17
January 2005
2. "Turkey: Closure of Torture Prevention Group shocking", Amnesty International has written to the President of the Izmir Bar Association, Mr Nevzat Erdemir, to express its shock at his 7 December 2004 decision to dissolve its Torture Prevention Group. The Group had been engaged in groundbreaking work in bringing justice to torture victims and its closure is a step-back in the struggle against torture. Amnesty International called for the decision to be reconsidered.
3. "Equal rights: First step for protection", if the "sexual orientation" phrase was included in Article 10 of the Constitution that arranges citizens’ equality before justice and law, it would sort out other legal deficiencies as well.
4. "Turkey to re-open tender for attack helicopters next month", Turkey is set to launch a new tender to buy 50 attack helicopters for its army in February, but is planning to task domestic firms with the manufacture of key electronic components to avoid dependence on foreign technology, officials told Anatolia news agency Sunday.
5. "Seven dead in clash between troops and leftists in Turkey", two soldiers and five far left militants, including two women, have been killed in a clash in eastern Turkey.
6. "Kirkuk election deal tips power to Kurds, angers Arabs, Turkmen", a deal averting a Kurdish boycott of provincial elections in Iraq's northern province of Tamim, home to the oil-rich Kirkuk, has effectively tipped the region's balance of power to the Kurds.
1. - RFE/RL - "Kurdish rebels top tripartite agenda in Ankara":
16 January 2005 / by Kathleen Ridolfo
Iraqi, Turkish, and U.S. officials met in Ankara on 11 January to discuss Turkish demands that the U.S. and Iraqi militaries address the issue of Turkish-Kurdish rebels based in northern Iraq.
Turkey has called on the United States for several months to crush PKK/Kongra-Gel bases in Iraq, but Washington appears hesitant to do so.
U.S. Central Command commander General John Abizaid told Turkish Foreign Minister and Deputy Prime Minister Abdullah Gul at the meeting that while the United States considers the PKK a terrorist organization, "We also understand...that our troops have a lot of work to do there along with the Iraqi security forces, and we agree that, over time, we must deal with the PKK," nytimes.com reported on 12 January.
Iraqi Aims
Iraqi Deputy Foreign Minister Hamid al-Bayati represented his government at the meeting, telling journalists at a subsequent news briefing that the Iraqi government is not opposed to taking military action against the PKK but it is currently not in a position to do so. He said any military operation "will take place in coordination with the multinational forces in Iraq," Anatolia news agency reported on 11 January. Al-Bayati added that Iraqi, Turkish, and U.S. officials would hold "technical discussions" on the issue but did not say when those discussions would begin.
The Iraqis did agree at the meeting, however, to increase security along the Turkish-Iraqi border and to prevent illegal crossings, Istanbul’s "Milliyet" reported on 13 January. The Iraqi delegation also agreed address the issue of participation by the Democratic Solution Party (a PKK political group) in the Iraqi elections with the Iraqi Independent Electoral Commission. That commission has stipulated that armed militias cannot participate in the election, yet the party is listed on the ballots for national and Kurdistan parliamentary elections. Both sides also committed themselves to a previous agreement that any PKK members arrested in Iraq would be subject to Iraqi law rather than being handed over to Turkish authorities. It was also agreed that pressure would be applied to Turkish Kurds living in Iraq’s Makhmur Camp to induce their return to Turkey, "Milliyet" reported.
Turkey Presses U.S.
Turkey has pressured the United States to address the issue of PKK militants since before the start of Operation Iraqi Freedom in March 2003. At that time, as the United States lobbied to gain access to Turkish military airbases ahead of the invasion, the Turkish military contended that a power vacuum would be created in northern Iraq during the war that would allow the PKK to launch attacks against Turkey, despite assurances by the two main Iraqi Kurdish parties that no such attacks would take place (see "RFE/RL Iraq Report," 14 March 2003).
Washington later sought Turkish military support in Iraq, but Turkish officials used the PKK issue as a bargaining chip, saying they would not commit troops to Iraq until the United States cracked down on the PKK. U.S. officials said they would not move against militants at the time due to a five-month amnesty issued by Turkey a month earlier (see "RFE/RL Iraq Report," 25 September 2003). Just days later, the United States and Turkey agreed on a plan of action to eliminate the PKK’s presence in Iraq, but that plan apparently never came to fruition. Iraqi Kurdish leader Mas’ud Barzani later criticized Turkey, saying: "The Americans do not think the Turkish [amnesty] offer is sufficient or else they would have clamped down on the PKK with an iron fist." He added, "If a new law was passed and a real amnesty was issued, many of the militants would come down from the mountains leaving their leaders behind." Indeed, few PKK militants accepted the amnesty offer.
