3 February 2005

1. "Turkish rights watchdog to file complaint over summary execution of Kurd", Turkey's main human rights watchdog said Wednesday that it had identified the body of a Kurdish university student who was killed extrajudicially after his disappearance in 1994 and that it would file complaints against officials then serving in the southeast of the country.

2. "We are working with Turkey regarding the PKK: Boucher", the United States was working with Turkey to combat the activities of the PKK in Northern Iraq, a US State Department spokesman said late Tuesday.

3. "Cypriot president seeks 'significant step' from Turkey", Cypriot President Tassos Papadopoulos said the signature by Turkey of a protocol to its EU association agreement would be a "significant step" towards Ankara normalising its relations with Nicosia.

4. "Kurdish party says self-rule inevitable", Kurdish self-rule is inevitable if not imminent, according to Kurdistan Democratic Party chief Masud Barzani.

5. "Turkey wants US to thwart Kurdish power", Turkey expects the United States to do more to keep northern Iraq from becoming a safe haven for 'terrorists' and check a Kurdish push for power there, Turkish Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul said on Wednesday.

6. "After the election: The future of Iraq and U.S. occupation", the following is an excerpt from a presentation by Noam Chomsky on January 26th at a forum sponsored by the Lannan Foundation in Santa Fe, NM to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the International Relations Center (IRC), online at www.irc-online.org. Chomsky is a member of the IRC’s board of directors.

1. - AFP - "Turkish rights watchdog to file complaint over summary execution of Kurd":

DIYARBAKIR / 2 February 2005

Turkey's main human rights watchdog said Wednesday that it had identified the body of a Kurdish university student who was killed extrajudicially after his disappearance in 1994 and that it would file complaints against officials then serving in the southeast of the country.

The case of Murat Aslan was the first time a person believed to have been the victim of a summary execution was positively identified through DNA testing, said the Turkish Human Rights Organisation's branch in Diyarbakir, the region capital of the mainly Kurdish southeast.

Thousands of people, mainly Kurdish dissidents, are believed to have been killed extrajudicially in the region during a bitter and heavy military campaign against rebels of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) who picked up arms for self-rule in 1984.

Aslan had been missing since 1994 when he was abducted by unknown men in Diyarbakir at the age of 25, and his family failed to find any trace of him for 10 years despite appeals to local officials, the IHD said.

But in March last year, his father, Izzettin, came across the confessions of a PKK rebel-turned-informer in a pro-Kurdish newspaper, describing how Aslan had been kidnapped and questioned by paramilitary gendarmerie troops before being killed near the town of Silopi, some 210 kilometres (126 miles) southeast of Diyarbakir.

Upon travelling to the region, Izzettin Aslan was told by locals that a body which was burnt after being killed by a bullet to the head had been buried by a local shepherd 10 years ago.

An exhumation at the scene produced human bones, which were identified by forensic experts in Istanbul as that of Aslan's through DNA testing, the IHD said.

"We will file complaints with the local prosecutor's office against all officials" mentioned in the informer's confession, the IHD said.

Turkey's southeast has only just begun to lick its wounds after more than a decade of heavy fighting, which claimed some 37,000 lives and led to gross allegations of rights violations by both the PKK and Turkish forces.

The PKK, now known as KONGRA-GEL, called off a five-year unilateral ceasefire with Ankara last June and sporadic fighting has resumed since but with less intensity than before.

2. - NTV / MSNBC - "We are working with Turkey regarding the PKK: Boucher":

The US State Department spokesman said the general elections in Iraq had been totally transparent.

2 February 2005

The United States was working with Turkey to combat the activities of the PKK in Northern Iraq, a US State Department spokesman said late Tuesday.

Responding to comments made by Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan in the US press that Washington was turning a blind eye to the PKK, State Department spokesman Richard Boucher said that the US was working in close co-operation with Ankara.

“We have openly revealed our approach to terrorism and to the PKK presence in northern Iraq. We do not approve of their activities,” Boucher said.

Ankara has repeatedly called on the US, which has troops in the region, to move to stop the PKK from conducting activities from bases in Northern Iraq. In June 2004, the PKK announced that it was ending a five year, self imposed cease fire and resumed attacks against targets in Turkey.

In his interviews with the US media, Prime Minister Erdogan also claimed that the Iraqi general elections were not democratic. To this, Boucher said that last Sunday’s poll was fully transparent.

3. - AFP - "Cypriot president seeks 'significant step' from Turkey":

NICOSIA / 1 February 2005

Cypriot President Tassos Papadopoulos said the signature by Turkey of a protocol to its EU association agreement would be a "significant step" towards Ankara normalising its relations with Nicosia.

Turkey has promised to sign the protocol to update an association agreement with the EU to cover the 10 new members who joined in May -- including Cyprus -- by the time its EU accession talks begin in October.

