THE American Diplomatic Service has finally succeeded in bringing together the Iraqi Kurdish rival chiefs and getting them to sign a peace agreement aiming at restoring peace and democracy in Iraqi Kurdistan. This document, countersigned by Massoud Barzani, Jalal Talabani and the U.S. Under-Secretary of State David Welch provides, in particular, for the calling of a plenary session of the Kurdish Parliament within the next three months and the setting up of a transitional government to prepare general elections in the course of 1999 democratically to decide between the contesting forces and, on the basis of the election results, form a regional government with fresh legitimacy. Both signatories undertook to accept the election results, whose honesty and proper conduct will be monitored by international observers. The American Administration, through Mrs. Madeleine Albright, undertook to take part in the organisation and financing of the election monitoring missions. Before the spring of 1999 a general census of the population will be carried out and the electoral registers brought up to date, on this basis.
In the Washington agreement, whose text has not been made public, J. Talabani, recognised that his PUK was lagging behind Barzani’s KDP and, for this reason left him the task of forming the coming transition government. For his part, Mr Barzani accepted to share the revenues from customs dues. The two Kurdish leaders also guaranteed the borders of neighbouring states, particularly Turkey, by forbidding any PKK presence on their territory so as to deprive Ankara of any pretext for its recurrent military incursions into the region.
This agreement, announced in the course of a press conference by the two Kurdish leaders, with the Secretary of State Mrs Albright in attendance, was welcomed with a sense of relief in all parts of Kurdistan. The Kurds hope that a dark page of their recent history has been turned. The United States and Great Britain, who take part in the allied protection force and which are trying to establish some degree of stability in the region, have given strong support to this peace agreement.
The most noisy opposition to this inter-Kurdish agreement came from Ankara, which protested to Washington. Fiercely opposed to any Kurdish autonomous or federal region, Turkey, through the mouth of its Prime Minister Mesut Yilmaz, has described as a "diplomatic blunder" the Washington agreements reached between the two rival leaders under United States auspices. Ankara says it is "very sensitive to terms such as ‘Kurdistan’, ‘Iraqi Kurdistan’, ‘autonomy’ or ‘federalism’". The Turkish Prime Minister asked for an urgent appointment with President Clinton to inform him of Turkey’s "very strong reservations", but the American President did not consider it worth while meeting him. Mrs. Albright took on the task of explaining the American point of view to the Turks by informally meeting her Turkish opposite number, Ismail Cem, during the United Nations General Assembly. Replying to Turkish fears about the setting up of a federal system in Iraqi Kurdistan and of the organisation of elections to give legitimacy to the Kurdish regional Government, the American Secretary of State told her Turkish colleague: "Don’t forget, Minister, that the United States is itself a federal country and that our government unceasingly preaches in favour of democratic elections everywhere in the world. On what basis could we forbid the Kurds to claim a federal system and to organise elections to manage their affairs? We can, on the other hand, demand that they respect the integrity of Iraq and ensure the security of their borders with neighbouring countries".
Washington, which has other interests and imperatives in Iraq, seems to have decided to over-ride Turkey’s protests about a Kurdish administration in Iraq and invite Turkey to adjust itself to the Iraqi Kurdish reality.
Turco-Syrian relations went through an acute crisis in October. After several warning by Turkish military and civilian leaders, The Turkish President, Suleyman Demirel, declared in a speech made on Thursday 1 October 1998, to mark the new Parliamentary term: "I announce to the international community that we reserve ourselves the right to riposte to Syria that does not give up its attitude to Turkey, despite our peaceful overtures and repeated warnings". Mr. Demirel accused Syria of carrying out "openly, a policy of hostility to Turkey", of "supporting the PKK" then added "I also announce to the international community that we are at the end of our patience".
Ankara accuses its neighbour of supplying logistic support to the PKK and harbouring its leader on its soil. Syria, for its part, accuses Turkey of rationing the water supply to the Eurphrates by building dams on the river, and also of its military cooperation with Israel. Moreover Syria claims the province of Hatay, annexed by Turkey in 1939. The National Security Council (MGK) Turkey’s highest militaro-political body, meeting on 30 September 1998, discussed a whole series of economic, political and military sanctions against Syria. At the end of the MGK’s meeting, General Kivrikoglu, Chief of the General Staff of the Turkish Armed Forces, let it be known publicly that "Turkey is in a state of undeclared war with Syria".
The media are, in unison, playing a war-mongering game and inflaming public opinion by bellicose and ultra-nationalist articles and editorials. In the popular daily Hurriyet on October 3, Oktay Eksi, President of the Journalists’ Association of Turkey describes Syria and Greece as "calamities (bela) for Turkey"; according to him both countries, discontented with Turkey’s present borders, have unceasingly acted to weaken and cause losses to Turkey. According to the Director of Hurriyet, E. Özkök, the Army is ready to "punish and crush the Syrian microbe". All political parties, including the "Social-Democrats" of the CHP and the Islamists, are supporting the martial declarations of the Army chiefs.
In their confrontational crisis with Syria, the Turkish authorities seem to have been inspired by the tactics used by Washington against Saddam Hussein and Milosevic, to brandish the threat of major and imminent military intervention to extort, through negotiations, the concessions it wants.
Thus, on the one hand, the Turkish Army continues all along the Syrian borders. The Prime Minister, on 11 October, made a martial speech worthy of a Pasha of the Ottoman Empire: "We will poke out the eyes of those who want our territory. If Syria doesn’t change its state of mind it will be our duty to bring the world down on its head". He set a deadline of 45 days, expiring in mid-November, by which Damascus should bow down to all Turkey’s demands.
On the other hand, "good offices missions" (Ankara refuses to hear of mediation) follow one another at Ankara. The Egyptian President’s initiative was followed by the Iranian Foreign Minister’s visit to Ankara and Damascus "to avoid a war between two Moslem states". Teheran, which, at the moment, is acting President of the Islamic Conference, does not enjoy much credit with Ankara, that regularly accuses it of supporting the PKK. The Iranian initiative was more aimed at sparing its principal ally in the region, Syria, from being involved in a war with unforeseeable consequences.
Egypt, that was the architect of the 1975 Iraqi-Iranian agreement of 1975 by which, in exchange for some territorial concessions, the Shah of Iran undertook to stop supporting the Iraqi Kurdish movement led by General Barzani, resulting is its collapse, seems to enjoy greater favour with the Turks. The Egyptian Foreign Minister is effecting a virtual shuttle diplomacy between Ankara, Damascus and Cairo to find a negotiated solution to the conflict. Syria says it is ready "to discuss all the problems between it and Turkey".
Meanwhile, each relies on its friends and allies. In a communique dated 10 October, the 22 members of the Arab League expressed their total support for Syria. Baghdad threatens to stop all trade relations with Turkey in the event of a conflict with Syria. The Americans, while calling on Syria to cease supporting "the PKK terrorist organisation" calls on both parties to show restraint and to settle their differences by negotiation.
In the end, in reply to the question "Is Ocalan really worth a war with Turkey?" asked by Iranian President Khatami’s envoy, Damascus has finally decided to answer "No" by accepting Turkey’s conditions. And, after three weeks of extreme tension and forty-eight hours of secret bargaining, the discussions at Adana between Syrian and Turkish delegations concluded on the night of Tuesday 20 to Wednesday 21 October with the signing of an agreement. The Turkish Foreign minister stated that, by the terms of this agreement, Syria undertakes to deprive the PKK of all financial, military or logistic support on its territory, to no longer allow its leader, Ocalan, to return to Syria, to arrest and bring to trial the PKK members on its soil and prevent the infiltration of that party’s activists to any third country. Ankara declares that it reserves the right to resort to military means in the event of a breach of the agreement. As a good will token, Syria has just handed over a list of 600 PKK activists that the Syrian police have arrested over the last few weeks.
The Turco-Syrian crisis thus seems, for the time being, to have calmed down. However, it must be remembered that, in April 1992, a similar agreement had been signed by the same two parties envisaging the banning of all PKK activities. Turkey had accused Syria of failing to abide by this agreement, whose sole result was the closing down of a PKK training camp in the Bekaa Valley of Lebanon.
Meanwhile, on October 9th, Ocalan and his suite left Damascus for Moscow on a regular commercial flight. He is said to be at Odintsovo, a well protected residential suburb of Moscow, generally reserved for senior Army and Secret Service cadres. According to the Turkish Prime Minister, quoted in the Daily paper Sabah of 24 October, the PKK chief is now "neutralised" "cut off from contact with his followers" and "closely followed by the Turkish services, thanks to the cooperation of allied intelligence services that tap all his phone calls".
For his part, A. Ocalan, in an phoned interview with the Kurdish channel Med-TV, confirmed that he had left Syria because his presence "was in danger of provoking a third World War". He gave no hint of his present whereabouts. Ankara is preparing to demand Ocalan’s extradition from Russia without, however, much conviction since there is not extradition agreement between the two countries.
