11 January 2006

1. "20 day cell confinement penalty to Öcalan", Mehmet Öcalan and Havva Keser went to Gemlik this morning to see the Kurdish People’s Leader Abdullah Öcalan. However permission to see Mr Öcalan was denied due to a cell confinement penalty. One of his lawyers Mr Bekir Kaya said that “Our client is already being kept at the Imrali island as the sole inmate. This is why there is no reason to receive such a penalty”.

2. "Turkey: Kurdish `question` just won’t go away", whatever their ethnic origin and religion, all citizens are Turks, affirmed Turkish president Ahmet Necdet Sezer in his 2006 New Years Message, stepping into a heated national identity debate. The taboo question of Turkish identity has emerged in recent months, as the Kurdish Workers Party (PKK) resumed attacks after a 1999 unilateral ceasefire and as Ankara faces tough scrutiny on human rights in its EU membership bid. Since the PKK began its battle against the Turkish state in 1984 some 35,000 people have been killed. Kurds make up 12-14 million of Turkey's 70 million inhabitants.

3. "Threats in Semdinli Case, 'Don't Dig in'", "I was threatened," told Mesut Deger, member of the main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP), and member of the Parliamentary Investigation Commission established to launch a probe into the Semdinli incidents.

4. "Pope's attempted killer to be released", Mehmet Ali Agca, a Turkish man who attempted to kill the late pope John Paul II in 1981, is due to be set free on Thursday after a Turkish court approved his release saying that the man had completed his sentence.

5. "Iraqi Kurds see government merger ending civil war", Iraq's two main Kurdish factions will start forming a single administration for their autonomous region in the next few days under a deal they say will finally draw a line under the civil war they fought in the 1990s.

6. "Iran's minorities protest at Ahmadinejad's Holocaust denial and anti-Israel stance", a front representing Iran's ethnic minority parties has condemned the Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's position on the Nazi Holocaust and the destruction of Israel.

1. - ANF - "20 day cell confinement penalty to Öcalan":

ISTANBUL / 11 January 2006

Mehmet Öcalan and Havva Keser went to Gemlik this morning to see the Kurdish People’s Leader Abdullah Öcalan. However permission to see Mr Öcalan was denied due to a cell confinement penalty. One of his lawyers Mr Bekir Kaya said that “Our client is already being kept at the Imrali island as the sole inmate. This is why there is no reason to receive such a penalty”.

Mehmet Öcalan and Havva Keser were refused entrance to Imrali Island when they arrived at the Gemlik Gendarmerie Station. The soldiers informed them that they have a court decision and that Mr Öcalan has been given a penalty of 20 day cell confinement.

Mehmet Öcalan said that the soldiers showed him some paperwork and said “you can not see him, Öcalan has a penalty of 20 day cell confinement through a court decision”.

Mehmet Öcalan said that "the soldiers told us that this is a court decision. I wanted to have a look at the paper work but I was not allowed. They would not tell me anymore details. I wanted to send newspapers to him but they would not allow me to do that either.”

The lawyer of Mr Öcalan Bekir Kaya has said that they are doing all they can do to get more details however they are unable to find anyone whom can answer their queries. Mr Kaya has told our agency that due to the national holiday period Bursa Courthouse is closed and added that “however the reasoning for such a decision must be included. Such decisions are made by the execution courts. Our client is already kept at the Imrali island as the sole inmate. Hence there is no need for such a penalty. Such penalties are initated through the application of the administration of the prison.”

(translated by International Initiative)

2. - AKI - "Turkey: Kurdish `question` just won’t go away":

ISTANBUL / 10 January 2006

Whatever their ethnic origin and religion, all citizens are Turks, affirmed Turkish president Ahmet Necdet Sezer in his 2006 New Years Message, stepping into a heated national identity debate. The taboo question of Turkish identity has emerged in recent months, as the Kurdish Workers Party (PKK) resumed attacks after a 1999 unilateral ceasefire and as Ankara faces tough scrutiny on human rights in its EU membership bid. Since the PKK began its battle against the Turkish state in 1984 some 35,000 people have been killed. Kurds make up 12-14 million of Turkey's 70 million inhabitants.

