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

181

16th Year - N°181
 November 1991
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
 


DYP-SHP Coalition In Power; The Promisor Government
won vote of confidence: 280 for, 164 against

WILL THEY KEEP THEIR PROMISES?


    Last day of November 1991, Turkey actually entered in the era of coalitions when the Parliament gave an overwhelming vote of confidence to the Correct Way Party (DYP)-Social Democrat Populist Party (SHP) Coalition Government headed by Süleyman Demirel. Out of 450 deputies 444 participated in the voting and 280 voted in favour and 164 against the new government.
    The deputies of the DYP and SHP as well as 15 deputies of the extreme-right alliance voted for the government. The Motherland Party (ANAP), defeated in general elections on October 20 after eight years in power, voted against the government. So did the Moslem fundamentalist Welfare Party (RP) and Ecevit's Democratic Left Party (DSP).
    The programme of the new government which was drawn up following a lengthy bargaining between the two principal parties of the Right and the Left and presented to the Parliament on November 25, is based on two pillars: democratization of the State on the one hand, and on the other, the establishment of economic, social and political stability.
    Presenting th programme, Prime Minister Demirel said: "Turkey is in need of a modern, democratic, participatory, fully democratic constitution which considers supremacy of law as its fundamental principle. Such a Constitution should fully conform with the ideals and principles of the Paris Charter, and provide human rights and freedoms and trade union rights as much as they exist in advanced countries. This constitution should be established through national reconciliation and consensus. In short, Turkey is in need of a constitution that will conform with the needs of a civilian society."
    Before agreeing on the government programme, the two partners of the coalition had signed on November 15 a joint declaration unveiling a package of wide ranging democratization reforms in Turkey.
    It is only after the adoption of these promises relating to democratization that the two parties set up the new coalition government on November 20. In the new Turkish Government, 20 out of 32 ministries went to the DYP and 12 to the SHP.
    The main social-democrat party of Turkey, SHP, got the ministries of foreign affairs, labour and social security, culture, public works, industry and trade and toruism, as well as four state ministries dealing with urbanization, maritime, women, family and children and human rights. SHP leader Erdal Inönü is Deputy Prime Minister. The scientific, nuclear, productivity institutions were attached to Inönü's office.
    Although the new government's programme has generally been applauded by the majority of Turkish newspapers as a "revolutionary step", the opposition parties as well as many deputies of the SHP have expressed their dissatisfaction.
    At the SHP Parliamentary Group meeting, Ankara Deputy Mümtaz Soysal said that the economic chapter of the program was prepared in line with DYP's views. He also said that the SHP's views in connection with the democratization issue were not clear. Istanbul Deputy Algan Hacaloglu said the projects regarding planning, taxation and state economic enterprises did not conform with SHP's program.
    Diyarbakir Deputy Sedat Yurttas, one of the HEP origin deputies said that the Kurdish issue was not covered clearly in the government.
    During the parliamentary debate on November 28, the main opposition Motherland Party (ANAP) and the opposition Welfare Party (RP) joined forces in branding the program a "hastily prepared, self-contradictory" document that lacked reason and logic.
    Below, we are giving the highlights of the new government's programme:
 
    Target of the Coalition Government

    • According to a United Nations scale, Turkey has fallen to 66th place in human rights and democracy. In addition, among the 24 Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) countries, Turkey is the most expensive and the poorest, with the highest rate of unemployment, the lowest rate of iron-steel consumption, the lowest electricity consumption, and lowest vehicle per person and telephone per person ratio.
    • Although the rate of increase of the population was 2.5 percent in 1991, the growth rate was only 2.2 percent. Living in Turkey has become 70 times more expensive over the past 10 years. The country has one of the worst distributions of wealth, it is one of the countries with the highest debt and a country half of whose population lacks social security.
    • Annual inflation has been around 70 percent, domestic debts have reached TL 80 trillion and foreign debt and total foreign currency obligations of the country are exceeding 50 billion dollars
    • Investments and industrialization has almost stopped, the number of unemployed has increased, the cost of living has soared, and 40 of the provinces of the country are suffering from emigration. Claims of corruption have also reached unprecedented levels. 
    • The target of the two political parties forming the coalition government is to solve the major problems of the country; establish economic, social and political stability; find remedies to the cost of living burden on Turkish citizens; establish social balances that will enable the nation to look into the future with confidence; to take all measures required to achieve social justice; to integrate Turkey with the modern world; and thus establish a Turkey of goodwill, peace, prosperity, and security.

    Promises as regards human rights

    • A free, participatory regime democratic in all fields is the fundamental way of living for the Turkish nation on which no compromise can be made. The fundamental principle of "sovereignty rests solely with the Turkish nation" will be the guiding principle for everything in Turkey.
    • Turkey is a unitary state with its territory and nation. The indivisibility of the unitary state cannot be an issue of discussion. The government is determined to defend and protect the national and territorial indivisible unity of the country under any conditions.
    • The government is determined to achieve legal reform in the country. This reform will include all laws, including the Constitution. All law and constitutional articles that contradict the norms of universal democracy will be amended.
    • The "remnants of the September 12 [1980 coup] laws" will be urgently eradicated and a fully democratic atmosphere will be created.
    • The law on political parties will be amended through a consensus among the political parties in Parliament.
    • A new elections law that will allow the better representation of the nation in Parliament will be legislated.
    • Provisional Article 15 of the 1982 Constitution that prohibits legal proceedings against the National Security Council [the military junta] and the executives of that period is in contravention of norms of objective and universal law. Therefore, the government will try to obtain the required majority in Parliament to lift that article.
    • The application of "decrees having power of law" has been inappropriately used in the country over the past decade. Any decree which was not legislated by the Parliament within 90 days will be automatically declared null and void.
    • Secularism, the principles of Atatürk and the freedoms of conscience, thought and expression are the fundamentals of the society and shall not be restricted.
    • A new press law providing the press with freedom and liberty in line with requirements of the time will be prepared. Freedom to obtain news and the right of the people to have access to correct news will be safeguarded. An objective slate radio and television will be provided but the state monopoly over radio and TV broadcasting will be lifted. 
    • Torture is a crime to humanity. It's government's fundamental duty to prevent torture.
    • Necessary legal arrangements will be made for defendants to have their lawyers present during interrogation.
    • A legal state in which human rights and fundamental liberties are enjoyed throughout the country will be established in Turkey.
    • It is very natural that there are differences of culture, thought, conscience, language and ethnic origin among the citizens of the country. That is also true for other countries as well. Such diversity is not weakness for a unitary state.
    • Excluding those established in international accords, no Turkish citizen is minority. Everyone in Turkey is equal and a first class citizen. Research, protection and development by everyone of his language, culture, history, folklore and religious beliefs are within fundamental human rights and liberties. These rights will be protected with laws. But, the official language, flag, symbols, boundaries and the sovereignty rights of the Republic of Turkey are excluded from any kind of discussion.
    • Terrorism will definitely be prevented. Security and peace of the society will be attained. It will be the foremost duty of the state to stop political murders and to capture criminals.
    • The government is determined to stop the terrorism which has reached unprecedented dimensions in Southeastern Anatolia. For that reason, an anti-terror drive will be started within the rules of democracy; the application of emergency law and regional governorship will be reconsidered; village guards will be reevaluated; unity in command, decision and application will be achieved; the innocent local people will be treated kindly and the confidence of the people in the State will be reestablished. The terrorism in Southeastern Anatolia is an issue which should be handled urgently as an "above parties" issue. This problem will be solved within norms of a democratic legal state. 
    • The government will take steps to revitalize the National Intelligence Organization (MIT) of the country in line with contemporary needs.

