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A non-government information service on Turkey
Un service d'information non-gouvernemental sur la Turquie

155

13th Year - N°155
September 1989
38 rue des Eburons - 1000 Bruxelles
Tél: (32-2) 215 35 76 - Fax: (32-2) 215 58 60
 Rédacteur en chef: Dogan Özgüden - Editrice responsable: Inci Tugsavul
 

OZAL'S LIES IN STRASBOURG

    Turkish Prime Minister Ozal, in his address to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe in Strasbourg on September 27, 1989, claimed that Turkey had made a big progress as regards respecting fundamental rights and freedoms.
    To convince the European parliamentarians of this claim, he announced that his government had recently issued two decrees: the one for limiting the application fields of capital punishment and the other for recognizing Turkish citizens the right to appeal to the European Court of Human Rights.
    In response to some questions, he said Articles 141 (against organizing communist party), 142 (making communist and separatist propaganda) and 163 (anti-secular organization and propaganda) of the Turkish Penal Code were obsolete and he was doing his best to lift them.
    So, the prime minister of this member country, applauded and appreciated by many European parliamentarians, suceeded once more to fool the Council of Europe.
    In fact, one day after his speech, on September 28, 1989:
    - A 88-year old political exile, Mehmet Bozisik, after his voluntary return to the country, was arrested in Ankara by the State Security Court by virtue of Article 141, for being a member of the Central Committee of the Communist Party..
    - A 15-year old high school student, Melih Calaylioglu, was tried again before the State Security Court of Izmir by virtue of Article 142, because the forensic pathologist gave a second report claiming that the young defendant was conscious while he was doing "communist propaganda" among his classmates.
    - The new-elected Mayor of the city of Sanliurfa, Halil Ibrahim Celik, was tried before the State Security Court of Ankara by virtue of Article 163, because he said he was neither Ataturkist nor secular.
    - Hundreds of death sentences pronounced by military tribunals against political defendants were still being dealt by higher courts, because the Article 146 of the Turkish Penal Code was not among the articles for which capital punishment was lifted.
    As for the other flagrant violations of human rights and freedoms in Turkey prior to his speech at the Council of Europe, the reader can find their many examples in the following pages.
    To justify not lifting yet Articles 141, 142 and 163 of the Turkish Penal Code, Ozal claimed that the Turkish public opinion was not ready for such a move and that the annulement of these articles might be turned down by a national referendum. Whereas, there is not any rule in Turkish legislation to oblige the government to go to referendum for amending the Turkish Penal Code.
    Furthermore, one should recall that Ozal himself had harldy polled 21.9% of the votes in March 1989 elections and, despite this unprecedented rout, he prepares himself to replace General Evren as "the president of the Republic", without taking heed of public opinion.
   
   

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TURKISH GOVERNMENT INSISTS ON INFO-TURK EDITORS REMAINING STATELESS

        An appeal against he military government's decision to deprive two Info-Turk editors, Dogan Ozguden and Inci Tugsavul, of their Turkish nationality is currently being dealt by the Council of State in Ankara.
        The two journalists had been subjected to this anti-democratic practice in 1983 because of their activities abroad for defending human rights in Turkey. Though this decision was reported by the Turkish newspapers, an official notice had not given them.
        In 1988, during a press conference held by Premier Turgut Ozal in Brussels, Ozguden and Tugsavul forwarded him some questions on the situation of human rights in Turkey.
        In a quick retaliation, the Turkish Government officially notified the decision in May 1988, that is to say with a 5-year delay. Thereupon, Ozguden and Tugsavul appealed to the Council of State for annulment of this decision.
        The Turkish Government, in its response to this appeal, claimed that Info-Turk editors should remain "stateless" because they had carried out "communist propaganda" and slandered Turkish authorities and Turkish generals in the publications they edited abroad.
        In the same response, the Government reported that legal proceedings were opened in Turkey against the two journalists in virtue of many articles of the Turkish Penal Code: 140 (disseminating exaggerated or slanted information with the purpose of harming Turkey's reputation and dignity abroad), 142 (carrying out communist and separatist propaganda), 156 (slandering government authorities and army chiefs).
        According to this articles, both journalists are liable to prison terms of not less than 30 years.
        The Council of State is expected to pronounce its judgment in coming weeks, after a pleading with the participation of lawyer Ali Yasar, defense attorney of the two journalists.
        If the appeal is turned down, Ozguden and Tugsavul will lodge a complaint with the European Commission of Human Rights.

AN EXILED PHYSICIAN ARRESTED AT HIS RETURN

        Dr. Tarik Ziya Ekinci was imprisoned after his return to Turkey on July 30, 1989. He had been in exile in Paris since the military coup.
        He is currently purging a 18-month prison term in the Sagmalcilar Prison in Istanbul for an article he had written for the weekly Yuruyus before the coup.

NEW THREATS AGAINST POLITICAL REFUGEES

        The Turkish Government issued on August 8, 1989, a new list of the political refugees who are summoned to render themselves Turkish authorities on pain of being stripped of Turkish nationality.
        Among them are Zeki Kilic, a leading member of the defunct Workers' Party of Turkey (TIP) and an extreme-right businessman, Murat Bayrak.

