UPDATES FROM DIYARBAKIR'S IHD OFFICE

"Today's human rights violations are the causes of tomorrow's conflicts."
~ Mary Robinson.

Here are a couple of statements from the Diyarbakır IHD office. The first is an update on the human rights situation in the Kurdish region of Turkey:

PRESS STATEMENT

27 October 2009

(Give the Republic’s biggest project a chance)

Dear press members

Although we’ve seen partial advancements regarding democracy and human rights in Turkey in recent times, we can still say that there are serious problems concerning the exercise of basic rights and liberties. Two forms of power are needed for human rights to find life in a country; the first is the power of Democratic Public Opinion, and the second is the power of the law. If these two forms of power don’t exist in a given country we can’t mention human rights. When we look at practices in Turkey in recent years, it’s clear that there are very serious complications obstructing the exercise of each of these forms of power.

In the European Union progress report released on 13 October 2009, it says that Turkey has made progress in the areas of economic competition and statistical and scientific research, but that there’s a chequered picture in the areas of human rights and democracy.

According to the EU report, with respect to the primacy of human rights and democracy, the protection of minorities, civil and political rights, civil oversight of expenditures on security forces, reform of the constitution, freedom of assembly and protest, freedom of belief, reform of local administration, the independence of the country’s forensic medical foundation, the independence of the judiciary, children being punished with sentences of 25 years in prison, the use of languages other than Turkish, the right to unionize, the rights of disabled people, the Kurdish question, the Cyprus question, the question of cultural rights, the problem of novels and discrimination, in some areas we’re still witnessing serious fluctuations – that is, regression – instead of halts to violations.

Fourteen days after the 29 March 2009 local elections, a major operation was carried out against the Democratic Society Party (Demokratik Toplum Partisi – DTP). Three operations have been carried out against the party in the last six months. More than 1,000 people have been detained. Due to a judicial decision prohibiting access to files concerning the situation of the detained people, 450 DTP members and activists have remained under arrest for months without knowing what they’re being charged with. The principle and practice of being released pending trial is violated for DTP members and child victims of the Turkish Anti-Terror Law. There country’s prison population now exceeds 120,000. In the last four years, security forces have increased the use of disproportionate force against children and children’s deaths have increased as a result. In the latest EU progress report this matter is raised by mentioning police officers who have been “acquitted” after facing trial for “killing outside legitimate self-defence”.

In recent years the army’s repression and tutelage over politics, the judiciary, media and society have reached extraordinary dimensions. The military very frequently goes before the press and makes statements on all varieties of political issues. In the EU progress report it’s requested that the 1997 EMASYA secret Protocol on Security, Public Order and Assistance Units be terminated.

When we look at our table of confirmed violations in the East and Southeast Anatolia region, we can’t say that a heart-warming picture emerges. When we evaluate violations in the last nine months of the year 2009, we see an erratic picture. The number of lives lost in clashes has decreased compared to last year, but we’ve observed that these losses continue and that there’s been a sharp increase in extrajudicial killings as well as murders carried out by unknown perpetrators.

We’ve also seen that the number of people killed and injured by mines and stand-alone explosive articles has increased. A serious increase of complaints regarding torture and maltreatment has been seen again. An increase in incidences of interference in and beatings at social actions has been confirmed in the last nine months. The disproportionate use of force has been triggered by a failure to open sufficient inquiries against those who use excessive force, the abscence of anger control, and the forcing of security forces to work excessive overtime hours.

It seems that everything changed for the worse following the Prime Minister’s July 2005 action and greatly important speech on the Kurdish question in Diyarbakır, especially in 2008, when violations reached their highest levels. Violations decreased considerably in the first three months of 2009 and have continued to increase since April. At a time when a democratic solution for the Kurdish question is being debated, we’re curious as to why violations are increasing non-stop.

In recent years the government has introduced an extremely hardline approach to policy and matters related to children. Slapping children with sentences of between 10 and 25 years in prison due to their flashing of the ‘V’ for victory sign with their fingers or for throwing stones, the aquittal of those responsible for the death of Uğur Kaymaz, the 28 September killing of Ceylan Önköl with an artillery shell, and the fact that those responsible for the loss of 18 month-old Mehmet Uytun’s life - who died as a result of a gas bomb that was deployed as his mother was breastfeeding him on the balcony of their home in Cizre – still haven’t been found, has damaged the trust of the region’s people in the state and judiciary and increased mistrust between local people and the state. Why has there been a serious increase in children’s deaths? Why haven’t the perpetrators been tried following these deaths? What’s the explanation for the fact that 98% of judicial and administrative inquiries opened about security forces between 2003 and 2008 ended in their favor and that 2% ended with light punishments?

