Constitutional Reform: Criticism of Amendments and Supplementary Package
A supplementary package to the Turkish con-stitution, which clearly carries the imprint of the general staff, has been rushed through parlia-ment. However, hardly anyone is satisfied because it contains no actual improvement concerning basic rights and freedoms. Even the president of the Courts of Appeal, Sami Selcuk, has demanded a completely new constitution. He considers the amendments to 37 articles of the constitution to be inadequate and has called for a debate on the various points of view. It was necessary to draw up a new constitution in line with criteria from the European Court of Human Rights, which would aid Turkey in obtaining a place within the European Union. The amendments do not achieve this. 
For example, on the insistence of the military, restrictions have been incorporated on the rights within  Article 26 of the constitution (on the “safeguarding of a secular and democratic republic”) in situations where it was necessary to safeguard national security, public order, public security, secularisation, the democratic republic and the unity of the state.
The lifting of the ban on publications in a forbidden language in Article 26 is seen by many as a lifting of the ban on the Kurdish language. But this was already accomplished in 1992 by the Prime Minister of the time, Turgut Özal, with his abolition of the forbidden languages law. Others are saying that the Kurdish media are now permitted, but this has also already been the case. What is perfidious concerning the constitutional amendments on the use of the Kurdish language, is that although publications are permitted in Kurdish, anti-terror and other laws can still be applied according to the content of such publications enabling them to be confiscated with the authors and publishers being made liable to imprisonment, high financial penalties or closure. Permitting broadcasting and publica-tions in Kurdish is not just problematical concerning the use of the language but also its content. As long as there is no actual freedom of thought and opinion, then the way is also hindered for the expression of opinions in Kurdish. The constitution does not expressly forbid Kurdish. But it is nowhere written that Kurdish is permitted. This omission is restrictive because it allows the continuation of the non-acknowledgement of the existence of a Kurdish nation with its own language and culture. The right to schooling in Kurdish would be a significant move for the rights of the Kurdish population in Turkey. But Turkey is a long way from this. (Sources: AA, 23.09.01, Sabah, 28.09.01, IMK)

Human Rights Court Decides Against Tur-key in 13 Cases
The European Court of Human Rights has again made judgements against Turkey. In 13 cases, Turkey was made liable to compensa-tion of 5 million French francs.
The 13 complainants, who were alleged to be members of Dev-Yol, were a test of the court’s neutrality and independence. The court upheld their complaint that their rights had been vio-lated by Turkey. (Source: Turkish Daily News, 26.09.01)

Turkey Accuses Europe of Harbouring Terrorists and Demand Their Extradition
Following the attacks against the WTC in New York, the Turkish Prime Minister Bülent Ecevit has criticised European governments for their links to foreign terrorist groups. According to Ecevit, Europe has allowed “the majority of terrorist attacks against Turkey to be planned” on their territory. This reflects a new tone within Turkish-European dialogue, with Ankara indicating that they will also be actively taking steps. The government intend to demand ex-tradition from Germany, Belgium and France of people they consider responsible for being behind terrorist activities.
Ankara have been vainly complaining for many years of terrorist activity against Turkey which has been instigated from Germany, Belgium and Holland. Satisfaction has been registered in the Turkish press that the EU now intend to be harder on terrorists following the New York attacks. Those in the line of fire are the DHKP-C as well as the PKK. 
Leading politicians from the ruling Motherland Party (ANAP) have accused Germany of being co-responsible for international terror. The chairman of the Committee for Foreign Relations, Kamran Inan (ANAP), even accused Europe and Germany of supporting fundamen-talist and left wing extremists. Inan said that “there had been safeguards for the PKK”. Foreign Minister Ismail Cem (DSP) complained that, in the past, western Europe should have been more attentive to Turkish concerns on terrorism. 
Turkish newspapers are clearly happy that the European stance now appears to have demonstrably altered following the terrorist strikes. According to Hürriyet, the Kurdish Workers Party (PKK) has now been categorised as a terrorist organisation in Italy. A Belgian judge’s decision that a left-wing extremist sought by Ankara for years is to be brought before a court, has also been interpreted as a positive lesson to have been learnt from the terrible events in the USA. (Sources: Welt am Sonntag, 23.09.01; Stuttgarter Nach-richten, 24.09.01; SZ, 25.09.01)

