17 February 2006

1. "Settlement Wars in Turkish Kurdistan", Dutch researcher Joost Jongerden investigated the resettlement politics in Kurdistan (Turkey). He discovered that there was a fundamental conflict between government agencies as to the most desirable use of public space in a rural areas. This space was cleared by the Turkish army in the 1990s, during its fight against the Kurdistan Worker's Party (PKK).

2. "Human rights on trial", a trial opened Wednesday at an Ankara court apparently for two Turkish professors charged with “inciting hatred and enmity” in a report they wrote on minority rights in Turkey, although indeed it was not them but rather the demand for broader human rights in this country that was put on trial.

3. "Europeans support Turkish academics on trial", letter signed by 770 European academics warns case against 2 Turkish counterparts will harm Ankara’s EU hopes and freedom of expression.

4. "Sarkozy wants national parliaments to control Turkey accession talks", French interior minister and presidential hopeful Nicolas Sarkozy has called for national parliaments' control of the EU’s ongoing accession negotiations with Turkey and Croatia, while proposing quick implementation of parts of the EU constitution.

5. "The Importance Of exclusive Kurdish TV for Eastern Kurdistan", as the news of opening three new Kurdish Satellite TV channels Rojhelat-TV, Komala-TV and Tishk-TV spread across Kurdistan and Diaspora community its useful to point out how and its important for exclusive Kurdish TV For Eastern Kurdistan.

6. "Iraqi Kurds Savor Their Rare Power Position", for centuries, the mountains were the Kurds' only friend, as their saying goes. They endured the repression of stronger neighbors and saw their landcarved up and made parts of Turkey, Syria, Iraq and Iran.

1. - Press Zoom - "Settlement Wars in Turkish Kurdistan":

16 February 2006

Dutch researcher Joost Jongerden investigated the resettlement politics in Kurdistan (Turkey). He discovered that there was a fundamental conflict between government agencies as to the most desirable use of public space in a rural areas. This space was cleared by the Turkish army in the 1990s, during its fight against the Kurdistan Worker's Party (PKK).

The return of the population and the reorganisation of rural areas are current topics in war-torn countries. In the 1990s, southeast Turkey was the scene of a war between the Turkish army and the Kurdistan Worker's Party (PKK). In its efforts to effectively control the guerrilla activities of the PKK, the Turkish army cleared an estimated 3000 to 4000 villages. According to the Turkish authorities this led to the displacement of some 400,000 people but according to human rights organisations 4 million people ( the majority of them Kurds ) were displaced. Most of them settled in towns inside and outside of the region.

Various studies have indicated that a sizeable majority of the displaced rural population would rather return to their own village. Although various programmes have been developed to facilitate this return, few people have actually returned.

Army opposes return

Jongerden investigated the return policy of the Turkish government. He discovered that various government agencies had wide-ranging and even conflicting ideas about 'returning'. Agencies mainly concerned with public safety - the army and governors in the region - have insurmountable objections against a return of the rural population. They fear that the people are sympathetic towards the PKK, and will once again enable this organisation to organise itself in rural areas.

Conversely agencies that focus on developing the region believe that rural areas cannot remain permanently uninhabited. However these agencies do not want to see the former settlement structure restored, and their inhabitants return. Rather they consider the clearance of so many villages as an opportunity to develop a new settlement structure for rural areas. This structure should be built up around villages that can fulfil the role of local centres, and facilitate the downscaling of administration.

* Joost Jongerden's research was funded by NWO-WOTRO.

2. - Turkish Daily News - "Human rights on trial":

16 February 2006 / by Yusuf Kanli

A trial opened Wednesday at an Ankara court apparently for two Turkish professors charged with “inciting hatred and enmity” in a report they wrote on minority rights in Turkey, although indeed it was not them but rather the demand for broader human rights in this country that was put on trial.

I was one of the first to “congratulate” the two professors, Baskin Oran and Ibrahim Kaboglu, when an Ankara prosecutor launched the complaint against them, saying: “We owe you a lot in bringing this subject to the forefront of discussions in this country. I am confident that the judicial process will help further the human rights cause in this country.”

I maintain that position. At a time when thieves, proven liars, slanderers and tax evaders are being saved from prosecution with a simple majority vote, it is a heroic task to remain committed to the ideals and norms of a modern democratic society, to avoid being lured by a position on an advisory board that was established just to appease the Europeans and that was not expected to do anything substantive.

