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Qui bloque
les réformes pour
l'adhésion
à l'Union européenne?
POLITIQUE INTERIEURE / INTERIOR POLICY
Qui bloque les réformes pour l'adhésion à l'Union européenne?
Le partenaire ultra-nationaliste de la coalition au pouvoir en Turquie, Devlet Bahceli, a clamé haut et fort mardi son opposition aux réformes nécessaires pour intégrer l'Union européenne, se démarquant ainsi de ses partenaires gouvernementaux dans l'hypothèse d'élections anticipées.
Même si M. Bahceli s'est dit opposé à la tenue des législatives avant la date prévue de 2004, alors que le Premier ministre Bulent Ecevit est absent de son bureau depuis un mois entre hospitalisations et convalescence, il a pour la première fois évoqué des scénarios de l'après Ecevit, et la tenue d'élections "à un certain moment".
Ses déclarations ouvertement hostiles aux réformes nécessaires pour intégrer l'UE apparaissent aux observateurs comme le signe qu'il se positionne et courtise son électorat, au moment où la perspective d'un tel scrutin est de plus en plus évoquée.
M. Bahceli avait fait campagne pour les législatives de 1999 sur le slogan: "Pendez Ocalan", le chef rebelle kurde condamné à mort en Turquie pour trahison et séparatisme.
Revenant mardi sur ce thème, il a souligné que quelle que soit la décision de la Cour européenne des droits de l'Homme, saisie de l'affaire, le dossier devait être présenté au parlement pour approbation finale.
La peine de mort n'a pas été appliquée depuis 1984 en Turquie, tous les dossiers étant restés bloqués au parlement, dont le vote est requis pour les ratifier.
Jouant sur la fibre de "l'intérêt national" et de la "souveraineté", M. Bahceli a exprimé sa résistance à l'octroi de droits culturels pour les Kurdes, réclamés par l'UE dans le cadre de l'amélioration des droits de l'Homme, demandant que le pays "réfléchisse à trois fois".
"Le même soin pris pour ne pas rater le train de l'UE devrait aussi l'être pour l'unité et les intérêts nationaux de la Turquie", a-t-il relevé.
La maladie de M. Ecevit et l'ignorance complète de sa nature dans laquelle le public est tenu --ses médecins n'ont jusqu'ici reconnu qu'une côte cassée, une thrombophlébite et une infection intestinale-- font peser une lourde incertitude dans la vie politique mais aussi économique du pays, qui se bat contre une des pires crises de son histoire.
Et déjà, tous les scénarios se concentrent sur l'après Ecevit. Mais le flou le plus complet règne sur la personne qui pourrait le remplacer à la tête du gouvernement, s'il s'agira d'un de ses proches, de M. Bahceli, chef du deuxième parti le plus important de la coalition --127 députés contre 128 pour M. Ecevit-- ou d'un autre encore, ou si la Turquie ne pourra en fin de compte échapper à des élections.
La présence ou non de M. Ecevit au sommet des leaders de partis convoqué vendredi par le président Ahmet Necdet Sezer pour faire avancer les réformes vers l'UE sera ainsi un test décisif de sa capacité physique à assurer encore sa fonction.
S'il y participe, il ne supprimera pas tous les doutes mais repoussera l'échéance.
S'il est incapable d'y assister, il lui sera de plus en plus difficile de rejeter les appels à la démission qui s'élèvent de toute part.
Lundi, son porte-parole a indiqué que M. Ecevit assisterait au sommet. Mais il avait annulé au dernier moment, vendredi dernier, sa participation à la réunion mensuelle du Conseil de sécurité (MGK), dominé par l'armée, qui réunit les plus hauts responsables civils et militaires.
Ces derniers sont eux-mêmes alors intervenus pour réclamer
des progrès dans les réformes pour l'UE, notamment sur la
peine de mort et certains droits culturels pour les Kurdes. (AFP,
4 juin 2002)
Turkish military intervenes in EU debate
Turkey's powerful military appears to be bringing a gloved hand gently to bear on government as disarray over Turkey's European destiny grows with Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit's illness.
"The military wouldn't want the uncertainty of elections and they don't want to see the coalition tear itself apart on the European issue," said one experienced Ankara diplomat. "They seem to be softening on the EU, putting pressure on the right."
Generals seen widely as a counterweight to weak political leaders dealt a slap last week to rightist vice-premier Devlet Bahceli when the military-civilian National Security Council (MGK) urged swift reforms to qualify for European Union membership talks.
Media leaks suggested the army might accept some Kurdish language education, outside the state curriculum, and agree under conditions to full abolition of capital punishment, which would allow jailed Kurdish rebel leader Abdullah Ocalan to escape the death penalty.
The MGK, meeting in Bahceli's absence, proposed lifting a state of emergency in the mainly Kurdish southeast this year.
All these are steps urgently advocated by pro-Europe forces seeking a nod on membership talks from an EU summit in December. Nationalists stepped up opposition last month as Ecevit ailed, his hold on government waned and calls for his resignation rose.
The debate assumed an almost comic character last week with Bahceli proclaiming his feelings from China, where he was on an official visit. Such liberalisation now, he said, could reignite Kurdish "terrorism" which had cost 30,000 lives.
"The MHP (the rightist Nationalist Action Party) has put forth its views on the issue of EU (membership). Some may agree, some disagree, that's normal," he said. He then added, with a forthrightness bordering on impudence in a country where the army cannot be contradicted lightly:
"We respect the views of military authorities. We say what we think." He also recalled the MGK was an advisory body. The statement is true, but that advice carries military weight.
The MHP is the second biggest party in the three-party coalition after Ecevit's Democratic Left Party (DSP). Bahceli could take over as interim premier if Ecevit were forced to step down and if the coalition held together. It might not.
The coalition is riven on the EU, with the MHP at odds with Ecevit's party and the conservative Motherland Party, the third party in the ruling coalition.
Ecevit, whose ailments appear to mount from week to week, argues there would be chaos if he left. Markets drift down, fearing government instability could undermine a multi-billion dollar crisis plan.
The army's world view may overlap in some areas with Bahceli's MHP. In broad terms, both instinctively prize the state over the individual and view the world outside with a little suspicion.
A top general attacked the EU recently, saying Ankara might do better to seek friends, besides Washington, in Tehran and Moscow. Top commander Huseyin Kivrikoglu is also sceptical.
But for all their reservations, the General Staff would flinch at the "anti-EU" label. They see NATO member Turkey's economic and political destiny, one way or another, in Europe.
Generals may covet the power they have used four times since 1960 to unseat governments deemed a threat to secular democracy. But they know open political intervention can divide their ranks and even undermine the great popular esteem they enjoy.
One general described an MGK-led political pressure campaign which brought the resignation of Islamist premier Necmettin Erbakan in 1997 as the "fine tuning of democracy".
Generals intervene more gently behind the scenes, through the MGK, media or messages passed by trusted politicians. There is little or no social contact. The military hand is gloved.
The General Staff has made its views clear to the MHP. It remains to be seen now how Bahceli reacts when coalition leaders meet on Friday for a special summit under President Ahmet Necdet Sezer to discuss Turkey's drive for EU reforms.
Ecevit, 77, who missed last week's eventful MGK meeting because of illness, has said he will be present. The military, not present, will be looking for signs of reconciliation.
Diplomats say the military, like markets, are conservative, seeking stability and continuity whether or not Ecevit stays.
The outcome of elections would be very uncertain. The present coalition parties might fail to reach the 10 percent threshold necessary for parliamentary representation.
Worse still for the military, the opposition AK Party, which they view with such suspicion because of its roots in political Islam, could well emerge as the largest party.
If, indeed, the military helps bring the MHP to heel over Europe and
calm the coalition, there will be an element of irony. One of the chief
concerns among EU countries over Turkey is the influence the generals wield
in politics. (Reuters, Ralph Boulton, June 4, 2002)
Les nouvelles mesures en vue d'adhésion à l'Union européenne
Le Conseil national de sécurité turc (MGK) a décidé 30 mai de recommander au parlement de mettre fin à partir du 30 juillet à l'état d'urgence en vigueur depuis 14 ans dans deux provinces kurdes, celles de Hakkari et de Tunceli (Dersim).
Le MGK, organe dominé par l'armée et qui réunit chaque mois les plus hauts responsables civils et militaires pour tracer les grandes lignes de conduite du pays, a décidé en outre de recommander la prolongation à partir du 30 juillet "pour la dernière fois" pour quatre mois de l'état d'urgence dans les deux autres provinces où cette pratique reste en vigueur, celles de Sirnak et Diyarbakir, souligne un communiqué publié à l'issue de la réunion de mai.
La levée de l'état d'urgence dans les provinces kurdes fait partie des mesures politiques réclamées à "moyen terme" à la Turquie par l'Union européenne (UE) pour ouvrir des négociations d'adhésion. Le gouvernement turc s'était engagé à le lever, mais sans donner de date, dans son "programme national", vaste catalogue de mesures devant mettre la Turquie en conformité avec les normes européennes en matière de politique et d'économie, adopté en 2001.
La réunion du MGK, à laquelle le Premier ministre Bulent Ecevit- qui vient de fêter ses 77 ans et actuellement en convalescence - n'assistait pas, a par ailleurs demandé l'accélération des réformes pour l'ouverture des négociations d'adhésion à l'UE. Le MGK a aussi appelé les Quinze à fixer avant la fin de l'année une date pour ces négociations, réclamée avec insistance par Ankara.
Le gouvernement tripartite de M. Ecevit est divisé sur ces réformes, dont l'abolition complète de la peine capitale la création d'une chaîne de télévision ainsi qu'un système d'éducation en kurde. Son partenaire ultra nationaliste, le MHP de Devlet Bahceli, les freinant ouvertement
La Commission européenne a salué le 31 mai les recommandations
avancées par le MGK. Un porte-parole à Bruxelles s'est également
félicité qu'un organe dominé par l'armée, ait
recommandé la suppression de la peine de mort, ainsi que "l'éducation
et la diffusion de programmes audiovisuels en langues autres que le turc".
"Ce sont là des signaux positifs qui vont dans la bonne direction",
a souligné le porte-parole."Nous encourageons maintenant la Turquie
à traduire ces recommandations en actes concrets le plus vite possible,
au bénéfice de tous les citoyens turcs", a poursuivi le porte-parole.
"Une mise en oeuvre concrète, a-t-il averti, est d'autant plus urgente
et importante qu'elle déterminera la teneur et la tonalité
du rapport régulier" que la Commission européenne publiera
en octobre sur les treize pays candidats à l'Union. Le porte-parole
a enfin invité Ankara à poursuivre ses réformes de
façon à pouvoir répondre à 'tous les critères
politiques' d'adhésion à l'Union européenne (UE).
"Des progrès sont encore à effectuer dans les domaines du
droit d'expression, de celui d'association et du droit à la liberté
de la presse", a-t-il conclu. (CILDEKT, 7 juin 2002)
L'abolition de la peine de mort reportée faute de soutien de l'opposition
Le Premier ministre turc Bulent Ecevit, convalescent, a annoncé lundi que son gouvernement de coalition n'avait pas réussi à s'assurer du soutien de l'opposition au parlement pour faire abolir la peine de mort, l'une des réformes réclamées pour entrer dans l'Union européenne (UE), reportée au mois d'octobre.
"Nous n'avons pu parvenir à un concensus avec l'opposition sur les questions concernant l'UE", a-t-il dit dans une déclaration écrite.
Le parti de la Gauche démocratique (DSP) de M. Ecevit, est en discussions avec trois partis de l'opposition à l'Assemblée nationale depuis la semaine dernière pour les convaincre à apporter leur soutien à des réformes démocratiques.
Candidate à l'UE depuis décembre 1999, la Turquie espère obtenir une date pour l'ouverture des négociations d'adhésion. Mais elle doit avant cela remplir les critères politiques sur le respect des droits de l'Homme et de la démocratie.
Les réformes nécessaires --abolition complète de la peine de mort, octroi de droits culturels aux Kurdes notamment-- achoppent sur les profondes divisions de la coalition gouvernementale, où les ultranationalistes du MHP de M. Devlet Bahceli, deuxième partenaire du gouvernement, s'y opposent.
Faute de soutien de l'opposition parlementaire, ces réformes seront automatiquement reportées à après la rentrée parlementaire, le 1er octobre. Le parlement entame ses vacances le 1er juillet.
M. Ecevit est cependant resté optimiste sur les chances que les discussions menées par le DSP puissent aboutir à un résultat.
"S'il y avait un accord avec l'opposition, nous pourrions envisager de convoquer une réunion extraordinaire du parlement", a-t-il dit.
Concernant ses problèmes de santé qui l'empêchent de retourner à son bureau depuis début mai, M. Ecevit, 77 ans, a souligné qu'il était disposé à reprendre le travail "immédiatement si les médecins donnent un avis favorable cette semaine".
M. Ecevit qui est au repos médical assisté à son
domicile privé après deux hospitalisations et qui est
quasi-quotidiennement examiné par des spécialistes,
doit subir un contrôle médical approfondi jeudi à la
suite duquel ses médecins décideront s'il pourra ou
non reprendre son travail. (AFP, 24 juin 2002)
MGK meeting without ailing PM Ecevit
Turkey's powerful National Security Council (MGK), which groups the country's top generals and ministers, met without ailing Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit yesterday to discuss the country's efforts to join the European Union.
Although, Prime Minister Ecevit said Friday that the demands of his post had sometimes forced him to disregard the advice of doctors who have been treating him for a string of ailments for the past two months, he could not dare to attend a long-lasting MGK meeting.
Ecevit was hospitalized twice in May, and has been recuperating at home for weeks after suffering intestinal problems, a vein infection, a cracked rib and a spinal injury. His illness has raised fears over the coalition government's future, sending financial markets down.
After a physical Wednesday, Ecevit said he expected to be fully recovered after resting a further three weeks. But the premier was unexpectedly active Thursday, delivering a speech to his party members in Parliament - his first public appearance in two months - and later meeting with the president.
"Because I am not in a position to entirely neglect my duties as prime minister, I am aware that I have caused anxiety and concern for my doctors," Ecevit said in a written statement Friday.
He said that treatment for his spinal injury, which has led doctors to advise him to rest and avoid spending long periods sitting down, "places me under heavy responsibilities. My doctors are always warning me about this, and as far as possible I heed their warnings."
Many believe that Ecevit will be forced to step down for health reasons - possibly causing the collapse of a coalition government whose partners often disagree with each other, and have looked to Ecevit as a unifying figure.
Ecevit's departure could force early elections, a prospect viewed with alarm by financial markets worried about the effects of polls on an International Monetary Fund-backed reform program aimed at easing a deep economic crisis.
Addressing his party members Thursday, Ecevit appeared to hint at early elections, but later backtracked and said polls would take place when they are due in 2004.
Ecevit's three-party coalition government is largely held together by the premier's personal authority. Ecevit's nationalist coalition partners have objected to the EU's demands, and insisted that Abdullah Ocalan -- leader of a Kurdish terrorist group whose struggle for autonomy has cost some 37,000 lives since 1984 -- should be hung.
The MGK groups top ministers and military commanders under the chairmanship of the president. In a country where politics are often decisively influenced by the powerful military, its recommendations carry considerable weight.
At times of particular government weakness, the military role behind
the scenes increases. The steadying hand of the generals through the MGK,
and more decisively, by less formal channels could be more firmly felt
if Ecevit weakens further. (Turkish Daily News, June 29, 2002)
Ecevit sous la pression de la demande de démission
Le Premier ministre turc Bulent Ecevit, a semé la plus grande confusion le 27 juin en admettant pour la première fois la probabilité d'élections législatives anticipées avant de revenir peu après sur ses propos en affirmant avoir été "mal compris". "Je crois avoir été mal compris. Il est hors de question d'organiser des élections anticipées avant 2004, j'y suis catégoriquement opposé", a-t-il déclaré à la presse devant son domicile où il est en repos médical assisté.
Un peu plus d'une heure auparavant, M. Ecevit avait pourtant indiqué devant le groupe parlementaire de son parti de la Gauche démocratique (DSP), première réunion politique à laquelle il participait depuis près de deux mois, que des "élections se profilent à l'horizon", tout en s'affirmant opposé à une telle éventualité.
Il avait même demandé aux 128 députés de sa formation de se rendre dans leurs circonscriptions respectives afin de préparer le terrain à un scrutin.
Le bref discours devant les députés de M. Ecevit, qui a subi la veille au soir un contrôle médical complet à l'hôpital, a été marqué de confusions dans l'emploi des mots. À l'issue de cette intervention, il s'est entretenu avec le président Ahmet Necdet Sezer, comme il le faisait une fois par semaine avant son alitement. Puis il s'est présenté devant les nombreuses caméras qui campent devant son domicile pour réfuter ses propres propos: "Quand j'ai évoqué des élections, c'étaient les prochaines, en 2004", a-t-il dit.
M. Ecevit a rejeté depuis sa première hospitalisation, le 4 mai dernier, les multiples appels à la démission et à des élections anticipées en raison de sa santé défaillante. Mme Tansu Ciller, chef du parti de la juste Voie (DYP), principal parti d'opposition, a réagi aux déclarations du Premier ministre en estimant qu'il était "grand temps pour M. Ecevit de faire ses adieux au peuple. Il est même trop tard", a-t-elle ajouté. M. Abdullah Gul, vice-président du Parti islamiste de la justice et du développement (AK), a renchéri en réclamant des élections législatives, "inévitables", à l'automne prochain. Il s'est en outre interrogé ouvertement sur la "faculté de jugement" du Premier ministre. Un député du parti de la Mère patrie (ANAP), membre de la coalition gouvernementale, a relevé que les propos de M. Ecevit avaient ouvert la voie à des discussions sur des élections anticipées. "Le génie est sorti de la lampe", a estimé Nihat Akbulut.
M. Ecevit dirige depuis 1999 une coalition tripartite, mais sa mauvaise santé et les divisions de son gouvernement sur les réformes à mener pour adhérer à l'Union européenne font planer une lourde incertitude sur la vie politique du pays, avec des répercussions sur son économie en crise. Ses propos ont provoqué une onde de choc sur les marchés financiers volatils, la livre turque (TL) perdant du terrain contre le dollar (1,64 million de TL), avant de se redresser pour revenir à son niveau de la veille (1,60 million TL). La Bourse d'Istanbul, qui était tombée la veille à son niveau le plus bas de l'année, chutant de 5,1 % à la clôture, s'est toutefois reprise le 27 juin, en hausse de 4,4 %, à 9.009 points, un phénomène lié, selon les analystes, à la reprise --même très partielle- des activités politiques de M. Ecevit ce jour.
Le 1er juillet, de nombreux journalistes turcs de différentes tendances demandaient de concert dans le quotidien turc Hurriyet au Premier ministre turc de démissionner. "Ce n'est pas seulement mal pour lui mais aussi pour la Turquie. Je regarde autour de moi et presque tout le monde pense comme moi et ils crient 'ça suffit'" écrit Emin Çolasan. "Si Ecevit n'est pas enclin à partir alors il faut le faire partir. Un pays ne peut pas être sacrifié pour une personne. Ça suffit maintenant", poursuit Bekir Çoskun. "Je pense qu'il est temps pour le Premier ministre de se retirer. Il doit se retirer non seulement de la tête du gouvernement mais également de celui de son parti" souligne Mehmet Yilmaz. "Après avoir discuté avec Kemal Dervis, je peux dire ceci: Si l'on veut de la stabilité, on n'a pas d'autres choix que de prévoir l'avenir proche de la politique, de l'après-Ecevit et des élections. Soit, on le fait maintenant ou alors ce sera après avoir subi une crise sans précédent?", lance Hasan Cemal. "Y a-t-il un capitaine dans le bateau?" demande Guneri Civaoglu et
Ertugrul Ozkok, le rédacteur en chef de Hurriyet invoque l'exemple russe: "Yeltsin en donnant sa place à Putin a non seulement effacé sa mauvaise fortune mais a également créé un leader capable de sauver la Russie. Aujourd'hui, ce leader 'homme malade' fait la prospérité de la Russie et les gens se rappellent de Yeltsin comme le leader qui a développé la Russie. Ecevit doit rendre un dernier service au pays. Agir comme Yeltsin courageusement et à temps et Ouvrir la voie à un leader
C'est pourquoi je vous supplie, M. Le Premier ministre, de lire les mémoires de Yeltsin".
Le quotidien Hurriyet n'en reste pas là, le lendemain, Emin Çolasan
dans un plaidoyer cru et trivial à la Une du journal, accuse directement
la femme et compagne de route du Premier ministre, Mme Rahsan Ecevit, d'être
la cause de la maladie de ce dernier. Elle refuserait toute assistance,
elle le nourrirait depuis des années que de biscuit sec et du thé,
ses résultats sanguins prouveraient qu'il serait affamé.
Le Premier ministre turc s'est dit particulièrement triste et choqué
par les propos du journal. (CILDEKT, 4 juillet 2002)
LE TERRORISME DE L'ETAT / STATE TERRORISM
Le Parlement prolonge l'état d'urgence dans deux provinces kurdes
Le Parlement turc a adopté mardi la levée de l'état d'urgence en vigueur depuis 14 ans dans deux provinces de l'Est et du Sud-Est du pays à majorité kurde, celles d'Hakkari (sud-est) et de Tunceli (est), a annoncé l'agence Anatolie.
Cette mesure, recommandée le 30 mai lors de la réunion mensuelle du MGK, organe dominé par l'armée avec le chef de l'Etat et cinq ministres, sera effective à partir du 30 juillet.
Deux autres provinces voient en revanche l'état d'urgence reconduit pour quatre mois "pour la dernière fois", comme avait conseillé le MGK: celles de Sirnak (sud-est) et Diyarbakir (chef-lieu du Sud-Est anatolien).
La levée de l'état d'urgence dans les provinces de l'Est et du Sud-Est, théâtre pendant 15 ans de la rébellion armée du Parti des Travailleurs du Kurdistan (PKK), fait partie des mesures politiques réclamées à "moyen terme" à la Turquie par l'Union européenne (UE) pour son adhésion.
La Commission européenne avait alors salué ces recommandations du MGK et demandé qu'elles soient effectivement appliquées.
Le gouvernement turc s'était engagé l'an dernier à lever l'état d'urgence sans donner de date dans un "programme national" détaillant les mesures visant à mettre la Turquie en conformité avec les normes européennes en matière de politique et d'économie.
Le gouvernement tripartite de M. Bulent Ecevit est divisé sur ces réformes, dont l'abolition de la peine capitale, l'autorisation d'une chaîne de télévision ainsi que l'enseignement en langue kurde. Son partenaire ultranationaliste, le MHP de Devlet Bahceli, les freine.
Le PKK a mis fin à sa lutte séparatiste en septembre 1999
sur ordre de son chef Abdullah Ocalan, condamné à mort
en juin 1999 pour trahison et séparatisme. (AFP, 19 juin 2002)
Detailed TIHV report on the situation of Turkish prisons
The Human Rights Foundation of Turkey (TIHV) has recently issued a detailed report on the situation of human rights in Turkey until May 2002. The following is the chapter concerning the situation of Turkish prisons and prisoners.
In May a new group of prisoners started death fast action. But on 13 May four people, who had been continuing their death fast action outside prison, stopped the action. So no one remained outside prison who is conducting death fast action. Prisoners charged with membership of 8 different organizations also announced that they had terminated the death fast action, too. So the number of the death fast activists decreased to 31.
According to a statement by lawyer Behiç Asçi the names who started the death fast action on 1 May against the F-type prisons given as: in Bakirköy Special Type Prison: Eylem Göktas, in Kocaeli Kandira F-type Prison: Nihat Palabiyik and Yavuz Ates, in Tekirdag F-type Prison: Ali Sahin, in Ankara Sincan F-type Prison: Yusuf Arici and Erkan Koncek, in Edirne F-type Prison: Mesut Akbul and in Izmir Kiriklar F-type Prison: Sinan Akbayir.
On 9 May Hüsnü Öndül, chairman of the Human Rights Association (HRA) presented information on his latest visit to Justice Minister Hikmet Sami Türk on 7 May. The Minister had told them that 306 prisoners had started a hunger strike as group No. 8; 55 prisoners continued the death fast action and 15 of them were in a serious condition. The Minister had promised to conduct an international symposium once the actions were stopped. The results would be taken into consideration. Hüsnü Öndül stated that it would be advisable to finish the actions to open the way for a dialogue for civilian initiatives with a concentration on the element of isolation.
On 13 May four people, who had been continuing their death fast action outside prison, stopped the action. Deniz Bakir and Fikret Lüle, tried for an alleged connection to the Marxist-Leninist Communist Party (MLKP), had continued the action in a house in Gazi quarter (Istanbul). In Izmir Cebrail Gündogdu and Kazim Özer stopped the death fast action, too, so that there are not more hunger strikers outside prison. The hunger strikers stated that they would continue their struggle against the F-type prisons and isolation pointing at the support for the formula of ìthree doors, three locksî.
Hüsnü Öndül, chairman of the Human Rights Association (HRA), issued a written statement calling on the hunger strikers in prison to stop the death fast action. He stated that the death of 91 persons and lasting illness of over 400 persons had not resulted in lifting the isolation in prison. He called on the Justice Minister to enter a dialogue asking him to support the call for an end of the death fast action.
Prisoners charged with membership of 8 different organizations announced that they had terminated the death fast action that started on 20 October 2000.
The prisoners from the Revolutionary Communist Union of Turkey (TIKB), the Turkish Communist Party/ML (TKP/ML), TKP (ML), the Marxist-Leninist Communist Party (MLKP), Revolution Party of Turkey (TDP), Resistance Movement, the Marxist-Leninist Armed Propaganda Unit (MLSPB) and the Turkish Communist Party (Kivilcim) stated that they terminated the action as of 28 May and announced that their struggle against the cells and isolation would continue in other forms.
The number of prisoners continuing the death fast action dropped to 31. Only prisoners charged with membership of the Revolutionary Peopleís Liberation Party/Front (DHKP/C) are continuing the action.
So far 100 people died as a result of the hunger strikes, death fast and other actions related to the protest against the F-type prisons. During the operation against the prisons 30 prisoners (Haydar Akbaba and Muharrem Buldukoglu allegedly were killed by members of illegal organizations) and 2 soldiers died. 32 participants of the death fast action died in prison, outside 7 relatives of prisoners died and 11 of those died, who continued the action after release. 5 people burned themselves to death (Kazim Gülbag in Germany). Six people died as a result of suicidal attacks (two attackers, three police officers and one tourist). During the police intervention in Küçükarmutlu quarter 4 people died. In addition, Mustafa Coskun died as a result of wrong treatment of cancer during his action on 3 October 2001 and Hidir Demir died on 27 April because of tuberculosis. In the Netherlands Cafer Dereli was beaten to death by right-wing militant, while he was conducting a solidarity hunger strike on 9 December 2000.
In Kandira F-type Prison Hasan Öksüz started death fast action on 30 May. He is imprisoned in connection with the Turkish Communist Labour Party/Leninist TKEP/L. It was also reported that another three people imprisoned on such charges are continuing the action.
Death Because of Death Fast Action
On 22 May Okan Külekçi died in Tekirdag F-type Prison. He had been remanded in connection with a trial against members of the Turkish Communist Revolution Party (TKIP) and was on day 240 of his death fast action. The number of victims of the death fast action has risen to 50.
Prisoners who have not been released temporarily
The prisoner Erkut Cebeci, whose health deteriorated due to the death fast action was not temporarily released according to Article 399 of the Criminal Procedure Code (TCPC), despite two reports by the Forensic Institute recommended such a measure. Reportedly Istanbul SSC relied on a report by the General Directorate for Security stating that released prisoners might resort to actions or escape abroad. Erkut Cebeci is suffering from the Wernicke-Korsakoff syndrome.
Pardoned Prisoners
State President Ahmet Necdet Sezer pardoned the prisoner Fatma Güzel, who is suffering from the Wernicke-Korsakoff syndrome.
State President Ahmet Necdet Sezer pardoned Ergün Bütüner, serving a sentence of 15 yearsí imprisonment for membership of the Turkish Communist Party/ML-Workersí and Peasants Liberation Army of Turkey (TKP/ML TIKKO). The decision was published in the Official Gazette on 11 May. In 1996 Ergün Bütüner had caught the Wernicke-Korsakoff disease.
State President Ahmet Necdet Sezer pardoned the prisoners Baris Yildirim, Hakki Seker and Nuray Gezici according to Article 104 of the Constitution because of poor health. The decision was announced in the Official Gazette of 30 May.
Cases and Protests on the 19 December Operations
In Istanbul the police intervened, when a group of some 20 prisonersí relatives wanted to stage a protest against the F-type prisons in front of Bayrampasa Prison. The police detained 3 persons, two of them women.
On 13 May Istanbul SSC No. 6 started to hear the case of 19 defendants, 8 of them in pre-trial detention, who had been detained during a police operation against houses of hunger strikers in Küçükarmutlu quarter (Istanbul). The hearing was adjourned to 28 August.
During the attack of the police on 5 November 2001 4 people were killed. In this trial the defendants Zeki Dogan, Sinan Tökü, Güzin Tolga, Eylem Göktas, Ahmet Güzel, Gamze Turan, Vedat Çelik, Selma Kubat (under arrest) and Dursun Ali Pekin, Halil Aksu, Haydar Bozkurt, Hakki Simsek, Hüseyin Akpinar, Serhat Ertürk, Özkan Güzel, Madimak Özen, Halil Acar, Serap Boyoglu and Engin Karagöz (not in pre-trial detention) have to expect sentences of between 5 and 22.5 yearsí imprisonment.
During the night of 13 May the police raided the house of Fedai Sahin in Gülsuyu quarter of Istanbul. He had been released in July 2001, after his health deteriorated due to the death fast action.
His wife Türkan Sahin was detained at her working place. She and two more detainees were released at 3am the next morning. After release she expressed concern about her husband, saying that the officers, who interrogated her, had accused of actions, which he could not do in his condition. After the execution of his sentence had twice been suspended he was still under treatment. She feared that he might have been kidnapped.
According to information by the Association of Solidarity with Prisonersí Relatives (TAYAD) the prisoners Ahmet Özdemir was transferred from Tekirdag F-type Prison to Sisli Eftal Hospital in Istanbul. Reportedly he lost his memory, because of forcible treatment.
The Court of Cassation dealt with the application of on 20 persons, who had participated in a protest meeting against the F-type prisons on 11 January 2001. Lawyers wanted the verdict to be quashed and retrial of the defendants according to the ìLaw on Meetings and Demonstrationsî.
On 7 February Ankara SSC No. 1 has passed its verdict. Ali Çelik, Nuray Aslan, Erhan Günes, Kemal Us, Engin Yurdakul, Ipek Hacitalipoglu, Cihangir Arslan, Hasiyin Bozdag, Ulviye Günes, Zeynep Dogan, Özgür Cihan Gül, Gülsema Erdal, Bilge Gündogdu, Evrim Dirican, Müslüm Aydogan, Ethem Akdogan, Ozan Demirok, Özgür Onur and Serpil Sahin have been sentenced to 45 months' imprisonment under Article 169 TPC (support of an illegal organization). Defense lawyer Ender Büyükçulha stated that other people, who had participated in the same meeting, had been acquitted by a civilian court, where they had been charged with an offense of the Law 2911 on Meetings and Demonstrations.
Trial of Veli Saçilik
It was discovered that Veli Saçilik, who lost one arm during the operation in Burdur Prison on 5 July 2000, was put on trial for illegally collecting aid. Yasar Seyman had started a campaign to collect money for him so that he could get an artificial arm. Radio station ìEkinî had supported the campaign and the owner Servet Ünsal, the chief editor Abdülrezzak Oral and speaker Tuncay Karakis had been acquitted from the same charges by Ankara Penal Court No. 2. However, the testimony of the Yasar Seyman to the effect that the victim should open a bank account was reason for another trial. Veli Saçilik alleged that he was never informed about this trial that terminated already in March this year. His sentence of 3 monthsí imprisonment and a fine of TL 35 million was commuted to TL 248 million.
Deaths in the Prisons
Osman Aslan, imprisoned in Izmir-Urla died on 23 May. He was serving a 12 yearsí sentence of imprisonment for membership of the PKK and was under treatment in Yesilyurt State Hospital for a tumor in his brain. He would have been released on 24 July.
In Bolu Closed Prison Müjdat Kanze committed suicide. His corpse was found on 29 May. He was imprisoned for raping his sister.
Cases in the Prisons and Pressures at Prisons
Mehmet Zaik, imprisoned in Söke Prison, was wounded to his foot when security officers fired at him to prevent his escape from Söke State Hospital, where he had been taken for treatment. He was transferred to Aydin State Hospital.
Reportedly Mehmet Kaya, imprisoned in Antep Special Type Prison, is not treated on inguinal hernia. His daughter Leyla Kaya appealed to the Justice Minister, the Health Minister and Diyarbakir HRA, asking for a treatment of the disease as a result of torture.
Fatma Yilmaz, mother of Abdullah Yilmaz, imprisoned in Batman E-type Prison, alleged that her son was not getting treatment for the last five months. He had been taken to Batman State Hospital in January. The doctors had discovered that his kidneys were no functioning and he was in urgent need of treatment. She feared that her son might die, if he is not treated.
Lawyers of the prisoners in Bayrampasa and Umraniye Prison, charged with activities for the PKK, announced in January that pressures at the prison. All their belongings had been confiscated. According to the statement there were problems concerning the medical treatment of the prisoners.
Reports from Malatya stated that political prisoners in the E-type prison were held under conditions of an F-type prison. In rooms designed for 4 people 8 prisoners were held. The prisoners complained that things brought by visitors were not given to them and the goods in the canteen were sold at high prices. They werenít allowed to speak Kurdish to the visitors and prisoners did not get the necessary medical treatment.
The human rights organization Mazlum-Der issued a 7-page report on the situation in Kocaeli and Bolu F-type Prison. The report is based on observations made by the lawyers Turgay Özdemir and Mustafa Ercan and was announced by Ahmet Mercan, chairman of the Istanbul branch of Mazlum-Der. Prisonersí relatives participating in the press conference of 30 May complained that the prisoners often were wounded because of beatings by the guardians. The prisoners were not allowed to pray and the time of visits was restricted because the visitors were taken in one after the other. The report stated that prisoners had been stripped stark naked for body searches and one prisoner had been beaten, when he objected. The prisoners, who wanted to pray, were disturbed by loud music. The prisoners are not allowed to watch the TV station of their choice. Only little food is given and the food in the canteen is very expensive. The water in the cells is not drinkable and the prisoner can only take showers with warm water once a week. Communication with other prisoners can only be done in writing and possibilities for sports are not granted.
The Ankara branch of the Human Rights Association (HRA) published a 6-page report on the situation in Sincan F-type Prison. Speaking for Ankara HRA Saadet Erdem stated that the prisoners Halil Koçyigit and Hidir Demir had lost their lives not because of the death fast action, but the bad prison conditions. The report claimed that systematic ill-treatment was continuing. The complaints were not investigated. Most letters of the prisoners were given back, because they commented on the death fast action. Quoting from 55 complaints by the prisoners the report stated that prisoners on hunger strike had forcibly been taken to hospital, newspapers and journals were not handed over, visits of lawyers were restricted, documents for the defense were not handed over, prices in the canteen were very high and deposited money was not handed over to them.
