16 May 2006

1. "A solution without the PKK and Ocalan is impossible", interview with Cemil Bayik, a senior commander of Turkey's Kurdish rebels.

2. "Turkey: Officers on trial for attack on Kurdish bookshop", two Turkish military intelligence officers are facing life sentences in a case widely viewed as a test of democratization in a nation long dominated by its powerful military.

3. "Turkey, Armenia and denial", Turkey's self-destructive obsession with denying the Armenian genocide seems to have no limits. This week, the Turks pulled out of a NATO exercise because the Canadian prime minister used the term "genocide" in reference to the mass killings of Armenians in Turkey during and after World War I. Before that the Turkish ambassador to France was temporarily recalled to protest a French bill that would make it illegal to deny the Armenian genocide occurred. And before that, a leading Turkish novelist, Orhan Pamuk, was charged with "insulting Turkish identity" for referring to the genocide (the charges were dropped after an international outcry).

4. "Turkey is unlikely 'Trojan horse'", as Turkey plods along with its contentious bid to join the European Union, worried voices sound off on issues ranging from environmental problems to Ankara's potential as a "Trojan horse."

5. "Diyarbakir: 20 Children Released, 19 in Jail", with the release of four more children from prison in Diyarbakir. the number of minors still under arrest for alleged involvement in the March protests is 19. Cases against 70 minors are to be heard by May 18. Lawyer Analay wants all children released.

6. "Human Rights in Prisons Discussed", the International Prisons Conference was held in Ankara during the weekend. Academics and human rights activists discussed women and children rights in prison, isolation of inmates, methods to prevent and monitor torture, the ban on enforced labor rights.

1. - Flash Bulletin - "A solution without the PKK and Ocalan is impossible":

Interview with Cemil Bayik, Kurdistan Democratic Confederation (KKK)

16 May 2006 / by Aziz Ozgur

Recent statements by EU officials regarding the Kurdish movement suggest that the EU does not want the Kurdish Question to be resolved. This is the evaluation of Kurdistan Democratic Confederation, KKK, Executive Council member Cemil Bayik. Mr Bayik also warned of the increasing repression of the pro-Kurdish Democratic Society Party (DTP), also said the KKK will resist all attempts to destroy it.

The EU seems to have taken initiative against your movement, often making statements calling on all concerned to "give up on PKK and Abdullah Ocalan". Most recently the EU official Joost Lagendijk made similar statements. What is your reaction to these statements?

The EU do not want the Kurdish Question to be resolved and there is no significant EU policy to assist in finding a solution. If the EU had genuinely wanted to resolve the Kurdish issue it would have put forward a programme or taken the opportunity to discuss the issue when our leader, Abdullah Ocalan, was in Europe where he proposed a concrete seven-step resolution. If the EU had been serious about finding a solution it would have offered a refuge to our leader. The EU not only rejected the opportunity of being a catalyst to a solution but it also laid the ground for the international conspiracy against our leader.

The EU is now calling on the Kurds to renounce their support for the PKK and Ocalan by talking about a solution "without the PKK and Ocalan". The EU knows very well that the Kurdish Question in Turkey can not be resolved without the involvement of the PKK and Ocalan. Thus through these statements the EU is strengthening Turkey's policy of denial and annihilation. The EU's attitude is feeding Turkey's violence and the continuation of war. If the EU wanted to resolve the Question it would not have supported Turkey, then Turkey would have been forced to take steps to resolve the Question.

Mr Lagendijk, chairman of the EU-Turkey Joint Parliamentary Committee, is in fact smearing the Kurds based on biased information he receives from Turkish circles. He does not consider the Kurds and the PKK to be worthy of consultation or consideration. Based on misinformation Mr Lagendijk is actually making a judgment against the PKK. Europeans must resist this policy as the deadlock on Kurdish Question affects everyone, the Kurds, Turks and Europe.

