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


222

19th Year - N°222
September-October 1995
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
 

INADMISSIBLE
   
Is the European Parliament to legitimate a militarist regime within the European family by  voting for the Customs Union?

    After having dragged Turkey to a disaster during its 4-year period, the DYP-CHP Coalition has in last two months resorted to a series of political manoeuvres to fool as well the population of Turkey as the world opinion. Some cosmetic changes in the legislation and the decision to hold early elections on December 24, 1995, have been announced as important steps taken towards democratisation.
    Although none of the six conditions set by the European Parliament to ratify the Customs Union between Turkey and Europe has been satisfied, Prime Minister Tansu Ciller and her new partner, Vice-Premier Deniz Baykal hope that the Euro-deputies, thanks to their manoeuvres, will vote for the ratification of the accord on December 15 in Strasbourg.
    The Turkish ministers, diplomatic missions, the pro-government media and the Turkish migrant organizations in the service of the Turkish State lobby are, in a last effort, mobilised to gain over those Euro-deputies who seem decided not to vote for the Customs Union or to delay the vote to a further date after the elections.
    The final stage of the operation "fooling" started with the resignation of the Ciller Government on September 20, 1995. It was known that the right-wing DYP's coalition with the social-democrat CHP (former SHP) was not functioning smoothly. Although both of them had been for four years in perfect agreement as regards the application of the directives given by the military-dominated National Security Council (MGK) and the violation of human rights, the CHP leadership was aware of the fact that this complicity was eroding the party's credibility in the eyes of the electorate. In order to give the image of defending human rights, the CHP ministers were provoking from time to time some mini crises, but each crisis was ending in a conciliation thanks to some insignificant concessions from both sides.
    When Deniz Baykal replaced Hikmet Cetin as party chairman on September 10, 1995, he promised the delegates to work for rebuilding popular confidence in his party. To this end, at his first meeting with Prime Minister Ciller to agree on terms for extending the partnership, Baykal handed over her a file containing a series of proposals. Among others, Baykal asked Ciller to find a solution to the ongoing labour disputes and to sack the Istanbul police chief Necdet Menzir, who had accused the CHP of providing shelter for terrorists. In Baykal's file there were also documents proving that the State apparatus, especially the security and education services, were occupied by the neo-fascist and fundamentalist functionaries.
    Ciller, without entering the discussion on all the matters in the file, strongly reacted against the elimination of these extremist elements from the State posts and refused to govern under such conditions. As for the labour disputes, she also refused the wage hikes on pretext that they were not compatible with the application of the drastic measures imposed by the IMF.
    In fact, at that moment, Turkey was being shaken by the waves of strikes and demonstrations carried out more than 300 thousand workers of public sectors.
    After the three-hour meeting, Baykal left Ciller's office by saying, "the coalition is effectively finished, if not legally."
    In retaliation, Ciller gave the government's resignation to President Demirel and, appearing in a nation-wide TV broadcast, declared: "Baykal wants us to fire Menzir. We won't do that. We cannot and will not base our policies on the corpses of people like Menzir…"
    Baykal responded: "What the premier minister is saying is not the truth. I felt the prime minister was not prepared to change the way she wants to run the coalition government." Moreover, he accused Ciller of not being a real prime minister, but of acting on behalf of some obscure forces.
    What is the more, CHP Secretary general Adnan Keskin said on September 22 that Ciller is an inconsistent person who is "a swindler and a clown." He added that Ciller first should give an account of how she acquired her wealth in Turkey and the United States. "She could not show any legal sources for her wealth… She is knee deep in dirt."
    Ciller, even before falling in conflict with the CHP, was searching ways to replace the coalition with the CHP by an extreme-right government based on the ultra nationalist deputies of his own party and those belonging to the MHP and the ANAP. She dreamed to apply her militarist and anti-popular policies until the November 1996 elections.
    After the formal contacts with the other party leaders, she decided to form a minority DYP government with the support of the neo-fascist MHP, extremist deputies of the other right-wing parties such as ANAP, YP, BBP and the MP. To assure the MHP's support, she promised Türkes to appoint his party's leading members to the key posts in the State apparatus.
    For the support of the minor right-wing parties such as MP, YP and BBP, she did not hesitate to issue fallacious declarations on Turkey's relations with Europe.
    A few hours before the vote in Parliament, Ciller and Foreign Minister Coskun Kirca jointly issued a statement that shocked the diplomatic community as well as the Turkish Foreign Ministry staff. The statement said Turkey would ask for provisions in the European customs union agreement dealing with the Turkish Cypriots.
    As the statement was being issued foreign missions were called and diplomats were told to ignore the document because it was issued for internal political consumption.
    This scandal would cause furious attacks on Ciller by the Turkish media. The Turkish Daily News would report on October 21: "Here we see that Ciller in her final hour of desperation did not hesitate to even jeopardise Turkey's entry into the customs union for a couple of votes. Such things may happen in banana republics but they should never occur in a country in Europe."
    To the grand astonishment of the left-wing circles, she also managed to obtain the promise of support from the DSP leader Ecevit in exchange of her promise to satisfy the wage hike demands of workers on strike.
    Ciller set up her minority DYP government on October 5, including extreme-right elements of his party such as Coskun Kirca as foreign minister. However, her alliance with the MHP and her hypocrisy concerning workers' demands cost her to a spectacular defeat at the Parliament.
    On October 15, thousands of workers took to the streets of Ankara to demand a "No" vote, after Ciller rejected their latest wage demands. So, Ecevit had to withdraw his party's support to the minority government. Besides, 13 DYP deputies, including former Parliament Speaker Hüsamettin Cindoruk, either voted "no" or did not show up. Finally, the opposition bloc sends off Ciller with 230 "no confidence" votes to the 191.
    On this defeat, the main opposition Motherland Party (ANAP) Chairman Mesut Yilmaz said the vote legally terminated Ciller's functions as the prime minister and a new government leader had to be appointed to try his hand in the remaining 20 days or the Parliament had to be dissolved for new elections at the expire of the 45-day Constitutional limit for the government crisis.
    As all observers were predicting the end of Ciller's political career, it was again the social-democrat CHP that saved her from this political catastrophe and Baykal, forgetting all those pronounced one month ago, proposed her a new CHP-DYP coalition.
    There was not any change in Ciller's political stand. She was still hypocrite in her declarations, enemy of all democratic forces, champion of military solutions in Kurdish question and, above all, "knee deep in dirt" as said by CHP Secretary general Keskin one month ago. To open the way to a new coalition with the CHP, she did not hesitate to sacrifice Istanbul police chief Necdet Menzir for whom, one month ago she had said "we cannot and will not base our policies on the corpses of people like Menzir…" Besides, since there was no other solution, she declared ready to hold early elections in December 1995 and to give some wage rises to workers.
    Counting on the renewal of the CHP's support, Ciller expelled all 13 DYP deputies from the party, reducing the number of its seats in the 450-member Parliament to 164.
    To prove his attachment to the regime and to gain over confidence of Ciller and the military, CHP leader Baykal immediately rushed to Brussels and, on October 19, asked for unconditional support from the Socialist Group of the European Parliament, for the customs union between Turkey and the European Union. "We are establishing a two-month, electoral government. Do not expect too much from us and give us unconditional support for the customs union," he said.
    Before the foundation of the new coalition government, the DYP-CHP majority adopted in Parliament a new electoral law to hold the anticipated elections on December 24 and another law making some cosmetic changes in Article 8 of the Anti-Terror Law.
    Finally, on October 30, Ciller's new DYP-CHP coalition government was set up and CHP leader Baykal took over the seats of vice-premier and foreign minister. He did not object even to the nomination of Ayvaz Gökdemir as State Minister although he insulted as "prostitutes" the chairwomen of three political groups in the European Parliament. As for CHP Secretary General Keskin who had qualified Ciller "knee deep in dirt", he took part in her cabinet as Housing Minister.
    Is it a transitory government until the December 24 elections?
    They adopted such an electoral law full of unconstitutional articles that the Constitutional Court may annul it any moment and the holding of general elections may be delayed to a further date. It can be annulled because the utilisation of the right to vote recognized to the Turkish migrants abroad and to the citizens older than 18 years have not been assured by the new law. That is to say, if the elections are held on December 24, more than 2 million migrants and more than 5 million youths cannot vote. Seeing this, one can ask himself if the Ciller-Baykal tandem issued such an unconstitutional law condemned to be annulled in order to stay in power longer while giving the image of favouring "early images".
    Whatsoever be the possible date of the elections, the DYP and the CHP seem decided to continue their complicity in keeping anti-democratic legislation in force and in refusing any peaceful and political solution of the Kurdish question as long as they remain in power.
    As for after the elections, the CHP with its tarnished image in the eyes of its traditional centre-left electorate is already doomed to an electoral defeat; that is why Baykal and his team do their best to stay in power as long as possible before such a catastrophe.
    Ciller, ignoring all moral values, is in the preparations of forming an extreme-right government after the elections. She has already agreed with the MHP to place Türkes and all other neo-fascist leaders in his party's tickets. Besides, all symbolic figures of the State terrorism, the super-governor of the Kurdish region, the governors of big cities, retired generals and notorious police chiefs have already resigned their posts to take part in Ciller's electoral tickets. So, Ciller hopes to obtain the majority necessary to govern Turkey with an extreme-right government, an attempt that failed in September 1995.

WILL EUROPE EMBRACE SUCH A REGIME?

    To assure her electoral victory, Ciller mainly counts on the European Parliament's ratification of the Turco-European Customs Union on December 14, 1995. If the Euro-deputies vote for the union, Ciller will exploit this vote as a personal victory and use it largely in her electoral campaign.
    This is why the Foreign Affairs Committee of the European Parliament, at his meeting on October 31 in Brussels, could not take a decision on the matter and deferred to November 22 its assessment of whether the customs union accord should be ratified.
    Unconvinced about recent steps for further democratisation in Turkey, many Euro-deputies have already appeared to be to postpone the entire ratification process of the customs union until next year.
    Addressing the committee, rapporteur Carlos Carnero Gonzales termed the recent steps taken in Turkey "positive but insufficient. He said that the decision by the Turkish Court of Cassation to uphold the stiff prison sentences on four Kurdish deputies was disappointing even though the release of two other such deputies was ordered.
    Carnero also said that he did not consider it a consolation that the incarcerated former DEP deputies could take their case to the European Commission of Human Rights.
    Carnero also referred to the recent changes to Article 8 of the Anti-Terror Law as "insufficient." "Such half-measures would not satisfy the European Parliament, Considering as sufficient the small steps taken by Turkey in the line of democratisation will be stupid," he said.
    The rapporteur finally insisted on the following six points for developing further relations of any kind, including economic relations, with Turkey:
    1. Reform of the 1982 Constitution.
    2. Release of MPs of Kurdish origin in the DEP
    3. Lifting or a profound modification of Article 8
    4. Reinforcement of the protection of human rights
    5. A new approach, non military, to the Kurdish Question.
    6. Acceptation of the UN resolutions on Cyprus.
    Arguing that the pressure exerted on Ankara for democratisation and human rights has to be maintained longer, Carnero also indicated his view that it would be better for a final judgement on Turkey to be deferred until after the upcoming Turkish general elections.
    So, the European Parliament, the conscience of the European people is, on November 22 and December 14, in the face of an important choice to prove the level of its commitment to the defence of human rights and freedoms.
    If the European Parliament ratifies the Customs Union, the militarist rulers of Turkey will immediately forget all their promises for "democratisation", and the European Union will turn into an accomplice of the never-ending violation of human rights in the south-eastern flank of the continent.
   
IHD: THE RECORD OF HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATIONS STILL DARK

    The Human Rights Association (IHD), in a report released on October 30, maintained that human rights violation in Turkey was continuing to increase in spite of promises given to European Parliament.
    IHD Chairman Akin Birdal said that there had not been an abatement of cases against individuals on the grounds of "thought crimes" and no steps whatsoever had been made to try and resolve the Kurdish question.
    Birdal also said that the new electoral law was a breach of human rights and democratic principles. "This system is contrary to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the European Convention on Human Rights, the Charter of Paris, and the Vienna Conference. The principles, according to which everyone has the right, under these documents, of participating in the administration of the country have not been honoured," Birdal said.
    He added that the changes Turkey had introduced in line with its expectations concerning the customs union were far from satisfactory as far as the European Parliament is concerned.
    "If, in this case, Turkey's customs union accord is ratified by the European Parliament, this will be more because Europe wants it," Birdal argued. Maintaining that Turkey has become a country "whose prisons are full and overflowing," Birdal also referred to the recent verdict by the Cassation Court concerning the tough sentences for former DEP deputies. He said the incarceration of these former deputies proved that freedom of expression did not even exist in the Turkish Parliament today.
    "If there is a real desire for social peace in Turkey, then the path to this is human rights and full democracy. The first step in this respect is a non-discriminatory general amnesty. This, in turn, is only possible through a Parliament which loves Turkey, that puts Turkey as a democratic and multicultural country above all else, and one which has freed itself from the pressures and threats of a military authority," Birdal said.
    Below is the inventory of human rights violations in August and September 1995 given by the IHD:

People detained    2,037
People arrested    328
Deaths in custody or under torture    18
Civilians killed    55
Civilians wounded    68
Allegations of torture    39
Disappeared while in custody    18
Villages evacuated or set on fire    45
Killed in clashes    629
Total number of political detainees    8,789
Prisoners of opinion    174
Places bombed    28
Associations and media offices illegally raided    20
Associations or media closed down    33
Journalist detained    45
Publications confiscated    26

STATE OF EMERGENCY EXTENDED

    Acting on the directives of the military-dominated National Security Council (MGK), the Turkish Parliament, on October 28, 1994, extended the state of emergency in southeastern Turkey for further four months.
    The legislators voted 215 to 74 to extend -- for the 25th time -- the emergency rule which gives sweeping powers to local authorities in 10 southeastern and eastern Kurdish provinces.
    Under the state of emergency, a super governor of the region and the governors of the ten provinces have the powers equal to those of martial law authorities. All violations of human rights such as arrests, tortures, bans, deportations, burning Kurdish villages are being carried on under the responsibility of these governors. In fact, these governors totally obey to the directives of the military commanders.
    Although the Republican People's Party (CHP) had been advocating in opposition to lift the state of emergency when they come to power, the majority of the CHP deputies have always voted for the extension of this anti-democratic regime since they became partner of the coalition government.


