19 October 2005

1. "Meeting with Ocalan blocked again", the lawyer of the Kurdish national leader Abdullah Ocalan and two human rights observers were blocked by Turkish military authorities from visiting Ocalan on Wednesday.

2. "Roadside bomb kills Turkish soldiers in Sirnak", a roadside bomb set off by Kurdish HPG guerrillas destroyed a Turkish military vehicle killing three Turkish soldiers in the province of Sirnak in northern Kurdistan (southeastern Turkey).

3. "Newspaper Refuses to Pay Fine", a public suit has been filed against Cumhuriyet newspaper publisher Ilhan Selçuk, editor-in-chief Mehmet Sucu, and reporter Alper Turgut, for not paying a USD 50 thousand fine levied against them for publishing a report called "Acquittal for Torture."

4. "'Honor Killing' Brings Life Sentence", the brothers of Güldünya Tören, who was murdered in an "honor killing," have been found guilty of premeditated murder and of inciting the crime. One has been sentenced to life imprisonment and the other to a term of 11 years and 8 months.

5. "Erdogan: Turkey could take action against PKK in N. Iraq", Turkey said on Tuesday it would take steps to end the presence of Turkish Kurd rebels in the mountains of northern Iraq, but stopped short of directly threatening military action.

6. "EUTCC Patron awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature 2005", Harold Pinter was the patron of the Second International Conference on EU Turkey and the Kurds, Brussels September 19-20. He has been devoted to the Kurdish Question for many years and is seen as a good friend of the Kurdish People.

1. - DozaMe.org - "Meeting with Ocalan blocked again":

19 October 2005

The lawyer of the Kurdish national leader Abdullah Ocalan and two human rights observers were blocked by Turkish military authorities from visiting Ocalan on Wednesday.

The lawyer Ibrahim Bilmez and the human rights observers Ayse Batumlu and Muharrem Erbey were on their way on a Turkish military ferry boat to the island of Imrali when the soldiers suddenly turned back giving the lawyers the reason that the boat was damaged. Soldiers from the Gemlik Gendarmerie Commandership, responsible for the transport to and from the Imrali Special Type Closed Military Prison on the island of Imrali, have given the same reason to Ocalan's lawyers before, returning them halfway from the island.

The Kurdish national leader Abdullah Ocalan has not been allowed to meet his lawyers since July 1, 2005.

2. - DozaMe.org - "Roadside bomb kills Turkish soldiers in Sirnak":

18 October 2005

A roadside bomb set off by Kurdish HPG guerrillas destroyed a Turkish military vehicle killing three Turkish soldiers in the province of Sirnak in northern Kurdistan (southeastern Turkey).

The roadside bomb was set off close to the village of Balveren. The killed Turkish soldiers together with an unknown wounded soldiers were taken to the Sirnak Hospital. Turkish military operations are continuing in the area.

3. - Bianet - "Newspaper Refuses to Pay Fine":

A public suit has been filed against Cumhuriyet newspaper publisher Ilhan Selçuk, editor-in-chief Mehmet Sucu, and reporter Alper Turgut, for not paying a USD 50 thousand fine levied against them for publishing a report called "Acquittal for Torture."

ISTANBUL / 17 October 2005 / by Erol Onderoglu

Cumhuriyet newspaper publisher Ilhan Selçuk, editor-in-chief Mehmet Sucu, and reporter Alper Turgut, who did not pay a fine levied against them for a report on "Acquittal for Torture," are now the subjects of a public suit in the Istanbul Second Civil Court.

Selçuk is expected to testify in the case, for which Sucu and Alper have already appeared before the court and given testimony.

The journalists' lawyer said the case would continue on 20 October.

The journalists have refused to pay the fine issued against them article 19.2 of the Press Law in order to for "influence opinion" and "criticize the decision of the court."

An article by Alper Turgut with the headline "Acquittal for Torture" reported: "Despite being proved to have known about torture, with a report from a university for the first time in Turkey, three police officials in charge of the Istanbul arm of the struggle against terror were acquitted of the charges against them."

The report discussed evidence that the publishers and editors of the magazines "Kizil Bayrak" (Red Flag) and "Ekim Gençligi" (October Youth) Ahmet Turan, Müslüm Turfan and Dinçer Erduvan, who were arrested in 1998 for participating in activities of the Ekim (October) organization, had suffered torture while under arrest.

Although a suit was eventually brought against the police officers responsible, they were acquitted on 30 September 2004 for "lack of evidence."

4. - Bianet - "'Honor Killing' Brings Life Sentence":

The brothers of Güldünya Tören, who was murdered in an "honor killing," have been found guilty of premeditated murder and of inciting the crime. One has been sentenced to life imprisonment and the other to a term of 11 years and 8 months.