The increase in human rights abuses in recent times has been caused by intensified operations and clashes in northern Iraq and Turkey’s Eastern and Southeastern regions, the repression of peaceful and nonviolent social movements and political parties, and the growth of hardline nationalism.

We find the work the government’s doing concerning the ‘Democratic opening’ to be meaningful and positive. However, the rapid increase in human rights violations that this process has coincided with perturbs us. We don’t understand the extreme reaction that’s been shown to the return of those who came from Kandil and Mahmur. They returned with the goal of opening the clogged political process and were met with a peaceful gathering, without throwing a single stone, initiating any violent rallies or shouting anti-state slogans. We think that there needs to be an end to the speeches to the effect that after this, every word and every step taken must be taken within an approach that considers all of the emotions in Turkey, that those who are going to contribute to a solution must be ‘more careful’, and that ‘we’ll turn back, we’ll start from the beginning.’

If we turn away from a Democratic solution to the Kurdish Question – the Republic’s biggest project – our country will be brought back a hundred years, and if there’s a solution it’ll be the end of an era and we’ll move into a bright period. It’ll be brought closer to Europe. We’re either going to forget the pain of the past and open a new page or we’re going to dig new graves. Believing in everyone’s dream of peace, from now on we request that prejudices and the past be left aside, that work be done to stop the flow of blood, and that steps be taken mindful of the weight of every word and action.

With our respect,

Muharrem Erbey, Attorney at Law

Vice President of the Human Rights Association

President of the Diyarbakir Branch of the HRA

The second statement, below, is an IHD statement on the murder of Ceylan Önkol:

PRESS STATEMENT

13 October 2009

(Why aren’t those who killed Ceylan being investigated?)

On 28 September 2009 at 11:30, 12 year-old Ceylan Önkol lost her life as a result of being fired upon while tending sheep. The incident occured in Xambaz hamlet near Şenlik village in the Lice district of Diyarbakır province. A Human Rights Delegation drafted a report after visiting the village where the incident took place and gathering everyone’s statements. Ceylan’s mother, father, older brother and indeed every witness asserted that they had heard a humming and vooming-type sound that came from the direction of Tabantepe police station, followed by an explosion. Even this assertion implies that a mortar had been fired at that time. They didn’t know the exact type of weapon that was used, but the family identified the item as a mortar shell. But the type of artillery doesn’t change the identity of the perpetrators. The perpetrators are the ones who have these very special weapons.

The UN’s Convention on the Rights of the Child was published in Turkey’s official gazete in 1994 and went into effect in the country the same year. The Convention’s sixth article states: ‘1. States Parties recognize that every child has the inherent right to life. 2. States Parties shall ensure to the maximum extent possible the survival and development of the child.’ The state has to protect and safeguard children. The fact that perpetrators aren’t being tried in an active and effective way as the number of children’s deaths increases leaves us human rights defenders concerned.

In the criminal report it says that a mortar had been fired before the incident occured. But that contention can’t be used to absolve the suspects of responsibility for Ceylan’s death. Has even the most minor inquiry about the perpetrators been carried out up until now? What was the sound that was heard before the explosion, and why was it heard by everyone? Is the topic of the mortar that had been fired before being removed from the line of inquiry?

Do sounds like that emerge when mortar shells are tampered with while they’re on the ground? According to the witness statements, was there or was there not a humming and vooming sound after it was fired? How come the criminal report that wasn’t given to Serdar Çelebi and Keziban Yılmaz (the Önkol family’s lawyers and members of the Human Rights Association’s Steering Committee) by the Lice public prosecturor’s office was given to the entire press in a surreptitious way? We’re interested in the answers to these questions.

In this region, we’ve seen other incidents resulting from articles that resemble unexploded ordinance and remants of war being tampered with or hit with a rock in areas where there are children. We showed that such incidents resulted in the child’s hand being severed and her entire body wounded.

In conclusion, we’ve been told that this incident result from Ceylan hitting an unexploded shell with a farming tool that she was holding in her hand. The report prepared by the criminal investigation unit at Diyarbakır Metropolitan Police Headquarters was not objective, and when the case file comes to the Diyarbakır Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office, we’re going to object as the Human Rights Association and as the family’s lawyers.

