WOMEN OF TURKEY
In Power
In Detention
One of them, Leyla Zana, was born in the impoverished city of
Diyarbakir in 1961. The other, Tansu Ciller, was born in the
bourgeois business capital of Istanbul in 1946. One is a Kurd, the
other is a Turk. Both are citizens of the Turkish Republic. Both went
to elementary school. The one in Diyarbaklr dropped out, like a
majority of Kurdish women. The one in Istanbul went on. The woman in
Istanbul finished elementary and middle school and later graduated from
Robert College. The one in Diyarbaklr sat her exams independently. At
the age of 15 she married and later gave birth to two children. The
woman in Istanbul learned English along with Turkish literature. In
Diyarbakir, the other woman learned only Kurdish. Only after the age of
20, when her husband was put in jail for 14 years, did she need to
learn and know Turkish. The woman in Istanbul became a student in the
Economics Department of Bogazici University, obtained her Ph.D. in
economics at the University of New Hampshire; completed her doctorate
at Connecticut University and did her postdoctoral thesis at Yale
University. In 1987, the woman in Diyarbaklr was arrested during a
demonstration protesting against the torture of prisoners. She stayed
two months in jail. A year later, the woman in Istanbul was getting her
associate professor's certificate. The woman in Diyarbakir was still
trying to learn and understand Turkish. Both entered politics in 1990,
and as the woman in Istanbul was elected to Parliament in 1991 on the
True Path Party (DYP) ticket, the woman in Diyarbaklr was being elected
to the same Parliament on the Social Democrat Peoples' Party (SHP)
ticket as a member of the Kurdish-based Peoples' Labor Party (HEP). The
woman in Istanbul first served as the minister of state in charge of
the economy in the first DYP-SHP coalition led by then Prime Minister
Süleyman Demirel, and was elected chairwoman of the DYP in the
emergency convention in June 1993. The woman from Diyarbakir entered
Parliament just as a deputy, representing her people but branded from
the first day as a "traitor" by the majority. As senior officers
praised the Istanbul lady and talked of how she was worth 30 generals,
officers in Diyarbakir threatened the other lady with death, condemning
her as a supporter of terrorists. Both have problems with the military.
One is run by them, the other has challenged them. Today, the woman
from Diyarbakir —the challenger— is in detention. The woman from
Istanbul is in power, running a government. The woman from Diyarbakir
has spoken her mind without reservation and faces serious trouble for
"threatening the indivisible integrity of Turkey" through the use of
her freedom of expression. The woman from Istanbul has turned Turkey
upside down, is responsible for the collapse of the
economy and is in charge of policies lowering Turkey's credibility and
respectability abroad. The woman from Diyarbakir could face capital
punishment. (This composition was published by the Turkish Daily News
on March 9, 1994, on the occasion of the International Women's Day.
Since then, nothing has changed in Turkey.)
BY- ELECTIONS FOR FOOLING THE WORLD OPINION
The Ciller-Karayalcin Government, after having lost
its credibility as well in Turkey as abroad, has resorted to a new
political manoeuvre in the hope of fooling once more the world opinion
and scheduled by-elections for 4 December 1994.
Following the imprisonment of six DEP deputies and
one independent deputy, and the flight of six DEP deputies to Europe,
22 parliamentary seats were empty. Despite the pressure from the
opposition for an early general election, Prime Minister Ciller
insisted on by-elections arguing that an early general election might
adversely affect the economy. In fact, she knows very well that an
early general election might lead to catastrophic results for her
government.
In a move to calm international institutions such as
the CSCE, the Council of Europe and the European Parliament condemning
the persecution of DEP deputies, Ciller stated that the DEP deputies in
prisons would be able to stand as candidates.
At present, 14 of 22 seats have been vacated due to
the closure of the DEP and one seat due to the killing of a DEP deputy.
In normal conditions, the candidates of a pro-Kurdish party can easily
gain all of these 15 vacant seats. However, there is not the climate in
the Kurdish regions to hold a democratic election.
The Welfare Party (RP), the winner of the last March
27 local elections, announced on September 23 that the electoral lists
in the provinces of Diyarbakir, Sirnak, Mardin, Batman, Siirt, Van, Mus
and Adiyaman were outdated because of the migration that has taken
place in these regions. RP Vice-Chairman Sevket Kazan said the
population of the city of Diyarbakir alone, which was previously
450,000 had swollen to 1.5 million due to migration whereas the
population of Lice, a county in the province of Diyarbakir, had fallen
from 10,000 to 800 for the same reason.
The Democratic Left Party (DSP) Chairman Bülent
Ecevit made a call for a boycott of the by-elections, saying "If it was
me, I would either not go to the polling booth, or I would spoil my
vote."
In a statement to Özgür Ülke on September 25, DEP
deputy Nizamettin Toguç, exiled in Europe, said: "1800 villages have
been evacuated in the regions where the elections will be held, 3
million people have been forced to migrate from the region. Since the
security of the election and the polling booths are ensured by the
Special Teams and the Village Protectors, the holding of by-elections
in Kurdish districts is a trap. We are not going to fall into the trap."
The PKK Secretary General Abdullah Öcalan, in an
interview to Özgür Ülke on September 30, said: "The DEP
people were elected already, there will be no problem with their
re-election. If they are going to be re-elected, why have they been
imprisoned? They have the same personalities and they have the same
opinions. They have not changed their opinions. If they were traitors,
what has happened today such that the road to elections is open to them
again? This is contradictory. The conditions of democratic election are
clear. They do not exist in Kurdistan at all. If a party enters the
elections in the name of democracy under these conditions, it will
destroy itself. We are opposed to these elections."
