Torture in Istanbul
Osman Karademir was arrested at the end of May in Istanbul-Üsküdar under the suspicion of theft. He went voluntarily to the police station to make a statement. He claims to have been stripped naked, had his hands tied behind his back and had electric shocks to his finger tips, nipples and penis. Following hours of torture he was then taken to hospital, but he did not receive, despite his protests, any medical certification of his injuries. (Source: Cumhuriyet, 01.06.2002) 

Ahmet Kulaksiz Not Guilty
On 03.06.2002, the 4th Chamber of Istanbul’s State Security Court found Ahmet Kulaksiz not guilty on the charge of producing propaganda for an illegal organization. Following the deaths of his 2 daughters, Canan Kulaksiz (died on 15th April 2001) and Zehra Kulaksiz (died 29th June 2001), as a consequence of their participation in a solidarity hunger strike with prisoners, Ahmet Kulaksiz had published a book on their lives. Muharrem Cengiz, from the publisher Tavir, was also found not guilty. (Source: Cumhuriyet, 04.06.2002)

Case Suspended Against Politician 
On 04.06.2002, the 1st chamber of Ankara’s Sate Security Court suspended the case against Ibrahim Güçlü, deputy leader of the Party for Rights and Freedom (HAK PAR), Cevdet Kemal Kara and Resit Deli. They had been accused of being members of the illegal Democratic Party of Northern Kurdistan. (Source: Evrensel, 05.06.2002)

Case on Unlawful Execution 
The public prosecutor in Malatya has charged the police officers Mesut Ayar, Musa Yücel and Erkan Çiftçi of shooting dead Turan Çaliskan on May 5th in the city district of Yamaç. They have to answer a charge of killing by inappropriate means under § 221 and § 448/1 of the Turkish Penal Code and could be jailed for up to 26 years. (Source: Yedinci Gündem, 06.06.2002)

Mine Explosion
On 04.06.2002, Esher Demir (14) stepped on a mine in a field in the village of Busan Baskale (Van). He lost his right arm and one leg. He was taken to hospital, but unfortunately all help came too late. (Source: Yedinci Gündem, 06.06.2002)

Newspaper Found Guilty 
The 3rd Chamber of Istanbul’s State Security Court have imposed fines of 142 million TL on the owner of the Kurdish weekly ”Azadiya Welat”, M. Nuri Karakoyun, and the chief editor M. Salih Turan. In question were 3 articles in issue number 292 from 01.09.01. Comments from Osman and Abdullah Öcalan were included in these. The newspaper was banned from publishing for one week. (Source: Yedinci Gündem, 07.06.2002)

Ban on Head Scarves 
The human rights organization Mazlum-Der in Istanbul have revealed the number of bans on headscarves at theological grammar schools in Istanbul. Accordingly, 1678 school pupils were not permitted to attend lessons. A total of 1885 people had been arrested in protests (10 of them being ill treated) and 396 pupils had been expelled. (Source: Yeni Safak, 07.06.02)

Judgment Against Turkey 
for Action Towards Members of Parlia-ment of Kurdish Origin
A judgment against Turkey has been made by the European Court for Human Rights for revoking the mandates of 13 parliamentary members of Kurdish origin. The Strasbourg judges deemed this to be a breach of the basic right to free elections. The complainants were the former opposition politician Leyla Zana and 12 other members of the now disbanded pro-Kurdish party DEP. The judgment also requires Ankara to pay them 50,000 Euros each in compensation. (Source: AFP, 11th. June 02)

