4 May 2005

1. "Ferocity at the Gabar Mountain: The brain of the guerrilla, who died in clashes, was extracted", after the dispatch of commando units to Kurdistan, images that shame humanity are displayed. The ferocity during two separate operations in Gabar show that war crimes are being committed once again.

2. "Govt awaits ECHR's Ocalan decision on May 12", the Turkish government is standing firm on its refusal to comment on a possible retrial of former Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) leader Abdullah Ocalan, choosing to wait for the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) ruling due on Thursday, May 12.

3. "Primer Determined to Fight Against Humorists!", in spite of claims of unprecedented "tolerance" for freedom of expression, Prime Minister Erdogans continues sue cartoonists and humorists. Already 8 writers and journalists have been imprisoned during 28 months of his government in power.

4. "Reporters Without Borders 2005 annual report on Turkey", despite the government’s considerable progress in passing laws, the Turkish media is still the victim of courts that arbitrarily imprison and heavily fine journalists, forcing them into routine self-censorship over sensitive topics such as the role of the army and the country’s Kurdish minority. Radio and TV is still censored by the National Broadcasting Council (RTÜK) and while pro-Kurdish journalists are still extensively harassed.

5. "Schroeder pressures Turkey on EU reform, stresses non-Muslim freedoms", German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder on Wednesday urged Turkey to fully implement the democracy reforms it adopted to achieve European Union norms and called for more freedoms for Christian communities in this Muslim-majority country.

6. "Turkey: Europe's Dilemma?", until a few years ago most Western analysts regarded Turkey as a gray zone, a hopeless country drowning in the mud of its outdated political system and faced with a real danger of being cast into the fold of radical Islam.

1. - MHA - "Ferocity at the Gabar Mountain: The brain of the guerrilla, who died in clashes, was extracted":

Fact file: Warning! The attached photos contain images of deformed bodies and should not be viewed by those who willl be effected and those under the age of 18.

SIRNAK / 2 May 2005 / translated by International Initiative

After the dispatch of commando units to Kurdistan, images that shame humanity are displayed. The ferocity during two separate operations in Gabar show that war crimes are being committed once again.

First of the events took place on the 23 October 2004 in the Gabar Mountain. In a clash between the commando units and HPG (People’s Defence Forces) Adnan Batur (code name Kendal, born in Siirt, Perwari) was wounded in his right knee. Batur, who was at the age of 24, was tortured.

Batur’s, brain was extracted with a bayonet and his brain placed along side him. It was reported that the commandos also left a not with it.

The second of the events took place on the 2 March during an operation at Gabar.

In the first day of the operation around the Mawan-Bênat region a group of HPG guerrillas were encircled by the commando units. After a day of clashes a guerrilla named Xebat Rencber (code named Irfan and born in Iran, Sine) got detached from his group.

On the second day of the operation, it was reported that as a result of the clashes he was wounded. He was later caught and tortured. Both of 24 year old Rencber’s ears were cut off with a bayonet and his brain extracted. Xebat Rencber’s arms and legs were also broken.

2. - The New Anatolian - "Govt awaits ECHR's Ocalan decision on May 12":

ANKARA / 4 May 2005

The Turkish government is standing firm on its refusal to comment on a possible retrial of former Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) leader Abdullah Ocalan, choosing to wait for the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) ruling due on Thursday, May 12.

Justice Minister Cemil Cicek yesterday told reporters that the government is awaiting the ECHR decision since there could be new elements and openings related to the decision.

Whether the government plans to make new arrangements if the ECHR orders Ocalan's retrial, Cicek reemphasized that the ruling has not yet been delivered and stressed that the government needed to see the text of the ECHR ruling before taking its position.

"It wouldn't be legal to make an official evaluation before seeing their decision," said Cicek. "I would prefer a legal evaluation of the issue instead of making political debates out of it. This issue is of course open to political speculation, but it would be in Turkey's best interests to keep the bulk of official discourse on the issue within its legal context."

Ocalan's case has been problematic for the Turkish government, which wants to live up to European human rights standards when dealing with the PKK.