"Our priority is to solve the Cyprus problem. Having Turkey sign the protocol is not our priority, it is an obligation by Ankara to the EU which has asked Turkey to sign it as soon as possible," the president told foreign reporters.

But he added that the signature would be "a first significant step to normalise relations with Turkey and such normalisation would certainly help solution efforts."

Papadopoulos reaffirmed his readiness to resume negotiations on a solution to the three-decade division of Cyprus, and said the United Nations had to play an active role in the process.

Cyprus remains a major obstacle for Turkey's EU bid, with Ankara refusing to endorse the internationally recognized Greek Cypriot government of the island, which became an EU member on May 1.

The island has been divided since 1974 when Turkey seized the north in response to an Athens-engineered coup in Nicosia aimed at uniting the island with Greece.

UN-brokered talks on re-uniting the island shortly before last year's EU enlargement failed to secure agreement, with Secretary General Kofi Annan's plan rejected by Greek Cypriots in a referendum and approved by Turkish Cypriots.

4. - Reuters - "Kurdish party says self-rule inevitable":

2 February 2005

Kurdish self-rule is inevitable if not imminent, according to Kurdistan Democratic Party chief Masud Barzani.

Commenting on an almost unanimous vote for independence in an unofficial referendum held on 30 January, Masud Barzani said on Wednesday that "when the right time comes it will become a reality".

"Self-determination is the natural right of our people, and they have the right to express their desires," he added.

Barzani heads one of the two main Kurdish groups which control Iraq's northern Kurdish zone.

The KDP leader was speaking three days after more than 1.9 million Iraqi Kurds - some 95% of those asked - voted for independence in an informal survey conducted by volunteers.

Iraqi Kurds have long pushed for independence, but Turkey, Iran and Syria - all with substantial Kurdish minorities - oppose the establishment of Kurdish state on their borders.

Volunteers

The referendum was held on the day of Iraq's historic elections on Sunday. Its organisers surveyed Kurds as they emerged from polling stations across northern Iraq.

The volunteers handed out postcard-sized cards with two boxes printed on them next to two flags - one Kurdish and one Iraqi. The question 'What do you want?' was written at the top of the card and those polled were asked to tick one box.

By Wednesday, more than 2.1 million Kurdish votes had been counted, according to organisers who are still awaiting results from the ethnically mixed city of Kirkuk.

Witnesses said some children filled them in and there was often no restriction on people taking more than one form.

Unofficial

Although the survey was unofficial and not monitored by any independent body, many Kurds said its results were proof of a groundswell of support for the eventual creation of an independent Kurdish state.

"We want to make sure that the Kurdish people do not suffer any more, and to show that Kurdish people have the will and ability to live in freedom," said Shamal Hawizy, a senior member of the Kurdistan Referendum Movement.

The movement, founded in October 2003, is funded through donations and assisted by Kurdish authorities, who paid for the referendum's cost of around $150,000.

Last year, the movement collected 1.7 million signatures calling for a petition demanding a similar referendum.

Paul Bremer, who was in charge of Iraq's provisional authority at the time, declined to meet Kurdish leaders to accept their petition and the referendum never took place.

Kurds make up around 15% of Iraq's population of 27 million. They are expected to emerge as a leading force when results are announced from Sunday's national vote.

Opposition

Most Iraqis oppose Kurdish secession. The international community says it is committed to establishing a unified but federal Iraq in which Kurds have a degree of autonomy.

"The referendum is just a statement that a very large proportion of the Kurdish population up there wants independence," one western diplomat in Baghdad said.

"That feeling exists, and it would be silly to deny it, but Kurdish national leaders and Kurdish regional leaders understand that an independent Kurdish state now is not possible."

Others said the creation of such a state was only a matter of time.

"When you have a democracy it's almost impossible to hold people in a country that they hate," said Peter Galbraith, a visiting former US diplomat familiar with the region.

"If you asked me whether in 10 years there will be an independent Kurdistan, I'd say yes."

5. - Reuters - "Turkey wants US to thwart Kurdish power":

BEIJING / 3 February 2005

Turkey expects the United States to do more to keep northern Iraq from becoming a safe haven for 'terrorists' and check a Kurdish push for power there, Turkish Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul said on Wednesday.

Speaking in an interview during a visit to Beijing, Gul sidestepped a question about whether US forces would be allowed to use Turkey as a staging point for any pre-emptive strike on suspected Iranian nuclear facilities, saying it was not yet an issue.

Turkey believes Iraqi Kurds are trying to take control in the oil-rich northern Iraqi city of Kirkuk and fears that could herald a concerted drive to build an independent Kurdish state in northern Iraq, which might in turn reignite separatism among the Kurds of southeastern Turkey. “Our common goal is to keep Iraq united. Territorial integrity of Iraq should be preserved. Political unity of Iraq should be kept,” he said.