    Promises in Economic Fields

    • In the economic agenda of the country, fighting soaring inflation is the foremost subject. Because it was not taken under control for many years, inflation has become a chronic illness soaring currently at around 70 percent and leaning toward three digit figures. The first task is to stop this tendency, reestablish economic balances, restructure the economy and to bring down inflation to reasonable levels. The key element of the anti-inflationist policies will be to bring Central Bank finances under control. The public debt requirement rate to Gross National Product will be taken down to around 4-5 per cent level within the next two years.
    • The second task is to reestablish the balances of the economy, and to achieve this, reducing the inflation rate is a must.
    • The budget deficit will be narrowed.
    • All funds (with some exceptions) will be taken under budget control and those funds not covered by the budget will be under the supervision of the Court of Accounts.
    • All fund accounts will be made transparent.
    • All state subsidies to agriculture and other sectors will be openly stated within the budget.
    • Through tax reform, state revenues will be increased. Adequate tax control mechanisms to decrease tax evasion will be applied. All exceptions and immunities from corporate tax will be modified and restructured. Corporate tax will be decreased, but dividends distributed will be charged income tax.
    • All measures will be taken to boost the stock market.
    • State Economic Enterprises will undergo a reform program. Privatisation will be applied. The reorganization of the SEEs will be done in the first half of 1992.
    • Real interest rates are high. Unless real interest rates are brought down to internationally accepted levels, SEEs and public reform cannot succeed.
    • Finance and banking sector reform will be undertaken.
    • Credit costs and funds transfer costs are much higher than international standards. They will be reduced. Real interest rates, at the initial stage, will be taken down to around 11 per cent, and fund transfer costs will be dropped to 8 percent.
    • Incentives will be provided for foreign capital investments.
    • Banks will be provided with incentives to apply new financial mechanisms.
    • Bank and insurance taxes will be reduced.
    • A national public works master plan will be prepared and all the infrastructure projects for the country will be completed.
    • Work for the establishment of coal- and water-powered generating plants will be speeded up.
    • Special emphasis will be placed on railways and the railway network will be elevated to Western standards.
    • The Ankara-Istanbul and Samsun-Iskenderun high-speed rail systems will be completed.
    • An airport will be built on the Asian side of Istanbul. The Sanliurfa Airport will be expanded and special emphasis will be laid upon building airports in Bursa, Edirne, Canakkale, Samsun, Mardin, Zonguldak, Nevsehir, Silifke, Alanya and Sinop.
    • Over the past 10 years, disparity between regions of the country has widened. To     • A new industrialization policy will not be confined only to production. It will include technological advancement, investments in goods with wider market appeal, competitiveness. Iabor relations, institutionalization and changes in the social sector.
    • Incentives for industrialization will be at European Community standards.
    • Foreign capital will be provided with clear, constructive and encouraging policies.
    • Anti-trust laws will be legislated.
    • There will be stability in government applications.
correct the development disparity between various regions of the country, the government will apply a "Regional Development Policy."
    • Among the less developed regions, the Southeastern Anatolian region is the least developed. Therefore, a special development plan will be devised for Southeastern Anatolia.
    • Besides the Southeastern Anatolia Project (GAP), the Grand Konya Agricultural Project and the Eastern Anatolia Development Project (DAP) will be put into effect.
    • A regional development plan will not be confined only to incentives provided to the private sector, but the public sector will make pioneering and entrepreneurial investments in the region. The unemployment problem will be solved with the help of "Special Employment Projects."
    • Authorities of local administrations, like provincial assemblies, will be increased. The government is determined to restructure the relationship between the central government and the local administrations.
    • For major metropolitan cities, like Istanbul, Ankara and Izmir and for settlements like Antalya and Bodrum where touristic activity is concentrated, special municipal projects will be put into effect.
    • A tourism master plan will be prepared. Efforts will be taken to prolong the tourism season all across the country.

    Promises in Social Fields

    • Turkey is obliged to establish a social state.
    • Labor laws will be made to conform with standards of the International Labor Organization (ILO).
    • All citizens will be provided with social security.
    • Male citizens will earn retirement rights after 20 years of work, women citizens will be able to retire after 25 years.
    • Disparity in the wages of pensioners will be eradicated.
    • Salaries of fixed income groups will be kept above the inflation rate.
    • The minimum wage will gradually be made exempt from tax.
    • Unemployment insurance will be created and will be applied in phases.
    • Measures will be taken to prevent exploitation of the free market economic model at the expense of consumers.
    • The necessary conditions will be created to provide a home for every family. For this purpose a mechanism to create cheap and long term.housing loans starting with those with no homes will be established.
    • Special measures will be taken to improve conditions at shanty towns surrounding the cities, thus a situation where healthy urbanization is being hampered will be eliminated.
    • Fighting corruption, favouritism and misuse of office will be the most important subjects the government will handle. For that reason, the public supervision system will be reevaluated.
    • Transparency, equality and openness will be the fundamentals of the government.
    • The government will speedily investigate all claims of irregularities and of corruption.
    • The state ministry charged with investigating cases of corruption and irregularities will function as a coordinating body. All probes will be carried out within the limitations of law and state personnel will not be subjected to unjust, unnecessary, and ill-intentioned accusations.

