Subject: Bulletin
From: Intern. Initiative Freiheit für A. Öcalan / Frieden in in Kurdistan (info@freedom-for-ocalan.com)
Date: Tue Jan 18 2000 - 04:52:16 CST
I N T E R N A T I O N A L I N I T I A T I V E
Freedom for Abdullah Ocalan - Peace in Kurdistan
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18.01.2000
FLASH BULLETIN FROM INTERNATIONAL INITIATIVE:
Contents:
1. "Ecevit to deprive Ocalan of legal visits", statement from Turkish
Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit.
2. "A temporary hault to press statements by Ocalan", statement made via
Mr. Ocalan's lawyers.
3. "We are going to Insist on Democracy", statement made by HADEP MP
President Hamit Geylani.
4. "Clear message on death penalty from senior EU official de Costa", at
a civil public meeting Francisco Seixas de Costa, State Secretary of
Portugal and term President of EU.
Ecevit to deprive Ocalan of legal visits
- (TRT / KURDISH OBSERVER) - Turkish Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit has
continued his verbal crackdown on Kurdish peace efforts by saying he
would stop Abdullah Ocalan's lawyers from seeing their imprisoned
client in order to prevent the PKK leader from transmitting public
statements. Ecevit said he would never allow the Kurdistan Workers Party
PKK to transform itself into a legal political party. Speaking on the
Sunday Panorama program on the state television channel TRT, Ecevit said
the one-inmate prison on Imrali Island was not a political platform, and
that it was impossible to tolerate Abdullah Ocalan's "trying to send out
political messages to Turkey every two minutes. Whether these messages
come through his attorneys or from his own mouth, I want to make clear
that we are not going to tolerate this."
Ecevit's crackdown comes at a time when the PKK has taken considerable
practical steps towards what they call a process for peace and a
democratic solution, months after having abandoned armed struggle and
withdrawn its armed forces from Turkish territory. According to Turkey's
Prime Minister, though, the "great decline in separatist terrorism" was
not sufficient. He called for the PKK to be "entirely eliminated". "They
have not turned in their weapons. Some of the separatist terrorists are
in Iran, a portion are in certain areas of Northern Iraq, and others are
based in various other countries", the PM and former translator of T.S.
Elliot's poetry said.
Differing from earlier statements denouncing the PKK's new policy as a
mere tactical trick, Ecevit recognised the Kurdish guerrilla's
withdrawal as an effort to
transform itself into a political force, added, however, that this would
absolutely not be permitted. In Sunday's statement, he saw the tendency
towards politicisation as a "compensation for ending
terrorism" and "a real danger". Ecevit seemed especially embittered
about Ocalan's statements "advising Turkey on the nature of its
political system". He said it was exactly that what the government had
referred to when stating that the suspension of the execution would be
called off if "the terrorist organisation was to use it against Turkey's
high interests", in a surprising turn from an earlier interpretation
that suggested a possible revival of violence would make Turkey
disregard the Eurocourt's interim measures."This is what we were
referring to in our statement. Because we don't know in concrete terms
just what sorts of incidents we may be confronted with, it isn't
possible for us to say if this happens then we'll respond in a certain
way, or the stay of the execution will come to an end. Naturally,
however, two things are of prime importance. First, that separatist
terrorism does not resume; the other, that the postponement of the
execution process does not inspire the separatist movement's efforts at
politicisation," Ecevit explained.
A temporary hault to press statements by Ocalan
- (ISTANBUL) - Lawyers of Mr. Ocalan based in Istanbul made a press
statement that Mr Abdullah Ocalan will temporarily hault media
statements via his lawyers. The statement came after the growing
tensious atmosphere among Turkish Officials. Mr. Ocalan also that the
creation of artificial tensions are improper.
