Update on the Situation in Turkey
N°240,  May 10, 2002
 

· MINISTERIAL COMMITTEE OF COUNCIL OF EUROPE CALLS ON TURKEY TO
RETRY IMPRISONNED KURDISH MEMBERS OF PARLIAMENT. In a resolution passed
on 30 April and made public on 2 May, the Ministerial Committee of the
Council of Europe, basing itself on the decision of the European Court for
Human Rights, calls on Turkey to retry Leyla Zana and her fellow Members of
Parliament of the Party for Democracy (DEP, banned) sentenced in 1994 to 15
years imprisonment "for Kurdish separatism". The Ministerial Committee
"earnestly invites" the Turkish authorities rapidly to correct the
situation by taking "the necessary measures to reopen the proceedings
incriminated by the Court in this case or other ad hoc measures to erase
the consequences for the petitioners of the violations noted".

Expressed in diplomatic and courteous terms it is, in fact, an injunction
to Turkey to carry  out the decision of the European Court as rapidly as
possible. In the event of an excessive delay, the Committee could undertake
sanctions going as far as suspending Turkey from the Council.

On 17 July 2001, the European Court had found Turkey guilty of an
"inequitable trial" considering, in particular, that the Security Court,
with an Army judge on the bench, could not be considered to be "an
independent and impartial" court in the terms of the European Convention.

Her is the full text of the resolution [Interim Resolution ResDH (2002) 59]
adopted by the Ministerial Committee in the course of meeting 794e of the
Representatives of Foreign Ministers of the 40 member countries of the
Council of Europe:

" The Committee of Ministers, having regard to the judgement of the
European Court of Human Rights ("the Court") of 17 July 2001 in the Sadak,
Zana, Dicle and Dogan v. Turkey case (applications No. 29900/96 et al)
transmitted the same date to the Committee for supervision of execution in
accordance with Article 46 § 2 of the European Convention on Human Rights
("the Convention");

Recalling that, in that judgement, the Court found important violations of
the applicants' right, under the Convention, to a fair trial before the
Ankara State Security Court, on account of:

- the lack of independence and impartiality of the tribunal due to the
presence of a military judge on the bench of the State Security Court
(violation of Article 6§1);

- the lack of timely information about the legal recharacterisation of the
accusation brought against the applicants and lack of sufficient time and
facilities to prepare the applicants' defence (violation of Article 6§3 a
and b taken together with Article 6§1);

- the impossibility for the applicants to examine or to have examined the
witnesses who testified against them (violation of Article 6§3d taken
together with Article 6§1);

Recalling that the applicants were convicted in 1994 to a 15-year prison
term as result of these proceedings;

Stressing the obligation of every state, under Article 46, paragraph 1, of
the Convention, to abide by the judgements of the Court, including through
the adoption of individual measures putting an end to the violations found
and removing as far as possible their effects;

Recalling that the Turkish authorities have already taken certain general
measures in order to prevent new similar violations, notably by abolishing
the military judge on the state security courts (see Resolution DH
(1999)555 in the case of Ciraklar against Turkey) and, recently, by
ensuring constitutional protection for the right to fair trial (see the
amendment to Article 36 of 17 October 2001);

Noting that further general measures are being taken in order to give full
effect to the judgement of the Court;

Considering, however, that, in the present case, the adoption of individual
measures, in addition to the payment of the just satisfaction, is also
necessary in view of the extent of the violations found and the fact that
the applicants continue to serve the heavy prison sentences imposed (cf.
the Committee's Recommendation DH(2000)2);

Noting the engagement of the Government of Turkey to take all measures
required in order to ensure the reopening of judicial proceedings when this
is necessary in order to abide by the judgements of the Court;

Strongly urges the Turkish authorities, without further delay, to respond
to the Committee's repeated demands that the said authorities urgently
remedy the applicants' situation and take the necessary measures in order
to reopen the proceedings impugned by the Court in this case, or other ad
hoc measures erasing the consequences for the applicants of the violations found;

