Subject: Flash Bulletin
From: Internationale Initiative (info@freedom-for-ocalan.com)
Date: Mon Oct 02 2000 - 02:45:49 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 2. October:
www.freedom-for-ocalan.com/bulletin
1. "End the War", The Mother of Peace Initiative that met with the PUK (Patriotic Union of Kurdistan) leader Celal Talabani in Suleymaniye called for him to cease the war against the PKK.
2. "Sezer Called for a New Constitution"
3. "PUK continues its assault", The Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) continued the assault it began the other evening on the Kani Cenge-Zele line, hitting the region with heavy weapons such as missiles and Katyushas.
4. "He is frightened by politicization", Turkish Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit, commenting on a television program the other night confessed that they "found the politicization of the PKK to be scary" and that they were afraid of this. Ecevit additionally said, "The whole problem will be solved if the PKK gives up politicizing."
5. "Everyday thousands die", The "Numerical Children Warning Report" which was prepared by Children Foundation on the World Children Day said everyday 3,500 die from the causes that can be cured. According to the report Kurdistan has the highest mortality rate.
6. "Efforts to end PKK/PUK conflict move ahead", The Kurdistan National Assembly may send a delegation to KDP leader Mesut Barzani
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1. "End the War"
The Mother of Peace Initiative that met with the PUK (Patriotic Union of Kurdistan) leader Celal Talabani in Suleymaniye called for him to cease the war against the PKK. The meeting that last approximately one hour, one of the mothers a member of the delegation expressed that they did not want clashes between Kurds, and presented her head scarf to Talabani in the hope that it will bring peace.
2. - Yeni Gundem - "Sezer Called for a New Constitution":
The Republic President Ahmet Necdet Sezer of Turkey presenting the opening of the new legislative year, called for a new constitution to be formed that will be liberalistic, participative, find an equilibrium on duty and power between state organs, and that will ensure superiority of the legal government principle.
3. - Kurdish Observer - "PUK continues its assault":
The Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) continued the assault it began the other evening on the Kani Cenge-Zele line, hitting the region with heavy weapons such as missiles and Katyushas.
SULEYMANYIA
Clashes that resumed after a brief period of silence in South Kurdistan (Iraqi Kurdistan) have entered their third day. Peshmerga assaults that began after the declarations by PUK officials that they would not make peace with the PKK have intensified along the Kani Cenge-Zele line.
It was announced that another clash occurred two nights ago at Kani Cenge, but no details were available. The next morning, PUK forces began to pummel the Kani Cenge-Zele region with missiles and Katyushas.
Meanwhile, it has been learned that during the first day of assaults by PUK forces, 7 guerrillas tied to the People's Defense Forces were lost. While no information was available concerning PUK losses in these clashes, one peshmerga, saying that he did not want to fight against the PKK, surrendered himself to guerrilla forces.
While the guerrilla forces continue to maintain their defense positions against the PUK assaults in the South, operations in North Kurdistan (Turkish Kurdistan) carried out by the Turkish state continue at full pace. The operations and military build-ups have intensified at the point where the borders of Turkey, South Kurdistan, and Iran all meet. News has been received that Turkish military units began an operation Saturday in the Dostki Valley in the district of Yuksekova. It was also learned that helicopters brought soldiers and equipment to Semdinli the night before.
4. - Kurdish Observer - "He is frightened by politicization":
NEWSCENTER
Turkish Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit, commenting on a television program the other night confessed that they "found the politicization of the PKK to be scary" and that they were afraid of this. Ecevit additionally said, "The whole problem will be solved if the PKK gives up politicizing."
Answering questions on capital punishment, amnesty, and Kurdish-language television broadcasting, Ecevit admitted that there were problems on abolishing capital punishment because of certain objections from the Nationalist Action Party (MHP). On the subject of Kurdish television broadcasting, Ecevit, alluding to the Europe-based Medya-TV, said "Even if its viewers don't listen because of ideological reasons, they can be influenced by this one-sided channel." Ecevit said that there were no longer any limits to communication and said that he had seen satellite antennas on the roofs of homes in even the smallest villages in Kurdistan. He continued, "Therefore, it has come time to deal with this subject with a realistic and modern approach." But, when answering a question about the timing of introducing Kurdish television, Ecevit said, "I prefer to act cautiously on this matter."
'PKK is not finished'
Ecevit stressed that the PKK had not disappeared and that it was currently engaging in efforts to politicize, and, noting that this situation frightened them, said, "If they give up on this fixation, some problems will be solved more easily. But they still have not undergone a satisfactory change of mentality."
HADEP allergy
Ecevit's HADEP allergy was showed itself once again during his appearance on television. Answering a question concerning HADEP's opposition to the village-city project, Ecevit said, "That's the PKK's slogan too. Why don't they want the village-cities and central villages? Because they can pressure the villagers much more easily if they are in scattered remote villages, that's why."
Will get used to Sezer
Answering a question concerning the government-presidential palace crisis, Ecevit said that the government and President Ahmet Necdet Sezer had just begun to work together and get to know each other and said, "We'll become used to each other over time; we must get used to each other." Ecevit said that Sezer was an authority on the law, but that politics did not consist of the law alone. He said that he was not in a position to argue with the President on legal issues, signaling that disagreements on the subject of decrees with the force of law and draft laws could sometimes arise between the government and the President. Ecevit said that what was important was that they find a solution that both sides could agree upon when these disagreements came up, adding, "In our opinion, that solution is the Constitutional Court."
