Kurdish News A Monthly Publication Of The Kurdistan Committee Of Canada Number 20 - September 1995 Index: 1) Hungerstrike Of 10,000 Kurdish Prisoners Successfully Concluded 2) Constitutional Reform? A Charade! 3) Press Release From The Headquarters Of The ARGK 4) ARGK July Balance: "Consolidating Our Positions" 5) Guerrilla Struggle Spreads To Mediterranean And Taurus 6) "All Of Turkey Has Become One Big Prison" 7) Kurdistan Parliament In Exile Prepares For National Congress 8) Release Necmiye Arslanoglu!! 1) Hungerstrike Of 10,000 Kurdish Prisoners Successfully Concluded The hungerstrike launched by 10,000 Kurdish prisoners in Turkish jails on July 14, 1995 was concluded on August 20 having achieved significant worldwide interest. The hungerstrike, which lasted for more than one month, commemorated once again the resistance of Hayri Durmus, Kemal Pir, Ali Cicek, and Akif Yilmaz, who made the supreme sacrifice, and their comrades who launched a hungerstrike on July 14, 1982 against Turkey's policy of denial of Kurdish identity and its savage repression. The hungerstrike lasted for 35 days and was supported by hungerstrikes in HADEP and other offices all over Turkey, and by solidarity hungerstrikes by Kurdish people all over Europe, the Middle East, North America, and Australia. Amongst the hungerstrikers' demands were that the Turkish army end its dirty war in Kurdistan and comply with the Geneva Conventions. Relatives of the prisoners and democrats in Turkey and Kurdistan and in diaspora united around these demands. During the hungerstrike, 4 people died: Fesih Beyazcicek, Gulnaz Baghistani, Remzi Altintas, and Latife Kaya. Our hungerstrike and its martyrs will go down in history as a great resistance. The determination of the Kurdish people and their refusal to be cowed by police attacks has demonstrated the Kurdish people's devotion and belief in freedom. The hostile attitude of the German police to the Kurdish hungerstrikers has exposed German-Turkish collaboration in the war against the Kurdish people. But the repressive attitude of the police only served to make the Kurdish people offer more solidarity to the hungerstrikers. Following the successful resolution of the hungerstrike, we would like to thank our people, all friends of the Kurdish people, and all organizations and individuals who showed solidarity with the hungerstrike. Solidarity Bureau - Brussels August 20, 1995 2) Constitutional Reform? A Charade! The change of a few points of the Turkish Constitution has been celebrated for several days now in the Turkish media as a major victory for democratization and sold as such to the world public opinion. They are making it seem as though a new Constitution had been drafted, as though all bans had been lifted, as if all problems had been solved. In reality, only the first few sections of Articles 12 and 177 and some of Transitional Articles 16 and 17 have been affected. In other words, only a small part of the Constitution drafted by the September 12 junta has been changed. The core of the military junta's Constitution remains untouched, it has just been given a minor facade. The biggest impediment to democracy in Turkey is the Kurdish question. As long as no humane and just solution to this problem is found, democratization in Turkey will be impossible. The most important aspect of the Turkish Constitution is its denial of the existence of the Kurds and the ban on all forms of Kurdish expression. This Constitution is racist, militarist, repressive, blind, and destructive. The changes recently made to the Constitution did not affect any of these aspects, in fact the changes made in the introductory paragraphs pushed this even more to the forefront. Not a single problematic Article was changed. The unimpeachable nature of the September 12 junta is proclaimed. Social and political life is buried under soldiers' boots. Thought is made a crime, and there are more than 15,000 people in prison for political reasons. The Kurdish reality is denied, contradicted, destroyed. The destruction of villages, contra- guerrilla attacks, murders by "unknown persons" (organized by the state), bombardments and war in Kurdistan, all of the shedding of blood continues unabated. The problems in Turkey cannot be solved by increasing the number of MPs in Parliament from 450 to 550, nor by lowering the voting age to 18, nor by granting MPs the right to switch parties after their election, nor by granting civil servants the right to organize in a union and engage in collective bargaining, but without granting them the right to strike, nor by allowing members of high school corps to join political parties, nor by giving the right