In a statement to the Russian news agency Itar-Tass, the Russian Ambassador in Ankara, Alexander Lebedev, insisted on the absence of any such agreement between the two countries. Moreover, the Russian Duma, in a resolution passed by 303 out of its 450 members, condemned Turkey’s policy of oppressing its Kurdish minority and Ankara’s threats against its neighbours and criticises NATO for practicing a double standard when faced with the similar situations in Kosovo and Turkish Kurdistan and calls on UNO and the Western Governments and Parliaments to hold an International Conference on the Kurdish problem. A crucial page seems to have been turned regarding the Kurdish struggle in Turkey, and we are moving towards an ever increasing internationalisation of this question.
THE European Parliament, after debating the report of the British Conservative Edward H. C, McMillan-Scot on "the reports of the Commission regarding the evolution of relations with Turkey since the coming into effect of the Customs Union" passed a fresh resolution on Turkey on 17 September of which the we give below the main extracts:
A. - whereas its assent to the Customs Union was given on the understanding that Turkey would introduce political reforms that would bring it closer to fulfilling the criteria for accession to the European Union
B. - whereas the Commission’s conclusion is that ‘no substantial progress has been achieved as regards human rights and democratic reforms in Turkey,
G. Whereas the development of a democratic state subject to the rule of law in Turkey is impeded by several structural problems
3. Reiterates its support for proposals from Turkish civil society aimed at achieving improvements in Turkish democracy and in Human rights which would bring it in line with EU standards and fulfill promises made by the Turkish authorities when the Customs Union was signed, including guarantees of human rights, minority rights, respect for fundamental freedoms, the right of freedom of expression for all and the accountability of the military to the country’s political authorities, on the basis of international pacts and the European Convention on Human Rights to which Turkey is a signatory
4. Wishes to make it clear that it will examine Turkey, like all other applicant countries, in the light of the Copenhagen criteria
20. Fully agrees with the Commission on the importance of establishing the following points:
- continuing democratisation, safeguarding human rights and establishing political control of the armed forces
- Establishing good neighbourly relations between Greece and Turkey and between Turkey and all neighbouring countries
- respect for the principles of international law in attempting to resolve the differences in the Ægean with particular reference to the island of Imia and the demarcation of the continental shelf
- finding a solution to the Cyprus question which respects both communities’’ cultural and political identities and includes Turkeys adoption of the United Nations resolutions and acceptance of offers to mediate
21. Reaffirms its view that a solution of the conflict in the South-East can only be achieved politically and supports proposals aimed at providing legal recognition of Kurdish identity, and national and international initiatives which promote dialogue and negotiation between, the parties; points to the need for a cease-fire and calls on the Turkish authorities to seek a peaceful, negotiated, political solution to the Kurdish question;
22. Condemns the invasion of Northern Iraq and considers that the need to deal with PKK terrorism does not justify the violation of international borders; the problem should be dealt with on the basis of respect for the rule of law, and international conventions to which Turkey is a party;
24. Urges the Turkish Government to take vigorous action to put an end to Turkey’s position in international drug trafficking and calls on Turkey to work intensively with the EU to combat such trade;
The awareness of the seriousness and extent of this last phenomenon, hitherto hushed up by Turkey’s Western allies, comes after the appearance, in the Monde Diplomatique of July 1998 of a very fully documented article by Kendal Nezan. This article, published in eight languages, had a widespread impact, including in Turkey. The Turkish authorities were unable to deny the facts contained
ON September 17th, the very same day as the European Parliament launched another appeal to the Turkish authorities for "the immediate release of Mrs Leyla Zana" winner of theSalharov Prize for freedom of spirit, the Ankara N°1 State Security Court sentenced her to another two years jail for an article that appeared in the HADEP bulletin about Newroz, the Kurdish New Year. We give below the complete translation of this message, so that our readers may themselves assess the quality of the justice dispensed by the Turkish Courts.
My Dear friends,
The duty of any party or political organisation is to periodically inform and educate its cadres and sympathisers to prepare them for the future.
To this effect, the accent must be laid on internal education, seminars, meetings and similar activities, then to spread this to the general public through monthly bulletins.
The bulletin is very important as regards the policies, the conceptions and the perspectives of the leadership. It is extremely difficult for a people like ours, exploited, treated as if it didn’t exist, facing deportation and destruction, to create the institutions for political action. Nevertheless, the important think is to overcome these difficulties. Thus we must state frankly that we have not sufficiently improved ourselves since the time of the HEP (Editors Note: The People’s Labour Party on whose list L. Zana and about 20 of her colleagues were elected in November 1991. The HEP was later banned by the Turkish Constitutional Court.) in this respect. Not to recognise the central authority, not to accept any discipline, to appear as an organised movement and not act in an organised manner … We could go on listing the shortcomings.
We must not forget that legal struggle was carried out to this level at the cost of intense effort and great sacrifices. HADEP, heir to the HEP and the DEP has dozens of martyrs and as many prisoners. Vedat AYDIN, Mehmet SINCAR and Muhsin MELIK (Editors Note: these are HEP leaders assassinated by death squads. M. SINCAR was M.P. for Mardin at the time of his assassination) are only some names amongst many others… We must not forget that the democratic gains we are trying to preserve were secured thanks to the martyrdom of these comrades. That is why we must understand that we have no right to act against the will of the people or to squander the values created.
Similarly, we must understand that precisely what differentiates us from the Establishment Parties is that we base ourselves on the people’s own strength, and act thanks to the support and courage we draw from the people.
So long as we are sincere in our intentions and that our shortcomings and even our faults do not harm the struggle for democracy and freedom, they will be forgiven by the people.
We must know that our people will not accept approaches bases on egotism, ulterior motives, careerism and personal self-interest. At a time when the war is becoming more and more intense and we are passing through a difficult period, we must set aside personal interests and egotism and remain united.
Affectionately
Leyla Zana, DEP Member of Parliament, in Prison.
On the same day, the Ankara N°5 State Security Court sentenced another Kurdish ex-M.P., Hatip Dicle, to 1 year, 11 months and 10 days jail plus a fine of TL 6,777,777,000 (about $25,000) for an article entitled "We greet Eva" that appeared in the 14 April 1998 issue of the pro-Kurdish daily Ulkede Gündem. The Court considered the article to be "press propaganda against the indivisible unity of the country".
The Eva whom H. Dicle greeted is the German activist Eva Juhmke, captured by the Turkish Army in October 1997 in Iraqi Kurdistan and since then imprisoned in Van. Her trial, which has been going on for the last six months before the Van State Security Court, ended on 17 September with a 15 year prison sentence for "membership of the PKK between 1993 and 1997". The Court put forward no evidence of this young German woman’s participation in any violent actions on Turkish territory.