The case is being watched closely by the European Union, which is to open membership negotiations with Turkey in October.

The ECHR said on Monday that it would deliver a final verdict in the case of the imprisoned former PKK leader on May 12.

The ECHR's Grand Chamber will rule on complaints made by Ocalan's lawyers that the Turkish authorities breached international treaties by their treatment of him during his transfer to an island prison near Istanbul, discriminating against him, denying him the right to a fair and independent trial, and barring his legal representatives from contacting him after his detention. Ocalan's lawyers also complain that Turkish authorities infringed on his right to freedom of religion and expression.

The European court's rulings are binding on all 46 members of the Council of Europe, the continent's top human rights watchdog. The Grand Chamber verdict is final and cannot be appealed.

A lower chamber of the court ruled partially in Ocalan's favor in 2003, and both Ocalan's lawyers and the Turkish government have requested the case go to the Grand Chamber.

Ocalan was arrested in Kenya in 1999. He's serving out a life term as the sole inmate at the Imrali island prison.

Ocalan took his case to Strasbourg in 1999 after he was tried, convicted and sentenced to death in Turkey. The sentence was commuted to life imprisonment in 2002 when Turkey abolished capital punishment.

3. - Bianet - "Primer Determined to Fight Against Humorists!":

In spite of claims of unprecedented "tolerance" for freedom of expression, Prime Minister Erdogans continues sue cartoonists and humorists. Already 8 writers and journalists have been imprisoned during 28 months of his government in power.

ISTANBUL / 3 May 2005 / by Erol Onderoglu

Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, in spite of increased criticism at home and overseas, continues suing cartoonists and humorists.

Albeit claims of unprecedented tolerance towards critics Erdogan has recently sued two cartoonists and one comics magazine for cartoons mocking him, as well as treating the media as a scapegoat for their criticisms.

Erdogan has won the case against daily Cumhuriyet cartoonist Musa Kart , who depicted him as a ‘cat’. Kart is fined USD 3.600 dollars for personal damages. For another cartoon in the left wing daily Evrensel, he has got another USD 7.200 dollars under a local Istanbul court decision.

Weekly humor magazine “Penguen” has become another target for Erdogan’s intolerance. The prime minister demanding USD 35 thousand for a series of cartoons depicting Erdogan as an elephant, giraffe, monkey, camel, frog, snake, ox and duck under the title “Tayyips’ Kingdom”, an expression of solidarity with Musa Kart.

Overseas critics

Foreign commentators converge on the opinion that Erdogan’s intolerance towards humorists, once again tars Turkey’s just ameliorating image regarding its human rights and the fundamental civil rights records.

In a recent New York Times article Erdogan’s government is criticized of displaying bothersome signs of weariness on the thorny way to the European Union membership.

The cases Erdogan filed against the cartoonists and police brutality towards demonstrators on 8 March World Women’s Day taints Turkey’s improved human rights record after the ‘horrible’ 80’s and 90’s.

French daily Le Monde, too, questions Turkey’s capacities in providing firm guarantees for freedom of speech after Erdogan’s attitude towards cartoonists and his increasingly harsher stance on firing back against critical media.

The French daily remarked that the Prime Minister blamed the Turkish media for reporting widely about and ‘exaggerating’ the misdeeds of the police on the Women’s Day. Le Monde said that Erdogan’s anger signaled that he and his Party’s bid for European Union membership of Turkey is ‘political opportunism’.

Still angry

Commenting on criticisms for cases he has filed against humorists “he will revise his stance after consulting his lawyers” Erdogan told Fatih Altayli of daily Hurriyet.
Yet, he does not regret he has sued cartoonist Musa Kart, for he has mocked the “religious seminaries” issue.

Kart in his cartoon had depicted Erdogan as a cat entangled in a web of yarn referring to the Imam Hatip schools (religious seminaries).

Erdogan himself is also a graduate of “religious seminary”. A long standing matter of controversy, “religious seminaries” is criticized by secularists as the “backyards of Islamic fundamentalism”. These schools were introduced in the Turkish national education system during the Cold War as bulwarks of conservatism.