to vote to Turkish citizens living abroad, nor by giving youth and women's groups the right to organize from within political parties. These are not the Articles which form the basis of the problems which have led to bloodshed and which are the causes of the war, which have caused tens of thousands of people to be tortured, which have sent people to jail for voicing opinions, which have plunged the country into chaos. The changes made to the Constitution are a charade which only serve to hide reality. They are not a sign of good will, but rather of the desire to conceal the truth. This is not democratization, rather quite the contrary, this is a new means of hiding their anti-democratic methods. These changes to the Constitution do not serve the cause of peace, rather they will just prolong the dirty war and the genocide. Our people don't want deception, they desire true democracy. Our people don't want war, rather they desire peace and a truly democratic Constitution. They are sick of empty promises. Sooner or later, our people will realize their desire for true democracy, peace, and understanding between peoples. Kurdistan Parliament in Exile July 27, 1995 3) Press Release From The Headquarters Of The ARGK The following is a statement from the headquarters of the People's Liberation Army of Kurdistan (ARGK) from August 26, 1995 concerning the recent clashes in South Kurdistan between armed units of the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) and the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP): Right now, Kurdistan is at the most crucial phase of its history. This turning point in history will fundamentally alter the fate of our people. National and international conditions offer a perfect opportunity for our people to win their freedom. The power and dominance of the exploiter states over Kurdistan is breaking down. The political collaboration and cooperation of the exploiter states in Kurdistan is coming to an end. The liberation struggle under the leadership of the PKK in North-West Kurdistan is handing heavy defeats to the fascist Turkish state, which follows policies of massive human rights violations. At the same time, the PKK is uniting and strengthening Kurdish liberation movements in other regions. This struggle, which has already theoretically abolished artificial borders, has brought the North and South of our country together. The Turkish government never recognized these borders anyway. This has allowed it to export its dirty war of destruction to South Kurdistan, and it has even organized its village guard system there. The feudal KDP, which has become a lackey of the Turkish state, is being utilized to destroy the liberation struggle of our people. This traitorous, collaborationist gang, which carries out the orders of the Turkish Republic, seems be to continuing its traitorous activities despite all of our warnings. They are opposing the liberation struggle and using methods which are against the people. In order to prevent this foul and traitorous gang of collaborators from being successful, our people's liberation fighters launched a major operation on August 26 against these traitorous and collaborationist forces. The primary goal of this operation is to facilitate a democratic federation in South Kurdistan, and at the same time this operation has seen the formation of the 1st Storm Brigade of the ARGK. On the first day of the operation, 21 military targets and 4 other KDP positions were attacked. 18 of these military posts are now either in our control, burned, or destroyed. In the area around Zaho, a radar station used by the KDP for radio and TV transmissions was destroyed. During these actions, 2 leading officers and 62 members of the collaborator gang were taken prisoner. One of those arrested, who was also a judge, was set free because of his old age. 10 vehicles belonging to the collaborators were completely destroyed. Also on the first day, the following equipment was confiscated from the captured positions: 2 anti-aircraft guns and 4 full boxes of ammunition, 1 fully automatic rifle (A4), 1 BKC with 600 rounds of ammunition, 64 infantry Kalschnikovs, and 4 rockets. In addition to this, our forces confiscated: 110 clips and 3,620 rounds of ammunition, 43 pistols, 3 Bruno guns, 1 mortar launcher with 35 shells and 40 other mortar shells, 2 B7 rocket launchers with 8 rockets, 19 hand grenades, 4 smoke grenades, 4 large walkie-talkie radios and 2 smaller ones, 1 telephone, 2 sets of binoculars, 3 bayonettes, 1 generator, 2 batteries, 6 radios, 1 cassette player, 2 TVs, and 1 VCR. Our operation against the collaborators will spread as the cause is taken up by the