IMK Weekly Information Service 

 Date: 15. - 22. Februar 2002                                       Number: 147

Uproar in Turkish Press:

Email Spying Case Causes Tension Between EU and Turkey

The publication of internal Emails from the EU representative in Ankara, Karen Fogg, has led to tension between the EU Commission and the EU member candidate Turkey. The Commissioner responsible for EU enlargement, Günter Verheugen, requested the attendance of the Turkish EU ambassador, Nihat Akyol, to protest against the publication of internal EU Emails.

According to circles within the commission, extreme right wing Turkish organizations have been spying on the electronic communication between Brussels and the EU representatives in Ankara. They use the texts to openly stir up trouble against the European Union and against Karen Fogg personally.

The EU have forbid the Turkish government several times against making public illegally accessed Emails. President of the Commission, Romano Prodi, intends to talk to Turkish Prime Minister Bülent Ecevit about the issue. Electronic communication between Brussels and its representatives in Ankara is covered by international law. Turkey is also responsible for the security of EU representatives.

The Emails were published in the party journal of the left-wing nationalist workers party of Dogu Perincek. It led to a storm of attacks against Karen Fogg from the Turkish press. Perincek said that he was in possession of around 2,500 further Emails which reveal Fogg to be a spy who was to infiltrate Turkey on behalf of the EU. She should therefore leave the country. A sort of witch hunt against Fogg has begun since the publications. The mails had been erroneously translated and interpreted.

Justice Minister Hikmet Sami Türk has said that further publications of Emails from Karen Fogg would be forbidden.

Critical voices are rare within the Turkish press who normally uphold the principles of the EU. Karen Fogg’s case shows, according to Cumhuriyet writer Koray Düzgören, that the lobby against Turkey’s entry into the EU is very strong. He said they are determined to take any step to block the process. He claimed that Karen Fogg was a victim of this lobby which fears losing its virtually unrestricted, despotic power if Turkey becomes a member of the EU. Karen Fogg is not saying anything more than the discussions on reforms which have been taking place in Turkey over the past weeks and months, i.e. the lifting of paragraphs 159 and 312, the anti-terror laws and the death penalty. On issues such as education she takes a democratic stance. This is her task, according to Düzgören. Turkey must carry out these reforms prior any entry negotiations. This is what the Emails were about and nothing else. (Sources: afp, 13.02.02; dpa, 19.02.02; Cumhuriyet, 22.02.02)

Noam Chomsky’s Turkish Publisher Found Not Guilty

In Diyarbakir Prof. Chomsky Calls for a Kurdish State

The Turkish publisher of the American linguist and intellectual Prof. Noam Chomsky has been found not guilty by the state security courts on the charge of producing separatist propaganda. Chomsky said following the judgment, "I am sure that with this judgment a further step has been made towards freedom of opinion in Turkey“. The publisher Fatih Tas (22) sees things differently though. Tas said that the not guilty verdict was thanks to Chomsky’s presence and the international interest surrounding the case. There were 6 further cases being brought against him and he was sure that he would be found guilty.

Prof. Noam Chomsky traveled to Diyarbakir where, at an event, he argued for a Kurdish state in south eastern Turkey, …one would look forward to an autonomous Kurdistan which would bring the Kurds in the region together”. Prof. Chomsky criticized Turkey for denying the Kurds their cultural rights. Chomsky’s speech was recorded on video by the police.

Two students presented Prof. Chomsky with a Kurdish dictionary to thank him for his visit. Police immediately took their details but did not - at least not straight away - take them into custody.

Hours later there were clashes in Batman and Siiirt between protesting Kurds and the police. Around 90 Kurds had allegedly, on the evening prior to the anniversary of Abdullah Öcalan’s capture, set fire to tires. The police attacked the protestors with truncheons to disperse them. Five Kurds were allegedly injured.

Prof. Chomsky said that non-violent protests were morally and pragmatically appropriate. He expressed his admiration for those who had the courage, despite the violent and aggressive response by the state, to campaign for native language education. Chomsky, who is a renowned professor of linguistics at the University of Massachusetts, also said that the right to use native languages freely was a basic and essential human right.