The People's Democracy Party (HADEP), successor to
the defunct DEP, has already made it clear that it has no intention to
participate in elections "under anti-democratic and negative
conditions."
EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT SUSPENDS ALL CONTACT WITH TURKISH PARLIAMENT
The European Parliament, at its meeting on September
29, 1994, decided to suspend all contacts with the Turkish Parliament
to protest the trial of pro-Kurdish deputies whose parliamentary
immunity has been lifted and whose Democracy Party (DEP) has been
closed by the Constitutional Court.
Earlier, on September 14, the Presidential Council
of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the European Parliament had decided
in the same way.
The legislative body of the European Union called on
Turkey to release the deputies in question and to reopen the DEP.
The European Parliament also recommended that the
proposed customs union between Turkey and the European Union be
suspended as long as the trial of the Kurdish deputies continued.
The decision is the harshest ruling against Turkey
by the European Parliament since its decision in 1980 to suspend ties
with the Turkish Parliament following the 12th September military coup
that year.
The full text of the EP Resolution:
"The European Parliament,
"- recalling its resolution of 9 March 1994 on the
arrest of Kurdish members of Parliament in Turkey,
"A. whereas on 3 August 1994 the trial started of
six Kurdish members of the Turkish Grand National Assembly, belonging
to the DEP Party (Party of Democrtacy),
"B. whereas on 17 June 1994 Ankara Constitutional
Court declared unconstitutional the DEP partu, which has 13 members in
the National Assembly, in addition to the six members already in
detention,
"C. whereas the six Members of Parliament, Mr. Ahmet
Türk, Mrs. Leyla Zana, Mr. Orhan Dogan, Mr. Sirri Sakik, Mr. Hatip
Dicle and Mr. Mahmut Alniak, are being accused of separatism and
support for the terrorist organization PKK; whereas these accusations
are based on Article 125 of the Penal Code, for which the death
sentence is mandatory,
"D. whereas the main accusation against these
Members of Parliament is their defence of the interests of the Kurdish
people in Turkey by public statements in the media and by contacts with
representatives of international institutions, including the European
Parliament and the Council of Europe,
"E. whereas the Constitutional Court decided, on 1
June 1994, the 'closure' of the DEP as a party, outlawing by this
decision the DEP and its Members of Parliament from that date,
"F. disturbed at the obstacles recently put in the
way of transporting aid workers and aid materials to the people of Iraq
by the Turkish authorities in violation of Resolution N° 688 of the
United Nations' Security Council,
"1. Denounces the whole trial against the six DEP
members of the Turkish Grand National Assembly and the outlawing of the
DEP Party as an attack on pluralist democracy in this country, and
requests the immediate release of these Members of Parliament;
"2. Insists that this trial should be seen to be
absolutely fair and therefore urges the Turkish authorities to allow
international observers to be present, including some appointed by the
EU;
"3. Resolves to freeze the EU/Turkey joint
parliamentary committee pending the outcome of the trial;
"4. Welcomes the initiative in the Turkish Grand
National Assembly on 4 December 1994 to hold supplementary elections
and calls on the government to guarantee free and democratic elections;
"5. Instructs its President to forward this
resolution to the Council, the Commission, the Turkish Grand National
Assembly, the Secretary-General of the Council of Europe and the
Secretary-general of the United Nations."
Next day, Turkish President Süleyman Demirel reacted
strongly to the European Parliament's decision. "It is impossible to
carry out what the European Parliament requests from Turkey," he told a
press conference on September 30. "The pressures and accusations
against Turkey are unfair. We are familiar with these. There is nothing
in the Turkish system that should be questioned.
"A 10 PERCENT HONOURABLE POLICY"
The daily Sabah's columnist Cengiz Candar criticised
in following terms the Turkish Government's response to the US
Congress' decision as regards US aid to Turkey, in his article of
August 28, 1994:
"Ciller has announced that Turkey is rejecting 10
percent of US aid to Turkey, that is, the part linked to Turkey's
"human rights" performance, meaning primarily the situation regarding
the Kurds, and the Cyprus issue. Before you promptly applaud her
resolve to protect Turkey's "national honour" you should consider the
fact that this is "a 10 percent honour."
"The total US military aid of $365 million is not
being rejected. A $36.5 million share is being rejected in order to
preserve our national honour!
"Obviously Ciller is trying to cultivate a
"patriotic" image, but the fact is that we cannot speak of "national
honour" under the circumstances. It is a comedy. even worse, it is a
shameful situation.
"If the Turkish Republic has nothing to be ashamed
of with regard to human rights in the country, if it is sure that the
human rights situation is up to international democratic standards, why
should it be upset by all this?
"If there is a 'shameful' situation in the country
from the human rights standpoint, this is the very thing that should
injure 'national honour.'"
PUBLISHER TORTURED IN TURKEY
Publisher Recep Marasli was arrested in Istanbul on
July 8, 1994, and is reported to have been badly tortured in custody.
He went on hunger strike around 11 July to protest his ill-treatment.
Marasli is said to have difficulty balancing as a
result of the torture. He is still suffering from the after-effects of
torture during his previous detention between 1982 and 1991. Marasli,
who was arrested with 10 others, including his wife, was not allowed to
see his lawyer until 11 July 1994. On 21 July, he was formally
charged under the Anti-Terror Law with membership of the Freedom Party
of Kurdistan. On his arrest, many documents and manuscripts, including
a Kurdish alphabet and a book on Armenians in Turkey, were confiscated.
Recep Marasli has at least seven other cases against
him in connection with his comments on the Kurdish situation and his
books. On 23 February 1994, a two-year sentence for "disseminating
separatist propaganda" in connection with his book, Political Defence,
was ratified.
