1. "Fury Reigns after Murder of Father and Son", the furious people of the Kiziltepe, Mardin urge for the murder, in a police operation, of the 12-year-old Ugur, and his father Ahmet Kaymaz uncovered. "They are seeking to hide the incident from public" says local human rights activist Perincek.

2. "Borrell probes Turkey’s EU readiness in Diyarbakir", Borrel: The presence of the European Parliament here today is indicative of the importance the EU attaches to cultures and cultural and linguistic characters of individuals.

3. "'Honour killings' claim thousands of women a year", thousands of women are killed every year by relatives for choosing a partner or lifestyle that ”dishonours” the family, in a phenomenon that crosses national and religious borders, experts said on Monday.

4. "Turkey locked in 'power" play' over EU demands", a Dutch MEP has accused Turkey of being locked in a "power play" over its bid to join the European Union.

5. "‘No ‘plan B’ for Turkey’s EU membership talks’", EU enlargement commissioner Rehn says it is EU’s responsibility to accept any country as a member if criteria fulfilled.

6. "The Kurds and the Iraqi Elections", although the official Kurdish stance supports holding the Iraqi elections on their set date (end of January), inquiries amidst the media and the Iraqi officials including the Kurds, arise around the truth of this stance during talks of pressures in demanding for the postponement of these elections.

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1. - Bianet - "Fury Reigns after Murder of Father and Son":

The furious people of the Kiziltepe, Mardin urge for the murder, in a police operation, of the 12-year-old Ugur, and his father Ahmet Kaymaz uncovered. "They are seeking to hide the incident from public" says local human rights activist Perincek.

MARDIN / 3 December 2004 / by Yildiz Samer

"People in Mardin and especially in Kiziltepe are furious. They urge for the murderers found and expect an explanation from authorities -from the lowest local administration to the Interior Minister."

This is how lawyer Huseyin Cangir, the Mardin branch chair of the Human Rights Association (IHD) conveys local feeling in Mardin after the shooting to death of 12-year-old Ugur Kaymaz and his Father Ahmet Kaymaz by security forces, in front of their Kiziltepe home on November 21. The two were killed in a police operation allegedly against members of an illegal organization."

IHD, after investigations into the incident, has stated that the incident seemed like an extrajudicial execution.

"Whatever their crime people have the right to fair trial and to defend themselves," said Cangir. "Summarily executing prople, instead of recognizing these rights people on the street is a crime against humanity."

A group of locals who also believe that the Kaymazs were summarily executed protested the incident on Sunday.

Some 300-350 demonstrators, mostly children, friends of Ugur Kaymaz, and their families, gathered in front of the Democratic People's Partry (DEHAP)local branch staged a sit-in in front of the city hall to protest the incident. However, police intervened and the beat the children with clubs.

Brutality against children

"The friends of Ugur Kaymaz from elementary school, and their families, wanted to protest the incident," said Cangir. "But the demonstration was ended as soon as it began. Police beat 11 and 12-year-olds with truncheons."

Cangir said wide security measures had been taken for the protest. "The protesters could sit down for only a couple of minutes. Then the police intervened."

"Nine people were detained. One of them was released at the police headquarters because he was too young. Two were released after being questioned by prosecutors. Prosecutors demanded the arrest of the other six. Yet three people were arrested for resisting the police. The other three were released."

Cangir said that those who were detained and arrested for violating Law no: 2911 on Assemblies and Demonstrations, were only practicing their democratic rights.

"The incident is no different than what's going on in Fellujah," said Cangir, about the killing of Ugur Kaymaz. "Children are being killed there, and this is the same."

Governor and Officials are expected to make a statement

Cangir said that the people of Kiziltepe are "furious." "Protests will continue until especially the governor makes a statement," he said. "Those who were killed were civilians. After this incident, people started to feel that they could be killed by security forces some day or be declared as terrorists."