Cases of Prisons
In Adana the trial against 73 people charged with participating in a prison riot in Kürkçüler prison on 23 October 2000 when 4 members of the so-called ìSirin gangî should be transferred to Antep Prison concluded in May. Prison terms of 5 to 12 years' imprisonment were sough for the defendants whose action allegedly was directed by the prisoners Ali Aksoy, Mahmut Kurt, Mehmet Yilmaz and Ridvan Demir. Ali Aksoy, Mahmut Kurt, Ridvan Demir and Mehmet Yilmaz were sentenced to 6 years and 3 monthsí imprisonment. 30 defendants without remand were sentenced to 3 years and 9 monthsí imprisonment. The other 39 defendants were acquitted due to lack of evidence.
Pressures on Lawyers
On 9 May Ankara Criminal Court No. 1 started to hear the case of 27 lawyers in connection with a hearing at Ankara Criminal Court No. 5 on 5 December 2000. During the hearing on the massacre in Ankara Closed Prison (Ulucanlar) of 26 September 1999 some prisoners had shouted slogans, because spectators were not allowed into the courtroom. In return soldiers had beaten them. The lawyers Medeni Ayhan, Nurten Çaglar, Fahriye Belgün, Dilek Midik, Vahide Özgür Sariyildiz, Sevil Ceylan, Aytül Kaplan, Devrim Karakülah, Riza Karaman, Gaye Dinçel, Hüseyin Yüksel Biçen, Nuray Özdogan, Nazan Betül Vangölü, Vedat Aytaç, Haci Ali Özhan, Filiz Kalayci, Suna Coskun, Kazim Bayraktar, Gülizar Tuncer, Ibrahim Ergün, Selçuk Kozagaçli, Sevim Akat, Keles Öztürk, Göksel Arslan, Zeki Rüzgar, Mecit Engeci and Oya Aydin are charged with misconduct of duty. Lawyer Fahriye Belgün stated that the trial against them was based on minutes taken by a major, who was not even present during the hearing. Some prisoners wanted to present an application to the court, but the court did not allow them or us to speak. We filed a request to reject the court for being biased and after wards the soldiers attacked the prisoners. Some lawyer friends were also injured. The court adjourned the hearing to 11 July. Representatives of Centre for Fredom of Judges and Lawyers (HABM) were also present at the hearing to support the lawyers and report the trial.
On 1 May the trial against lawyer Cem Alptekin, active in the so-called ì16 March massacreî case, on charges of ìinsulting the secret service MIT and disclosing the identity of a staff memberî resulted in acquittal. Istanbul SSC passed the same verdict as Istanbul Criminal Court No. 5 that had acquitted the defendants on 16 October 2000. The 9th Chamber of the Court of Cassation had quashed the verdict on 15 March 2001 and because of charges under the Law to Fight Terrorism Istanbul SSC had to look into the case.
On 21 May Ankara SSC No. 1 started to hear the case of lawyer Kazim Bayraktar, charged with supporting an illegal organization. The case is based on material that was found in his office and a speech he held in the United Kingdom. In his testimony Kazim Bayraktar stated that he had spoken on human rights. The book on the incidents in Ulucanlar Prison only presented facts reflected in the autopsy reports. Since no case could be filed under the Law on the Press the prosecution had resorted to Article 169 TPC. He asked for a further investigation against himself, since many more forbidden publications and documents could be found in his office. These documents were the background material for the political trials he followed as defense lawyer, but the police only had confiscated the file on the Revolutionary Communist Union of Turkey (TIKB). The hearing, being attended by 20 defense lawyers, was adjourned to 25 June. Kazim Bayraktar was asked to document the use of money coming from abroad.
The Law on Conditional Release
Since the Law 4616 on Conditional Release and Suspension of Sentences and Trials on Offences Committed before 23 April 1999 entered into Force on 22 December 2000 the discussion about and different interpretations of it did not stop. More than 200 cases had been filed against it at the Constitutional Court, mainly because the Law did not cover a large number of offences. However, in its decision published on 27 October 2001 the Constitutional Court only included some offences that had been excluded from the scope of the Law and asked the legislative to correct misleading passages within 6 months.
This law (with the number 4758) was passed in the Grand National Assembly of Turkey (GNAT) on 25 April this year, but vetoed by State President Ahmet Necdet Sezer, arguing that this law was an amnesty bill, which required a three fifth majority (330 votes) in parliament. On 21 May the law was passed in the Grand National Assembly of Turkey (TGNA) without any changes by 174 against 32 votes. The State President had no other choice than to ratify the law, which he did on 22 May. At the same time he appealed to the Constitutional Court asking for an annulment of the law and a stop for its implementation.
According to the Law No. 4758 the reduction of 10 years can only once be applied for the sum of all sentences including life imprisonment (36 years). Cases on crimes committed before 23 April 1999 that do not require sentences over 10 yearsí imprisonment, which have not been terminated yet, would be suspended.
On 28 May the Constitutional Court abolished the Law 4758 stating that it was a special amnesty that needed a three fifth majority in the Grand National Assembly of Turkey (GNAT), but the court did not stop its implementation. Therefore, prisoners continued to be released until the reasoned verdict of the Constitutional Court is published in the Official Gazette.
Answering a question tabled by MP Ramazan Toprak from the Party for Justice and Development (AKP) Justice Minister Hikmet Sami Türk said that 382.977 people benefited from the Law on Conditional Release and Suspension of Sentences and 40.158 people had been released on the basis of this law as of 25 April 2002.
One spectacular case of release concerned Isa Armagan. On 26 May he was released from Bandirma Prison according to the Law on Conditional Release and Suspension of Sentences. He had been convicted in connection with an attack on 4 coffeehouses in Balgat (Ankara) on 10 August 1978, killing 5 and injuring 12 left-wing people. For this attack he and Mustafa Pehlivanoglu had been sentenced to death as leaders of the Sheria Command Army of Turkey (TÜSKO) and the attempt to establish a State according to the order of the sheria according to Article 149/2 TPC. 10 days after the verdict had been confirmed in 1980 both prisoners were rescued from Mamak Military Prison. Pehlivanoglu was captured after the military coup of 12 September and executed on 7 October 1980. Isa Armagan escaped to the Iran and fought against Iraq. On 27 August 1992 he was captured in Germany and on 30 May 1995 he was refouled to Turkey. According to the Law to Fight Terrorism (1991) his death sentence was commuted to 10 yearsí imprisonment and a sentence of 18 yearsí imprisonment for robbery was commuted to 45 monthsí imprisonment.
On 24 May Emin Karaa, chairman of the Judicial Commission in the Grand
National Assembly of Turkey (GNAT), stated that 34 out of 64 files concerning
42 out of 122 persons, whose death penalties had been confirmed by the
courts, had been sent back to the Prime Ministry, after the Law on Conditional
Release and Suspension of Sentences entered into force.
HRW Open letter to the European Union on Turkey
Human Rights Watch, on June 13, 2002, addressed the following open letter to EU Foreign Ministers Verheugen and Solana on Turkey's progress toward fulfillment of the Copenhagen Criteria.
"This letter summarizes Human Rights Watch's evaluation of Turkey's efforts to meet the Copenhagen Criteria since the last Regular Report in December 2001.
Progress has been generally slow, falling well behind the schedule set in the Accession Partnership.
The Turkish government is keeping up with the more modest program it set itself in its National Plan, but, as Human Rights Watch has pointed out in the past, this plan sets lower goals that will not necessarily fulfill the Copenhagen Criteria.
On the other hand, the process of membership preparation has certainly created a more favorable environment for those in the government and state apparatus who are working for better protection for the human rights of Turkish citizens.
The rights of Turkey's minorities and the role of the military and religion in politics are matters of heated debate, but that debate is increasingly open and well informed.
Thanks to the partnership process, since 1999 those who resist reform have found it more difficult to tar the expansion of human right protections as undermining Turkey's national interests.
The following discussion highlights areas of particular concern regarding Turkey's human rights practices and identifies short term priorities for government action that we hope the E.U. will endorse.
Freedom of expression
Article 312 of the Turkish Criminal Code (TCC) provides terms of imprisonment for incitement to racial and religious hatred and "praising crime," but the judiciary uses it to criminalize discussion of the role of ethnicity and religion in politics.
The February Implementation Law (No 4744, intended to harmonize legislation with constitutional changes of October 2001) limited the scope of article 312 by introducing a condition that an offending statement must "threaten public order." The change resulted in the release of the publisher Mehmet Kutlular, imprisoned under article 312 for writing that the 1999 earthquake was a divine punishment for Turkey's unbelievers, but since then others have been convicted under article 312 and sentenced to terms of imprisonment for expressing their non-violent opinions.
Ongoing trials under article 312 include that against Nese Düzel of the daily Radikal, for an interview with a leader of Turkey's Alevi religious minority; the trial of eighty-one members of the "Freedom for Freedom of Expression" movement who have republished articles which were the subject of convictions under article 312; the trial of writer Selma Koçiva and her publisher Muammer Akyüz for their book on Turkey's Laz minority; the trial of Abdullah Keskin for publishing the book "After Such Knowledge, What Forgiveness? - My Impressions of Kurdistan," by the US journalist and writer Jonathan Randal.
In May, Aydemir Güler, leader of the Socialist Workers' Party, and Turgut Koçak, leader of the Socialist Workers' Party of Turkey, both received ten-month sentences under article 312 for speeches they had made about Turkey's Kurdish minority.
Currently imprisoned under article 312 is Ahmet Ünlü, serving a sentence of two and a half years for describing the earthquake as the retribution of God on unbelievers.
Four journalists received suspended sentences of more than twenty months' imprisonment under article 312 for similar comments.
The revision of article 312 left several other laws that undermine freedom of expression in place, including article 8 of the Anti-Terror Law (separatist propaganda), the Law to Protect Atatürk, and Article 159 of the TCC (insulting the authorities).
The academic Fikret Baskaya is currently imprisoned under article 8, which provides for up to three years imprisonment for "separatist propaganda." He had written a newspaper article about the trial of the Abdullah Öcalan, leader of the Kurdish Workers' Party (PKK). In May, Ahmet Turan Demir, former leader of the People's Democracy Party (HADEP), received a ten-month prison sentence under article 8 for a speech about Turkey's Kurdish minority.
In the same month former parliamentary deputy Hasan Mezarci was released after serving a one-year prison sentence for insulting Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, the founder of the Turkish republic.
Sixteen people who spoke at a conference about sexual assault in custody are currently on trial under article 159, including a victim of rape who gave testimony on her own experience.
Also on trial under article 159 is the journalist Hasan Özgün, imprisoned since 1993 for alleged membership of the PKK.
He made a submission challenging his original conviction, which he alleged was part of a wide-ranging campaign to silence the Kurdish opposition.
Hasan Özgün referred to a government investigation known as the "Susurluk Report," which confirmed that there had been targeted assassinations of people regarded as enemies of the state. This legal submission was used as the basis of a prosecution for "insulting the security forces" under article 159.
Most recently, the Izmir Criminal Court imposed a shocking sentence on Dr Alp Ayan, a psychiatrist at the Izmir treatment center for torture survivors. The court ordered his imprisonment for one year under article 159, for allegedly insulting the Justice Minister in a press release condemning the December 2001 brutal transfers of prisoners into the new high security F-type prisons.
Abusing anti-terrorism legislation
Human Rights Watch also notes with alarm that, as articles of the criminal code become tainted by public criticism and judgments at the ECHR, prosecutors are resorting to extremely punitive measures under the Anti-Terror Law in order to silence expression deemed offensive to the state.
Lütfü Demirkapi, the president of the Ankara branch of the Human Rights Association, and eleven branch members who attempted to read a press statement critical of F-type prisons are now being prosecuted for "supporting an armed gang" under the Anti-Terror Law and article 169 of the TCC.
If convicted they may be imprisoned for up to seven and a half years. In April, minibus driver Süladdin Önen was sentenced to three years and nine months' imprisonment for "supporting an armed gang" by playing a Kurdish language audio-cassette to his passengers.
The cassette had not been subjected to any ban or confiscation and was on general sale.
Similarly, in April 2002 the Supreme Court confirmed a sentence of three years and nine months against Melih Bekdemir, board member of the Freedom and Solidarity Party (ÖDP), charged under article 169 of the TCC for his book "An avenging state?" which contained no advocacy of violence.
It would be a cruel irony if reform of the laws traditionally used to gag debate and criticism resulted in dissidents serving longer terms of imprisonment than ever.
In this connection, it is appropriate to mention the situation of the Kurdish ex-parliamentary deputies Leyla Zana, Hatip Dicle, Orhan Dogan and Selim Sadak, who are just beginning their ninth year of imprisonment at Ankara Central Closed Prison after conviction under the Anti-Terror Law for their legitimate non-violent political activities.
In July 2001 the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) found their trial to be unfair, and on May 3 this year, the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe urged the Turkish government "without further delay, to respond to the Committee's repeated demands that the said authorities urgently remedy the applicants' situation." On June 11, 2002, the ECHR ruled that the four had been wrongly stripped of their status as parliamentary deputies subsequent to the dissolution of their political party (DEP
the Democracy Party) by the constitutional court, a violation of Article 3 to Protocol No. 1 of the European Convention on Human Rights.
The Turkish government and judiciary continue to neglect their grave responsibility to these prisoners.
The Turkish government should take any necessary measures to secure the release of all prisoners held for the expression of non-violent opinion, including the four Kurdish former deputies Leyla Zana, Hatip Dicle, Orhan Dogan and Selim Sadak, restore political rights to all former prisoners and halt all legal proceedings currently in process against Turkish citizens for the expression of their non-violent opinions.
The role of the judiciary
During his visit to Ankara in February 2002, Commissioner Verheugen, responsible for E.U. enlargement, confirmed that the Implementation Law fell short of expectations in the area of freedom of expression. Verheugen stressed the importance the Commission attaches to the judiciary's interpretation and application.
He recalled the Commission's determination to monitor pending and future freedom of expression cases.
As the list of recent prosecutions and convictions shows, so far judges and prosecutors have failed to compensate for the legislative deficit.
Most or all of the legal actions described above would be in violation of article 10 of the European Convention on Human Rights.
Judges are entitled to dismiss such cases, since Article 90 of the Turkish constitution gives international treaties precedence over domestic law.
During the past six months there have been some acquittals in freedom of expression cases, suggesting that at least some judges are beginning to weigh the implications of the convention in their decisions.
But this is not the general rule, and the flow of indictments and sentences suggests that the judiciary still prefers to work narrowly on the basis of flawed domestic legislation and ignore its responsibilities under international human rights law.
The High Council of Judges and Prosecutors could do much to remedy this. The High Council appoints, supervises, and assigns members of the judiciary to their courts.
The High Council could, without affecting the independence of judges, issue circulars underlining that the judges are bound by the European Convention on Human Rights and the jurisprudence of the ECHR.
In conjunction with the Council of Europe, the Justice Ministry is conducting a program of training for judges.
The High Council could ensure that prosecutors and judges who have received such training are allocated to State Security Courts and Criminal Courts that deal with freedom of expression cases especially those in the major metropolitan areas where such cases are likely to arise.
It could also establish knowledge of, and compliance with, the Convention and ECHR jurisprudence as an important indicator when awarding the annual performance points that are used to calculate a judge or a prosecutor's entitlement to promotion.
The Justice Minister is currently the president of the High Council.
Human Rights Watch has criticized this as an unacceptable infringement of the independence of judges, and the Turkish government has indicated its intention to reform this arrangement.
In the meantime, the Justice Minister, in his role as president of the High Council, should be expected to implement such measures to ensure compliance with the European Convention on Human Rights.
Incommunicado detention and torture
The Implementation Law of February 2002 brought one important advance in the protection of human rights, by shortening the maximum police detention periods from ten days to seven, and reducing the period of incommunicado detention to two days throughout the country.
This reform will help to combat torture, which is still widespread in police stations and gendarmeries.
It is, however, a half measure.
Torture is an ingrained practice and will not be eradicated in Turkey while police stations remain places of secrecy.
Incommunicado detention should have been abolished, not reduced.
The Accession Partnership required Turkey to "align legal procedures concerning pre-trial detention ... with recommendations of the Committee for the Prevention of Torture (CPT)."
The CPT (and the U.N. Special Rapporteur on Torture) concluded that access to a lawyer from the first moments of detention is the single most important step necessary to bring an end to the systematic use of torture in Turkey.
Turkish citizens continue to pay a high price for the persistence of incommunicado detention. Since February, Human Rights Watch has received information on forty-one cases of alleged torture during incommunicado detention, several corroborated by medical evidence.
The victims report being subjected to falaka (beating on the soles of the feet), electric shocks, and sexual assault.
Three women reported that they were raped in custody. The Turkish government should commit itself to ending incommunicado detention in law and practice immediately.
Broadcasting and education in minority languages
Turkey's gestures toward human rights reform have revealed a deep internal division between two factions within the government, and provoked strong resistance from elements within the judiciary, the police, military, and civil service.
In early 2002 this conflict focussed around three issues: the right to broadcast in the minority languages (Kurdish in particular), the right to give and receive education in minority languages, and abolition of the death penalty.
There is not yet agreement within the government on how to proceed with these issues.
On language broadcasting and education, there seems to be imperfect communication between the E.U., the Turkish government, and the Turkish public.
At the National Security Council meeting on May 30, it was proposed that broadcasts in Kurdish dialects by the state broadcasting corporation TRT would be a satisfactory solution.
Clearly this would not meet the Turkish government's responsibility under the Accession Partnership to "remove any legal provisions forbidding the use by Turkish citizens of their mother tongue in TV/radio broadcasting."
Meanwhile, opponents of education in minority languages have advanced the misleading idea that such reform would result in mandatory education in two or more languages. This has predictably engendered public consternation, and a fierce backlash from police and judges. In fact, recognition of the right to education in minority languages would only require permission for private language courses or optional courses in state education a much more modest proposal.
There is clearly a need for more informed discussion of the implications of the medium term Accession Partnership goal that Turkey will "ensure cultural diversity and guarantee cultural rights for all citizens irrespective of their origin," and abolish "[A]ny legal provisions preventing the enjoyment of these rights ... including in the field of education."
To Human Rights Watch's knowledge, since November 2001 at least 1,208 people have been arrested and/or imprisoned because they submitted petitions calling for optional Kurdish instruction. No less than fifty-three of these are still held in prison. School and university authorities are blighting the educational future of these young people by suspending or expelling them.
The judiciary, finding itself at a loss for any legal basis for arresting citizens in the exercise of their constitutional right to submit petitions, is charging them under the Anti-Terror Law with support for, or membership of, an armed gang.
As a consequence, students who have politely asked for an adjustment to the curriculum have found themselves potentially branded as terrorists.
The Turkish government should further revise the Press Law and the Law on the Organization and Broadcasts of Radio and Television Stations to remove provisions that restrict broadcasting in the languages of Turkey's minorities.
As a minimum gesture toward the respect and protection of its minority languages, the Turkish government should lift all obstacles to the foundation of private language courses. Such measures should include revision of Article 42.9, which states that "no other language than Turkish may be taught to Turkish citizens as their mother tongue."
The E.U. can take some of the heat from this potentially destructive issue by providing clear information on its expectations, the requirements under the European Convention on Human Rights and other relevant international standards, and the practices of its member states.
The E.U. should also do all in its power to convince the Turkish authorities to end its extremely repressive campaign to stifle demands for education in minority languages.
The broader program of reform
The Turkish government has explicitly stated that it is aiming for a decision to begin full negotiations at the Copenhagen summit in December 2002, and has indicated that it sees a resolution of the language and death penalty issues as the key to achieving this end.
Human Rights Watch has no position on Turkey's accession to the E.U., much less on the scheduling of that process.
However, we have very strongly welcomed the prospect of Turkey working with colleague governments on a program of human rights reform in the context of the accession process.
We recognize that abolition of the death penalty and a resolution of the language question would represent substantial progress that might well amount to the decisive turning point for the promotion of human rights in Turkey.
But it would be regrettable if, in the struggle to resolve these key issues, the parties were to forget that the Accession Partnership and the National Plan make up a broad program, and that there are many other outstanding problems that have so far not been addressed.
Perhaps the most pressing is the need for more determined efforts to combat torture mentioned above.
There remains also the question of the thousands of women denied access to higher education because they wear the Islamic headscarf.
This issue is not explicitly addressed by the E.U.'s Accession Partnership document.
When questioned about this, an E.U. Commission official told Human Rights Watch that this issue was included in the medium term measure "Guarantee full enjoyment by all individuals without any discrimination and irrespective of their language, race, color, sex, political opinion, philosophical belief or religion of all human rights and fundamental freedoms.
Further develop conditions for the enjoyment of freedom of thought, conscience and religion." This language is reflected in article 1.2.11 of the National Program, but the relevant section contains no reference to lifting the discrimination against women who wear Islamic headcovering.
The Turkish government and the E.U. must work together to clarify this task and take the necessary steps towards a positive resolution.
The Turkish government should make a commitment to lift the ban on the wearing of headscarves or other religious head-covering by students in higher education and should be encouraged to reconsider the dress restriction imposed on civil servants. There can be no grounds for dress restrictions imposed on elected representatives in the Turkish parliament.
There is also an urgent need for effective protection of refugees.
In addition to the lifting of its geographical reservation on the 1951 Refugee Convention, the Turkish government should make a public undertaking to respect the principle of non-refoulement, regardless of the geographical restriction, and enact amendments to asylum laws and refugee status determination procedures in order to ensure that they do not result in refoulement.
More than a quarter of a million villagers, mainly Kurdish, remain displaced after they were illegally driven from their homes by security forces over the past decade.
The government's current Village Return and Rehabilitation Project is deeply flawed and is not effectively securing widespread returns.
The Turkish government must address the plight of the displaced with a comprehensive plan for return drawn up in accordance with international standards, in particular the U.N. Guiding Principles on Internal Displacement.
Conscientious objectors and those who criticize the institution of military service have both suffered imprisonment.
The Turkish government must set a date for abolition of Article 155 of the Turkish Criminal Code, which criminalizes criticism of military service and should also remove Article 377, which contains similar provisions, from
the new draft criminal code. An option for civilian service, which is not of punitive length, should be established for conscientious objectors.
Human Rights Watch appreciates your attention to the concerns expressed
in this letter and looks forward to a strengthening of the collaboration
between the E.U. and Turkey in meeting the political criteria, and more
consistent progress toward the goals established by the Accession Partnership
in the forthcoming months. (HRW, June 13, 2002)
Top court drafts its discretionary paper for TSIP case
The Constitutional Court has drafted a "discretionary paper," determining the procedure to be followed at the suit filed for the closure of the Turkish Socialist Workers' Party (TSIP).
Court of Cassation Chief Prosecutor Sabih Kanadoglu has filed with the Constitutional Court to shut down the TSIP on the grounds that the party was the focus of separatist actions.
The top court made its preliminary evaluation regarding the suit on Tuesday and signed the discretionary paper. Accordingly, the court will send the indictment to the party. Within 30 days, the party is required to make its preliminary defense.
Once the party makes its defense, Kanadoglu will express his view on the substance of the case. The party's top officials will then make their final defense. The reporter will then prepare its report on the substance of the case and the court will then deliver its verdict on the closure case.
In his seven-page indictment, Chief Prosecutor Kanadoglu said that the pictures, banners and placards of illegal armed organization members had been found during a search made by police on Dec. 13, 2000, and that TSIP leader Turgut Kocak and executive board members, Hasan Yavas and Necmi Ozyurt, had been sentenced to imprisonment for harboring the members of the outlawed organization.
Kanadoglu noted in his indictment that keeping the pictures and banners
of an organization supporting the dictatorship of a social class was an
indication that the party approved of and supported the acts of this organization,
thus encouraging crimes to be committed. Stressing, that these actions
contradicted the Constitution, Kanadoglu asked the top court to close the
party. (Turkish Daily News, June 19, 2002)
Human Rights violations in brief
Torture in Custody
Osman Karademir, who had been detained on charges of theft in Istanbul-Üsküdar at the end of May, alleged that he was tortured at Üsküdar Police HQ. First he had been called to Çinili Police Station. A police officer by the first name of Muvaffak had cursed at him and he had been taken to the department for order. Here he had been stripped stark naked, his hands had been tied on his back and he had been given electric shocks by his fingers, nipples and genitals. After the torture that lasted for hours he had been taken to hospital, but although he stated that he had been tortured he had not been given a report. (Cumhuriyet-TIHV, June 3, 2002)
Police Brutality in Erzurum
Sahin Köse, headman of Tinazli village (Erzurum) was arrested on charges of having beaten 5 police officers. According to Faruk Terzioglu, chairman of Erzurum Bar Association, Sahin Köse discussed with the driver of a minibus when he was drunk on 19 May. Police officers came and beat him, before he was taken to hospital being handcuffed. Allegedly he was beaten again, because he cursed at the police officers. On complaint of the police officers claiming that he had beaten them, he was arrested. (Milliyet-TIHV, June 1, 2002)
Politician on Trial
On 31 May Diyarbakir, Criminal Court No. 1 continued to hear the case of Yavuz Karakus, chairman of the Party of Labor (EMEP) in Diyarbakir in connection with a speech he held on 1 May, Labor Day. The court issued a verdict of discontinuing the proceedings for offences brought under Article 159 TPC. The trial of Karakus will continue at Diyarbakir Penal Court of First Instance. (Evrensel-TIHV, June 1, 2002)
Detentions and Arrests
On 4 June 10 out of 20 people, who had been detained in Ovacik district (Tunceli) on 30 May in connection with the testimony of 3 confessors from the Peasants Liberation Army of Turkey (TIKKO), were arrested on charges of supporting an illegal organization. The names of some of them were given as Hidir Biter, Nihat Kiliç, A. Haydar Günes, Vedat Günes, Özcan Öner, Mustafa Ulas and Haydar Kaç. Reportedly another 13 people have been detained in connection with the operation. (Yedinci Gündem-TIHV, June 5, 2002)
IHD Activity Prevented
The police in Bingöl did not allow the local branch of the Human Rights Association to hold a festival for children and the environment on 5 June. They put down the speaker's platform, where chairman Hüsnü Öndül should have talked and asked the organizers to hold their festival in a small place among trees. In return the festival was annuled. (TIHV, June 6, 2002)
Ankara IHD on Trial
On 6 June Ankara SSC continued to hear the case against the Ankara branch of the Human Rights Association (IHD) with the demand of closure and sentences for "supporting illegal organizations". A medical report on the defendant Ali Riza Bektas was read out stating that he was lacking responsibility for an offence. The hearing was adjourned to 25 July. For the protests against the F-type prisons the former chairman Lütfi Demirkapi and the board members Ilhami Yaban, Ismail Boyraz, Erol Direkçi, Mesut Çetiner, Zeki Irmak, Riza Resat Çetinbas, as well as members of the prison commission Ali Riza Bektas, Selim Necati Ort, Saniye Simsek, Ekrem Erdin, Gökçe Otlu and Emrah Serhan Soysal are charged under Article 169 TPC. The prosecutor has also asked for closure of the branch according to Article 7/4 of the Law on Fighting Terrorism. (TIHV, June 7, 2002)
TSIP to be Dissolved
On 6 June the chief prosecutor at the Court of Cassation called on the Constitutional Court to dissolve the Socialist Workersí Party of Turkey (TSIP). He argued that advocating and aiming at the dictatorship of a class was in contravention of Article 68 of the Constitution and maintained that during a search of the central offices on 13 December 2000 pictures, banners and posters of armed organizations had been found. In addition to the demand of closure the prosecutor asked for a punishment of Turgut Koçak, chairman of the party and the board members Hasan Yavas and Necmi Özyurda. (Hürriyet-TIHV, June 7, 2002)
Trade Unionists on Trial
On 6 June Ankara SSC No. 1 acquitted Tekin Yildiz, chairman of the trade union of staff in the judiciary (Tüm Yargi-Sen) and another 15 officials (Necdet Bekçi, Edip Binbir, Dursun Öztürk, Yildiz Çakmak, Hürriyet Pinar, Kutluay Öztürk, Ahmet Tanboga, Bekir Akkaya, Figen Öner, Fatma Akkus, Incehan Çaglayan, Erol Çavus, Kamur Emir, Nano Kaya and Ali Yücel Sahin) of the union from charges of supporting the Revolutionary Peopleís Liberation Party/Front (DHKP/C) according to Article 169 TPC. On 6 September 2001 Ankara SSC had convicted the defendants and sentenced them to 45 monthsí imprisonment in connection with a statement on the F-type prisons. The 9th Chamber of the Court of Cassation had quashed the verdict on 13 March this year. (Evrensel-TIHV, June 7, 2002)
Death in Custody
On 8 June Zübeyir Tekin (55) and his daughters Hatice Tekin and Herdem Tekin were detained in Batman after a fight in Çamlica quarter. Although he felt badly he was first taken to 10 Nisan Police Station. When his situation got worse he was taken to Batman State Hospital, but died on the way. An autopsy stated that he died of a heart attack. His relatives alleged that he had not been suffering from any illness and died because of medical neglect by the police. (Evrensel-TIHV, June 10, 2002)
IHD on Trial
On 6 June Diyarbakir Penal Court No. 3 continued to hear the case of the Diyarbakir branch of the Human Rights Association (IHD) for using the letter "w" in "Newroz" instead of "Nevruz", when on 14 March they decided to organize a reception on 20 March. Board member Piruzhan Dogrul testified to the effect that they had used the spelling that was used for hundreds of years. The court decided to ask the Turkish Language Institute for an opinion, despite objections by the defense. In this trial Osman Baydemir, chairman of the Diyarbakir branch of the Human Rights Association (IHD) and the board members Fikret Saraçoglu, Selahattin Demirtas, Abdulkadir Aydin, Reyhan Yalçindag, Meral Danis Bestas and Piruzhan Dogrul are charged for a violation of Article 6 of the Law on Associations providing that the distribution of brochures, leaflets and written statements has to be in Turkish. (Evrensel-TIHV, June 8, 2002)
Demonstration Prevented
On 9 June students from lyceums in Istanbul wanted to protest against the Law on Higher Education (YÖK) in Cagaloglu quarter. The police intervened and detained 7 students. (Cumhuriyet-TIHV, June 10, 2002)
Detentions and Arrests
In Sivas Hüseyin Kaya, Salih Çinar, Yusuf Çinar, Cemal Ulucan, Muharrem Çinar and Hasan Çinar, who had been detained on charges of membership of the Revolutionary Peopleís Liberation Party/Front (DHKP/C), were arrested. In Kütahya Coskun U., Selahattin Ü., Mehmet Y., Hasan S., Rifat A., Serhan D. and Tahsin Ç. were detained as the alleged members of the radical Islamic organization "Selam/Tevhid". (Evrensel-Yeni Safak-TIHV, June 8-10, 2002)
Death Fasts, TIHV staff Convicted
On 10 June Izmir Criminal Court No. 4 passed its verdict on Dr. Alp Ayan, staff member of the Izmir representation office of the Human Right Foundation of Turkey (TIHV), Mehmet Barindik, official of the trade union Limter-Is, and Abdülbari Yusufoglu (who died on 20 September 2001 as a result of the death fast action). All three had been charged in connection with a press statement on 13 January 2001 that focused on the action against prisons of 19 December 2000. Dr. Ayan and Mehmet Barindik were convicted of insulting the Justice Minister and sentenced to one yearís imprisonment. This trial had been initiated on 16 May 2001, after the first charges of conducting an illegal demonstration had resulted in acquittal by Izmir Penal Court No. 4 on 26 April 2001. The case against Abdülbari Yusufoglu was dropped. (TIHV, June 11, 2002)
Death Penalty Demanded
On 10 June Istanbul Criminal Court No. 5 continued to hear the case of Selva Agaoglu, Mehmet Tank and Mustafa Karli for killing the husband of Selva Agaoglu, Adnan Agaoglu on 12 October 2001. (Hürriyet (TIHV, June 11, 2002)
Greenpeace Trial
On 11 June Körfez Penal Court continued to hear the case of 12 members of Greenpeace. They are charged with having conducted an illegal demonstration at the Petkim company in Körfez (Kocaeli) on 15 August 2000. (Evrensel-TIHV, June 12, 2002)
Politicians on Trial
On 12 June Gaziantep Peace Court No. 2 acquitted the board members of the Labor Party (EMEP) in Gaziantep of charges of "putting up posters without permission". They had been detained on 30 April 2000, when they put up posters for International Labor Day. (Evrensel-TIHV, June 13, 2002)
The Kemal Türkler Case
On 13 June Bakirköy Criminal Court No. 2 continued to hear the case of Ünal Osmanagaoglu in connection with the killing of Kemal Türkler, former chairman of the trade union confederation DISK, on 22 July 1980. The file on the main trial against the Nationalist Action Party (MHP), demanded from Ankara Criminal Court No. 5, had not been received. Rasim Öz, lawyer for the sub-plaintiffs, complained that this file had not been forwarded from Ankara to Istanbul within 7 years. The hearing was adjourned to a 31 July. (Cumhuriyet-TIHV, June 14, 2002)
Prisoners Beaten
