11 April 2006

1. "Kurdish unrest stirs again in Turkey", underlying social problems remain in the Kurdish southeast, where protests turned violent last week.

2. "Turkey: As Tensions Escalate, Istanbul Security is Key", on April 10, Turkish police defused a bomb on a bus that transports judges and prosecutors to a central Istanbul courthouse. The attempt, likely staged by Kurdish rebels, highlights the escalating tensions between the Turkish government and Kurdish opposition groups. The Turkish military likely will use this incident as justification for further raids against Kurdish strongholds.

3. "Turkey’s EU membership depends on the Kurds", with these chilling words Turkey's Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan warned Kurdish families that women and children could be killed by security forces if they continued to participate in anti-government demonstrations in Turkey's violence-wracked southeast region, homeland to the nation's large Kurdish minority.

4. "'Undeclared coup in Southeast' Say Activists", according to the IHD Diyarbakir Report, 563 people were placed under custody in the city between 28 March and 3 April and all of them, including children, were tortured and subjected to inhuman treatment. Mistreatment continued on the streets too.

5. "10 Dead In Diyarbakir, Yet No Investigation", IHD Diyarbakir Report: "Between 28 March-3 April, 10 civilians including 5 children died. Security forces opened fire not on the crowds striking fatal areas". Yalcindag: "A criminal complaint is not necessary; prosecutors should have investigatited."

6. "Soldier killed in mine blast blamed on Kurdish rebels", a Turkish soldier was killed and another injured when suspected Kurdish rebels detonated a landmine by remote control, security officials said Tuesday.

1. - The Christian Sience Monitor - "Kurdish unrest stirs again in Turkey":

Underlying social problems remain in the Kurdish southeast, where protests turned violent last week.

DIYARBAKIR / 10 April 2006 / by Yigal Schliefer

Relative calm has returned to this city in Turkey's southeast after three days of violent clashes between Kurds and Turkish security forces. But the underlying tensions have not gone anywhere.
"We want to make peace with the government, but when we say we are Kurds and want the law to recognize that, they say to us that there are no Kurds and there is no Kurdish problem," says a local student who took part in the clashes and is afraid to be identified.

The student says the Turkish government's harsh response to the protests - which spread to several other cities in the predominantly Kurdish southeast and even to Istanbul, resulting in the death of 16, including a 6-year-old, and the arrest of hundreds - has him thinking about going off to join the guerrillas of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK).

"There are a lot, a lot, of other young people in Diyarbakir who are thinking the same way," he says.

It may be the talk of a still-emotional young man, but his words give a glimpse of the growing tension in this volatile region, where more than 30,000 people lost their lives in the fight between the PKK and the Turkish military during the 1980s and '90s. The protests that shook Diyarbakir and some of the other cities in the southeast were the worst the area has seen in more than a decade and indicate the rise of a new generation of angry young Kurds ready to face off against the Turkish authorities.

The events, combined with a recent increase in clashes between the PKK and security forces and a string of bombings in Istanbul and other cities blamed on the organization, have resulted in a dangerous mix that is raising concerns that the region could again spiral into the kind of violence it witnessed during the dark days of the conflict.

"The [protests] were, in a way, expected by us," says Firat Anli, a district mayor in Diyarbakir. "They were the result of the political and social problems in the region not being resolved, and it resulted in this explosive earthquake."

"The young people are poor," he adds. "They are children of displaced families from villages who are having trouble adapting to life in the city, and public services are having trouble reaching them. They have a lot of rage against the system and it's very difficult to control that."

Suffering from high unemployment and a dearth of investment, southeast Turkey continues to lag behind the rest of the country in almost every economic indicator. And while recent years have seen increased cultural rights for the Kurds as well as democratic reforms, many in the region feel the changes have not gone far enough.

The European Union - one of the drivers of these reform efforts here - has expressed "concern" about how the renewed violence will be handled. "We urge the Turkish government to address in a comprehensive manner, and not only from a security point of view, the problems of this region and of its people," said Markos Kyprianou, the EU health commissioner.