CPJ URGES THE TURKISH GOVERNMENT
The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) is
concerned about the delay in the revision of the Law to Fight
Terrorism, which has been used to convict hundreds of journalists and
other writers for their writings.
In a message sent to Prime Minister Ciller, CPJ
Executive Director William A. Orme, Jr. says:
"According to information leaked to the Turkish
press during the closed-door sessions of the commission drafting the
proposal, the definition of 'terrorism' has been amended. The new
definition considers only acts using 'force, violence and threat' as
terrorism. This is a notable improvement in the law. However, the
revision of Article 8 of the Anti-Terror Law, which makes separatist
propaganda a crime, is not satisfactory. The new draft law bans
'propaganda supporting terrorist organizations in a way which will
result in clear and immediate danger to integrity of the state.' The
wording of this section is still vague enough to be used against
journalists writing about terrorist organizations."
DEV-SOL LEADER ARRESTED IN FRANCE
The leader of the outlawed Dev-Sol (Revolutionary
Left), Dursun Karatas was reportedly arrested on September 10 in
Modane, France, when he entered the country through the Italian border
using false documents.
Karatas had been arrested in Turkey in 1980 after
the military coup and was charged, with 41 others, of killing 37
people. In 1989, he escaped from a maximum security Istanbul prison
while still on trial, leaving behind a letter mocking authorities. In
1991 he was sentenced to death in absentia, but this was later commuted
to life imprisonment.
On September 27, Turkey formally requested Karatas'
extradition from France. The 50-page Karatas file, listing his alleged
acts, was submitted to the French foreign ministry by the Turkish
Embassy in Paris.
Worried about the existence of capital punishment in
Turkey, French authorities are unlikely to extradite Karatas, but would
subject him to trial in France.
After Turkey's request for extradition, the Human
Rights Association of Turkey (IHD) sent a letter to French Ambassador
François Doppfer, asking France not to extradite Karatas.
PERSECUTION OF ORTHODOX CHRISTIANS
In Washington, Senator Alfonse D'Amato, on June 29,
claimed that Orthodox Christians in Turkey were under great stress and
"the situation has recently turned violent."
He said that the religious persecution had been
directed specifically against the Ecumenical Patriarchate of
Constantinople. "The Turkish press and leading Turkish citizens have
been relentless in their verbal attacks on the spiritual leader of
Orthodox Christianity, Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew.
The Turkish authorities flatly reject the notion
that the Patriarchate is ecumenical in nature and refer to it as simply
the "Fener Patriarchate" — after the district of Istanbul in which the
patriarchate is located.
Senator D'Amato said: "Sadly, the situation has
recently turned bad violent. incidents include fire bomb attacks on the
Patriarchate and the desecration of both cemeteries and churches."
2-MONTH STATE TERRORISM
1.8, unidentified persons assassinate Tahir Güvenc
in Silvan by beating and shoot dead Hasan Keles in Hasankeyf.
1.8, ten-year old Gültekin Acet dies and three
persons are wounded at the explosion of a bomb thrown to a house in
Bismil.
2.8, one of the HADEP founders, Tahir Tan is
detained in Mersin as coming to Ankara to attend the DEP deputies'
trial.
3.8, in Urfa, local HADEP official Behcet Öcalan is
detained when he went to police headquarters to receive his driving
licence.
3.8, the Association for Human Rights and Solidarity
With Victims of Repression (Mazlum-Der) accuses the police of having
tortured a woman named Sevgi Engin detained in Izmir in June. Engin was
subjected sexual harassment as well.
4.8, in Batman, Abdullah Baskin who was detained on
July 23 dies as he is being taken to a court. His parents accuse the
police of having subjected Baskin to torture which caused to his death.
4.8, an armed confrontation following a police raid
on a house in Istanbul ends in the killing of three alleged Dev-Sol
members named Güner Sar, Hüseyin Aslan and Özlem Kilic. The Human
Rights Association (IHD) accuses the police of resorting to summary
execution instead of arresting the victims.
5.8, in Elazig, 3-year old Haci Albayrak and 15-year
old Hasan Demiralp die at the explosion of a mine.
6.8, in Diyarbakir, Dalyan Yay and Ikram Sesigüzel
are assassinated by unidentified assailants.
8.8, in the village of Merkez in Bingöl, Raif
Ariktekin is shot dead by a village protector.
8.8, police announce the arrest of 24 PKK members in
Istanbul and three TIKKO members in Ankara.
8.8, unidentified gunmen shoot dead two goldsmiths,
Musa Baris and Sedat Demir, in Batman and Abdulkadir Bilge in Nusaybin.
9.8, four anti-militarist activists are tried by the
Military Court of General Staff. The chairman of the Anti-War
Association, Arif Hikmet Iyidogan and three others, Gökhan Demirkiran,
Osman Murat Ülke and Sefa Fersal are accused of carrying out
propaganda against military service. During the trial, Iyidogan
protests the fact that he has been forced to wear military uniform at
the Military Prison. As taking off his military uniform, he is pushed
out from the courtroom by the judge's order.
9.8, at the village of Yolalti in Diyarbakir,
security forces raiding a house shoot dead two alleged PKK sympathisers
inside.
9.8, in Istanbul, the Cultural Association of
Caglayan is raided by police, all publications inside confiscated and
two persons detained.
9.8, unidentified gunmen raiding a house in Suruc
shoot dead 7-year old Erkan Kücük and wound two women. Same day, Ali
Sur falls victim of a political murder in Viransehir.
