News From 'Kurdistan Rundbrief' 17/

[kurd-l at burn.ucsd.edu]

From: kcc at magi.com (Kurdistan Committee of Canada)
Subject: News From 'Kurdistan Rundbrief' 17/95

News Translated From Kurdistan Rundbrief 17/95

- ARGK July Balance: "Consolidating Our Positions"
- Guerrilla Struggle Spreads To Mediterranean And Taurus
- "All Of Turkey Has Become One Huge Prison"
- Debate On The PKK/ERNK Ban Continues
- PDS Lower Saxony Demands Security Chief Resign
- Kurdistan Parliament In Exile Prepares For National Congress
- Bremen Officials Let Kurd Die
- A Look At The Press...

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ARGK July Balance: "Consolidating Our Positions"

     The attacks by the Turkish military in South Kurdistan in
early July in the region of the Zap and Haci-Beg rivers, which
began with lots of excitement, ended as a total fiasco for the
Turkish forces and allowed us to consolidate our positions. In
the second half of July, both our guerrilla actions as well as
mass actions increased, causing the colonialist- fascist Turkish
Republic to cry for even more help from their imperialist
masters. This showed that plans are in the making to increase
their cooperation. The imperialists states, in particular the USA
and Germany, aren't content with just supporting the cruel
Turkish regime, rather they have increased their attacks on
Kurdish people living there who support the liberation struggle
and they are once again organizing the Kurdish collaborators so
as to attack the PKK and the revolution in Kurdistan. Various
collaborationist forces, particularly the KDP, are bending over
backwards to please the imperialists and are doing everything
they can to halt the march of the Kurdish people towards
revolutionary- democratic people's power.
     From July 1-31, the war was waged in all regions of
Kurdistan. There were a total of 482 confrontations between our
guerrilla units and the army of the Turkish Republic (TR). Among
these, there were 132 ambushes, 63 battles, 52 attacks, and 9
roadblocks. We know full or partial casualty figures for 273 of
these confrontations, but the totals for the other 209
engagements are unknown.
     During the 273 confrontations for which the casualty figures
are known, 990 TR forces were killed, including 14 officers, 8
captains, 8 special forces, and 960 soldiers. A similar number
were wounded, including 7 officers. There were also 9 policemen,
7 agents and contra-guerrillas, and 166 village guards, including
2 village guard leaders, killed. Therefore, the total number of
confirmed enemy casualties for July totals 1,172. Another 65
village guards, including 1 village guard leader, were wounded in
the fighting.
     In July, we took 58 members of the enemy forces as
prisoners, including 2 soldiers, 2 watchmen, 13 agents and
contra-guerrillas, 1 official, 1 village guard leader, and 39
village guards.
     In July, we entered 6 city centres and carried out actions.
We destroyed 3 military stations, 1 hotel used as a military
headquarters by the TR, 1 officers' quarters, and 1 state- owned
water and power office, and we forced 2 brigades of the TR army
to evacuate their bases. During the month, we also destroyed 8
tanks, 22 military vehicles, 1 MIT secret police vehicle, 28
vehicles belonging to village guards, agents, or
contra-guerrillas, 3 state-owned TV stations, 1 radar station,
and 4 power sub-stations. We also damaged 3 helicopters, 12
tanks, 18 military vehicles, and 1 stretch of railroad tracks.    
 In July, we confiscated the following military equipment from
the enemy: 1 heavy machine gun, 20 automatic weapons, 130
infantry weapons, 4 precision rifles with scopes, 383 magazines,
21,980 rounds of ammunition of various calibre, 57 rockets, 4
flame throwers, 35 mines, 1 mine detector, and 8 radios.
     During the last month, the TR carried out 39 aerial
bombardments and 64 operations. All over Kurdistan, vast tracts
of forests were burned and 25 villages were depopulated,
including 13 in South Kurdistan. The Turkish army murdered 26
farmers, 8 in North Kurdistan and 18 in the South.
     In July, 111 of our guerrilla fighters and 4 of our militia
forces were martyred. Another 48 were wounded, and 3 were injured
and captured by the enemy. 

