Sunday Herald (UK) - "Tortured minds":
Chloe
13 March 2005/ by Jean Rafferty
ThE fluidity in Beyoglu No 2 criminal court in Istanbul borders on
chaos. The judge is away training for the introduction of the Turkish
penal code, his deputy is sick, and it seems nobody wants to take on the
case of dissident writer and publisher, Ragip Zarakolu. Why would they?
There is the Turkish government to answer to if you come up with the
wrong verdict, and world opinion to contend with, in the shape of eight
international observers, a chap from the British Consulate, two German
cameramen and assorted supporters and reporters clogging up the
corridors. Not to mention the wider opinion they represent. For a
government which desperately wants to join the European Union, the Turks
have an unfortunate penchant for arresting their political opponents. It
doesn’t take much to put you on the wrong side of the law here. One of
the charges against Ragip Zarakolu is of insulting the memory of Kemal
Ataturk, founder of the modern Turkish state, who died in 1938. In
mature democracies such as our own, where Blair-baiting and
royalty-ribbing are the media’s favourite bloodsports, half the nation’s
press would be in Pentonville if such a charge existed.
“Can you imagine if there was a law like that about Churchill?” asks
Alexis Krikorian of the International Publishers Association (IPA).
We are in Istanbul to see Zarakolu tried for instigating racial hatred
“in a way dangerous for public security”. He has dared to suggest that
the Kurdish people in Iraq might have the right to determine their own fate.
On this same day in the Turkish capital, Ankara, Professor Fikret
Baskaya is also standing trial for accusing Turkey of being a “torture
state” in a book written initially in the early 1990s and reprinted in
2003. A team of international observers is watching his trial too.
Zarakolu’s article in a radical daily newspaper criticised the Turkish
government for suggesting that the Iraqi Kurds’ desire to form a state
was justification for the war. In the end the government refused to
support the war, which makes this whole process somewhat surreal.
Zarakolu is now in court for a political position that the government
itself supports.
A brave judge is eventually prevailed upon to hear the case and those
who can squash into the small courtroom. Its wood veneer-panelled walls
are reminscent of council houses in Glasgow’s east end, and there is
none of the pomp of a British court – nor any of the jury. Judge and
prosecutor sit together under a portrait of Ataturk . They wear
cheap-looking duster coats with red stand-up collars; the defence
lawyer’s collar is green and maroon. They could be janitors from
opposing high schools.
But for all their utilitarian appearance, the Turkish courts are far
more deadly in approach than our own. There are currently 60 writers
facing trial there, including Austrian journalist, Sandra Bakutz, who
simply went to Turkey in February to cover the trial of 100 left-wing
activists. She is charged with membership of a banned organisation and
could face up to 15 years in prison. Other “criminals” include
cartoonist Musa Kart, whose caricature of the Turkish prime minister
with a cat’s head earned him a 5000 lira fine.
It is hard not to see the proceedings in Beyoglu’s court as a caricature
of the law. The judge clearly knows nothing about the case and has to be
given all the details. Ragip Zarakolu stands alone in the dock and reads
a prepared speech. “Being against a war can never be classed as a crime.
Criticising genocide can never be a crime ... I demand acquittal.”
Instead, he is offered postponement until May, even though his defence
lawyer points out that under the new penal code such a charge could no
longer be brought then. As the code comes in on April Fools’ Day,
perhaps the judge is wise not to accept that argument. It turns out that
Zarakolu’s co-defendant, the newspaper’s editor, should have been in the
dock with him, but with 300 charges outstanding against him he’s had the
good sense to abscond to Switzerland.
“It’s Kafkaesque,” says Zarakolu. “Just harassment. It’s like our story
of the wolf and the lamb at the riverside. The wolf says, ‘I will eat
you. You are making my water dirty.’ The lamb replies, ‘That’s
impossible. You are upstream of me. It is only you who could dirty my
water.’ The wolf says, ‘It's not important. I want to eat you’.”
Ragip Zarakolu has spent a total of two years in prison, some of it in
isolation. His publishing house has been firebombed; he has had constant
financial struggles, but still he carries on, not just writing his own
articles but publishing and distributing radical literature by others.
He was born in 1948 into the family of a high-ranking bureaucrat, an
intellectual whose liberal-mindedness – and membership of the democratic
party – led to his being sent away from Istanbul and into the wilds of
Anatolia. It was a form of banishment, a probationary period to ensure
his loyalty. The state-owned mansions that the family lived in clearly
provided only limited security.
In 1968, Turkey followed the student protest movement of most of the
Western world. Ragip too listened to Joan Baez and Bob Dylan and took
part in sit-ins, but unlike many of his European and American
contemporaries, he never settled for Coca-Cola consumerism. In 1977, he
and his wife Ayse set up a publishing house to print the works of
independent thinkers. Their range included classic political theorists
such as Tom Paine and John Stuart Mill. They often used foreign writers
to say the things Turkish writers could not.
In the 1980s, after the military coup by General Kenan Evren, the couple
began publishing works by people who had been in prison. “They were
writing their poetry on little pieces of paper, which they sent
secretly, sewn into shirts and other things. Nearly half a million were
imprisoned in five years. A generation of university students stayed
there a long time. My wife and I thought it was very important to get
their voices to the outside. The military authorities thought all the
younger generation were terrorists but we wanted to show their culture.
We published poetry, novels, stories, reportage. Some of them won awards.”
And some of them were sentenced to death. Turkey takes the written word
very seriously. Zarakolu and his wife were watched the whole time, their
phones tapped. Many other publishers couldn’t take the pressure. They
themselves closed their own publishing houses and bookshops. Some people
even burned books in their own homes. In the first half of 2004 alone,
15 books were banned.
The Zarakolus did everything openly. Ragip was arrested in 1982; Ayse
two years later. She was tortured. During Ragip’s first prison term, in
1973, he had learned what that meant through the stories of
fellow-prisoners. “They were hanging people by their hands, using
electric shocks, beating people on the soles of their feet. They also
tied people to the bed, making them stay there a week without going to
the toilet .”
During that period, Ragip Zarakolu collated the information he received
into a book, which was published in Belgium. This time around he could
only support his wife. Ayse was a remarkable woman who was tried many
times and won many humanitarian awards . In 1984, she was arrested
because she had given a job to a student who was wanted by the police.
They tortured her to find out where he was. She refused to tell them –
he was hiding in her mother’s house. “She was a very courageous woman,”
says Ragip. “She always managed not to go into depression or
helplessness. She felt good because she could do something against
power. She felt solidarity with suffering people.”
In 2002, Ayse died of cancer. Her husband was devastated, unable to
speak at her funeral. “I lost half of my existence,” he says. “We shared
everything.” Ayse’s coffin was carried by a group of Kurdish women, who
approached Zarakolu and asked if they could do so.
The “Kurdish question” is one of the country’s most contentious issues.
State repression of the 12 million-strong Kurdish population’s language
and culture resulted in bloody civil war during the 1980s and 1990s .
Both Zarakolus had spoken out openly about human rights abuses, and
about the genocide of a million Armenians from 1915 till the
establishment of the Turkish state in 1923. “Everywhere men carry the
coffins,” says Ragip. “But the women said, ‘She gave a very important
struggle for us.’ The Kurdish women carried her coffin a long way. It
was a very hard burden.”