We’re going to request that research be done to determine whether or not it’s possible to ascertain that a bomb had been deployed or not by looking at the components of the case file.


Muharrem Erbey, Attorney at Law

Vice President of the Human Rights Association, President of the Diyarbakır branch of the HRA

MORE STATE TERROR IN SOUTHEAST TURKEY

"Unless we abandon elements which resemble a police state, we can't meet the demands of being a modern society."
~ Ahmet Necdet Sezer.

This just in from a comrade in Amed (Diyarbakır):

AMED -- In what both normal people and political activists here are considering a serious blow to the fragile hopes generated by the government's already highly tentative and uncertain "democratic opening'', on the morning of 11 September 17 senior members of the DTP were detained in dawn raids on private homes across the southeast, local media here reported.

The arrests were reportedly carried out by the 'anti-terror' units of the local police forces on the orders of the offices of public prosecutors. Most of the detainees were brought to the main police station in Diyarbakır, including those who were apprehended in other parts of the southeast. Those detained included chairman of Diyarbakır city council and former mayor of Lice Şeymus Bayhan, former mayor of Bağlar Yurdusev Özsökmenler, former Bismil mayor Şükran Aydın, former Şırnak mayor Ahmet Ertak, and other leading officials currently serving in southeastern municipalities, the DTP, and social movements connected to the DTP.

The operation, which is being called an extension of the one which was initated against the DTP on April 14 following their success in the 29 March local elections, generated immediate resistance from the party and social movements in solidarity with them. Hundreds of supporters attended a press conference at 11:30 in the morning on September 11, and thousands a protest march on the afternoon of 12 September.

The 12 September rally began in front of the DTP's major building in Diyarbakır and continued with a march to Koşuyolu park. The crowd chanted slogans in favor of the PKK and it's jailed leader, Abdullah Öcalan. The speeches made by senior DTP politicians were characteristically sober, defiant, and optimistic.

Addressing the assembly, chairperson of the DTP in Diyarbakır and former mayor of Yenişehir Fırat Anlı asserted that neither the leadership nor the grassroots of the DTP would be intimidated by the state's crackdown, pointing out that they had passed through that phase long ago. He characterized the arrests as an assault on the political will of the Kurdish people.

Member of Parliament from Mardin and DTP co-chairperson Emine Ayna expressed regret that, although tens of thousands of people (under DTP leadership) had rallied behind the slogan ''yes to an honorable peace'' and pledged to support to the government's 'democratic opening' only ten days previously, the party was answered with a fresh wave of repression. She said the attack was a 'provocation' carried out in unity by the state 'as a whole', apparently rejecting the common idea that there is a split between the military, the police and the rest of the state establishment in their approach to the Kurdish freedom movement.

Ending her speech, Ayna pointed out that Kurdish people had continuously changed the Turkish Republic since it was founded in 1923. She reminded people that there was once a struggle only to affirm the existence of the Kurds as a people, never mind a comprehensive democratization of the country. She said that if it's possible to speak of Kurdish language courses or Kurdology institutes at universities, it's because the Kurdish people created them through their struggles. She then called for a normalization of the political situation in Turkey and vowed continued resistance until the Kurdish people are victorious.

Indeed, the DTP has pledged to remain mobilized against the operations until all their comrades are released, including those detained on 11 September and on and after 14 April. Meanwhile, it seems that almost all the optimism created by the 'democratic opening' has dissipated, as both civil and military operations against the Kurdish freedom movement appear to be escalating.

Photos from the rally:











So much for the "Kurdish Initiative," or the "Democratic Initiative," or the "National Unity Initiative," or whatever the hell they're calling it today.

We want our roadmap!

PEACE DAY IN THE CAPITAL OF KURDISTAN

"If someone tried to assimilate you for years, if your language was forbidden, if the names of your hometown were changed, what would do you but revolt."
~ Osman Baydemir.

Özgür Gündem has hundreds of photos from Peace Day in Kurdistan's capital, starting here. Below is a sampling:

"We want our road map."

Aysel Tuğluk, pressing the flesh.

Ahmet Türk, addressing the crowds.

Mini-Apocular.

Emine Ayna, greeting the crowds with victory.

Osman Baydemir, speaking to his city.

Kawa's fire.

Serok Apo and Aram Tigran.

"Free Leadership, Free Identity, Democratic Autonomy."

"PKK for solution."