Press Office of the People's Liberation Army of Kurdistan (ARGK)
August 2, 1995

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Guerrilla Struggle Spreads To Mediterranean And Taurus

The People's Liberation Army of Kurdistan (ARGK) commander for
the Mediterranean-Taurus region gave the following statement to
the KURD-A news agency on July 19, 1995: 

     As the national liberation struggle in Kurdistan comes
closer to victory step by step, our guerrilla struggle in Turkey
continues to gain strength and to expand. Our guerrilla forces,
which have attacked enemy forces in Kurdistan as part of the 1995
summer offensive, have also begun to trouble the enemy in the
Taurus Mountains and in the Mediterranean region as well. After a
period of preparation, our forces were first stationed in those
regions in 1994. After establishing their positions, they
remained there for the 1994/95 winter season. The enemy, who
first became aware of the presence of our forces in that region
in early 1995, analyzed the Mediterranean-Taurus situation in a
session of the National Security Council and planned direct and
indirect, open and covert measures for defeating our forces
there. They sent thousands of soldiers to the region and hoped to
achieve a victory over us by means of a military operation.
Because they could not achieve such a victory, they built up a
system of contra-guerrillas and village guards in urban centres
such as Cukurova, Hatay, and Adana. But our forces were still
able to carry out actions and to sometimes limit the freedom of
movement of the enemy forces in many areas. In the last six
months, 25 enemy soldiers, village guards, and civilian fascists
have been killed in the region during our actions, and an equal
number have been wounded. The enemy has sought to avenge its
losses on the civilian population by attacking villages,
arresting hundreds of people, and torturing and threatening to
kill people who show sympathy with our struggle. The enemy has
depopulated nearly 100 settlements, so tens of thousands of
people have been affected by this war.
     Despite this, our units have continued to enjoy success in
their activities in city centres and villages. In the last six
months, 2 of our fighters were killed. The Turkish people have
shown a great deal of interest in our struggle, which is led by
the PKK. In the last six months, many Turkish youths have joined
our struggle for freedom and independence and the PKK has
accepted these youths into the ranks of our guerrilla. 

ARGK Mediterranean-Taurus Regional Commander

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"All Of Turkey Has Become One Big Prison"

Interview With The Head Of The IHD Office In Istanbul

On July 6, Canan of Kurdistan Rundbrief spoke in Istanbul with
Ercan Kaner, the head of Human Rights Association (IHD) office in
that city. Kaner spoke about the work of the IHD, the arrest of
IHD lawyer Eren Keskin, political persecution in Turkey,
government propaganda about the so-called "democratization
steps", and the deportation of refugees back to Turkey. Below are
excerpts from this discussion:

After her conviction, Eren Keskin is now in prison. Could you
tell us more about this? 

     Eren Keskin was a lawyer by profession and she was the
coordinator of our Istanbul branch. She was both a friend as well
as a colleague. She was on the board of directors for four years
and was deputy head for two years. Eren Keskin's motivations for
her work both at her office as well as with the IHD was her
concern for human rights. She worked for equal rights and freedom
for people. She worked for us for free. The Turkish state
"rewarded" her for this pro bono work by tossing her in jail. But
I don't think that this punishment will deter her. Even though
Eren Keskin has never held a weapon in her hands, never used
violence, and only ever acted on a democratic basis for equal
rights and freedom in her quest for human rights, she was
sentenced to 2 1/2 years in prison because of an article she
wrote in the [now banned] newspaper Ozgur Gundem. She will stay
in prison for at least 22 months. She has already been in prison
for one month now. This is an unjust and racist punishment.
     But there are still other trials continuing against her
right now. It's possible that she could be imprisoned for several
more years if Article 8 is not repealed and if Turkey does not
start taking the path towards democracy. Just like all the other
people who have been punished for their beliefs, Eren Keskin and
the IHD have made this problem an issue through their activities.
Recently we held a protest outside the prison and handed out
press releases, even though the police tried to stop us.
     The IHD will soon start a campaign, not just for Eren
Keskin, but for all prisoners sentenced under these laws which
restrict freedom of thought. Of course, it's not just the IHD
that supports her, rather all people who believe in human rights
and who support the prisoners do. Eren Keskin is aware of the
support she has.
     It's important to see all of this in the larger context as
well: Today, it's not just the prisoners who are in jail, rather
all of Turkey has become one huge prison. At present, more than
5,000 people have been charged because of their opinions. If
these laws are not repealed, all of these people will most likely
end up in prison. In order to tackle this problem at its roots,
all democrats who until now have kept their opinions to
themselves must be mobilized to demand the repeal of these unjust
laws. 

