OPPRESSION: CONTINUED . . .

"A desire to resist oppression is implanted in the nature of man."
~ Tacitus.

Having mentioned the murder of Kurds in Iran by the mullahs yesterday, it's rather coincidental that the following was in my inbox today:

I am a twenty-seven year Kurdish woman who has been sentenced to death by the Iranian Judiciary authority for my political activities. After I was given death sentence last year I appealed and my case was reviewed by the Iranian High Court. The High Court sustained the lower court’s decision.

I am under constant torture and humiliation. I was put on an orchestrated trial without a legal representation and after a few minutes I was sentenced to death. I don’t have a lawyer to defend me. The Court only dedicated a few minutes to my case. The Court told me that I was an “Enemy of God,” and in a short period of time all enemies of God would be hanged. All the judges in my trial voted for my execution.

I asked the Judge if I could say good-bye to my mother. He told me “shut up.” The Judge rejected my appeal and refused to let me to see my mother. Since I cannot defend myself, I ask all advocates and activists of human/women’s rights to campaign on my behalf and support me. I need your help.

Zaynab Jalalian

Zaynab's crime? She's a Kurd.

You can see the document at the KNCNA website, under the homepage heading "Documents and letters".

I wanted to point out that last week PRI's The World program aired a segment on The Forbidden Letters in Turkey. Mahmut Alınak--I love this guy--was quoted. A TSK'er insisted that people who use The Forbidden Letters should be imprisoned. Of course, the TSK'er should logically include himself among the imprisoned, if we consider a defense that Diyarbakır's mayor, Osman Baydemir, used in a recent court case against him for using The Forbidden W:

[Murharrem] Erbey [of the Diyarbakır İHD] said his client [Osman Baydemir] asked everyone, “Do you log onto the justice ministry’s website?” The judge and the prosecutors said yes. Then he asked “What do you type when you go there?” The answer was something like “www dot gov dot TR. Then the mayor said, “Aren’t you breaking the law? Every time you type W three times and you go to the site hundreds of times a day. But when W is used in the Kurdish context it’s a crime.”

Touché, Heval Osman!

You can visit the site and read the transcript of the segment or listen to it via mp3.

Let me add that if the nationalists want to be consistent about The Forbidden Letters, some of the Alparen Ocakları types need to go around knocking The Forbidden W off the BMW's of the elites.

IHD: HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATIONS ON THE INCREASE

"Washing one's hands of the conflict between the powerful and the powerless means to side with the powerful, not to be neutral."
~ Paulo Freire.

I have received a press statement from a comrade in the Diyarbakır Branch of the Human Righs Association (IHD). This statement is dated 9 July 2009, however I think it's appropriate to post it now, since Interior Minister Beşir Atalay has proclaimed that the Ankara regime's Kurdish "initiative" or democratic "intitiative", or whatever the hell he's calling it these days, has been an overwhelming success.

The irony is that since the actual and overwhelming success of the DTP during the 29 March elections, repression has been on the increase, at least in the Kurdish Region of Turkey. IHD has the cases, with evidence, to support its claims:

PRESS STATEMENT

(The Kurdish question will only be solved with the prevention of human rights abuses)

09 July 2009

Esteemed members of the press,

Although we were pleased to see an even partial decrease in human rights abuses in the first three months of 2009 after leaving behind a year of debating people’s most basic human rights, our concerns were increased by a sudden explosion of abuses following the local elections on March 29th. Fourteen days after the elections, the operation launched against the Democratic Society Party (DTP – Demokratik Toplum Partisi), detetions and arrests, the cancellation of green cards (cards from a social program designed to help disadvantaged people access health services) belonging especially to DTP voters in the provinces, the detention and arrest of members of the Public Workers’ Trade Unions Confederation (KESK - Kamu Emekçileri Sendikaları Konfederasyonu), the arrest of human rights and peace activists, and the initiation of a witch hunt, so to speak, people from all sectors were gathered together. In the operation against the DTP, 945 people were detained and 414 were arrested. In a manner illegal and contrary to human rights law, after their telephone conversations were listened to, many people were arrested on the basis of very ordinary conversations, suspects and lawyers weren’t allowed to see the files concerning their cases due to a secret decision, information concerning legal cases was given to the press surreptitiously and in violation of the law, the list of offenses detained people were charged with were also handed to the press, and detained people were declared guilty before the public without even knowing what crimes they were being charged with.

Although all sectors entered a period of expectation regarding a solution to the Kurdish issue following the 29 March local elections, the spike in arrests and detentions and the increase in operations on both sides of the border served to increase our concerns. The intensification and escalation of violations after distinguished President Abdullah Gül said ‘good things will happen’ regarding the Kurdish issue prompted a debate on how ‘good things’ are perceived.

In the first six months of 2009, the question of clearing mines along the borders and inside Turkey became a current topic; however, mines continue to claim lives as the question of who will clear them becomes more contested and the road to a solution is debated. Whoever plants them and for whatever goal, mines are a crime against humanity and mined fields must be located and their perimeters marked immediately. Later, these fields must be cleared and opened for agriculture.

With the understanding that the state must act as a welfare state, the state’s use of green cards as a political tool especially during elections is a very important indicator of the state’s character. It’s known that a large majority of people don’t have social security. It’s possible that following the elections, the security forces gave the district governorships reports concerning the electorate’s political preferences and that previously-issued green cards were cancelled according to this information. The implementation of green card cancellations increased especially extremely following the March 29 local elections. Following the elections, in our districts the green cards of 122,018 people were cancelled.

In our region, applications were received from five people asserting that they had experienced discrimination on the basis of their beliefs. Our organization considers freedom of belief important and it’s one of the rights that we defend.

In our region, the topic that comes to our attention the most is violations in prisons and detention centers. In Batman prison, due to a disciplinary punishment an inmate by the name of Resul Çelik wasn’t allowed to meet with his family for three months, and for 40 days his request to be transfered to another prison wasn’t being accepted. He couldn’t escape the depression he fell into and hanged himself. This incident was a death under detention. In the prisons in the regions, treatment isn’t given to seriously ill patients, they aren’t committed to infirmatories, and requests to be transferred to hospitals aren’t accepted. No one should be surprised if there’s an explosion in the near future as a result of the conditions and repression in the prisons.

Violations in prisons have continued to increase and become more severe. From the prisons, 33 people applied to us concerning violations of their right to health, 253 people applied concerning the obstruction of their right of communication, and 193 arrestees and inmates applied complaining of having received gratuitous and unjustified punishments, and all of these assertions were proven. 73 families applied to us because their meetings with imprisoned relatives had been obstructed due to disciplinary actions. 44 arrestees and inmates applied to our branch asserting that they had been tortured.

