Kurdish News A Monthly Publication Of The Kurdistan Committee Of Canada Number 14 - March 1995 Index: 1) Newroz- Kurdish New Year 2) PKK Statement To The United Nations 3) Campaign Of Lies - By Yasar Kemal 4) The Parliament Of Kurdistan In Exile And Its Aims 5) Balance Sheet Of Human Rights Violations In 1994 6) Human Rights Delegations Newroz 1995 7) Germany Closes Kurdistan Information Bureau 8) Kurdish MP Tells European Union Not To Accept Turkey 9) Civil War Balance January 1995 1) Newroz - Kurdish New Year Once again the flames of resistance rise from the mountains of Kurdistan, and once again the Kurdish people are rejoicing with the spirit of Newroz, a symbol for resistance and rebellion. What has made Newroz such an important event in Kurdish history? What impact has it had on the evolution of our culture, history, and, in particular, our society? The answers to these questions are as fascinating as the legend with which Newroz is associated. The legend is that of Kawa, the Black Smith, and Zohak, who enslaved the Kurds and brought great suffering to the people. Consequently, Zohak became a legendary figure of cruelty, abuse, and enslavement to the people. Daily prayers were held in which people begged God to help them to get rid of Zohak. During this period a popular hero by the name of Kawa the Black Smith led the people in a revolt against Zohak and succeeded in surrounding his palace. Kawa then dashed through Zohak's guards and grabbed Zohak by the neck with his powerful hands. He struck Zohak's head with the hammer he was carrying and dragged him down from his evil throne. With this heroic deed, Kawa set the people free and proclaimed victory throughout the land. Fire was set on the tops of mountains to send a message to God to thank him for granting them victory over the evil Zohak, and to tell the people throughout the land that Zohak was dead and they were finally free. That special day coincided with March 21st, the beginning of spring. Over the centuries, Newroz has acquired a new meaning in the life of the Kurdish nation. It has become a symbol of resistance and resilience against assimilation and disintegration imposed on our society by occupying powers. At the time of the Islamic conquest (7th century), people were discouraged from celebrating Newroz by Sheiks and Mullahs. The Muslim clerics argued that Newroz was a religious celebration associated with Zoroastrian theology. However, despite this preaching, Kurds continued to celebrate Newroz as their principle national day. In the early 20th century, Kurdistan was divided among five countries: Iran, Iraq, Turkey, Syria, and the Soviet Union. In 1923, Kemal Atatrk established the Turkish Republic in which a major fragment of Kurdish land was incorporated. Immediately after its formation, the Turkish State banned Kurdish language, history, political, and cultural activities. The process of assimilation began and Kurds were named "mountain Turks". The whole of Kurdistan in Turkey has been ruled by emergency laws and military rule since 1923. Celebrating Newroz was considered to be a serious offence punishable by long-term imprisonment. But Newroz was celebrated throughout Turkish-occupied Kurdistan in private homes and hidden places to avoid collision with the Turkish police and army. After the Gulf War, the Kurdish problem reached its climax in the international community. Popular uprisings and demonstrations on the one hand and fierce resistance by PKK guerrillas on the other hand forced the Turkish authorities to ease some restrictions that were imposed on the expression of Kurdish culture for decades. However, when peaceful demonstrations were organised as part of Newroz in 1991, the Turkish security forces reacted brutally, killing hundreds of civilians. As the war escalated between the Turkish army and the Kurdistan Workers Party, repression of the Kurds by the Turkish state entered into a new phase. Turkey adapted an scorched earth policy, depopulating Kurdish villages and towns, burning forests and destroying wildlife in Kurdistan. The scale of the damage caused by the Turkish army in Kurdistan is astronomical. 12 million hectares of forest have been burned by state security forces in order to eradicate the activities of the PKK guerrillas allegedly hiding in the forested land. In March 1992, once again the people of Kurdistan defied Turkish authorities and publicly celebrated Newroz throughout Kurdistan. The response of the Turkish security forces was barbaric. An estimated 100 people were killed, about 2,000 were arrested, and hundreds were wounded. The governments of European Common Market condemned the killing of Kurdish civilians by the Turkish state. The German government in particular condemned the Turkish government for using German-supplied equipment against civilians. However, these condemnations did not deter the Turkish government from perpetrating the war in Kurdistan. In Turkish-occupied Kurdistan, the expression of Kurdish identity in general and celebration of Newroz in particular have cost the Kurds a great deal of suffering and loss of life. Newroz under Turkish occupation has been transformed into a symbol for rebellion, resistance, and liberty. Once again on March 21st, 1995, the flames of resistance will rise from the mountains of Kurdistan to proclaim the message of liberty and the end of tyranny. The people of Kurdistan will defy assimilation and Turkification and march towards a free and liberated Kurdistan. Biji Newroz! 