PKK GIVE IN: NO MORE ACTIVITY UNDER THE NAME OF THE PKK 

The Turkish state’s ultimatum to the PKK has had effect. As revealed by the Kurdistan Information Center, the PKK will cease activity under its current name in Turkey and the European Union. The PKK’s management committee decided this at the end of January and expect it to be confirmed at the forthcoming 8th Party Congress. As part of the decision, party supporters have been requested to continue their work in 2 legitimate and democratic organizations. 
A group of PKK activists, who have formed together under the name of the “PKK Fighters’ Revolutionary Front”, have critiqued the decision as the climax in policies of treason and surrender. They accuse the PKK, who they describe as the Imrali Party, of becoming a mouthpiece for the Turkish state and of wanting to destroy the Kurdish movement.
Criticism has been intensified since, among other things, the issuing of a statement by Öcalan on the current campaign for native language education. While the campaigners have been fighting for the institutionalizing and official recognition of the language, Öcalan has said that the learning and speaking of Kurdish should be a private and personal matter. (Sources: dpa, 06.02.02; Statement from the PKK Fighters’ Revolutionary Front”, 06.02.02)
 

TURKEY PASSES AMENDMENTS TO CONTROVERSIAL LAWS 

The Turkish parliament have passed 2 law reforms which should contribute towards EU membership. Central to the reforms is a change to the incitement paragraph 312 of the penal code. Incitement on the grounds of class, race or religion will now only be an offence if such comments actually disrupt public order. Until now an offence had been committed by merely mentioning, in a public speech, any ethnic or religious differences.
In the original government reform proposal, the mere “potential” to disrupt would have been sufficient for an offence to have been committed. This had been heavily criticized as a backward step by liberal sections of society as well as the Islamic opposition. Opposition to the eventual changes came mainly from the right of Ecevit’s coalition, i.e. the Party for National Movement (MHP), who had voted (unsuccessfully) against the proposals. (Sources: afp, dpa, 06.02.02)
 

HANIM TOSUN IN POLICE CUSTODY 

Police have taken Hanim Tosun into custody. She is a member of the management board of the IHD in Istanbul, a “Saturday” mother and the wife of the “disappeared” Fehmi Tosun. She had been arrested for making a formal request to the Ministry for Culture for native language education for her child. 
Six from a total of 23 women have been detained who were arrested on 30.01.2002 in Istanbul-Bagcilar and brought before the Sate security Court. Housewives in particular are being taken into police custody in the on-going operation against the campaign for education in native languages. (Source: Statement from the IHD-Istanbul, 31.01.02)
 

DURATION OF POLICE CUSTODY REDUCED IN STATE OF EMERGENCY REGIONS 

Turkey has promised to comply with EU standards concerning the duration of police custody in the state of emergency regions. The Turkish Foreign Office have informed the European Council that the decree from 6th August 1990, which suspended Article 5 of the Convention on European Human Rights in state of emergency regions (OHAL), no longer applies. The ministry said that this was evidence of progress in the country’s democratization process and of its commitment to protect human rights. 
The maximum period permitted for a person to be held in police custody is now to be set at 4 days in OHAL regions rather than the current period of 15 days. According to information from Ankara the states of emergency in four provinces will, however, remain. The General secretary of the European Council, Walter Schwimmer, welcomed these measures as “progress for the rights of arrested people”. (Sources: afp, Radikal, 31.01.02 )

LEGAL PROCEEDINGS AGAINST HADEP MEMBERS

The state prosecutor from Adana’s State Security Court has issued legal proceedings against 81 members of HADEP of whom 29 are being held in custody. Thirty-nine are accused of being members of the PKK and 42 for supporting the PKK. (Source: Cumhuriyet, 01.02.02)
 