people. On the first day of this operation, 4 of our fighters were killed and 2 were wounded. If the KDP wants these attacks to end and wishes an agreement to be reached, then they must support the people's struggle for a democratic federation, they must take the PKK more seriously, and they must, before all else, cease their cooperation with the Turkish government. They must distance themselves from the oppression of the civilian population and attacks on patriotic forces, they must end their two-faced deal with external forces, and they must take their place alongside the patriotic people. This is the only way they can escape the anger of our people and avoid their destruction. People's Liberation Army of Kurdistan (ARGK) August 26, 1995 4) ARGK July Balance: "Consolidating Our Positions" The attacks by the Turkish military in South Kurdistan in early July in the region of the Zap and Haci-Beg rivers, which began with lots of excitement, ended as a total fiasco for the Turkish forces and allowed us to consolidate our positions. In the second half of July, both our guerrilla actions as well as mass actions increased, causing the colonialist-fascist Turkish Republic to cry for even more help from their imperialist masters. This showed that plans are in the making to increase their cooperation. The imperialists states, in particular the USA and Germany, aren't content with just supporting the cruel Turkish regime, rather they have increased their attacks on Kurdish people living there who support the liberation struggle and they are once again organizing the Kurdish collaborators so as to attack the PKK and the revolution in Kurdistan. Various collaborationist forces, particularly the KDP, are bending over backwards to please the imperialists and are doing everything they can to halt the march of the Kurdish people towards revolutionary-democratic people's power. From July 1-31, the war was waged in all regions of Kurdistan. There were a total of 482 confrontations between our guerrilla units and the army of the Turkish Republic (TR). Among these, there were 132 ambushes, 63 battles, 52 attacks, and 9 roadblocks. We know full or partial casualty figures for 273 of these confrontations, but the totals for the other 209 engagements are unknown. During the 273 confrontations for which the casualty figures are known, 990 TR forces were killed, including 14 officers, 8 captains, 8 special forces, and 960 soldiers. A similar number were wounded, including 7 officers. There were also 9 policemen, 7 agents and contra-guerrillas, and 166 village guards, including 2 village guard leaders, killed. Therefore, the total number of confirmed enemy casualties for July totals 1,172. Another 65 village guards, including 1 village guard leader, were wounded in the fighting. In July, we took 58 members of the enemy forces as prisoners, including 2 soldiers, 2 watchmen, 13 agents and contra- guerrillas, 1 official, 1 village guard leader, and 39 village guards. In July, we entered 6 city centres and carried out actions. We destroyed 3 military stations, 1 hotel used as a military headquarters by the TR, 1 officers' quarters, and 1 state-owned water and power office, and we forced 2 brigades of the TR army to evacuate their bases. During the month, we also destroyed 8 tanks, 22 military vehicles, 1 MIT secret police vehicle, 28 vehicles belonging to village guards, agents, or contra- guerrillas, 3 state-owned TV stations, 1 radar station, and 4 power sub-stations. We also damaged 3 helicopters, 12 tanks, 18 military vehicles, and 1 stretch of railroad tracks. In July, we confiscated the following military equipment from the enemy: 1 heavy machine gun, 20 automatic weapons, 130 infantry weapons, 4 precision rifles with scopes, 383 magazines, 21,980 rounds of ammunition of various calibre, 57 rockets, 4 flame throwers, 35 mines, 1 mine detector, and 8 radios. During the last month, the TR carried out 39 aerial bombardments and 64 operations. All over Kurdistan, vast tracts of forests were burned and 25 villages were depopulated, including 13 in South Kurdistan. The Turkish army murdered 26 farmers, 8 in North Kurdistan and 18 in the South. In July, 111 of our guerrilla fighters and 4 of our militia forces were martyred. Another 48 were wounded, and 3 were injured and captured by the enemy. People's Liberation Army of Kurdistan (ARGK) August 2, 1995 5) Guerrilla Struggle Spreads To Mediterranean And Taurus The People's Liberation Army of Kurdistan (ARGK) commander for the Mediterranean-Taurus region gave the following statement to the KURD-A news agency on July 19, 1995: As the national liberation struggle in Kurdistan comes closer to