16 January 2007

1. "Joint Call for Dialogue on Kurdish Conflict", writer Kemal emphasized the historical bonds between Turks and Kurds in his opening speech of the two-day conference on Kurdish conflict. 500 academics, journalists and politicians gathered for a debate for a peaceful solution to the years long conflict.

2. "Minorities Reclame Confiscated Properties", ECHR sentences Turkey to damages amounting to 890 000 euros for unlawfully confiscating properties of a trust founded by non-muslim minority. Lawyer Hatemi says the government should stop discriminating among citizens or similar cases are pending.

3. "Turkey to step up reforms for EU accession", Turkey has vowed to mount a "do-it-yourself" legislative onslaught to prepare for European Union membership, in spite of the fact that significant parts of the accession talks were suspended last month.

4. "3 Kurdish rebels killed in clashes in southeast Turkey", Turkish troops killed three Kurdish rebels in separate clashes in rural areas of southeastern Turkey, officials and news reports said Monday.

5. "Turkish opposition leader: would back military action against Kurdish guerrillas in Iraq", as Turkey's prime minister increased pressure on the United States to act against Kurdish guerrillas based in Iraq, the main opposition leader on Sunday said his party would back a cross-border offensive if needed.

6. "Sarkozy launches presidential bid with anti-Turkey stance", Nicolas Sarkozy, the current French interior minister, has been officially confirmed as the centre-right ruling party's candidate for April's presidential election, launching his campaign with the suggestion that "Turkey has no place inside the European Union".

1. - Bianet - "Joint Call for Dialogue on Kurdish Conflict":

Writer Kemal emphasized the historical bonds between Turks and Kurds in his opening speech of the two-day conference on Kurdish conflict. 500 academics, journalists and politicians gathered for a debate for a peaceful solution to the years long conflict.

ANKARA / 15 January 2006 / by Irfan Aktan

Kurdish and Turkish politicians, academics, activists, prominent writers and journalists gathered together for a two-day conference last weekend, titled "Turkey Looking for Peace".

The conference aimed at sparking a debate on the century old Kurdish conflict in southeastern Turkey.

While a unilateral ceasefire continues, the guerilla warfare of the pro-Kurdish group PKK marked the last 20 years of the history of Turkish Republic.

Writer Yasar Kemal emphasized the historical bonds between Turkish and Kurdish people in the opening speech of the conference.

From another respect, the reaction from Turkey to Kurds projections to determine their own future in northern Iraq is frivolous, he said.

Kurds-Turks, friends for thousand years

Addressing to 500-fold crowd, Kemal said:

"The Kurdish conflict caused a great cost for our country. Of those who fought, 30 thousand are dead. The conscience of this land is scarred with armed rangers, civilian fighters whose numbers reach up to 70 thousand.

Thousands of villages were forcefully evacuated, people scattered around the country. Murders whose perpetrators never surfaced became only normal, a part of the war. This war wore Turkey down. We became a country that fights its own people".

Kemal noted the growing nationalist sentiment in Turkey, saying, "There are racist who go undercover in a nationalist suit. They constantly repeat that 'there's no friend to a Turk other than a Turk'. One can't say something worse than this to a group of people. I want to relieve my nationalist friends from their misery:

Kurds and Turks have friends since 1071, when Turks entered Anatolia. Our rulers say that if Kurds get their independence in northern Iraq, this should be grounds for war. Why is that so? Whatever they say, I want to remind those racist nationalists that if you have one friend in this world it's the Kurds who sit on those oil reserves in the south. But Kurds in Iraq want a federation; this is what benefits them".

No military solution

Writer Vedat Türkali gave the opening speech on the second day of the conference and he insisted that a military solution wouldn't be the solution to the Kurdish conflict.

"For 28 times in our history, there were uprisings and they were repressed but the problem still stays on".

Reminding army chief of staff General Buyukanit's words that "fight will go on until no terrorist is left on the mountains", Türkali said without a comprehensive solution there'd always be those who prefer to join the guerillas.

Ceasefire must stay

Turkish Physicians' Association (TTB) chair Gençay Gürsoy noted that this is the first time that a meeting on the Kurdish conflict realizes without any distraction.