10.8, in Ankara, porter Bayram Karabulut claims to
have been tortured at police station after his detention on August 8.
11.8, in Samsun, Cevat Alver accuses the police of
having tortured him after his detention on August 8.
11.8, in Batman, Hasan Akin and Mehmet Baser are
assassinated by unidentified gunmen.
12.8, in Kulp, a military unit bombing the village
of Kunuklu kills two young women, Mümine Zümrüt and Netice Coskun, and
would eight other people.
12.8, in Batman, shepherd Abdurrahman Aras is found
assassinated by unidentified people. Same day, Hasan Ertas is
assassinated in Nusaybin.
13.8, in Midyat, Sehmuz Kizmaz falls victim of a
political murder.
14.8, in Adana, during the demonstrations on the
occasion of the 10th anniversary of the guerrilla war, launched by the
PKK, security forces arrest more than 200 people. Besides, hundreds of
people are taken into custody in Mersin, Diyarbakir, Bitlis, Agri,
Dogubeyazit and Eruh. Among the detainees are also members of the DEP
and the HADEP.
15.8, security forces raiding house in Diyarbakir
shoot dead two unidentified persons.
15,8, in Istanbul, police operations in the quarters
inhabited by Kurds ends in the arrest of about 100 people.
15.8, four children, Ahmet Olgac and Mehmet Akdemir
in Kulp and Celebi Özgüc and Ishak Özgüc in Savur, fall victims of the
explosion of mines laid by the military.
16.8, the headman of the Tilozik Village in
Viransehir, Naif Ummaz is found assassinated in Hilvan. DEP member
Ummaz was kidnapped by unidentified people on June 7.
17.8, municipal worker Ibrahim Kizilkaya falls
victim of a political murder in Bismil.
17.8, two Dutch citizens, Van Der Voort and Cengiz
Mavgi, of Turkish origin, claim to have been tortured at the Beyoglu
Police Station. Mavgi says that policemen forced him to renounce his
Dutch nationality.
18.8, two peasants of the Cintepe Village in Eruh,
Halit Deniz and Salih Kaya claim to have been tortured at the
gendarmerie station during their 13-day detention.
18.8, five lawyers from different provinces, Ali
Demir, Eyüp Duman, Necati Güven (also DEP chairman in Erzurum), Ahmet
Gerez and Mahmut Tuncer Caferoglu are taken into custody on charges of
supporting the PKK.
18.8, HADEP Aydin chairman Halil Ibrahim Olcay is
taken into custody by a police team raiding his café. Two other HADEP
officials, Sait Tadik and Yusuf Turgut, too are detained later on.
19.8, unidentified assailants raid in Saruhanli a
Kurdish café, shooting dead Cebrail Signic and wounding three other
clients. Local HADEP chairman Mehmet Tozan is detained by police as
driving the wounded to hospital.
21.8, in Diyarbakir, tradesman Seyithan Aktas is
shot dead by unidentified gunmen.
21.8, in Istanbul, two DEP members, Cemil Gedik and
Hüseyin Kelekci are taken into custody together with six other persons.
22.8, in Diyarbakir, Mehmet Ali Parilti who was
wounded on August 19 during an armed attack dies at hospital.
22.8, in Adana, police announce the arrest of 15
alleged PKK militants.
23.8, in Istanbul, a youth named Can Demirag who was
taken into custody in relation with a crime is found dead in his cell.
Demirag's mother, Sakine Demirag accuses the police of having tortured
him to death. His sister Gülcan Demirag and his brothers Tayfun and
Demirhan Demirag who were detained same day said that they heard Can's
cries under torture.
24.8, in the Cayüstü Village of Diyarbakir, six
children, Savas Ates, Halit Gunes, Bayram Gunes, Vedat Balta, Ibrahim
Balta and Isa Can fall victim of the explosion of a mortar shell left
there after a military operation in the region.
25.8, five officials of the Socialist Power Party
(SIP), Chairman Murat Salmaner, Nezahat Cali, Ulvi Icil, Süleyman Baba
and Tunc Tatoglu are indicted by the Istanbul SSC prosecutor for
instigating hostility in electoral tracts before March 27 local
elections. Each faces a prison term of up to four years and six months.
25.8, in Ankara, police take into custody nine
people for belonging to the Workers'-Peasants' Liberation Army of
Turkey (TIKKO).
25.8, in Diyarbakir, police announce that Cihan
Akkum who was detained on August 10 was found dead in his cell at the
Diyarbakir Police School. His father accuses the police of having
tortured Cihan to death.
26.8, unidentified gunmen shot dead Sadik Yildirim
in Nusaybin.
28.8, in Batman, Haci Selim Ciftci falls victim of a
political murder.
29.8, two lawyers, Necati Güven and Mahmut Tuncer
Caferoglu, who had been detained earlier for supporting the PKK are
placed under arrest by the Erzincan SSC.
28.8, in Mazgirt, a military patrol opening fire on
a group shoots dead waiter Mehmet Özalp and wounds his two colleagues.
28.8, in Kozluk, Mehmet Emin Celik is shot dead by a
group of gunmen raiding his house.
29.8, unidentified gunmen shoot dead Niyazi Tekin in
Yüksekova and Hüseyin Güya in Dicle.
29.8, a military patrol shoots dead 65-year old
Mehdi Bilgin in Baspinar Village of Batman.
30.8, in Eskisehir, minibus driver Coskun Kirici
claims to have been tortured at police station after his detention on
August 25. Torture traces on his body and face are certified by a
medical report.
31.8, in Kayseri, five people are detained by police
for belonging to a radical Islamist organization.
