21
January 2005
2. "Turkey to pay for human rights violations", the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) earlier this week ruled in two separate cases that Turkey had violated the human rights of six complainants, Anatolia said.
3. "What does Turkey really want?", why does the United States not go after the PKK [Kurdistan Workers’ Party], which is based in Northern Iraq? This question and demand of Turkey has become, over the past two years since the US intervention in Iraq, a virtually fixed agenda item in the Turkish-US relationship.
4. "Under pressure from Chirac, Sarkozy drops planned vote on Turkey-EU", under pressure from President Jacques Chirac, his arch-rival Nicolas Sarkozy on Thursday dropped plans to present a resolution opposing Turkey's full entry to the European Union before the national council of the ruling Union for a Popular Movement (UMP) party.
5. "Follini: A Long Path Has Been Opened", the vice Premier Marco Follini, answering during Question time at the House, speaking on the opening of negotiations for Turkey's adherence to the Union stated "A violation of the principles of freedom, democracy and respect of human rights and of basic freedom could not bring about further thinking on the opportunity of suspending negotiations".
6. "Turkey Returns To Nuke Plan", Turkey has decided to renew efforts to establish nuclear power facilities.
7. "In Wake of Election Defeats, Turkey's Main Opposition Party Eyes Transformation", a hotly contested race for the post of party leader is the latest sign of turmoil within Turkey's Republican People's Party. A change in direction is expected, but some worry that the party is in danger of splitting.
8. "He will make Kurdish music known to the world", the italian farmer Aldo Canestrari, who gathers all the news items involving the Kurds that he finds and has formed a collection of these reports, is now preparing to introduce Kurdish poems and songs to Europe with an internet site.
1. - Reuters - "Dutch court blocks extradition of Kurdish rebel leader":
THE HAGUE / 20 January 2005 / by Marcel Michelson
A Dutch appeals court upheld a decision on Thursday blocking the extradition of a Kurdish rebel leader to Turkey, saying she ran the risk of being tortured.
Last November, The Hague district court blocked the extradition of Nuriye Kesbir, ruling that the Netherlands could not be certain she would receive a fair trial in Turkey, prompting an appeal by the Dutch government.
The Hague appeals court rejected the government challenge in a ruling greeted by loud cheers from Kesbir's supporters, friends and family inside and outside the court.
Kesbir, who had been in custody, was released after the ruling at the request of the Attorney General, the Justice Ministry said.
The government said last year it supported her extradition after Turkey gave an assurance that Kesbir would receive a fair trial and would be treated in line with international law.
Ankara accuses Kesbir of organising and taking part in attacks in southeast Turkey in 1993-95 and of being part of the leadership of the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) guerrilla group.
Turkey also accuses her of training women PKK fighters and of planning and launching armed attacks resulting in 144 deaths. She has denied the charges but confirmed holding a leadership position in the PKK.
"The court's decision is that Kesbir as a woman and a prominent PKK member runs increased risk of being subjected to torture during her detention in Turkey," the appeals court said.
"The court acknowledges that the Turkish government has recently made important improvements in the field of human rights, but at the same time the court notes that torture is not yet a thing of the past.
"The pledges made by Turkey up to now are too general and not concrete enough to exclude the risk of torture."
Turkey has approved a flurry of human rights reforms in its drive to join the European Union, including clamping down on torture and extending cultural rights to Kurds.
The Dutch government said it would study the ruling and consider its options, including going to the Supreme Court, the highest court in the Netherlands. The Turkish embassy in The Hague could not be reached for immediate comment.
Kesbir was arrested after arriving in the Netherlands in September 2001. She was denied political asylum and has been fighting extradition proceedings ever since.
The PKK has been fighting for a Kurdish homeland in southeast
Turkey for the past 20 years. The conflict has killed more than 30,000
people, mostly ethnic Kurds. 