On 11 and 12 June prisoners in Ankara Closed Prison (Ulucanlar) were reportedly beaten by guardians. The prisoners told their lawyers: "In the morning of 11 June the guardians cursed at us, when they brought the daily needs. In the evening they asked us to make the roll call in military discipline. When the prisoners refused the guardians came back with even more people and started to bear the prisoners in the ward. During the attack the prisoners Alaattin Ugras, Mustafa Yasar, Emrah Yayla, Ömer Faruk, Erdem Günedoglu and Ongun Yücel were reportedly injured, but not allowed to be examined at the Forensic Institute. (Evrensel-TIHV, June 16, 2002)
Torture in Adana
On 14 June Ali Polat, staff member of the journal "Devrimci Demokrasi" held a press conference at the office of the Adana branch of the Human Rights Association (IHD). He stated that on 1 June plain-clothes detectives had forced another staff member, Ali Gezer, him into their car and had beaten and insulted him in the car. Later he had been taken to an unknown place and had been suspended by his arms. The next day the police officers had dropped on an empty field in Sakirpasa quarter. Ali Polat added that Ali Ugurlu, who had been detained on 5 June, had also been tortured. (Evrensel-TIHV, June 15, 2002)
Activities Banned
In Istanbul the governor banned a concert organized by the Social Aid and Culture Association of Migrants (GÖÇ-DER) during the "Migration Week" on 16 June. A meeting to be organized by the Van branch of GÖÇ-DER was banned by the governor in Van. (Yedinci Gündem-TIHV, June 16, 2002)
Physicians on Trial
On 17 June Bursa Penal Court No. 2 acquitted Bülent Aslanhan, Secretary General of Bursa Medical Association and the member of the Honor Council Hamdi Ugur, Sule Akköse and Arif Ismet Adanur of charges under Article 526/1 TPC of not following orders by the Ministry of Justice. The court ruled that the alleged offence had not materialized. (TIHV, June 18, 2002)
Physicians charged with documenting torture
On 17 June Istanbul Criminal Court No. 1 started to hear the case of Dr. Ayhan Sandal and Dr. Orhan Fevzi Gümrükçüoglu charged with fraud by issuing reports certifying traces of torture for Mustafa Albayrak and Tufan Mengi, who had been detained in connection with an investigation against the municipality of Istanbul. Dr. Ayhan Sandal stated that he had found traces of blows. On that day the police department for organized crimes had presented 7 or 8 detainees. He had asked the police officers to stay outside und examined Tufan Mengi. He had found traumatic traces at the penis and the knee. "Later Mustafa Albayrak came in and also complained about torture. Dr. Orhan Gümrükçüoglu reminded the police officers of a circular asking them to stay outside. I found similar traces on this patient. When leaving the room Mustafa Albayrak asked me to issue a normal report, because otherwise the torture would continue." Dr. Orhan Gümrükçüoglu testified to the effect that he only had asked the police officers to leave the room, but in return was charged with fraud. He added that Tufan Mengi had attempted to commit suicide in custody, which was an indication of pressure exerted on him. Later the detainees had been taken to four hospitals. At Capa Hospital another physician found traces of torture and only at a hospital in Okmeydani the police officers succeeded in finding a doctor who issued a report of good health. This physician was not on duty at the time. The court adjourned the hearing to a later date to listen to the police officers as witnesses. (Yeni Safak-TIHV, June 18, 2002)
Massacre in Prison
On 17 June Ankara Criminal Court continued the trial against 85 prisoner in connection with the events in Ankara Closed Prison on 26 September 1999, during which 10 prisoners died. The defendants pleaded not guilty and stated that they were the victims of the incident. The hearing was adjourned to 30 September. In the trial the death penalty is sought for the defendant Cemal Çakmak according to Article 450/5 TPC. The other defendants have to expect prison terms for rioting in prison, damaging public property and attempted murder. (Evrensel-TIHV, June 18, 2002)
The Manisa Case
On 17 June Manisa Criminal Court continued the case against 10 police officers, charged with having tortured 16 juveniles between 26 December 1995 and 5 January 1996. This was the 40th hearing in this case. Lawyer Serhan Özbek, chairman of Manisa Bar Association, acting for the sub-plaintiffs, repeated his fear that the police officers may go without punishment, because the time for punishment of the defendants will elapse in June 2003. The court adjourned the hearing to 17 July to complete missing documents in the file. (Milliyet-TIHV, June 18, 2002)
The Akkise Events
The case against officer Ali Çaliskan concerning the events in Akkise (Konya) on 9 August 2001 continued at Seydisehir Criminal Court on 17 June. Abdullah Kayaalp, Mayor of Akkise, stated that the officer had climbed on a table and fired in the air. When he (the mayor) tried to prevent him, he was beaten with the butt of a rifle. The officer had shouted that he had the authority to kill 50 people. The incident in Akkise started when two people could not identify themselves during a check by the gendarmerie. The officer Ali Çaliskan came with some 100 soldiers and Hasan Gültekin (21) was killed, Sami Tokmak, Kemal Candan and Ismet Tasbasi were injured. A trial against 52 soldiers and 22 civilians is continuing at Ahirli Penal Court. The soldiers are charged with "ill-treatment", while the civilians are charged with "damaging public property" and "resisting the security forces". (Evrensel-TIHV, June 18, 2002)
Greenpeace Action
On 17 June members of Greenpeace entered Atakule Tower in Ankara and opened a banner "Ban the Burn" in protest at burning the dangerous waste in Izmit. The police intervened and detained Banu Dökmecibasi, Paul Schot (Dutch), Florian Van Olden (Dutch), Firas Fayad (Lebanon), Nazim Keven, Tuna Türkmen and Oguzhan Yilmaz. (Milliyet-TIHV, June 18, 2002)
Rearrest after Release
Enver Yanik was rearrested after he had been released from Sincan F-type Prison. Having been sentenced to 22.5 yearsí imprisonment for membership of the Revolutionary Peopleís Liberation Party/Front (DHKP/C) had admitted to have killed another prisoner in his ward in Ankara Ulucanlar Prison. For this offence he was sentenced to death. This penalty was commuted to life imprisonment and both sentences were combined to the maximum possible sentence of 36 yearsí imprisonment. This sentence was reduced to 10 yearsí imprisonment according to the Law on Conditional Release and Suspension of Sentences. Having spent more than 10 years in prison Enver Yanik was released. Later it was discovered that Article 168 TPC (membership of an illegal organization) was not included in the offences for conditional release and an arrest warrant was issued. (Milliyet-TIHV, June 18, 2002)
Lawyer Indicted
A court case was filed against lawyer Behiç Asçi from the Peopleís Law Office in Istanbul on charges of having presented wrong facts after the police operation in Küçükarmutlu quarter against houses, in which solidarity hunger strikes were being conducted. During the attack of the police on 5 November 2001 4 people were killed. The public prosecutor stated in his indictment, that the lawyer had claimed that the corpses had shown bullet wounds, whereas the autopsy had revealed the opposite. The case will be heard at Fatih Penal Court No. 2. (Cumhuriyet-TIHV, June 19, 2002)
Torture in Van
Memduh Özbey alleged that he was tortured at the central police station in Van on 16 June. He stated that he had taken a relative of his to the emergency service of Van State Hospital, because he had been injured during a fight. The police detained him, when he discussed with those people, who had injured his relative. At the central police station he was allegedly beaten so heavily that he himself had to be taken to hospital. "They called me a traitor and kicked and beat me with their fists. My nose broke and I was wounded to my face. I had almost fainted, when they took me to hospital. They exerted pressure on the doctor not to issue a report. After an initial treatment I was taken to the prosecutor and told him what happened." Memduh Özbey was released, but had to be taken to hospital again. His father Sadi Özbey said that they had not yet established the names of the police officers, but that they would go to the Van branch of the Human Rights Association (IHD) and file an official complaint against the officers on duty. (Yedinci Gündem-TIHV, June 19, 2002)
Refugees Killed
The security forces shot at a group of people from Bangladesh, who tried to enter Turkey illegally near Aslanyazi village in Yayladag district (Hatay) and allegedly did not listen to stop warnings. Sillih Peder (23) and Cahir (28, surname not known) were killed and Musiyar Rahman, Abdurraaf Tazel Islam and Cihlurahman (surname not known) were detained. (Radikal-TIHV, June 20, 2002)
Files on Execution
Two more court files with death penalties reached the Presidency of the Grand National Assembly of Turkey (GNAT) increasing the number of files awaiting a decision on the execution of the sentences to 32 and the number of people on death row to 83. One case refers to Salih Izzet Erdis, also known as Salih Mirzabeyoglu, the alleged leader of the radical Islamic organization IBDA/C. Istanbul SSC No. 6 had sentenced him to death and on 18 April this year the Court of Cassation had confirmed the death penalty. The other two cases refer to Hasan Aydogan and Türkan Özen, who were sentenced to death according to Article 146 TPC. (Sabah-TIHV, June 20, 2002)
Right-Wing Attack
During the night of 13 June the student Cem Erol, staying in the Atatürk Studentsí Hostel in Inciralti (Izmir), was severely beaten by a group of right-wingers. During a press conference at the Izmir branch of the Human Rights Association (IHD) he said in 19 November: "Four of us were in the room, when a group of 10 fascists came. They asked me to go with them. Trying to avoid further trouble, I did what they wanted. Five people took me to another building and the other five stayed in the room. The five people told me that they belonged to the ëidealist formationí and asked me what kind of politics I was following. They cursed at me. Later their ëchiefí arrived and said that I had the choice to either become an idealist or die. For half an hour I was beaten on my head with a bottle. Saying that it was their duty to make me talk they beat for about two hours, until I fainted. I was beaten again, when I regained consciousness by means of water, they poured over me." (Evrensel-TIHV, June 20, 2002)
Students on Trial
On 19 June Adana SSC started to try 28 students, who had held a press conference in Mersin on 14 March, after the student Ömer Kiliç had been beaten by right-wingers on 11 March. The hearing on charges of supporting an illegal organization by shouting slogans was adjourned to 16 October. On 5 June the trial of 50 students, charged with having staged an illegal demonstration, resulted in acquittal at Mersin Penal Court No. 2. (Evrensel-TIHV, June 20, 2002)
Detentions and Arrests
In Tunceli Hatice Dönmez (62), her daughter Evrim Dönmez (20) and Baris Rüzgar (20) were arrested on charges of supporting the Turkish Communist Party/ML-Workersí and Peasants Liberation Army of Turkey (TKP/ML TIKKO). Living in Altinyüzük village they had been detained on 10 June, because of a statement by the repentant TIKKO militant Özgür Ahiboz. On 18 June the students Mahmut Aslan, Hasan Balci and Ali Sunguntekin were arrested in Adiyaman. They are accused of having written pro-PKK slogans on walls in Karapinar quarter about one month ago. Tuncay Iscen, Ahmet Bastug, Yesim Sönmez and Goncagül Telek were detained in Istanbul-Kartal on 19 June, when they put up poster prepared by the journal "Devrimci Demokrasi" against the isolation. (Evrensel-TIHV, June 20, 2002)
Police Shoots Pickpocket
In the evening of 19 June the lyceum student T.S. (16) grabbed the bag of Semra Süreç in Bagcilar Fevzi Çakmak quarter of Istanbul and ran away. Police officer Ekrem Özkara from the department to fight terrorism reportedly ran after him and shot him in his back. T.S. was taken to Haseki Hospital and the police officer had to testify at the nearest police station. (Radikal-TIHV, June 21, 2002)
Anti-riot police abolished
Kemal Önal, Director for General Security issued a circular with the consensus of the Minister of the Interior ordering that the anti-riot Police (Çevik Kuvvet) will be abolished in 69 of 81 provinces and integrated into the Department for Preventive Services. Units of the anti-riot police will remain in large cities such as Istanbul, Ankara and Izmir. (Zaman-TIHV, June 21, 2002)
Lawyer on Trial
On 21 June Fatih Penal Court No. 2 started to hear the case of lawyer Behiç Asçi from the Peopleís Law Office in Istanbul. He is charged with having presented incorrect information by a press release after the police operation in Küçükarmutlu quarter on 5 November 2001 that resulted in the death of 4 people. The court decided to send the file to the Justice Ministry asking for permission to try the lawyer according to Law No. 1136 on the Law Profession. (Evrensel-TIHV, June 22, 2002)
Meeting Banned, Offices Raided
The offices of the Social Support and Culture Association for Migrants (GÖÇ-DER) in Istanbul were raided on 22 June and 4 people were detained. The governor of Istanbul banned a meeting organized by Göç-Der for 23 June. The ban was based on Law 2911 on Meetings and Demonstration. (Evrensel-TIHV, June 24, 2002)
Investigation against Migration Report
The prosecutor at Istanbul SSC started an investigation against Sefika Gürbüz, chairwoman of the Support and Culture Association for Migrants (GÖÇ-DER) and the sociologist Mehmet Barut for the "Migration Report" researched by Mehmet Barut and published by GÖÇ-DER. During a press conference on 24 June Sefika Gürbüz stated that she had testified at Istanbul SSC last week. (Evrensel-TIHV, June 25, 2002)
Right-Wing Brutality
Ulas Gökpinar, student at the Arts Faculty of Sakarya University (Adapazari) alleged that right-wing students (so-called idealists) attacked him twice, because he refused to join them. The first time 6 people had attacked him in January, because he had grown a beard. The former "chief" Haluk Akdas and the new "chief" Ibrahim Ergün had been among the attackers. At the time of the final examinations he had been attacked in the city center of Adapazari. The attackers had been 15 to 20 people and first hit him on his head from behind with a belt. His nose had been broken and he had received a report certifying inability to work for 10 days. His girl friend Pinar Kurt had also been attacked and a wound to her head had to be stitched. (Cumhuriyet-TIHV, June 25, 2002)
Torture in Mersin
Atilla Güray, who was detained in Mersin in connection with the opening of an office for the journal "Isçi Köylü" on 22 June, alleged that he was tortured after detention during a picnic close to Mersin. Bekir Geyik, board member of the Tarsus branch of the Human Rights Association (IHD), told that Atilla Güray had been chained to the heating system at the central police station of Mersin and until his release on 24 June he had been beaten and cursed at. (TIHV, June 26, 2002)
Beating of human rights activist
The governor of Çankaya district (Ankara) did not give a permission to investigate the allegation that Saadet Erdem, board member of the Ankara Branch of the Human Rights Association (IHD), was beaten during the Newroz celebrations. The governor argued that there was no other evidence for such an incident apart from the testimony of Saadet Erdem. (TIHV, June 26, 2002)
Detentions and Arrests
The Platform for Democratic Struggle announced that during the last three days Kemal Isik, Ergün Ölmez, Dilek Aksu, Çagdas Can, Goncagül Telek, Yesim Senmez, Ahmet Bagtug, Safak Kurt and Tuncay had been detained, when they put up posters under the title "We Shall Overcome the Cell and Isolation Terror in and outside prison", prepared by the journal "Devrimci Demokrasi". (Evrensel-TIHV, June 27, 2002)
Massacre in Ulucanlar Prison
On 27 June Ankara Criminal Court No. 6 continued to hear the case of 161 members of the security forces, charged in connection with the massacre in Ulucanlar Prison, during which 10 prisoners died on 26 September 1999. Defendant Nuh Karaslan stated that they had not assaulted the prisoners during the operation, but the prisoners had shot them and each other. Five more defendants testified similarly. Among the spectators three people said to be from the intelligence of the gendarmerie tried to influence the defendants on making similar statements. The victims Derya Simsek and Gökçen Kaygusuz stated that they had been beaten and assaulted by the soldiers. The hearing was adjourned to 9 October. (Evrensel-TIHV, June 28, 2002)
Trade Unionist on Trial
On 27 June Ankara Penal Court No. 20 started to hear the case of Mustafa Basoglu, chairman of the trade union of staff in the health sector (Saglik?Is). The charges under Article 312 TPC related to a speech he held at a conference of students at the theological faculty of Ankara University. By saying that the ban on headscarves was in contravention to the Constitution he allegedly incited the people to disobedience. During the hearing he repeated his views saying that the Constitution provided that the right to education may not be restricted and his lawyer stated that the investigation of the public prosecutor in Üsküdar (Istanbul) related to a similar speech at Marmara University had resulted in a decision not to prosecute. The court adjourned the hearing to 22 October. (Zaman-TIHV, June 28, 2002)
Devrimci Yol Trial
On 27 June Ankara Criminal Court No. 6 continued to hear the case of 23 defendants from the Devrimci Yol (Revolutionary Path) Trial that had originally started at Ankara Military Court on 18 October 1982. The verdict of 19 July 1989 had been quashed on 27 December 1995 for 23 defendants on the grounds that these defendants should have been sentenced to death. The hearing was adjourned to 16 July for the defendants to finish their final statements. (Evrensel-TIHV, June 28, 2002)
Ill-treatment in Adana
Ali Güngör, board member of the Peopleís Democracy Party (HADEP) in Mersin, alleged that guardians in Adana Kürkçüler Prison beat his wife Sadiye Güngör, remanded since the Newroz celebrations on charges of supporting an illegal organization. When he visited her on 27 June she told him: "I asked the guardian Filiz for an examination in the infirmary, but she cursed at me. 20 minutes later I was called, but instead of taking me to the infirmary 10 guardians, including Filiz and another two female guardians started to beat me. Afterwards they took me to a single cell." Ali Güngör added that the deputy prison directory had interrogated his wife, when she complained about the incident. (Yedinci Gündem-TIHV, June 28, 2002)
EMEP Official and Students on Trial
On 28 June Ankara Penal Court No. 7 started to hear the case of 23 students (5 of them remanded) and Ibrahim Akkaya, chairman of the Party of Labour (EMEP) for Ankara province in connection with protests against the Council for Higher Education (YÖK) on Kizilay Square (Ankara) on 18 May. The students rejected the charges of having clashed with the police and alleged that police officers had beaten them. The court ordered the release of Emrah Ayda, Erdem Güdenoglu, Ömer Faruk Gök, Mustafa Yasar and Ongun Yücel and adjourned the hearing to 26 September. (Evrensel-TIHV, June 29, 2002)
Civil Servants on Trial
On 28 June Bornova Penal Court No. 2 acquitted 270 civil servants, who had participated in the one-day no-work action of the Labour Platform in Izmir on 1 December 2000. (Yedinci Gündem-TIHV, June 28, 2002)
Demonstrators Detained
On 28 June the Confederation of Trade Unions in the Public Sector (KESK) organized a protest meeting against the increase of wages in Mersin. The police intervened and detained some 20 civil servants. (Yedinci Gündem-TIHV, June 28, 2002)
Guardians on Trial
The prosecutor at Diyarbakir SSC indicted the guardians Semra Yildiz
and Betül Gürkan from Diyarbakir E-type Prison charging them
with support for an illegal organization. According to the complaint of
repentant PKK militant Nazdar Kara both guardians participated in an "event
for the moral of female prisoners" in September 2001. The case will start
in the near future. (Cumhuriyet-TIHV, June 30, 2002)
PRESSIONS SUR LES MEDIAS / PRESSURE ON THE MEDIA
Scandale: Les vers de Nazim Hikmet sur le génocide arménien censurés
Le ministère turc de la Culture vient de publier un CD intitulé FAZIL SAY: NAZIM. Il s'agit d'un album de compositions du célèbre pianiste turc Fazil Say réalisé à l'occasion du 100e anniversaire du plus grand poète turc Nazim Hikmet.
Considéré comme le poète le plus important et le plus novateur du XXe siècle en Turquie, ami de Jean-Paul Sartre, Louis Aragon, Pablo Neruda ou encore Miguel Angel Asturias, Nazim Hikmet s'était exilé en 1951, après plusieurs années passées dans les prisons turques pour ses idées communistes. En 1959, le gouvernement turc l'a privé de sa nationalité turque.
Nazim Hikmet est décédé en 1963 en exil à Moscou.
Sa nationalité turque n'a pas encore été restituée malgré le fait qu'un demi-million de personnes aient adressé au Premier ministre Ecevit une pétition dans ce sens.
Avec une hypocrisie sans précédent, le ministère turc de la Culture organise une série de festivités pour célébrer l'anniversaire de Nazim Hikmet alors que le gouvernement turc persiste à ne pas restituer sa nationalité. Il s'avère que toutes ces festivités sont organisées uniquement pour séduire l'opinion publique.
Toutefois, la pratique de censure ne manque pas même dans cette opération de séduction. Ce qui est le plus grave est que les artistes les plus estimés du pays sont utilisés pour censurer les poèmes de Nazim Hikmet.
Dans le CD en question, plusieurs poèmes parmi les plus connus de Nazim Hikmet sont récités par le célèbre acteur Genco Erkal, qui est réputé pour son interprétation du poète. Le récit est accompagné par le pianiste Fazil Say, l'Orchestre symphonique de la Présidence de la République et le Chúur polyphonique de l'Etat.
Un des poèmes récités est intitulé "Promenade
du Soir" et raconte les impressions de Nazim Hikmet pendant qu'il promenait
avec sa femme dans un quartier populaire d'Istanbul juste après
sa mise en liberté en 1950. Plusieurs habitants du quartier appartenant
aux ethnies différentes - turque, grecque, arménienne - défilent
dans ce poème, par exemple:
A notre grand étonnement, Genco Erkal ne lit que le premier vers et saute les vers suivants.
Le CD est accompagné d'une brochure préfacée par le ministre de la Culture qui contient les textes de Nazim Hikmet.
Hélas, les vers sautés par l'acteur n'existent pas non plus dans cette brochure. Or, cette brochure a été éditée par Ahmet Say, père du pianiste Fazil Say, qui est un des éditeurs de gauche renommés du pays.
Il ne s'agit absolument pas d'une erreur ordinaire, car Genco Erkal et Ahmet Say, tous les deux, sont censés connaître parfaitement ce poème qui est récité par cúur par des intellectuels et militants de gauche du pays.
D'ailleurs, l'authenticité des vers en question ne peut pas être contestée, car ce poème avait été récité sur une bande magnétique par Nazim Hikmet lui-même lors qu'il était en exil. Cet enregistrement a été publié par Info-Türk en 1975 et diffusé pleinement en Turquie.
Il s'agit donc d'un acte de censure honteux.
Il s'agit d'une insolence faite au plus grand poète turc qui a sacrifié toute sa vie à la libération sociale et nationale des peuples opprimés.
Il s'agit d'une insolence faite au peuple arménien et aux autres peuples qui étaient victimes des régimes despotiques dans leurs terres natales.
Il s'agit également d'une insolence faite au peuple turc qui est ainsi privé du droit de connaître correctement les atrocités commises par ses propres dirigeants contre d'autres peuples d'Anatolie.
Dogan Özgüden
RSF: Carton rouge pour 5 pays qualifiés dont la Turquie
A deux jours du coup d'envoi de la Coupe du monde de football, Reporters sans frontières souhaite alerter l'opinion publique sur la situation des droits de l'homme dans cinq des pays qualifiés, en lançant une campagne dans la presse. Le visuel montre un ballon de football duquel coulent quelques gouttes de sang, barré par le nom des cinq pays mis en cause et par la mention : Carton rouge.
Ce visuel est accompagné d'un texte expliquant la démarche de l'association de défense de la liberté de la presse: "La Coupe du monde, c'est la plus grande fête du football. Et il n'est pas question de la gâcher. Reste que cinq des nations qualifiées sont de véritables ennemies des droits de l'homme, de la démocratie et des libertés. Pour les sévices, les exactions, les atrocités qu'elles commettent, l'Arabie saoudite, la Chine, la Russie, la Tunisie et la Turquie méritent un carton rouge. Dans ces pays, on emprisonne, on torture, on assassine parfois des journalistes et ceux qui pensent différemment. Il ne faut pas l'oublier. Même pendant un match de foot."
Reporters sans frontières publie chaque année la liste des " prédateurs de la liberté de la presse ". Parce que les ennemis de la liberté d'expression ont des visages, l'organisation a épinglé dernièrement 38 responsables d'exactions : chefs d'Etat, de gouvernement, chefs de guerre ou de groupes mafieux se partagent ainsi l'affiche. A l'heure où le monde entier s'apprête à vibrer à l'unisson au rythme du football et des exploits sportifs des équipes sélectionnées, Reporters sans frontières apporte un bémol et rappelle que de hauts responsables de ces cinq Etats, dénoncés comme des " prédateurs ", font régner la terreur chez les opposants dans leur pays.
Reporters sans frontières rappelle ainsi qu'en Turquie, malgré l'annonce de réformes démocratiques dans le cadre de la candidature turque à l'Union européenne, les délits d'opinion sont toujours aussi systématiquement et sévèrement sanctionnés, en vertu d'un arsenal législatif répressif visant à protéger l'Etat contre les revendications kurdes, islamistes, et d'extrême gauche. En 2001, plus de cinquante représentants de la presse, de toutes tendances, ont comparu devant les tribunaux pour leurs écrits.
Les journalistes ayant mis en cause l'armée, d'une façon
ou d'une autre, ont été systématiquement inquiétés.
Plusieurs quotidiens ont fait l'objet de poursuites pour leur couverture
des grèves de la faim de prisonniers protestant contre leurs conditions
d'incarcération et des opérations policières dans
les prisons. En 2001, vingt journalistes ont été agressés
dans l'exercice de leur profession et trente ont été interpellés.
Cinq journalistes sont toujours emprisonnés, en raison notamment
de leur responsabilité dans la diffusion d'informations et de publications
considérées par les autorités comme des menaces pour
l'ordre public ou l'unité de l'Etat. Hüseyin Kivrikoglu, chef
d'état-major des armées, fait partie des prédateurs
de la liberté de la presse dénoncés par Reporters
sans frontières. (RSF, 30 mai 2002)
La Turquie condamnée pour atteinte à la liberté d'expression
La Turquie a été condamnée par la Cour européenne des droits de l'Homme pour violation de la liberté d'expression d'un ressortissant turc qui avait prononcé un discours favorable au parti indépendantiste kurde PKK (parti des travailleurs du Kurdistan, rebaptisé KADEK), a indiqué la Cour dans un arrêt publié mardi.
Esber Yagmurdereli, un juriste mal-voyant, écrivain et docteur en philosophie, avait été condamné à la prison à perpétuité en 1985 pour "tentative de renversement de l'ordre constitutionnel".
Remis en liberté conditionnelle en 1991, il avait été à nouveau condamné pour "propagande séparatiste" après avoir prononcé un discours dans lequel il utilisait le terme de "Kurdistan" et parlait de "lutte pour la démocratie et la liberté" du PKK. Il était finalement sorti de prison en janvier 2001.
La Cour européenne a estimé que "les propos du requérant avaient la forme d'un discours politique et que survenant lors d'un débat public portant sur une nouvelle loi relative au terrorisme, ils revêtaient le caractère d'une question d'intérêt général".
Les juges, considérant que ces propos n'étaient pas une "incitation à attiser la haine et la violence entre citoyens", ont rejeté l'argument de la Turquie qui mettait en avant la nécessité de protéger la sécurité nationale et l'intégrité territoriale.
La Turquie a ainsi été condamnée pour violation
de l'article 10 (liberté d'expression). Elle a également
été condamnée pour violation de l'article 6-1 (droit
à un procès équitable) car un juge militaire siégeait
dans la cour de sûreté de l'Etat qui avait condamné
le requérant. (AFP, 4 juin 2002)
Un journaliste incarcéré pour "propagande séparatistes"
RSF se félicite de la libération de Asiye Zeybek Güzel, journaliste de l'hebdomadaire "Atilim", emprisonnée depuis février 1997, mais dénonce le maintien en détention du journaliste Fikret Baskaya et la récente incarcération du journaliste Ahmet Aksoy pour diffusion de "propos séparatistes".
L'organisation a interpellé le ministre de la Justice, Hikmet Sami Turk, dans un courrier daté du 6 juin 2002. "Asiye Zeybek Güzel aura passé plus de cinq années en prison sans être jugée, elle aura été violée et torturée par des policiers en toute impunité. Reporters sans frontières appuiera ses démarches auprès de la Cour européenne des droits de l'homme", a déclaré Robert Ménard, secrétaire général de RSF. "Nous demandons la libération immédiate des journalistes Fikret Baskaya et Ahmet Aksoy", a ajouté Ménard.
Selon les informations recueillies par RSF, le président du tribunal de la Cour de sûreté n°2 d'Istanbul, Seref Akçay, a décidé, compte tenu de la durée excessive du procès, de libérer Zeybek Güzel, en attendant la prochaine audience, fixée au 7 août. La journaliste risque encore entre trois et douze ans et demi de prison. Accusée d'appartenance au Parti communiste marxiste-léniniste (MLKP), Zeybek Güzel était incarcérée à la prison de Gebze depuis plus de cinq années, toujours en attente de jugement. Le 22 février 1997, elle avait été interpellée puis conduite à la section antiterroriste de la direction de sécurité d'Istanbul. Pendant les treize jours de sa garde à vue, elle avait été torturée et violée. La procédure judiciaire contre les policiers accusés du viol avait abouti à un non-lieu et son avocat, Ercan Kanar, a saisi la Cour européenne des droits de l'homme au sujet du viol et de la durée excessive du jugement. Le 27 mars, son avocat avait plaidé pour sa libération et dénoncé toutes les irrégularités du procès.
Le journaliste Baskaya, éditorialiste du quotidien prokurde "Özgür Bakis" et universitaire, est toujours emprisonné, depuis le 29 juin 2001, à la prison de Kalecik à Ankara. Le 26 janvier, la Cour de cassation avait confirmé une peine d'un an et quatre mois de prison prononcée par la cour de sûreté de l'État pour "propagande séparatiste". Le 10 mai, la cour de sûreté de l'État n°2 d'Istanbul a rejeté la demande de libération du journaliste et l'arrêt de l'exécution de sa peine, malgré la récente réforme de l'article 8 de la loi antiterroriste en vertu duquel il est accusé. La prochaine audience est prévue pour le 7 juin.
Le 29 mai, le journaliste Aksoy, propriétaire du journal local "Olusum", publié à Gaziantep (sud-est du pays), a été incarcéré sur ordre du procureur de la République dans la prison de Nizip, à Gaziantep. Dans l'article intitulé "Deniz, Hüseyin, Yusuf", qui rendait hommage à trois figures de la génération 68, il aurait tenu des "propos séparatistes" et "offensé la personne spirituelle de l'État" en parlant d'État "fasciste".
Quatre autres journalistes, Kemal Evcimen, Hasan Özgün, Nureddin
Sirin et Mustafa Benli, sont actuellement derrière les barreaux
pour leur responsabilité dans la diffusion d'informations et de
publications considérées par les autorités comme des
menaces pour l'ordre public ou l'unité de l'État, mais relevant
pleinement de la liberté et du pluralisme de l'information selon
les standards démocratiques.(RSF/IFEX, 7 juin 2002)
DGM trial continues for musicians, artists and writers
Some 16 people including writers, artists, musicians and democratic mass organizations, who signed the book named "Freedom to Thought 2000" as publisher, continued to be tried at Istanbul State Security Court (DGM) yesterday. These people are being tried on the grounds that they published a publication, which is considered as a crime by the laws.
Suspects musician Sanar Yurdatapan and Prof. Huseyin Ali Nesin attended the hearing held yesterday. Nesin asked the court to send their dossier to the Constitutional Court for the cancellation of the Penal Code's article, on which they were being tried. The court postponed the hearing for the completion of the lacking dossier upon this demand.
The suspects were earlier acquitted by the same court for the crimes, "sheltering and assisting the terrorist organization," and "inciting people to enmity and hatred," because of lack of evidence.
Court of Cassation overturned a local court's verdict acquitting these suspects and announced that the suspects should be tried of the crime in Penal Code's Article 162 reading, "publishing publications considered as crime by the laws."
Sanar Yurdatapan, Zuhal Olcay Bilginer, Prof. Huseyin Ali Nesin, Vahdettin
Karabay, Cengiz Bektas, Siyami Erdem, Salim Uslu, Yilmaz Ensaroglu, Mehmet
Atilla Maras, Yavuz Onen, Husnu Ondul, Sadik Tasdogen, Etyen Mahcupyan,
Ayse Lale Mansur, Ibrahim Omer Madra and Erdal Ozun are facing heavy imprisonment
more than five years in the case that they are found guilty. (Turkish Daily
News, June 13, 2002)
Seven journalists are in jail in Turkey
The Press Council said in a recent report that there were seven journalists in jail as of Jan. 1, 2002 and added that one of these journalists, Fikret Baskaya, was imprisoned because of "unhesitatingly" journalism action.
The Press Council believes that Kemal Evcimen, Mustafa Benli, Nurettin Sirin, Sadik Celik, Memik Horuz and Serdal Gelir were imprisoned because of their "journalism" actions.
The Council suggests that these seven people should be retried, adding
that it does not believe that the other inmates titled journalists, were
imprisoned because of their actions regarding journalism. (Turkish Daily
News, June 12, 2002)
Journalist sentenced to 15 years' imprisonment
On 13 June 2002, Memik Horuz, publication director of the far-left magazine "Isçi Köylü", was sentenced to 15 years' imprisonment for "belonging to an illegal armed organisation". The conviction follows his publication of interviews with far-left activists. Two days later, Ibrahim Yildiz, managing editor of the daily newspaper "Cumhuriyet", was illegally detained for questioning.
"The methods used by judiciary officials and the police in Turkey are appalling," RSF Secretary-General Robert Ménard noted in a letter to Turkish Justice Minister Hikmet Sami Turk. Ménard expressed concern over the developments and protested the cavalier way in which the two cases were handled. "Horuz was only sentenced on the basis of one article he wrote and one witness's claims, which were proven false by the defence lawyers," he said. "Yildiz was held for questioning for 12 hours, simply because the police's files were not up to date. We ask you to free Horuz at once," Ménard added.
Ankara's State Security Court No. 2 sentenced Horuz under Article 168 (2) of the criminal code. The publication director was sent to the city's Sincan Prison on 18 June 2001. He was accused of writing a feature based on interviews with members of a banned organisation, the armed wing of the Turkish Marxist-Leninist Party (TKP/ML TIKKO), and publishing it in the magazine "Özgür Geleçek" in November 2000. The court refused to reduce his sentence for good behaviour, as allowed for under Article 59 of the criminal code.
The only evidence that the court considered to reach its conclusion were the article and the testimony of an alleged former TKP/ML TIKKO member, Erol Cetin, who claimed Horuz was a member of the party and had taken part in some training exercises. The defence produced alibis for every date and fact put forward by Cetin.
RSF notes that Turkey's Press Council believes Horuz was convicted for his journalistic activities, although the formal charges against him are not linked to his professional activities as a journalist.
"Cumhuriyet" managing editor Yildiz was arrested, for no apparent reason,
at an Ankara hotel during the night of 14 to 15 June. He was held for questioning
for 12 hours, then brought before a court and released. Police had been
looking for him in connection with an article about a bank, for which he
was sued in 1996 and then amnestied the following year. However, the police
files on the case were not up to date. Since Yildiz received no information
about the legal action against him, the police had no right to arrest him
and should have simply summoned him.(RSF/IFEX, June 19, 2002)
Cour européenne: la Turquie fait amende honorable dans deux affaires
La Turquie a fait amende honorable jeudi en acceptant des règlements à l'amiable dans une affaire de violences policières et une autre de liberté de la presse, portées par les victimes devant la Cour européenne des droits de l'Homme à Strasbourg.
L'Etat turc a accepté de verser 100.000 euros à un habitant de Mugla (sud-ouest) dont le fils est décédé à l'issue d'une semaine de mauvais traitements en garde à vue et de grève de la faim, en 1993. L'affaire n'est toujours pas jugée.
Dans une déclaration jointe à l'arrêt, le gouvernement turc a déploré "les décès survenus à la suite d'un recours injustifié à la force et d'un manque de protection de la vie de détenus, comme dans le cas de Baki Erdogan, en dépit de la législation en vigueur en Turquie et de sa détermination à prévenir de pareils actes et à remédier à pareils manquements".
La Turquie a également accepté de verser 3.800 euros à un journaliste d'Istanbul, Ali Erol, condamné à une forte amende par la cour de sûreté de l'Etat pour un article publié par le quotidien Evrensel en 1995.
"Les condamnations de la Turquie prononcées par la Cour européenne
dans les affaires concernant les poursuites au titre de l'article
312 du Code pénal (incitation à la haine fondée
sur l'appartenance à une race ou à une région)
ou des dispositions de la loi sur la prévention du terrorisme font
apparaître clairement que le droit et la pratique turcs doivent
d'urgence être mis en conformité avec les exigences
de l'article 10 de la Convention européenne des droits de
l'Homme (liberté d'expression)", reconnaît le gouvernement
turc dans une déclaration contrite. (AFP, 20 juin 2002)
Writer Melih Pekdemir seeks asylum following prison sentence
Writer, publisher and political activist Melih Pekdemir is seeking political asylum in Germany following the finalisation of a three-year and nine-month sentence served against him in Turkey.
Pekdemir was found guilty in September 2001, under Article 169 of the Turkish Penal Code, for "supporting an illegal organisation", the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), in his book "Öcalan Devlet mi?" (Is the State a Revenger?). He was also accused of promoting "separatism" under Article 8 of the Anti-Terror Law for his references to "Kurdistan". In his defence statement, Pekdemir said that his aim was to criticise some PKK policies and actions, which he believed violated human rights. He declared that it was "absurd to make propaganda for such an organisation," whose objectives he protests. However, he was found guilty of having quoted excerpts from PKK documents in his book, which he then went on to critique.