It was a revolution for the Turkish state to establish a human rights advisory board affiliated with the Prime Ministry. Despite all our doubts that it would not be allowed to operate freely, we still appreciated its creation. Apparently, some members of the board, like Oran and Kaboglu, took their roles and the issue seriously and worked hard. After lengthy debates, the board produced a report in 2004. Some members were, naturally, against it. But Kaboglu and Oran did not comprehend why the board was established in the first place. They thought the government was in need of their “advice” and assumed that was why it was established. Whereas, those were the times when Turkey was busy demonstrating to Europe its strong political will for democratic reform and the creation of the board was just part of the window dressing for that purpose.

The members of the board would wine and dine, that was all. Who wanted them to produce a report? Furthermore, if they were to produce a report, wouldn't that document be confidential? The prime minister would read it, relevant authorities of the state would scrutinize it and, if considered appropriate, would release it. Alas, taking their job very seriously and thinking that there was a reform-minded government that instructed them to write a report on human rights reforms Turkey needed to undertake, Kaboglu allowed Oran to write the report and, after some discussions within the board, release it to the public. The Turkish public learned about their advice! What a big crime! Furthermore, the ideas expressed in the document were not compatible at all with those of the ruling elite of the conservative “deep” Turkey.

What did they say in the report in which they now are accused of “inciting hatred and enmity”?

Their primary mistake was urging the government to grant more rights to minorities. What? Not only did they recommend more rights for minorities, they also urged the government to officially recognize some Muslim groups, such as Kurds and Alawis, as minorities. Naturally, that was against the established understanding that considers all Muslim people in this country to be “Turks” and limits minority status to non-Muslim groups.

The prosecutor was right. They used some “inflammatory” remarks.

Enough? No, Kaboglu and Oran further stated in the report that Turkey should grant equal rights to non-Muslims and that they should not be blocked from jobs in “sensitive” departments and ministries, such as the military, police force or the Foreign Ministry.

Come on! In the Turkey of 2006 no one ought to face persecution for expressing such ideas. If Turkey wants to become a modern democratic society, all of us must make up our minds: A country at odds with its people (restrictions on Muslim and non-Muslim minorities), at odds with its history (still unable to accept that Turkish history has glorious chapters as well as defeats and failures), at odds with its neighbors (somehow all our neighbors are at fault) and suffering from persistent paranoia (Sevres, the West will divide us, nothing good can come from the West, they want to divide Turkey, etc.) cannot achieve such a goal.

Irrespective of whether this country can join the European Union or not one day in the future, just for the sake of creating a better democracy and expanded rights and liberties for ourselves we must go down this road of legislative and mental reform and change.

We must understand that Kaboglu and Oran were not on trial yesterday. The case was against the demand for broader human rights and individual liberties.

3. - The New Anatolien - "Europeans support Turkish academics on trial":

Letter signed by 770 European academics warns case against 2 Turkish counterparts will harm Ankara’s EU hopes and freedom of expression

ANKARA / 17 February 2006

Around 770 European academics have signed a letter to support their Turkish counterparts Ibrahim Kaboglu and Baskin Oran in a case charging the scholars with inciting hatred and enmity and denigration of the judiciary in a report on minority rights.

The case against Kaboglu and Oran was suspended on Wednesday, as the judges decided that the court needs the approval of the Justice Ministry to proceed.

Kaboglu and Oran last year prepared a human rights report on the status and rights of minorities and are now charged with "provoking the Turkish people” and “insulting the judiciary.” The trial regarding the judiciary has been suspended, but that over “inciting hatred and enmity” continues. If convicted, they could face five years in prison.

The report urged the government to recognize some Muslim groups, such as Kurds, as minorities and sparked debate in the media and called into question Turkish identity in a country where all Muslims, regardless of ethnicity, are considered Turks.

In a statement from the International Federation of Human Rights Leagues (FIDH) yesterday, the academics said that the letter signed will be sent to Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

Stating that the two academics on trial supported the expansion of minority rights through constitutional changes in a report written in 2004, the letter said that sentencing them would be a serious threat to both academic freedom and freedom of expression and would harm Turkey’s EU process.

4. - EU Observer - "Sarkozy wants national parliaments to control Turkey accession talks":

BRUSSELS / 17 February 2006 / by Mark Beunderman

French interior minister and presidential hopeful Nicolas Sarkozy has called for national parliaments' control of the EU’s ongoing accession negotiations with Turkey and Croatia, while proposing quick implementation of parts of the EU constitution.