Are you hopeful that Article 8 will be changed or repealed? 

     No, actually I'm not. Back when the present coalition
government was formed in 1991/92, we knew they would only present
the veneer of democracy. We tried to make people aware of the
existence of protocols which have not been made public. By
presenting the veneer of democratization, they are trying to win
membership in the European Union (EU), or at the very least win a
customs union with the European Community. They are trying to
make the international public believe that changes are taking
place. But they are hiding the fact that laws concerning freedom
of expression have not been abolished, rather they have just been
changed into new laws. And this they call democratization. But
they can't even manage this, because the parliament is comprised
of so many chauvinistic, reactionary, and anti-democratic forces
that they can't even make cosmetic changes. They want to govern
like a war parliament.

What are the problems faced by the IHD in Diyarbakir and the
offices in other cities? 

     Since the founding of the Human Rights Association and the
establishment of a few offices, we have been under intense
pressure. When we add up all the trials against the head office
and all of the local offices, we easily surpass one hundred. For
example, right now there are 20 trials against IHD Istanbul, 3
against the head office, 10 against IHD Diyarbakir, and 10
against other offices. So far, 12 of our leading members have
been murdered, including the heads of some of the local offices.  
     The office which suffers the most repression is the branch
in Diyarbakir. Before they could put together delegations and
travel out to the surrounding villages. Today they can longer
visit any villages. The heads of the office were threatened [by
the state] and they were told to leave the area or they would be
murdered.

Today, more and more Kurds are being deported back to Turkey. Can
you tell us something about what happens to these people?

     The policies of Germany's federal and state governments are
well known to us. In order to avoid public criticism, they have
made certain offers to the IHD. We don't want any Kurds to be
deported, but the German government decided against our wishes.
The CDU [conservative party] has decided to carry out the
deportations, so negotiations started with the Turkish government
to get them to agree to certain conditions. A protocol was
signed. The state governments bowed down to this federal
decision, but they asked us, the IHD, for help because they were
concerned about the fate of Kurds being deported back to Turkey.
They wanted to sign an agreement with us. We told each of the
state governments in Germany - albeit North Rhein-Westphalia,
Baden-Wurtemburg, or Berlin - that international human rights
standards did not apply in Turkey, so it's clear that deported
Kurds cannot expect to receive humane treatment. We condemn the
protocol which was signed with Turkey, because it is a violation
of human rights, the Geneva Accords on refugees, and all
international human rights agreements. That's why we refused to
cooperate with that process.
     We assured them of the following: The IHD would, as with any
case, investigate matters brought to its attention, but we will
not sign a protocol with any state or parliament. If friends or
relatives of persecuted persons contact us, we will deal with the
matter. But we will not pat the German government on the back
when it comes to human rights. We reserve the right to criticize
them. You cannot trust the word of the Turkish government. 