Moved by their gesture, the Zarakolus’ older son, Deniz, made an
emotional speech at the graveside. “I think Kurdish women will be free
some day,” he said. “And they will not forget my mother.”
In Turkey, 40 days is the traditional period of mourning. The
anti-terror team waited 40 days after Deniz spoke out; then they came to
the family home and took him away for interrogation. H e had said the
unforgivable: that Kurdish people might one day be free.
Deniz Zarakolu was acquitted only after legal reforms were introduced.
In recent years, in its bid to make itself acceptable to Europe, Turkey
has been making piecemeal amendments to its laws. These do not impress
the international observers who came to Istanbul.
“What good is a law if it’s not implemented?” asks Alexis Krikorian of
IPA. “In December Ragip Zarakolu was acquitted before the State Security
Court. As soon as he was acquitted he was charged again. That’s why
we’re back again.”
“Turkey keeps saying, ‘We’re a young nation. We need time.’ But they’ve
had a lot of time,” says Eugene Schoulgin of International PEN, the
worldwide writers’ organisation.
The irony is that many observers believe human rights are just an excuse
for the major European nations to keep Turkey out of the European Union
. “They can’t let Turkey in,” insists Professor Hasan Unal of Ankara’s
Bilkent University. “It’s too big, too alien. Once you let Turkey in
you’ll be moving your borders to Iran and Iraq. They should keep Turkey
as a buffer state.”
By the year 2020, Turkey’s population, now 72 million and growing at a
rate of one million a year, would be the biggest in Europe, giving the
country unprecedented influence. Would France and Germany countenance
this? Behind closed doors the diplomatic minuet goes on. Last Sunday
there were alarming scenes of police brutality in Istanbul during a
demonstration for International Women’s Day. Masked police arrested 57
people but it was thei r behaviour that was questioned in the world’s press.
When Europe’s ministers met the Turkish foreign minister in Ankara on
Monday he assured them that the police would be investigated. They
assured him they were sure that they would. It was cosy, stately if not
statesmanlike, and utterly impenetrable. “They’re melting all the
criticisms into some kind of diplomatic mish-mash,” says Eugene
Schoulgin of International PEN. “It makes it impossible to know what
goes on behind the curtains. The public will never know. That’s what
worries writers and publishers.”
While in Istanbul, Schoulgin attended a dinner for the European
Ambassador, Hansjoerg Kretschmer, thrown by the Marmara group, a Turkish
association including 200 important politicians, academics, businessmen,
generals, journalists. There were speeches and compliments and empty
formalities . Only at the end, did Schoulgin ask how it was possible for
the EU to accept a country with so many taboos, a country which will
accept no criticism of its policies on Armenians, Kurds, the military,
Cyprus or even its founder, Kemal Ataturk.
He got no real answers. Afterwards, many people said that he shouldn’t
ask such questions. “I said, ‘I have a feeling I stepped on everyone’s
toes at once.’ I laughed and they laughed too, but they didn’t like it.”
In Ankara, Professor Fikret Baskaya was acquitted. Many observers
thought the verdict had been decided before a word was said. But in
Istanbul Ragip Zarakolu has a further trial pending, on Wednesday, and
another book on the Armenian genocide coming out shortly. As it
coincides with the 90th anniversary, he does not expect publication to
go unnoticed.
Zarakolu is a generous-hearted man, a man who loves people, music,
laughter and travel. A man of inexplicable, ineradicable optimism. But
on one issue he is as rigid and inflexible as his opponents: “Whether
it’s a member of the European Community or not, Turkey must reform. The
citizens of Turkey demand their rights.”
* Jean Rafferty went to Istanbul as a representative of Scottish PEN, in
conjunction with English PEN
markt...@yahoo.com
Terrorists are not Kurds; Kurds are not terrorists. Therefore, thugs
and murderers of PKK/KADEK/KONGRA-GEL terrorist organization are not
Kurds either; they are just terrorists same as all the other terrorists
everywhere else exploiting unsuspecting innocent people for their own
petty benefits.
Like every peace loving human being, a person of Kurdish heritage too
has his/her equal and unalienable basic human rihgts and freedoms. And
the whole World respects that.
All peace loving Kurds like every other peace loving people know well
that:
- Democracy IS NOT tolerance to terrorism or terrrorists.
- Democracy IS NOT a freedom for or right to terrorism either.
- Supporting convicted terrorists and murderers is not part of
Democracy and
against the law and agaist to human decency in every democratic
country in
the World.
- Terrorists have no right to say anything except to sit by their
lawyer in the
court of law to hear their sentenses announced for the murders they
committed.
But as usual like all the other terrorists, PKK/KADEK/KONGRA-GEL
terrorists too find safe haven hiding behind the innocent Kurdish
people, and disguise themselves as innocent, peace-loving and
low-abiding Kurdish people.
Marxist, leninist, communits PKK/KADEK terrorist organization which,
with the support of the enemies of Turkey in the Middle East and
Europe, including Greece at the top, and with the income it obtained
from major illegal drug trafficking to Europe, robberies, extortions,
etc. murdered nearly 40 thousands innocent human beings in Turkey and
ruined the health and property of many thousands of others to destroy
democratic goverment of the Republic of Turkey and establish a marxist,
lennist, communist PKK/KADEK dictatorship in South East Turkey.This is
against the laws of all countries in the World including Turkey. Any
country, as well as Turkey, will defend itself against such terrorism
as a most legitimate and legal right.
To hell with all PKK/KADEK terrorists, their supporters and haborers
!!!!!
Marxist, leninist, communits PKK/KADEK is not a democratically elected
represantative of Kurdish citizens of Turkey. Democratically elected
represantatives of the citizens of Turkey of Kurdish descend are in the
goverment as MPs, ministers, PMs, presidents, judges, etc., certainly
not as terrorists murdering innocent human beings. Plus, all citizens
of Turkey of Kurdish descend, like everybody else, are serving their
country as soldiers, officers and generals in the military, police
officers, lawyers and judges in the law enforcement organizations,
pursuing their lives as business man and woman, professional careers in
the private business and goverment institutions. And, none of them
feel they have to murder innocent human beings "to defend themselves".
All citizen of Turkey, regardless of race, language, religion, gender,
etc., have their undeniable right and freedom under the law to defend
their rights and freedoms, pursue solutions for the problems they think
they have by only legal, peacefull and democratic ways and means,
definitely not "whatever means is possible" and certainly not by
terrorism.
http://www.mfa.gov.tr/grupe/eh/eh01/pkk3.htm
What is the PKK/KADEK ?
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The PKK (Kurdish acronym for the "Kurdistan Workers' Party"), formed in
1978 by Abdullah Öcalan, is the most notorious terror organization in
the world. It has been waging a vicious campaign of terror against
Turkey since 1984 with the external support of certain states and
circles whose aim is to destabilize Turkey.
The PKK was identified as one of the 30 main terrorist organizations in
the world by the US Secretary of State in October 1997, and it was also
described in the same way in US State Department "Patterns of Global
Terrorism" reports.
PKK's terrorist activities have resulted, to date, in the death of
thousands of people, including women, the elderly, children and in many
instances even infants. The PKK has also murdered over one hundred
school teachers, who became inevitable targets of the terrorists since
it was judged that PKK's subversive views could be most easily
imposed on the uneducated and the ignorant. Lists giving the figures of
ordinary individuals and public servants, ruthlessly killed or maimed
by the PKK terrorists, are in annex.