The French centre-right politician, who is seen as a strong candidate for France’s presidential elections in 2007, set out his ideas in a speech before the Konrad Adenauer Stiftung, the German conservative CDU’s think-tank, in Berlin on Thursday (16 February).

Mr Sarkozy called for a political response to European citizens’ uneasiness with EU enlargement, which in his view had been one key factor in the French and Dutch "no" votes against the EU constitution last year.

"The fiasco of the French and Dutch referendums has partly been provoked by hostility to a Europe without borders," he stated.

The French minister called for a strengthened principle of "absorption capacity" of the EU – the union’s own capacity to integrate new members – to reassure citizens that enlargement would not take place without their control.

"I would like to organize a reinforced control of national parliaments on the accession negotiations which have just opened with Croatia and Turkey."

National parliaments should "control the union every time it wants to close one of the 35 chapters of the acquis communautaire [the EU’s lawbooks] in its negotiations with its candidates."

Current practice does not work

Mr Sarkozy argued that increased national parliament control on European Commission-led accession talks is necessary, as the safeguard of every member state’s veto in accession talks is never used in practice.

"I note that the rule of unanimity in the accession negotiations is a false guarantee, because the practice demonstrates that no member state wants to appear to be the one that makes a blockade vis-a-vis a candidate state."

Mr Sarkozy recalled that the French parliament recently adopted an amendment to its constitution, securing a popular referendum on every single enlargement after Romania, Bulgaria and Croatia.

Mini- EU constitution

In his Berlin speech, the French politician also said the EU has to look for alternatives to the EU constitution.

He said he had told Angela Merkel, the German chancellor, that "for me, and I regret that, the constitutional treaty will not enter into force in its current form."

Referring to the negative outcome of the referendum on the charter in his country, he said "I will not be the one who will tell the French that they have misunderstood the question."

Mr Sarkozy instead proposed a three-stage plan for a better-functioning union.

The EU could immediately move to full transparency of EU ministers' meetings, introduce the possibility for citizens to propose EU laws (as foreseen in the constitution) and lift the national veto in penal matters.

In a second stage, the EU could implement a number of proposals in the constitution enjoying a "large consensus," such as the system of voting weights, a limitation of the national veto, creation of an EU foreign minister and increased checks against overregulation by national parliaments.

"These reforms could take the shape of a limited text of 10 or 15 important articles, which could be negotiated as fast as possible with the aim of giving the union the means for achieving efficiency."

In a third stage, the union should address fundamental future questions like a re-think of its financing and the establishment of its future borders, Mr Sarkozy said.

5. - Kurdish Media - "The Importance Of exclusive Kurdish TV for Eastern Kurdistan":

17 February 2006 / by Kameel Ahmady

As the news of opening three new Kurdish Satellite TV channels Rojhelat-TV, Komala-TV and Tishk-TV spread across Kurdistan and Diaspora community its useful to point out how and its important for exclusive Kurdish TV For Eastern Kurdistan.

Since the 1990s, Kurdish society has experienced massive social developments, which were previously impossible due to the cultural isolation and political oppression. To facilitate the process of social development, Roj TV (former Med-TV) developed formats for discussion programs with live guests and active participation of the viewer mainly through phone-calls. Other Kurdish TV’s Kurd-sat and Kurdistan-TV followed the same route. The three main Kurdish TV's and number of radio are affiliated with Kurdistani political parties from Iraq and turkey’s Kurdistan and most all radio stations are locally produced except for Voice of Mesopotamia and few more, broadcasted from Europe through short wave, satellite and internet.

Meanwhile information and news about Kurdistan is distributed all over Europe, Iranian Kurds has been left out form this process, although being 2nd largest kurdish publishing after turkey but did not owen TV, a TV which will be able to produce and developing new program concepts aiming to strengthen the development of social values and democracy among the people of Kurdistan as whole and Kurds of east Kurdistan.

This issues is further politicised in the case of the Kurdish population in Iran, a group who, marginalised from the mainstream media in the country and historically denied as a people, strive for a voice in international communications and an opportunity to represent what is happening in their native Kurdistan. Kurds in exile are keen consumers of television as a means of keeping up-to-date on the political situation in other parts of Kurdistan and in Iranian Kurdistan especially.