    Promises in Education and Culture

    • A contemporary secular, effective and widespread educational system will be put into effect.
    • Compulsory primary education will be eight years and free of charge.
    • Scientific and administrative autonomy will be reinstated at universities.
    • The Higher Education Council (YOK) system will be abolished and universities will be run by bodies elected from those educational establishments.
    • The differences of language, belief and ethnic origin within our national culture show the richness of our society. It is a prerequisite of democratic society that such differences be expressed freely within national integrity.
    • Freedom of conscience and religion is one of the natural inalienable rights of an individual. Measures will be taken to ensure that all kinds of repression on freedom of conscience will be eliminated and men of religion will be cleared of all political influences.
    • Citizens will not be subjected to unjust treatment at state offices. 

    Promises as regards foreign policy

    • Turkey will continue its peaceful approach by defending contemporary values in its foreign policy.
    • International relations should be conducted along the principle of mutual interests.
    • The government will not allow personal desires to dominate foreign policy at the cost of national interests.
     • Turkey attaches special importance to its relations with the European Community and moves aimed at the integration of Europe. The government is determined to strengthen historic, political, economic, moral and cultural joint values shared by the European Community and the Turkish people.
    • The government will strive to place Turkey in its rightful place in Europe at a time when the Community is making headway on political, economic and monetary unity.
    • Turkey attaches importance to revitalizing and expanding ties between Turkey and Britain, France and Germany.
    • Turkey attaches special importance to its friendship and alliance with the United States. Common values and ideals link the U.S. and Turkey. Turkey is determined to expand its relations with the U.S. within the guide-lines of these joint values and ideals.
    • Turkey attaches great value to its ties with the Soviet Union, ties which are friendly and based on mutual cooperation. Turkey hopes the on-going restructuring of the Soviet Union will be completed within democratic principles and peacefully. This will dominate Turkey's policies in expanding its ties with the republics. It will also dominate Turkish ties with the republics in the Caucuses with which Turks share a common language and culture.
    • Turkey is prepared to contribute to peace in the Middle East, supports the rights of the Palestinians, including their right to set up their own state; and for Israel, to live behind safe borders.
    • Turkey is prepared to contribute to the setting up of a mechanism of economic cooperation and security in the Middle East.
    • Turkey is prepared to expand its relations with Pakistan, Iran, and our traditional friends Saudi Arabia, Egypt and the Gulf countries.
    • We wish to elevate our relations with neighboring Greece to serve the long term interests of both countries. We believe that through constructive dialogue we can reach solutions acceptable to both sides. The continental shelf dispute and the illegal arming of the Aegean islands, as well as the violations of the Turkish minority of Western Thrace, are problems that need to be solved. Turkey is prepared to start and continue negotiations without any preconditions.
    • Turkey wishes the Cyprus problem to be solved without any further delay. It believes that this problem can be solved through a meaningful dialogue between the two peoples of the island who have equal say in the future of Cyprus. Turkey believes that a bi-zonal and bi-communal federation established on political equality will safeguard the security and well-being of the Turkish Cypriot people. Foreign pressures and expansion of the scope of the problem will not serve to speed up the solution on Cyprus.
    • No one should doubt that Turkey will play a serious and important economic and cultural role in the Middle East.
    • In tandem with the moral and factual sensitivity shown to Turkey's integrity by our southern neighbors, Turkey is prepared to promote ties of cooperation with them.
    • Turkey is situated in an area of instability right in the heart of the Balkans, the Caucuses and the Middle East. Thus, the government will make efforts to speed up the reorganization and the modernization of the Turkish Armed Forces.
    • An important pillar of Turkey's defense policy will be to set up its own defense industries.
    • The government sees growth in every area as a major target and it is determined to seek this growth with stability.   


DEMOCRATIZATION PACKAGE

    Beside the Government Programme, a protocol signed by DYP and SHP on November 15 too is full of promises in the field of human rights. The "democratization package"  says the two parties want a brand new Constitution. Considering the difficulty of obtaining a two-third majority in the new National Assembly for adopting a brand new Constitution, the two parties that, even before the constitutional amendments, some vital amendments could be done for lifting the barriers on democratization.

    Promises as regards the Constitution

    • The 1982 Constitution defined the powers and responsibilities of the presidency as an institution. These do not fit a parliamentary democracy and thus the presidency as an institution has to be brought back to a platform where it will conform with the principles and rules of a parliamentary democracy.
    • The universities will be granted scientific and administrative autonomy, the Higher Education Council (YOK) system will be scrapped, and higher educational institutions will be run by people elected by these institutions.
    • A new body will be set up to coordinate between the universities and regulate a just and balanced distribution of resources between the higher education institutions. The administrators of this body will be named from among nominees from the universities.
    • The state monopoly on radio and TV will be lifted without further delay.
    • Both state and private radio and TV stations will be impartial and their activities will be regulated according to a special autonomous body.
    • Press freedom and the right of the individual to obtain information and accurate news will be secured.
    • All the provisional articles of the 1982 Constitution which create injustices and are designed to protect certain individuals of the postcoup period will be lifted.
    • The voting age will be reduced to 18 and the age to become a parliamentary candidate will be lowered to 25.
    • University members will be allowed to enter political parties and participate in their executive bodies.
    • Constitutional articles preventing members of trade unions and other professional groups from entering Parliament will be lifted.
    • Students will be allowed to become members of political parties.
    • Constitutional articles on labor and trade unions will be amended to abide with the rules of the International Labor Organization.
    • All employees, including civil servants, will be allowed to set up trade unions.
    • Judicial autonomy will be secured and the Supreme Council of Judges and Prosecutors will be restructured.
    • All obstacles preventing parties from setting up women, youth and professional branches will be lifted.
    • The period of detention will be reduced. 