We believe Europe strives for stability. If this is true, then Europe must aim for stability in Turkey which is after all a candidate member state. Unless Kurdish Question is resolved stability, democratization and European rule of law, as well as way of life, cannot be achieved in Turkey.

We expect Lagendijk and the EU to respect the choice and the will of the Kurdish people. On 15 February (the anniversary of the abduction of Ocalan), 8 March
(International Women's Day) and during Newroz people demonstrated their support for the PKK and Ocalan by chanting "PKK is the people". The Kurds carried posters of Ocalan everywhere and stated that Ocalan is the representative of their political will. Mr Lagendijk who talks about democracy does not recognize that and insists to the people that "Ocalan does not represent you". I do not think that this attitude reflects a commitment to democracy.

The EU accuses the Kurdish movement of not being democratic. Is it the Kurdish movement or the EU which is anti-democratic?

The Kurdish people are resisting tyranny, torture and oppression under a threat of death. Despite all the risks the Kurds have said that Ocalan is their legitimate representative. However The EU is trying to define the will of Kurdish people. This is not democracy. In democracy people choose for themselves. The Kurds can not accept this rejection of their democratic choice by Europe or Mr Lagendijk.

The Kurds have been fighting for 30 years and have suffered enormously. 4,000 Kurdish villages have been burnt down by Turkish Army. Three million Kurds have been forced from their homes as refugees.

Millions became refugees in their country and were subjected to unemployment and hunger. Some of these people were forced into crime and the sex trade. Even this is blamed on the PKK. However we know for a fact that JITEM (Gendarmerie Intelligence) is organising homeless youngsters in Diyarbakir as gangs pushing them into illegal activities. Some of these children are taken to cities such as Istanbul and Izmir where they are pushed into illegal activities. Later when they are arrested the officials claim that the PKK benefits from these crimes. These facts must be acknowledged by Mr Lagendijk and the EU.

I believe Semdinli incident has highlighted the reality of Turkey once more. It has clearly identified the forces behind the dirty war in Kurdistan which can be seen in the indictment prepared by the Van Prosecutor. This indictment was prepared by a State official and confirms that Turkish army officials, police and gangs set up by these war lords are responsible for extra-judicial killings, bombings and extortion. All these illegal forces and their activities were coordinated by Yasar Buyukanit, Chief of Command for Turkish Land Forces. Accusing the PKK of violence and labelling us as terrorist, disregarding the will of our people, at a time when we are faced with such realities, is not in line with democracy. This attitude represents total disregard and ignorance towards the struggle of our people for freedom.

Some circles in Turkey claim that the PKK is an obstacle to reaching a solution to Kurdish Question. These circles claim that the PKK is imposing its policies on everyone involved in the Kurdish issue and as a result the Kurdish movement is not democratic. They say that Kurds cannot achieve democracy unless the PKK's monopoly of the Kurdish issue is defeated. It is suggested that if the PKK dissolved itself the Kurdish question could be resolved. The aim here is clearly to break the organization, the will and awakening of the Kurdish people which was achieved by the PKK.

The PKK and our leader Abdullah Ocalan led the most significant struggle for democratization in Kurdistan. Due to our struggle we developed modern and civilized social values through a social transformation. The status of Kurdish women is the best evidence for this statement. Today Kurdish women are taking a leading role in civil movements and our guerrilla forces. This is the most significant democratisation act.

Both the Turkish State and foreign circles are targeting the legal Kurdish political organisations. What is your reaction to the attacks on the legal Kurdish political organiations?

Legal Kurdish political activity does have shortcomings and weaknesses. All the efforts by Turkish State, directed at those weaknesses, are aimed at making the Kurds pay politically. They are trying to pacify legal Kurdish political activity. Through arrests, threats and even murder they are trying to suppress the Kurdish legal movement. However despite shortcomings the Kurdish legal movement stands firm. They are obviously trying to create splits within the legal movement. Through repression they are aiming to pacify or buy off some among the legal movement.