2. - Turkish Daily News - "Turkey to pay for human rights violations":
ANKARA / 20 January 2005
The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) earlier this week ruled in two separate cases that Turkey had violated the human rights of six complainants, Anatolia said.
In the first case the court decreed that Turkey had violated the rights of four complainants and that Ankara must pay 15,000 euros to Abdullah Mentese, Zühra Bozkus, Mustafa Demirhan and Süleyman Maço. Ankara must also cover court costs of 10,000 euros.
In the second case opened by Mehmet Ali Dolasan and Mehmet
Resat Özdogan, the court ruled that Turkey had violated the complainants'
right to a fair trial. However, Ankara was not ordered to pay any compensation
in this case but nevertheless must pay the court costs of the pair that
amount to 1,000 euros.
3. - RADIKAL - "What does Turkey really want?":
20 January 2005 / By Umit Firat /
translated by KurdishMedia.com
Why does the United States not go after the PKK [Kurdistan Workers’ Party], which is based in Northern Iraq? This question and demand of Turkey has become, over the past two years since the US intervention in Iraq, a virtually fixed agenda item in the Turkish-US relationship. Apart from a few unexpected developments, it has virtually never fallen off the agenda, or been allowed to fall off the agenda. But one can also discuss the issue in terms of the following question: Why should the U.S. go after the PKK in Iraq?
When the United States decided to invade Iraq, it had no thought of taking control over the Qandil Mountain, where the PKK’s military camp is located, and it had no such concern to do so afterwards, either. This is an idea put forward unilaterally at every opportunity by Turkey, as if it somehow had a mission to ensure the security of the region. The United States has enough problems in Iraq; it is at war with whomever it has declared to be an enemy in Iraq, and with whoever has declared the United States to be an enemy.
The result of any U.S. operation [against the PKK] would be no more successful, from the standpoint of the United States, than the operations that Turkey has conducted in the past. Turkey was very familiar with the terrain of the region, and likewise very familiar with the inhabited areas of the camp. In addition, the Turkish troops had great experience in fighting against the PKK. They had developed their military training almost entirely in accord with this region and this conflict. So while Turkey, despite all the large-scale military operations that it conducted, was unable to get clear results, why should the United States be expected to give immediate priority to solving a problem that it does not perceive, at least so far, as an urgent matter from its own standpoint?
Not only does the PKK pose a serious threat to the domination and security of the United States in Iraq, but it is also in no position to cause any concern. In this situation, there is no need for the United States to take on an additional problem. Moreover, should the United States launch such a struggle, not only would the PKK become unable to be managed from Imrali Island [where PKK leader Abdullah Ocalan is imprisoned], but the control over the organization that is today being exercised by various forces and states, including Turkey, could be lost. In other words, to the extent that we can see, there is no urgent need for the United States to fight the PKK in Iraq.
A stable region
On the other hand, even though the United States has declared the PKK a terrorist organization, the PKK is not taking any hostile stance to the United States, and is not seeking to engage in any actions [against it]. Not only has it avoided rhetoric that might lead to such behaviour, but it has been reported from time to time in the press that it has had contacts and discussions with the United States, the level of which has been debated. The PKK must also be aware that, if it should engage in armed resistance against the United States, the targets of such actions would be the local, sedentary Kurds there, that the atmosphere of security and stability there would come to an end, and that this struggle would mean a war and conflict with the Kurds there rather than with the United States itself.
The PKK has gone to war in the past with the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK), led by Jalal Talabani, and with the Kurdistan Democratic Party, led by Masud Barzani, at times against only one of them and at times against them both at the same time. The regional states that Turkey is trying to lead today under the name of the states neighboring Iraq, which are trying to form an anti-Kurdish alliance, along with Iraq under Saddam’s dictatorship, used to benefit from these clashes from the standpoint of themselves and their administrations. These states likewise worked to solidify their control and dominance over their own Kurds, and to thwart their (i.e., the Kurds’) aspirations. But today there is a superpower like the United States on the scene which wants to seek its own interests there, provide security, and take the situation entirely under its own control.