"The statements of the Mardin Governor has hurt people's consciences," said Cangir. He said the statements of Governor Temel Kocaklar were contradictory:

"The governor, in his first statement, said that Ugur and Ahmet Kaymaz were killed in a clash. In his second announcement, he said they were shot and killed because they did not listen to calls to stop. It is not fully clear who carried out this operation because the case is being kept a secret. But it is understood that it was the joint work of the paramilitary police and the police forces."

Violation of the right to live

On November 21, 2004, at around 5:00 p.m., the Mardin branch of IHD received an application. The applicants said that 30-year-old Ahmet Kaymaz and his 12-year-old son Ugur Kaymaz were shot and killed by security forces in the Kiziltepe district of Mardin. They said this was a violation of the right to live and asked for assistance.

The IHD formed a group to investigate the incident. The group went to Kiziltepe on November 23, carried out an investigation, and put their findings together in a report.

The group was made up Mihdi Perincek, the IHD's East-Southeast Regional Representative, lawyer Huseyin Cangir, the head of IHD's Mardin branch, lawyer Selahattin Demirtas, head of IHD's Diyarbakir branch, lawyer Irfan Eser, board member of the IHD Diyarbakir branch, and lawyer Erdal Kuzu, the secretary of IHD's Mardin Branch. The IHD, a day before the group went to Kiziltepe, asked for appointments from Mardin Governor Temel Kocaklar, Kiziltepe's Local Official Engin Durmaz and Kiziltepe Republic Prosecutor Ozlem Pinar Haktanir Akkoc.

IHD received the only positive response from Prosecutor Akkoc. Mardin Governor Kocaklar refused saying he was very busy. Kiziltepe's local official Durmaz was said to be out of town. IHD could not reach Durmaz.

The group met with Makbule Kaymaz, the wife of Ahmet Kaymaz and the mother of Ugur Kaymaz; and other witnesses.

Makbule Kaymaz talked about the incident

Makbule Kaymaz, the 30-year-old wife of Ahmet Kaymaz, and the mother of Ugur, spoke to the IHD group about the incident:

"My husband Ahmet was a truck driver. He transported goods with the truck which did not belong to us. My son Ugur was born in 1992 and was an elementary school student. He used to sometimes accompany his father to work. The day after the incident, my husband was scheduled to go to Iskenderun to pick up his load. He was getting prepared for the journey.

On the day of the incident, at about 4:30 p.m., we had prepared the table for dinner. My husband took a blanket and other things he would need for the journey and carried them to the truck with my son Ugur. They both had slippers on. They were going to put those things in the truck and come back inside to have dinner. The truck was parked some 40-50 meters from the house near the highway.

We heard gunshots soon after they went outside. My three other children and my mother-in-law were also in the house with me. We got scared when we heard the gunshots and jumped into the backyard of our next door neighbor, who is also our relative. At that moment, I saw that my son Ugur was kneeling in front of the truck facing the ground (I recognized his white trousers). Gunshots continued. In a short while police officers came and searched our house. The prosecutor took and questioned us. Later, I found out that my husband and my son had been killed."

13 bullets

The IHD group's report also summarizes the autopsy report and emphasizes that the bullets were fired from a very short distance.

* In the autopsy report; it is stated that there were a total of 13 bullets in Ugur Kaymaz's body. Four of them were in his right and left hands, and nine on his back. It was determined that nine of the 13 bullets were fired from a very short distance (less than 50 centimeters). Ugur had gunpowder marks on his body. Ahmet Kaymaz had eight bullets in his body.

Two of them were in his thigh and left hand, four in his chest, and two on his back. All eight bullets in Ahmet Kaymaz's body were fired from a short distance and he also had gunpowder marks on his body.

* According to the autopsy findings; it was determined that the bullets were not fired from different directions. After the first bullets hit the victims' bodies, the rest of the bullets were fired from the same direction and landed into the bodies in the new position they took after each shot.

Demands

The IHD report also contained certain requests:

* It is highly possible that there are more witnesses to the incident. The safety of the people living in the surroundings should be guaranteed and they should be encouraged to serve as witnesses.