Pekdemir was sentenced to three years and nine months in prison. He appealed the sentence, but this was rejected and his conviction was finalised on 17 April 2002. As is common practice for those convicted of political offences, prisoners are granted a brief period between conviction and the requirement to enter prison. Pekdemir took advantage of this practice to leave Turkey. He is now in exile in Germany, where he is seeking political asylum. He left behind his wife and seven-year-old son.
Pekdemir has a long history of political activism. He spent eight and a half years as a political prisoner in the 1980s. Since then he has continued to challenge the authorities, publishing books on a number of issues. Among them are books critical of extremist Muslim groups, the Turkish right-wing, the Armenian question and the activities of the Turkish army in the south-east of the country. As a result, he has suffered threats and attacks.
Pekdemir's situation has been further compounded by another legal process which is still under way and for which he could be convicted to life imprisonment. Pekdemir is one of 23 people on trial in this case. All the defendants served prison terms in the 1980s for their membership in Dev Yol (Revolutionary Way, now defunct), a radical socialist movement active in the 1970s.
Pekdemir served eight and a half years in military detention, where he claims to have been severely tortured while under interrogation, and to have spent much of his imprisonment in poor and cramped conditions. He was freed in 1989. His co-defendants, who received sentences of life imprisonment and death, were themselves released after their sentences were reduced to eight to ten years' imprisonment following a 1992 amnesty.
In 1995, the Turkish Supreme Court reviewed a number of the sentences of leading Dev Yol members. The court concluded that the time they had served was insufficient and called for a retrial. The prosecution recommended that Pekdemir be sentenced to life or capital punishment. The trial reopened in June 2001 and is still under way. The final verdict is expected to be given on 27 June. The defendants have appealed against the long trial process to the European Court on Human Rights, which, in early 2001, declared the Dev Yol trials to be unfair and obliged the Turkish government to make reparations to many of the defendants.
International PEN is deeply alarmed by the prospect that Melih Pekdemir may be required to return to prison to serve a sentence for an "offence" for which he has already spent a considerable period of imprisonment, in addition to the recent sentence served for his writings.
BACKGROUND: Pekdemir was born in 1953 and until his flight from Turkey in April, lived in Ankara with his wife and seven-year-old son. He is a graduate of sociology and entered left-wing politics during and following his university years. He was arrested following a military coup in 1980. After his release in 1989, he resumed writing and established his own publishing house. Among others, he published a monthly review entitled "Democrat." His most popular book, "Mummy, Look, The King is Naked!", is a review of the revolutionary left following the collapse of the Berlin Wall. He also returned to political activity and is currently a leading member of the Party of Freedom and Solidarity, which he describes as being "structurally pluralistic and programmatically in favour of a democratic left movement."
Pekdemir has publicly condemned the extremist group Dev Sol and its
"cult of death." He accuses Dev Sol of forcing its members to participate
in the current hunger-strike protests against F-type prisons, self-immolation
and attacks against others through systematic threats and violence, often
killing its own members who object. A fervent socialist himself, Pekdemir
accuses Dev Sol of tarnishing the socialist movement as a whole. As a result,
Dev Sol have declared Pekdemir to be a renegade and agent of the Turkish
state and his life is under threat.(WiPC/IFEX, June 21, 2002)
Publisher Abdullah Keskin faces imminent imprisonment
Fears have heightened that Kurdish publisher Abdullah Keskin may be
served a lengthy prison term following a court hearing on 25 June 2002.
Keskin has been on trial since April under Article 8 of the Anti-Terror
Law for the Turkish publication of a book by United States author and former
"Washington Post" correspondent Jonathan Randal. Entitled "After Such Knowledge,
What Forgiveness? My Encounters in Kurdistan", the book was originally
published in English in 1997 and subsequently also translated into Farsi,
Italian and Arabic. The charges are of advocating "separatism" and relate
to references to the term "Kurdistan" in several instances in the book.
(WiPC/IFEX, June 24, 2002)
Publisher acquitted, book remains banned
On 20 June 2002, publisher Hassan Öztoprak - on trial before the
Istanbul State Security court since January - was acquitted of charges
of promoting "separatism" by publishing Mehmed Uzun's book, "Generating
a Language" (Bir dil yaratmak). The book however remains banned. When summarizing
the case, the judge stated that the reason for Öztoprak's acquittal
was that the book had a small print-run of only 1,000 and would thereby
not have sufficient impact. This trial had been followed closely by International
PEN alongside the International Publisher's Association, both of which
were present at the 20 June hearing. PEN welcomes Öztoprak's acquittal
but remains deeply concerned that by not lifing the ban on the book, the
ruling had no impact on lessening the pressure on writers and journalists
in Turkey today. (WiPC/IFEX, June 24, 2002)
Prisoner of thought Baskaya completes his prison term
Associate Prof. Fikret Baskaya completed his prison term on Thursday and was released from Kalecik prison.
Before his release from Kalecik prison, Baskaya answered Turkish Daily News' (TDN) questions.
Writer and journalist Baskaya was the example of the fact that the constitutional amendments were not enough for bringing freedom of thought, but just the contrary it expanded the frame of crime, he said.
"The ones who need freedom should come to the stage. Otherwise, it will mean to demand something from the ones whose mission was to block freedoms," Baskaya continued.
He had appealed for using the chance of the constitutional amendments for freedom of thought, however, the Istanbul State Security Court decided that he should be kept in prison because of his tendency to commit crime until the last moment of his sentence.
Agreeing with Baskaya, Oktay Eksi, chairman of the Press Council said in remarks to the TDN that constitutional amendments did not bring freedom of thought, but just constituted a make-up solution.
And he was released after full completion of the punishment. Baskaya has written a book during his prison term titled as "Dark balancesheet of the Globalization."
"By imprisoning someone, you cannot prevent his intellectual activities," Baskaya said.
Baskaya comments that the EU was not sincere regarding the political criteria, during his interview with the TDN.
"Freedom of thought in the Western world continues until the moment when the interests of the private properties would be threatened," Baskaya said, in response to a question that after Sept. 11, the concept of human rights was replaced by the phrase of "struggling against terrorism."
Justice Minister Hikmet Sami Turk visited him at Kalecik prison in the last month of his imprisonment.
"We talked about the prison conditions with him," Baskaya answered a TDN question on the visit.
After Dec. 19, 2000 Operation Return to Life, prison conditions were worsened also for him, Fikret Baskaya said. "I could not take more than three books and a typewriter was even banned," he continued.
And on Friday, together with Mehmet Bekaroglu of the Saadet (happiness or contentment) Party (SP), organized a press conference at the Free University Forum.
Baskaya said that freedoms in Turkey were limited. "If thoughts are
banned, it means that society is in dilemma. And it brings the degeneration
of the regime. That shortcoming of Turkey needs to be solved," Fikret Baskaya
said. (Turkish Daily News, June 29, 2002)
Violations of thought freedom in brief
Artists Detained
On 2 June the police in Diyarbakir detained Besime Yagi, Kadriye Senses, Gülbahar Kavcu, Serap Sönmez, Nurcan Degirmenci, Yesim Coskun, Arife Düztas, Zelal Gökçe, Kader Bastas, Ruken Gökçe and Selda Sezgin, mermbers of the music group "Koma Asmin" during the final concert of the 2nd Culture and Artsí Festival in Diyarbakir, when they sang the Kurdish song "Herne pes". On 3 June they were taken to Diyarbakir SSC and released after testifying. (Yedinci Gündem-TIHV, June 4, 2002)
Attack on Newspaper Vendor
Mustafa Öztürk was attacked by four people, when on 2 June he was selling the daily "Evrensel" in Istanbul. The attackers injured him to his shoulders with a knife and escaped. (Evrensel-TIHV, June 4, 2002)
Detention and Trial of Journalists
Ahmet Aksoy, owner of the newspaper "Olusum", published in Nizip (Antep), was arrested on 29 May on charges of separatist propaganda and insulting the State authorities in an article entitled "Deniz, Yusuf and Hüseyin". On 4 June Siirt Penal Court started to hear the case of Cumhur Kiliççioglu, owner of the local newspaper "Mücadele", for an article of 14 January under the title "A judge, who takes presents, will do what you want". He is charged with insulting the judiciary. The defendant pleaded not guilty stating that he only quoted from the national press. The hearing was adjourned to a later date. (Cumhuriyet-Evrensel-TIHV, June 5, 2002)
Publisher on Trial
On 4 June Istanbul SSC dropped the charges against Aysenur Zarakolu for publishing a book by Hüseyin Turhalli, former executive of the Peopleís Labor Party (HEP) in Diyarbakir, now living in France. The decision was taken because Aysenur Zarakolu died earlier this year. (Evrensel-TIHV, June 5, 2002)
Journalists on Trial
On 5 June Istanbul SSC No. 3 continued to hear the case of 18 defendants including journalists and trade unionists charged with membership and support for the Marxist Leninist Communist Party (MLKP). After the hearing Asiye Güzel Zeybek, journalist of the journal "Atilim", was released. An investigation into allegations by Asiye Güzel Zeybek to have been raped in detention, ended in November 2000 with a decision not to prosecute anybody. (Yedinci Gündem-TIHV, June 6, 2002)
Verdict against "Azadiya Welat"
On 6 June Istanbul SSC No. 3 convicted M. Nuri Karakoyun, owner of the Kurdish weekly "Azadiya Welat" and the editor-in-chief, M. Salih Turan for three different articles including statements by Osman and Abdullah Öcalan in the edition 292 of 1 September 2001 and fined them TL 142 million. The court also ordered the closure of the paper for one week. (Yedinci Gündem-TIHV, June 7, 2002)
Publisher on Trial
On 7 June Istanbul SSC continued to hear the case of Abdullah Keskin, owner of Avesta Publishing House on charges of having published the book by Jonathan C. Randal, journalist with the Washington Post and reporting on wars for more than 30 years, under the title of "Impressions of Kurdistan". Defense lawyer Hasip Kaplan stated that the book did not contain any separatist remarks and that Chomsky had been acquitted for a book in which he quoted Jonathan C. Randal. The hearing was adjourned to 31 July. The prosecution has asked for a sentence according to Article 8 of the Law to Fight Terrorism. (Yedinci Gündem-TIHV, June 8, 2002)
Attacks on the Press
Istanbul SSC ordered the closure of the journal "Demokrat Gençlik" (Democrat Youth) for one week, because of an article in the 55th edition. On 8 June the police raided the offices of the journal "Ekmek ve Adalet" (Bread and Justice) in Mersin and detained Ibrahim Balli and Akil Nergüz on allegations of possessing illegal publications. (Evrensel-TIHV, June 8-9, 2002)
The "Festival" Trial
On 6 June Tunceli Penal Court continued to hear the case of 25 people in connection with events during the 2nd Munzur Nature and Cultural Festival, held in Tunceli in July 2001. The hearing was adjourned for a completion of the files. The defendants are charged with resisting against the police and damaging public vehicles. During the festival that started on 27 July Murat Bozlak, chairman of the Peopleís Democracy Party (HADEP) was prevented from speaking. The police also prevented some 10,000 people from holding a protest march against this and the fact that a poster of the MHP leader Devlet Bahçeli had been put up in the stadium. (TIHV, June 10, 2002)
Speeches and Music in Kurdish Prevented
The congress of the Peopleís Democracy Party (HADEP) in Alasehir district (Manisa) was held over the weekend. The police did not allow the chairwoman of the womenís wing of HADEP in Manisa, Gülcemal Erdinç to speak in Kurdish and also intervened, when Kurdish music was played. In response the participants shouted slogans such as "the right to our mother tongue cannot be prevented" and "no to the death penalty". At the end of the congress Naif Karaçil was elected chairman of HADEP for the district. The board members are Aziz Keskin, Ahmet Çiftçi, M.Sirin Elmas, Zeki Kayas, Nesimi Kaya, Abdurrahman Tasdemir, Ihsan Polat and Fesih Hasdemir. (Yedinci Gündem (TIHV, June 11, 2002)
Journal Confiscated
Istanbul SSC ordered the confiscation of the June edition of the journal "Odak", since the articles "Resistance Continues", "End of Death Fast action" and "Revolution in Öcalanís Thinking" contained propaganda for an illegal organization. (Evrensel-TIHV, June 12, 2002)
Law on Radio and TV
On 12 June the Constitutional Court stopped several provisions of Law No. 4756 providing for changes in the Law on the Establishment and Broadcasting by Radio and TV Stations, the Press Law and the Tax Law from implementation. State President Ahmet Necdet Sezer had asked the Court to stop 9 articles being implemented and in the first round the Court agreed on 5 Articles not to be implemented. One of the articles refers to the election of 5 members of the High Council for Radio and Television (RTÜK) by the Grand National Assembly of Turkey (GNAT) according to the strength of political parties in parliament. Certain provisions of Article 13 of the law allowing for monopolization in the media were also stopped from being implemented. The minimum fine of TL 10 billion for crimes committed by means of publication was also stopped from being implemented. It is expected that the Constitutional Court will deal with the application of 110 deputies, who asked for changes of 13 articles, in the near future. (Yeni Safak-TIHV, June 13, 2002)
Journalist on Trial
On 12 June the trial against Memik Horuz, editing manager of the journal "Isçi Köylü" concluded at Ankara SSC. In her final defense lawyer Filiz Kalayci stated that it had been proved that her client was in Istanbul at the time, when he allegedly interviewed militants of the Workersí and Peasants Liberation Army of Turkey (TIKKO) in Tokat. She added that the confessing defendant Erol Çetin was lying in order to save himself from punishment. Subsequently Ankara SSC sentenced Memik Horuz to 15 yearsí imprisonment for membership of an illegal organization. For the same offence Erol Çetin was sentenced to 12.5 yearsí imprisonment. Memik Horuz has been imprisoned since 25 June 2001. The interview that he allegedly conducted was not published in the journal "Isçi Köylü", but "Özgür Gelecek". In this connection the editor-in-chief if "Özgür Gelecek", Ali Kemal Kahraman, is on trial at Istanbul SSC. (Evrensel-TIHV, June 14, 2002)
Acquittal of Mehmet Kutlular Quashed
On 13 June the 8th Chamber of the Court of Cassation quashed the acquittal of Mehmet Kutlular, owner of the daily "Yeni Asya" ruling that changes in law could not be the reason for a retrial, but only a new evaluation. On 4 April Ankara SSC had decided for a retrial of Mehmet Kutlular, after Article 312 TPC had been changed. Following his conviction under Article 312 TPC for his comments on the earthquake of 17 August 1999 Mehmet Kutlular had been imprisoned on 22 May 2001 to serve a sentence of 23 monthsí imprisonment, but he was released on 21 February 2002. On 11 April Ankara SSC had acquitted him. Now the court will have to deal with the case again. (Cumhuriyet-TIHV, June 14, 2002)
Journalist Detained
In the early hours of 15 June the editorial manager of the daily "Cumhuriyet", Ibrahim Yildiz, was detained in Ankara. He was detained around 2am and released after testifying to the public prosecutor in Ankara. Reportedly his detention is related to an article that appeared in the newspaper in 1996 concerning the "Halk Bankasi". At the time Yildiz and another two persons had been put on trial. The other two defendants had been acquitted and the case against Yildiz had been suspended according to Law 4304 on Suspension of Cases against Responsible Directors. The Court of Cassation later quashed this decision and Ankara Penal Court No. 2 had issued an arrest warrant against Ibrahim Yildiz, but neither he nor his lawyers had been informed. Yildiz had also been abroad several times after the warrant had been issued. (Cumhuriyet-TIHV, June 16, 2002)
Journal Confiscated
Istanbul SSC ordered the confiscation of the first edition of the Journal "Sanat ve Hayat" (Art and Life), published by the Research Foundation for Science, Education, Esthetics, Culture and Art (BEKSAV). The decision was reportedly taken on the grounds that articles by Haluk Gerger and Muhsin Kizilkaya contain separatist propaganda by using expressions such as "the Kurdish resistance" or "Kurdish movements against the PKK". (Radikal-TIHV, June 16, 2002)
Radio and TV Law
A total of 111 deputies from the Nationalist Action Party (MHP), the Justice and Development Party (AKP), the Bliss Party (SP), The Social Democracy Party (TDP) and the Great Union Party (BBP) filed a third case against Law No. 4756 providing for changes in the Law on the Establishment and Broadcasting by Radio and TV Stations, the Press Law and the Tax Law (the so-called RTÜK Law) asking the Constitutional Court to stop 2 Articles from being implemented. They want Article 2 of the Law providing for penalties if "broadcasting creates feelings of disgust" and paragraph 5 of Article 16 of the Law providing for penalties including the withdrawal of a license to be annulled. (Milliyet-TIHV, June 18, 2002)
Journalist on Trial
The court case initiated against Sadik Albayrak for an article he wrote on 2 August 2000 in the daily "Yeni Safak" was dropped during the first hearing on 18 June at Istanbul SSC. The decision was taken on the grounds of a provision in the Press Law that requires that cases under this law have to be opened within 6 months. (Yeni Safak-TIHV, June 19, 2002)
Journalists on Trial
On 19 June Datça Penal Court continued to hear the case of Sinan Kara, owner of the local paper "Datça Haber" and working for the news agency "Dogan Haber" (DHA) and the editors-in-chief of the dailies "Hürriyet", Necdet Tatlican, "Milliyet", Eren Güvener and "Posta", Hasan Çakkalkurt. They are charged with insulting Datça Governor Savas Tuncer by reporting on his ban for dogs to enter the sea. Defense lawyer Burhan Apaydin criticized the prosecutor for improper dress. The prosecutor in return alleged that the lawyer had insulted him. The objection of the defense against the judge was turned down and the hearing was adjourned for a completion of the files giving the defense the chance to hand in their objection in writing. (Hürriyet-TIHV, June 20, 2002)
Banned Film
The 10th Chamber of the Supreme Administrative Court (Danistay) stopped the implementation of a ban issued by the Control Council for Movies, Video and Music Product in the Ministry of Justice. The ban had been issued for the film "Great Man, Small Love" directed by Handan Ipekçi. The Court will later deal in principal with the appeal by the producing company. (Milliyet-TIHV, June 21, 2002)
Investigation against Theater Players
In Siirt an investigation was launched against the 14 artists from the Peopleís Theater of Siirt municipality. They had put the play "We wonít pay, shall not pay" by Dario Fo on stage. The investigation is based on the assumption that they insulted the army and the police. Mizgin Karadag, Gülnur Kaya, Bedri Erdemci, Ayfer Sevimli, Serpil Ercan, Ercin Berrak, Alper Göyer, Sabahattin Kaya, Zülfü Kaya, Sores Yetis, Lokman Hekimoglu, Abbas Dayan, Veysel Akcan and Ekrem Oktay testified in connection with the investigation. (Cumhuriyet-TIHV, June 23, 2002)
Journalist Convicted
On 21 June Ardahan Penal Court sentenced Fakir Yilmaz, owner and editor-in-chief of the local newspaper "Kuzey Dogu Anadolu", to imprisonment of 7 months and 16 days, ruling that he had insulted an official delegation in an article entitled "Feeling Hatred". The sentence was commuted to a fine. (Evrensel-TIHV, June 24, 2002)
Journalist on Trial
The prosecutor at Istanbul SSC indicted Adnan Keskin, reporter with the daily "Radikal" for an article published on 25 March under the title "Petitions are worse than gangs". The case was initiated on demand of Nuh Mete Yüksel, prosecutor at Ankara SSC. The trial started in May, but the defendant was not notified of the first two hearings. During the last hearing the court decided that Ankara SSC should take the testimony of the defendant. Adnan Keskin will testify on 26 June. In the article the sentences for students, who had signed petitions for an education in Kurdish (that could range from 7.5 to 22 yearsí imprisonment) were compared to sentences for people founding a gang with the purpose of committing a crime (2 yearsí imprisonment). Adnan Keskin is charged under Article 6 of the Law to Fight Terrorism (showing officials as target for illegal organizations). (TIHV, June 24, 2002)
Journal Confiscatedº Istanbul SSC ordered the confiscation of the 43rd edition of the journal "Proleter Devrimci Durus". On 22 June Sevinç Tanyildiz and Yüksel Çamyar were detained in Istanbul, when they put up posters for the journal. (Evrensel-TIHV, June 24, 2002)
Journalist Convicted
Güler Yildiz, former editor-in-chief of the newspaper "Cinar" that appears in Mersin, was sentenced a second time to 10 monthsí imprisonment and a fine of TL 600 million for an introductory article on the "Soldierís Book" (Mehmetin Kitabi) written by Nadire Mater. Mersin Criminal Court No. 1 passed the first verdict based on Article 159 TPC on 21 June 2001. Following changes to Article 159 TPC the 9th Chamber of the Court of Cassation had quashed the sentence. The second verdict was passed at the end of the hearing on 24 June. Nadire Mater and the publisher of the book, Semih Sökmen, had been acquitted on 2 October 2000. (Yedinci Gündem-TIHV, June 25, 2002)
Journal Confiscated
Istanbul SSC ordered the confiscation of the 3rd issue of the journal "Özgür Düsün" on the grounds that some articles contained separatist propaganda. (Evrensel-TIHV, June 25, 2002)
MKM Trial
On 25 June Beyoglu Penal Court No. 10 continued to hear the case of theater players from the Mesopotamian Culture Center (MKM), who wanted to stage a play on Taksim Square on New Yearís Eve. Ali Köroglu, Alisan Önlü, Gülçin Özge Sarisoylu, Mehmet Dalmaz, Resul Karabulut, Ilker Abay and Serap Sönmez are charged with staging an illegal demonstration. The hearing was adjourned to 7 August, when police officers are expected to testify. (Evrensel-TIHV, June 26, 2002)
Journalist on Trial
On 26 June Adana SSC No. 2 started to hear the case of Azad Adiyaman, journalist with the weekly "Yedinci Gündem" in connection with the Newroz celebrations in Mersin. The defendant stated that he had attended the meeting as a journalist and not as a demonstrator. He accepted his testimony to the police, but rejected passages in the minutes of detention and confrontation. His lawyer Zeki Kaya stated that his client had been acquitted in a trial at Mersin Penal Court relating to charges of causing damage to public property and asked for his release. The presiding judge stated that Mersin Criminal Court had not yet forwarded documents on this case and that the videocassettes had not been submitted to the court. The court followed the argument by the prosecutor demanding to remand the defendant until the requested documents had arrived and adjourned the hearing to 21 August. (Evrensel-TIHV, June 27, 2002)
Threat against Journalist
On 26 June Karabük Criminal Court No. 1 fined Bartin Governor Fatih Eryilmaz TL 157 million for having threatened the owner of the Bartin newspaper, Esen Alis with the words "Iíll kill you" during a meeting last year on establishing stations for mobile phones. The governor paid the fine immediately to avoid imprisonment. The lawyer of Esen Alis, Nilgün Saban stated that they would appeal against the verdict. (Hürriyet-TIHV, June 27, 2002)
Publication Banned
Van Penal Court ordered the closure of the journal "Yeni Tamara Biyani", issued by students of the 100 Year University. The decision was reportedly based on Article 312 TPC. (Yedinci Gündem-TIHV, June 28, 2002)
Law on Radio and TV
On 27 June the Constitutional Court dealt with the application of 119 deputies, who had asked for changes of 13 articles in the Law No. 4756 providing for changes in the Law on the Establishment and Broadcasting by Radio and TV Stations, the Press Law and the Tax Law from implementation. The Court decided that it was not necessary to find a separate decision, because on 12 June the Court had dealt with the application of State President Ahmet Necdet Sezer and ruled for 5 articles not to be implemented. (Cumhuriyet-TIHV, June 28, 2002)
Journalist Attacked
On 27 June unidentified assailants shot at the journalists Mustafa Deryahan
(from the journal "Alem") and Okan Isik (from "Star" newspaper) in front
of a club in Istanbul-Ortaköy. Mustafa Deryahan was injured to his
knee. Later Murat Ekdi, son of the leader of the Ekdi tribe in Siirt, Bedrettin
Ekdi, and Ali Meral were detained. In a separate case Denizhan Erkoç,
journalist with "Star" complained that he was beaten by the police chief
Mehmet Betni from the motorized unit called "dolphins". In his official
complaint of 28 June he stated that he had been detained during a traffic
control between Ortaköy and Bebek (Istanbul) on allegations of having
whistled at a female police officer. Although he rejected the charges the
police chief Mehmet Betni had threatened him in the police station and
slammed him in his face. (Cumhuriyet-TIHV, June 29, 2002)
FORCES ARMEES / ARMED FORCES
Les chefs d'état-major russe et turc discutent la collaboration militaire
Le chef d'état-major turc, le général Huseyin Kivrikoglu, s'est entretenu mardi avec son homologue russe, le général Anatoli Kvachnine, de la coopération militaire bilatérale et notamment d'un appel d'offres turc pour l'achat d'hélicoptères, a rapporté l'agence Itar-Tass.
Les deux généraux ont discuté d'un appel d'offres turc pour l'achat de 130 hélicoptères militaires. Moscou souhaiterait obtenir ce contrat estimé à 2,5 milliards de dollars, pour lequel la France et les Etats-Unis sont également sur les rangs, selon une source militaire russe cité par l'agence.
Selon ce responsable ayant requis l'anonymat, la Russie a de très bonnes chances d'obtenir le contrat en raison des coûts peu élevés de ses appareils. Un hélicoptère russe coûte environ 12 millions de dollars, moitié moins de ce que demandent les Américains, selon la même source.
Lors de la rencontre entre les deux chefs d'état-major, la coopération en matière de sécurité entre la Russie et l'Alliance atlantique, dont la Turquie est membre, au sein du nouveau conseil conjoint Otan-Russie a aussi été évoquée.
Le responsable turc a également rencontré le ministre russe de la Défense Sergueï Ivanov.
La discussion a porté "sur la lutte contre le terrorisme, la situation en Tchétchénie, et les activités de certaines organisations basées en Géorgie qui financent les rebelles tchétchènes", selon le ministère russe de la Défense, cité par Interfax.
Ankara et Moscou ont développé d'étroites relations commerciales après l'effondrement de l'URSS, mais celles-ci ont été souvent entachées par des accusations de soutien à des mouvements séparatistes, les Kurdes pour la Turquie et les Tchétchènes pour la Russie.
La Turquie a longtemps accusé la Russie de tolérer la
présence de rebelles kurdes sur son territoire, au cours des 15
ans de lutte menée par le Parti des Travailleurs du Kurdistan (PKK).
Moscou reproche à Ankara d'abriter des rebelles tchétchènes,
qui ont mené des opérations de détournement de bateau
ou d'avion ces dernières années à partir de la Turquie.
(AFP, 4 juin 2002)
La Turquie conclut un contrat de 1,1 md USD pour 4 avions AEWC
La Turquie a conclu mardi avec le constructeur américain Boeing un contrat pour l'achat d'au moins quatre avions-radar "Airborne Early Warning and Control System" (AEWC), une version modernisée de l'AWACS, pour environ 1,1 milliard de dollars, a-t-on indiqué mercredi de source officielle.
La Turquie se verra livrer d'ici trois ans "maximum" quatre avions-radar de Type Boeing 737, a précisé à l'AFP un responsable du sous-secrétariat à l'industrie de défense (SSM).
La Turquie a en outre pris une option sur deux autres, pour les besoins de son armée, a-t-il ajouté.
Boeing était en lice avec deux modèles (le 737 et le 767) avec trois autres firmes américaines --Raytheon, Northrop Grumman et Lockeed Martin-- dans un appel d'offre international lancé en 1998.
La Turquie avait annoncé fin 2000 qu'elle avait décidé d'entamer des négociations commerciales "en priorité" avec Boeing.
L'AEWC est doté d'un nouveau radar muni d'une antenne qui effectue un balayage électronique alors que pour l'AWACS le balayage tournant se fait mécaniquement. Le système de surveillance aérien AEWC est installé sur des Boeing B737.
Le système AWACS est déjà utilisé par l'US Air Force, l'OTAN, la France, la Grande-Bretagne, l'Arabie saoudite et le Japon.
La Turquie, avec la plus grande armée en nombre au sein de l'OTAN après celle des Etats-Unis, son plus important fournisseur d'armes et allié stratégique, entend dépenser quelque 150 milliards de dollars sur les trente prochaines années pour moderniser son système de défense.
Mais la crise économique qui l'a frappée en février
2001 l'a obligée à revoir certains projets d'achat d'armements,
notammant l'achat éventuel de 145 hélicoptères d'attaque
pour un montant d'environ 4 milliards de dollars et la production commune
d'un millier de chars pour un montant de 7 milliards de dollars pour son
armée de terre. (AFP, 5 juin 2002)
La Turquie aide la Géorgie à moderniser son armée
La Turquie va octroyer à Tbilissi 2,8 millions de dollars pour moderniser l'armée géorgienne aux termes d'un protocole signé mardi à l'occasion de la visite du chef d'état-major turc, le général Huseyin Kivrikoglu.
Ce prêt sera dépensé pour l'entretien de la base militaire géorgienne de Vaziani, le financement des troupes d'élite géorgiennes et la modernisation de l'aérodrome militaire de Marneouli, a expliqué à l'AFP le vice-ministre de la Défense géorgien Guela Bejouachvili.
"La Turquie est notre partenaire sûr. Depuis 1998, Ankara a versé à la Géorgie 27 millions de dollars", a-t-il ajouté.
Le général Kivrikoglu a par ailleurs déclaré lors d'une conférence de presse que les bases militaires russes à Batoumi (sud-ouest) et Akhalkalaki (sud) près de la frontière turque ne représentaient "pas de menace" pour son pays.
Le sort de ces deux autres bases russes fait encore l'objet de négociations entre Moscou et Tbilissi.
Tbilissi demande un retrait dans un délai de trois ans alors que Moscou affirme qu'il lui faudra au moins quatorze ans pour préparer le retour de ses troupes.
Ankara et Tbilissi ont noué d'étroites relations depuis la chute de l'URSS en 1991. La Turquie, membre de l'Otan, a décidé en novembre dernier de financer les travaux de reconstruction de la base de Vaziani, évacuée par l'armée russe.
La coopération de la Géorgie avec la Turquie et les Etats-Unis
dont 50 instructeurs militaires forment actuellement des soldats géorgiens
irrite fortement Moscou. (AFP, 11 juin 2002)
La France livre un sixième aviso à la Marine turque
La France a officiellement livré mercredi un sixième et dernier aviso à la Marine turque, a-t-on appris jeudi auprès de la direction des constructions navales (DCN) de Brest (ouest).
Le petit navire de guerre, l'ex-Le Bihan rebaptisé Le Bafra, devrait quitter Brest mi-juillet après quelques essais en mer.
Un contrat, signé en novembre 2000, prévoyait la remise
en état et la préparation par l'arsenal de six ex-avisos
de la Marine nationale française vendus à la Turquie.
(AFP, 27 juin 2002)
Malgré la crise, l'Armée achète 150 avions de combat
Selon le quotidien turc Milliyet du 5 juillet, la Turquie s'apprête à signer le 11 juillet prochain avec le département d'Etat américain un contrat de commande de 150 avions de guerre de nouvelle génération, des F-35, de fabrication américano-britannique, d'un montant de 6 milliards de dollars (soit 40 millions de dollars par avion), payable avant 2013 et livrés à partir de 2015 jusqu'en 2030.
L'état-major turc compte également confirmer sa commande de 30 nouveaux avions F-16 d'un montant d'un milliard de dollars mais demande aux Etats-Unis son soutien dans la vente de ses anciens F-16.
Le programme F-35 avec un projet de vente de 5000 avions constitue le plus vaste projet militaire concernant les avions à réaction.
Malgré l'injection de 16 milliards de dollars par le FMI, la
Turquie a le plus grand mal à faire face à une crise économique
sans précédent qui touche toutes les couches de la société,
mais vraisemblement pas l'armée turque. D'ailleurs, les leaders
des trois partis de la coalition gouvernementale et, pour la première
fois depuis deux mois, le Premier ministre Bulent Ecevit, réunis
le 4 juillet au sommet avec les différents ministres en charge des
dossiers économiques n'ont pas réussi à avancer concrètement
sur les réformes économiques. (CILDEKT, 4 juillet 2002)
RELATIONS MAFIEUSES / MAFIA RELATIONS
4,727 year prison term demanded for Demirel's nephew
Prosecutors on Friday demanded a record 4,727 years in prison for former Turkish President Suleyman Demirel's nephew, accusing him of embezzling money from his bank prior to its collapse, a local news agency reported.
Murat Demirel has been in jail since October pending trial for allegedly forming a gang to embezzle money from his collapsing Egebank. The bank's collapse and allegations of corruption contributed to a deep financial crisis last year.
The prosecutors' indictment accused Demirel of multiple accounts of fraud that incurred losses amounting to dlrs 1.2 billion, the Anatolia news agency reported. It is not unusual for Turkish courts to give hundreds of years in prison sentences, which amount to a life sentence.
Demirel has denied the charges.
Prosecutors also accused Murat Demirel's wife and 36 other former bank employees or associates of Demirel of involvement in the conspiracy, and demanded prison terms ranging from two years to 4,653 years for them, according to Anatolia.
Egebank went into government receivership in 2000. Demirel is accused of appropriating the bank's money through a complex network ( news - external web site) of front companies and offshore banks in northern Cyprus and the Virgin Islands, before it was bailed out by the state.
Suleyman Demirel stepped down as president in May 2000 after seven years
in office. There is no suggestion that President Demirel was linked to
the case. (Associated Press, June 28, 2002)
QUESTION KURDE / KURDISH QUESTION
Rapport européen sur la situation des Kurdes déplacés en Turquie
La Commission permanente, agissant au nom de líAssemblée parlementaire du Conseil de l'Europe a, le 29 mai 2002, adopté le rapport de la commission des migrations, des réfugiés et de la démographie concernant la situation humanitaire de la population déplacée kurde en Turquie.
La Commission permanent a adopté également la recommandation suivante sur le même sujet.
1. LíAssemblée parlementaire rappelle et confirme sa Recommandation 1150 (1991) sur la situation de la population kurde irakienne et díautres minorités persécutées et sa Recommandation 1377 (1998) sur la situation humanitaire des réfugiés et des personnes déplacées kurdes dans le sud-est de la Turquie et le nord de líIrak.
2. LíAssemblée prend note avec satisfaction de líévolution positive de la situation humanitaire dans la région en comparaison avec la situation présentée dans le dernier rapport sur le sujet en 1998.
3. LíAssemblée se félicite en particulier de la diminution sensible des violences et des tensions dans la région au cours des deux dernières années. Elle sait quíune sécurité totale dans la région est la condition préalable essentielle au retour massif de la population kurde déplacée.
4. LíAssemblée condamne fermement les violences et le terrorisme perpétrés par le Parti des travailleurs du Kurdistan (PKK), qui ont contribué aux déplacements de populations, et exhorte les derniers combattants armés de la région à cesser toute violence.
5. Parallèlement, toutefois, líAssemblée se déclare profondément préoccupée par les informations selon lesquelles les forces de sécurité turques auraient récemment évacué des villages et des hameaux. Ces actions devraient cesser immédiatement.