Moreover, Iraqi Kurdistan is today the only stable region within Iraq’s borders. And military operations launched against the PKK could only be run from this region. And it is certain that, in this situation, the operations would not be limited to just the PKK. An opportunity might be created for the other terrorist groups holed up in Iraq, such as the Bathists, Al-Qaida, Hamas, etc., to get shelter in the region and gain new areas of action for themselves.
A telling document
Does Turkey really and genuinely want to finish off the PKK? The United States is very well aware of Turkey’s inconsistencies and insincerity in this regard. Prior to March of 2003, Turkey conducted many large-scale cross-border operations against the PKK under the name of hot pursuit. It was unable to destroy, or else did not want to destroy, the PKK in these operations. When we pay attention to a portion of the very important but insufficiently noted memoirs of a retired general who wanted to succeed in this effort of destroying the PKK, we can understand that Turkey in fact did not want to finish off the PKK. General Osman Pamukoglu, the Commander of the Hakkari Mountain Commando Brigade, who in late 1994 got intelligence that the PKK was going to hold its fifth congress, prepared for an operation and awaited word that the congress had convened. Then, he was summoned to a seminar held in late January 1995 at the General Staff, and look what he encountered:
I have difficulty in comprehending it. The PKKs fifth congress is not a matter for the Hakkari Brigade, but where can you find such an attractive and valuable target? How can we not have word about it? I said that we should go after them and finish them all off. The MIT [National Intelligence Service] Department Chief merely said The information was sent to the proper addressees. I was amazed. The PKKs fifth congress had been held at the Haftanin camp in Northern Iraq, just 18 to 20 kilometers below the province of Sirnak. () 700 people from the PKKs top-level leadership cadres had come together. (...) They had begun gathering at Haftanin on 23 November 1994, and the last group left on 26 February 1995. () MIT, on 22 different occasions, had circulated 22 different reports, to the Office of the President, the Office of the Prime Minister, the Office of the Chief of the General Staff, the Interior Ministry, the Foreign Ministry, the Air Force Command, the National Security Council General Secretariat, the Gendarmerie Command, the General Staff Intelligence Department, the General Staff Operations Center, and twice to the Second Tactical Air Force at Diyarbakir. () After all the things I experienced in the course of the struggle we waged at Hakkari, nothing on earth that involves human beings can ever surprise me again it is a shame, a shame (Osman Pamukoglu, Unutulanlar disinda yeni bir sey yok [There Is Nothing New Except What Has Been Forgotten], Harmoni Publishing, November 2003, pps. 282-283 and 335-336)
What Turkey wants
Actually, what Turkey wants is very plain: Turkey, by using to the PKK as a pretext, wants to be an active party in any chaotic situation that might come about in Iraqi Kurdistan. Turkey, which for years had claimed that Iraqs territorial integrity could be preserved by defending the existing dictatorship in Baghdad, does not want to accept that this status is based on force and is in fact a reason for division, and that Iraqs territorial integrity is actually only possible with the autonomy and federation that is coming about today. It is unable to reconcile with its own traditional policies the fact that those people to whom it would not even grant refugee status, and whom it penned into camps, now have a free and in every respect stable future. It wants to settle into the region and, if possible by getting the United States on its side without having to become too closely involved with the Arabs, to lay the groundwork for finishing off the Kurds.
The Kurds, which the regional states to date have considered as an element of instability for their countries, must now be dealt with as an element of stability, and must be seen as the US’s allies in the region. The United States is now advising and calling for the states of the region to change their policies vis--vis the Kurds.
Translated from Turkish by KurdishMedia.com. Originally
published in the Turkish daily Radikal on the 16th of January, 2005.
4. - AFP - "Under pressure from Chirac, Sarkozy drops planned vote on Turkey-EU":
PARIS / 20 January 2005
Under pressure from President Jacques Chirac, his arch-rival Nicolas Sarkozy on Thursday dropped plans to present a resolution opposing Turkey's full entry to the European Union before the national council of the ruling Union for a Popular Movement (UMP) party.