* All the security personnel who used weapons during the incident, or who directed the operation, should be immediately be removed from duty.

* Legal action should be pursued so that the incident can be uncovered and those responsible can be punished.

* The safety of the victims' family should be guaranteed and they should be compensated.

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2. - Turkish Daily News - "Borrell probes Turkey’s EU readiness in Diyarbakir":

Borrel: The presence of the European Parliament here today is indicative of the importance the EU attaches to cultures and cultural and linguistic characters of individuals

6 December 2004

Head of the European Parliament, on a visit to Turkey, traveled yesterday to Diyarbakir, becoming the first EU Assembly leader to visit the southeastern province.
“The presence of the European Parliament here today is indicative of the importance the EU attaches to cultures, cultural and linguistic characters of individuals,” Borrell said during a visit to the predominantly Kurdish city’s Mayor Osman Baydemir.
Borrell’s visit, which started on Friday, comes two weeks before European leaders decide whether to open long-delayed accession talks with Turkey at a summit in Brussels on Dec. 17. On Dec. 14, the European Parliament is expected to endorse a report recommending to the EU leaders to open talks if all the conditions are met.

“Borrell is going to Diyarbakir because he thinks there is insufficient understanding and some misunderstandings in the EU concerning Turkey’s southeast,” Jacques Nancy, Borrell’s press spokesman told the Anatolia news agency prior to the visit.
“He is going there because he wants to see the situation for himself,” said Nancy.
The EU has long pressed Turkey to extend cultural rights for Kurds and the government has passed laws to allow the teaching of Kurdish. State broadcaster TRT has also started broadcasting short programs in Kurdish as part of the EU-inspired reforms.
The issue of cultural rights has long been disputed in Turkey, with nationalist critics saying they would pave the way for division of the country. On Saturday, Borrell was protested when he started mentioning his plans to travel to Diyarbakir during an address to Turkish businessmen in Istanbul. “We won’t allow you to divide this country,” shouted a protestor, causing a brief interruption in Borrell’s speech.
“It is important in a political sense that we visit this city at such a critical time in Turkey-EU relations,” Borrell said in Diyarbakir. “I hope our ties will be as strong as Diyarbakir’s city walls,” Baydemir said in response.

Zana’s warning

Earlier, Borrell received a warning from Leyla Zana, a former pro-Kurdish lawmaker who spent ten years in jail after being convicted of having ties to the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) that delays in the process of Turkish accession to the European Union could pave the way for suspensions in the country’s democratic reforms.
“We have two paths ahead of us; but indeed we have only one choice,” Zana said in a speech delivered Saturday night at a dinner she hosted for Borrell in Istanbul. “This choice is walking undeterred on the path that leads to the EU and enlightenment.”
“Accession talks with Turkey should start immediately and the summit decision should make it clear what Turkey’s full membership prospects are,” she said.
While in Istanbul, Borrell also met with leaders of non-Muslim communities in Turkey, including Greek Orthodox and Armenian communities.

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3. - Reuters - "'Honour killings' claim thousands of women a year":

STOCKHOLM / 7 December 2004

Thousands of women are killed every year by relatives for choosing a partner or lifestyle that ”dishonours” the family, in a phenomenon that crosses national and religious borders, experts said on Monday.

“I have seen a United Nations estimate of 5,000 women killed a year, but it could be considerably higher,” said Gerd Johnsson Latham, a Swedish foreign ministry expert on gender issues.

She is one of the organisers of what officials say is the biggest international conference on so-called honour violence, being held this week outside Stockholm.

Sweden, which has few peers worldwide in promoting women’s rights in public life and business, was shocked in 2002 by the ”honour killing” of student Fadime Sahindal, shot dead by her Kurdish Muslim father because she wanted to marry a Swede.

But while such “patriarchal violence” against women is often linked in the public mind to Muslim countries, Johnsson Latham said it often resulted from gender prejudice, not just religious views. “It is a view that women are subordinate to men and men are superior,” she told journalists.