2) PKK Statement To The United Nations The Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) issued the following statement at a press conference in Geneva on January 24, 1995: Dear members of the press, May I greet you all on behalf of the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK). Before the eyes of the world there is a war of annihilation being conducted in our homeland, Kurdistan. The Turkish Republic, since its foundation, has denied the existence of our people with systematic state policies. The Turkish state, which has forbidden the culture, language, and the identity of the Kurdish people, is conducting a war of genocide and mobilising every possible military means and all its forces. The PKK, honouring the universal values of humanity, is fighting for the national and democratic rights of our people. The Turkish state has depopulated Kurdistan. 3,000 villages have been burned down and millions of people have been forced to flee. The state's military force, unable to vanquish the guerrilla army, is revenging itself on the civilians with unprecedented severity. 15,000 members of our party are now facing the death penalty in prisons. Turkey, as well as disregarding the international conventions that it is signatory to, also prevents the press, the OSCE, and international human rights observers from visiting Kurdistan and monitoring the situation for themselves. The state has refused the Red Cross' humanitarian endeavour to visit Kurdistan. Turkey is not even a signatory to the Geneva Convention and has refused to sign the First Protocol of 1997. The 10-year war has claimed the lives of 34,000 people. The war has never been the choice of our party. It was imposed on our people. We state categorically: We want peace. This demand was demonstrated by the declaration of a unilateral cease-fire in 1993 which lasted for 83 days. Turkey continues to persist in its dirty war. We will continue to fight until we compel Turkey to seek a political solution. We call on Turkey to comply with international laws and to cease its attacks on civilians. The PKK, as a party in this conflict, has always observed the conventions on war. The relevant application denoting such acceptance was submitted to the Red Cross and other concerned bodies on January 23, 1995 by PKK General Secretary Abdullah Ocalan. The declaration, moreover, also contains the following points: 1. In its conflict with the Turkish state forces, the PKK undertakes to respect the Geneva Conventions of 1949 and the First Protocol of 1977 regarding the conduct of hostilities and the protection of the victims of war and to treat those obligations as having the power within its own forces and the areas within its control. 2. To end any doubt, the PKK regards the following groups as part of the Turkish security forces and, therefore, as legitimate targets for attacks: a. members of the Turkish armed forces; b. members of the Turkish contra-guerrilla forces; c. members of the Turkish Intelligence Service (MIT); d. members of the Turkish gendarmerie; e. village guards. The PKK does not regard civil servants as members of the security forces, unless they come within one of the above categories. 3. The PKK will treat captured members of the Turkish security forces as prisoners of war. 4. The PKK will disseminate this statement and the rules of the Geneva Convention of 1949 and First Protocol of 1977 to its forces and asks for the assistance of the Red Cross. There will be punishment for those who break them. It accepts the principle of command responsibility. The PKK would accept an offer of services from the Red Cross 5. The PKK calls upon the Turkish government to give the same undertakings and to accept an offer for services from the Red Cross Finally, the PKK calls upon all parties to the Geneva Convention, the UN, the OSCE, the Council of Europe, and the Red Cross to take the necessary steps to end the war or ensure that the Turkish state and the PKK respect their obligations under international law. On behalf of PKK General Secretary Abdullah Ocalan. 