victory step by step, our guerrilla struggle in Turkey continues to gain strength and to expand. Our guerrilla forces, which have attacked enemy forces in Kurdistan as part of the 1995 summer offensive, have also begun to trouble the enemy in the Taurus Mountains and in the Mediterranean region as well. After a period of preparation, our forces were first stationed in those regions in 1994. After establishing their positions, they remained there for the 1994/95 winter season. The enemy, who first became aware of the presence of our forces in that region in early 1995, analyzed the Mediterranean-Taurus situation in a session of the National Security Council and planned direct and indirect, open and covert measures for defeating our forces there. They sent thousands of soldiers to the region and hoped to achieve a victory over us by means of a military operation. Because they could not achieve such a victory, they built up a system of contra-guerrillas and village guards in urban centres such as Cukurova, Hatay, and Adana. But our forces were still able to carry out actions and to sometimes limit the freedom of movement of the enemy forces in many areas. In the last six months, 25 enemy soldiers, village guards, and civilian fascists have been killed in the region during our actions, and an equal number have been wounded. The enemy has sought to avenge its losses on the civilian population by attacking villages, arresting hundreds of people, and torturing and threatening to kill people who show sympathy with our struggle. The enemy has depopulated nearly 100 settlements, so tens of thousands of people have been affected by this war. Despite this, our units have continued to enjoy success in their activities in city centres and villages. In the last six months, 2 of our fighters were killed. The Turkish people have shown a great deal of interest in our struggle, which is led by the PKK. In the last six months, many Turkish youths have joined our struggle for freedom and independence and the PKK has accepted these youths into the ranks of our guerrilla. ARGK Mediterranean-Taurus Regional Commander 6) "All Of Turkey Has Become One Big Prison" Interview With The Head Of The IHD Office In Istanbul On July 6, Canan of Kurdistan Rundbrief spoke in Istanbul with Ercan Kaner, the head of Human Rights Association (IHD) office in that city. Kaner spoke about the work of the IHD, the arrest of IHD lawyer Eren Keskin, political persecution in Turkey, government propaganda about the so-called "democratization steps", and the deportation of refugees back to Turkey. Below are excerpts from this discussion: After her conviction, Eren Keskin is now in prison. Could you tell us more about this? Eren Keskin was a lawyer by profession and she was the coordinator of our Istanbul branch. She was both a friend as well as a colleague. She was on the board of directors for four years and was deputy head for two years. Eren Keskin's motivations for her work both at her office as well as with the IHD was her concern for human rights. She worked for equal rights and freedom for people. She worked for us for free. The Turkish state "rewarded" her for this pro bono work by tossing her in jail. But I don't think that this punishment will deter her. Even though Eren Keskin has never held a weapon in her hands, never used violence, and only ever acted on a democratic basis for equal rights and freedom in her quest for human rights, she was sentenced to 2 1/2 years in prison because of an article she wrote in the [now banned] newspaper Ozgur Gundem. She will stay in prison for at least 22 months. She has already been in prison for one month now. This is an unjust and racist punishment. But there are still other trials continuing against her right now. It's possible that she could be imprisoned for several more years if Article 8 is not repealed and if Turkey does not start taking the path towards democracy. Just like all the other people who have been punished for their beliefs, Eren Keskin and the IHD have made this problem an issue through their activities. Recently we held a protest outside the prison and handed out press releases, even though the police tried to stop us. The IHD will soon start a campaign, not just for Eren Keskin, but for all prisoners sentenced under these laws which restrict freedom of thought. Of course, it's not just the IHD that supports her, rather all people who believe in human rights and who support the prisoners do. Eren Keskin is aware of the support she has. It's important to see all of this in the larger context as well: Today, it's not just the prisoners who are in jail, rather all of Turkey has become one huge