FOUR KURDISH DEPUTIES KEPT IN PRISON

    The Court of Cassation, on October 26, 1995, revised an initial conviction of eight pro-Kurdish politicians, upholding the prison sentences passed on six and ordering the retrial of two.
    The court upheld judgements against Leyla Zana, Orhan Dogan, Hatip Dicle and Selim Sadak, who were each sentenced to 15-year prison terms by the State Security Court (DGM) last December.
    The SSC's sentences against Ahmet Türk and Sedat Yurttas were upheld, but the court ordered their release since they have served the required minimum of their sentences. The appeals court ordered their retrial under the Anti-Terrorism Law. 
    The Court of Cassation also decided that the fines of TL 70 million imposed on Sirri Sakik and Mahmut Alniak, both also sentenced to three-and-a-half years in prison, were too lenient.
    The former deputies Zana, Dogan, Dicle and Sadak were originally charged under the Anti-Terrorism Law with being members of an outlawed armed organization and following their conviction applied to the appeals court.
    There were strong reactions to the Court of Cassation's decisions. Responding to questions after the court session, Alniak evaluated the decision as a punishment of the public. He likened the verdict to that brought against Adnan Menderes and his colleagues, who were hanged on Yassiada Island.  "Everybody is familiar with the case of Deniz Gezmis and his friends in Turkey, they were sentenced to death unjustly," said Alniak. He continued that the case against the former DEP deputies amounted to those who felt powerful suppressing the poor.
    He added that the verdict harmed voters' powers and also amounted to a sentence passed on the public. He continued that nobody, even Prime Minister Tansu Ciller, the former Chief of General Staff Dogan Güres and President Süleyman Demirel could defend the Court of Cassation's decision.
    Speaking about the court's judgement, Sakik said it was a political decision because former Chief of General Staff Dogan Güres had said he wanted the deputies to be tried. Sakik claimed that the verdict would not support peace and the decision favoured neither Turkish society nor Kurdish society.
    Lawyers of the defendants evaluated the verdict by saying that they had not expected such a severe punishment. Lawyer Yusuf Alatas said he had been optimistic from the beginning because of his confidence in the Court of Cassation.
    Next day, two Kurdish parliamentarians, fresh from Ankara central prison, slammed the Court of Cassation that set them free. "We were not pleased at all by the decision," said former Mardin MP Ahmet Türk, sitting in his parliamentary residence while his children and grandchildren ran up for hugs. "We say it today and we will say it tomorrow, who profits from this situation where the elected representatives of the people are thrown out of parliament?"  Türk, looking wan and thin from 20 months behind bars, told Reuters.
    Türk and former Diyarbakir MP Sedat Yurttas, released from prison more than 24 hours after the court's decision, accused the court of trying to boost Turkey's bid for a lucrative customs deal with the European Union.

ARTICLE 8: "CRIME OF OPINION" MAINTAINED

    The Turkish parliament, on October 27, accepted some cosmetic changes to an anti-terror law, so as intellectuals, artists, journalists, lawyers and politicians may again face imprisonment and heavy fines for publicly demanding greater rights for the country's more than 10 million Kurds.
    The amendment, keeping in force the "crime of opinion", reduces maximum jail terms under the law to three years from five, make it possible to commute jail terms to fines and require prosecutors to prove a defendant's remarks were intended to undermine the unitary Turkish state.
    A temporary article inserted in the draft bill allows courts, which have already convicted defendants for violating the Anti-Terrorism Law, to rehear cases and either commute their prison terms to fines or suspend their sentences.
    The amendments concerning Article 8, which has been seen as one of the biggest obstacles before Turkey prior to its entrance to the customs union, were put on the parliamentary agenda immediately and changed accordingly.
    The Correct Way Party (DYP) has given the go-ahead to the amendment of this article at the end of bargaining over the formation of the new government. However, it is not happy with the new changes. According to the DYP, even a minor change in the law has meant making concessions to terrorism, but the party has remained silent. 
    Although the Republican People's Party (CHP) was aware that the amendments would not even satisfy its own jailed grassroots, it had to approve the new version of the article with the purpose of benefiting from it as a propaganda tool before entering the customs union. 
    Motherland Party (ANAP) never wanted Article 8, which it invented, to be altered. According to ANAP, the changes were a type of amnesty.

Many Prisoners of Opinion Stay in Jails

    Jurists have begun criticising the new version of the amended Article 8 of the Anti-terrorism Law on the grounds that there is not much difference between the old and the new. They say that the new changes will not affect the status of most of the people in prisons. Only those who have been convicted under only one single charge will be set free after serving a short period of imprisonment. 
    Under the amended version of Article 8, the minimum punishment has been set at one year imprisonment and the maximum at three years. This punishment may either be commuted to a fine or suspended. In any case, the judge who is to hear such cases will have full discretion in determining the amount of punishment, in the commutation of prison terms to fines or suspension of punishments.
    Besides, following the enactment of the amendment, within one month the courts must re-examine the cases which they heard earlier and render their decision in view of the amended version of the article.
    At present, the number of people who have been jailed on charges of violating this article has reportedly been determined as 152. Also the number of convicts whose punishments have not yet been upheld by the Court of Cassation is around 2,600. There are more than 5,000 pending cases which have been filed under the charges.
    The common view of the jurists who oppose the new changes is the issue that those inmates who will have to stay in prisons for years will not benefit from the law under any conditions. For example, Ismail Besikci has been given a 65-year prison term which has become final. The total punishments against him amount to nearly 200 years.  Under the new changes, the finalised prison term against him will drop to 35 years and those which have not yet become final to 100 years. Isik Yurtcu, editor of daily Özgür Gündem, is one of those inmates who faces the same situation.

BRUTALITY AND HUNGER-STRIKES IN PRISONS

    A brutal operation in the Buca Prison in Izmir ending in three deaths and more than 50 wounded on September 21, 1995, has led to a series of hunger strikes in all prisons of the country housing political convicts.
    The unrest in prisons started when it was announced that some political prisoners in the Buca Prison were to be transferred to the prison in Aydin. When the prisoners opposed this decision, the guards and gendarmes brutally intervened by killing three convicts. During the conflict, 45 prisoners and 15 members of the gendarmerie were injured. Many other people were injured when security forces attacked members of the Human Rights Association, lawyers, and relatives of the prisoners who had gathered in front of the prison after the event.
    In protest against this repressive operation, more than 1,200 political prisoners in 23 prisons have gone on hunger-strike. At the end of October, the life of more than 50 hunger-strikers was in danger.
    According to the press reports, in September, there were 8,789 political detainees in prison of whom 8,445 were left-wing and only 344 right-wing. Most crowded prisons were Diyarbakir (1,062), Bayrampasa-Istanbul (745), Buca-Izmir (493), Konya (424), Mardin (320), Bursa (306), Mus (288) and Batman (243).

THE TURKISH MILITARY MENACE FOREIGN STATES

    The Turkish military recently announced their hostility against the defenders of human rights, as well in Turkey as abroad, during a ceremony to honour the families of five soldiers killed during operation against Kurdish guerrillas.
    The Commander of the 15th Army-Corps, general Nahit Senogul, during the ceremony held on October 28, 1995, at the Officers' Club in Izmit, said: "We are very angry. Our anger is against the criminal PKK and its collaborators here and abroad. These collaborators pretend to be defenders of human rights and democracy. Some foreign states do not hesitate to honour terrorists. This is against all universal conventions. If our enemies continue in that way, the Turkish Nation will be furious and make them pay what they did. To take the question to international forums is not a solution. Even if they take the question to interplanetary forums, we do not care at all. Even if we remain completely isolated, we shall defend our fatherland, our nation and our flag to the last drop of our blood."
   
KURDISH PARTY CHAIRMAN IN PRISON

    The Chairman of the Democracy and Change Party (DDP), Ibrahim Aksoy was taken into custody on October 14, 1995, at the Ankara Airport after his arrival from Germany.
    Aksoy had been sentenced to three years and eight months imprisonment for a speech he have during a HEP meeting in Konya in 1991.
    When his sentence was ratified by the Court of Cassation, Aksoy was in Europe. He will serve his imprisonment in the Ankara Central Prison.
    Another 2-year sentence against Aksoy is at the agenda of the Court of Cassation.
    The national congress of the DDP, convened as Aksoy was being detained on October 14, elected him as honorary party chairman.
    Like other Kurdish political parties, the DDP too is considered by the State as a separatist organization and the Public Prosecutor opened a lawsuit at the Constitutional Court for banning the party.

NEW IMPRISONMENTS FOR BESIKCI

    Sociologist Ismail Besikci is sentenced on September 6, 1995, by the Istanbul SSC to three years and four months in prison and TL 666 million in fine for his two books, The Stained Values and The Unlawful Justice. The director of the Yurt Publishing House, Ünsal Öztürk too is sentenced to 10 months in prison and TL 83 million in fine for having published the said books.
    Besikci and Öztürk were reportedly insulted and beaten on October 15, as they were being taken from prison to tribunal for another trial.
    Besikci was sentenced again by the Istanbul SSC, on October 18, to two years and four months in prison and TL 291 million in fine for his two articles published by the defunct daily Özgür Gündem in 1993.
    Same day, in another trial, the SSC sentenced Besikci to two years in prison and TL 50 million for one of his articles published by the review Özgür Halk in 1992.
    On October 24, Besikci was sentenced again by the Ankara SSC to two years in prison and TL 100 million in fine for the introduction he wrote to Edip Polat's book Kurdistan in Scientific Language. The court sentences Polat to same punishments as well. The publisher of the book, Vedat Yeniceri was sentenced by the same court to six months in prison and TL 50 million in fine.
    Besikci has, up to now, been sentenced to more than 70 years imprisonment and 27 of his 31 books are banned. A part of 41 years and four months of prison terms and a total fine of TL 3 billion 576 million against Besikci have already been ratified by the Court of Cassation. Besikci is serving his prison terms in the Ankara Central Prison. Since Besikci cannot have the financial possibilities to pay the fines, he will have to serve them as imprisonment and his total prison terms will so rise to hundreds years.
    Besikci was awarded 1995 Freedom of Expression Prize on September 27, 1995, by the Norwegian Authors Union. The union stated that Besikci was not permitted to visit Stavanger (Norway) to receive the prize and to lecture on freedom of expression.
    The prize of 100,000 Norwegian Kroner and a collection of 21 works of art was received on behalf of Besikci by the IHD Chairman Akin Birdal.

PUBLISHER ZARAKOLU'S NEW CONDEMNATIONS

    In last two months, the Director of Belge Publishing House, Mrs. Ayse Zarakolu has been sentenced to new imprisonments and some of her earlier condemnations ratified by the Court of Cassation.
    Zarakolu had already spent 3 months and 22 days in prison for one of her earlier publications. She is expected to enter prison in coming weeks.
    On September 28, Zarakolu was sentenced by the Istanbul SSC to five months in prison and TL 42 million in fine for Faysal Dagli's book Birakuji: Battle Between Brothers.
    Same day, a 6-month imprisonment and a fine of TL 60 million against Zarakolu for Yasar Kaya's book The Gündem Articles was ratified by the Court of Cassation.
    Next day, the Court of Cassation ratified Zarakolu's another condemnation, six months in prison and TL 50 million in fine, for journalist Hasan Bildirici's book Bekaa.
    On October 3, she was again sentenced by the Istanbul SSC to 6-month prison and TL 50 million in fine for Rahmi Batur's book The Zargos.
    Another sentence of two years in prison and TL 250 million in fine against Zarakolu for Yves Ternon's book The Armenian Taboo was overruled by the Court of Cassation on October 18. However, she will be tried again by the Istanbul SSC.
    Four other trials against Zarakolu are still being dealt by the Istanbul SSC.
    Recently, the Istanbul SSC Prosecutor indicted Zarakolu for having published a book of Lenin, The Liberation Movement of the East.
    This book was first published in Turkish 25 years ago with a foreword of the Ant Publishing House. Zarakolu published the book again without changing the foreword. Although there is no mention of the Kurdish movement in the foreword, the prosecutor claims that the book was published with the intention to make propaganda against the indivisible unity of Turkey.

