TURKISH DAILY NEWS / 7 AUGUST 1995

[kurdeng at aps.nl]

 PKK can not 'control' itself

Challenge: Human Rights Association Chairman Husnu Ondul says those
who claim they are not terrorists should prove it by their actions

By Sinan Yilmaz

Turkish Daily News

ANKARA- Despite its earlier announcement that it would abide with
the Geneva Convention in order to be accepted as a "belligerent party"
against Turkey, the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) still
continues its attacks against civilians at full swing.

Among the primary demands which the PKK militants put forward during
their hunger strikes in prisons which they launched on July 14 are the
"observance of the Geneva Convention" and the "recognition of status
of prisoner of war." However the PKK is continuing its intensive
attacks against civilians uninterrupted.

Since July 23, 21 people, including six children, have been killed and
21 others wounded. While the sources close to the PKK link this
situation to existence of "uncontrollable" forces within the PKK, PKK
members say that the fact that civilians are killed or wounded is a
"normal" part of actions carried out against village guards.

Last January, PKK leader Abdullah Ocalan applied to the United Nations
requesting the application of the Geneva Convention. Despite Ocalan's
statement that his organization would respect the convention the PKK
has intensified its attacks against civilians. The PKK kills children
and women in their attacks against village guards. Following the
expiry of the May 31 deadline for the PKK-declared "amnesty" for
village guards, it has accelerated attacks against the guards.

On July 3, they opened fire against a minibus in the village of
Yumrumese in Bitlis province in which one civilian lost his life. On
July 23, PKK militants raided the hamlet of Atabilen in Van, killing
10 people including two village guards, two children and six women.
Thirteen people were wounded in the attack.

On July 30, PKK militants attacked the camp of Uzumkiran near town of
Semdinli killing two children and wounding another. In the same
period, they injured a village guard and his wife during a raid on his
house. On Aug. 4, PKK militants killed eight civilians, including two
children under 10, in an overnight attack in Hatay province. Four
others were wounded in the same raid.

The fact that the PKK still continues its attacks against civilians
despite its intensive efforts to gain the status of a "belligerent
party" is linked to the existence of "uncontrollable" forces within
the PKK. According to sources close to the PKK, some "commanders"
within the PKK intentionally carry out some actions such as raiding
villages and killing civilians in an attempt to maintain their power
in the region. In its statements, the PKK claims that women and
children have been killed in the attacks against village guards and
that civilian casualties are "normal" in such clashes.

The PKK explains away these deaths by stating in its announcements
that, ".... a village guard and his relatives have been killed."
Referring to the PKK's continuing attacks against civilians despite
its announcement that it would abide by the Geneva Convention, Husnu
Ondul, the general secretary of the Human Rights' Association (IHD)
said that anyone who says they are not a terrorist should prove it by
their actions. He continued, "Any organization or state which declares
it will observe the Convention should demonstrate that by its
conduct." Pointing out that he and his colleagues had been calling
continuously for the halt of the armed conflict, Ondul said, "Article
3 of the Geneva Convention prohibits unlawful methods of war.
Therefore actions carried out against those who are not parties to the
conflict are against the rules of war." Ondul added, " We are making a
general call. Democratic struggles are made with democratic methods.
If an armed clash is in the equation it is necessary to abide by the
humane rules of law."

 Turkish and German interior ministers exchange letters over issue of
 terrorism

Turkish Daily News

ANKARA- Letters exchanged between Interior Minister Nahit Mentese
and his German counterpart, Manfred Kanter, regarding the extradition
of criminals who have committed terrorist-linked offenses, have been
made public, the Anatolia news agency reported on Sunday.

In his letter to Kanter on March 10, Mentese, referring to earlier
talks in Bonn regarding the extradition of members of the outlawed
Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) and other such terrorist organizations
who commit crimes in Germany, stressed that Turkey was ready to
receive such criminals.

Noting that Germany was concerned with the treatment of foreign
national criminals in their native countries after they were
extradited i.e., whether they would be subject to inhumane treatment,
Mentese said that before the deportation of such offenders from
Germany, officials of both countries would provide information to each
other about these criminals. In his letter, Mentese continued that if
the situation of the extradited person required prosecution by legal
authorities, Turkish officials would then provide necessary
information about the charges and where he would be tried. He also
noted that the person charged would be provided an attorney at every
phase of prosecution or litigation.

