Judge Sami Selçuk, President of the Turkish Court of Appeals opened the new judicial year of 2000 - 2001 by, once again, giving his fellow citizens a magisterial lecture on Law and Democracy. Before a selected audience of representative of public bodies, the leaders of political parties, the media and the country’s most senior civil authorities he tackled, in a 115-page long speech, the problems of human rights, democracy, the State of Laws, the rights of citizens before the State, the independence of the judiciary, freedom of expression, the State’s back slidings, going from the freedom from legal responsibility of officials to the routine practice of torture and corruption not to mention the questions of the day like the death sentence, amnesty and Turkey’s application for membership of the European Union.
Firmly taking up an Anglo-American view of a State of Laws, Judge Selçuk considered the present Turkish Constitution, imposed by the Turkish Army in 1982, as being more of a set of "police regulations" than a text of fundamental rights. According to him, this Constitution, whose conceived in an authoritarian spirit, cannot be amended – a new social contract must be drawn up, placing the individual and his rights, not the State, at the heart of the philosophy of this fundamental law. The Turkish Penal Code must be purged of its "flowers of evil" (Editor’s Note: the freedom-killing clauses) which earned the country 11 condemnations by the European Human Rights’ Court in a single day; the widespread and routine practice of torture is "an national shame and disgrace". The law on the trial of State officials who, in practice, organise their own impunity, must be abolished – there is only the Congo to equal it for corruption and irresponsibility. Officials, like all other citizens, must face trial before ordinary courts.
"In a world where everything can be remedied and is subject to reparation, the death sentence. which is an irreversible primitive punishment, is an ignominy – it must be abolished" forcibly added Selçuk, who has campaigned for this abolition since 1970. He also called for a widespread amnesty to heal the wounds of a sick society and re-establish civic peace.
Regarding the European Union, which is not "an unreal dream for a country that, in its past , has known neither the Inquisition or racial segregation " we must reform our institutions so as to be in conformity with the Copenhagen criteria, "which, after all, are not supernatural rules ". "The E. U. has set its unchanging conditions. Let us not fool ourselves – the European Union which does not console itself with illusions, is not going top change. It is Turkey that must change from A to Z by restructuring itself ".
Judge Selçuk’s lesson in tolerance and democracy, sprinkled with quotations from Descartes, Voltaire, Spinoza, Pascal, Russell, Nietzsche and Hegel, as well as Jesus and Mohammed, was not to every one’s taste. Forewarned about it, the Prime Minister had excused himself and kept away. The principle media gave it little space reproaching him for not having mentioned "the Islamic peril " which, according to the Generals, is supposed to be threatening the Republic.
Will Selçuk, the spokesman for a State of Laws, be marginalised by the Turkish establishment?
The massacre of over forty Kurdish civilians by the Turkish Air Force, perpetrated on 15 August at Kendakot, in Iraqi Kurdistan (See our Bulletin N° 177 of 28 August), which passed unnoticed by the media, was the subject of a "Resolution of the European Parliament on Turkish bombing raid in Northern Iraq " passed on 7 September at a plenary session in Strasbourg.
Here are extracts from this important resolution:
The European Parliament:
?- in view of its previous resolutions on the situation in Turkey and, in particular, those concerned with Turkish raids on Northern Iraq;
?- in view of the European Convention for protecting Human Rights and fundamental freedoms as well as the International Convention against torture, ratified by Turkey;
?- in view of the status of candidate for membership granted to Turkey by the Council at its Helsinki meeting in December 1999.
A. Considering that on 15 August 2000 the Turkish Armed Forces bombed villages in the Northern Iraqi region of Kendakor, causing several dozen killed and wounded amongst the civilian population;
B. Considering that the bombing of Kurdish villages in Northern Iraq by the Turkish Armed Forces constitutes a violation of the territorial integrity of Iraq and of international law;
C. Considering that Turkey has committed itself, as a candidate for membership of the E.U. to satisfying the Copenhagen criteria;
1. Expresses its condolences to the families of the victims of the Turkish air raids of 15 August 2000 in Northern Iraq;
2. Demands that the international borders of all the countries in the region be respected and, consequently, condemns all Turkish incursions into Iraqi territory as being contrary to international law;
3. Repeats its deepest conviction that recognition of the fundamental rights of the Kurds is an essential element in the process on democratisation of Turkey, as well as the process for that country’s joining the Union, as laid down by the Copenhagen criteria;
4. Invites the member states to respect the code of conduct regarding the export of arms in the case of Turkey as well. Reaffirms its conviction that there can only be a peaceful and political solution to the Kurdish question, which must include the remedying of the underdevelopment of the region;
6. Demands that the Commission and Council stress that only the respect of Human Rights, of a State of Laws as well as international law will enable Turkey to continue claiming the status of a candidate for membership of the European Union;
7. Demands that its Presidency transmit this resolution to the Council, to the Commission as well as to the Turkish Parliament.