3) Campaign Of Lies - By Yasar Kemal Yasar Kemal is the most popular contemporary author in Turkey. Born in 1923 in Adana, Kemal became famous with his first novel, published in 1955, entitled "Memed, My Falcon". His works have been translated into more than 30 languages. As an active leftist and social critic, he was jailed in Turkey following the 1980 military coup. Today, in 1995, he faces prosecution once again because of the following article which was printed in the German magazine 'Der Spiegel' in February. "Increase your cruelty so as to accelerate your decline." - Anatolian proverb Even before it has begun a century has been given a name. The 21st century will be the century of human rights. However, in our own country, not much progress has been made in this area. Furthermore at the threshold of the 21st century, many signs seem to indicate that we have even abandoned our present standards and are starting to regress. From the day of its founding on October 29, 1923, the Turkish Republic has developed a system of unbearable coercion and cruelty. It has sought to hide this from people by the oriental art of disguise and two-facedness. The Turkish Republic has reached such level of tyranny which is a thousand times worse than the Ottoman autocracy. In 1946, Turkey adapted a multi-party system, and in 1950, the Democratic Party replaced the tyrannical Republican People's Party as the governing force. It was a true miracle, that people who had been whipped and deprived of their rights could achieve such a thing. The founder of the Democratic Party came from the leading ranks of the Republican People's Party. For them, democracy was a black curtain to hide behind. By means of this democracy, Turkey could become a member of the Council of Europe and NATO. Has Europe been deceived by these lies? Not at all. But our contemporaries in the West, who weren't exactly that democratic either, needed allies to stand against the Soviet Union and so they cast a hungry eye on Turkey. But then something unexpected happened. Whereas the Turkish people, made lame by decades of oppression, remained silent, the Kurdish people began to resist even if timidly and in fear. Because it was the Kurdish people that were most oppressed by this authoritarian rule. They were starving, living in poverty, and subject to ethnic massacres. Their language was banned by law, people were denied of their identity, they were called things like "Mountain Turks" and they were dispersed throughout all regions of Anatolia every 10 or 15 years. With the increasing resistance of the Kurdish people, which eventually became an armed confrontation, the machinery of oppression began to show its true face. First the Turkish people were told lies and a massive propaganda campaign was launched. Because without the unquestionable loyalty of the Turkish people towards the government, the Kurdish people's resistance could never be broken. A campaign of lies began: The Kurds want to divide the country and form their own independent Kurdish state according to the refined emotional appeals. Then there were such exaggerated accounts of horrible attacks by the Kurds on the Turkish soldiers that everyone was led to believe that every Turk had better kill the first Kurd they could get their hands on. Every second word out of the mouth of president Demirel and other government official is: "We will not give up one pebble, not one handful of dirt from our land!" But who asked for a pebble? and who wanted to have a handful of dirt? As far as I know, only very few Kurds in our country have ever expressed a desire to an independent state. But wouldn't it be their right if they desire such a thing? All human rights declarations clearly state that all people have the right to self-determination. The dirtiest war imaginable is taking place in Turkey at the moment. Even the strength of the best writers is not enough to depict it. In order to quickly suppress the uprising, the Turkish Republic created a system of village guards. This is similar to the civilian units which the U.S. army set up in Vietnam. A militia of 50,000 security forces is in action, as well as a special unit of 12,000 men. In addition to these, the state has deployed 300,000 soldiers against the Kurds. No one knows what else will be mobilised. But the worst are the contra-guerrilla who take their orders from the Turkish security forces. When the guerrilla announced a cease-fire to last for several months, Ankara did not react positively. Then at some point, 33 unarmed soldiers were found dead on a country road. Some people say the PKK killed these soldiers, others doubt it. In any case, it marked the end of the unilateral cease-fire. Now the war is being waged with full force. This war involves not only the guerrilla and the army but also the village guards and the special units as well. The government has driven hundreds of thousands of people from their homes, who now must wander around half-dead from hunger and misery, with no roof or tent over their heads. Ankara has unleashed a population flood and has effectively declared war on the unarmed Kurdish people. When people of Eastern Anatolian heritage formed a political party and elected 20 MPs, their party was banned. They formed a new party, which was also banned. 