One of the outlets for this at present is Roj TV. The satellite station was established in 1995 to provide Kurds of turkey across the Diaspora with a forum for disseminating news about political developments in the region, and perhaps as importantly to provide a formalised expression of Kurdish identity and language in the global media.

Roj TV has a large potential audience of Kurds spread across Kurdistan and throughout the Diaspora in Europe, and in terms of Kongra-Gel’s stance, holds a critical position against the (recently) Iranian government. Kurdistan TV was established in 1998 by the Kurdistan Democratic Party in Iraq, and the following year in response the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan established Kurd sat TV.

Persian networks all offer only coverage which promotes only their political agendas. lacks transparency in its broadcasting coverage of Kurds Iran or example of Kurd sat TV and Kurdistan TV do not want risk their political and economical interest with Iranian government by broadcasting issues regarding Kurds in Iran and cover or run news or programme on Iran’s mis-treatment of its kurdish population and lack of human right, because of border interest with Iran in west and south Iraq which controls by PUK and KDP of Iraqi Kurdistan.

It is evident that in recent years we have seen a substantial efflorescence of indigenous media aimed directly at the special interest and perspectives of the large and politically engaged Kurdish population internationally. In spite of this, the issues, interests and perspectives of Kurds in Iran are relatively under-represented even within this spectrum, and Iran’s 10 million Kurds remain the most significant population without a voice of their own.

An independent TV-channel brings a sense of togetherness and act as a public sphere for the divided Kurdish community. Kurdish TV from eastern Kurds will brings Kurds to together; it can be used as a platform for unification with out the censorship government or a political party or a group. Such TV will help strengthen democracy, respect for minorities and cultural identity Kurdish media provides new perspectives, challenging the opinions of other global media institutions. Kurdish journalists can start reporting about Kurdish society and Kurdistan, covering the impact of global and regional politics which surly will be supported by millions of loyal viewers in east Kurdistan (Iran).

Let hope for such day.

6. - AP - "Iraqi Kurds Savor Their Rare Power Position":

ERBIL / 15 February 2006 / by Scheherezade Faramarzi

For centuries, the mountains were the Kurds' only friend, as their saying goes. They endured the repression of stronger neighbors and saw their landcarved up and made parts of Turkey, Syria, Iraq and Iran.

Now, in an ironic twist, Iraqi Kurds have emerged as the power brokers holding one of those countries together.
The leaders of the two main Kurdish political parties in Iraq, dismissed not that long ago as mere warlords, are courted by the Americans, and they have been key mediators between bickering Sunni and Shi'ite Muslim Arabs in negotiations to form a coalition government.

Yet Iraqi Kurdish leaders don't enjoy that same respect among their own people. Kurds are complaining about the economy and corruption. They wonder whether deep divisions among their people can be bridged.

Kurdish disconnect

It's not even possible to make a telephone call between Erbil and Sulaymaniyah -- cities 95 miles apart that are the capitals of the two rival Kurdish provinces in Kurdistan (northern Iraq). Differing dialects separate Kurds across the region, making it difficult to have a unified school curriculum.

But politicians are upbeat. They say the amalgamation this year of the administrations of the two major parties -- Massoud Barzani's Kurdish Democratic Party (KDP) and Jalal Talabani's Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) -- will bring the two Kurdish regions closer. "It's the best time for Kurds since the First World War," said Adnan Mufti, speaker of the Kurdistan regional parliament.

Many people are skeptical.
Kurds have a reputation of being master politicians but terrible administrators, and corruption is widespread in the region. That has many complaining that the union of the Kurdistan administrations will mainly protect powerful financial interests.
"It's a unity between the leaders of the two parties to preserve the status quo," said Sardar Mohammed, an elementary school teacher in Sulaymaniyah.

Growth at a price

Kurdistan has flourished in many ways since it came under U.S.-British protection in 1991 to stop a brutal crackdown by dictator Saddam Hussein's army after the Persian Gulf War.
In contrast to the rest of Iraq, hotels, offices, houses and apartment buildings are going up at a frenzied pace. Erbil and Sulaymaniyah both boast new airports.

Kurds, who are ethnically distinct from Iraq's majority Arabs, are returning from exile. Even Arabs are moving in, many of them professionals seeking escape from the violence and crime that afflict many parts of the south.

