18 January 2005

1. "From Lausanne to Brussels: Turkey as a European state, its treatment of Kurds", in Memory of Ugur Kaymaz: The tragedy of the killing of Ugur and his father would not have happened had the UN, US and the EU been more vigilant about Turkey’s obsessive disregard towards the Kurds.

2. "2500 people protest '13-bullet' case with school reports", nearly 2500 people who demand the perpetrators killing 12-year Ugur Kaymaz and his father to be found out and want extrajudicial executions to be ended have held a protest demonstration with symbolic carnets having been prepared in the name of Ugur Kaymaz. The carnets give zero point to lectures democracy and human rights.

3. "Will the EU ever permit Turkey to join its ranks?", the disagreements between EU states over Turkey’s membership talks have overshadowed the entrance criteria stipulated by the EU for Turkey’s eventual admission into the Europe’s premier club.

4. "Rehn: U.S. must let EU set pace in Turkey talks", "I presume that the Americans are smart enough to understand that this really is an issue that concerns Europe, not the United States," says EU Enlargement Commissioner Rehn.

5. "Turks violate Greek waters, EU norms", Turkey has increasingly been using genuine or bogus pretexts in a bid to provoke Athens or even to indirectly question Greece’s sovereign and operational rights as set out by international pacts and treaties.

6. "Kurds want justice – and the oil", Iraq's Kurds want one thing in particular from this month's election and the political horse-trading to follow: oil-rich Kirkuk.

1. - Kurdish Media - "From Lausanne to Brussels: Turkey as a European state, its treatment of Kurds":

In Memory of Ugur Kaymaz: The tragedy of the killing of Ugur and his father would not have happened had the UN, US and the EU been more vigilant about Turkey’s obsessive disregard towards the Kurds.

17 January 2005 / by Adil Al-Baghdadi

After long decades of utter neglect, deafening silence on gross human right violations and abuses against Turkey’s second largest nation, the Kurds, EU’s Noah Arc like ship has finally reached the Kurds to save them from the world most systematic and brutal campaign of cultural genocide.

No wonder Turkey’s move towards Europe and its accession has been greatly welcomed and supported by the country’s 20 million plus Kurds.

Never in history of ethnic conflict and survival has any indigenous nation been subjected to more than 80 years campaign of unrelenting cultural annihilation, brutal denial of existence and systematic assimilation as the Kurds have to endure at the hands of successive Turkish military and military-controlled civilian governments.

Turkey in its quest to build a pure race has enshrined in its constitution ultra-nationalist and supremacist notions which described every one who lives in Turkey is Turkish by race and language.

And any suggestion that contradicts this feverishly defended belief has always been considered as the most serious crime against the state and treason aimed at dividing the country, according to Turkish penal code.

This ultimately meant capital punishment and other severe penalties, which thanks to pressure from Europe have now been reluctantly modified by Turkey to long term imprisonment.
This undemocratic and seriously inequitable constitution and penal code, which both have been modelled on German constitution of the twenties of last century, have largely remained unchanged to this day.

The two formed the bases for an absolute denial of any basic and natural human right that is the right to speak one’s own language, as well as the right to belong and associate, or even celebrate, one’s own culture or tradition.

This ban was also extended to other natural human activity, that is the right to sing or play music in God’s given or nature given language.

These rights have only just been relaxed recently, however, many restrictions are still in place for example Turkish government and military institutions still view with suspicion any broadcast and publications in Kurdish.

What’s more, Turkish constitution and penal code, have been
the tools and basis for killing and banishing hundreds of thousands of Kurds for demanding basic cultural and political rights as well as destroying thousands of villages and livelihood of many citizens of Northern Kurdistan.

The most famous case which invoked the infamous section of an article in the Turkish Penal Code which reads: Seeking to Divide the Turkish Nation, was that of Leyla Zana.

The then newly elected deputy for Diyarbakir was sentenced for 15 years in prison for speaking Kurdish in the Turkish parliament during the oath ceremony in which she called for peace and fraternity between the two nations.

