21 May 2003

1. "Campaign for general amnesty", KADEK launched a campaign „general amnesty for peace of the society and democratic participation“. The campaign will take place between May 31 and July 14.

2. "PKK says won't disarm without amnesty, recognition", the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) refuses to disarm without recognition as a legal group and it has sent 90 of its militants to areas close to Turkey's border, news reports said Tuesday. Murat Karayilan, heading the rebell group's armed wing, said at a recent presidential council meeting of the group that the U.S. demands for the disarmament of the group were unacceptable before it was given recognition, Anatolia news agency said.

3. "As IMF Prpares For Review, Turkey Stresses Growth", on the eve of an International Monetary Fund review that will determine the fate of a $500 million aid infusion for Turkey’s fragile economy, Turkish officials are sending mixed signals of caution and confidence. The chief of the state planning organization raised the possibility May 20 that Turkey may be hard pressed to meet the IMF’s inflation goal. Other officials, however, emphasized that Turkey appears on course to meet the country’s economic growth target.

4. "Women's rights in Kurdish region should be model for Iraq, activists say", Iraqi women are studying the Kurdish-controlled north to see how women there have improved their status in the male-dominated Muslim society.

5. "Turkey reviews penal code for torture", Turkey is planning to toughen penalties for torture in a reform package that the government has submitted to parliament.

6. "BP pipeline will displace thousands, says Amnesty", a £2.9bn oil and gas pipeline project from the Caspian Sea to the Mediterranean, due to be constructed by a BP-led consortium, will infringe the human rights of thousands of people and cause environmental damage, according to an Amnesty International report published today.

1. - The Kurdish Observer - "Campaign for general amnesty":

KADEK launched a campaign „general amnesty for peace of the society and democratic participation“. The campaign will take place between May 31 and July 14.

MHA/FRANKFURT / 20 May 2003

KADEK released a written statement, saying that it had launched a campaign for general amnesty and stressing that it „would open the way for a solution to the problems in the Middle East and Turkey“. The statement underscored that Turkey needed an indiscriminative general amnesty, not the repentance law.

A call for democratic serhildans (uprisings)

KADEK called on the Kurdish people to play their role with all their democratic might and said the following: „Begin democratic serhildans (popular uprisings) to make President Apo, the guerrilla, and the prisoners a force for peace and democratization.“ The statement included also the following: “The Turkish people and democratic forces should see that the dilemma in Turkey could be overcome by the project proposed by President Apo for democratic unity that was based on peace and brotherhood. The Kurdish people must turn the campaign into a struggle to create a democratic Turkey.”

KADEK said, „The democratization drive to be launched in all four parts of Kurdistan and Turkey must include democratic forces in Arabian countries and Iran other peoples. Participation of the guerrilla and prisoners in political and democratic life and freedom of President Apo will mean a leading participation of all Kurds in democratic political life in the Middle East.”

The statement drew attention that the campaign would be a drive for democracy and therefore it must continue without interruption.

All day and night…

KADEK explained the main points of the campaign as follows:

- Youth must the leading force of the campaign by making activities and demonstrations all day and night with all their might and courage and turning all schools, streets, quarters, towns and cities into an action place. There must not be a day without actions. "

- Women must stand up as the spirit of freedom and democracy, they must make actions every day.

- The Kurdish people must participate in the campaign with all their might and enthusiasm and show that they are the main force of democracy and peace in the Middle East. They must say, there cannot be democracy without Kurds and Kurds without democracy. They must display their determinence to bring democracy and freedom to the Middle East including Turkey.

- Workers must leave their mark on the campaign as the most organized force of the society.

- Political parties must play a role on the campaign that will be a step to solve the Kurdish question. They must contribute to the democratic liberation of Turkey and take their unrenouncable place in democratic life.

- In the Middle East mosques must stand up for peace and democratic participation and Fridays must become a day at which justice, equality and freedom are chanted.

- The more democracy, freedom, justice, equality and brotherhood are inflitrated into all cells of society and individuals, the more it can gain life. Therefore non-governmental organisations must partake in the campaign and give it power and richness.

- Intellectuals, writers and democrats must be the indispensable part of the campaign as the conscience and moral force of society and cry the truths freely. They must defeat dogmatism, demagogy, chauvinism, nationalism, reactionism and denial of Kurds by participating in the campaign all their might..