Minister Mentese wrote that all extradited Turkish nationals would be
handled with humane treatment within the rules of the constitution and
the Convention on Protection of Human Rights and Basic Freedoms to
which Turkey is a signatory.

In his letter of reply, carrying the same date, Kanter said he agreed
with the content of Mentese's letter.

 The Washington Institute Praises Constitutional Changes

By Ugur Akinci

Turkish Daily News

WASHINGTON DC-- The Washington Institute for Near East Policy, a
well-known think-tank in Washington, has released a Policy Watch
statement on the recent passage of constitutional changes by the
Turkish Parliament.

The analysis penned by senior fellow Alan Makovsky praised the move
and noted that the package "boosted Turkey's prospects for greater
European integration, stabilized the Ciller government, raised hopes
for longer-term secularist cooperation to isolate fundamentalism, and
paved the way for widened political participation."

Makovsky, a specialist in Turkey and the Middle East who has
previously worked as a former U.S. State Department division chief and
a political advisor for Operation Provide Comfort in Turkey, noted
that the main import of the 17 amendments adopted by the Turkish
parliament, is to allow wider political participation by permitting
unions and professional associations.

Even some categories of civil servants can now unionize, he noted.
Recalling that the 1982 constitution was not imposed on the Turkish
people forcefully as some commentators claimed, Makovsky said the
"overwhelming popular approval of the restrictive constitution in 1982
reflected revulsion at the violence of the 1970s, relief at the order
brought by the military takeover, and a general determination that
Turkey should not again descend into chaos. Thus, Turkey's decision
once again to widen political participation bears careful watching.

It clearly reflects Turkish leaders' determination to demonstrate
their commitment to democratization and their apparent conviction that
Turkish society has matured well beyond the divisive days of the
1970s. In that regard, the cooperation that government and opposition
politicians showed in passing the amendment package augurs well."

Finally, Makovsky pointed out that "the final vote on the amendment
package was 360 to 32, with all of the negative votes coming from the
Refah Party... Refah might have joined the majority had the other
parties been willing to support its bid to remove a constitutional
article that affirms the secular nature of the state. Ciller and
opposition leader Mesut Yilmaz showed backbone in overriding some
pro-Islamist sentiment in their own parties to turn back Refah's
effort," he said.

"Secularist cooperation on the democratization package... inspires
hope that -- even should Refah gain a plurality in the next elections
-- secularist parties will coalesce to assure that Turkey is not led
by a fundamentalist government.

 Claes says, Turkey is a key country for NATO

Turkish Daily News

ANKARA- NATO Secretary-General Willy Claes said that Turkey has
strategic importance for NATO, as it is located at the juncture of
Asia and Europe, the Anatolia news agency reported on Friday.

"Turkey's role, within the framework of the Balkans, Caucasia, the
Middle East and Central Asia is more important today.

Turkey is the only country in the alliance in which the majority of
the population is Muslim. Turkey has always played a key role in
NATO," he said.

Claes noted that the importance of Turkey's role was seen by its
contributions to Deny Flight and Sharp Guard operations in Yugoslavia.

The Ankara government's stance toward the Chechnya crisis and its role
in the expansion of NATO also reflect Turkey's key position, Claes
said.

The secretary-general also mentioned that the easing of the tension
between Greece and Turkey has vital importance for NATO. "We are
concerned about this tension and its repercussions. This tension
should be eased."

Claes noted that he has started a string of initiatives in order to
find solutions to the problems in the NATO Southern Europe Command,
problems which stem from the Greece-Turkey tension, but so far there
has been no resolution. "Countries, which are members of the same
alliance, should make efforts to reach a mutual understanding. There
is a need for flexibility. I call on our two important allies to be
more reasonable."

Claes affirmed that the alliance has always displayed a clear stance
against international terrorism. "We condemn all international
terrorist activities which are threatening the peace, security and
territorial integrity of countries." "We are sure that Turkey will
display the necessary respect for human rights and basic freedoms
while taking anti-terrorist measures."

Claes said that NATO was playing a very important role in Europe's
security, and would continue to do so.

"I want to repeat one more time that nobody asked NATO to repulse the
Serbs in former Yugoslavia.

We did not take any orders or requests from the United Nations in
Srebrenica or anywhere else. NATO is supporting the U.N. within the
framework of the Security Council's resolutions. I can only monitor
the situation and determine the lessons which should be learned for
the future."