31.8, in Kirsehir, five youths selling some objects
painted in yellow, red and green (colours of the Kurdish national flag)
are taken into police custody.
1.9, the meetings for celebration the World Peace
Day are banned in Ankara, Izmir and Antalya by the decision of
governors. Same day, the secretary of the Human Rights Association
(IHD), Eren Keskin and nine other IHD officials are taken into custody
in Istanbul as distributing Peace Day leaflets.
1.9, in Ankara, 53 workers occupying a transport
company in protest against firing of their comrades are driven out by
police force. During the operation, some workers are seriously wounded.
1.9, in Diyarbakir, unidentified gunmen shoot dead
Fuat Akgül and wound three other persons.
3.9, a former Kurdish prisoner, Metin Balaban is
shot dead by unidentified gunmen in Diyarbakir.
4.9, during a meeting organized in the frame of
World Peace Week in Istanbul, 24 distinguished people are taken into
custody for having distributed a leaflet, "Peace, Now!" printed in five
languages including Kurdish.
4.9, in Diyarbakir, Nurettin Doruk wounded on
September 1 by an unidentified assailant with axe dies in hospital.
5.9, in Diyarbakir, university student Mehmet Ali
Aslan who had been kidnapped five months ago is found assassinated.
6.9, in Bismil, Mehmet Tunc claims to have been
tortured for three days after being detained together with his son
Vedat Tunc. The Tunc family had come to Bismil four months ago after
their house at the Kürthaci Village being burnt by security forces.
6.9, during police operations, fifteen people are
taken into custody in Varto and two teachers in Ankara.
7.9, in Diyarbakir, two SHP officials, Servet Aslan
and Sahabettin Latifeci are found assassinated under torture.
7.9, the Military Court of Cassation ratifies the
sentence against the Izmir Chairman of the Anti-War Association, Aytek
Özel. Accused of leading a campaign against military service, Aytek had
been sentenced by the Military Court of the General Staff to 14 months
and 15 days in prison and TL 410 thousand in fine.
8.9, security forces arrest 20 people during an
operation in Besiri.
8.9, a former official of the defunct HEP and DEP,
Kemal Okutan is arrested in Istanbul for serving his 6-month
imprisonment to which he was sentenced for his party speeches.
9.9, seven trade union officials, Mustafa Oztaskin,
Sükrü Gunsili, Coskun Yilmaz, Ahmet Yildirim, Yakup Dogan, Cuma Sahin
and Faruk Turan are detained for having protested against Prime
Minister's speech during the opening of the International Izmir Fair.
12.9, in Diyarbakir, Abdulaziz Bilgin is
assassinated by unidentified gunmen.
13.9, in Yüksekova, worker Abdullah Citak who was
kidnapped one day ago is found assassinated.
13.9, in Diyarbakir, Ihsan Elmas falls victim of a
political murder.
14.9, in Adapazari, a young woman named Nuriye
Özgüroglu is found dead at the police station where she was detained
one day ago. Police claim that Özgüroglu committed suicide by throwing
out herself from the 4th floor.
14.9, in Istanbul, waiter Imam Yildirim claims to
have been tortured by police after being detained together with two
other persons.
14.9, in Izmir, three MHP militants, Erkin Ulutas,
Savas Sözak and Dogan Sever claim to have been beaten by police as
putting some posters on walls.
14.9, in Uludere, lorry driver Abdullah Demir falls
victim of the explosion of a mine laid by security forces.
17.9, the explosion of a mine laid by security
forces in Eruh kills nine people and wounds seven others travelling in
a minibus.
18.9, in Semdinli, two women, Gül Alp and Azime
Uysal fall victims of the explosion of a mine laid by security forces.
18.9, in Diyarbakir, the headman of the Kadi
Village, Bedri Tan is found killed under police custody. His family
accuses the security forces of having tortured him to death.
18.9, the IHD Izmir office is closed down by the
governor for the presence of some banned publications in its library.
18.9, in Diyarbakir, Aziz Oguz and Kemal Kücük fall
victims of political murder.
19.9, in Dicle, the explosion of a mine laid by
security forces kills a woman named Fatma Baspinar and wounds three
other persons.
20.9, the Governor of Samsun decides to cut 1/30 of
the salaries of nine public servants for having participated in a
protest action organized by the Finance Employees' Union (Tüm Maliye
Sen) on May 28, 1994, in Ankara.
21.9, in Bergama, Süleyman Demirci claims to have
been tortured at the Police Station to where he went to take
information about his 16-year old son taken into custody.
21.9, the Istanbul SSC sentences a member of the
Revolutionary Communist Party of Turkey (TDKP), Hüseyin Kiran, to
capital punishment. The punishment is later commuted to life-prison.
21.9, the IHD Adana sections of the IHD and the Pir
Sultan Abdal Association were closed down by the governor's decision
for having banned publications. The governor also asks the Public
Prosecutor to open legal proceeding against the IHD officials.
20.9, unidentified gunmen shot dead Nuri Aktas in
Besirli and Mehmet Emin Odabasi in Siverek.
21.9, in Izmir, security forces detain Mehmet
Yurttas, brother of one of the DEP deputies under arrest, in Diyarbakir
and six people in Izmir.
22.9, in Ankara, 18 year old Umut Kara claims to
have been kidnapped and subjected to torture by police forcing him to
be a police informer.
22.9, the IHD Tunceli chairman Ekber Kaya is taken
into police custody.
23.9, police announce the arrest of nine persons in
Istanbul, four Islamists in Mersin and fifteen alleged PKK members in
Antalya.
27.9, in Midyat, Ali Arbas falls victim of the
explosion of a mine laid by security forces.