The PKK has employed murder, intimidation, kidnapping and destruction
to achieve its nefarious objectives. It targets ordinary people,
because it aims to subjugate the local population in southeastern
Turkey into supporting its evil deeds. The PKK has attacked the entire
inhabitants of villages in southeast Anatolia. These attacks are also
designed to make the region uninhabitable. The PKK destroys schools,
sets forests on fire, blows up railways and bridges, plants mines on
roads, burns down construction machinery, and demolishes health
centers. A list containing the figures of material damage caused by
PKK's terrorist attacks is also in annex.
In response, the authorities trained the villagers to defend themselves
and also moved some people to locations where they would be safer.
These two measures, intended to protect the local population against
terrorism, have been at the center of a misinformation campaign by the
PKK and its sympathizers.
The PKK indiscriminately murders the very people on whose behalf it
purports to act : Turkish citizens of Kurdish origin. Ironically, the
PKK regards Masud Barzani's Kurdish Democratic Party and Jalal
Talabani's Patriotic Union of Kurdistan, the two main Kurdish
groupings in northern Iraq, as its adversaries.
Due to its ability to strike Turkey from Syria and (after the 1991 Gulf
War) northern Iraq, the PKK proved for some time a serious threat to
law and order and claimed many victims. Following its operations
against PKK facilities in northern Iraq Turkey restored law and order
throughout the southeastern provinces.
The PKK has been supported and sheltered by some of Turkey's
neighbors, as well as by some others outside the region. Syria and
Greece are the principal countries that have been supporting the PKK
for years. However, with the signing of Adana memorandum on October 20,
1998, the Syrian connection has been broken. Syrian authorities have
promised not to support terrorist activities against Turkey and taken
some steps in this direction. Turkey closely monitors Syrian compliance
with the Adana agreement. Yet, Greece, a NATO ally, backs the PKK and
its affiliates by every means at its disposal. Confessions and
testimonies of dozens of PKK militants arrested in Turkey reveal that
Greek support to PKK terrorism goes much beyond than what was generally
estimated. Most recently, revelations made by the PKK member Fethi
Demir and by ?emdin Sak›k, PKK's "second man" captured in northern
Iraq, have helped to confirm concretely the continuing Greek support to
the PKK. The statement made by Greek Premier Simitis on November 26,
1998, leaves no room for doubt about the position of Greece vis-a-vis
the PKK : "the PKK is an organization fighting for the rights of the
Kurdish minority and using various means to reach this end." Can there
be a more explicit approval of PKK terrorism? There is of course other
evidence and documentation concerning Greek support to PKK terrorism.
The PKK terrorist organization, among others, employs the following
methods in the perpetration of its crimes:
a) Indiscriminate terror against the Turkish citizens of Kurdish ethnic
origin mainly in southeastern Turkey. Targets included children, women,
and the elderly. In some places PKK terrorists have wiped out isolated,
dispersed settlements and hamlets.
The aim is to force the local population into submission, to make them
provide sanctuary.
b) Indiscriminate terror against non-Kurdish population. The purpose is
to discredit the state institutions and to cause instability.
c) Terror against selected targets.
- Assassination of well known personalities, judicial, law enforcement
and security personnel.
- Assassination of state functionaries that provide services to the
local population in southeastern Turkey (civil servants, teachers,
health personnel, technical personnel, etc.).
- Assassination of village guardsmen and their families.
- Attacks on and occupation of official missions of Turkey abroad
(diplomatic, consular, commercial, tourism, etc.) as well as
headquarters or branch offices of semi-official institutions (Turkish
Airlines offices, banks, etc.).Attacks and acts of arson against the
houses, business facilities, associations and mosques of the Turkish
community living in western Europe, mainly in Germany. These acts of
terror are mostly carried out through proxies and front organizations
that are permitted by the authorities of the host countries to operate
in those states.
d) Terror within the ranks of the PKK, against informants and repentant
militants. Over the years, Öcalan has ordered the killing of numerous
PKK defectors and potential rivals. In the past decade, the PKK has
conducted assassinations, kidnappings and acts of arson in Western
Europe against former PKK members and defectors. Assassinations of PKK
defectors occurred in Sweden in 1984 and 1985; in Denmark in 1985; in
the Netherlands in 1987 and 1989; in Germany in 1986, 1987, and 1988.
e) Wider hit and run tactics against border posts and military patrols.
f) Terrorist attacks against industrial infrastructure, oil facilities,
social facilities, and tourist sites with the aim of weakening the
Turkish economy and tarnishing its image. As part of these terror acts,
the PKK bombed passenger trains, ferryboats, and buses. Several of
these attacks resulted in civilian casualties. In 1993 and 1994 it also
staged a series of kidnappings of foreigners in southeastern Turkey to
frighten away tourists and to embarrass the Turkish government.
g) The head of the terrorist organization PKK has advocated and ordered
the use of suicide bombings against Turkish targets that resulted in
the deaths of security personnel and civilians, and injuries to many
more.
Obviously, such an enterprise of crime and violence like the PKK
requires colossal human and financial resources. As there are no
legitimate ways or means to obtain the required resources, PKK's only
option is to resort to illegal and illegitimate methods. Hence, the PKK
is heavily engaged in organized crime activities, including extortion,
drug trafficking, arms smuggling, human smuggling (illegal
immigration), and abduction of children. Such racketeering takes place
particularly in western Europe.
The PKK has been carrying out its activities abroad through its front
organization ERNK (Kurdish acronym for the "Kurdistan National
Liberation Front"), the so-called "Kurdistan Parliament in Exile", its
mouthpiece MED TV, and through other affiliated offices, centers and
associations.
Through these front establishments, the PKK organizes and carries out
its illegal activities. It also uses them to make its propaganda so as
to influence and mislead the public opinion in west European countries
for obtaining popular support to its subversive ends.
The abduction of children and youngsters in some European countries by
these front organizations deserves special mention. According to police
reports and press articles in several west European countries, the PKK
recently organized kidnappings of children, of 14-17 years of age, in
Varmland/Sweden through the ERNK, and in Celle/Germany through "Kurdish
Information Bureaus", or "Kurdish Culture Centers". The statements of
some of the abducted children, as well as press and police reports
reveal that the PKK kidnapped these youngsters, took them to its camps,
located in some other west European countries, and forced them into
training as terrorist militants.
The Turkish authorities spared no effort in drawing the attention of
the west European countries to such criminal and illegal activities of
the PKK, but unfortunately their calls to prevent these activities
usually fell on deaf ears. The complaints of the children's families,
however, attracted the attention of the public and thus created a
strong reaction towards what the PKK and its affiliates have in fact
been doing for years. The police in Sweden and Germany are now
investigating the matter.
Terrorism constitutes today one of the most serious violations of human
rights, in particular the fundamental right to life. By murdering
thousands of people, the PKK has violated the right to life. Therefore,
all the PKK terrorists, including their head Öcalan, must answer in
the court of law for their crimes.