In what was widely described as a deliberate provocation of the president -- who supports Turkish entry -- Sarkozy last week told journalists that the 1,500 member council would be asked to vote in March on a motion to grant Turkey "privileged partnership" rather than membership.
Sarkozy -- the UMP president -- has the backing of most party members in opposing full membership for Ankara, which is to start accession talks later this year.
However leading Chirac supporters criticised Sarkozy for opening a divisive issue when the party needs to be united behind the campaign for approval of the EU constitution -- to be put to a referendum in the coming months.
The UMP president said Thursday that he had decided instead to present a composite resolution on the EU to the national council, in which the Turkish issue would be less prominent.
The rivalry between Chirac and Sarkozy has become a central
feature of French politics and looks set to dominate the run-up to the
2007 presidential elections, in which both men could stand.
5. - AGI - "Follini: A Long Path Has Been Opened":
ROME / 20 January 2005
The vice Premier Marco Follini, answering during Question time at the House, speaking on the opening of negotiations for Turkey's adherence to the Union stated "A violation of the principles of freedom, democracy and respect of human rights and of basic freedom could not bring about further thinking on the opportunity of suspending negotiations".
Follini made two statements: "We are talking of the opening of negotiations, not of its conclusion. Furthermore, we are talking about Turkey's adherence to Europe, and not the opposite".
Moreover: "The adhesion would mean a greater union
of the European peoples in the name of peace, freedom and democracy.
It's a long path, putting to the test the real worth of the respect
of the values that are at the basis of the Union.
The control of the effective process of political reform, of the overall
respect of human rights, aware that one cannot talk of integration as
long as forms of maltreatment or torture towards ethnic minorities and
women are tolerated" .
6. - Middle East Newsline - "Turkey Returns To Nuke Plan":
ANKARA / 20 January 2005
Turkey has decided to renew efforts to establish nuclear power facilities.
Officials said Turkey planned to construct at least three nuclear power plants starting in 2011. They said the nuclear power reactors would seek to fulfill the nation's growing demand for electricity.
"We have plans to build three nuclear power plants and they will come into operation one by one as of 2011," Turkish Energy Minister Hilmi Guler said. "We plan to meet eight to 10 percent of the energy demand with nuclear power."
Guler said the nuclear power facilities would have a total
capacity of about 4,500 megawatts. He said his ministry was primarily
considering uranium to fuel the plants, but was also examining the use
of thorium.
7. - Southeast European Times - "In Wake of Election Defeats, Turkey's Main Opposition Party Eyes Transformation":
A hotly contested race for the post of party leader is the latest sign of turmoil within Turkey's Republican People's Party. A change in direction is expected, but some worry that the party is in danger of splitting.
ISTANBUL / January 2005 / by Fatih Baran
Amid a heated race for the leadership of Turkey's Republican People's Party (CHP), incumbent party leader Deniz Baykal has called for an extraordinary congress, to be held on 29 January. He did so after the CHP's disciplinary panel voted 8-7 not to expel his main rival for the post, Mustafa Sarigul, over corruption allegations.
The move is the latest sign of a growing rift among members of the CHP, Turkey's main opposition party, which has stumbled in recent elections.
Baykal has come under fire for the party's failure to catch up with the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP), which enjoyed a decisive victory in the 28 March local elections. The CHP garnered only 18 per cent of the vote. According to many analysts, the current turmoil within the party is a sign that it in a process of transformation into a more solidly Social Democratic party.
However, some warn that the party could be in danger of breaking apart. So far, several different factions have emerged, each supporting a different candidate. In addition to Baykal and Sarigul, two other party members -- Hursit Gunes and Zulfu Livaneli -- are vying for the top post. As the two main contenders try to rally support across the country, Baykal's opponents have been seeking ways to unite.