-----

Debate On The PKK/ERNK Ban Continues

     The German political satire TV program "ZAK" dealt with the
recent attacks on Turkish targets in its August 13 sending.
Featured guests on the show were Green politician and state
parliamentarian from North Rhein-Westphalia Siggi Martch and ERNK
European spokesperson Ali Sapan. Ali Sapan stated his desire that
the ERNK establish contacts with the German government in order
to bring about a de-escalation, and he criticized the attacks.
     Two days later, Siggi Martsch stated in an interview with
the leftist daily Junge Welt that the German government should
"recognize" the ERNK and the PKK and start a dialogue with them.
But he didn't see "any possibility at the time being" of lifting
the ban against the PKK and the ERNK. But the bans against many
other groupings should be lifted, or at least new associations
should not be banned, nor should the display of Kurdish symbols
be punishable. So here's the situation: A banned organization
seeks a dialogue with a democratic state to avoid a further
escalation. Of course, the prerequisite to this is that the
banned organization adhere to the laws of this state, and that
this state also abide by these. Clearly, the escalation by the
security forces has failed. Even the conservative daily FAZ made
the following comment about the federal government in an appeal
to its more "neutral forces": "I think we need to make the
federal government realize that the key to the violence question
is in the hands of the PKK."
     The FAZ commentary, which Siggi Martsch referred to, was
printed on August 3 and is somewhat different than the Green
politician's interpretation of it. After stating that "actually,
the PKK is banned", the newspaper's internal affairs editor
Friedrich Karl Fromme then stated the following about the funeral
procession in Berlin: "Up until now, it has been impossible to
separate the fanatical supporters of the PKK from their
leadership by means of bans or criminalization." He couples this
realization with the demand to proceed with "patience for all but
also with firm determination" so as to "stop the PKK's activities
on German soil as much as possible".
     But discussions about the ban are continuing in police
circles. In the August 4 edition of the daily Frankfurter
Rundschau, there was an article about a discussion meeting held
in Bonn with the chief of Bonn's central police district, who is
responsible for demonstrations in that city, concerning police
complaints about the ban on PKK/ERNK symbols and flags. According
to him, this ban has put police in a situation where they must
intervene in otherwise peaceful demonstrations simply because a
banned symbol or flag is being displayed, and that this is why
confrontations break out. So the police then become "advertisers
for the PKK", and police officers have demanded that their duties
be limited to combatting "serious offences".
     Bavaria's interior minister Beckstein, on the other hand,
wants nothing to do with discussions about the ban, and he
strongly criticized police restraint during the funeral
procession [for Gulnaz Baghistani] in Berlin in the August 7
edition of the FAZ: "I call on anyone who thinks the banning of
the PKK has been ineffective to see what it is has done in
Bavaria. Mass rallies organized by the PKK, where people are free
to hold their flags and show their symbols and read speeches by
their leader Abdullah Ocalan, are the wrong signal to give. This
only shows the power of the PKK and the weakness of the state."
It isn't the ban which has strengthened the PKK, he says, rather
"the inactivity of the state in the face of flagrant violations
of the law".

-----

PDS Lower Saxony Demands Security Chief Resign

     The head of the Party of Democratic Socialism (PDS) in Lower
Saxony, Hans Henning Adler, has demanded that state interior
minister Glogowski immediately fire the president of Lower
Saxony's Office to Protect the Constitution [Verfassungsschutz],
Rolf Peter Minner. With his claim that Kurdish snipers were
planning to shoot at German police - a rumour which was then
spread further by federal police and intelligence agencies -
Minner is giving Lower Saxony's police a mentality that all Kurds
must be viewed as potential killers. This could easily lead to
the use of police firearms in "preventive necessity", as the
murder of Halim Dener one year ago by a Lower Saxony policeman in
Hannover clearly illustrated. The PDS has said that Minner should
work somewhere else, perhaps in the film industry where he can
better live out his violent fantasies. 

-----

Kurdistan Parliament In Exile Prepares For National Congress 

The President of the Kurdistan Parliament in Exile, Yasar Kaya,
issued a statement on August 1 detailing the results of the
Second Session of the Kurdistan Parliament in Exile. 

     The Kurdistan Parliament in Exile carried out its Second
Session from July 30-August 1, 1995. All relevant issues were
discussed, and the following decisions were made: 

- The Newroz festival on March 21 will not only be an official
national holiday in Kurdistan but also outside Kurdistan as well.
This law, as well as changes to Articles 2 and 8 of the
Parliament's founding statues, was passed.

- The emblem of the Kurdistan Parliament in Exile was decided
upon and agreed to. The General Secretariat and the Executive
Council of the Parliament took up and passed the organizational
law.

- On the theme of national unity, which was a general discussion,
a National Congress shall be convened and work shall begin on
establishing a National Parliament. In line with this, the
Executive Council was empowered to make the necessary
preparations. 

- The meeting also discussed the Turkish state's widening war in
Kurdistan, the reason for its continued attacks on the civilian
population, the hungerstrike by more than 10,000 political
prisoners and their demand for a peaceful solution to the Kurdish
problem, and the many activities in support of the hungerstrike
which have taken place in cities all across Turkey and in Europe.

- Our Parliament recognizes the hungerstrike activities as
democratic and values them as a form of resistance by the Kurdish
people against the Turkish government. 

- Our Parliament, since its establishment, has dealt with and
sought solutions to the Kurdistan problem and has taken on a role
of active representation. 

- Our assembly took place at a time when the war in North
Kurdistan is intensifying, as the Turkish army seeks to destroy
everything Kurdish by bombarding villages and killing dozens of
people every day, and as more than 10,000 prisoners are on
hungerstrike with our people actively supporting them.