Prime minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan triggered the discussion over Turkey's official ‘one nation-state’ policy, following violent protests following an attack on a bookstore in the southeastern town of Semdinli on November 9. Several people were killed in clashes between police and protesters. Three Turkish security officials have been charged in connection with the attack, thought to have targeted the shop's owner, who is Kurd, allegedly linked to the PKK.

Seeking to calm unrest in the Kurdish areas Erdogan said: “All citizens of Turkey are united under the primary identity of being a citizen of Turkish Republic, however all Turks have sub-identities. No one should be offended by this. A Kurd can say I am a Kurd.”

His break with state orthodoxy - the rigorous defence of the secular unified state as envisaged by the country's founder Kemal Ataturk - received enthusiastic applause from some in the European Union and from a small group of intellectuals in Turkey itself. But it unleashed a tide of anger and criticism everywhere else.

Turkish nationalists were furious warning that any redefinition of Turkish identity could lead to the break up of the country. And even the main opposition party, the social democratic Republican People’s Party (CHP) through its leader, Deniz Baykal said any redefinition of Turkish identity might tear the country apart, like the former Yugoslavia.

The powerful armed forces were predictably enraged. Hursit Tolon, former First Army Commander General, echoed soldiers reaction saying that Turkey doesn't have a Kurdish problem and that proposing the concept of sub-identity would serve the PKK.

The military wing of the National Security Council at a year's end meeting said: “Redefinition of identity is violation of the constitution. Discussions like those harm the structure of the state based on one nation.”

The same fears that Turkey might disintegrate are being echoed in the media. Taha Akyol, columnist in Milliyet wrote: “Ethnic differentations can lead to bloody decomposition. We should develop cultural pluralism while keeping one-nation state structure.”

However other commentators put the 'Kurdish question' in different terms.

“Of course the constitution says all citizens of Turkish state are Turks. But ‘Turk’ is also ethnically the name of a race. Someone who does not belong to this ethnic group may not be happy to be called Turk. The crucial point is to loyalty to the Republic of Turkey. We denied Kurdish identity for 80 years but this can not continue" said Ismet Berkan, editor-in-chief of pro-EU left-wing Radikal.

But how Turks define who they are and what that means for their large Kurdish population is no longer a purely internal issue. After some tension over Turkey's refusal to fully endorse the US-led war on Iraq in 2003, and a refocussing of foreign policy towards Europe, Ankara's axis with Washington now seems to be being reinforced. Particularly as Turks become increasingly aware of the reluctance of some European nations to include them in the 25-member bloc.

On the EU side, the first flash point is Roj TV, which still broadcasts in Denmark despite Ankara’s insistence that it supports the PKK. The second is Joost Lagendijk, the co-chairman of the EU-Turkey joint parliamentary committee who is being probed by an Istanbul court for recent comments. Lagendijk, “The Turkish military wants clashes with PKK since it makes the army feel powerful and important” he allegedly said.

On the US side however, top officials of CIA and FBI paid visits to Ankara last month. It is reported that Ankara wanted the US to act militarily against the PKK top ranks in northern Iraq. It wants help in finding a military solution to the violence by the guerrilla group.

The government of Ankara has made some moves towards improving the rights of Kurds. Turkish media watchdog ‘RTUK’ announced in December that private television and radio stations will be able to start broadcasting in Kurdish as of January. The state broadcaster TRT started airing weekly half-hour programmes in Kurdish dialects in 2004.

While giving the green light for broadcast in the Kurdish language - something it had resisted for decades - Ankara is still demanding that Denmark ban the Kurdish satellite broadcaster Roj TV.

Turkey’s estimated 12-14 million-Kurds are not regarded as minority under the country's constitution. Under the 1923 Lausanne Treaty, Turkey granted minority rights only to non-Muslims. The EU is eager to have the Kurds classified as a minority and see their demands for some autonomy addressed.