“Prime Ministry under threat”

Erdogan justifies his stance with “protecting (the dignity of) the post of Prime Ministry”: “If you do not protect the leaders, you will destruct the society,” he says.

Prime Minister Erdogan also rebuffs the charges of violations of fundamental rights and freedoms: “Can you tell me how many people were imprisoned in these 28 months that we are in office? Give me an example.”

Despite Erdogan’s firm insistence that freedom of speech is ensured, there exists a long list of people imprisoned for “crimes of thought” during last 28 months of his government. Among them are: Editor-in-Chief of “Uzun Yürüyüs” (Long March) magazine Mehmet Ali Varis, the Editor-in-Chief of monthly “Özgür Kadinin Sesi” (Voice of the Free Woman) Kadriye Kanat, the former Editor-in-Chief of “Alinterimiz” (Our Toil) newspaper Yasar Çamyar, a former columnist of “Milli Gazete” (National Newspaper) Hakan Albayrak, a reporter of Dicle Haber Ajansi (DIHA - Dicle News Agency) Vedat Kursun, columnists and board members of Yeni Asya (New Asia) newspaper Sami Cebeci and Cevher Ilhan were imprisoned.

The Austrian journalist Sandra Bakutz remained in prison for one year. A reporter for Austrian radio station Orange 94.0 and the German weekly "Junge Welt", Bakutz was arrested on her arrival at Istanbul's Atatürk airport on 10 February, with charges of “being a member of an illegal organization”.

In addition, the Editor-in-Chief of “Peasant-Worker” Newspaper Memik Horuz is still imprisoned awaiting his release.

4. - Reporters Without Borders - "Reporters Without Borders 2005 annual report on Turkey":

3 May 2005

Despite the government’s considerable progress in passing laws, the Turkish media is still the victim of courts that arbitrarily imprison and heavily fine journalists, forcing them into routine self-censorship over sensitive topics such as the role of the army and the country’s Kurdish minority. Radio and TV is still censored by the National Broadcasting Council (RTÜK) and while pro-Kurdish journalists are still extensively harassed.

The government continued its legal reforms in 2004 in efforts to meet European standards in preparation for its hoped-for admission to the European Union. Some of the changes should have positive effects for journalists. The new press law, passed in June, replaced prison sentences with heavy fines. The harshest penalties, such as shutting down a media outlet or banning newspaper printing or distribution, were also dropped. Protection of journalistic sources was even strengthened. Some journalists prosecuted for "complicity with terrorist organisations" were acquitted after the anti-terrorist law and the criminal code were amended in 2003.

But a new version of the code, which took effect on 1 April 2005, allows "making propaganda for an illegal organisation or its aims" to be punished by one to three years in prison, with the heavier penalty if the offence is committed in the media.

Article 159, under which many journalists have been prosecuted for "insulting the government and state institutions and threatening the unshakeable unity of the republic," was amended in 2002 and 2003. The punishment was reduced from a year to six months imprisonment and criticism not intending to "ridicule" or "insult" state institutions was no longer subject to jail terms. The new criminal code also abolishes the offence of "making fun of and insulting government ministers."

However, in contravention of EU standards, the new code says "insults" are punishable by between three months and three years in prison, with the heavier penalty if the offence is committed in the media (article 127). In practice, a judge’s interpretation of "criticism" remained very subjective and unjustified prosecutions continued.

Memik Horuz, editor of the far-left magazine Isçi Köylü, has been in prison for several years for expressing his opinions in the course of his job. Nureddin Sirin, a former columnist with the Islamist weekly Selam jailed for "inciting hatred," was freed on 4 November. By the end of 2004, the supreme court had not ruled on his appeal against his 20-month prison sentence for this offence.