    Promises as regards the Legislation

    Several anti-democratic laws will be lifted or amended. The two parties said some of the laws can only be substantially changed once the Constitution is amended and this will take time. However, some of the laws can still be amended or altered.
    Here are highlights on these proposals:
    • The law on the political parties will be amended and all the restrictive clauses of the law will be deleted. The present law is not defining the "rights" but is a set of "restrictions." Within this frame, the restrictions on party emblems, logos and names, as well as the clauses regulating how donations may be made to parties and how members can be registered, will be deleted as those issues are so elaborate that they should not be covered even by the statute of a party.
    • The election law will be renewed and representative democracy norms will be abided. The present law was amended so many times with the goal of "How can a certain party win the elections?" that the law no longer outlines how a free and democratic election can be held, but rather provides the legal frame of how can a free and democratic election on the basis of equality be prevented. Election law will be renewed through establishing a consensus between the political parties.
    • There are extensive elaborations in the 1982 Constitution about labor relations. Until those stipulations of the Constitution are amended extreme care will be shown to reflect the principles of the International Labor Organization (ILO) to the existing laws on labor as far as the present Constitution allows.
    • The city councils and municipal councils will be made to function as if they are local parliaments. The power and supervision of the central government on local administrations will be decreased.
    • Until a Constitutional amendment is made, legislations confirming with basic human rights and liberties and democratic society will be made to enhance rights and liberties. Press will be given guarantees with the understanding that everyone has the right to learn of the facts and be informed of the affairs of the country.
    • A legal frame will be prepared to allow academicians to elect their own faculty and university executives.
    • Police will be trained on individual rights and liberties and police stations will be open to public scrutiny.
    • A detainee will have the right to refuse interrogation until his/her lawyer is called to attend the interrogation. Detainees and the arrested will have the right to meet with their lawyers and relatives with fixed intervals. These changes aim at bringing an end to claims of torture and ensure reliability of testimonies, since lawyers of the accused will be present during interrogation.
    • The martial law and emergency rule laws will be amended to conform to the principles and norms of a legal state. Even at times of martial law and emergency rule, basic human rights and liberties should be respected.
    • Citizens will be considered "trusted persons" and the pre-employment "security report" requirement will be terminated.
    • Legislation will be passed for wider exercise of the right to establish associations, organize rallies and hold meetings.
    • Parliamentary sessions will be broadcast live on television. All important problems of the country will be debated on TV.
    • With amendments in the statutes governing Parliament:
    a) Parliamentary sessions will start an hour earlier than present and during that one hour deputies will directly address their questions to the relevant Cabinet members. Thus, the supervision responsibility of Parliament will become operative.
    b) All measures will be taken to ensure that all government decrees will be legislated by Parliament within 90 days.
    c)The right to petition will become operative.
    • Legislations will be made to clearly state that bar associations should not be under influence of any body, or organ.
    • The law against torture will be redrafted with the understanding that fundamental rights and liberties should not be hindered by any legislation.
    • All public personnel who were sacked from office without a court ruling because of Martial Law 1402 will be allowed to resume their work.
    • All legislations on exile and censorship will be lifted.
    • All restrictions on professional organizations will be lifted.
    • The administration of cooperatives will be established with direct elections by members of the cooperatives.
    • Citizens will be given the freedom to pursue their rights and all measures will be taken to speed up justice mechanism.
    • The legal and de facto restrictions and obstructions on free expression of ethnic origin, use of language and promotion of culture by all citizens, will be eradicated within the concept of national unity and in conformity with the Paris Charter to which Turkey is a party. 

SCANDALOUS ATTACKS ON TWO KURDISH DEPUTIES

    The new Turkish Grand Assembly which claims to lead Turkey to a real democracy adopted at its first plenary meeting a scandalous attitude towards newly elected Kurdish deputies.
    Reuter reported the event on November 6 as follows:
    "Uproar broke out in Turkey's newly-elected parliament over open displays of Kurdish nationalism by deputies at the oath-taking ceremony.
    "'Long live the Kurdish people and Kurdistan,' declared Leyla Zana, member from the southeastern city of Diyarbakir, in Kurdish after reciting her oath in Turkish. Zana, a slight, pale woman in a black dress, wore a headband in the Kurdish national colours of red, yellow and green. Acting speaker Ali Riza Septioglu, himself a Kurd, adjourned the session for a second 15-minute recess as tempers flared. Enraged members banged their desks, shouted, and stormed to the rostrum after Diyarbakir deputy Hatip Dicle said: 'My friends and I are reading this text under constitutional duress.'
    "The scenes of Pandemonium were broadcast live on television from the wood-panelled general assembly hall in Ankara? Dicle, one of a 22-strong Kurdish faction in the Social Democrat Populist Party (SHP), is chairman of the Diyarbakir branch of Turkey's Human Rights Association. 'we are wearing these colours to protest at an interior ministry ban on them in the southeast and because they are the national symbol of the Kurdish people,' Dicle said of his breast pocket tricolour before the parliament session opened.
    "SP leader Erdal Inönü said later he had demanded Dicle's immediate resignation from the party. 'Such behaviour in no way involved our party. We definitely don't accept it,' he said. Dicle said the constitution, framed in 1982 by generals then ruling Turkey, was contrary to the brotherhood of Kurds and Turks. 'This oath is a denial of the Kurdish people,' he said.
    "...In the southeastern town of Cizre, Kurdish residents fired in the air from their rooftops to mark approval for the defiant gestures of Zana, Dicle and their colleagues, witnesses said.
    "Demirel condemned the Kurdish deputies for staging publicity stunts and said Zana should be made to retract her words. 'It is the Turkish constitution which brought you here,' he declared at parliament. 'You have no right to violate it.' Other political party leaders condemned Dicle and Zana."
    What is scandalous, all political leaders, including Demirel and Inönü had been criticizing the Constitution and  and claiming that they would change it if they come to power. If this constitution is anti-democratic, one of the most anti-democratic articles of this constitution is the Article 81 which obliges the deputies to take the following oath:
    "I swear upon my honor and integrity, before the great Turkish Nation, to safeguard the existence and independence of the State, the indivisible integrity of the country and the Nation, and the absolute sovereignty of the Nation; to remain loyal to the supremacy of law, to the democratic and secular Republic, and to Atatürk's principles and reforms..."
    It is quite logical that a deputy of Kurdish origin refuses to swear before the "great Turkish nation" to remain loyal to "Atatürk's principles" which claim the supremacy of Turkish nation and denies the existence of Kurdish people.