A CAMPAIGN FOR FREEING YILMAZ GUNEY'S FILMS

        On the occasion of the 5th anniversary of Yilmaz Guney, a group of Turkish filmmakers, writers and journalists launched a campaign for lifting the ban on the projection of his films.
        By virtue of a Martial Law decree, the works by those who have been stripped of Turkish nationality cannot be made public in Turkey.
        Yilmaz Guney, prize-winner at Cannes with his film Yol, was deprived of Turkish nationality when he was in exile.
        He died at the age of 47 because of his long prison life in Turkey before he fled Turkey in 1981.
        The signatories of the petition said: "The fact that the works of Yilmaz Guney cannot be shown to the younger generations in Turkey is a shame for our cultural life."

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OZAL LOST ALSO HIS OWN PARTY'S SUPPORT

        As Ozal was carrying on his charming operation abroad, he faced serious problems to regain his prestige at home. The election of the Speaker of the National Assembly on September 11 was a sign of the fact that he has lost support even within his own party, the Motherland Party (ANAP).
        Though his party has absolute majority at Parliament, his candidate for the speaker of the National Assembly, Mr. Yildirim Akbulut failed to be elected in the first two rounds of voting because some other deputies of ANAP, taking no heed of Ozal's warning, put their candidature for the same post.    
        According to parliamentary rules, a two-thirds majority is required for the elections of the speaker in the first and second rounds of voting.
        During the first round Akbulut polled only 186 votes while Ilyas Aktas and Vehbi Dincerler, both from Ozal's party, obtained respectively 103 and 82 votes.
        In the second round, Akbulut again failed to poll the necessary 300 votes but increased his vote to 215.
        In the third round, when an absolute majority is sufficient to elect the Speaker, Akbulut polled 250 votes, Aktas 173. So, 33 of his 289 deputies refused to vote for Akbulut even in the third round.
        According to the daily Hurriyet of September 12, "something quite fantastic" happened in Ankara. "The actions of ANAP deputies will affect everything, even the upcoming presidential elections in November, because it is now obvious that Ozal is not powerful within his party as he used to be."
        Erdal Inonu, leader of the main opposition Social Democratic Populist Party (SHP), said the failure of all ANAP deputies to vote for the prime minister's candidate indicated that "some of them were now waking up."
        Suleyman Demirel, leader of the Correct Way Party (DYP) said: "The road to Cankaya (the presidential residence) is closed for Ozal not because of the breakdown of votes for the speaker but because there is no popular support for him."
        In fact, according to the recent opinion polls, confirming the results of the March 1989 local elections, the ANAP is preferred by 20% while the SHP and the DYP are getting respectively 29% and 25%.
   
OZAL'S MANEUVERS ON THE CONSTITUTION

        In a move to regain popular support and to corner two opposition parties represented in the National Assembly,  Ozal asked the latter to begin consultations for replacing the 1982 Constitution by a shorter and much simpler one.
        SHP leader Erdal Inonu replied to Ozal's offer saying he did not find the prime minister's initiative "serious enough." Inonu asked the governing ANAP to submit the proposed amendments in writing.
        A SHP attempt last year to introduce constitutional amendments in the Parliament was foiled by ANAP.
        As for the DYP, deputy chairman Metin Gurdere said ANAP's efforts to bring the issue of the constitution to political discussion now is intended to distract attention from the need for early elections. He added that his party did not want to discuss constitutional amendments before the question of early elections is settled.
        Astonishingly, Ozal has got the only support to his proposal from a faction of the pro-Soviet left. The United Communist Party of Turkey (TBKP) declared in a Central Committee communiqué that it supports Ozal's idea.

RESTRICTIONS ON CAPITAL PUNISHMENT?

        In another move to charm European opinion, the Turkish Government has prepared a new draft law to reduce the number of crimes punishable by death. However, capital punishment will remain in force for a number of crimes.
        The draft law proposes that in 13 of the 29 articles of the Turkish Penal Code which call for capital punishment the sentence should be changed to life imprisonment.
        According to statistics, 442 people have been executed by hanging in the last 52 years in Turkey. The number of people put to death was highest between 1980 and 1984. Of a total of 50 people hanged after the military coup of 1980, 28 were political offenders.

SHP IN THE SOCIALIST INTERNATIONAL

        After having come out as the most powerful candidate for governing Turkey, the Social Democratic Populist Party (SHP) has extended its foreign relations in a view to obtain international support.
        Following this opening, the Socialist International, at the 18th general assembly held on June 21, 1989 in Stockholm, elected the SHP a full member of the organization.
        Ever since the military coup in 1980 disbanded the Republican People's Party (CHP) of former prime minister Bulent Ecevit, Turkey has not been represented at the Socialist International.
        Ecevit, although banned from holding any political office, enjoyed recognition as Turkey's social democratic leader at the Socialist International and was accepted as an observer between 1980 and 1987. Since 1987, when Ecevit became the leader of the Democratic Left Party (DSP), he has been vying with SHP for full membership in the Socialist International.
        SHP leader Erdal Inonu met during his four-day stay in the Swedish capital with Willy Brandt and other social democrat leaders.