SISTER CITIES AND EXCAVATIONS

"The wells date back 15 to 20 years. It is possible that there is some remnant if the amount of acid used was not too much. An exhaustive forensic examination could yield some results."
~ Ali Çerkezoğlu, Forensic Medical Council.

Three years ago DTP's Amed (Diyarbakır) mayor Osman Baydemir made a visit to the US which included a stop in Nashville. This week we see some of the fruits of that visit. Yesterday there was a cultural event in Nashville which introduced Amed as a prospective sister city of Nashville. Here's something from the press release:

SISTER CITIES OF NASHVILLE TO HOST DIYARBAKIR, TURKEY CULTURAL EVENT AT TSU

NASHVILLE (Feb. 27, 2009)…Mayor Karl Dean will be the special guest speaker at a free cultural event to showcase the city of Diyarbakir, the largest city in southeastern Turkey, on Wednesday, March 11 from 5 to 7 p.m. at TSU’s Avon Williams downtown campus, 330 10th Ave. N. The event, which also will feature authentic music, food and cultural presentations, is presented by Tennessee State University (Dept. of ??) and Sister Cities of Nashville. The cultural showcase is free and open to the public.

Situated on the banks of the Tigris River, Diyarbakir is a historic city, encircled by walls typical of the military architecture of medieval times. At 5.5 kilometers, they are the second largest and best preserved walls in the world after the renowned Great Wall of China. “Diyarbakir: The Mystery of the Stones” is a special video about the city that will be presented at the event, which is being organized by Dr. Kirmanj Gundi, a professor of XXX at TSU and a member of the Sister Cities of Nashville board of directors. Diyarbakir is a prospective sister city for Nashville.

Sister Cities of Nashville, a not-for-profit organization founded in 1990, is an active volunteer organization promoting peace through mutual respect, understanding, and cooperation among citizens of Nashville and other international communities through educational, cultural, professional, commercial and municipal exchange programs. It is a chapter of Sister Cities International which developed from a program begun in 1956 by President Dwight Eisenhower to promote international goodwill through citizen diplomacy.

Nashville’s official sister cities are Belfast, Northern Ireland; Caen, France; Edmonton, Canada; Madgeburg, Germany; Mendoza, Argentina, and Taiyuan, China.

You can also check the Sister Cities of Nashville website.

Meanwhile, closer to Amed than to Nashville, more bones have been unearthed in the JITEM acid well excavations in Silopî:

The excavation of wells located in Silopi, Şırnak province, continued yesterday in search of the remains of victims who were allegedly killed in the 1990s by an illegal group inside the gendarmerie, with more bone fragments unearthed.

Heavy diggers and workers using picks and shovels continued digging a site near the Sinan facility of the state-owned Turkish Pipeline Corporation (BOTAŞ) yesterday. Bone fragments, pieces of hair, remains of a sack and clothing were found during excavation on Wednesday. They were sent to a forensic lab for analysis to determine if the remains were human.

The excavations in BOTAŞ facilities for around a week now have resulted in the discovery of several bone fragments and clothing. The families of dozens of missing people residing in the Kurdish-populated Southeast believe the excavation will give significant clues about the whereabouts of their loved ones.

There's a little more from Eurasianet.org:

There are no reliable figures for the number of civilians murdered or disappeared by state-backed paramilitary groups amid the conflict between Turkey and the Kurdistan Workers Party, or PKK, a war that has claimed more than 40,000 lives since it started in 1984. Official statistics put unsolved murders between 1991 and 1995 at 1,412. Human rights groups reckon that at least 5,000 died, including over 1,000 missing persons who are presumed dead.

Getting convictions for murders committed by security personnel remains nearly impossible, says Tahir Elci, a prominent human rights lawyer. He says he can remember only one case - that of a sergeant sentenced to life in 2007 for ordering the 1994 murder of a Kurdish businessman. Turkey’s system, he adds, "protects its murderers."

Which means, of course, don't get your hopes up. Digging for evidence has not been a completely smooth operation. Last week, the state attempted to stop the digs before they got started, citing "security reasons". If the state were truly concerned with the security problem in The Southeast, it would remove the biggest terrorists of all, the TSK. I mean, you seriously have to wonder about the security situation when at least some of JITEM's acid wells are located on a military installation.

Yeah. Security issues. Does TSK guard every military installation as well as it guarded Bezele? Or is this an admission that TSK really is the cause of security problems in The Southeast?