Regarding the heavy intervention by security forces into activities in our region such as Newroz over the last six months, camera images showing the butt of a police officer’s gun hitting the head of a small child show the degree of disproportionality prevailing at this stage. In 47 rallies and public meetings interfered in by the security forces, 501 people were detained.

Regarding the statement in the European Union’s latest progress report on Turkish accession that there is no freedom of thought in our country, how can we express that there are not positive developments in this area. It’s necessary to understand that our country can’t move forward with a democratization characterized by very timid and heavy steps and that in this sense Turkey won’t be able to join the European Union for a long time. In six months in our region 546 new lawsuits were opened against people because of ideas they expressed. 324 people received various punishments due to ideas expressed before the first six months of 2009.

In the first six months of the year, a total of 73 homes were raided. It was claimed in received applications that those in the raided houses had been subjected to indecent and severe interference. Finally, everyone was shocked by an application we received in which it was claimed that when security forces entered a house in the Ofis district of Diyarbakır on the account of a resident’s political activities, a woman was subjected to sexual violence and harassment. The chief public prosecutor’s office has opened a legal investigation and the Diyarbakır regional governorship an administrative one about this event.

In the first six months, 21 people were proven to or applied to our branch claiming to have been exposed to torture and maltreatment in detention units in our region. Compared to the past, torture and maltreatment in detention centers has decreased but the practice has been carried to the street. Now, in front of cameras, mobile squads and other security forces have been using disproportionate force against social activities in a way that has been resulting in heavy injuries. In six months 109 people applied to our branch claiming to have been exposed to torture and maltreatment outside of formal detention centers.

With the goal of abolishing the village guard system, for ten years the Human Rights Association has prepared statements and reports concerning very serious violations perpetrated by village guards. Most recently, the massacre in Bilge village in Mardin province shows once again just how correct our discourse is. The result of the state’s security perspective approach to the Kurdish problem is always death and tears. In the first six months of 2009, 49 people were killed 8 were injured as a result of violations of the right to life carried out by village guards. It was established that village guards were involved in 33 incidents of torture and maltreatment.

Finally, the number of occurences involving people being kidnapped and suggested to become spies has experienced an increase. In the first six months, 7 people applied to our branch asserting that they had been kidnapped and threatened into becoming a spy.

In our region, intervention is often brought upon demonstrations organized by civil society organizations and political parties; upon one person’s slogan or throwing of a stone, gas and teargas are used against all particpants. Heavy interference is personally confirmed by leaders from our branch who act as observers in the activities they participate in. In the first six months of 2009, 215 people were beaten and injured as a result of police intervention into public demonstrations.

Esteemed members of the press,

We can say that almost all of the violations in our region that come to our attention are directly related to the Kurdish problem. The lack of a solution to the Kurdish question is the reason for our country’s inability to democratize or join the European Union as well as the reason our economy is so sunken. A big part of the problem would be overcome with the acceptance of the Kurds’ existence, language and culture and the construction of a new civil and democratic constitution. The sit-down protests we initiated with the goal of putting the fate of disappeared people on the public agenda and trying the perpetrators has entered its 23rd week. The disappeared people that our branch has tried to locate with our own resources exposes the fact that the mistakes the state made in the past were not insignificant. We think that all the graves of the disappeared will be revealed only with the existence of a strong political will. We request that the state come face to face with the past, apologize to the loved ones of the disappeared, apprehend the perpetrators, that the political killings of Kurds be included in the Ergenekon investigation, and that the trial take place on the northern side of the Euphrates river. A truth commission including intellectuals, legal experts, non-governmental organizations, public institutions, judges and prosecutors needs to be established and its work begun immediately.

With the goal of ending the ending the disproportionate violence applied to actions and activities, we’re prepared to deliver human rights education through our branches found in 16 provinces to the security forces that serve in our region. We also recommend that the the security forces be given education in anger management.

Everyone has a role to play in resolving the Kurdish issue, guns must continue to be silent, and we want to keep the doors to dialogue open until the end. We hope that the PKK’s ceasefire will be extended beyond July 15th, and we hope the state also puts an end to operations and behaves with common sense by taking urgent steps with the goal of stopping the flow of blood. We don’t want to see deaths or severe violations any longer. We’re hoping to present a violation-free balance table in the first six months of next year.

With our respect,

Muharrem ERBEY, Attorney at Law

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

When will we hear Sayın Atalay address these charges? Inquiring minds want to know.

Many thanks to the comrade who sent the information. And let me add that those who have worked in the IHD have been true heroes of the Kurdish struggle in Turkey, as much so as have our guerrillas. Among the many who have served the Kurdish people in this way, we can include Osman Baydemir, Akın Birdal, and Eren Keskin. There is a short history of the IHD at IHD's website, which includes a list of IHD leaders and members who were murdered because of their work.

Serkeftin!

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?

THE WEIGHT OF RACISM

"I look at an ant and I see myself: a native South African, endowed by nature with a strength much greater than my size so I might cope with the weight of a racism that crushes my spirit."
~ Miriam Makeba.

It looks like there was a war of words in the TBMM recently:

Under the roof of this parliament some people, who do not want the prime minister to visit some cities in the country, have emerged, Erdogan said in his speech to parliament.

"While we were implementing our democratic right and I, as the prime minister of Turkey, was attending some ceremonies (in the southeastern provinces), it was very interesting to see some people, who couldn’t accept this, setting cars on fire and breaking the windows of my party's building. Is this democracy? Is this freedom? Is this human rights? You can't attain freedom or democracy like this, the path of democracy is the polls," Erdogan added. His words incited reaction from DTP deputies.

Of course it's not a democracy! Of course it's not freedom! Of course it's not human rights! That's the whole point, bonehead! One thing is for certain, Mr. Başbakan, the response you received to your little visit to the Southeast is a classic example of "what goes around, comes around."

Hasip Kaplan, DTP parliamentarian from Şırnak, hit the bullseye:

A deputy from the DTP, Hasip Kaplan, referred to Erdogan as "Le Pen", in reference to the far-right French politician. "You are the Le Pen. You raised Nazism in this country," Erdogan replied to Kaplan.

"You are the Nazi and you represent Nazism. We have democratic rights. You cannot address us like this," Kaplan said in response to Erdogan's criticism.

OUCH!!

DTP leader Turk slammed Erdogan in his speech, rejecting the claims that they want to divide the country and urged for official recognition of the Kurdish identity.

"We defend the brotherhood of nations. We believe this could only be ensured by showing respect to citizens' identities and cultures. The one who is disrespectful and raises the chauvinism is you (Erdogan)," Turk added.

We know that Ahmet Türk is correct; Erdoğan the Bonehead is the one who goes around telling everyone, "Love it or leave it!" and supporting those who would take shotguns after DTP . . . and this is the same guy who had the nerve to go to Germany and talk about how "assimilation is a crime against humanity".