All societies threatened by terrorism have the right to take
appropriate measures to protect themselves from violence and to
eradicate terrorism. Turkey's fight against the PKK terrorism is of
this nature and aims not only to maintain security and to protect its
citizens, but also to pave the way for economic and social development
in the regions where this is needed most. This fight against terrorism
observes democratic principles and the rule of law, with great care
being given to respect the rights of innocent civilians.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
http://www.mfa.gov.tr/grupe/eh/eh01/pkk4.htm
Who is Abdullah Öcalan ?
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Abdullah Öcalan was born in the province of Sanliurfa in 1949. He
speaks Turkish and has only a poor grasp of some Kurdish dialects. He
had a conventional education and his original wish was to be an officer
in the Turkish Army. He failed the entrance examination for the
military academy. He did, however, gain admission in 1971 to the Ankara
University Political Sciences Faculty. There, he joined the underground
movements trying to overthrow Turkey's parliamentary system. He was
expelled from the university for non-attendance and his illegal
activities.
The cell of terrorists which he controlled soon broke links with other
groups. It was known for its use of extreme violence and the
"Apocu's" (Followers of Abdullah Öcalan), as the PKK was called in
its early days, had a special trademark: they hacked off the noses of
their opponents. In the late 1970's, Öcalan collaborated closely
with the Soviet Union and with Syria which were attempting to create
political turmoil in Turkey. In 1980, Öcalan fled to Syria. He began
to use Syrian facilities, including camps in the Bekaa Valley, Lebanese
territory under Syrian control, to train terrorist groups for
cross-border terrorist attacks against targets in Turkey. He started to
inject an ethnic dimension to his terrorist activities, though this
usually had to be imposed on local populations by violent means,
including the kidnapping young men at gun point and then forcing them
to undergo indoctrination and join his movement. In August 1984,
Öcalan's terrorist groups began attacking Turkish police stations
and similar targets in the southeastern provinces north of the border
with Syria and Iraq.
The PKK operates along the familiar lines of traditional communist
parties and carries out terrorist activities under the rigid direction
of its Central Committee. Both its "political" and "military" wings are
controlled directly by Öcalan. As its sole head, Öcalan, has
callously masterminded thousands of PKK's terrorist activities
against Turkey and its people. As such, he has been responsible for
thousands of deaths, kidnappings, mutilations and attacks on innocent
people during his long years as a professional terrorist and murderer.
In October 1998, Turkey warned Syria that it would take action unless
it ceased its support for Öcalan and PKK terrorism. It formally
requested the extradition of Öcalan to Turkey. As a result, Öcalan
was compelled to leave Syria where he had been given shelter for almost
two decades. Furthermore, by an agreement signed between the two
countries on October 20, 1998 in Adana/Turkey, the Syrian Government
for the first time designated the PKK as a terrorist organization, and
pledged not to allow the presence and the activities of the PKK on its
territory. Later, Öcalan was forced to leave Moscow, where he had
escaped from Syria, following political and diplomatic contacts between
Turkey and the Russian Federation.
Öcalan was apprehended in Rome while trying to illegally enter Italy
with a false passport on November 12, 1998. As the British Government
put it, Öcalan's arrest was "a significant advance in the
international community's fight against terrorism."
Öcalan is not only a terrorist but also a common criminal, being
sought by the Turkish courts under charges of homicide and incitement
to homicide. There is thus a red corner bulletin for him issued by the
Interpol. In accordance with a court decision given in 1990, Germany
also had an arrest warrant on Öcalan again for homicide and incitement
to homicide.
All democratic, law-abiding countries as well as international
institutions are obligated to take a consistent and firm stance in
combating terrorism and bringing terrorists to justice. Under
obligations and commitments within the framework of the United Nations,
the Council of Europe, the OSCE, the NATO, and the EU, no country or
government can provide terrorists with safe-haven or evade its
responsibilities in the efforts to eliminate terrorism. Therefore,
Öcalan should never be granted political asylum anywhere and he has to
be extradited to Turkey to face trial for his crimes against Turkish
citizens.
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http://www.mfa.gov.tr/grupe/eh/eh01/pkk5.htm
PKK's Involvement in Organized Crimes
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The PKK engages in organized crimes such as drug trafficking and arms
smuggling, extortion, human smuggling, abduction of children and money
laundering in an attempt to recruit militants and to obtain financial
resources needed to carry out its terrorist activities.
The "Sputnik Operation" conducted in a coordinated fashion in some
European countries in September 1996 exposed PKK's links with
organized crime and money laundering activities.
On the other hand, it is known that the PKK, together with other
organized crime gangs, is also behind the recent wave of illegal
immigration to Italy. PKK's objective is to create international
pressure and antipathy against Turkey.
Moreover, the PKK plays an important role in drug trafficking which
constitutes one of the most evil crimes of our age. The British weekly
magazine "The Spectator" underlined this fact in its 28 November-5
December 1998 issue by saying that "...According to the British
security services sources the PKK is responsible for 40 percent of the
heroin sold in the European Union..." .
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
http://www.mfa.gov.tr/grupe/eh/eh01/pkk6.htm
Drug Trafficking and Terrorist Organizations
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
All terrorist organizations need to raise funds to sustain their
violent activities and resort to illegal means to finance their crimes.
Drug trafficking comes at the top of this list of illegal money raising
activities, followed by robbery, extortion, kidnapping, blackmailing
and arms smuggling.
In recent years, it has become increasingly evident that terrorism and
drug trafficking are intertwined. The terms "narco-terrorism" and
"narco-terrorists" have started to gain circulation in describing the
link between terrorist organizations and narcotics smugglers. This fact
is illustrated by certain international documents. The UN Convention
Against Illicit Traffic In Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances
(1988) refers to the relationship between illicit drug traffic and
other organized criminal activities which undermine the stability,
security and legitimacy of sovereign states.
Paragraph 5 of the UN International Narcotics Control Board (INCB)'s
1992 report points out that "illicit cultivation of narcotic plants and
illicit trafficking in drugs continue to be a threat to the political,
economic and social stability of several countries. Links appear to
exist between illicit cultivation and drug trafficking and the
activities of subversive organizations in some countries."
The 1993 INCB report draws attention to the organic connections between
drug cartels and terrorist organizations, and also to the globalization
of drug smuggling. The successive INCB reports point out that these
drug cartels concentrate their activities in ethnically and
economically troubled regions of the world. It is no coincidence that
terrorist organizations thrive in the very same regions.
The Vienna Declaration and Program of Action adopted at the World
Conference on Human Rights (25 June 1993) stresses that "the acts,
methods and practices of terrorism in all its forms and manifestations
as well as linkage in some countries to drug trafficking are activities
aimed at the destruction of human rights, fundamental freedoms and
democracy, threatening territorial integrity, security of states and
destabilizing legitimately constituted governments, and the
international community should take the necessary steps to enhance
cooperation to prevent and combat terrorism."
The Final Communiqué of the Council of Europe Pompidou Group 2nd
Pan-European Ministerial Conference (Strasbourg, 4 February 1994)
underlines the fact that "considering the continuous increase in and
the spread of drug trafficking incidents, the involvement of violent
organizations in such activities constitute a serious threat to the
contemporary society" (Art.9), and thus, "it is vital for the security
forces to combat terrorism effectively" (Art.l5).