A LITTLE TASTE OF REALITY

"We have never accepted the accusation that we are terrorists. As an organization, we have never resorted to military warfare for arbitrary reasons or personal pleasures. Yes, we are fighting with weapons, but this is due to the state terror inflicted upon our people. Our identity, political culture, and linguistic heritage have been brutally suppressed by state terrorism."
~ Abdullah Öcalan.

Photos from Amed (Diyarbakır), from various news services at YahooNews and Hürriyet:



















And by the way Sayın Başbakan, the only trash on the streets of Amed is TSK and the police forces.

From Doğubeyazıt, again at Hürriyet:








For more photos of the serhildan in Amed, check Hevallo's place. Don't forget to read his memorial for Lice and browse the photos of that genocidal attack. It's truly excellent.

For photos of the serhildan in Batman and Şırnak, check here.

It looks like a lot of cars have gone up in flames all around Istanbul yesterday--38 cars in total:





And there have been arson attacks against the Turkish embassies in Finland and Austria.

All in all, it's just a little taste of what will happen if something happens to Öcalan. You have been warned.

Oh, yeah, what Ahmet Türk said:

The military coup in 1980 conducted "political, social and cultural genocide" on Kurds and paved the way for the establishment of the [ ] organization, PKK, the leader of the pro-Kurdish party said on Tuesday.

Turk's remarks came after tensions rose in the region over the DTP's claims that Abdullah Ocalan, the imprisoned leader of the [ ] organization PKK, had been mistreated in Imrali prison where he is serving a life sentence. The claims sparked huge protests in the mainly-Kurdish southeastern regions, leaving one person dead.

BIJÎ SEROK APO!

A BLOW AGAINST THE POLICE STATE IN AMED

"The State has but one face for me: that of the police. To my eyes, all of the State's ministries have this single face, and I cannot imagine the ministry of culture other than as the police of culture, with its prefect and commissioners."
~ Jean Dubuffet.

There's been an attack against a police bus on the outskirts of the Kurdish capital, Amed (Diyarbakır). Yeni Özgür Politika reports five police dead and 23 police wounded. Bianet reports that Turkish media places the number of wounded from 15 to 19, while Al-Jazeera claims 22 were wounded, claiming that at least 11 of the wounded were police. Of course, numbers in Turkish media are interesting only for the creativity they lend to news pieces.

Photos from Hürriyet:















One thing's certain: With five less fascist police in the world, the day is ending better than it started.

In what may be the least shocking news of the year, the TBMM passed the request to extend the period of military operations into South Kurdistan. And in the least shocking detail of this shocking-less news, DTP's parliamentarians were the only ones to oppose.

Notice the reported comments of CHP parliamentarian Şükrü Elekdağ:

Criticizing the fact that the Aktütün [Bezele] border post was not reinforced after the attack, Elekdağ called upon all the deputies to condemn this attack.

And they didn't reinforce it from May. So there we have confirmation that the paşas did absolutely nothing to reinforce a military garrison that is, in fact, located in a very weak position. Good for HPG for exploiting this weakness so brilliantly but why are there not demands for paşa heads to roll?

Another article on the subject, MHP leader Devlet Bahçeli wants to extend OHAL into South Kurdistan while paying lip service to "democratic" means:

President of the National Movement Party (MHP) Devlet Bahçeli stated that the armed forces should move into Northern Iraq and form a secured buffer zone. However, he also emphasized that the problem could not be solved only with the military means; the social, political and cultural measures had to be taken.

Hey, if your boys can hold that terrain, Bahçeli, be HPG's very welcome guest.

Also from Bianet, the Human Rights Association (İHD) explains the extent of the General Staff's call for increased OHAL powers in Turkish-occupied Kurdistan:

President of the Human Rights Association (İHD) Hüsnü Öndül describes how the region was under the OHAL measures.

“There was violence everywhere. This was the time when there were missings, unsolved murders and tortures everywhere. This was the time when the villages were evacuated forcefully.”

OHAL had started in 1987 and lasted until 2002.

Öndül summarizes the demands of the police and military as such:

“They want to prolong the custody period to four days and decrease the time for the presence of the lawyers. They already had the government pass the practice of no lawyer for twenty four hours and then the one lawyer restriction. These are against the torture ban, the individual freedom and security and just trial.”

“They want to search the people, their belongings and their houses without the need to get permission.”

According to daily Radikal, the army and gendarmerie want to have the right to search, to take statement and to take people into custody.

For all of Katil Erdoğan's swagger about the march to "democracy" continuing in Turkey with no setbacks, the facts show quite obviously that there is no march to "democracy" to swagger about. In other words, it's just like that other famous police state: the US.