Other testimonies of the result of decades of Turkish state sponsored policy of oppression can be read from many cases that have been tried in European court of Human Rights, which frequently finds Turkey guilty of violating basic human rights of its Kurdish citizens.

However, the most recent case of anti-Kurdish sentiment, which sadly is still rife in many circles within the country, especially in Turkish armed forces, police and security, is the case of killing of the 12 years old boy Ugur Kaymaz and his father outside their home in Kiziltepe town in the Kurdish province of Mardin.
The killing came only days before a crucial meeting by EU to discuss Turkey’s membership.

The young boy and his father were brutally killed from a point blank range and then weapons were planted next to their bullet riddled bodies - both were shot with more then two dozens of bullets - in order to prove that they were ‘terrorists’ planning an attack on the town’s police station.

The police version of events was immediately supported by the governor of the province, who put out two official statements in which he insisted and wanted to convince the world that the 12 years old boy who was wearing slippers with his father were in fact members of the PKK.

The most surprising aspect of this tragedy is that Turkish dailies have completely ignored the brutal killing and did not report the tragic killing until Agence France Press, the AFP, published after it was informed by human rights organizations, which in turn were alerted by the distraught mother who witnessed the execution style killing.

This is why the Kurds feel justice has finally come and that accession to EU would be their opportunity to exert more pressure on Turkey to gain more human, legitimate political and cultural rights, similar to any other multiethnic member states, such as Belgium, Britain and Spain and others.

However, it should be noted that Turkey is resisting any move by Europe to give full recognition to Kurds in fact Turkey has watered down and loosely applied EU adaptation packages, especially as regards basic cultural rights for the Kurds.

Yet Turkey’s lukewarm move to redress the wounds of the past, which it inflicted on Kurdish people since when it signed the Treaty of Lausanne in 1923 and was entrusted to protect, has been hailed in major European capitals as serious steps towards recognizing the rights of Kurds.

The treaty outlined Turkey’s responsibilities towards many of the ethnic groups who were unfortunate enough to remain incarcerated within the newly found Turkish state.

An excerpted passage from Article 39 of the treaty spoke about many rights, which the Kurds should have enjoyed, it read as follows:

No restrictions shall be imposed on the free use by any Turkish national of any language in private intercourse, in commerce, religion, in the press, or in publications of any kind or at public meetings.
Notwithstanding the existence of the official language, adequate facilities shall be given to Turkish nationals of non-Turkish speech for the oral use of their own language before the Courts.

This is why it is important to understand that Turkey’s EU bid is born out of economic necessity rather than a genuine desire to embrace real democratic norms which most European countries have been founded on and adhere to.

EU should be much strict when it asks Turkey EU to implement adaptation laws and it should carry out more stringent checks to insure that gross human rights violations, which invariably involve the rights of Kurds, will not occur every now and then.

Turkey have always found unique unrivalled role to play within world politics, as during the cold war it was a trusted Nato frontline country against the former Soviet Union.

Now in the era of war on terror, which mainly comes from Islamic countries, Turkey has found another niche role for itself, the so-called only Democratic Muslim country in the heart of Europe.

This newly found role, however, should not outweigh its responsibilities towards the Kurdish nation in northern Kurdistan, as it used to be the case in the past.

Indeed, the Kurds in all parts of Kurdistan would not have suffered so much because of their identity had European powers at the time been more forceful in their demand that Turkey protect ethnic groups within its domain.

Isn’t it time for EU and the world at large to impose more conditions on Turkey to protect the Kurdish nation in Northern Kurdistan?

The tragedy of the killing of Ugur and his father would not have happened had the UN, US and EU been more vigilant about Turkey’s obsessive behaviour and disregard towards Kurds.