LEFT WING'S RISE IN THE SHP

        Though considered the most powerful party in Turkey, the SHP seriously suffers from the internal quarrel between the party leadership and its left-wing opponents. (See: Info-Türk, December 1988).
        August 22, Istanbul's social democrats defied party leadership for the third time and elected a left-wing candidate, Ercan Karakas,  to head the local party administration.
        While Karakas was elected by polling 201 votes, Mustafa Ozyurek, the candidate supported by Deniz Baykal, SHP General Secretary, obtained 183 votes.
        Karakas was first elected to head SHP's Istanbul branch on June 5, 1988. But the results of the congress were declared void after Baykal's objection.
        However, the delegates reelected Karakas to the same post on July 10, 1988, but his administration was dismissed in November last year, and Ozyurek was given the job of running the Istanbul branch.
        During the recent congress, when Baykal arrived at the theater accompanied by two Istanbul deputies, many delegates booed and catcalling him.
        SHP's left wing lauded Karakas' victory as an important step toward establishing democratic rule in the party.

EXTRA-PARLIAMENTARY LEFT'S PERSPECTIVES

        Since the military coup of September 1980, an important part of the Left has been outlawed and many left-wing organizations are carrying out their action semi-clandestinely despite the government's claim that Turkey enjoys a pluralist democracy.
        The daily Milliyet of September 12, 1989 reports that 120 outlawed organizations are currently active in the country. According to the data provided by the General Directory of Security, out of these organizations 74 are labelled "extreme-left or separatist", 38 "fundamentalist", 6 "extreme-right or racist", 1 "Armenian extremist" (Asala), 1 "Christian extremist" (Witnesses of Jehovah).
        Of course, many fictive "organizations" have been included in this list with a view to convincing the public opinion that law and order are still being threatened by a great number of "clandestine organizations."   
        In fact, the outlawed left in Turkey is currently divided into several currents. 
        Pro-Soviet current:
        The main representative of this movement is the Communist Party of Turkey (TKP), founded in 1921 and banned since then. After the military coup of 1980, this party was joined by the Workers' Party of Turkey (TIP), one of the legal socialist parties of the pre-coup period, and changed its name into the United Communist Party of Turkey (TBKP).
        However, a fraction of the TKP led by a group in England, refusing this merger as an attempt of liquidating the party, continues to name itself the Communist Party of Turkey.
        Another branch of this current, the Socialist Workers' Party of Turkey (TSIP), which was equally legal prior to the coup, has been carrying out talks with the TBKP leadership in a view to unite all Pro-Soviet currents within a single organization.
        In the same category are also active the Communist Party of Turkey/Union (TKP/B) and the Communist Labour Party of Turkey (TKEP).
        Pro-Chinese current:
        Represented by the Workers-Peasants Party of Turkey (TIKP) prior to the coup, has recently been organized within a new legal party, the Socialist Party (SP). Since a legal procedure against this party was turned down by the Constitutional Court, the SP is for the time-being the only legal political party in the Turkish left.
        However a group of intellectual has, contesting the party leadership, recently left this new party. Publishing the monthly Sosyalist Birlik, they advocate the unification of different Marxist movements in a new political party
        Another faction of this current, loyal to the thoughts of Mao Tse-tung and against the present line of the Chinese leadership, is the Communist Party of Turkey/Marxist-Leninist (TKP-ML). Advocating armed struggle, they carry out guerilla warfare especially in the Turkish Kurdistan.
        Pro-Albanian current:
        Represented by the Revolutionary Communist Party of Turkey (TDKP) .    
        Independent revolutionary currents:
        Beside the above-mentioned four currents near to different ideological centers of the communist world, a high number of extra-parliamentary left groups claim themselves independent of foreign influence and strive for developing a socialist struggle conforming to the realities of the country.
        By the origin, many of them are the emanation of the legendary guerilla organizations of the years 70s: the Popular Liberation Party/Front of Turkey (THKP/C) and the Popular Liberation Army of Turkey (THKO).
        The most representative ones of these organizations are the Revolutionary Way (DEV-YOL), the Revolutionary Left (DEV-SOL) and the Liberation (KURTULUS). Since these three organizations were the most influential and combative in the popular areas before the military coup, the State terrorism has taken them as the principal target.
        In this category take place also some other little groups which are inspired by the militancy of the THKP/C and the THKO.
        Reflection groups
        In addition to the existing political parties and groups,  many left-wing reflection groups, for a few years, have been developing projects to unite all socialists within a unique political party. These groups are composed of some former party leaders or socialist intellectuals. They voice their proposals by the means of periodical publications or books.
        The most spoken ones of these groups are those which have been set up around  former TIP leader Mehmet Ali Aybar, Professor Sadun Aren, Professor Yalcin Kucuk, Trade Unionist Sirri Ozturk, Editor-Writer Murat Belge, Editor-Writer Metin Culhaoglu, Editor-Writer Ragip Zarakolu, former youth leader Ertugrul Kurkcu, etc. and voice their views by the means of periodical reviews or books.
        A few Trotskyist groups too take part in this reflection.
        Kurdish organizations
        In addition to this left-wing organizations, a number of Kurdish political parties have been striving for the recognition of national rights of the Kurdish people.
        The most powerful of these Kurdish organizations inspired by Marxist views is the Workers' Party of Kurdistan (PKK) which is currently carrying out a guerilla warfare in the Turkish Kurdistan.
        The other Kurdish organizations such as the Socialist Party of Turkish Kurdistan (TSKP), Ala Rizgari, Rizgari, the Vanguard Workers Party of Kurdistan (KOIP), the National Liberation of Kurdistan (KUK), Kawa,  and the Democratic Party of Turkish Kurdistan (TKDP).
        Legality: At what price?
        For about two years, the pro-Soviet TBKP has been carrying on a campaign with a view to obtaining a legal status in Turkey.
        Inspired by the Perestroïka and Glasnost actions in the Soviet Union, the TBKP has renounced its former ideological and political positions and claimed to be a "national party". Declaring that it is no more against Turkey's presence in NATO and is favorable to Turkish adhesion to the European Communities, the TBKP seeks a dialogue with other political forces of the country, even with the ANAP, for amending the 1982 Constitution.
         To this end, two top officials of the party, Nabi Yagci and Nihat Sargin returned to Turkey in 1987, but they were arrested at their arrival. Their trial at the State Security Court of Ankara is still going on.
        Recently, on September 21, 1989, another group of TBKP leaders too returned to Turkey and were immediately arrested at the airport. Mehmet Bozisik, 88, Ahmet Kardam and Seref Yildiz are expected to be included to the Yagci-Sargin trial.
        In another move to convince Turkish authorities of the "sincerity" of its claim to turn into a "national party", the TBKP has recently shut down its two clandestine radio stations, "Voice of the TKP" and "Our Radio", broadcasting from the DGR.   
        On the other hand, the leaders of the TSIP in exile too have decided to return to Turkey. The first returnee of TSIP, writer Tektas Agaoglu, was arrested at his arrival on September 19, 1989.
        As for the other left-wing groups, they contest the TBKP's way of seeking "legality" and reproached the pro-Soviet leaders to give concessions to Turkish authorities in ideological and political plans. They refuse a "legality" at whatever price.
        Instead, they give the priority to the reunification of all socialist forces, including the TBKP, on the basis of a more radical programme compatible with the realities of the country. It is only after the realization of such a unity that, they claim, the socialist movement of Turkey can obtain its legality without giving any concession to the rulers of the present regime.