This ceasefire period is precious and crucial for a solution and we've to insist for a political debate, only a total rejection of violence can sustain this environment, he added.

Turkey's Revolutionary Workers Unions Confederation (DISK) chair Süleyman Çelebi said neither denial of differences nor an insurgence would solve the problem. Stating that a unilateral solution is impossible, he proposed leave of arms and the official recognition of the Kurdish identity.

"Solution rests in the country"

Democratic Society Party (DTP) co-chair Ahmet Türk voiced claims that PKK will end ceasefire in May and his hopes for a democratic and civil initiative for a solution to arise to disarray such claims.

Türk said that the government is unwilling to take initiative and PM Erdogan doesn't have a realistic idea of the problem. He urged the government to favor domestic relations instead of searching for ways to cooperate with the US for a military solution. "The solution rests with me and with you", he said.

Fair representation

Turkish Foundation of Human Rights (TIHV) chair Yavuz Onen and journalist Altan Oymen said that comprehensive policies are needed for peace.

Onen warned that the conflict is getting commonplace in all levels of the society while Oymen raised the issue of fair political representation in the parliament.

Journalist Ragip Duran, Freedom and Solidarity Party (ODP) chair Hayri Kozanoglu, Gaziantep's former mayor Celal Dogan, Party of Labor (EMEP) chair Levent Tuzel, True Path Party (DYP) Diyarbakir provincial chair Galip Ensarioglu, Mothers for Peace member Emine Ozbek, journalist Berat Günçikan, writer Altan Tan, journalist Dogan Tiliç and Prof. Dr. Melek Göregenli were among the participants of the conference.

Writer Memed Uzun's speech was read because of his absence due to health problems.

Declaration issued

By the end of the conference, participants issued a declaration outlining the political, social, economical and cultural suggestions for a solution

The declaration expressed hopes for an organization that would lead to the establishment of social peace through debate and dialogue.

2. - Bianet - "Minorities Reclame Confiscated Properties":

ECHR sentences Turkey to damages amounting to 890 000 euros for unlawfully confiscating properties of a trust founded by non-muslim minority. Lawyer Hatemi says the government should stop discriminating among citizens or similar cases are pending.

ANKARA / 15 January 2006 / by Tolga Korkut

Expert on minority rights, lawyer Kezban Hatemi states that European Court of Human Rights' ruling regarding the restitution of properties of trusts founded by minorities in Turkey constitutes a prejudication for similar cases.

ECHR ruled that the Turkish state should pay 890 thousand euros in damages to the Fener Roman High School for Boys Foundation for a breach of right to property.

The foundation's two properties -acquired as donations- were confiscated following the Turkish Treasury's attempts to court in 1996.

A court decision founded the Treasury's assertation lawful and declared the foundation's ownership void. Both properties' land registries were on the foundation since 1952 and 1958 respectively.

The local court's decision stands on a High Court case law dating back to 1974, when Turkish-Greek relations were at its worst following the Turkish armed forces' disembarkment in Cyprus. The foundation applied to the ECHR in 1997.

80 year old problem

Hatemi depicts the 1974 ruling as an "arrogation".

"The High Court said to the trusts founded by minorities that they don't exist as legal entities. In consequence, all such foundations were declared void and their property was then annexed by the state as public assets via procedural tricks. And finally these properties were transferred or sold to third parties.

This unlawful attempt was a breach of the Lousanne Treaty which guaranteed the rights of the non-muslim minorities in the new Turkish Republic".

The 1974 ruling was based on an opinion that only the foundations which existed before 1936 were granted the rights outlined in the Lousanne Treaty. Even such an approach wouldn't be legitimate for the case in question, says Hatemi, because the property of the school dates back to 1454 and the foundation was established in 1935, before the official proclamation in 1936.

The foundation paid all the duties and taxes of the property until its wrongful seizure in 1996.

Similar cases pending

"Cases regarding Surp Pirgic, Büyükada Roman Orphanage and the Syrian Catholic Church in Istanbul are all pending" warns Kezban Hatemi. "The government will be convicted in all those cases and we'll have to pay indemnities. So it's best to stop discriminating among citizens".