TURKISH TROOPS CROSSED INTO IRAQ

    Turkish troops crossed, on October 8, 1995,  into northern Iraq to strike at separatist Kurdish guerrillas fighting the Ankara government.
    "We went in and hit them," Ünal Erkan, super-governor for Turkey's 10 southeastern provinces under emergency rule, told the press. He claimed that 32 PKK guerrillas were killed in the past 24 hours.
    Turkey twice this year poured troops into northern Iraq to pound Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) fighters who use the area as a staging ground for attacks in their 11-year battle in Turkey's mainly Kurdish Southeast.
    The PKK has also been fighting Iraqi Kurdish movements in northern Iraq which are pressed by Ankara to drive out PKK fighters from areas under their control.
    Iraqi Kurdish sources in southeastern Turkey said clashes between the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) and PKK, which started in August, were continuing.
    Iraq officially protested Turkey for violating its northern border with a fresh incursion.
    A Foreign Ministry spokesman said Turkish troops, backed by helicopters, penetrated 2.5 miles into northern Iraq in a drive against the PKK, causing heavy damage and casualties to Iraqi Kurds.
    "The government of Iraq refuses categorically Turkish pretexts to justify its military operations inside Iraqi territory and regards them as a violation of its sovereignty, the principles of international law, the UN charter and principles of good neighbourliness," said the Iraqi Foreign Ministry.
    On the other hand, the Turkish Parliament, obeying to the directive of the National Security Council (MGK), extended on October 28, 1995, the stay of the US-British-French air force based in Incirlik, southern Turkey, patrolling a no-fly zone north of the 36th parallel to protect Iraq's Kurds from attack by Saddam Hussein's forces.
    But the Operation Provide Comfort, the official name for the air protection, was given a three-month extension instead of the usual six.  The stay of the Western force was prolonged with 168 votes to 111 following electrified debates. 
    The decision coincides with a visit by Iraqi deputy foreign minister Saad Abdel-Majid al-Faisal, who met Foreign Minister Coskun Kirca. Iraq wants the mandate of the allied air force to be terminated.
    The opponents of the continuing stay of the foreign warplanes see the operation as harmful to Turkey's interests, saying the military protection helps the gradual evolution of an independent Kurdish state in northern Iraq which is certain to fuel separatist tendencies among Turkey's own Kurdish population.
    However, the PKK often accuses the Operation Provide Comfort to give intelligence and logistic support to the Turkish Armed Forces in offensive against the Kurdish Guerrilla in the Northern Iraq.

ANKARA-TEHRAN COOPERATION AGAINST KURDS

    Turkey and Iran have agreed, on October 12, 1995, to conduct joint operations against "terrorists" along the border between the two countries.
    The two countries have decided to authorize two high-ranking officers to set up a military committee and jointly conduct operations along the border.
    Iranian Interior Minister Ali Mohammad Besharati pledged that Iran would not allow anyone to destroy its good relations with Turkey.
    Muharrem Göktay, the Turkish Interior Ministry's deputy under-secretary and the head of the Turkish delegation, said that Turkey has always believed in Iranian officials' good intentions.
    Earlier, on September 8, 1995, Turkey, Iran and Syria had said that the PKK, which has recently intensified its activities in northern Iraq, should not be allowed to operate in that region.
    Foreign Ministers Erdal Inönü of Turkey, Ali Akbar Velayeti of Iraq and Farouk al-Shara of Syria discussed recent developments in northern Iraq as part of a consultation mechanism set up by the three countries in the wake of the Gulf War.
    The three regional powers, which all have a considerable Kurdish population, are concerned over the possible creation of a Kurdish state and are acting together to avert such a development. The three foreign ministers  once again reiterated their countries' determination to preserve Iraq's territorial integrity.
    "The three ministers stressed that the disintegration of Iraq would have very dangerous repercussions on regional and international peace, stability and security," the joint declaration said. "They also reiterated their rejection of the statements and activities of groups in certain Western countries promoting separatism."
    The Tehran meeting followed three significant recent developments regarding Iraq: the PKK attacks on the KDP; a meeting in Ireland between the KDP and a rival Iraqi Kurdish group, the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK), under the auspices of the United States, aimed at ending the hostilities between the rival Kurdish factions; and the defection to Jordan of a top Iraqi official.
    Syria and, especially, Iran were concerned over the Ireland meeting -- which was also attended by a Turkish official -- seeing it as part of US efforts towards the establishment of a new "Kurdish entity" in northern Iraq without dialogues with Tehran and Damascus. This development led to tensions between Iran and Turkey.
    But Turkish diplomats attending a preliminary tripartite meeting in Tehran on September 6 gave assurances that Iraq's territorial integrity was of vital importance and that Turkey's policy was not against the national interests of Iran and Syria.
Demonstration cancelled
    In another development on September 8, which reflected the easing of tensions between Tehran and Ankara, Iran did not allow a planned demonstration by hundreds of members of the radical Islamic group, Hezbollah, in front of the Turkish Embassy in the Iranian capital.

OFFICIAL FIGURES ON ANTI-PKK WAR

    Turkish government officials reported on September 4, 1995, that Security forces have taken 13,487 separatists out of action since the PKK started its offensive in 1984, killing 10,020 and capturing 1,916.
    They also said 1,328 "terrorists" have surrendered to security forces within the same period. To encourage defections, the government issued a general call to the separatists last June, those who surrendered would be pardoned in accordance with a special "repentance" bill.     In addition to these militants, a total of 60,000 supporters of the organization were reportedly taken into custody in the last 11 years.
    Three new courts had been opened in the southeastern city, Diyarbakir, to handle the caseload.
    The government forces have also sustained serious losses, but the civilian population has suffered most.
    Responding to the queries posed by the lawmakers, Defence Minister Mehmet Gölhan told a news conference that 2,762 soldiers and (government-armed Kurdish) village guards have been killed by PKK militants since 1984. Officials say 4,727 civilians have been killed in the fighting as of last June.
    The ability of the separatists to slip easily across the borders into Iran, Iraq and Syria complicate the task of the security forces. Turkey launched two major cross-border operations against PKK camps and hideouts in the Kurdish held northern Iraq last spring and early summer.
    On September 3, The Turkish Armed Forces initiated  in  Tunceli a new operation against the PKK. More than 10,000 specially trained commandos took  part  in  the  operation aiming to destroy PKK camps in the Tunceli region.

HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATIONS IN 1994

    The Human Rights Foundation of Turkey (TIHV) has recently published a detailed report on the situation of human rights in Turkey in 1994.
    The English version of Human Rights Report-1994 is available at the following address: TIHV - Menekse 2 Sokak 16/6-7 Kizilay, 06440 Ankara/Turkey, Tel: (90-312) 417 71 80, Fax: (90-312) 424 45 52.
    Below is the summary of this report:
    Turkey remained in the red on the human rights balance sheet in 1994. Human rights and freedoms, including the primary right to life, were continuously abused during the year. Extrajudicial executions and murders by unknown assailants continued intensively. Torture was continued to be systematically applied in police stations and particularly in centres where political detainees were held Claims concerning torture cases were not followed up. The Kurdish problem was not solved and even became more complex. Instead of finding a peaceful and political solution to the Kurdish problems, the government preferred to increase the military measures which have been applied for years.
    Clashes in the Emergency State Region intensified. Armed and bomb attacks carried out by the PKK against defenseless and unarmed civilians, mass transportation vehicles and facilities available to tourists continued at an accelerated pace. The dimension of the violence increased compared to the previous years. A total of 4041 people lost their lives as a result of clashes, extra judicial executions, torture cases, armed attacks and assassinations, and because of murders by unknown assailants (the murder of people who last their lives was 2,933 in 1992, and 3,492 in 1993).
    Books, journals and newspapers were confiscated and destroyed. People who wrote and spoke were silenced and imprisoned. Bomb and armed attacks against press facilities and journalists continued The public was informed by only one side and the facts were greatly distorted. Pressure and attacks against political parties, trade unions and democratic mass organizations continued to increase day by day. Work and activities of these organizations were prevented and banned, their members and leaders were frequently detained and arrested.
    Many demonstrations, meetings and concerts were not permitted. Demonstrators were beaten and shot with guns by security officers. The DEP was closed, immunities of deputies were lifted, deputies were arrested and convicted. Armed attacks against the administrators of political parties could not be prevented. Expectations concerning working life were frustrated. Amendments to be made related to workers' rights and union rights on the laws; that had been put into force by 12 September regime, were not brought onto the agenda. Dismissals continued in an intensive manner. Civil servants' trade unions did not have legal status.
    Turkey also experienced busy days apart from the human rights issue in 1994, witnessed Important developments and had economic setbacks. It fell on hard days in foreign policy. Most of the rights and freedoms called for in the international human rights documents were deemed as "luxuries". During the year, instead of the human rights, those who violate them were protected.
    The human rights advocates became targets and were accused of being extensions, supporters of members of armed organization The figures concerning the deaths, torture victims, confiscated publications and sentenced journalists increased several-fold when compared to the last year. Even some positive decisions taken in the previous years were dispensed with. For example, the period for military service was extended, and studies were started in order to extend the retirement age. The DYP-SHP coalition government did not take important step to defend human rights and put them into practice. The coalition government which gave promises on "democratisation" and an "administration respectful to human rights did not keep the promises, but showed behaviour that contradicted to its promises.
    The dark picture summarised above was experienced when the DYP-SHP coalition pledged to improve the human rights record and enlarge the democracy was in power.
    The "democratisation package" revealed by Prime Minister Tansu Ciller and the then Deputy Prime Minister Murat Karayalcin on may 18 comprised a list of 62 articles needing to be amended in the Constitution and laws, but was never seriously implemented save for the allowed return of people dismissed from their jobs because of security probes and the endorsement of the Convention on Rights of Children.
    Because of human rights abuses, Turkey was frequently condemned on international platforms in 1994, in the reports by many human rights organizations particularly by Amnesty International and Helsinki Watch. The condemnations were particularly intense regarding the Kurdish problem, torture cases, extra-judicial executions and freedom of thought. The criticisms further increased with the arrest of the pro-Kurdish Democracy Party (DEP), the closure of the party and the sentencing of the deputies. The human rights abuses came up frequently during negotiations between Turkey and the EU on customs union, causing problems for Ankara. The European Parliament demanded the suspension of the customs union talks and the postponement of the Association Council meeting set for Dec. 19. Turkey also was confronted with individual applications to the European Human Rights Commission in 1994. A senior Justice Ministry official said in July that about 300 cases had been filed to the European Human Rights Commission against Turkey which faced the liability of paying large sums in compensation.
   
Kurdish problem

    The most vital issue for the country in 1994 continued to be the Kurdish Problem. It gained in complexity with the governments keeping their preference fore a military solution to democratic and peaceful means. The national Security Council and the General Staff were entrusted with the solution of the problem. The calls for moderation and peaceful solutions were drowned by the calls for hard-line. Dissenters were heavily penalized. Journalists and writers were arrested and sentenced, political parties were closed, and pressure on democratic mass oraganizations and human rights activists intensified. The deputies whose immunities were lifted were detained, arrested, prosecuted and convicted. The events taking place in the State of Emergency Region (south-eastern Turkey) were hidden from the public or were distorted.
    The State of Emergency, in force since 1987 and the village guards system were not only retained, but were also fortified despite the promises of the coalition government.
    In the operations against the separatist Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), major ground and air attacks were mounted against the rebels in Turkey or across the borders. In the course of the campaign, Hundreds of villages were evacuated and burnt down. Towns and districts were damaged. Thousand of people left the settlements they had been living in for years and emigrated to other places and sometimes to abroad. The PKK increased its attacks against civilians, defenseless groups and foreign tourists. Such attacks were mostly carried out m big cities like Istanbul, Izmir and Adana. Buses, shopping centres restaurants, hotels were bombed and shot up. There was a marked rise in torching of forests. Clashes and the ensuing casualties increased polarization also fuelled by the media.
    The Kurdish problem caused great damage to the Turkish economy, too. As a result of the violence, Turkey had to take on a financial burden amounting to trillions of TL and mostly workers, civil servants and low-income masses had to pay the bill
    As a result of the lasting struggle between the administrators who insist on military solution, and the PKK, which continues its attacks, the Kurdish problem was jammed in a triangle of violence, pressure and death, and became almost unsolvable. In 1994, a total of 1737 militants or armed people died during the clashes and attacks, including raids against military stations and units the Emergency State Region. The total number of security officers or people who died during clashes, and of the people who were accidentally killed in those clashes, is 1077. During the year, events similar to the ones witnessed in Sirnak in 1992, and in Lice in 1993 frequently took place in some settlements in the Emergency State Region. In addition, village and hamlet evacuations and burnings continued with increasing pace. Settlements were destroyed during the operations or by security officers who opened fire at random or on the pretext of attacks or sniper fire by PKK militants, causing 51 deaths, compared to 41 in 1992 and 46 in 1993. Village and hamlet evacuations continued at an increasing pace in 1994. During the year, more than 1000 villages and hamlets were evacuated. The evacuations targeted the villages and hamlets where people who had refused to serve as village guards were living.
    Village evacuations and burnings, which caused many social problems, also harmed the economy of both the region and Turkey. In a study by the Turkey Agriculturists Association (TZD), it was indicated that the economic loss occasioned by village evacuations and burning forests was about 13 trillion Turkish Liras. Two to 3 million people had to leave the settlements where they had lived for years. As a consequence of the migration, the population of Mersin which was 422,000 in the census m 1990, has reached I million, that of Tarsus, which was 177,000, has reached 350,000, that of Adana, which was 927,000 has become 2 million, that of Diyarbakir, which was 380,000 has reached I million and that of Gaziantep, which was 600,000 has reached I million. Migration was not limited to Turkey. Thousands of people who were forced to leave their houses migrated to Northern Iraq beginning in the first months of 1994. The number of immigrants to Northern Iraq exceeded 20.000 at the end of 1994.
    After a long effort the immigrants were settled in the camps under the control of the United Nations. Most of those people were given refugee status. Bomb attacks or other violence directed at civilians and defenseless people continued also in 1994. Villages and hamlets known to be supporting the state or houses and families of village guards, settlements harbouring people refusing to become village guards, and tourist regions, city centres, buses, crowded plazas, cinemas and restaurants were targeted, mainly in Adana and Istanbul. In 134 attacks (*) carried out all over Turkey 197 people, including 37 children, died, compared to 189 killed in 1992 and 406 in 1993. The attacks, fuelling public anger served as justification for anti-democratic practices. Human rights activists were subjected to baseless accusations. Statements by the PKK and its Abdullah Öcalan, its leader, justifying attacks targeting urban centres and tourist places fuelled enmity towards the Kurds in Western Turkey Attacks and assassinations targeting public officers; soldiers, civil servants, teachers, workers for state enterprises, political party members, repentant village guards and suspected "police agents" also continued. Most of these attacks were carried out by PKK militants (193) in the Emergency States Region The attacks which were carried out outside the Emergency State Region decreased to great extent when compared to 1992 and 1993.
    Attacks and clashed which have been ongoing in Southeast and east of Turkey for years negatively effected also the educational and training activities in the region. Schools were closed and the number of the teachers working in the region decreased radically.
    A total of 1157 primary and secondary schools was closed for various reasons in 1992 and 1993. The number of the closed increased extensively in 1994. In a statement he made in October, National Education Minister Nevzat Ayaz said that the schools were kept closed mostly for security reasons and he added, "Our governors will not open the schools having no security" In another statement in December Nevzat Ayaz disclosed that the number of the closed schools in the Emergency State Region exceeded 2000(*) Thirty-three teachers were murdered an at least 10 teaches were wounded.
    Attacks by the PKK militants against teachers also continued in 1994 as in the previous years. Twenty-four of the teachers were killed by the PKK militants. The attacks by PKK militants against teachers ended from the beginning of 1995.
   