A former columnist for the daily Milli Gazete, Hakan Albayrak, was freed on 13 November after being jailed on 20 May for 15 months for "sullying the reputation of Atatürk" under the 1951 law on crimes against the republic’s founder whose article 1 provides for one to three years in prison. Article 2 doubles the penalty if the offence is committed through the media.
Sebati Karakurt, of the daily Hurriyet, was detained for 12 hours at the offices of the anti-terrorist police in Istanbul on 15 October because of an interview which appeared a few days earlier with Murat Karayilan, military chief of the former Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK, now renamed Kongra-Gel). The photo-feature showed smiling and relaxed female rebels in camouflage uniform. A dozen police searched the home of Karakurt, who was freed after being questioned by police and the police prosecutor.

National broadcasting media were allowed to use the Kurdish language but the RTÜK continued to impose excessive penalties, ranging from a warning to cancellation of operating licence, on the pro-Kurdish media or media very critical of the government. The Istanbul station Özgür Radyo was suspended for a month by the RTÜK on 18 August for "inciting violence, terror and racial, regional, linguistic and religious discrimination or broadcasting programmes that stirred up hatred." The RTÜK can withdraw its operating licence if it reoffends.

The local station Günes TV, in the eastern town of Malatya, was also forced off the air for a month from 30 March after the RTÜK accused it of "undermining the state and its independence and the unshakeable unity of the country with the people and undermining the ideals and reforms of Atatürk" (article 4 of the RTÜK Law 3984). Using the same article, the RTÜK suspended the local TV station ART in the southeastern city of Diyarbakir for a month in April for broadcasting two Kurdish love-songs in August 2003.

Mass arrests of pro-Kurdish journalists by anti-terrorist police on the eve of the NATO summit in Istanbul on 28 and 29 June were typical of the way the pro-Kurdish press is treated.

Nine journalists reporting on the break-up of a demonstration in Diyarbakir against fraud in the 28 March local elections were severely beaten by police and three of them hospitalised. By the end of the year, those responsible had not been punished.

In 2004:

1 journalist was in prison
39 were arrested
14 physically attacked
and 5 media censored

5. - AFP - "Schroeder pressures Turkey on EU reform, stresses non-Muslim freedoms":

ANKARA / 4 May 2005

German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder on Wednesday urged Turkey to fully implement the democracy reforms it adopted to achieve European Union norms and called for more freedoms for Christian communities in this Muslim-majority country.

Schroeder, a staunch supporter of Turkey's EU membership bid, assured Ankara that the bloc was determined to open accession talks with Turkey on schedule on October 3.

"The dynamics of reform should continue," Schroeder told reporters after talks with Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan. "The constitutional and other legal amendments should be put into practice."

Referring to concerns that France will vote down the European constitution at a May 29 referendum and plunge the EU into crisis, the German leader said: "No referendum anywhere in Europe will affect Turkey's EU process."

Schroeder also renewed EU demands from Turkey to expand the freedoms of its non-Muslim comminuties, mostly Orthodox Christians and Jews.

"Religious freedom is a European principle," Schroder said. "It is indisputabe and is valid for Turkey as well. People should freely practice their religions."

Turkey is under pressure to remove legal obstacles for non-Muslim religious foundations to fully exercise their property rights and to open a Greek Orthodox seminary in Istanbul closed down more than 30 years ago.

Schroeder also backed a Turkish proposal to Armenia for the creation of a joint commission of historians to study allegations that the Ottoman Turks committed genocide against their Armenian subjects during World War I.

"We want Turkish-Armenian relations to improve," Schroeder said. "Germany is ready to do its best to help in this issue and open its archives."

Germany and the Ottoman Empire, from which the present-day Turkish Republic was born, were allies during World War I, when the Armenian massacres occured.

Turkey has come under mounting international pressure to recognize the 1915-1917 killings as genocide; some EU politicians, including the German opposition, argue that Ankara should address the genocide claims if it wants to join the European bloc.

Erdogan denounced an appeal issued by the German parliament last month calling on Ankara to face up to its history.

He said he "conveyed our serious concerns and expectations" on the issue to Schroeder.
The two leaders said they also discussed the Cyprus conflict, a major stumbling block to Turkey's EU membership bid.

Schroeder pledged he would work for the release of a 259 million euromillion dollar) EU aid package earmarked for the breakaway Turkish Cypriot community and the activation of measures aimed at easing trade restriction imposed on the island's Turkish sector.