6. La relance de líéconomie est une autre condition préalable essentielle à des retours massifs. Dans ce contexte, líAssemblée se félicite de líélaboration et de la mise en úuvre du projet relatif au sud-est de líAnatolie qui visent un développement économique intégré de la région.
7. LíAssemblée note avec satisfaction que le processus des retours est en cours et que les rapatriés bénéficient díaides financière et matérielle de la part des autorités turques.
8. Líassistance aux fins de la reconstruction des villages détruits devrait bénéficier díun degré de priorité élevé. Elle ne devrait pas être subordonnée à líobligation de faire partie du système des gardes villageois ou de déclarer que la cause de la fuite des personnes déplacées était la peur inspirée par le PKK.
9. Líétat díurgence, qui demeure en vigueur dans quatre provinces, freine la reprise économique et sociale de la région, et devrait être levé par le parlement dès que possible.
10. Parallèlement, le système des gardes villageois continue
à susciter les plus vives inquiétudes en matière
de droits de líhomme. Il devrait être aboli aussi rapidement
que possible.
11. Les organisations humanitaires internationales devraient pouvoir accéder à la région. LíAssemblée ne saurait accepter que des organisations respectées comme Médecins sans frontières se voient refuser líaccès au motif quíelles soutiendraient le terrorisme.
12. LíAssemblée parlementaire recommande, en conséquence,
au Comité des Ministres:
b. éviter toute nouvelle évacuation de villages;
c. assurer un contrôle civil sur les activités militaires menées dans la région et rendre les forces de sécurité davantage responsables de leurs actes;
d. accélérer les enquêtes sur les violations présumées des droits de líhomme dans la région;
e. appliquer correctement les arrêts de la Cour européenne des Droits de líHomme;
f. abolir le système des gardes villageois;
g. poursuivre ses efforts pour favoriser les développements économique et social, et la reconstruction des provinces du sud-est;
h. faire participer des représentants de la population déplacée à líélaboration des programmes et des projets de retour;
i. accélérer le processus de retour;
j. permettre les retours individuels sans autorisation préalable;
k. ne pas subordonner líassistance aux personnes déplacées à líobligation díentrer dans le système des gardes villageois ou de déclarer la raison de la fuite;
l. présenter les projets de reconstruction devant être financés par la Banque de développement du Conseil de líEurope dans le cadre des programmes de retour;
m. adopter des mesures pour intégrer les personnes déplacées qui souhaitent síinstaller dans díautres parties de la Turquie et les indemniser au titre des biens endommagés;
n. accorder le plein accès à la région aux organisations humanitaires internationales et les faire bénéficier du soutien des pouvoirs locaux;
ii. díengager les Etats membres àaccélérer
líassistance financière en vue de favoriser le développement
économique du sud-est de la Turquie;
iii. díinviter la Banque de développement du Conseil de líEurope à examiner positivement les projets relatifs au retour des personnes déplacées dans les régions du sud-est de la Turquie.
13. LíAssemblée demande fermement aux deux parties díentamer un dialogue et de trouver une solution pacifique à la question kurde, tout en reconnaissant les droits culturels et sociaux du peuple kurde.
14. LíAssemblée invite le Congrès des pouvoirs locaux
et régionaux de líEurope à envisager díétendre son
réseau díambassades de la démocratie locale et de jumelages
de villes à la région du sud-est de la Turquie.
L'arrêt sur Ocalan attendu après l'été à la Cour européenne
La Cour européenne des droits de l'Homme rendra après l'été son arrêt concernant le chef kurde Abdullah Ocalan, condamné à mort en Turquie pour "trahison et séparatisme", a-t-on appris lundi auprès de la Cour à Strasbourg.
Le 15 décembre 2000, les juges européens avaient déclaré recevables la plupart des griefs du chef du PKK (Parti des travailleurs du Kurdistan, séparatiste), condamné à mort en juin 1999 et incarcéré en isolement dans l'île-prison d'Imrali.
Abdullah Ocalan accuse le gouvernement turc d'une longue série de griefs concernant son arrestation par un commando à Nairobi en février 1999, son enlèvement vers la Turquie, sa détention en isolement, assimilée à des mauvais traitements, l'équité de son procès (avec la participation d'un juge militaire, pendant la première phase) et sa condamnation à mort, qui viole, selon ses avocats, le droit fondamental à la vie garanti par la Convention européenne des droits de l'Homme.
La Turquie, qui observe un moratoire sur les exécutions depuis de nombreuses années, a accepté de surseoir à l'exécution du chef kurde jusqu'à l'arrêt de la Cour, constituée de juges des 44 pays du Conseil de l'Europe.
L'arrêt est attendu avec d'autant plus d'intérêt
que l'Union européenne a fait de l'abolition de la peine de mort
une des conditions préalables à l'adhésion de la Turquie.
(AFP, 3 juin 2002)
"Musicians Detained for Singing Kurdish Song"
The security forces were not able to tolerate the Kurdish songs sung by the Koma Asmin group on the last night of the Diyarbakir Second Culture and Art Festival, whose main theme was "multi-culture."
Conducting a raid on the concert hall, the security forces detained the group.
Three plays were banned on the first day of the festival on grounds that they were in the Kurdish language.
Furthermore, the security forces also raided a slide show and detained photograph artist Yucel Tunca.
On the last day of the festival, which began on 25 May, a street concern was given by the Kamkarlar, an Iranian Kurdish music group; the opening of the bust of Ahmet Arif, a famous poet from Diyarbakir, was conducted and prizes were distributed in memory of Arif; a panel entitled "Third Teacher Ahmede Xani" was held; and writers signed books. During the performance of the Koma Asmin music group, the enthusiasm reached its peak.
The members of the Koma Asmin group, which performed on the last night of the festival and which conducts activities within the framework of the Mesopotamia Culture Center, were detained for singing songs in the Kurdish language.
Performing on the last night of the festival, the Koma Asmin group sang the "Herne Pes" song at the request of the masses.
As a result, the police raided the concert hall and detained eight female members of the group.
The detained Koma Asmin members were taken to the DGM yesterday afternoon.
Detained group members Besime Yagi, Kadriye Senses, Gulbahar Kavcu,
Serap Sonmez, Nurcan Degirmenci, Yesim Coskun, Arife Duztas, Zelal Gokce,
Kader Bastas, Ruken Gokce, and Selda Sezgin were taken to the DGM Public
Prosecutor's Office today in the afternoon. The Koma Asmin group members
were still being questioned when our newspaper was published. (Ozgur Politika,
4 June 2002)
Kazakstan: Turkey Fumes Over Kurdish Diplomas
Kazakstan has come under fierce press criticism in Turkey after schoolchildren and their teachers were presented with diplomas decorated with a picture of Kurdish leader Abdullah Ocalan, who was sentenced to death by a Turkish court in 1999.
The media attack was led by the newspaper Internethaber, which described the incident as a "strike from Kazakstan". Another title, Sabah, saw the incident as an act of ingratitude given that Turkey was the first country to recognise its neighbour's independence in 1991.
Sabah also fumed that the gathering had sung the anthem of Ocalan's Kurdish Workers' Party, PKK, and that posters of the condemned leader had been on display.
Turkish education ministry official Bostancy Oglu was quoted as saying, "We will not leave it this way. Our foreign ministry, education ministry and embassy will meet with colleagues in Kazakstan to clear the situation."
Ocalan was found guilty of treason and condemned to death for his part in the separatist war in south-east Turkey in which more than 30,000 people died. Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit granted an indefinite stay of execution in February 2000 while the European Court of Human Rights reviewed the PKK leader's appeal.
The furore has prompted the Kazak foreign affairs ministry to issue its own statement expressing regret at the reaction of the Turkish mass media.
"Responsible education officers were present at the event and there was no march performed in Kurdish. There were no posters supporting Ocalan," a May 30 statement said.
Southern Kazakstan is home to 12,000 Kurds. Their native tongue is taught to around 1,160 children from Kurdish families at 16 schools in the area, but Kazakstan denies that any of these are specifically dedicated to the Kurdish language.
The Kurdish community in the south has criticised the row. Its representative Abdi Akhmetov told IWPR, "The Turkish side has decided to turn an innocent school ceremony into a political act. The diplomas were Kazak ones and they had portraits of the Kurdish leader Ocalan inserted into them on our initiative.
"I think that there's nothing criminal about this. Ocalan is the internationally recognised leader of the Kurdish people. The outburst of the Turkish side, in my opinion, is connected with the fact that Turkey has a June 21 deadline to give a definite answer to the European Union on their solution to the Kurdish problem."
Kazak historian Igor Savin defended the education ministry officials' presence at the event. "It is quite evident that the officers at the ceremony did not intend to complicate relations between Turkey and Kazakstan or offend the feelings of the Turkish side. Most likely, they looked at the event as an ethnic and cultural ritual. It is very sad that young children are being dragged into politics," he said.
Emigrant Turkish students of the International Kazak-Turkish University
in Shymkent have, meanwhile, echoed their country's anger. One said the
glorification of Ocalan was akin to giving children portraits of Osama
bin Laden. However, members of the university's Kurdish society accused
Ankara of interference. "Kazakstan is not a colony or province of Turkey.
Turkish authorities cannot dictate to Kazak people which leaders to choose
and which political views to hold," one said. (Olga Dosybieva, RCA No 123,
June 7, 2002)
No Real Improvement in Living Conditions for Kurds
"A half a lifetime without rights, justice or freedom" - was how Ahmet Cmil Tunc characterized the states of emergency administrations in south east Anatolia, which are to be finally lifted this year following a decision by the Turkish national security Council. For nearly 25 years the inhabitants of the southeastern provinces have been denied the Turkish republic's constitutional rights; for 15 years many parts of Kurdish inhabited regions have been governed by special authorities with state emergency rights. If by the end of the year the last 4 provinces have their states of emergency lifted - a response to massive EU pressure - then millions of people will enjoy basic, constitutionally-guaranteed rights for the first time in their lives.
But it is unlikely that they will get the opportunity for a decent life. After 15 years of war and 25 years without rule of the law, the region is economically, socially and morally in ruin.
It is also still highly questionable whether an official lifting of the states of emergency can in practice effect a quick return to a normal life under a constitutional state. There will certainly be many gains with the lifting of the war-like rule by the authorities. Under state of emergency regulations, governors can clear whole villages, ban undesirable persons from the region, censor the media, authorize house searches without court permission, and to issue decrees without requiring any scrutiny by the Turkish courts. What cannot be restored by the security council's resolution is the culture of a constitutional state, something which has been completely destroyed. Because state and security authorities in state of emergency regions cannot have legal action taken against them, state despotism has established deep roots for itself.
Even when the special authorities have been disbanded, an immense tragedy will still be left behind. Villages have been devastated, the land has gone to waste, animals have been slaughtered. There are no opportunities in the regions devastated by war: in the province of Hakkari only 16,600 people are employed out 200,000 inhabitants.
Loans, funding and aid are needed for rebuilding the regions and this
is where the problems begin: Tens of thousands of people have lost their
bread-winners in the war, hundreds of thousands of children have not received
any education, millions have fled to Istanbul, Izmir and Europe - all of
these require support for a new beginning. (Basler Zeitung-IMK, June 6,
2002)
L'Etat turc se mobilise contre les prénoms kurdes
En donnant à son bébé le prénom de sa chanteuse préférée, Tufan Akcan, père de famille turc d'Ardahan (nord-est) ne se doutait pas qu'il allait se retrouver poursuivi par la justice pour tentative de sabotage de l'Etat.
Akcan, 26 ans, employé dans le bâtiment, a eu le tort de choisir un nom kurde, Berivan (laitière). C'est pourtant le titre d'une série télévisée très populaire où l'une des grandes stars de la chanson turque, Sibel Can, incarne une jeune Kurde prénommée Berivan.
Comme des millions de Turcs, Tufan Akcan et sa femme sont des fans de Sibel Can et ne ratent pas un épisode de Berivan. Ils sont donc allés enregistrer leur petite fille sous ce nom à la mairie.
Mais un procureur a décelé dans ce nom kurde un symbole anti-turc et Akcan a soudain été soupçonné de terrorisme et soutien aux séparatistes kurdes du Parti des travailleurs du Kurdistan (PKK).
Le procureur s'est appuyé dans la procédure engagée contre Akcan sur les loi anti-terroristes draconiennes adoptées pour lutter contre le PKK, qui a mené pendant 15 ans une lutte armée pour une autonomie kurde dans le sud-est anatolien.
Egalement sur la sellette: les employés de la municipalité qui avaient accepté le sulfureux prénom.
Depuis plusieurs mois, les autorités turques sont nerveuses: elles pensent que le PKK a donné pour consigne à ses sympathisants d'annoncer la couleur et de défier l'Etat en donnant des prénoms kurdes à leurs enfants.
Le PKK, entre-temps rebaptisé Congrès pour la liberté et la démocratie au Kurdistan (KADEK), mènerait ainsi campagne pour la liberté d'expression et la reconnaissance de droits culturels pour les Kurdes, soupçonne Ankara.
La politisation des prénoms met l'Etat turc dans une situation délicate. S'il ne fait rien, il laisse le champ libre au PKK. S'il sanctionne avec toute la force des lois anti-terroristes, il se ridiculise.
Pourtant, le père de Berivan ne parle pas un mot de kurde, sa famille est originaire de la Géorgie voisine. Il est donc tombé des nues quand il a été convoqué par le procureur.
"Je n'aurais jamais cru qu'une chose pareille pourrait arriver", a-t-il expliqué au quotidien Hurriyet. Il a demandé au magistrat comment des millions de Turcs pouvaient suivre la série télévisée si le prénom de Berivan était interdit.
Même la radio officielle turque passe la chanson du générique de l'émission, interprétée par Sibel Can et intitulée Berivan. Et le metteur en scène de la série, diffusée par la chaîne privée politiquement insoupçonnable Kanal-D, a manifesté son incompréhension.
Akcan n'est pas le seul à avoir eu ce genre de problème récemment. A Ardahan, un autre père a été convoqué par le procureur pour avoir prénommé ses enfants Rojin (ensoleillé) et Rohjan (coucher de soleil).
A Izmir (ouest), la police a fait irruption en pleine nuit, d'après des sources kurdes, chez 11 familles qui avaient donné des prénoms kurdes à leurs enfants. Une procédure a été ouverte contre 9 parents soupçonnés de propagande pour une organisation terroriste.
Mais les tribunaux turcs ne suivent pas systématiquement les procureurs. Le parquet de la Cour de sûreté de l'Etat (DGM) d'Erzurum, compétente pour les crimes politiques, a refusé de donner suite à la procédure contre Akcan et l'autre père de famille d'Ardahan.
Un tribunal de Dicle, dans le sud-est kurde, a lui aussi refusé
les procédures ouvertes contre 7 familles ayant en tout 23 enfants
aux prénoms kurdes. Une affaire qui a d'autant plus attiré
l'attention que la juge elle-même se prénommait Sirvan, un
prénom kurde qui, d'après les forces de sécurité
turques, est un nom de guerre de membres du PKK. (AFP, Thomas Seibert,
7 juin 2002)
Ankara condamné pour violation du droit à des élections libres
La Cour européenne des Droits de l'homme a condamné mardi la Turquie pour avoir violé le droit à des élections législatives libres en prononçant la déchéance de treize députés d'origine kurde, a-t-on appris auprès de la Cour.
La Cour avait été saisie d'une requête par les treize anciens députés du Parti de la Démocratie (DEP, pro-kurde), dont sept avaient été condamnés en 1994 à de lourdes peines de prison. Les six autres parlementaires avaient pris la fuite après la dissolution de leur parti pour échapper aux poursuites engagées contre eux pour séparatisme et atteinte à l'intégrité de l'Etat et à l'unité de la nation.
La dissolution du DEP et les peines de prison infligées avaient soulevé à l'époque l'indignation des Parlementaires du Conseil de l'Europe qui avaient pris fait et cause pour leurs collègues parlementaires condamnés.
Pour les juges des droits de l'homme les autorités turques, en dissolvant le DEP et en prononçant la déchéance de ses élus, ont violé l'article 3 du Protocole numéro 1 de la Convention européenne des droits de l'homme qui garantit "la libre expression de l'opinion du peuple sur le choix du corps législatif".
Pour les juges de Strasbourg, "la dissolution immédiate et définitive du DEP ainsi que l'interdiction faite aux membres du parti d'exercer leur mandat et activités politiques" est "incompatible avec la substance même du droit d'être élu et d'exercer un mandat, et elle a porté atteinte au pouvoir souverain de l'électorat".
Les juges de Strasbourg condamnent par ailleurs la Turquie à verser 50.000 euros à chacun des treize ex-députés pour "préjudice moral" et pour le "préjudice matériel réel" subi en raison du non-perçu de leurs traitements de parlementaires. L'Etat turc devra également payer 10.500 euros pour frais et dépens aux sept des requérants à avoir été condamnés à de la prison, et la somme globale de 9.000 euros aux six autres ex-députés.
En revanche, la cour, estimant suffisant de reconnaître la violation "d'un principe caractéristique d'un régime politique véritablement démocratique", a refusé "d'examiner séparèment" les accusations de violations de sept autres articles de la Convention européenne et de son Protocole numéro 1.
Peu après la dissolution du DEP, la cour de sûreté de l'Etat d'Ankara avait condamné le 8 décembre 1994 à 15 ans d'emprisonnement MM. Ahmet Türk, Mehmet Atip Dicle, Orhan Dogan, Selim Sadak et Mme Leyla Zana à 15 ans d'emprisonnement pour appartenance à une bande armée. Elle avait également infligé une peine de sept ans et demi de prison à Seadt Yurttas pour aide et soutien à une bande armée et trois ans de prison à Sirri Sakik pour propagande séparatiste.
Le 26 octobre 1995, la Cour de cassation cassa les condamnations de
MM. Türk et Yurttas et ordonna leur mise en liberté provisoire,
mais confirma celles des autres requérants. (AFP, 11 juin 2002)
DEP attorney considers Euro court decision incomplete
Both the lawyers for the imprisoned Democracy Party (DEP) deputies and the officials concentrating on the decisions of the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) are working on the court ruling.
Yusuf Alatas, the attorney for the deputies, commented that the court decision was an incomplete.
The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) ruled on Tuesday that Turkey had violated a key democratic principle when it banned the 13 DEP MPs from Parliament after outlawing the party.
The Strasbourg-based court ruled unanimously that Turkey had abused the deputies' right to hold parliamentary office and stand for elections when it banned all Democracy Party (DEP) members from political activities after the DEP's dissolution.
The DEP, a pro-Kurdish party, was created in 1993 and outlawed in 1994.
"The Court held that the penalty imposed on the applicants could not be regarded as proportionate to the legitimate aim relied on by Turkey, that the measure was incompatible with the very essence of the right to stand for election and to hold parliamentary office and that it had infringed the unfettered discretion of the electorate which had elected the applicants," the court said in a statement.
The banned parliamentarians included Leyla Zana, Selim Sadak, Hatip Dicle and Orhan Dogan, who were all sentenced to 15 years in prison in 1994 for activities related to the separatist Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK). Last year, the court ruled that Turkey had denied them a fair trial.
On Tuesday, the court awarded each of the 13 applicants 50,000 euros ($47,260) in damages and up to 10,500 euros for legal expenses.
"Despite the fact that the European court protected the basic principles of democracy, it is an incomplete decision, because there were complaints related to the violation of additional articles of the European Declaration of Human Rights, such as articles 9, 10, 11 and 14, regarding the freedom of thought and association," Alatas said.
Alatas said that the existing legislation of the Turkish political system, which bans political parties and prevents the reflection of the will of the people in Parliament should be changed.
The related article demands the realization of general elections and
the use of votes secretly as well as the reflection of the free will of
the people in Parliament. (Turkish Daily News June 13, 2002)
Destruction d'un village kurde et disparitions: la Turquie condamnée
La Turquie a été condamnée mardi à Strasbourg par la Cour européenne des droits de l'Homme pour la destruction d'un village kurde par des soldats et pour la disparition de trois villageois.
Ankara devra verser plus de 150.000 euros de dédommagement matériel et moral à une famille kurde qui a perdu trois de ses membres et dont les maisons et certains biens ont été délibérément incendiés et détruits.
Le 6 mai 1994, des soldats rassemblèrent les habitants de Debovoyu (sud-est) en leur donnant une heure pour évacuer leurs maisons. Ils mirent ensuite le feu aux habitations.
Le lendemain, les villageois se rendirent dans la ville de Kulp pour se plaindre auprès du commandant de la gendarmerie du district. Ils reçurent l'autorisation de revenir au village pour faire les récoltes.
Le 24 mai, les soldats revinrent au village et emmenèrent trois hommes de la famille Ohran pour leur servir de guides. Ils ont été revus un peu plus tard dans un village voisin, puis ont disparu à jamais.
La Cour européenne a estimé que l'Etat turc avait violé le droit à la vie de la famille Ohran ainsi que l'interdiction de la torture et les droits à la liberté, au respect de la vie privée et familiale, à la propriété, au recours effectif et au recours individuel des requérants.
La Turquie n'a mené que des enquêtes superficielles et
tardives sur la disparition des trois hommes, selon les juges. En
outre, la destruction délibérée des biens de
cette famille constituent des faits "particulièrement graves
et injustifiés" pour les requérants, ont-ils dit. (AFP, 18
juin 2002)
Wave of Arrests Against HAK-PAR Members in Diyarbakir
At around midnight on June 12th 2002 numerous members of the pro-Kurdish Party for Rights and freedo (HAK-PAR) were arrested in Diyarbakir in the south east of Turkey. According to information from HAK-PAR's party headquarters in Ankara amongst those arrested were the partyÇs deputy leader Bayram BOZYEL, founding member Ümit TEKTAS, leading members of the regional HAK-PAR in Diyarbakir Mehmet Eren and Kemal Aras, party members Sait Bozyel, Pasa Akdogan, Suphi Ekinci, Ramazan Eren, Naci Eren, Haydar Karaaslan, Haydar Karaaslan, Zana Budak, Sergir Budak Ömer Baylav and Ms. Evin Sitki, plus a further 16 as yet unnamed persons.
Such a wave of repression and arbitrariness against HAK-PAR is a blatant violation of Article 9 (Freedom of thought, conscience and religion), Article 10 (Freedom of expression), Article 11 (Freedom of assembly and association) and Article 14 (Prohibition of discrimination) of the European Convention on Human Rights, a convention which has also been ratified by Turkey.
This action against HAK-PAR members and officials unfortunately again puts into doubt TurkeyÇs credibility and seriousness about becoming a member of the EU.
We call on the government in Ankara to immediately release those arrested and to put into practice human rights which conform to European norms.
We call on the EU Commission, the commissioner responsible for EU enlargement Dr. Günter Verheugen, the EU government and members of the EU parliament to put pressure on Turkey to end its anti-democratic and anti-European repressive measures, and to demand the release of those arrested.
After a 3-year preparatory period, the Party for Rights and Freedom (HAK-PAR) was founded on February 11th 2002 in Ankara. According to its manifesto, it aims to establish a modern and constitutional Turkey in which its democracy and constitution comply with EU standards, and where rights and freedom are guaranteed. A public consensus is to besought on the issues of multi-culturalism and multi-lingualism,. The Kurdish question, the central and fundamental question for Turkey, is to be approached as a public project in a pluralist, participatory and democratic Turkey. The existing conflict represents a threat to civil peace and leads to violations of rights and freedom. The Party therefore has the resolution of the Kurdish question as a central issue in its manifesto aim of establishing democracy in Turkey.
The Party places particular value on a new culture of party political activity. Accordingly the Party leadership is limited to a 3 year period. The Party considers itself to be a pluralistic, collective and democratic peopleÇs party which aims to work as transparently as possible.
The Party's head is Abdulmelik Firat, a well-known Kurd and a former,
long-serving member of the Turkish parliament. (IMK e.V., 13th June
2002)
Cour européenne: la Turquie s'engage à garantir le respect du droit à la vie
La Turquie s'est engagée à prendre "toutes les mesures nécessaires pour garantir que le droit à la vie" soit désormais respecté sur son territoire, en acceptant un règlement à l'amiable dans une affaire portée devant la Cour européenne des droits de l'Homme.
L'Etat turc a accepté de verser 142.696 euros à Siddik Yasa, citoyen turc qui accusait des soldats d'avoir tué sa femme et son fils en lançant par une grenade dans leur maison en décembre 1992 dans le village de Tepecik (sud-est).
Cette action aurait fait suite à une attaque d'un groupe armé du PKK (parti des travailleurs du Kurdistan) qui aurait assassiné un garde de village employé de l'Etat.
Le requérant accusait également l'Etat de l'avoir encouragé à "oublier" cette affaire.
Le gouvernement turc, qui avait reconnu seulement des affrontements entre armée et PKK dans ce village, a "regretté la survenance de cas individuels d'homicides résultant d'un usage injustifié et immodéré de la force, tel que dans les circonstances entourant la mort" de la femme et du fils de M. Yasa.
La Turquie admet qu'il y a ainsi eu violation des articles 2 (droit à la vie) et 13 (droit à un recours effectif) dans cette affaire. Elle s'engage ainsi à "édicter les (instructions) appropriées et à adopter toutes les mesures nécessaires pour garantir que le droit à la vie -qui implique l'obligation de mener des enquêtes effectives conformément à ces dispositions- soit respecté à l'avenir".
Dèjà, il y a une semaine, le 20 juin dernier, la Turquie avait fait amende honorable en acceptant des règlements à l'amiable devant la Cour européenne des des droits de l'homme dans une affaire de violences policières et une autre de liberté de la presse.
Dans une attitude qui semble marquer un changement de politique d'Ankara
dans le cadre des affaires portées devant la Cour de Strasbourg,
le gouvernement turc avait affirmé sa "détermination"
à mettre un terme aux violences policières et à
mettre en conformité sa législation avec "les exigences
de l'article 10 de la Convention européenne des droits de l'Homme
(liberté d'expression)". (AFP, 27 juin 2002)
Une maison de production de CD interdite pour séparatisme
Le ministère turc de la culture a, le 5 juin, décidé d'interdire Kalan Muzik, une maison de production réputée pour, entre autres, avoir produit la cassette de poèmes du Premier ministre Bulent Ecevit. Le ministère reproche à Kalan Muzik d'avoir produit en 1993 un album dont une des chansons, vieilles de 82 ans, contient le mot Kurdistan.
"En Turquie, il appartient au ministère de la culture de contrôler tout album en langue kurde, laz ou arménienne, exception faite de ce qui est fait en anglais, allemand, français ou encore en toutes autres langues d'Afrique. Leur traduction en turc devrait être envoyée au ministère de la culture. Ne sachant pas le kurde c'est le groupe produit qui s'est chargé de la traduction. Je n'ai pas fait attention" déclare Hasan Saltik, au quotidien Hurriyet le 6 juin.
Hürriyet, sous le titre de "fermeture de la maison de production d'Ecevit pour propagande kurde", publie une photo de B. Ecevit accompagné de Hasan Saltik.
"Quand nous arriverons au pouvoir tous ces interdits vont cesser" avait
pourtant promis H. Ozkan, vice-premier, à l'époque du cliché
au producteur qui est qualifié d'"archéologue de la musique"
par la presse turque. (CILDEKT, 7 juin 2002)
Enfants poursuivis pour défendre leur langue maternelle
Vingt-cinq enfants et adolescents, âgés de 11 à 17 ans, ont comparu le 11 juin devant la cour de sûreté de Diyarbakir (DEP) qui les accuse d'avoir "soutenu le séparatisme en reprenant des slogans en faveur de l'enseignement en langue kurde". L'accusation souligne que "les enfants et les adolescents avaient scandé des slogans réclamant l'instruction en kurde lors d'un rassemblement en décembre dernier" alors qu'il est interdit d'enseigner ou de diffuser des programmes dans cette langue. Les autorités turques affirment que "le parti des travailleurs du Kurdistan (PKK) se cache derrière cette campagne appelant à un enseignement en langue kurde dans les écoles et les universités". Lors de l'audition, les mineurs, qui encourent une peine de trois ans de prison, ont nié avoir scandé de tels slogans lors du rassemblement. La cour a prévu de nouvelles auditions en septembre.
Depuis plusieurs mois, les autorités turques sont extrêmement nerveuses. Elles essayent d'étouffer par la répression toute forme de revendication de droits culturels des Kurdes, en n'hésitant pas à poursuivre des familles ayant donné des prénoms kurdes à leurs enfants. Ainsi, En donnant à son bébé le prénom de Berivan (trayeuse), sa chanteuse préférée, Tufan Akcan, père de famille turc d'Ardahan (nord-est) originaire de la Géorgie voisine, ne se doutait pas qu'il allait se retrouver poursuivi par la justice pour "tentative de sabotage de l'Etat". C'est pourtant le titre d'une série télévisée très populaire où l'une des grandes stars de la chanson turque, Sibel Can, incarne une jeune Kurde prénommée Berivan. Mais un procureur a décelé dans ce nom kurde "un symbole anti-turc" et Akcan a soudain été soupçonné de "terrorisme et soutien aux séparatistes kurdes du Parti des travailleurs du Kurdistan (PKK)". Le procureur s'est appuyé dans la procédure engagée contre Akcan sur les lois anti-terroristes draconiennes adoptées pour lutter contre le PKK. Également sur la sellette: les employés de la municipalité qui avaient accepté le "sulfureux prénom".
Tufan Akcan n'est cependant pas le seul à avoir eu ce genre de
problème récemment. À Ardahan, un autre père
a été convoqué par le procureur pour avoir prénommé
ses enfants Rojin (ensoleillé) et Rohjan (coucher de soleil). À
Izmir (ouest), la police a fait irruption en pleine nuit chez 11 familles
qui avaient donné des prénoms kurdes à leurs enfants.
Une procédure a été ouverte contre 9 parents soupçonnés
de "propagande pour une organisation terroriste". Mais les tribunaux turcs
ne suivent pas systématiquement les procureurs. Le parquet de la
Cour de sûreté de l'Etat (DGM) d'Erzurum a refusé de
donner suite à la procédure contre Akcan et l'autre père
de famille d'Ardahan. Un tribunal de Dicle a lui aussi refusé les
procédures ouvertes contre 7 familles ayant en tout 23 enfants aux
prénoms kurdes. Une affaire qui a d'autant plus attiré l'attention
que la juge elle-même se prénommait Sirvan, un prénom
kurde qui veut dire "laitière" (CILDEKT, 13 juin 2002)
Quatre kurdes jetés à l'eau par des passeurs sans scrupules
Quatre immigrés kurdes, âgés approximativement de 25 et 40 ans, ont trouvé la mort et deux autres ont été blessés après que des passeurs eurent contraint une quarantaine de clandestins kurdes à se jeter à l'eau à proximité de la côte italienne, dans la région des Pouilles (sud de l'Italie), a annoncé la police italienne le 8 juin.
Selon la reconstitution effectuée par les policiers et les carabiniers, plusieurs clandestins se sont rebellés lorsqu'on leur a ordonné de quitter le navire à l'aube et deux d'entre eux ont été blessés à coups de couteau. Les immigrés kurdes ont alors obtempéré aux injonctions des passeurs et ont plongé. D'après les premiers éléments de l'enquête, trois de ces hommes se sont noyés. Les passeurs, deux Albanais, ont réussi à s'enfuir et les forces de l'ordre, qui ont retrouvé 39 immigrés clandestins, ont transféré ces derniers dans un centre d'accueil dans la région de Lecce.
Les Etats-Unis avaient récemment mis en garde la Turquie contre
des mesures de rétorsions économiques qui pourraient être
prises contre elle si elle ne luttait pas sérieusement contre le
trafic d'êtres humains sur son sol. C'est une nouvelle fois l'armée
turque qui a réagi par la voie du général Aytac Yalman,
commandant de la gendarmerie, qui a déclaré le 12 juin que
"pour la question de l'immigration, on est injuste avec la Turquie qui
héberge un million de clandestins" et que "l'année dernière
92 000 clandestins ont été arrêtés" dans le
pays. (CILDEKT, 13 juin 2002)
Un économiste risque un procès pour avoir appelé Ocalan "Monsieur"
Un économiste turc réputé risque un procès pour avoir appelé le chef de la rébellion kurde "Monsieur Ocalan", au cours d'un colloque à Istanbul, a annoncé lundi l'agence de presse Anatolie.
Un procureur a ouvert une enquête contre Atilla Yesilada, commentateur à la télévision et éditorialiste de la presse écrite, qui a fait scandale samedi en appelant à plusieurs reprises Abdullah Ocalan "Monsieur Ocalan", utilisant le terme "sayin" qui comporte une nuance de respect et d'estime.
Le ministre du Commerce extérieur Tunca Toskay, du parti ultranationaliste MHP, a claqué la porte de la conférence pour protester. "Nous ne resterons pas à une réunion où un individu qui a le sang de 30.000 personnes sur les mains est appelé "Monsieur"", a-t-il déclaré, cité par la presse.
Abdullah Ocalan, condamné à mort en 1999 pour trahison et séparatisme, a dirigé le Parti des Travailleurs du Kurdistan (PKK) qui a lutté pendant 15 ans pour la création d'un Etat kurde indépendant dans le sud-est de la Turquie à majorité kurde. Le conflit a fait 36.500 morts, selon les autorités.
Les procureurs ont ouvert une enquête sur l'incident et décideront au vu du résultat si M. Yesilada mérite d'être inculpé, a précisé Anatolie.
Les autorités turques réagissent avec virulence à tout acte ou remarque susceptible d'être interprétée comme un soutien à la rébellion kurde.
Dans une lettre envoyée par e-mail aux organisateurs de la conférence,
dont l'AFP a obtenu copie lundi, M. Yesilada s'est défendu en affirmant:
"Je n'ai jamais eu le moindre respect pour le PKK et le lâche qui
le dirige (...) J'ai toujours défendu la juste lutte de la Turquie
contre le PKK. Mais je suis sun défenseur des droits de l'homme
jusqu'au bout". (AFP, 10 juin 2002)
Bahceli: "EU demands the same as those of terrorists"
The demands by the European Union and those of terrorist organisation are the same, according to leader of Turkey's far right Nationalist Movement Party on Monday.
Speaking at a festival being held in the town of Korkuteli in the southern province of Antalya, Deputy Prime Minister Devlet Bahçeli vowed that he would never agree to demands made by the EU that paralleled those of terrorists until they were convinced that there were no separatist or terrorist threat left in Turkey.
The MHP chairman said that the debate on removing capital punishment from the statute books and granting the right to broadcast and conduct education in mother tongue languages were directly linked to discussions on the execution of Abdullah Ocalan, the imprisoned leader of the terrorist group the PKK
It was a mistake and very unfortunate that discussions over setting a date to begin negotiations for Turkey's accession to the EU were being tied to the banning of capital punishment, rights to broadcast and educate in mother tongue languages and the Cyprus issue.
"I say in your presence that the EU efforts to force a solution on Cyprus
will never be recognised by us nor by our people," Bahçeli said.
He claimed that Turkey has weakened its hand against the EU due to politicians
who have not followed responsible, sensitive policies and agreed to conditions
without evaluating them with a realistic eye. However he said," No one
could deceive or mislead our people with slogans that are empty inside."