NEW LAW INCREASES OFFENCES ASSOCIATED WITH THE PRESS 

In a letter to Günter Verheugen, the EU commissioner responsible for enlargement, the organization Reporters sans frontières criticized a change to the law in Turkey which would have the effect of increasing criminal offences connected with the press. “Under the pretext of carrying out legal changes as required by the EU, the government have increased the number of offences associated with the press”.
RSF General Secretary, Robert Ménard, said that on the one hand Turkey was making concessions as demanded by the EU but on the other hand, was taking new measures whereby the rights to freedom of opinion were being more strictly controlled. 
RSF called on Verheugen to make it clear to the Turkish government that the law  was unacceptable.
The organization also consider changes being made to the criminal law, to comply with the October 2001 constitutional reforms, are a step backwards and a worsening to the human rights situation. (Source: Press statement from Reporters sans frontières, 05.02.02 –The complete text can be found on our homepage)
Information is available on journalist who have been charged or convicted in Turkey from Jean-Christophe Menet, RSF, Tel: +33 1 44838484, e-mail: europe@rsf.fr, Internet: http://www.rsf.fr
 

MINISTER OF STATE ARSEVEN RECEIVES EUCHR JUDGE RIZA TÜRMEN

Minister of State, Nejat Arseven, has received Riza Türmen, a judge from the European Court of Human Rights, for talks on the human rights situation in Turkey. 
Arseven pointed out that Turkey had recently carried out many structural reforms but that there were still problems with their implementation. Monthly meetings were taking place with the Interior and Judicial Ministers to overcome these problems. 
Türmen did not wish to comment on the changes to the criminal law. He recommended that Turkey observed the judgments from the EUCHR but did not wish to expand on this. On the whole he was restrained in his comments in contrast to Arseven who praised the significance of recent changes to the law. 
Türmen did approve of Turkey’s decision to reinstate Article 5 of the European Convention on Human Rights in state of emergency regions saying that this would have a positive effect abroad. (Source: Anadolu Ajansi, 05.02.02) 
 

IHD-DIYARBAKIR HEAD BAYDEMIR: INCREASE IN HUMAN RIGHTS ABUSES BY TURKISH SECURITY FORCES 

Human rights abuses by security forces have allegedly increased again in the Kurdish provinces in southeastern Turkey. Osman Baydemir, IHD-head and a lawyer from Diyarbakir, specified a number of incidents to bear this out. 
In September 2001 security forces in Van allegedly shot dead a deaf and dumb shepherd because he did not obey their order to identify himself. 
In the same month security forces allegedly shot dead 2 brothers who were working in fields in Sirnak. Baydemir said that the security forces claimed that the brothers were PKK members. The family of the dead insist, however, that they had had no connection at all to the PKK.
Since the disappearances of the two HADEP members Tanis und Deniz in Cizre, arbitrary arrests and torture have purportedly increased drastically, particularly towards HADEP supporters and students participating in the campaign for native language education. 
Muhammed Tasdemir, a biology student at the University of Dicle in Diyarbakir, said that he had been held in police custody for 4 days after he had signed a petition for native language education. Tasdemir declared that he had absolutely no connection to the PKK. He also said that he’d had his eyes bound, had been beaten and forced to listen to patriotic music. He had now been released but had been charged with supporting Kurdish separatism.
Baydemir criticized western governments for remaining inactive concerning the human rights abuses, just because they needed Turkey in their fight against international terrorism. (Source: VOA News, 30.01.02)
 

USA READY TO GO IT ALONE IF NECESSARY AGAINST IRAQ 

At the Conference on Security Policy in Munich the USA did not leave any doubts about its determination to topple Saddam. The US made it clear to its European allies that they are determined, alone if necessary, to make war against Iraq. 
They demand that Saddam allows UN inspectors into the country to establish whether Iraq is involved in the production of weapons of mass destruction. Saddam has resisted such a demand since inspectors were forced to leave the country in 1998. 
Saudi Arabia has indicated its willingness to cooperate with the US in a war provided the US manage to achieve an uprising of the Iraqi people against Saddam. They were, however, against attacks against Baghdad as in the Gulf War. 
In contrast, the head of the Arab League, Amre Mussa, said any American military action against Iraq would be unanimously rejected by its members. He said that the problems would best be solved through dialogue. He had handed over a letter from Baghdad, with an offer of talks, to the UN General Secretary Kofi Annan. "The Arab League unanimously reject military action against any Arab nation, including Iraq".(Sources: IMK e.V., various newspapers and agencies, 04./05.02.02)
 