In June 2004, the PKK cancelled its ceasefire declaration dating from 1999 when its leader Abdullah Ocalan was captured in Kenya. According to official government figures, since 2004 about 1000 members of PKK have infiltrated to Turkey from Northern Iraq where PKK has allegedly set up its base with about 3000 militants. From that time PKK violence has gradually re-emerged in Turkey, with nearly 200 soldiers killed over the past year.

3. - Zaman - "Threats in Semdinli Case, 'Don't Dig in'":

ANKARA / 9 January 2006 / by Habib Guler

"I was threatened," told Mesut Deger, member of the main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP), and member of the Parliamentary Investigation Commission established to launch a probe into the Semdinli incidents.

Distributing details from the latest anonymous letter received from Diyarbakir to journalists, Deger said he would not succumb to any pressure, reminding that he is willing to sacrifice his life for the preservation of Turkey's unitary integrity. Confirming the continuation in the fight against terrorism, Deger underlined: "We are working on behalf of the parliament. It is the parliament's task to reveal the truth. We are not trying to target anyone in particular. This is our state and our government. If they want to know who is trying to split this country, they had better look elsewhere."

Mr. Deger, one of the main members of the parliamentary commission who struggled to shed light on the Semdinli episode, a counter guerilla terror incident that broke out when a bookstore was bombed on November 9. “These incidents should be brought to light,” Deger relayed at every occasion, has decided to submit a motion to parliament; however, his determination has caused trouble for some people.

The CHP deputy received an anonymous threat on Saturday, demanding that he should not to interfere with issues such as the Semdinli episode. The Semdinli Commission, Deger told Zaman, was established to shed light on illegal and criminal activities and organizations.

The Turkish Grand National Assembly (TBMM) will naturally conduct an investigation and even the smallest details will be used as evidence in the report that will be prepared, and the details of which will be released to the public, Deger vowed

Advising that he has some idea about who the author of the letter is, Deger told that he has applied to Diyarbakir Public Prosecutor of Special High Crimes to launch an inquiry into the letter and for those responsible.

"I want this letter to be officially investigated. It is handwritten. Obviously, its author is not your average person. The letter is aimed at trying to shut me up. I have received such threatening letters before, but I tore them all up."

4. - Hurriyet - "Pope's attempted killer to be released":

11 January 2006

Mehmet Ali Agca, a Turkish man who attempted to kill the late pope John Paul II in 1981, is due to be set free on Thursday after a Turkish court approved his release saying that the man had completed his sentence.

The Istanbul jail, where Agca had been imprisoned since 1981, handed over the document to the Istanbul court, who then issued a statement saying, Agca, aged 48, had served his term. Agca spent 19 years in Italian prisons for seriously wounding John Paul II before being returned to Turkey in 2000.

He was a 23-year-old far-right militant on the run from the Turkish police when he opened fire on the pope at St. Peter's Square in Rome on May 13, 1981 as the head of the Roman Catholic Church headed for an audience in an open vehicle.

The pope later met him in prison and forgave him for the assassination attempt, whose motive remains a mystery. The suspected involvement of then communist Bulgaria and Soviet intelligence was never proven.

5. - Reuters - "Iraqi Kurds see government merger ending civil war":

BAGHDAD / 10 January 2006 / by Mariam Karouny

Iraq's two main Kurdish factions will start forming a single administration for their autonomous region in the next few days under a deal they say will finally draw a line under the civil war they fought in the 1990s.

The accord struck on Saturday and effective next week sets detailed terms for sharing executive power between the Kurdish Democratic Party (KDP) and the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) -- already formally united under a Kurdistan parliament.

Officials insist the move has no bearing on their stated commitment to remaining part of a federal Iraq and is intended to make best use of the autonomy from Baghdad first won under U.S. military protection after the 1991 Gulf War.

Two years after that, fighting between the two parties saw Saddam Hussein's Iraqi forces intervene and a peace forged under U.S. pressure in 1998 left each running separate administrations from the cities of Arbil (KDP) and Sulaimaniya (PUK).