Continuation of Prison Protests – Number of Deaths Increase
The death fasts have claimed another 4 victims. Zeynep Arikan (33) died in the early hours of the morning of September 27th. She had continued her action in a house in Kücük-armutlu (Istanbul) following her release from prison.  The solidarity committee TAYAD is-sued a message on the following evening that Ali Riza Demir (28) had also died. Demir, who was born in Adiyaman, had been charged with being a member of the DHKP/C and had also continued his protest following his release from prison. Ayse Bastimur (34) und Özlem Durakcan (19) died in Ankara Tuzlucayir. Ayse Bastimur had been released from the prison in Canakkale and died on the 324th day of her protest. Özlem Durakcan participated in the action out of solidarity and died following 74 days on hunger strike.
The situation continues to become more tense in the Istanbul district of Kücükarmutlu which is being occupied by security forces. According to the Committee against Isolation Detention (IKM) and the TAYAD Solidarity Committee, heavily armed special units from the police and military have taken action against the death fasters in the so-called resistance houses, using weaponry and gas bombs. Many people were injured as a result. People were run over by tanks when barricades were cleared. There had earlier been arrests of 150 people who had wanted to attend the funeral of Ümüs Sahingöz a further death fast victim. (Sources: afp, 27./28.09.01; TIHV, 28.09.01; Radikal, 28.09.01)

Sema Piskinsüt Resigns from DSP
Sema Piskinsüt, DSP parliamentary representative and former chairperson of the parliamentary commission for human rights, has given notice of her resignation from the DSP. Without losing any time or energy, she wishes to proceed on a democratic-left course of action. 
She indicated at a press conference that she might establish a new party, and that she also had no plans to join in membership of a possi-ble new middle-left party with Erdal Inönü or Mümtaz Soysal. She was critical that the DSP had neither achieved its party programme nor its election manifesto or government pro-gramme. She said that the undemocratic party leadership would tolerate her and would not bring legal proceedings against her out of con-cern for public pressure. 
Following her resignation, the 550 parliamen-tary seats now appear as follows: DSP: 131, MHP: 126, ANAP: 86, DYP: 80, AK: 82, SP: 48, Independent: 18, Open seats: 9. (Sources: AA, 26.09.01; Turkish Daily News, 27.09.01)

Failed Bomb Attempt
The brothers Idris and Recep Kor (17 and 18 years of age) have been killed in a bomb ex-plosion in a cemetery in Ankara. The police suspect that the brothers had intended a suicide attack but the bombs had exploded prematurely. The Turkish TV broadcaster NTV suspect that through a bomb attack, the broth-ers wanted to bring attention to the second anniversary of the murder of 10 left-wing prisoners in a prison revolt in the prison of Ulucanlar. (Sources: AA, BBC, 26.09.01)