    First Kurdish Woman Deputy

    After the attacks by the political leaders and the Turkish press, Leyla Zana, first woman deputy of Kurdish origin, defended her stand in following terms:
    "I consider myself firstly as a human being and secondly as a Kurd. I don't feel Turkish. I learned Turkish in 1984 at the prison gates. I am 100% Kurdish. My mother knows not a word of Turkish. I look warmly on the Turkish people. In the same way that anyone who is not a Kurd cannot feel at all Kurdish, I do not feel at all  Turkish. But it is us Kurds who are suffering oppression. Every night when I go home I wonder whether I will survive till next morning. There must be an end to this worry."
    Leyla Zana was born in Diyarbakir in 1961. At the age of 14 she married the former Mayor of Diyarbakir, Mehdi Zana. For 11 years she followed her husband from prison to prison.
    And just at the beginning of the so-called "democratization era", on November 19, the State Security Court had filed a case calling for the death penalty for Leyla Zana and Hatip Dicle. They are accused of violating Article 125 of the Turkish Penal Code by speaking in Kurdish at the opening ceremony of the Parliament.
    What is the most shocking, the leaders of the two social democrat parties too have taken part in the campaign against the two Kurdish deputies.
    While SHP leader Inönü was forcing them to resign from the party, DSP leader Bülent Ecevit, maintaining his new-chauvinist stand, described the November 6 as "a black day" because of Kurdish deputies' words and said: "Whether these deputies desert the SHP or get expelled from it will not change the fact that they have entered the Parliament on the SHP's back."

WHAT IS THE CHOICE: DIALOGUE OR WAR?

    After the general elections, the Workers' Party of Kurdistan (PKK) declared that it would be open to a dialogue with Ankara if the new government takes serious practical steps to improve conditions in the region and restore human rights.
    In an interview to the Turkish Daily News of November 26, PKK leader Abdullah Öcalan said: "Do they really have the intention of lifting emergency law, special war tactics, counter-guerrilla measures, village guards and similar things or do they want to make them more systematic? We are considering the measures which are being developed now. If some steps are taken, they will lead to developments. We have 900 years of togetherness with Turkey. Even if we wanted to, we could not break off from Turkey. We have a plan up create a democratic front. This will mean a trial of democratic steps. In reality, this is a goodwill initiative. It is important but we ask what will happen on the side of [Turkish] violence. we are doubtful there will be a change. For one, will Demirel be able to control the chief of general staff, Will he be able to place the special warfare and counter-guerrilla under his control? Will the Demirel-Inönü government be able to overthrow these forces from power? As I see it, both Demirel and Inönü are either far away from realities or being informed in a subjective way. They thus find themselves saying 'yes' to the Kurdish problem' but 'no' to the PKK. I see this as a great contradiction, and I may also say that I see the end of this government here."
    In fact, Prime Minister Demirel seems to be depended on the military's views on the Kurdish question. Ousted twice, in 1971 and 1980, by the military, Demirel had appeared during last ten years as a staunch adversary of the military's role in the Turkish politics. However, after the elections, he immediately changed his attitude, saying that the reports of the military-civilian bodies such as the Chief of General Staff, the National Security Council (MGK) and the National Intelligence Organization (MIT) will be determining in the establishing new policies against the Kurdish national movement.
    Just after the opening the new National Assembly, the state of emergency was extended for four months from 19 November in ten Kurdish provinces were . Although the SHP deputies opposed to this measure, Demirel's party voted together with the ANAP for the extension of the state of emergency.
    After having formed his government, Demirel was briefed on November 26 by Chief of Staff General Dogan Güres. Three days later, Demirel and Inönü attended for the first time the meeting of the National Security Council (MGK) in which the Army Chiefs are in majority. The main point discussed at this meeting was the ways to deal with the PKK.
    Furthermore, in the new government programme it was clearly said that "Turkey is a unitary state with its territory and nation. The indivisibility of the unitary state cannot be an issue of discussion. The government is determined to defend and protect the national and territorial indivisible unity of the country under any conditions."
    After Demirel pledged to crack down on "terrorism", a PKK spokesman in Bekaa Valley said on November 29: "We will step up military operations against the Turkish army until the Turks yield to the political solution. The year 1992 will be a year of hell for the Turkish state."
    PKK officers say about 6,000 guerrillas, including women, train annually at a camp in mountains near the Syrian border.  Against the PKK units, the Turkish State has deployed in the area 65,000 troops and 35,000 paramilitary gendarmes and special police units.
    More than 3,300 people have perished during the seven-year war between the PKK and the Turkish forces.

ALLERGY TO KURDISH TRICOLOURS

    The allergy of Turkish authorities against the three colours [red, yellow and green] of the Kurdish national movement  takes as target children as well.
    On November 10, in Diyarbakir, a 10-year old child, Gülsipan Kara, was detained and beaten by police for wearing a dress of three colours as he was going to a wedding ceremony .
    On November 30, in Hakkari, the coach and the eleven players of the Hakkari Belediye Spor soccer team were interrogated by the Prosecutor for having carried a three-colour uniform at a local match on November 17.

WILL STATE TERRORISM CONTINUE?

    Despite the change in the composition of the National Assembly, the Turkish justice has been continuing until the end of November to apply anti-democratic laws adopted by the military junta and its successors. Public prosecutors have been continuing to bring political activists or intellectuals before the tribunals and the latter to sentence them to heavy prison terms.
    According to the data given by the Justice Ministry on November 27, there were 26,705 persons in Turkish prisons. Of them, 10,311 are convicts and 16,394 under arrest.
    As for the political prisoners, their number reaches 1,488, of whom 363 are convicts and 1,125 under arrest.
    Following the elections, one of the frustrating surprises of the new era for political prisoners was the reopening of the notorious Eskisehir Top Security Prison which had been constructed on a solitary confinement basis.
    The Article 16 of the Anti-Terror Law stipulates that those who are condemned for a "crime of terror" be imprisoned in special penal institutions built on a system of rooms for one or three people.
    This practice was started just after the general elections, following a jail break in Ankara on October 31. First 38 political prisoners in the Ankara prison were transfered to the Eskisehir Top Security Prison. In a few days, with the transfers from other prisons, the total number of political prisoners in Eskisehir reached 206.
    In protest against the inhuman conditions and the practice of torture in this prison, all inmates went on hunger strikes. Their protest action was supported by their relatives and the inmates in the other prisons with hunger strikes. Human rights groups carried out protest demonstrations.
    Thereupon, the new Justice Minister visited the Eskisehir Prison and admitted that inmates were really under inhuman conditions. Conforming to the Minister's recommendation, the government decided on November 24 to close down the Eskisehir Top security Prison and to transfer 206 political prisoners to other jails.
    On this decision, prisoners and their relatives stopped their hunger strike.
    However, some hunger strikes in other prisons were still continuing at the end of November.