27.9, unidentified gunmen shoot dead Hursit Altin in
Cizre.
28.9, in Istanbul, security forces raiding a
cafeteria shot dead three alleged Dev-Sol members, lawyer Fuat Erdogan,
Elmas Yalcin and Ismet Erdogan. The IHD Section accuses the police of
resorting to summary execution instead of arresting the suspects.
28.9, in Adana, HADEP official Mehmet Salih
Sabuttekin is shot dead by two unidentified gunmen.
28.9, a march for Freedom of Opinion, organized in
Ankara by the IHD and the Contemporary Lawyers' Association (CHD), is
banned by the governor's decision.
28.9, the son of the detained DEP Diyarbakir deputy
Leyla Zana and former Diyarbakir Mayor Mehdi Zana, is detained by
police at Istanbul Airport as leaving for Paris. Ronay Zana, a higher
education student in France, had come to Turkey for summer holiday.
28.9, the Izmir police announce the arrest of 28
alleged members of the Kurdish organization Rizgari in a recent
operation.
28.9, the Istanbul SSC sentences eight alleged
Dev-Sol members to prison terms of up to 12 years and six months. In
another trial, the court sentences fourteen people to prison terms of
up to 11 years and 8 months for having participated in a protest action
against the killing of a student by police.
28.9, in Besiri, Seyithan Kara falls victim of a
bombed attack.
29.9, in Adiyaman, twelve people are placed under
arrest by a court for illegal activities. In Ankara, eleven alleged PKK
members are taken into police custody.
30.9, in Istanbul, construction worker Cafer Atmaca
claims to have been tortured for three days at Kurtulus Police Station.
30.9, the Istanbul SSC sentences TIKKO militant
Metin Dere to capital punishment and Hasan Erdem to ten years in prison.
30.9, the Ankara SSC sentences PKK members Nasrettin
Akar and Abdülbaki Babür to four years and six months each.
30.9, Siddik Etyemez and Ahmet Ceylan, kidnapped
earlier, are found assassinated on the highway Diyarbakir-Ergani. In
Batman, Ahmet Özalp falls victim of a political murder.
PERSECUTION OF THE MEDIA
1.8, Van correspondent of the daily Özgür Ülke,
Bülent Ciftci is detained in Tatvan as travelling by bus to Istanbul.
1.8, the Istanbul SSC begins to try an Özgür Gündem
editor, Kemal Sahin for separatist propaganda in some articles he
published.
1.8, in Gaziantep, security forces raiding a house
detain musicians Saban Kilic, Mustafa Gümüs, Ilyas Gümüs, Salih Ceylan,
Ahmet Sezer and Celal Sezer.
2.8, two reporters of the German TV WDR, Osman Okkan
and Yüksel Ugurlu are kept under detention for 20 hours by gendarmes in
Diyarbakir as they are carrying out a reportage although they had a
special permission from the Regional Governor.
2.9, a book entitled Western Armenia and Genocide is
confiscated by the Istanbul SSC. The Zel Publishing House is accused of
qualifying Turkey's eastern territories as Armenia.
3.8, weekly Newroz N°24 and Denge Azadi N°11 are
confiscated by the Istanbul SSC for separatist propaganda.
7.8, the periodical Alinteri N°23 is confiscated by
the Istanbul SSC for articles inciting the people to hostility.
9.8, Özgür Gündem columnist Mehmet Can Yüce is
sentenced by the Istanbul SSC to two years in prison and TL 400 million
in fine. The responsible editor Ömer Özdemir too is sentenced to
6-month imprisonment and a fine of TL 50 million. Özdemir is also
sentenced to two years in prison and TL 450 million in fine for another
articles he published in Özgür Gündem. The tribunal decides to ban the
publication of Özgür Gündem, already defunct, for one month.
9.8, the last issues of the periodicals Genclik
Yildizi, Taraf and Öncü Partizan are confiscated by the Istanbul SSC
for propaganda of separatism and outlawed organizations.
11.8, the Özgür Ülke office in Agri is raided by
police and the newspaper's four employees, Mustafa Aladag, Seyfettin
Tepe, Nevzat Bulut and Berivan Kutlay detained.
11.8, three journalists, Ufuk Kaptan (Milliyet),
Ebru Kücükaydin (Hürriyet) and Necdet Dogruyol (Anatolia Agency) are
detained by gendarmes in Karamürsel as they are photographing Mert
Ciller, son of the Prime Minister Tansu Ciller, called up for military
service.
12.8, Özgür Ülke Diyarbakir office is raided by
police.
13.8, the publisher of newspaper Demokrat, Ersen
Korkmaz is stabbed by an unidentified assailant. Korkmaz has recently
published a series of articles about irregularities at public services.
13.8, four journalists of Özgür Ülke Mardin office,
Hüsniye Tekin, Emine Igdi, Hüsnü Akgül and Sükrü Kaplan are taken into
custody by police raiding the houses where they stay.
15.8, the periodical Halkin Gücü N°5 is confiscated
by the Istanbul SSC for separatist propaganda and praising an
underground organization.
16.8, author Osman Devres' book entitled The
peasantry in Turkey and Revolution is confiscated by the Istanbul SSC
for separatist propaganda. The book was issued by the Yasam Publishing
House.
17.8, a responsible editor of Özgür Ülke, Hasan
Sahin is placed under arrest by a court decision for some articles he
published. He will be tried by the Istanbul SSC by virtue of the
Anti-Terror Law.
17.8, author-publisher Mehmet Bayrak is sentenced by
the Ankara SSC to two years in prison and TL 250 million in fine for
his book entitled The Kurds and Their National Democratic Struggles.
