· NOAM CHOMSKY DENOUNCES U.S. POLICY IN TURKEY AND HOPES FOR "AN
AUTONOMOUS KURDISTAN". On 13 February, the Turkish publisher of the
American intellectual and linguist Noam Chomsky, was acquitted by the
Istanbul State Security Court that had charged him with "separatist
propaganda" on the grounds of Chomsky's book on  "American interventionism", which
mentions the Kurdish problem.

Mr. Chomsky was not, himself, charged in this case, but insisted on being
present at the trial because of his "moral responsibility as a human being
" for the situation in Turkey. "I am responsible for crimes committed in
Turkey. As the United States is supplying 80% of Turkey's weaponry with the
precise aim of perpetrating a violent and brutal repression (of the Kurds)
it is my responsibility and I want to go to the place where this is
happening " explained Mr. Chomsky.

The owner of Aram Publications, Fatih Tas, who is still being charged
because of several other books dealing with the Kurdish problem thanked the
American author for his presence which "has helped securing this decision
to acquit " as he said at the end of the hearing. "We did not expect this
verdict " said Mr. Tas who had pleaded "Not Guilty" to the accusations of
separatist propaganda, "and we think that Turkish law must learn to respect
those it is trying ". Mr. Chomsky, for his part, hoped that Mr. Tas'
acquittal would be "a step towards the establishment of freedom of
expression in Turkey ". He insisted on the "very difficult situation" of
Turkish intellectuals, considering that their struggle for freedom of
expression was "was an example for the whole world ".

In his book, quoting extracts from his Harvard University lectures,
denounces the sale of arms to Turkey, which, as he recalls, uses them for
the "repression of the Kurds ". Countries like the USSR, China or the Latin
American dictatorships ban, or have banned, my books ­ but this is the
first time that someone is sued for publishing my lectures. This is so
extreme that I wanted to be here to support him " said Mr. Chomsky.  Noam
Chomsky then visited Diyarbekir, because that town "is the centre of
repressive activity " he considered. In the course of a symposium organised
by local government organisations, Mr. Chomsky expressed the hope for the
creation "one day " of an "autonomous Kurdistan " in the Near East that
would bring together millions of Kurds scattered throughout the region. "I
hope that, one day, there will be an autonomous Kurdistan and that tens of
thousands of Kurds, will live on its soil " he said at Diyarbekir. "The
inhabitants of this Kurdistan will be politically autonomous and culturally
independent " he continued.

Furthermore, the American author supported the demand for the teaching of
Kurdish in schools. "I respect Kurdish and I also respect those who
courageously work to demand to learn their mother tongue in the schools "
he said in particular. Teaching in any other language but Turkish is
forbidden by the Constitution. The country's leaders are opposed to it
although it is one of the cultural rights that the European Union, which
Turkey wants to join, is asking it to grant to the Kurdish population.

Regarding his country's objectives in Iraq, threatened with the possible
extension of the American anti-terrorist campaign, Mr. Chomsky considered
that the United States would use Turkey as a "mercenary " against that
country by promising it, in return, the Kurdish oilfields of Kirkuk and
Mosul. "Such an (military) eventuality would provoke an explosion in the
Middle East and a revolution in Saudi Arabia " he considered.

Mr. Chomsky met, in Diyarbekir, members of the People's Democratic Party
(HADEP) which is struggling for the recognition of Kurdish cultural rights
and is the subject of legal proceedings aiming at the banning it on the
grounds of links with Kurdish separatists in Turkey.
 

· LOCAL TELEVISION NETWORK BANNED FOR 365 DAYS FOR HAVING BROADCAST
LOVE SONG BY KURDISH MUSICIAN SIVAN PERWER. On 11 February, the Turkish
High Audiovisual Council (RTUK) announced its decision to ban a Diyarbekir
TV network for a year for "broadcasts of a nature to support the PKK ".
According to the network's officials, the RTUK took this decision because
GUN TV had broadcast a song by the Kurdish musician Sivan Perwer, which,
however, only spoke of love. The RTUK will later announce the dates on
which its decision will take effect.

Since its creation in 1994, the RTUK has, according to official's figures,
already suspended, for varying periods, over 500 radio and TV networks.
 

· 59 HADEP MEMBERS ARRESTED IN A MONTH. On 11 February, the pro-Kurdish
People's Democratic Party (HADEP) announced that fifty-nine of its members
had been arrested in several Turkish towns in the course of a month for
having supported a wide campaign in support of the teaching of Kurdish in
schools and Universities. This campaign began in November and thousands of
students have been pulled in for questioning in Turkey for having signed
petitions to this end. Two weeks ago, Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit
categorically opposed any teaching in Kurdish in Turkey. "It's impossible "
he said, particularly denouncing "the manoeuvres of certain European
countries aiming at dividing Turkey "

The European Union, which Turkey wants to join, demands of it more cultural
rights for its Kurdish population, particularly in the areas of Television
and education in Kurdish.
 