Turkey continued to press the issue with U.S. officials throughout 2004, with Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan telling reporters on 11 June that the PKK presence in northern Iraq would be "high on the agenda" of his meeting with President George W. Bush in Washington that month, adding, "We expect the United States to take some concrete steps to this end." Interim Iraqi President Ghazi Ajil al-Yawir vowed to Turkish officials in Ankara on 16-17 August that his government would work to eradicate the presence of the PKK but warned Turkey not to interfere in Iraq’s domestic affairs (see "RFE/RL Iraq Report," 18 August 2004). Turkey upped its pressure on Iraq in November as media reports indicated that the government had formulated a plan that would send as many as 40,000 Turkish soldiers across the border to root out the militants (see "RFE/RL Iraq Report," 11 November 2004).
Looking Ahead
Media reports suggest that the United States might attempt to take
concrete steps in the coming months toward rooting out the militants,
but as indicated above, the issue of the PKK arguably cannot be addressed
as long as U.S. forces are tied up with battling insurgents in Iraq.
The United States might also be wary of launching an operation against
the PKK in northern Iraq, as such action could potentially destabilize
the relative calm there. The PKK is estimated to have some 5,000 members
in the region, according to a PKK member interviewed in Berlin’s
"Die Welt" on 8 January. The issue however, could be complicated
by a new U.S. request for access to Turkey’s Incirlik airbase.
Anatolia news agency has reported that Abizaid has sought access to
that base for U.S. logistical operations. 
2. - Amnesty USA - "Turkey: Closure of Torture Prevention
Group shocking":
14 January 2004
Amnesty International has written to the President of the Izmir Bar Association, Mr Nevzat Erdemir, to express its shock at his 7 December 2004 decision to dissolve its Torture Prevention Group.
The Group had been engaged in groundbreaking work in bringing justice to torture victims and its closure is a step-back in the struggle against torture. Amnesty International called for the decision to be reconsidered.
Amnesty International further stressed its great concern at reports that the administration of the Izmir Bar Association had seized files and computers from the offices of the Torture Prevention Group on 7 January. These contained confidential testimony, photos and other records related to some 575 applications from victims of torture. Amnesty International is concerned that applicants may subsequently face the risk of harassment, detention or even further torture and ill-treatment. It therefore sought urgent clarification as to the whereabouts of these documents.
In a press statement dated 13 December Mr Nevzat Erdemir stated that one of the reasons that he was closing the Torture Prevention Group was because a project it was coordinating was receiving funds from the European Commission which he claimed was on a mission to divide Turkey and to damage its national interest, including through the creation of "an independent Kurdistan". He stated that the closure of the Group was necessary in order to prevent "disasters for our Republic, our Nation and People" and that he "violently denounces this initiative [the Torture Prevention Group], supported by the European Union, which is directed, under the name of human rights, at the unity and integrity of our country". He also criticized the Group’s cooperation with international organizations -- understood to include Amnesty International.
The decision to close the Torture Prevention Group appears to be against Article 95 of the Turkish Law on Legal Practice which states that one of the duties of Executive Boards of Bar Associations in Turkey should be to "protect and defend supremacy of law and human rights and to work to have these subjects applied".
Background:
The Torture Prevention Group was established in December 2001 by the Izmir Bar Association with the aim of providing legal aid to the victims of torture and to campaign to remove all obstacles in Turkish law and practice that might prevent the successful prosecution of perpetrators. The Group provides legal support to individuals who complain of ill-treatment and torture by police officers. It systematically monitors all stages of subsequent legal proceedings and intervenes when necessary including by lodging appeals and organizing medical documentation. The work of the Group is carried out by some professional staff but mainly by more than 250 lawyers from the Izmir Bar Association who work voluntarily.
By the date of the decision by the Izmir Bar Association to close the Group, 575 individuals had applied to it. Of these the Group had worked on 334 cases, in 116 of which perpetrators had been charged. The Group has also been active in sharing its experiences with lawyers throughout Turkey by organizing workshops. The tireless and groundbreaking work of the Torture Prevention Group is a model not just for lawyers in Turkey but around the world.