However, the Turkish government feels it is fighting a "terrorist organization" in its struggle against the PKK, which called off a unilateral cease-fire two years ago.

But perceptions of the group are different here. The funerals of 14 PKK fighters recently killed in combat with Turkish troops touched off the protests, drawing thousands of mourners who then turned their anger against the Turkish police. Many here looked at the dead guerrillas as locals fighting in their names, not as "terrorists".

Meyase Pehlivan, the mother of one of the PKK members buried in Diyarbakir, explained her son's reasons for joining the group. "He was working for several years on solving this problem in a political way, but when he lost all hope he went to the mountains. He wanted to take some kind of action, so he joined the PKK."

Her 25-year-old son, Muzafer, was the leader of the youth wing of the local branch of a pro-Kurdish political party and had been arrested several times before heading off to join PKK in 2003, Ms. Pehlivan says. "He joined because he wanted to fight for the rights of Kurds and the identity of Kurds," she says.

Turkish officials say they are working to improve the situation in the area. Prime minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan came to Diyarbakir eight months before in what was termed a historic visit, and offered his government's help in solving the "Kurdish problem."

Following the violent protests, Mr. Erdogan told parliament: "We will bring [to the Kurdish areas] more freedoms, more democracy, more welfare, more rights and justice."

But Kurdish politicians say not much has been done since Erdogan's visit and feel that the current political atmosphere gives the government little room for dialogue with the Kurds.

"The government doesn't have a program to solve the Kurdish problem," says Hilmi Aydogdu, a deputy chairman of the Diyarbakir branch of the pro-Kurdish Democratic Society Party, which has seen several of its top members arrested in the wake of the recent protests.

In Kiziltepe, a town an hour's drive from Diyarbakir where two people were killed in protests, locals were still struggling to make sense of the previous week's events.

"We've moved back 10 years," says Yasar Aygin, speaking in the small barbershop where he works. "When these events took place, I was reminded of the 1990s, when people were afraid to go out of their homes. I felt I was back in those days."

Around the corner, an owner of a shop, who asks not to be named, says his business, like every other business in Kiziltepe, was shuttered during the three days of protests.

"I wasn't angry. I have expenses for my shop - rent, taxes - but in order to get our cultural rights, our freedoms, I would close my shop for a month," he says.

2. - Stratfor.com - "Turkey: As Tensions Escalate, Istanbul Security is Key":

On April 10, Turkish police defused a bomb on a bus that transports judges and prosecutors to a central Istanbul courthouse. The attempt, likely staged by Kurdish rebels, highlights the escalating tensions between the Turkish government and Kurdish opposition groups. The Turkish military likely will use this incident as justification for further raids against Kurdish strongholds.

11 April 2006

Turkish police defused a homemade bomb on a bus used to transport judges and prosecutors to the Beyoglu courthouse in Istanbul's cosmopolitan European quarter April 10. The driver apparently discovered the device after he had dropped off his passengers. The bomb failed, police said, only because the battery in the cell phone that was to be used as a remote trigger had died.

The attempt, coming less than two weeks after a bomb planted in a trashcan in Istanbul's Kocamustafapasa district killed one person and injured 13, has raised the stakes in the government's low-level war against Turkey's increasingly bold Kurdish militants. Had the attempt succeeded, and members of the judicial system been killed or maimed, the reprisals would have been swift and forceful. As it is, the government has no choice but to raise the security alert in Istanbul -- Turkey's largest city and its economic and cultural center -- as it steps up its campaign against Kurdish militants in Southeast Anatolia. Keeping a lid on insurgents in Istanbul is vital if the government is to prevent investor flight and keep the ball moving toward accession to the European Union.