The UN Declaration on Measures to Eliminate International Terrorism
adopted at the 49th session of the General Assembly, underlines the
concern by the international community at the growing and dangerous
links between terrorists groups, drug traffickers and their
paramilitary gangs which have resorted to all types of violence, thus
endangering the constitutional order of States and violating basic
human rights. This Declaration also emphasizes the desirability of
closer cooperation and coordination among States in combating crimes
closely connected with terrorism, including drug trafficking, unlawful
arms trade, money laundering and smuggling of nuclear and other
potentially deadly materials.
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Foreign Press Reports
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* In January 1992, the Bremen Police arrested a "Kurd" selling drugs.
The police found a bunch of keys in his pocket, which belonged to an
apartment where "Kurds" lived. Hanging on the walls of the said
apartment were posters of the PKK and its leader Abdullah Öcalan. The
police also found some clues suggesting that the PKK finances its armed
struggle by the heroin trade (SAT-1 TV, 24 Hours, 6 January 1992).
* In 1992, a total number of 2,069 drug addicts died in Germany. In the
same year, the German police apprehended some children aged 10-12,
coming from southeastern Turkey and selling drugs in Hamburg. A child
of 8 carrying a firearm was also arrested. All these children confessed
that the PKK was using them to sell drugs, since they did not have
penal responsibility. The police seized 30 kg. of heroin from a "Kurd"
who was said to have transferred DM 150,000 to his partners. The
estimated figure the PKK earns from the narcotics trade is more than 56
million DM (VOX TV ; Germany, 12 February 1993).
* In 1993, more than 50 PKK members were arrested by the Essen Police
of Germany. The Federal Criminal Department in Wiesbaden found out that
the PKK was organizing drug trafficking in Germany and the narcotics
trade in Hamburg, Bremen, Frankfurt and Essen was under the control of
the PKK (German Daily "NRZ," 30 March 1993).
* The Hamburg Criminal Police arrested a band of Kurdish drug smugglers
on 15 September 1993. 11-year-old children, who were also arrested with
the other members of the band, later confessed to the police that the
PKK illegally brought them from Turkey to Germany in order to make them
sell drugs for the organization (Hamburg Local TV Broadcast, 15
September 1993).
* Three years of intensive police investigation by the Slagelse Police
and the Narcotics Section of the National Police Force in Denmark
resulted in the solution of several armed robberies whose spoils were
used to finance narcotics purchases. The police captured a Danish
person, who had links with two Turkish narcotics kingpins living in
Denmark. During the trial the close relationship between these people
and the PKK was proven. The superintendent Niels Bech of the National
Police Force expressed that large parts of the profits from the
narcotics sales in Denmark have returned to Turkey. In one case DDK
140,000 were sent to Turkey and kilos of heroin was sent to Europe in
return (Danish Daily, "Berlingske Tidende," 31 October 1993).
* Two young PKK members (aged 14 and 16) were caught by the police
selling drugs at the Trabrennbahn Train Station near Wandsbeck on 26
September 1994 ("Bild-Hamburg" 28 September 1994).
* On 5-6 October 1994 the "Bild" reported that narcotics were being
distributed from Jork in Alten Land to Northern Germany and that the
Kurdish dealers transferred 15 million DM to their collaborators in
Turkey.
* On 24 October 1994 the German magazine "Focus" wrote that in the last
9 years 315 PKK members were involved in drug trafficking around
Europe, 154 of whom were captured in Germany.
* Ralf Brottscheller, the Senator of Interior of Bremen, accused the
PKK of extortion and organized narcotics smuggling ("Focus," 18
September 1995).
* In France, the Aulnay Sous Bois Public Security Units and Paris
Bureau of Combating Narcotics Trafficking conducted an operation which
was completed after long and careful preparations of 18 months. 30
people involved in narcotics trafficking on behalf of the PKK and the
Mafia active in France and Belgium were taken into custody after the
operation (French Press, 4 November 1996).
* The Belgian Gendarmerie raided a camp in Zutendaal/Genk, in which the
PKK militants were being trained, and apprehended 35 people, including
children and some internationally wanted criminals ("Arnhemse Courant,"
22 November 1996).
* The administrators of a facade company helping the PKK's activities
in France were taken into custody in Paris (French Press, 25 February
1997).
* The "Observatoire Geopolitique Des Drogues" noted in its monthly
report that the biggest heroin seizure in Hungary to date was made on
December 12, 1996, aboard a Turkish bus belonging to the Toros Line
company. The Turkish traffickers, caught with 42 kg. heroin turned out
to be "Kurds." The report mentions the case of a Romanian citizen who,
upon his arrest with 2 kg. heroin by the Turkish police in Edirne in
September 1995, admitted that he was running for the PKK drugs in one
direction and explosives in the other.
The report also notes that 65 percent of the drugs confiscated by the
Romanian customs officers are found on passenger vehicles and that
"every time Romanian police make a drug haul at a Turkish company,
Kurds are involved" ("The Geopolitical Drug Dispatch", No. 65, March
1997).
* A high level member of the PKK, known as the PKK chief in the
Hannover area, was arrested in Berlin. He had been wanted by the German
police on charges of arson attacks, and damage to private property. The
police found out evidence regarding the PKK's involvement in illicit
labor trafficking ("Berliner Zeitung" 4 April 1997).
* 20 refugees were arrested in a police raid on a refugee hostel which
was discovered to be a PKK base, in Grimma, Bahren. The operation was
conducted jointly by the German police and experts from the Federal
Criminal Department. The police confiscated various fire arms,
thousands of DM and receipts. These immigrants were actively involved
in the activities of the PKK and its facade branches (German Press, 4
April 1997).
* The Bavarian police conducted a series of operations against the PKK
militants in refugee camps, arrested 2, and took into custody 17 of
them (Statement by Straubing Police Directorate dated 17 June 1997).
* The PKK transfers people, weapons and drugs through the FRY (Former
Republic of Yugoslavia) and purchases weapons in return (Croatian daily
"Vjesnik" August 1997).
* The "Focus" magazine remarked on 23 March 1998 that members of the
PKK invested the money laundered from drug trafficking and extortion in
the real estate market in Celle, Germany.
* On August 1, 1998, the Croatian and Slovenian security forces jointly
confiscated 38 kg. of heroin in a vehicle bound for western Europe.
According to the Croatian reports, the shipment of the heroin was
realized by Turkish citizens "who are most probably members of the PKK"
This is consistent with the statements made by Slovenian security
forces who have pointed to a "reasonable suspicion" that a member of
the PKK is involved in the smuggling (Croatian and Slovenian press
reviews, 6 August 1998).
* Four "Kurdish" people were captured with 2.6 kg. heroin, the largest
amount of narcotics ever captured in west Norway. It is thought that
the four people caught were merely couriers and that the trafficking
was carried out by a "Turkish/Kurdish" network (Bergen, 7 August 1998).
* "...The PKK has financed its war against Turkey by extortion and the
sale of heroin, and according to British security service sources it is
responsible for 40 percent of the heroin sold in the European Union..."
(British weekly magazine "The Spectator", 28 November-5 December 1998
issue).
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Reports of Foreign Police and Foreign Officials
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* In January 1990, a PKK member was arrested in Switzerland for selling
drugs on behalf of the PKK. In the same month a 13-year-old person,
also linked to the PKK, was captured in the Netherlands and was
released as being too young to prosecute.