8 of the MPs were charged, threatened with the death penalty, and finally sentenced to long prison terms. And now democratic Europe is starting to wake up a little bit. This terrible war cannot go on any longer. Economically, Turkey is finished, the population impoverished. In 1994, more than 12 billion German marks were spent on the war in eastern Anatolia. This figure was quoted by a government minister. The foreign and budget deficits are growing and growing, if this war continues, Turkey will be faced with the greatest catastrophe of its history. All wars, whether in Rwanda, Bosnia, or Afghanistan, wear down humanity, they degenerate more and more, they become more inhumane with every battle, every massacre, every danger of starvation. From the day of its founding, the Turkish Republic should have guaranteed basic rights to the Kurds, the same rights which the Turkish people enjoy. At the threshold of the 21st century, no one can deny any people, any ethnic group their human rights. Not just Turkey, but no state has power to do this. In the end, it was the force of the people which drove the Americans out of Vietnam, the Soviets out of Afghanistan, and which brought about a miracle in South Africa. The Turkish Republic must not be allowed to carry this war into the 21st century. The conscience of humanity will help the people of Turkey to end the inhumane war. And especially the people who live in the countries which supply weapons to the Turkish state can be helpful in this. But those of us in Turkey should always remember that the path to democracy can only be travelled over a peaceful solution to the Kurdish question. The fact that the leaders, since the founding of the republic, have tried to kill the language and culture of the Kurdish people, even if they've since eased these restrictions under pressure, is a crime against humanity. And in the 21st century, crimes against humanity will one day be brought to light and judged. But this won't be a normal trial, however, because the country's very honour and humanity will be at issue. 4) The Parliament Of Kurdistan In Exile And Its Aims As we approach the end of this century, the oppressed peoples of the world are declaring their independence and freedom. In today's world, one of those national and social upheavals is taking place in Kurdistan. At the root of this war lies the denial of the Kurdish national identity and the absence of democratic rights. Kurdistan was first divided by the Treaty of Kasri-Sirin in 1639 between the Ottoman and Persian empires. At the end of the First World War, the issue of Kurdistan surfaced again, this time among the Allies at Sevres in 1920. The founding of the Turkish Republic put an end to this proposition, however, and the Treaty of Lausanne divided Kurdistan among four countries. When the young Turkish Republic was being founded, it solicited and received help from the people of Kurdistan. Later, that same republic began to oppress the Kurds by means of force. A campaign of assimilation became the official ideology of the Turkish state. Many Kurdish uprisings were crushed and millions of Kurds were forced to resettle elsewhere. In the 1970s, the Kurds began to develop their national consciousness, partly because of internal developments and partly because of developments taking place in other parts of the world. The Turkish government's refusal to accommodate the democratic and political rights of the people of Kurdistan forced the people to take up a national liberation struggle. This led to the creation of Kurdish political, military, economic, and cultural institutions. The situation of the people in Turkish-occupied Kurdistan and in other counties in which the Kurds live is at variance with the ideals of the free world. The war that is taking place in Kurdistan is not an internal matter of Turkey but rather a regional and global issue. A nation whose population is about 40 million people are deprived of their rights that are enshrined by the United Nations' Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The right of a nation to self-determination remains a matter of necessity because of scientific and historic reasons. In our world, peoples whose population do not exceed more than one hundred thousand possess their own parliaments and organs of political representation. But 40 million Kurds are deprived of this right. The free will of the people of Kurdistan is being suppressed by force. We believe the time has come, both in Kurdistan and abroad, to have the Kurdish political institutions unite at the highest level. There is no Kurdish representation in the countries in which we live. In