2. - DIHA - "2500 people protest '13-bullet' case with school reports":

17 January 2005

Nearly 2500 people who demand the perpetrators killing 12-year Ugur Kaymaz and his father to be found out and want extrajudicial executions to be ended have held a protest demonstration with symbolic carnets having been prepared in the name of Ugur Kaymaz. The carnets give zero point to lectures democracy and human rights.

The Democratic People's Party (DEHAP), Batman Democracy Platform, Mardin Democracy Platform, Peace Mothers Initiative, representatives of non-governmental organizations in Kiziltepe backed the protest action for Ugur Kaymaz (12) and his father, killed by security forces on Nov. 21, 2004 in Kiziltepe, Mardin. The demonstrators carrying symbolic ration cards prepared in the name of Ugur Kaymaz started marching from Kiziltepe Office of DEHAP to Cumhuriyet (Republic) Boulevard by shouting the slogan ''Martyrs do not die'' and held a sit-down strike on the boulevard.

'Togetherness is a condition for no one cry'

Sakine Arat making a Kurdish speech in the name of Diyarbakir Peace Mothers' Initiative said: ''Countless extrajudicial executions have been conducted up to now but it is the first time that a child has extra-executed. Every one in Turkey mobilizes to rescue a cat but unfortunately, no one struggled for our kid. Aren't we valuable as much as a cat is? Every one should take action for no similar incidents happen and no families else cry. No togetherness no freedom so we should utter our peace request demand all the time.''

Ugur's empty carnet

Enver Ete, spokesman of Mardin Democracy Platform, pointed out millions of elementary students had taken their ration records the day before yesterday and said: ''Ministry of Education Huseyin Celik displayed a show visiting primary students taken their ration coupons. He should have seen Ugur's carnet which has remained empty. Those who caused the record in question to left with nothing must be tried immediately. We protest Celik and the ruling AKP (Justice and Development Party).''

'People's hopes and future were shot with 13 bullets

Deniz Topkan of Batman Democracy Platform said: ''On Nov 21, a pupil were murdered with 13 bullets in front of his home. We condemn the approach treating a 12-year kid as terrorist and want the perpetrators to be brought before the court soon.

Reminding 57 days have passes over the case, Engin Ayaydin of DEHAP's Kiziltepe Office said: ''The educational period finished and millions of children took their carnets yesterday, but little Ugur, who should have received his ration records was wildly murdered by dark forces. Ugur is not only a loss of the family but one of our whole public. Those bullets have been shot at people's hopes and future.''

3. - Al Jazeera - "Will the EU ever permit Turkey to join its ranks?":

16 January 2005 / by Abid Mustafa

On Sunday 19th of December 2004, Turkey’s Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul said,” The European Union's decision to extend membership talks with Turkey contributes to the Muslim country's stability and gives it a new position in Europe and the Islamic world.” The move was also welcomed by Tony Blair who said, “We are stating a fundamental principle that the fact Turkey is a Muslim country does not mean it should be barred from Europe. On the contrary, if it fulfils the same principles of human rights, then Muslim and Christian can work together.” The US holds a similar view and regards Turkey as an ideal model of Muslim democracy. However, earlier Valery Giscard d'Estaing, the former French president said bluntly that the entry of Turkey, as an Islamic and mostly Asian power, would spell "the end of Europe". The majority of EU members share Giscard concerns and are weary of 70 million Muslims joining Europe.

The disagreements between EU states over Turkey’s membership talks have overshadowed the entrance criteria stipulated by the EU for Turkey’s eventual admission into the Europe’s premier club. European Union’s insistence on Turkey undergoing extensive political and economic reforms, plus Turkey’s recognition of the Republic of Cyprus will not determine the course of Turkey’s relationship with the EU. Instead, future relations between the two will be chiefly decided by two factors.

