Subject: Flash Bulletin
From: Internationale Initiative (info@freedom-for-ocalan.com)
Date: Wed Aug 16 2000 - 06:31:59 CDT
International Initiative
Freedom for Ocalan - Peace in Kurdistan
P.O. Box 100511, D-50445 Koeln
Telephone: +49 221 130 15 59
Fax: +49 221 139 30 71
E-Mail: info@freedom-for-ocalan.com
Url: www.freedom-for-ocalan.com
Flash Bulletin 16 th August:
1. "Cemil Bayik: PKK is Decisive on Victory", PKK Presidential Council member Cemil Bayik, underlined that they decisive on taking the Kurdish people to victory despite all obstacles.
2. "Intellectuals Call for General Amnesty", A group of Turkish and Kurdish intellectuals in Europe began a signature campaign calling for 'General Amnesty' in Turkey.
3. "Kurdish satirical journal "Pine"gets around State of Emergency restrictions": The Kurdish satirical magazine "Pine" ("Patch"), which seeks to express on paper the Kurdish sense of humor, continues to be banned in Turkey's State of Emergency (OHAL) region.
4. "The arbitrary closure of the Amed Human Rights Association in Turkey", The Amed (Diyarbakir) branch of the Human Rights Association (IHD) in Turkey was closed half an hour after it was opened. IHD General Secretary Husnu Ondul reacted to this closure, decrying it as an arbitrary act of the Turkish government.
5. "Typhus epidemic in Nusaybin",
Hundreds of people got sick because of typhus epidemic in Duruca District of Nusaybin, Mardin. As the typhus was reported to spread rapidly, one person died of the disease. And according to information obtained, Nusaybin Health Directorate contented to analyze samples of drinking water only.
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1. - Ozgur Politika - "Cemil Bayik: PKK is Decisive on Victory":
PKK Presidential Council member Cemil Bayik, underlined that they decisive on taking the Kurdish people to victory despite all obstacles.
The PKK Presidential Coucil member indicating that the PKK is ready you whatever necessary of itself to unlock the stoppage in Turkey, stating that, "Our Party, is working on new projects for a solution to democratisation and Kurdish question in Turkey". Bayik called on the KDP (Kurdistan Democracy Party) and PUK (Patriotic Union of Kurdistan) to abandon its complot style position, and emphasised the importance of unity among Kurds.
2. - Ozgur Politika - "Intellectuals Call for General Amnesty":
News Centre
A group of Turkish and Kurdish intellectuals in Europe began a signature campaign calling for 'General Amnesty' in Turkey.
Mehmet Uzun, Ahmet Kahraman, Koray Duzgoren, Fatma Dikmen, Sakir Bilgin, Omer Polat, Kemal Uzun, Enver Karagoz, Fehmi Erbas, Mehmet Sahin, Nuran Yildirim and Adnan Keskin that are within the group of intellectuals, by opening the prepared signature campaign calling for amnesty, called on intellectuals, artists, journalists, and writers for support.
Translated by International Initiative, Sipan Kendal.
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3. - Kurdish Observer - "Kurdish satirical journal "Pine"gets around State of Emergency restrictions":
BERIN ARSLAN / ISTANBUL
The Kurdish satirical magazine "Pine" ("Patch"), which seeks to express on paper the Kurdish sense of humor, continues to be banned in Turkey's State of Emergency (OHAL) region. "Pine", with its various pages intended at getting its readers to read and appreciate humor in Kurdish, has following its banning by the OHAL authorities been changing its name ever since issue number 12 in order to penetrate the OHAL blockade.
Its motto in this regard has been as follows: "Xwendevanên hêja, heta ku OHAL bibe BUHAL, em we bê kovar nahêlin. Ku qedexe nebe." (This is Kurdish, and can loosely be translated as: "Dear readers: Until the State of Emergency becomes the State of Normality, we won't leave you without your journal. That is, unless it gets prohibited.") The journal's staff are on the alert regarding further bans. In the meantime, we spoke with Dogan Guzel and Imam Cici of the journal's editorial board regarding the prohibition, the problems of the journal, and its future:
-Why did the earlier Kurdish humor magazines published in Turkey stop publication?
I.C. "Tewlo" was the first example. Not all of its pages were in Kurdish, however. It was able to put out 13 issues during the period 1991-1992. It was a very professional publication. There were translations from Turkish to Kurdish, and cartoonists sent in caricatures as well. But for various reasons this publication wasn't able to establish a real policy. As for us, we more amateur than they were, and we work more sincerely.
-Where did the idea to publish "Pine" come from, and how many people work to put it out?
I.C. The idea came from Mazlum Dogan and the staff at "Azadiya Welat" newspaper. There are a number of people who contribute cartoons, but there are five of us who work at the journal steadily. Everyone tries to create something in accord with his/her own topics of interest. That is, the topics for the humor come from what the various individuals choose to highlight.
-On what grounds was the journal banned?
I.C. We prepared a little dictionary to make it easier for our readers to read the journal. The beginning of the banning came as a result of the posters that we printed regarding this dictionary. These posters were ordered confiscated by the Governor's Office in Istanbul on the grounds of being "immoral".
D.G: Actually, the seizure order for both the journal and the dictionary came on the same day. The Governor's Office was upset over the Kurdish dictionary we'd published. Because just at that time there was a big jump in our circulation. The journal became popular, and was getting to be known to everyone. When the Governor's Office became upset with this, it tried to hamper the development of the journal in this way. Just after the prohibition of the dictionary, the OHAL prohibition order came, with no justification being given. But the basic aim in all this is to marginalize the journal.