SOCIALIST PARTY TO BE CLOSED?

    One of the six political parties having raced at the last general elections now faces to be closed down by the Constitutional Court.
    Considering the party's electoral campaign as a crime, the Chief Prosecutor of the Republic, on November 29,  asked the Constitutional Court to close down the Socialist Party (SP).
    The chief prosecutor claims that the SP had contravened the preamble and Articles 3, 4, 14, 66, 68 of the Turkish Constitution as well as Articles 78 and 81 of the Political Parties Code.
    The SP is accused of having carried out a campaign against the indivisible integrity of the Turkish State.
    There is also a number of legal proceedings against SP Chairman Dogu Perincek for his speeches during the campaign.
    Besides, the trial of 13 SP members accused of separatist propaganda began at the Istanbul SSC on November 8. Two days later, on November 10, Malatya Chairman of the SP, Hasan Kayas was indicted by the Malatya SSC for separatist propaganda during electoral campaign.
    On the other hand, October 23, the Istanbul SSC began to try 38 members of the People's Labour Party (HEP) for separatist propaganda.
    By virtue of the Anti-Terror Law all these defendants face each a prison term of up to 5 years.

HEAVY SENTENCES TO DEV-SOL MEMBERS

    One of the biggest political trials of the post-coup period ended in heavy condemnation just after the elections, on November 1st.
    Out of 1,243 Revolutionary Left (Dev-Sol) defendants who had been tried for over ten years by a Martial Law Court in Istanbul, one was sentenced to capital punishment, 35 to life-prison and 559 others to prison terms of from 2 yeas and 9 months up to 20 years.

HUMAN RIGHTS ASSOCIATION ON TRIAL

    The trial of  six leading members of the Human Rights Association of Turkey (IHD) continued at the Istanbul SSC on November 29. They are accused of organizing a solidarity evening for Iraqi Kurds, which reportedly turned into a separatist demonstration when Kurdish flags were unfurled. The public prosecutor also claims the closing down of the association.

STATE TERRORISM IN THE NEW ERA

    22.10, the State Security Court of Izmir sentenced four people to prison terms of up to 4 months and 3 days for having participated in the celebration of Newroz (Kurdish New Year).
    23.10, at the trial of the October Group's trial before the Izmir SSC, the prosecutor claimed 10-year prison term for eight defendants.
    26.10, a police team raided the Galatasaray College in Istanbul and beat up a group of students, of whom two were wounded.
    26.10, in the district of Tekman in the province of Erzurum, security forces detained HEP chairman Kerem Korkmaz and a village headman, Süleyman  Beyköylü, for having aided PKK militants.
    27.10, it is reported by the weekly Yeni Ülke that a 40-year old Kurdish peasant, Süleyman Atalan has disappeared since September 16. His parents say that Atalan might be kidnapped by village protectors.
    30.10, Isa Kaya and Kinyas Sencer, two Kurdish shepherds from the eastern province of Van, announced that they had been subjected to three days of torture after being detained on October 25 on the accusation of giving bread to separatist militants.
    31.10, the 1st Convention of Higher Education Youth, organized by the Student Associations Federation of Turkey, was banned by the Governor of Istanbul. Despite this interdiction, some 150 students attempted to hold the convention in another place. Their unauthorized meeting was raided by police and 50 students detained.
    1.11, police detained in Istanbul 14 people accused of leading PKK activities.
    3.11, in Adana, police detained some 30 people chanting Kurdish songs during a wedding ceremony.
    3.11, the Diyarbakir SSC sentenced a nurse, Yildiz Alpdogan, to 12 years and 6 months imprisonment for giving medical care to some wounded PKK militants in the district of Sirnak.
    4.11, Chairman of the Steel Workers' Union (Celik-Is), Metin Türker was sentenced to 5 months and 25 days imprisonment for having insulted the Labour Minister. The sentence was later commuted into a fine of TL 3,800,000.
    4.11, in Hatay, a Switz named Marc Roland Rudin was detained for being involved in political violence.
    7.11, the trial of five policemen, accused of having tortured a young girl was suspended by virtue of the Anti-Terror Law. The Criminal Court No.8 of Ankara handed over the file to Ankara Administrative Council which is competent to decide if the accused should be tried.
    7.11, the Ankara police detained six people for carrying out the Revolutionary Communist Party (DKP) activities.
    8.11, police detained five alleged PKK militants in Istanbul.
    10.11, ten people were brought before the Malatya SSC for having carried out Dev-Sol actions. One of the defendants faces capital punishment and others prison terms of not less than 15 years.
    10.11, in Bursa, the office of the Teachers' Association (EGIT-DER) was closed down for fifteen days by the order of the Governor. Same day, in the eastern city of Elazig, the Elazig Solidarity and Cultural Association was closed down for one month.
    10.11, during a discipline operation in Trabzon, 15 students were detained by police.
    11.11, it is reported from Gebze that a person named Hüseyin Toraman was detained on October 26 and his relatives have no information about his whereabouts since then.
    11.11, in the town of Lice in the province of Diyarbakir, a women named Mecbure Akdogan was killed under torture at the police station where she was detained for aiding PKK militants.
    11.11, police raided the office of the Municipal Workers' Trade Union in Izmir and detained 11 people inside.
    13.11, the Izmir SSC began to try 23 alleged members of the Revolutionary Communist Party of Turkey (TDKP). Each faces a prison term of up to 15 years.
    15.11, the trial of 110 people, all relatives of political prisoners, began at a criminal court of Ankara. Accused of carrying out an unauthorized demonstration in protest against prison conditions, each faces a prison term of up to 3 years.
    18.11, in Ankara, police detained 40 people for carrying out activities for the TDKP. 20 of the detainees were later transfered to the State security Court.
    19.11, in Izmir, the People's Houses of Narlidere and Balcova as well as the Association for the Worker's Health were closed down by the Governor.
    24.11, a member of the HEP local committee in Hatay, Mehmet Ali Ekin was arrested for outraging against police.
    27.11, a legal proceeding was opened at the Ankara SSC against 28 people for participating in Dev-Sol actions. Among the defendants are also journalist Deniz Teztel and three lawyers, Bedii Yarayici, Murat Demir and Fethiye Peksen. Each faces a prison term of up to 20 years.
    27.11, seventeen public servants were brought before a criminal court in Ankara for having participated in an unauthorized demonstration. Each faces a prison term of up to 3 years.
    28.11, in Izmir, police detained some 40 people during a meeting to celebrate the 13th anniversary of the PKK.