All confiscated properties belonging to such trusts should be reinstituted immediately and a compensation sheme should be established for those who were transferred to third parties.

A new law on foundations is a necessity, but Hatemi says the draft text prepared by the parliament is far from solving the problems.

Another proposal including the opinions of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs as well as representatives of the minority communities was never even debated in the parliament.

3. - Financial Times - "Turkey to step up reforms for EU accession":

BRUSSELS / 15 January 2007 / by George Parker

Turkey has vowed to mount a "do-it-yourself" legislative onslaught to prepare for European Union membership, in spite of the fact that significant parts of the accession talks were suspended last month.

The move is being welcomed by Brussels as a positive reaction by Ankara to the partial breakdown of the talks.

Volkan Bozkir, Turkey's ambassador to the EU, said Ankara would respond to last month's setback by "accelerating" reforms so that it was ready to join the EU when the political climate changed.

Mr Bozkir told the Financial Times that Ankara had taken the latest blow to its accession prospects in a "calm and professional way". He said: "It shows Turkey wants to maintain its relationship with the EU.

"It would have been easy for Turkey to react strongly and to freeze part of its relationship or to express some kind of broken-heartedpsychology."

In December, the EU suspended membership talks in eight policy areas because of Turkey's refusal to open its ports to Cyprus - an EU member since 2004 - whose Greek Cypriot government Ankara refuses to recognise.

Last week, Abdullah Gul, Turkey's foreign minister, convened more than 150 senior officials from different government departments to order them to draw up detailed legislative plans to prepare the country for EU membership.

Mr Bozkir said legislative plans for the years up until 2013 would be submitted by the end of January and would then be prioritised, with the aim of bringing the country's laws and norms up to EU standards.

The plan would cover 32 outstanding subject areas of the membership negotiations, including the eight frozen last month. He hoped preparatory work would be almost complete when the EU finally decided to open detailed talks.

Recognising the risk of political deadlock with elections in Turkey this year and in Cyprus in 2008, he said: "We will use this dangerous period - this year and next year - so that we do not allow precious time to be lost."

But Mr Bozkir said there would be no amendments to Article 301 of the penal code - which makes it a crime to insult Turkey or its officials - before this year's elections. He said courts needed to build up jurisprudence to defend freedom of speech, which would be more effective than changing the law.

Olli Rehn, EU enlargement commissioner, said: "We certainly welcome Turkey's decision to pursue the reforms on the ground, although the proof of the pudding is in the eating.

"But overall this is a positive initiative, which shows they are doing these reforms for the sake of the citizens of Turkey, not just because of the EU."

Mr Bozkir said Ankara expected the EU to show good will in return by opening negotiations on several subject areas - or chapters - during the German presidency of the EU.

Some EU officials believe the chapter covering enterprise and industry could be opened by March.

4. - AP - "3 Kurdish rebels killed in clashes in southeast Turkey":

ANKARA / 15 January 2007

Turkish troops killed three Kurdish rebels in separate clashes in rural areas of southeastern Turkey, officials and news reports said Monday.

Two rebels were killed in fighting near the town of Lice, the state-run Anatolia news agency reported. The town is in Diyarbakir province, a majority Kurdish area where battles between Turkish soldiers and rebels of the Kurdistan Workers Party, or PKK, are common. The agency did not say when the clashes took place or give any details.

Authorities in Lice were not immediately available to confirm the report.

The governor's office in nearby Bingol province said another rebel was killed when troops fought guerrillas in a rural area near the town of Genc on Monday.

Kurdish rebels have been fighting Turkish security forces in eastern Turkey for more than two decades, often slipping across the mountainous border from bases in northern Iraq.

The clash occurred despite a unilateral cease-fire proclaimed by the rebels on Oct. 1. Turkey did not recognize the cease-fire, saying it would continue fighting until all rebels were killed or surrendered.

5. - AP - "Turkish opposition leader: would back military action against Kurdish guerrillas in Iraq":

ANKARA / 14 January 2007

As Turkey's prime minister increased pressure on the United States to act against Kurdish guerrillas based in Iraq, the main opposition leader on Sunday said his party would back a cross-border offensive if needed.