“There are some dangers,” he added, saying parts of Iraq had been safe havens for terrorists who attacked Turkey, and that some were still there.

“We hope that the United States will pay good attention on this and will deal with this problem since they are the authority in Iraq so far.” Asked if the United States was doing enough, he said: “We are expecting more.”

He did not elaborate.

US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is scheduled to visit Turkey this weekend. Her visit follows a trip to Ankara this week by Douglas Feith, US Undersecretary of Defence.

Kurds voted in large numbers in Sunday’s Iraqi election, while many Arabs and Turkish-speaking Turkmens in Kirkuk appeared to boycott the election in protest at what they saw as voting rules favouring Kurds.

Turkey has been pleased that ethnic and religious clashes have not erupted in Iraq, but was concerned about the possibility of trouble along those lines, Gul said.

“We see some unwise developments over there, therefore we draw the attention of everybody, in Iraq and outside Iraq, to notice this.”

6. - International Relations Center - "After the election: The future of Iraq and U.S. occupation":

The following is an excerpt from a presentation by Noam Chomsky on January 26th at a forum sponsored by the Lannan Foundation in Santa Fe, NM to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the International Relations Center (IRC), online at www.irc-online.org. Chomsky is a member of the IRC’s board of directors.

1 February 2005 / by Noam Chomsky

Let’s just imagine what the policies might be of an independent Iraq, independent, sovereign Iraq, let’s say more or less democratic, what are the policies likely to be?

Well there’s going to be a Shiite majority, so they’ll have some significant influence over policy. The first thing they’ll do is reestablish relations with Iran. Now they don’t particularly like Iran, but they don’t want to go to war with them so they’ll move toward what was happening already even under Saddam, that is, restoring some sort of friendly relations with Iran.

That’s the last thing the United States wants. It has worked very hard to try to isolate Iran. The next thing that might happen is that a Shiite-controlled, more or less democratic Iraq might stir up feelings in the Shiite areas of Saudi Arabia, which happen to be right nearby and which happen to be where all the oil is. So you might find what in Washington must be the ultimate nightmare—a Shiite region which controls most of the world’s oil and is independent. Furthermore, it is very likely that an independent, sovereign Iraq would try to take its natural place as a leading state in the Arab world, maybe the leading state. And you know that’s something that goes back to biblical times.

What does that mean? Well it means rearming, first of all. They have to confront the regional enemy. Now the regional enemy, overpowering enemy, is Israel. They’re going to have to rearm to confront Israel—which means probably developing weapons of mass destruction, just as a deterrent. So here’s the picture of what they must be dreaming about in Washington—and probably 10 Downing street in London—that here you might get a substantial Shiite majority rearming, developing weapons of mass destruction, to try to get rid of the U.S. outposts that are there to try to make sure that the U.S. controls most of the oil reserves of the world. Is Washington going to sit there and allow that? That’s kind of next to inconceivable.

What I’ve just read from the business press the last couple of days probably reflects the thinking in Washington and London: “Uh well, okay, we’ll let them have a government, but we’re not going to pay any attention to what they say.” In fact the Pentagon announced at the same time two days ago: we’re keeping 120,000 troops there into at least 2007, even if they call for withdrawal tomorrow.

And the propaganda is very evident right in these articles. You can even write the commentary now: We just have to do it because we have to accomplish our mission of bringing democracy to Iraq. If they have an elected government that doesn’t understand that, well, what can we do with these dumb Arabs, you know? Actually that’s very common because look, after all, the U.S. has overthrown democracy after democracy, because the people don’t understand. They follow the wrong course. So therefore, following the mission of establishing democracy, we’ve got to overthrow their governments.

I think that [conscription] is going to be a last resort. The reason is the Vietnam experience. The Vietnam experience, I think, is the first time in the history of European imperialism that an imperial power tried to fight a colonial war with a citizen’s army. I mean the British didn’t do it, and the French had the Foreign Legion… In colonial wars, civilians are just no good at. [Colonial wars are] too brutal and vicious and murderous. You just can’t take kids off the street and have them fight that kind of war. You need trained killers, like the French Foreign Legion.

In fact you could see it happening in Vietnam. To its credit, the U.S. army fell apart. It took too long, but finally the army essentially fell apart. Soldiers were on drugs, they were fragging officers, not following orders, and so on and the top brass wanted them out. If you look back at the military journals in the late Sixties, they were writing about how we gotta get this army out of here or the army’s going to collapse—much like the head of the Army reserves said two or three days ago. He said this is becoming a broken force.

* Noam Chomsky is the author of Hegemony or Survival. Noam has been an IRC board member for fifteen years and a steadfast supporter of IRC’s mission and programs. Read what Chomsky wrote about IRC in support of our 25th anniversary and why you should generously support IRC, as he does.