HUNGER-STRIKE ENDED, UNREST CONTINUES

        Although the country-wide hunger-strikes of political prisoners ended on August 19, 1989 as a result of some concessions given by the penitentiary authorities, the unrest in prisoners has not yet disappeared.
        Faced with increasing protests by inmates, inmates' families and human rights groups, the Ministry of Justice decreed an amendment to prison regulations, especially those describing reasons for taking disciplinary action.
        The new text had been called nothing more than a "polished version of what already existed." It does not involve major changes to regulations and, therefore, does not contribute to raising Turkish prison standards to the level prescribed by the United Nations.
        "All this is deception and fraud," steamed Emil Galip Sandalci, chairman of the Istanbul Human Rights Association. "The government is putting up a show to fool Europe."
        The present prison code dates back to 1967. It was amended last year by a circular letter dated August 1. It not only tightened control over inmates but, as various groups put it, "aimed to break down prisoners' personalities."
        According to the new text, offenses such as going out into the courtyard without permission, writing on walls, speaking loudly at night, failing to respect prison personnel, eating in wards when a canteen exists, going on a hunger strike for not more than 48 hours are still to be punished.
        Inmates who participate in food boycotts, silent boycotts or open-air recess boycotts and those who form groups, sign petitions, use secret codes for ideological purposes or attempt to commit suicide or otherwise willfully hurt themselves or others will not be allowed to receive visitors for up to three months.
        United Nations standards dictate that a prisoner is free to contact a representative of his own religion or to refuse to contact such a person. The new text stipulates that if a prisoner refuses to attend the required religious courses, he is punished. If a prisoner does not sing the Turkish national anthem, or he wants to sing a song representing his own ideas, he is punished as well.
        One of the most contested rules of the August 1 Circular Letter was the obligation to wear prison uniform. According to the new draft, those who refuse to wear the uniform will be subject to solitary confinement for up to 15 days.

EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT ON TURKISH PRISONS

        The new elected European Parliament, on September 14, 1989, adopted by 63 votes against 32 and 94 abstentions a resolution, condemning the inhuman treatment of political prisoners in Turkey. The resolution proposed by the Greens Group reads:
        "The European Parliament,
        "A. deeply upset at the death of the two political prisoners, Mehmet Yalçinkaya and Hüsnü Eroglu,
        "B. indignant at the transfer of the two prisoners on hunger strike, which led to their dying of thirst,
        "C. whereas Turkey is applying for membership of the European Community,
        "D. distressed at the lack of determination on the part of the Turkish Government to implement the standards of the European Convention on Human Rights and the 1966 UN Human Rights Conventions,
        "E. shocked that Turkey, which has acceded to the anti-torture convention, nevertheless uses torture to break the will of political prisoners and force them to reveal information,
        "F. whereas the Member States of the Community, have abolished relationships with Turkey in a wide variety of fields,
        "1. Condemns emphatically the inhumane treatment of political prisoners and the attitude of the Turkish Government towards prisoners on hunger strike;
        "2. Notes that mouldy food, totally inadequate sanitary facilities, obstacles to family contacts and contacts with lawyers and the use of State hit squads to intimidate prisoners constitute a massive violation of human rights; 
        "3. Calls on the Turkish Government to honour the undertaking it gave to the political prisoners, which led to the calling off of the hunger strike, and, independently thereof, to ensure humane conditions in prison;
        "4. Calls on the Turkish Government to cease torturing and mistreating political prisoners forthwith and to call those responsible to account, to bring them before the courts and to punish therm;
        "5. Calls on the EEC-Turkey, Joint Parliamentary Committee to evaluate the various forms of aid currently being given by the Community and by the Member States to Turkey;
        "6. Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Commission, the Council, the governments of the Member States, the Turkish Government and to the UN."

HELSINKI WATCH'S REPORT ON TURKISH PRISONS

        Helsinki Watch, in its last report on "Prison Conditions in Turkey" released in August 1989, accuses the Turkish Government of not having upgraded Turkish prisons to be parallel with European prisons.
        "Regardless of the quality of European prisons, Turkish prisons still fall far below the minimal standards of decency described in United Nations and European instruments signed by Turkey," the report states.
        The most troubling aspects of the Turkish prison system, according to the report, are the deliberate abuses of prison inmates.
        "Systematic, brutal beatings, excessively harsh punishments involving basic necessities like food, medical care and intolerable punishment cells, discrimination against political prisoners and Kurdish nationalists, unnecessarily onerous rules," the report continued.
        According to Helsinki Watch, "In December 1988, it was reported that there were 51,897 prisoners and detainees in 644 prisons and jails in a population of some 55 million, or a ratio of approximately 99 prisoners per 100,000. This is the highest ratio among Western European countries. Many of the prisons are new, and some 64 more are being built. According to one observer, prison construction is one of Turkey's growth industries."
        The report also talks about police station lockups: "Detainees may be held incommunicado for up to two weeks or even longer under certain circumstances, before being charged. The worst aspect of the Turkish police lockups is the brutal torture that take place there."

TRAGIC DEATH OF A FORMER POLITICAL PRISONER

        Inkilap Dal, a former political prisoner suffering from leukemia, died in Paris on August 23.
        He was arrested after the military coup of 1980 for his opinions and spent his five years in different prisons.
        His health deteriorated when he was in the Aydin Prison and doctors diagnosed that he was suffering from leukemia. Although he was released last year, police authorities refused him a passport for a treatment abroad.
        Finally, on August 11, he got his passport thanks to a solidarity campaign and immediately went to Paris for treatment. But it was too late.
        After this tragic death, his body was delivered to Turkey and burnt in Akhisar.

REHABILITATION CENTERS FOR TORTURE VICTIMS

        The Human Rights Association of Turkey (IHD) has set up a foundation to help remove the physical and mental damage caused by torture.
        This foundation will open rehabilitation centers for all those who have been tortured and been suffering from health problems. It will also conduct research on human rights.

PEOPLE REVOLT AGAINST REPRESSION IN KURDISTAN

        As the raking operation by the Army against Kurdish guerillas in the East, arbitrary repressive practices against the people has given rise to popular revolt.
        Five hundred inhabitants from Derebasi village in the Silopi district of Mardin staged demonstrations in Silopi on September 19.
        They claimed that six of the nine people killed by security forces on September 17 were their relations who had nothing to do with the Workers' Party of Kurdistan (PKK).
        The crowd of men and women threw stones at the office of the district governor, shouting "Damn the Turkish State."
        A 15-year old boy was wounded in the hand and some journalists were beaten up during the demonstration, which was topped by a special security team.
        Forty people, eight of them said to be instigators, were detained by security forces in the incident, while residents closed their shops and stayed in their houses.
        Following an operation orchestrated by the security forces in Silopi around 2 a.m. on September 17, the regional governor's office made an announcement that nine PKK members who were carrying weapons had been killed.
        In fact, during another incident on the same day, three PKK members had been killed by the security forces. After this incident, some peasants going to Silopi from their village were stopped by the security forces.
        A peasant named Cemalettin Beyan said: "A first lieutenant told us that he did not know the area well and asked if four of us could go with him to show where the incident took place. This lieutenant took four people including my son Sadun. Approximately 30 meters away from us were shepherds Fevzi Beyan and Abbas Cigdem. The soldiers took them as well. After they left, we heard gunshots. The first lieutenant came back and said 'We made it up to nine.'"
        Earlier, the regional super-governor Hayri Kozakcioglu, in charge of security in 11 southeastern provinces, had alleged that the PKK gets support from the local population.
        "The terrorists do not wear uniforms. Furthermore, the local people have the age-old tradition of protecting armed man. They have not relinquished it," he said.
        Another new repressive practices of the Government has been the forced deportation of "suspects."
        At the beginning of September, nine people considered "undesirable elements" were given 48 hours to leave their homes. All of them were former local officials of the main opposition SHP.
        Following strong reaction to the measure by local people and the opposition, the Interior Ministry asked the governors to stop deporting people.
        A mission of three deputies from the main opposition SHP, having conducted inspections in the area, announced that the local citizens were being pushed toward the PKK by State pressure, and there was an atmosphere in the region of military occupation.

