13
April 2006
1. "Turkey, Welcome to EU", Turkey has had ambitions of European Union membership for more than forty years, and recently the UK presidency of the EU has thrown its full weight behind the Turkish bid, flying in the face of concerns from the French and Dutch over Turkey’s human rights record, the worst in Europe. The US has of course been another big supporter.
2. "Human rights violations in the Kurdish regions of Turkey", the EU Turkey Civic Commission (EUTCC) regrets the recent escalation of violence in the Kurdish regions of Turkey in the last 10 days and requests international urgent intervention.
3. "Turkey: Recent human rights violations must be investigated", Amnesty International last week called on the Turkish government to investigate all allegations of human rights violations arising in the context of recent violent protests in the south-east of the country and spreading through sporadic incidents to Istanbul.
4. "Turkey: Human Rights Watch Researcher Detained in Kurdish Area", a Human Rights Watch researcher conducting research in Turkey was detained by police on Wednesday, and is expected to be deported tomorrow, Human Rights Watch said today.
5. "Trouble in Turkey: Fear Prevails after Priest's Murder", christians are a vanishing minority in predominately Muslim Turkey. The murder of a priest in February shows that the situation has become precarious -- both for Catholics and for Turkey's EU bid.
6. "Case Against 4 Turkish Journalists Dropped", a court on Tuesday dropped charges against four Turkish journalists accused of insulting the country's courts, but decided to press ahead with the trial of a fifth journalist, a report said.
Dear reader,
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The next edition will be forwarded on Tuesday, April 18, 2006. We wish
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The staff
1. - Kurdish Media - "Turkey, Welcome to EU":
11 April 2006 / by Kameel Ahmady & Sarah Keeler
Turkey has had ambitions of European Union membership for more than forty years, and recently the UK presidency of the EU has thrown its full weight behind the Turkish bid, flying in the face of concerns from the French and Dutch over Turkey’s human rights record, the worst in Europe. The US has of course been another big supporter.
Six months after the historic day which saw the symbolic handshake between Turkish Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul and his UK counterpart Jack Straw, the plight of the Kurds in Turkey goes ignored by EU diplomats and the mainstream media alike. No where is this more evident than in the last ten days of rioting in Kurdistan. Hundreds have been imprisoned and as many as 30 people killed, including several children, in clashes between the Turkish police forces and Kurdish demonstrators in the southeast of Turkey in recent days.
The Turkish army has instated a de facto lock down in many cities in the Kurdish southeast, after several days of widespread unrest sparked by the funerals of several Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) guerrillas in the city of Diyarbakir (Amed) on 28th March. The PKK has been engaged in an armed struggle with the Turkish state to have Kurdish cultural rights and ethnic identity recognised, after it called an end to its ceasefire in 2002, feeling that the Turkish state had not responded to attempts at negotiation by the party. The PKK has a strong support base amongst the almost 20 million strong Kurdish ethnic minority in Turkey.
When mourners gathered at a cemetery to bury the bodies of those killed in recent clashes with the Turkish army, military forces and police intervened, and reports say shots were fired to disperse the crowds. In what followed, large scale unrest erupted in the streets of Diyarbakir, soon spreading to neighbouring cities including Nuseybin, Batman, and Siirt. This has been brutally suppressed by the Turkish army and police. To date, over 15 demonstrators have been killed, more than 500 injured, and nearly one thousand people, most engaged in democratic protest over the limits placed on their right to commemorate the deaths of members of their community, have been imprisoned.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has responded to these events with the following statement: “Our security forces will use the necessary force and intervene against anybody who agrees to be a tool of terror, including children and women. I want this to be clearly understood. The security forces will intervene against the pawns of terrorism, no matter if they are children or women. Everyone should realize that".
Reports coming direct from the Kurdish region say that the Turkish response to these events has been a virtual lock down in several cities, and an increased suppression of the already limited freedom of movement for Kurds in the area. Two thousand Turkish riot police have been raiding homes, making unsubstantiated arrests, and generally using tactics of intimidation to limit public protest. in town of Nuseybin, direct reports said that residents were prevented from leaving their homes to attend school or work.