Although it is unclear who planted the bomb, Kurdish militants top the short list of suspects. As the long-fought struggle for Kurdish independence continues, clashes between Kurdish rebels and the Turkish military are increasing in Southeast Anatolia, while military efforts to put down protests and riots in Kurdish towns in the region increase. This escalation in violence prompted the U.S. Embassy to issue a Warden Message on March 31, warning U.S. citizens to avoid areas of southeastern Turkey. As tensions rise, Kurdish rebel groups such as the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) and the Kurdistan Freedom Hawks (TAK) have lashed out with retaliatory bombings.

TAK "reprisal units" claimed responsibility for the March 31 attack in Istanbul, for example, saying it was a response the military's recent raids against Kurdish strongholds. TAK said attacks against Kurds would now be "met immediately by even more violent acts" that target both property and lives. TAK previously had targeted tourist areas near Turkey's Mediterranean coast in an effort to damage the Turkish economy, meaning that if the April 10 attempt was orchestrated by TAK, then its campaign is broadening.

Tensions between Turkey and its Kurdish inhabitants continue to escalate, and military raids in the Kurdish area of southeastern Turkey -- which borders Iraq, Iran and Syria -- even have included incursions into Iraq. Should the battlefield shift from the southeast to the lifeblood of the Turkish economy, however, the government would have no choice but to launch a massive military response. Even though the April 10 attack failed, it likely will do little to dissuade the military from continuing its crackdown in the Kurdish region.

The implications of this latest bomb plot are enormous. Had the bomb killed judges and prosecutors, the military would have used those deaths as justification for a major assault against Kurdish groups, regardless of which one planted the device. As it is, the attempt will cause the military to increase its efforts in areas such as Southeast Anatolia -- which in turn will lead to more TAK or PKK reprisals. Should insurgents continue to target Istanbul, putting foreign investment and prospects for EU entry on the line, the Turkish government will have no choice but to bring down the hammer.

3. - The Ottawa Citizen - "Turkey’s EU membership depends on the Kurds":

10 April 2006 / by Harry Sterling*

'The security forces will intervene against the pawns of terrorism, no matter if they are children or women." PM Tayyip Erdogan.

With these chilling words Turkey's Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan warned Kurdish families that women and children could be killed by security forces if they continued to participate in anti-government demonstrations in Turkey's violence-wracked southeast region, homeland to the nation's large Kurdish minority.

Mr. Erdogan's warning came following several days of clashes between Kurds and riot police in various locations in the region. In the town of Kiziltepe, thousands of Kurds took to the streets, hurling rocks and Molotov cocktails at police. The local headquarters of Mr. Erdogan's Islamic-based Justice and Development Party, AK, were set ablaze.

Three children died among eight killed during clashes with riot police in the capital city of Diyarbakir. Three died elsewhere.

Mr. Erdogan claimed "terrorists" were deliberately using children to gain sympathy. Kurdish representatives insisted the children were innocent bystanders. The government praised security forces for their "restraint" during the violence.

The anti-government riots erupted after recent funerals for 14 alleged Kurdish insurgents from the Kurdistan Workers' Party, PKK, killed by the Turkish military. A funeral rally in Diyarbakir, numbering 10,000, erupted into a riot, with Kurds calling for "revenge." Some mourners waved flags of the banned PKK.

Local Kurdish leaders said the unrest was the worst in more than a decade and denounced the government for its "policy of violence." They said the wide support for the demonstrations was symptomatic of anger over the second-class treatment accorded Kurds, many without jobs for years, others living in cramped temporary shelters, thousands forced to flee their homes during fighting between the PKK and military.

The European Union -- which Turkey wants to join -- has expressed growing concern over the upsurge in violence. It has urged the government to improve the cultural and linguistic rights of the Kurdish community, a process that the Erdogan government had already begun since coming to power three years ago.

However, some within the EU question the true commitment of Turkey to continue reforms giving Kurds and other minorities greater human rights. In their view, the dismantling of various restrictions on minority rights has more to do with improving Turkey's acceptability to become a member of the EU than with any true desire to improve the rights and conditions of Kurds -- or other small minorities, like the Armenians and Greeks.