addition, a war of extermination is being waged against the Kurds by the government in Ankara. Turkey's Grand National Assembly does not represent the will of the people in Kurdistan. That assembly, by using force, wants everyone to become a Turks. The Kurdish representatives who were elected in 1991 by popular vote were harassed because they did not subscribe to official Turkish state ideology and also because they raised the Kurdish question of behalf of their constituencies. Mehmet Sincar was murdered. The others had their constitutional immunity lifted. Seven of these MPs were then given prison terms ranging from 3 1/2 to 15 years. The remaining MPs were forced to seek refuge abroad. At this stage, a national parliament is of necessity for the people of Kurdistan. Our people want to express their political will by means of a representative body. This body will tackle the question of Kurdistan, speak on behalf of national concerns, and be the voice of the people abroad. This issue has been discussed for a long time now. It enjoys broad popular support among our people. We also acknowledge the two-year experience with parliamentary representation that is in effect in South Kurdistan. Our country is under military occupation. Our people are waging a heroic war of liberation against the occupiers. The Turkish government, which is losing on the military field, has begun a campaign against our people. Villagers, shopkeepers, students, intellectuals, politicians, writers, workers, women, men, children, and people of all ages from every class and every profession are murdered. This lives of our deputies who were democratically elected are in danger. Because of these conditions, more than half of the population has fled the country. It is obvious that our people cannot represent themselves in their country and therefore they must seek representation elsewhere. The situations of Poland after the Second World War, Algeria in the 1960s, and the recent experiences of the Palestinians and the ANC are similar to our own. As a first step, we are establishing a parliament that will consist of representatives of our people who live abroad. In addition, in our country, we would like to establish provincial legislatures. The exile parliament and the provincial legislatures will eventually merge to represent the will of the people in a liberated Kurdistan. At this time, there are approximately 12 million Kurds living abroad. About 10 million of these have been forced to relocate to Turkish cities. The reason for this uprooting is the war that is unfolding in our country. In Diaspora, there is a substantial Kurdish potential. The population is intimately connected with its roots in the country and they need unity and a voice: a parliament. With this parliament, our people will determine their legal and official status. The people of Kurdistan need to represent themselves in an institution that will be recognized world-wide. They need to tackle the questions of legal citizenship and they need to contribute to the efforts of war and peace that affect them. These issues can only be raised by a parliament that represents all the people of Kurdistan. The Parliament of Kurdistan in Exile rejects all forms of foreign occupation of our country and approves of the legitimacy of the national liberation struggle. The Parliament of Kurdistan in Exile relies on the support of the people of Kurdistan and their national liberation struggle. It protects the people of Kurdistan abroad and makes decisions of their behalf. The Parliament of Kurdistan in Exile will act according to the national will of the people when a referendum determines its composition. The Parliament of Kurdistan in Exile will be a bridge between the world public opinion and the national liberation struggle and it will enter into dialogue to have better relations with governments and international organizations and it will conduct political and diplomatic relations. The parliament will be the voice of the people of Kurdistan and its ultimate aim will be to represent the legitimate and legal aspirations of the Kurdish people. As an institution that will be the voice of the people of Kurdistan, the Parliament of Kurdistan in Exile will implement and monitor the decisions made by its members by way of commissions and/or other necessary organs. The Parliament of Kurdistan in Exile will undertake the task of politically, socially, economically, and culturally educating the people of Kurdistan who live abroad and it will develop laws for citizenship and represent its people. The official language of the Parliament of Kurdistan in Exile is Kurdish. The first act of the Parliament of Kurdistan in Exile will be the creation of a Kurdistan National Congress and determine a National Assembly. It will be open to all national political groups and institutions. Its aims will be to unite