"It is a necessary step and a very important step for the Kurds," said Barham Salih of the PUK, formerly regional prime minister and now planning minister in the Baghdad government.

"The Kurdish region has lived through a domestic war that split it in two; now it's time to turn that page and unite."

Under the merger agreement, the two parties, which fought last year's two Iraqi national elections on a joint ticket, will share out control of a coalition regional government that shadows the ministries in the central administration in Baghdad.

Arbil will be recognised as the capital of Kurdistan, where relative peace has brought an economic boom that contrasts sharply with the misery that conflict has brought elsewhere.

Business investors have complained in the past about bureaucratic rivalries between the two administrations.

TWO-YEAR TERM

Sources from both parties said that the KDP, led by Masoud Barzani, will head the government for two years while the PUK, led by Jalal Talabani will chair the parliament. The roles will then be reversed. Barzani is already regional president while Talabani is bidding to stay on as Iraq's national head of state.

Some other groups -- including possibly the Kurdish Islamic Union, which ate into the big parties' vote in last month's Iraqi national election -- may also get government posts.

Though Kurds often speak of a sovereign state for their estimated 20 million people spread over four countries, they are well aware neither their U.S. ally nor the governments of Turkey, Syria, Iran and Iraq support such a radical move.

"A state is the Kurds' dream but we are committed to Iraq and to the political process," Salih said.

Kurdish leaders have bargained hard for sweeping autonomy under the new Iraqi constitution ratified in October.

Protected from Saddam's forces by U.S. air power, the Kurds voted for a single regional legislature and government in May 1992 and the KDP and PUK struck a power-sharing accord.

Factional wrangling escalated into a civil war that saw Barzani's KDP enlist Saddam's help against Talabani's Iranian- backed PUK. Thousands were killed and many more fled their homes as an intra-Kurdish border formed. A U.S.-sponsored truce backed by threats of a diplomatic embargo took hold in 1998.

6. - Ahwazi - "Iran's minorities protest at Ahmadinejad's Holocaust denial and anti-Israel stance":

11 January 2006

A front representing Iran's ethnic minority parties has condemned the Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's position on the Nazi Holocaust and the destruction of Israel.

The Congress of Nationalities for a Federal Iran (CNFI), which includes parties representing Iranian Kurds, Arabs, Baluchis, Azeri Turks and Turkmen, condemned the regime's manipulation of the Palestinian issue for its own political ends.

In the statement, the Congress argued that "the Iranian regime's internal and external policies are based on creating tension and confrontation, both inside and outside Iran. By taking an irresponsible position, President Ahmadinejad is trying to deflect public attention in Iran away from domestic economical, political and social crises. The government's foreign policy aims to position Iran as the sole defender of Palestinian people's right by allying with extremist groups to create tension in the Middle East and ultimately derail the peace process between Palestinians and Israelis. While the Palestinians and Israelis are seeking a permanent solution to their problems despite the Iranian regime's intervention, Iran's own minorities are denied the right to voice their demands.

"While we condemn the Iranian government regarding Holocaust and the destruction of Israel, we appeal to all democratic forces and human rights organisations to support the oppressed Iranian nationalities (that comprise 2/3 of the population) towards the establishment of a secular, democratic and a federal state in Iran."

The group, which includes the Democratic Solidarity Party of Ahwaz (DSPA), drew parallels between the plight of the Palestinians and Iran's ethnic minorities. They pointed out that their appeals for human rights, freedom of speech and democracy has led to "gross human rights violations by the Iranian security forces and intelligence agencies. Arrests, kidnappings, illegal detention and the extra-judicial killing of political, cultural and social activists are routine in Iran. The Iranian constitution sets in stone the systematic social, ethnic and cultural discrimination against ethnic minority groups."

The CNFI's statement was signed by the Azerbaijan Cultural Society, Balochistan National Movement - Iran, Balochistan Peoples Party, Balochistan United Front of Iran, Democratic Party of Iranian Kurdistan, Democratic Solidarity Party of Ahwaz, Komela and the Organization for Defence of the Rights of of Turkmen People.