The sentencing of Leyla Zana to two further years imprisonment for an article that appeared in the internal bulletin of HADEP has aroused widespread indignation in democratic public opinion. On 8 October, the European Parliament, on the proposal of the United Left Group, unanimously passed another resolution reiterating its demand for the release of the Sakharov Prize winner and of all political prisoners and its appeal for a political solution to the Kurdish problem. Below are some of the most important extracts from this important statement:
The European Parliament,
Reaffirms its conviction that tere can be no military solution to the Kurdish question and therefore call on the Turkish autorities to engage in direct talks with the Kurdish people’s representative organisations, with the aim of finding a peaceful political solution enabling their economic, social, political and cultural rights to be recognised; (...). Two weeks before the sentences on the two ex-Members of Parliament, Mr. Feridun Yazar, former President of the People’s Labour Party (HEP) and one of the principal defence lawyers of Leyla Zana and her colleagues, was jailed on 1 September in Suruç Prison, Urfa Province. Mr. Yazar had been sentenced to 2 years imprisonment for a speech made on 19 September 1992 at the 2nd Congress of HEP in Ankara, charged with "attacks on national unity and separatist propaganda" under the infamous Article 8 of law 3713, the "Anti-Terrorist Act". He had appealed against this verdict before the Court of Appeals which has just confirmed his sentence for a crime of opinion, which made the sentence immediately applicable. Mr. Yazar is one of those independent Kurdish public figures who has been a regular sounding board for Western delegations visiting Turkey for information on Human Rights. He has also frequently been consulted by Western diplomatic missions in Ankara. His jailing confirms that, despite repeated promises of democratisation, the Turkish regime is continuing its policy if trying to create a society of silence, by closing the mouths of any opposition voices by assassination or imprisonment. Before his imprisonment, Mr Yazar stated to the press: "Every day that passes the bankruptcy of the methods employed by the State to settle the Kurdish problem becomes more and more evident. For having struggled for a peaceful solution to this problem I am now, in turn, jailed and thus will be deprived of all political rights. This will in no way prevent me from fighting for the freedom of my people and for democracy. The whole world must understand that Turkey, despite the democratic appearances that it tries to assume, is a country where intellectuals are thrown into jail for their opinions, a country where the State considers critical artists and intellectuals as tools of terrorism. Meanwhile, the authors of the massacre of civilians, the assassination of intellectuals, the mafiosi who work hand in hand with State services, are walking the streets freely. We are in a country where thieves and assassins make the laws and thrown honest citizens into jail for struggling for civil peace, democracy and a clean society". On 23 September the Turkish Court of Appeals confirmed the sentence of ten months imprisonment of the Islamist mayor of Istanbul, Recep Tavyip Erdogan. This sentence puts an end to Mr. Erdogan’s political life, despite his relative youth (44 years) since under Turkish law anyone sentenced for political offenses becomes ineligible for life for any public office. They can neither stand for local or national elections, are banned from employment by any public organisation. The use of this clause enables the Turkish system to "legally" eliminate from the political scene any undesirable opponents by sentencing them for any statement or speech that deviates from the official dogmas. In the present Turkish system, therefore, a murderer of mafia chief, sentenced to 15 or 20 years imprisonment could, at the end of his term, get himself elected as mayor or member of Parliament – but a Member of Parliament guilty of making "separatist" or "islamist" remarks and sentenced to a years imprisonment is banned for life from any political activity. The mayor of Istanbul was sentenced for reciting the following lines by the Turkish poet Mehmet Akif Ersoy, author of the words of the Turkish National Anthem: "The mosques are our barracks, the minarets our bayonets, the domes our helmets and the believers our soldiers". Written during the Turkish war of independence, these lines were intended to show that a united people could, strengthened by faith, win defeat their oppressors despite material shortages. For Mr. Erdogan, it was a way of saying to the population that "we are against the use of force to achieve power – the power of our faith is enough". For the Turkish prosecutors these lines, recited in the Kurdish town of Siirt were an incitement to race hatred. On 24 September Mr. Erdogan gave a Press Conference in the Town Hall, retransmitted on giant video screens to the several thousands of Istanbulis gathered on the square before the Town Hall. "I do not believe I have committed any crime, I am the innocent victim of an inequitable verdict. This is a tragedy and a shame that will remain in the annuls of Turkish Justice" declared the mayor of Istanbul, who is due to be incarcerated a few days later. Finally, on October 27th, the Turkish court of Appeals confirmed the sentence of one year’s jail on the President of the Turkish Association for Human Rights, Akin Birdal. This sentence was passed by the State Security Court on 28 July 1998 following a speech made by Mr Birdal in favour of a peaceful settlement of the Turco-Kurdish conflict. The Human Rights defender will soon be incarcerated. Moreover, under Turkish law, which deprives of their civic rights for life any of its citizens who have been sentenced to over 10 months imprisonment for offenses against the State ("its internal or external security and its indivisibility"), Akin Birdal will be stripped of all civil rights. He will no longer be able to preside over any organisation or stand for election to any public office or position. This iniquitous law, designed to eliminate from public view undesirable opponents, continues to act as a veritable political guillotine. Many hundreds of Kurdish public figures, as well as Turkish opponents, who have been spared by the wave of "political murders by unidentified persons" (faiili meçhul) have thus been set aside politically "by due process of law".… One by one society’s principal voices are thus being stifled. This sentencing of Akin Birdal, who almost miraculously escaped an attempt on his life and who enjoys an international reputation, has provoked reactions even amongst members of the Turkish Establishment itself. In an article dated 28 October 1998, Ilnur Çevik, Editor in Chief of the English Language daily Turkish Daily News, expressed his anxieties about the impact abroad of this series of sentences for crimes of opinion: Is this the way for the State to protect itself? Is it a remedy for Turkey’s present problems to imprison the defender of Human Rights Akin Birdal? Or is it something that will create still further complications? Can we protect the Turkish Republic and preserve its democratic values by banning political parties and jailing individuals for expressing their opinions? Our leaders seem to justify the poor Human Rights record and the lack of democracy by maintaining that the State is trying to protect itself against the forces of evil, but this argument is ill understood and ill explained in the West, which is why our country is criticised… The latest example to date is the confirming verdict, by the Court of Appeals, approving the sentence of one year’s jail, on the grounds of separatism, passed on Akin Birdal, President of the Association for Human Rights. Today, like a number of other writers, journalists and Islamic mayors, Birdal will have to serve a prison sentence for expressing his opinions… Must we suffer such a setback on the eve of the celebrations of the 75th Anniversary of the Turkish Republic? Turkey has committed some vital mistakes in the past, and we hope that our leaders will have learnt the lessons for today. The banning of the pro-Kurdish Party for Democracy (DEP) led some of its M.P.s to jail. Others fled the country and have taken part in the "Kurdish Parliament in Exile", inspired by the PKK, which remains our main concern… Does no one in Turkey noticed the international sympathy shown for Akin Birdal when he was subjected to an attempt in his life by a gang of ultra-nationalists? Didn’t they see how people of international standing made a point of coming to meet Birdal? Hasn’t our people realised that by imprisoning Birdal we are creating an impression that is the very opposite of a good image for Turkey? We had just begun to see a few favourable signs in Turkey/European Union relations and here comes a negative development, of our own doing, that could spoil everything (…) We can’t just jail people for expressing their opinions and expect that our Western friends, led by the United States, show understanding when we say that we are doing it to preserve national unity and solidarity… We may not share Birdal’s opinions. We may feel that he is an extremist and that his opinions are "dangerous". Despite this, in a free society individuals are free to put forward their points of view in whatever form they wish, without fearing any persecution. Nothing was settled when they fired at Birdal. Nothing will be solved when Birdal is jailed. On the contrary, Turkey’s credibility and its poor human rights record will be still more eroded. Our country does not deserve this". |
Since Turkey’s role as central exchange of the international drug trafficking and of the laundering of dirty money is more and more criticised by Ankara’s Western allies, the Turkish authorities have just decreed a gigantic official laundering operation by promising immunity from any legal proceeding or enquiries to those who deposit their capital in Banks before the deadline of September 30th. This date is decreed as the beginning of a new financial era (Mali Milat). No one will be questioned on the origin of funds and goods acquired before that date, which will be officially assumed to be legitimate. Wealth acquired after 30 September would, theoretically, be more closely watched by the Turkish Treasury, as well as cash deposits in excess of a certain amount.
As the Editor in Chief of the Turkish Daily News, Ilnur Çelik, observed, this operation has given rise to a wave of financial transactions involving the purchase, for astronomical sums, of televisions stations, factories or hotel chains. In a country where the minimum wage is about $ 140 per month, a private television network paid $2.5 million for the transfer of a journalist. "Where does all this money come from?" asks Mr Çelik. "Since no one asks any questions about the source of these funds, we must not be surprised if our country has such a bad reputation abroad" he concludes.
In the daily Yeni Yüzyil of 20 September, the editorial writer Mensur Akgun comes back to this issue, giving extracts from an article written by the President of the Kurdish Institute published in the July 1998 issue of Le Monde Diplomatique on the interpenetration of State and mafia in Turkey. "How can one refute his arguments and his information drawn from unchallenged official documents? One can certainly state that he is a separatist or hostile to Turkey to dodge any discussion of the basic issues, but with what credibility? Who would believe us? We have, unfortunately, no valid arguments to set against him since our government has not belied the facts he quotes, which are so harmful to our reputation abroad" he concluded.
The "new financial era" operation will certainly bring everything back to square one and allow several billions of dirty dollars to be laundered. But Turkish citizens remain sceptical about the promise of stricter controls over the immense financial flows, of criminal origin, which feed the Turkish economy and keep it afloat.
TURKEY RECALLS ITS AMBASSADOR TO ITALY IN PROTEST AT THE HOLDING OF A MEETING OF THE "KURDISH PARLIAMENT IN EXILE" IN ROME. The meeting, on September 29th and 30th, of the Kurdish Parliament in exile, in the room of an annex of the Italian Parliament, provoked the fury of the Turkish authorities who screamed at "betrayal" by an allied country. "How can a member state of NATO welcome a terrorist organisation that threatens the unity and territorial integrity of another nation" declared Mr. Korkmaz Haktanir, Turkish Under-Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs. Turkey had pulled out all the stops to secure the banning of this meeting. Mr Hikmet Çetin, Speaker of the Turkish Parliament, contacted his Italian opposite number on 25 September. The Turkish Foreign Minister also sent a letter to his opposite number and summoned the Italian Ambassador in Ankara to raise the serious consequences such a meeting would have on relations between the two countries.
For its part, the Italian Government pointed out that it had no means of preventing Italian Members of Parliament from welcoming whoever they wanted in a room in Parliament or of holding a meeting there. In a letter to his Turkish colleague, the Italian Foreign Minister, Lamberto Dini, wrote, in particular "Whatever may be my and the Government’s regrets at such an initiative, it is a matter of the prerogatives of our Members of Parliament (…) I hope that this episode will not have any consequences on the excellent relations existing between our two countries".