The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) carried out, jointly with the World Food Programme (WFO), a fact finding mission in Iraq and Iraqi Kurdistan to assess the population’s food and nutritional situation.
The mission carried out its work in the three governorates of the South and Centre, where the Iraqi Government is responsible for the execution of the UN "Oil for Food" Programme, and in the "semi-autonomous governorates" of Iraqi Kurdistan, where the programme is carried out by UN agencies (UN Inter-Humanitarian Programme) jointly with the local Kurdish authorities.
The mission found that, since the application of the Oil for Food Programme in 1997 "there has been no improvement in the rate of infantile malnutrition in the South and Centre of the country and nutritional problems remain serious and wide spread ". The enquiry shows that over 10% of Iraqi children of under five years of age show signs of "acute malnutrition". The mission considers this rate "unacceptably high " and "observes only a marginal decrease " in this rate in these Iraqi governorates since its last enquiry in 1995 – despite the application of the "Oil for Food Programme" since 1997, which has generated billions of dollars of revenue which, in principle, should have been devoted to the nutritional needs of the population.
In Baghdad, 12% of the under five year olds are, because of under nourishment, under size for their age, and this rises to 27% in the rural province of Diala.
The mission observes that the situation is "brighter in the Northern governorates of Dohuk, Irbil and Suleimaniah ". According to the report, the Oil for Food Programme has brought about significant improvements in the state of health, the death rate and the nutritional state of the population.
In the Kurdish North, the "underweight problem" has been virtually eliminated and chronic under nourishment amongst the under fives has dropped from 26% in 1996 to 18% in 1999.
A UNICEF enquiry carried out in 1999 had shown that the infant mortality rate In Iraqi Kurdistan had dropped from 80 per 1,000 in the 1984-89 period to 72/1,000 in the 1994 -1999 whereas the rate had doubled over the same periods in the Baghdad administered parts of the country the mission reports, concluding: "this progress is not due to the Oil for Food Programme rations distributed top the Kurdish population (which are the same as those that the Iraqi regime is supposed to distribute to those Iraqis under its administration) but to the general economic growth" in Kurdistan thanks to better administration.
Before the Oil for Food Programme the Iraqi government distributed rations of 1295 calories per head. The Programme has allowed this to rise to 2000 calories and 43.3 grams of protein per day in the 1998/1999 period.
At present , these rations are 2199 calories and 48.2 grams of protein per head, which the mission considers "reasonably adequate in calories and protein ".
However, the administration, widely corrupt, does not distribute these rations equitably, but favour its clients and sells a substantial part of the supplies, destined to feed the Iraqi citizens, on the markets of neighbouring countries, including Lebanon and Jordan.
This under-nourishment, organised by the Iraqi regime, is then used by it as a propaganda weapon for foreign consumption to denounce "the genocide of the Iraqi people", while in Iraqi Kurdistan, with similar per capita resources but more efficient administration, the populations enjoys increasing food supplies ¿ despite a certain amount of wastage by UN agencies responsible for the Oil for Food Programme in the Kurdish provinces.
On 6 September the European Parliament passed a resolution with a view to establishing a common position of the Parliament and Council with a view to setting up joint action for the economic and social development of Turkey.
On its second reading Parliament altered its common position with the Council as shown below (amendments shown in bold).
Amendment 1
Article 4, para. 1 clause a
?- a. modernisation of the productive system, the improvement of the capacity of the institutions and infrastructures, in particular in the areas of environment, power and transport, except for the development of nuclear energy, especially in zones exposed to earthquakes;
h) all cooperation aiming at the defence or promotion of democracy, a State of Laws, Human Rights and the respect of minorities, as well as the protection and recognition of their cultural identity and help for initiatives in support of abolition of the death sentence;
h. b) all forms of cooperation aiming at the settlement of the Kurdish problem;
The Kurdish problem, of which the Turkish authorities continue to deny the very existence, thus becomes an essential fact in the negotiations between Turkey and the European Union.
Kamran Inan, is one of the pillars of the nationalist and conservative Turkish political establishment. Grandson of a Kurdish chief hanged by Ataturk for his part in the Kurdish independence uprising of 1925, and of an Armenian mother, he has, for the last forty years, been one of the most zealous defenders of Turkish nationalist theses against the Armenians and Kurds. His concern for the preservation of the State went so far as to zealously defend the successive Turkish military regimes, including the terrible 1980 Army junta. His obedient services earned him the pleasure of various ministerial positions.
Pursuing a talented practice of "political tourism" in a country where the principle political parties licensed by the Army show hardly any ideological differences, he is at present president of the Parliamentary Foreign Affairs Commission.