The EU promised the aid last year as a reward for the strong support Turkish Cypriots gave to a UN peace plan, which was killed off by an overwhelming "no" by the internationally-recognized Greek Cypriot side.

The measures have been blocked, however, because of opposition by the Greek Cypriots, who joined the EU in May 2004.

Schroeder's Social Democrats-Greens coalition has been a staunch supporter of Turkey's EU aspirations, but Germany's main opposition Christian Democratic Union advocates a special status for Turkey rather than full membership.

Germany is Turkey's largest trading partner and home to the largest Turkish immigrant community in Europe, some 2.5 million people.

Schroeder is scheduled to meet President Ahmet Necdet Sezer before heading to Istanbul later Wednesday, where he will visit the spiritual leader of the Orthodox Church, Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I, and attend a meeting of Turkish and German business people.

6. - Gobal Politican - "Turkey: Europe's Dilemma?":

4 May 2005 / by Teymur Huseyinov*

Until a few years ago most Western analysts regarded Turkey as a gray zone, a hopeless country drowning in the mud of its outdated political system and faced with a real danger of being cast into the fold of radical Islam. As I recall those times, I remember an interview with Zbigniew Brzezinski, the former US National Security Advisor and grandee of contemporary strategic thought, who stated that one of the unluckiest routes Turkey could follow would be to gain an image of an anti-European Middle Eastern country, or at least of a state rejected and totally disheartened by Europe. The argument followed that Turkey's need for Europe was in absolute terms more than the latter's need for the former. Because, Brzezinski argued, Europe was a successful and modern society that could thrive without Turkey, while Turkey had little chance of modernizing and reaching a desired developmental level without tying itself to Europe.

Another point that drove attention at that time was about Turkey's overreliance on the United States. Many political analysts, especially in the United States, warned that being a NATO member did not mean that one could automatically rely on, above all, America's help at all times. It was therefore indispensable that Turkey become EU member in order to guarantee its future security. However, they advised, for this it needed to continue its efforts at proving that it was moving towards the goal of establishing a modern "European state". The core of the whole debate was that NATO could tie Europe to the USA for one more generation to come, but the dynamics of future Trans-Atlantic relations were uncertain.

Obviously, the direction and tone of the debate is more positive--now that Turkey has been granted a date for the start of accession negotiations set for October of the current year. Was it still true that Turkey is going to be the sole beneficiary of this prospective partnership with the EU? Are not there any points of convergence and mutual benefit? What first has to be born in mind is that Turkey's final place in the EU has mostly to do with strategic and security factors. The two major contributions Turkey could make to the EU in these areas would be as follows: By becoming the full member of the Union it would give the best answer to the instigating arguments of the sorts of "civilization clashes" founded on religious antagonisms. Accepting a Muslim country would alleviate concerns that the EU is a Christian club and demonstrate the compatibility of Islam with liberal democracy, while serving as a brilliant example for the whole Muslim world. Next, it is the opportunity and advantage that Turkey--as a geopolitical and geoeconomic pivot--would give Europe to become much more influential in the Middle East, and post-Soviet Caucasus and Central Asia, considering historical, cultural and religious ties and geographical proximity.

Adding to Turkey's attraction is the fact that its economy and population, with an average age of 26.5, are growing fast, unlike those of many ageing EU members. It would be a valuable member considering its military strength and effective foreign policy. Perhaps most important, EU membership would strengthen the record-breaking democratic and human rights reforms that Turkey has already made. In this area, Prime Minister Erdogan's administration has achieved more in the past two years than virtually all the preceding Turkish political parties during the whole previous decade. Indeed, we have lately witnessed an impressive pace of convergence in Turkey towards EU standards, owing to political consolidation that has greatly weakened ideological and bureaucratic dogmas.

For all the misgivings of the European public--expressed most vocally in France, Austria and from the German opposition party, Christian Democrats, headed by the outspoken and opinionated Angela Merkel--the stance of Europe's business elite seems solidly in favor of starting the membership process. Hence, it did not come out as a major surprise when the French co-president of the French-Turkish business council, Louis Scweitzer, spoke in favor of full membership. Behind such an enthusiasm of the European business is Turkey's strong economic growth of the past three years in addition to the government's modernization programs that are laying the basis for important trade and investment opportunities.

