9 January 2007

1. "Turkey deserves better premier, claims DTP's Tugluk", Tugluk, who saw the remarks a move to rekindle the Kurdish problem debates, criticized Erdogan who recently came to claim there's no major Kurdish problem. She also said that the prime minister is being misled by his advisors or people around him.

2. "Municipality Gives Muti-Lingual Services", Sur Municipality approved the proposal to give services in Armenian, Syrian, Arabic and English as well as Turkish and Kurdish. Mayor Demirbas says it's important to consider local population's languages for furnishing better services.

3. "Intellectuals raise voice to support Turkish Lawyer in Hunger Strike", a group of intellectuals over the weekend visited Behic Asci, who has been on a hunger strike for 277 days to protest F-type high-security prisons in order to voice concerns of his clients spending their time there.

4. "TTB Say F Type Facilities Are Inhuman", a committee from the Turkish Physicians' Association visited the Tekirdag F type facility and concluded that administrative, architectural and procedural changes should be done to avoid isolation and mental degeneration of the convicts.

5. "Turkey's Pamuk calls for greater freedom of expression", invited to serve for one day as editor-in-chief of a Turkish newspaper, Nobel Prize winner Orhan Pamuk focused on the persecution of writers and intellectuals in his country.

6. "Saddam and cousin discussed killing thousands", Saddam Hussein and his cousin "Chemical Ali" discussed killing thousands with chemical weapons before unleashing them on Kurds in 1988, according to tapes played on Monday in a trial of former Iraqi officials.

1. - The New Anatolian - "Turkey deserves better premier, claims DTP's Tugluk":

ANKARA / 8 January 2007

Turkey doesn't deserve to be governed by a premier like Recep Tayyip Erdogan, said the Democratic Society Party (DTP) deputy leader Aysel Tugluk following an intelligence statement on Friday sternly criticizing country's foreign policy said to be based on mostly "wait and see" principal.

Tugluk, who saw the remarks a move to rekindle the Kurdish problem debates, criticized Erdogan who recently came to claim there's no major Kurdish problem. She also said that the prime minister is being misled by his advisors or people around him.

Turkish National Intelligence (MIT) Undersecretary Emre Taner strong and stabile economy, perfect foreign policy decision-making and deterrent military force are all must for country to cope with the hot and ever-changing developments in the region. He also warned that had Turkey not been able to harmonize itself to the requirements of the emerging global system in the next a couple of decades; it will be among the vanishing nation-states.

He also underlined that it is an unacceptable strategy for country to adopt a defensive stance and let developments run in their own channels.

While the statement has not seen an immediate response from the government side, the main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) scolded the undersecretary for his open statement but also backed the main idea of the statement.

CHP's Mersin Deputy Mustafa Ozyurek told Anka news agency that he shouldn't have explained his views directly to people however added that his remarks carried significant points of criticism to the government which they also give voice to.

"It is not common for MIT to make public statements but it reveals a great concern about country's perspective on fight against terrorism and national interests," he added.

Ahmet Tan, the general secretary of the Democratic Left Party (DSP) asked whether the premier was informed before. "If he first conveyed his concerns to the premier but couldn't see a reaction he expected and opted to share these views with public, it is very tragic," he said.

Tan also underlined that the statement came following the multilingual municipal service decision of the southeastern Diyarbakir Sur municipality.

DTP: MIT statement has foresight

Tugluk said that the prime minister misdirected by his advisors or people around him uses faulty expressions.

"The prime minister endangers Turkey through his approach," claimed Tugluk adding, "Even the statements of the MIT are healthier and have foresight. We wonder the reply of the prime minister when his counterparts ask him what he does for the peace at his country."

Tugluk, issuing a written statement, claimed that Erdogan trusts neither democracy nor people. "The whole policy of the government is based on presidential deal," stated DTP deputy leader. "A person greedy enough to sacrifice all Kurdish people can not contribute to the wellbeing of this country, even if he takes the post of president."

Blaming Erdogan of being indifferent to the Kurdish problem, Tugluk said that his inconsistent behavior proves his insincerity. "If he was sincere, he wouldn't be saying just the opposite what he uttered in Diyarbakir in the past," said Tugluk. "We call Erdogan to give up these kinds of outmoded futile policies and to consider implementing a realist policy."

Tugluk also addressed the Kurdish people to show a legal and democratic reaction against the government's denial policy.

Tugluk added that Erdogan who thinks that he has right to interfere the internal affairs of other countries suddenly becomes a nationalist and warn people not to interfere our "internal affairs."

"All these show that the Justice and Development (AK) Party doesn't have a project regarding the solution of the Kurdish problem," urged Tugluk. "They try to save the day by disciplining Kurdish people with hunger or issuing pleasing statements. They follow pragmatist policies. Yet Kurdish people are aware of what they do. Erdogan may save his government through this stance but he, unfortunately, throw his country in to the vortex of deadlock."