Dr. Kristiina Koivunen of Finland has been roasting under the Hewlêr sun most of the summer and she has a couple of recent posts over at her place. In a particularly interesting post, she describes her attempts to get the TC to issue her a document indicating that she's banned from entering the police state. Go have a read, it's very interesting, especially if you've ever spent time at the "new and improved" Habur Gate.

I'm glad she didn't run into the border dogs from hell that we encountered there earlier this year.

AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL STATEMENT

From a friend, a Public Statement from Amnesty International:

Turkey: Three children on trial in case over freedom of expression

June 18, 2008 - Amnesty International Public Statement

Tomorrow, 19 June, three boys, aged 15, 15 and 17 at the time that the alleged offence was committed, will go on trial in Diyarbakır in the south east of Turkey accused of violating Article 7/2 of the anti-terror law that criminalizes "making propaganda for a terrorist organisation or its aims". The article carries a maximum sentence of five years' imprisonment.

The prosecution was brought after the children, who are all members of the Diyarbakır Yenişehir Municipality Children's Choir, sang a Kurdish language anthem Ey Raqip (Hey Enemy) at a world music festival in San Francisco in October 2007. The choir sang songs in a total of nine different languages including a Turkish patriotic song (Çanakkale Marşı). Six other members of the choir who are under 15 years of age are being prosecuted for the same offence at a Children's Court.

While international human rights law permits states to impose certain limitations on freedom of expression, these can only be such as are necessary and proportionate for certain purposes - protecting the rights and freedoms of others, public health or morals, or national security or public order. The singing of Ey Raqıp, a historical anthem, cannot be regarded as a threat to public order, and the prosecution threatens the right to freedom of expression. If these children are convicted and imprisoned, Amnesty International would consider them to be prisoners of conscience.

AI is also concerned that those between the ages of 15 and 17 are being tried in an adult court. Under the Convention on the Rights of the Child, which applies to everyone under 18, states should aim to establish laws, procedures, authorities and institutions specifically applicable to children accused of infringing the penal law. The UN Standard Minimum Rules for the Administration of Juvenile Justice ("The Beijing Rules"), adopted by the UN General Assembly in November 1985, stipulate in particular that proceedings for children should be conducive to the best interests of the child and shall be conducted in an atmosphere of understanding allowing them to participate and to express themselves freely, and that the well-being of the child should be the guiding factor in the consideration of the case.

UPDATE: The friend has forwarded the link to the statement at Amnesty International.

Goran at Zanetî has updated his original post on the children singers.

Hevallo also has the statement with link.

DIYARBAKIR GOVERNOR ON "AMNESTY"

"The power of authority is never more subtle and effective than when it produces a psychological “atmosphere” or “climate” favorable to the life of certain modes of belief, unfavorable, and even fatal, to the life of others."
~ Arthur Balfour.

Apparently some Kurds from Iraq have been forcibly deported from the UK to the democratic paradise of South Kurdistan. Hevallo has the run-down on that, and be sure to check Hîwa for additional info and commentary.

Does everyone remember the video and photos from Newroz? Does everyone remember Cüneyt Ertuş getting his arm broken by fascist AKP police? Check Hevallo for more photos and videos, if your memory needs refreshing.

Okay, with those facts in mind, take a look at what the Diyarbakır AKP-appointed governor has to say about his phony amnesty-for-guerrillas propaganda program:

Diyarbakır Governor Hüseyin Avni Mutlu provided information on the recent attempts to get young people who had joined the PKK to leave and stressed that every person who returned home was important. Noting that efforts are being made to ensure that the peaceful environment is sustainable, Mutlu underlined that serenity and peace would be the major dynamic of economic and social development in the region. Mutlu further noted that everyone should do their part to promote brotherhood and solidarity in the region.

He added that attempts to have PKK militants return to their homes and families would continue. Recalling that they wanted to give another chance to those who had committed mistakes, Mutlu stressed that a fresh start by any person was vital.

Really, Hüseyin, old boy??! Guess what, Hüseyin, old boy, the only ones who have committed "mistakes" is the Ankara regime and its occupation goons in The Southeast. Guess what else, Hüseyin, old boy, no one in their right mind wants to give your goons--be they military or police--a "fresh start." After all, Turkish security forces are the only terrorists in The Region.