The levels of violence are at their highest in decades, say commentators. This new development marks a fresh stage in the Turkish government’s treatment of its Kurdish issue. Despite its eagerness to begin the process of taking up European Union membership, a fundamental prerequisite of which is improved human rights for its minority populations, Turkey has in many respects continued to suppress Kurdish voices of dissent, and limited the representation of the Kurds in political process. The Kurdish language, though no longer criminalised, is still not recognised by the state.
The truth is that Turkey must stop hiding behind a rhetoric of securitization and ‘terrorism’ to in dealing with its Kurdish issue. This approach may win fans with its Imperialist American allies, fond of similar labelling and a big force behind marking the PKK as a proscribed terrorist organisation. However, it will do little to solve the decades old problem which has claimed thousands of lives and led to a well hidden but tragic situation of thousands more internally displaced people. Many commentators in Turkey and elsewhere have pointed out that poverty, economic problems, and chronic under-development in the Kurdish regions are to blame for the widespread disaffection of the population, and accuse the government of failing to take action. It might be added that rather than simply failing to take action, the Turkish government has for years engaged in a purposeful policy of underdevelopment and disempowerment of its Kurdish minority.
Turkey was also quick to blame European based the Kurdish satellite TV station ROJ TV, against which it has been conducting an undemocratic gag campaign for months, for inciting the current events. This is no coincidence, there has already been increasing pressure on ROJ TV to close its broadcasts, and now Turkey wishes to use these developments as further leverage in achieving its long-standing goal. ROJ TV makes the voice of many of the people in Kurdistan, and as such it has been virtually alone in providing transparent coverage of the true extent of human rights abuses by the Turkish army, in recent years. An example of such broadcasting was that of the Semdinli bombings in November of last year, when protests left a total of six people dead, twenty eight people wounded, and drew much press attention which was obviously very damaging for the government which forced turkey to publicly name and sentence the secret police officers who were responsible, asking how to define the word of terror you may wonder that can be called state terrorism.
What the Turkish government has also failed to address is the fact that those engaged in demonstrations this past week are exercising their very basic democratic rights. quite the contrary to being ‘terrorists’, according to Turkish law they are citizens of the Turkish republic, and as such are entitled to the same privileges as their countrymen who live in more developed and less discriminated against regions of the country.
Those European country who threw their whole Wight behind
turkey’s bit on EU and ignoring the fundamental human right concerns
and lack freedom in respect of ethnic minorities now shockingly, news
of these dramatic events did not portrayed the extend of the problem
and it has been only summarily covered by mainstream media sources.
Many in Western Europe have no idea of the widespread human rights abuses
that are currently being perpetrated by the state in the name of security
in the Kurdish areas of Turkey. It is now the responsibility of all
observers, and those with any source of information direct from the
communities now being subject to these conditions, to inform the public
and raise a voice of outrage. 
2. - EUTCC - "Human rights violations in the Kurdish
regions of Turkey":
11 April 2006
EUTCC
Rafto Foundation newsletter
April 12, 2006
The EU Turkey Civic Commission (EUTCC) is a Rafto Foundation initiated organisation. The current situation in Kurdistan is of great concern to the EUTCC. The Board has thus written an appeal to the EU institutions.
EUTCC Appeal
H.E. Wolfgang Schüssel, President of the European
Council
Mr. Olli Rehn, EU Enlargement Commissionner
Mr. Josep Borrell, President of the European Parliament
11 April 2006
Dear Sirs,
Human rights violations in the Kurdish regions of Turkey
The EU Turkey Civic Commission (EUTCC) regrets the recent escalation of violence in the Kurdish regions of Turkey in the last 10 days and requests your urgent intervention. We are gravely concerned about human rights violations which have already occurred, and believe many more people are at risk.
We have received the following credible information from the regions that we hope will give an indication of what has occurred in the area.
