18 July 2005

1. "Lawyers of jailed Kurdish leader allege "anti-democratic" treatment", lawyers representing Abdullah Ocalan, the imprisoned Kurdish leader, announced on Friday that they had discontinued visits with their client on grounds that conditions of his detention were "anti-democratic".

2. "PKK denies responsibility for Turkish resort bombing", the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) Sunday denied any involvement in the deadly blast that killed five people at a seaside resort in western Turkey. In a statement carried by a pro-Kurdish news agency, the PKK also said it had no ties to the Kurdish group that claimed a bomb attack in another resort last week and threatened to continue targeting the tourism industry.

3. "DEHAP condemns the Kusadasi attack", the Democratic People’s Party (DEHAP) strongly condemns the bomb attacks in Kusadasi perpetrated yesterday against innocent civilians who have become victims, where 5 people died and 13 were wounded.

4. "Turkish police officers wounded in clash with HPG in Giresun", three Turkish police officers were wounded when a group of HPG guerrillas attacked a police station in the Alcura district of the Giresun province in northeastern Turkey.

5. "Four Turkish soldiers wounded in bomb blast", four Turkish soldiers were wounded on July 17 near the Çeltik village in the Bitlis province when their vehicle rolled over a remote-controlled bomb that was set off by HPG guerrillas.

6. "Austria opposes Turkey's EU push", Turkey's hopes of beginning negotiations this year on European Union membership have been undermined by renewed opposition from a senior Austrian minister.

1. - AFP - "Lawyers of jailed Kurdish leader allege "anti-democratic" treatment":

ANKARA / 15 July 2005

Lawyers representing Abdullah Ocalan, the imprisoned Kurdish leader, announced on Friday that they had discontinued visits with their client on grounds that conditions of his detention were "anti-democratic".
"We haven't seen him since June 1," said Bekir Kaya of the Istanbul-based law firm representing the head of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK).

Kaya explained that Ocalan and his lawyers had decided to stop weekly visits after their early June meeting was recorded by an official from the Turkish justice ministry, in accordance with provisions of a newly-adopted law.

Turkey sentenced the rebel leader to death for treason in 1999, but later commuted his sentence to life imprisonment after Turkey scrapped the death penalty to bolster its bid to enter the EU. In May, the Strasbourg-based European Court of Human Rights ruled that Ocalan's trial had been unfair due to the presence of a military judge on the panel, and recommended a retrial.

Ankara has said that it would respect the European court's ruling, but that any possible retrial would aim only at correcting procedural flaws rather than resulting in a lighter sentence.

Through his lawyers, Ocalan has indicated that he is refusing retrial on the grounds that the impartiality of Turkish courts could not be assured. Ocalan must put forward a petition in order for his case to be retried.

While the Strasbourg court's decision is non-binding, European officials have bluntly reminded Turkey that it must abide by EU institutions and values if it hopes to succeed in membership talks scheduled for later this year. EU Council ministers must now decide with Turkey upon next steps in the Ocalan case.

The PKK is considered a terrorist organization by Ankara. The blood-soaked Kurdish conflict in Turkey has resulted in some 37,000 deaths since the separatist movement started in 1984.

Ocalan is largely loathed in Turkey, where many are concerned that his retrial could fuel the flames of rising nationalist sentiment or rekindle rebel activity, which has been on the rise since a five-year unilateral truce was called off last year.

2. - AFP - "PKK denies responsibility for Turkish resort bombing":

ANKARA / 17 July 2005

The outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) Sunday denied any involvement in the deadly blast that killed five people at a seaside resort in western Turkey.
In a statement carried by a pro-Kurdish news agency, the PKK also said it had no ties to the Kurdish group that claimed a bomb attack in another resort last week and threatened to continue targeting the tourism industry.

Although the PKK was never officially accused, Turkish officials and the media strongly suspected it of conducting Saturday's attack on a minibus in Kusadasi that killed five people, including two foreign tourists, and left 13 wounded.

"The allegations are completely untrue and baseless ... We have nothing to do with the act at Kusadasi," said a PKK statement carried on the Internet site of the MHA news agency, which is close to the rebels.

"We have no links with organizations such as TAK either," the statement said, using the Kurdish acronym of the Kurdistan Freedom Falcons.

The TAK first emerged last August, weeks after the PKK called off a five-year unilateral truce with Ankara, when it claimed responsibility for the bombing of two hotels in Istanbul, in which two people were killed.

In April, it took the blame for another blast at Kusadasi, in which one policeman died and four others were wounded.

Last week, it claimed a bomb blast in a dustbin in the Aegean resort of Cesme, just north of Kusadasi, in which a score of people were wounded.

Turkish officials believe the TAK is associated with the PKK and is a cover for attacks, particularly on civilian targets, which the group does not want to claim to avoid damaging its claim of defending Turkey's Kurds against state oppression.

Clashes between the army and the PKK in Turkey's mainly Kurdish southeast have markedly intensified over the past three months, claiming about 100 lives on both sides. Many of the soldiers died in mine explosions blamed on the PKK.