And this is the really hilarious part:

Asking whether there is anything more valuable than life, Mutlu said: "Our desire to keep people alive is strong. We are working toward this goal, this is an ongoing endeavor. To this end, every day matters for us. Everyone is valuable. Every person who returns home is important. We provide help and assistance for them following the return. … Hopefully, everybody will return home. This is our goal. Life is beautiful. We would like to see them enjoy the beauties of life. Wrong decisions are made sometimes; one can be fooled by others and there may be some mistakes, but it is also possible to make up for them. There is nothing better than returning to one's family and life. I hope that everyone will get to enjoy this feeling."

Can you believe it?? "Life is beautiful!" Oh my god! Give me a few minutes here while I pick myself off the floor and catch my breath from laughing so hard!

Seriously, the only "wrong mistakes" have been made by the Ankara regime and it is impossible to make up for them. Oh, by the way, those "100 terrorists" who returned home were the 100 commandos you sent to infiltrate PKK, right, oh happy one? I mean, they failed and they came home, right, oh happy one?

It's too late. The images of Turkish brutality have been flying around the Internet. Today, I found the information had made it into a Spanish-language blog, here and here. Through those posts, I found it in Spanish-language media, and you should check the comments. Use Google's language tools if you need help with translating the comments. The news has spread to a Japanese blog and to a Brazilian blog, in English. Check some of the commentary there:

A holocaust nearly the same grade of the one who was comitted to jews, the same barbarism have the kurds faced. And the world is quiet. The kurdish people are victims of the economical agreements between west and Turkey.

Now there's someone who calls it like it is. There's someone who's got about a billion times more correct perception of reality than the dumbass governor of Diyarbakır. You would think the governor of Diyarbakır was busily scarfing down magic mushrooms as he made his life-is-beautiful crap statement.

Somebody give the governor a urine test.

Of course, to be fair, it may be that the governor is terrified. After all, one million Kurds turned out for Amed's (Diyarbakır) Newroz celebration. They all have access, one way or another, to Roj TV. They've all seen or heard about the atrocities committed by Turkish security forces during Newroz. I'm willing to bet they're all pissed.

One million Kurds at Amed's Newroz celebration. Think about it. That's more warm bodies than the TSK has.

AMED, US BASES, AND TORTURE

"While scads of bases were being built -- including four huge ones whose geographic placement correlated fairly strikingly with the four mentioned in the Times article -- reports about U.S. bases in Iraq, or any Pentagon planning in relation to them, largely disappeared from the American media."
~ Tom Engelhardt

Here are some comments from Murat Karayılan on the Amed (Diyarbakır) bombing, taken from an interview at Yeni Özgür Politika:

What is the exact relationship between your movement and the explosion that occured in Amed on 3 January against a military vehicle?

There is no relationship between our movement and that incident. Since the incident happened, we are investigating in several ways in order to get correct information. However, we have not gotten clear and concrete information yet. It seems like it is an incident that has been done by a regional unit on its own initiative. However, due to the method, the location, and the timing of this operation, it is an unacceptable attempt. Therefore our movement's headquarters is not claiming responsibility for this attempt.

It is still debatable who perpetrated this incident. We have opened an investigation already. Let me say this: we have not yet ordered our forces to use all possibilities and methods against the Turkish government and army. Had we given such an order, neither Erdogan nor Buyukanit would have gone to Amed so comfortably. We have that power; let no one deceive himself. We, as the movement, have not given such an order yet. We have hundreds of "immortals" company members and forces that are waiting for suicide operations. If this attack policy continues and the Turkish government's full mobilization against the Kurdish freedom movement keeps going as it is, a big war will occur. We adopted a limited defensive war and we are behaving according to the calls for a solution that we made.

For that reason, everyone must know this very well, that currently we are not even using ten percent of our military potential. Had we really pushed the button with all means, had we said, "Everyone must do what he or she can," then very different consequences would have occured. But we have not made such a decision yet.

AKP wanted to use this incident in a very opportunistic way, for preparing the ground to get Amed in the next regional election. We see this underhanded attempt as very atrocious. We are accepting the share of responsibility that belongs to us. We should have better control and inspection from our side. However, the main responsibility of this incident--and similar incidents--lies with Turkey and the AKP government.

There was also something about two US military bases being constructed, one in North Kurdistan and one in South Kurdistan, and the focus of these bases will be Iran. From Firat News (Note: see the link for photos):

Blood Price For The US Support To Turkey’s PKK Operation: A Military Base Against Iran

by Mehmet Yaman (source: ANF Fırat News Agency)
Monday, January 14, 2008

Editor's note: This was translated from Turkish by Cem Ertür from CASMII.