· EUROPEAN HUMAN RIGHTS COURT FINDS TURKEY GUILTY OF  TORTURE
DEATH OF YOUNG KURD. On 14 February, the European Human Rights Court
found Turkey guilty of the death of a young Kurd, who died in 1993 after
having been tortured by the Security Forces. Abdulselam Orak died in 25
June 1993 at the age of 25, two weeks after his arrest by the Turkish
Security Forces who suspected him of being involved in activity with the
Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK).

The Turkish government explained that the young man, who died from head
injuries, had tried to escape and was wounded in the struggle that followed.

"The government provides no plausible explanation for the areas of bruising
that appear on, amongst others, on the arms, thighs, the soles of his feet
and his shoulders, nor for the scratches on his genitals or the causes of
the cerebral haemorrhage that apparently caused his death " noted the Court
in giving its verdict. The Court stresses that Abdulselam was in good
health before his arrest and that he was only transferred to the hospital,
in a coma, "six days after the alleged attempt to escape ".

Turkey was found guilty of violation of Art. 2 (Right to life), of Art. 3
(forbidding any torture) and Art. 13 (Right to effective legal recourse) of
the European Human Rights Convention.

The government will also have to pay 68,500 Euros to the victim's heirs and
4,000 Euros to his father, the plaintiff, for moral and material damages.
 

· EU OFFICIAL PRESSES ANKARA TO SETTLE QUESTIONS OF DEATH
SENTENCE AND KURDISH EDUCATION  On 13 February, the European
Commissioner for Enlarging Membership. Guenter Verheugen, urged Turkey to
accelerate democratic reforms, high lighting "some problems " over the
death sentence and Kurdish education. "Turkey has made some in 2001 ( ) the
reforms undertaken are certainly an important advance but, from the
European Union's point of view there are still problems and tackling them
is equally important, not to say crucial " he said at a Press Conference
with the Foreign Minister Ismail Cem.

He was referring to the reforms adopted by the Turkish Parliament aiming at
widening freedom of thought and of expression in Turkey to bring it closer
to the European Union's standards, reforms that even in Turkey are
perceived as inadequate. "The year 2002 will be an important, if not
crucial, year for E.U.-Turkish relations", Mr. Verheugen stressed, urging
the Government to tackle the questions of abolishing the death sentence and
of education in Kurdish. Turkey has abolished the death sentence ­ save in
wartime and for terrorist crimes. It leaders are categorically opposed to
any education in the Kurdish language, at required by the European Union.
Regarding the speed of reforms, Mr. Verheugen stressed that a "country is
certainly not a racing car, but it can still accelerate from 0 to 100
Km/hour in some seconds ".

Mr. Cem stressed that, despite certain "problems " and some "ups and downs
" EU-Turkish relations were on the right road. He indicated that Turkey's
objective was to ask, during the Danish Presidency (from June to December
2002), for the establishing of a timetable for opening negotiations for
membership in 2003. "It is a matter of objectives within our reach, " he
said. Mr. Verheugen pointed out that Turkey must, imperatively, observe the
Copenhagen political criteria on Human Rights and democracy before opening
negotiations. "The process and the timetable depend on Turkey's progress "
he said. Mr. Verheugen is also due to meet the Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit
and the Deputy Prime Ministers Mesut Yilmaz and Devlet Bahceli.
 

· FIRST ICO-EU  FORUM ON CULTURAL DIVERSITY HELD
IN ISTANBUL. European diplomats are not lacking in a sense of humour ­ nor
hypocrisy  Although the first Ministerial level Forum between the
Islamic Conference Organisation (ICO) and the European Union (EU), held in
Istanbul from 12 to 13 February, reached a superficial consensus regarding
the importance of "tolerance " and of "mutual understanding between
cultures " and insisted that "the resurgence of deep-rooted prejudices "
should be avoided, yet Ankara still rejects any dialogue with the culture
and civilisation of its 15 million Kurdish citizens going even so far as to
ban private lessons in Kurdish or the broadcasting of songs,

The Forum "restates its firm conviction that cultures, in their diversity,
are complementary and strengthen one another ", Ismail Cem, Turkish Foreign
Minister also declared, in closing the forum, that "this meeting
constitutes a message of hope " and that it had "achieved its objective of
bringing the two organisations together, which constitutes an encouragement
of peace and stability ". Meanwhile, the Turkish Human Rights Foundation
(THIV),  in its report on Human Rights in Turkey for the year 2001,
revealed that "pressures have intensified in 2001 ". Yavuz Onen, THIV
President, stated "a change of philosophy is needed. The existing project
is to create a society with no differences. The system requires only one
religion, one language, and one national identity. It cannot tolerate
cultural variety. People of different origins should be able to live in a
democratic environment ". Let us hope that the "spirit of Istanbul " will
inspire Ankara   Not one European Minister thought it appropriate to reveal
the grotesque nature of the situation and invite the host government to
respect, on its own soil, this diversity of cultures.
 