- Law on peace and democratic participation will not only allow Presidant Apo, the Kurdish freedom movement, the guerrilla and the prisoners to participate in free and democratic society, the peoples will succeed in getting a free and democratic life as well.”

2. - Turkish Daily News - "PKK says won't disarm without amnesty, recognition":

ANKARA / 21 May 2003

The Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) refuses to disarm without recognition as a legal group and it has sent 90 of its militants to areas close to Turkey's border, news reports said Tuesday.

Murat Karayilan, heading the rebell group's armed wing, said at a recent presidential council meeting of the group that the U.S. demands for the disarmament of the group were unacceptable before it was given recognition, Anatolia news agency said.

The agency said the dispatch of 90 PKK members was a step in the direction of increasing the group's bargaining power with the United States.

PKK leader Osman Ocalan told Reuters Monday that the PKK, mostly based in northern Iraq, will not disarm without an amnesty, but promised not to fight Iraqi Kurds the United States is backing as it rebuilds the country.

Ocalan, leading the PKK since the jailing of his brother Abdullah, told Reuters he had received no U.S. request to disarm but his forces were ready to work with the United States.

It was unclear how Washington would respond to the PKK, as it considers the group "terrorists".

In a written response to questions from Reuters, Ocalan dismissed proposals floated by Turkish authorities of a "repentance law" offering reduced jail sentences to PKK members who turn themselves in with arms or information.

Turkey must offer a full amnesty, he declared. "The path to disarmament is ... with an amnesty. We will not hesitate to give up our weapons if we are allowed to participate in political life under an amnesty," Ocalan wrote in an e-mail.

He set one more condition for a PKK arms handover -- that Turkey release his brother Abdullah Ocalan from jail, where he is serving a life sentence for treason.

Some 5,000 PKK fighters are in northern Iraq and could complicate U.S. efforts to rebuild the country. The PKK, which is also known as KADEK, has clashed sporadically with Iraqi Kurdish factions in the mountainous north.

"Our desire is for a democratic Iraq and for stability to be realised. Our position will be to make every contribution we can," Ocalan said when asked whether his forces would cooperate with the United States.

He was quoted earlier on Monday by the Europe-based Mezopotomya News Agency, which is close to the PKK, as saying his followers would no longer fight the U.S.-backed Iraqi Kurds.

"We have brought to an end all of our armed activities and political efforts in northern Iraq," he said.

Turkey has kept several thousand troops in northern Iraq to crack down if necessary on the PKK who retreated there, but is now under pressure from the United States and Iraqi Kurds to withdraw its forces.

3. - Eurasianet - "As IMF Prepares For Review, Turkey Stresses Growth":

20 May 2003 / by Mevlut Katik*

On the eve of an International Monetary Fund review that will determine the fate of a $500 million aid infusion for Turkey’s fragile economy, Turkish officials are sending mixed signals of caution and confidence. The chief of the state planning organization raised the possibility May 20 that Turkey may be hard pressed to meet the IMF’s inflation goal. Other officials, however, emphasized that Turkey appears on course to meet the country’s economic growth target.

The IMF’s fifth review of Turkey’s economic recovery program is scheduled to begin May 21 and be completed in early June. The emphasis on this round of talks is expected to be on implementation of reforms that increase the government’s operating efficiency. Among the IMF-mandated challenges facing Turkish leaders is the elimination of about 25,000 state jobs by year’s end. Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan is also seeking a way to consolidate government social-services agencies. In addition, the Fund is pressing the government to press on with privatization, in particular the state-owned telephone company.

Since the completion of the fourth IMF review in mid April, Erdogan’s government has been under heavy pressure not to stray from the IMF’s reform blueprint. The fourth review ended up approving the disbursement of over $700 million in fresh aid to Turkey. Yet, at the same time, IMF officials issued words of caution to the Turkish government. The IMF’s first deputy managing director and acting chair, Anne Krueger, noted that "policy slippages have been costly" and called on Ankara "to rebuild its credibility in financial markets to ensure a smooth roll-over of domestic debt."

Krueger kept up the pressure on Turkey at a May 7 meeting with Erdogan and other government leaders, issuing a statement that said the IMF wants to see Turkey "maintaining the momentum of banking system reform, continuing to enhance the role of the private sector, and improving the business environment."

