16 March 2007

1. "One charged, three investigated for 'praising' Ocalan", one branch leader of the pro-Kurdish Democratic People's Party (DTP) was charged and three others were faced with criminal investigations yesterday for referring to jailed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) leader Abdullah Ocalan as 'Sayin', which is similar to 'Sir' in English.

2. "U.S. Acting Against Kurdish Rebel Group", the United States is dealing with Turkish complaints about Kurdish rebels operating in northern Iraq and has not ruled out military action against the rebels, the U.S. official assigned to handle the problem says.

3. "Turkish prof charged with legacy insult", a prosecutor on Tuesday filed charges against a political science professor for allegedly insulting the legacy of the revered founder of modern Turkey.

4. "FJ and RSF Condemn Army Report on Media", both press freedom organizations called on the Turkish army to stop using such a classification system and allow equal access to all media outlets. An internal Turkish army report was disclosed recently which classified media as pro-military or else.

5. "Demonstration against Austrian export-credit for Ilisu-Dam-Project in Vienna", activists of NGOs gathered in front of Austrian Parliament in Vienna today to protest against intentions of the government to offer an export-credit-guarantee for building the Ilisu-Dam in Southeast Turkey/Northern Kurdistan.

6. "19th anniversary of Halabja massacre", today marks the nineteenth anniversary of Saddam Hussein's regime chemical weapons attack on Halabja, a Kurdish town located on the northeast of Iraqi capital, Baghdad. On March 16, 1988, an estimated 5,000 civilians were killed and 10,000 injured when during Iran-Iraq war, Saddam's regime warplanes attacked Halabja with mustard and other poison gases as well as bombs and artillery fires.

1. - Turkish Daily New - "One charged, three investigated for 'praising' Ocalan":

ISTANBUL / 15 March 2007

One branch leader of the pro-Kurdish Democratic People's Party (DTP) was charged and three others were faced with criminal investigations yesterday for referring to jailed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) leader Abdullah Ocalan as 'Sayin', which is similar to 'Sir' in English.

Three other DTP branch leaders were already charged with the same crime and are currently being tried. DTP leader Ahmet TUrk received a six-month jail sentence for using the word to refer to Ocalan.

Ankara blames Ocalan's Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) for the deaths of more than 30,000 people since the group launched its armed campaign for an ethnic homeland in southeast Turkey in 1984.

The DTP favors more cultural and political rights for Turkey's estimated 12 to 15 million Kurds but says it opposes violence. Turkish nationalists regard the party, which has no members in Parliament, as a mouthpiece for the PKK. The DTP is considering running its candidates as independents in the coming national elections to escape the 10 percent election threshold that bars parties with less than 10 percent from sending deputies to Parliament.

Ferhan TUrk, head of the DTP in the eastern province Mardin, was charged with "praising a criminal," while the DTP heads of the western provinces of Edirne, Kirklareli and Tekirdag were investigated for committing the same crime. All four may face up to two years imprisonment if found guilty.

2. - AP - "U.S. Acting Against Kurdish Rebel Group":

WASHINGTON / 15 March 2006 / by Desmond Butler

The United States is dealing with Turkish complaints about Kurdish rebels operating in northern Iraq and has not ruled out military action against the rebels, the U.S. official assigned to handle the problem says.

Turkish officials repeatedly have accused the United States of insufficient efforts to prevent attacks into Turkey from Iraq by the PKK, which has waged a guerrilla war for autonomy since 1984 at a cost of 37,000 lives. Turkey also has threatened military incursions into Iraq against the rebels, which the United States fears would alienate Iraqi Kurds, the most pro-American ethnic group in the region.

"All options are on the table," he said. "The PKK is a terrorist organization and needs to be put out of business."

Ralston, a former Supreme Allied Commander in Europe who is to testify on U.S.-Turkish Relations in a congressional hearing Thursday, stressed the importance of resolving the deep-seated Turkish worries about the PKK. Turkey, a crucial NATO ally, provides vital support to U.S. operations in Afghanistan and Iraq through Incirlik Air Base in southern Turkey, one of the most important U.S. military assets in the region.