Unresolved murders

    Murders by unknown assailants continued at full speed in 1994, particularly in the Emergency State Region. A total of 423 people from all walks of life fell victim to what became known as unsolved murders which particularly occurred in Diyarbakir, Batman Nusaybin, Silvan and Midyat. Tradesmen who closed their shops upon calls by the PKK, Christian Assyrians living in the Emergency State Region, Kurdish intellectuals, human rights advocates, people who were frequently detained or arrested because of their relations with the PKK and then released due to lack of concrete evidence, people whose relatives have joined the PKK, Kurdish businessmen and some well-known Kurdish people were murdered one after another. Among the victims of murders by unknown assailants, were also the people who had witnessed or assumed to have witnessed other murders by unknown assailants. Public and official apathy continued towards the unresolved murders with officials confining themselves to say that mainly PKK or the radical Muslim Hizbullah were responsible.
    A total of 1294 murders was committed by unknown assailants from the beginning of 1989 to the end of 1994 according to the reports of the Human Rights Foundation.
   
Extra-judicial executions
   
    Extra-judicial executions continued with increased pace in 1994, claiming 129 lives in police raids at homes or shops, shooting of people defying police orders to halt, or just shot at random, execution of people captured alive, or in air strikes by planes or helicopters. A considerable number of those killed were presented to the public as "members of illegal and separatist organizations" who clashed with the security forces or "criminals escaping from security forces". Extrajudicial executions were mostly observed in Istanbul, Adana and in the
    Emergency State Region. In the State of Emergency Region, a total of 131 people lost their lives by stepping on mines planted on roads or in fields or tampering with live shells or bombs.

Capital punishment

    No death penalty was carried out in Turkey in 1994. Debates focused on "lifting the capital punishment" and "implementation of the death penalties already handed out". Sometimes, requests for immediate implementation of death penalties (especially those passed in political cases gained publicity, but were never converted to campaigns like those seen in 1993. Still, capital punishment was demanded against some 400 people in trials throughout the year.
   
Torture

    Torture which has been applied as a systematic interrogation method for years, continued spreading in 1994. The number of deaths in detention, persons who disappeared after being detained, or incapacitated due to torture, and the number of the cases of torture and rape in detention increased considerably compared to the previous year. Despite official statements and explanations, torture could not be prevented, even no effort could be witnessed for decrease in torture cases. Perpetrators were protected, encouraged and even rewarded. Investigations initiated in connection with torture cases did not proceed beyond being nominal. Manner of pending trials and trivial sentences played a significant role in the increase of torture cases.
    The approach of authorities towards torture cases did not prevent torture but actually encouraged perpetrators. Torture cases and claims were mostly denied.
    When the case proved to be undeniable, the officials admitted to the individual cases but denied widespread practice. But the number of the punished perpetrators did not exceed 20 or 30. On Dec. 12, Police General Director Mehmet Agar claimed that the issue of torture was put on the agenda by the circles which wanted to prevent the success of police in struggle against terror. Mehmet Agar stated that those who protected and backed human rights were police officers.
    Amendments to the Code of Criminal Procedures, shortly called as the CMUK, which occupied the public in 1992 and 1993 was on the agenda also in 1994.
    The CMUK which has no use in the prevention of torture, remained only "an indicator of respect for human rights" used by authorities when they were hard pressed. Many negative examples witnessed during the year showed once more that the CMUK, which was put into force on I December 1992 did not prevent torture, did not bring any important changes to the judicial system and was an attempt to stall public opinion (especially abroad). Incidents witnessed during 1994, verified the criticism against the CMUK and its failure.
    The failure of the CMUK was not limited with the political cases under the jurisdiction of the SSCs and the Emergency State Region. The amendments brought on the CMUK were mostly ignored in the ordinary judicial investigations. Provisions which are in favour of defendant, particularly that enabling lawyers to be present during interrogation, were disregarded by security officers. Lawyers registered to the Istanbul Bar Association, revealed 12 torture cases in judicial investigations in August, and lodged official complaints to prosecution office. Special provisions foreseen for the investigations concerning the defendants below 18 years (for example, interrogation in the presence of a lawyer, informing their families without regard to their demands) were not obeyed. Even the lawyers who insisted on the implementation of the CMUK provisions, were exposed to attacks and insults by security officers.
    In spite of all its deficiencies and failure in prevention of torture, the CMUK incurred the wrath of security officers and certain circles.
    Torture cases and claims were not seriously investigated in 1994, too. Investigations initiated in connection with torture cases did not proceed beyond being nominal. While most of the official complaints were shelved, decisions not to prosecute were taken for meaningless reasons in other cases where investigations were initiated. To launch trials against perpetrators took great effort. In the trials which were launched, the perpetrators were either acquitted or given trivial sentences. Sentenced security officers benefited from prescription provisions and were not imprisoned since the trials lasted too long. This played a major role in the increase of torture cases and encouraged perpetrators. In 1994, a total of 34 people died m detention places (32) or in prisons (2) because of torture or under suspicious circumstances. Twenty-seven of the deaths were witnessed in the Emergency State Region, 3 in Istanbul and the remaining in Dogubeyazit (Agri), Bünyan (Kayseri), Adana and Adapazari. The number of people who died in detention and prisons increased In i994 when compared to the previous years (According to TIHV's determinations, a total of 9 people died in detention places or prisons in 1990, 19 in 1991, 17 in 1992 and 29 in 1953). Following is the list of victims established to have died in detention:
    1- Zeynel Bilgen (24 January-Mardin Senköy Gendarmerie Station), 2- lbrahim Danis (27 January-Cizre), 3- Ebubekir Dayan (24 January-Diyarbakir Security Directorate), Ömer Alevcan (9 February-Siirt), 5- Cemile Sanik (10 February-Bitlis Hizan), 06-Velathan Gulsenoglu (22 March- Istanbul Kasimpasa Karakolu). 7- Abdurrahman Avsar (2 April Sirnak Security Directorate), 8- Garip Olmez (14 April Bitlis Ahlat), 9- Kamil Gündogan (29 April-Diyarbakir Lice), 10- Kadri Yilmaz (I May-Diyarbakir), 11- Aydin Tekay (1 May-Diyarbakir) 12- Bedel Özkan (11 May Hakkari Cukurca), 13-Hasan Ates (11 May-Hakkari Cukurca), 14 Nimet Barut (12 May-Diyarbakir Kulp), 15- Ali Beki (15 June-Siirt), 16- Mahmut Tanli (28 June-Agri Dogubeyazit), 17- Osman Akin (27 July-Kayseri Bünyan Gendarmerie Station), 18 Abdullah Baskin (3 August-Batman Gendermerie Commandership) 19- Ahmet Demiray (14 August-Diyarbakir Lice), 20- Lokman Alicioglu (19 August-Adana), 21- Cihan Demirag (23 August- Istanbul Kadiköy Security Directorate, 22- Cihan Akum (25 August-Diyarbakir Police School), 23-Elif Leyla Celik (13 September-Sakarya Security Directorate), 24- Bedri Tan (14 September-Diyarbakir) 25- Ramazan Özüak (4 October-Diyarbakir Prison), 26- Süleyman Ongun (4 October Diyarbakir Prison), 27-Aydin Kismir (12 October- Diyarbakir Security Directorate) 28- Bayram Duran (16 October-Istanbul Gazi Police Station, 29- Ali Karaca (13 October-Tunceli), 30- Emin Dündar (17 October-Siirt Security Directorate), 31- Abdülkerim Alatas, (19 October- Van Gevas), 32- Bekir Önder (28 November-Mardin Prison) 33-Ferhat Demir (7 December-Batman) and 34- Nefiye Celik (7 December-Batman) .
    Besides deaths due to torture in custody or prisons, disappearances also continued In 1994. Throughout the year, 49 people who were claimed by eye witnesses or by serious proofs to have been detained or taken by the security forces, disappeared.
    Following is the information compiled by the TIHV about the people disappeared in 1994, or it became certain in 1994 that they disappeared, and the fates of whom could not be learnt:
    1- Sah Atala (9 October 1993-Diyarbakir Kulp), 2- Bahri Simsek (9 October- Kulp), 3- Hasan Avar (9 October- Kulp), 4- Serif Avar (9 October- Kulp) 5- Nusrettin Yerlikaya (9 October- Kulp) 6- Turan Demir (9 October- Kulp) 7- Behcet Tutus (9 October-Kulp) 8- Abdi Yamuk (9 October-Kulp) 9- Salih Akdeniz (9 October- Kulp) 10- Celil Aydogdu (9 October- Kulp) 11- Omit Tas (9 October-Kulp) 12- Ahmet Çakici (28 November 1993-Diyarbakir Harzo) 13- Ali Efeoglu (5 January-Istanbul) 14- Fethi Yildirim (5 January-Urfa Viransehir) 15- Yusuf Tunc, (9 February- Mardin Kiziltepe) 16- Cüneyt Aydinlar (20 February Istanbul) 17- Nazim Babaoglu (13 March-Urfa) 18- Zeynel Kursep (23 March-Batman) 19- November Alpsoy (18 May-Adana) 20- Mustafa Bulut (18 May-Diyarbakir Lice) 21- Zeki Ercan Diril (19 May-Sirnak) 22-Ilyas Edip Diril (19 May-Sirnak) 23- Recai Aydin (2 July- Diyarbakir) 24- Abdülgani Dag (23 July- Mardin Nusaybin) 25- Safura Yildirim (31 August-Nusaybin) 26- Lütfiye Kacar (5 September-Istanbul) 27- Fidan Güngör (11 September-Istanbul), 28- Sabahattin Talayhan (11 September-Istanbul) 29-Kenan Bilgin (12 September- Ankara) 30- Ridvan Temiz (October-Mardin Derik) 31- Turgut Yenisoy (4 October-Diyarbakir Bismil) 32-Hidir Isik (September/October-Tunceli) 33- Hatun Isik (September/October-Tunceli) 34- Elif Isik (September/October-Tunceli) 35- Duzali Serin (September/October-Tunceli) 36- Yeter lsik (September/October-Tunceli) 37- Gülizar Serin (September/October-Tunceli) 38¬ Dilek Serin (September/October-Tunceli), 39¬ Adnan Seker (September/October-Tunceli) 40¬ Nazim Gulmez (September/October-Tunceli), 41- Mehmet Aggun (September/October-Tunceli), 42- Ahmet Akbas (September/October-Tunceli) 43- Muslim Aydin (September/October-Tunceli), 44- Ibrahim Gencer (September/October-Tunceli) 45- Ahmet Yetisen (14 November-Batman), 46- Ali Tekdag (26 November-Diyarbakir), 47- Ismail Bahceci (December-Istanbul), 48- Abdullah Efeli (15 December- Diyarbakir Cizre) 49- Ihsan Haran (24 December-Diyarbakir).
    The Human Rights Foundation of Turkey established that 1128 people, including 261 women and 24 children, had been tortured in detention centres or prisons. Of these, 476 proved the torture with official medical reports. 36 of tortured females stated that they had been raped or sexually abused under custody. Within the year, a total of 252 people allegedly tortured, applied to the treatment centres of the TIHV, 93 of them in Ankara, 76 in Istanbul and 83 in Izmir. (This figure does not cover 220 people who were recently released from prisons or the people who applied to the TIHV in 1994 even though they had been tortured before.)
    The problems and oppression continued in prisons. Beatings, maltreatment, abuses and bans were commonplace. Authorities reneged on the rights won by the pensioners after hunger strikes.
    Hunger strikes deteriorated the health of the prisoners and caused permanent illnesses
    Political arrests or detentions increased considerably from the previous year. While the number was 4,389 in 1993, total for the first half of 1994 rose to 6,379. Of the latter, 6,152 were leftists or accused of separatism. Only 227 were rightists or Muslim radicals.
    The number of people arrested and convicted for political reasons exceeded 8,000 at the end of 1994 and this number exceed 10,1000 by mid-1995. The number was only 90 when the True Path Party (DYP) and (now Defunct) Social Democrat People's Party (SHP) coalition came to power in November 1991. Total number of those arrested and convicted was 32,088 in November 1993 and it reached 40,973 in September 1994.
   
