MIDWEEK NEWS

"A censor is a man who knows more than he thinks you ought to."
~ Granville Hicks

The other day I posted the complete text of Adem Uzun's speech which he gave at the 5th EUTCC Conference on the EU, Turkey, and the Kurds. The speech was originally posted on KurdishInfo and I have since confirmed that it is the complete speech.

However, a truncated version has apparently been making the rounds through MESOP's (Mesopotamische Gesellschaft--Mesopotamian Development Society) email newsletter. About the last half of Heval Adem's speech was missing from the newsletter version. That's particularly interesting given that the editor of MESOP was present during Heval Adem's presentation.

The cut version of the speech was picked up by KurdishMedia, and that version ended with these words:

There is a strong possibility for its mask to fall especially regarding its approach to the Kurdish Question. It cannot possibly fight for long by hitting beneath the belt. Consequently, the AKP has no peaceful project regarding the policy on the Kurds. Although enthusiastic about harmonising with the West, it is not strong enough to determine a policy, let alone exercising it. Its entire hope depends on external forces having their turns to attack the PKK. Progressively it is becoming obvious that they wish to achieve certain goals by being semi-covert and not showing their true colours.

I wonder why MESOP did not carry all of Heval Adem's words? Why was the speech cut off at that point?

There's an interesting article on Istanbul's Tarlabaşı coming out of an Indian community:

Strolling through the beautiful streets of Istanbul's Beyoglu quarter on the European side of the ancient city, few would know that just a few hundred metres away lies a district where prostitution and the drug trade flower.

Somewhat conveniently separated by the multi-laned Tarlabasi Boulevard is the Beyoglu that foreign tourists rarely see, a district where live many Kurdish people forced to flee there homes in south-east Turkey, either because of poverty or because they left their villages through direct force or out of fear for their lives.

Estimates vary, but around 4,000 villages in south-east Turkey were "emptied" in the 1980s and 1990s, with around one million people forced to leave their homes and farms during fighting between the Turkish armed forces and the separatist Kurdish Workers' Party (PKK).

If you decide to go to South Kurdistan and enter through Turkey, you better make sure you stay in South Kurdistan:

Foreigners who enter Iraq through the Kurdish north of the country without a visa issued by the authorities in Baghdad will face arrest and legal charges, the interior ministry warned on Monday.

The announcement came after an Italian national was detained in the former rebel stronghold of Fallujah, in western Iraq, after having been issued with a 10-day visa in the autonomous Kurdish north of the country.

"Any foreigner entering Iraq through the border posts of Kurdistan without a visa from the Baghdad government will be arrested," under a new directive issued by the interior ministry, spokesman Abdul Karim Khalaf said.

It looks like the Zionists are a bit peeved with PJAK being put on The List. Now why is that?

THE EUTCC ON LEYLA ZANA'S CONVICTION

"The seed of revolution is repression."
~ Woodrow T. Wilson.

Kurdish Spokesperson and EUTCC Patron Leyla Zana Convicted to Ten Years in Prison by a Turkish Court

6 December 2008

Press Release: For immediate release

Kurdish Spokesperson and EUTCC Patron Leyla Zana Convicted to Ten Years in Prison by a Turkish Court

Leyla Zana, a well know political spokesperson for the Kurds in Turkey, was Thursday convicted to ten years in prison by a Turkish Court in Diyarbakir. The court ruled that Leyla Zana had violated the penal code and the anti-terror law in nine different speeches. She is accused of having supported and spread propaganda in favour of the PKK (Kurdistan Workers’ Party). At a Newroz celebration in Diyarbakir Leyla Zana stated that PKK leader, Mr. Abdulla Öcalan, should be regarded as one of three Kurdish leaders. It is expected that Zana will appeal the verdict.

Leyla Zana was the first Kurdish woman to win a seat in the Turkish Parliament in 1991. Her decision to give the Parliamentary Oath in Kurdish led to immediate calls for her arrest. This was the first time Kurdish had been spoken in the Turkish Parliament. She was sentenced to 15 years in prison but was released in 2004 due to international pressure. Zana received the Rafto Prize in 1994 and the Sakharov Prize the following year.

Despite Leyla Zana’s sufferings and personal losses during the previous 10 years of imprisonment in Turkey, she has continued to speak on behalf of her people. Since her release in 2004 Leyla Zana has been an outspoken, courageous and loyal ambassador to the Kurdish people. She demands recognition for the Kurdish language, Kurdish identity and freedom of expression in addition to political and cultural rights. Zana seeks a non-violent and democratic solution for the Kurds living within Turkey's borders.