But Kurds are not the only ethnicity Erdoğan has a problem with. Here's something on the Armenians and the "Apology Campaign":

Around 200 Turkish academics, writers and journalists launched a website issuing an apology to the Armenians regarding the 1915 incidents and calling for people to sign on in support.

The efforts of the intellectuals drew fierce reaction in Turkey.

"I neither accept nor support this campaign. We did not commit a crime, therefore we do not need to apologize," Erdogan said, adding the issue is still being discussed by historians.

More on the campaign here. The Armenian view is at PanARMENIAN. Make note of the irony at the end of the piece:

The only «oddity» in all this story is that the petition has not been signed by Orhan Pamuk, Taner Akcam, Elif Safak, Ragip Zarakolu – those who for publicly mentioning the Armenian Genocide were brought to trial under Article 301 and were forced to leave Turkey.

An item over at Info-Turk carries quotes from some of the intellectuals who have signed the campaign, as they respond to Kerdoğan's remarks. Here are a couple those replies:

Writer Adalet Ağaoğlu: “What is expressed here is our shame. Erdoğan should tell us why Hrant Dink was killed, instead of this.”

“Racism and Turkism still continue. Since Dink was killed for the same reason and while everyone was aware about the murder plan, these are not the sentences to be uttered. The campaign is the expression of the shame we feel about the mentality that has been alive since the Ottomans.”

Musician Aylin Aslım: “When it suits him he claims the 800 year old heritage, and when it does not suit him he says he did not do it. This is how an adolescent would act and his words about the campaign make as much sense as this kind of behavior does.”

Why is this important for Kurds?

Lawyer Tahir Elçi: “Neither the Kurdish problem nor the other existing problems can be solved before Turkey faces the Armenian problem. The state has so far not taken any steps in connection with this problem.”

Since PanARMENIAN brought up the subject of Article 301, let me point you to an article at Bianet that discusses the criminal charges filed against Osman Baydemir and Nejdet Atalay--both DTP--for using the expression "PKK guerrillas" to describe PKK guerrillas.

Stupidity!

Don't forget to check Hevallo, who's got his opinion posted about the EU's attempts to criminalize the Kurdish people and recent raids on Kurdish homes in London (emphasis Hevallo's):

The latest and most damaging example of this is a report released by the European Security and Defence Assembly swallowing wholesale the 'terrorist' label pinned on the PKK by the Turkish State.

There are parts of the report which are almost verbatim of the regular psychological warfare briefs of the Turkish Army's psychological warfare department that even many Turkish journalists and intellectuals are challenging and rejecting.

The report was put together by the now President elect of the European Security and Defence Assembly, UK's Robert Walter. Put aside the fact that this Robert Walter has been lobbying in the UK Parliament for an arms company with direct links to Turkish security forces that are responsible for the most horrendous crimes against humanity.

Although there are serious contradictions in this report, like the fact that at one point in the report the author states that the conflict between Turkey and the Kurdish people is a CIVIL WAR, the main thrust of the report is that the PKK are terrorists and that the European countries must start to help the Turkish Security Forces and crack down on Kurdish people who support the Kurdish resistance in European countries!

Could it be a coincidence then, that recently, only days ago, some members of the Kurdish community in London had their homes raided and their houses ransacked under some spurious warrant of 'anti terrorist' legislation. Kurdish mothers fainting at the shock of UK police supporting the Turkish Security Forces in criminalising the Kurdish people.

Go boyfriend. You go!

OSMAN BAYDEMIR CONVICTED

"You should know well, all the world should know well, the people of Diyarbakir should know well. The wish of my heart, the wish in my heart is: “IF ONLY I WOULD BE IN THEIR PLACE. IF ONLY THEY HAD NOT DIED TODAY”. Friends, my dear people, my honorable people, we have to listen to each other. The wish of my heart, of the friends and allies around me, is only if the poison in the bomb would come into my eyes, not into those of my people. I wish no stone would touch your nails, but they come to my head."
~ Osman Baydemir, during the Amed Serhildan.

Amed's (Diyarbakır) wildly popular mayor, Osman Baydemir, has been convicted of "'praising crime and criminals' following remarks he made during deadly unrest in the "city in March last year," according to Hürriyet.

Of course, it was not in March of last year (2007) that the Ankara regime unleashed violence on Amed, but the year before, in March 2006. Here's a list of those murdered by the Ankara regime during the Amed Serhildan.

To see what it was that Baydemir said, check his press release and a transcript that was entered into evidence by the public prosecutor.

Defense minister Vecdi Gönül dropped another $7 billion into the pockets of the American corporate welfare defense industry at the ATC conference this week.

However, some people are missing from the conference:

Turkey's four-star generals, including Deputy Chief of General Staff Gen. Ergin Saygun, have reportedly declined to participate in the annual four-day American-Turkish Council (ATC) meeting, which started in Washington yesterday, in reaction to US criticism of the Turkish military's ground offensive into northern Iraq in late February.

[ . . . ]

Foreign Minister Ali Babacan will also not be taking part in the meetings, during which US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice will make the keynote speech on April 15.

This is the first time a US secretary of state will deliver a speech to an ATC meeting. During these meetings, Turkish-US relations on military, economic and political issues are discussed with the aim of furthering cooperation between the two NATO allies, the same sources said.

Foreign Minister Ali Babacan should have attended the meeting with Rice delivering a speech, said a government source.

The missing are the result of the embarassment felt by the Turkish general staff when it ordered "retrograde operations" to remove its land forces from South Kurdistan in February. But this doesn't mean that diplomatic types haven't been dispatched to assuage tender Turkish ego:

The Turkish military's February ground offensive into neighboring northern Iraq to fight outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) terrorists based there showed Iraqi Kurds the value of staying inside a united Iraq, the U.S. ambassador to Baghdad said Tuesday.

Oh, sure it did! That's why the Southern Kurdish leadership has made it clear since at least 2005 that South Kurdistan would remain part of Iraq because an independent Kurdish state would not be viable. Nice try, Mr. Crocker, but that dog won't hunt. Imbecile.

"Up to 2,000 Turkish elite commandos and special forces attacked PKK positions inside a 10-mile zone on the Iraqi side of the border between Feb. 21 and 29. Turkish and U.S. officials qualified the move as a military success. . . "

And those "elite commandos and special forces" could only stand a few days' worth of combat in Kurdistan's mountains, whereas PKK guerrillas have spent many, many winters in those very same mountains. That doesn't sound like a "military success" to me. Instead, the word "limp" comes to mind.

Let us hope that one day those "elite commandos and special forces" will be roasting in hell with their brother Bolus.