The first is the ‘clash of civilisations’ and is pretty obvious to politicians as well as the peoples of both Europe and Turkey that this clash is inevitable and ongoing. Giscard’s remarks are not only echoed by fellow politicians, but are widely shared amongst the populations of Britain, France, Germany and several other countries. There is a deep sense of Islamaphobia which has swept the region and rekindled past memories of the Ottoman Caliphate dominating the affairs of Europe. Equally, the Muslims of Turkey are opposed to joining the EU. They fear that they will be stripped of their Islamic identity and forced to adopt western values. For example EU’s chastisement over Turkey’s plan to outlaw adultery was quickly reversed by Ankara. This angered many Turks and only heightened their anxiety that Europe was intentionally targeting Islamic values.

This in part is born out of the climate of fear produced by America’s war on Islam and in part is due to the centuries old conflict between Christendom and Islam. This polarisation in attitudes is impossible to overcome, unless the ideological differences between the two cultures are debated and settled. To proceed in the absence of such a dialogue will only result in failure, no matter what progress is made towards achieving the political and economic goals set out by the EU.

The second is that Europe has failed miserably to accommodate its own Muslim populations, so what are the odds that it can successfully manage the inclusion of 70 million Turks. Take the example of Britain. Muslims are the most socially deprived ethnic group. In October 2004 the Guardian newspaper reported: ’Muslims had the highest rate of unemployment, the poorest health, the most disability and fewest educational qualifications. In most respects Muslim women fared worse than Muslim men.’ Muslims in France and Germany fair much worse. The banning of the hijab, the random interrogation of young Muslims and the withholding of citizenship spearhead the discriminatory acts perpetrated by these states against Muslims. Add to this, the reluctance of the European powers to intervene and protect Muslims of Bosinia and Kosovo speaks volumes about Europe’s attitude towards Muslims living on its shores. In European minds, the above examples only reinforce the idea that Muslims and Islam are incompatible with secularism.

It is hard to believe that the current clash between the West and Islam, and the injustices committed by Europeans towards their own Muslim populace has escaped the attention of Gul. If Gul is serious about Turkey occupying a new position in the Muslim world then the very least he can do is to stand firm against Europe’s oppression of its Muslim populace. This can be achieved by Turkey demanding a significant improvement in their circumstances as a precursor to any talks between Turkey and the EU. Such a bold gesture would dramatically increase Turkey’s standing in the Muslim world. Thereafter, Gul should dwell profoundly on Turkey’s past in order to discover how the present Turkey can occupy a new position in Europe. He would quickly conclude that only in Islam and under the shade of the Khilafah state did Turkey occupy a pre-eminent position amongst the nations of the world. Back then, the oppressed Europeans used to yearn for the justice of the Khilafah State and longed to become a part of it. Did not the people of Constantinople implore sultan Mohammed to liberate them from the tyranny of Constantine?

* Abid Mustafa lives and works in the UK. He graduated from King’s College London University.

4. - Reuters - "Rehn: U.S. must let EU set pace in Turkey talks":

"I presume that the Americans are smart enough to understand that this really is an issue that concerns Europe, not the United States," says EU Enlargement Commissioner Rehn

HELSINKI / 18 January 2005

The United States must respect the European Union and let it advance at its own pace in EU membership talks with Turkey, EU Enlargement Commissioner Olli Rehn said yesterday.

"I presume that the Americans are smart enough to understand that this really is an issue that concerns Europe, not the United States," Olli Rehn said in an interview with the Finnish state broadcaster YLE.

"I hope that the United States understands that this is a matter of European Union decision making, and although we work with the United States on this and on many other issues, the United States should respect the EU's own pace."

U.S. President George W. Bush is due to visit Brussels next month.

The United States lobbied hard for years for its strategic NATO ally to be allowed to join the European Union, raising hackles with many in Europe.

But Washington toned down its drive in recent months, and the EU and Turkey agreed last month on terms for starting membership negotiations in October.

5. - Kathimerini - "Turks violate Greek waters, EU norms":

18 January 2005

Turkey has increasingly been using genuine or bogus pretexts in a bid to provoke Athens or even to indirectly question Greece’s sovereign and operational rights as set out by international pacts and treaties.