Still, roads and basic services are poor. Not all Kurds feel they will get a fair share of the new wealth from Kurdistan's (northern Iraq's) oil fields and other businesses. On the outskirts of Erbil, people live without running water or electricity.
Critics say party membership is the only way for advancement in Kurdistan. Voicing dissent in KDP-controlled territory -- especially against party leaders or their relatives -- can be risky.

Business and commerce don't conform to international standards. Politicians have profited immensely from lucrative business deals, and ordinary Kurds say they have to bribe officials if they want to start a business venture.

Business is further complicated by tribal ties. "It's difficult to do business if you don't have ties with the two big parties," said Mr. Mohammed, the schoolteacher. Mr. Mufti, the Kurdish parliament speaker, said it has been difficult to clamp down on corruption with the region divided into parallel bureaucracies. Someone in trouble in one part of Kurdistan can simply take refuge in the other province.

Also, Mr. Mufti said, Saddam's ouster in March 2003 kept Kurdish leaders preoccupied with more immediate problems, such as addressing terrorism, holding elections, dealing with Baghdad and forging federalism in the new Iraqi constitution.

He insists that the Kurdish parliament will establish strict guidelines and closely watch government departments to rein in corruption.

Bridging the gap

But distrust persists between the two major parties. Four sensitive ministries will remain outside the united administration -- the peshmerga militia, which will be under KDP control; the Interior Ministry and its security forces, under PUK command; the finance ministry, KDP; and the justice ministry, PUK.

The peshmerga and the Interior Ministry forces are thought to be most difficult to merge. Both the KDP and PUK have their own experienced, battle-tested militiamen whose loyalties lie with the party leaders. Critics also worry about the size of the new united government, which will have 27 ministries for a small region with a population of just 5 million. They say that is a sign of the continued efforts by the two parties to exert their domination.

Observers say the question of the Kurdistani oil city of Kirkuk, which Kurds insist should return to Kurdistan, gave urgency to the decision to unite the two administrations. The Iraqi constitution ratified last fall stipulates that Kirkuk's status must be resolved by the end of 2007, and the Kurds want a strong common front in the negotiations.

Power brokers

It is the Kurds' experience in diplomacy that has found them friends among former foes and international heavyweights.
"Kurds are willing to work with anyone who respects their position -- and now almost everyone does," said Harry Schute, an adviser to the Erbil prime minister's office.

Indeed, the Kurds have gained tremendous influence in Baghdad, so much that U.S. officials seek their help on a variety of problems. During last year's prolonged debate to draft the constitution, a lot of the negotiations took place at the Baghdad house of Mr. Barzani, the KDP leader.

Last spring, Condoleezza Rice made Kurdistan her first stop on her first visit to Iraq as U.S. secretary of state. She asked Mr. Barzani to accompany her to Baghdad to mediate between bickering Sunnis and Shi'ites as they tried to form a transitional coalition government.

Last month, ambassadors of the United States, Britain, France and China witnessed the endorsement by the Kurdistan parliament of the union between the two Kurdish administrations.
"This meant a great deal to us. It shows we have international support," said Kamal Kerkuki, deputy speaker of Kurdistan's parliament.

Eye to independence

For now, Kurds are prepared to see how they will benefit from a federal Iraq. But their real aspiration is independence. Last year, about 2 million Kurds signed an unofficial petition demanding full independence rather than reconciliation with Arab Iraq.

But Kurdish politicians are well aware that their U.S. allies will not back independence, mainly because neighboring Turkey wouldn't stand for it, fearing it could inspire its own Kurdish population. And Iraq's Kurds also have close business ties with Turkey.

Iran and Syria, which have Kurdish populations, would also oppose Iraqi Kurds going it alone.
"The Kurds are walking a very tight rope because the majority of the people want independence, and neighbors and friends are saying 'no,'?" Mr. Schute said. "They have to make both sides happy."

Even though they don't say it, Kurds have many of the trappings of independence.

Throughout Kurdistan, especially in KDP-controlled regions of Erbil and Dohuk, Iraqi flags are conspicuously absent. Instead, flags of the political parties and the Kurdistan Regional Government fly atop government buildings and military installations.

Kurds associate the Iraqi flag with tanks flying the banner as they leveled villages during Saddam's ethnic-cleansing campaigns.
Despite the division of their land among four countries, Kurds have persevered as a distinct people and culture. Their language differs from Arabic, a tongue that is alien to most Kurdish youngsters.