Although the Erdogan government has now allowed the Kurdish language to be used in the media, and in schools under certain circumstances, critics say such apparent steps forward are essentially window dressing to appease the EU. The violence of recent days will only reinforce this viewpoint.

Unfortunately for Turkey, the issue of growing anti-foreigner, anti-Muslim sentiment within European nations could further undercut its EU prospects.

The populations of many countries, particularly France, Germany, Austria, Belgium and the Netherlands, increasingly see Muslim Turkey's membership as threatening their countries' traditional cultures and values.

Former French president Valery Giscard d'Estaing bluntly opposes Turkey joining, saying its membership could destroy the future integration of EU countries. Germany's new chancellor, Angela Merkel, appears ambivalent about membership, seemingly favouring instead a partnership of some kind. Britain however, remains in favour.

Although Mr. Erdogan's relatively moderate and pragmatic policies had lessened concerns over his party's pro-Islamic roots -- improving considerably his government's image, especially vis a vis Greece -- some recent developments cause concern among European and other states.

His government's hosting of a senior Hamas leader, Khaled Mashal, and an invitation to the radical Iraqi Shiite cleric, Muqtada al-Sadr, hasn't been appreciated by the U.S. or Israel, not to mention Turkey's secular-minded military, which is determined to prevent Islamization of its country.

The widely publicized death threats made by Muslims over the Danish cartoons and threatened execution of an Afghan Muslim convert to Christianity, along with the violence in Turkey's Kurdish region, have provided further fuel for those questioning the compatibility of a Muslim nation such as Turkey joining the EU.

However, some see the turmoil in Turkey's Kurdish region as simply one aspect of a much broader situation involving the evolution of Turkish institutions toward authentic democracy and the Turkish government's commitment to guarantee fundamental human rights for all its citizens.

Paradoxically, this transformation is taking place when growing numbers of Turks are questioning the value of joining the EU, convinced European nations are trying to impose their own western values on Turkey as the price of admission to the EU's exclusive club.

The challenge for Mr. Erdogan is to convince his own countrymen and those of EU states that it is possible to be both a good Muslim and a defender of democratic principles at the same time.

But the Kurds must be full partners in that transformation if it's to truly succeed.

* Harry Sterling, a former diplomat, is an Ottawa-based commentator. He served in Turkey.

4. - Bianet - "'Undeclared coup in Southeast' Say Activists":

According to the IHD Diyarbakir Report, 563 people were placed under custody in the city between 28 March and 3 April and all of them, including children, were tortured and subjected to inhuman treatment. Mistreatment continued on the streets too.

DIYARBAKIR / 10 April 2006 / by Tolga Korkut

Rights activists were subjected to pressure and degrading treatment, all of those placed under custody were either tortured or subjected to inhuman treatment says Diyarbakir branch of the Human Rights Association (IHD)in its report on the violent incidents, which swept southeast in the 28 March-3 April week.

IHD Deputy Chairman Reyhan Yalcindag told Bianet that almost all applicants related to torture had medical reports showing they were subjected to torture and mistreatment, and that a criminal complaint had been made together with rights advocates on the oppression.

"There are too many arrest particularly in the townships. It is almost as if no one's left. There is an undeclared coup situation here," Yalcindag noted.

According to applications made to the IHD and the Diyarbakir Bar Association, 563 people have been detained in Diyarbakir and 200 of these are children. 382 people of which 91 are children have been arrested. On an appeal made against the arrests, 34 children aged under 15 were released.

"Torture and mistreatment not only in detention"

The IHD report states that "all of those detained have been subjected to torture, inhuman and degrading treatment."

The Association noted that according to the accounts of those who were injured, the treatment was not limited only to those under detention but also to "people walking on the streets, as well as those present during raids conducted on houses who were subjected to physical blows and torture."