On Saturday, a Turkish coast guard patrol boat entered Greek territorial waters near the Imia islets and stayed there for three hours. Despite repeated calls by a Greek patrol boat that immediately approached the intruding vessel, the Turkish captain refused to withdraw from the spot. The boat departed hours later when Ankara apparently deemed that the episode had done enough to help its strategy of consolidating the existence of so-called gray zones in the Aegean Sea.

Yesterday Ankara went as far as to exploit the sinking in the morning hours of a North Korean-flagged cargo ship after it was hit by a storm. The ship sank in international waters northwest of Psara island, within Greek search-and-rescue waters which coincide with the Athens Flight Information Region (FIR).

Instead of focusing its efforts on aiding the rescue effort conducted by the Greek authorities, Ankara went on to violate the Athens FIR by sending an army helicopter without previously submitting a flight plan. At the same time, it sent a Turkish military ship to coordinate the search-and-rescue operation in what constituted a clear bid to question the Greek search-and-rescue area.

Ankara’s political machination failed, but this is of secondary importance. More alarmingly, Turkey has displayed a clear political will to continue and intensify the projection of its unilateral claims against Greece’s sovereign and operational rights.

It appears that Turkey’s supposed harmonization with European norms and principles has had little effect on its attitudes toward Greece. Giving Turkey the green light for membership negotiations with the European Union has only resulted in an escalation of Turkish provocations toward our country.

Future prospects appear grim. The government in Athens must notify Brussels of Turkey’s actions in order to avert unfavorable developments in the future. That is, provided that the EU can really take any action that would appease Turkey.

6. - The Telegraph - "Kurds want justice – and the oil":

BAGHDAD/KIRKUK / 18 January 2005 /
by Jack Fairweather and Mohammed Fawzi

Iraq's Kurds want one thing in particular from this month's election and the political horse-trading to follow: oil-rich Kirkuk.

Kurdish politicians insist that justice demands that the city, lying just outside the Kurdish autonomous zone in the country's north, is theirs.

For decades Saddam Hussein's forces pursued a brutal policy of Arabisation in Kirkuk, driving out Kurdish families to replace them with Arab settlers.

The problem is that the Kurds share the city with substantial Arab and Turcoman communities who have staked their own claims to the territory. In the run-up to the election on Jan 30 the various ethnic groups have agreed a truce, proof of the ballot box's impact on Iraq.

Until the weekend, Kurdish politicians threatened to boycott the poll, arguing that unless Kurds could return to their homes, the election would only legitimise Saddam's ethnic cleansing.

The communities' rival demands have provoked violence and the outcome of the tension is likely to determine Iraq's future as a multi-ethnic state. Many fear that the election's only result will be more stalemate and more of the conflict which has claimed dozens of lives.

The city has the feel of an armed camp, with election slogans marking the divide between Kurdish, Arab and Turcoman communities.

Mohammed Ahmed, the head of the Kurdish Democratic Party, one of two main Kurdish groups, said: "We've decided to take part in the elections. No one wants war. We just want what is ours."

Belligerent comments by politicians such as Mr Ahmed reveal the mix of confidence and frustration felt by many Kurds and the reversal of roles that has meant that, to many people, they have become the aggressors.

At the heart of Kirkuk's troubles is the dilemma of how to deal with the legacy of Saddam's rule. Over three decades he tried to make Kirkuk an Arab stronghold in the Kurdish north, authorising the eviction of an estimated 200,000 Kurds from the city and the destruction of dozens of villages. He filled their places with Shias from the south and Ba'athist officers. Kurds now want their property back and the Arab settlers to leave.

The Kurds accuse the Iraqi government of deliberately stalling at America's behest.

American officials, mindful that Kurdish control of the city could be the first step towards an independent Kurdistan, say the legal process must be observed and will take a long time.

In the meantime, Kurdish politicians encourage Kurds to return and 100,000 have done so, many now living in abject poverty in refugee camps on the city's outskirts.