Gordon Taylor has dug into the Özgür Gündem interview with Cüneyt Ertuş and his father:

. . . "On March 22," said Cuneyt, "I went down to the market. I didn't know that Newroz events were going on, and I found myself in all this confusion. The police came right to me and collared me. Three policemen. Then they started manhandling me. First they twisted my arm. My arm went out of place [dislocated]. Then they took me to the Emniyet headquarters in a police vehicle. In the van they continued beating me; 3 or 4 of us were riding together. Inside the vehicle they called us "kufur" [infidels: an insult] and continued to hit us." At the station, Cuneyt recounts, the beating continued with kicks and truncheons aimed at the genitals.

And so it continued. At the station, for hours, the detainees were all kicked, beaten, and insulted. "Apo's [Abdullah Ocalan's] bastards" was one of the more choice insults, along with the opinion that they were no better than "filthy infidels." After the first day's interrogation Cuneyt was let go. "I couldn't sleep," he said, "from the pain in my arm."

To read the rest of Cüneyt's misadventure, check Gordon's new post at Progressive Historians.

MORE ON TURKEY'S FIASCO

"One important question that needs to be resolved concerns the status of an alleged secret directive of the Turkish Army permitting the use of chemical and biological measures in counter-terrorist activities."
~ Country Study No. 3: Turkey, The Sunshine Project.

Over the weekend, the WaPo had a follow-up to their recent report (with photos and video) on the PKK.

Those you would expect to complain, have complained:

Burak Akcapar, deputy chief of mission at the Turkish Embassy, said the story "was sympathetic and glorified an infamous and deadly terrorist organization. The PKK was portrayed as humane fighters in an epic struggle despite the fact they have been engaging in brutal terrorism." [ . . . ] Akcapar and others criticized a picture of a guerrilla feeding an orphaned bear cub with a baby bottle. "I don't understand why a terrorist is carrying a baby milk bottle."

Yeah, that baby bottle and the feeding of an animal certainly go a long way to show the humanity of the freedom fighters of Kurdistan and of course Akçapar is incapable of understanding it.

As should be expected, the propagandist Akçapar failed to mention the confessions of certain Turkish military officers, such as Erdal Sarızeybek and Altay Tokat. He failed to mention Turkish military massacres, such as the one at Guçlukonak, Hantepe, or Beytüşşebap. Nor does he mention the Turkish military's massacres and destruction of cities, such as happened at Lice, or in the Şirnex (Şirnak) region.

As a reminder, Turkey's drug income or it's continuing pivotal role in the world's drug industry, and all the side industries that go along with it.

On the other hand, others, like Henri Barkey and Omer Taspinar liked the piece. From Barkey:

"Wow. Good for you guys for doing it. The reporter was describing what he sees. I took it as such." Barkey, who has lived in Turkey and visits every year, also said that the story didn't explain the origins of the PKK or its place among the Kurds. "There was no context. But not every piece is going to go through a litany of charges. For someone like me who is well versed, we don't get to see much about how these guys operate, how they bury their dead, why they're so difficult to defeat. . . . Purely for information that I hadn't seen for a long, long time, it was a very useful piece."

Note for Barkey: They're not only guys. And from Taspinar:

"I don't think the piece is biased. It obviously has some sympathy for the guerrillas but also gives background enough to balance."

Of course, this admission from the WaPo is a bit disappointing:

The story was shortened considerably; top editors wanted to hold the package to one inside page. A few more background paragraphs wouldn't have made a difference to the Turkish government, but Post readers would have had a fuller picture of the PKK.

Although I thought the WaPo article was one of the best pieces on the PKK in Western media in a long time, it would have been better to have a fuller picture of the PKK by giving more background as to why PKK arose in the first place.

In other news, there was an interesting analysis of the recent TSK fiasco against the PKK from some Turkish Marxists. Funny . . . they're calling the February operation a fiasco, too:

The incursion of the Turkish army into northern Iraq has ended in a terrible debacle for both US imperialism and Turkey. The two allies are now at loggerheads once again, after the thaw in their relations achieved at the White House talks between Bush and Turkish prime minister Erdogan on 5 November 2007. The Turkish government and the army are the object of unprecedented criticism by the bourgeois media but also by ordinary people.

"Unprecedented criticism" is right. I don't know of any time that there was so much criticism of both the government and the TSK in the history of Turkey. I mean, when both CHP and MHP are going after the Paşas, then you know it's bad. Of course, it's highly likely that they know all about the deal between Erdoğan and Büyükanıt.

The whole episode of the Turkish incursion was played out as a miserable mismanagement of a crisis situation by the two allies, the US and Turkey. Although the latter had been bombing the PKK bases in the north of Iraq since 16 December last year, an incursion into the region of Turkish combat troops on 21 February came as a surprise to the whole world, especially in the midst of winter, given the circumstances of the extremely rugged and mountainous terrain. The operation was greeted with unreserved support by the US, no lesser a figure than Condoleezza Rice in person immediately voicing “absolute solidarity” with the Turkish war effort. The US had already extended lavish support to the several rounds of Turkish bombing efforts by providing real time intelligence and clearance to enter Iraqi airspace, as well as clear diplomatic approval, but nothing that was said had been as strong as Rice's words. And yet only five days later, the support turned out to be relative!

Well, the invasion wasn't such a surprise to everyone, nor was the December bombing. It was only a surprise to those who don't pay attention.

The aims of the Turkish military incursion were never stated clearly. This led to exaggerated expectations on the part of Turkish public opinion that the PKK was going to be dealt a serious, if not final, blow. Jingoistic media discourse of the kind “Objective Kandil” further reinforced these unrealistic expectations. This explains the bitter disppointment felt by the Turkish public at large, poisoned as it has been by chauvinistic propaganda for years now. It would not be realistic to think that the Turkish army had really set its eyes on dealing the PKK a definitive blow. The top brass, after all, has repeatedly made clear over time that military incursion into Iraq will not finish off the PKK, which by most estimates has a total of around five thousand guerrillas inside Turkey and over the border in Iraq.

Whatever the targets originally set, the Turkish army cannot be said to have achieved any serious military results in this week-long incursion. Official army figures for PKK casualties stands at around 230, while admitted army casualties amount to a mere 27. The PKK, for its part, claims that Turkish casualties rise to 125 and its own loss is only nine. No matter where the truth lies regarding this aspect of the matter, the fact that the Turkish military totally failed in achieveing its own targets is clearly proved by the case of the Zab base of the PKK.

Actually, people may have gotten the idea that TSK was going to fight until PKK was annihilated because of Büyükanıt's own words last October:

On Saturday Buyukanit, in a speech to mark Monday's Republic Day, said the army would fight until it had destroyed the PKK.

"We feel the pain of our martyred heroes deeply. But that pain increases our determination to fight," the text of his speech read. "Those who make us suffer cannot even imagine the suffering we will inflict on them; on this we are determined."

The Marxists have a prediction:

2007 was marked by the serious tension in Turkey due to the prospect of the election of a major leader of the pro-Islamic government party as president, a process interrupted by a military pronunciamiento but finally consummated after the electoral victory of the government party. 2008 promises to be an explosive year, next to which the tensions of 2007 will look pale.