Human Rights Violations
Deaths
The following fourteen people were killed between 28 March and 2 April, as a result of the civil unrest and the actions of the security forces:
Tarik Atakkaya - 23 years old, shot dead by security forces in Diyarbakir, 28 March
Muhlis Ete - 16 years old, shot by security forces in Siirt,28 March, later died in hospital
Abdullah Duran - 9 year old boy, shot dead by security forces in Diyarbakir, 29 March
Mehmet Isik - 17 years old, shot dead by security forces in Diyarbakir, 29 March
Fatih Tekin - 3 year old boy, shot during a police raid on civilians' houses in Batman, 30 March
Enez Atak - 6 year old boy, injured by plastic bullet and later died in hospital, Diyarbakir, 30 March
Vahdettin Toprak - 28 years old, died during a protest in Mustafa Kemal Mahallesi, Istanbul, 30 March, as a result of excessive police force against the protestors
Emre Fidan - 19-years old, injured by police forces during protests in Diyarbakir, died on 2 April 2006 Mustafa Eryilmaz - 22 years old, killed in Diyarbakir
Mehmet Akbulut - 18 years old, killed in Diyarbakir
Ahmet Arac - 27 years old, shot by security forces in Kiziltepe, Mardin, 1 April Mehmet
Siddik Ozer - 22 years old, shot by security forces in Kiziltepe, Mardin, 2 April
Ismail Erkek - Died in Kizeltepe, Mardin
Halil Sogut - 78-years old, injured by police forces during protests in Diyarbakir, died on 2 April 2006
On 31 March, a bomb was thrown at a bus during protests about the events in south-east Turkey. The bomb caused the bus to lose control and we have received reports of between three and four bystanders being killed as a result. We understand one of the victims was a man named Salim Sahin.
Detentions
We have received reports of between 400 and 600 people being held in detention since 28 March 2006, many of them illegally. We also understand that between 20 and 25% of those detained are children. These include:
Nurettin Demirtas, born in Palu in 1972, mother's name is Sadiye and father's name is Tahir), arrested between 2 am and 5 am on 30 March in Diyarbakir
Cihan Deniz, arrested between 2am and 5 am on 30 March in Diyarbakir
Erdal Kuzu, lawyer and Secretary General of Mardin branch of Human Rights Association
Ferhan Türk, Chairman of DTP, Mardin
Ali Aslan, Chairman of DTP, Kiziltepe district, Mardin
Hazan Bozkurt, Deputy Chairman of DTP, Nusaybin district of Mardin
Huseyin Cangir (Chairperson of Mardin branch of Human Rights Association)
Hasan Hüseyin Ebem -35 years old, mother's name is Halisa and father's name Selahattin, born in Baykan in 1961. This man's detention has been denied by the security forces; however, his fiancé, Guler Dundar, has spoken to him and confirms that he has been detained. According to many of the detainees' families, who witnessed the raids and their detention, these men now face a real risk of torture and inhuman treatment, and we have grave concerns for their lives. These concerns are echoed by the Human Rights Association. We understand the detainees are being denied access to legal advice.
Due to the high number of detentions, the prisons in Diyarbakir have become full. Detainees were then sent to Mardin prison, and when this became full, they were sent to Nusaybin prison, which is also now full.
Unacknowledged detentions: concern at possible violations of right to life
We are seriously concerned about the security and welfare of the following people, who have all disappeared since 28 March, following their detention;
Mehmet Süren - born 1986, mother's name Münevver and father's name Ramazan. Went to work on 28 March but never returned. Authorities deny he has been detained.
Yilmaz Yakut - a seller of Ozgur Gundem Newspaper. Witnesses claim they saw him being attacked, kicked and beaten before being taken into custody. Turkish authorities deny his detention.
Mecail Ozel - detained by police officers on 30 March in Ofis district in Diyarbakir.
Harassment
On 31 March, lawyers and members of Diyarbakir Bar Association Muharrem Sahin, Meral Danis Bestas and Aygül Demirtas were verbally abused and physically attacked by police officers after attending the trial of their clients in Diyarbakir. Lawyer Cafer Koluman was attacked at the Anti-Terror branch of Diyarbakir Police Headquarters and his nose was broken by the police. We believe these actions were a direct a result of all four lawyers' representation of demonstrators. We have received further reports that the Mayor of Yuksekova, Mr Salih Yildiz, was attacked by police officers while he was in his official car and his house was attacked by tear gas bombs. He is a member of DTP (Democratic People Party). On 3 April 2006, the Chairperson of DTP Batman branch, Mr Ayhan Karabulut, was detained by Batman Security Directorate officers and questioned by Batman Public Prosecutor. As a result of a decision of Batman Heavy Criminal Court, he is now in Batman prison. On 7 April, board members of DTP Diyarbakir Branch, Mr Musa Farisogullari, Mr Necdet Atalay, Mr Muhsin Altun and Mr Nusret Akin were detained by police officers who raided the office of DTP in Diyarbakir. Representatives of Diyarbakir Democracy Platform and members of Diyarbakir Branch of HRA, Mr Ali Oncu (the Chairperson of Tes-Is Union) and Mr Edip Yasar (chairperson of the Union of Officials of Municipalities, Tüm-Bel Sen) have been detained by Anti-Terror Branch police officers of Directorate of Security.