Case Concerning Asiye Zeybek Adjourned until December 2001
The case concerning Asiye Zeybek (31) was adjourned at a court hearing on September 21st to December 7th. Legal proceedings on her case began in February 2001 following a 4 year period during which the journalist has been detained in prison without conviction. This is a direct breach of international standards which require that detainees are brought before a court within a “reasonable” time.
Zeybek alleges that she was raped by police in the initial days of her arrest and that the perpe-trators have not been brought before a court.
The writers organisation PEN is concerned about the fairness of the process against Zey-bek and has called for her release until the court hearing. PEN also demand a comprehensive and fair investigation into her allegations of rape. Observers at the hearing from 21.09.2001 reported on her despair at the adjournment.
Amongst the many international observers in the Zeybek case were Eugene Schoulgin head of then international PEN committee Writers in Prison, Zila Olin from the Swedish PEN and Anne Sebba from the English PEN. 
Background: Zeybak was arrested in February 1997 along with 10 other persons. Many of them have since been released. They were accused of having links to the MLKP (Marxist-Lenin Communist Party) . Zeybek worked for the MLKP newspaper Atilim.
(The PEN Committee Writers in Prison have called for an action for Asiye Zeybek. The complete text for this action can be found on our Web Site at www.kurden.de). (Sources: Writ-ers in Prison Committee (WiPC), International PEN, Lon-don, 25.09.01)

Press Statement: Islamic Fundamentalist Group Expelled from Halabja in Iraqi Kurdistan
On 23.09.2001, a fundamentalist group known as Jund Al-Islam (Soldiers of Islam), who sym-pathise with  bin Laden, commenced an offen-sive against the Kurdish village of Kheli-Hama in the district of Halabja in Iraqi Kurdistan near the Iran/Iraqi border. They occupied the village and detained 25 members of the PUK. Shortly afterwards they were shot dead with their hands and feet being bound. 
The group’s aim through this criminal act was to cause uneasiness and conflict and to entan-gle PUK units in the US conflict arising from the terrorist strikes from 11.09.2001. They also intend to use the tense situation within the Middle East to further rouse feelings there.
On 24.09.2001, an armed unit of the Islamic Movement of Kurdistan under the leadership of Mullah Ali Abdulaziz, shot at vehicles transporting PUK members into the Halabja region. They were attacked in Zamqe, a region controlled by the Islamic Movement. The PUK returned fire and took over a control station and the headquarters of the Islamic Movement in this region. 
The PUK consider the attack as a declaration of war.
The PUK decided on action because of these events as well as terrorist activities of groups describing themselves as “Islamic” and using the town of Halabja as a base.
The strike force of Kurdistan’s Peshmerga, under the leadership of the PUK, expelled armed members of these terrorist groups from Halabja on the night of 24/25.09.2001. Mullah Ali Abdulaziz, head of Kurdistan's Islamic Movement, fled to Jund Al-Islam’s base situated in mountain frontier of the village of Sherawe. This action was welcomed by all other political parties and organisations who have their offices and headquarters in Halabja because it now allows them to continue with their activities in complete freedom and without any pressure from radical groups. (Ahmad Berwa-ri, the PUK’s representative in the Federal Republic of Germany, 25.09.2001)

Peshmerga Continue Campaign Against Jund Al-Islam
Following the expulsion of armed members of the fundamentalist group Jund Al-Islam from Halabja, strike forces from Kurdistan’s Pesh-merga, under the leadership of the PUK, are continuing with their “clearance operations” in the region of Howraman. They have secured the villages of Khar Galan, Biaweela and Upper and  Lower Dardeesh. According to a Peshmerga military spokesperson, a Jund Al-Islam training camp had been taken over in Anb. A number of the group’s members had been arrested.
In their issue from 27.09.2001, the London based Arabic newspaper "Az-Zamman" revealed that the secret service had discovered Arabic channels in London through which finance from Osama bin Laden was delivered to his Arabic-Afghanistan followers from Jund Al-Islam in Iraqi Kurdistan. The Jordanian Abu Baseer, who lives in London, allegedly channelled money to the bin Laden group Jund Al-Islam in Iraqi Kurdistan. This involved a sum of 150,000 US Dollars and was carried out under direct instructions from Osama bin Laden. Other key people involved in money laundering were also discovered. The Egyptian Abdul Kader Abdul Aziz, who lives in Peshawar/ Pakistan, is allegedly one of the people involved in bin Laden’s money and financial network. (Source: Kurdistan Newsline, 28.09.01)