State officials are constantly putting pressure on the legal movement calling on them to "cut all ties with the PKK and Ocalan" - as if there is any link. The aim
is to divide Kurdish forces against each other. In other words they are trying to hit the Kurds with Kurds. The same game is played against various Kurdish legal movements and again the aim is to destroy Kurdish organizational accomplishments in the legal area. The same strategy is implemented against our guerrilla forces.

The method may be different but in essence the aim is the same; to break the willpower of the Kurdish people. Kurdish movement in all areas, from the legal movement to guerrilla forces, is showing tremendous resistance. The Kurds are persistent in their struggle for freedom. Our resistance makes the solution of Kurdish Question unavoidable. Turkish officials may try to win more time, there might be more repression and torture, we may have to make sacrifices but the solution is unavoidable. Sooner or later Turkey will have to address the Kurdish Question.

What will you do against regional and international interference? What is the likelihood of an escalation in violence?

2006 will be a difficult year. Even though we do not want war and call for a democratic political solution of the Kurdish question Turkish officials, led by Yasar Buyukanit, insist on terror, violence and war. Turkey hopes to continue with its old policies. Turkey aims to defeat the Kurds through military aggression, isolation and repression against our movement. We have no other option but to resist such attacks. Resistance is our legitimate right. Resistance is a right enshrined under international law. As long as the Kurdish Question remains unresolved we will resort to our legitimate right to resistance. We will not accept surrender or death.

We insist on our right to freedom and dignity. We believe a solution cannot be achieved through war, repression and tyranny. The Turkish State must soon realize this reality and abandon its current policies. Turkey must recognize the Kurdish issue and accept the need for moving towards a solution.

Turkey can not afford to make wrong calculations. Our guerrilla forces and the Kurdish people will stand firm. We will break the diplomatic isolation surrounding our movement in the international arena.

The year 2006 may not immediately produce the results that we desire. It will be a difficult year of struggle. We can not afford to make mistakes. I believe all our members and people realize this. We will defeat the policy of denial and annihilation to win.

Women and youth will play an important role in our struggle. Both women and youth have a leading social role.

Source: Yeni Özgür Politika, 5 May 2006, translated from Turkish original.

2. - The Washington Times - "Turkey: Officers on trial for attack on Kurdish bookshop":

15 May 2006 / by Nicholas Birch

Two Turkish military intelligence officers are facing life sentences in a case widely viewed as a test of democratization in a nation long dominated by its powerful military.

Together with a Kurdish rebel turned informer, the two officers were arrested in November, seconds after a grenade exploded in a bookshop, killing one man in Semdinli, a town close to Iraq.

The car in which they were attempting to flee was found to contain grenades identical to the one used in the attack, plus a sketch map of the scene of the bombing.

The two officers went on trial earlier this month in the southeastern city of Van, with prosecutors accusing them of membership in an execution squad that targeted suspected Kurdish insurgents. The judge must decide whether they were working on their own or under orders.

The trial has stirred memories of the war Turkey fought against Kurdish insurgents from 1984 to 1999.

Of the 35,000 killed in that struggle, hundreds were Kurdish villagers and intellectuals who were either targeted in a dirty war of extrajudicial killings or disappeared without a trace. The culprits remain unknown.

In a country where successful prosecutions of members of the security forces are rare, hopes nonetheless were high that the Semdinli investigation will mark a turning point.

Prosecutor Ferhat Sarikaya -- who has since been dismissed --indicted the two officers, claiming the bombing was a deliberate attempt to undermine Turkey's democratization process by stirring up Kurdish unrest.

The indictment also called for the nation's second-ranking general to be investigated for helping to set up execution squads at the height of the Kurdish war in the 1990s.
Reputedly a hawkish secularist, Gen. Yasar Buyukanit is expected to become chief of staff in August.

In bringing the case to trial, Mr. Sarikaya had to cope with repeated interference by military and government officials.