"We are going to Insist on Democracy"
- (Özgür Politika) - HADEP General MP President Hamit Geylani made a
press statement after the 12th January Summit in which Bulent Ecevit
made a statement aimed at HADEP in which Geylani reaffermed the
"insistance on democarcy".The statement of Mr. Ecevit that HADEP has
with itself anti-peace factions and that he has the anxiety that they
will misuse this period was replied by Geylani, "no movement could be
in the act of misusage under the name of peace and country profit. On
the contrary as a party for this we will continue to put forward all
efforts". adding that, "to misuse and provoke the healthy development
should be looked at outside of HADEP". Geylani ended his statement by
saying "for this reason the statements made in according to our party by
the President, we have the anxiety that the period will be misused by
anti-peace factions ".
Clear message on death penalty from senior EU official de Costa
- (ANKARA) - Francisco Seixas de Costa, State Secretary of Portugal,
which currently holds the EU term presidency, has welcomed Turkish
government's decision to hold the PKK leader Abdullah Ocalan's file at
the Prime Ministry during his meeting with the representatives of
Turkish human rights organisations. Costa said he expected Turkey to
abolish the death penalty by ratifying the Optional Protocol No. 6 of
the European Convention.
Francisco Seixas de Costa met with the chairman of the Human Rights
Association IHD, Husnu Ondul, the organisation's former chairman Akin
Birdal and the chairman of the Human Rights Foundation TIHV, Yavuz Onen
in the Portuguese Embassy in Ankara on Saturday. Giving information
about the meeting to
journalists after the talks, De Costa said there had been an exchange of
opinions about the problems of Turkey regarding human rights and
democratisation. Referring to a question regarding the prohibition of
Akin Birdal's right to go to the outside of country, Costa said he would
raise the subject of the travel ban on Akin Birdal with Turkish
officials. Akin Birdal is not allowed to leave the country for medical
treatment of the injuries inflicted to him in an assault by what was
widely believed to be a pro-government hit squad in 1997, although a
prison term he has to face on charges of "inciting racial hatred" for
publicly demanding a solution to the Kurdish issue has been suspended
for health reasons.
De Costa welcomed the 'road map' to be prepared by Turkey in its effort
to join the EU. He stated, however, that he would monitor Turkey closely
during his 6 months of EU presidency term. It was noted that De Costa
drew attention to the fact that the decision to accept Turkey's EU
candidacy was not taken easily at the Helsinki summit. Emphasis on
democratisation Drawing attention to the Kurdish problem, the
representatives of the human rights organisations stated that
democratisation efforts must be speeded up and the Emergency Rule (OHAL)
and similar practices in the region must come to an end in order to
solve the problem by peaceful and democratic means. Further they
emphasised that the constitution as well as the legal system must be
changed entirely to remove legal restrictions to 'freedom of thought and
expression'. The human rights representatives also emphasised that
efforts for a general amnesty must be increased and laws in relation to
political parties and the electoral system must be rearranged. In a
public statement on his official talks in Ankara, de Costa said that
Turkey's eventual EU membership would be imperilled in the case of the
execution of PKK leader Abdullah Ocalan. He stated that, following the
official announcement of Turkey's candidate status the next step was to
formulate a strategy on certain political and economic reforms necessary
for Turkey to fulfil the Copenhagen criteria, which are essential to
EU members.
De Costa said that the EU, as a political institution, had great respect
for basic rights and freedoms and in this context supported the
abolition of capital punishment. "When we have offered candidacy to
countries, we have discussed with each of them the technical issues and
the social and economic steps that need to be taken. But everyone must
understand that we do not discuss our fundamental principles. Any
country that wants to enter the Union is obliged to conform to these
principles, and these principles are not open to negotiation", the
senior EU official stated. In a reference to his role in Portugal's
Carnation Revolution of 1974, de Costa said he was especially qualified
to discuss the relations between military and civil administration. He
said though the military was an important factor in the country's
modernisation, "the normal state of affairs in Europe is for the
military forces to be subject to civilian authority."
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