Ralston said negotiators from the United States, Turkey and Iraq are close to a deal to close a Kurdish refugee camp in northern Iraq that Turkey says is a haven for the PKK. In late January, U.S. and Iraqi forces searched the camp, known as Makhmur, and found artillery shells they believe belonged to the PKK, Ralston said.

"We would prefer the PKK announce they are laying down their arms and renouncing violence," Ralston said. "But on the good news side, to my knowledge there have not been major incidents since that time."

Officials from Turkey, Iraq and the United Nations will meet next month to resolve a few remaining issues preventing the closure of the Makhmur refugee camp. Ralston said negotiators need to agree on arrangements for repatriating refugees to Turkey and what to do about those who do not want to go.

3. - AP - "Turkish prof charged with legacy insult":

13 March 2007

A prosecutor on Tuesday filed charges against a political science professor for allegedly insulting the legacy of the revered founder of modern Turkey.

Atilla Yayla's university has already suspended him amid allegations that he criticized Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, whose portrait hang in all government offices and his ideas are still the republic's most sacred principles 68 years after his death.

Prosecutor Ahmet Guven on Tuesday filed charges against Yayla for "insulting the legacy of Ataturk." Yayla could receive up to three years in prison if tried and convicted. No trial date was set yet.

Turkey, which is aspiring to join the European Union, has been roundly condemned for not doing enough to curb extreme nationalist sentiments and to protect freedom of expression.

Yayla said in his Nov. 18 speech that the era of one-party rule under Ataturk, from 1925 to 1945, was not as progressive as the official ideology would have Turks believe but was "regressive in some respects." He also criticized the statues and pictures of Ataturk, saying Europeans would be baffled to see the portraits of just one man on the walls.

Ankara's Gazi University was inundated with fax messages accusing Yayla of treason and demanding that he be sacked.

Yayla has insisted that he was not insulting Ataturk but questioning his legacy, as well as the rigid way some followers interpret his principles to oppose liberal reforms and impose strict secular laws such as the ban on headscarves at universities.

"As an academic, I must be free to think, to search and share findings," Yayla, 50, has said in an interview at the Ankara-based Association for Liberal Thinking, an organization he co-founded in 1994. "If Turkey wants to be a civilized country, academics must be able to scientifically criticize and evaluate Ataturk's ideas."

4. - Bianet - "FJ and RSF Condemn Army Report on Media":

Both press freedom organizations called on the Turkish army to stop using such a classification system and allow equal access to all media outlets. An internal Turkish army report was disclosed recently which classified media as pro-military or else.

PARIS / 15 March 2007 / by Erol Onderoglu

Following reaction from Turkey's journalists associations, international organizations criticized the recently disclosed of Turkey's army accreditation list which classifies media outlets and journalists as pro-army or vice versa.

The International Federation of Journalist and its regional group the European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) called on the Turkish military to stop classifying journalists by their perceived attitude toward the military and using that classification to grant or deny press accreditations.

"We are calling on the Turkish military to immediately stop using this classification system and grant equal access to journalists who wish to cover its activities, regardless of whether they are critical of the military or not," said EFJ chair Arne König. "It is unethical for them to deny media access to information at their discretion and a blow to press freedom."

On another account, press freedom organization Reporters Sans Frontiers (RSF) said "We condemn this use of black-lists and these attempts to neutralise journalists by depriving them of their raw material, information" in relation to the incident.

RSF said it supported the protests voiced by the Turkish Association of Journalists (TGC), the Contemporary Association of Journalists (ÇGD), the Union of Journalists of Turkey (TGS) and the Press Council (Basin Konseyi) against the methods of the army high command and the prime minister's office.

Military assessment of media

The report, titled "A reassessment of accredited press and media organs" and dated November 2006, makes recommendations on whether the media accreditation for certain people should be granted, denied or revoked.

It was prepared by the media relations office that gives accreditation to journalists and media organizations that want to follow the activities of the Office of the Chief of General Staff.