these forces and will be guided by national interests. The Parliament of Kurdistan in Exile will not discriminate on the basis of nationality, religion, or gender. It is open to those who support the idea of a free Kurdistan and those who side with the national liberation struggle. The Parliament of Kurdistan in Exile will address the concerns of the people of Kurdistan regardless of whether they live in Kurdistan or abroad. In light of these aims, the Parliament of Kurdistan in Exile will select its members from those people who subscribe to these principles and others who are representatives of the exiled Kurdish community, including the parliamentarians and mayors who were forced to seek refuge abroad, the people who were elected to the Kurdistan National Assembly and who are now actively engaged in the national liberation struggle, and the exiled members of the Democracy Party (DEP). Because our people cannot freely choose their representatives in Kurdistan, the representatives of the Parliament of Kurdistan in Exile will be elected from national institutions located abroad. Because of the above-mentioned reasons, the work of the Parliament of Kurdistan in Exile will be undertaken by the Preparatory Commission, which consists of people who are elected by Kurdish people and others involved in the national liberation struggle. The Parliament of Kurdistan in Exile Preparatory Committee January 2, 1995 5) Balance Sheet Of Human Rights Violations In 1994 Arrests: 1,209 Detentions without a warrant: 14,473 Disappeared (probably killed) during detention: 328 Murdered by "unknown assailants": 292 Killed by torture while detained: 1,000 Civilians killed in state attacks: 458 Civilians wounded in the state attacks: 5,574 Killed in armed clashes: 5,000 Villages destroyed and burned: 1,500 Forest area burned: 31 Unions, organizations, parties, and publications banned: 123 Attacks aimed at unions, organizations, parties, and publications: 119 People imprisoned for expression of their opinions: 100 Prison term imposed on people for expressing their opinions: 553 years and 5 months Fine for the expression of opinions: 55,725,000,000.00 TL Source: Turkish Human Rights Association (IHD) 6) Human Rights Delegations Newroz 1995 Over the centuries, the Kurdish people have developed Newroz into the most significant Kurdish national holiday. A day for freedom and independence. Since 1990, resistant actions from the Kurdish civilian population in Turkey and Kurdistan have given the Newroz festival new life. Since then, Newroz is not just a day for remembering, more importantly it is an expression of increasing dissatisfaction and a protest against Ankara's policy of persecuting the Kurdish people. But year after year, the Turkish state has reacted to this increasing sense of Kurdish self-consciousness with massive army and police operations with bloody results. During Newroz in 1992, demonstrations and celebrations were violently dispersed by the Turkish military who fired on crowds with their weapons. More than 100 Kurds were killed; some estimates put the number as high as 300. Ever since then, international delegations have travelled to Kurdistan during Newroz to monitor human rights abuses committed by the Turkish army and security forces. Shortly before Newroz in 1993, on March 17, the Kurdish resistance movement declared a unilateral cease-fire in order to force a political dialogue to find a peaceful solution to the Kurdish problem in Turkey as well as to prevent a repeat of the events from 1992 when the Turkish state acted in a brutal manner against unarmed civilians. Despite the unilateral cease-fire, 3 people were killed by the military during a Newroz festival in Adana and 54 Kurdish settlements were destroyed in massive bombardments. The Newroz festival in 1994 coincided with Ankara's attempts to carry out local elections under martial law in the provinces where the civil war was raging. In a months-long campaign prior to the elections, the offices of Kurdish opposition party DEP, which has since been banned, were bombed and several DEP candidates were either arrested or killed. After this, the DEP, which certainly would have won an absolute majority in the elections despite the conditions of martial law, pulled out of the elections in order to protect the lives of its members and representatives. But the Turkish state still tried to claim that they had fulfilled their democratic duty by staging these elections, which were highly undemocratic and anything but fair. After returning to Germany, several human rights delegations and international observers which had gone to Kurdistan for Newroz 1994 described the systematic destruction of villages and they also gave definite proof of the use of German-made weapons in Turkish army operations against the Kurdish civilian population. This year, in addition to several hundred