In Turkey where, as was seen during the Peace Conference in Ankara on 8 May 1997, a meeting supported by Ministers and Members of Parliament can be forbidden on the order of the Army, the Italian explanation of the "prerogatives of Members of Parliament" failed to convince. Ankara talks of "conspiracies", of the "wakening of the spirit of Sevres aiming at the partition of Turkey and the creation of a Kurdistan" (Editors note: The International Treaty of Sevres, annexed to the Treaty of Versailles that ended W.W.I, signed in 1920 envisaged the creation of a State of Kurdistan and an Armenia). Finally on 2 October Turkey recalled its Ambassador to Rome, Inal Batu, "for consultations". It threatens to "punish" Italy by excluding it from defence and building contracts, in which the Italians are very competitive. In particular, it is said that the firm Augusta will be excluded from the important helicopter gunship contract. A few months ago, the participation of the Franco-German Eurocopter company was "suspended" because of the vote by the French National Assembly of a resolution recognising the Armenian genocide of 1915.
THE CANADIAN POLICE CARRY OUT A FULL BODY SEARCH ON THE TURKISH FOREIGN MINISTER AND HIS SUITE. After the arrest of several bosses of the Turkish drug mafia carrying Turkish Diplomatic passports, these passports are themselves becoming more and more objects of suspicion in the eyes of Western police. These suspicions have ended by personally affecting the head of the Turkish Foreign Office himself. Returning from New York, where he had been attending the General Assembly of the United Nations, Mr Ismail Cem went on an official visit to Canada. At Montreal Airport, in steady of being passed through the VIP Lounge without any checks, as is the usual diplomatic practice, he was subjected to a full check of his passport and, above all, of a full body search and a detailed examination of his luggage and that of his suite.
According to Hurriyet on 13 October, reporting on "this diplomatic scandal", although Mr Cem brandished his passport and declared loud and clear several times to the Canadian police "I am the Turkish Foreign Minister; I am here on an official visit to your country" the Canadians refused to take any notice, and examined all his possessions with a fine tooth comb. Because as the daily paper commented, "since mafia godfathers have been arrested in so many countries, including Canada, carrying diplomatic passports, Western police have become very suspicious. "There are even darker days ahead. It is those who have compromised Turkey’s credibility with the Mafia godfathers who are responsible for this situation" concludes Hurriyet.
In the same issue of that daily, the Turkish public learns that, according to the testimony of one of the principal heads of the Turkish Secret Service (MIT), Mehmet Eymur, before the Court of Enquiry into the Susurluk scandal, for just one operation directed against the leader of the extreme left Dev-Sol organisation, Dursun Karatas, the head of the Turkish National Police, Mehmet Agar, sent 80 Kgs of heroin to Germany, via the Turkish Mafia bosses Yazar Oz and Murettin Guven. The German police was able to seize the drug. The ringleader of this traffic, M. Agar, far from receiving any reprimand, was promoted Minister of the Interior, then Minister of Justice, in Mrs Çiller’s governments. Having all the powers of control at his disposal, he was able to continue, at his leisure, all his dubious traffics under the pretext of fighting against terrorism and defending his country.
THE PKK’S CEASE FIRE IS NOT TAKEN UP. The unilateral cease-fire decreed by the PKK has had hardly any effect in the different operational theatres in which the Army and its auxiliaries confront the PKK forces. In some places the clashes have even intensified. According to the Super-Governor’s Office in Diyarbekir, quoted by AFP, just in the week-end of 12-13 September "22 PKK rebels" are said to have been killed in clashes in the provinces of Diyarbekir, Tunceli (North) Batman (South-East) and Hakkari on the Iraqi/Iranian borders.
The Turkish media and the political caste continue to ignore the appeal for a cease-fire and negotiations launched by A. Ocalan. The latter has even declared, in a broadcast by the Kurdish channel MED-TV that he was ready to dissolve the PKK if Turkey recognised Kurdish cultural rights and identity. Hussamettin Cindoruk, President of a small conservative group, the Party of Democratic Turkey which is in the coalition government, was the only well-known Turkish political figure to implicitly support the PKK’s cease-fire appeal. Mr. Cindoruk, who was Speaker of Parliament before his expulsion from Mrs Çiller’s DYP, declared on 11 September: "Turkey will get nowhere by masking this problem and delaying a solution. The talks which have begun now between Britain and Ireland form a model of the new methods that might be sought (…) The Kurdish problem is Turkey’s biggest challenge. If you call this terrorism, you are mistaken. If you call this a guerrilla war you are mistaken. If you honestly state the reason for this rebellion or protest, you wont go wrong. In that region there is a Kurdish problem."
Mr Cindoruk’s rather belated lucidity has provoked hardly any discussion in Turkey, where the media seem to have received orders to avoid giving any publicity to this subject.
The fact that the PKK states it has decreed a cease fire in Turkey while continuing with renewed vigour to attack Mr. Barzani’s KDP in Iraqi Kurdistan also damages its credibility. The Iraqi Kurds continue to say they have no quarrel with the PKK, which is a politico-military organisation of the Kurds of Turkey, and as such has no business in Iraqi Kurdistan, They accuse Syria and Iran of using the PKK to destabilise Iraqi Kurdistan. The PKK media daily publish unverifiable news of the exploits of its fighters against the KDP forces.
THE REPORT OF THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION ON TURKEY: MANY ANOMALIES. On Wednesday 4 October, the European Commission made public its report on Turkey as a candidate to membership of the European Union. The Commission noted that there had been very little progress in the area of Human Rights. "Evaluation of the ability of Turkey to conform to the Copenhagen criteria illuminate certain anomalies in the working of the public authorities, in Human Rights and in the protection of minorities" the report stresses. The report criticises the power of the Turkish Army and Ankara’s attitude towards its Kurdish population. "The report … also insists on the importance of a civilian solution to the situation in South-Eastern Turkey, since many of the Human Rights violations are linked to this question".
The Turkish Foreign Ministry asked the Commission to withdraw its evaluation: "the existence of many unfounded statements and declarations in the political evaluation of Turkey gives the report an erroneous character. It is clear that the European Union’s Commission needs to evaluate Turkey more attentively".
Turkey’s relations with the countries of the European Union degenerated when, in December 1997 Ankara’s application for membership was not accepted by the Luxembourg summit. At the Cardiff summit, the 15 announced the drawing up of a report which would examine Turkey’s application on the same level as that of the 11 other candidates.
THE GERMAN GREENS RESTATE THEIR OPPOSITION TO ANY ARMS SALES TO TURKEY. In an interview given to the Berliner Zeitung newspaper, Gerhard Schroeder’s Green government partners, through their defence policy spokesperson Angelica Beer, raise more and more sharply their opposition to any kind of arms sales to Turkey, that they accuse of constantly violating Human Rights. Angelica Beer states that the previous conservative Government had assured the Greens of its decision not to send arms to Turkey, and in the event of this being untrue, her party would mobilise to have such a decision put into practice. The protocol signed with the Social Democrats lays down as conditions for the export of arms certain criteria regarding Human Rights in the purchasing country. Thus, Ms Beer concludes: "these criteria also apply to Turkey, which is a member country of NATO".
31 AMERICAN NGOS CALL ON THEIR GOVERNMENT TO BLOCK THE SALE OF EQUIPMENT INTENDED FOR THE TURKISH POLICE. The contract by American firms to supply the Turkish police with 80 armoured troop carriers and 60 crown control vehicles has aroused sharp reactions amongst the American Human Rights NGOs.
Recalling that this $38 million contract will be financed by the US Import-Export Bank, the American branch of Amnesty International points out, in a statement made public on 4 September, that the Leahy Law clearly stipulates that the Import-Export Bank funds cannot be used to supply security equipment abroad if there is credible proof of massive Human Rights violations. As far as Amnesty International is concerned, "it is appalling" that the Clinton Administration should consider a sale of this kind "to a country having such a horrendous record in the area of Human Rights". "It is outrageous that the State Department fails to apply the Leahy Law and that it should authorise a sale to Turkish police units known responsible for torture and ill treatment" added Dr. William F. Schutz, Executive Director of Amnesty, who considers that Secretary of State Albright should not authorise the finalisation of this sale. Amnesty then recalls some of the most serious cases of Human Rights violation by the Turkish Police in the recent period.
On September 11, 31 NGOs, including Amnesty, Washington Kurdish Institute, Arms Trade Resource Centre and Arms Sales Monitoring Project wrote a joint letter to Mrs. Albright calling on her to observe the Leahy Law and asking her to prevent this sale of equipment that is "counter-productive and inimical to American interests" to the Turkish police which uses it to continue its abusive practices.
TURKEY IMPLICATED BY THE GEOPOLITICAL DRUGS OBSERVATORY. In a resolution passed on September 17th 1998, the European Parliament had solemnly called on Turkey "to cease to be the grand central junction of the international drug trade". In its report for the period 1997-1998 just made public, the Geopolitical Observatory of Drugs presses home the point and devotes a great section to Turkey. Throwing a spotlight on the alliance between the Çiller clan, a number of Senior Police Officers with the Grey Wolves and extreme right mafia groups, and their implication in the heroin traffic, the report gives a very detailed description of the state of affairs of the Turkish networks, whose extent had forced the European Parliament to warn Turkey. On the Turkish side, these fresh revelations, linked with the fierce struggle of private interests and settling of scores, continue to agitate the political scene. A senior police officer has, in turn, been accused of being implicated in the 1995 assassination of Nesim Balki, a very rich businessman described in the Turkish press as "a Jewish usurer".