In this, largely ceremonial, position, he meets many Westerners. The task assigned to him by the brains of the Turkish "deep State" (local code expression for the armed forces) is to tell foreigners that Kurds do not suffer any discrimination in Turkey since he is of Kurdish origin and occupies such a prestigious position. In brief, K. Inan is the conservative equivalent of his "social democratic" predecessor, Hikmet Çetin, who also, in Western company, like to show off his Kurdish origins to demonstrate the same thesis.
Through constantly playing this role of defender of the State, Mr. Inan has ended up trapped in his own contradictions by discovering, rather late, that this State has gone adrift, undermined by corruption, waste and irresponsibility. While his present party, ANAP, is part of the government coalition, he has felt an irresistible need to fax to all the principal newspapers, a 22 page screed on the crimes of the Turkish political system.
His prose enjoyed little response in the media. Only an old former fellow student at from Faculty of Political Science, Çetin Altan, non-conformist editorialist of the daily Sabah, opened his column to his in the 9 September issue of the paper. Here are some extracts:
1. The Turkish system rewards traitors, appreciates the talents of thieves, offers comfortable positions to the ignorant. Holders of the record in the production of traitors, we are also notorious for thieves and the forming of ignorance. We are the only country to have printed bank notes of 10,000,000 currency units. The Germans and Swiss have stopped at 1,000 and the Americans have come last with $100 bills. What do those who reacted to the promise, in the 50s, (Editor’s Note: at the time of the democratic Prime Minister Adnan Menderes, hanged by an Army coup d’état ) to create "a millionaire in every town district"? The must now be glad to see billionaires.
2. A great part of the people are deprived of any consciousness of culture or of their rights. A starving and unemployed man cannot be free. In Turkey, everything is thought out and planned to suit those who rule. The duties of those who are ruled is to ensure the prosperity of those who rule, to carry them on their shoulders – they cannot claim rights and services for themselves. Their equality is hidden in the dusty pages of laws.
3. All the means and resources are used by those who rule – they have 350,000 official residences – more than the total number of schools in the country. All public institutions, including the constitutional institutions and the Turkish Grand National Assembly live in ghettoes, cut off from the society of which they are a part. They have their own residences, their own cars, their shops, sometimes even their own schools, separated from the people, turned in on themselves. This system now covers the whole country and has assumed the appearance of a colonial structure.
4. With 125,000 official cars and 162,000 official telephones, the Turkish beaurocracy holds another record. Every year, an average of 15,000 civil servants travel abroad on alleged missions and spend $70 million. Over 3,000 officials of various institutions, who do not speak any foreign language and no not fulfill any need or render any service, live abroad and salaried tourists and waste resources that could have been used for providing drinking water supply to villages in need.
5. Our beaurocracy, which is disproportionately large in comparison with the population, is at the bottom of the scale in terms of working hours and productivity. It members enjoy an even greater immunity than the members of Parliament. They are protected by the armour of a special law on trying officials.
And, when that is found to be insufficient, the State Council, protector of officials, shelters them from any legal action. The officials demand accountability from others but are accountable to no one.… They make full use of their prerogatives but refuse all responsibility.
President Clinton, in the course of five years, has been able to reduce the number of civil servants by 250,000 and make savings of $108 billion. Everywhere the State is withdrawing from interference in individuals’ lives. In Turkey, the opposite is the case. The strength of the political powers is unable to control the dictatorship of the beaurocracy. The Turkish beaurocracy has never accepted the primacy of elected representative.
6. In the period when there were two Assemblies, before 1980, there were 650 people employed by the Parliament. Today there are 5,500 people are employed by our single Assembly. An office boy earns more than a general manager. Parliament works three days a week for 4 hours a day – in the budget for the year 2000, that works out at $80,000 per hour, one of the most expensive of all similar institutions in the world.
According to K. Inan, Turkey has more official Mercedes than Germany, while, through lack of schools and resources, over a million children are unable to attend school. This former minister also challenges the official statistics and states that, on the level of human development, Turkey has fallen to the level of certain African countries.
K. Inan’s diatribe against bureaucracy, however, does not contain a single word about the ubiquitous armed forces. It appears at a time when the Minister of the Interior declares that his is beginning a "crusade " against gangs of "mafia-politician-beaurocrats ". A vast programme!