We have also been informed that Mr Osman Baydemir, Mayor of Diyarbakir and a prominent defender of Kurdish human rights, was attacked and his driver was injured. We understand the Ministry of Interior has since sent two inspectors to investigate his activities during the protests, and that it is alleged that he organised the protests. Mr Baydemir is an influential political figure who we believe tried very hard to calm the civil unrest in Diyarbakir last week and liaised with protestors to stop the violence. As a result, we are concerned that he may lose his position, and we also fear for his safety and security. On 7 April at 11.00, the building of South East Municipalities Association, of which Mr Baydemir is President, was illegally raided by police officers, who did not submit any official decision from the Prosecutor Office.
Our concerns
First, our most immediate concern is the fate and welfare of detainees, in light of the witness evidence and the authorities' apparent denial of many detentions. We believe that there is a real risk that those people currently detained are being subjected to torture or inhuman treatment due to the persistent allegations we continue to receive of such ill-treatment, which in fact escalated in 2005 compared with previous years.
We are similarly alarmed that many of the detainees are children. Second, in light of the harassment experienced by several human rights defenders and lawyers, we have serious concerns about the safety of other civilians within the Kurdish regions of Turkey, who risk being arbitrarily detained, tortured or killed as the security forces attempt to clamp down on those perceived to be a threat, including political opponents, human rights defenders and Kurds. Third, it should be noted that these concerns exist only because of the ongoing suppression of the rights of the Kurdish people and the international community's failure to acknowledge this openly and directly. As a consequence, the Turkish government appears to believe it can continue to violate the rights of its Kurdish population with impunity.
We urge the EU to consider the following;
1. The EUTCC requests that you raise these issues with the Turkish Government as a matter of utmost importance and request it to abide by its commitments under the European Convention on Human Rights, (ECHR), article 2, the right to life and article 3, the prohibition of torture and inhuman or degrading treatment.
2. Moreover, we would request that you draw the Turkish Government's attention to the European Union Guidelines on Children and Armed Conflict which emphasise the importance of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. This document states, categorically, that no child shall be subject to torture or to other cruel and inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.
3. Recalling that articles 2 and 3 of the ECHR impose a positive duty on a state to ensure that an official investigation is carried out by an independent and impartial authority in the event of an alleged violation of the rights, it is essential that the European Union ensures that the Turkish Government conducts a prompt investigation into the deaths, and the allegations of torture of the detainees, so that those who are responsible for the killings and torture are brought to justice.
4. We urge you to ensure that the Turkish Government upholds its legally binding obligation under article 13 of the ECHR to ensure that an effective remedy is made available to the victims. The investigation must meet accepted standards of due process so that the investigators are competent, impartial and independent of the suspected perpetrators and the agency they serve. The Turkish authorities should ensure that the alleged victims, witnesses, those conducting the investigation and their families should be protected from violence, threats of violence or any other form of intimidation that may arise pursuant to the investigation. In the event that the Turkish Government should fail in any respect to meet these standards, then we would ask that this matter be referred to the European Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman and Degrading Treatment or Punishment.
5. Furthermore, the EUTCC urges the EU to express its dismay at the Turkish government's handling of the current situation, in particular the insensitive statements by the Prime Minister and the Foreign Minister, placing all responsibility on the civilian population, including parents and children, and praising the behaviour of the security forces and the military.
6. Finally, the EUTCC urges swift action from the European
Union, including the following:
* The EU should directly name the peaceful, just and lasting resolution
of the Kurdish issue as key to the accession process, making it clear
to the Turkish Government that the recognition of the rights of the
Kurdish population is part of the political criteria, without which
there can be no accession to the EU.
* Consequently, the EU must insist that the Turkish Government give urgent priority to a program for a resolution of the Kurdish problem, putting an end to abuses and complying on the ground with the political elements of the Copenhagen criteria.
* The reform program must be based on a political dialogue between the Government and the Kurds.
* The EU must assume a pro-active and important role as a conciliator in this dialogue between the parties.