THE EUROPEAN COURT FINDS TURKEY GUILTY IN THE YASA/KAYA CASE. Ruling on the complaint of the family of Esref Kaya, a newspaper seller, who was assassinated by "unidentified killers", the European Court for Human Rights, in a judgment published on 3 September 1998 found Turkey guilty and fined it $ 3,600 plus $7,200 legal costs. Esref Kaya had already escaped one assassination attempt by policemen who demanded that he stop selling the pro-Kurdish daily Özgur Gündem (since banned ). As soon as he recovered he resumed the distribution of this pro-Kurdish paper and was assassinated in April 1993. His uncle, Hasim Yasa, replaced him as distributor of the paper, despite threats by the police, and was assassinated in front of his house on June 14th. A younger brother of Esref, Yalçin, 9 years of age, took over the sale – this child was machine-gunned and killed in November 1993.
The European Court was unable to establish who was responsible for this series of assassinations nor the identity of their authors. It found Turkey guilty of not having seriously enquired in to the petitions of E. Yasa’s relatives.
IN UNDP’S ASSESSMENT, TURKEY COMES IN 69th POSITION. The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)has just made public its annual report including a classification of member countries of UNO in order of human development. Contrary to the classifications by GNP, the UNDP takes into account factors such as education, life expectancy, distribution of wealth etc. In this international classification, Canada comes at the top of the list, followed by France. Turkey, second greatest importer of weapons in the world, over the last few years, is in 69th position for human development. The UNDP annual report also reveals that 20% of the worlds population consumes 86% of its created wealth, that every year the inhabitants of the United States and the European Union spend $ 17 billion on feeding their cats and dogs and declares that one third of this amount, i.e. $ 5.6 billion, would suffice to ensure the schooling of all the children in the world.
THE TURKISH ARMY,IN ITS TURN, REJECTS THE TRUCE PROPOSED BY THE PKK. (AFP, 1 September 1998) p.1
SOUTH-EASTERN TURKEY TENSE DESPITE THE REBEL’S CEASE FIRE. (Reuters, 1 September 1998) p.1
THE WASHINGTON KURDISH INSTITUTE: A GOOD MOMENT FOR A POSITIVE RESPONSE to the PKK cease fire. (Washington Kurdish Institute, 1 September 1998) p.2
MASSOUD BARZANI VISITING TURKEY. (AFP, 2 September 1998) p.2
AMKARA DEMANDS THE EXTRADITION OF A TURKISH MAFIOSO arrested in France. (AFP, 2 September 1998) p.2 ---
THE FORMER PKK COMMANDER: DAMASCUS THE "HEADQUARTERS OF THE KURDISH REBELLION. (AFP, 3 September 1998) p.4
THE KURDISH EX-REBEL SAYS THAT SYRIA SUPPORTS THE ANTI-TURKISH STRUGGLE. (Reuters, 3 September 1998) p.4
FORMER KURDISH REBEL’S LAWYERS QUIT TURKISH TRIAL. (Reuters, 2 September 1998) p.4
IRAQI KURDS EXCHANGE PRISONERS. (Associated press, September 1998) p.4
BUSH’S BOOK DETAILS GULF WAR DILEMMA. (International Herald Tribune, 3 September 1998) p.5
THE COUNCIL OF EUROPE TO SENT A HUMAN RIGHTS TEAM TO TURKEY. (Reuters, 4 September 1998) p.5
THE SYRIAN TRADING CENTRE RE-OPENS IN IRAQ. (Intermational Herald Tribune, 4 September 1998) p.6
PKK SAID TO BE HOPEFUL FOR THE CEASEFIRE. (Turkish Daily News, 4 September 1998) p.6
BARZANI COMPLAINS OF IRANIAN INTERFERENCE. (Turkish Daily News, 4 September 1998) p. 7
BIRDAL’S AGGRESSORS "MIGHT BE AN ARMED ORGANISATION". (Turkish Daily News, 4 September 1998) p.7
REMINISCENCES OF TERROR. (Turkish Daily News, 4 September 1998) p.8.
TURKEY: WHEN WILL THERE BE A "CLEAN HANDS" OPERATION? What tasks were assigned to the extreme right secret agents?
FROM THE SUSURLUK AFFAIR TO ÇAKICI. (Courrier International, 3 September 1998) p.9.
MR. CEM EXPRESSES DOUBTS OVER THE MEETING BETWEEN THE IRAQI KURDISH LEADERS. (AFP, 4 September 1998) p. 10
MR. ECEVIT ACCUSES IRAN AND SYRIA OF "OPENLY" SUPPORTING THE PKK. (AFP, 4 September 1998) p. 11
TURKEY: A DEMONSTRATION IN FAVOUR OF THE ISLAMIC HEAD-SCARF – 49 SUMMONSES. (AFP, 4 September 1998) p. 11
TURKEY: THE PRIME MINISTER SEEKS TO DELAY THE ELECTIONS. (AFP, 4 September 1998) p. 11
DANIELLE MITTERRAND SUPPORTS THE PKK TRUCE, according to a newspaper. (AFP, 4 September 1998) p. 11
THE PKK TRUCE: THE PKK CHIEF IS WAITING TO "UNDERSTAND" THE STATE’S ATTITUDE. (AFP, 6 September 1998) p. 12
NOW IS THE TIME FOR THE UNITED STATES TO WORK ON RELATIONS WITH IRAN. (International Herald Tribune, 5-6 September 1998) p. 13
THE TURKISH MINISTER CALLS ON THE KURDISH REBELS TO SURRENDER. (Reuters, 5 September 1998) p. 13
ANKARA IRRITATED BY THE LATEST AMERICAN ATTEMPT IN NORTHERN IRAQ. (Turkish Daily News, 5 September 1998) p. 14
THE SECURITY FORCES KILLED 12 PKK TERRORISTS LAST WEEK. (Turkish Daily News, 7 September 1998) p. 15
TURCO-ISRAEKI RELATIONS AS YILMAZ ARRIVES IN ISRAEL: Just short of an akkiance, (Turkish Daily News, 7 September 1998) p. 16
ECONOMICS BEHIND THE SOUTH-EASTERN PROBLEM. (Turkish Daily News, 7 September 1998) p. 17
TEHERAN THREATENS THE TALIBANS OVER THE DISAPPEARED DIPLOMATS.
8 MEN ARRESTED IN TURKEY OVER A PLOT TO SELL RUSSIAN URANIUM. (International Herald Tribune, 7 September 1998) p. 18
FOR NOW, THE CASPIAN SEA WEALTH SEEMS LIKE AN ALCHEMIST’S DREAM. (International Herald Tribune, 8 September 1998) p. 19
THE EUROPEAN DELEGATION CALLS FOR A truce in the turco-kurdish conflict. (Reuters, 8 September 1998) p. 20
IRAN CONSIDERS IT HAS THE RIGHT TO INTERVENE MILITARILY IN AFGHANISTAN. The Talibans are massing men on its border. (Le Monde, 8 September 1998) p. 21
SYRIA CONDEMNS TURKEY BUT SAYS IT WANTS DIALOGUE. (Reuters, 8 September 1998) p. 22
THE KURDS SEEK AMERICAN PROTECTION AGAINST IRAQ. (Daily Telegraph, 9 September 1998) p. 23
A PUK DELEGATION IN ANKARA. (Anadolu Agency, 9 September 1998) p. 24
THE RUSSIAN DUMA SUPPORTS THE KURDISH GUERRILLA CEASE FIRE. (Inter Tass, 9 September 1998) p. 24
THE ELECTION RESULTS TO THE KURDISH PARLIAMENT IN EXILE. (Med TV, 7 September 1998) p. 25
NECMETTIN ERBAKAN ON TRIAL FOR "INCITEMENT TO RELIGIOUS HATRED". (AFP, 9 September 1998) p. 25
WORLD BANK MAKES $ 360 MILLION LOAN TO TURKEY. (AFP, 10 September 1998) p. 26
IRAN WANTS TO SHOW ITS "PRUDENCE"OVER THE TALIBANS. (Le Monde, 9 September 1998) p. 26
ANKARA WARNS THE PUK AGAINST ANY HOSTILE ACTIVITY. (AFP, 10 September 1998) p. 26
TURKEY CONFIRMS NEW JOINT AIR MANOEUVRES WITH ISRAEL. (Turkish Daily News, 10 September 1998) p. 27
ISRAEL’S FLIRTATION WITH TURKEY WORRIES THE ARAB WORLD. The Prime Minister, Mesut Yilmaz, on a visit to Nathanyahou (Libération, 4 September 1998) p. 29
TURKEY CANNOT TURN ITS BACK ON THE PUK REALITY. (Turkish Daily News, 10 September 1998) p. 30
TURKEY STATES IT IS WATCHING THE RAPPROCHEMENT BETWEEN GREECE, IRAN AND ARMENIA. (Turkish Daily News, 10 September 1998) p. 31.