However one Kurdish Swede, who in his youth in a Kurdish village saw a girl he played with burnt to death by her father because she had pre-marital sex, said religion did play a role.

“Roots in religion”

“The roots are in religion,” he said. “The honour of the clan is based on religion, especially for Muslims. They see it as shameful if a female family member has pre- or extra-marital sex and that they can make the shame go away by committing the honour-related murder.”

“This is happening daily but few people want to talk about it. Girls have no value in that world,” said the man, who lives in Sweden and asked not to be identified by name.

According to statistics, which the Swedish government began collecting last year after Fadime’s murder in 2002, between 1,500 and 2,000 women, mainly Middle East immigrants, contacted authorities last year for help against threats from relatives.

Sweden has earmarked 180 million crowns ($27 million) over four years for sheltered housing and protection for young people who are at risk of violence “in the name of honour”.

But some say this is not enough.

“In terms of preventative efforts, there is more the Swedish authorities should do,” said Sara Mohammad, head of a lobby group set up in memory of Fadime.

”There are still little girls going to kindergarten with veils, young girls not allowed to attend sexual or physical education in school, girls dropping out of high school to return to their home countries against their will to arranged marriages,” said Mohammad.

In the conference on Tuesday and Wednesday, delegates from Afghanistan, Algeria, Pakistan, Jordan, Turkey, Poland, Canada and Sweden, plus the UN, European Union and human rights groups, will discuss how to save women from such a fate.

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4. - Expatica - "Turkey locked in 'power" play' over EU demands":

AMSTERDAM / 6 December 2004

A Dutch MEP has accused Turkey of being locked in a "power play" over its bid to join the European Union.

After a working visit to the Turkish capital Ankara, Dutch Christian Democrat MEP Camiel Eurlings said Turkey is too inflexible towards the European Union and is reluctant to make concessions. "The Turks are pushing and pressuring on all sides," he said.

Eurlings said additional demands should be imposed on Turkey prior to the start of official negotiations over its accession to the EU. He also said Turkey must meet current demands in terms of human rights and religious freedom.

"Turkey can only become a part of Europe if it is as free as the rest of Europe. That is not the case now," he said.

Eurlings added that Turkey's "macho behaviour" was creating the danger the Turkish population would become convinced that the EU was placing too many demands on the mainly-Islamic nation. This in turn would lead the Turkish people to rejecting the EU.

Eurlings made his comments after he met with Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erodgan. He was accompanied by the chairman of the European Parliament's Turkey delegation, Dutch GroenLinks MEP Joost Lagendijk, and the Parliament chairman, Josep Borrel.

Eurlings described the meeting as a "strong conversation" that lasted twice as long as planned. The Dutch MEP said he had insisted more rights be afforded Kurdish people in Turkey.

The Dutch CDA party member is responsible for drafting the European Parliament's advice to EU government leaders, who are due to reach a decision on 17 December about accession talks.

The Netherlands currently holds the EU Presidency and will chair the summit. A Dutch draft document to be discussed at the summit outlines agreement on Turkey's entry to the EU based on strict conditions with no guarantees, AFP reported.

Meanwhile, Dutch State Secretary for European affairs Atzo Nikolai was scheduled to visit Ankara on Tuesday. The visit is part of preparations for the decision on Turkish membership.

Nikolai is to meet with Turkish Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul, members of the Turkish Parliament and representatives of civic organisations, the Dutch Foreign Affairs Ministry said.

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5. - The Daily Times (Pakistan) - "‘No ‘plan B’ for Turkey’s EU membership talks’":

* Rehn says it is EU’s responsibility to accept any country as a member if criteria fulfilled

BERLIN / 7 December 2004

The European Commission only plans to negotiate European Union membership with Turkey and has no watered-down “Plan B”, EU enlargement commissioner Olli Rehn said in an interview published on Monday.

“If membership negotiations begin, then the clear aim is membership if the conditions for it are met,” Rehn told the German daily Berliner Zeitung.

“There is no Plan B.”