·  CONFESSIONS OF A "GOOD POLICEMAN":  GLAD
"TO HAVE KILLED MANY KURDS ". On 10 February the Turkish daily Hurriyet
published an interview with the Ayhan Çarkin, a member of the Turkish
Special Forces (TIM), one of the rare persons to be sentenced in connection
with the Susurluk scandal. "Ayhan Çarkin, member of the Turkish Special
Forces, sentenced for Susurluk, reveals the biggest mistake: the State
should never have brought us down from the mountains " headlined Hurriyet
unflinchingly. Indeed, the editorial by its Editor in Chief, Ertugrul
Ozkok, on the next day was an all out plea in favour of A. Carkin. "All
countries have recourse to legitimate people like this ... A country
enjoying an unfortunate geography will need such men again in the future "
writes E. Ozkok. Here are extensive extracts from the interview with Ayhan Çarkin.

"I am not a mercenary, I am a State official ... In the East, in the
south-east, I was in the fights and the operations ... in all these we
opened fire. That was my mission ... It is this country that brought me up.
I am a product of this State ... The things we did in the southeast were
not murders. The conditions were balanced. In front of us were people who
were betraying the country ... Of course, we also formed our own defence
mechanisms. The Turkish Republic gave us the authority to do this. But we
have not succeeded in explaining this ... There may be gangs inside the
State but I don't believe it. The real criminal gangs are those who wrote
this in their report ... the politicians ... Thanks to this report, all the
terrorist organisations will be able to ask for political asylum in
European countries...

In the name of an honest society, there are some people who want to cover
us with mud. I am proud of all the services I have performed ... First and
foremost, Mehmet Eymur  (Editor's Note: former senior officer of the
political police) should also have been amongst those accused. He said that
he knew Abdullah Çatli, that he knew that he was guilty and when he was
asked whether he knew that it was an offence to give official missions to
criminals he retorted that that was a State secret and that he couldn't
answer ... We are policemen of the Turkish Republic, policemen of the State
... There is only one State ­ there are many governments ... Let history be our judge.

I have never refused any mission. The idea never crossed my mind ... I have
often asked myself questions ... Yes, I have killed many people. I was my
mission, my job. I did not hesitate one second ... If I had died, what
would have happened? Would I have been hailed as a hero, instead of found
guilty as I am today? There were days when I couldn't stand any more. I
felt as if I was dead ... The operations were so hard. We didn't come down
from the mountains for months on end ... I was not a good husband or a good
father ... But I was a good policeman! The State awarded me between 300 and
350 distinctions. Even when I was at the gates of the prison I was awarded
a prize ... What we went through went beyond anything you could imagine in films...

It was during operations that I felt at my best. Even today, I would like
to return to the mountains. I was one of the ten people most involved in
all the operations in that region ... Expect any pity from me? There is
nothing that could make me happier than to kill them over there. I would
kill them without turning a hair ... Call me a Rambo but never a mercenary
... In the south-east I kept my eyes open and found myself in fights. In
Istanbul it was still the same: I took part in 50 clashes. I was trained
for that. The work I know best are the operations ... But one cannot do
anything without orders from above. In the last resort, even as member of
the special forces, you are only just State official N° 657. My director in
Diyarbekir was Huseyin Kocadag ... Ibrahim Sahin was the office manager, I
received my orders from him ... We were the last links in the chain. What
upsets me most is that I was sentenced by a State Security Court'.
(Editor's Note: The new reform of the Turkish penal code takes
responsibility for banditry away from the State Security Courts and passes
it to the ordinary criminal courts. However this clause was vetoed by the
President at the first reading).
 

· DIPLOMATIC TENSIONS BETWEEN TURKEY AND THE EUROPEAN UNION.
The Turkish Workers' Party (IP ­ "Left" ultra nationalist), through its President Dogu
Perinçek, has made public the contents of some e-mail correspondence by
Karen Fogg, European Union representative in Turkey. Stating that he
possessed 300 e-mail messages from Mrs Fogg, D. Perinçek accused the E.U.
representative of "espionage " and demanded that she be declared persona
non grata in Turkey. For he part, Karen Fogg has tabled a complaint on this
matter to the Turkish Foreign Ministry, which seems highly embarrassed at
giving an explanation.