ANKARA RECALLS ITS AMBASSADOR TO LIBYA FOR CONSULTATIONS. (AFP, 11 September 1998) p. 32
KHATAMI SAYS THAT IRAN IS READY TO ACT TO RESOLVE THE CRISIS WITH THE TALIBAN. (Interbational Herald Tribune, 10 September 1998) p. 33
THE UN SECURITY COUNCIL MAINTAINS SANCTIONS ON IRAQ. KOFI ANNAN IS TO CARRT OUT AN "OVERALL REVIEW" REQUESTED BY BAGHDAD. (Le Monde, 11 September 1998) p. 34
TALABANI IRRITATES ANKARA. (Turkish Daily News, 11 September 1998) p. 34
BARZANI: POSITIVE FIRST DAY OF WASHINGTON VISIT. (Turkish Daily News, 11 September 1998) p. 35
THE PUK LEADER DENIES THE KURDISH ASPIRATIONS ALLEGED BY TURKEY. (Turkish Daily News, 10 September 1998) p. 36.
ANKARA RECALLS ITS AMBASADOR TO TRIPOLI IN THE MIDDLE OF A GROWING CRISIS. (Turkish Daily News, 12 September 1998) p. 36
MR. KHATAMI CRITICISES TURCO-ISRAELI MILITARY CO-OPERATION. (AFP, 13 September 1998) p. 37
DISPITE DIVERGENCIES, IRAN AND TURKEY WANT TO COOPERATE. (AFP, 13 September 1998) p. 38
TEHERAN TELLS ITS ARMYTO PREPARE FOR AFGHANISTAN. (International Herald tribune, 16 September 1998) p. 39-40
TURKEY SAYS "NO" TO A PERMANENT KURDISH GOVERNMENT IN NORTHERN IRAQ. (Reuters, 16 September 1998) p. 40
THE KURDISH LEADERS MEET IN A GOOD ATMOSPHERE THE U.S. STATES. (Reuters, 16 September 1998) p. 41.
U.S. KURDS – IRAQ. (Associated Presss, 16 September 1998) p. 41-42
BARZANI MEETS TURKISH AMBASSADOR IN WASHINGTON. (Turkish Daily News, 17 September 1998) p. 42
HADEP PREPARES FOR ITS GRAND CONVENTION. (Turkish Daily News, 17 September 1998) p. 43
THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT’S SOCIALISTS NOMINATE AKIN BIRDAL FOR HUMAN RIGHTS AWARD. (Turkish Daily News, 17 September 1998) p. 44
ANKARA: THE ARRANGEMENT FOR NORTHERN IRAQ SHOULD BE TEMPORARY. (Turkish Daily News, 17 September 1998) p. 44-45
THE TURKISH FOREIGN MINISTER ATTACKS SYRIA OVER THE KURDS. (AFP, 17 September 1998) p. 45
BARZANI: THE U.S. WILL CONTINUE TO PROTECT THE KURDS. (AFP, 15 September 1998) p. 45-46
THE IRAQI KURDS SHAKE HANDS. (BBC News, 18 September 1998) p. 46
MASSOUD BARZANI AND JALAL TALABANI DESIDE TO RESOLVE THEIR DIFFERENCES. (AFP, 18 September 1998) p. 47
AMERICAN NGOS CALL ON THEIR GOVERNMENT TO BLOCK THE SALE OF ARMS TO THE TURKISH POLICE. (Gamk, 18 September 1998) p. 48
IRAN: A WAR AGAINST THE TALIBANI? A HELLISH VICIOUS SPIRAL. (Courrier International, 17-23 September 1998) p. 48-49
SADDAM HUSSEIN IS A DANGER TO THE GULF.(AFP, 18 September 1998) p. 49
DELAYING A COMPLETE BREAK, IRAQ COUNTS ON ANNAN.
(International Herald Tribune, 18 September 1998) p. 49
A MEETING ON AFGHANISTAN WILL BE THE FIRST BETWEEN THE U.S. AND IRAN SINCE 1979. (Le Monde, 19 September 1998) p. 50
ALBRIGHT COULD MEET HER IRANIAN OPPOSITE NUMBER. (International Herald Tribune, 18 September 1998) p. 50-51
THE KURDISH CHIEFS PUT AN END TO THEIR RIVALRY IN NORTHERN IRAQ. (International Herald Tribune, 19-20 September 1998) p. 51
IRAQ ATTACK TURKEY’S PROPOSALS ON NORTHERN IRAQ. (Reuters, 19 September 1998) p. 52
WASHINGTON CONFIDENT ABOUT THE VIABILITY OF THE AGREEMENT BETWEEN THE KURDISH FACTIONS IN IRAQ. (AFP, 22 September 1998) p. 52
IRAN DENIES ‘OPENING’ TO U.S. THE CULTURAL INITIATIVE WAS MISUNDERSTOOD, SAYS KHATAMI. (International Herald Tribune, 23 September 1998) p. 53
THE INTER-KURDISH AGREEMENT AWAKENS THE TURKISH FEARS OF A KURDISH STATE. (AFP, 26 September 1998) p. 54
THE GREEK PARLIAMENT DECLARES SEPTEMBER 14 "GENOCIDE DAY". (Turkish Daily News, 25 September 1998) p. 54-55
FRANCE: SENTENCE PASSED ON AN ALLEGED BOSS OF THE TURKISH MAFIA. (Reuters, 24 September 1998) p. 55
TURKEY WORRIED AT THE EVENTUALITY OF A RECONCILIATION BETWEEN THE TWO IRAQI KURDISH CHIEFS. (Gamk, 23 September 1998) p. 56
TURKEY OBJECTS TO A FEDERAL SYSTEM IN NORTHERN IRAQ. (Reuters, 23 September 1998) p. 56-57
THE NEXT MEETING BETWEEN THE KDP AND THE PUK IS FIXED FOR NOVEMBER IN ANKARA. (Turkish Daily News, 24 September 1998) p. 57-58
DEMONSTRATORS TAKEN INTO DETENTION IN ISTANBUL ACCORDING TO ANATOLIA NEWS AGENCY. (AFP, 26 September 1998) p. 58
ANKARA ANNOUNCES THE SENDING OF AN AMBASSADOR TO BAGHDAD. (AFP, 26 September 1998) p. 58-59
THE INTER-KURDISH AGREEMENT: ANKARA ACCUSES LONDON AND WASHINGTON OF HYPOCRISY. (AFP, 24 September 1998) p. 59
IRAN AWAITS "CONCRETE ACTIONS"FOR AN OPENING TO THE U.S. (Le Monde, 24 September 1998) p. 60-61
THE TURKISH STATE CONTINUES, UNABATED ITS CAMPAIGNAGAINST THE ISLAMISTS. (AFP, 23 September 1998) p. 61
THE TURKISH KURD PARTY SEEKS LOCAL ELECTION WINS. (Reuters, 22 September 1998) p. 62-63
THE TURKISH HUMAN RIGHTS FOUNDATION WILL RECEIVE THE EUROPEAN HUMAN RIGHTS PRIZE. (Turkish Daily News, 24 September 1998) p. 63
… AND THEY FINISHED OFF MAYOR TAYIP ERDOGAN. (Turkish Daily News, 24 September 1998) p. 63-64
THE TURKISH COURT CONFIRMS THE JAIL SENTENCE ON THE MAYOR OF ISTANBUL. – The mayor of Istanbul: "Turkish Courts are not independent". (International Herald Tribune, 24 September 1998) p. 64-65
THE PKK CEACE FIRE IS NOT FOLLOWED UP. (Gamk, 24 September 1998) p. 65
AFGHANISTAN AND THE OIL STAKES. The bit of black gold under the talibans feet. – IRAN ENVISAGES AN AIR ATTACK ON KABOUL, – the mysterious head of the talibans. (Courrier International, 24-30 September 1998) p. 66-69
TANSU ÇILLER AND THE HEADSCARF. (Courrier International, 24-30 September 1998) p. 69
IRAQ: REVELLATIONS BY A DEFECTOR FROM THE SADDAM SYSTEM. (Courrier International, 24-30 September 1998) p. 69-70
ANKARA REINFORCES ITS RELATIONS WITH IRAQ. Iran’s diplomatic offensive. (International Herald Tribune, 246-27 September 1998) p. 70
ANKARA WARNS ROME ABOUT A MEETING OF THE KURDISH PARLIAMENT IN EXILE. (AFP, 28 September 1998) p. 71
THE ARAB LEAGUE WELCOMES ANKARA’S DECISION TO APPOINT AN AMBASSADOR TO BAGHDAD. (AFP, 28 September 1998) p. 71-72
MR. ECEVIT DENOUNCES THE EUROPEAN COUNTRIES THAT "SEEK TO DIVIDE TURKEY". (AFP, 28 September 1998) p. 72
THE PKK’S ARMED STRUGGLE ID "LEGITIMATE" ACCORDING TO THE "KURDISH PARLIAMENT IN EXILE". (AFP, 29 September 1998) p. 73
IRAQ AND SYRIA CALL ON TURKEY TO DISCUSS THE WATER PROBLEM. (AFP, 29 September 1998) p. 73
THE MAFIA’S HAPPY DAYS IN TURKEY. – Turkey is a country where mafiosi of all kinds – casino bosses, hired guns, drug dealers enjoy solid political protection. (Le Monde, 1 October 1998) p. 74-75.