The group bombed a train in southeastern Turkey earlier this month, killing five people.

The Kurdish conflict in Turkey has caused about 37,000 deaths since the PKK took up arms for self-rule in the southeast in 1984.

3. - Flash Bulletin - "DEHAP condemns the Kusadasi attack":

17 July 2005 / Press Release by the Democratic People’s Party (DEHAP)

The Democratic People’s Party (DEHAP) strongly condemns the bomb attacks in Kuºadasi perpetrated yesterday against innocent civilians who have become victims, where 5 people died and 13 were wounded.

DEHAP expresses its condolences to all those who have been touched and we hope these kinds of attacts will never happen in the future.

We reiterate our commitment, for strengthening peace, democracy and respect for human rights in Turkey and all over the world.

17.07.2005, Tuncer BAKIRHAN - President of DEHAP; Baris Manço caddesi, 32.sk. No:37, Balgat / ANKARA-TUKEY, TEL:00903122866487, FAX:00903122842719, E-Mail: dehapgm@yahoo.com

4. - DozaMe.org - "Turkish police officers wounded in clash with HPG in Giresun":

KURDISTAN / 17 July 2005

Three Turkish police officers were wounded when a group of HPG guerrillas attacked a police station in the Alcura district of the Giresun province in northeastern Turkey.

HPG guerrillas attacked the police station at around 22:30 (10:30 pm EEST) on July 15.

The Turkish army has started large-scale operations in the area, but have failed to locate the group of guerrillas responsible for the attack.

5. - DozaMe.org - "Four Turkish soldiers wounded in bomb blast":

KURDISTAN / 17 July 2005

Four Turkish soldiers were wounded on July 17 near the Çeltik village in the Bitlis province when their vehicle rolled over a remote-controlled bomb that was set off by HPG guerrillas.

The corporals were taken to Diyarbakir Military Hospital after initial treatment at Tatvan Military Hospital where the privates still are being treated.

Turkish police officers wounded in clash with HPG in Giresun

Three Turkish police officers were wounded when a group of HPG guerrillas attacked a police station in the Alcura district of the Giresun province in northeastern Turkey.

HPG guerrillas attacked the police station at around 22:30 (10:30 pm EEST) on July 15.

The Turkish army has started large-scale operations in the area, but have failed to locate the group of guerrillas responsible for the attack.

6. - Financial Times - "Austria opposes Turkey's EU push":

VIENNA/BRUSSELS / 18 July 2005 /
by Ralph Atkins, Mark Schieritz and Daniel Dombey

Turkey's hopes of beginning negotiations this year on European Union membership have been undermined by renewed opposition from a senior Austrian minister.

Karl-Heinz Grasser, Austria's finance minister, said he would strive to ensure that full membership did not become a realistic proposition for Turkey. "Countries such as Croatia and other Balkan states have more of a right to be included soon in the EU than Turkey," he told the Financial Times.

Austria has agreed only reluctantly to EU moves towards formal talks. But Mr Grasser, who is also deputy president of the eurogroup, which brings together the finance ministers of eurozone countries, said the EU needed to heed the lessons of the Dutch and French referendums and listen to voters.

"It would be wrong to negotiate full Turkish membership of the EU," Mr Grasser said. "If you were to ask the people 'Are you for Turkish membership?', I'm convinced that you would get No as an answer."

Although he might yet be overruled by Wolfgang Schüssel, Austria's chancellor, Mr Grasser's comments are significant because all 25 EU member states need to agree a "negotiating framework" - setting out the principles, procedures and issues for the planned talks - if the process is to begin on schedule on October 3.

Austria's emphasis on Croatia is also important because Zagreb's own membership talks are on hold. EU officials fear Austria will insist that negotiations with Turkey should only begin once Croatia has also started negotiations. Vienna is backed by Hungary and Slovakia.

The issue is likely to be brought up at an EU foreign ministers' meeting today. However, Jack Straw, the UK foreign minister, will seek to delay substantive discussion of the EU enlargement agenda until September, and focus instead on issues such as Syria and Zimbabwe.

The EU's official line is that negotiations with Croatia will not begin until the country steps up its efforts to locate Ante Gotovina, who has been indicted for war crimes, and to dismantle the security service networks thought to be supporting him.

However, EU officials are worried that unless Croatia makes progress on isolating Mr Gotovina during the summer, Zagreb's hopes of starting membership talks will be in limbo - and so, because of Austria's insistence, will be Ankara's.

Asked whether Austria should agree the negotiating framework with Turkey, Mr Grasser replied: "I will strive to communicate clearly to Turkey that we have every interest in economic and social stabilisation but we cannot envisage full membership.

"I think, too, that the heads of state and government have recognised that the Turkey question has become too removed from the people."

Austria's concerns about Turkish EU membership are firmly established. In December, after weeks of controversy, Vienna backed "open ended" EU negotiations with Ankara only.