* A Turkish citizen of Kurdish origin, apprehended in France on 22
January 1991, confessed that he had been trading drugs in France on
behalf of the PKK and that the drugs were transported by trucks or
sometimes by tourist vehicles and then distributed to different cities
not only in France but in various other countries in Europe as well.
* After being arrested on 7 March 1991 in France, a "Kurdish" person
confessed that the drugs he was selling belonged to the PKK.
* Another Turkish citizen of "Kurdish" descent, captured with 48 kg. of
heroin in Arnheim in November 1991, was found out to be a PKK member.
* The German Police reports underline the fact that l,103 kg. of heroin
was seized by the police in 1991 and 400 of 735 suspects involved in
the drug trading incidents were PKK members. This ratio mounted to
450/735 in 1992 and 300/457 in 1993.
* The US Department of State Bureau of International Narcotics Matters
expressed in its International Narcotics Control Strategy Report (1992)
that the two-thirds of the people involved in drug trafficking
incidents in Europe are PKK-oriented.
* An active PKK member working as a truck driver, who was known to have
stood as a candidate in Bonn in the 1992 elections for the PKK's
so-called National Assembly, was seized in Troisdorf, Germany, while
transporting substantial amounts of drugs.
* In 1993, the police seized 200 kg. of heroin in London. Further
investigation revealed that the drug traders were working for the PKK.
* A police operation in Offenbach, Germany on 7 January 1993, led to
the seizure of 5 kilos of heroin. Among the seven people captured by
the police was a person known as the "PKK's accountant."
* As a consequence of the operations conducted by the German police in
Hamburg, Bremen and Bad Bramstad during May-October 1993, 15.7 kg. of
heroin was confiscated and 22 people were apprehended, including PKK
members and supporters. The criminals turned out to have requested
political asylum from the German authorities.
* 15 Turkish citizens with "Kurdish" descent were arrested in
connection with 1.6 kg. heroin seized by the German police in
Recklinghausen, Germany, on 27 October 1993. Among those were the
participants at pro-PKK demonstrations in Turkey.
* A message by the German Interpol dated October 26, 1993, pointed out
that six Turkish citizens with Kurdish origin were arrested on charges
of laundering the proceeds from drug trafficking in the Netherlands,
Spain, Italy and Germany. Large sums of cash, thought to be laundered
money, were captured by the German police.
* Another Turkish citizen of "Kurdish" origin, captured in Caracas,
Venezuela on 10 November 1993, while carrying 3.5 kg. of cocaine,
confessed that she was a PKK courier. This incident is said to prove
the links of the PKK with the drug cartels even in Latin America.
* The NCIS estimated that the 44 percent of 1993 budget of the PKK as
430 million French Francs, came from illicit drug trafficking.
* During a six-week campaign initiated by the Stuttgart city police in
January 1994, 76 people were apprehended, including some who had been
formerly prosecuted in Turkey because of their links with the terrorist
organization.
* On 17 August 1994 the German Criminal Authority informed the Turkish
Security Authorities that a political refugee, resident in Kiel, was
engaged in drug trade and money transfer to the PKK.
* The US Deputy Secretary of State in charge of narcotics, Ambassador
Robert Felbard, answering a question at a press briefing in February
1994 regarding the PKK supervision of drug trafficking in Europe and
the United States, stated that the US had quite a bit of information
about the PKK's involvement in the trafficking of heroin into Europe.
* The Amsterdam police, during an anti-drug operation on 11 December
1994, seized numerous firearms, machine guns, bombs and PKK documents
and arrested several PKK militants.
* The Bavarian Minister of Interior, Günter Beckstein, referring to
the 30 PKK militants captured in Europe during the last two years,
stated that the PKK has taken control of the European narcotics market
(Turkish daily, "Cumhuriyet," 31 July 1995).
* The Director of German Terrorism Research Forum, Rolp Tophoven, has
stated that a large majority of the people arrested on charges of
narcotics smuggling are of "Kurdish" descent, many of whom confess
committing the crime on behalf of the terrorist PKK (Turkish daily,
"Yeni Yüzy›l," 12 November 1995).
* Olivier Foll, another expert on international terrorism, noted that
the PKK members, when apprehended for illegal possession of narcotics,
confess to smuggling drugs for the PKK and exploit the "political"
dimension of the issue as an excuse for their crimes. Mr. Foll
criticized the "Kurdish" policies of some European statesmen who grant
concessions to the PKK (Turkish daily "Yeni Yüzy›l," 12 November
1995).
* During the Sputnik operation of September 18, 1996, the Belgian
police seized 350 million Belgian Francs that were thought to have been
the proceeds from narcotics trafficking. Seven people having ties with
the PKK were apprehended in connection with the crime. The Sputnik
operation also revealed that the MED-TV, the mouthpiece of the PKK, is
involved in PKK's money laundering activities. The MED-TV
representative in Germany was taken into custody as he was unable to
explain the source of the 500 million BF, used in financing the
station. It was later found that he was using revenues from drug
trafficking for financing not only the MED-TV but also the so-called
"Kurdistan Parliament in Exile" (KPE). The Belgian police seized many
firearms in the KPE building they searched.
* In August 1997, the German police conducted a comprehensive operation
against the PKK members in Cologne in which six members of the PKK were
arrested. After the operation, Cologne police officers issued a
statement emphsizing the fact that the PKK is involved in organized
crime including extortion in Germany to finance its acts of terrorism.
* The Göttingen police of Germany, after a 14-month investigation,
managed to penetrate the drug smuggling network with two "Kurdish"
informers in May 1998 and found out that the revenues from 40 kg. of
heroin marketed were channeled to the PKK.
* The KDP (The Kurdistan Democratic Party of Masud Barzani) forces
discovered extensive narcotics farms in the Gali Pes Agha region of
northern Iraq, captured from the PKK in May 1997.
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Turkish Police Reports
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
* A PKK member, captured by the police with 14.5 kg. of heroin on 1
September 1993, confessed that he was acting on behalf of the PKK
abroad, and that he was a drug-smuggler, transferring 30 percent of the
proceeds to the terrorist organization.
* Following the confiscation of 20.3 kg. of heroin in Duisburg,
Germany, two PKK supporters were arrested by the German police. This
triggered a police investigation in Turkey, which led to the seizure of
firearms and munitions in a vehicle owned by the same family in the
city of Mersin on 12 May 1993.
* A PKK militant of Iranian origin confessed that the terrorist
organization has drug production facilities in Iran and that Osman
Öcalan (the brother of Abdullah Öcalan and a leading figure of the
terrorist organization PKK) is in charge of the production of narcotics
which are later marketed mainly in Europe to raise money for the
organization.
* Two PKK militants, arrested with 30 kg. of heroin, expressed that
they were aiming to sell the drugs to provide financial contributions
to the PKK.
* The Turkish Security Forces seized 120 kg. of heroin and 40 kg. of
hemp seeds (cannabis) in a PKK shelter in southeastern Turkey.
* One PKK member, who was put in jail on 3 July 1993 for getting
involved in the terrorist acts of the PKK in Hakkari and released on 20
October 1993, was captured with 36 kg. of heroine, 140 kg. of
precursors and some other drug-producing material.
* Another member of the PKK, sentenced to 6 years of imprisonment,
confessed that he was in charge of establishing the links between the
drug smugglers and the terrorist organization.