BESIKCI'S NEVER-ENDING TORMENT

    Sociologist Ismail Besikci was again arrested on November 25.
    He had been released on October 31 after a 92-day arrest for his book entitled State Terror in the Middle East.
    This time, he was indicted by the Ankara SSC for his another book entitled Scientific Method, Its Application in Turkey and the Forced Settling of Kurds.
    This book had been published first in 1977 and immediately confiscated by virtue of Article 142/3 of the Turkish Penal Code.
    Since this article was lifted this year, the said book was reprinted. However, the Istanbul SSC ordered on November 15 the confiscation of the book by virtue of Article 8 of the Anti-Terror Law. Ten days later, the Ankara SSC arrested the author for this book.
    The new arrest of Besikci just after the elections led to extended protests and the Ankara SSC had to release him on November 28.

POST-ELECTORAL PERSECUTION OF THE MEDIA

    22.10, in Istanbul, the Diz Basin printing house which had been type-setting the weekly Yeni Ülke and some other left-wing reviews was closed down by the police. Besides, seven people inside were taken into custody during the police raid.
    22.10, the 20 October issue of the weekly Yeni Ülke was confiscated for separatist propaganda.
    23.10, Mrs. Berin Nadi and Mr. Okay Gönensin, respectively the publisher and the responsible editor of the daily Cumhuriyet, were indicted by the prosecutor of the Istanbul SSC by virtue of Anti-Terror Law. Accused of having published a report on PKK leader Öcalan, both face a fine of not less than TL 75 Million ($20.000).
    28.10, two Belgium correspondents of the weekly 2000e Dogru, Aziz Kocak and Gürsel Kutlu were detained at the Kapikule checkpoint as they were leaving Turkey. Their colleagues claim that they had been tortured at the Edirne Police Station.
    28.10, Sivas correspondent of the monthly Mücadele, Nail Cavus was detained by police for his political activities.
    29.10, journalist Mehmet Bayrak's book Kurdish Folk Songs was confiscated by the Ankara SSC for separatist propaganda. The author faces a prison term of up to 5 years.
    3.11, a 14-year old employee of the Diyarbakir office of the weekly Yeni Ülke, Siddik Baz, was beaten by police as he was distributing the review to subscribers.
    3.11, in Mardin, police detained 20 people during an anti-separatist operation. Among the detainees are also Yeni Ülke correspondent Abdülhalim Esen, Cumhuriyet correspondent Ramazan Atay and Güney Hakimiyet correspondent Ismail Aydogan.
    4.11, the Ankara SSC confiscated a book entitled The Question of Underdevelopment, written by Mirzali Cimen, on grounds that it contains separatist propaganda.
    6.11, SP Chairman Dogu Perincek was interrogated by the Public Prosecutor for an article calling for a general strike, published in the weekly 2000'e Dogru.
    10.11, the Nusaybin correspondent of the weekly Yeni Ülke, Vahap Aslan was indicted by the Istanbul SSC for separatist propaganda. He faces a five-year prison term by virtue of the Anti-Terror Law. He will be tried under arrest.
    10.11, the Sivas correspondent of the fortnightly Mücadele, Nail Cavus was arrested by the Ankara SSC.
    10.11, the recent issue of the monthly Toplumsal Kurtulus was confiscated by the Istanbul SSC for separatist propaganda.
    13.11, two reviews, Yeni Ülke and Devrimci Proletarya were confiscated by the Istanbul SSC for separatist propaganda.
    13.11, Izmir correspondent of the fortnightly Mücadele, Müjdat Yanar was detained by police for being involved in some political actions.
    16.11, a correspondent of the fortnightly Emegin Bayragi, Metin Kayaoglu was detained in Istanbul.
    19.11, the recent issues of the weekly Yeni Ülke and the monthly Özgür Halk were confiscated by the Istanbul SSC for separatist propaganda.
    19.11, an exhibition organized by the Teachers' Trade Union (Egitim Is) was banned by the Governor of Ankara.
    20.11, the issue No.3 of the monthly Newroz was confiscated by the Istanbul SSC for separatist propaganda.
    20.11, the Diyarbakir correspondent of the monthly Özgür Halk, Hüseyin Eben was arrested by the Diyarbakir SSC.
    24.11, the Istanbul SSC ordered the confiscation of the last issue of the monthly Halk Demokrasisi and a book entitled The Turkish Industry in Kurdistan, written by Ömür Tuku.
    28.11, the November issue of the monthly Devrimci Proletarya was confiscated by the Istanbul SSC for separatist propaganda.
    29.11, a correspondent of Yeni Ülke, Gültan Kisanak was detained by police in Diyarbakir after she visited in hospital new Kurdish deputy Leyla Zana.

EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT RESOLUTION ON KURDS

    Despite the change of government in Turkey, international institutions still remain sceptical concerning Turkey's intentions as regards the Kurdish Question.
    The European Parliament, at its plenary meeting in Strasbourg on November 22, adopted a resolution denouncing the Turkish Army's operations in Kurdistan. In the same resolution, the European Parliament denounced the PKK's violent attacks as well.
    The resolution reads:
   
    "The European Parliament,

    A. having regard to the missions undertaken by the Kurdish ad hoc delegation to Iran and to Turkey and Iraqi Kurdistan from 15 to 20 September 1991 (PE 153.241),
    B. having regard to its resolutions of 18 April 1991 on the situation of the Kurds and of 16 May 1991 on the situation of the Kurdish refugees,
    C. bearing in mind the precarious situation of the refugees, displaced persons and the local population in the border regions of Turkey, Iran, and northern Iraq given the growing threat posed by the regime of Saddam Hussein to the peace and security of the region,
    D. conscious of the fact that Iraqi Kurdistan is populated not only by the Kurds but also by other minority groups  including Turkmen,  Assyrians, Chaldeans, and others and that several political parties representing these different groups have either joined or are in alliance with the Iraqi Kurdistan Front;
    E. conscious of the efforts of the Turkish and Iranian authorities, assisted by their Red Crescent organizations, to provide urgent humanitarian aid to persons fleeing Iraq prior to and in the course of the Gulf war,
    F. aware of the fact that this massive population movement was unprecedented in modern times,
    G. having regard to the essential contribution made by local communities and by various international non-governmental organizations to the care and protection of the refugees and displaced persons,
    H  noting also the role played by the UN and its agencies as well as by the allied military authorities in providing security for the beleaguered populations,
    I. whereas the Kurdish refugees fear the withdrawal of the UN observers and the Kurdish population of Iraqi Kurdistan is in a perceptible state of anxiety,
    J. whereas no agreement has yet been reached in the negotiations about the autonomy of the Kurds in Iraq, and whereas the basic requirements for a democratic underpining of autonomous status are not guarantied,
    K. having regard to the considerable financial contribution made by the European Community and its Member States amounting to two-thirds of the international relief aid provided,
    L. deeply concerned by new reports of Iraqi aggression on the populations of Iraqi Kurdistan, both within and outside the security zone, and by earlier reports of the summary execution of some Iraqi prisoners,
    M. concerned also by the attacks on Turkish targets by the PKK terrorists; deploring the actions taken by the Turkish authorities against unconfirmed Kurdish PKK guerrilla bases in northern Iraq which have led to the loss of many innocent lives,
    N. whereas these attacks by Turkish forces,  acting on the instructions of the Turkish Government, are clearly contrary to international law,
    0. noting that the Commission, in the light of the aftermath of the Iraqi aggression against the Kurds and other minority groups, has reviewed its procedures for dealing with emergency humanitarian operations;
    P. Recalling that the population of Iraq as a whole continues to suffer from material  deprivation and abuses of their human rights following the settlement of the Gulf War hostilities;

    1. Encourages the efforts of the Iraqi Kurdistan Front to provide support and guidance for the population in Iraqi Kurdistan and pledges increased European Community aid and assistance to the region for the purposes of rehabilitation and support for local populations that have suffered the effects of years of aggression and for those returnees who have arrived from neighbouring countries  and who are attempting to  resettle their former lands,
    2. Urges the European Community to commit resources urgently for the
winterisation programmes which must be used not only for emergency aid but also for structural aid in order to provide housing, health centres and schools for the Kurdish people in northern Iraq;
    3. Emphasises the need for local expertise to be made use of for reconstruction programmes within Iraqi Kurdistan;
    4. Appeals to the Community to continue its support for the displaced Kurdish people in Turkey and Iran, bearing in mind that in both of these countries many other refugees also require support - in particular the 2 million Afghan refugees in Iran;
    5. Calls upon the European Community to enter into immediate discussions with the Turkish authorities, the UNHCR, and appropriate NGOs with a view to improving as a matter of urgency the conditions prevailing in the refugee camp at Kiziltepe and other similar camps;
    6. Calls upon the European Community to consider seriously with the UNHCR the plight of certain Iraqi refugees who have deserted from the Iraqi army and who are seeking political asylum in Europe or elsewhere,
    7. Calls upon the United Nations to earmark funds gathered from the sale of Iraqi oil for the purposes of establishing a fund for the reconstruction and rehabilitation of Iraqi Kurdistan; 
    8. Draws attention to the particular problem faced by the inhabitants of Iraqi Kurdistan as a result of the millions of mines laid by the forces of Saddam Hussein in the region and which have killed and maimed many hundreds of people, and urges the European Community to seek ways of disposing of these mines; 
    9. Appeals for more resources to be provided for environmental projects related to the rehabilitation of former refugee areas within Turkey and Iran which require a major effort to be made in order to restore the ecological balance and safe water supplies; 
    10. Congratulates the Commission on its decision to establish an administrative unit with overall responsibility for the management of emergency situations, resulting from conflict or natural disasters and requiring rapid humanitarian responses, and which will also maintain a permanent liaison with appropriate United Nations and international aid agencies, as well as with the appropriate bodies in the Member States, but recognizes that these steps go beyond the matter of administration, and calls for a full report to Parliament on these changes; 
    11. Notes the importance of the Community's future policy in dealing with emergency situations, and calls on the Commission to submit a report to the European Parliament on the role it foresees for this administrative unit; 
    12. Calls on the Foreign Ministers meeting in European Political Cooperation to recognize the need to maintain a significant military presence under the aegis of the UN in the region in order to guarantee the security and protection of the Kurdish population in Iraqi Kurdistan; 
    13.    (a) Utterly condemns the acts of terror perpetrated by the Turkish army and the violence in Iraqi Kurdistan, which repeatedly caused numerous deaths among the civilian population, destroyed the villages built by international aid organizations and which are jeopardizing the 
        (b) Condemns the violent attacks of the PKK, whose victims increasingly include - in addition to members of the security forces - members of the Turkish civilian population, and which are hampering the efforts of the Kurdish population of Iraq to achieve autonomy; 
    14. Calls on the Community Member States represented on the UN Security Council to request an emergency meeting of the Security Council if these attacks continue/ with a view to condemning the Republic of Turkey for its attacks against the Kurdish population on Iraqi sovereign territory in violation of international law;
    15. Believes that the Kurdish population in northern Iraq, alongside other minority groups such as Turkmen, Assyrians, Chaldeans, etc., should obtain the support of the European Community in their demand for an autonomous region in Iraqi Kurdistan, within the State of Iraq;
    16. Calls on the United Nations not to withdraw the UN observers on 15 December 1991, as feared, and to guarantee the security of the Kurdish refugees and the population of Iraqi Kurdistan;
    17. Underlines its support for the democratization of Iraq and the recognition of the rights of minorities without which no long-term solution to the Kurdish question may be found; recognizes however that democratization is most unlikely as long as Saddam Hussein remains in office;
    18. Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council, EPC, the Commission and the Secretary-General of the United Nations."