-What actions did you take in light of the prohibition?
D.G: We tried to send the journal to the OHAL region under different names. But some of these were banned on the very first day. Some of them were only banned after about a week. At first, we went into the region under the name of "Zir Pine", but it was banned within the first week. With "Kermes" they messed up, and the banning order only came out after two or three weeks. There's not been any banning order for "Sator" yet, but we're waiting...
-What is the biggest problem facing the journal?
I.C. Economic dificulties are really our biggest problem. In general, sales of all publications drop off in the summer months. In our case, sales have fallen both because of the summer period and because of the bannings. Our technical problems also result from the economics of the situation. We aim to stay on our feet until the prohibitions have been overcome. The newspaper stands in Istanbul sell our journal from beneath the counter, since they're afraid. They don't put it on display, and thus only sell copies when someone asks for it specifically.
-What are your goals for the future?
I.C: We're being very sincere in trying to promote a specifically Kurdish humor.. For there are no written sources for this, it's all an oral form of humor that is expressed in jokes and anecdotes. Because isolation from life in our region also causes a certain alienation. We believe that both Kurds living in the metropolitan areas as well as those living in their villages should be able to create their own humor. But the number of people who can think and then draw cartoons all in Kurdish is quite small.
D.G: No matter how much "Pine" is fed by Kurdish humor, it still hasn't fully matured. In the cartoons, for instance, the closer the cartoonist is to the world of the Kurds, the better he/she can draw it. We thus believe that, the longer we're able to keep going, the more we'll be able to set up a real Kurdish tradition of humor.
4. - Kurdish Observer - "The arbitrary closure of the Amed Human Rights Association in Turkey":
Abdulaziz Ogur
The Amed (Diyarbakir) branch of the Human Rights Association (IHD) in Turkey was closed half an hour after it was opened. IHD General Secretary Husnu Ondul reacted to this closure, decrying it as an arbitrary act of the Turkish government.
Ondul spoke to Ozgur Politika, our sister news journal, about the closure of the Amed branch of the IHD. According to Ondul, "The reason for the closure is not clear, and the decision was arbitrary. They [the authorities] are saying that it was we who closed the facility. Will they then allow the doors to reopen, only to close them again?"
Under the administration of Emergency Rule (OHAL) in certain regions of Turkey, basic human rights are highly restricted. The Amed IHD branch is trying to use the rights provided under OHAL to their full capacity. Nonetheless, "They can close this IHD branch for up to three months," Ondul said.
In Ondul's view, "At our opening ceremony three days ago, the Turkish Vice Prime Minister Mesut Yilmaz said that the legal system needs to be obeyed, but that new legal decisions should be taken in light of the current positive developments [towards peace in Turkey]. However, the bureaucracy here doesn't work like that. That the Amed IHD branch was closed only half an hour after it was opened shows that this act had been planned ahead of time. The local authorities realized that the time for such closures to be considered lawful was coming to an end, so they have closed down our offices for another full three months."
The public will be informed about the IHD branch's closure
International and domestic organizations have been informed of the closure of the Amed IHD branch, and Ondul will continue to update these organizations about the status of the Amed branch of the IHD. "If a legal system does not exist in a country, or in a portion of that country, then there is nothing one can do about it. This is a fact. We believe that these kinds of events will not keep occuring much longer. We expect every department of the state to obey and respect the law."
Mazlum-Der, another human rights organization: What threat did the Amed IHD pose?
Meanwhile, Attorney Seymus Ulek, Assistant General Chairman of Mazlum-Der and Chairman of its Urfa branch, commented on the article cited as the grounds for the closure of the Amed IHD branch: "In this situation, one must ask the Regional Governor just what activities of the association's branch have been identified that pose a threat to the 'general peace and public safety.' If the authorities have identified such activities, where are the prosecutions for these activities? This closure of was arbitrary. Mazlum-Der is waiting for OHAL to be lifted on a prioritized basis, and for an end to the repressive measures directed against human rights organizations."
5. - Kurdish Observer - "Typhus epidemic in Nusaybin":
NUSAYBIN
Hundreds of people got sick because of typhus epidemic in Duruca District of Nusaybin, Mardin. As the typhus was reported to spread rapidly, one person died of the disease. And according to information obtained, Nusaybin Health Directorate contented to analyze samples of drinking water only.
Typhus epidemic which was first seen the last week in Duruca District of Nusaybin, caused hundreds of people to become sick. Sukran Turan, 14 years old, died of the epidemic disease.
Mentioning that the epidemic disease spread rapidly, Duruca Municipality officials reported that 500 individuals had applied to them within the last two days and at least two persons within every family in the district caught the disease. Municipality officials emphasized that the cause of it was not yet determined and they put chlorine to drinking water taking into account the possibility of the fact that the cause of it might be the drinking water. But Duruca people emphasized that the officials were indifferent to the danger and they worried about new deaths after Turan.
It spreads to neighboring villages
Hatice Bertan, nurse in the Health Facility of Duruca where typhus epidemic spreads, said that they could not determine the exact number of sick people but she supposed that it was at least 250. Reporting that similar symptoms were recognized in neighboring villages, Bertan stated that the measures taken were not sufficient.
"We distributed chlorine and are waiting for the samples to be analyzed"
Mardin Health Directorate we had consulted stated that they knew the problem, but the news that one person died did not came to them yet, and explained that the samples taken from the drinking water were sent to Public Health Center and the results would announced within two days.
Deputy Health Manager of Mardin put the responsibility over the municipality, stating that the cause of it might be drinking water.
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