We ask you to raise these issues with the Turkish Government as a matter of urgency.
We should be grateful if you would kindly confirm what action you will be taking and to inform us of any response received from the Turkish authorities.
Yours faithfully,
Joanna Hunt
Special Assistant to Executive
Director Kurdish Human Rights Project
On behalf of the Board of Directors of the EUTCC
3. - AI - "Turkey: Recent human rights violations must be investigated":
12 April 2006
Amnesty International last week called on the Turkish government to investigate all allegations of human rights violations arising in the context of recent violent protests in the south-east of the country and spreading through sporadic incidents to Istanbul.
After the funerals in Diyarbakir on 28 March of four members of the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), who had been killed by the security forces, demonstrations escalated into violent protests during which demonstrators threw stones and Molotov cocktails, and damaged property. Four individuals were shot dead by the security forces. In subsequent days, during further violent demonstrations in Diyarbakir and other towns in the region including Batman, Kiziltepe, Siirt and Nusaybin, the number of civilians killed rose to 13, at least four of them children. According to the available autopsy reports most of them died as a result of gunshot wounds. Many demonstrators and law enforcement officials were injured. On 2 April, in Istanbul, three women were crushed to death by a bus which was set alight following a Molotov cocktail attack allegedly perpetrated by demonstrators. During these incidents, hundreds of demonstrators, including children, were detained. The majority of detainees in Diyarbakir alleged that they were subjected to ill-treatment on apprehension, and torture or other ill-treatment once in custody.
In its letter to the Turkish Minister of Justice, Amnesty International acknowledged the difficulties faced by law enforcement officials while policing violent demonstrations and unconditionally condemned the human rights abuses committed by demonstrators which resulted in serious injury to civilians and law enforcement officers.
At the same time the organization called on the Turkish authorities to investigate all allegations of excessive use of force resulting in deaths of demonstrators by law enforcement officials during the policing of violent demonstrations, and to ensure that, should such allegations prove to be true, the perpetrators be brought to justice. It also called on them to ensure that the provisions of the UN Code of Conduct for Law Enforcement Officials and the UN Basic Principles on the Use of Force and Firearms by Law Enforcement Officials are upheld in the policing of all demonstrations, whether violent or not.
In light of the reported decline in the use of torture in recent years, especially in the Diyarbakir region, Amnesty International was particularly disturbed at allegations of torture or ill-treatment of detainees, including beatings, death threats and being stripped naked and sprayed with cold water. There were also reports of irregular detention procedures, and of lawyers’ access to detainees being barred – in one case by force – by law enforcement officials.
Amnesty International called on the Turkish authorities, in the context of their own “zero tolerance” policy towards torture, to fulfil Turkey’s international legal obligations as a State Party to the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms and the UN Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment by carrying out prompt, impartial and thorough investigations into all such complaints and to bring their alleged perpetrators to justice.
At the time that Amnesty International wrote to the authorities, 57 of the 91 minors detained during the events in Diyarbakir remained in prison pending trial. Some of them alleged ill-treatment or torture in custody, and their lawyers suggest that they were also subjected to irregular detention procedures. Amnesty International noted that some of the minors could face charges under articles of the Turkish Penal Code which fall under the jurisdiction of the Anti-Terror Law, and that in the case of at least one possible charge the penalty is life imprisonment.
Amnesty International called on the Turkish authorities
to extend to all children remanded to prison the particular protection
they are afforded by the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, to
which Turkey is a State Party by ensuring prompt, thorough and impartial
investigations into the allegations of ill-treatment or torture in police
custody, releasing children from prison at the earliest opportunity
unless their prolonged detention could be adequately justified, and
ensuring that no person below the age of 18 would face a sentence of
life imprisonment without possibility of release.
Amnesty International continues to monitor the human rights situation
in Turkey, particularly in the south-east.
