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

215

18th Year - N°215
September 1994
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
 

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.