Shortly after Mr. Sarikaya issued the indictment in March, Gen. Buyukanit publicly described one of the suspected bombers as "a good kid."

The military high command subsequently called for the "punishment" of those responsible for the indictments, which it described as an "intentional onslaught ... aimed at wearing down the Turkish armed forces." Late last month, a panel of senior judges fired Mr. Sarikaya from his post as prosecutor.

Most legal analysts agree that Mr. Sarikaya overstepped his authority. Turkey has a separate system of courts, appeal courts and high courts for the military, and it is impossible to bring officers as senior as Gen. Buyukanit to trial.

But the severity of the action caused widespread surprise. Only one other prosecutor has suffered Mr. Sarikaya's fate, after seeking to prosecute the general who led Turkey's 1980 military coup.

The panel of judges said they fired Mr. Sarikaya for "providing propaganda material for supporters of terrorism" and politicizing the judicial system.

The decision was cheered by members of Turkey's staunchly secularist main opposition party, who denounced the prosecutor as a secret stooge of an Islamist government determined to undermine the army and take over the country's state structure.

Amnesty International is less sure, describing Mr. Sarikaya's dismissal as "a flagrant assault on the independence of the prosecution in Turkey today."

3. - International Herald Tribune - "Turkey, Armenia and denial":

15 May 2006

Turkey's self-destructive obsession with denying the Armenian genocide seems to have no limits. This week, the Turks pulled out of a NATO exercise because the Canadian prime minister used the term "genocide" in reference to the mass killings of Armenians in Turkey during and after World War I. Before that the Turkish ambassador to France was temporarily recalled to protest a French bill that would make it illegal to deny the Armenian genocide occurred. And before that, a leading Turkish novelist, Orhan Pamuk, was charged with "insulting Turkish identity" for referring to the genocide (the charges were dropped after an international outcry).

Turkey's stance is hard to fathom. Each time the Turks lash out, new questions arise about Turkey's claims to a place in the European Union, and the Armenian diaspora becomes even more adamant in demanding a public reckoning over what happened.

Granted, genocide is a difficult crime for any nation to acknowledge. But to treat any reference to the issue within Turkey as a crime and to scream "lie!" every time someone mentions genocide is absurd. By the same token, we do not see the point of the French law to ban genocide denial. Historical truths must be established through dispassionate research and debate, not legislation, even if some of those who question the evidence do so for insidious motives.

But the Turkish government considers even discussion of the issue to be a grave national insult and reacts to it with hysteria. Five journalists who criticized a court's decision to shut down an Istanbul conference on the massacre of Armenians were arrested for insulting the courts. Charges against four were subsequently dropped, but a fifth remains on trial.

The preponderance of serious scholarship outside Turkey accepts that more than a million Armenians perished between 1914 and 1923 in a state-sponsored campaign. Turkey's continued refusal to countenance even a discussion of the issue stands as a major obstacle to restoring relations with neighboring Armenia and to claiming Turkey's rightful place in Europe and the West. It is time for the Turks to realize that the greater danger to them is denying history.

Turkey's self-destructive obsession with denying the Armenian genocide seems to have no limits. This week, the Turks pulled out of a NATO exercise because the Canadian prime minister used the term "genocide" in reference to the mass killings of Armenians in Turkey during and after World War I. Before that the Turkish ambassador to France was temporarily recalled to protest a French bill that would make it illegal to deny the Armenian genocide occurred. And before that, a leading Turkish novelist, Orhan Pamuk, was charged with "insulting Turkish identity" for referring to the genocide (the charges were dropped after an international outcry).

Turkey's stance is hard to fathom. Each time the Turks lash out, new questions arise about Turkey's claims to a place in the European Union, and the Armenian diaspora becomes even more adamant in demanding a public reckoning over what happened.