Leyla Zana sent the following statement to the EUTCC Chair Kariane Westrheim today:

“The case against me is a violation against freedom of thought, and represents a threat to every Kurd in Turkey. The decision of the court is just another way to repress, silence and punish the Kurds. The mentality governing this country is that problems can be resolved by anti democratic and repressive means and that unfair trial can provide political and social peace. But despite all this, our people will claim their legitimate rights, and will continue to struggle for this as long as it takes”.

EUTCC calls on the European Union and the international community to take political action and strongly condemn Turkey for having convicted Leyla Zana to ten new years in prison.


For further information
Kariane Westrheim
Chair of EUTCC
Menneskerettighetenes plass 1
5007 Bergen, Norway
Telephone: +47 976 42 088

REACTION FROM THE STATE OF DENIAL

"Amnesty International believes that prolonged isolation including small group isolation may have serious effects on the physical and mental health of prisoners and may constitute cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment. It can also facilitate torture and ill-treatment of prisoners."
~ Amnesty International.

Turkey is in denial over the European test results that indicate Ocalan is being poisoned by the TSK, from AP on the IHT:

"This is pure lies," Cicek said of the poisoning allegations at a news conference. "We have sent a three-member expert team. They are making necessary examinations. We will announce the results tomorrow or the day after."

More from the so-called Justice Minister, from the BBC:

Justice Minister Cemal Cicek has made the government's position clear. He said the claim that Mr Ocalan had been poisoned was a lie.

If Turkey had ever seen that as an option, he said, it would have happened long ago. Turkey is a state based on the rule of law, he stressed.

It's quite possible the regime did start the poisoning a long time ago with low levels of strontium and chromium in order to fake a "natural" death from bone cancer or leukemia. Such a slow poisoning would allow the Turkish government a measure of plausible deniability.

Let me also stress to the so-called Justice Minister, that it is not sufficient to send Turkish doctors to examine Ocalan or to handle new tests on hair samples. An independent, impartial, international medical team must handle this case. Given the Ankara regime's atrocious human rights record with regard to ordinary citizens and prisoners, and the fact that the regime is incapable of impartiality with regard to any subject touching on Kurds or Ocalan (Example: see Ahmet Turk's second conviction in a week's time--for refering to Ocalan as "Mr. Ocalan"), anything else is totally unacceptable.

In the meantime, there is another press release from KHRP, indicating that the EU Turkey Civic Commission (EUTCC) is demanding a full investigation over the poisoning evidence:

5 March 2007

A KHRP press release on behalf of the EU-Turkey Civic Commission

For immediate release


EUTCC Demands Full Investigation following Recent Evidence of Mistreatment of Abdullah Öcalan

The EU-Turkey Civic Commission is extremely concerned at revelations regarding the health of Abdullah Öcalan, following the recent announcement by his legal team that analysis of hair samples uncovered evidence of contamination with elevated levels of chromium and strontium. The revelations reinforce concerns at the conditions of detention of Mr Öcalan, who has been the sole inmate on İmralı Island since 1999.

In reaction to these developments, EUTCC Chairwoman Kariane Westrheim stated “I am gravely concerned at the recent news that Mr Öcalan may be suffering from contamination with toxic chemicals in prison. I call on international institutions, particularly the European Committee for the Prevention of Torture (CPT), immediately to conduct a full investigation into these revelations and to take all necessary measures to ensure Mr Öcalan’s well being. I call on Turkey to cooperate fully in any investigation and ensure that the state of health of Mr Öcalan be independently verified and monitored. I would furthermore like to remind the Turkish Government, under whose jurisdiction Mr Öcalan is incarcerated, of its obligations under international human rights treaties and conventions, as well as its obligation to meet the Copenhagen Criteria. The abuse and mistreatment of prisoners is absolutely unacceptable in a democratic society. If Turkey is found to have had a hand in the alleged poisoning of Mr Öcalan, this will have grave consequences for both its EU accession hopes and its international standing.”

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION:

Chairwoman, EUTCC

Kariane Westrheim
Menneskerettighetenes Plass 1
5007 Bergen
Norway
Mobile: +47 97642088
kariane.westrheim@iuh.uib.no


Secretary General, EUTCC

Jon Rud
Sierra Altea, Buzon 138
03599 Altea la Vella
Spain
Tel. +34 965846645
Mobile: +34 666360148
jONRUD@terra.es


For KHRP:

Walter Jayawardene
Resources and Communications Coordinator
Kurdish Human Rights Project
11 Guilford Street,
London, WC1N 1DH
Tel: 020 7405 3835
wjayawardene@khrp.org

Kurdish Human Rights Project is an independent, non-political human rights organisation dedicated to the promotion and protection of the human rights of all people in the Kurdish regions. It is a registered charity, founded and based in London