Official human rights bodies in Turkey like the Provincial and Local
Human Rights Boards have been largely ineffective in investigating
and monitoring human rights violations in Turkey. The work of the
Torture Prevention Group has therefore been especially important in
documenting the extent of torture and ill-treatment in Turkey. Despite
Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan’s statement to the Parliamentary
Assembly of the Council of Europe in October 2004 that "there
is no longer any systematic torture in Turkey", his administration
has failed to take sufficient steps to investigate and monitor patterns
of torture for him to be able to make such a statement. Only in Izmir,
thanks to the work of the Torture Prevention Group and human rights
organizations, has the true extent of the situation in Turkey begun
to be exposed in an objective fashion.
3. - Turkish Daily News - "Equal rights: First step for protection":
'If the "sexual orientation" phrase was included in Article 10 of the Constitution that arranges citizens’ equality before justice and law, it would sort out other legal deficiencies as well,' says Erol
ANKARA / 17 January 2005
It has gradually become an ordinary part of page three articles in Turkish daily newspapers that gay-lesbian people are being murdered because of their gender identities. Moreover, murderers receive reduced punishment as homosexuality is regarded as a provocative element.
This is probably an extreme example of what gay-lesbians are experiencing in Turkey. However, Güner and Erol emphasize that as long as the necessary changes in the Turkish Penal Code (TCK) regarding the basic human rights of gay-lesbians are not carried out, it won't be possible to say that gays or lesbians have no obstacles for the right to live in Turkey.
“If the ‘sexual orientation' phrase was included in Article 10 of the Constitution that arranges citizens' equality before justice and law, it would sort out other legal deficiencies as well,” said Erol and added that they were not asking for "special rights" but were asking for justice and equality.
Here are some basic legal points underlined by the gay-lesbian activists:
- Turkish legislation does not provide protection against discrimination on the grounds of sexual orientation or gender identity. The “sexual orientation” phrase should be in the articles arranging the protection of people who don't fit into general gender norms of society.
- Discrimination practices that gays-lesbians are facing because of their sexual orientation should be legally charged. Redundancy, preventing promotion, exile, directly or indirectly forced resignation should be included in the TCK for these practices.
- The reduction in the punishment of crimes committed against gays-lesbians such as usurpation, attacks, injury or murder, should be lifted.
- The obscure expressions concerning the “morals of a society”
in the laws are usually used against gays-lesbians. Such articles
should be reworded to prevent wrong interpretations. - The word “exhibitionism”
should be removed from the article. The article about obscenity is
vague as well on what is obscene and what is not. “Sexual exploitation”
should be used instead of “obscenity.” The expression, “unnatural
sexual behavior” should also be lifted because it is vague.
4. - AFP - "Turkey to re-open tender for attack helicopters next month":
ANKARA / 16 January 2004
Turkey is set to launch a new tender to buy 50 attack helicopters for its army in February, but is planning to task domestic firms with the manufacture of key electronic components to avoid dependence on foreign technology, officials told Anatolia news agency Sunday.
The project is estimated to worth between 1.5 and two billion dollars, Anatolia reported, quoting unnamed sources from the country's defense industries agency.
In May, Ankara scrapped a tender for the purchase of the helicopters, along with tenders for the manufacture of 1,000 tanks and nine unmanned aircraft, saying that it had decided to meet the army's needs "with new models based on domestic production... by making maximum use of national resources."
The government is now planning to invite bidders to the new tender within February, and to determine the winner by the end of the year, Anatolia said.
A defense industry official, however, said that the manufacture of the helicopters' navigation and electronic warfare systems would be awarded to a local company.
"If you cannot manufacture the navigation and electronic warfare systems, if the key to them is not yours, you become dependent on those from whom you buy and they impose some restrictions on you," the official told Anatolia.
Turkey had shortlisted Bell Helicopter Textron of the United States and a consortium between Kamov of Russia and the Israeli Aircraft Industries (IAI) in the previous tender before it was cancelled.
In a visit to Turkey last month, Russian President Vladimir Putin
lobbied Ankara to buy the helicopter of the Russian-Israeli joint
venture.
5. - AFP - "Seven dead in clash between troops and leftists in Turkey":
DIYARBAKIR / 15 January 2005
Two soldiers and five far left militants, including two women, have been killed in a clash in eastern Turkey.