- Our Parliament discussed these matters at this critical phase
and it took decisions so as to play an active role in these
developments.

- Our Parliament will, in future, continue to seek a peaceful and
democratic solution to the Kurdish problem and will strengthen
its work towards this end. 

Yasar Kaya
President of the Kurdistan Parliament in Exile
August 1, 1995

-----

Bremen Officials Let Kurd Die

     A 36-year-old Kurdish asylum seeker died recently because
the social services officials in the German city of Bremen held
back payments for a necessary liver transplant for too long. This
was confirmed on August 17 by a spokesperson for the Bremen
Senate's health and social services ministry. There were "bad
mistakes" and "we are sorry about these and we will learn from
these". The group Solidarity Assistance, which was caring for the
Kurd, Celal Arkan, has brought charges of medical neglect against
the authorities. Arkan, a Yezidi, was arrested and badly tortured
in Turkey on suspicions that he was a PKK supporter. In prison,
he became infected with hepatitis B and D. After 9 months in
prison, he was able to flee to Germany. In Germany, clinic and
state doctors kept sending him back and forth for 15 months,
despite his need for urgent medical attention. 

-----

A Look At The Press...

Global Arms Trade (in millions U.S. dollars)

Main Exporters 1994 (of heavy weapons)

1. USA              11,959
2. Germany           3,162
3. U.K.              1,593
4. China             1,204
5. Russia              842
6. France              705

Main Importers 1994 (of heavy weapons)

1. Turkey            2,135
2. Saudi Arabia      1,602
3. Indonesia         1,415
4. Egypt             1,370
5. Taiwan            1,069
6. Greece              973

(Neues Deutschland, 17.8.95)


Despite Successes, Economy Remains Weak

     There is widespread optimism in Ankara's government. After
prime minister Tansu Ciller won a major victory in parliament and
passed her, albeit minor, constitutional reform package, the
international finance and investment firm Morgan Stanley gave a
robust picture of the Turkish economy. The experts estimated that
Turkey, despite a year of crisis in 1994, had managed to pay off
$10 billion of its foreign debt. And the recent ratings by an
American agency, which raised Turkey's status from "stable" to
"positive", gave heart to economy politicians in Ankara. Experts
especially praised the great rise in currency reserves. The
reserves of the Central Bank - without gold - have risen 90%
since the beginning of the year to $13.51 billion.
     But the economy is vulnerable nonetheless. The balance of
trade deficit stood at $2.78 billion in the first five months of
this year, 50% higher than the same period in 1994. The inflation
rate, which hit a record high of 150% at the beginning of the
year, managed to fall back to 80%, but bank circles seem to feel
that the rate could climb once again by year's end.
     Early fall is a particularly crucial season for Turkey,
because that's when foreign and domestic debt payments are due.
The treasury will have to bury $1.5 or $2 billion in
international financial markets in order to make this year's
foreign debt payment of $6.5 billion.
     The government is also confronted with growing discontent in
the public sector. In a series of mass demonstrations, workers
have rejected an offer of a 5% pay increase, which with an
inflation rate of 85% actually means a substantial loss of
income. Last year, public sector workers already had to cope with
a 40% loss in earnings.
 
(Handelsblatt, 11.8.95)


Turkey: Professors Demand Negotiations

     More than 100 intellectuals in Turkey have issued a call for
a cease-fire and negotiations between the PKK and the army in
order to prevent "national suicide". 

(Hamburger Abendblatt, 18.8.95)


Investigation Against Two Policemen

     The state prosecutor's office in Frankfurt has opened an
investigation against two unnamed police officers who allegedly
mishandled demonstrators while dispersing a Kurdish vigil two
weeks ago.
     The reason for the investigation was video footage,
according to Job Tilmann, a spokesman for the prosecutor's
office. The video seemed to show two as yet unidentified officers
kicking people lying on the ground.

(Frankfurter Rundschau, 12.8.95)


Actually, The PKK Is Banned

     Leaders of the PKK are being sought after for membership in
a terrorist organization. But legal proceedings against
individual members who are caught are not likely to stop the
danger of this cancer, because the militant organization of a
national minority in a foreign state is seeking an alternative
battlefield for its civil war here in Germany. Up until now, it
has been impossible to separate the fanatical supporters of the
PKK from their leadership by means of bans or criminalization.

(Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, 3.8.95)

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