The AKP government has faced lots of adversity in 2003, especially that connected with the US-led military operation in Iraq. The conflict provoked tension between Turkey and the United States, causing Washington to drastically scale back an economic assistance package for Turkey. At present, Turkey is behind schedule on many of its obligations undertaken to secure the IMF aid package worth up to $16 billion overall.

The IMF has acknowledged that geopolitical circumstances have made it more difficult for Turkey to adhere to its reform program, but Fund officials stressed after the April review that targets could still be met.

"Sustained implementation is also required if the strong performance foreseen under the program --growth of five percent in 2003 with inflation declining to 20 percent-- is to be realized," Krueger said in the April statement. In recent days, the IMF left open the possibility that its stance could soften. The visiting IMF delegation may reassess the regional economic and security climate while its fifth review goes on, potentially easing its targets for Turkey concerning economic growth and inflation.

The findings of the fifth review will determine whether a $500 million loan installment is disbursed on schedule. A decision to delay the loan could lead to higher borrowing costs for Turkey, adding to the country’s economic burden.

The AKP government seems intent on demonstrating that it is committed to the IMF program, while trying to reassure the Turkish public that international financial institutions are not dictating the course of the country’s economic reforms. Turkish Economy Minister Ali Babacan, speaking shortly after the fourth review, emphasized that the government’s commitment to meeting IMF goals was based on a broad consensus among all relevant ministries.

Meanwhile, Erdogan’s government is seeking to create new revenue sources. Finance Minister Kemal Unakitan announced on April 21, the last day of a tax amnesty, that the government could receive up to $4 billion in back taxes, well beyond original expectations. The country’s Eximbank has also unveiled a new credit program for small and medium-sized enterprises to encourage exports with $6.5 billion in export credits and guarantees in 2003. These measures aim to partially offset lost tourism and other economic fallout from the fighting in neighboring Iraq.

In a recent meeting with Turkish newspaper editors, Babacan sounded confident. He told the editors that "first political stability and then economic stability were needed to be ensured. They were achieved. Now it is time for growth based on private sector." On May 20, Babacan said: "data for the first five months of the year shows we will not experience any significant problems in achieving the growth target."

*Editor’s Note: Mevlut Katik is a London-based journalist and analyst. He is a former BBC correspondent and also worked for The Economist group.

4. - Associated Press - "Women's rights in Kurdish region should be model for Iraq, activists say":

SULAYMANIYAH/ 20 May 2003 / by Ali Akbar Dareini

Iraqi women are studying the Kurdish-controlled north to see how women there have improved their status in the male-dominated Muslim society.

Iraqi Kurdistan has enjoyed virtual independence from the rest of Iraq since 1991, when the U.S., French and British governments set up a no-fly zone over the region.

Although the mountainous enclave has a long patriarchal tradition, during the past decade women here have pushed through legislation granting them unprecedented rights and protecting them from the honor killings that are commonplace elsewhere in the Middle East.

A newly formed Iraqi women's group has sent an eight-member delegation to meet with Kurdish women.

"Now that Iraq is free, we are demanding freedom and equal rights that Iraqi women have always been deprived of," Eman Ahmed, head of team for the Rising Iraqi Women's Organization, said Tuesday.

"To begin our struggle, we first decided to learn from the freedoms Kurdish women have enjoyed since 1991 and the changes they have introduced," she said.

In contrast, stringent curbs were imposed on women's rights in the past decade in the rest of Iraq as dictator Saddam Hussein sought to curry political support from conservative Muslim clerics.

Nowadays, many Iraqis visiting Sulaymaniyah and other Kurdish areas are shocked to see women in senior government positions, not covered by head-to-toe garments or simply walking in the streets unaccompanied by a male relative.

Ahmed said once a new interim government is formed in Baghdad, women's groups will start lobbying it to copy the laws already in force in the Kurdish north.

Last month in Madrid, Spain, a gathering of Iraqi opposition groups issued a statement calling for a newly formed government to respect women's rights.

Sayvan Rostam of the Women's Union of Kurdistan, who hosted the delegation from Baghdad, said before the new laws, honor killings routinely went unpunished in Kurdistan -- as they do elsewhere in Iraq.

"We have succeeded in getting at least two laws approved in the Kurdish parliament that treat a man killing a women relative on the pretext of honor as murder, and make it illegal for (Muslim) men to simultaneously take more than one wife," she said.

