the Syrian government. "That was when the crackdown really began," said Ahmed Jamil Bakir, pointing to three bullet wounds on his body he claimed to have sustained during the protest.

Taken to hospital under armed guard, he said he escaped with help from a Kurdish doctor and crossed into Iraq a week later. Others had to wait longer.

"They confiscated my lorry, my only means of making money," said Haval Abdullah. "We had to sell most of what we had to raise US $300 for the smugglers." Now sharing a sweltering plastic-lined tent with his wife and three children, he arrived at the camp last week.

Local authorities insist the camp is properly supplied both with electricity and water, by tankers. All tents had fans, although a power cut had prevented them working. But refugees said they could do with more washing facilities and that sometimes they had to wait days for a shower. "Some people wash themselves in their rooms," said one.

There was general agreement, though, that food - supplied by the local authorities - was in short supply. "We eat three times a day, but the portions are tiny," complained Feroz Muhamed Abdullah, who shares two three by four metre rooms with her husband and nine children. She cooks on the porch, using a double gas heater supplied, along with her pots, mattresses and blankets.

"The refugees do not yet have food ration cards," explained Nawzad Hamid Abdullah. "Families keep coming, and a decision has been made to wait for the situation to stabilise."

The office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) is supplying non food items to camp residents and has also registered them.

Two families, including Mrs Abdullah's, are in need of medical attention. At least two of her children were suffering from advanced muscular dystrophy. "We were denied care in Syria," said her husband Ahmed Mohamed Ramadan. "Here at least we can use the hospital."

The camp has also been visited by local doctors and a mobile medical team from international NGOs. Some families, like Ramadan's, are to be given help by US Army medical specialists. UNHCR is also looking at better options for healthcare.

Back in Dahuk, the governorate director for internally displaced people and refugees, Musa Ali Bakir, insisted that all families had begun filing for asylum with the office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). "There are interviews every Thursday," he said.

Again, though, the continued arrival of refugees, coupled with delays caused by a change of local UNHCR staff, has meant some families are still waiting.

"Whatever happens, it is vital that proper accommodation be found at the very least for those families living in tents," said Ali Bakir. "Winters up here are very hard."

IRIN-Asia, Tel: +92-51-2211451, Fax: +92-51-2292918, Email: IrinAsia@irin.org.pk.

* This Item is Delivered to the "Asia-English" Service of the UN's IRIN humanitarian information unit, but may not necessarily reflect the views of the United Nations. For further information, free subscriptions, or to change your keywords, contact e-mail: IRIN@ocha.unon.org or Web: http://www.irinnews.org . If you re-print, copy, archive or re-post this item, please retain this credit and disclaimer. Reposting by commercial sites requires written IRIN permission.

6. - The Washington Times - "Syria’s cruel intentions":

10 August 2004 / by Farid N. Ghadry*

On Aug. 2, the Pentagon moved considerable troops and equipment to the Syrian border to intercept what is believed to be an ongoing threat to the stability of Iraq from insurgents funded by loyalists to Saddam Hussein in Syria. According to U.S. officials, the United States has become tired of pressing Syria for action to supervise their border and is taking the initiative to do the work herself.

And to add insult to injury, Undersecretary of State Dick Armitage issued a warning on Aug. 6 through an appearance on Lebanese television that more sanctions could be on their way against Syria if the government does not rein in the insurgency infiltrating Iraq.

This is not the first time that Syria’s actions, or lack of, have frustrated the United States in the region. Earlier this year, Syria refused to make good on its promise to refund what may be up to $2 billion in Iraqi money taken at the behest of Saddam’s loyalists to fund a war of attrition against the coalition-led forces in Iraq. Further, Syria has refused to contain Hezbollah in Lebanon, even though the whole notion of Lebanese struggle has become a moot issue ever since Israel vacated south Lebanon in 2002.

Syria boasts an army of 400,000 soldiers. Yet, it has skirted the issue of patrolling its own borders, citing distance and logistical complications. What very few people know is that most of the Syrian soldiers are deployed around the country protecting sensitive infrastructures that are essential to sustaining the rule of the Assad clan. Any re-deployment plan would amount to breaking down a system of defense that the Ba’athists in Damascus are not willing to take. They fear that another uprising like the one that happened on March 12 of this year in the Kurdish region of Syria could spell the end of their rule.

But now that the United States has taken the initiative to protect Iraq from Syria’s incoherent strategy, the risks Damascus has taken, in not patrolling their own borders, have multiplied several folds.

For sure, the Ba’athists have miscalculated the U.S. resolve. Thousands of U.S. troops on the border can spell more danger for Damascus than the choice of controlling the insurgents seriously. With so much equipment and manpower, skirmishes across the border will increase, and the Pentagon will not sit idle against any threat emanating from Syria. In fact, we will see, as it has happened in the past, secret missions inside Syria to stifle the potency of ongoing guerrilla warfare.

Then there is always the possibility that Syria’s Ba’athists may act irrationally and craft an environment that will force U.S. troops to operate in a more open fashion. Of the 400,000 military conscripts, about 70,000 are well-trained. They are positioned on the inside perimeter of Damascus while the rest, spread in various locations including Lebanon, are too poorly equipped, and their low moral will prevent them from fighting a serious war. Any direct confrontation with the United States will translate into a further erosion of the Ba’athist grip unto power because the majority of the people of Syria, tired of oppression, will view this confrontation as altering the equation to their advantage.

Furthermore, the latest risks taken by the Syrian government can be the beginning of a major shift in how the U.S. government views Syria, not simply in terms of applying punishing economic sanctions, but also in terms of moving toward a regime change. There is a possibility that this shift in policy happens as a result of Syrian interference into Iraqi affairs. In this case, the U.S. armed forces stationed less than a two-hour drive from Damascus will create the impetus to help the moderate majority Sunni in the country to take control. Some in the U.S. administration still fear an Islamist awakening, but there exists in Syria a stable Syrian majority that is secular in its belief that will not allow extremists to take control of the country.

What matters then is who and how to assume responsibility of Syria’s government through people and organizations that will be able to maintain stability but yet move away from the violence that we have been mired in for more than 40 years. The answer lies within Syria, with the help of the Syrian communities in the Diaspora.

* Farid N. Ghadry is president of the Reform Party of Syria.