Following Prof. Noam Chomsky’s departure, the state security courts began an inquiry against him. Police recordings were analyzed. Chomsky is being accused of inciting separatism during his trip to Diyarbakir. If this can be shown from the police recordings, the state prosecutor may bring charges against him. (Sources: afp, 13.02.02; ap, 15.02.02; reuters, 18.02.02)

Turkey Officially Abandons Aim of EU Membership by 2004

Turkey has officially abandoned its aim of becoming a member of the European Union in the next enlargement phase in 2004. EU minister Mesut Yilmaz said in Istanbul that the country now has to concentrate on entry by 2007.

To achieve this entry talks with Brussels must begin next year at the latest, said Yilmaz. The Turkish government have recently, and on several occasions requested, the EU to outline a time table for the commencement of entry talks. (Source: afp, 11.02.02)

Convergence on Lifting of Death Penalty

Prime Minister Bülent Ecevit has stated that he has been for the abolition of the death penalty since the 1970s. This doesn’t have anything to do with recent developments. He said that such an obstacle needs to be removed prior to EU entry. He refused to enter into any discussion on the proposal of DYP leader Tansu Ciller to firstly hang Öcalan and then abolish the death penalty.  (Source: Cumhuriyet, 22.02.02)

RTÜK “Successfully” Campaigns Against Press Freedom: 17,714 Days of Banned Broadcasts

Since its foundation 8 years ago, the radio and TV censoring agency has issued a total of 48 years of broadcasting bans. There have been 10,000 days of broadcast bans against 41 stations for “separatist” broadcasts and 5,903 days against 34 stations for Islamic reactionary broadcasts. In addition, 24 TV stations have been warned 71 times since 1994 for separatist broadcasts and 9 stations have had a total of 1,020 days of broadcast bans.

In 265 cases the authority gave warnings to 66 radio stations for separatist broadcasts and imposed a total of 9,000 days of broadcast bans. A total of 55 radio stations were warned 240 times for Islamic reactionary broadcasts with 25 of them having to halt broadcasting for a total of 3,780 days.

What RTÜK considers to be “separatist broadcasting” is evident from a recent ban. “Gün FM” and “Gün TV” from Diyarbakir were banned from broadcasting for 1 year for broadcasting songs in Kurdish and Armenian. They had breached the principle of “broadcasting programmes which comply with the existence and independence of the Turkish Republic and the indivisibility of the state and nation”. RTÜK had already imposed a 1 year ban on “Gün TV” for the same reasons.  (Sources: Cumhuriyet, 21.02.02; Milliyet, 22.02.02)

Interior Minister Bans Kurdish Names

It has been revealed that on 03.01.2002 the Turkish Minister of the Interior Rüstü Kazim Yücelen requested, in a memo to the governors of the 81 provinces, not to allow Kurdish names and to provide him details of those parents who want Kurdish names for their children. He had evidence that the PKK, following their campaign for Kurdish language lessons, now intended to begin a campaign for Kurdish names.

According to Article 16/4 of the Registration Law No. 1578 names are not permitted which “are against  national culture, the rules of decency, customs and convention and which violate society”. Yücelen referred to Interior Ministry directives from 15.10.86, 07.08.90 and the 30.03.92, which banned Kurdish names. He accounted for the new directive because there was uncertainty by some registration authorities concerning Kurdish names.

Included with the memo was a 4 page detailed report form the General Staff, the Secret Service MIT and the heads of police in which it was pointed out that the demand for native language education and Kurdish involved the PKK. (Source: Cumhuriyet, 19.02.02)

Barzani: We are not Mercenary Guerillas

Psychological preparation for a war against Iraq are running at full steam ahead. There is, particularly in the US press [see IMK Web Page], a lot of coverage of the attitude of the neighboring states and opposition powers within Iraq. The need for the toppling of Saddam from within the country is being increasingly referred to. There is speculation, based on information from governmental sources, about which opposition groups might be able to achieve this following the example of the “Northern Alliance” in Afghanistan. The Kurds in northern Iraq are being increasingly mentioned in such scenarios, although they are skeptical of any US attack against Iraq.