The publication of the latest book by journalist Cüneyt Arcayürek, the political advisor of former Turkish President Süleyman Demirel entitled "The patient man’s dream become reality " (Note: in Turkish "Bekleyen adamin gerçellesen düsü ") is causing a great stir in politico-media circles at the moment. In his book, C. Arcayürek recounts the highlights of Turgut Ozan’s presidency and that of his successor Suleyman Demirel. The Turkish newspapers were immediately fascinated by Süleyman Demirel’s confidences on the Kurdish question. Mr. Arcayürek reports, in his book, his conversation with Mr. Demirel on 16 January 1998 and attributes the following remarks to him: "Soon after forming her government (1993), Tansu Çiller visited me. She told me: ‘I am going to solve the terrorist problem with the help of the Special Action Units (TIM)’ I answered her ‘Listen to me. The day will come when these units will be a real headache for you. You will be unable to control them, and anything may happen to you. This country doesn’t have two Armies. You must solve the terrorist problem with the Army." She became all pally with Chief of Staff Dogan Güres and other Army leaders …"
Cüneyt Arcayürek then adds: "the President’s bald remarks point the finger at those responsible for political instruction (…) ." According to the book, Mr. Demirel is said to have continued: "This case (Susurluk) is always classed as an "unsolved murder". Yet the authors are obvious. But … it can’t be proved. To clarify the situation, that is to say to discover who gave the orders to the mafia gangs, Mehmet Agar, (Editor’s Note: former Minister of the Interior, former head of National Security, deeply implicated in the links with the mafia) must speak out." The 18 September issue of the Turkish daily Hurriyet carried the headline "It was Çiller who had the Kurdish businessmen killed ". According to the journalist, Süleyman Demirel told him that the "unsolved" murders of 60 Kurdish businessmen in 1993 were paid for on the verbal instructions of Mrs. Çiller.
Extracts from the book also deal with the Kurdish policy of Turgut Ozal. According to Mr. Arcayürek, the latter had proposed to his Prime Minister of the time, Süleyman Demirel, that they collaborate with the Iraqi Kurds to form a federation, but that Süleyman Demirel had refused, maintaining that "this would mean dividing the country ".
Questioned about the book, Süleyman Demirel simply replied "I will not discuss the subject ". As for Mrs. Çiller, she limited herself to saying that she acted in accordance with the law, and that if she had to do it again she would do the same.
Can Atakli, a journalist on the daily Sabah, wrote the following in his column on 20 September: "Here we have the former President of the Republic recognising that the State is implicated in the "unsolved" murders and, moreover, that the instigator is non other than the Prime Minister at the time. Should not legal proceedings be started against the Prime Minister for those "unsolved murder", against the President of the Republic for his inaction in the face of the events, and on the Army commander and the Director of National Security for having executed those orders? Lets wait and see whether, once again, the whole affair will be hushed up? "
AKIN BIRDAL FREED AFTER SERVING HIS SENTENCE. Akin Birdal, Vice-President of the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) and former President of the Turkish Association for Human Rights (IHD) left prison on 23 September, having completed his 10 months jail sentence for "provoking racial hatred" by his calls for a peaceful solution to the Kurdish conflict in 1995 and 1996. He had been released on 25 September 1999 for six months on health grounds, having served part of his sentence, as from June. He was then re-incarcerated last March to serve the rest of his sentence. He benefited from a reduction in his term, as provided for under Turkish law.
Mr. . Birdal had already spent a year in prison, accused of activity in support of the PKK. He was seriously wounded in May 1998 in an attack perpetrated at the offices of the IHD. His assailants and their accomplices were sentenced, in December, to sentences varying between 10 months and 19 years imprisonment.
On coming out of jail he declared "I hope and pray that I will be the last victim of any "thought crimes". In an interview given to the English language paper Turkish Daily News, he did not fail to give the latest news about the Kurdish M.P.s incarcerated in the same prison:
DEP deputies Leyla Zana, Hatip Dicle, Orhan Dogan and Selim Sadak are currently serving sentences at Ankara Closed Central Prison. Hatip Dicle has problems with his stomach and digestive system. But all four of them are hopeful about the future. Orhan Dogan has a very high performance. He does everything in the ward, from cooking to writing and serving as a legal counselor, and he helps people who are sick or have problems.… Leyla Zana says that if she is acquitted after seven years, she will come out with "bare feet". In other words, she wants to tread on the soil with bare feet. Although she says that she feels very well, she suffers from a drop in blood pressure. That is why she looks pale. Leyla Zana’s life has been spent in prison – first as the wife of an inmate and then as a convict. But she does not feel rancor and anger at any one, and is hopeful for the future of democracy and brotherhood" … The democraty movement, which includes Kurdish politicians and intellectuals, has been stalled. An initiative intended to unite Turkish and Kurdish workers under one roof did not take off and the Kurdish politicians decided to join the Peopleís Democracy Party (HADEP). But it would be wrong to conclude from that the efforts to pull together democratization and human rights efforts in Turkey have been given up (…) While my democratic and political rights were suspended under Article 312, I will continue to work for democracy and peace. In any case, I have certain responsabilities as the deputy chairman of the International Human Rights Federation. It is not necessary to have a certain status to be a human rights activist; I will do whatever is necessary under the present conditions.