* During the operations conducted by the Turkish security forces, two
people, captured with 48 kg. of hashish, were arrested as they were
found out to be involved in narco-trade so as to provide financial
support to the PKK.
* Another Turkish citizen said to be of "Kurdish-origin", caught by the
police in possession of 117 kilos of hashish in Istanbul, was later
found to have participated in the PKK-led attack on the Turkish
Consulate General in Frankfurt on March 1l, 1992.
* One Turkish citizen of "Kurdish-origin" apprehended in July 1994
confessed that he was involved in drug trafficking to raise money for
the PKK. The police, making use of the information he disclosed, were
able to arrest some other members of the terrorist organization.
* On 1 August 1994 a PKK member, apprehended in Diyarbak›r with 2 kg.
of heroin, acknowledged that he was selling drugs for the PKK. He also
informed the police that some PKK members were cultivating drugs and
gave the names of the places where hemp seeds (cannabis) were grown. In
further investigation the police captured 120,000 roots of hemp seeds
in a village named Dibek.
* On 21 August 1994 the Turkish security forces apprehended two people
with 150 kg. of hashish and considerable amounts of hemp seeds and
hashish growing material. The security forces also captured PKK
documents and propaganda material and two machine guns.
* Diyarbak›r Police, conducting an operation against the PKK on 17
July 1994, apprehended three people with 80 kg. of hashish, PKK
documents, a gun and three ERNK seals. These people confessed that the
PKK ordered them to sell the drugs and purchase firearms and food
supplies for the organization. The said people turned out to have
participated in various terror acts such as the rocket attack to and
storming of a police residence in Lice on 29 June, the bomb attack on
the residence of a judge in Diyarbak›r on 16 January 1994, and a bomb
attack on a police patrol car.
* Seven people captured in the city of Cizre on 23 March 1994 with
398.5 kilos of heroin confessed to smuggling narcotics on behalf of the
PKK.
* The security forces have had strong evidence suggesting that a
network composed of PKK militants is involved in drug trading in Zaho,
northern Iraq. The network is known to hand the drugs over to clients
either in Zaho or in Turkey. Therefore, it was not very surprising that
during the operation by the Turkish Armed Forces in northern Iraq
against the PKK, the Turkish army discovered a large farm where the
terrorists cultivated hemp (cannabis). The farm was located near the
PKK's Pirvela Camp in the Bahara valley. The Turkish military officers
announced that the amount of drugs captured during the operation in
northern Iraq reached 4.5 tons.
* In a raid on 7 March 1995 on the residence of a person, suspected by
the police of having contact with the PKK militants, the Turkish police
seized large amounts of drugs, drug precursor chemicals, firearms and
ammunitions.
* Three of the seven people caught with 21.5 kilos of heroin in
Hamburg, Germany, have been found out to have been formerly arrested in
Turkey on charges of PKK membership.
* The two people caught by the police with 20.6 kilos of narcotics in
‹zmir on August 5, 1996, have been found out to be running an
association linked to the PKK in the Netherlands.
* Another PKK sympathizer, who was captured with acetic anhydride, a
heroin precursor chemical, by the Turkish security forces in the city
of Van on March 24, 1998, was found to have been previously arrested
for providing logistic support to the PKK.
* The Turkish security forces have strong evidence that the PKK
militants, settled in the Iranian part of our common border, receive
commissions from the narcotics smugglers called "taxes or donations."
***
The role of the PKK in incidents given above is undeniable, both
because of the documents seized by the security forces and the
backgrounds of the arrested people. Still, in certain Western
countries, the activities of this terrorist organization, are
regrettably being tolerated.
After the prohibition of PKK in France and Germany towards the end of
1993, a wave of optimism emerged in Turkish public opinion that the
rest of the European countries would follow suit by adopting similar
measures. This, however, has not happened to date. Yet, it is clear
that the prohibition of the PKK and its front organizations in European
countries would also be in the interest of these countries. The PKK is
responsible for narcotics trafficking, extortion, robbery, and illicit
arms and human smuggling activities, and thus circumvent the rule of
law and compromises the security and stability of the countries in
which it operates. It is no coincidence that drug trafficking cases
predominantly occur in those countries where the organization of the
PKK is extensive and tolerated.
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Is There A "Kurdish Question" in Turkey?
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As the first melting pot and encounter point of many different
civilizations and cultures, present-day Turkey contains a multitude of
ethnic, religious and cultural elements. Turkey is proud of its great
heritage. This centuries-long shared way of life is perfectly
second-nature for the people of Turkey.
Yet, different ethnic identities, including the Kurdish, are
acknowledged and accepted in Turkey. The state does not categorize its
citizens along ethnic lines nor does it impose an ethnic identity on
them. Population censuses in Turkey never count people on the basis of
their ethnic origins. But, this does not prevent an individual citizen
to identify himself or herself in terms of a specific ethnic category.
That is a private affair and ultimately a matter of personal
preference. Public expressions and manifestations of ethnic identity
are prohibited neither by law nor by social custom. Folklore is rich
and colorful and local variations, customs and traditions are protected
and supported.
Turkey is a constitutional state governed by the rule of law. Democracy
rests on a parliamentary system of government, respect for human rights
and on the supremacy of law. Multi-party politics, free elections, a
growing tradition of local government mark the democratic way of life
in Turkey.
Constitutional citizenship is one of the principles upon which the
Turkish state was founded. The Turkish Constitution stipulates that the
State and the Nation are indivisible, and that all citizens
irrespective of their ethnic, racial or religious origin, are equal
before the law.
For historical and cultural reasons, and under stipulations of binding
international treaties, the concept of "minority" applies specifically
to certain groups of non-Moslem citizens. In fact, the social fabric of
Turkey is a unique real life case of the OSCE principle that "not all
ethnic, cultural, linguistic or religious differences necessarily lead
to the creation of national minorities". Our citizens of Kurdish ethnic
origin are not discriminated against and they feel themselves to be
equal members of the society. Many have risen to the highest positions
in the Republic. They share the same opportunities and the same destiny
as the rest of the population.
Ethnicity is not a factor in the political geography of Turkey. That
is, the predominant majority of the Turkish citizens of Kurdish descent
live in western Turkey, with the greatest concentration being in
Istanbul. Even in eastern and southeastern Turkey, the Turkish citizens
of Kurdish ethnic origin do not constitute a majority. The unitary
structure of the State reflects the equality and togetherness of
different geographic regions of Turkey.
Therefore, it is simply neither understandable nor acceptable for
Turkey to discuss "the respect for social, economic and legitimate
political aspirations of Kurds" as if the Turkish citizens of Kurdish
ethnic descent constitute a different and separate community. They are
citizens of a nation that has been sharing for centuries the same
values with respect to language, religion, culture and patriotic
identity, common history and the will for a mutual future.
It is of cardinal importance to differentiate between a militant
organization, which resorts systematically to terrorism as well as all
kinds of organized crime, and the phenomenon of Kurdish ethnicity. It
is evident that our citizens of Kurdish ethnic origin are law-abiding
people. Most of them live in western Turkey, drawn by economic
attraction. They are of their own choice integrated into the society
and its economic, social and cultural aspects. In Turkey, citizens of
all ethnic origins can rise to the highest political positions and
ranks such as cabinet ministers and members of parliament. Throughout
the centuries, much mixing has taken place through intermarriages.