Freedom of opinion and belief

    1994 was not a positive year regarding the freedoms l of press, thought and conscience.
    A number of laws, especially the Anti Terrorism Law were instrumental in the restriction of these freedoms.
    Attacks by unidentified assailants against newspaper distributors continued.
    Ideological attacks were another important dimension of the attacks against the press and journalist. "Enemy" newspapers and periodicals, and "enemy" journalists were created, as in previous years. In particular, the publications adopting approaches contrary to the official ideology and discourse on the subjects considered to be taboo such as the Kurdish problem, compulsory military service, the army, and religion, and the ones who expressed their opinions on these problems, were subject to heavy attacks. Different approaches concerning the issued deemed as taboo were not endured. Some well-known journalists and writers, administrators of the IHD and TIHV, deputies, trade unionists, leaders of democratic civic organizations were tried, convicted and imprisoned because of their speeches or writings.
    Among the trials at the State Security Courts, those related to the freedom of thought and press occupied a prominent place. According to statistic by the Ministry of Justice in November, 25 percent of the 6,091 cases which were held at the State Security Courts had been launched under Articles 6 (239 cases) and 8 (1,190 cases) of the "Law to Fight Terrorism," which are one of the important obstacles to freedom of the press and thought. The number of the defendant prosecuted under Article 6 of the "Law to Fight Terrorism" was 388 while that of defendants prosecutor under Article 8 was 4,234 people.
     The coalition government did not honour its pledge to remove the obstacles for the press freedoms and to amend the Anti-Terrorism Law.
    Murders of journalists continued. Journalists Erol Akgün and Ersin Yildiz were murdered. In the meantime, in (terrorist) attacks against the civilian targets 2 journalists (Ruhican Tul and Onat Kutlar) lost their lives. One journalist who had been abducted by unidentified people disappeared. The armed bomb attacks against newspaper vendors in the Emergency State Region continued although in reduced scale. One newspaper vendor was killed and four were wounded.
    There were no serious effort in 1994 to find the assailants of the 22 journalists killed in the last few years.
    In 1994, press institutions, press organizations, journalists and writes frequently came under attack. Most were carried out by the police. According to the figures determined by the TIHV, a total of 76 journalist were insulted or beaten in 34 separate incidents.
    The number of people who were imprisoned for expressing their thoughts increased radically in 1994. Those imprisoned because of the books or articles they had written, the speeches they had made or because of their political activities exceeded 100 during the year. The number of people jailed because of their thoughts, reached 172.
     Out of the 172 criminals of thought, 97, including six deputies and four party leaders were in prison as of Jan. 1, 1995. Most of those people are journalists and writers. Following is the list of jailed journalists or writers:
     1) Edip Polat, 2) Hacay Yilmaz, 3) Remzi Kucukertan, 4) Naile Tuncer, 5) Tuncay Atmaca, 6) Gunnur llhan, 7) Mustafa Kaplan, 8) Gunay Aslan, 9) Zana Sezen, 10) Ismail Besikçi, 11) Hidir Ates, 12) Zeynettin Gunay, 13) Abdulaziz Aktas, 14) Mehmet Tekin, 15) Omer Agin, 16) Ahmet Zeki Okcuoglu, 17) Hikmet Çetin, 18) Hayrettin Soykan, 19) Kemal Sahir Gurel, 20) Cemile Yurumez, 21) Fikret Baskaya, 22) Selim Okcuoglu, 23) Songul Aytemur, 24) Ayse Nur Zarakolu, 25) Mehdi Zana, 26) Sirri Ozturk, 27) Ilyas Burak, 28) Munir Ceylan, 29) Haluk Gerger, 30) Recep Marasli, 31) Ahmet Zengin, 32) Medeni Ayhan, 33) Kemal Okutan, 34) Numan Baktas,. 35) Mahmut Akkurt, 36) Imam Canpolat, 37) Mahmut Kacar, 38) Unsal Ozturk, 39) Sedat Aslantas, 40) Yilmaz Odabasi, 41) Erdal Sahin, 42) Isik Yurtcu, 43) Guven Ozata, 44) Ozkan Kiliç, and 45) Suna Tan.
    The sum of prison terms passed on journalists and writers reached 448 years and 6 months 25 days, while total of fines reached TL 71,614,935,000 (approx. $ 2,400,000). Despite official promises to end the practice, confiscations of newspapers, periodicals and books went on unabated. A total of 961 newspapers and journals and 37 books were confiscated during the year, mostly on the grounds that they violated articles 6 and 8 of the Anti-Terrorism Law, or articles 155 and 312 of the penal code.
   
Freedom of organization

    1994 was not so different from previous years concerning the view of freedom to organize, speak out for rights, hold meetings or demonstrations, and of union rights. Democratic mass organizations and some political party organizations continued to face persecution and attacks. Constitutional articles and anti-democratic laws dating back to the 1980-1983 military regime remained in force. Some legally founded and functioning organizations and parties were dissolved, their leaders and some members of Parliament were arrested, tried and convicted. Security forces opened fire on people participating in some
    demonstrations, and many demonstrations ended by the use of force. Bombings and armed attacks against the democratic mass organizations and party buildings, and murders of leaders of the mass organizations and political parties by unknown gunmen continued.
    The Human Rights Association (IHD) members and the human rights advocates frequently faced persecution and attacks in 1994, too. Muhsin Melik, a (pro-Kurdish) HADEP politician, founder of the IHD Urfa branch and former secretary of the branch, lost his life in an armed attack on June 2. Leaders and members of the IHD were detained, arrested, tortured, insulted.
    Trials were launched against many IHD leaders and members, particularly against IHD Chairperson Akin Birdal, Vice Chairpersons Ercan Kanar and Sedat Aslantas, and General Secretary Hüsnü Öndül. Prison terms and fines were passed on in the concluded trials, and some of these sentences were ratified. The authorities also orchestrated a media campaign against the IHD which was accused of abetting terrorism. Two trials were launched against some of the administrators and leaders of the TIHV and the IHD in connection with publications focusing on the deliberate torching of villages in the Southeast and the widespread use of torture. The trials ended with acquittal on Jan. 11, 1995.
    In 1994, numerous organizations faced attacks and pressure similar to those faced by the IHD. Planned activities were banned or prevented by the security officers by coercion. Fire was opened at demonstrators, resulting in deaths and Injuries. Leaders and members of the democratic mass organizations were attacked, detained, arrested and prosecuted.
   
Political parties

     1994 was also not a positive year from the point of political parties and activities. Pressure on opposition parties and groups continued. The most important events of the 1994 with respect to the political activities were (chronologically) lifting of the parliamentary immunities of eight deputies and detention of some of them under harassment, arrest of six deputies, closure of the DEP and overthrown of the parliamentary memberships of 13 deputies, and sentencing eight deputies to various terms and fines.
    Pressures on political parties were not limited to the closure of the DEP and measures against its deputies. The Worker's Party (IP), the Green Party (YP), the Socialist Union Party/United Socialist Party (SBP/BSP) and the Socialist Power Party (SIP), and leaders and members of these parties faced various pressures and attacks.
    The Constitutional Court banned the Green Party on Feb. 10. A trial was launched on Dec. 29, 1993 against the Socialist Union Party (SBP) for its closure. The SBP was closed by the Constitutional Court on 19 July 1995.
    In 1994, bombings and armed assaults on part buildings, rallies, party leaders, members and candidates, Increased considerably. The attacks we mostly carried out against the (pro-Kurdish) HEP, DEP and HADEP leaders and members. Attackers remained unknown.
    In the meantime, attacks were carried out by the PKK militants against certain party leaders, members, buildings and rallies. A total of 26 people we] killed as a result of attacks or clashes.
    Several party leaders and members and some mayors were detained, tortured, arrested and sentenced.
    Some of the arrested senior Party officials were:
    Kemal Bilget (DEP Vice Chairperson), Nevzat Teker (DEP Party Council Member), Mehmet Gokalp (DEP Derik District Chairperson), Ramazan Bulut (DEP Ankara Provincial Chairperson-Twice), Hamdi Samancilar (Socialist Power Party-SIP Izmir Konak District Organization leader), Hayrettin Akbas, (SIP Konak District Organization leader), Recai Gun (SIP Konak District Organization leader), Sema Nur Özer (Sip Konak District Organization leader), Siddik Yaslan (DEP Manisa Central District Organization leader), Ali Karsilayan (Worker's Party Izmir Provincial Chairperson), Kemal Altiok (DEP Aydin Provincial Chairperson), Mehmet Bingun (Guroymak Mayor), Hamit Acar (HADEP Van Provincial Chairperson), Cabbar Gezici (DEP Central Administrative Board Member), Yilmaz (HADEP Payas District Chairperson), Tevfik Kaya (HADEP Altindag District Organization leader) and Abdullah Saydin (HADEP Central Administrative Board Member). Out of the 17 party leaders, 13 were released within 1994.
    Pressure and attacks against the parties were intensified on the DEP and HADEP, successor of the DEP. Buildings, leaders and members of these two parties faced numerous bomb and armed attacks. One of the attacks even targeted DEP headquarters in Ankara. Some leaders of HEP were not immune to attack even after the closure of the party in 1993. Murat Bozlak, Secretary General of the DEP (now HADEP Chairperson), was wounded in an armed attack on Feb. S.
    Another bomb which went off in a building housing the DEP headquarters on Feb.18 killed one person and wounded 16. The Constitutional Court shut down the DEP on charges of separatism on June 16. The parliamentary immunities of the 13 DEP deputies were immediately lifted and the politicians were subsequently expelled. Many of them fled Turkey.
    The arrested DEP politicians were sentenced on Dec. 8 to heavy jail terms at the end of a lengthy trial.
    Hatip Dicle, Ahmet Turk, Orhan Dogan, Leyla Zana and Selim Sadak were sentenced to 15 years. Sedat Yurttas to seven years six months, Selim Sakik and Mahmut Alniak got three years six months. Sakik and Alniak were released under parole.

HEAVY TOLL OF EARTHQUAKE IN DINAR

    The death toll in the earthquake that shattered a Turkish market town, Dinar, on October 1st, 1995, caused to death of more than 90.
    The centre of the town, with a population of about 40,000, was scarred by rubble from apartment blocks and public buildings after the quake measuring 6.0 on the Richter scale.
    Residents said the death toll would have been much higher but many people had fled their homes last week after minor tremors shook the town in a warning of the bigger quake.
    A right-wing party has called for an inquiry into the lack of earthquake precautions and reports that public buildings were the first to crumble in Dinar

JOURNALIST AHMET ALTAN SENTENCED TO 20 MONTHS

    A distinguished Turkish journalist, Ahmet Altan was given a 20-month suspended sentence on October 18, for a satire on the Kurdish problem.
    The Istanbul state security court suspended the sentence against columnist Ahmet Altan for five years "on the belief that he will not commit the crime again and because of his place in society."
    Altan's satire, in the Milliyet newspaper, was entitled "Atakürd" (Father of Kurds) and imagined what Turkey would be like today if the country's founder Kemal Atatürk had been a Kurd.
    Altan left Milliyet in a row over the article and now writes for another newspaper.
    His lawyer denied the charge, under Article 312 of the penal code, of "provoking enmity and hatred by displaying racism or regionalism."
    Article 312 is one of several laws Turkey uses to jail journalists and others for perceived criticism of the government's handling of Kurdish national movement.