Turkey has repeatedly said that it will not tolerate the disintegration of neighboring Iraq leading to Kurdish independence, and military officers have spoken of the possibility of sending in troops to prevent that.

Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has severely criticized the United States this week for not keeping its promises and finishing off Kurdish guerrillas holed up in the northern Iraqi mountains.

Deniz Baykal, leader of the main opposition Republican People's Party, called on the government to urgently debate a possible military action in Iraq and empower the military.

"We're ready to back the government on this issue," Baykal told his supporters. "We're planning to invite parliament to debate this."

Erdogan, leader of the Islamic-rooted Justice and Development Party, said earlier this week that the United States was ignoring Turkey's suffering in the fight against the autonomy-seeking Kurdish guerrillas.

The U.S. has been cooperating with Turkey against guerrillas from the Kurdistan Workers Party, or PKK, but Turkish officials increasingly have found the level of cooperation unsatisfactory.

"We want solid results," Erdogan said earlier this week during an interview with private NTV television.

Asked about past threats of a possible invasion, Erdogan said, "When the time comes, Turkey will do whatever is necessary against those threatening our country with terror."

But invading a country that is already occupied by U.S. troops could be a disaster for Turkey, provoking a conflict with the country's best ally.

However, Turkey worries that ethnic and sectarian clashes are pulling Iraq toward a civil war that could break the country into several autonomous sections and lead to the emergence of an independent Kurdish state.

Such a development, some Turkish analysts say, could encourage Kurds inside Turkey to revolt.

Turkey is pushing Iraq and the U.S. to root out Kurdish guerrillas who have been waging hit-and-run attacks on southeastern Turkey from Iraq since 1984. More than 37,000 people in Turkey have died in the fighting.

Turkey is also warning that ethnic groups in the oil-rich northern Iraqi city of Kirkuk must share power, amid growing fears that Iraq's Kurds will seize control of Kirkuk as part of a push for an independent Kurdish state on the Turkey-Iraq border.

Kirkuk lies just south of the Kurdish autonomous region stretching across Iraq's northeast. Kurdish leaders want to annex the city, and Iraq's constitution calls for a referendum on the issue by the end of next year.

Turkish leaders were expected to raise their concerns again regarding Iraq during a visit Thursday and Friday by U.S. Undersecretary of State Nicholas Burns.

6. - EUobserver - "Sarkozy launches presidential bid with anti-Turkey stance":

PARIS / 15 January 2007 / by Lucia Kubosova

Nicolas Sarkozy, the current French interior minister, has been officially confirmed as the centre-right ruling party's candidate for April's presidential election, launching his campaign with the suggestion that "Turkey has no place inside the European Union".

Mr Sarkozy, 51, known as 'Sarko' in the French press, received 98 percent of the votes from members of the Union for a Popular Movement (UMP) gathered for an internal ballot on Sunday (14 January).

In his acceptance speech to some 80,000 party supporters, the outspoken politician made what is referred to by analysts as the strongest statement so far on Turkey's European ambitions.

"I want to say that Europe must give itself borders, that not all countries have a vocation to become members of Europe, beginning with Turkey which has no place inside the European Union," he said, according to press reports.

"Enlarging Europe with no limit risks destroying European political union, and that I do not accept," he said.

Mr Sarkozy is set to face about a dozen other candidates in the first round of France's two-stage presidential vote on April 22 with his most important opponent - the socialist candidate Segolene Royal, 53, currently leading the polls.

It is expected that the two will meet in the second runoff on May 6.

However Mr Sarkozy's nomination on Sunday continues to be overshadowed by President Jacques Chirac who has not yet made it clear whether he intends to seek a third term.

Apart from his clear stance on Turkey, "Sarko" has also outlined ideas on how to solve the bloc's current constitutional impasse after French and Dutch voters rejected the treaty in referendums in 2005.

He is in favour of a "mini treaty" with elements of the current text of the EU constitution, but also believes the charter will "not enter into force in its current form."