Granted, genocide is a difficult crime for any nation to acknowledge. But to treat any reference to the issue within Turkey as a crime and to scream "lie!" every time someone mentions genocide is absurd. By the same token, we do not see the point of the French law to ban genocide denial. Historical truths must be established through dispassionate research and debate, not legislation, even if some of those who question the evidence do so for insidious motives.

But the Turkish government considers even discussion of the issue to be a grave national insult and reacts to it with hysteria. Five journalists who criticized a court's decision to shut down an Istanbul conference on the massacre of Armenians were arrested for insulting the courts. Charges against four were subsequently dropped, but a fifth remains on trial.

The preponderance of serious scholarship outside Turkey accepts that more than a million Armenians perished between 1914 and 1923 in a state-sponsored campaign. Turkey's continued refusal to countenance even a discussion of the issue stands as a major obstacle to restoring relations with neighboring Armenia and to claiming Turkey's rightful place in Europe and the West. It is time for the Turks to realize that the greater danger to them is denying history.

4. - Orlando Sentiel - "Turkey is unlikely 'Trojan horse'":

ISTANBUL / 15 May 2006 / by John C. Bersia

As Turkey plods along with its contentious bid to join the European Union, worried voices sound off on issues ranging from environmental problems to Ankara's potential as a "Trojan horse."

Without question, Turkey has much to accomplish before it can hope to qualify. In the environmental arena alone, the list includes sweeping infrastructure needs in water treatment, solid-waste management and conservation, not to mention a host of chemical-waste sites brought to light just this year.

But it is also important for those evaluating the prospects of EU membership for Turkey to be realistic. Care should be taken not to push the standards' bar artificially and impossibly high. Daniel Fried, U.S. assistant secretary of state for European and Eurasian affairs, put it well in a recent briefing. He reminded listeners that Ankara was invited to apply for EU membership years ago, a detail apparently lost to many detractors.

From my vantage point here in Uskudar, a suburb of Istanbul on the Asian side of the Bosphorus that was once the starting point of trade routes through Asia, I see Turkey differently -- as a natural and constructive link between East and West. EU membership for Ankara would effectively refute those who revel in stirring up rifts between the West and Islam.

I remember the furor that erupted when Turkey's ruling Justice and Development Party surged to the political forefront nearly four years ago. At the time, I contended that the mere presence of Islam in a political context did not imply extreme behavior. Indeed, the current Turkish government -- in terms of its interest in the EU, fidelity to NATO and other key matters -- has stayed on course.

Those overly preoccupied with the religious affiliation of the government also missed an important point -- that Turks in 2002 were reacting to their country's economic woes perhaps more than anything else. Turkey's gross national product fell sharply in 2001, declining nearly 10 percent, and unemployment soared.

Turkey's economic performance has improved dramatically in recent years. As a new U.S. government report states, "Turkey's economy has recovered strongly, thanks to good monetary and fiscal policies and structural economic reforms made with the support of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank. The independence of the Central Bank from political interference has been firmly established, a floating exchange rate system has been put in place, and the government's overall budget deficit has been substantially reduced. In addition, there have been substantial reforms in the financial, energy, and telecommunications sectors that have included the privatization of several large state-owned institutions."

Of course, Turkey still has much to prove in the economic realm and elsewhere. But I have grown tired of persistent critics, particularly those who see hidden danger. I have heard various versions of that concept. Some insist, from an economic angle, that EU membership for Turkey would spur mass migration and overwhelm labor markets in Europe. I suspect that proposed restrictions on the movement of Turkish labor -- which admittedly would create a double standard -- will address that problem.

Others use a security twist, suggesting that terrorists could more easily infiltrate other EU members. I appreciate Turkey's proximity to troubled countries such as Iraq, Iran and Syria, as well as the presence here of migrants from those countries with questionable loyalties. Recall, though, that the 9-11 terrorists traveled the world, studying and working across Europe. They did not need Turkish membership in the EU to accomplish their nefarious deeds.