Internal divisions are not the only source of trouble for the CHP. Two members of the party's Supreme Disciplinary Board, Cafer Dursun and Engin Baba, are currently facing disciplinary action themselves due to accusations of bribery. These two will not vote during the party congress.
The general consensus among political observers is that some sort of shift is needed if CHP wants to regain its momentum. Many say it has faltered because the public does not see it providing an answer to ongoing problems such as economic instability, political corruption, unemployment and unequal income distribution.
At the same time, analysts say, the CHP has suffered because
of its emphasis on domestic rather than international issues. The AKP's
international stance, by contrast, has boosted its popularity at a time
when EU membership and foreign relations in general are pressing items
for Turkey.
8. - Ozgur Politika - "He will make Kurdish music
known to the world":
[Summary:] Italian farmer Aldo Canestrari, who gathers all the news
items involving the Kurds that he finds and has formed a collection
of these reports, is now preparing to introduce Kurdish poems and songs
to Europe with an internet site.
ISTANBUL / 20 January 2005 /
by S. Suna and C. Kizildag /
translated by KurdishMedia.com
Italian farmer Aldo Canestrari is going to introduce Kurdish poems and songs to Europe with an internet site that he is about to establish.
Italian farmer Also Canestrari, whose interest in the
Kurds grew when Kurdish People’s Leader Abdullah Ocalan went to
Italy and Italian journalist Dino Frisullo was arrested in Amed [Diyarbakir],
and who three years ago went to Turkey, is preparing to introduce Kurdish
poems and songs to Europe.
Canestrari, who remained for a long time in Amed, says that he has studied
a total of 10,962 written texts, which he found via the internet and
in books, involving the Kurds.
Canestrari, who found the Kurds to be very hospitable and also devoted to their struggle, says he was happy to live in Kurdish cities. Declaring that he owes his acquaintanceship with the Kurds to Italian journalist Dino Frisullo, Canestrari says "A number of my friends in Italy were friends with Kurds. But naturally the biggest factors in my becoming acquainted with the Kurds were the journalist Dino, and Ocalan’s coming to Italy. I stayed a long time in Diyarbakir, and people received me very warmly there. It was as if we had been friends before. Naturally, Dino had a great impact on this."
Heval Dino_ site on the internet
Pointing out that journalist Dino Frisullo had struggled together with the Kurds, and that he had occasioned great interest in Italy on account of this struggle, Canestrari says he has established an internet site in Dino_s memory at the address http://www.ranchdeiviandanti.it/Dino.html. Stressing that he is publishing his own researches on this site, Canestrari states that he wants to carry out important work in the future regarding the democratic struggle of the Kurds.
I will make the Kurds known
Canestrari, who gathers all the reports on the Kurds from newspapers that he finds, and who has made a collection of these reports, says the following:
"Right now I have a project underway regarding examples of Kurdish poetry and literature. I am collecting literary texts, poems, and songs. I am working to be able to read the words of Kurdish songs, and to be able to translate them. At the moment, I have a multi-lingual computer effort underway. I am working to create a space on the internet in which people will be able to access the words and music of Kurdish songs at the same time. By building an internet site that will contain, along with the original Kurdish texts, their translations in European languages such as English, French, and Italian, I will make the Kurds known to Europeans.”
Ahmed Arif will be there with his voice
Noting that he loves Kurdish music a great deal, Canestrari says:
“European don’t know whether these poems and songs are about the Kurdish struggle, or love, or bitter experiences, or what. They are only able to listen to the sounds. I particularly like to listen to the works of Ahmet Kaya, Koma Rewsen, and Koma Agire Jiyan. I know Ahmed Arif and his poem ‘33 bullets’ very well. In fact, I have begun to translate this poem into English with my friends. On the multilingual site that I am going to establish, this poem will be included, along with the voice of Ahmet Arif himself.”
Translated from Turkish by KurdishMedia.com; originally
published in Ozgur Politika newspaper, 19 January 2005.