A witness statement from a 14 year old child placed under custody is as follows:

"When I was being detained, approximately 15 policemen attacked me with their truncheons; my right arm was broken and in that condition they dragged me for about 100 metres on the ground. Later on, they took me to the sports hall at the Security Directorate. Over there, through force and torture, I signed many documents whose contents I do not know. The night I was placed under custody, they took me to the State Hospital at about 21:30 because my arm was broken. Time over time I was beaten with truncheons; they denied us access to the toilets; they continuously subjected us to degrading treatment such as "get up - sit down". At 03:00 in the morning they were saying go to sleep and at 05:00 they were making me wake up and beating me with truncheons. They were pulling my hair too. Even though H.K. who was detained with me had a broken arm, he was subjected to electricity torture at the Baglar Police Station. While being taken to the Juctice Hall and the hospital, before getting in the vehicle, they were beating my feet with the truncheons. Every 12 hours they were giving half a loaf of bread and water. They were constantly swearing and insulting, and they were constantly making me listen to the national anthem. They also hit me in the stomach when taking me to the Justice Hall. I informed the Prosecutor of all of this treatment."

Report includes witness statement of lawyer from the Diyarbakir Bar Association:

"All of the children had been beaten and sworn at. In their complaints they stated that although there were cushions where they were held, they were made to lie down on concrete floor and that they were given two meals a day. Some stated that at the Carsi Police Station they were made to strip off their clothing, had cold water poured over their bodies and were beaten. Furthermore, just when I was leaving, gun shots and explosions could be heard. There were approximately 200-220 official and plainclothes policemen at the compound entrance and its courtyard. Suddenly they all started to move and I heard this crowd of people in the garden start shouting "...kill all of them! Don't come back without killing them!"

Rights activists face pressure

The report contains information that the attorneys sent to detention centres as compulsory defense lawyers were subjected to physical and verbal violence.

The Association says that in Kiziltepe, Mardin, IHD Mardin Branch Chairman and Attorney Huseyin Cangir and Branch Secretary Attorney Erdal Kuzu, together with other attorneys and IHD administrators, were subjected to physical and psychological violence by the First Lieutenant Military Doctor on duty at the Kiziltepe Infantry Regiment Command on 2 April 2006.

The report also establishes that rights advocated in Batman were subjected to violence and pressures:

"Although being an observer of the incidents, IHD Batman Branch Secretary Abdullah Baytar was violently hit by the police.

Again, even though IHD Batman branch member Mursel Kayar and Supervisory Board member Resit Yaray stated they were on the scene as observers, they were beaten and detained, then arrested and placed in prison."

The report also attracts attention to the arrest of political party and union members in the days following the incidents:

"As of mid-day of 4 April, Democratic Society Party Provincial Administrators Musa Farisogullari, Necdet Atalay, Nusret Atliu and Muhlis Altun as well as Diyarbakir Democracy Platform Term Speaker and Tes-Is Number 1 Branch Chairman Aliu Oncu and Tum-Bel Union Diyarbakir Branch Chairman Edip Yasar were placed under custody and taken to the Counter-Terrorism Branch. On 5 April, following a 12 hour interrogation at the Prosecution and Examining Judge stage, they were arrested at around 22:00 and transferred to the Diyarbakir D Type Prison.

5. - Bianet - "10 Dead In Diyarbakir, Yet No Investigation":

IHD Diyarbakir Report: "Between 28 March-3 April, 10 civilians including 5 children died. Security forces opened fire not on the crowds striking fatal areas". Yalcindag: "A criminal complaint is not necessary; prosecutors should have investigatited."

DIYARBAKIR / 10 April 2006 / by Tolga Korkut

Security forces had violated the right to life of 10 people including 5 children say huan rights activists from the Diyarbakir branch of Turkey's Human Rights Association (IHD).

The Association's Deputy Chairman Reyhan Yalcindag, interviewed by Bianet, said "there is no need to make a criminal complaint related to the deaths. The prosecutors have to act on their own to start a preliminary investigation. But we are yet uninformed of any procedure being started until now. If there is, they should come out and disclose it".

