·  COUNCIL OF EUROPE GENERAL SECRETARY CALLS FOR RETRIAL OF
LEYLA ZANA AND COLLEAGUES. On 23 January 2002, in the
course of a briefing during the sittings on the Council of Europe's Parliamentary Assembly,
Walter Schwimmer, the Council of Europe's General Secretary, called on
Turkey to carry out and apply the rulings of the Strasbourg European Human
Rights Court. The Human Rights Court has handed down a ruling regarding the
lack of justice and the partiality of the trial of the Kurdish Members of
Parliament of the Party  for Democracy (DEP) and, consequently call for
their retrial.

"We expect Turkey to conform to the rulings of the European Court" declared
Mr. Schwimmer. To date Turkey has satisfied itself, in this case, by paying
a symbolic fine without tackling the question of the arbitrary detention of
Leyla Zana and her colleagues which has lasted, so far, for 8 years. All
this despite the fact that successive Prime Ministers, from Tansu Ciller to
Mesut Yilmaz have committed themselves to observing the rulings and
verdicts of  the European Human Rights Court.
 

· JONATHAN RANDAL AND NOAM CHOMSKY BANNED AND
SUED BY TURKISH COURTS.
On 21 January the Istanbul State Security Court banned the Turkish version
of Jonathan Randal's book "After Such Knowledge What Forgiveness? My
Encounters with Kurdistan". (Mr. Randal was a leading journalist on the
Washington Post for close on 30 years.) On the basis of Articles 86 and
5680 of the Turkish Penal Code, the Court also ordered that all copies of
this book, the charge which alleges an attack on Article 28 of the Constitution.

The publishers, for published by Avesta Editions, be seized. "By mentioning
the existence of a Kurdish nation in the heart of the territorial unity of
the Turkish Republic and of a Kurdistan as a distinct state entity, the
book openly spreads propaganda against the indivisibility of the State and
Nation" stresses their part, express astonishment that a book, that has
already been published in English, Kurdish, Persian and Arabic should be
banned in Turkey, a country that is a candidate for membership of the
European Union and likes to present itself as "democracy's shop window in
the Moslem world". Even though the author, in the preamble, had written "of
all the territories where the Kurds live, it is Turkey that offers the best
hope for the future ".

Meanwhile, while waiting for this promising future, the present time
consists of all kinds of bans and humiliations. Furthermore, according to
the Turkish daily Hurriyet of 25 January, which quotes the British daily
The Independent, Noam Chomsky, world famous philosopher and linguist, is
preparing to go to Turkey to take part in the trial of his book "American
Interventionism", published by Aram Editions and charged with "separatist
propaganda". "I would like to test the degree of freedom in Turkey by going
to Diyarbekir" Mr. Chomsky stated, adding that putting a book on trial was
"the most serious attack against fundamental rights".

The book has aroused the Turkish authorities fury by criticising Turkey's
Kurdish policy. "The Kurds have been severely oppressed throughout the
history of modern Turkey". In 1984 the Turkish government launched a vast
struggle against the Kurdish population of the South-East. The result was
striking: tens of thousands of people killed, two to three millions exiled,
a massive ethnic cleansing with some 3,500 villages destroyed wrote
Chomsky. Fatih Tas, the Book's publisher, who must appear before the
Istanbul State Security Court on 13 February, faces a year's jail and Noam
Chomsky states he has already written to the Human Rights Commission of the
United Nations to denounce these Turkish laws. "As if things weren't bad
enough already, we have jumped straight into the shit of our own accord"
headlined Hurriyet on its front page, continuing on the inside pages "We
have shamed ourselves before the whole world".
 

· ANOTHER MONTH'S BREATHING SPACE FOR HADEP. On 22 January,
Hasim Kilic, Vice-President of the Turkish Constitutional Court, announced that he had
decided to grant an additional month for the preparation of its defence to
the People's Democratic Party (HADEP-pro-Kurdish), which is faced with the
threat of being banned. The Court was thus, said Hasim Kilic, giving a
favourable reply to the request made by HADEP's President, Murat Bozlak.

The Constitutional Court was, originally, due to hear HADEP's defence on 30
January. The Public Prosecutor, Sabih Kanadoglu, had argued before the
Court last week for the banning of the party. He had then explained to the
Court that "HADEP had become a hotbed of activity against the indivisible
unity of Turkey", a principle laid down by the Constitution. Mr. Kanadoglu
had speeded up the procedure by demanding that the judges deal with the
case as rapidly as possible, putting forward the argument that any delay
would harm the country's unity.

In these proceedings, that began in January 1999, HADEP is accused of
"links with the PKK" the charge claiming that HADEP acted under the orders
of the PKK, acts as its propaganda tool and that its offices had become
"recruiting centres" for winning activists to the PKK's cause.

HADEP denies all these charges and states that it always works for a
peaceful solution to the Kurdish problem. Pro-Kurdish parties have
regularly been banned in Turkey.
 

· 10,608 UNIVERSITY STUDENTS DEMAND KURDISH
LANGUAGE COURSE OPTION. According to the Turkish daily Radikal
of 18 January, 10,608 students have already applied to the authorities of
their colleges and to University Deans concerned to ask for the possibility
having the Kurdish language available as an optional subject. Of these
applicants, 6,425 have received flat rejections while 4,233 have had their
requests officially recorded by the universities concerned.

Thus amongst the flat rejections, 1,560 are from Dicle University, 900 from
Harran University, 257 from Inonu University, 2,050 from Yil University,
138 from Kocaeli  University, 450 from Orta dogu Technical University, 260
from Ankara University, 140 from Istanbul Technical University, 160 from
Yildiz University, 100 from Mimar Sinan University, 450 from Bogazici
University, 550 from Istanbul University and 140 from Uludag University.