JOSEPH YACOUP: "THE SOLUTION TO THE IDENTITY QUESTION DEPENDS TO A GREAT EXTEND ON PEACE". (Occitania, September-October 1998) p. 76-77
TURKEY:FREE LEYLA ZANA. (Faits & Arguments, September-October 1998) p. 78
ANKARA REINFORCES ITS MILITARY BASES ON THE SYRIAN BORDER. (AFP, 1 October 1998) p. 78-79
TURKEY ATTAKS THE KURDISH REBEL STRONGHOLD. (Reuters, 1 October 1998) p. 79.
CLOUDS OVER HELICOPTER DEAL VALUED AT $ 785 MILLION. (Turkish Daily News, 1 October 1998) p. 79-80
THE CO-CALLED KURDISH PARLIAMENT IN EXILE. (Turkish Daily News, 1 October 1998) p. 79-80
NO MESSAGE FROM ROME TO CORRECT THE MISTAKE. – ITALY AND THE PKK. (Turkish Daily News, 1 October 1998, Turkish Daily News, 2 October 1998) p. 81-82
TURKEY WARNS SYRIA OF ITS "RIGHT TO REPRISALS". (Turkish Daily News, 2 October 1998) p. 83
TURKEY SAID TO BE DEPLOYING TROOPS NEAR SYRIA OVER DISAGREEMENT ON THE KURDS. (International Herald Tribune, 2 October 1998) p. 84
ANKARA MORE NAD MORE UNABLE TO STAND THE INDULGENCE OF THIRD PARTIES TOWARDS THE PKK. (AFP, 3 October 1998) p. 84-85
DAMASCUS DENIES ANY CONNECTION WITH THE TURKEY/PKK CONFLICT. (AFP, 2 October 1998) p. 85-86
TURKEY PROTESTS AT THE PEACE AGREEMENTSIGNED IN WASHINGTON BY THE IRAQI KURDISH CHIEFS. (Gamk, 3-4 October 1998) p. 86
ISRAEL STATES ITMIS NOT TAKING SIDES IN THE TURKISH-SYRIAN DISPUTE. (AFP, 4 October 1998) p. 87
FRESH TURKISH ARMY INCURSION INTO IRAQ AS TENSION RISES BETWEEN ANKARA AND DAMASCUS. (Associated Press, 4 October 1998) p. 87-88
TURKEY WARNS SYRIA AGAINST SUPPORTING THE KURDISH REBELS. – The Army wants a tougher foreign policy. (Le Monde, 4-5 October 1998) p. 89
"THE TALIBANI HAVE DONE WHAT THE SOVIETS HAD AVOIDED: HUMILIATED THE IRANIANS". (Le Monde, 4-5 October 1998) p. 8
WHAT WAS SIGNED BETWEEN THE KDP AND THE PUK IN WASHINGTON AND WHAT IS IT LEADING TO? (Turkish Daily News, 5 October 1998) p. 90-92
THE FINAL STATEMENT OF THE 17 SEPTEMBER MEETING OF THE LEADER. (Turkish Daily News, 5 October 1998) p. 92-95
ISRAEL DISTANCE’S ITSELF FROM THE QUARREL. (Turkish Daily News, 5 October 1998) p. 95-96
NEARLY 2,000 DEATHS IN THE OPERATIONS IN THE SOUTH-EAST IN THE COURSE OF THE LAST NINE MONTHS. (Turkish Daily News, 5 October 1998) p. 96
TURKEY WARNS SYRIA AGAIN NOT TO SUPPORT THE KURDISH REBEL. (International Herald Tribune, r October 1998) p. 96-97
LIBYA TAKES THE SIDE OF SYRIA IN ITS QUARREL WITH TURKEY. (Reuters, 6 October 1998) p. 97
RUSSIA CALLS ON TURKEY AND SYRIA TO RESOLVE THEIR DISPUTE. (Reuters, 6 October 1998) p. 97
THE TURCO-SYRIAN QUARREL AROUSES REGIONAL WORRIES. (BBC News, 6 October 1998) p. 98
MEDIATION BY THE EGYPTIAN PRESIDENT BETWEEN SYRIA AND TURKEY. (Le Monde, 6 October 1998) p. 98
THE SYRIAN PRESIDENT HAS CHOSEN GENERAL LAHOUD AS FUTURE LEBANESE HEAD OF STATE. – The Army Commander in Chief arouses some hope in Beyrouth. (Le Monde, 7 October 1998) p. 99
TURKEY IN A STATE OF UNDECLARED WAR WITH SYRIA, ACCORDING TO THE TURKISH ARMED FORCES CHIEF OF STAFF. (Gamk, 7 October 1998) p. 99-100
THE IRANIAN MINISTER BEGINS HIS MEDIATION IN DAMASCUS. (International Herald Tribune, 9 October 1998) p. 100.
THE TURKISH PREMIER THREATENS SYRIA. (Associated Press, 11 October 1998) p. 100-101
THE SANCTIONS IMPOSED ON IRAQ HAVE FAILED, CONSIDERS A UN OFFICIAL. (Le Monde, 10 October 1998) p. 101
IN IRAN THE DEATH SENTENCE ON A GERMAN IS CONFIRMED. – HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH DEMANDS THE LIBERATION OF FOUR ASSOCIATES OF THE IRANIAN DAILY "TOUS". (Le Monde, 111-12 October 1998) p. 102
IRAN DENIES THE DEATH SENTENCE ON A GERMAN. (Associated Press, 11 October 1998) p. 102-103
THE TURCO-SYRIAN CRISIS: DAMASCUS READY TO DISCUSS THE PKK WITH ANKARA. (A.F.P., 12 October 1998) p. 103-104
MEMBERSHIP OF THE EUROPEAN UNION IS WORTH $24 BILLION TO TURKEY. (Turkish Daily News, 12 October 1998) p. 104
THE KURDS, "AN ASSASSINATED PEOPLE". – The conurbation is living to a Kurdish rythm till 25 October. Suayip Adlig, representing the Kurdish Institute of Paris presents a photographic exhibition testifying to the situation of her people. Kendal Nezan came to inaugurate this exhibition. – THE KURDS: APEOPLE TORN APART. (Ouest -France, 10-11 October; La Presse de la Manche,12 October 1998) p. 105, 106
KURDISH MUSIC AT THE CULTURAL CENTRE. (La Presse de la Manche,8 October 1998) P, 105
MORE NATIONS TRYING TO PUT AN END TO THE TURCO-SYRIAN DISPUTE. (International Herald Tribune, 10-11 October 1998) p. 105
TURKEY: THE ARAB WORLD, WHAT A DISAPPOINTMENT! – Turkey-Syria, Iran-Afghanistan: new fault lines. – The Turkish President speaks "Israeli". (Courrier International, 15-21 October 1998) p. 107-108
THE KURDISH QUESTION: "AN IMMENSE BUT LITTLE KNOWN HUMAN TRAGEDY". – A lecture was organised in the Octeville Municipal Theatre on the theme: the present situation of the Kurdish people. A meeting which gave rise to a stormy debate with some Turks present in the hall. (La Presse de la Manche, 14 October 1998) p. 109
A PALESTINIAN DEMONSTRATION TO SUPPORT SYRIA AGAINST TURKEY. (AFP, 14 October 1998) p. 109-110
THE PKK IS PROTECTED BY ITS FINANCIAL STRENGTH. (Turkish Daily News, 16 October 1998) p. 110-112
THE TURKISH POLICE DETAINS 550 PEOPLE AND PREVENTS A PRO-KURDISH DEMONSTRATION. (Reuters, 17 October 1998) p. 112-113
FANTASIES ABOUT IRAQ. (International Herald Tribune, 20 October 1998) p. 113
TURKEY AGAIN FACES UP TO SYRIA. (BBC News, 120 October 1998) p. 113-114
THE UNITED STATES DREAM OF OVERTHROWING SADDAM. – Congress approves $97 million for his Iraqi enemies. International Herald Tribune, 21 October 1998) p. 114
SYRIA RELATIVISES THE AGREEMENT ANNOUNCED BY ANKARA ON THE PKK SEPARATISTS. (AFP, 22 October 1998) p. 115
ANKARA QUESTIONS IF THE AGREEMENT WITH DAMASCUS WILL HOLD. (AFP, 22 October 1998) p. 116
ANKARA CALLS ON RUSSIA TO EXPEL KURDISH LEADER OCALAN. (Reuters, 22 October 1998) p. 117
TURKEY WILL "CLOSELY MONITOR" SYRIA’S NEXT STEPS. (Turkish Daily News, 22 October 1998) p. 117-120