NADIRE MATER, TAKEN TO COURT FOR UNDERMINING THE ARMY’S MORALE, HAS BEEN ACQUITTED. On 29 September, an Istanbul Assize Court acquitted Nadire Mater, a Turkish journalist whose book "Mehmettin Kitabi" (The soldier’s book), published in May 1999 was a collection of the testimonies of 42 conscripts who were doing their national service in Kurdistan. In this book, of which nearly 20,000 copies have been sold, the soldiers interviewed anonymously openly talked about the sacking of villages and the oppression of the civilian population as the Army’s method against the PKK. Nadire Mater, as well as his publisher, and the publishing house Métis, were accused of undermining the morale of the Turkish Armed Forces and all risked prison sentences of between two and twelve years imprisonment. After the hearing, Nadire Mater stated: "We are glad – but this doesn’t mean that all violations of freedom of expression have disappeared in Turkey ", Hüseyin Semih Sökmen, the publisher, for his part added: "Our victory is more than symbolic. This was a case against the Army, since it was the Commander in Chief of the Army himself who started proceedings against us ". The public prosecutor has a week in which to appeal against the finding.
ELEVEN HADEP MEMBERS ARRESTED IN SIRNAK. Eleven members of the People’s Democratic Party (HADEP), including Resul Sadak, President of the Sirnak province organisation of the party and other local leaders, called in for questioning on 23 September were formally placed under arrest on 1st October 2000. The Turkish authorities maintain that they had seized arms in a HADEP convoy which was returning to Sirnak. HADEP, for its part, denounced this as a political plot, declaring that "these allegations have no basis whatsoever " and calling for the "immediate" freeing of its members.
REPORT ON HUMAN RIGHTS’ VIOLATIONS IN TURKEY IN AUGUST 2000. The Turkish Association for Human Rights (IHD) has just made public its August 2000 report on Human Rights violations in Turkey. The following are extracts of the essential points:
| Number of "unsolved" murders | 4 |
| Number placed in detention | 1120 (including 62 children |
| Number of people tortured | 98 (including 3 children) |
| Number of journalists detained | 3 |
| Number of newspapers searched | 1 |
| Number of TV stations banned | 3 |
| Number of audio cassettes banned in the Kurdish State of Emergency Region (OHAL) | 242 |
| The July 2000 figures are the following: | |
|---|---|
| Number of "unsolved" murders | 4 |
| Number placed in detention | 714 (including 24 children |
| Number of people tortured | 57 (including 11 children) |
| Number of journalists detained | 5 |
| Number of TV stations banned | 9 |
| Number of publications seized | 20 |
| Sentences for "crimes" of opinion | 2 years |
A TRIAL OF STRENGTH BETWEEN TURKEY AND THE EUROPEAN COURT FOR HUMAN RIGHTS. The Turkish Foreign Ministry has asked for an increase in the number of Turkish lawyers at the European Court for Human Rights, following the criticisms by Sami Selçuk, President of the Turkish Court of Appeals, who had stressed the fact that Turkey had been found guilty in eleven different cases in a single day, during his speech opening the legal year.
Questioned on the matter, Prs. Bakir Çaglar and Aslan Gündüz, who have both acted for Turkey at the European Human Rights Court, declared that the solution for reducing the number of condemnations was, rather, in the adoption of new laws to prevent fresh violations of rights and freedoms. The 1999 clearly illustrate Turkey’s depressing picture: 106 violations of the right to life, 109 cases of torture and inhuman treatment, 129 violations of personal safety, 232 violations of the right to a fair trial, 128 violations of freedom of thought and expression and 10 violations of the freedom of assembly. Turkey has already lost 17 cases this year.
According to the English language Turkish daily, Turkish Daily News, of 22 September, There were 2,661 pleas filed against Turkey before the European Court as of 1st September 20000. Between 1991, the date on which Turkey accepted that its citizens could apply to the Court, and 1998, 24 verdicts were against Turkey as against only 3 in its favour. In 1999 alone, there were 17 condemnatory verdicts, and 11 so far in 2000. The principal reason for the 1999 figures was a trial of 13 people arrested for their statements on the Kurdish problem. An analysis of recent cases before the European Court shows a change in the basis of pleas. There are, evidently, less cases calling to question the role of Army judges in the State Security Courts (DGM) and also regarding expropriation and failures to pay compensation, detention, attacks on life and inhuman treatment. The more recent pleas are more often based on violations of Article 10 of the European Convention on Human Rights, regarding freedom of expression, Article 6 on the right to a just trial and to expulsions from the Turkish Army because of religious observance.
Recently the Turkish government, accused by Nicosia of multiple violations of Human Rights in Cyprus, ostentatiously stayed away from the European Court for Human Rights on 20 September playing an abstentionist game. This gesture, described as a "challenge" by a diplomatic source of the Council of Europe, is the first in the history of the European Court.
Ankara had let it be known that it did not feel concerned by Nicosia’s accusations, which in particular cover the disappearance of 1,500 persons, the forced displacement of 211,000 others, plundered goods, the living conditions of Greek Cypriots in the Northern part of the island and the voting rights of the displaces Greek Cypriots. Ankara throws all responsibility for these onto the North Cyprus Republic which it unilaterally proclaimed in 1983, and which Turkey is the only country to recognise.