Thus officially recorded were: 140 at Firat University, 1030 at Cukurova
University, 300 at the Anatolian Eskisehir University, 450 at Dokuz Eylul
University, 450 at Ege University, 400 at Hacettepe University, 450 at
Marmara University, 500 at Istanbul University, 60 at Afyon-Kocatepe
University, 120 at Sakarya University, 138 at Canakkale University and 325
at the Hatay Mustafa Kemal University. An internet site has been set up to
this end by the students applying for Kurdish language teaching:
www.anadil.8m.com
 

·  DEATH SENTENCE  DISCORDANCE AMONG COALITION
PARTNERS. On 20 January, the Deputy Prime Minister,
Mesut Yilmaz, stated that his government envisaged abolishing the death
sentence so as to conform with the requirements of the European Union.

There have been no official executions in Turkey since 1984, though
thousands of Kurdish opponents have been assassinated by the death squads
of the paramilitary forces. The European Union, membership of which the
country has been a candidate since 1999, has made the abolition of the
death sentence and improvements in Human Rights preconditions for opening
negotiations for membership. "Our objective is to wipe the death sentence
completely from our penal code" stressed the Deputy Prime Minister, who is
also Minister responsible for relations with the E.U, in an interview on
the Turkish CNN Penal television network. "We have an opportunity for this
in the presentation to Parliament of amendments to the Penal Code" he
added. "I consider that we will be able to do this in the course of this
year". Last October Parliament amended the Turkish Constitution to conform
with the criteria for membership of the European Union and had limited the
death sentence to periods of armed conflict and crimes such as treason or
terrorism. On the other hand, the President of the National Action Party
(MHP- extreme right ultranationalist) declared on 22 January : "Even if we
have to pay $10 million to the European Human Rights Court, Abdullah Ocalan
must be executed".
 

·  TURKISH DEFENCE MINISTER TRIES TO JUSTIFY REGIONAL
POLICY. "Turkey has always been opposed to continued military strikes"
against Iraq, reaffirmed the Turkish Defence Minister, Sabahattin
Cakmakoglu in an interview published on 18 January in Le Quotidien de Tunis.

"Iraq is our neighbour and we want to see no changes on the Iraqi borders"
the Turkish minister affirmed, stressing that his country wants "on no
account" to go through the experience of the Gulf War during which, he
claimed "our financial losses were enormous". According to him "there is no
evidence incriminating Iraq in the 11 September terrorist attacks". He
insisted that "if any decisions have to be taken about that country, they
must be in accordance with resolutions passed by the Security Council" of
the United Nations. Nevertheless, "Turkey is trying, alongside this, to
convince Baghdad of the necessity of bending to the requirements of the
Security Council, particularly those regarding weapons of mass destruction"
he further said. Questioned on Washington's policy towards Iraq, Mr.
Cakmakoglu maintains that "Turkey is busying itself trying to prevent any
American military intervention against Iraq by approaching Iraq itself".
This question was extensively discussed during the 14 January visit to the
U.S. of Turkish Prime Minister, Bulent Ecevit. A slight change of tone is
noticeable since his return the Turkish Prime Minister is asking the Iraqi
authorities to change their policy and authorise the UNSCOM inspectors on
Iraqi territory.

As for The relations between Turkey and Israel, the Minister pointed out
that they are "misunderstood" by some Arab countries. "For us, the most
important thing is that these relations contribute to inciting Israel to
adopt a more tolerant policy towards the Palestinians" continued Mr.
Cakmakoglu who declared that Ankara's present policy is "fair and
contributes to the search for a peaceful solution to the
Israelo-Palestinian conflict".
 

·  KURDS AGAIN VICTIMS OF HUMAN SMUGGLING NETWORKS.
On 18 January, the Greek maritime police arrested 130 illegal immigrants (124
men, 3 women and 3 children), mostly Iraqi Kurds and Afghans, together with
the captain of a fishing boat which was transporting them in the Northern
Aegean Sea. The boat, the "Hakki Baba I" had sent out a SOS because of an
engine break-down off the Greek island of Agios Eustratios.

Two coast-guard salvage vessels and a Greek navy gunboat went to the spot
and towed the boat to port at Agios Eustratios. The immigrants were
sheltered by the coastguards pending a decision on their fate. The Turkish c
aptain was arrested and his boat confiscated.

Elsewhere, fifty-two Kurds of Turkish nationality were found in the Italian
port of Bari, on 20 January, in a hidden compartment in a Greek registered
lorry and the driver, a Greek, arrested with a very large sum of money on
him, considered to be the price extorted from the illegal immigrants for
their passage.

In the course of a routine check, members of the customs service notices a
man-hole in the bottom of the trailer, leading to a compartment hidden in
the middle of the cargo. The Kurds were sent back to Greece on the same
ship.
 

· TURKEY  TO BUY 14 SEAHAWK HELICOPTERS WITH U.S. LOAN.
According to the Turkish daily Milliyet of 23 January, US President G.W.
Bush gave the go ahead to the American Eximbank to authorise export credits
to enable the Turkish Navy to buy 14 Sea Hawk helicopters, thereby
increasing Turkey's external debt by $324 million. It was already $ 170
billion without this.

"A plane load of businessmen visited the United States to stimulate
exports.  Without having sold anything we bought. Instead of reducing our
debt we increased it, then we return" wrote the economic journalist Gungor
Uras in his column's report on Bulent Ecevit's visit to the United States.