observers from Europe, a Canadian human rights delegation will also be travelling to Turkey and Kurdistan for Newroz 1995. This delegation consists of 7 people, including a member of the Canadian Parliament. When they return to Canada, the delegation will hold a press conference to report on their findings. We will publish these findings in Kurdish News. Repression against Newroz festivities can be expected in 1995, just as in the past years. The significance of the presence of delegations this year is especially important when seen against the background that Turkey, in its war against the Kurdish people, has openly violated international human rights standards. The presence of international observers is of great importance to the Kurdish people. Not only are such delegations a gesture of international solidarity, they also act as a form of protective shield, since the Turkish state would rather commit its atrocities in secret and not expose them to the world public opinion. As we go to press, the Turkish police opened fire on demonstrators and killed at least 19 Kurds in Istanbul on Sunday, March 12. These Kurds were protesting the murder of 3 Kurds in a cafe in a predominantly Kurdish neighbourhood who were shot and killed by "unknown assailants". Since then, riot police have continued to violently attack Kurdish demonstrators in Istanbul and other major Turkish cities, including Ankara, Izmir, and Adana. At least 27 people are reported killed. And it now seems that these demonstrations are spreading to cities in Europe, too. The fires of Newroz are already starting to burn... 7) Germany Closes Kurdistan Information Bureau On March 2, 1995, German police raided the offices of the Kurdistan Information Bureau in Cologne and Berlin after these associations were banned by the interior minister, Manfred Kanther. Police in five German states raided several homes and offices and confiscated materials. This is the latest attempt by the German government to criminalize the Kurdish people. In November 1993, the PKK/ERNK and more than 30 other Kurdish organizations were closed down and banned. Ever since then, all attempts by Kurdish people living in Germany to organize politically and protest against the war of genocide being waged in their homeland by the Turkish government and military, who make use of German weapons, have been met with police brutality. 8) Kurdish MP Tells European Union Not To Accept Turkey An exiled Kurdish MP, whose party was banned by a Turkish high court, urged the European Union on Monday not to enter into a customs union with Turkey. Remzi Kartal told the Reuters news agency by telephone from Brussels: "Taking Turkey, which continues annihilation policies against our people, into the customs union means providing resources for bombs and bullets which kill our people." Kartal said his statement was issued on behalf of the Committee for the Preparation of a Kurdistan Parliament in Exile. Kartal was a deputy for the Kurdish-based Democracy Party (DEP) which was banned by a high court in June 1993, causing all 13 MPs to lose their parliament seats. 6 fled to Europe that same day. "This is a crime against humanity. The EU Council of Ministers should use sanctions under international law and conventions against Turkey," Kartal said. 7 other DEP MPs were sentenced to prison terms of up to 15 years last December because of their alleged links to the PKK rebel movement. This verdict, which preceded an EU decision on Turkey's entrance into the customs union, was the primary reason for the EU postponing its decision until March 1995. Source: Kurdistan Human Rights Bulletin No. 15 9) Civil War Balance January 1995 The press office of the People's Liberation Army of Kurdistan (ARGK) in Botan has released the following figures for January 1995: - In January 1995, a total of 56 different guerrilla actions were carried out. During these actions, a total of 69 soldiers (including 11 officers) were killed and 52 others (including 2 officers) were wounded. This number does not include statistics kept secret by the Turkish government. A total of 49 village guards were killed and 24 were wounded. Also, 7 contra-guerrillas were killed. - In January 1995, 29 ARGK guerrillas were killed and 7 were wounded. The wounded persons were treated as best as possible. - A great deal of military hardware was confiscated from the Turkish army during guerrilla operations in January 1995, including a variety of automatic weapons and half a dozen rockets. Also, 2 Turkish army helicopters were shot down and several vehicles destroyed. - 90 collaborators, who realized their own treason after the actions of ARGK guerrillas, put down their weapons and surrendered. Kurdish News is published by: Kurdistan Committee of Canada 2487 Kaladar Ave. Suite 203 Ottawa, Ontario, K1V 8B9 Tel: (613) 733-9634 Fax: (613) 733-0090 E-mail: kcc@magi.com