The lure of eventual EU membership has been a powerful force for reform. It has pushed the Turkish government towards a radical restructuring of public services and the banking system and led to the improvement of administrative methods, some of them intact for over 80 years. Ankara has stuck diligently to tight public spending, brought the military budget under civilian control, cut away at a massive and inefficient bureaucratic machine, and learned to rely on an independent central bank for the management of monetary policy. More to the point, the recent report released by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, which put strong emphasis on Turkey's increasing dynamism, and potential is encouraging in this regard. Boosted by such crucial factors as falling inflation and interest rates, improving consumer confidence and spending, plus a stable lira, the OECD 2004 GDP growth projection of 10% for Turkey was nearly achieved.

The Turkish economy is more intertwined with Europe than at any previous point in modern history. It already is in a customs union with the EU and conducts more than half of its trade with it. Foreign investment flows--which demonstrate a clear European domination--also bear witness to this. A case in point is Turkish eurobonds, currently among the attractive, if not the most attractive, in the emerging markets that are being devoured by the European investment funds, some of them known for their traditionally strict conservatism and risk-aversion.

In view of the prominence given to energy security and the diversification of energy resources and routes in the EU agenda in recent years, Turkey could become an important element in the regional picture. This is where it could exploit the advantages of its geographic location acting as a conduit for export pipelines for the transit of Caspian and potentially Iranian and northern Iraqi oil and gas riches to Europe.

Yet one problem that sticks in pundits' minds and bothers the EU decision-makers is whether Turkey, a country with such a long record of economic crises and instability--a legacy of its archaic institutional structure--can absorb the challenges of European integration. The signals seem to be positive from most directions, ranging from thin tanks to investment banks, for which the critical determinant is whether Turkey will maintain its present growth rates. There is a strong case to be made that the 'EU anchor' will remain the key determining factor in this regard, as it would greatly enhance institutional convergence that would further reduce political instability, create policy predictability and push for more political and economic freedoms.

Clearly it is believed and understood in Turkish as well as in many European diplomatic circles that strategic alliance with the United States is a priority with regards to security concerns of a certain country, within the framework of the current realities of the international system. Nevertheless, this concern alone may not serve as a prospect for building a solid basis for the state and society from the perspective of achieving modernity, prosperity and enhancing a stable democratic future. It goes without doubt to say that a country neighboring Europe is more likely to pursue and cherish democracy and moderation while being a member of the EU rather than continuing to grudgingly function outside of it. If a country surrounded with mostly unstable states and alternative political, economic, societal and religious models would be rejected from the progressive European club it would be advised not to expect it to pursue democratic means of conduct in its domestic and foreign policy decision-making. When viewed from this perspective it should not be that hard to foresee the real possibility of radicalization of Turkish society where such contending models could push it to different orbits. This would create a situation extremely undesirable for Europe and essentially for the whole liberal Western community.

Europe should not choose the strategy of global confrontation with forces of radical ideologies concentrated so close to its borders that could cause all kinds of havoc for it. Opportunity for peace and order presents itself to successive generations in the form of problems and predicaments. The dilemma of our time was perhaps best described by the philosopher Immanuel Kant, who in his essay "Perpetual Peace" wrote that mankind was destined for perpetual peace. It would come about either by human prudence and foresight or by a series of catastrophes that leave no other choice. History has given Europe a chance to demonstrate to the whole world that primacy should be given to partnership and cooperation rather than solely to use of a gun for fostering democracy and free-market values abroad. Therefore, the EU, which aspires to become a global power center--above all as an imperative of its own strategic interests--should think hard on this opportunity and welcome Turkey in when the time comes.

* Teymur Huseyinov has a Master's in International Relations from Oxford University and currently works as an independent political and economic consultant on energy issues. He has been published in the international press, including The Wall Street Journal, and have been quoted in various media outlets.