2. - Bianet - "Municipality Gives Muti-Lingual Services":

Sur Municipality approved the proposal to give services in Armenian, Syrian, Arabic and English as well as Turkish and Kurdish. Mayor Demirbas says it's important to consider local population's languages for furnishing better services.

DIYARBAKIR / 8 January 2007 / by Nilufer Zengin

Diyarbakir's Sur Municipality begins giving out services in Armenian, Syrian, Arabic and English as well as Turkish and Kurdish.

Mayor Abdullah Demirbas told bianet that it's important to take into account the languages talked in the local population for better services.

Municipality assembly accepted the proposal with a majority of 17 over seven. Pro Kurdish Democratic Society Party holds the municipality while only one member of the ruling Justice and Development Party approved the proposal.

Demisbas said Diyabakir is home to 33 civilizations and while official writings are done in Turkish, other languages should be used in services.

This move opened up a debate as professors of law tell that this can result in a breach of the principle of equality if the municipality favors workers who speak those languages.

Other than that, Turkey had already recognized the right to learning and teaching in languages other than Turkish during reforms for EU accession talks.

3. - The New Anatolian - "Intellectuals raise voice to support Turkish Lawyer in Hunger Strike":

ANKARA / 8 January 2007

A group of intellectuals over the weekend visited Behic Asci, who has been on a hunger strike for 277 days to protest F-type high-security prisons in order to voice concerns of his clients spending their time there.

The intellectuals including writer Vedat Turkali, Esber Yagmurdereli, Social Democracy Foundation head Ercan Karakas, Akin Birdal and lawyer Kemal Atac visited Asci at his home in Sisli.

Asci after long oblivion made the headlines late last year when intellectual groups began to visit the dead fasting lawyer. Parliament Speaker Bulent Arinc also met with relatives of the lawyer and urged them to do whatever he can if Asci ends his strike.

"The problems in F-type prisons and cell system are obvious," said Vedat Turkali adding, "Inhumane situations occur due to isolation under safety measures. Prisons must provide at least the minimum livable conditions for prisoners. This time a lawyer who is actually a hero is trying to point out the poor situations. Actually he already won his fight as he moved blind and hearing impaired government to make new arrangements."

"Although Asci's protest might cause his death, he showed whole society the situations in F-type prisons." Akin Birdal explained. "He showed that the F-type prisons are bleeding wounds of Turkey, all by himself. The isolation has to end for a social peace." Birdal also claimed that a general pardon is needed as a first step to re-establish social peace.

Scores of prisoners or their supporters have died in hunger strikes protesting conditions at high security prisons since October 2000 - when authorities began moving prisoners from large wards housing up to 100 people to one- or three-inmate cells. Authorities said the large wards were unruly and had become recruiting centers for terrorist groups.

The protesters drink tea, sugared and salted water and take minerals to help prolong the strike.

4. - Bianet - "TTB Say F Type Facilities Are Inhuman":

A committee from the Turkish Physicians' Association visited the Tekirdag F type facility and concluded that administrative, architectural and procedural changes should be done to avoid isolation and mental degeneration of the convicts.

TEKIRDAG / 8 January 2007

A committee of doctors from the Turkish Physicians' Association (TTB) paid a visit to the Tekirdag F type prison facility and shared their observations.

The committee made up of Prof. Gencay Gursoy, Dr. Ali Cerkezoglu, Asst. Prof. Dogan Sahin, Dr. Zeki Gul and architect Tores Dincoz said isolation practices on convicts exist.

They were able to walk around the facility and make face-to-face interviews with the convicts and concluded that the "treatment and correctional practices in the facilities have negative effects on human health".

The committee lists their suggestions as follows:

* A reasonable number of convicts would be able to meet in common places for a reasonable time and this should be recognized as a right.

* Architectural, administrative and procedural changes should be done to avoid isolation of convicts.

* UN's Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture and other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment should immediately be incorporated into domestic law

* For a transparent approach and public control in facilities, a member from the Bar Association and Pyhsicians' Association must be included in Prison Watch Committees.

5. - Southeast European Times - "Turkey's Pamuk calls for greater freedom of expression":

8 January 2007

Invited to serve for one day as editor-in-chief of a Turkish newspaper, Nobel Prize winner Orhan Pamuk focused on the persecution of writers and intellectuals in his country.

Orhan Pamuk, the winner of the 2006 Nobel Prize for Literature, was invited to serve for a day as editor-in-chief of the Turkish newspaper Radikal. He used the opportunity to criticise the oppression of Turkish writers, artists and intellectuals.

Pamuk, who got a degree in journalism about 30 years ago but never practiced the profession, dedicated the cover story in Radikal's Sunday (January 7th) issue to the subject of freedom of expression. He cited a headline from 1951 that encouraged readers to spit on one of the most eminent figures in 20th-century Turkish literature -- poet and playwright Nazim Hikmet.

"This expression, which was used beside Nazim Hikmet's picture, summarises the unchanging position of writers and artists in the eyes of the state and press," the story in Radikal read. Hikmet spent years in prison for his views and eventually died in exile.