Decides, in view of the urgency of the situation, to resume its control of
the adoption of these individual measures, if necessary at each of its meetings. "
 

· OFFENSIVE AGAINST INTERNATIONAL NGOs FOR "SUPPORTING TERRORIST ORGANISATIONS". According to the Turkish press (cf. NTV of 6/5/02 and Milliyet 7/5/02) Ankara is preparing to submit to the
United States and the European Union a detailed report on 17 organisations
in Europe suspected by the Turkish authorities of "supporting the PKK".
Amongst the organisations cited are none other than "Médecin sans
frontière", that received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1999, "Reporters sans
frontières" which, during its latest campaign had described the Turkish
Armed Forces Chief of Staff, Huseyin Kivrikoglu as an "enemy of freedom of
the Press" the "Fondation France-Libertés", the "World Federation of
United-Cities" the Danish Helsinki Committee, public figures, members of
parliament and many Kurdish organisations.

The information, originating from the Turkish Intelligence Services, points
out that Turkey will launch a diplomatic offensive to demand "a stop to
support for the PKK or for KADEK" by the organisations cited. The report in
question will pinpoint some 450 organisations in Europe, described as
"organs or supporters of the PKK" and demand that they be closed down.

The European Union, which has long remained blind to Turkish State
terrorism, guilty of the destruction of over 4,000 Kurdish villages, the
assassination 4,500 civilians by the security forces' death squads on
suspicion of "Kurdish nationalism" had, a few days ago, to please Ankara
and Washington, placed on its terrorist black list, a PKK that gave up
armed struggle in Turkey and all forms of violent action in Europe three
years ago. Evidently that is not enough for Ankara, that wants to extend
its conception of terrorism and of support for terrorism to the European
Union by incriminating major European Human Rights organisations. If,
despite all its efforts, the European Union does not succeed in
Europeanising Turkey, it is to be feared that, in the present climate of
security mania, Ankara may succeed by gradually Turkising its European partners
 

·  PRO-CHECHEN HOSTAGE TAKING NOT DESCRIBED AS TERRORISM
 An armed man, claiming to be a defender
of the Chechen people, surrendered to the police on 4 April, after having
held hostage thirteen clients of a luxury hotel in the centre of Istanbul.
They included four Bulgarians, four Japanese and three Turks who were then
freed without any bloodshed. None was wounded during the 90 minutes that
the hostage taking lasted at the Marmara Hotel, in the European part of the
city. The hostage taker, alone and armed with a Kalashnikov assault rifle,
was persuaded by the police to end his violent action.

The man, was identified as Mustafa Yildirim, 29 years of age, who kept a
restaurant in the town of Karaman. Mr. Yildirim declared to the police that
he had acted "to make the world hear the distress of the Chechen people".
He asserted that he had "planned and carried out the taking of hostages on
his own", specifying that he had bought his rifle in Pakistan. The
aggressor's brother, Isa, explained that his brother had in the past, taken
part in the fighting against the Russian forces in the secessionist region
of Chechnya.

Turkey has frequently been the theatre of hostage taking by armed
pro-Chechen activists in recent years. Only a month earlier, two Chechens,
demanding the end of Russian military operations had hijacked an
Ankara-Moscow aeroplane and diverted it to Saudi Arabia. In 1996, a
pro-Chechen commando had taken over a ferryboat, with 200 passengers on
board, off the coast of Trabzon, on the Black Sea. In April 2001, a group
of 13 heavily armed pro-Chechen activists had kept hostage over 200 people
in another Istanbul grand hotel to protest against Russian military action
in the secessionist republic of Chechnya, only to release them 12 hours
later and give themselves up to the police. Court of Appeals judged that
the protagonists of this hostage-taking operation could not be described as
terrorists and were not liable to trial by State Security Courts. Moscow
has frequently accused Ankara of supporting "the Chechen rebellion", which
Turkey denies while refusing to describe as terrorist any acts of violence
carried out in the name of the Chechens ­ and describing as "terrorist" the
slightest Kurdish demonstration, especially if organised by PKK
sympathisers.