ARMY TO CLIMB STATE TERRORISM

        However, the Turkish Army, taking no heed of warnings, is carrying on its raking operations in Kurdistan. On August 23, Chief of General Staff, General Necip Torumtay, issuing a written statement, said "those who rise up in arms against the State and those who support them should be considered enemies. Turkey has to use primarily military means to fight such separatism."
        On the other hand, Prime Minister Ozal, on August 28, threatened to attack separatist bases in neighbour countries providing support for the PKK.
        "I wish our friends and enemies to understand one thing clearly. Turkey is a peace-loving country. We want to live in peace and friendship with the nations around us. But if while we try to establish good relations with our neighbors some of them continue to provide support to certain movements in Turkey, it should not be forgotten that there is a limit to our patience. It is within our power to destroy the bases (out of which the separatists operate) where they are located."
        Recently, an unofficial summit meeting took place at the Land Forces Headquarters in Ankara on September 20 to study the Silopi incidents in detail.
        Chaired by the "President of the Republic" General Kenan Evren, this extraordinary summit behind closed doors, arriving to the conclusion that "incidents in the Southeast are gradually building to a civil war," decided to extend repressive measures and operations.

PROPOSAL TO SET UP A KURDOLOGY INSTITUTE

        The weekly 2000e Dogru, in its issue of August 20, 1989, launched the idea of establishing a department for the study of Kurds (Kurdology) in the universities of Turkey.
        "Xenophon, who lived in 400 B.C., was the first person to mention the Kurds. The 'father of Kurdology' is the Italian Maurizi Garzoni, who published a Kurdish dictionary, the first thorough research on the Kurds, in 1787. There are Kurdology departments in many universities and academic establishments throughout the world, among them the Paris Kurdish Institute and Kurdish Academies in West Germany and Holland. So why shouldn't there be a department of Kurdish studies in Turkish universities?" said the article.
        This question was posed by the magazine to various businessmen, politicians and entertainment figures.
        Turkey's two leading opposition party chairmen, Inonu and Demirel, did not oppose the idea. SHP leader Inonu said that an Institute of Kurdish studies should be established and that he would fully support such a move. DYP leader Demirel stated that he saw absolutely no harm in it as long as such institutions weren't used for ideological purposes.

ARRESTS AND TRIALS IN AUGUST

        3.8., 14 people were indicted by the State Security Court of Ankara on grounds that they militated in favour of DEV-YOL. The defendants face a total of 331-year imprisonment. Same day in Istanbul, four alleged members of DEV-SOL were brought before the State Security Court No.1 of Istanbul.
        5.8, Two young women, Nadide Aslan and Havva Suicmez, were indicted in Istanbul for militating underground political organizations.
        7.8, Secretary General of the Socialist Party (SP), Yalcin Buyukdagli, and 40 other party officials were arrested while they were going to a local party meeting in Ankara. Police detained also two journalists covering the incident: Guner Tokgoz from the weekly 2000e Dogru and Celal Fatin Dagistanli from the ANKA press agency.
        16.8, police announced the arrest of 9 alleged members of DEV-YOL in Adana.
        20.8, fourteen alleged members of DEV-SOL were arrested in Istanbul.
        26.8, the trial of an alleged member of DEV-SOL, Erol Yalcin, began at the State Security Court No.2 of Istanbul. He faces a prison term of up to 60 years.