BULENT ECEVIT’S VISIT TO KURDISTAN. "I want to play in my village", "I want to return to my village" were the sort of banners with which the children of Siirt greeted Prime Minister Bülent Ecevit during his visit of 27 September. About a hundred people shouting "Biji asiti" ("Long live peace" in Kurdish) "No to the death sentence", "Peace Now", "No to ‘city villages’" (Editor’s Note: the name given to the "strategic hamlets" Ankara wants to build on the plains to group together the displaced Kurdish peasants) were ejected from the meeting place. Faced with the se protests, Ecevit limited himself to saying "Whoever wants peace must first lay down his arms". The Turkish authorities had, however, several times announced that fighting had reached zero level since the PKK had called for a cease fire and an end to armed struggle.
FLAGRANT EDUCATIONAL INEQUALITIES: 34% OF MINORS ARE ILLITERATE. The new school year in Turkey testifies, once again, to the obvious educational inequalities. According to statistics published by the Teachers Trade Union, Egitim-Sen (which, for this new school year 2000, the first since the virtually complete ending of fighting between the PKK and the Turkish Army, has drawn up a depressing assessment of the state of primary education in the country) 30% of the children of school age working (the majority of whom are Kurdish) and of these 4 out of 5 have completely given up all schooling. The remaining fifth go to school for half a day and work the other half, under a system which allows a teacher to teach two classes in the same day. The classes are generally overloaded, with up to 80 children per class, despite a declared objective of 30 per class – the national average being, in fact, 50.
According to Egitim-Sen’s figures, throughout Turkey 21% if all minors are illiterate, a figure that rises to 34% in Kurdistan and even 47% in the case of girls. There is also a shortage of 3,300 schools in the Kurdish provinces, out of a national total of 75,000. Similarly there is a shortage of 14,000 teachers.
The inequalities in access to education increase for access to secondary schools, which already only accept 22.4% of young Turks. Thus in Diyarbekir, there are only 6,000 places for 12,000 who pass their primary school leaving exam every year. And the regular erosion of the educational budget, which has passed from 13.2% of the national total in 1990 to 7.13% in 2000 is hardly calculated to reverse the trend.
• FRESH TENSION BETWEEN THE TURKISH PRESIDENT AND PRIME MINISTER. On 25 September, the Turkish President, Ahmed Necdet Sezer, again vetoed a government decree for the eventual privatisation of the State owned banks. The decree, which had the force of law and was sent to the President last week, was one of the preconditions laid down by the World Bank and the Japanese government, joint financiers of the project. The Presidency justified his decision by the fact that the matter was essentially an financial law which, under Article 91 of the Constitution, is the prerogative of Parliament.
Fresh tension is thus in the air between the Prime Minister, who is disinclined to work together with the Members of Parliament, and the President, who is much more concerned with democratic principles.
THE WORLD FEDERATION OF TWINNED TOWNS, ACCUSED OF SEPARATISM, REPLIES TO THE DAILY HURRIYET. On 22 September last, the Turkish daily Hurriyet published an editorial signed by its Editor in Chief, in which a seminar, planned for October and organised by the Federation Mondial des Villes Unies (FMCU – World Federation of United Townships) and the Diyarbekir City Council in South-East Anatolia, was said to be of a nature calculated to harm "the project of peace and union of HADEP with Turkey as a whole " by being only addressed to the towns of South East Anatolia. The General Secretary of the FMC asked for the right to reply to these accusations to establish the truth on the meaning of the FMCU’s action towards the Kurdish towns. We give below extracts from this reply by Mr. Michel Bescond, General Secretary of the FMC:
(…) Your article of 22 September attacking the FMC has created a misunderstanding that must be cleared up as soon as possible.
1) What is the FMC: First of all let us pinpoint the fact that the FMC is a major international organisation covering 1500 local authorities who have set themselves the task of acting in support of peace, of exchanges between peoples, of international cooperation between local authorities, of democracy, of local autonomy and the long term improvement of our living conditions. It also works so that those who are closest to the people, that is the elected local councilors, may be better heard at international level. Our correspondents are, therefore, mayors of towns and not representatives of political parties, whatever they may be.