KDP leader Massoud Barzani has now put himself up for a quarrel with the US by stating that, “We are not guerillas available to anyone who needs us. We will not allow Kurdish issues to be used for such purposes”. Prior to any Kurdish participation in a coup action, the alternatives must be made clear. Barzani referred to the non-binding talks with Iraq currently taking place and that the Kurds favored a federal system for Iraq and not independence.

Talabani believes that it would be impossible to topple the regime from within. Saddam’s army was too powerful and subjected to strict controls so that it would be impossible to mobilize any unit without the authorization from several levels of security. Furthermore, the president’s Republican Guard would make any toppling by the military impossible. Talibani also said unequivocally that they would not under any circumstances allow themselves to be tools of the USA  or any other power. (Sources: RFE/RL, Iraq Report, 15.02.02; Radikal, 21.02.02; Sabah, 20.02.02)

Opposition: Iraqi Army on Highest Alert

In view of the threat of a US strike, the opposition claim that the Iraqi army, police and media have been placed on the highest alert. The opposition alliance of the National Congress further claimed that the Republican Guard, Saddam Hussein’s body guards, elite units of the Iraqi army as well as security services and civil defense had all been placed on red alert. Air raid practice had already been carried out in some parts of Baghdad. (Source: afp, 19.02.02)

UN Special Envoy Mavrommatis Completes Iraq Trip

The UN special envoy on human rights, Andreas Mavrommatis, has completed his 3-day trip to Iraq and is now preparing a report for the UN human rights commission.

Mavrommatis hopes that his visit will be the prelude to an extensive follow-up operation later this year.

According to a UN statement, there had been important talks with the Iraqi government on human rights issues. It is expected that these dialogues will continue into the future so as to achieve some concrete, positive results. Because of the shortness of the trip it had only been possible to talk about topics already agreed upon. Included here were issues on missing persons, prisoners of war, the right to life, religious freedom, the status of minorities, the situation of women, and economic and social rights.

Mavrommatis met with governmental ministers, with legislators, religious leaders and with lawyers. He visited 2 prisons, a children’s hospital, a food distribution center, a primary school and religious institutions. (Source: ap, 18.02.02)

Another Public Tongue Amputation in Iraq

In amongst the crowds in the town of Diwaniya in the province of  al-Qadissiya, Faris Ukla had his tongue cut out by units known as Saddam’s commandos for criticizing Saddam.

Ukla is the second victim in Diwaniya of such a violent act, which number a total of 5 within Iraq. Last year the feared commandos, who are under direct orders from Saddam’s eldest son Udai, had amputated the tongue of the 17 year old Zuheir Kadhem. Included in the cruelties perpetrated by the regime against its critics are execution, tongue amputation, branding on the forehead, and the amputation of ears and hands. According to reports, the victims of such mutilation are then left alone to bleed. (Sources: Iraq Press, 20.02.02)

Dear Readers,

The traditional celebrations of Newroz will soon be here. Many Newroz events are again taking place. These can be found listed on our Web Site

Note: The German station WDR is showing Michael Engers film about Hasankeyf on 16.03.2002, which will be an extended version of that shown on Arte. Michael Engers film is also available on video, including the new GAP brochure for DM 5.00.

The long delayed Environmental Impact Assessment Report is now available on CD-ROM. The report is in English.

Further articles of interest are available on our Web Site. We would like to point out that the articles on our Web Site are not our opinions but rather reflect the current discussions concerning the issues we deal with. Visit our site at www.kurden.de <http://www.kurden.de/>.

Thanks for the positive reactions to our campaign for “500 Solidarity Subscribers or Sponsors by the end of March 2002”. We are unfortunately still far from our target - so please support us.

With Best Regards,

The Editorial Team

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