Progress in industrial, cultural and social fields, as well as
urbanization, has also contributed to the voluntary and natural process
of integration.
The population in southeast Anatolia, like our citizens in other
regions of the country, participate fully in the political life of
Turkey; they freely make their voices heard in local administrations,
in the municipalities, the Parliament, and the central government
through elected representatives. It is nothing out of the ordinary for
the individuals of different ethnic origins to participate in the
political life of the country. Even the most militant circles concede
the fact that there are no obstacles to social mobility of individuals
from different ethnic origins to any profession or career, whether
public or private.
The fundamental rights and freedoms of all Turkish citizens are secured
by the relevant provisions of the Constitution. However, those rights
have been threatened by the PKK, creating terror among the populace.
None of our citizens of Kurdish ethnic origin, notwithstanding
allegations to the contrary, who publicly or politically asserts
his/her Kurdish ethnic identity risks harassment or persecution.
However, acts or statements made against the "territorial integrity" of
Turkey are subject to legal prosecution under the law. If these
allegations were true, none of the publications in Kurdish whose
contents are full of assertions of Kurdish ethnic identity would have
been tolerated by the authorities.
In the same vein, Turkey is often accused of refusing to negotiate with
the terrorist organization PKK. These accusations contradict the
fundamental rules of international law. Negotiating with a terrorist
organization, responsible for thousands of murders, would be tantamount
to justifying and encouraging terrorism.
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Is the Use of Kurdish Banned in Turkey ?
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Contrary to the allegations of some biased quarters, there is no
restriction on the use of languages in Turkey. Presently, there are
many private radio-TV stations broadcasting and numerous books and
journals published both in Turkish and in various dialects of "Kurdish"
throughout the country. It should be mentioned here that "Kurdish" can
be hardly depicted as "a single language" linguistically or socially.
Many scholars point out the fact that there are many different local
languages and dialects used in southeastern Turkey such as Zaza and
Kirmanchi which are only as close to each other as French and English.
These local languages and dialects are so dissimilar that people living
in one village cannot even communicate with others from a neighboring
village. As a result, Turkish has become the sole medium of
communication in the region. It is ironic that Turkish is also used in
PKK's militant training camps and in the communication between its
headquarters and terrorists as their common language.
The official language of the Republic of Turkey is Turkish, but
Armenian, Ladino, Greek, the different dialects of "Kurdish", etc. are
spoken freely in daily life. There is only one official language in the
country. However, in this respect Turkey does not constitute a unique
and exceptional case either in Europe or among other democratic
countries.
It should also be underlined that expressions of ethnic identity such
as the use of local languages are viewed as private domain matters.
Thus, they are not the subject of law and are therefore not regulated
by the state. The Turkish language is the language of the Republic of
Turkey and is consequently the only formal language of education and
instruction. The same is true in most democracies. Though it is
possible to help promote them, it is neither realistic nor feasible to
make local tongues official languages of the State.
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Socio-Economic Development of Southeastern Turkey and the Southeastern
Anatolia Project (GAP)
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The Atatürk Dam is the largest component of the Southeastern Anatolia
Project (GAP).
The Southeastern Anatolia Project (GAP), consisting of a complex system
of dams, waterworks, irrigation and hydraulic energy network is a
colossal investment of Turkey, the biggest regional initiative ever
attempted in Turkey. It aims at changing the whole complexion of the
arid geography and consequently, the social and economic backwardness
of southeastern Anatolia. The Turkish Government has always believed
that one of the best tools in the struggle against terrorism is
economic development. It is no accident that the region in which the
PKK operates is also the least economically developed part of Turkey.
The Turkish Government is determined to rectify that.
It is a fact that there are socio-economic regional imbalances in
Turkey as in every developing, even some developed countries. Rough
geographic and climatic conditions of southeastern Turkey are the main
factors in this imbalance. Terrorism and economic backwardness of the
region affect all our citizens indiscriminately. Despite many
governmental incentives and low taxation policies, the private sector
had in the past been reluctant to invest in the region, mainly due to
security concerns. Public sector has taken the place of the private
sector and many investments have already been realized by the State.
"GAP" is the best example of that. Government investment in this region
is much higher than the amount of taxes collected there. "GAP" is a
gigantic economic step forward which will change the destiny of the
region. Agricultural production of Turkey will rise by several folds
when this project, which is both energy and irrigation oriented, is
completed. Yet, its important impact is not expected only on
agricultural production, but also on industry, construction, services,
as well as on the Gross Regional Product and employment. When the
project is completed, per capita income will increase three times, and
3.3 million jobs will be created.
The Southeastern Anatolia Project constitutes an integrated project
which contributes significantly to the realization of national targets
for the utilization of development potentials, self-induced economic
growth, social stability and enhancement of export possibilities, and
at the same time aims at the promotion of the principle of sustainable
human development; thus, human development is the core of sustainable
development in the "GAP" region. In this context, the "GAP Social
Action Plan" consists of the basic policies, targets, strategies and
implementation measures for ensuring the social development of the
region through a human-centered approach emphasizing sustainability of
the development. This people-centered development aims to remove the
gap between the project area and the more developed regions in Turkey
and to promote equitable development.
This ambitious socio-economic development drive also explains why the
PKK has been targeting civilians as well as economic and social
projects. PKK's aim is both to terrorize the local population and to
keep the region economically and socially backward so as to recruit
more militants into its own ranks. However, this is being reversed as
the GAP began to bear its fruits. For example, although the so-called
head of the PKK is from ?anl›urfa, there has never been a terrorist
act there, because it is an economically powerful settlement. The state
of emergency still has to continue in some of the provinces of
southeastern Turkey. It is the direct consequence and explicit proof of
the PKK terrorism in the region. It is of utmost importance for Turkey
to augment the allocation of human and financial resources for the
socio-economic development of this region. The precondition to achieve
this task is the eradication of the PKK terrorist organization.
Eradication of terrorism will not only put an end to the deliberate
devastation by terrorists of the underdeveloped regions of Turkey, but
also release important resources for developmental activity in those
very regions. While terrorism might be viewed as a consequence of
certain underlying causes, it is also incontestably true that terrorism
is itself the main reason of poverty and underdevelopment of those
areas where it is perpetrated.
In sum, our citizens of all ethnic origins -Turkish, Kurdish and
others- living together for more than ten centuries in Turkey have
created a society of patriotic citizens sharing common values. They
established their own nation-state, the Turkish Republic, following the
War of Independence. Ethnic descent is not considered a cause of
discrimination or privilege just as in all modern nation States on the
globe.
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Attila Ataman
into the whole gay scene, apparently without hesitation. Others have
been tugged in over a period of time, and then some(Attila) are still
"holding out." Even the mullahs can't deny that many within it are
having tremendous struggles with homosexuality. Growing masses of gay
Turks are parading down the streets with banners, pursuing a new found
freedom to do what they want, give some Kurd a BJ or two. But the real
things so many seek after - friendship, acceptance, and love - elude
them, remaining just outside their reach. A man who at one time had
given himself over to seeking pleasure spoke the truth when he said
that "Even in laughter the heart may be in pain, and the end of joy
may be grief." 1