(NTV/MSNBC, June 24, 2002)
Turkey sentences senior Kurdish rebel to 18 months prison
A Turkish court on Tuesday sentenced a senior Kurdish rebel who was abducted in 1999 while in Moldova to 18 years and nine months in prison for leading an armed group against the state.
Cevat Soysal was accused of ordering an Istanbul arson attack the same year, which killed 13 people as well as a number of other attacks.
Prosecutors had demanded that Soysal, once a leading member of the banned Kurdistan Workers' Party or PKK, be sentenced to death for treason. But judges sentenced him on the lesser charge of leading an armed group.
Soysal was expected to appeal.
After Turkish agents captured Soysal in Moldova, he reportedly admitted to training Kurdish fighters in Romania and Moldova. But he later said he signed the confession under duress. His lawyers said Turkish interrogators injected him with drugs and sprayed him with freezing water.
Soysal was seized five months after Turkish commandos captured rebel leader Abdullah Ocalan in Kenya. Ocalan was sentenced to death in 1999. Ocalan is awaiting a European Court of Human Rights ruling over his appeal.
The first images after Soysal's capture showed him hooded and being helped down the steps of a small jet by two Turkish intelligence officers in black ski masks.
Turkey's national intelligence agency said Soysal trained PKK militants and organized pro-PKK activities in Europe and the Middle East, and ran pro-Kurdish institutions in Turkey. The PKK denied at the time that Soysal had such a prominent role.
Earlier this year, the PKK changed its name to the Kurdistan Freedom and Democracy Congress or KADEK.
KADEK said it was ending its armed struggle and would campaign peacefully for greater rights for Kurds in southeastern Turkey - but would not disbanding its armed wing. The Turkish government has said that all Kurdish rebels must surrender or die and has dismissed the name change as meaningless.
In a related development, police in the northwestern city of Bursa detained seven senior officials of Turkey's only legal Kurdish party after a family vandalized the party building and accused members of recruiting their son to fight for the rebels, the Anatolia news agency reported.
Police have also launched an investigation into the possibility that the People's Democracy Party or HADEP may also have lured 18 teen-agers reported missing in the area, to join the rebels, the semi-official agency said.
Police in Bursa and HADEP officials did not immediately return calls
for comment. (Associated Press, June 25, 2002)
Kurdish Question in Brief
Detentions and Arrests
On 30 May the police in Ovacik district (Tunceli) detained some 20 members of the Peopleís Democracy Party (HADEP) during raids on their houses. The names of some of them were given as Bülent Yilmaz, Özcan Yilmaz, Mustafa Asik, Erol Çakmak, Mesut Aslan, Haydar Günes and Mahmut Güloglu. In Mersin the police detained Ömer Selçuk (25), Mehmet Yasar Çinar (30), Mehmet Aslancan (27) and Ismet Ergin as alleged members of the radical Islamic organization Hezbollah. Reportedly Ömer Selçuk had earlier been sentenced to 11 yearsí imprisonment and Mehmet Yasar Çinar to 12 yearsí imprisonment.(Evrensel-Yedinci Gündem-TIHV, June 3, 2002)
Politicians on Trial
On 4 June Ankara SSC No. 1 continued to hear the case of Ibrahim Güçlü, deputy chairman of the Rights and Freedoms Party (HAK PAR), Cevdet Kemal Kara and Resit Deli charged with membership of the illegal "Democratic Party of Northern Kurdistan". The case was suspended according to the Law on Conditional Release and Suspension of Sentences. (Evrensel-TIHV, June 5, 2002)
Trial against HADEP
On 6 June Ankara SSC continued to hear the case of Salih Isik, Salih Serbest, Mehmet Isik (members of the youth wing of the Peopleís Democracy Party, HADEP, in Antep) and Metin Acet, staff member of the weekly "Yedinci Gündem". They are charged with supporting an illegal organization by staging a demonstration on 7 February in commemoration of the imprisonment of Abdullah Öcalan, chairman of the Freedom and Democracy Congress of Kurdistan (KADEK). The arrest warrants against Salih Isik and Salih Serbest were lifted, after they testified. The hearing was adjourned to 17 July. (Yedinci Gündem-TIHV, June 7, 2002)
Raid on HADEP Building
On 6 June the police in Bismil district (Diyarbakir) searched the offices of the Peopleís Democracy Party (HADEP) in Bismil. Nedim Biçer, chairman for the district and the treasurer Mizbah Bozucu were detained, but released in the morning of 7 June. (Yedinci Gündem-TIHV, June 8, 2002)
Campaign for Education in Kurdish
On 6 June Istanbul SSC continued to hear the case of 17 students, who had presented petitions to rectors of universities in Istanbul asking for education in Kurdish. The student Mehmet Sögüt pleaded not guilty of charges under Article 169 TPC on supporting an illegal organization. The hearing was adjourned to 30 July. (Evrensel-TIHV, June 8, 2002)
Campaign on Education in Kurdish
On 11 June Diyarbakir SSC No. 3 started to hear the case of 27 juveniles, among whom only Celal Dalar, Seyhmus Kizilay and Nihat Kiliç are over 18 years old. The others are aged 11 to 18. They are charged with supporting an illegal organization by staging a demonstration at Çarikli Fabrika School for primary education (Diyarbakir province) in 11 December 2001 for education in Kurdish. The hearing was not public, but reportedly the defendans said that they had gathered in connection with world-wide human rights day. After the hearing defense lawyer Tahir Elçi confirmed this and stated that he had asked for acquittal. The hearing was adjourned in order to listen to the testimony of two defendants, who had not appeared. In Diyarbakir the students of law Ahmet Turhan and Hamit Koçak were dismissed from Dicle University for presenting petitions on education in Kurdish to the rector of the university. Ahmet Turan was dismissed for one year and Hamit Koçak for 6 months. On 11 June Istanbul SSC No. 2 continued to hear the case of students, charged with supporting an illegal organization by staging a demonstration in Istanbul-Bahçelievler on 16 March 2002 in favor of the PKK. The court ordered the release of Sengül Kiliç, Onur Ekinci, Suzan Parlakyildiz and Nezir Nas and adjourned the hearing to 10 September. (Yedinci Gündem-TIHV, June 12, 2002)
Raid of Party Office
On 12 June the police in Diyarbakir raided the offices of the Rights and Freedoms Party (HAK-PAR) and detained Bayram Bozyel, deputy chairman, Ümit Tektas, Mehmet Eren, Kemal Aras, Sait Bozyel, Pasa Akdogan, Suphi Ekinci, Ramazan Eren, Naci Eren, Haydar Karaaslan, Zana Budak, Sergir Budak, Ömer Mavlay, Evin Sitki and another 16 unnamed persons. (Evrensel-TIHV, June 13, 2002)
Campaign on Education in Kurdish
On 13 June Malatya SSC No. 2 started to hear the case of Hüseyin Aygün, chairman of Tunceli Bar Association and Murat Polat, chairman of the teachersí union Egitim-Sen in Tunceli for comments they made during a congress of Egitim-Sen on education in Kurdish. The prosecutor demanded a conviction according to Article 169 TPC for supporting an illegal organization. The defendants pleaded not guilty stating that the right to the mother tongue was a human right. The court asked the General Directorate for Security for the decisions taken on the 7th Congress of the PKK and adjourned the hearing to 9 July. (Evrensel-TIHV, June 14, 2002)
Ill-treatment after raid of party office
The deputy chairman of the Party for Rights and Freedoms (HAK-PAR) Ibrahim Güçlü held a press conference in connection with the raid on the Diyarbakir offices of the party on 12 June. He said that the interrogation of the 23 detainees was still continuing. Lawyer Sedat Çinar had been able to talk to the deputy chairman Bayram Bozyel, Ümit Tektas, Kemal Aras, Haydar Firat and Mehmet Eren. After his talks to the prisoners the lawyer filed an official complaint with the prosecutor at Diyarbakir SSC stating "the prisoners are being held in isolation in dirty, airless cells without natural light. They are being interrogated blindfolded, do not get sufficient food and are not regularly allowed to go to the toilet. They are not given their right according to Article 15 of the Criminal Procedure Code (TCPC) and told that the right to remain silent is a militant attitude and not confronted with any serious evidence for charges against them. (Yeni Safak-TIHV, June 16, 2002
Campaign for Education
Istanbul Administrative Court No. 4 stopped the implementation of a ban issued by the Rector of Istanbul University on 25 students, who signed petitions for education in Kurdish. The court ruled that it was a constitutional right to file applications and the petitions did not contain any expression that could be counted as a crime. The students had not used any kind of violence during the action and the university had not provided any information that this kind of behavior was support for a terrorist organization. In Adana Servet Uçar was arrested on 11 June. In November 2001 he had forwarded a petition for education in Kurdish to the Rector of Çukurova University. On 12 June the students Deniz Nazim Sürücü and Deniz Karaca were detained. (Evrensel-TIHV, June 15, 2002)
Detentions and Arrests
On 13 June Tayfur Ömür, who had been detained as a member of the PKK, was handed over to Turkey. In Batman the Peopleís Democracy Party (HADEP) members and executives S.K., M.A., M.Ç., H.A., A.Ç., F.Ç., N.Ç., A.A. and Ö.S. were detained. Six of them were later arrested on charges of supporting the PKK. (Yedinci Gündem-Yeni Safak-TIHV, June 15-16, 2002)
Campaign on Education in Kurdish
Van Administrative Court stopped the dismissal decisions issued by the Rector of the 100 Year University against 38 students, who had signed petitions for education in Kurdish ruling that disciplinary punishments had to be objective by taking the testimony of the students in question. Adana Administrative Court No. 1 and 2 also stopped dismissals from Mustafa Kemal University in Antakya since one professor, who had been in the investigating board, had also been a member of the disciplinary council. (Radikal-TIHV, June 18, 2002)
HAK-PAR member Arrested
Among the members and executives of the Party for Rights and Freedoms (HAK-PAR), who had been detained in Diyarbakir on 12 June the board member Mehmet Eren was arrested on 17 June by Diyarbakir SSC on charges of possessing banned publications. The prosecutor released the other 22 people. Some of them applied to the Diyarbakir Representation of the Human Right Foundation of Turkey (TIHV) for a treatment of torture. (Evrensel-TIHV, June 18, 2002)
Detentions and Arrests
In Çermik district (Diyarbakir) Ahmet Karakoç, Ismail Dinçer, Hayati Kaya, Tahsin Çetin and Bekir Özdemir, members and executives of the Peopleís Democracy Party (HADEP) were detained on 17 June to testify in connection with a campaign entitled "Signature for a Democratic Turkey". They were released after testifying. On 17 June Mürsel Kaya, who had been detained in Körfez district (Kocaeli), was arrested on 17 June on charges of being a member of the PKK. (Evrensel-Hürriyet-TIHV, June 18, 2002)
Soldiersí Brutality in Siirt
Soldiers in Siirt reportedly beat the carrier Sefik Çelik. About two months ago Sefik Çelik helped an officer called Yasar Yildiz to move his house, but could not get any money from him. He repeatedly sent news to the officer to get the money, but instead the officers Yasar Yildiz, Muharrem Beyazit and Mesut Demir in the street beat him up a few days ago. Later they drove him outside town, but were stopped by the police. The police detained the 3 officers, who were released after testifying to the prosecutor. (Evrensel-TIHV, June 19, 2002)
Detentions and Arrests
In Istanbul 5 alleged members of the PKK (KADEK) were arrested. The police in Istanbul announced that first Nure Sincar (50) had been detained and her testimony had revealed that the PKK was recruiting militants among the students to fight in the mountains. Nure Sincar was the leader of the Committee at Istanbul University. The second person in the committee was named as Cengiz Açari, who reportedly was dismissed from the army in 1990. The others are named Ali Korkmaz (20), Hüseyin Akbaba and Derya Akbaba. (Milliyet-Yeni Safak-TIHV, June 19, 2002)
Campaign for Education in Kurdish
The prosecutor at Diyarbakir SSC indicted Hayrettin Altun, former chairman of the teachersí union Egitim-Sen in Diyarbakir, Medeni Alpkaya, treasurer of the union and the members of the music group from the confederation KESK in connection with the general assembly of 2 February. The prosecutor wants them to be convicted according to Article 169 TPC because Kurdish music was played and banners were put up asking for education in Kurdish. The hearing will start at Diyarbakir SSC on 25 June. On 21 June Van SSC started to hear the case of students from the 100 Year University, charged with supporting the PKK by handing in petitions on education in Kurdish. The court ordered the release of 16 remanded students and lifted arrest warrants against 8 defendants. On 21 June Istanbul SSC continued to hear the case of 38 parents, who had presented petitions to the directors for national education in Kadiköy, Esenler and Bagcilar district. The hearing was adjourned for further defendants to testify. (Evrensel-TIHV, June 23-24, 2002)
Signature Campaign Banned
In Van, Diyarbakir and Ankara the activity of the Peopleís Democracy Party (HADEP) to collect signatures "for the democratization of Turkey" was banned. Van Penal Court argued that the petition for the signature and posters contained "separatist propaganda". In all three towns the police raided the offices of HADEP and confiscated the texts for the signatures. On 22 June Yasar Akkus, chairman of the youth wing of HADEP in Igdir, was detained during a raid of his house in Yüzbasilar village. (Evrensel-TIHV, June 23, 2002)
PKK Trial in Izmir
On 21 June Izmir SSC passed a verdict on 17 defendants, charged with membership and support for the PKK. In his final statement defendant Necdet Sever stated that the PKK had no armed mission and they had come to Turkey to support the decision for a peace process in Turkey. He asked the court for release so that they could continue their activities for the togetherness of the Turkish and Kurdish peoples. The court sentenced Murat Arslan, Akin Arga, Necdet Sever, Atilla Aydin and Mazhar Öztürk to 12.5 yearsí imprisonment according to Article 168/2 TPC for membership of an armed gang. The defendants Umut Demir, Elif Ceylan Özsoy, Hasan Demirkaya, Nevzat Baksi and Taylan Dogan, who had been released earlier, were sentenced to 45 monthsí imprisonment under Article 169 TPC for supporting members of an armed gang. The defendants Mehmet Arga, Hasan Baksi, Nihat Demir, Servet Yildirim, Hülya Dogan, Fesih Kaya and Fuat Tuslu were acquitted of charges brought under Article 169 TPC. (Evrensel-TIHV, June 24, 2002)
Campaign for Education in Kurdish
The Rector at Adana Çukurova University finished the investigation against 1037 students, who had signed petitions for education in Kurdish. The Disciplinary Council decided to dismiss 21 students permanently and 66 students for half a year. More than 100 students received a note of protest. (Evrensel-TIHV, June 25, 2002)
Incident in Bursa
On the evening of 24 June a group of some 15-20 people from the families with the surname Tosun and Denizhan came to the offices of the Peopleís Democracy Party (HADEP) in Yildirim district (Bursa) trying to establish the whereabouts of the boys Halit (16) and Ferdi (20). On 23 June Halit Tosun and Ferdi Denizhan (20) had left their homes. Halit Tosun had said that he was going to join the organization (PKK) and would not come back. Since the answers of Hamdullah Yilmaz, chairman of HADEP for Bursa province, Kemal Yildirak, chairman of HADEP for the district, and Vedat Oruç, HADEP secretary for the district did not satisfy them they damaged the equipment of the office. HADEP official Nizam Kapan was injured during the attack. Reportedly the police observed the incident and only later detained the HADEP executives and another 4 HADEP members including Fehmi Yavuz, and Hüseyin Armagan. Reportedly on intervention of Resat Altay, Bursa Chief of Police, the detainees were able to locate Halit Tosun and Ferdi Denizhan (20) in Istanbul and made them return to Bursa. Allegedly 18 juveniles, aged 14 to 18, six of them girls, disappeared lately in Bursa and are suspected to have joined the PKK in Iran and Iraq. Resat Altay stated that the detainees will be taken to court on charges of recruiting militants and the Tosun family will be charged with damaging private property. (Hürriyet-TIHV, June 26, 2002)
Campaign for Education in Kurdish
On 25 June Diyarbakir SSC started to hear the case of Hayrettin Altun, former chairman of the teachersí union Egitim-Sen in Diyarbakir, Medeni Alpkaya, treasurer of the union and the members of the music group from the confederation KESK in connection with the general assembly of 2 February. They are charged under Article 169 TPC because Kurdish music was played and banners were put up asking for education in Kurdish. The hearing was adjourned to 10 September to listen to the recorded tapes. (Evrensel-TIHV, June 26, 2002)
HADEP Trial
On 25 June Ankara SSC No. 1 continued to hear the case against 41 defendants, charged in connection with events during the 2nd Ordinary Congress of the Peopleís Democracy Party (HADEP) in Ankara in 1996, when the Turkish flag was torn down. The prosecutor changed his conclusions by saying that the case should be suspended according to the Law on Conditional Release and Suspension of Sentences, because the defendants would be sentenced according to Article 169 TPC. This is a retrial, after the Court of Cassation quashed the first verdict on the grounds that defendants in the same situation received different sentences. (Milliyet-TIHV, June 26, 2002)
Signature Campaign Banned
Adana Penal Court No. 2 banned the campaign by the Peopleís Democracy Party (HADEP) to collect signature under the slogan of "The Process to Join the EU needs Commitment". Following the decision the police went to the HADEP offices in Adana and confiscated the petitions. Earlier, Van Penal Court had banned HADEPís campaign "One signature for the Democratization of Turkey". (Evrensel-TIHV, June 27, 2002)
Campaign on Education in Kurdish
On 26 June Istanbul SSC No. 3 continued to hear the case of 11 defendants charged with supporting the PKK by handing over petitions on education in Kurdish to the director for national education in Güngören district (Istanbul). The court issued arrest warrants in absentia against the defendants Fatma Duman and Aysel Kazici, because they had not testified yet. The hearing was adjourned to 28 August. (Yedinci Gündem-TIHV, June 27, 2002)
Torture Trial Prevented
Diyarbakir Criminal Court No. 1 dropped the case against 2 police officers charged with having tortured Hasan Irmak (52), member of the Peopleís Democracy Party (HADEP) in May 2000. The public prosecutor had indicted the police officers Kamber Özperçin and Mustafa Yücel with having hosed the prisoner with pressurized water, squeezed his testicles, beaten him on his left ear and putting him under psychological pressure in order to confess to a crime. The charges under Article 243 TPC could have resulted in a prison term of up to five years. Last year Sedat Yurttas, lawyer of Hasan Irmak had applied to the Ministry for the Interior demanding compensation for the fact that the torture on 11 and 12 May 2000 had deprived his client of his manhood and he could not work as a hairdresser, since his hands were trembling. However, Diyarbakir Criminal Court No. 1 ruled that the necessary permission for opening the court case against civil servants had not been asked for and argued that it was obligatory in the region under a state of emergency to get the permission from the governor. (Cumhuriyet-TIHV, June 28, 2002)
PKK Trial in Adana
On 27 June Adana SSC No. 1 convicted Mehmet Üçer of membership of the PKK and sentenced him to 12.5 yearsí imprisonment, although the defendant pleaded not guilty. (Sabah-TIHV, June 28, 2002)
Campaign on Education in Kurdish
The disciplinary council of the Directorate for National Education in Bingöl finished its investigation into the first ordinary congress of the teachersí union, Egitim-Sen in Bingöl on 2 February. During this congress banners saying that "the mother tongue is a right that cannot be prevented" and "the mother tongue does not separate, it unifies" had been the reason for an investigation of Diyarbakir SSC, resulting in a decision not to prosecute. The disciplinary council of the Directorate for National Education in Bingöl, however, decided that the promotion of 8 executives of Egitim-Sen should be delayed for one year. Six executives were punished by a disciplinary transfer: Siraz Elçi (to Kastamonu), Yavuz Karaaslan (to Artvin), Saliha Aydin (to Rize), Tarkan Demirkus (to Istanbul), Mustafa Akgül (to Yozgat) and Cevdet Çaka (to Kocaeli). (Yedinci Gündem-TIHV, June 28, 2002)
Detention and Arrests
In Bursa Halit Tosun (16) and Ferdi Denizhan (20), who allegedly had been kidnapped by members of the Peopleís Democracy Party (HADEP) to join the armed units of the PKK, and the 7 executives and members of HADEP in Bursa, including Hamdullah Yilmaz, chairman of HADEP for Bursa province, Kemal Yildirak, Vedat Oruç, Fehmi Yavuz Hüseyin Armagan, who had been detained on 24 June, were taken to court on 27 June. In their testimony Halit Tosun and Ferdi Denizhan denied to have been kidnapped. All 9 people were released after testifying on the grounds that there was not sufficient evidence for the membership and/or support of an illegal organization. When journalists wanted to talk with members of the Tosun family, who had damaged the equipment of the office of HADEP in Yildirim district (Bursa), when looking for their son, they attacked the reporters. (Hürriyet-TIHV, June 28, 2002)
KADEK Trial
On 28 June Istanbul SSC No. 5 started to hear the case of Gülistan
Dörtyama and Hasan Alma charged with membership of the illegal Freedom
and Democracy Congress of Kurdistan (KADEK). Both defendants agreed to
have signed petitions for education in Kurdish (Hasan Alma had been dismissed
from university for 6 month for it), but rejected to have put up posters
on the motorway E5 in April this year announcing the founding of KADEK.
The court rejected the demands for release and adjourned the hearing to
a later date. (Milliyet-TIHV, June 29, 2002)
SOCIO-ECONOMIQUE / SOCIO-ECONOMIC
Douze militants de Greenpeace interpellés à Ankara
Douze membres de Greenpeace ont été interpellés par la police lundi à Ankara alors qu'ils tentaient d'accrocher une banderole sur le plus haut immeuble de la ville pour protester contre le traitement de déchets toxiques, a indiqué un porte-parole de l'organisation écologiste.
Deux Néerlandais et un Libanais se trouvent parmi les personnes interpellées, a précisé à l'AFP Duygu Gungor.
La police est intervenue lorsque 5 militants sont montés sur la tour d'Atakule, qui domine la capitale avec ses 127 mètres de hauteur, pour déployer une banderole géante proclamant : "interdisez la combustion".
Greenpeace entendait dénoncer l'activité d'un incinérateur de déchets situé à Izmit (nord-ouest) qui dégage depuis trois ans des substances chimiques toxiques dangereuses, selon elle, pour la santé de la population et pour l'environnement.
L'organisation a précisé qu'elle avait lancé des poursuites contre le ministère de l'environnement parce qu'il a délivré le permis d'activité à l'incinérateur.
"Nous demandons au ministre et au gouvernement d'annuler ce permis et
d'interdire la combustion de déchets dans tout le pays", a souligné
Greenpeace dans un communiqué. (AFP, 17 juin 2002)
Explosion dans un bidonville d'Istanbul: la Turquie durement condamnée
La Cour européenne des droits de l'Homme a durement condamné la Turquie, mardi à Strasbourg, pour des négligences qui ont abouti en 1993 à la mort de 39 personnes habitant un bidonville à Istanbul, lors d'une explosion de méthane.
La Turquie devra verser 154.000 euros pour dommage matériel et moral au requérant qui a perdu neuf de ses proches dans la catastrophe.
Le 28 avril 1993, une explosion de méthane issu de la décomposition des ordures dans une déchetterie avait enseveli sous les ordures onze maisons construites en toute illégalité, tuant les habitants.
Masallah Oneryildiz, 47 ans, qui a perdu neuf de ses proches dans cette catastrophe a porté plainte au nom de ses trois enfants devant le tribunal administratif d'Istanbul contre les autorités turques pour homicides par négligence et pour la destruction de ses biens.
Les deux maires responsables de la catastrophe n'ont été condamnés qu'à une amende de 9,70 euros avec sursis. Le droit à indemnisation de M. Oneryildiz n'a été reconnu qu'au bout de près de cinq ans. Son dédommagement a été fixé à 2.077 euros pour le décès de ses proches et 210 euros pour le tort matériel, mais ces sommes n'ont jamais été payées.
La Cour européenne, qui a jugé que le droit à la
vie et le droit à la propriété du requérant
ont été violés, a vivement critiqué la "quasi-impunité"
accordée aux maires responsables et l'indemnisation insuffisante
et tardive de la victime. (AFP, 18 juin 2002)
Mise sous tutelle d'une banque, la bourse baisse, le patronat s'alarme
L'Office turc de régulation des banques a mis sous tutelle mercredi la 4ème banque privée de Turquie, Pamukbank, incapable de remplir ses obligations, ce qui a entraîné une chute de 2% à la bourse d'Istanbul.
L'indice a baissé de 196,7 points pour clôturer à 9.378, contre 9.575,1 points la veille.
L'Office de contrôle bancaire a souligné dans un communiqué que Pamukbank avait un déficit de quelque 2 milliarss de dollars au 31 décembre et n'avait pas pris les mesures stipulées par la loi bancaire, ni la possibilité de se remette à flot même si elle les avait prises.
"La poursuite de ses activités posait un danger pour les droits des détenteurs de compte et pour la sécurité et la stabilité du système financier", conclut le communiqué.
Cette décision a fait avorter un projet de fusion entre Pamukbank et Yapi Kredi.
Les désordres du système bancaire turc ont été à l'origine d'une grave crise financière en novembre 2000, suivie en février par une crise économique générale.
La Turquie s'est engagée depuis à assainir le secteur au terme d'un accord conclu avec le Fonds monétaire international (FMI). Depuis, 20 banques sur la soixantaine que comptait le pays ont été mises sous tutelle.
Le ministre de l'Economie Kemal Dervis s'est félicité devant la presse de la décision sur Pamukbank, soulignant que l'Office avait ainsi achevé la remise en ordre du secteur, désormais "fort et solide".
Mais sa déclaration n'a pas calmé des marchés très nerveux suite aux tensions politiques liées à la maladie du chef du gouvernement Bulent Ecevit, 77 ans, absent de son bureau depuis début mai.
Les investisseurs craignent que la vacance de pouvoir et les profondes dissensions entre partenaires de la coalition gouvernementale sur les réformes à mener pour intégrer l'Union européenne ne paralysent l'action gouvernementale, et redoutent la perspectice d'élections anticipées au moment où les sondages donnent les islamistes vainqueurs.
Le principal groupe patronal a accusé les responsables politiques
d'entraîner la Turquie vers un "désastre économique",
et les a enjoints de prendre des mesures d'urgence pour lever les
incertitudes liées à la santé de M. Ecevit,
lors d'une réunion mercredi à Istanbul. (AFP, 19 juin 2002)
Situation of women's rights in Turkey
As a result of a change in the law this spring, school officials in Turkey are no longer authorized to test girls for virginity. In recent years Turkey has overturned the legal supremacy of men in marriage and allowed women threatened with violence to get orders of protection. These vital moves represent welcome progress, but thevery need for them illustrates how far Turkey still has to go to protect women's rights.
Geographically divided between Europe and Asia, Turkey is a nation of contradictions. Equality for women in the public sphere was decreed by the founder of the modern nation, Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, in the 1920s and '30s. Abortion is legal, and the law mandates equal pay for equal work. By the standards of Muslim nations, Turkey is a model of progressivism. Yet Islam and rural traditions still heavily influence the treatment of women. The law on student chastity, for example, burst back into public attention last year after Turkey's health minister announced that students in nursing and other health schools should be expelled if they were sexually active.
In the remote southeast and east, about 10 percent of women are in polygamous marriages, even though the practice is illegal. And women are still taken by their families for virginity tests or compelled to renounce their legal inheritance in favor of brothers. Women are forced to marry their rapists to salvage the reputation of their families, and some are killed by their families for flouting tradition, even for doing nothing more than going out at night with female friends.
The new laws are partly aimed at facilitating Turkey's effort to join the European Union. They are also the product of a unified campaign by dozens of women's groups, which warn that unless the state goes beyond the mere passage of laws, change will be very slow. There are few shelters for battered women or those threatened with honor killings. The national government does not push local governments to enforce women's rights.
One change that could help Turkey would come from extending girls' education.
Far fewer girls are in school than boys. Especially in the rural east,
women's scandalous dropout rates rob them of opportunities for jobs, leaving
them dependent on their families and thus more susceptible to traditional
pressures. A stay-in-school program could do more than any law to make
women truly equal citizens of Turkey. (The International Herald Tribune,
20 June 2002)
Déficit commercial: -14,6% sur les 4 premiers mois 2002/2001
Le déficit commercial de la Turquie a diminué de 14,6% au cours des quatre premiers mois de 2002 comparé à la même période de l'année précédente, atteignant 3,32 milliards de dollars, a annoncé lundi l'Institut national des statistiques (DIE).
Les importations ont progressé 0,1%, à 13,8 milliards de dollars et les exportations ont augmenté de 5,9% à 10,4 milliards de dollars, selon l'Institut.
Pour le seul mois d'avril, comparé à avril 2001, les importations ont augmenté de 32,3%, à 4,1 milliards de dollars, et les exportations de 4,7%, à 2,7 milliards de dollars.
La progression des exportations, favorisée par la dépréciation de la livre turque, a permis à la Turquie de diminuer son déficit commercial de 65,1% à 9,32 milliards de dollars l'an dernier.
Soutenue par des prêts massifs du Fonds monétaire international
(FMI) et de la Banque mondiale, la Turquie lutte depuis février
2001 contre l'une des pires crises économiques de son histoire.
(AFP, 24 juin 2002)
Le marché de la contrefaçon explose avec la crise économique
Gulgun Goksel, femme au foyer de la moyenne bourgeoisie turque, peut faire son shopping à coup de Gucci et Bulgari en pleine crise économique grâce au marché du faux ouvert dans la banlieue de la capitale turque.
Sa liste d'achat serait fatale pour tout époux au salaire modeste, mais elle sait comment garder un semblant de standing en se rendant dans un "bazar de la jet-set".
Ces derniers ont fleuri récemment dans un pays en crise économique, qui détient le titre pas forcément enviable de troisième principal exportateur de contrefaçons dans le monde, après la Pologne et la Thaïlande, selon une récente étude de l'Associations turque des marques brevetées (TMD).
Cette industrie souterraine rapporte 3 milliards de dollars par an et surpasse celle de nombreux pays asiatiques pourtant réputés sur ce plan.
"Nous savons que des faux sont exportés de Turquie vers les Républiques d'Asie centrale, le Proche-Orient, l'Afrique du nord et l'Europe", explique le fondateur du TMD, Vehbi Kahveci.
Tous ces biens ne sont pas forcément produits en Turquie et peut-être que la plupart proviennent de l'étranger, mais ils sont réexportés avec le label "made in Turkey", précise-t-il.
Le gouvernement perd d'importantes rentrées d'impôts du fait de son incapacité à lutter contre le phénomène. Sans compter que ces activités clandestines portent aussi le risque de financer des activités illégales comme le trafic d'armes et de drogue, souligne-t-il.
La grave crise économique que traverse la Turquie depuis février 2001 a attiré de plus en plus de clients vers les pirates de la mode, en particulier parmi les classes moyennes.
Séduites par des prix imbattables, les ménagères turques se ruent pour acheter les vêtements ou accessoires dernier cri griffés dans les "bazars jet-set".
Camions et camionnettes bourrés de contrefaçons amènent habits, parfums, accessoires, chaussures et autres "faux" produits de luxe.
Les vendeurs, la plupart venant d'Istanbul, capitale économique du pays, installent leurs tréteaux à l'aube, parfois même "avec l'aide de fidèles clients", remarque Huseyin Altunbas, 28 ans, penché sur un étal de strings, tangas et autre dessous affriolants du marché d'Ankara.
On y trouve des jeans Tommy Hilfiger à 20 millions de livres turques (13 dollars) ou des T-shirts DKNY à 10 MTL (7 USD), part minime du coût du véritable produit de marque.
Huseyin Osanmaz, 23 ans, surveille son étal et dit vendre environ 300 vestes par jour.
"Vous ne pouvez pas imaginer combien d'argent change de mains ici, des milliards de livres, je dirais", dit-il en riant.
Des équipes de la municipalité et des représentants du TMD effectue des raids sur les marchés, mais sans grand impact apparemment.
La loi vient au secours des faussaires: les vendeurs ne sont pas obligés d'afficher le prix de leurs produits et ils sont exemptés de taxe, à part celle versée à la municipalité pour l'espace occupé.
La crise économique a entraîné des licenciements massifs et une forte inflation qui a ramené le revenu mensuel de la classe moyenne à quelques centaines de dollars par mois.
M. Kahveci nie toutefois que ces difficultés expliquent à elles seules l'explosion du marché du faux.
"Ce n'est pas lié seulement à la crise économique.
C'est à cause de la folie des Turcs pour les marques. Ils
paient cher des produits sans valeur juste parce qu'ils sont frappés
du nom d'une marque célèbre", dit-il. (AFP, 25 juin 2002)
Santé d'Ecevit et décision de S&P: la bourse d'Istanbul chute de 5,1%
La bourse d'Istanbul (IMKB) a poursuivi sa baisse mercredi en chutant de 5,1% à la clôture par rapport à mardi, le jour où le Premier ministre Bulent Ecevit, malade, devait subir un contrôle médical complet qui décidera de son retour ou non à son bureau.
La décision de l'agence de notation Standard and Poor's qui a annoncé mercredi qu'elle ramenait de positive à stable la perspective de la dette de la Turquie, principalement au vu d'une situation politique jugée incertaine, a aussi contribué à la baisse, a commenté pour l'AFP Gamze Sermet, une courtière des valeurs immobilières Alfa.
L'indice de la Bourse a perdu 467 points pour terminer à 8.627 points, son niveau le plus bas de l'année.
La livre turque (TL) a elle aussi continué de perdre du terrain par rapport au dollar, dépassant même le 1,6 million TL pour un dollar dans les échanges entre banques contre 1,500 MTL une semaine auparavant.
La mauvaise santé de M. Ecevit, 77 ans, et les divisions de son gouvernement de coalition sur les réformes à mener pour adhérer à l'Union européenne font planer une lourde incertitude sur la vie politique du pays avec des répercussions sur son économie en crise.
M. Ecevit a rejeté les nombreux appels à la démission
entraînés par sa santé fragile, qui le tient
hors de la vie politique depuis le 4 mai, et la tenue d'élections
anticipées avant la date prévue de 2004. (AFP, 26 juin 2002)
Le FMI débloque une nouvelle tranche de crédits pour la Turquie
Le Fonds monétaire international (FMI) a annoncé vendredi avoir approuvé le déblocage immédiat pour la Turquie d'une nouvelle tranche de crédits de 1,15 milliard de dollars.
Cette décision, qui était largement attendue, a été prise à l'issue de l'examen par le Conseil d'administration du Fonds de l'application par Ankara du programme économique soutenu par le FMI, a indiqué le Fonds dans un communiqué.
Les nouveaux crédits s'inscrivent dans le cadre d'un accord de crédit "stand-by" approuvé en février 2002 et prévoyant un montant total de 17 milliards de dollars de prêts du FMI à la Turquie sur trois ans.
Sur ce total de 17 milliards de dollars, la Turquie a déjà reçu pour 11 milliards de dollars de prêts du FMI.
L'accord de crédit stand-by avait été approuvé pour soutenir l'économie turque durement affectée par le ralentissement de l'économie mondiale après les attentats du 11 septembre, qui est venu s'ajouter à une profonde crise économique vécue par ce pays depuis février 2001.
Le déblocage d'une nouvelle tranche de crédits à la Turquie, pays désormais le plus gros débiteur du FMI, était attendue car des responsables du Fonds avaient indiqué à plusieurs reprises ces dernières semaines qu'Ankara obtiendrait cette nouvelle aide financière.