IHD: Bullets and blows to fatal areas

The Association's report highlights the following:

* Security forces did not use firearms on 28 March 2006 when the incidents started, until about 17:00 local time. However, as of approximately 17:00 hours, many people were injured and lost their lives as result of security forces opening fire.

* It has particularly attracted attention that bullets from firearms and blows delivered by objects hit fatal areas such as chests and heads.

* Security forces have used gas bombs, pressurised water and firearms while intervening in the protestors. They opened fire using short and long range firearms not into the air - but targeting the demonstrating crowds.

* While gas bombs used to disperse the crowd should have been fired into the air, firing it directly on the crowd has revealed a deliberate action to violate the right to life.

10 dead including 5 children

According to the association report, information on those who died is as follows:

Mehmet Akbulut (18): "He was heavily wounded as result of injury by firearm when security forces opened fire in the centre of the province on 28 March 2006. He lost his life on 31.03.2006 at the Dicle University Faculty of Medicine where he was being treated. According to the autopsy report, his death was result of liver damage, internal haemorrhage and shock due to haemorrhage, related to injury by firearm bullet."

Halit Sogut (78): "Halit Sogut, who was heavily injured due to a blow delivered to his head by security forces with a hard object at around 14.30 on 28 March 2006, lost his life on 2 April 2006 at the State Hospital where he was placed under treatment."

Tarik Ataykaya (22): "Furniture worker. On 29 March 2006 between 13:30 and 14:00 he was wounded when security forces opened fire near Hayat 2 apartment on Baglar Medine Boulevard (beside the Metin Furniture facility behind the Rice Factory) and died the same day at the State hospital. According to the autopsy report, he died as result of brain damage and haemorrhage related to injury by firearm bullet (gas cartridge).

A section of what witnesses told IHD: " Security forces wearing Special Team uniforms and carrying firearms appeared across us. They numbered about 6-7. They were haphazardly shooting. They were kneeling on the ground and aiming at the crowd; they were not firing into the air. At that moment there was a big commotion. Everyone started to run away. While we ran off scared, I heard a gunshot behind me. When I turned to look, I saw Tarik on the ground and went to him. Tarik had lost consciousness at that point. (...) We took Tarik into the building right beside us. We rang the door of one of the flats there and told them to phone for an ambulance. While we were inside the building we washed his face and at that time we realised he had received a blow to his head.

Mehmet Isikci (19): "Furniture builder. He was taken to the State Hospital after receiving a concussion from a blow with a hard object used by security forces on Emek High Street at around 17:30-18.00 on 29.03.2006 and died there shortly after. Those who witnessed the incident were relatives living in the building opposite to where the incident took place. According to the autopsy report, he died as result of head, chest and inner trauma, fracture of skull, brain hemorrhage, internal hemorrhage due to right lung and liver rupture and shock from hemorrhage."

Abdullah Duran (9): "Elementary school student. Abdullah Duran lost his life as result of security forces opening fire at around 17:30 on 29.03.2006 while, together with his family, he was watching the incidents in the streets from the balcony of the house they lived in. His uncle Mehmet Duran has stated that bullets had also passed through the jacket his other nephew Eyup Duran was wearing while on the balcony. According to the autopsy report, he died as result of internal hemorrhage and hemorrhage shock related to injuries of the heart and both lungs by firearm bullet."

Enez Ata (8): "Elementary school student. He lost his life as result of being hit by a bullet when security forces opened fire again in Kurucesme district during the incidents that erupted on 30 March 2006 while the funeral ceremony of 3 civilian citizens whose rights to life was violated by security forces on 28 and 29 March was being held."