It's really a very interesting analysis, so make sure to take a look at the whole thing.


Meanwhile, for all those who stupidly claim that Kurds are equal and that Kurdish language is no longer illegal, Osman Baydemir is going to trial for having published a storybook in Kurdish and Turkish.

Others don't seem to be fooled by Katil Erdoğan's BS Kurdish reform package. From AFP via The Kurdish Globe:

For political analyst Dogu Ergil, the planned measures show Erdogan's unwillingness or inability to address the basic demand of Kurds to be accepted for their ethnic roots and be allowed to participate in Turkey's affairs as Kurds.

"Turkey has a system which is based on a Turkish ethnic identity and sees Kurds as a dependent component that has to suffice with what it is given and told to do," he said. "Unless Turkey addresses this issue, nothing can resolve the tensions between the state and society."

The measures are "an indication that the government does not want to or is unable to take a serious and bold step on the Kurdish issue" for fear of a nationalist backlash, Ergil said.

[ . . . ]

"Turkey is fighting a monster of its own creation, a Frankenstein, right now," Ergil said. "The government believes that it will be very difficult to deal with the nationalist masses and such an effort will not have any significant return for them."

And from DTP:

Turkey's main Kurdish party, the Democratic Society Party (DTP), which enjoys considerable support among the Kurds, was also unimpressed by Erdogan's plans.

"The essence of the Kurdish problem is creating a nation based on a single language, a single religion and a single ethnicity," the party's deputy parliamentary group chairman Selahattin Demirtas said.

"One cannot solve the Kurdish problem with factories and Kurdish broadcasts," he added.

Finally, there have been numerous reports in the past of TSK's use of chemical weapons against PKK. Now it appears that there is some suspicion of the use of chemical weapons against South Kurdistani civilians during the recent operations. From VOI, again via The Kurdish Globe:

Safia Al-Sehail told Voices of Iraq VOI, "There is a necessity for the Red Cross, FAO (Food and Agriculture Organization - UN), and other organizations that care about nature to have a presence at the Iraqi side of the border with Turkey."

"Animals at the protected Merga-Sor reserve went extinct, because of the Turkish operation," Al-Sehail said.

As the head of a parliamentary committee that has been sent to the area to investigate the facts on the ground, Al-Sehail said that the committee's report, which will be submitted to the Iraqi parliament, government and Presidency Council, "will include recommendations for the government, international agencies, United Nations, and European Union (EU) to aid those areas that have been bombarded."

She added "We saw destroyed bridges, gardens, and farmers that have been attacked on their lands, and we met hundreds of displaced people due to the Turkish invasion to some villages at Erbil and Duhok provinces in Kurdistan region, the northern and northeastern parts of Iraq."

"We met people who now cannot breathe easily, with tearing up red-eyes, severe flu cases for children and the elderly, in addition to abortion cases, all because of the Turkish military operations," Al-Sehail asserted.

"Samples from the area have been gathered and sent to Iraqi laboratories for checking," Al-Sehail noted, asserting "a report in this respect will be issued within the coming days."

Reference this report, from The Sunshine Project:

On 23 July 1989, the Turkish newspaper Ikibine Dogru published an article on chemical weapons in which it reproduced parts of an alleged secret security directive (reproduced on the following page) of the Turkish Armed Forces permitting the use of chemical and biological weapons in the war against Kurdish fighters. The same parts of the directive were also reproduced in a book on chemical and biological weapons published in 1992 by the Kurdish author Celadet Celiker.

According to excerpts reproduced in Ikibine Dogru, the directive was issued on 25 February 1986 and was signed by Necdet Öztorun, at that time commander of the Turkish Army. In paragraph 5) it describes permitted methods to destroy tunnels, including:

(d) Can be filled with poison gas.

(e) Can be rendered unusable by breeding specially bred poisonous insects.”

In another section, the same document reads

c. Gas bombs and …

d. NBC Weapons: fog, fire making substances, tear and emetic gases are being used when necessary by friendly forces."

It is an open question whether or not the directive that was reproduced in Ikibine Dogru is indeed issued by the Turkish Armed Forces or whether it is a forgery. We located the alleged author of the directive, Necdet Öztorun, who is now working at Isik University. Öztorun did not respond to requests for further information. Considering that the Turkish government never explicitly denied the existence of this directive, it appears to be likely that the directive was indeed issued by the Turkish Armed Forces. Whether or not it is still in force remains unclear.

And from the introduction of the report:

One important question that needs to be resolved concerns the status of an alleged secret directive of the Turkish Army permitting the use of chemical and biological measures in counter-terrorist activities. Absent a clarification from the Turkish government it remains an open question if this document is a forgery or authentic and, if so, if remains in force. If this directive is genuine, the current Turkish government should initiate an independent investigation of this matter and must ensure that no offensive biological weapons activities are conducted, prepared or permitted in Turkey.

The Turkish Armed Forces used and likely still use so called ‘non-lethal’ chemical weapons such as tear gas in military combat. In at least one incident tear gas grenades were used in a military operation against armed Kurds that left twenty dead. This violates the Chemical Weapons Convention which prohibits explicitly “to use riot control agents as a method of warfare”.

Why am I not shocked?

More on Turkey's use of chemical weapons against Kurdish guerrillas at WMD Insights.

THE BATTLE AGAINST BAYDEMIR

"You might as well stand and fight because if you run, you will only die tired."
~ Vern Jocque.

The battle against Osman Baydemir continues, but today he provided a list to prove the Ankara regime's discrimination against Amed. From Bianet:

Baydemir relisted the evidence of "negative discrimination" that he had presented to the Prime Minsterial Office in August 2005:

*We have been waiting for the solid waste project for a year. We prepared a project according to EU standards and criteria. It should have been in third place among all projects, but was put in eighth place. Thus, it was not accepted into the 2007-2009 programme.
Five files on municipal companies have not been taken to cabinet to be approved.

*We aimed to use an area of around 670,000 square metres for the city. Although there was provision for green space, the project was rejected by the Treasury and the land was not alloted to us.

*We moved the Wood Market out of the city and were forced to buy land for the complex. Normally, municipalities are given land for such projects, but unfortunately we had to pay.

*The Tigris Valley Project has become a concrete, applicable product, but the State Planning Agency has not approved it.

*Despite our insistence, the Regional Development Agency was not founded in Diyarbakir.

Baydemir has promised to send an updated version of the report to all members of parliament.

But Baydemir had more proof of the discrimination of the Ankara central government against the Kurdish-dominated municipalities, as outlined in a letter to the EU, dated March 2007:

The Southeast Anatolia Region is one of the two socio-economically most underdeveloped regions of Turkey, which are heavily populated by Kurdish citizens. Population of the cities such as Diyarbakir and Batman has almost tripled due to the protracted situation of conflict related to the Kurdish problem, and urban life and services in most of the provinces located in the region have been paralyzed.