In addition, Turkey takes security very seriously, has been a member of NATO since 1952 and could use its EU membership to deepen European defenses against terrorism.

At the end of the day, Turkey will have to demonstrate if it is ready for EU membership. If successful, it should not be denied because of trumped-up Trojan-horse notions.

Foreign-affairs columnist John C. Bersia, who works part-time for the Sentinel, is the special assistant to the president for global perspectives at the University of Central Florida. He can be reached jbersia@orlandosentinel.com.

5. - Bianet - "Diyarbakir: 20 Children Released, 19 in Jail":

With the release of four more children from prison in Diyarbakir. the number of minors still under arrest for alleged involvement in the March protests is 19. Cases against 70 minors are to be heard by May 18. Lawyer Analay wants all children released.

DIYARBAKIR / 16 May 2006 / by Kemal Ozmen

The number of children released from prison in Turkey's southeast province of Diyarbakir since May 8 reached 20 on Friday but 19 others are still in jail for alleged involvement in a wave of violence that swept through the city at the end of March.

The trials of a total of 70 children charged with capital offences ranging from membership to an armed terrorist organisation to causing damage to public property continues in groups and will be heard at the Diyarbakir Capital Offences Court for Minors until May 18.

Last week the court released five children on Wednesday and four more under-aged defendants on Friday, The remaining children are still being held at a special annex building to Diyarbair's E-Type prison due to lack of detention facilities for minors.

The prosecution has demanded 9 to 24 years imprisonment for the children alleged to have been involved in the wave of incidents in Diyarbakir at the end of March during which 11 people, including 5 minors, were killed when security forces opened fire on the crowds. The events were sparked off by funeral ceremonies held for members of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) who were killed in clashes with security forces.

The indictment at the Diyarbakir Capital Offences Court for Minors charges the children for "membership to an armed organisation, inflicting damage on public buildings and other property, preventing civil servants from carrying out their duty" as well as violating law 2911 on Meetings and Demonstration Rallies.

Analay: Lack of evidence

Lawyer Cengis Analay representing some of the children told Bianet that some children on trial had not been involved in any of the incidents while those who had, were not mentally able to understand the meaning or consequences of any offence they might have committed.

Analay argued that there was no concrete evidence indicating that the minors had committed the offences they were charged with and added "even if it could be proven that the children carried out activities, there is no evidence that these have any form of organic relationship with an organisation".

He said that all rights of the children involved, with the right to education at top of the list, had been violated. Analay added that according to international conventions and its own legislation, Turkey should have taken measures with regard to the children that would not have restricted their freedoms.

Violence should not effect their future

Ankara Bar Association Children's Rights Commission Chairperson, attorney Turkay Asma speaking on behalf of the Initiative to End All Forms of Violence Against Children made a statement on the trial of the minors previously in which she said:

"Ignoring the benefit and wellbeing of the child, to violate their right to life, development and participation and to punish them cannot be accepted for any reason".

Asma said those children still under arrest should be released immediately. She said rather than passing verdicts that would limit their freedom, children found guilty should be subject to protective measures that will support them and allow them to benefit from all of their rights.

6. - Bianet - "Human Rights in Prisons Discussed":

The International Prisons Conference was held in Ankara during the weekend. Academics and human rights activists discussed women and children rights in prison, isolation of inmates, methods to prevent and monitor torture, the ban on enforced labor rights.

ANKARA / 16 May 2006

The International Prisons Conference where the human rights of prisoners and convicts were discussed was held in Ankara over the weekend of May 13-14.

The conference was mutually organised by the Turkish Human Rights Association (IHD), the Public Workers Unions Confederation (KESK), the Union of Turkish Physicians (TTB) and the Human Rights Foundation of Turkey.

Various academic, human rights activists and jurists discussed issues from human rights in prison to prevention of torture, the need for a prisons regime that respected human rights, the rights to health of prisoners and convicts as well as issued such as the ban on enforced labour and isolation.