ÇILLER CALLS YILMAZ A "PSYCHOPATH". (Turkish Daily News, 22 October 1998) p. 121
RUSSIA ADMITS THAT THE PKK CHIEF IS IN MOSCOW, ACCORDING TO MR. YILMAZ. (AFP, 23 October 1998) p. 121-122
PARIS WELCOMES THE AGREEMENT BETWEEN SYRIA AND TURKEY. (AFP, 23 October 1998) p. 122
FIVE KURDISH DETAINEESBURN THEMSELVES ALIVE. (AFP, 24 October 1998) p. 122-123
KURDISH DEMONSTRATION IN MARSEILLE AGAINST ANKARA’S "PROVOCATIONS". (AFP, 24 October 1998) p. 123
THE UNITED STATES WILL HELP TURKEY PAY FOR THE PIPELINE. (International Herald Tribune, 22 October 1998) p. 123
IN A PACT WITH TURKEY, SYRIA PROMISES TO STOP HELP TO THE KURDS. (International Herald Tribune, 23 October 1998) p. 124
LITTLE BY LITTLE IRAQ EMERGES FROM ITS ISOLATION. ECONOMIC RELATIONS ARE INCREASING WITH FORMERLY HOSTILE NEIGHBOURS. (International Herald Tribune, 23 October 1998) p. 124
CONFRONT SADDAM’S REGIME WITH A VIABLE KURDISTAN. (International Herald Tribune, 22 October 1998) p. 125
KURDS DEMONSTRATE AT BERNE AGAINST THE JAMMING OF A KURDISH TELEVISION. (AFP, 24 October 1998) p. 124
TURCO-SYRIAN AGREEMENT OVER THE KURDISH REBELS. – Damascus commits itself not to provide support for the PKK on its territory. Ankara crows victory. (Libération, 22 October 1998) p. 126
AYCHE ZARAKOLU RECEIVES THE FREEDOM PRIZE AT THE FRANKFORT BOOK FAIR. (UGAB, 24 October 1998) p. 126-127
A JAILED TURKISH MAFIOSO LIVING LIKE A KING. (AFP, 26 October 1998) p. 127-128
TEN KURDISH REBELS KILLED IN AN ARMY OPERATION, ACCORDING TO ANKARA. (AFP, 26 October 1998) p. 128
TURKEY SAYS IT WILL RESTRICT THE FLOW OF OIL THROUGH THE BOSPHORUS. (The Wall Street Journal, 26 October 1998) p. 128
A KDP official DISPUTES REUTERS’ REPORT ON A CLASH WITH THE PKK. (The Kurdistan Observer, 27 October 1998) p. 129-130
THE IRAQI KURDISH LEADERS HOLD TALKS IN LONDON. (BBC News, 27 October 1998) p. 130
PUBLIC PROSECUTORS SUE AN ISLAMIST LEADER. (Reuters, 28 October 1998) p. 130-131
THE TURKS UNEASY AS THE PKK PREPARES TO ADOPT A MORE ACCEPTABLE IMAGE. (The Guardian News Service, 28 October 1998) p. 131
IS HADEP TRYING TO COMMIT SUICIDE? (Turkish Daily News, 27 October 1998) p. 132
WHAT ABOUT SADDAM? (International Herald Tribune, 28 October 1998) p. 133
ACCORDING TO REPORTERS SANS FRONTIÈRES, FREEDOM OF THE PRESS CONTINUES TO BE FLOUTED IN TURKEY. – Repport on repression of media in Turkey. (Le Monde, 28 October; Gamk, 30 October; Center to Center, October 1998) p. 133, 134
THE UNITED STATES, TURKEY AND ISRAEL ENVISAGE JOINT MANOEUVRES. (International Herald Tribune, 28 October 1998) p. 133
PARIS CALLS FOR RESUMPTION OF THE UNO/IRAQI TALKS. (International Herald Tribune, 28 October 1998) p. 133
SYRIA:NIZAR NAYUFF JAILED. (Center to Center, October 1998) p. 134
THE IRANIAN AUTHORITIES REPRESS INDEPENDENT NEWSPAPERS. (Center to Center, October 1998) p. 134
THE 75TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE NATION: A VEIL OVER ATATURK’S LEGACY. – For the Turks tension over religion is rising. (International Herald Tribune, 30 October 1998) p. 135-136
TURKEY BOOSTS EFFORTS TO DRUM UP SUPPORT FOR THE CASPIAN PIPELINE. (The Wall Street Journal, 30-31 October 1998) p. 136
TURKEY CONSTRAINS SYRIA TO DROP THE KURDS. (Pèlerin Magazine, 30 October 1998) p. 137
IRAN: MODERNISERS AND CONSERVATIVES CANCEL ONE ANOTHER OUT. (Le Monde, 30 October 1998) p. 138
THE POLICE SAY THAT THE HIJACKER WAS A SUSPECT IN THE KILLING OF TEACHERS. (CNN-Interactive, 31 October 1998) p. 138
THE UNITED STATES AND TURKEY FAVOUR THE SOUTHERN ROUTE FOR THE CAPIAN OIL PIPELINE. – The geostrategic stake is Russian influence in Transcaucasia. (Le Monde, 31 October 1998) p. 139
IN TURKEY THE ANSWER TO THE KURDISH QUESTION IS INTERNAL. (Le Monde, 31 October 1998) p. 140
A HIJACKER SHOT DOWN IN TURKEY. (Le Monde, 31 October 1998) p. 140
SOME OBSTACLES IN THE TURCO-SYRIAN TALKS WHICH CAN BE OVERCOME. (Al Hayat, 21 October 1998) p. 141
DID TURKEY WANT TO GO TO WAR WITH SYRIA? (Al Hayat, 26 October 1998) p. 141
THE GREEK POLICE SAVE 263 KURDS FROM DROWNING. (Al Hayat, 30 October 1998) p. 141
TURKEY ACCUSES RUSSIA OF WELCOMING THE PKK CHIEF. IT CALLS ON SYRIA TO OBSERVE ITS COMMITMENTS. (Al Hayat, 22 October 1998) p. 142
UNIVERSITIES IN IRAQI KURDISTAN UNDER THE SHADOW OF THE UN EMBARGO. (Al Hayat, 25 October 1998) p. 144
ABBAS EL JANNABI: ODEY HUSSEIN (SADDAM’S SON) IS ELIMINATING MINISTERS AND REINFORCING HIS CONTROL OVER INFORMATION. (Al Hayat, 20 October 1998) p. 146
MOSCOW SEEKING SOLUTIONS TO THE OCALAN PROBLEM. (Al Hayat, 20 October 1998) p. 147
MOSCOW: NO IMFORMATION ON THE PRESENCE OF OCALAN ON ITS TERRITORY. ANKARA: SUBSTANTIAL PROGRESS IN THE NEGOTIATIONS WITH DMASCUS. (Al Hayat, 21 October 1998) p. 147
TURKEY DEMANDS THAT ITALY REPAIR ITS MISTAKE IN AUTHORISING THE HOLDING OF A MEETING OF THE KURDISH PARLIAMENT IN EXILE ON ITS TERRITORY. ANKARA: SUBSTANTIAL PROGRESS IN NEGOTIATIONS WITH DAMASCUS. (Al Hayat, 1 October 1998) p. 148
DEMEREL IN ALEXANDRETTA: THIS IS SYRIA’S LAST WARNING. (Al Hayat, 16 September 1998) p. 149
WASHINGTON PROPOSES SOLUTIONS FOR RECONCILIATION AND THE TWO CHIEFS MEET ALBRIGHT. (Al Hayat, 18 September 1998) p. 149
TURKISH FEAR ABOUT WASHINGTON’S WELCOME FOR THE KURDS. A KURDISH STATE IN IRAQ WOULD THREATEN TURKISH SECURITY. (Al Hayat, 16 September 1998) p. 150
BARZANI: WE ARE NOT PART OF THE TURCO-ISRAELI-AMERICAN AXIS. An interview. (Al Hayat, 15 September 1998) p. 151
TALABANI: I WILL MEET BARZANI IN THE CONTEXT OF THE AMERICAN MEDIATION. WE WILL QUESTION THE AMERICANS ON THEIR POSITION REGARDING THE OPPOSITION AND IRAQ. (Al Hayat, 10 September 1998) p. 152
KURDISH HOPE OF A MEETING BETWEEN BARZANI AND TALABANI. (Al Hayat, 2 September 1998) p. 153
OCALAN’S FORMER LIUTENANT THINKS THAT IT IS SYRIA THAT IS THE DECIDER, NOT OCALAN. (Al Hayat, 16 September 1998) p. 153
WASHINGTON: 4 OBJECTIVES FOR THE DISCUSSIONS WITH THE TWO KURISH CHIEFS, THE FIRST OF WHICH IS RECONCILIATION. (Al Hayat, 10 September 1998) p. 153