ISTANBUL / 17 October 2005 / by Ayse Durukan

The brothers of Güldünya Tören, on trial for killing their 22-year old sister because she became pregnant outside of marriage, were found guilty of "premeditated murder and of inciting someone to commit a crime."

Tören was murdered on 25 February 2004. She had fled her home in Bitlis, in eastern Turkey, after her family threatened to kill her for becoming pregnant. She gave birth to her son in Istanbul, but police refused to give her protection, and she was shot and wounded in the street.

While she was in the hospital recovering from her injuries, her brothers entered the room and shot her in the head.

The Fifth Criminal Court in Bakirköy sentenced Irfan Tören to life in prison for the murder.

His brother F.T., who was under the age of 18 at the time of the crime, was sentenced to a prison term of 11 years and 8 months.

The court has not yet heard the case against their uncle Mehmet Tören, who remains at large. Ilhami Yilmaz, the head of the court committee from the Istanbul Bar Association Women's Rights Enforcement Center that took part in the case, noted in the record that Mehmet Tören had not yet been captured. State Prosecutor Mustafa Bolat said the issue was being investigated again.

While Irfan Tören said "I had nothing to do with the situation," F.T., who was under 18 at the time of the killing, took responsibility for the crime, saying "I did it." This is a common tactic in "honor killings," as younger male members of the family are pressured to commit the murder because they can escape heavier penalties due to their youth.

At the hearing, the defendents' lawyer Mehmet Talat Seyhan said, "it isn't possible to punish Irfan, because a person saw him outside the hospital.For this reason I request an acquittal for Irfan. For F.T., I request a reduction be considered due to the factor of incitement to the crime."

Irfan Tören, saying that the family was being treated unjustly, said "A brother of mine apparently killed, but both of us are in jail. I want to be released."

The court was able to levy a heavier sentence on the brothers than before, due to new changes in the law proscribing heavier penalties for "honor" crimes. It changed Irfan Tören's sentence to a life sentence. But because F.T. was underage at the time of the crime, it reduced his initial sentence from 14 years to 11 years and 8 months.

5. - Reuters - "Erdogan: Turkey could take action against PKK in N. Iraq":

ANKARA / 19 October 2005

Turkey said on Tuesday it would take steps to end the presence of Turkish Kurd rebels in the mountains of northern Iraq, but stopped short of directly threatening military action.

Turkish officials have repeatedly demanded U.S., Iraqi Kurd and Iraqi government forces crack down on Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) forces in north Iraq from where rebel leaders direct their fight for Kurdish self-rule in nearby Turkey.

"The principal point which we have stressed at these meetings is that the terrorist presence in northern Iraq must be combatted," Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan told a meeting of his parliamentary party.

"So far, Turkey has maintained a patient stance."

But, he said: "Our nation expects us to take effective measures to clean up the terrorist presence in the region. We will take clear and effective steps to bring this about. I remind you we will do what is necessary when the time is right."

In the 1990s, Turkish forces launched repeated raids into northern Iraq to hunt down PKK rebels in the mountainous region. Turkey still keeps several hundred soldiers inside Iraq, close to the Turkish border, despite Iraqi calls for them to leave.

But since the 2003 Iraq war, Turkish troops have not mounted any operations inside Iraq against the PKK which is based on the Qandil Mountain in the far northeast of the country.

U.S. officials admit their troops are too tied up fighting the insurgency in Iraq to turn their attention to the PKK which rarely engages in any hostile activity inside Iraq, though Washington classes the PKK as a "terrorist" organisation.

Iraqi Kurdish parties are wary of the PKK presence in their region and the potential conflict it could cause, but have so far been reluctant to take up arms against them.

More than 30,000 people, mostly Kurds, have been killed since the PKK took up arms for Kurdish self-rule in 1984.

6. - www.eutcc.org - "EUTCC Patron awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature 2005":

The Nobel Prize in Literature for 2005 is awarded to the English writer Harold Pinter

October 2005

Harold Pinter was the patron of the Second International Conference on EU Turkey and the Kurds, Brussels September 19-20. He has been devoted to the Kurdish Question for many years and is seen as a good friend of the Kurdish People. EU Turkey Civic Commission (EUTCC) sends its warmest greetings to the Nobel Laureate.

Since 1973, Pinter has won recognition as a fighter for human rights, alongside his writing. He has often taken stands seen as controversial. Pinter has also written radio plays and screenplays for film and television. Among his best-known screenplays are those for The Servant (1963), The Accident (1967), The Go-Between (1971) and The French Lieutenant's Woman (1981, based on the John Fowles novel). Pinter has also made a pioneering contribution as a director.