[ . . . ]

Turkey's excessively centralist governmental structure, most of whom do not have political representation in the national parliament due to the 10% national election bar, can express their democratic demands and participate in decision-making processes in and through the municipalities. However, the legal and administrative pressures over the municipalities in the region have recently increased significantly. Especially the municipalities who are members of the Democratic Society Party have been subjected to countless investigations, court cases and penalties. As basic constituent elements of local democracy of the region, our municipalities have been put into a dysfunctional situation due to such practices of the central government.

Now, of course, there are Kurds and pro-Kurdish Turks in the TBMM whose voices will be heard, but that is the only difference between today and March, when Baydemir wrote his letter.

More details on the discrimination of Ankara against the Kurdish-dominated municipalities can be found in the report that accompanied Osman Baydemir's letter to the EU. The letter and the report provide a rebuttal to Erdoğan's words yesterday, after an investigation was opened against Baydemir:

Erdoğan responded to Baydemir yesterday during his party's parliamentary group meeting. “No one can dare abuse our people in a certain town. We have never applied discrimination among our citizens,” the prime minister said. He said their three red lines were ethnic, regional and religious nationalism. “The AKP will not let this society's fault lines be broken,” he said.

AKP's entire record for the last four years is nothing but one continuous exercise in discrimination against the Kurdish people. The discrimination continues in the legal action that is still ongoing against Kurdish singer, Ferhat Tunc:

At a concert in Alanya (district of Antalya, southern Turkey) on 22 July last year, singer Ferhat Tunc had said, "Just as every soldier who dies in this country is counted as a child of this country, so every guerrilla who is killed is a child of this country. My heart burns for every dead soldier, my heart bleeds for every dead guerrilla."

Tunc is being tried under Article 7/2 of the Anti-Terrorism Law for this comment, and is first due in court on 4 October at the Izmir 10th Heavy Penal Court.

In addition, the Malatya Public Prosecution has begun an investigation into Tunc for "spreading propaganda for the Maoist Communist Party (MKP)". AT a concert on 12 August 2006, he had dedicated a song to "the 17". The fact that members of the audience chanted "Dersim [the old name for Tunceli] is proud of you" has been interpreted as proof for his crime.

As for the description of "Maoist," it's a Turkish propaganda ploy that's already been hacked here.

It's clear that the Ankara regime has turned its back on the Kurds.

A WAR BY ANY OTHER NAME

"My life is simple, my food is plain, and my quarters are uncluttered. In all things, I have sought clarity. I face the troubles and problems of life and death willingly. Virtue, integrity and courage are my priorities. I can be approached, but never pushed; befriended but never coerced; killed but never shamed."
Yi Sun Shin.

Bianet has an article by some kind of peacenik in which the wildly popular mayor of Kurdistan's capital city, Osman Baydemir, is criticized for saying that the Ankara regime has declared war on Amed.

Peace junkies are worse than useless and the one writing the article is no different. There is a huge disconnect in the minds of these peace-at-all-costs types because they never seem to remember the little details that cause a people to rebel in the first place. Here we see that the author is perturbed by Baydemir's embrace of war "discourse," but what other workd would accurately describe the Ankara regime's stance toward the Kurdish people, except the word "war?" And Baydemir's adoption of the "war" metaphor is called "unfortunate" and discredits his dedication to his people and his city.

Now let's think real hard for a moment: Who was it that declared war on Amed and the Kurdish people? The time was March 2006. The person was PM Erdoğan. Erdoğan's statement was:

“The events are under control... Security forces will intervene with every possible means indiscriminately, including against women and children.”

This is the same guy who gets his dander up whenever Turkey's ally, Israel, does the same to Palestinians. He's just like his mentor, Fethullah Gülen, in this and I can just picture him bawling his eyes out on cue, just like old Hodjaefendi always manages to do.

Except, naturally, when it comes to Turkish murder of Kurds, in which case they are more than eager to give the order to fire.

After the Amed Serhildan, every attempt by Baydemir and other DTP politicians to talk to the PM were refused. Erdoğan's Islamist party, the AKP, were joined by its opposition, the CHP, in placing their boot firmly on the neck of Kurdistan. The Islamists and the Kemalists can't agree on anything unless it's genocide of the Kurdish people.

And now it's Osman Baydemir who's accused, in so many words, of being a warmonger. Isn't that damned typical?

Osman Baydemir has stood by his people in the most difficult times and he's proven he's not the type to turn tail and run, even in the face of some mealy-mouthed peace-freak journalist who feigns so much concern for this seemingly strange turn in Baydemir's language. But what is it that Baydemir said?

"Only yesterday and today you are trying to declare war on Diyarbakir. I say it clearly, we are here for dialogue, for collaboration. But if you do not join, and if you declare war on Diyarbakir, then I say clearly that the Diyarbakir people, me and my friends, will never run away from a declared war. If you declare war, we are here, the Diyarbakir people are here, the mayors are here. We have been with our people through good and bad times and we will continue to do so."

Bijît, heval! Keep it up! You are absolutely correct.

But our peace-loving author seems to labor under the delusion that war against the Kurdish people is a thing of the past:


In his speeches Baydemir has frequently referred to peace. In an area where in the past only militarist projects were supported, he should be staying away from language which emphasises war.


At this moment in the very same region only militarist projects are being supported. There is an OHAL in Sêrt, Culemêrg, and Şirnex. Chemical weapons continue to be used against the freedom fighters of the PKK and the bodies of şehîds are not returned to their families in order to hide the evidence of chemical weapons on the bodies. The Turkish military, NATO's second largest army, conducts joint military operations with Iran and bombs Kurdish civilians right out of their villages in South Kurdistan. Whole villages in North Kurdistan are denied medical treatment so that babies end up as the victims of murder as a result, and the villagers themselves are slowly starved because the Turkish military refuses to allow food shipments.

In addition to those who joined the ranks of HPG's şehîds in the last couple of weeks, ten Turkish soldiers gave their lives at the end of last week for the stupidity of the Ankara regime's genocidal Kurdish policy, along with a JITEM informer.

If OHAL, the denial of medical treatment, forced starvation, the use of chemical weapons, and continued military operations--including those with the Teheran regime--are not war, then what in the hell should we call this?

Hevallo has more on the same subject and he wants to start a discussion about PKK as freedom fighters, which is exactly what they are.

Context. It's all about context.

RESISTANCE TO THE "MODEL OF DEMOCRACY"

“Resistance to tyrants is obedience to God.”
~ Thomas Jefferson.

What follows are a press release from Osman Baydemir during the Amed Serhildan (March 29, 2006) and a transcript of the press conference Osman Baydemir gave during the serhildan (March 31, 2006). In the press conference, Heval Osman recounts the attack on his convoy by Turkish special teams (Ozel Timler) during the height of the serhildan.