4. - Human Rights Watch - "Turkey: Human Rights Watch Researcher Detained in Kurdish Area":
12 April 2006
A Human Rights Watch researcher conducting research in Turkey was detained
by police on Wednesday, and is expected to be deported tomorrow, Human
Rights Watch said today. At the time of his detention, the researcher,
who has not been charged with any crime, was carrying out research in
the predominately Kurdish southeast of the country into abuses allegedly
involving the Turkish gendarmerie and government-armed local defense
units called "village guards." (New York, April 12, 2006)
– A Human Rights Watch researcher conducting research in Turkey
was detained by police on Wednesday, and is expected to be deported
tomorrow, Human Rights Watch said today. At the time of his detention,
the researcher, who has not been charged with any crime, was carrying
out research in the predominately Kurdish southeast of the country into
abuses allegedly involving the Turkish gendarmerie and government-armed
local defense units called "village guards." "Turkey
should not be arresting and expelling researchers looking into possible
human rights abuses," said Holly Cartner, Europe and Central Asia
director at Human Rights Watch. "The desire to cover up human rights
abuses is evidently still very strong, despite recent moves towards
more accountability in Turkey's bid for membership in the European Union."
Human Rights Watch called on the Turkish authorities to halt the deportation and allow the organization to continue its research.
The researcher, Jonathan Sugden, was detained by regular police in the town of Bingol, in southeastern Turkey, on the morning of April 12, 2006. He had been documenting abuses in the area allegedly carried out by Turkish paramilitary police, known as the gendarme, and the village guard. He was first moved to the town of Malatya and later taken to Istanbul, where he is expected to spend the night in police custody before being deported to London on April 13.
Sugden is a U.K. national and fluent Turkish speaker with more than two decades of experience monitoring human rights in Turkey. The Turkish authorities have claimed that Sugden did not have valid authorization to be carrying out human rights work in Turkey. However, Sugden was present in the country on a tourist visa, which Turkish authorities had confirmed provides a legitimate basis for him to carry out research in the country, as it is and has been for any human rights lawyer or delegation carrying out similar work. In recent years, Sugden has traveled repeatedly to Turkey on such a visa to perform research, with the knowledge of the Turkish authorities and without being detained.
"This is not about a visa," said Cartner. "It is about the Turkish government wanting to prevent investigations of misconduct by its agents. The human rights situation had been slowly improving, but this is a big step backwards."
There has been a recent upsurge of violence in southeastern Turkey between separatist rebels of the Kurdish Workers' Party (PKK) and Turkish security forces. Hundreds of thousands of Kurdish villagers remain displaced from the region, and the threat of violence from village guards against these villagers remains an important obstacle to their return.
Last week, following the funeral of PKK rebels who had
been killed by Turkish security forces, Kurdish demonstrators clashed
with riot police in the southeastern city of Diyarbakir, as well as
in Batman, Kiziltepe, Nusaybin, Siirt and other towns in the region.
Protest became violent, with protesters throwing Molotov cocktails and
stones at law enforcement officials. In response, law enforcement officials
appear to have used excessive and disproportionate force in responding
to the rioters. At least 13 people are believed to have been killed.
Many other protesters, as well as law enforcement officers, were injured
during the clashes. Hundreds of demonstrators were detained, and there
have been credible reports that many detainees were tortured or otherwise
ill-treated.
5. - Der Spiegel - "Trouble in Turkey: Fear Prevails after Priest's Murder":
12 April 2006 / by Annette Grossbongardt*
Christians are a vanishing minority in predominately Muslim Turkey. The murder of a priest in February shows that the situation has become precarious -- both for Catholics and for Turkey's EU bid.
Father Pierre Brunissen is deeply immersed in thought as he bumps along in the night bus along the Black Sea coast from Samsun to Trabzon in northern Turkey. There is, on this trip, little for the priest to be happy about. He is hurrying to a Christian congregation in Trabzon -- a city of 250,000 Muslims -- which boasts barely a dozen members. And he is needed because the former priest in Trabzon, Father Andrea Santoro, was murdered in his church.
It's a church which is now casting about for a caretaker. In the vicarage, which gives off a distinct air of neglect, a small plastic tree left over from Christmas gathers dust in the visiting room. Because no one volunteered to replace the murdered priest, the 75-year-old Father Pierre was instructed to travel the 250 kilometers by bus from Samsun to Trabzon once a month to look after things in the city's tiny congregation.
The Catholic Santa Maria Church was founded by Capuchin monks 150 years ago. Santoro had the church restored, and now colorful ornaments and images of the saints once again grace the building's walls and ceilings. But in early February, Santoro was shot dead by two gunshots while he was praying in the last pew of the church. The first shot penetrated his lung and the second went straight to his heart. In the dark wood of the pew, a splintered mark made by one of the bullets can still be seen. On this day, Father Pierre will celebrate the first mass in the church since Santoro's murder, but the church bells remain silent -- there is nobody there to ring them.