2) The FMCU’s work in Turkey: Three Turkish town have benefited from the work developed by the FMC: IZMIR, SILFKE and ANTALYA. Izmir and Sifke are members of the MEDCITIES network, whose secretarial work is undertaken by the FMC(…)
3) The "twinning seminar" project. Thus, as a result of the last municipal elections in 1999, about forty towns, including Diyarbekir, asked to join our Federation and, last March, after having received encouragement from the Turkish Ambassador in Paris, who I met on 24 February last, I personally led a delegation of European mayors who met their Turkish opposite numbers and the governors of Van and Diyarbekir. I informed Mr. Sönmez KOKSAL, Turkish Ambassador to France, as of 26 March and 17 August last, that we had laid the bases of cooperative actions and that, so as to examine the relevance of our projects and the possibility of their financing, we proposed to co-organise, with the City of Diyarbekir, a "twinning seminar" on 26/28 October 2000 in the framework of the "Town Twinning" Funds of the European Commission (Directorate General of Information and Communication) which brings together the mayors of the Turkish member towns, or their representatives, and the mayors of different European towns, in particular French and Italian, and institutional representatives (European Union, Council of Europe, Congress of local and Regional Authorities, UNOPS Agency of the United Nations) and representatives of the French and Italian cooperation organisations. Obviously, we would never have envisaged the undertaking of such a project without concentration with the Turkish government. That is why I requested, in the same letter to His Excellency the Ambassador, an interview that he granted for 2 October next. We would be glad if you would accept, in the name of the right to reply, to inform your readers of our position and to assure them of the frank and disinterested proposal of cooperation from the European towns and their international federation (…).
AN ILL ADVISED SECRET PLAN FOR THE KURDISH SOUTH-EAST. Cengiz Çandar, a journalist on the Turkish daily Sabah, seriously pinpoints the Turkish authorities’ new "South Eastern plan" cooked up for the Kurdish regions (the eighth of that name) in his column of 17 September. This Army inspired plan deliberately ignores the cultural and linguistic issues. For their part, about twenty Kurdish members of Parliament coming from various Turkish political parties, have formed a Democratic Contact Group (DTG) to attempt to bring the issue before Parliament, which still looks like an observer, or even a rubber stamp, of decisions taken by the all powerful National Security Council (MGK). Here are some extracts from the article:
"An important "plan" was either leaked or "caused to be leaked" to the press during the week. It seems that this virtual "master plan," consisting of "107 articles," which was disclosed by journalists known to have close ties with the prime minister, was put into effect by Bulent Ecevit on 7 May. The plan is the "Southeast plan."
Presented as an "extremely comprehensive secret action plan," the blueprint is said to have been prepared-- as may be guessed -- upon the "recommendation" of the MGK [National Security Council] in December last year. Since the MGK in its present form is, as underscored by retired Lieutenant General Sadi Erguvenc in the magazine National Strategy, "an institution outside and even above the executive by any measure," it would not be wrong to label the "Southeast Plan" as the "MGK plan" rather than giving the credit to Ecevit. Moreover, neither would it be wrong to translate the MGK's "recommendations" as "decrees" or "instructions to the government," (…).
What is inconceivable is that such a fundamental and important plan should be called a "secret action plan." Will the "Southeast question" be solved without letting anyone see it? Will the Southeast develop without letting anyone see? Why is it a secret? Furthermore, how could such a "secret plan" be published in every detail in dailies with the highest circulation?
Since it is this "administration concept" that makes Turkey a "funny country" and turns its quest for accession to the EU into a venture that cannot be taken seriously, it is unnecessary and meaningless to search for an answer to these questions.
(…)"According to information obtained, some 'controversial' cultural topics such as education and TV stations broadcasting in Kurdish were not included in the plan. We learned that these topics were excluded from the plan because they were considered 'politicization.' On the other hand, reinforcement of the TRT's [Turkish Radio and TV Corporation] technical capabilities to enable its programs to reach every part of the region was identified as one of the key objectives.
Another comedy and a waste of time... The "controversial cultural topics" in question are actually the "Copenhagen criteria" themselves. The "problem" is the insistence on the same unsuccessful methods, regardless of how they have failed to find a solution for the past 70-odd years. It is the outdated mentality that reduces the "problem" to underdevelopment and believes that it will be solved through economic development, but never learns from past experience (…)
It is wrongfully believed that citizens living in the Southeast would develop a "Turkish identity" by means of the TRT, which is not even respected by the millions of Turks who watch it only in Turkish. In this "Internet age" in which there are Kurdish TV and radio broadcasts that can cross borders, the ostrich policy continues.
It is said that the first of the plan's "the three cornerstones" is "the above-party approach of all political parties to this action plan aimed at achieving development and prosperity in the Southeast." How will the political parties be informed of the "secret action plan" and thus adopt an "above-party approach"? Moreover, why should they develop such a strategy? Does this above-party approach not reflect a search for "political homogeneity"? Is this not "totalitarianism"? If every "fundamental issue" is to be handled based on "an above-party approach," what need would there be no need for a multi-party parliamentary system?
The most striking measure among those proposed to be taken in the Southeast is that bureaucrats will have to accept appointments to government offices in the Southeast in order to get a promotion to key posts. The bureaucracy has failed in the Southeast. Could there be a worse "administration philosophy" than having the top management of the state composed of those who have failed in the Southeast?