These two items comprise Appendix 5 and 6 of the "Report on Local Government and Local Democracy Dynamics concerning the DTP Municipalities in Turkey."

**********

29.03. 2006—Press Release by Mr. Osman Baydemir

Dear Press Members,

Dear People of Diyarbakir,

The incidents that has taken place in the region during the last week and in our city for the last two days reached to a point that would seriously harm both the future of democracy and the will and demand of our people to live together. The city is tense, and worries are high. In the current situation, a democratic and prudent approach is what we need urgently more than ever before.

We believe that all of these stem from the inability to find a sustainable and peaceful solution for the Kurdish problem. Unfortunately, the current oppressive approaches heavily marked with a security perspective are drawing the chance for democratization and peaceful solution of the Kurdish problem into a big politics of solution-less-ness. Many people were injured by fire-arms, and, as of now, two people lost their lives because of the intervention of security forces into the protests. There are some injured who still have death risk. Again, many offices, shops and public areas were destroyed. First and foremost the government, all should approach to the problem in a civilian and prudent manner, and take responsibility urgently in this regard.

It is necessary to carry out an inclusive, widespread and civilian democratic struggle against this politics of solution-less-ness that we are exposed to. However, the methods to be used in raising demands for democratic rights and freedoms and in struggling to frustrate the increasing oppressive wave should also be democratic. Each and every activity to be carried out in this regard should have the quality to contribute to the democratic and peaceful solution of the problems.

As the city our pain is big, and we are face in face with risks that may increase this pain every passing second. We understand the worries of our people and share their pain and suffering. In the current situation, we invite once again everybody to act with prudence and steadiness and contribute to the normalization of life in order to prevent further pain and destruction.


Transcript of Metropolitan Municipality Mayor Osman Baydemir’s Press Conference

Diyarbakir, 03-31-2006

Our city, Diyarbakir, has gone through great pain and suffering. On March 28th, our city had 70 injured persons. On March 29th, the number of persons injured rose up to more than a hundred, and 3 persons’ right to live was taken away. On March 30th, 20 more persons were wounded—mostly by gunfire— and two more persons’ right to live was violated. As of March 31st, we have lost another of our injured. Looking at the general picture, there are more than 200 injured persons, and we have lost 6 lives. It is maybe easier for many of us to talk and count in numbers only; however, seeing through our hearts, understanding and feeling empathy with and putting ourselves in place of those persons’ mothers and fathers is not only a matter of responsibility but of conscience as well.

Dear Press Representatives,

All tradesmen in our city, our citizens of all ages, from infants to our elderly citizens, have been wounded deeply, we all suffered deeply. Had I shared with you the troubles that I have been through, only those, maybe then imagining an understanding the suffering of the civilians could be a little easier for you. Yet, we kept silent; we refrained from sharing and publicizing all those details for the city to calm down, for the tension not to further flare up. I can say, based on my strong belief in the bright future lying ahead of this country, that this pain should be regarded as belonging to all of us. We should wait no longer; from this day on, we should claim all of this as our shared, common suffering. (Our city needs to move forward with prudence and steadiness now.) Prudence and steadiness are what our city needs at the moment. Everyone should claim responsibility, along with an equally strong conscience, to prevent this deep trauma, this great suffering, from getting deeper and more painful. Events should come to an end. I invite all civilian citizens to stop protests and to retreat to their homes. I invite all public officers, especially the security forces, to stop gunfire, not to recourse to firearms under any condition. I invite everyone to move forward with prudence and steadiness. I believe we cannot endure to lose yet another human being, we should not be in such a position.

I will gladly answer any of your questions.

Q: Is it true that your car was attacked, sir?

BAYDEMIR: Yes, it is true that my official car was attacked; it is true that I was threatened with death; it is true that my bodyguard was attacked and injured in his eye, but I did not share these with the public. I was always under pressure, anxious not to provoke rise in tension. Given my situation, can you imagine how the civilians in the streets might have felt, the emotional turmoil they were experiencing? We were exposed to gas bombs yesterday, but we did not share these with the people in our city. However, there should not be a single more incident. We should not suffer any more deaths.

Q: How would you interpret the Prime Minister’s comments?

BAYDEMIR: From the first day of the events till this hour, together with my colleagues at the district municipalities, my Mayor friends, we have paid great efforts trying not to lose a single life; we have acted with utmost prudence, taking great risks. Carrying the future of each and every of my fellow citizens on my shoulders, feeling great respect for my fellow citizens, for democracy and for the right to live, I acted with utmost responsibility. Yet, along with carrying out my responsibility, I also tried to act conscientiously. All of us have responsibilities. We have to act in accordance with our responsibilities. Yet, our actions should also bear on our conscience. I invite everyone to be conscientious.

Q: How would you interpret the Prime Minister’s comments on your conversation with the protestors?

BAYDEMIR: Dear press representatives, looking at the picture as a whole, I am thinking, if for the democratization process to be effective, for the social peace and stability to take place, for the 6 and 7 year old children not to die any more, if for all those, Osman Baydemir needs to be sacrificed, if that would be a means, I am ready, let me be sacrificed. I do not care at all for losing my seat, but I am concerned about my people, about the future of this country, about hurting the will of these two peoples trying to live together. Bearing these concerns on mind and in my heart, together with the Chair of the Diyarbakir DPT Center and with my Mayor colleagues, I visited many locations where incidents have occurred. I tried to convince them to retreat to their homes. Maybe this was my mistake, convincing the civilians to retreat to their homes in case of danger and protecting their lives is indeed primarily the state security forces’ responsibility. Yet, amidst a very complex social situation in which the civilians found themselves faced violently by the state security forces, amidst a social situation in which the lines have blurred, we, the local authorities in the city, tried to do all that we can to reinstate social stability.) Vice-Governor was also with me at many occasions. Now, isolate a sentence out of all those that said in front of the public, and try to trace for a sacrifice. No, the social situation is different; this problem cannot solely be regarded as a matter of provocation. We are bearing the results of a 70 years long historical period, last 20 years of which were especially crucial as regards the subject. The young people I talked to at the locations of incident, the generation we have to face now is a completely new generation. We do not know them well, they are different. Now, we have to think very carefully about Turkey’s future, our common future; we are wounded deeply and we need to heal ourselves. According to our cultural traditions, condolences, pain and suffering do not allow any other protests to take place. No more stones can be thrown, no more shutters can be pulled down in a social environment in which people share their pain with their families, wish strength to each other and feel for each others’ suffering. I wish and desire that every one of us can share and feel for this pain. I am expecting that Mr. Prime Minister will also say that he shares and feels for this pain.

Q: You talked to the protestors and made a call for prudence, but it seems that this call was not effective, incidents continued to occur, what do you think about this situation?