The article also mentioned other prosecuted intellectuals, including prominent Turkish author Yasar Kemal, who has faced trial over his remarks on the Kurdish rebellion in Turkey's southeast.

Although it has a circulation of only 33,000, Radikal is considered one of the most important intellectual and political newspapers in the country of more than 70 million people.

Other front-page articles in the paper included a piece on the low percentage of women in Turkish politics and reactions to the video footage of former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein's recent execution. Another story, running under the headline "One cross, a thousand police," focused on the Orthodox Christmas ceremony in Istanbul.

Pamuk is among scores of artists and intellectuals who have been accused of "insulting Turkishness" under provisions in Turkey's penal code. The charges against him stemmed from comments he made in 2005 regarding the killings of Armenians during World War I and of Kurds in recent decades.

"One million Armenians and 30,000 Kurds were killed in these lands, and nobody but me dares talk about it," Pamuk said in an interview with a Swiss magazine.

His trial drew concerns about freedom of expression in Turkey and prompted condemnation from the EU and rights groups. Shortly after the trial began, the charges against him were dropped on a technicality.

Radikal's editor-in-chief, Ismet Berkan, who invited Pamuk to run the paper for a day, is said to have faced similar charges.

Most of the cases brought under Article 301 in Turkey's penal code -- which makes it a criminal offence to "insult" the republic, parliament or other state institutions -- have ended either with acquittals or dropped charges. Nevertheless, Turkey has been urged to amend or scrap legislation that limits freedom of expression.

6. - Reuters - "Saddam and cousin discussed killing thousands":

BAGHDAD / 8 January 2007 / by Ahmed Rasheed

Saddam Hussein and his cousin "Chemical Ali" discussed killing thousands with chemical weapons before unleashing them on Kurds in 1988, according to tapes played on Monday in a trial of former Iraqi officials.

Nine days after Saddam's hanging, his front-row seat in the dock was conspicuously empty, but Ali Hassan al-Majeed and five other Baath party officials remain on trialfor their roles in the 1988 Anfal, or Spoils of War, campaign in northern Iraq.

Hassan al-Majeed, cousin of former Iraqi president Saddam Hussein, listens to prosecution evidence during the "Anfal" genocide trial in Baghdad January 8, 2007.

"I will strike them with chemical weapons and kill them all," a voice identified by prosecutors as that of Majeed, Saddam's cousin and a senior aide, is heard saying.

"Who is going to say anything? The international community? A curse on the international community!" the voice continued.

"Yes, it's effective, especially on those who don't wear a mask immediately, as we understand," another voice, identified as that of Saddam, is heard saying on another tape.

"Sir, does it exterminate thousands?" a voice asks back.

"Yes, it exterminates thousands and forces them not to eat or drink and they will have to evacuate their homes without taking anything with them, until we can finally purge them," the voice identified as Saddam answers.

Prosecutors did not explain who ordered the recordings or when or why they were made and court officials could not elaborate. Audio tapes have been introduced in the court before and Saddam is believed to have recorded some of his meetings.

MANY KURDS GASSED

Prosecutors said 180,000 people were killed, many of them gassed. Many Kurds regret the chief suspect can no longer face justice for his role in the campaign against them, but they hope others share his fate on the gallows.

Saddam was hanged on Dec. 30 after being convicted in an earlier trial for his role in killing 148 Shi'ites in the 1980s.

Majeed, who faces charges of genocide, is considered the main enforcer of the Anfal campaign. The gassing of 5,000 people in the town of Halabja is the subject of a separate case.

Defendants have said Anfal was a legitimate military operation targeting Kurdish guerrillas who had sided with Shi'ite Iran during the last stages of the Iraq-Iran war.

Chief prosecutor Munqith al-Faroon also played on Monday video showing women and children lying dead on village streets and mountain slopes after what he said was a chemical attack ordered by Saddam: "These are the honourable battles they claimed to have launched against the enemy," he told the court.

Judge Mohammed al-Ureybi, in his first order of business, formally dropped charges of genocide and crimes against humanity against Saddam. He cut off the microphones when Majeed stood up and started to read the Koran in tribute to his former chief.

"In virtue of the confirmation of the death of defendant Saddam Hussein, the court decided to finally stop legal procedures against defendant Saddam Hussein according to the Iraqi Penal Procedures Law," Ureybi told the court.

Looking tired and sporting an uncharacteristic white stubble, often a sign of mourning, Majeed refused to take his chair and insisted on reciting a prayer as he stood behind Saddam's empty chair.

"Make him sit down, make him sit down," Ureybi ordered the bailiffs.

Saddam's hanging has turned him into a martyr in parts of the Arab world, overshadowing memories of his often brutal rule.

Two Saddam aides, his half-brother Barzan al-Tikriti and former judge Awad al-Bander, are likely to be hanged any day now after being convicted along with Saddam for killing Shi'ites.