Christians are a tiny, tolerated minority in Turkey, a country which is 99 percent Muslim, and the Catholic priest is wary of being too conspicuous. He even advises the members of his congregation in Samsun not to wear any visible symbols of their faith, such as a cross dangling on the outside of a blouse or shirt.
"Murdered priests aren't good for Trabzon"
"We have nothing against Christians," says Volkan Canalioglu, the mayor of Trabzon. "On the contrary, we respect other religions; after all, Turkey is home to many cultures." A giant Turkish flag hangs in his office, and he is a member of the Republican People's Party (Cumhuriyet Halk Partisi or CHP) founded by Kemal Atatürk, which promotes the secular legacy of the founder of the modern Turkish state. "You will find no one in Trabzon who approves of this horrible deed."
The vice president of the local soccer team, Trabzonspor, is also upset about the incident. "We were playing a match in Ankara when the murder happened. We won the match, but we couldn't really enjoy our victory," says Hasim Sayitoglu. "Headlines about murdered priests aren't good for Trabzon or for us." Sayitoglu grew up not far from the Santa Maria Church, although he says he doesn't know a single Christian.
Trabzon, an ancient trading city that now hopes to develop a thriving local tourist industry, places little value on its Byzantine heritage. There are many churches and monasteries dating from centuries of Byzantine Christian rule, although most have since been converted into mosques. During the great population exchange between Turkey and Greece in 1923, almost 1.5 million Orthodox Christians were expelled from Asia Minor and replaced by 356,000 Muslims from Greece. As a result of the mass murder and expulsion of the Armenians in World War I, the country had already lost almost a million Christians. The result was an almost entirely Muslim state.
Turkey is still home to about 100,000 Christians. Their status is one of the barometers being used to determine Turkey's suitability for European Union membership, making the murder of Father Santoro especially inconvenient for the administration in Ankara, which is rooted in Islam but is doing its utmost to portray Turkey as tolerant and liberal-minded. "The gunshots were not just aimed at Santoro, but also at the atmosphere of stability Turkey enjoys today," says Interior Minister Abdülkadir Aksu. Foreign Minister Abdullah Gül describes the murder as an "isolated case."
But isolated cases have been on the rise in Turkey.
Churches have few rights
Recently a young man attacked a monk and a priest with a kebab knife
in a Catholic monastery in Mersin, a small city on the Mediterranean.
"We are no longer safe here," says the Vicar Apostolic for
Anatolia, Luigi Padovese. "Until now, Mersin was one of our most
peaceful congregations." Nowadays, the bishop never travels without
bodyguards, a precaution the interior ministry has practically forced
him to accept.
Shortly after the murder in Trabzon, nationalist youth attacked a Catholic priest in Izmir. They grabbed him by the neck and shouted: "We will kill you!" and "Allahu akbar! God is great!" The priest barely made it to safety. After the incident, police officers were routinely posted in front of the church in Izmir, a measure that had already been taken in other cities.
Turkey's Christian minorities had hoped that reforms introduced by the administration of Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan -- as part of its effort to gain EU membership -- would not just lead to a few improvements, but to complete religious freedom. Although Christians are permitted to practice their faith freely, in many cases their churches have practically no rights and often have no claim to the property they stand on.
When Bishop Padovese requested work permits for two church employees in Trabzon, the interior ministry denied his request, arguing that because a Catholic Church doesn't exist in Turkey, it cannot file requests. "That's the paradox," says Padovese, "We are here, but legally we don't exist." It was not until recently that pastors, who were previously registered as consular employees, have been allowed to register as members of their own profession.
"The basic level of anti-Christian sentiment has increased," says Felix Körner, a German Jesuit whom the Vatican sent to Ankara to encourage a Christian-Islamic dialogue. Turkey's efforts to enter the EU have triggered nationalist counter-reactions, says Körner. "Even in educated circles, people are saying that Turkish unity and national sovereignty are in danger."
Risking physical attack
Conspiracy theories have likewise been making the rounds in Turkey for some time, producing a climate in which Christians distributing the New Testament risk being physically attacked. In a sermon against missionaries it distributed last year, the state religious authority rails against what it calls "modern crusades," claiming that their goal is to "turn our young people away from the Islamic faith."