BAYDEMIR: As I have just tried to explain, we have witnessed a social upheaval. This was a scenery unknown to us, a completely new one. This city has never gone through such an extended and continuous period of upheaval before. This is where we stand in the end of those recent 20 years. We are facing a social situation caused by a political strategy aiming at no solution. I am afraid that this strategy of no solution, accompanied by the perspective of security, will bury our wounds deeper, will make them even harder to heal. I am repeating once again, together will all my friends, I will keep on paying the utmost effort, I will do all that I can, for my people not to be hurt at all, not to bleed a single drop of blood. I will keep on acting with all my responsibility, and with all my conscience.

Thank you.

**********

We do not forget.

DYSFUNCTIONAL DEMOCRACY

"If liberty and equality, as is thought by some, are chiefly to be found in democracy, they will be best attained when all persons alike share in the government to the utmost."
~ Aristotle

Altilim has a nice wrap up of Newroz festivities in Turkey. The headline reads: "Hundred thousands gave general Başbuğ an answer." In case you missed it, Ilker Basbug (Land Forces Commander--Buyukanit's old position and traditionally the position for those Paşas who go on to become the Paşa of Paşas, the Shining Sun Around Which the Turkish Universe Revolves, the Turkish Chief of General Staff) was in Diyarbakir two weeks ago doing his math. Unfortunately, Basbug's math doesn't add up for a number of reasons.

From Altilim:

Hundred thousands gathering at the Newroz rally in Diyarbakir celebrated their feast despite all repression. In Amed, the Kurdish name for the capital of Kurdistan, where general Başbuğ had blared out threats to the people before, Newroz turned into a glamorous celebration. Although a working day, life in the city stopped in the morning and the people entered the place of the rally, called Fuar Alanı.

The rally, in which more than 500.000 people took part, started with Ahmet Türk, Leyla Zana, Osman Baydemir and Musa Farisoğulları, administrative chairman of DTP of Amed, lighting the fire for Newroz.

Despite all threats, a huge poster with the founders of the PKK, such as Kemal Pir, M. Hayri Durmuş, Mazlum Doğan and Abdullah Öcalan and the martyr Zeynep Kınacı was hung up, flags of the confederalism and Öcalan posters were carried. The provocative behaviour of the police, which lasted during the whole rally, later turned into an attack in fact, when the masses were about to disperse. 80 people were arrested in clashes with the police.

Aysel Tugluk had a Newroz message for Ankara (as well as the US and EU):

The leader of Turkey's main pro- Kurdish party warned that the arrest of top party officials during the past month may rekindle separatist violence that has led to thousands of deaths in the past two decades.

The crackdown could also cost Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, whose party holds a majority of parliamentary seats in the largely Kurdish southeast, support in elections later this year.

"If our party, which is committed to a peaceful resolution, is unable to function, it says to Kurds that the political arena is shut to them,'' said Aysel Tugluk, co-chairman of the Democratic Society Party or DTP. That may lead Kurdish guerrillas to call off their seven-month unilateral truce as they "assess how effective this cease-fire has been,'' she added.

Read the rest at Bloomberg.


In the spirit of Ms. Tugluk's message, here's a letter from Amed (Diyarbakir) Mayor Osman Baydemir on the controversial possible dismissal of Sur Municipality Mayor Abdullah Demirbas and the dissolution of the Sur Municipal Council, courtesy of the Peace in Kurdistan Campaign (all emphasis mine):

Diyarbakir, March 14 2007


President, USAM and
Mayor, Diyarbakir Metropolitan Municipality


Subject: Possible Dismissal of the Sur Mayor and the Municipal Council


Dear Chief Executive,

The Southeast Anatolia Region is one of the two socio-economically most underdeveloped regions of Turkey, which are heavily populated by Kurdish citizens. Population of the cities such as Diyarbakir and Batman has almost tripled due to the protracted situation of conflict related to the Kurdish problem, and urban life and services in most of the provinces located in the region have been paralyzed. Of course, municipalities located in other regions of Turkey as well are grappling with countless problems in delivering services and contributing to Turkey's democratization process. However, becomes most clear in the East and Southeast Anatolia Regions which have a different cultural life. Municipalities located in these regions have been experiencing heavy tutelage of the central government in most of their activities. In the current context, most people in the region, Turkey's excessively centralist governmental structuremost of whom do not have political representation in the national parliament due to the 10% national election bar, can express their democratic demands and participate in decision-making processes in and through the municipalities. However, the legal and administrative pressures over the municipalities in the region have recently increased significantly. Especially the municipalities who are members of the Democratic Society Party have been subjected to countless investigations, court cases and penalties. As basic constituent elements of local democracy of the region, our municipalities have been put into a dysfunctional situation due to such practices of the central government.

Local governments, particularly the municipalites, are undoubtedly one of the most important channels of a country's democratic life. Fair and good governance requires the inclusion of local demands into the decision-making processes. Due to the national legislation, most municipalities in the region cannot meet the cultural needs of the local people and deliver services in languages other than Turkish. Our municipalities have been receiving demands from the local people concerning the delivery of cultural and awareness building services both in Turkish and in languages other than Turkish. Thus, our Sur Municipality, a district municipality related to Diyarbakir, has been conducting preparatory activities for a while toward this end with a decision taken by the Municipal Council. However, the Ministry of Interior appealed to the State Council to dismiss the Sur Mayor Mr. Abdullah Demirbas and dissolve the Municipal Council on the pretext that Mr. Demirbas and the Municipal Council exceeded the bounds and limits of their duties and authorities and violated the 3rd and 42nd articles of the Constitution.

The attached report was written in order to enable you have an idea about this unfortunate situation that the Sur Municipality is encountering. This approach of the Ministry of Interior to the Sur Mayor and Municipal Council who have acted with a perspective of participatory democracy to meet local demands is an example of the intolerance on the part of the central government toward local democracy and cultural rights. Dismissal of the Sur Mayor and dissolution of the Municipal Council would certainly mean an unacceptable action that would heavily damage local democracy, cultural rights and the relations of confidence between the state and citizens of the region.

We hereby submit this situation of our Sur Municipality to your high attention, evaluation and observation.

Warm regards,

(Signed)
Osman BAYDEMIR


Ps. Please also see the attached “Report on Local Government and Local Democracy Dynamics Concerning the DTP Municipalities in Turkey” prepared by the Democratic Society Party Local Governments Commission to learn more about the pressures on DTP municipalities in Turkey.


Mr. Ulrich BOHNER
Chief Executive
Congress of Local and Regional Authorities
Council of Europe
STRASBOURG
France

cc: Mr. H SKARD, President of the Congress
Directorate General of Local Authorities, Ministry of Interior, Turkey
Union of Municipalities in Turkey

Stay tuned for more from the capital of Kurdistan.