The court also decides to destroy all available copies of the book.
17.8, the periodicals Gercek N°20 and Yeni Insan
N°25 are confiscated by the Istanbul SSC for separatist propaganda and
praising outlawed organizations.
17.8, in Konya, the broadcast of a local radio
station, Gencligin Sesi, is banned by the governor. For having aired a
little child's claims to have been tortured, the radio station's owner
Naci Daglioglu and speaker Ahmet Inci are detained.
18.8, the last issue of the periodical Hedef is
confiscated by the Istanbul SSC for separatist propaganda.
18.8, the trial of two correspondents of Özgür
Gündem, Ismail Günes and Sabri Bölek begins at the Erzincan SSC. Both
journalists are under arrest.
19.8, the Court of Cassation ratifies the punishment
of a former responsible editor of the defunct Azadi. Salih Özcelik had
been sentenced by a state security court to two years in prison and TL
250 million in fine. The higher court also ratifies the punishments of
two other journalists of the same periodical: 6-month imprisonment and
TL 50 million fine for responsible editor Zana Sezen, TL 100 million
fine for publisher Ikramettin Oguz. A one-month ban on the paper's
publication is also ratified.
21.8, the periodicals Newroz N°27 and Denge Azadi
N°14 are confiscated by the Istanbul SSC for separatist propaganda.
23.8, in Diyarbakir, newspaper distributor Hidir
Celik is shot dead by unidentified gunmen. He has been threatened
because of distributing pro-Kurdish newspapers.
24.8, a former editor of the magazine Medya Günesi,
Nurettin Yüksekyayla is sentenced by the Istanbul SSC to two years in
prison and TL 250 million in fine. The court also decides to ban the
magazine's publication for fifteen days.
24.8, the periodicals Özgür Gelecek N°33, Mücadele
N°33 and Öncü Partizan, special issue N°1 are confiscated by the
Istanbul SSC for propaganda of some outlawed organizations.
25.8, former editor of the periodical Alinteri, Ayse
Egilmez is sentenced by the Istanbul SSC to six months in prison and TL
50 million in fine. The court also decides to ban the magazine's
publication for one month.
25.8, in Istanbul, the office of the monthly Devrim
is raided by police and many furnitures and publications inside
destroyed.
25.8, Özgür Ülke columnist Haluk Yurtsever and eight
other people are taken into police custody.
26.8, Van correspondent of Özgür Ülke, Bülent
Ciftci, is placed under arrest after a 26-day police custody.
27.8, two Van correspondents of Özgür Ülke, detained
on August 8 during a police raid to the newspaper's office, are placed
under arrest.
28.8, the magazines Denge Azadi N°15 and Mücadele
N°107 are confiscated by the Istanbul SSC for separatist propaganda and
praising outlawed organizations.
29.8, in Ankara, during a repressive operation
against a group of workers in a protest action, gendarmes harassed TV
cameraman Zihni Oguzak and correspondent Selim Sahin covering the event.
30.8, Kurdish historian Nuri Dersimi's book entitled
Dersim in the History of Kurdistan and issued by the Zel Publishing
House is confiscated by the Istanbul SSC for separatist propaganda.
31.8, a former responsible editor of the defunct
daily Aydinlik, Hale Soysü is sentenced by the Istanbul SSC to 26
months in prison for a news concerning the PKK. The court also decides
to ban the newspaper's publication for five days.
1.9, four legal proceedings against the defunct
Özgür Gündem end in following sentences: Özgül Aslan to two years in
prison and TL 50 million in fine, Besim Döner to six months in prison
and TL 64 million in fine, Emel Kapilan to TL 67 million in fine and
publisher Yasar Kaya to TL 242.5 million in fine.
1.9, author Yalcin Kücük is sentenced by the Ankara
SSC to two years in prison and TL 250 million in fine for his book
Talks in The Kurdish Garden containing interviews with PKK leader
Öcalan. The court also issues a warrant of arrest against Kücük and
decides to ask him from France where he is in self-exile.
3.9, in Diyarbakir, Özgür Ülke correspondent Metin
Dag is taken into custody as covering an event and beaten at the police
station.
4.9, a five-man ARD TV team is prevented from
entering Northern Iraq on the directive of the Foreign Minister Mümtaz
Soysal.
5.9, in Mardin, Özgür Ülke correspondents Emine
Igdi, Sükrü Kaplan, Hüsnü Akgül and Hüsniye Tekin who had been detained
on August 13, are placed under arrest by a tribunal.
5.9, the responsible editor of the magazine Taraf,
Abdullah Kiraci is placed under arrest by the Istanbul SSC.
5.9, Emegin Bayragi N°128 and Medya Günesi N°55 are
confiscated by the Istanbul SSC for separatist propaganda.
6.9, Azadi N°16 and the latest issues of Deng and
Odak are confiscated by the Istanbul SSC for separatist propaganda.
6.9, University professor and Cumhuriyet's columnist
Toktamis Ates is taken as the target of an unsuccessful bomb attack.
The explosive was placed by a radical Islamist group in a book shop
where Ates was to sign his books. Fortunately, the bomb did not explode
thanks to a technical fault and is found after the signature day was
closed and Toktamis went out.
7.9, the last issue of the weekly Aydinlik is
confiscated by an Istanbul court for not having put in practice an
earlier court decision banning the daily Aydinlik's publication for
five days. Aydinlik's chief editor Ferit Ilsever says that it is
unbelievable to sentence a weekly for not having applied a sentence
against a defunct daily under the same name.