ANTI-KURDISH HYSTERIA HIT BUSINESS WORLD

    Anti-Kurdish hysteria of the Turkish State has reached a new dimension with the investigation against one of the Turkey's biggest businessmen and a university professor who prepared report on Kurds for the Union of Industry and Trade Chambers (TOBB).
    On October 2, Bekir Selcuk, chief prosecutor of the Diyarbakir State Security Court, said his office was looking into a speech by tycoon Sakip Sabanci to a meeting of businessmen in the city.
    Sabanci, a rags-to-riches tycoon, owns Turkey's second-biggest conglomerate which has interests in hotels, car production, banking and textiles.
    He told businessmen from the mainly Kurdish Southeast that the Kurdish issue was an ethnic problem, going against the government line which claims that an 11-year-old Kurdish guerrilla campaign was only a matter of "terrorism."
    "We are investigating but it is too early to say if he'll be charged. Sabanci may be charged for separatism under Article 8 of the Anti-terrorism Law or a lesser charge of provoking enmity or hatred," the Prosecutor said. "It's not just Sabanci and the businessmen. We investigate all types of meetings. If we didn't investigate this we wouldn't be doing our job," he added.
    A few weeks later, on October 23, 1995, the chief prosecutor Nusret Demiral said that the Ankara State Security would seek a statement from university professor Dogu Ergil about a report he produced in August on the Southeast.
    The report (See: Info-Türk, July-August 95), commissioned by an influential Turkish business grouping, the Union of Industry and Trade Chambers (TOBB). included a rare poll of more than 1,200 Kurds, most of whom said they would choose autonomy or being part of a federation if they could change Turkey's political structure.
    On the legal proceeding against Ergil, The New York Times published on October 29, 1995, the following criticism by Celestine Bohlen:
    "Last summer, a political science professor in Ankara published a survey based on interviews with 1,200 Kurds whose lives had been swept up in the war that for 11 years has raged between government forces and Kurdish rebels in southeastern Turkey.  The report's findings were neither startling nor particularly threatening. Only a small minority endorsed the idea of an independent Kurdish state, and those who favoured a federation were clearly befuddled what that meant; some, he found, thought federation meant 'peace and bread.'
    "But what the Kurds did say clearly in the personal interviews conducted by the professor, Dogu Ergil, was that now more than ever they consider themselves to be Kurds, a distinct ethnic group that has yet to be recognized by the Turkish state. 'It was the first time the Kurds of Turkey were asked, who are you and what do you want,' said Ergil, who heads the political behaviour department at Ankara University. 'The overwhelming majority said they want to stay in Turkey, but as Kurds.'
    "In many countries where the population is ethnically divided, such a conclusion would be self-evident. But in Turkey, where for 72 years the government has struggled to forge a single nation, Ergil's report was promptly referred to a State Security Court where it is being examined to see if it fits the definition of 'separatist propaganda' under Article 8 of a 1991 anti-terrorism law.
    "But Ergil, unlike many others who have dared write or talk about the Kurdish question in Turkey, has not yet been put on trial or in jail. Nor have the sponsors of his report, an association that represents 700,000 small-business executives, disclaimed the author or his findings, despite denunciations in the mainstream press.
    "At a time when Turkey's human rights record is being closely watched, particularly in Europe, the reaction to Ergil's report reflects Turkey's continuing difficulty in confronting the war in the Southeast that since 1984 has claimed 18,000 lives, displaced hundreds of thousands of people and is costing the state an estimated $7 billion a year.
    "Kurds in Turkey, who number about 12 million out of a total population of 65 million, can now openly speak and write in their own language and listen to their own music, rights that were begrudgingly granted them in the 1980s. But they cannot form ethnic associations, use their language in schools, on radio or on television - something that falls into the category of 'separatist propaganda.'
    "Dealing with the Kurdish question has always been a challenge for Turkey, founded in 1923 on the ruins of the Ottoman Empire by Mustafa Kemal, known as Atatürk. His vision was of a modern, secular, indivisible Turkish state; for this, it was necessary to create a Turkish national consciousness that allowed no room for a separate Kurdish identity. A Kurdish rebellion in 1925 was summarily suppressed.  Turkey's poor record on human rights pre-dates the war in the Southeast, but the unrelenting campaign of terrorism begun by the Kurdish Workers' Party in 1984 has produced a harsh and uncompromising government response that many Turks consider essential for peace. The Southeast has been placed under a state of emergency; hundreds of Kurdish villages have been forcibly evacuated, sometimes burned; pro-Kurdish political parties have been silenced; prisoners are tortured, and human rights campaigners are jailed.
    "But the clampdown has spread beyond the southeastern provinces where a majority of Turkey's Kurds still live. In Istanbul and Ankara, Kurdish newspapers are regularly censored and periodically closed; writers, journalists and intellectuals who have defended broader rights for the Kurdish minority have been tried in court, sometimes jailed. 
    "Critics, like Ergil, have long argued that by suppressing debate on the Kurdish question, Turkey has driven many Kurds into the arms of the Kurdish Workers' Party. 'We found considerable support for the terrorist organization not because these people condone the violence, or think of it as their saviour, but because they see it as an organ to air their dissatisfaction,' he said."

REUTERS JOURNALIST FACES IMPRISONMENT

    A State Security Court in Istanbul starts on October 12, 1995,  to try an American correspondent for the Reuters news agency on charges that she provoked 'racial hatreds' by writing an article on the forced evacuation of Kurdish villages that appeared in a Kurdish newspaper in Istanbul.
    Aliza Marcus, a 33-year-old American who speaks Turkish and was assigned to Istanbul from New York in April 1994. The charge, which carries a maximum jail sentence of three years related to a story last on November 25, 1994, about forcible evacuation of Kurdish villages as a central part of the military's prolonged battle against Kurdish guerrilla.
    Walter Cronkite, chairman of the Committee to Protect Journalists, met recently with Prime Minister Tansu Ciller to protest the charges against the correspondent, Aliza Marcus, whom he described as "the first American casualty of the Turkish government's deplorable campaign of censorship and intimidation against journalists covering the Kurdish separatist movement."
    The Anglo-American Press Association of Paris too urged Turkey to drop plans to prosecute Marcus. The group asked Turkish Prime Minister Tansu Ciller to look personally and carefully into this affair, and to do everything in her power to have the charges against Ms Marcus dropped as quickly as possible.

2-MONTH STATE TERRORISM

    24.8, in Midyat, a special security team, raiding the village of Budakli, shoot dead minibus driver Nezir Akinci.
    26.8, a handicapped person, Hikmet Ercisli is subjected to torture after being detained by soldiers in Kagizman.
    29.8, three officials of the Anti-War Association, Arif Hikmet Iyidogan, Gökhan Demirkiran and Mehmet Sefa Fersal are sentenced by the Military Court of Turkish General Staff respectively to 6-month prison and TL 780,000 in fine, 4-month prison and TL 520,000 in fine and 2-month prison and TL 260.000 in fine for anti-militarist propaganda.
    30.8, MHP's Grey Wolves attacking a left-wing group shoot dead Erdal Yildirim in Ankara.
    31.8, in Istanbul, public prosecutor demands capital punishment for Ayfer Ercan, a militant of the Communist Labour Party of Turkey/Leninist (TKEP/L).
    31.8, in Midyat, a special security team, raiding the village of Budakli, shoot dead minibus driver Osman Acar.
    31.8, in Izmir, security forces raiding an office take 20 people in custody.
    3.9, in Ankara, public prosecutor indicted 26 university students for having apprehended an agent of the Gendarmery Intelligence Unit (JITEM), Ülkü Yalazi, at the Middle East Technical University (ODTÜ). Each faces imprisonment of up to fifteen years.
    3.9, in Istanbul, unidentified gunmen shoot dead Kayhan Ileri during a raid on a café. In Diyarbakir, imam Ahmet Peke is assassinated with axes by unidentified assailants.
    4.9, Ankara chairman of the People's Democracy Party (HADEP) and the United Socialist Party (BSP), Nurettin Sönmez and Ilhan Kamil Turan are detained by police in relation with the Peace Day demonstrations they organised.
    5.9, the Istanbul SSC sentences Kemal Gömi, member of the Revolutionary People's Liberation Party/Front (DHKP/C), to capital punishment.
    5.9, four members of the Workers'-Peasants' Liberation Army of Turkey (TIKKO) are sentenced by the Kayseri SSC to life-prison.
    5.9, an armed group raiding the village of Seldiren in Hatay shoot dead eight mine workers.
    8.9, in Tokat, security forces raiding the villages of Kinik and Kapici detain eleven peasants.
    10.9, in Diyarbakir, worker Abdullah Önemli is shot dead by unidentified gunmen.
    11.9, in Istanbul, nine people are indicted by the Istanbul SSC Prosecutor for having occupied the Galata Tower in protest. Each faces imprisonment of up to 30 years according to different articles of the Penal Code.
    11.9, in Van, the village of Köklü is dispopulated by security forces for not having accepted to adhere to pro-government Village Protectors.
    13.9, in Gebze, 97 workers are detained by gendarmes for carrying on a protest action in front of the British Transport Company Inchcape Retrans.
    13.9, the Ankara SSC sentences three PKK members to prison terms of up to fifteen years.
    13.9, a group of MHP Grey Wolves raiding the Alibeyköy Vocational School in Istanbul wound two teachers.
    17.9, the governor of Istanbul closes down the Solidarity Association of the Parents of Prisoners (TIYAD) for activities not compatible with its objectives.
    17.9, the Ankara SSC prosecutor indicts 15 people for Hizbullah activities. Each faces prison terms of not less than five years.
    17.9, in Istanbul, prison guard Saban Erkol who was detained last week for introducing drugs into the prison is found dead at the police headquarters.
    18.9, in Ankara, two high school students are beaten by a group of MHP Grey Wolves.
    19.9, the Kayseri SSC sentences five Dev-Sol members to life prison and another one to 12 years and six months.
    20.9, in Izmir, Gaziemir local of the HADEP is destroyed by the explosion of a bomb placed by unidentified persons.
    22.9, the trial of three women, Ayse Utanc, Hatice Yavuz and Ümmügülsüm Özyilmaz, accused of having set on fire the MHP Konya office starts at the Konya SSC. The defendants claim to have been tortured and sexually harassed during their police interrogation.
    25.9, a meeting on the September 12, 1980, Coup, organized in Ankara by the Foundation of the 1968 Generation is banned by the Ankara Governor.
    26.9, in Diyarbakir, teacher Necati Cicek is assassinated by unidentified assailants.
    28.9, the Izmir SSC sentences nine members of the Revolutionary People's Party of Turkey (TDHP) to imprisonments of up to 31 years.
    28.9, a former public works minister, Serafettin Elci is sentenced by the Istanbul SSC to 20 months in prison and TL 42 million in fine for a speech he gave on December 19, 1992, in Istanbul.
    28.9, in Istanbul, a young woman named Aynur Demir claims to have been tortured and sexually harassed during her police custody following a raid on her house. Same day, two university students, Gülcan Öztürk and Nurgül Dogan, too claim to have been subjected to torture.
    29.9, the Ankara SSC sentences five PKK members to prison terms of up to 22 years and 6 months.
    2.10, security forces detain 10 people in Adana for PKK activities.
    3.10, the Ankara SSC places under arrest 12 people for participating in DHKP/C activities.
    5.10, the Ankara SSC sentences two TKEP-L members to life prison and five others to prison terms of up to 12 years and 6 months.
     9.10, in Edirne, security forces detain seven people for underground activities.
    9.10, in Istanbul, the Kartal section of the Association of Working Women (EKBD) is closed down by police and a member, Fecriye Aydin, taken into custody.
    10.10, in Diyarbakir, Ali Ihsan Dagli has disappeared since his arrest by security forces on April 14, 1995.
    11.10, the Ankara SSC Prosecutor starts a new legal action against former DEP Chairman and Deputy Hatip Dicle for a message he sent to political prisoners in Cankiri.  Although Dicle is still in prison for fifteen years in the frame of the DEP Case, the SSC issued a new arrest warrant against him in relation with this new case.
    11.10, in Istanbul, worker Ali Kaya Esen claims to have been tortured during his police detention.
    11.10, the Izmir SSC sentences two people to life prison and 12 others to prison terms of up to 18 years and 9 months for PKK activities.
    12.10, the Ankara SSC sentences Dev-Sol member Erol Özbolat to capital punishment and two other defendants to prison terms of up to 15 years.
    12.10, in Diyarbakir, Bekir Tüylü and Ramazan Katar are stabbed to death by unidentified assailants.
    16.10, a new trial against former public works minister Serafettin Elci began at the Ankara SSC. Accused of separatist propaganda in a speech he gave in 1994, Elci faces imprisonment of up to five years and a TL 50 million fine. He was sentenced to 20 months in prison and TL 42 million in fine on September 28 for another speech.
    17.10, the Izmir SSC sentences two PKK members to life prison and ten others to imprisonments of up to 12 years and six months.
    22.10, the Malatya office of the HADEP is set on fire by unidentified assailants.
    22.10, in Sivas, the headmen of six villages are taken into custody on charges of aiding and sheltering PKK militants.
    23.10, in Izmir, student Muharrem Sönmez claimed to have been kidnapped and menaced by plainclothesmen for obtaining information about some associations. Same day, a woman named Dudu Kirgül said to have been tortured after her detention on charges of theft.
    24.10, in Mus, unidentified gunmen shoot dead Ercan Aydemir and his wife Kezban Aydemir.
    24.10, in Diyarbakir, 60 year old Hamza Haran who disappeared after his detention on February 23, 1995, is found killed.
    26.10, security forces detained twelve people for participating in illegal political activities.
    27.10, in Diyarbakir, student Mürsel Polat is shot dead by unidentified gunmen.
    30.10, the chairman of the Student Association of the Law Faculty in Ankara University, Erkut Direkci is placed under arrest by a court on charges of being member of an underground organization.
    31.10, the Ankara SSC prosecutor starts a legal proceeding against former deputy Fehmi Isiklar for the final declaration unanimously adopted by the CHP Congress on September 10. 1995. Isiklar is accused of having read the adopted resolution. However, the prosecutor says that he will open another legal action at the Constitutional Court for closing down the CHP, partner of the coalition government.
    31.10, in Tarsus, the local of the People's House is raided by police and the chairman, Kemal Aslanoglu, as well as 15 other members of the association are taken into custody.