La Turquie est en bonne voie d'obtenir un prêt de 1,1 milliard de dollars du FMI à la mi-juin, avait indiqué le 16 mai le porte-parole de cette institution, Thomas Dawson.
M. Dawson avait alors adressé un satisfecit à Ankara en relevant "les progrès substantiels" accomplis dans l'application du programme économique soutenu par le FMI ainsi que "les signes très encourageants de retour de la croissance".
L'Organisation de coopération et de développement économiques (OCDE) avait toutefois estimé fin avril, dans ses prévisions de printemps, que des risques majeurs persistaient pour l'économie turque, même si les objectifs budgétaires et monétaires du programme conclu avec le FMI sont atteints.
L'OCDE avait notamment souligné que le gouvernement turc devait continuer de mettre en oeuvre des réformes structurelles, notamment dans le secteur financier, et s'en tenir à ses objectifs de dépenses.
Dans sa revue annuelle de l'économie turque publiée en avril dernier, le FMI tablait sur une croissance de 3% en Turquie en 2002 et de 5% pour les deux années suivantes.
Selon le FMI, le déficit du secteur public par rapport au Produit
intérieur brut (PIB) devrait se situer à 68,6% en 2002,
à 65,1% en 2003 et à 61,7% en 2004 alors que la hausse
des prix à la consommation devrait atteindre 35% en 2002,
20% en 2003 et 12% en 2004. (AFP, 28 juin 2002)
La Turquie enregistre une croissance au premier trimestre 2002 (+0,7%)
La Turquie a enregistré une croissance au premier trimestre 2002, par rapport à la même période de 2001, selon les chiffres publiés dimanche par l'Institut national des statistiques (DIE).
Le produit intérieur brut (PIB) a augmenté de 0,7% au premier trimestre 2002 par rapport au trimestre précédent, et d'une hausse de 2,3% en glissement annuel, selon l'Institut.
L'économie turque s'est contractée de 9,4% en 2001 par rapport à l'année précédente, soit un chiffre plus mauvais que celui prévu par le gouvernement qui tablait sur une contraction de 8,5%.
Selon le programme de redressement du gouvernement mis en place après la crise de février 2001 et soutenu par le Fonds monétaire international (FMI) et la Banque mondiale, la Turquie s'engage à réduire l'inflation chronique et le déficit public, amorcer une croissance durable et restructurer son système bancaire, à l'origine de la crise.
L'objectif du gouvernement pour 2002 est de ramener la hausse des prix à la consommation à 35% (73,2% en 2001), 20% en 2003 et 12% en 2004.
Le programme table sur une croissance de 3% cette année et de
5% en 2003. (AFP, 30 juin 2002)
Un bateau coule dans le Bosphore: cinq noyés
La police a repêché vendredi les corps de trois passagers d'un bateau ayant fait naufrage la veille dans le détroit du Bosphore, et deux autres corps ont été localisés dans l'épave, a indiqué l'agence de presse turque Anatolie.
Des plongeurs de la police maritime ont effectué ces recherches après que le procureur chargé de l'enquête eut annoncé que 5 personnes étaient portées disparues, alors qu'un premier bilan ne faisait état d'aucune victime, selon Anatolie.
Le bateau de 9 mètres faisant la navette entre les rives du Bosphore et une restaurant sur une île au milieu du détroit avait sombré jeudi en fin d'après-midi avec une vingtaine de passagers à son bord.
La navette était rapidement passée par le fond après
avoir pris l'eau pour une raison inconnue alors qu'elle s'approchait d'un
restaurant installé dans le bâtiment historique de "La tour
de Léandre", sur une île au milieu du détroit du Bosphore.
(AFP, 7 juin 2002)
AFFAIRES RELIGIEUSES / RELIGIOUS AFFAIRS
Islam makes political push in Turkey
Turkey, a key Western ally, is experiencing an Islamic revival that some Turks see as a threat to this officially secular nation.
Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit's steadfast refusal to resign or call early elections, despite a recent illness, has many analysts suggesting that the secular establishment fears the religious parties now leading in opinion polls.
In a recent survey by the German polling company ANAR, the Justice and Development Party (known as AKP) scored up to 23 percent of the vote in a hypothetical election. The governing socialist-nationalist coalition received 9 percent.
"Modernization and with it secularization was an elite project in Turkey," says Dr. Talip Kucukcan, director of the independent Center for Islamic Studies in Istanbul. "People in Turkey are sincere Muslims and the state has alienated many of them.''
Indeed, a study by the Konrad Adenauer Institute in Bonn found that 95 percent of Turks believed in God and 70 percent considered themselves "devout Muslims," fasting during Ramadan and attending mosque on Friday.
Since the Israeli military invasion of Palestinian towns on the West Bank this spring, Islamist rhetoric has risen in Turkey, with some leaders also calling for greater Muslim brotherhood.
After the foundation of modern Turkey in 1923 by Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, the state became officially some argue aggressively secular.
In 1997, the military-dominated Constitutional Council even ousted the governing Islamist Welfare Party, which had won power in a coalition at the 1996 elections. Its leader, Necbattin Erbakan, did not impose sharia (Islamic law), but tried to change the way religion was controlled by the central government, which appoints some 80,000 clerics.
He also courted the leaders of Iran and Libya, ringing alarm bells in Washington and within the Turkish military, which was simultaneously strengthening ties with the United States and Israel.
But the Islamists' appeal never really waned, especially in the poorer parts of the country, and the AKP is now led by the charismatic former mayor of Istanbul, Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
Four years ago, Mr. Erdogan was sentenced to 10 months in jail and banned from politics for making an Islamist speech and "criticizing the secular order." Now that his ban is to be lifted, he is the most popular leader in Turkey.
His deputy, former Turkish diplomat Yasar Yakis, says Erdogan's treatment at the hands of the military shows that the religious parties, far from being Taliban-style fundamentalists, are more liberal than their secular counterparts.
"The way our chairman has been treated is a mockery of justice," says Mr. Yakis. "Now they are looking at other pretexts to prevent him from becoming prime minister."
Although 48 out of the AKP's 53 parliamentary deputies were once aligned with the Welfare Party and its banned successor, the Virtue Party, Yakis insists the AKP is a completely new entity, which does not threaten secular society.
Their touchstone is the right of religious women to wear a veil or headscarf, a practice currently banned in state schools and universities, government offices, and parliament, and on state broadcasting. Their agenda also includes the right of local Muslim congregations to appoint imams to mosques.
"We want to lower the prerogative of the central government in all areas of public life," says Yakis. "So if a religious community prefers to nominate their own leader, they should be able to do so. "This may require some amendment to the constitution.''
The AKP also advocates that Turkey join the European Union, saying local Muslims will enjoy EU protections on religious freedom. "Why is it that a Muslim lady in a Christian country, like Britain or the United States, has more rights than in Turkey?" he says. "We see it as an issue of fundamental rights."
Secular liberals, who also support EU membership, are not completely convinced that Turkey's religious parties have changed, even if their rhetoric is focused more on human rights than Islamic morality. Some, such as Erdal Guven, a columnist for the leading liberal daily, Radikal, says recent history haunts the Islamists.
"Soon after they came into government, Erbakan got up in his party room and said to the members, 'It is for you to decide if we come democratically or with blood,''' says Guven, in an office decorated with posters of Mick Jagger and the latest George Clooney movie.
"All this talk of blood frightened many people. There are new faces
but some think the old man [Erbakan] is still pulling the strings. They
still have to convince the majority of Turkish public opinion they are
not fundamentalists." (Andrew West, The Christian Science Monitor, June
05, 2002)
Court of Cassation decision fuels Erdogan debate
The political future of Recep Tayyip Erdogan, under the spotlight again after the Court of Cassation decision on Mehmet Kutlular, the owner of the Yeni Asya newspaper who was tried on charges of violating Article No. 312 of the Turkish Penal Code (TCK), the same article that sent Erdogan to jail in 1999.
Former Istanbul Mayor and current leader of the Justice and Development Party (AKP) Erdogan was sentenced on charges of violating Article No. 312 in a speech in 1999. He served a four-month jail term for his poem, seen as challenging Turkey's strictly secular system.
As he was convicted under Article No. 312, this meant that he was banned from political life.
Turkey has amended Article No. 312 as part of a reform package meant to help satisfy its ambition to become a member of the European Union.
The Court of Cassation decision on Kutlular said that the amendment made to the article would not result in a retrial of Kutlular's case, but that the court should investigate whether or not his act should be considered a crime.
Kutlular, after saying that the devastating earthquake in Turkey's Marmara region was a "sacred warning from God" during a speech at Kocatepe Mosque in 1999, was seen as inciting hatred and enmity on the basis of religion, race, or class.
Different comments were being made after the Kutlular decision. According to the Zaman newspaper, the political ban of popular leader Erdogan was lifted automatically with the amendments made to certain articles of the TCK, while other mass-circulation newspapers stated that the decision will have no effect on Erdogan's situation.
These debates have come at a time when Turkey is arguing that snap polls are inevitable.
According to public opinion polls, Erdogan is the most popular leader and his AKP would be the winner if elections were held today.
Meanwhile, top jurists and Turkey's powerful military are openly against the idea of seeing Erdogan, a young and popular politician with a political Islamist background, as the future prime minister.
Erdogan reiterated that he and his views have changed, and that his party is a center-right party which is not based on religion.
The AKP was founded on the ashes of the defunct Virtue Party (FP), which
was closed by the Constitutional Court on charges of being the center of
religious activities. (Turkish Daily News, June 15, 2002)
L'organisation interdite du "Calife" de Cologne toujours active
L'organisation islamiste Hilafet Devleti (Califat), fondée par le Turc Metin Kaplan, le "Calife de Cologne", et interdite en Allemagne, a repris des activités clandestines, a indiqué mardi à Berlin une source proche des services de sécurité, confirmant des informations de presse.
Selon le quotidien Berliner Zeitung, des partisans de Metin Kaplan ont publié aux Pays-Bas des périodiques en allemand, propageant des théories antisémites sur les attentats du 11 septembre aux Etats-Unis et dans lesquelles le ministre allemand de l'Intérieur Otto Schily est notamment accusé d'avoir fait des musulmans "l'ennemi intérieur".
Une centaine de partisans du "Calife", dont des cadres de l'organisation interdite en novembre dernier, continuent à se réunir clandestinement à Cologne (ouest), selon les services de sécurité allemands.
Les autorités allemandes avaient décidé à la mi novembre d'interdire l'organisation islamiste, une mesure prise au nom de la lutte antiterroriste.
Le dirigeant de Califat, le théologien musulman Metin Kaplan,
avait été condamné en novembre 2000 à
quatre ans de prison pour avoir lancé une fatwa (décret
religieux) mortelle contre un rival. Le but premier de son organisation
est de renverser le régime turc et de le remplacer par un califat.
(AFP, 18 juin 2002)
Nouvelle tentative du parti islamiste Refah de se blanchir à Strasbourg
Le parti islamiste Refah a tenté pour la seconde fois de se blanchir des accusations d'instaurer la charia (loi islamique) en Turquie devant une grande chambre de la Cour européenne des droits de l'homme, au cours d'une audience mercredi à Strasbourg.
Après la dissolution du Refah en janvier 1998 sous le motif qu'il était devenu "un centre d'activités contraires au principe de laïcité", le parti et trois de ses anciens dirigeants ont porté plainte devant la Cour européenne, accusant le gouvernement turc d'avoir violé leur droit à la liberté de pensée, d'expression, de réunion et d'association et l'interdiction de la discrimination, et le respect de la propriété, tous les biens du Refah ayant été confisqués.
Le parti islamiste a été débouté le 31 juillet dernier de sa plainte par une petite chambre de la Cour, mais il a obtenu le renvoi de l'affaire devant la grande chambre qui compte 17 juges européens et qui devrait rendre son arrêt d'ici à trois mois.
Mercredi, l'ancien ministre de la Justice, Sevket Kazan, ex-vice-président du Refah, a été autorisé exceptionnellement par la Cour à plaider en personne sa cause ainsi que celle de deux autres anciens dirigeants du parti, notamment l'ancien Premier ministre Necmettin Erbakan.
Estimant que la dissolution de son parti était "injuste", "infondée" et "non proportionnée", M. Kazan a affirmé que le programme du Refah "ne contenait pas un seul mot sur l'instauration d'un système multi-législatif ou sur celui de la charia". "Nous voulons seulement que tout le monde soit libre de vivre sa confession et sa religion", a-t-il expliqué. "Nous voulons que les gens puissent se marier devant un religieux musulman, de même qu'en Occident, les gens peuvent se marier devant un prêtre".
L'avocat strasbourgeois du parti, Me Laurent Hincker, a pour sa part rappelé que la Turquie avait dissous 170 partis politiques en 70 ans, dont une vingtaine au cours des dix dernières années. Il a accusé la Turquie de faire "un procès en sorcellerie" au Refah et rappelé que ce parti avait été porté au pouvoir en 1995, lors d'élections libres, en remportant la victoire avec 6,5 millions de voix, avant d'être interdit par un artifice législatif.
Le représentant de l'Etat turc, Sukru Alpasan, a de son côté dénoncé le "comportement totalitaire" de ce parti qui vise "le renversement de l'Etat laïc, comme but ultime, sous le voile du pluralisme des juridictions".
"Ses déclarations ne sont pas sincères", a-t-il déclaré, en évoquant les menaces sanglantes et les appels au jihad (guerre sainte) lancés par des membres du Refah contre ceux qui s'opposeraient à l'instauration de la charia.
Il a aussi rappelé que M. Kazan, quand il était ministre de la Justice, avait récompensé un juge qui avait autorisé une avocate à porter le foulard islamique pendant une plaidoirie, contrairement au principe constitutionnel de la laïcité.
"L'Etat turc est le seul pays qui a prouvé depuis 80 ans que
l'islam et la laïcité peuvent cohabiter", a-t-il dit,
en assurant que seule la laïcité permettait le respect
de la démocratie et des droits de l'homme en Turquie. (AFP, 19 juin
2002)
Religious affaires in brief
Detention of Hezbollah Suspects
During the first five months of this 311 people were detained in the region under a state of emergency (OHAL) for alleged involvement in the radical Islamic organization Hezbollah. The state security courts remanded 109 of them and 202 had been released after custody. (Anatolian News Agency-TIHV, June 7, 2002)
Headscarved Students
The Istanbul branch of the human rights organization Mazlum-Der has published a report on headscarved students. According to the report 1678 students with headscarves were not allowed to attend the classes at theological lyceums in Istanbul. During protests against the ban of headscarves 1885 were detained (10 of them beaten and ill-treated) and 396 students were dismissed from school. (Yeni Safak-TIHV, June 7, 2002)
Case of Closure for Alevite Association
On 11 June the 2nd Judicial Chamber of the Court of Cassation dealt with the case initiated by the Interior Ministry against the Union of Alevite Bektashi Organizations (ABKB). Defense lawyer Kazim Genç stated that the case was based on discrimination according to religious faith and sects, but Alevitism was not a sect, but a philisophy. On 13 February Ankara Judicial Court No. 2 had ordered the closure of ABKB based on Article 5 of the Law on Association since the statue of the Union stated that it would conduct teaching of the Alevite and Bektashi culture. (Evrensel-TIHV, June 12, 2002)
Detentions and Arrests
Abdülkadir Tas, Hüseyin Tas, Ömer Ates, Fatih Ataselim and Alpaslan Aktürk, who had been detained as members of the radical Islamic organization "Selam/Tevhid" in Kütahya on 7 June, were arrested on 11 June. Further detentions were reported from Gümüshane, Erzurum and Kayseri. The detainees in Kayseri, Süleyman D., Zekeriya B., Osman K, Hasan Ç., Hüseyin S. and Mustafa U. reportedly belong to the organization "Teblig Cemaati". (Evrensel-TIHV, June 12, 2002)
Detentions and Arrests
In Erzurum the police detained the students R.G., F.K., A.Ö., Ö.B., S.A., M.T., E.E., F.K., O.B., H.S., C.G. and their teacher F.A. for their alleged connection to the "Ilim" wing of the radical Islamic organization Hezbollah. In Tunceli Hatice Dönmez and her daughter Evrim Dönmez were detained on charges of having provided food to militants of the Workersí and Peasants Liberation Army of Turkey (TIKKO) in 1998. (Evrensel-TIHV, June 13, 2002)
Hezbu't-Tahrir Trial
On 13 June Adana SSC No. 1 acquitted Murat Gezenler, Hakan Erdem, Cüneyt Akkas, Halil Ibrahim Türkmen, Murat Nalbant, Bahri Kösedag and Kadir Çorum, who had been charged with membership of the radical Islamic organization "Hezbuít-Tahrir", because of a lack of evidence. They had been detained in Konya in February and, except for Kadir Çorum been remanded for some time, but tried without arrest. (TIHV, June 14, 2002)
Detentions and Arrests
Erzurum Chief of Police, Özdemir Gürsu, announced the names of 12 people, who had been detained in Yenisehir on 11 June. He stated that it had been established that four of them were members of the radical Islamic organization Hezbollah and that one of them participated in the assassination of former Chief of Diyarbakir Police, Gaffar Okkan in January 2001. The detainees Fuat Kaya, Ramazan Güngör, Abdurrahim Özalp, Özgür Bozkurt, Süleyman Adiyaman, Mustafa Tekiner, Erkan Elkoç, Fedai Kiliç, Oktay Bozkurt, Cüneyt Gümüs, Haci Sökmen and Fevzi Altinkaynak are expected to appear at a state security court today. (Milliyet-TIHV, June 14, 2002)
Hezbollah Trial
On 18 June Diyarbakir SSC No. 3 continued to hear the case of Mehmet Fidanci, an alleged member of the radical Islamic organization Hezbollah, who is being held responsible for the 14 killings including the assassination of ex-Chief of Diyarbakir Police, Gaffar Okkan, and 5 police officers. The prosecution has asked for the death penalty according to Article 146 TPC. The court adjourned the hearing to a later date for a completion of the file. (Evrensel-TIHV, June 19, 2002)
Hezbollah Trial
On 27 June Diyarbakir SSC continued to hear the case of Kemal Aktas,
repentant member of the radical Islamic organization Hezbollah. The prosecutor
has asked for the death penalty according to Article 146 TPC. The demand
for release was rejected and the hearing was adjourned to a later date.
(Evrensel-TIHV, June 28, 2002)
RELATIONS AVEC L'OUEST / RELATIONS WITH THE WEST
Assassin violeur libéré: le prince héritier des Pays-Bas reporte une visite
Le prince héritier des Pays-Bas Willem-Alexander a repoussé une visite à Istanbul prévue mercredi après la libération, au terme d'une amnistie, d'un Turc qui avait violé 3 touristes Néerlandaises et tué l'une d'elles, a-t-on appris mardi de source diplomatique.
Le même jour, une cour criminelle à Iskenderun (sud) a décidé sa réincarcération, annulant ainsi la décision d'une autre cour criminelle qui avait estimé qu'il pouvait bénéficier d'une loie d'amnistie très controversée, a indiqué l'agence Anatolie.
Hakan Karayavuz avait été condamné à la prison à vie pour avoir, avec des comparses, violé une touriste russe et 3 néerlandaises à Alanya (sud) en 1995, puis assassiné la Russe et une Néerlandaise. Les deux autres Néerlandaises avaient survécu mais avaient été grièvement blessées, a précisé à l'AFP un porte-parole de l'ambassade des Pays-Bas à Ankara.
Puis il a été libéré le 23 mai de la prison de Hatay (sud) sur décision de la cour criminelle de la même ville, dans le cadre d'une loi d'amnistie adoptée en janvier 2001, qui réduit les peines pour les détenus condamnés à des peines ne dépassant pas dix ans de prison.
L'ambassade des Pays-Bas a demandé des clarifications aux autorités turques sur cette libération anticipée et celles-ci ont répondu qu'elles allaient "examiner le cas", a précisé le porte-parole.
Dans l'attente de cette clarification, le prince héritier a repoussé la visite qu'il devait effectuer mercredi à Istanbul pour inaugurer la réouverture du consulat général néerlandais après travaux de rénovation, a-t-elle ajouté.
La nouvelle décision de la cour d'Iskenderun, qui a annulé
la décision de la cour de Hatay, illustre la façon complètement
anarchique dont est appliquée cette loi d'amnistie en Turquie, chaque
tribunal décidant localement qui a le droit d'en bénéficier
ou pas. (AFP, 4 juin 2002)
La Suède: "Les droits de l'Homme patinent en Turquie"
Les progrès des droits de l'Homme patinent en Turquie, ce qui inquiète un nombre croissant de pays membres de l'Union européenne, et handicape l'intégration de la Turquie au reste de l'Europe, a estimé lundi la ministre suédoise des Affaires étrangères Anna Lindh.
"La Turquie ne peut pas aller plus loin dans le processus (d'adhésion à) l'UE, si elle ne montre pas de façon crédible qu'elle prend la question des droits de l'Homme au sérieux", a expliqué la ministre lors d'un débat au parlement, selon l'agence TT.
Mme Lindh a toutefois repoussé l'idée selon laquelle la Turquie ne devrait plus être candidate à l'UE. Un rejet du pays renforcerait au contraire les forces qui en Turquie s'opposent à la démocratie et aux réformes, selon elle.
Le statut de pays-candidat implique que la Turquie doit se plier à une surveillance constante du respect des droits de l'Homme, a dit la ministre.
A la critique d'un député du Parti de gauche (ex-communiste),
qui reprochait à la Suède d'avoir entériné
la décision européenne de mettre l'organisation séparatiste
kurde PKK --récemment rebaptisée Kadek-- sur la liste des
organisations terroristes, Anna Lindh a rétorqué qu'une opposition
de Stockholm sur ce sujet aurait détérioré l'image
de la Suède en Turquie, et réduit les possibilités
d'y mobiliser l'opinion pour un meilleur respect des droits de l'Homme.
(AFP, 3 juin 2002)
Karen Fogg: "I was treated as a football"
Visiting State Minister Nejat Arseven within the framework of her courtesy calls, the representative of the European Union (EU) Commission Karen Fogg stated that she was treated as a football, in reference to the campaign against her.
State Minister Arseven, on the other hand, gave messages related with the abolishment of the death penalty. Arseven said that the issue would be solved in the Parliament with the support of the opposition parties.
In a humorous expression, Arseven asked whether Fogg will be attracting such an interest in her coming post.
Minister Arseven said that Fogg is the person who will make the best judgement concerning Turkey's fulfilling of the Copenhagen criteria.
Asked about the e-scandal, Karen Fogg said that the debate over the EU continued with a personalization of the case.
"I was treated as a football by many circles," Fogg said.
Ambassador Karen Fogg will complete her term at the end of June and
will be serving as the head of the Institute of Democracy and Electoral
Assistance (IDEA) based in Stockholm, Sweden. (Turkish Daily News, June
12, 2002)
Turkey blocks deal on new EU rapid reaction force
European Union leaders have dealt with Greek opposition to plans to deploy their rapid reaction force, only to face a thorny new problem - fresh objections from Turkey.
Weeks of frantic diplomacy seemed on the verge of bearing fruit at the EU's weekend summit in Seville when the Greek prime minister, Costas Simitis, made clear under pressure from colleagues that he was ready to accept arrangements to allow the force's launch.
Greece, where Mr Simitis is facing elections, had raised objections to the EU's laboriously negotiated agreement with the Turks, who had sought guarantees that the EU force would never be used in the Aegean or Cyprus - a long-standing focus of tension between the two countries.
Turkey, a Nato member, had demanded the guarantees in return for agreeing that the 60,000-strong EU force could use Nato assets and equipment for its humanitarian and peacekeeping tasks.
But once both Turkish and Greek concerns had been overcome, a new obstacle appeared - Ankara expressed its unhappiness with assurances given to Greece and said it would not accept any changes to its own earlier deal with the EU.
The Turkish objections effectively rule out a long-planned European takeover of the Nato-led peacekeeping mission in Macedonia in the autumn. This should have been the first test of the EU's ability to shoulder even modest defence tasks in the face of growing US impatience with its under-performing allies.
This latest spat came at an awkward moment: the EU's often fractious relations with Turkey had been looking better as the Spanish summit signalled that Ankara's longstanding hopes of joining the club were not as remote as they often seem.
Seville hinted at "new decisions" on the next stage of Turkey's candidature at the Copenhagen summit in December. Turkey would like the EU to set a date for full membership talks by the end of this year. The EU says Turkey must fulfil criteria on human rights and democracy before a date can be set.
The problem over the rapid reaction force is compounded by the fact
that Greece will be running EU defence and security matters from July 1,
because Denmark, which assumes the union's rotating presidency on that
date, has opted out of that area of policy making. Greece is next in line
for the presidency. (The Guardian, June 24, 2002)
Une Allemande emprisonnée en Turquie transférée à Berlin
Une jeune Allemande, Andrea Rohloff, condamnée en mai 2001 en Turquie à six ans et trois mois de prison pour trafic d'héroïne, a été transférée vendredi soir dans une prison berlinoise, a indiqué un porte-parole de la police.
Agée de 19 ans, la jeune fille purgeait jusqu'alors sa peine dans une prison d'Istanbul. Son tranfèrement a pu avoir lieu grâce à une décision du tribunal de Berlin permettant d'appliquer la peine prononcée en Turquie dans une maison d'arrêt allemande.
Andrea Rohloff a été transférée à 21H15 locales (19H15 GMT) à la prison pour femmes de Berlin-Lichtenberg, a précisé la police.
Selon son avocat, Rainer Frank, il lui reste encore quatre ans et neuf mois à purger. Elle avait préféré son transfèrement à Berlin pour se rapprocher de sa famille et en raison des possibilités de formation dont elle pourra bénéficier, a-t-il précisé.
En mai 2001, la Cour de sûreté de l'Etat turc l'avait condamnée à 15 ans de prison, mais avait immédiatement réduit la peine en tenant compte de la bonne conduite de l'accusée lors des audiences et de son comportement coopératif lors de l'interrogatoire policier.
La jeune fille avait été arrêtée en janvier 2001 en possession de six kilos d'héroïne à l'aéroport d'Izmir. A l'ouverture de son procès en mars, elle s'était dite victime de la tromperie d'une amie allemande avec laquelle elle voyageait en Turquie, et avait affirmé ignorer que la drogue se trouvait dans ses bagages.
La Turquie est l'une des principales zones de trafic de drogue destinée
au marché européen, en majorité de l'opium et
de l'héroïne en provenance d'Afghanistan et du Pakistan.
(AFP, 29 juin 2002)
RELATIONS REGIONALES / REGIONAL RELATIONS
Troisième réunion "exploratoire" gréco-turque sur les différends en mer Egée
Une troisième réunion gréco-turque dans le cadre
de "contacts exploratoires" entre les deux pays pour tenter de régler
leurs différends de souveraineté en mer Egée a eu
lieu lundi à Athènes, a-t-on appris auprès du ministère
grec des Affaires étrangères.
Le sous-secrétaire d'Etat turc aux Affaires Etrangères,
Ugur Ziyal, et le directeur général pour les affaires politiques
du ministère grec, Anastase Scopelitis, ont entamé leurs
discussions en milieu d'après-midi au ministère grec.
La réunion s'est déroulée à huis clos et le ministère n'a fait aucun commentaire à l'issue de la rencontre, dans la soirée.
Les deux précédentes réunions avaient eu lieu à Ankara le 12 mars et à Athènes le 11 avril. Une troisième réunion prévue en mai dans la capitale turque n'a pas pu se dérouler en raison de la maladie de l'un des négociateurs, selon une source diplomatique grecque.
La Grèce et la Turquie, frères ennemis du flanc Sud-Est de l'OTAN, avaient annoncé en janvier dernier leur volonté d'ouvrir des "contacts exploratoires" au niveau des directeurs politiques, pour approfondir un rapprochement amorcé en 1999, mais resté jusque là limité à des aspects secondaires de leurs relations, sur lesquels dix accords ont été signés.
Pour Athènes, le seul différend bilatéral est la délimitation du plateau continental en mer Egée, dont elle souhaite le renvoi devant la Cour internationale de La Haye. La Turquie considère, elle, que les litiges incluent les problèmes de délimitation des espaces aériens et des eaux territoriales en mer Egée.
Athènes revendique un espace aérien de 10 milles alors
qu'Ankara lui reconnaît seulement une limite de 6 milles, égale
à la limite des eaux territoriales grecques en mer Egée.
La Grèce revendique le droit d'étendre ses eaux territoriales
à 12 milles, conformément à la Convention internationale
sur le droit de la mer dont la Turquie n'est pas signataire. Pour la Turquie
une telle extension serait un casus belli. (AFP, 3 juin 2002)
L'armée turque annule de grandes manoeuvres en face des côtes grecques
La Turquie a décidé d'annuler l'édition 2002 d'importants exercices militaires annuels baptisés "Efes" qui devaient se tenir en été dans les eaux internationales de la mer Egée et juste en face des côtes grecques, a annoncé l'armée dans un communiqué reçu mardi à l'AFP.
L'annulation de ces manoeuvres coïncide avec une troisième réunion gréco-turque dans le cadre de "contacts exploratoires" entre les deux pays pour tenter de régler leurs différends de souveraineté en mer Egée qui a eu lieu lundi à Athènes.
"En raison des développements importants dans le domaine international, les manoeuvres Efes n'auront pas lieu cette année", souligne le texte.
Ces exercices, parmi les plus importants de l'armée turque, impliquent notamment des scénarios de débarquement sur des îles grecques dans la baie de Doganbey (ouest), sur la mer Egée, séparant la Turquie et la Grèce.
Le communiqué ajoute que des travaux de préparation sont en cours pour l'organisation de ces exercices dans les prochaines années.
La Grèce et la Turquie, frères ennemis de l'OTAN, avaient annoncé en janvier dernier leur volonté d'ouvrir des discussions au niveau des directeurs politiques, pour approfondir un rapprochement amorcé en 1999, mais resté jusque là limité à des aspects secondaires de leurs relations, sur lesquels dix accords ont été signés.
Pour Athènes, le seul différend bilatéral est la délimitation du plateau continental en mer Egée. La Turquie considère, elle, que les litiges incluent les problèmes de délimitation des espaces aériens et des eaux territoriales en mer Egée.
Athènes revendique un espace aérien de 10 milles alors
qu'Ankara lui reconnaît seulement une limite de 6 milles, égale
à la limite de ses eaux territoriales en Egée. La Grèce
revendique le droit d'étendre ses eaux territoriales à 12
milles, conformément à la Convention internationale sur le
droit de la mer dont la Turquie n'est pas signataire. Pour la Turquie une
telle extension serait un casus belli. (AFP, 4 juin 2002)
Cachemire: La Turquie propose une médiation à l'Inde et au Pakistan
Le Premier ministre turc Bulent Ecevit a proposé une médiation "pour la création d'un climat propice" en vue de l'établissement d'un dialogue, à l'Inde et au Pakistan en conflit autour de la question du Cachemire, a-t-on appris mercredi de source gouvernementale.
Dans des lettres adressées le 24 mai au président pakistanais Pervez Musharraf et au Premier ministre indien Atal Behari Vajpayee, M. Ecevit souligne que son pays est prêt à jouer "n'importe quel rôle afin d'établir un climat propice" de dialogue entre les deux puissances nucléaires, a-t-on précisé de même source à l'AFP.
Dans ses missives M. Ecevit regrette d'avoir dû reporter une visite au Pakistan et faire annuler une visite en mai à Ankara de son homologue indien en raison de ses problèmes de santé.
Il se dit "inquiet" au sujet de la tension entre les deux pays voisins, et "amis de la Turquie", craignant qu'une guerre entre les deux Etats ne se propage à toute la région.
"Les différends devraient être réglés par de voies pacifiques", souligne enfin M. Ecevit.
La Turquie entretient des relations traditionnellement bonnes avec le Pakistan musulman, mais aussi avec l'Inde.
Le président turc Ahmet Necdet Sezer s'est entretenu séparément
mardi avec MM. Musharraf et Vajpayee en marge d'une conférence régionale
au Kazakhstan où les efforts du président russe Vladimir
Poutine en faveur d'une rencontre entre deux hommes ont échoué.
(AFP, 5 juin 2002)
La Turquie inquiète au sujet des essais de missiles iraniens
La Turquie a exprimé son inquiétude mercredi au sujet d'un essai récent de missile réalisé par l'Iran, indiquant que les efforts d'armement de son voisin menaçaient la stabilité de la région.
Le ministre iranien de la Défense, M. Ali Shamkhani, avait annoncé il y a deux semaines que son pays avait testé avec succès un missile sol-sol Shahab-3, d'une portée de 1.300 km, capable d'atteindre l'ennemi héréditaire de l'Iran, Israël.
Dans un communiqué, le porte-parole du ministère turc des Affaires étrangères Huzeyin Dirioz a indiqué qu'Ankara avait dans le passé plusieurs fois fait état auprès de Téhéran de l'inquiétude que suscitait en Turquie le programme de développement de missiles lancé par l'Iran.
"Nous pensons qu'il faut rappeler une fois encore que les efforts visant à développer ces missiles et à accroître leur portée ne contribuent pas à la stabilité et la sécurité régionale et globale", a indiqué M. Dirioz dans son communiqué.
La réaction turque survient après celle d'Israël, qui avait déclaré la semaine dernière être en alerte (après le développement du programme d'armement iranien).
Le missile Shahab-3 a été testé pour la première fois en 2000 et son développement est entré en phase finale.
L'Iran a affirmé ne pas avoir de projet de Shahab-4, mais le
vice-commandant en chef de la marine iranienne avait déclaré
en avril que l'Iran projetait de développer un nouveau missile air-air.
(AFP, 5 juin 2002)
Athènes proteste auprès d'Ankara pour des violations de son espace aérien en Egée
La Grèce a protesté jeudi auprès de la Turquie pour violation de son espace aérien mercredi près de l'île de Rhodes dans le Dodécanèse (sud-est), a indiqué un porte-parole du gouvernement, Télémaque Hytiris.
L'ambassadeur de Turquie en Grèce sera convoqué tandis que l'ambassadeur de Grèce en Turquie effectuera également une démarche de protestation à Ankara, a ajouté M. Hytiris dans un point de presse.
M. Hytiris a rejeté d'autre part une accusation turque selon laquelle des avions grecs auraient violé l'espace aérien turc. "Les éléments fournis par les responsables turcs sont infondés, les avions grecs volent normalement dans le cadre des droits souverains de la Grèce", a-t-il affirmé.
Il a souligné que "la politique du gouvernement grec est de renforcer
les bonnes relations (avec la Turquie)". (AFP, 6 juin 2002)
Grandes maneouvres navales turques en Egée
L'armée turque a lancé jeudi les exercices "Deniz Kudu 2002" (Loup de mer) en mer Egée, deux jours après avoir annoncé l'annulation de grandes manoeuvres annuelles "Efes" qui devaient se tenir cet été en Egée, face aux côtes grecques.
L'objectif de l'exercice qui sera constitué de quatre phases est d'"entraîner diverses unités de l'armée sous des conditions d'un environnement de menace multilatérale", souligne la marine turque dans un communiqué.