The fighting occurred in a rural area in the province of Tunceli, the office of the local governor said Saturday, adding that the security operation there was continuing.
Three soldiers were injured, and two of the dead activists were women.
The statement did not say to which group the militants belonged, but local security officials said they believed that they were from the outlawed Maoist Communist Party (MKP).
Members of far-left underground organizations have long been active in the mountainous region, along with Kurdish rebels.
Last month, two MKP militants were killed in the same province in
a clash with security forces.
6. - AFP - "Kirkuk election deal tips power to Kurds, angers Arabs, Turkmen":
KIRKUK / 15 January 2005
A deal averting a Kurdish boycott of provincial elections in Iraq's northern province of Tamim, home to the oil-rich Kirkuk, has effectively tipped the region's balance of power to the Kurds.
The agreement, reached with the Iraqi government Friday and formally approved by the Kurds' regional parliament Saturday, clears the way for an estimated 100,000 Kurdish voters expelled from Kirkuk under Saddam Hussein's regime, to vote for the Tamim province's new government.
"It's around 100,000 voters," said Adel Lami, a senior member of Iraq's Independent Electoral Commission.
Potential voters would have to furnish proof they had been uprooted by the old regime since 1975 when Saddam's policy of Arabisation began in earnest, Lami said.
Kurdish leaders rejoiced at the deal, which put them on the road to claiming the city for northern Kurdistan, even as it risked enflaming ethnic tensions.
Patriotic Union of Kurdistan chief Jalal Talabani said the deal paved the way "to normalise the situation in Kirkuk by allowing back the displaced (Kurdish) people... and also to drive back those Arab (settlers) who came to Kirkuk."
The influx of Kurdish voters will give the long-suffering population a solid majority in the province's parliament and destroy the carefully preserved equilibrium in Tamim, where outside observers fear ethnic feuding could spill over into large-scale violence.
Dilshad Miran, a Kurdish parliament representative assigned to Baghdad, said: "Our main concern as a principle was the Arabisation process. They (Arab settlers) should not be allowed to vote in the Kirkuk region."
Tamim, with an estimated 1.2 million people and rich in lucrative oil reserves, has an almost even split among Kurds and Arab Muslims, with the remaining 10 percent of the population consisting of Turkmen and Christians.
The communities have observed a tenuous truce for the 21 months since Saddam fell from power as they vied for power and tussled over the legacy of the Baath party's policy of uprooting Kurds and resettling Arabs in the region.
The issue of displaced Kurds was due to be taken up by an Iraqi property claims commission that was established to arbitrate property disputes between the estimated tens of thousands of Kurds who lost their homes and Arabs settlers.
But the commission, created under the defunct US occupation, failed to adjudicate any claims until this past autumn and Iraq's interim parliament recommended sacking the commission's director last month over the sluggish pace.
Iraq's US-sponsored interim constitution, approved last spring, defers the issue of Kirkuk's final status until after the country's permanent constitution is ratified at the end of 2005 and a census is conducted.
While the new election agreement does not affect the timeframe on Kirkuk's final status, it paves the way for the Kurds to control Tamim's 40-seat provincial council.
The Kurds had previously held 15 seats; Arabs 11; Turkmen nine and Christians seven, but with the estimated influx of nearly an additional 100,000 votes, the Kurds will be in the driver's seat as the city's future is determined.
News of the deal sparked outrage among Kirkuk's Arabs and Turkmen.
"We are studying all options including the choice of withdrawing from the elections if we are sure that names of outsiders who will vote in favor of the Kurds, are going to be registered," Riyadh Sari Kahiya, a senior Turkmen leader in Kirkuk, told AFP.
"A month or so ago we warned through a meeting held with the Tukrmen parties... that this move will result in denying Arabs and Turkmen our legitimate rights in the provisional council," said Sheikh Ghassan Muszhir al-Azsi, a local Arab leader.
The US military worries that a Kurdish election victory will encourage the Kurds to make a landgrab for territory below the "green line", the boundary separating Kirkuk and Diyala and Nineveh province from northern Kurdistan.
"I think Kirkuk is one of the ones we are most concerned about, simply because it is such a diverse city," a military intelligence officer told AFP.
"If Kurds win the city, we expect there will be a greater encroachment
across the green line. Whereas if the Arabs win the city, we may see
some Kurdish and some Arab violence in the city."