2-MONTH PRESSURE ON THE MEDIA

    30.8, the daily Evrensel is confiscated by the Istanbul SSC for instigation to disorder and propaganda of outlawed organizations.
    30.8, Yeni Politika correspondent Sayfettin Tepe, detained in Batman on August 22, is found assassinated at the police headquarters. His uncle lawyer Talat Tepe accuses the police of having tortured Tepe to death.
    30.8, a book, DEP Earthquake in Turkish Politics, written by journalists Ali Osman Sönmez is confiscated by the Ankara SSC for separatist propaganda.
    30.8, the mayor of Seydisehir, Muammer Orhan (MHP) harassed two journalists, Hamdi Celikbas (Konya TV) and Göksel Öker (Merhaba) as they are asking him some questions on the rumours of irregularities at the municipality.
    31.8, a correspondent of the periodical Kizil Bayrak, Ahmet Turan is subjected to torture after being detained during a visit to workers on strike in Gebze.
    3.9, the Adana office of the banned daily Yeni Politika is raided by security forces and Adana representative Mahmut Dogan taken into custody. After his release next day, Dogan claims to have been tortured by police.
    4.9, the periodical Ronahi, N°16 is confiscated by the Istanbul SSC for separatist propaganda.
    5.9, the responsible editor of the periodical Atilim, Eylem Semint is arrested by the Istanbul SSC for some article he published.
    6.9, the daily Evrensel, N°91 is confiscated by the Istanbul SSC for an article on the Peace Day.
    7.9, the Ankara Prosecutor starts a legal proceeding against three human rights activists for a book entitled on human rights, dedicated to late Emil Galip Sandalci. IHD Chairman Akin Birdal, TIHV Chairman Yavuz Önen and lawyer Turgut Inal face prison terms of up to six years for insulting security forces.
    7.9, the issue N°24 of the periodical Partizanin Sesi is confiscated on the decisions of two different tribunals. The Istanbul SSC ordered the confiscation for praising outlawed organizations and a penal court of Istanbul for insulting security forces in the same issue.
    9.9, the periodicals Alinteri N°54 and Direnis N°29 are confiscated by the Istanbul SSC for separatist propaganda and instigation to disorder.
    9.9, in Istanbul, a building housing local offices of the dailies Milliyet and Hürriyet is destroyed by the explosion of a bomb placed by unidentified people.
    12.9, the Ankara SSC tries the director of the Gündem Newsletter, Nezih Tavlas, for publishing information forbidden by the authorities. The legal action was started on the demand of the Turkish General Staff.
    12.9, the issue N°29 of the periodical Kizil Bayrak is confiscated on the decisions of two different tribunals. The Istanbul SSC ordered the confiscation for separatist propaganda  and a penal court of Istanbul for insulting security forces in the same issue.
    13.9, the Istanbul SSC confiscates the issue N°3 of the Bulletin, issued by the Platform for Democratic Rights.
    14.9, The financial counsellor of the Human Rights Foundation of Turkey (TIHV),  Ali Riza Yurtsever is indicted by the Istanbul SSC Prosecutor for his article The Deadlock of the Colonialist Economy, published in the November 2, 1994, issue of the defunct daily Özgür Ülke.
    14.9, the Istanbul SSC Prosecutor starts a legal proceeding against novelist Yasar Kemal for his article published by the defunct Yeni Politika on May 20, 1995. Accused of separatist propaganda, Kemal faces imprisonment of up to five years.
    18.9, a correspondent of the daily Evrensel, Ahmet Birgül is beaten by MHP Grey Wolves in Osmaniye as covering an event.
    19.9, Ankara correspondent of the periodical Odak, Sevda Öztekin is sentenced by the military court of the General Staff to six months in prison and TL 480,000 in fine for propaganda against military service.
    19.9, in Izmir, a correspondent of the Kurdish review Welate Me, Ferec Cobanoglu is kidnapped by unidentified assailants.
    20.9, a penal court of Ankara sentences Murtaza Demir, chairman of the Pir Sultan Abdal Cultural Association, and Metin Kuzugüdenlioglu, editor of the association's magazine, to one month in prison and TL 420,000 in fine each for an article criticising the trial of the Sivas incidents.
    20.9, the periodical Alinteri N°55 is confiscated by the Istanbul SSC for praising outlawed organizations.
    21.9, Fatos Güney, the widow of the late film director, is tried by the Istanbul SSC for having published a book entitled Yilmaz Güney: Human, Militant and Artist. Accused of quoting Yilmaz Güney's some articles in the book, Fatos Güney faces imprisonment of up to two years by virtue of Article 312 of the Penal Code.
    21.9, a special issue of the newsletter of the Human Rights Association (IHD) published on the occasion of the Peace Day is confiscated by the Ankara SSC by virtue of Anti-Terror Law.
    26.9, writer Mustafa Pala is detained in Ankara to serve his 2-year imprisonment for his book entitled Talks And Answers and dedicated to Kurdish writer Musa Anter, victim of a political murder. Pala was also sentenced to TL 250 million in fine. The publisher of the book, Aydin Dogan was already detained on June 28 for serving his 6-month imprisonment.
    26.9, the periodical Ronahi N°19 is confiscated by the Istanbul SSC for separatist propaganda. Same day, the periodical Odak too is confiscated by the decision of a penal court.
    4.10, Public prosecutor indicts IHD chairman Akin Birdal for a poster put on the Human Rights Monument in Ankara. Birdal faces imprisonment of up to four months.
    6.10, although expecting his release from the Haymana Prison, journalist-writer Haluk Gerger is sentenced again by the Istanbul SSC to 20-month prison and TL 208 million in fine for one of his articles published by the defunct Özgür Gündem in 1993. The responsible editor of Özgür Gündem, Server Durmaz too is sentenced for the same article to 5-month prison and TL 44 million in fine.
    7.10, police detain seven editorial staff members of the periodical Atilim in Istanbul, of whom Bayram Namaz, Metin Yesil and Sevil Yesil are later placed under arrest by the Istanbul SSC.
    9.10, Ankara public prosecutor opens a legal proceeding against lawyer Yusuf Alatas for having criticised the DEP Trial. He faces imprisonment of up to six months. The responsible editor of the magazine Yanki, Can Cevik too faces the same punishment for having published Alatas' criticism.
    12.10, the responsible editor of the periodical Kizil Bayrak, Güray Ülkü is sentenced 6-month imprisonment and TL 50 million in fine for some article he published. The court also decides to close down the review for one month.
    12.10, the responsible editor of three periodicals, Özgür Gelecek, Yeni Demokrat Genclik and Partizan, Murat Ancak is placed under arrest by the Istanbul SSC for several articles he published in these reviews.
    15.12, the periodical Roj N°19 is confiscated by the Istanbul SSC for separatist propaganda.
    20.10, the Ankara office of the periodical Atilim is raided by police and Ankara representative Ali Toprak is detained together with two other journalists and a visitor.
    21.10, the issue N°3 of the new pro-Kurdish periodical Özgür Yasam is confiscated by the Istanbul SSC.
    23.10, a penal court of Istanbul sentences four members of the musical group Yorum, Kemal Sahir Gürel, Ufuk Lüker, Irsat Aydin and Özcan Sanvar, to 3-month imprisonment each for having organized a meeting without authorisation at the Ortaköy Cultural Centre. The court also sentences the centre's four employees to same imprisonment.
    23.10, The Chairman of the Sanitary Workers' Union (Tüm-Saglik-Sen), Fevzi Gercek was put in prison in Istanbul for serving his two year imprisonment. Gercek was sentenced by the Istanbul SSC for one of his articles published by the periodical Direnis in 1993.
    23.10, the periodicals Roj N°20 and Ronahi N°23 are confiscated by the Istanbul SSC for separatist propaganda.
    23.10, theatre actor Haldun Aciksözlü is sentenced by the Ankara SSC to two-year imprisonment and TL 550 million in fine for an article entitled "State, Religion and Politics" he wrote to the periodical Bahadin. The responsible editor of the review, Naifi Akbas too is sentenced to six months in prison and TL 50 million in fine.
    25.10, the periodical Direnis, N°30 is confiscated by the Istanbul SSC for separatist propaganda.
    28.10, the Istanbul SSC confiscates the periodicals Alinteri N°58, Atilim N°54 and Söz N°37 for separatist propaganda and praising outlawed organizations.
    30.10, thirteen journalists en employees of the periodical Kurtulus are detained by the police as they are going to the printing house and all copies of the printed review confiscated. In protest against this pressure, the other Kurtulus workers start a hunger-strike.
    30.10, Ankara correspondent of the daily Evrensel, Ali Bayaslan is taken into custody as visiting a friend.

HARD DAYS FOR TURKEY AFTER ELECTIONS

    According to a Reuters report, Turkish economists expect the next government to launch a tough stabilisation package after parliamentary elections planned for late December. But any effort to cure the economy's rampant ills will be further hampered by last big pay settlement for public sector workers, expected to cost $1.3 billion in 1995 alone.
    "Turkey must implement a new stability package which I believe should have been introduced (already). It has been delayed due to political concerns," Izzettin Önder, a professor of economics at Istanbul University, told Reuters.      The inflation-ridden economy, struggling with big deficits, may suffer more ahead of the polls from increased farm subsidies and the new pay deal, which ended a five-week strike. Both were seen by economists and analysts as pre-election manoeuvres by Prime Minister Tansu Ciller to win votes.
    "Pay rises will boost domestic demand, push up inflation and increase public borrowing needs. Its effect will be felt in inflation over the next four months," a planning official said.
    Businessmen and economists say Turkey must stabilise its economy in 1996 when it hopes to begin a customs union with Europe.  They fear some Turkish producers will not be able to compete with their rivals after the accord takes effect, unless interest rates and inflation are brought down to European levels.
    Inflation is now running at around 80 percent and compound interest rates on treasury bills hit 130 percent.  Any new government will have to focus efforts on curbing inflation, narrowing budget and trade deficits, managing high debts, and speeding up privatisation.
    Turkey last launched a stabilisation programme in April 1994 when the country was hit by a financial crisis. The 1994 measures, also backed by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) through a stand-by loan, calmed the markets, reduced inflation from triple digits to 80 percent and helped the economy recover after a contraction of 6.1 percent in 1994.  But the economy has worsened since mid-September when Turkey was hit by political turmoil after Ciller's right-left coalition collapsed and some 350,000 workers went on strike over a pay dispute.
    "A new government may also seek to extend the duration of the IMF stand-by agreement," Fettullah Acil, deputy general manager of Tekstil Bank, said. The accord will end in February.  Professor Önder thinks the government may also support the package with a "reasonable dose of devaluation" to eliminate the overvaluation of the lira in a move to increase Turkish exporters' competitiveness in Western markets. 
    But Ergun Özen, assistant general manager of Garanti Bankasi, said Turkey should depreciate the lira smoothly instead of devaluing the currency sharply in a one-off move in order to avoid boosting inflation and destabilizing the markets.
    Under a new package, Turkey will probably impose delayed public sector price increases and curb wage rises.  The central bank is likely to restrict monetary expansion which economists say blocked Turkey's efforts to bring down inflation.
    Bankers say Turkey will pursue tight monetary policies under which interest rates are to be held at high levels.

TURKEY RANKS 97TH IN PER CAPITA INCOME

    The World Bank ranks Turkey 27th in total wealth and 97th in GDP per capita, with an average of $34,000 yearly.      The figures were produced using a new method of calculation and were based on 1993 figures for the 192 countries evaluated. 
    The seven industrialised countries (the United States, Japan, Germany, France, Italy, Canada, and the United Kingdom) apparently own 62.2 percent ($295.45 billion) of the world's total wealth ($474.74 billion). 
    In the rankings for total national wealth, Turkey came in 27th with a total of $2.2 billion. The United States took first place with $108.45 billion, Japan was second with $70.46 billion, and Germany was in third place with $32.4 billion. The United States alone has nearly a quarter (22.8 percent) of the world's total wealth. 
    The new system used by the World Bank evaluates the national wealth of a country instead of the value of its total production. This system requires the World Bank to include each country's natural resources, capital, manpower, forests, coal-mines, and other resources of energy when calculating the country's wealth.  Manpower investment has great importance in the World Bank study. It is the factor which places countries such as Japan and Switzerland, which have few natural resources but which invest heavily in manpower, among the top contenders. 
    Turkey, which also invests heavily in manpower, has about the same total wealth as Iran, even though Iran is much richer in natural resources.  Another factor to consider is that the calculations are based on current prices.