"Before 1991 ... we had no rights," she added. "We didn't even the right to demand justice for women, let alone taking steps to change male-dominated laws."

Shokhan Mahmoud, another Women's Union member, cautioned that much still remained to be done to change attitudes in the traditional, male-oriented society.

"Patterns of life are changing in Kurdistan," she said. "Men's monopoly has begun to melt and women have begun to seek equal rights."

5. - AFP - "Turkey reviews penal code for torture":

ANKARA / 21 May 2003

Turkey is planning to toughen penalties for torture in a reform package that the government has submitted to parliament.

Allegations of widespread torture are a huge stumbling block to Ankara's aspiration to join the European Union and the ruling Justice and Development Party has vowed to stamp out human rights abuses and bring perpetrators to justice.

The new bill, which amends the existing penal code, describes torture as a crime which can be committed by both state officials and civilians. The current penal code speaks only of torture committed by state officials.

Under the toughened penalties, a person convicted of torture faces a prison term of between three and six years. If a victim dies as a result of torture, the penalty is increased to life imprisonment with no chance of parole.

For the first time in Turkish history, the bill defines genocide and crimes against humanity. Another new area is human trafficking. While the existing code does not specifically mention people smuggling, the bill envisages a prison term of up to five years for the crime. Turkey is a major route for illegal immigration from Asia to Western Europe and often comes under fire from the West for failing to prevent it.

Among other changes are the introduction of community service instead of short-term imprisonment, measures to protect privacy and penalties for security breaches in prisons.

The bill has to be approved by the parliament's justice commission before it is debated in the plenary assembly.

6. - The Independent (UK) - "BP pipeline will displace thousands, says Amnesty":

20 May 2003 / by Kim Sengupta

A £2.9bn oil and gas pipeline project from the Caspian Sea to the Mediterranean, due to be constructed by a BP-led consortium, will infringe the human rights of thousands of people and cause environmental damage, according to an Amnesty International report published today.

Amnesty is urging the British Government to reject BP's application for taxpayers' money, in the form of export credit guarantees, for the 1,100 miles of pipeline.

The study accuses the consortium of concluding an unprecedented agreement with the Turkish government which, it claims, will in effect strip local people and workers of their civil rights.

The pipeline, from the Azerbaijani capital, Baku, through Georgia, to the Turkish port of Ceyhan, is one of the most ambitious projects of its kind and has been seen as a crucial gambit in a 21st-century equivalent of the Great Game. The scheme will allow vast supplies of oil and gas to flow in separate pipes from former Soviet central Asia to the Mediterranean without having to pass through Russian or Iranian territory.

The Amnesty report, Human Rights on the Line, maintains that BP's agreement with the Turkish government will lead to 30,000 villagers being forced to give up their land rights; inadequate health and safety precautions for local residents and workers; protesters against the pipeline facing state oppression; and a series of threats to the environment.

Under the Host Government Agreement, Turkey has agreed to pay the BP consortium compensation if the construction operation is disrupted. It also guarantees that the companies will be protected from consequences of any changes in national or international legislation.

The Turkish government has initiated statutory permanent purchases of land through which the pipes will be laid. About 30,000 villagers in eastern and central Turkey are due to be moved from their land.

The Host Government Agreement allows BP free access to water for its "hydrostatic testing" and other uses. Amnesty's report points out that there is no governmental and legal supervision of this, and the process is open to environmental abuse.

The Baku-Ceyhan campaign, a pressure group lobbying against the project, claims the pipeline will be in danger from earthquakes. One of the most serious faultlines in Turkey runs directly from the region of Sivas to Erzurum, the intended route of the pipeline.

The group also maintains that fishing communities near the route of the pipes, such as Yumurtalik, risk having their livelihood destroyed by the traffic of supertankers and pollution from terminals.

Chris Marsden, chairman of Amnesty International's business group, said: "The legal agreements signed by the Turkish government and the pipeline consortium effectively creates a 'rights-free corridor' for the pipeline, disregarding the human rights of thousands of people in the region."

A spokesman for BP said: "We have tried to reach the highest international standards possible in signing this agreement. This would not have been necessary in Western Europe or North America, but we have had to do this here because of the lack of that kind of legal framework.

"We have paid the compensation necessary to those whose land will be affected by the construction, and, following discussions with local communities, we do not believe there will be environmental damage.