From Enez Ata's father's account: "At around mid-day on 30 March 2006, my son Enez Ata came home earlier than usual saying they did not allow them entry into the school. It was around 13:20. After taking off his uniform apron, he said he would go to his aunt who lives very close to our house and left the house. As I thought he had gone to his aunt, I was initially at ease. Later, at about 15.00, I phoned his aunt. But she told me Enez had not gone there. Upon this our family started to look for him, we went to our relatives, we went to the school. But the school was totally empty. After looking for him for several hours I returned home where I received a phone call from my aunt who said some people had seen Enez wounded and in someone's lap on the television. Whereon I went to the Children's Hospital Emergency Service but he was not there. After that I went to the State Hospital. When I saw the dead body of my son at the Emergency Service, I lost myself. The prosecutor who arrived for the autopsy showed me the bullet that had lodged in his body (between his heart and stomach). I recall they forced me into a car; the police sent us to the Cinar district Asagikonak Village where our birth registry is held; they did not allow us to burry my son in the cemetery in Diyarbakir."

Mahsun Mizrak (17):"PVC foreman, glazier. Although witnesses have seen him being detained on 30.03.2006 by the 10 Nisan Police Station, his family received no result from applications made to the police stations, bar association, IHD, Security Directorates and hospitals. Finally, on 03.04.2006 at 18:00 the family went to the State Hospital and learned that his body had been held at the morgue since 30.03.2006 as an unidentified corpse. According to the autopsy report, he died as result of brain damage and haemorrhage caused by firearm bullet (gas cartridge)."

Emrah Fidan (17): "High school 3rd grade student. As result of injury due to security forces opening fire in the provincial center on the afternoon of 29.03.2006, he was placed under treatment at the intensive care unit of the Dicle University Faculty of Medicine and lost his life at around 08:00 on 03.04.2006. According to the autopsy report, he died as result of firearm pellets and brain hemorrhage."

From Emrah Fidan's father's account: "My son Emrah Fidan left the house at around 15:00 on 29.03.2006 and when he did not come back home towards the evening we got concerned. Because of this we went to the hospitals and asked. At the State Hospital Emergency Service they showed me a document in which the name 'Emrah Fidan' was written. We looked into the rooms with the nurses but could not find him. Upon this we went to the police stations and asked. I went to the Security Directorate to ask and a policeman there shouted at me saying '.... off and ask Osman Baydemir about your son!.." and threw me out. That night I couldn't find a trace of my son anywhere. The next day I went back to the State Hospital. The police there told me that my son had been lightly injured in the foot. On 30.03.2006 we went to the D.U. Faculty of Medicine and asked. They first showed us his clothes.; he had his identification document in the back pocket of his trousers; despite this he was entered in hospital records as Nursin Dogansahin. He remained in intensive care and at about 08:00 on the morning of 03.04.2006 he lost his life.

Ismail Erkek (8): "Elementary school student. He lost his life as result of being hit by a bullet when security forces opened fire again in Kurucesme district during the incidents that erupted on 30 March 2006 while the funeral ceremony of 3 civilian citizens whose rights to life was violated by security forces on 28 and 29 March was being held."

Mustafa Eryilmaz (26): "As result of security forces using disproportionate and excessive force and using firearms on 29 March 2006 he was heavily wounded after which on 31 March 2006 he lost his life. Because his family was not allowed to bury the body in Diyarbakir, it was buried in Silvan."

6. - AFP - "Soldier killed in mine blast blamed on Kurdish rebels":

DIYARBAKIR / 11 April 2006

A Turkish soldier was killed and another injured when suspected Kurdish rebels detonated a landmine by remote control, security officials said Tuesday.

The incident occurred late Monday on a road near the town of Silvan, 80 kilometers (50 miles) east of Diyarbakir, the central city of Turkey's mainly Kurdish southeast.

The two soldiers were inside a vehicle transporting garbage to a nearby dump when the mine was activated by suspected militants from the separatist Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), the officials said, asking not to be named.

Landmine attacks have become a hallmark of PKK violence since the group called off a five-year unilateral ceasefire in June 2004.

The attack was the latest episode in almost daily bloodshed in the region over the past few weeks that has seen deadly Kurdish riots in urban areas and increasing clashes between the army and the PKK in the countryside.

The conflict has claimed more than 37,000 lives since 1984, when the PKK took up arms for self-rule in the southeast.