TURKEY'S HOPE IN AZERI OIL'S EXPORT

    The international consortium, set up to develop Azeri oil fields in the Caspian Sea, announced on October 9 that the early Azeri oil from the Caspian would be pumped simultaneously via two rival pipeline routes, one crossing southern Russia to reach the Black Sea port of Novorossiysk and the other passing through Georgia to Soupsa on the Black Sea coast.
    "Early oil" is a term used to designate the limited amount of petrol of up to five million metric tons per year to be extracted from three Azeri oil fields in the Caspian and to be exported up to the year 2002.  Turkey had staunchly been supporting the Georgian route for the early oil, hoping that a decision favouring this option would facilitate the realisation of its project to host a main pipeline to export the lucrative Azeri oil in the long term. And there were increasing indications of this dream coming true, as the head of the consortium, Terry Adams, declared, "At this point in time, there is a preference to see the final destination of this oil go to (the Turkish terminal of) Ceyhan on the Mediterranean coast".
    "This situation is likely to put an end to Russian plans to use the Baku-Novorossiysk pipeline to transport even part of the Azeri oil to the Black Sea, because they will most likely be unsuccessful in efforts to find financial means to support their route," an oil expert said.      The expert explained the bottlenecks the Russians are faced with now in raising funds to rehabilitate the existing Baku-Novorossiysk pipeline as follows:
    - Part of the pipeline passing via the war-torn Chechnya is damaged beyond the level the Russians have announced. They had been saying that the pipeline's rehabilitation would cost around $50 million, but the actual cost to operate the pipeline is in the order of magnitude of several hundred million dollars.
    - The ongoing political instability and the possibility of a continued war are also another disadvantage for the Russian pipeline. Several Chechen authorities have already warned that the Russian pipeline cannot be operable without the consent of Chechnya's leadership which is fighting for the north Caucasian region's independence from Russia.
    - And probably the most important of all is Turkey's determination not to allow a drastically increased amount of oil tankers through the Turkish straits due to security concerns, despite Moscow's objections that this move violates international agreements.
    Adams also acknowledged this, saying, increased oil traffic via the straits would endanger security. The straits are the Black Sea's only opening to high seas.  "In the likely event of Russia's failure to raise the funds to operate the Baku-Novorossiysk pipeline, the early oil quota to be allocated for this route will practically be added to the Georgian route between Baku and Soupsa, cancelling the whole Russian proposal for the export of the Azeri oil," the source said.
    To cement its support for the Georgian option for the early oil, Ankara has pledged to finance to build and rehabilitate the Baku-Soupsa pipeline, at an estimated cost of nearly $150 million and to buy the entire early oil output if the consortium chooses the Georgian option.
    In a recently announced move, Turkey said it will build a refinery near its eastern Black Sea port of Trabzon for the early oil if the Georgian option is favoured.
    The Consortium's decision was a relief for Turkey which has been suffering from an ongoing government crisis for weeks. Prime Minister Tansu Ciller hailed the decision as a historic development, saying, "This is an indication of imminent trade possibilities for our country which can be expressed in terms of billions of dollars."
    There was no immediate reaction from Russia in the wake of the consortium decision's announcement. Political analysts, however, predict that after this point Moscow may intensify its threats against Caspian oil projects it does not favour. Russia has been saying that no Caspian oil project can be realised before the status of the Caspian Sea is redefined following the former Soviet Union's collapse.     The last agreement on the Caspian was signed between the Soviet Union and Iran in 1946. However, supporting Turkey's thesis, the United States, the world's most prominent oil power, has recently been trying to break Russia's monopoly over the energy resources of Transcaucasia and Central Asia.
    US President Bill Clinton, in a telephone conversation with Azeri President Haydar Aliyev prior to the Consortium's meeting, said Washington backed the operation of more than one pipeline route for the early Azeri oil.
    The oil consortium, led by British Petroleum and US-based Amoco, and in which Turkish Petroleum has a 6.75 percent stake, last year signed the $8 billion agreement with the Azeri government to develop the Azeri, Chirag and Gunesli fields off the Caspian coast.
    The planned normal production of an annual 25 million tons of Azeri oil is expected to start in the early 2000s.

THIRD CONVENTION OF TURKIC STATES

    The third 'Turkic States and Communities' Friendship, Brotherhood and Cooperation Convention', which lasted for three days in Izmir's tourist resort of Cesme, ended on October 1 with the release of the final declaration.
    The convention, on the first day of which President Süleyman Demirel and other senior Turkish state officials delivered opening speeches, was attended by President of Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) Rauf Denktas and the deputy prime ministers of Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan as well as 25 representatives from other autonomous Turkic republics or Turkic communities.
    In the final deceleration, the participants said that they were all loyal to the international legislative and human rights conventions and that they adopted them as their main principles.
    Noting that all the Turkic states and communities were equal and that they respected each other's independence, the declaration emphasised that no Turkic state was more privileged than any other. "Within this framework we intend to cooperate in every field of life and further develop our relations," the declaration said.
    Underlining that this cooperation among Turkic states should not be damaged by any third country and that such a move would be accepted as interference in the domestic affairs of an independent country, the declaration added: "However, we consider it a humanistic approach if the member countries of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) would like to provide us with assistance."
    The declaration pointed out that they would act in cooperation against all terrorist activities, particularly the Kurdistan Workers' Party or PKK, which are a major threat to the Turkic world.  "We believe that the cooperation, friendship and brotherhood among the Turkic states will contribute a great deal to both world and regional peace," said the declaration.

MURDERERS OF FIVE TURKS IN GERMANY CONVICTED

    Germany's deadliest anti-foreigner attack since the Nazi era concluded on October 13, 1995, with convictions against four right-wing extremists in the firebombing deaths of five Turkish women and children.
    The oldest defendant, 25-year-old Markus Gartmann, faced life in prison but the court gave him 15 years. Koehnen, age 18, was tried as a juvenile along with Christian Buchholz, 22, and Christian Reher, 19, and all were given the maximum 10-year sentences. Defence lawyers said appeals were planned. Chief Judge Wolfgang Steffen said the court was convinced that these "four young men, who carried racism in their minds, set fire to the Turkish family's house and killed five people." But Steffen didn't think the four were dyed-in-the-wool neo-Nazis, calling them "immature young people who had nothing within to ward off radical-right influences."
    The May 29, 1993, firebombing in Solingen caused intense soul-searching among Germans about their relations with foreigners. Turks rioted for days in Solingen. Germans marched in cities across the country to show their sorrow.     The guilty verdicts seemed to do little to clear the air. After the convictions were read, defendant Felix Koehnen screamed, "You swine, I am innocent" at the five judges and threatened to kill himself. The father of another defendant kicked a guard's chair and stomped out of the court.
    Nearby, Turks protested that the court had been too lenient by not sending the defendants to prison for life. But the Turkish government and the Council of Turkish Citizens in Germany, an umbrella group, both expressed satisfaction with the verdicts.
    "This verdict strengthens us further in our knowledge that German justice is a stable and reliable instrument now for combating racism," the council said in a statement.

INDEXE OF THE 19TH YEAR INFO-TÜRK COLLECTION

November-December 94, N°217

• Shameful verdicts against Kurdish deputies • Perincek setenced • New sentences against Besikci • Publishers and journalists imprisoned • IHD and TIHV officials tried • The EP Resolution on Turkey • Turkey's shame in Budapest • Customs union agreement delayed • The Economist accuses Turkey • Collective villages in Southeast • Emergency law extended • Security Evaluation Council • Military service term raised • CSCS recommends cease-fire • The PKK asks for cease-fire • Kurdish deputy's house attacked • A Kurdish lawyer assassinated • Assyrian doctor assassinated • Greek Patriarch accused • British citizens on black list • Hunger strikes in prisons • Greenpeace members detained • A higher budget for the army • Cluster bomb sale to Turkey? • "Provide Comfort" extended • Annual inflation rate: 15O% • Ciller's blunders in Middle East • State terrorism in two months • Growing anger of the working people • Human rights violations • Ridiculous sentences for Sivas arsonists • Bomb attacks by islamists • Islamist show at Atatürk Mausoleum • Ciller flirting with fundamentalists • State's support to Islamists • A new political party • New crisis in social democracy • HADEP to Socialist International • Sabotages to Özgür Ülke • Limited Rights to Children • 2-Month Persecution of the Media • Minority rights and Turkey

January-February 95, N°218

• 1994: Another bad year for human rights • Europalia Alla Turca • Criticisms at the Council of Europe • AI report on Turkey • EP's prerequisite for Customs Union • The US report accuses Turkish Government • Prime Minister's irregularities • The Customs Union: Victory or Capitulation? • Özgür Ülke was silenced • "The Dark Clouds over Turkey" by Yasar Kemal • Yasar Kemal: Target of State terrorism • EP Resolution on Yasar Kemal • Onat Kutlar fell victim of Islamists • Islamist attacks in Ramadan • The publisher of "Armenian Tabouu" condemned • Turkey's Armenians banned to elect religious leader • Pressures on Armenian schools • Ter-Petrossian's realpolitik • A Kurdistan parliament in exile • Zana's letter to Mitterrand • Two social democrat parties unified • War of Turkish Godfathers • Virginity test in schools • 2-month state terrorism • Protests against ban on publications • 2-month persecution of the media • Besikci's sentence ratified

March-April 85, N°219

• The Turkish regime's hypocrisy on Info-Türk editors' citizen rights • Campaign against Info-Türk editors • When Turkey fulfills EP prerequisites? • Binding documents on the EU-Turkey Customs Union • 2-month deadline to Turkey from the Council of Europe • EP urged Turkey • ECHR tries Turkey in Turkey • Conquest of "Schwarzkopf" Hasan Pasa • "Kurds treated worse than animals" • NGOs accused of subversive activities • Anger of Alevis shaking Turkey • Ridiculous ban on bananas • Ciller's new controversial ranch • 2-month state terrorism • Kurdish Parliament-in-exile founded  • New daily Yeni Politika under pressure • New sentences to Besikci • A publisher put in prison • Writers at the Security Court • 2-month persecution of the media • Another book on Armenian genocide forbidden • Europalia-Turkey 95 suspended • An overwhelming report on minorities in Turkey

May-June 96, N°220

• Demirel accuses Europe of conspiracy • EP members called "prostitutes" by a Turkish minister • Ankara's hypocrisy on Nazim Hikmet's citizen rights • Reports about Turkey follow on another • Atakürt versus Atatürk • EP warns again Turkey • Turkey sanctioned in Strasbourg • A law for creating Turkish lobby • 188,764 people banned to leave Turkey • An AI opfficial deported from Turkey • PKK leader calls for a cease fire • US choppers used against Kurds • US report confirms the use of arms • Turkey placed South Africa on red list • Ciller family in Mafia connection • Black celebration of April 5 economic measures • Conscientious objectors on trial • $15 billion worth Turkish contracts abroad • Two militants found killed under torture • A Turkish delegation at the "Torture Fair" • Pressure on Christian villages • 2-month State terrorism • Turkey's trade in armament • Trade union leader in prison • 99 intellectuals face imprisonment • A Kurdish TV despite Ankara's protest • 2-month pressure on the media • Ban on Kurdish aggravates health problem • Tension with Greece on territorial waters • A Greenpeace protest action in Turkey • Ciller: enemy of the press • Last tango in the never-ending Cyprus tension

July-August 95, N°221

• Ciller's mockery • Wille Europalia let to be fooled by the Turkish Government? • The Military's repressive constitution still in force • IHD: No improvement in human rights • The Ciller Government's catastrophic performance • The Army Chief threatens human rights defenders • Outcry of an army colonel's widow • Emergency law extended • The military against lifting of Article 8 • Is Tunceli Turkey's Bosna? • Ailing Kurdish writer kept in prison • The new Turkish incursion in Iraq: Operation Dragon • CIA to equip Turkish national intelligence • 242 detentions at HADEP trial • The Socialist Union Party banned • Hunger strikes of political prisoners • 2-month state terrorism • Daily Yeni Politika closed down • Senseless celebration of the Press Day • Besikci's new condemnations • Minimum wage: less than enough • Turkish media's shameful promotion campaign • 99 prominent intellectuals tried • A controversial report on the Kurdish Question • Zarakolu faces new imprisonments • Turkish submission to Saudi fundamentalism • Great humorist Aziz Nesin died • Worker protests against the government • 2-month pressure on the media • Bar chairman killed by fundamentalists • Rise of Anti-semitism in Turkey

September-October 95, N°222

• Is the European parliament to legitimate a militarist regime within the European family by voting for the customs union?
• IHD: The record of human rights violations still dark • State of emergency extended • Four Kurdish deputies kept in prison • Article 8: "Crime of opinion" maintained • Brutality and hunger-strikes in prisons • The Turkish military menace foreign states • Kurdish party chairman in prison • New imprisonments for Besikci • Publisher Zarakolu's new condemnations • Turkish troops crossed into Iraq • Ankara-Tehran cooperation against Kurds • Official figures on anti-PKK war • Human rights violations in 1994 • Heavy toll of earthquake in Dinar • Journalist Ahmet Altan sentenced to 20 months • Anti-Kurdish hysteria hit business world • Reuters journalist faces imprisonment • 2-month state terrorism • 2-month pressure on the media • Hard days for Turkey after elections • Turkey ranks 97th in per capita income • Turkey's hope in Azeri oil's export • Third convention of Turkic states • Murderers of five Turks in Germany convicted