9.9, the responsible editor of the Doz Publishing
House, Eren Keskin is sentenced by the Istanbul SSC to six months in
prison and TL 50 million in fine for the book entitled The
International Conference on Kurds. Eren is also the Secretary of the
Istanbul IHD.
9.9, The Istanbul SSC sentences the responsible of
the Zagros Publishing House, Nabi Barut, to one-year imprisonment and
TL 50 million in fine for having published Yalcin Kücük's book The
Story of A Resurrection.
10.9, the publication of two periodicals, Emegin
Bayragi and Genclik Yildizi is banned in pretext that their common
publisher Haydar Demir and editor Cem Özen are under arrest.
10.9, the Mesopotamia Cultural Centre (MKM) is
raided by police and a number of persons inside, including HADEP
Istanbul Chairman Kemal Parlak detained.
11.9, the Istanbul SSC confiscates the daily
Cumhuriyet for an interview with radical Islamist militants, the
periodicals Kizil Bayrak and Öncü Partizan for separatist propaganda
and praising outlawed organisations.
12.9, Adana correspondent of Özgür Ülke, Hanifi
Aydemir claims to have been tortured at police station after being
detained on September 10.
12.9, folk singer Ali Ekber Eren and five members of
the musical group Kizilirmak, Ilkay Akkaya, Ismail Ilknur, Tuncay
Akdogan, Yasar Aydin and Cengiz Akatas are taken into custody at the
Istanbul Airport when they returned from a concert tour in Germany.
13.9, a responsible editor of Özgür Ülke, Mehmet
Irvan is placed under arrest by the Istanbul SSC for some articles he
published. There are 27 legal proceedings against Irvan.
13.9, three former mayors, Sükrü Cali (Hakkari),
Nazmi Balkas (Lice) and Abdullah Kaya (Kozluk) is sentenced by the
Istanbul SSC to 20 months in prison and TL 210 million in fine each for
their declarations to Özgür Gündem. The daily's editor Besim Önder too
is sentenced to six months in prison and TL 126 million in fine for
having published these declarations. The court also decides to ban
Özgür Gündem's publication for 15 days.
14.9, the magazine Denge Azadi N° 17 is confiscated
by the Istanbul SSC for separatist propaganda.
15.9, the magazine Newroz N° 30 is confiscated by
the Istanbul SSC for separatist propaganda.
16.9, the IHD Istanbul secretary lawyer Eren Keskin
is sentenced by the Istanbul SSC to two years in prison and TL 250
million in fine for one of his articles published by Özgür Gündem. The
court also sentences the daily's editor Davut Karadag to six months in
prison and TL 122 million in fine and the publisher Yasar Kaya to TL
242 million in fine for the same article.
16.9, a penal court of Istanbul begins to try the
editor of the Berfin Publishing House, Ismet Aslan, for having
published a book entitled The Forbidden Sentences. Accused of
discrediting Islam, he faces a prison term of up to two years and six
months. The court also issues an arrest warrant for the author of the
book, Abdullah Riza Ergüven who is currently in Europe.
16.9, the editor of the magazine Azadi, Ikramettin
Oguz is sentenced by the Istanbul SSC to a fine of TL 100 million. The
court also decides to ban for one week the publication of Azadi which
is already banned by another court.
17.9, famous folk singer Sadik Gürbüz' concert,
organized by the IHD Sivas branch, is banned by the governor. Gürbüz
says that his five earlier concerts in different provinces too were
banned.
17.9, former Sivas representative of the magazine
Mücadele, Rifat Özgüngör is shot dead by a gendarmerie patrol.
19.9, the magazines Alinteri N°27 and Express N°34
are confiscated by the Istanbul SSC, respectively for instigation to
racial and class hostility and for separatist propaganda.
20.9, the Diyarbakir office of Özgür Ülke is raided
by police and three correspondents, Gürsel Sahin, Metin Dag and Nezahat
Özen taken into custody.
20.9, the daily Özgür Ülke announces that 146 of its
issues since 26 April 1994, date of its first publication, have been
confiscated by court decisions and its seven journalists have been
placed under arrest. Four of Özgür Ülke editors, Suha Soysal Demirci,
Halil Dalkilic, Hasan Sahin and Mehmet Evran are still under arrest.
22.9, the Istanbul SSC indicts Mücadele editor Cafer
Cakmak for some articles published in three different issues.
23.9, a former Hedef editor, Naime Kaya is detained
in Istanbul together with eight other persons.
24.9, the last issues of the magazine Hedef and the
newsletter Haklar ve Özgürlükler are confiscated by the Istanbul SSC
for separatist propaganda.
25.9, Izmir distributor of Özgür Ülke, Mahmut
Akkartal is detained and his house searched.
26.9, one of the publisher of the defunct weekly
Azadi, Behram Alabay is sentenced by the Istanbul SSC to a fine of TL
100 million for an article published on June 16, 1994.
28.9, the chairman of the Mesopotamia Cultural
Centre (MKM), Ibrahim Gürbüz is sentenced by the Istanbul SSC to two
years and three months in prison and TL 112 million in fine for his
speech at a HEP meeting.
29.9, the Istanbul SSC sentences Cumhuriyet
publisher Berin Nadi to TL 296 million and former editor Aydin Engin to
TL 148 million in fine for a news concerning the PKK.
29.9, the magazine Denge Azadi N°19 is confiscated
by the Istanbul SSC for separatist propaganda.
30.9, Özgür Ülke Diyarbakir correspondents Kadriye
Özcanli, Mehmet Balamir and Ibrahim Karaca, detained on September 6,
are placed under arrest by the Diyarbakir SSC. Besides, the daily's
Urfa correspondent Vehbiye Tüzün is taken into police custody in
Diyarbakir.