Change :Top brass military appointments characterized by some
surprises

Turkish Daily News

ANKARA- Four days of deliberations by the Supreme Military Council
ended on Friday with the announcement of the names of the officers who
will represent the new top echelon of the Turkish Armed forces.

Among the surprises characterizing the new appointments was that of
General Teoman Koman.

Formerly the commander of the Third Army, who was billed to become the
Secretary General of the National Security Council Koman was appointed
as commander of the Gendarmerie forces instead.

According to military sources this represents a move which effectively
blocks General Koman's potential path to one day becoming the Chief of
the General Staff and thus Turkey's highest ranking military officer.

A further surprise was the appointment of General Cevik Bir, know to
the international community as the commander of the U.N. peacekeeping
forces in Somalia (UNISOM), as deputy Chief of the General Staff.

Prior to the announcement from the Supreme Military Council it was
generally assumed that Bir would be appointed as commander of NATO
Allied forces, Southeast, based in Izmir.

Following the announcement of the new appointments by the Council, the
current commanders of the Air Force, Navy and Gendarmerie, as well as
the Secretary General of the National Security Council will retire as
of August 30.

In their place the Deputy Chief of the General Staff Air Force general
Ahmet Corekci has been appointed as commander of the Air Force, the
Admiral of the Navy Guven Erkaya has been appointed commander of the
Navy, while General Koman has been appointed commander of the
Gendarmerie.

Meanwhile the job of Secretary General of the National Security
Council, has gone to General Ilhan Kilic who has been serving as the
commander of Air Force training.

Among the generals attached to the land forces command who have been
promoted to a higher rank are Lieutenant Generals Cevik Bir, Necati
Ozgen and Dogu Aktulga.

Of these general's Bir will become the deputy chief of the general
staff, Ozgen commander of the Third Army, while Aktulga will remain as
Chief of Staff at the land forces command. Land forces Brigadier
Generals Altay Tokat, Cetin Dogan, Tuncer Kilinc, Kamuran Orhon, and
Cetin Saner have been promoted to become Lieutenant Generals.

As for Lieutenant Generals Rasim Betir, and Necdet Timur their term
for awaiting for a promotion has been extended by one year. In the
naval command, on the other hand, Vice Admiral Salim Dervisoglu has
been promoted to the rank of Admiral and has been appointed as
commander of the Navy.

Vice Admiral Atilla Tuzman, who has been serving as head of
intelligence at the Chief of General Staff's office, on the other
hand, will be retiring.

Rear Admiral Attila Kiyat, in the meantime, has been promoted to the
rank of Vice Admiral.

At the air force command, Air Force Training Commander Lieutenant
General Ilhan Kilic, has been promoted to the rank of general despite
some "internal controversies" surrounding his name.

The waiting period for a promotion of Air Force Lieutenant Generals
Ergin Celasin and Erdogan Oznal, on the other hand, has been extended
by one year.

Airforce Major General's Gokalp Yugnak and Yasar Mujdeci,in the
meantime, were promoted to the rank of Lieutenant Generals. At the
gendarmerie command, Assistant Southeast Gendarmerie Security
Commander, Major General Cetin Haspisiren has been promoted to the
rank of Lieutenant General. The period for waiting for a promotion for
Major General Turhan Bedirhan at the gendarmerie command has been
extended by one year.

The new command structure of the Turkish Armed forces following the
decisions taken by the Supreme Military Council are as follows:

Chief of the General Staff...............: Ismail Hakki Karadayi

Commander of the Land Forces.............: Hikmet Bayar

Commander of the Navy....................: Guven Erkaya

Commander of the Air Force................: Ahmet Corekci

Commander of the Gendarmerie.............: Teoman Koman

Deputy Chief of the General Staff........: Cevik Bir

Commander of the 1st Army................: Hikmet Koksal

Commander of the 2nd Army................: Fikret Ozden Boztepe

Commander of the 3rd Army................: Necati Ozgen

Commander of the Aegean Army.............: Necati Ikizoglu

Chief of Staff at the Land Forces Command: Dogu Aktulga

Commander of the Navy....................: Salim Dervisoglu

NATO Southeast Allied Land Forces Command: Huseyin Kivrikoglu

Commander of the War Academies...........: Atilla Ates

Secretary General of the National Security
Council.........................: Ilhan Kilic

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 * Origin: APS Amsterdam (aps.nl), bbs +31-20-6842147 (16:31/2.0)