Turkey Wants to Speed Up EU Reforms – Opposition Remains 
A summit meeting of Turkish political parties on the country’s EU policies has not brought the break through hoped for by the public. The meeting, organized by President Sezer and not attended by the long-term ill government head Ecevit, did however agree to speed up the reforms required for the commencement of EU entry negotiations. But resistance on basic issues such as the complete abolition of the death penalty and more cultural rights for the Kurdish minority, could not be reconciled.
Deputy government head Bahceli, leader of the Party for National Movement (MHP) and a clear opponent of any “compromise”, is said to have threatened to resign from the government if necessary. Only the heads of the Islamic parties were in attendance for the parliamentary oppo-sition. Former Prime Minister Ciller from the Party of the Way of Rights (DYP) had boycotted the meeting. She called on the government to resign and for new elections to take place in the Autumn because of Ecevit’s illness.
Following the 3-hour-long meeting presidential spokesperson Ildem stated that the participants had agreed on the swift implementation of the reforms. This concerned the so-called Copenhagen Criteria on minimum standards for democracy and human rights. 
Particular mention was made to the European Human Rights Convention and its supplements. The European Council recently included a supplement which saw the complete abolishment of the death penalty in Europe. 
Turkey is making efforts not to miss “the EU enlargement train”. They are looking towards a time table for entry negotiations by the end of the year. Prior to the summit, many organizations and trade unions had called for the hurdles to the  reforms to be overcome.
Turkish government activity has been paralyzed for the past month because of Ecevit’s illness. According to press reports the prime minister, who is suffering from Parkinson’s Disease, has not been seen in public for 10 days. (Source: dpa, 07. June 02)

Industry Puts the Pressure On 
The pressure is building from Turkish businesses. They want swift entry negotiations with the EU. In doing so they are causing problems for Bahceli, the leader of one of the important governing parties (MHP). 
With Turkey’s political stage having apparently belonged to the party for clandestine EU opponents, the business association Tüsiad has now made a major effort to force a change of course prior to the EU summit in Seville. The public are to be mobilized in a mass lawful action campaign. Additionally, and more importantly, business representatives have taken up contact with the military. The National security Council’s vote to lift the states of emergency in Kurdish provinces and the general’s recommendations, anonymously revealed to the press, to abolish the death penalty and to permit a restricted use of Kurdish, can be traced back to these contacts. 
Parallel to TÜSIAD, a total of 175 NGOs with around 14 million members have called on the polity to speed up the reforms so as not to be excluded from EU entry negotiations. (Source: Basler Zeitung, 06.06.02)
 

More Rights for Kurds Following EU Pressure- But No Real Improvement in Living Conditions 
"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 prac-tice 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 despot-ism has established deep roots for itself. 

Devastation and Poverty
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. (Source: Basler Zeitung, 06.06.2002)

Wave of Arrests Against HAK-PAR Members in Diyarbakir / Turkey
At around midnight on June 12th 2002 numerous members of the pro-Kurdish „Party for Rights and freedom“ (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 party’s 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 Tur-key’s credibility and seriousness about becoming a member of the EU.
The IMK e.V. calls on the government in Ankara to immediately release those arrested and to put into practice human rights which conform to European norms. 
The Managing Committee of the International association for Human Rights for the Kurds (IMK e.V.) calls 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

Background on HAK-PAR
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 be sought 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 people’s 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. (Source: Press Statement on Foundation of Party, 14.02.02)
 

Further Wave of Arabisation in the Province of KIRKUK
The newspaper Brayeti in Hawler has reported on an intensive Arabisation campaign by the Saddam regime in the province of Kirkuk.
The regime have planted thousands of palms on Kirkuk’s streets to encourage the settling of Arabs from south and central Iraq. Two hundred new houses have been built for settlers from southern Iraq. 
At the beginning of 2002, the regime set up a commission to investigate all deaths between 1991 and 1996 with the aim of expelling the families and relations of those involved in the 1991 uprising to liberate the town from Saddam’s forces. 
Uninhabited land and buildings are being handed over or sold only to Arabs. Kurds are no longer permitted to open businesses there. In this way, Kurds, Turkmens and Assyrians are being casted as second class citizens and are being denied their constitutional rights. Thousands of Kurds and Turkemen, expelled from Kirkuk, are living in temporary camps such as tents and abandoned army barracks on the outskirts of the town..
Although there has not been a census for the past 50 years, it is believed that the non-Arabic population in Iraq is around 25-30%. (Source: Kurdische Media from 06.06.02 )
 
Kurdish Opposition for US Support in Toppling Iraq 
The Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) have spoken out for the toppling of Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein with US assistance. A PUK spokesperson said that the Iraqi opposition, including the Kurds, wanted “a radical change to install a democratic and peaceful regime which recognizes the rights of the Iraqi people”. According to a report in the Washington Post, the US have intensified contacts with Iraqi opposition groups to gain their support in any toppling of Saddam. Iraq is seen as the next target in Washington’s war against international terrorism. (Source: DPA, 07.06.02)