Quatorze frégates, neuf sous-marins, des drageurs de mine et de nombreux autres bâtiments de guerre ainsi que des chasseurs et des hélicoptères prendront part à ces grands exercices annuels, ajoute le document.
La Turquie a annoncé mardi avoir annulé l'édition 2002 des exercices "Efes", qui impliquent notamment des scénarios de débarquement sur des îles grecques. La décision turque a été saluée par la Grèce qui avait en revanche déploré que la Turquie n'ait pas fait de même pour les manoeuvres "Deniz Kurdu".
La Grèce et la Turquie, frères ennemis de l'OTAN, ont entamé en janvier dernier une série de discussions "exploratoires" pour tenter de régler leurs différends de souveraineté en Egée, sources de nombreuses tensions bilatérales.
En 1996, les deux pays ont frôlé la guerre à cause
d'une dispute sur un îlot rocheux inhabité en Egée
près de Kardak (Imia) et il a fallu une médiation américaine
pour faire baisser la tension entre les deux pays. (AFP, 6 juin 2002)
Nicosie s'inquiète des retombées de la maladie d'Ecevit sur les pourparlers
Le gouvernement de Chypre s'est inquiété vendredi des retombées de la maladie du Premier ministre turc Bulent Ecevit sur les pourparlers avec le dirigeant chypriote-turc Rauf Denktash concernant l'avenir de l'île divisée.
"S'il n'y a pas de voix forte à Ankara, cela affectera les pourparlers", a déclaré à l'AFP le porte-parole du gouvernement chypriote Michalis Papapetrou.
Il a estimé qu'une démission éventuelle de M. Ecevit et la tenue d'élections générales en Turquie créeraient un vide politique à Ankara et ne manqueraient pas d'affecter les pourparlers interchypriotes.
M. Ecevit, 77 ans, a dû renoncer en raison de son état de santé défaillant à participer vendredi à une importante réunion des chefs de partis politiques sur les réformes pour intégrer l'Union européenne.
Les pourparlers directs qu'ont entamés en janvier sous l'égide de l'ONU le président chypriote Glafcos Cléridès, 83 ans, et M. Denktash, 77 ans, achoppent en particulier sur la question du partage des pouvoirs.
Rauf Denktash est le président de la République turque de Chypre du nord (RTCN), fondée en 1983 et reconnue uniquement par Ankara.
Chypre est divisée en deux depuis l'intervention de l'armée
turque dans le nord en 1974, en réaction à un coup d'Etat
d'ultranationalistes chypriotes partisans d'un rattachement de l'île
à la Grèce. (AFP, 7 juin 2002)
Denktash menace l'Europe d'une partition définitive de l'île
Le président de la République turque de Chypre du nord (RTCN, reconnue uniquement par Ankara) a une nouvelle fois menacé lundi d'une partition définitive de l'île en cas d'admission de la partie sud de l'île à l'UE, selon l'agence Anatolie.
"Si la chance historique d'une solution au problème chypriote est perdue, Chypre sera candidate à l'intégration de l'Union européenne en décembre et les efforts pour la réunification (des deux secteurs) prendront un tour différent", a déclaré M. Rauf Denktash, cité par Anatolie.
Le président du petit Etat autoproclamé en 1983 a en outre estimé que l'Europe tentait de forcer le cours d'une solution dans le sens de la disparition de la RTCN, ce qui signifierait "un aller simple pour le cimetière" de sa communauté turcophone, minoritaire sur l'île, dit Anatolie.
"Nous faisons face à des efforts appuyés pour la non-acceptation de notre souveraineté, la reconnaissance du droit au retour des réfugiés grecs à leurs anciens habitats, l'existence de la République de 1960 et la disparition de la RTCN", a estimé M. Denktash.
"La carotte de l'Europe est utilisée pour nous attirer dans ce piège, (...) cela veut dire qu'il n'y a pas de souveraineté pour une minorité sans Etat, sans statut et donc un aller simple pour le cimetière", a-t-il encore déclaré.
Chypre fait partie du peloton de tête des candidats à l'entrée
dans l'UE, mais la Turquie est hostile à son adhésion tant
qu'une solution à la division de l'île n'est pas trouvée.
Les pourparlers directs entamés en janvier sous l'égide
de l'ONU entre le président Cléridès et le dirigeant
chypriote-turc Rauf Denktash achoppent en particulier sur la question du
partage des pouvoirs dans une Chypre unifiée.
Chypre est divisée en deux depuis l'intervention de l'armée
turque dans le nord de l'île en 1974, en réaction à
un coup d'Etat d'ultranationalistes chypriotes-grecs partisans d'un rattachement
de l'île à la Grèce. (AFP, 10 juin 2002)
La Turquie accusée d'augmenter ses troupes à Chypre
Le ministre de la Défense chypriote, Socrates Hasikos, a accusé mardi la Turquie d'augmenter sa présence militaire dans la partie nord de Chypre.
La Turquie a envoyé un nouveau groupe de 5.500 soldats élevant ainsi à 40.000 le nombre de ses troupes dans le nord de l'île, a dit le ministre, précisant que ces informations avaient été "vérifiées" et observées par les Nations unies.
Interrogé par l'AFP, Brian Kelly, porte-parole de l'UNFICYP, la force des Nations unies chargée de surveiller le cessez-le-feu à Chypre, a simplement répondu : "tous les renseignements dont nous disposons sur ce sujet ont été transmis à New York", siège de l'ONU.
Chypre est divisée en deux secteurs, grec au sud, turc au nord, depuis l'intervention de l'armée turque en 1974, en réaction à un coup d'Etat d'ultranationalistes chypriotes-grecs partisans d'un rattachement de l'île à la Grèce.
Selon M. Hasikos, la Turquie a envoyé des troupes supplémentaires et des hôpitaux de campagne dans le nord de Chypre depuis le 24 mai, au cours d'une opération qui s'est achevée il y a deux jours, a-t-il ajouté.
Toutefois, a-t-il indiqué, il n'y a pas d'indices qui montrent que des armements nouveaux ont été envoyés.
"Il y a un effort systématique de la part de la Turquie pour créer de la tension, il ne s'agit plus uniquement de paroles, mais d'actions", a déclaré M. Hasikos lors d'une conférence de presse.
Il a accusé la Turquie de tenter d'"empêcher Chypre d'adhérer à l'Union européenne (UE)".
"C'est une guerre des nerfs contre les Chypriotes-grecs et l'UE", a-t-il estimé.
Pour sa part, le porte-parole du gouvernement, Michalis Papapétrou, a affirmé que Nicosie protesterait à propos de cette action de la Turquie.
Le président de la République turque de Chypre du nord (RTCN, reconnue uniquement par Ankara) a une nouvelle fois menacé lundi d'une partition définitive de l'île en cas d'admission de la partie sud de l'île à l'UE.
Le président du petit Etat autoproclamé en 1983 a en outre estimé que l'Europe tentait d'imposer une solution dans le sens de la disparition de la RTCN, ce qui signifierait "un aller simple pour le cimetière" de sa communauté turcophone, minoritaire sur l'île, a-t-il affirmé cité par l'agence Anatolie.
Les pourparlers directs entamés en janvier sous l'égide
de l'ONU entre le président de Chypre (grec) Glafcos Cléridès
et le dirigeant chypriote-turc Rauf Denktash achoppent en particulier sur
la question du partage des pouvoirs dans une Chypre unifiée. (AFP,
11 juin 2002)
KKTC officially extends its territorial waters
Turkish Cypriot authorities on Monday voted to extend the territorial waters of Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (KKTC) in a move that could undermine UN-backed talks with Greek Cypriots to end the island's decades-long division.
The northern Cypriot "parliament" held a closed vote to extend territorial waters from three miles (5 km) to 12 miles, a spokeswoman for the assembly told Reuters. The assembly must now send the bill to Turkish Cypriot leader Rauf Denktas for his approval, she said.
Greek Cypriot officials called the move provocative and an attempt to raise tensions during peace talks between Denktas and Greek Cypriot leader Glafcos Clerides.
The two veteran leaders have met regularly since January in a bid to reunite the island. The peace talks have yielded little progress, despite the island's approaching entry into the European Union, which has said it will admit Cyprus with or without a settlement, probably in 2004 or 2005.
Turkey, itself an EU candidate, has said it could "annex" northern Cyprus if the bloc accepts a divided island.
Cyprus extended its territorial waters to 12 miles in 1964 after winning independence from Britain.
The issue is also related to Turkish Cypriot attempts to take over air
and sea rescue services for the north. (Turkish Daily News with Reuters,
June 12, 2002)
Les Etats-Unis condamnent l'envoi de troupes turques à Chypre
Le coordinateur du département d'Etat américain pour Chypre, Thomas Weston, a condamné l'envoi par la Turquie de troupes supplémentaires à Chypre, à l'issue d'un entretien avec le chef de la diplomatie grecque, Georges Papandréou, mercredi à Athènes.
Interrogé sur cet envoi de troupes, révélé mardi par Nicosie, M. Weston a rappelé que les Etats-Unis "plaident depuis longtemps pour la réduction des forces militaires" sur l'île, et que cela "s'applique particulièrement à une époque où des pourparlers sont menés et où nous pensons qu'une solution est possible" pour l'île.
"Notre politique est de décourager" tout renforcement militaire en matériel ou en troupes, et "nous allons expliquer que cela ne doit pas être fait", a ajouté le responsable américain, venu d'Ankara et qui doit poursuivre sa tournée en se rendant à Chypre.
Selon le ministre de la Défense chypriote, Socrates Hasikos, la Turquie a envoyé un nouveau groupe de 5.500 soldats, portant ainsi à 40.000 le nombre de ses troupes dans le nord de l'île qu'elle occupe depuis 1974 suite à un coup d'Etat d'ultranationalistes chypriotes-grecs partisans d'un rattachement de l'île à la Grèce.
M. Weston a aussi appelé toutes les parties impliquées dans les négociations à faire preuve de "volonté politique" pour un règlement "d'ici peu", soulignant que le "temps presse".
Il s'est par ailleurs félicité qu'un débat, notamment dans la presse, se soit ouvert en Turquie autour de la question chypriote, y voyant "une raison d'être optimiste".
"Notre objectif est un règlement à Chypre et aucune action ne doit nous détourner de ce but", a pour sa part souligné M. Papandréou, qui avait dans la matinée qualifié l'augmentation des troupes d'occupation turques "d'acte à coup sûr négatif".
Le porte-parole du gouvernement, Christos Protopapas avait de son côté dénoncé "un acte provocateur" d'Ankara, visant selon lui, comme de précédentes initiatives turques, à "faire du différend Turquie-Union européenne qui existe en ce moment un différend Grèce-Turquie", et à "détourner l'attention des questions principales qui sont le règlement de la question chypriote et l'adhésion de la République de Chypre à l'Union européenne".
Il avait auparavant évoqué la décision récente
des chypriotes turcs d'étendre leurs eaux territoriales de trois
à douze milles. Athènes a par ailleurs protesté la
semaine dernière contre "des violations de l'espace aérien
grec" par des avions militaires turcs tout près de l'aéroport
de Rhodes (Dodécanèse, sud-est).(AFP, 12 juin 2002)
Damas et Ankara vont examiner des projets d'irrigation et le partage de l'eau
Le ministre d'Etat turc Mustapha Yilmaz est arrivé dimanche à Damas où il doit discuter avec le ministre syrien de l'Irrigation Radwane Martini de projets d'irrigation, a annoncé l'agence SANA.
Les deux ministres examineront "la question de la gestion de l'eau et la réalisation de projets d'irrigation" au cours de la visite de plusieurs jours de M. Yilmaz, selon le quotidien officiel As-Saoura.
Ces discussions "préludent à l'élaboration de nouveaux programmes de coopération syro-turques en vue de parvenir à un partage juste des eaux de l'Euphrate entre les trois pays riverains", la Turquie, la Syrie et l'Irak, a ajouté le journal.
Elles permettront d'"ouvrir de nouveau le dossier de l'eau", a souligné as-Soura.
Le partage des eaux de l'Euphrate qui prend sa source en Turquie et qui traverse ensuite la Syrie et l'Irak, constitue un point de litige entre les trois pays.
Conformément à un accord préliminaire syro-turc, conclu en 1987, la Turquie laisse couler l'Euphrate au rythme de 500 mètres cubes par seconde en Syrie. Mais Damas souhaite un "accord définitif" sur le partage de l'eau.
La Syrie et l'Irak estiment que les barrages hydrauliques construits
ou prévus par la Turquie sur l'Euphrate réduisent son
débit, alors qu'Ankara affirme qu'ils contribuent au contraire
à le régulariser. (AFP, 16 juin 2002)
Collision entre un cargo russe et un bateau turc : deux morts, deux disparus
Deux hommes ont péri noyés et deux autres étaient portés disparus dans le Bosphore après le naufrage d'un bateau turc survenu à la suite d'une collision avec un cargo battant pavillon cambodgien et manoeuvré par un équipage russe, a annoncé dimanche l'agence turque Anatolie.
Les sauveteurs turcs ont découvert le corps d'un membre d'équipage du bateau turc âgé de 22 ans ainsi que celui d'un passager, un étudiant de 21 ans. Les corps des deux hommes ont été localisés par sonar près de l'épave du bateau turc, a précisé l'agence.
Les sauveteurs étaient à la recherche de deux autres personnes, un autre membre d'équipage et un passager du bateau turc. Selon le chef des services de sauvetage en mer Hucum Tulgar, les deux disparus sont probablement restés prisonniers à bord de l'épave.
La collision s'est produite peu après minuit heure locale dans la région de Kurucesme, au large de la partie européenne d'Istanbul, a dit un porte-parole des gardes-côtes. Le bateau turc, le Yeni Besiktas 2, a alors sombré, entraînant dans les flots les cinq membres de son équipage et ses 26 passagers.
Trois membres de l'équipage du navire turc, dont son capitaine, et 24 passagers ont été repêchés et brièvement hospitalisés.
Le cargo, le Modiks 3, qui transportait du métal d'Ukraine vers l'Italie, n'a, quant à lui, subi que de légers dommages. Son équipage est indemne.
Les circonstances et les causes de la collision n'étaient toujours
pas connues, mais les capitaines des deux bateaux ont été
arrêtés dimanche, sous l'accusation d'avoir "causé
un accident maritime mortel". Ils ont été présentés
au parquet turc. (AFP, 16 juin 2002)
La presse iranienne met en garde Ankara contre ses liens avec Israël
La presse iranienne a salué lundi la visite du président turc Ahmet Necdet Sezer à Téhéran, tout en prévenant que les liens d'Ankara avec Israël pourraient jeter une ombre sur les relations entre la Turquie et l'Iran.
M. Sezer, qui doit arriver lundi à Téhéran à la tête d'une délégation de 120 personnes à forte composante économique et commerciale, est le troisième chef d'Etat turc à se rendre en visite officielle en Iran depuis la révolution islamique iranienne de 1979.
Son séjour de deux jours intervient alors que les liens entre la Turquie laïque et son voisin, l'Iran islamique, se sont améliorées après avoir longtemps été tendues.
La visite de M. Sezer doit "sans aucun doute être considérée comme une nouvelle étape importante dans les relations entre Téhéran et Ankara", note le quotidien conservateur Kayhan International, ajoutant qu'elle "constituera un nouveau départ dans les relations économiques bilatérales".
Mais le journal se fait également l'écho de "l'opposition ferme à l'utilisation du sol ou de l'espace aérien turc par les Américains pour lancer une attaque sur l'Irak".
"Nous souhaitons attirer l'attention de nos honorables hôtes sur les projets américains d'accroître l'influence sioniste en Turquie", ajoute Kayhan International.
Selon le quotidien réformateur Iran News, "l'opinion publique iranienne pense que la politique étrangère de la Turquie est de plus en plus influencée par les puissances occidentales".
"La coopération de la Turquie avec Israël sur la sécurité, comme l'organisation des exercices ou manoeuvres militaires communs, constitue l'une des pierres d'achoppement dans les relations entre Téhéran et Ankara", estime le journal.
Le voyage du président turc doit être consacrée
"aux questions de sécurité" intéressant les
deux pays, "ainsi qu'aux problèmes politiques, économiques
et énergétiques", selon l'ambassadeur turc à
Téhéran, Salahattin Alpar. (AFP, 17 juin 2002)
Téhéran et Ankara pour le respect de l'intégrité territoriale de l'Irak
Les présidents iranien Mohammad Khatami et turc Ahmet Necdet Sezer se sont prononcés lors de leurs entretiens lundi et mardi pour le respect de l'intégrité territoriale de l'Irak, a déclaré mercredi un porte-parole officiel à Téhéran.
Les deux chefs d'Etat ont "souligné la nécessité de préserver l'intégrité territoriale de l'Irak", a affirmé Abdollah Ramezanzadeh lors d'une conférence de presse.
"M. Sezer n'était pas porteur d'un message des Etats-Unis et notre position sur la question irakienne est que l'époque du recours à la force dans les relations internationales est révolue", a ajouté le porte-parole iranien.
"Toute décision qui serait prise à l'encontre de l'Irak devrait être conforme aux résolutions des Nations unies", a-t-il poursuivi, dans une allusion aux menaces de frappes américaines contre ce pays.
Le quotidien américain Washington Post avait rapporté
dimanche que le président George W. Bush avait demandé
à la CIA d'élaborer un plan secret pour renverser Saddam
Hussein, par la force au besoin, et autoriserait même des agents
à tuer le chef de l'Etat irakien s'ils se trouvaient en danger.
(AFP, 19 juin 2002)
Ankara et Damas signent deux accords de coopération militaire
La Turquie et la Syrie ont signé mercredi à Ankara deux accords de coopération militaire, quatre ans après s'être trouvées au bord de la guerre.
"Une nouvelle ère s'ouvre dans les relations entre la Turquie et la Syrie avec cette coopération militaire", a commenté le chef d'état-major turc, le général Huseyin Kivrikoglu, lors de la cérémonie de signature, cité par l'agence Anatolie.
La coopération porte sur la formation et les questions scientifiques et techniques. Elle permettra des échanges d'officiers entre les deux pays voisins et l'organisation d'exercices communs.
"L'amélioration de la coopération de sécurité entre les deux pays contribuera à la paix et la stabilité au Proche-Orient et accroîtra la coopération dans d'autres domaines", a souligné le général Kivrikoglu.
Ankara et Damas étaient arrivées au bord de la guerre en 1998, la Turquie ayant alors menacé de lancer une action militaire si la Syrie continuait à donner asile au chef de la rébellion kurde Abdullah Ocalan.
Ce dernier avait peu après quitté la Syrie et celle-ci s'est par la suite engagée à coopérer avec la Turquie en matière de sécurité, réchauffant les relations.
Des différends continuent toutefois d'opposer les deux pays,
la Syrie contestant la souveraineté turque sur la province
de Hatay (sud) ainsi que la construction d'une série de barrages
sur le Tigre et l'Euphrate, qui prennent leur source en Turquie avant
d'arroser la Syrie et l'Irak, Damas se plaignant de la réduction
du débit d'eau consécutive. (AFP, 19 juin 2002)
Ouverture à Istanbul d'un sommet extraordinaire des pays de la mer Noire
Un sommet extraordinaire de l'organisation pour la Coopération économique de la mer Noire (CEMN) s'est ouvert mardi à Istanbul pour marquer le dixième anniversaire de cette organisation, créée à l'initative de la Turquie pour renforcer la coopération régionale.
Le président turc Ahmet Necdet Sezer, qui a prononcé le discours inaugural du sommet des chefs d'Etat au palais historique de Ciragan, transformé en hôtel de luxe, a affirmé la nécessité d'agir "sans discrimination" pour élargir l'organisation à d'autres pays des Balkans, notamment les républiques issues de l'ex-Yougoslavie.
"Nous croyons qu'il est temps que la CEMN atteigne ses frontières naturelles", a-t-il dit.
Il a ajouté que le rôle de l'organisation de réunir autour d'un même forum des pays en conflit et de leur offrir les moyens d'oeuvrer ensemble pour des objectifs communs n'était pas à minimiser.
Onze pays sont membres de la CEMN: Turquie, Géorgie, Roumanie, Russie, Grèce, Albanie, Bulgaire, Azerbaïdjan, Arménie, Ukraine et Moldavie.
La CEMN a été créée en 1992 sur l'initiative d'Ankara et son siège est à Istanbul.
Le sommet devait s'achever dans l'après-midi avec la publication d'un communiqué final.
Les ministres turc et arménien des Affaires étrangères, Ismail Cem et Vardan Oskanyan, se sont rencontrés mardi matin en marge du sommet pour discuter d'un réglement du conflit du Nagorny Karabakh entre l'Arménie et l'Azerbaïdjan.
Selon un diplomate turc, la rencontre a été "positive".
M. Cem s'est entretenu lundi soir du Karabakh avec le président
de l'Azerbaïdjan Haydar Aliev, arrivé en Turquie pour
le sommet régional. (AFP, 25 juin 2002)
L'Irak condamne la reconduction du mandat "Northern Watch" par la Turquie
Les autorités irakiennes ont condamné jeudi la reconduction par la Turquie du mandat de l'opération "Northern Watch" chargée de surveiller la zone d'exclusion aérienne dans le nord de l'Irak.
"Le gouvernement irakien, tout en étant attaché au développement des relations entre l'Irak et la Turquie, condamne la décision du Parlement et du gouvernement turcs de reconduire le mandat des forces injustes qui poursuivent leur agression contre l'Irak", a déclaré un porte-parole du ministère des Affaires étrangères dans un communiqué reçu par l'AFP.
Le 18 juin, le parlement turc a prolongé de six mois, à partir du 30 juin, le mandat de l'opération "Northern Watch", mise en place en janvier 1997.
Cette décision est "en contradiction avec les déclarations de la Turquie sur son souci de respecter les principes de bon voisinage, de préserver l'unité et la sécurité du territoire irakien et de ne pas s'ingérer dans les affaires internes de l'Irak", a ajouté le porte-parole.
"Elle perpétue la situation anormale dans le nord de l'Irak" qui échappe au pouvoir central depuis la fin de la guerre du Golfe en 1991, a-t-il poursuivi.
Il a rendu le gouvernement turc "responsable juridiquement pour les dégâts occasionnés par l'agression menée à partir de ses territoires contre l'Irak".
Les forces américains et britanniques qui patrouillent la zone d'exclusion aérienne dans le nord de l'Irak sont stationnées sur la base d'Incirlik, dans le sud de la Turquie.
De fréquents incidents opposent l'Irak aux avions américains et britanniques qui surveillent la zone d'exclusion aérienne du nord ainsi que celle du sud du pays, imposées à Bagdad après la guerre du Golfe.
Bagdad ne reconnaît pas ces deux zones, qui ne font pas l'objet
de résolutions de l'ONU. (AFP, 27 juin 2002)
Réunion à Bagdad de la commission mixte de coopération irako-turque
La Commission mixte de coopération irako-turque s'est réunie dimanche à Bagdad pour faire le point des perspectives de promouvoir les relations économiques bilatérales, selon un responsable irakien.
Les deux pays ont exprimé "leur volonté d'élargir la coopération et évoqué le suivi des projets examinés lors des précédentes réunions de la Commission", a-t-on ajouté de même source à l'AFP.
La réunion est co-présidée par le ministre irakien du Pétrole Amer Rachid et le ministre d'Etat Edip Safder Gaydali, arrivé samedi soir pour une visite de quatre jours à la tête d'une délégation de 30 responsables et de 220 représentants de firmes et hommes d'affaires turcs.
Cette commission mixte se réunit tous les six mois alternativement à Ankara et Bagdad.
La Turquie évalue à environ 40 milliards de dollars ses pertes engendrées par l'embargo imposé à l'Irak par l'ONU depuis son invasion du Koweit en 1990. Avant cette date, l'Irak était un important partenaire économique de la Turquie.
Mais Bagdad reproche à Ankara d'accorder des facilités aux avions américains et britanniques opérant dans le cadre de l'opération "Northern Watch" chargée de surveiller la zone d'exclusion aérienne dans le nord de l'Irak.
Un porte-parole du ministère irakien des Affaires étrangères
a condamné jeudi la reconduction par la Turquie du mandat
de cette opération pour les six prochains mois. (AFP, 30 juin
2002)
La Turquie aux commandes de l'ISAF en Afghanistan
La Turquie, seul pays musulman membre de l'OTAN, a, le 20 juin, pris les rênes de la Force internationale d'assistance à la sécurité (ISAF) qui assure le maintien de la paix dans la capitale afghane. Le général turc Hilmi Akin Zorlu commandera 4.000 soldats originaires de 19 pays.
Au cours d'une cérémonie de passation de pouvoirs à Kaboul, Ankara a pris le relais de Londres qui va se désengager. Le secrétaire britannique à la Défense, Geoff Hoon, a ainsi annoncé que le contingent à Kaboul passera d'ici l'été de 1.300 à 400 hommes. Par ailleurs, les 1.700 Royal Marines présents sur la base aérienne de Bagram au nord de la capitale s'en iront par étapes d'ici juillet.
La cérémonie de passation de pouvoirs intervient au lendemain
de la présentation du gouvernement intérimaire composé
de 14 ministres qui dirigeront le pays jusqu'à la tenue d'élections
dans 18 mois. La Turquie va augmenter son contingent en Afghanistan pour
compter 1.400 hommes d'ici la fin du mois. Avec 1.200 soldats, l'Allemagne
a le deuxième contingent le plus important. (CILDEKT, 25 juin 2002)
Armenia wants to establish diplomatic relations with Turkey
After a key speech he delivered at TESEV, Istanbul, the Armenian Foreign Minister described the details of the ongoing dialogue between Yerevan and Ankara through unpublicized bilateral contacts in an exclusive interview with the Turkish Daily News (TDN).
It was purely a historical visit
Armenian Foreign Minister Vartan Oskanian was in Istanbul on the occasion of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation (BSEC) meeting, but his presence in Turkey turned into an opportunity for the Armenian side to show how willful they were for forming diplomatic relations with Turkey.
'We are not asking Turkey to recognize the genocide as a precondition,' Oskanian said, emphasizing that they do not have any precondition for normalizing ties with Ankara.
In addition to the softening on the genocide issue, another interesting point was that Oskanian did not expect the Armenian diaspora to pose a serious barrier in front of the normalization process of the Turkish and Armenian relations.
The Armenian diaspora have been urging the Western Parliaments for the resolutions on the so-called genocide claims, which in fact constituted a major factor discouraging the improvement of relations.
When asked whether psychologically, the Armenian people was ready not to raise the genocide issue, Oskanian said that it may be difficult for some people, in a realistic mood.
Before the TDN interview, delivering his key speech at TESEV, which will surely be referred to for a long time, Oskanian gave a very interesting example to show the determination of his country to be on good terms with Turkey.
'We signed the protocol for the establishment of diplomatic relations with Turkey. We just want Turkey to fill the gaps,' he said, in an imaginative example to figure out how willful his country was.
Oskanian also demanded the Turkish side not to index the bilateral relations with Yerevan to the Azerbaijani issue.
Bilateral relations should not be taken hostage by Azerbaijani-Armenian disputes and Turkey should not link the formation of ties with us to the Azerbaijani issues, the Armenian Minister emphasized.
Talks with Cem: Still touching the surface Concerning his recent meeting with Foreign Minister Ismail Cem, Oskanian said that both sides left the table in a satisfied mood.
However, he added that issues were not being discussed in depth.
'We are still touching the surface and identifying the topics. We touched upon bilateral issues,' he said.
Oskanian said that he expressed the will of his country to form diplomatic relations with Turkey during his meeting with Cem, as well.
'Clearly at all levels, publicly and through diplomatic means, we have been expressing our desire for further relations with Ankara,' he continued.
Vis-a-vis the Ankara and Yerevan meetings for the preparation of his talks with Cem, Oskanian said that the talks aimed to prepare the agenda of the foreign ministerial meetings.
'Priorly Karen Mirzoyan went to Ankara to meet with Ertan Tezgor of the Turkish Foreign Ministry before the Reykjavik meeting and then Tezgor visited Yerevan and met with our officials. I was out of Yerevan than, if I were in the city, I would have received him. These are normal meetings. We did not keep them secret but we did not publicize, either. They were useful meetings,' Oskanian said confirming the realization of meetings between the Turkish and Armenian Foreign Ministries.
'We will continue this process,' Armenian Foreign Minister said.
After his meetings with the Azerbaijani President Haydar Aliyev, Armenian Foreign Minister
Vartan Oskanian and the co-chairmen of the MINSK group of the Organization of Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), Foreign Minister Ismail Cem briefed Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit, cutting a meeting with his Greek colleague George Papandreou late in the afternoon on Tuesday.
Family origin from Kahramanmaras The Armenian Minister made emphasis on the fact that his family origin was from Kahramanmaras.
'My grandmother was from Maras and used to say that neighbors are more important than the family. When I was leaving Yerevan on Monday, Mount Ararat was seen. Ararat and Turkey is just 45 miles from my ministry,' he said.
Oskanyan supports Spain in the World Cup Meanwhile, before his speech at TESEV, Oskanian started his words indicating that it was a football day, expressing his wishes of success for the Turkish National Soccer Team.
His close aides told the TDN that Oskanian supported Spain during the
World Cup. (Saadet Oruc, Turkish Daily News, June 27, 2002)
IMMIGRATION / MIGRATION
Près de 250 immigrants clandestins arrêtés Turquie
Les forces de sécurité turques ont interpellé lundi 232 candidats à l'immigration clandestine, la plupart Turcs, en route pour la Grèce lors d'opérations près du site balnéaire de Marmaris (ouest), rapporte l'agence Anatolie.
Onze passeurs Turcs ont en outre été arrêtés, précise l'agence.
198 des personnes interpellées sont des Turcs et les 34 autres sont de nationalité iranienne, irakienne et palestinienne, a ajouté l'agence.
Située à la croisée de l'Europe et l'Asie, la Turquie est une voie de transit majeure pour le trafic d'immigrés clandestins, à la recherche d'une vie meilleure en Europe.
La semaine dernière les gendarmes ont retrouvé dans l'est
et l'ouest du pays les corps de 24 immigrants clandestins, tués
par le froid ou par noyade. (AFP, 3 juin 2002)
Plus de 230 clandestins et 5 passeurs turcs arrêtés en Turquie
Les gendarmes turcs ont interpellé mardi 232 candidats à l'immigration clandestine lors d'une série d'opérations dans la province de Van (est), frontalière avec l'Iran, rapporte l'agence Anatolie.
Cinq passeurs Turcs ont en outre été arrêtés.
Les clandestins sont de nationalité irakienne, iranienne, pakistanaise et afghane. Ils seront tous expulsés au terme de leur interrogatoire, selon l'agence.
La veille déjà, les forces de sécurité turque avaient interpellé 232 autres immigrants clandestins, la plupart turcs, en route pour la Grèce lors d'opérations près du site balnéaire de Marmaris (ouest).
Située à la croisée de l'Europe et l'Asie, la Turquie est une voie de transit majeure pour le trafic d'immigrés clandestins, à la recherche d'une vie meilleure en Europe.
La semaine dernière les gendarmes ont retrouvé dans l'est
et l'ouest du pays les corps de 24 immigrants clandestins, tués
par le froid ou par noyade. (AFP, 4 juin 2002)
Six noyés et 6 disparus dans le naufrage d'un bateau de clandestins
Six personnes se sont noyées et 6 autres ont disparu dans le naufrage au large des côtes turques d'un bateau qui tentait d'acheminer en Grèce des immigrants clandestins, ont indiqué vendredi des responsables locaux à Bodrum (ouest).
Six passagers ont survécu au naufrage, au large de la ville balnéaire de Bodrum, a précisé le gouverneur adjoint local Cumhur Guven à la chaîne de télévision NTV.
Les survivants ont indiqué que 18 personnes se trouvaient à bord de l'embarcation, qui a quitté la côte la nuit à destination de l'île grecque proche de Kos, selon M. Guven.
"Le bateau a coulé vraisemblablement après avoir heurté un navire plus important dans l'obscurité", a-t-il ajouté.
Les gardes-côtes turcs ont retrouvé 6 corps et continuait à rechercher les disparus, a-t-il dit, sans précision sur la nationalité des immigrants. Selon NTV, plusieurs d'entre eux provenaient de Somalie.
La Turquie est une voie de transit majeure vers l'Europe pour les candidats à l'immigration clandestine venus d'Afrique et d'Asie.
Aidés par des passeurs, ils tentent de se rendre en Grèce
ou en Italie par mer ou par terre sur des embarcations souvent délabrées.
(AFP, 28 juin 2002)
Allemagne: un ministre accusé de vouloir "germaniser" les étrangers
Le président de la Communauté turque en Allemagne, Hakki Keskin, a fustigé vendredi de récents propos du ministre allemand de l'Intérieur, Otto Schily, lui reprochant de vouloir "germaniser" les minorités culturelles vivant en Allemagne.
M. Schily avait estimé que la meilleure forme d'intégration pour les étrangers en Allemagne c'était l"'assimilation", dans un entretien au quotidien allemand Sueddeutsche Zeitung diffusé jeudi. Les étrangers doivent s'intégrer dans la culture et la langue allemande, avait-il dit.
"Les Turcs doivent s'intégrer à notre espace culturel. La langue maternelle doit devenir ou être l'allemand", avait-il ajouté.
M. Keskin a appelé le chancelier allemand Gerhard Schroeder et la chambre basse du parlement allemand, Bundestag, à prendre ses distances par rapport aux propos de M. Schily.
Sur les quelque 7 millions d'étrangers vivant en Allemagne, 2 millions sont d'origine turque, la plupart étant des descendants de deuxième ou troisième génération des travailleurs immigrés, "invités" par le pays dans les années 1950 et 60, au moment où l'économie tournait à plein.
Le gouvernement du chancelier Gerhard Schroeder est récemment
parvenu à faire passer une loi controversée qui permet
d'adapter les flux migratoires aux besoins économiques du
pays et de combattre l'isolation culturelle et économique
des étrangers vivants en Allemagne. (AFP, 28 juin 2002)
BELGIQUE-TURQUIE / BELGIUM-TURKEY
Vif incident au Sénat belge sur la question chypriote
Le président du Groupe MR (Mouvement réformateur) du Sénat belge, M. Philippe Monfils, le 30 mai 2002, a publié le communiqué de presse suivant relatif à un incident sur la question chypriote, provoquée par une sénatrice PS d'origine turque:
"Une proposition de résolution déposée par le sénateur socialiste flamand, Madame Pehlivan, tend à faire croire que, si elle était votée, le Sénat aurait ainsi reconnu de facto la République illégale autoproclamée du Nord de Chypre.
"Dans une interview accordée à un journal turc il y a deux jours, ce sénateur avait même annoncé que la résolution était votée alors quÇelle nÇétait même pas encore distribuée aux parlementaires.
"Ceci a donné lieu à un vif incident avec Philippe Monfils accusant Madame Pehlivan de manquer à la plus élémentaire déontologie.
"Sur le fond, que la proposition de résolution du sénateur
Pehlivan soit ou non votée ultérieurement ne change strictement
rien à l'attitude de la Belgique, de l'Union Européenne et
de la Communauté internationale qui ne reconnaissent pas le régime
d'occupation de Monsieur Denktash. Ce régime est condamné
par de nombreuses résolutions de lÇONU depuis 1974."
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