prison. At present, more than 5,000 people have been charged because of their opinions. If these laws are not repealed, all of these people will most likely end up in prison. In order to tackle this problem at its roots, all democrats who until now have kept their opinions to themselves must be mobilized to demand the repeal of these unjust laws. Are you hopeful that Article 8 will be changed or repealed? No, actually I'm not. Back when the present coalition government was formed in 1991/92, we knew they would only present the veneer of democracy. We tried to make people aware of the existence of protocols which have not been made public. By presenting the veneer of democratization, they are trying to win membership in the European Union (EU), or at the very least win a customs union with the European Community. They are trying to make the international public believe that changes are taking place. But they are hiding the fact that laws concerning freedom of expression have not been abolished, rather they have just been changed into new laws. And this they call democratization. But they can't even manage this, because the parliament is comprised of so many chauvinistic, reactionary, and anti-democratic forces that they can't even make cosmetic changes. They want to govern like a war parliament. What are the problems faced by the IHD in Diyarbakir and the offices in other cities? Since the founding of the Human Rights Association and the establishment of a few offices, we have been under intense pressure. When we add up all the trials against the head office and all of the local offices, we easily surpass one hundred. For example, right now there are 20 trials against IHD Istanbul, 3 against the head office, 10 against IHD Diyarbakir, and 10 against other offices. So far, 12 of our leading members have been murdered, including the heads of some of the local offices. The office which suffers the most repression is the branch in Diyarbakir. Before they could put together delegations and travel out to the surrounding villages. Today they can longer visit any villages. The heads of the office were threatened [by the state] and they were told to leave the area or they would be murdered. Today, more and more Kurds are being deported back to Turkey. Can you tell us something about what happens to these people? The policies of Germany's federal and state governments are well known to us. In order to avoid public criticism, they have made certain offers to the IHD. We don't want any Kurds to be deported, but the German government decided against our wishes. The CDU [conservative party] has decided to carry out the deportations, so negotiations started with the Turkish government to get them to agree to certain conditions. A protocol was signed. The state governments bowed down to this federal decision, but they asked us, the IHD, for help because they were concerned about the fate of Kurds being deported back to Turkey. They wanted to sign an agreement with us. We told each of the state governments in Germany - albeit North Rhein-Westphalia, Baden-Wurtemburg, or Berlin - that international human rights standards did not apply in Turkey, so it's clear that deported Kurds cannot expect to receive humane treatment. We condemn the protocol which was signed with Turkey, because it is a violation of human rights, the Geneva Accords on refugees, and all international human rights agreements. That's why we refused to cooperate with that process. We assured them of the following: The IHD would, as with any case, investigate matters brought to its attention, but we will not sign a protocol with any state or parliament. If friends or relatives of persecuted persons contact us, we will deal with the matter. But we will not pat the German government on the back when it comes to human rights. We reserve the right to criticize them. You cannot trust the word of the Turkish government. 7) Kurdistan Parliament In Exile Prepares For National Congress The President of the Kurdistan Parliament in Exile, Yasar Kaya, issued a statement on August 1 detailing the results of the Second Session of the Kurdistan Parliament in Exile: The Kurdistan Parliament in Exile carried out its Second Session from July 30-August 1, 1995. All relevant issues were discussed, and the following decisions were made: - The Newroz festival on March 21 will not only be an official national holiday in Kurdistan but also outside Kurdistan as well. This law, as well as changes to Articles 2 and 8 of the Parliament's founding statues, was passed. - The emblem of the Kurdistan Parliament in Exile was decided upon and agreed to. The General Secretariat and the Executive Council