European Parliament Calls for Setting Up of Court to Prosecute Those Re-sponsible in Iraq 
A European initiative intends to prevent high-ranking Iraqi government representatives from traveling to European Union states. 
The European Parliament’s Committee for Foreign Affairs have severely attacked the Iraqi authorities for their continued violation of human rights and have imposed an entry ban on Iraqi representatives traveling to EU states. The committee issued a draft resolution which condemned the repeated breaches to international humanitarian legislation, the many death sentences and arbitrary executions without court hearings, as well as torture, rape and the violent expulsion of people from their ancestral regions. The committee, which is also responsible for human rights, general security and defense policies, also called for the economic embargo against Iraq to be lifted on “humanitarian grounds”. Only the ban on arms imports should remain. Emphasis was given to the importance of a comprehensive political solution to the Iraqi issue, under the sponsorship of the United Nations. The proposal also recommended that human rights violators should be brought before an international court and that a special court for Iraq should be set up. The committee also pointed out that the Iraqi regime was not doing anything to protect the environment and gave the example of the destruction of the moorlands in southern Iraq. Concerning compliance with human rights, it was also suggested that international observers should be sent to all Iraqi regions as well as the setting up of an office to investigate human rights violations. There should be entry bans on high-ranking governmental representatives  to the EU and a freeze on assets. The committee also called for a similar programme to the democratic experiment of self-administration in the Kurdish regions of northern Iraq, to further develop the community and its institutions. The UN have been asked to use a portion of the income from oil sales to help the 3.5 million Iraqi refugees, emigrants and those who have been expelled. Amongst these are torture victims and the survivors of chemical and biological attacks. (Source: Irak Aktuell, Juni 02)

Saddam Opponents in Talks with US 
Representatives of a number of Iraqi Opposition groups have met recently with US government representatives in Washington. The meeting was part of the US effort to develop alternatives to the Iraqi President Saddam Hussein. US foreign office spokesman Richard Boucher said that the USA wanted to prepare a conference of Anti-Saddam-forces in Europe this summer, through a series of talks. The US foreign office further revealed that the London based opposition union, the Iraqi National Congress (INC), had been voted a further 8 million dollars of aid. US defense minister Rumsfeld made it clear in Kuwait that toppling Saddam was the only solution to the problem of weapons of mass destruction in Iraq. (FR, 12.06.2002 und AFP, 05.06.02)

Letter from Iraqi Human Rights Center to UN Special Envoy 
The Iraqi Human Rights Center has written the following letter to the UN special envoy, Mav-romatis:
“On the occasion of the 22nd anniversary of Decree No.. 666 from the Iraqi Revolutionary Command from 7.5.1980, concerning the unjust expatriation of many Iraqi citizens, we would like to bring this fact to your attention and to point out the problems these citizens face. 
Because many were only indirectly affected by the resolution there are several interpretations for the reasons for expatriation. 
The reason for expatriation in respect of those directly affected citizens remains unclear because of the social problems which arise from them being stateless, not to mention the detention of affected families and their arbitrary expatriation. 
We have reliable studies as well as official and non-official documents which point out the perilous aspects of this resolution. The studies reveal that to date no solution has been found to the problems of the people affected by the resolution. 
We ask you, with the resources at your disposal, to intervene and to seek solutions for the Iraqi citizens affected by the resolution.” 
The majority of those expatriated are Feyli-Kurds (Source: Iraq Aktuell, June 02)

Illegal Immigrants Forced to Swim to Italian Coast – Four Dead 
Four illegal immigrants drowned before the southern Italian Adrian coast because smugglers forced them to swim to shore in rough seas. The victims were non-swimmers. A further 39 refugees, mainly Kurds, managed to make it to the shore. The smugglers had forced the refugees to jump overboard 100m from the shore. 
Two refugees received knife wounds from the smugglers because they had at first refused to jump into the water. The smugglers were able to escape in their boat. 
The government in Rome had recently voted for stricter immigration legislation. They also de-manded that other EU countries should take part in patrolling the Italian coast. Many Kurds from Turkey see Italy simply as a transit country to get to Germany or France. (Source: dpa, 08th June 02)
 

 
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