5. - Kurdish Observer - "Everyday thousands die":
The "Numerical Children Warning Report" which was prepared by Children Foundation on the World Children Day said everyday 3,500 die from the causes that can be cured. According to the report Kurdistan has the highest mortality rate.
ISTANBUL
Children Foundation prepared a report which was titled "Numerical Children Warning Report" on the World Children Day, which is first Monday of October
The foundation relied on UN Refugees High Commission, Working Children Section of Ministry of Working and Social Security, State Statistical Institute, UNICEF, and UNESCO when preparing the report which was consisted of 14 pages. The report said that 600 million children from 2.85 billion children world wide live under poverty, and everyday 30.5 thousands children under ages of 5 die from the causes that can be prevented. The report said there was 252 million children working between ages of 5-14 from the developing countries. In addition, it pointed that 50-60 million kids between ages of 5-11 work under dangerous conditions. The report also pointed that every year 20 million kids were forced into sex market. The report said that for last 10 years, 2.4 million kids died as a result of war.
Kurdistan has the highest child mortality rate
In the Turkey section of the report, it said that there were 22 million and 972 thousands children under ages of 18, which is 35.6 percent of the population. The report contains the following information: "Birth rate in the east (Kurdistan) is 4.2 and in the west 2. 30 percent of children in the east under ages of 5 live under poor conditions and this percentage in the west is 10." The report said child death was 33.7 percent of all the deaths and Kurdistan led the child mortality rate. The report said that the rate of illiteracy in Turkey was 14 percent for children, 22 percent for women and 6 percent for men.
The report also pointed the following facts about Turkey: "The number of children between ages of 6-14 that work is 1.07 million. This number is 2.4 million for 14-19 age category. The 17.2 percent of the work force is consisted of ages of 12-19. 60 percent of children work under unhealthy conditions and 30 percent of these kids do not go to school. The number of homeless children in Turkey is 6 thousands."
The number of kids that commit crimes is increasing
The report pointed that number of crimes that were committed by kids have been on rise. The report gave the following statistics in regard to the types of crimes: "14 percent theft, 10 percent robbery, 19 percent for committing crime, 13 percent for rape, 6 percent for attacking, and one percent for drug." The report also pointed that the number of suicide cases have been on rise between ages of 15-24.
6. - Turkish Ddaily News - "Efforts to end PKK/PUK conflict move ahead":
The Kurdistan National Assembly may send a delegation to KDP leader Mesut Barzani
Mert Gozde
Ankara - Turkish Daily News
Efforts to call a cease fire to the constant armed clashes between the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) separatist terrorist organization and the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) are continuing. Letters have been sent to both factions calling for an end to the fighting, and a delegation of women from Turkey who call themselves the "Kurdish Mothers for Peace" have began establishing contacts in northern Iraq.
The women, all mothers of deceased PKK separatist terrorists, are reportedly seeking talks in northern Iraq with both Cemil Bayik of the PKK and with PUK leader Dr. Talebani. At the same time, it has been learned that Kurdish circles in Europe together with Kurdish associations and the Kurdistan National Assembly have also been spurred into action to bring this fratricidal conflict to an end.
Should the efforts being shown by the "Kurdish Mothers for Peace" prove futile, then a delegation whose numbers include Kurdistan National Assembly member Musa Kaval and Democracy Party (DEP) Van Deputy Remzi Kartal will go to northern Iraq and reportedly ask Kurdistan Democrat Party (KDP) leader Mesut Barzani for assistance. The delegation, which will travel from Europe to northern Iraq, will ask Barzani to take on the role of negotiator between the two warring sides.
Talebani accused of being Turkey's catspaw
Furthermore, supporters of the PKK and the Peoples' Democracy Party (HADEP) in Turkey are accusing PUK leader Talebani of acting to further Turkey's own interests. These circles maintain that the PUK Peshmerga started attacking the PKK immediately after their leader Talebani returned from having talks with Turkish government officials. They say that Turkey could have offered Talebani a share in the income gathered from Habur customs. As evidence to back up their claims, the PKK and HADEP cite images on Medya TV of a long-haul truck carrying arms and munitions from Turkey to northern Iraq that was involved in an accident at the Habur border crossing.
PKK and HADEP circles, pointing to the weapons and munitions littering the ground around the truck after the accident, assert that the arms in question could well have been provided by the Turkish government for use by Talebani's Peshmerga.
Another reason cited for the PKK/PUK clashes is that the PKK have started trying to win over PUK supporters in northern Iraq. The PUK, fearful their supporters will be won over by the PKK, have demanded the PKK leave the area. However, when they became unable to force the PKK out of the area, the PUK began an armed struggle against the PKK in order to preserve their own existence in northern Iraq.
PKK and HADEP sources maintain that the PKK has never staged any counterattacks and is fighting in self-defense only against the PUK Peshmerga. They say that to date the PKK has lost 13 of its members in clashes with the PUK.
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