EU leaders are expected to agree to allow Turkey to begin accession negotiations when they meet in Brussels on December 16-17. Critics of the prospect including Austria and Germany’s conservative opposition have suggested that the EU should go back on a previous agreement to offer full membership and instead offer a privileged partnership. But Rehn noted that because the EU had officially considered Turkey a part of Europe since 1963 and a membership candidate since 1999, it had little choice but to honour its commitments.

“That means we have the responsibility to accept the country as a member if it fulfils the criteria,” he said.“It will be a long and difficult process and no one can guarantee that it will be successful.”

But Rehn said Turkish EU membership would be a major step forward both for the bloc and the mainly Muslim country.

“It would be a major success if Turkey could combine European values with Islam. It would be a positive example for the rest of the Muslim world,” he said.

Meanwhile, Turkey’s parliament has approved another key law sought by the European Union, less than two weeks before EU leaders must decide whether the country has now made enough reforms to begin long-delayed entry talks.

Parliament passed the criminal procedure bill over the weekend. It will come into effect on April 1, 2005.

The new law spells out court procedures and the duties of judges and lawyers. It also deals with such issues as police searches and the tapping of telephones.

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6. - Al Hayat - "The Kurds and the Iraqi Elections":

6 December 2004 / by Farouk Hajji Mustafa

Although the official Kurdish stance supports holding the Iraqi elections on their set date (end of January), inquiries amidst the media and the Iraqi officials including the Kurds, arise around the truth of this stance during talks of pressures in demanding for the postponement of these elections.

In this matter, the Kurds are stuck between a rock and a hard place. On one hand, they represent a vital part of the political operation and the Iraqi government, where their stance should reflect the official Iraqi stance, which supports the elections taking place on their set date. However, on the other hand they are very much aware that numerous reasons, the most prominent of which is the security situation, might not help in launching the election operation.

Despite the extreme need for the elections, within a number of Kurdish milieus there is a developing conviction that the current situation cannot tolerate hastiness. Furthermore, it is political naivety to neglect a major side in the elections, such as the Arab Sunnis. Hence, they view the necessity to hold back until Iraq develops a harmonized stance between all the various sides and thus allowing the elections to obtain real legitimacy through the participation of all the major players. Meanwhile, it is essential to not underestimate the significance of the security situation otherwise; why has the Ruling Council agreed on not holding the elections prior to the establishment of an interim Iraqi government for security reasons? The need for postponement today is perhaps greater than it was due to its noble purpose; in addition to serving democracy since its aim is to obtain the highest number of Iraqis in the elections.

I add that the Iraqi government seems unprepared to hold the elections, which are based on the management law of the Iraqi government with the prior knowledge that most articles pertaining to this law are still not implemented. The most prominent is article 58 related to Kirkuk; for example where the Kurds are demanding for the postponement of the elections on the district level due to the tension that is dominating the city and not ending the demographic traces inherited from Saddam Hussein's regime.

Furthermore, the factor of insisting on the alliance with some of the parties that are opposing the elections, which had also supported the Kurds at all times, which consequently obliges the Kurds in a moral commitment.

In addition to all these factors, postponing the elections indicates the presence of an excellent opportunity for the Iraqi government to hold an active dialogue with all the Iraqis; specifically those who are resenting the current situation in an attempt to add more legislation to the political operation by insisting on the participation of all the Iraqi sides.

By all means, the problem remains that both sides, those opposing or supporting the elections are in a crisis. Those who are boycotting the elections have no other alternative or program that seems to be convincing, while the government who is devoted to the military choice, lacks a program which is capable of convincing the opposition. Therefore, it is preferable for the government to be aware of the consequences of holding the elections at a time like this in addition to the danger that this country will be led into as an outcome of the absence of the participation of one side. It is necessary to be aware that the Kurds will find difficulties in accepting the election results in Kirkuk; same as the Sunnis in their region not to mention the differences between the Shiite sides.

Perhaps it is preferable in the current situation for the Iraqis to hold serious and constructive talks and work on developing an agreement on all levels beginning from the elections and ending with a social, political and national pact.