INC Press Statement:
Iraqi National Congress Exposes Saddam Hussein’s Links to International Terrorism and Demand Saddam’s Removal as Part of Any Anti-Terror Strategy
The Iraqi National Congress has exposed links between Saddam Hussein and Osama bin Laden’s international terrorist networks. 
At the beginning of 1999, the INC reported that the Iraqi secret service agent, Farouk Hijazi, had travelled to Kandahar in Afghanistan for a personal meeting with Osama bin Laden. Hijazi is currently the Iraqi Ambassador to Turkey. He was previously head of the division for under-cover operations in the Iraqi secret service, Mukhabarat. Mukhabarat has been involved in numerous terrorist acts in the Middle East and Europe since Saddam’s rise to power in 1979. 
The INC also discovered that the terrorist Mohammed Atta met with an official from the Iraqi secret service in Prague at the beginning of this year. This apparently concerned an embassy member in the Czech Republic who had been a close associate of Hijazi.
It is known that the Iraqi secret service used diplomats as cover for their personal and financial activities abroad. Saddam’s terrorist background and his continued efforts to develop chemical and biological weapons render him a threat to world peace and sta-bility. Any serious strategy to fight terrorism must have the deposing of the Saddam regime as a priority. (Source: INC Presseerklärung, 24.09.01)

Iraq Assembles Troops on the Border to Southern Kurdistan
Unconfirmed reports say that the Iraqi regime are assembling its troops at the border to Garmina in the region of Kirkuk. It appears as if they are preparing to enter the region. Armed infantry units and vehicles, along with tanks and artillery are assembling in the town of Kifri. This is being considered as a test of how far the USA are currently prepared to resist any possible invasion. (Source: KurdishMedia.com, 18.09.01)

PUK Delegation Visits Iran
A delegation from the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan visited Iran on 16.09.2001 to talk with official representatives from the Islamic Republic on the tense situation in Sharazur and Hawraman, and to inform themselves of the attitude towards the Jund AI-Islam militia.
The delegation also intended to persuade Iran against any logistical or moral support for Jund AI-Islam. (Source: KurdishMedia.com, 18.09.01)

German “Aspekte” Literary Prize to Sherko Fatah
The Berlin writer Sherko Fatah has won the “Aspekte” literary prize for the best German debut novel for the year 2001. This is the 23rd presentation of the prize which also has an award of 15,000 DM. According to a German TV broadcast, the 37 year old author’s first novel Im Grenzland is the story of a Kurdish smuggler doing business as a Kurd between the countries of Turkey, Iran and Iraq. There is a political dimension to Fatah’s book which also communicates something of the existen-tial danger of a person who is treated badly by powerful groups upon whom he has no influ-ence. Sherko Fatah was born in 1964 in East Berlin to an Iraqi Kurdish father and a German mother. He grew up in the DDR and settled in the West in 1975, studying philosophy and art history in Berlin. The author currently lives in Berlin. (Source: dpa 21.09.01)

Greece Anticipates Many More Refugees
On 18.09.2001, Greek marines apprehended 200 illegal immigrants in the Ionian Sea who were on board a fishing boat from Turkey. Following lengthy negotiations with Greek offi-cers, the refugees agreed to be taken to Greece. According to a radio report, the mainly Kurdish refugees were taken in rubber dinghies to a Greek ferry. The ferry was to transport them to a Greek island. 
On 21.09.2001 in the eastern Aegean, 197 illegal immigrants were also apprehended. The majority of them came from Iraq and Pakistan. Alone in the past 4 weeks, 800 refugees have been discovered in Greece. Experts estimate that only 1 in 10 of all illegal immigrants are ever detected.
Athens are expecting significantly greater numbers of refugees in the coming weeks. According to Greek sources, a million refugees from Afghanistan had already assembled on the Iran-Turkish border prior to the attacks of 11.09.2001. (Sources: dpa, 18.09.01; Frankfurter Rundschau, 22.09.01)