CRITICISM OF UN AGENCIES DURING VISIT BY UN HEAD OF IRAQ PROGRAM

Benon Sevan, head of the UN offices for the Iraq Program, visited the three northern Iraqi Kurdish provinces from 22.01.2002-29.01.2002 as part of a regular trip to Iraq, to inform himself on the implementation of UN resolution 986, known as the oil for food program, as well as the humanitarian situations there. Accompanied by UN officials and representatives of local UN agencies, he spoke with the governments in Arbil und Suleymania. 
Both governments requested closer cooperation between the Kurdish government and the UN and were critical that UN Agency projects and the implementation of the UN programme was too slow and too inefficient. They said that UN projects should provide more help towards the development of the infrastructure in the Kurdish regions. 
The PUK heavily criticized the UN Development Agency (UNDP) for keeping power generators and cabling in storage despite their urgent requirement in rural areas. The Kurdish Ministry for Industry and Energy in Suleymania had urgently requested such equipment from the agency. They claimed they had no such equipment. However, they were holding 5000 generators and 6000km of cabling in storage. (Source: Iraqi Kurdistan Dispatch, 01.02.02) 2002
 

THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY OF-IRANIAN KURDISTAN MAKES THE FOLLOWING APPEAL:
SAVE THE LIVES OF KURDISH POLITICAL PRISONERS SENTENCED TO DEATH 

On 24.01.2002, Karim Toujali, a former member of the Democratic Party of Iranian Kurdistan (DPK-I), was executed in the grounds of Mahabad’s secret service. Toujali fled to Turkey in 1996 to seek protection from western states. He was apprehended by turkish police in 1998 and handed over to the Iranian secret service. After 3 years imprisonment, where he was brutally tortured, he was executed in Mahabad.
The DPK-I fear that this might be the beginning of a wave of executions of other Kurdish freedom activists of whom many are being held in the feared prisons of the Iranian regime.
Political prisoners are being sentenced to death without having any access to the public nor to legal representation. Even their own families, out of danger to their own lives, are unable to be active on their behalf. 
For this reason the DPK-I are publicizing the names of those political prisoners most at threat of execution and have called on human rights organizations and institutions, particularly the UN Human Rights Commission and Amnesty International, to be active on their behalf. 
Here are the names of those sentenced to death and are in acute danger of being executed: 
1- GHADERI Hamza, arrested 1997, sentenced to death, held in prison in Urmia
2- MAHMUDI Hasan, arrested 1997, sentenced to death, held in prison in Urmia
3- SHOGHI Khale, arrested 1997, sentenced to death, held in prison in Urmia
4- VIESI Khede, arrested 1998, sentenced to death, held in prison in Urmia
5- SHAHRVERANI Mohammed, arrested 1998, sentenced to death, held in prison in Mahabad
6- GUDARZI Saleh, arrested 1999, sentenced to death, held in prison in Sanandej
7- FARAIDUNI Khaled, arrested 2000, sentenced to death, held in prison in Mahabad
8- AFANI Nader, arrested 2000, sentenced to death, held in prison in Mahabad (Source: International Bureau of Democratic Party of Iranian Kurdistan, Paris, 05.02.02)
(Contact: DPK-I representative for Germany and Austria: Tel: +43-1-967 24 95)
 
 

Dear Readers, 

There is good news for a change. The Turkish government have surprisingly had a change of mind and have given the go ahead, providing there is no ministerial veto, to an Amnesty International Office in Turkey. Amnesty International had to leave Turkey 22 years ago following the 1980 military putsch. 

Amnesty International are now seeking a woman who can carry out a project on sexual torture and gender concepts. The project will begin in April and run for 6 months. According to AI’s basic principles, Turkish women are not permitted to do this job. Further information under www.amnesty.org. Closing date for applications is 27th. February 2002.