Having given no support to Turkey’s struggle against the PKK for a long time, the US supported the Turkish army’s recent bombing of the Qandil Mountain.

The reason behind this support is becoming clear now: An agreement made between the US, Turkey and the Federal Administration of South Kurdistan for the construction in South and North Kurdistan [i.e. Northern Iraq and Southeastern Turkey respectively] of two strategic US military bases targeting Iran.

According to a military specialist who trained Kurdish Special Security Forces in Salahaddin, a military base has already been established on the strategically important Korek Mountain in the Diyana (Soran) district of South Kurdistan. A specialist team consisting of seven US and Israeli staff members set up the connection of new satellite systems and powerful radar receptors and dealt with technical organisation.

The US dispatched the equipment for this base via Turkish territory. Entry to and exit from the Korek mountain area was banned before the launch of the construction work, with the exception of US and Israeli specialists and the special teams that support them. A US-trained 1,500-strong red beret Peshmerga force was deployed in the area surrounding the high-security base.

Before the US intervention on Iraq, the Turkish intelligence agency MIT was operating in the region to collect intelligence by intercepting communication between guerillas. An Israeli newspaper has previously reported that the US was establishing a military base a few kilometers from the Iraq- Iran border.

The Wall Street Journal came up with a similar news item on September 11, 2007. Images of the base are being published for the first time by the ANF Fırat News Agency. A second team reportedly began its activities for setting up, with Turkey’s approval, a similar military base in the Yüksekova district (province of Hakkari, Turkey) near the Iranian border. Although the technical devices aren’t installed yet, similar work is being carried out there as well. Sepelke region is also being used for the two bases. According to the political analysts in the region, if the ongoing US-Israeli intelligence and reconnaissance work on the PKK will be successful, then this will also be applied to Iran in different ways. For that reason, the phase that began with the provision to Turkey of intelligence on PKK seeks to achieve strategically important results in the medium- and long-term. The first step in that direction was made during a meeting at the Khanzad Hotel which is located between Hewler [Arbil] and Salahaddin. In that meeting, it was agreed that in return for receiving intelligence on the Qandil area, Turkey would refrain from harsh statements and threats against the Kurdish administration and provide support for the construction of the military bases targeting Iran and Syria.

And, in case you missed it:

London (KurdishMedia.com) 15 January 2008: About 60 percent of those who are tortured in the Turkish prisons are of Kurdish ethnicity while the rest of the other ethnicities in the courty, including Turks, are only constitute about 40 percent, reported in Kurdish website sbeiy.com on 13 January 2008.

On 13 January 2008, the Centre of Social and Investigation of Rights (Tuhav) in Turkey reported that 60 percent of the torture cases are carried out in Turkish prisons are detainees of Kurdish ethnicity. A member of the centre Selimoglu stated that "there are 70 to 80 thousand prisoners in Turkey and they are chiefly ill-treated"

No surprise there except for the ignorant.

HPG STATEMENT ON AMED BOMBING

HPG has issued a Statement about the explosion in Amed (Diyarbakır).

To the people and public opinion:

There is a possibility that the explosion in Amed Yenişehir on 3 January 2008, in which a military vehicle carrying lieutenants, including some pilots, was carried out by one of our units' own initiative. We have not received exact information about this operation yet.

We want you to know that we will share the exact results when the investigation is completed.

Stay tuned.

AMED IS BOMBED AGAIN

Vehicles burn after an explosion in Diyarbakir, south eastern Turkey, Thursday, Jan. 3, 2008. A car bomb exploded in the Kurdish-dominated southeastern city of Diyarbakir on Thursday, wounding at least 20 people, including some military personnel, news reports said. (AP Photo/Ibrahim Yakut, Anatolia)

Vehicles are engulfed by flames following an explosion in the southeastern Turkish city of Diyarbakir, January 3, 2008. REUTERS

Turkish police officers inspect the wreckage of a military bus following an explosion in the southeastern Turkish city of Diyarbakir January 3, 2008. At least three people were killed in an explosion on Thursday that wrecked a military vehicle in the southeast Turkish city of Diyarbakir, NTV television quoted police sources as saying. REUTERS/Anatolian

Police inspect the area of an explosion in Diyarbakir. A powerful car bomb exploded Thursday near a military base in Diyarbakir, the main city in Turkey's mainly Kurdish southeast, killing five people, hospital officials said. (AFP)