I would like to quote another part from the article written by Dr. Riza Turmen, a career diplomat and a justice of the European Court of Human Rights (…) : "Today we are witnessing the emergence of religious and ethnic identities as a result of the weakening of traditional ties such as citizenship and family in connection with globalisation. The strengthening, modernization, and democratization of the Republic depend to an extent on whether it will allow space for such ethnic and religious identities and be able to integrate them."
This does not seem likely with the broken-down mentality dominating Turkey. Therefore, let the two-paragraph "Copenhagen Criteria," which would transform the state, be applied instead of the 107-article "secret action plan" for the Southeast, and the Turkish Republic will gain strength"
READ IN THE TURKISH PRESS: AN ILL ADVISED SECRET PLAN FOR THE KURDISH SOUTH-EAST. Cengiz Çandar, a journalist on the Turkish daily Sabah, seriously pinpoints the Turkish authorities’ new "South Eastern plan" cooked up for the Kurdish regions (the eighth of that name) in his column of 17 September. This Army inspired plan deliberately ignores the cultural and linguistic issues. For their part, about twenty Kurdish members of Parliament coming from various Turkish political parties, have formed a Democratic Contact Group (DTG) to attempt to bring the issue before Parliament, which still looks like an observer, or even a rubber stamp, of decisions taken by the all powerful National Security Council (MGK). Here are some extracts from the article:
"An important "plan" was either leaked or "caused to be leaked" to the press during the week. It seems that this virtual "master plan," consisting of "107 articles," which was disclosed by journalists known to have close ties with the prime minister, was put into effect by Bulent Ecevit on 7 May. The plan is the "Southeast plan."
Presented as an "extremely comprehensive secret action plan," the blueprint is said to have been prepared-- as may be guessed -- upon the "recommendation" of the MGK [National Security Council] in December last year. Since the MGK in its present form is, as underscored by retired Lieutenant General Sadi Erguvenc in the magazine National Strategy, "an institution outside and even above the executive by any measure," it would not be wrong to label the "Southeast Plan" as the "MGK plan" rather than giving the credit to Ecevit. Moreover, neither would it be wrong to translate the MGK's "recommendations" as "decrees" or "instructions to the government," (…).
What is inconceivable is that such a fundamental and important plan should be called a "secret action plan." Will the "Southeast question" be solved without letting anyone see it? Will the Southeast develop without letting anyone see? Why is it a secret? Furthermore, how could such a "secret plan" be published in every detail in dailies with the highest circulation?
Since it is this "administration concept" that makes Turkey a "funny country" and turns its quest for accession to the EU into a venture that cannot be taken seriously, it is unnecessary and meaningless to search for an answer to these questions.
(…)"According to information obtained, some 'controversial' cultural topics such as education and TV stations broadcasting in Kurdish were not included in the plan. We learned that these topics were excluded from the plan because they were considered 'politicization.' On the other hand, reinforcement of the TRT's [Turkish Radio and TV Corporation] technical capabilities to enable its programs to reach every part of the region was identified as one of the key objectives.
Another comedy and a waste of time... The "controversial cultural topics" in question are actually the "Copenhagen criteria" themselves. The "problem" is the insistence on the same unsuccessful methods, regardless of how they have failed to find a solution for the past 70-odd years. It is the outdated mentality that reduces the "problem" to underdevelopment and believes that it will be solved through economic development, but never learns from past experience (…)
It is wrongfully believed that citizens living in the Southeast would develop a "Turkish identity" by means of the TRT, which is not even respected by the millions of Turks who watch it only in Turkish. In this "Internet age" in which there are Kurdish TV and radio broadcasts that can cross borders, the ostrich policy continues.
It is said that the first of the plan's "the three cornerstones" is "the above-party approach of all political parties to this action plan aimed at achieving development and prosperity in the Southeast." How will the political parties be informed of the "secret action plan" and thus adopt an "above-party approach"? Moreover, why should they develop such a strategy? Does this above-party approach not reflect a search for "political homogeneity"? Is this not "totalitarianism"? If every "fundamental issue" is to be handled based on "an above-party approach," what need would there be no need for a multi-party parliamentary system?
The most striking measure among those proposed to be taken in the Southeast is that bureaucrats will have to accept appointments to government offices in the Southeast in order to get a promotion to key posts. The bureaucracy has failed in the Southeast. Could there be a worse "administration philosophy" than having the top management of the state composed of those who have failed in the Southeast?
I would like to quote another part from the article written by Dr. Riza Turmen, a career diplomat and a justice of the European Court of Human Rights (…) : "Today we are witnessing the emergence of religious and ethnic identities as a result of the weakening of traditional ties such as citizenship and family in connection with globalisation. The strengthening, modernization, and democratization of the Republic depend to an extent on whether it will allow space for such ethnic and religious identities and be able to integrate them."
This does not seem likely with the broken-down mentality dominating Turkey. Therefore, let the two-paragraph "Copenhagen Criteria," which would transform the state, be applied instead of the 107-article "secret action plan" for the Southeast, and the Turkish Republic will gain strength".