of the Parliament took up and passed the organizational law. - On the theme of national unity, which was a general discussion, a National Congress shall be convened and work shall begin on establishing a National Parliament. In line with this, the Executive Council was empowered to make the necessary preparations. - The meeting also discussed the Turkish state's widening war in Kurdistan, the reason for its continued attacks on the civilian population, the hungerstrike by more than 10,000 political prisoners and their demand for a peaceful solution to the Kurdish problem, and the many activities in support of the hungerstrike which have taken place in cities all across Turkey and in Europe. - Our Parliament recognizes the hungerstrike activities as democratic and values them as a form of resistance by the Kurdish people against the Turkish government. - Our Parliament, since its establishment, has dealt with and sought solutions to the Kurdistan problem and has taken on a role of active representation. - Our assembly took place at a time when the war in North Kurdistan is intensifying, as the Turkish army seeks to destroy everything Kurdish by bombarding villages and killing dozens of people every day, and as more than 10,000 prisoners are on hungerstrike with our people actively supporting them. - Our Parliament discussed these matters at this critical phase and it took decisions so as to play an active role in these developments. - Our Parliament will, in future, continue to seek a peaceful and democratic solution to the Kurdish problem and will strengthen its work towards this end. Yasar Kaya President of the Kurdistan Parliament in Exile August 1, 1995 8) Release Necmiye Arslanoglu!! Trial date: October 3, 1995 "The Kurdish women I spoke to seemed more determined than ever, they feel like they now have nothing to lose." - Marie Ryan, British journalist, Diyarbakir, August 1995 Necmiye Arslanoglu, 22, a young Kurdish journalist from Diyarbakir, is on trial for trying to report on the increasingly barbaric nature of the atrocities being committed against her people, the Kurds in southeastern Turkey. Thousands of Kurdish villages have been razed in the most gruesome fashion. Torture, rape, and state-sponsored murder against journalists, lawyers, trade unionists, and anyone who dares to speak of the daily increasing repression in Turkey today are common. Rape is used as a systematic weapon against Kurdish women. Truncheons and other objects are routinely used in this dirty war, which has gone beyond the boundaries of conventional warfare. Yet, shamefully, the silence continues. Necmiye, in a letter to a friend in London, says: "The dirty war continues to take the lives of innocent people every day, and we only want to announce this to the public. As journalists, there is nothing else we can do. I can't stop this blood from flowing. Believe me, I am very unhappy about all of this." Necmiye is painfully frank about the consequences of trying to report the truth: "Death is an inevitable end, death cannot be avoided, but to die having been successful and having done something for humanity is the best way to die, isn't it?" Necmiye was first arrested in November 1993 while visiting a burnt down Kurdish village with a British trade union delegation and has been detained four times since, severely tortured on each occasion. Yet when released she defiantly goes back to work, refusing to be intimidated by the military. She has been charged with being a member of an illegal organization and with the dissemination of separatist propaganda. Under prolonged torture, she signed a confession which she later retracted. She denies both charges. A delegation supported by the National Union of Journalists (NUJ) observed her last hearing on August 15, 1995. It was adjourned until October 3, 1995. Article 19, the Committee for the Protection of Journalists, and the NUJ have all sent letters of protest demanding the release of Necmiye. YOU CAN HELP: Please send a fax or letter to Prime Minister Tansu Ciller asking that her government release Necmiye Arslanoglu and allow her to continue her work. Please do it today!! Necmiye is back in court on October 3, 1995 in Diyarbakir Security Court. Send letters to: Ms. Tansu Ciller Office of the Prime Minister Basbakanlik 06573 Ankara Turkey fax:+90.312.417.0476 For further information, please contact: Action for Kurdish Women tel: +44.171.250.1315 fax: +44.171.250.1317 In Canada, send letters of protest to: Embassy of Turkey 197 Wurtemburg Street Ottawa, Ontario K2P 0J9 fax: (613) 789-3442 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 email: kcc@magi.com http://infoweb.magi.com/~kcc