The military has not denied the document's existence but has only launched a judicial probe to discover who leaked the information to the press.

5. - Kurdish Media - "Demonstration against Austrian export-credit for Ilisu-Dam-Project in Vienna":

14 March 2007 / by Sissy Danninger

Activists of NGOs gathered in front of Austrian Parliament in Vienna today to protest against intentions of the government to offer an export-credit-guarantee for building the Ilisu-Dam in Southeast Turkey/Northern Kurdistan.

The demonstration was organized by the environmental groups World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF), Global 2000 and Eca-Watch (Export Credit Agencies-Watch). The participants distributed postcards asking, “Why do you want to flood our town?” The protesters vehemently criticise foreseeable detrimental effects of the giant dam and reservoir in the river Tigris:

Tens of thousands of local residents, predominantly Kurds, will have to be resettled and will probably end up in the slums of larger cities of the region in considerable numbers. The natural environment in and along the river will be heavily changed an even destroyed. The priceless cultural heritage of the 10.000 year old town of Hasankeyf will be submerged beneath the reservoir’ surface of more than 300 square kilometres and the dam of 135 metres height. Just a few of the ancient monuments are planned to be re-installed in some kind of archaeological park.

Last but not least there are grave concerns about potential political, economic and even military abuse of the planned hydropower-station by Turkey - by controlling the water supply for the adjourning countries Iraq and Syria downstream the Tigris.

The protesters also criticise a potential violation of international law pointing to missing consultations between Turkey and the two neighbouring states in regard to the project. This lack of consultations was confirmed by an Iraqi delegation, which visited Austria last week.

The 1,2 billion Euro-project is intended to be carried through by an Austrian-led consortium of companies in Austria, Germany and Switzerland.

The ministers of finance and the governments of these countries have not yet given final decisions about the export-guarantees. According to a Turkish ultimatum this “Go ahead” should be fixed by the end of this month. Otherwise Ankara announces to issue a new tender.

6. - IRNA - "19th anniversary of Halabja massacre":

THERAN / 15 March 2007

Today marks the nineteenth anniversary of Saddam Hussein's regime chemical weapons attack on Halabja, a Kurdish town located on the northeast of Iraqi capital, Baghdad.

On March 16, 1988, an estimated 5,000 civilians were killed and 10,000 injured when during Iran-Iraq war, Saddam's regime warplanes attacked Halabja with mustard and other poison gases as well as bombs and artillery fires.

Nineteen years after the massacre, the people of Halabja still suffer from very high rates of serious diseases such as cancer, neurological disorders, birth defects and miscarriages.

The town's population is largely Kurdish and is known for being more religiously observant than Kurds in other Iraqi regions.

Saddam's chemical weapons attack on Halabja was not a sole incident. It was part of a systematic campaign ordered by Saddam and led by his lieutenant, Ali Hassan al-Majid, the infamous "Chemical Ali," against Iraqi Kurdish civilians.

Further, the Iraqi regime also killed thousands of Iranians with chemical weapons during the Iran-Iraq War from 1983 to 1988.

According to the international observers, Iraqi forces killed 50,000 to 100,000 people during the 1988 campaign known as "Anfal" which means "the spoils".

Saddam is also said to have used chemical weapons in attacking up to 24 villages in Kurdish areas in April 1987.

But the poison gas attack on Halabja was the largest-scale chemical weapons attack against a civilian population in modern times.

It began early in the evening of March 16, when a group of eight aircraft began dropping chemical bombs, and the chemical bombardment continued all night.

The Halabja attach involved multiple chemical agents, including mustard gas, the the nerve gas sarin, tabun and VX. Some sources even pointed to the blood agent hydrogen cyanide.

The world people must work towards the day when those ultimately responsible for the decision to order the poison gas bombardment of Halabja can be brought to justice, wherever they may be found.

These crimes will not be forgotten. As we remember Halabja, we wish to reaffirm to the world powers and the international community that Saddam's regime must never be permitted to rebuild its programs for the development of weapons of mass destruction.