PRESSURE ON THE MASS MEDIA

        1.8, the members of the musical group Baran were arrested in Istanbul for having protested the arrest of another musical group, Yorum. (See: Info-Turk, July-August 1989).
        2.8, a bookseller, Mehmet Orhan, was arrested in Tunceli for selling some postcards worded with Nazim Hikmet's poems.
        3.8, a concert by the musical group Yeni Yorum in Istanbul was banned by the Governor. This group had been set up after the arrest of the Group Yorum.
        10.8, the State Security Court of Istanbul indicted Sirri Ozturk, editor of Sorun Publishing House, and Prof. Tahsin Yilmaz for the translation and publication of a book entitled "Lenin and Education."
        14.8, police arrested Prof. Yalcin Kucuk, chief editor of monthly Toplumsal Kurtulus, and Ekber Kaypakkaya, editor of Yeni Demokrasi, for some articles on hunger-strikes in prisons.
        15.8, Two more journalists from the monthly Toplumsal Kurtulus, Ahmet Ak and Aydin Isik, were arrested for the articles on hunger-strikes in prisons.
        16.8, the weekly Adimlar announced that 13 people had been under arrest for a week for having visited the magazine's editorial office.
        16.8, Two journalists from the monthly Gorus, Cagatay Anadol and Erdal Sahin, were indicted by the State Security Court  No.2 of Istanbul for having published some articles on Kurdish question. They face a prison term of up to 15 years each.
        16.8, two journalists from the daily Cumhuriyet, Halil Nebiler and Okay Gonensin, were condemned each to one-month imprisonment for having unveiled the forensic pathologist's report on Melih Calaylioglu, a 15-year old high school student arrested for communist propaganda. Their prison terms were later commuted to a fine of 140,666 TL.
        18.8, the August issue of the monthly Yeni Oncu was confiscated.
        21.8, the monthly Yeni Cozum announced that its two correspondents, Alpaslan Dibek and Bekir Atli had been arrested in Samsun and subjected to torture.
        23.8, public prosecutor of Istanbul opened a legal proceeding against famous folk singer Rahmi Saltuk for having produced a musi-cassette including two Kurdish songs. Besides, he was interrogated by the prosecutor of  the State Security Court of Istanbul for some incidents during a concert he gave in Istanbul.
        23.8, three journalists from the weekly 2000'e Dogru, Dogu Perincek, Faik Bulut and Tunca Arslan were tried by the State Security Court No.2 of Istanbul for some articles on the Kurdish question. They face prison terms of up to 15 years each.
        25.8, the responsible editor of the weekly 2000e Dogru, Tunca Arslan, was tried by the State Security Court No.1 of Istanbul for another article on Kurdish question. He faces a prison term of up to 15 years.
        26.8, the Human Rights Association of Turkey (IHD) announced that all journalists from socialist reviews were subjected to torture by giving electroshock and squeezing his genital organs when they were detained. As example, he gave the names of Ahmet Ak and Aydin Isik from Toplumsal Kurtulus and Haydar Soylemez from Yeni Demokrasi. "Due to police terror in Ankara, many socialist reviews had to transfer their editorial offices to Istanbul," he added.
        26.8, the number 10 of the monthly Ozgurluk Dunyasi was confiscated by the State Security Court of Istanbul.
        27.8, a book exhibition organized by the Book Club of the daily Cumhuriyet in Istanbul was set on fire by two extreme-right activists.
        27.8, a concert entitled "Now, not tomorrow for human rights" organized by the Human Rights' Association in Istanbul was banned by the Governor.
        29.8, Tunca Arslan from 2000'e Dogru was again indicted by the State Security Court No.2 of Istanbul for an announcement concerning human rights. He faces a 15-year prison term.
        29.8, two journalists from the monthly Dunya Solu, Ahmet Zengin and Sevki Omeroglu were kept in detention for 14 hours.
        30.8, the editorial board of the monthly Yeni Demokrasi announced that 20 out of 24 numbers of the review published until that date had been confiscated by police. It also accused police of torturing their arrested members.
        31.8, the last issues of four magazines, 2000e Dogru, Cagdas Yol, Adimlar and Emek, were confiscated by the State Security Court.

HEAVY FINES TO TURKISH PRESS

        Prime Minister Ozal is demanding a total of 370 million TL ($166,000) in damages from various publications and newspapers in libel suits, announced his lawyer, on September 6, 1989.
        There are five libel cases opened by Ozal against newspapers Hurriyet, Gazete, Sabah, Bugun in Istanbul, and Yeni Asir in Izmir.
        On the other hand, the Turkish edition of the magazine Playboy announced on August 18, 1989 that, by virtue of the Law on publications harmful to minors, it had been sentenced in seven different trials for "obscenity" to a total of 263,768,696 TL ($130,000).

ANKARA'S BLOW TO THE  BULGARIAN TURKS

        As the number of the Bulgarian Turks entering Turkey was soaring to 310,000, the Turkish Government closed its borders to the immigrants at 2 a.m. on August 22, 1989.
        Turkish security officials set up a buffer zone on the Turkish side of the border and evacuated all vehicles and people from the area. At that moment there were about 5,000 ethnic Turks waiting on the Bulgarian side of the border.
        When the 3.25 a.m. Frankfurt train pulled into the Kapikule station, it was carrying 522 ethnic Turks from Bulgaria. They were immediately transferred to another train in the station and at 6.10 a.m. the train moved in the direction of Bulgaria. Then immigrants leaped out of doors and windows and refused to go back to Bulgaria. Some threw themselves on the rails in front of the train and said they would kill themselves if they were forced to return to Bulgaria. Three hours later Turkish border authorities obtained permission from Ankara for the immigrants to stay in Turkey.
        The Foreign Ministry later announced that the decision does not mean that Turkey has closed its borders to all ethnic Bulgarian Turks. "Turkey has simply reintroduced the visa requirement for Bulgarian nationals coming to Turkey. From now on, Turkish consulates in Bulgaria will give priority to members of divided families," said the Ministry spokesman.
        The decision has led to a series of attacks on the government by both the opposition and the press.
        SHP leader Erdal Inonu declared the government's Bulgarian policy bankrupt. "In June we declared we were ready to accept everyone willing to come. Now we are suddenly rending this policy and imposing restrictions. This is a turnabout which causes concern. The decision is now leading to further tragedies. " he said.
        In response, Premier Ozal justified his decision in the following terms: "If we had kept our borders open, 1.5 million people would have arrived in Turkey within four months. Even the most powerful countries could not afford to accommodate so many."
        According to the Turkish Dateline of September 9, 1989, ethnic Turks immigrating from Bulgaria have so far cost Turkey 47 billion TL ($21 million).
        The Turkish press reports that many of the immigrants have been disappointed in Turkey. They have faced the difficulties of finding a house and a job. Their modest savings have already run out and they find themselves in an absolute misery. Besides, their children face now the problem of education. For this reason, already more than 20,000 immigrants returned to Bulgaria.
           
EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT WARNS BULGARIA

        The European Parliament, at its session of September 14, 1989, adopted the following resolution on the situation of the Turkish community in Bulgaria:
        "The European Parliament,
        "A. deeply disturbed at the reports concerning the treatment in Bulgaria of ethnic Turks who have Bulgarian nationality; the Bulgarian authorities having shown their intention, among other things, to deprive the Turks of the symbols of their ethnic origins, for example the right to speak Turkish, to have a Turkish name, to go to a Turkish school and to practise their religion,
        "B. whereas the infringement of basic human rights has led to violent disturbances and demonstrations in which human lives have been lost and which have caused well over 300 000 refugees to cross the border to Turkey,
        "C. noting with indignation the flagrant violation of the fundamental principles of human rights on the part of the Bulgarian authorities, in total disregard for the closing document of Vienna and the document on cooperation in the humanitarian and other fields,
        "D. noting that the Turkish authorities have felt obliged to reimpose from 22 August 1989 the visa requirement for Bulgarian citizens which had been waived since 30 May,
        "1. Reminds the Bulgarian authorities of the obligations deriving from current international treaties and agreements and those laid down under the CSCE process in relation to protection of human rights and the treatment of minorities;
        "2. Points to the duty to observe human rights and fundamental freedoms, this being enshrined in the United Nations Charter;
        "3. Reaffirms its wish that all minority groups in countries be entitled to speak their language, practise their religion and enjoy basic cultural rights;
        "4. Calls for the unsatisfactory treatment of the Turkish minority in Bulgaria to be halted;
        "5. Points out to the Commission that the present situation in Bulgaria regarding the fundamental rights of the ethnic Turkish minority makes it more difficult to continue negotiations with a view to concluding a trade and economic cooperation agreement with Bulgaria;
        "6. Calls on the Bulgarian Government to seek satisfactory solutions to this problem as a matter of urgency, showing a constructive spirit and a willingness to open a dialogue with Turkey, and, proceeding on that basis, to give consideration to the Turkish Government's call for negotiations to he opened with a view to the earliest possible conclusion of an immigration agreement encompassing the problem in all its aspects;
        "7. Recalling the initiative of the French Presidency on 24 August 1989 concerning the settlement of the Turkish refugees;
        "8. Instructs its President to forward this motion for a resolution to the Commission, the Council of Ministers, the Foreign Ministers meeting in European Political Cooperation and the Governments of Bulgaria and Turkey."
        The main opposition SHP's efforts have been the major factor in the adoption of this resolution.
        Few months ago, on June 21, 1989, during the Socialist International meeting in Stockholm, SHP Chairman Erdal Inonu had asked for the support of members of the Socialist International for the cause of the ethnic Turks in Bulgaria. Meantime, he distributed two pamphlets prepared by SHP on the issue of the Bulgarian Turks.
        In the final communique of the Socialist International, reference was made to the deportation of ethnic Turks from Bulgaria.
        "Despite the positive economic developments in Bulgaria the treatment of the ethnic Turkish minority in that country should be deplored," said the communique.
        Nevertheless, a report to the Council of Europe on September 26, 1989, holds Turkey equally responsible for the migration of over 300,000 ethnic Turks from Bulgaria.    
        Deploring the Bulgarian Government's policy to assimilate Turks and to force them to change their names into Bulgarian ones, the report drawn up by Friedrich Erich Probst criticizes also the Turkish Government to carry out provocative propaganda within the Turkish Community in Bulgaria.
        The resolution based on this report and adopted by the Parliamentary Assembly reproached both governments in the following termes:
        "The Assembly,
        "Urges the Bulgarian Government:
        "i. to end immediately its policy of assimilation, with a view to allowing its ethnic and Moslem minority to resume the practical use of their original names if that is their wish, together with the unrestricted use of the Turkish language and of Moslem religious practices;
        "ii. to grant its ethnic and Moslem minority the rights of a minority in the spirit of the Concluding Document adopted by the Vienna CSCE Review Meeting in January 1989;
        "Also urges the Turkish authorities:
        "i. as a gesture of good will, to avoid any propaganda element in its information services to the ethnic and Moslem minority in Bulgaria;
        "ii. to take the necessary steps to enable separated families to reunite in accordance with their wishes;
        "Asks the member states of the Council of Europe to promote the opening of negotiations between Bulgaria and Turkey with a view to easing the tension between the two countries, which could have dangerous political and economic consequences for the whole of the continent."