Priests have been accused of seducing women in their churches or encouraging young people to engage in sinful acts. Father Pierre has already won four court cases for libel against defendants who had spread rumors that he routinely watches porno films with young people. To protect himself, he now maintains the best possible relations with the local Turkish hierarchy, routinely paying visits to the chief of police, the governor and the mufti. "It helps," he says.
Sixteen-year-old Oguz, Andrea Santoros's suspected murderer, is currently being held under high security at the Trabzon prison. Four bodyguards have been assigned to the boy to prevent him from harming himself or being silenced by others. He has refused to make any statements.
Was Oguz truly trying to avenge the humiliation of Muslims who saw the Danish cartoon controversy as an affront to their prophet, as his family claims? Or was the murder the work of the Mafia, which was incensed over the church's practice of giving shelter to Russian prostitutes? Or perhaps the boy, apparently a loner, was a willing tool for nationalist extremists.
According to his family, Oguz, a high-school student, had recently become "very religious." "He prayed five times a day," says his brother Alpaznar. His father, who runs a dental laboratory in Trabzon, claims that he first heard about the Muhammad cartoons from his son. "He was very upset, but I told him that it was none of his concern."
The father, pale and bald, is constantly jumping up from his chair, nervously rubbing his hands. He doesn't have a photo of his son, holding up a newspaper clipping instead. "I feel bad for the boy," he says, sounding almost as if "the boy" weren't his own child.
Closed for a month
Oguz apparently spent most of his time in an Internet café in a small shopping center in downtown Trabzon. "He was especially fond of strategy games," says the owner, Senol Sahin, adding that the boy had recently become very aggressive. "He would send me e-mails in which he used vile language. I even hit him once for doing it." Sahin believes the boy is "easily influenced."
On the morning of the murder, Oguz apparently came home and asked for directions to the Santa Maria Church. Then, according to his father, he left the house with his younger brother. The murderer must have known his way around, because the churchyard one passes through to reach the church lies in the middle of a group of buildings, and is in full view of half a dozen apartments, many displaying the Turkish flag in their windows.
The priest's young Italian housekeeper, startled by the shots, claims that she saw a silhouette, and that it was that of a man, not a boy.
The church remained closed for one month. Meanwhile, Bishop Padovese has sent two lay assistants and a visiting Polish pastor to Trabzon, so that the church can be kept open at least two or three times a week for the few Christians who still live in Trabzon.
* Translated from the German by Christopher Sultan
6. - AP - "Case Against 4 Turkish Journalists Dropped":
ISTANBUL / 12 April 2006
A court on Tuesday dropped charges against four Turkish
journalists accused of insulting the country's courts, but decided to
press ahead with the trial of a fifth journalist, a report said.
All five journalists were standing trial for criticizing in print a
court's decision last year to shut down a conference in Istanbul about
the mass killings of Armenians by Turks during the Ottoman Empire.
Prosecutors said their writings were illegal attempts to influence the outcome of a trial and insulted the court system.
On Tuesday, the court dropped charges against journalists Hasan Cemal, Ismet Berkan, Haluk Sahin and Erol Katircioglu, on grounds that prosecutors had not filed charges within the required two-month period following the publication of the articles, the state-run Anatolia news agency reported.
The court, however, decided to proceeded with the trial of Murat Belge, a columnist for the liberal Radikal newspaper, the agency said.
The trial is seen as a test of Turkey's readiness for membership in the European Union. Turkey, which embarked on membership talks in October, is under heavy pressure from the EU and human rights organizations to address its infringements on freedom of expression.
The five had faced between six months to 10 years in prison. Charges on the grounds of insulting the republic, state institutions or "Turkishness" are frequently leveled against journalists, scholars and dissidents.
The discussion of what happened to Armenians in Turkey between around 1915 and 1923 is extremely sensitive in Turkey, which vehemently denies that mass killings and deportations of the then-sizeable Armenian minority constituted an organized genocide.
The conference in September went on despite the court order to close it down after organizers changed the venue at the last minute. It was the first time the issue was publicly discussed in Turkey.
A case against Orhan Pamuk, the country's best-known novelist,
for "insulting Turkishness," was dropped earlier this year
after Turkey came under harsh criticism from the EU.